Friday, January 24, 2020

dying before the collapse


DYING BEFORE THE COLLAPSE
My best buddy in High School was a Junior Pig ( the Boy Scouts Explorer program ), and got on well with a younger cop on the force. Who was a survivalist, and that introduced me to the field ( call it 1980, most likely ). Not long after that, the poor schmuck died in an accident on the beach ( rip tides being common-it was thought perhaps he went in after the dog who was struggling ). So much for that survivalist plan.
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I thought this was sadly ironic at the time, but never gave dying PRIOR to the apocalypse any thought. After all, that was a freak accident only. And I was young, dumb and full of immortality. Lately though, old age changes ones perspective. Not really as in, oh, I'm going to die, because duh, it is only math. But more in the sense you are able to do dingus AS you get old. “Slowing down” is a gentle euphemism giving you the mistaken notion you'll still be able to perform, just slower. That is like saying “passed away” when really you are a smeared greasy stain on the pavement. It masks reality.
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These last thirty years have been a heck of a ride ( my period of writing, not just prepping ), figuring out this survivalist gig. I started out a flaming idiot, buying all the old stale rules I had no idea no longer applied, and being mostly forced to figure out everything on my own as no one had a real interest in helping a brother out unless he had obscene amounts of money to share with them. I've had to fight “conventional wisdom” about survivalism the entire time, in case any of you dilettantes think I'm inexperienced in dismissing what is thought to be the standard business as usual.
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Thirty years writing, forty years in the field. Most of you were probably right there with me, although ships in the night as it were, and wondered where all the damn time went. Most likely, you kept recovering from moving, and divorces, each time a destroyer of equipment and dreams. We are all good at starting over and doing better. Most of us not beginners are probably only still engaged in the futile gesture even now more from habit than genuinely new fears.
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What the crap is an economic collapse or even a communist take-over of the government compared to seventy thousand thermonuclear weapons plunging us into a radioactive Forever Winter, your green glowing ass the only source of heat or light? These kids today, they have it easy! Orange Man is nothing compared to Red Bear. So, I don't even know how many of you this actually applies to. Prepping to beat old age. Fifty is about the cut-off in ability, no matter how great of shape you are in. You keep working out, keeping pushing your abilities, but that is just to reduce the pain of aging. It doesn't restore your abilities.
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You can still “Get 'Er Done!”, but it takes longer and time is one thing we don't really have. And that sucks, because I've always said if poor, substitute labor for money. That will always be true, but if your labor potential diminishes your expectations are going to have to match that, if you don't have money. By age 52, I couldn't even dig any more giant holes. My stamina had gone to crap. Two years prior to that I was still biking to work ( taking the long way around town prior to work ) and slinging huge amounts of weight for five hours, but it was getting VERY painful. Many nights I was cramping up and dreading the next day.
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Now, it just isn't getting done. It hurts bucketing up just a couple of bags from the feed store. I started out this winter pushing through the breathlessness on my power walks, to graduating to breathing through a scarf to warm up the air I was inhaling ( lung damage from working in the severe cold, and unventilated bathrooms and bleach ), to now not even trying if it is below 32 ( just going downstairs on the exercise bike ). If I do suck in too much freezing air, it actually saps my strength the rest of the day ( lack of oxygen, I imagine ).
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For the first time, lesser sickness is keeping me inactive for the day, hanging limply off the recliner like a sack of wet feces. I used to be able to work, no matter how sick I was. None of this is to say I'm worthless and weak ( although it feels like it ). I can still outperform a lot of folks half my age, the marshmallow man pukes. I just can't achieve 10% of my near recent performance. That means crap just isn't REALLY getting done. I am nearing the end of Labor Instead Of Money. It is a damn good thing I'm pretty much done on preparedness.
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Pale substitutes of yore are still being done, but the overall work load must diminish, as well as the time frame expanding. You can still smile proudly for the camera, Shrub style, and declare Mission Accomplished, but deep down you know it has all turned into a Crap Show. Now it is a statistical guarantee that sooner rather than later you are rolling down stairs and breaking hips, or if more sedentary, sitting around doing nothing and crapping yourself randomly. I think looking forward to the apocalypse is more fun!
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The expectations of youth as far as the apocalypse went was to become a warlord and smite the enemy and gain emotional well being from the lamentations of his women. How much cooler could it have been than to return to being a true warrior, in an age of computer monitoring workers flattening ever widening asses in a cubicle chair? Now, the reality is that it will feel really good to take out a few of the twats with you before you are killed. And yet, I still shrill loudly for you to store five or ten years of food, to stack a pallet of ammo. To what point?
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There is no point! Except, if you weren't doing that, whatever else you undertook would be even MORE pointless. What, you can take it with you? I'm not suggesting that your family, or friends, or complete strangers on the Full Retard scale of humanity deserve to be outfitted with your supplies. They don't. They are far from worthy. But you overstock not only because you lack any other viable plan, but because humanity must endure. It sucks it probably won't be you ( but it could, and if a miracle happens, you are well covered on the survival tool front ), but at least it will be somebody.
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You know I'm convinced we are going to have a 99.9% die-off. And I'm only convinced of that more every day as mans stupidity is put up on display center stage. He is too stupid to pour piss out of a boot, and too stupid to take seven years of plenty to plan for seven years of want. Whatever you don't stock is just wasted by some other moron who dies anyway. Your stockpiling can save someone. You, or someone else. Don't be a dingus and poison the well just because it might not be you. Do good by others even if they are too retarded to even understand that.
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Stockpile as if you think you'll live forever, live each day like you won't, and do so before you are too crippled up.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
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note: Walt, you stud, thanks for the very generous PayPal donation
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note: an interesting map, showing how long wood would last if nothing else was available for heat.  I would suggest that the Texas, OK, KS, etc line should bisect those states at the 100th meridian, and be treated as two separate entities.  The dry west skews the forested east.  Regardless, it points out a potential overlooked vulnerability to the West retreat HERE 
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35 comments:

