Where the wild Zombies are...

Neat map of where we can expect the zombie apocalypse to concentrate in the beginning.

September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month and I am committing to doing something to make myself better prepared for the arrival of the Big Bad.

Maybe a chain saw or wind-up radio.

Or work on my go-bag.

Or get some LED lanterns.

Or just a new flashlight.

If only there was a small, inexpensive radio I could buy to supplement my existing ham equipment.

Pajamas Media » Iran and the EMP Threat

Slim sent me the following link on Monday. He likes for me to start the week on a cheery note.

Pajamas Media » Iran and the EMP Threat:

"This will be the result of an electromagnetic pulse attack over the atmosphere of the United States. In less than a billionth of a second, the electrical intensity on Earth becomes so hot that microchips fry, power lines overload, and the electrical grid collapses. Everything with microelectronics in it fails.

Within days, tens of millions of Americans will need to leave their homes looking for water and food. Within five to 10 days, due to water pollution and sanitation issues, many will fall ill — people across America will face starvation, disease, and death. In just one year after the attack, up to two-thirds of the American population will cease to exist."

Waffle House Index

How bad is a given situation? Use the Waffle House Index:

Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, a signal that damage in an area is limited and the lights are on. Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions."

Via SaysUncle

EMP

Posting about the Faraday Bags reminded me of a book I read last summer: One Second After. (It was the summer of the post-apocalyptic stories as I also read On The Beach and Alas, Babylon. Nothing like some sunshine, sand, and stories about the end of the world to make for a pleasant vacation.)

One Second After describes the events after an EMP has completely disrupted modern life. With all electronics (including those in cars, computers, communications equipment, appliances, etc.) rendered useless, the supply chain quickly breaks down. When you have JIT inventories, your supply quickly goes to zero when the next truck or train doesn't arrive. Low inventories is great for cash flow, but not so hot for being prepared to survive without weekly trips to the fully stocked grocery store and pharmacy. Food becomes scarce as do medications including common place antibiotics and maintenance drugs like insulin.

In this disaster scenario, communications are down - most of the "when all else fails" ham radio gear included. Matt @ AmateurRadio.com gets to the heart of the matter:

"Amateur Radio is depended upon “when all else fails.” Ham radio operators pride themselves on their “readiness, resilience, and response.” Well prepared hams have their 72-hour Go Kits, extra batteries for their fancy HTs, etc. But what if the emergency involves some sort of EMP attack? Are you ready to provide emergency communications for your community when your solid-state HF and VHF transceivers have been rendered useless boat anchors?"

I am in no way prepared for an EMP attack or even most natural disasters. My goal is to keep chipping away at being prepared by making baby steps over time - first aid supplies in the cars, extra flashlights and batteries, radios and batteries, water, food, blankets, binoculars, fire making kits, etc.

While being able to communicate with a community or across a nation, doesn't by itself solve the issues of disease and hunger, it could go a long way in providing hope. And hope might just keep society a little more civilized.

Back to the book... it isn't high art by any stretch, but it is a good read and extremely thought provoking if not downright scary.

More Bags to Protect Your Stuff

First bags to protect from EMP. Now bags to protect from rust at Zero Corrosion Products.



I don't have any data on the quality of these, but Unc has a discount code to reduce your risk - "sayuncle" for 15% off.

Via SaysUncle

Faraday Bags

Adam at Equip 2 Endure reviews some Faraday bags designed to protect your electronic gear from EMP damage. The bags are by Tech Protect.



The 8x8 bag below is about $6.


One more item for my shopping list if I ever get serious about prepping. While important, food and water might be higher on the list.

Creating the next terrorist

Linoge has good article that demonstrates the fine line between being prepared to care for yourself and for being able to launch a jihad against the unclean. As has been said before, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom loving prepper.

Maybe I should change that phrase based on the September issue of Parents magazine. The "Keep Your Family Safe" article provides a basic guide for preparing for an emergency. The suggestions include gathering flashlights, food, blankets, etc.



So maybe it should be, one man's terrorist is another kid's concerned mom.

