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Preparedness Tip: Flashlights

February 7, 2012 by

Flashlights come in handy for many reasons, aside from the obvious. Here are some other uses for flashlights you may not have thought of.

  •  If batteries are kept in them, they may begin to corrode. One option for keeping batteries near the flashlight is to place them in a Ziploc bag and keep it attached with a rubber band to the flashlight.
  • You can use the aluminum reflector and dry tinder to start a fire by putting a small piece of tinder in the aluminum reflector and aiming it at direct bright sunlight.
  • According to the TSA prohibited items list a flashlight can be carried on a plane, there is a general tool stipulation that says tools must be shorter than 7 inches.
  • A flashlight can be used as a Kubotan, which is a self-defense implement that can be used to make a fist more solid and as a striking implement. There are “tactical” flashlights that have a beveled edge. This may or may not cause problems with the TSA. I will bring my flashlight on a plane the next time I fly. If they ask me why I am bringing it on-board, I will tell them the truth; If the plane loses power or has any other issue, I want to make sure I can see.
  • A flashlight with a high lumen count (the higher the lumen count, the brighter the light) of 90+ can temporarily blind or distract someone.
  • If you put a red lens in your flashlight and use it at night, you will not lose your night vision when you turn it off. When I was in the Navy, if we ran out of red lenses, we would take a red marker and color the clear one. That isn’t nearly as effective but it was better than nothing.

 
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Filed Under: Preparedness Tips

Home Defense: Defensible Positions and Safe Rooms

February 6, 2012 by

Home Defense Defensible Positions and Safe Rooms

Home is the place where we lower our alert level and let our guard down. Being at home doesn’t mean you’re completely safe, just safer then when you’re out. Home invasions are on the rise and if the economy continues to struggle or gets worse, they will rise even faster. It’s impossible to give you a simple list of things you can do to make your home secure. I am going to cover some home defense principles over the course of a few different articles.

In this article I’ll cover safe rooms and defensible positions; some simple things you can either incorporate or just be aware of.
 
 
Defensible Position

A defensible position is simply a place in your home that is more easily defended then others. Many homes have choke-points that could be used to force Mr. Dirtbag and friends to slow down and group.

The most defensible position in my house in the main bedroom because it’s at the end of a 20 foot hallway. If Mr. Dirtbag wants to do us harm, he has to come up one flight of stairs, make a hard right and cross that 20 feet, all while dodging rounds.

When planning your position, consider lines of fire; if you shoot through your doorway, where is that round going to travel? Will it enter another room or possibly go through your external wall and into your neighbor’s house? If you live in an apartment or town home, this is something you’ll want to think through completely. (I’ll get into home defense guns soon and that will address this more.)

There may be situations in which the most defensible position is not an option. If the most defensible position is the main bedroom but your children’s rooms are on another level, for instance, you might choose one of their rooms to turn into a safe room.
 
 
Safe room

This is not the type of safe room that is an impenetrable steel room with its own electric and oxygen and water supply. I mean a room in your house that can offer you more protection because of the layout and/or some things you have done to harden it.
 
 
Hardening Your Safe Room

Here are a few things you can do to make it harder for your safe room to be breached:

  • Solid core door; doors with multiple panels have areas on them that will be easier to kick or punch through, but even that is better than a hollow core door.
  • Use three inch screws to secure the hinges to the stud; most hinges are only secured to the frame. This alone will make it harder to kick in.
  • Use a reinforced strike plate and use 3 inch screws to attach it as well.
  • Use three hinges if possible.
  • Use a dead bolt lock, most internal door locks are flimsy and are easily bypassed.

If you have read the article I wrote called Duct Tape and Plastic?,it might make sense to use the same room you seal off in a chemical event as your safe room.
 
 
Items to Keep in Your Safe Room

Phone lines are easy to bypass, either by cutting the line outside or taking the phone off the hook once inside. Because of this, you should have a cell phone inside your safe room, it does not have to have a contract, but have it plugged in to make sure it will turn on. FCC Tips for 911 Calling.

“If your wireless phone is not “initialized” (meaning you do not have a contract for service with a wireless service provider), and your emergency call gets disconnected, you must call the emergency operator back because the operator does not have your telephone number and cannot contact you.”

A flashlight. Here are some flashlight non-standard flashlight uses.

Nonperishable food and water bottles might be a good idea.

Joe Dirtbag hates noise. To make some, keep an extra key fob for your vehicle in your safe room and set off the alarm. You could also keep an air horn for the same purpose.

I recommend keeping your home defense gun and extra ammo in this room as well. If your safe room is your child room, a quick release safe is an excellent way to make it, well, safe.

If you have any other ideas or suggestions please add them in the comment section.

 
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Filed Under: Security, Shelter Tagged With:

Prepared Christian Review of: Lights Out, by David Crawford

February 2, 2012 by

Lights Out was originally written chapter by chapter and posted to the “Patriot Fiction” section of a popular preparedness forum. The story begins with an event that completely shuts down all electronics and follows the main character, his family, friends and neighborhood.