  1. Right, solid point on the redoubter lumberjacks that will hum hymms as they use the unicorn plow horses to pull the lumber out like the Amazon deforesting lumber locusts.

    WROL and grid down, folks in desperation will cause the country side to be stripped quickly. Your white pine county, Nv to the south had majorly amounts of timbering to strip lumber for ore processing kilns, railroads, building and population needs. It will not be done sustainably as now in patterns of plantings, growth, and harvest methods. Don't count on those pretty trees and scrub near the hermitage areas to remain long. Other humans will become your direct competition for all resources as well as general survivability.

    Hoard up a years fuel source if possible, so as to not be subjected to a gang rape in the forest by the banjo brothers over a few chopped logs desperately needed to heat or cook gruel. Plan accordingly.

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    1. As "dueling banjo's" play eerily in the background

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    2. When I had my place in Idaho, I kept a minimum of one years wood on hand. Just because of cure time needed.
      Which means at the start of each fall, I'd have about ten cords on hand. Five for this year and five for next year's.

      This as you know Jim is the prime reason I left a great bol in Idaho which had a clear title. Winter will quickly become non survivable as the wood supply is rapidly used up.

      You can live underground to mitigate some of the cold, but you still need fuel for cooking and water purification. Not to mention hygiene to disinfect your skanky ass...
      Notice that article says 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 year supply for your area at most.
      Florida , 25 years even at current populations.
      Which we all know the food will be gone way before then.

      Why do you think I keep harping on manufacturing of expendable supplies being job two. Only after proper amounts of food storage.

      If you only have what's on hand and do not possess the knowledge and skills to make stuff from scratch. You will most certainly not live past your storage.

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    3. I agree with your reasoning on leaving the cold. Most of worlds population agrees with you. I just hate the solution more than the problem. I know Hope is a terrible survival strategy, but I'm rolling the dice your type of area draws down population from my type of area in the first stages of energy disruption. Of course, even if not all hope is not lost.

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    4. Not likely... The first energy drawdown will send them all north. Believing that the disruption is just a temporary thing. As reality kicks in they'll find that they are pretty much stuck in place. Starving and no fuel to motor their way anywhere.

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    5. Why do they all flee north, during power disruptions, into cold winter?

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  2. I have shifted my capability assets from young buck door kicking ability to the old wise fellow that over time and effort "graduated" to a more resource capacity and possessing of knowledge-skills-intel attributes.

    I can't run point on patrols as well anymore, but am quite capable of sitting over an ambush kill zone that only requires sustained fire and shifting the fire around on the screaming targets. Different work duty, same mission.

    If you can smuggle or contribute some arms and ordnance with rolls of rope to the spicy squadmates, they will appreciate immensely your contributions in lieu of physical prowess. You can then earn your way to the best cuts of long pork, and first picks of war trophies. We all have a role to play on the big stage. Find your niche, be damn good at it.

    Stay frosty.

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    1. No matter what you do in life, strive to be the best. The secret to success and happiness. Even if you end up too old to enjoy the war trophies.

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  3. I fell back in Sept. and broke my hip badly! I had that hip replaced several years ago and proved that stainless steel is much stronger than bone. There were 82 pieces of bone and it took a 6 hr operation involving 6 units of blood and 2 units of plasma. I am still on a walker but am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as graduating to a cane. I have unsubscribed from SG ammo's e mail and what I have is what I will have till the end of my time. It seriously changes your attitude! I have even started drawing down some of the long term food. I am really kinda glad that I am as old as I am as I do not want to see where this country will be in a few years.

