Taking a Moment to Write Something

It doesn't take that long to write something, especially today when I can dictate what I want to write into my cell phone and edit it later. I can write close to 1000 words in about 20 minutes if I just open the project in my phone and start speaking.

The problem is I don't know exactly what I want to write about at any given moment. I have hundreds of ideas and I write them down in my notebook but I don't always have the desire to write those things when I feel like it's time to write. So today I just opened up Blogger and started speaking.

Finding things to talk about is not supposed to be difficult. As a human being we have millions of opinions at any one time. These opinions are just that, opinions. Everyone has their own opinion and they don't always have to coincide. This is one reason politics is such a big field. Everybody has their own thoughts about different issues.

I try to write about things that are happening to me at that specific moment. Like a week ago I had to destroy two wasps nests in my shed. That turned into a pretty decent blog post. Then I upgraded it to a hubpage.

If I don't plan what I'm going to write then the blog posts will turn into something like this. It is more of a stream of consciousness. It's what I'm thinking at that given moment. It may not always make perfect sense but it's what I'm thinking about today. It's something that I am interested in and if I'm interested in it, there's a pretty good chance that someone else out there is interested in it as well.

They say if you want to be a writer you need to write every day. This means you have to sit down and write something even if you can't seem to put words about the project you're working on at that given time on paper. If you can't come up with something then maybe you just need to talk. You just need to express what is going on inside your head and if you can do that then maybe that will unclog whatever it is that's going on in your mind.

I'm hoping this will help me find a way to just write something whenever I have a moment to actually dictate into my phone.

Chernobyl Made Monsters?

The Christian Science Monitor stated yesterday on their website that wildlife is thriving in the landscape around Chernobyl. I think this is a fun idea. I'm sure there's plenty of wildlife there and the animals that stay there long term will probably have health issues and may actually die at an early age because of the radiation.

I like to think about this place as a thriving zone for mutations. Out of the thousands of animals that live in this area, how many of them will grow into a new creature, a new species, maybe even one that could surpass us on the food chain.

What would happen if we went into this area to see if humans could live there again and are met with a new kind of life form who did not want to give up their land. Maybe they are telekinetic and can throw things at us with their minds. Maybe they are stronger than us and can withstand bullets. Maybe they can shoot lasers from their eyes. The story ideas are endless.

A to Z Challenge: F - Fire Kits

It's come to my attention most people do not know how to start a fire without the help of a match or a lighter. This is a skill that we have lost because of the convenience of these simple tools that easily create fire.

It's important to learn different ways to start a fire. You may not be able to get your hands on matches or a lighter when you are stuck outside. The fact is you might just run out of fuel or matches and the only way you can get a campfire or a fireplace started is by finding a different way to start one.

I keep a striker in my bug out bag. I also have one built-in to a bracelet that I wear. The bracelet works two fold. It is made out of paracord. You can unravel the paracord if you need rope for some reason. The striker is inside the latch which allows me to scrape a spark into a pile of kindling. 

I like to keep a Ziploc bag of cotton balls covered in Vaseline. These are great kindling to get a camp fire started. They will burn for a minute or two. If you build a campfire right you will only need a couple of strikes from your fire stick and a ball of cotton with Vaseline and you will have your fire started.

I've seen people use 9 V batteries with a scour pad. This pad is made out of metal and will ignite itself when you touch it to both contacts of the 9 V battery. It will actually burn for short amount of time. If you can get some other tender burning with it then your fire will start.

I've seen people carrying mirrors and magnifying glasses to start a fire. It's not as easy as other methods but if that's all you have at the time it will start a fire. You should have some jute string or some other kind of cotton material that will burn easily.

One of my favorite ways to keep a fire kit together is to pack it all as tight as I can inside of a Altoids tin. I will wrap the outside of it with some duct tape to keep the water out. The duct tape also comes in handy when I need it for something else.

A to Z Challenge: E - Electricity

Electricity is one of those things we take for granted. Society has built huge infrastructures that power entire cities and communities all at once. There are even redundancies for when parts of the grid fail, the other parts will help out the failing parts. There are balances and checks to make sure there's enough electricity to provide everyone with the power that they want.

If something happens and society breaks down and the grid stops powering our communities, then we will have to provide our own electricity. Electricity has only been around for 150 years or so. People have lit their homes with candles before that or just went to bed when it got dark. We should know how to light our house when it becomes dark and there's no electricity. We should have ways to let the light in.

We can create our own electricity. We can use batteries that are recharged by solar panels or wind power. I've seen generators running on rivers using paddlewheels. You can provide enough electricity to bring a little bit of light to your nighttime wanderings. 

You can always have flashlights available to walk around at night. You can charge these with batteries, but I find the best way to charge them are with hand cranks. They don't last as long per use but the batteries die a whole lot slower than using regular batteries. You might also learn how use propane lamps or other types of gas lamps. Candles made out of Crisco or crayons have been used in the past to help light homes at night.