(And a little bonus commentary here... the mother's group at my church will be hosting a local law enforcement officer who will give them advice on protecting their homes and family. I want my wife to go, just so I can find out what he recommends. I suspect he will not be arguing .40 cal vs. 9mm.)

My Armory Needs Work

Apparently, I need eight guns. I want an AR-15, AK-47, a pump action shotgun, an over/under shotgun, and a few more pistols.

Fenix Flashlight Headband

I also need a Fenix Flashlight Headband, but at least I own a couple of Fenix LD20 flashlights.

And is KK Cool Tools trying to replace Nutnfancy? They also review the 4Sevens Preon 2 Penlight

Prepping

I like her style.

New County Comm Website

County Comm has a new website.

Do NOT go look. At best, you will waste a lot of time looking at all the cool little gadgets and gizmos that you think you need. At worst, you will add a bunch of $5 items and then realize you have a hundred bucks worth of stuff in your cart!

Prepping

I've often though that one of the first things I should do as part of any "prepping" is to get in shape. Everyone talks about guns, food, flashlights, medicine, etc. I have to believe all these tools become a lot more valuable if the prepper has the energy to use them.

So, I went out and bought some running shoes. I haven't played indoor soccer for approaching two and a half years. It has been almost seven years since I was jogging on regular basis. I got home, changed, and took off running. I ran just under 3 miles in about 33 minutes. Not a bad start - all things considered.

New Acronym: BUR

I was writing a reply to a comment and described the Baofeng UV-3R as a BUR. Those from the gun world might recognize the similarity to the short-hand BUG. BUG is a "back up gun", so BUR is "back up radio".

I think the UV-3R fits this bill perfectly. It is small and light weight. You can use the AA battery pack for emergency power. (That's another reason I prefer flashlights that use AA batteries as well - I can move the batteries between devices if needed.) And it is inexpensive enough that I could buy a couple UV-3Rs and toss them in the glovebox without having to get a second mortgage.

Giveaway on Survival Mom

Survival Mom has teamed up with INeed2Prepare to give away 60 servings of their grab and go food. Follow the link here, decide what would be your favorite flavor, and post a comment on her site.

Old Mobile Phone for 911

Not a bad idea... keep an old mobile phone charged to use as a back-up for 911 calls. He recommends using a timer to keep the phone from sucking juice all the time. I would suggest looking at the phone to see if shows that it is getting an SOS signal of some sort.

Uncrate Prep

Uncrate normally posts when the latest Ferrari or Porsche is available.

Some recent posts have been a little more practical. TNJeffofAllTrades has the book and I keep thinking $12 is not much to pay for a nice reference for so many things I know nothing about. And who couldn't use another knife?

Book: Country Wisdom Know How


Knife: KA-BAR USMC Fighting Knife

K-Town Style Prep

Remain calm! All is well!

If something happens, at least some Knoxvillians will be prepared.

The Lucky Gunner blog picked up on that article and pointed out a link to free Ready Kit/Bug Out Bags from Knoxville's Local Emergency Planning Committee.

Survival Prep

An InstaPundit article about being prepared and a follow-up.

My key takeaways... I'm sure there are better lists, but there were good reminders about meds, pets, and diapers.

Food: canned goods, beef jerky, water, pet food
Tools: flashlight, battery-powered or hand crank radio, duct tape, garbage bags, can opener, multi-tool, pocket knife
Shelter: blankets, tarps
Clothing: diapers
Medicine: medication, first aid kit
Money: Cash

Neat tricks:
Write the contents of cans on the lids in case you lose the label, also write purchase date
Re-use 2 liter bottles for water storage - placing them in the sun will allow the heat to kill any nasty organisms in the water
Keep an extra propane tank for your grill

Preparation is a Journey

Preparation is a journey. I can't prepare for everything, but over time I'd like to give myself more options.

For example, I keep improving my Emergency Car Kit as I've add cell phone chargers and some ice melt to the gloves, poncho, and hat.

Here is another food-for-thought article:
Three seconds. Three minutes. Thirty minutes.

I have no go-bag. I've had CPR, but don't have good first aid kits. A buddy is talking about scheduling some first-aid training, so maybe I can fill in that gap.