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    1. Crap, dude, you might see it this year! I know, we say the same thing every year. But I look at it like no matter how bad the transition, it WILL improve over what we'll have prior. A small bit of optimism to hang on to

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    2. @Steve. Look into defensive canes. Sword canes are cool, but are not legal in many jurisdictions. Besides, these canes are actually quicker to deploy in a defensive situation.

      https://www.amazon.com/canes-self-defense/s?k=canes+for+self+defense

      https://www.amazon.com/Unisex-Round-Finish-Affordable-DHAR-9003508/dp/B002VRRAJO/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=canes+for+self+defense&qid=1579883482&sr=8-8

      Heck, there’s even an entire martial art devoted to the use of a cane!

      https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Cane-Unexpected-Martial-Art/dp/1905605102/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=canes+for+self+defense&qid=1579883482&sr=8-7

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    3. My wife purchased a solid hickory cane for the first hip surgery , and I think it would make a rather nice club.

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    4. Sharks with laser beams are better, but they might be limited in your area

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  4. I recently went through my military hand to hand combat book. There are some really good, right to the point, take em out techniques. But past a certain age (Which I’ve already passed) you would wish to rely on such techniques only as a last resort. I have absolutely no desire to try and engage a twenty something year old dude. I’d prefer to rely on the Doc Holliday strategy of self defense (Guns and knives) but of course, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to defend one’s self in the FUSA, with the various laws that discourage such strategies.

    Had a look at that map. The FUSA would have to lose a lot of population, and quickly, in order to be self sustainable, without any outside inputs. So today’s topic is another reminder of why earth sheltered isn’t such a terrible idea after all. Well, that, and anal chastity belts, but we’ll save that one for another day. Perhaps we could requisition Ned Beatty to do a self help tutorial, on the perils of wandering around the southern woods, without adequate anal protection :D

    https://www.amazon.com/Military-Manual-Self-Defense-Hand-Hand/dp/0870529773

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    1. Hell, I don't even have enough energy for verbal sparing anymore :)

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    2. Anal chastity belts? Are they comfortable to wear when out harvesting sticks and wood in the forest? Asking for a friend?

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    3. The trick is to squat rather than bend

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  5. keep your eyes on the coronavirus in wuhan china

    search youtube: china virus outbreak 2020

    use the filter to see the most recent vids

    you still have nice hair

    i like ho hos

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    1. The prepper nurse guy, bald with huge beard, just said two cities at minimum, 20 million people, in quarantine. They didn't do that with SARS, did they? If not, this one could be that much more serious. Jeez, how long ago was our "ho hos" shtick? I barely remember it LOL

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    2. Oh, Bos Bonasus Rex of the Regal Coiffeur,

      I would dare say that ho-hos were de rigueur ten years ago. I, too, almost forgot about it.

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    3. Good to revisit the classics. Continuity.

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  6. Lord Bison, bad news on your friend many years ago. I've had 2 experiences with rip tides in the Gulf. First nearly ended me, second was slicker than cat shit on linoleum.

    If I may share my survival tip with minions.
    Along sandy shores of Gulf and lower Atlantic the wave and current action create 2 or 3 ever shifting sand bars parallel to beach. Distance from beach can go out quite a ways.

    Wave action will push ever increasing volumes of water over the sand bars toward beach. As volume increases back pressures builds in resistance to jamming too much water into too small an area near beach incline. At some point, the back pushing pressure finds a weak spot on the soft sand bar, cuts through and then WHOOSH, instant outgoing "rip tide"
    Millions of gallons of water surge thru the narrow gap nearly perpendicular to beach. Eventually the gap widens enough to lessen the surge and speed of the "rip tide".
    What happens is folks near the sandbar "cut" get swept seaward in the swift rip tide.
    At this point many panic.
    In their panic they try to swim back to shore against the tide. Bad move. You'll exhaust yourself and drown. I'm pretty good swimmer and my first rip tide nearly drowned me.

    The trick is to let the rip tide carry you out to sea. Yep, go with the flow. Flip on your back and float out. As rip tide lessens the prevailing ocean current that runs parallel to beach will carry you "down stream". Those currents are far weaker than rip tide, which at start is almost explosive.
    Once you've floated out of the rip zone you can start swimming back to shore in a DIAGANOL direction. Aim for a spot at 45° from you and paddle yourself back in. Take your time and if tired float awhile and catch your breath. Eventually you'll catch the shallows.

    My first rip tide I tried to swim straight back in. Impossible. Couldn't make any forward progress but exhausted myself. Thank God I did land on 3rd sand bar and rested.
    By my second experience, I learned about floating out and then diagonal. I ended up 1/2 mile down the beach. Tired but alive.
    In neither case was I in high wave action just the usual 2-3 foot mini waves. Seems that bigger waves & higher wave action cuts up sand bars more and seems to lessen the build up of pressure against beach. Sounds counter intuitive, I know.