I have read a few books that deal with this or similar themes and I think this one is the closest to what I think would really happen. Many stories in this genre depict complete societal meltdown quickly after the “event”. In Lights Out, things do melt down, but more slowly as people realize that life as they knew it, is gone.

I identified with the main character; a man who has faults and weaknesses but who stands up and fights for what he believes. This makes him a reluctant leader in his neighborhood. The neighborhood has some internal struggles but bands together overall to provide the essential needs for survival for their entire neighborhood.

It’s not a how-to manual per se but there is helpful information in this book if you pay attention to how the characters cope with the new post-grid world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It is the best piece of “patriot fiction” or novel in this genre I have read. I give it five stars.

 
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Filed Under: Reviews

What Would You DO? EMP at Work

February 1, 2012 by

While at work the power goes out. You check your cell phone and ,oddly, that isn’t working either. You make your way outside and the normal noises have been replaced with quiet, except someone screaming in the distance. Nothing is working; not the bank sign that usually has the time and temp on it, not the street light, nothing.
 
 
So, what would you do?

(Check the comments section to see my and anyone else’s thoughts as well as add your own.)

For more information on EMP’s see the article I wrote called EMP’s, Solar Flares and CME’s. 

 
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Filed Under: What Would You Do?

Preparedness Tip: Keeping Food Cold Without Electricity

January 31, 2012 by

In the event of a power outage, here are a some things you can do to help keep your food cold, if not frozen;

  • During times when there is power, the fuller your fridge or freezer is, the longer the temperature will stay cold and the less the motor will have to run to keep it cold.
  •  If your freezer isn’t full, you can add frozen containers to fill the empty space. Any container will do, but 2-liter bottles are shaped well for stacking. (In writing this, I have a chest freezer in mind, but it should work for a fridge based freezer as well.)
  • When there is a loss of power, a full freezer will keep food frozen for approximately two days, a half full freezer for a day and a fridge for roughly four hours, if they remain closed.
  • If there is a power loss another good idea is to write down the contents of the fridge and freezer and post it on the outside. When someone is hungry, they can browse the list with the door closed, keeping the cold where it belongs.
  • If you have a generator, you can connect the fridge and freezer to it and run the generator once or twice a day, for an hour or so and that should be enough to keep things cold.
  • If the outage is going to be longer in duration, it is important to keep meat, poultry, fish and eggs refrigerated at 40 Fahrenheit and frozen things at 0 Fahrenheit. These would be good things to cook and eat first.
  • If you live in an area with snow, it’s not a good idea to place frozen food directly in the snow. The temperature isn’t controlled and things could thaw and refreeze. One possible solution might be to take a clean 30 gallon garbage can and bury it in snow, then place the food in it. If you bury it with snow nearly to the top and place the lid on it, this should keep things cold but probably not frozen, depending on the temperature outside.

If you have any other tips please add them to the comment section.
 
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Filed Under: Off-Grid, Preparedness Tips

Our Endangered Electrical Infrastructure

January 30, 2012 by

Our Endangered Electrical Infrastructure

Every year hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of people go without power for a variety of reasons. It can sometimes be from storm damage, as was the case in 2003, during the worst blackout in U.S. history; power lines were taken down by trees, which led to a cascading failure. This left an estimated 55 million people without power, as well as an estimated 6 billion dollar business loss. It can also be caused from routine operation of changing out a piece of faulty equipment, which led to a blackout, leaving 7 million people in the dark.

Why is there such a propensity for failure? There are multiple reasons. Much of our electric grid is fifty years old or older, running on parts with a thirty to thirty five year life expectancy. There are power plants that cost millions of dollars to build and no one inside America even builds them anymore. Another reason is, there are interlinked dependencies that no one seems to understand. In both of the blackouts that I linked above, there was a failure that shouldn’t have bled into others, but did.

Another reason is our insatiable appetite for electricity and the things it powers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from an eco-hippie, but there is a ton of juice being used to power “fluff”, even when it is not on. It seems like every year there are rolling brownouts due to supply not meeting demand.

The article U.S. Electric Grid Is Reaching the End Game goes into great detail on the problems of our failing infrastructure. If you’re interested in more information, it is worth the read.
 
 
What are the dangers?

As I mentioned above, weather is a cause; in fact it’s probably the biggest cause. I wrote an article on another threat called EMP’s, Solar Flares and CME’s. I explain what these events are and how much of a danger I think they actually are. There are always things getting old and breaking down, as commented on in Recent Blackout Highlights Nation’s Aging Electricity Grid and in Aging Gas Pipes at Risk of Erupting Nationwide.

Another threat I think is very real is from other countries hacking into our grid. China and Russia hack into US power grid This doesn’t have to do with our electrical grid, but most recently Foreign hackers targeted U.S. water plant in apparent malicious cyber attack.
 
 
What Can We Do?

We can take responsibility for what we use and how much we use it. I’m not saying unplug everything that isn’t in use, though for some items that might not be a bad idea. Turning off lights that aren’t in use, or turning the PC off if it’s not going to be used for an extended period can’t hurt. Don’t tell me about the hibernate feature; I’m pretty sure the devil invented that right after software user agreements and hold music.

