More Swine flu / Pandemic Preparedness Info

viramask_n99esc3501Since my post from yesterday regarding Pandemic Preparedness in light of the current Swine Flu outbreak, I’ve talked to several other preppers and want to provide our readers with more information.  Specifically I want to share some other/better mask information, some great links for info on the virus spreading and to discuss sheltering in/quarantine a bit more.

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Pandemic Preparedness – Swine Flu Outbreak

pandemic-troops

See all of our Pandemic Preparedness / Swine Flu posts here.

With the current Swine Flu scare coming out of Mexico and popping up here and there in the United States, it is prudent to become familiar with the situation and especially prudent to review your Pandemic Preparedness Level.  I should also stress that this is a “DON’T PANIC, Just Prepare!” post.  Continue reading “Pandemic Preparedness – Swine Flu Outbreak”

Family Dynamics and Perpetual Preparedness


photo credit: m o d e

Any minute now, I might become a father. My wife is (very) pregnant with our first child, and the seconds are ticking until our lives change significantly (for the better!). As the months have gone by, we have dedicated a great deal of time to readying, studying, and researching how best to do everything we’re soon going to need to do.

Preparedness has played a large role—indeed, a central role, since what we’ve been doing up until now is preparing for our son’s birth. Having an end result in mind forces us to think in the long term, and purchase things, learn skills, and become well versed in all that will be necessary. Too often we get wrapped up in the here and now, and let our long-term preps take a backseat.

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Self Reliance Class April 7th in Spanish Fork

Self Reliance Class “On the Road to Preparedness”

Taught by Debbie Kent who is a preparedness/food storage specialist in her stake in California. Debbie has taught numerous classes on every aspect of preparedness and has consented to share the latest up to date methods and ideas on how we can each secure what we need for the future.

Tuesday April 7th at 7:00 p.m.

Spanish Fork South Stake House
1240 South 1158 East
Spanish Fork, UT

Here is the PDF handout for the class. [download id=”4″]

Review: Life Caps

Life Caps are a new and fairly recent product on the market in the emergency preparedness category. I’ve heard of them on a few websites, and then I attended an emergency preparedness fair last weekend where several women were recommending them.

The product is promoted as an “emergency preparedness pill”—you take one capsule three times daily, along with drinking plenty of water, in order to provide your body the nutrients it needs throughout the day. The creators claim that these pills satisfy your body’s needs such that you aren’t hungry for food, which is ideal in an emergency scenario if you don’t have access to your normal daily amount of food.

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My EDC (EveryDay Carry)

edc-bagI realized the other day that I hadn’t done an EDC post yet, so here it is!  I do split EDC, meaning that some stuff I carry on my person but most of it I carry in my bag.  There are two reasons for this, one I sit at a computer all day and do not like to have my pockets filled with stuff.  I only wear cargo style pants so I always have plenty of pockets to drop things into as needed, but I don’t like to sit at my desk with anything in them.  Secondly, as a geek I carry my computer EVERYWHERE I go and I carry it in my EDC bag.  If you ever see the bag pictured on the right, it is probably following me like a monkey on my back.

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Some First-Aid Kit Examples

firstaidkitsFirst-Aid Kits are kind of a funny prepper item – there are SO many that you can just go buy that it doesn’t seem like a big deal.  Yet, countless people I know barely have a box of band-aids in their home.  Those who do go purchase a pre-made First-Aid Kit don’t typically pay much attention to it – it’s crossed of their ‘list’.  But day to day use of the only medical supplies in the house means that after a year or so the First-Aid Kit is severely depleted and nobody notices until there’s a need for it.

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Building a Vehicle Emergency Kit

fa121807eYour Car Emergency Kit should be designed to accommodate a wide variety of potential Emergency Situations that may occur while you are in or near your vehicle. There are several categories that you should carefully consider when you are assembling your kit. The most important thing to remember is to not forget about it – an Emergency Kit is never something you just throw in the back and never think about again. You’ll want to maintain it and adapt it regularly for the season.

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Review: Front Sight Four Day Defensive Handgun Course

Gentlemen (and some of you ladies), prepare to drool. I’m still drooling.

Last night I returned from a four day defensive handgun training course at the Front Sight Training Institute near Pahrump, Nevada (read: the boonies of the Nevada desert). I’ve been waiting for this weekend for a few months now, and it was worth every penny (stay tuned for how you can attend a course with fewer pennies than you might think!).

The following is a review of my experience and some of my thoughts on Front Sight’s training in general.

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Microwaves, Faraday Cages, and EMP Protection


photo credit: t-squared

One of the related risks to a nuclear attack is an EMP blast. Rather than detonating the nuke at ground level and thus destroying infrastructure and human life, the bomb is deployed in the atmosphere, and an EMP blast results. In the former scenario you’d be dead immediately; in the latter, many would die slow deaths, widespread panic would result, and terror would take a drastic toll—all because people wouldn’t have access to their machinery and gadgets that enable them to do all of their basic, day-to-day activities.

Just think about all the things you do on a daily basis that require electricity: turn on the sink to brush your teeth; get in the car to get groceries; withdraw cash from the ATM; refrigerate your food; use the internet to follow the news; call your parents; turn on the lights at night. All of these simple, daily tasks require the electricity we enjoy in abundance today.

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Learning From the Pioneers

1844_1877_1Many know that Utah was originally settled by Mormon Pioneers, I’m a descendant of those pioneers from 8 different family lines on my Mother’s side.  The Mormon Pioneers crossed the plains from Illinois to Utah in covered wagons, handcarts and many on foot.  Many of them buried family and loved ones under a pile of rocks on their way here.  It was a harrowing experience the like of which will hopefully never be repeated.

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Review: Tomorrow’s Harvest freeze-dried food

There are several markets that are booming in the current economic climate, and one of those is emergency preparedness and food storage. People are quickly realizing that fiat dollars and credit cards won’t feed the family, and are working quickly to stock up on needed supplies. Many people are flying blind in their pursuit of food storage, and are unsure as to what to store.

Filling this niche and marketing themselves to these customers (and others), several companies offering freeze-dried products have begun to more aggressively promote their products and fill a need in the marketplace. I looked into several companies based in Utah, and ultimately ended up making a small purchase through Tomorrow’s Harvest.

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