Tag: Links

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Saving Money By Storing Food Article

Money by AMagill, on Flickr

Looking back on my list of things that I’ve “meant to blog” for a long time, I found a link I needed to share.  A friend of mine, and longtime follower of this blog, Erin McNew wrote an article for Yahoo’s Associated Content site about food storage.  I will of course take this chance to tease her for cheating on me, and posting to a different site, especially one that won’t allow for me to repost the content.  However I may tease though, It’s a great article written to explain to people how storing food is a sensible way to save money.  Something that most “preppers” understand, especially people usually interested in this blog.  However oftentimes people who wouldn’t normally figure themselves to be preppers, can still at least get back to some of the basics of previous generations.

Check out Erin’s article Saving Money by Storing Food for a nice introduction that could be very helpful in getting friends/neighbors/family to think a little more about adding to their food storage plans.

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Utah survival example in the news

There is an interesting example of Winter survival in the news today courtesy of KSL.

While these young men made an initial mistake that got them lost, they managed to remain calm and focused on survival. Creating a snow cave, starting a fire, etc. are all useful skills and as this example clearly shows can help to keep you alive.

Another aspect of preparedness is learning from our mistakes and other’s examples. In this case, if they had their avalanche beacon and some other gear, (perhaps some EDC items, or an emergency kit)  they would have been located much sooner or not been lost in the first place, and been more comfortable while waiting for rescue.

Read the article and absorb any information you can so you can use that information if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

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Homemade ice-claws

Image from KresimirPregernik

When I moved to college in Idaho as a teenager, I had a really quick introduction into a new world of snow and ice. While the snow I grew up with was wet and heavy, and usually melted away pretty quick in the moderate temperature. Idaho however introduced me to the bitter hard-freeze that left our campus with an amazing array of forms of ice that were completely new to me. I, as with many of my fellow students, became intimately familiar with this ice while performing the splits, or landing on my back when trying to hurry between classes.

In that time, I saw a few people that had some nifty attachments for their shoes allowing them to get traction on the ice.  Along the lines of higher end crampons used in ice-climbing, they strapped on over any shoes and allowed the user to dig into the ice a bit more.  Over on one of my favorite sites (Instructables) there are some instructions for creating a simple version of these yourself.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Ice-claws/

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Utah Preppers Quoted in Mormon Times Article

A recent article in the Lifestyle section over at the Mormon Times titled “Food storage includes more than just food” includes some quotes taken from an interview conducted with me the other day.  While the newspaper is targeting members of the LDS faith, the article itself is applicable to anybody.  Many people get caught up in simply having a certain number of calories, and not thinking about the other aspects of preparedness. This article does a good job of addressing this and stresses adopting a well rounded approach to preparedness. Although our readers may have more of a prepper mindset than the audience of the Mormon Times, you still may find some good information there. Click the link above to read the article.

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Turtle Tuff Shelter Demonstration

As a web developer who freelances in addition to my full time employment, I sometimes take advantage of bartering opportunities. Last year one such opportunity presented itself—I was on the lookout for a military surplus tent of some sort, and came across a company (based here in Utah) called Turtle Tuff Shelters who made yurt-like geodesic shelters. Their website at the time was very.. ahem.. lacking, so I suggested a barter. They agreed, and a few months later I became the owner of a 24′ Turtle Tuff Shelter.

The interesting thing about these shelters, and the reason I opted to get one of these as opposed to some other form of tent/shelter, is that the structure is a geodesic frame which helps greatly with load bearing, wind resistance, with lightweight, high-strength, tempered, aircraft aluminum alloy rods. The dome shape distributes any weight or force across a broader area, thus minimizing any impact it receives. Each of the individual hubs/joints hold over 300 lbs. because of this design. The frame is designed to withstand almost 150mph winds when staked to the ground.

Putting the shelter together has been on my to-do list since last year, but not until today have I made the time to do it. With the help of a friend of mine, I spent the morning putting the tent together—partially, anyways. We assembled the frame and covered it; due to time constraints, we weren’t able to proceed with setting up the floor. Additionally, once the shelter is assembled you determine where you want your door and window to be, and you then cut out material, apply adhesive zippers, etc. I preferred to wait until if/when I actually have to use the shelter before making any permanent alterations to the materials.

Continue reading “Turtle Tuff Shelter Demonstration”

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Great story of prepping and survival on Investors.com

Believe it or not, the investing web site investors.com has a great article about prepping and survival.

Read the article here.

This Navy flier can be a good example for all of us. He knew that there was always the possibility that he would be shot down and that he would need to survive. Rather than bury his head in the sand and ignore the issue, he reviewed the survival kit he was issued as a Navy aviator and supplemented it to meet his personal needs. When other pilots saw him doing this, they took a second look at their own kits and began doing the same thing.

This brings up another good lesson. Without sacrificing OPSEC we can be an example of preparedness to those around us. If someone is new to prepping and seems interested, try to foster that interest and get them on their way to self sufficiency.

What have YOU done to prepare you and your family today?

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Got Chickens?

According to a recent article on KSL.com many Utah cities and counties are considering or allowing residents have backyard chickens.  Most likely you’ll need to verify with your city hall.  Many places allow hens, but not roosters so make sure you check up on that.

If you have the space for chickens they provide a nice source of fresh eggs and meat (if you have a rooster).  How many of you have chickens or are considering it?  I really want to get some, but can’t in my current place.  For those that have them what has been your experience?

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Shelf Reliance Developer Job

Our friends over at Shelf Reliance have been expanding, and they need another person to help work on their websites.  Of course, a company like theirs would be interested in the type of person that follows a prepper blog like this, so they asked me to pass this along.  If the skills fit, please contact them.

Shelf Reliance is looking for an experienced programmer to work on our company’s website.

Continue reading “Shelf Reliance Developer Job”

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Are you a victory canner?

Victory Canner Poster

I came across this post in my feed reader this morning, and Jayce and I thought it was worth sharing. These are posters from WWII to encourage victory gardens and canning.

What were victory gardens? Back in World Wars 1 and 2, citizens of various countries were encouraged to do a variety of things to help out military efforts. This ranged from buying war bonds to saving scrap metal to growing gardens at home in order to ease the strain on the public food supply. Because certain foods were rationed, these gardens provided families with extra fresh food during warm months, and home-canned foods when it got colder.

Nowadays, home gardening is seen by many as more of a hobby. But a little bit of time and effort can pay off in big ways. Not only will you be able to enjoy fresh, ripe veggies that weren’t picked green and then ripened during delivery, you can avoid a variety of issues inherent with the globalization of the food supply. Price fluctuations, E. Coli and salmonella scares, Genetically Modified seeds, and just plain shifty practices by manufacturers will be of little concern to you.

Of course, if another world war breaks out, the experienced home gardener will be ready long before anyone else.

World War II Canning and Gardening Posters via Kabaju

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Instructables Paracord Contest

One of our favorite DIY sites, Instructables.com is hosting a Paracord Contest. The grand prize is a Leatherman with a custom laser etched message of your choice. Paracord is one of the best gotta-have-some-with-you preparedness items. The inner strands can be used for fishing line while the outer shell on its own provides a strong shell for wrapping or weaving other objects. Really, the possibilities are endless.

Have a look at the Instructables Paracord Contest here.