We can also provide some of our own electricity at whatever level we can afford. If that’s a full scale solar panel system, wind turbine or a portable generator to provide off grid electricity, so be it. I can’t afford to do a full scale solar panel system, but I have thought about getting a small panel and battery to learn the ropes and scale up slowly.

If you have any other ideas that we can do, please post them in the comments.

 
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Filed Under: Energy/Power, Signs of the Times

Prepared Christian Review of: Allen Company Shooting Glasses

January 26, 2012 by

When I began shooting, I bought ear muffs and the cheapest clear safety goggles I could find. I had seen other shooters using the tinted glasses and didn’t think I would like the yellow or red tint. That was until I went shooting with a friend who let me try his pair of yellow tinted glasses on. I could not believe how much they made things pop out. The tint did take a little bit to get used to, but it was worth it. I purchased the Allen Company Adult Blade 4 Lens Style Combo Case (Clear, Red, Yellow, Smoke). If you’re looking for eye protection, I recommend these. I have seen other more expensive shooting eye protection and they often only come in the one tint. I like the ability to change the lenses out, which is fairly easy and straight forward.

Filed Under: Reviews

What Would You DO? Unemployed neighbors can’t afford food

January 25, 2012 by

The economy is much worse than it is now. The Dow has all but crashed and the unemployment rate is over 20%. You’re fortunate to still have your job, but you know a family down the road is struggling. Both parents have been unemployed for a couple of months. The man is too proud to ask for help but his wife mentions in passing that she is afraid and doesn’t know what they’ll do for groceries next week.

Disclaimer: I am not asking the following question for you to decide if you’ll be charitable or not. I’m asking it to get you thinking about how you might discreetly be charitable, if you so choose.

With the unemployment rate as bad as it is right now, there could very well be more than one family in your neighborhood who is going hungry. If you share overtly, there may be many more who request your help. I touch on this type of thinking in the article I called Being Gray.

So, what would you do?

(Check the comments section to see my and anyone else’s thoughts as well as add your own.)

 
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Preparedness Tip: Biannual Inspections

January 24, 2012 by

Here are some things that should be checked biannually and daylight savings is a convenient reminder.

• Smoke detectors. The batteries are most likely still good, so use them in a remote or some other non-life saving item. Put new ones in the smoke detectors.

•All Kits; change out any seasonal clothing, rotate food if needed.

•Flash lights, if you keep the batteries in the flashlights then makes sure they haven’t started to corrode and make sure the flashlight still works. Another way to keep the batteries near the flashlight but not inside it is to put them in a plastic bag and secure the bag to the flashlight with a rubber-band.

• If you have a generator then this would be a good time to exercise it and do any routine maintenance.

Can you think of anything else that should be done twice a year that could be done at daylight savings time change? If so please add a comment!

 
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Duct Tape and Plastic?

January 23, 2012 by

I think many of us remember post 9-11 when word was put out about duct tape and plastic. We were to use this to seal our homes air tight in case of a biological or chemical event. I was among the many people who scoffed at this idea. That is until recently. I was doing some research on an article about sheltering in place and found the Frequently Asked Questions at Ready.Gov. I read a bit and made the comment to my wife that, “this is one of the occasions when we would bug out.” She said something along the lines of “What if someone can’t? What if their only option is to stay put?”

She hit the nail on the head. While sheltering in place during a chemical event is not my first option (or I am sure yours), what if the need arouse and it was the only option? This will be a quick article and will add another tool to the tool belt that I pray we never need to use.

Feel free to look at the Ready.Gov Frequently Asked Questions as I’ll just be hitting the high points. One possible reason that you would need to shelter in place is due to either an accidental or purposefully released chemical with the plume nearby or heading toward your area. For incidents such as this the DHS recommends having plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal off a room to further limit the airflow from outside and give added protection.
 
 
What should you use?

DHS doesn’t have any brand preference, but recommends duct tape that is 10mil thick and plastic sheeting at is 4-6mil thick.
 
 
Which Room?

DHS recommends the bathroom as it often only has one door and no windows and gives access to, well the bathroom. Might not be a solid plan for an entire family, so pick a room that has the least amount of access to the outside from doors, windows, fans and vents.
 
 
What Should You Do With It?

First turn off the heat or air conditioning. This will further limit the amount of outside air that gets in. DHS recommends having pre-cut sheets of plastic that measure 6” bigger than the area you’re trying to cover. As you can see in this picture, completely cover all doors, windows, fans and vents.


 
 
How long can a family stay in a sealed room? Will we run out of air to breathe?

DHS recommends that individuals allow ten square feet of floor space per person in order to provide sufficient air to prevent carbon dioxide build up for up to 5 hours assuming a normal breathing rate while resting.

Many chemical releases would be diluted within a few hours, so the direction to shelter-in-place would likely be made for a short time period while a chemical cloud dissipates.
 
 
Final thoughts:

I still don’t think this plan is a great one and I’ll only use it as a last resort, but now I know what to do and have the room picked out should we be forced to use this option.

 
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Filed Under: Shelter
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