Practical Prepping Protocol even if Poor

WL, I think most of us order our techie stuff from China - you-all correct me if I'm wrong. My Baofeng radios came from there, because that's where they are made. Extended antenna and cord for programming coming from same geography.

There so many things that can totally disrupt your way of life. You can't be ready for all of them. You can be a bit more ready if you remain flexible. I read this thread and see so many of you trying to prep your way to having a life as we know it now. There is a very small chance of that happening.

Think of those people fleeing the turmoil in places like Venezuela, the middle east, etc. What if that happened in your area? I would say that most of those people are just common folk. They were out of options.

Another point I want to make, with tensions running high and everyone being offended it only needs a spark to become something like the Ferguson riots. What if rioting were nationwide? What if you are bugging in in a city that is on fire?

Let's say you are prepped for most scenarios. Word of a biological hazard is coming. Or there is a major environtal hazard? I guess the point I am trying to make is that you need to have prepped in the knowledge department. Know how to survive with your own two hands.

If something sent the world back to the stoneage, how long do you think your prep items will last? Knives and guns wear out. I am not saying it would be a useless endeavor to prep. I am not saying to give up on having a few weeks worth of food on hand.

There is no way of knowing from which direction the trouble will come. Be flexible. Adapt. Have an awareness of what is going on around you so you have an option ready to step up and be implemented when called for. If your gut tells you to do something, don't hesitate. You can't hear your gut in a state of shock or panic.

Pooka, you talked about scenarios a while back.

Here is one I experienced a few days ago.

I was out mowing the grass in front of my place. About 225' feet of frontage, and I like to keep it short this time of year because it grows fast and tall and poses a fire danger in the summer.

A guy comes walking down the road carrying a gas can. He started waving at me, so Ishut down the mower and got off. I
was annoyed. He walked up to me, he was a youngish guy wearing a dress shirt and pants...and moccasins.

He said he was from a mountain community about 20 miles up the road and had run out of gas heading to town for his former mother in law's funeral. He asked if I had any gas he could buy.

I told him,this isn't the place you want to come to with your guage on 'E'. He told me that the only store/gas station up there hadburned down a few months ago, so getting gas or groceries equates to a 30mile trip.

I know this to be true,as I have a friend that lives up that way and he had told me aboutthe store fire.

Judging by the way he was dressed, I figured he was legit. I told him I had some fuel and put aa couple of gallons in his can. He gave me $10 and headed back up the road.
bout an hourafter he left, I started thinking Ishould have offered him a ride back to his car.

Then again, maybe not.I know its not SHTF, but what doyouthink?


Damn this keyboard.

It is also a low-end HP and was made in China. eBay was the only place I could find a keyboard, with all sellers shipping from China. Cheap, though. $14 and free shipping.

Actually,I ordered two so I'll have a spare.

you want to challenge yourself, plan a camp outing and invite the internet lol

Update: Even added mine to my signature

After Katrina, I placed ads on CL in numerous locales offering a place to stay (free) for a displaced family. At the time, I had a decent RV set up out back with room for 4 or 5 people.

I even offered to provide tools for a tradesman who had lost his stuff in Katrina. I have lots of tools to spare. I could have set up a plumber, electrician, mechanic, etc. with at least enough to get started in a new job up here.

I didn't receive a single response.

be prepared to have nothing, nothing at all, all you gear and all your preps can be gone in an instant. trust me I know, it happen to me. you maybe in the stone age and another part of the city, state, or world is going on perfectly fine still. you can also be far away from preps and have not enough preps, you may be all alone or worst, have company

the scenarios are far and wide and impossible to tell, so while you are prepping, use your gear and practice and practice more

It is also a low-end HP and was made in China. eBay was the only place I could find a keyboard, with all sellers shipping from China. Cheap, though. $14 and free shipping.

Actually,I ordered two so I'll have a spare.

I thought hmmmmm...that would suggest that you do NOT want your faraday cage grounded. But WTF do I know? I'm not an electrician.

they went to papa bear, the government, that is why, I seen it before myself

Some of you may not be aware, just a couple years ago there was a CME that would have annihilated our electrical system worldwide. It wasn't facing earth, thank goodness. If I recall correctly, that was in 2015 and missed the earth by 2-4 hours.

Yeah, I can't compete with FEMA.

Speaking of FEMA, there was a large yard set up near here recently, graded, graveled and fenced. It is filled with new identical travel trailers. I saw articles stating these are for the displacedvictims of the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA. Yet 6 months later, there they sit.

I started thinking Ishould have offered him a ride back to his car. Then again, maybe not.I know its not SHTF, but what doyouthink?

I think I was reading here at the time and there was a great deal of discussion about it. Thank goodness it didn't hit!

This thread is awesome! You guys are amazing!


Hello!

they went to papa bear, the government, that is why, I seen it before myself

Do you ever deal with New Egg? It's the first place I'd look for computer parts, but I don't know of many others, yet, so I'd appreciate any recommendations.

While I'm as aware as anybody how much tech stuff is being put together in China - not always a good thing, sometimes even with deadly effects, as in airplane parts- it simply didn't occur to me to have a part shipped to me directly from China instead of from an American seller or distributor. Does Ebay provide the same protections that Amazon does? Do you have a favorite seller to recommend?