    Take away...if you can float you can survive. Hum a Jimmy Buffet song.

    On an unrelated topic. The energy skeptic article you linked must know something. Uh huh!
    To wit: "Therefore, in the 52 US states, we have 34.7 million cords...".
    I guess energy skeptic now counts 2 new states in the Union. Wonder who our new countrymen are?
    Yeah, energy skeptic are the guys I want to listen to when it comes to energy and "Peak Oil".
    52 states? No thanks.

    Lastly, Wuhan corona virus. Yep, pandemic. My boogeyman. Coming to your neighborhood.
    Got face masks and hand disinfectant?

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    1. DC and Puerto Rico? One mistake doesn't invalidate ones efforts. You can be the Vice President even if you can't spell potatoe. Seriously, I've been following that site for some time and they have some good stuff, overall. And you don't even believe in Peak Oil anyway. Good info on rip tides, far more than I knew. Appreciate the share.

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  7. I’m 78. Thanks for the encouragement.

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    1. At that age you need all you can get. I think I'd eat a bullet before then. Of course, different generation. You believed in miracles :)

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  8. @Steve. Here’s a story that you will probably enjoy. Back in the day, there was an assassination attempt on Andrew Jackson. This was back when we were still limited to single shot pistols. Jackson was already semi-frail at age 67, and was dependent on the use of a cane, but was clearly one feisty old dude. The dude that tried to assassinate him (An unemployed house painter) experienced a misfire. A furious Jackson proceeded to whack the living crap out him with his cane. In the scuffle, the dude pulled a second pistol, which once again, misfired! At this point, Jackson’s aides contained the dude, but Jackson certainly got his licks in with that cane, and probably didn’t even need their help!

    It’s thought that the assassin was not a political adversary, but just plain crazy. But here’s the part that will probably make him (Jackson) an instant hero to Jim:

    “At the time, Jackson’s Democrats and the Whigs were locked in battle over Jackson’s attempt to dismantle the Bank of the United States”.

    https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andrew-jackson-narrowly-escapes-assassination

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    1. Jacksom has been my hero, for some time, for the exact reason he was one of the very few who hated and fought bankers, AND stood up for the little guy ( well, if you were a White little guy ). How many others have? Even my dawg Reagan kissed the bankers ass and threw them plenty of business. When I'm elected Prez, not only will every voter on my side get a SAW, all the bankers will be herded into the Federal Reserve building and it set on fire, then razed and the ground salted, the site will have a big ass Soviet size statue of Jackson erected on it. Or, alternately, we nuke the site from orbit, to be sure, then use those on the Lamp Post List as laborers in the radioactivity rubble to erect the statue. All remaining communists will be slaves to replace the oil-less machines.

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    2. My dead aunt and I will vote for you. When can we collect our SAWs so we can use them to convince the infidels of foolishness in being collectivists?

      Bonzo's friend was best at acting and speeches. Bubus americanus some how thinks idiots who are good at such things are should be in charge of running the ship of state on to the shoals.

      The guy to emulate for old age is Jack Lalanne.

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    3. I'm sorry if there was a misunderstanding. The SAW voucher is only going to those that voted for me if I win. You know, like, vote for me and there will be two chickens in every pot. I can't finance the campaign on my own. Let's take 100 million votes, at $5k each. $500 billion. That is less than half the yearly budget deficit. The Fed will be more than happy over the added spending. So I don't get JFK'ed. And thank you for pointing out that loophole. ID will be required for compensation.

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  9. boy are you ever right on. just went thru 3 days of-40 temp & it damn near killed me just dragging a 30lb. propane tank 150 ft. from shop to house sucking air like a fish outa water,& at 73 yrs old thats brutally hard on the nicotined lungs.have to get my wood guy to stack it now,used to be no problem not anymore,i'd have to have a 3 hr nap just to recover,the golden years indeed BS.still haven't figured out who's going to get all the preps,no family close.

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    1. I'm noticing a lot more mild winters here in the Great Basin as the Wet East seems to be getting more severe ones. Which also seem to be getting hit worse than a lot of Alaska. Perhaps Gore Warming is real. I'd ask Greta but she de-friended me. -40 should be confined to Antarctica

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  10. Re the over 70 crowd. There are lots of us out here. And not all of us are pushing walkers, confined to wheelchairs, drooling in nursing homes or sucking on oxygen tanks. Hope you enjoy the taste of your bullet.

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    1. Don't get your Depends in a wad there, grandpa. I have to make fun of those older than I, as part of coping therapy. If I went to doctor all the time for pills like you guys, to stay alive, he would prescribe such a course of action. LOL

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    2. I just self medicate...I've had plenty nuff help from the medical professionals to last me forever !

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    3. And with help from friends like that...

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