I've tried to buy discount software that turned out to be in another country and either got a stolen key or didn't get anything at all. The bank helps out for small amounts, once or twice a year, if I lose my money but they get mad at me if it happens too often, so I have to stick to 'approved stores' now, at least until I learn who the best sellers are.:)

A good thing too! Crunch62 dodged a bullet: 500 people might have answered, all wanting the same space and refusing to leave. From all I've heard about the 'Katrina refugees,' I'd never have had the nerve to invite any. (displaced animals is different) It's really sad that extraordinary kindness has to carry such risk, but it certainly does.

Even my liberal Democrat mother, who's a Southerner, said she was sorry that whole Ninth Ward didn't just sink entirely and that they had 'ruined New Orleans long before that hurricane hit.' Some parts of Houston came within an inch of an insurrection when the government dumped a bunch of them there and they went right back to their usual lifestyle: crime. (I happen to know that because it's where I was born and I still have a soft spot for it so I always keep track of what's happening there if I can.)

Some of you may not be aware, just a couple years ago there was a CME that would have annihilated our electrical system worldwide. It wasn't facing earth, thank goodness. But it certainly makes you aware of just how precarious life on earth truly is. Solar cycle 24 has been unusually low in activity. Typically the cycle following a low one is much higher than normal. Why is this important? The suns activity powers our magnetic field. The field is very weak right now. A blast from a sunspot at such a low state would allow UVC rays to reach the ground. Not to mention the effects on the grid. UVC rays can alter DNA aka cause cancer. For some years already, life has altered so much that we really cannot be out enjoying the sun on our skin - we all need to be wearing sunscreen to prevent cancer. Oddly, about a year ago, a skin cancer was discovered on my back. I have had lupus for years, meaning my entire body except face and hands is covered with clothing to block sun, and even as a younger person I didn't enjoy laying in the sun "tanning" so that cancer had a beginning long, long ago. Fortunately it was the surface type, and was entirely removed. Just surprised me to have it where sun had not touched in many, many years.

I am sure there is a credible threat of a manmade EMP but also goverments are trying to figure out how to protect the grid. They know something is up. Do you remember when Russia was offering land in exchange for growing food? They practice drills to head to shelter. China with the empty cities. Yes, a great deal of preparation for this. Russia threatened to EMP us in recent years, and I don't doubt they have the capability, as I am sure, we do as well. Wanted to mention regarding China that Russia has offered all the space China can use to grow their food. Very interesting dynamic there. It is good rich land they offered.

This is only one credible threat to existance. We do need to be concerned about biological hazards. People have been experimenting since ww2. They have lost their morals as well as their common sense. Just because we CAN do things does not mean we SHOULD. We truly should not do many of these things we "can".

The disease factor in a SHTF scenario... Think about where Ebola showed up. This is a cultural thing where once a year the people there dig up their dead for a celebration, carrying them around the community. For every virus, bacteria, etc. they work on a cure for, you have the mad scientist types who work to weaponize it. Seems so many work on the dark side - to make bad out of good at every opportunity, and to make bad worse. Signs of the times, I suggest, with evil coming under the door and over the transom.

Does no one believe we shouldn't tinker with DNA when we don't even understand the nuances of each genes effects. And now we ingest their products. I think our original design was a pretty good one. Same with earth before people had such an effect on it. Just like medication being used for years, then uh oh, we better not use that one. What long term effects will meddling with DNA cause. We truly have absolutely no business messing about in God's domain - the weather, DNA, weaponizing biologics - we had everything we needed, and now we have damaged most of it so that we can no longer use it as intended. Designer babies is one of those horrible man-made efforts. GMO and all of Monsanto's machinations - food can no longer be trusted unless you grew it yourself, and even then you have to make very sure the seeds were non-GMO. We have dabbled in God's terrain extensively and look what we have - tremendous damaging weather events worse than ever before, poisoned food, so much.

This is a prep thread. So, end of rant. Prep as best you can.

Pooka, I do not have means to prep yet. Soon, I hope. I have a lose plan for bugging out but it is complicated by my location and other factors. To me it seems a crying shame that being a person who might have a chance of surviving, find myself in such dire straights. This life has taken it's toll on me. For now, I strive not to survive for my sake, but for the generations who follow.

After Katrina, I placed ads on CL in numerous locales offering a place to stay (free) for a displaced family. At the time, I had a decent RV set up out back with room for 4 or 5 people.

I even offered to provide tools for a tradesman who had lost his stuff in Katrina. I have lots of tools to spare. I could have set up a plumber, electrician, mechanic, etc. with at least enough to get started in a new job up here.

I didn't receive a single response.

Do you ever deal with New Egg? I have.

Does Ebay provide the same protections that Amazon does? Yes. And using PP doubles the guarantee. You cannot lose, as long as you file the complaint within the time line. eBay sellers are sanctioned heavily if their feedback is not perfect, so they really, really work to satisfy the customer. Do you have a favorite seller to recommend? Works the same with every seller. There are a lot of search parameters on the left side of the screen after you have entered the name of whatever you are looking for. Just select as you wish from those parameters. The particular seller doesn't matter - they all fall under the same controls.

I've tried to buy discount software that turned out to be in another country and either got a stolen key or didn't get anything at all. The bank helps out for small amounts, once or twice a year, if I lose my money but they get mad at me if it happens too often, so I have to stick to 'approved stores' now, at least until I learn who the best sellers are.:)

This thread is awesome! You guys are amazing!


Hello!