Electricity runs your refrigerator. This is one of those things you need to learn how to live without. A refrigerator keeps things fresh longer. If you have to use what you produce right away, you don't really need a refrigerator. You can pick your salads from your garden and eat them.

I guess if you lose the Internet, you will probably not need your computer or your cell phone or your iPad or any of those other devices that need to be recharged every day. When you're not reliant on the power grid to recharge your tools then you find other things to occupy your time that don't require electricity. You might find the need for electricity a lot less of a necessity.

You might Need it for a radio or TV to listen to the news to see what's going on and to prepare yourself for any worsening conditions that might be moving your direction. This is also a way to be prepared. You can get TVs that can run on batteries or TVs that you can plug into your car. 

It's always good to have a generator. If we run the generator it makes loud noises and then you give away your position, so having a generator has its own problems. Even if you were far away from any other people you may still find it difficult to keep enough gasoline to run that generator. You may have to teach yourself how to make biodiesel.

A to Z Challenge: DIY

Learning to do things yourself is very important when you're in an emergency situation. When everybody's thinking about their own well-being, they're less likely to come out to you to help you fix problems on your homestead. It is a good idea to learn a little bit about everything that you own. 

You should learn how your septic system works. You should learn a little bit about electricity and how your electrical system runs. You should be able to fix small wiring issues throughout your home. You should be able to build power supplies and windmills and turbines of some sort. These skills are invaluable when no one else can provide you with that kind of power.

You should learn how to trap and skin animals. If you can't get your meat from the grocery store you should be able to find it in your backyard. If you live in an urban area you should probably own chickens or rabbits. They will provide you with meat and eggs for several years if you plan things right.

Most people have tried gardening but to provide enough food for your family you need to be efficient at it. You have to be able to grow the plants that will sustain you through all seasons of the year. Know what will grow in late fall and know how to prepare and can your vegetables so they will help you survive the winter time. If you can't get these items at a grocery store these skills will come in handy.

Be able to make repairs to your home. Know how to fix a leak on your roof that way when it rains you're not sitting in a house that's getting wet. Know how to cut down trees that are threatening to fall on your property. These things can become a danger if you let them go and not having outside help will put your family at risk.

Learn how to do proper maintenance to your vehicle. It is a good idea to have a car that is simple enough for you to be able to make repairs to it. Have extra parts to replace like the water pump or the fuel filter and extra parts to make regular oil changes to your car. You should have spare tires and extra rims in case you damage your car on your homestead.

Hone your carpentry skills so you can build extra buildings onto your property. Learn how to build underground shelters and find ways to make enhancements that will increase the quality of your family's life in emergency situation.

A to Z Challenge: C - Chickens

Part of being ready for any emergency that might happen is knowing where your food is going to come from. If you have space on your property you should own some sort of livestock. I've seen people own rabbits but the easiest livestock I know to raise are chickens. They don't need a lot of space to survive and they will eat the greens you don't eat in your yard. You can also feed them chicken feed from your local feed store.

If you decide to raise chickens you need to learn as much as you can about them. It is very easy for chickens to catch diseases from other birds. You want to avoid contact from your neighbors birds or birds that you bring in from a supplier until you know the chickens are healthy.

I don't usually raise roosters because they make a lot of noise and my neighbors live pretty close. Hens are awesome because they lay eggs. You can figure one hen can lay one egg about every to every other day. I think this is the best reason for owning chickens. The eggs give you protein and many other nutrients you need to survive each day. If you have 4 to 6 chickens you will have enough eggs to feed a family of four for several years as long as your chickens are healthy and fed.

When your chickens get old enough and stop laying eggs then it's time to use them for their meat. Many people get attached to their chickens and treat them as pets. This makes it difficult for them to be killed and used for dinner. This is a hard fact of life to learn where your food actually comes from. It's my opinion that kids should be taught this lesson early. they might get attached to certain animals, but that animal is there to feed the family and they need to know that.

Have fun with your chickens. If you have a fenced in yard you can let them roam around. I've known farmers who let their chickens roam all over their yard without a fence and they come back because they know where they are being fed. The only problem with this is you have to worry about wild animals killing your chickens, eating them. They are easy prey and because they flock together it's simple for a coyote, wolf or even a neighbor's dog to pick one off.

If you can visit a friends homestead who owns chickens, this is the best place to learn how to raise them. You can see what your friends do and build upon their knowledge. If you can learn from them, I think the first-hand experience is better than any book you might be able to pick up. Learn what they do and mimic what works

AtoZ Challenge: B - Bug Out Bag

One of the basic ways you can prep is by building a bug out bag. This bag contains everything you need to survive for at least 72 hours. What you put in it is entirely up to you depending on your lifestyle and what you need to survive.

I believe there are five major things you need in your bug out bag. These items include food, water, clothes, a knife, and a way to start a campfire. If you have all of these things then I think most people will be able to survive for 72 hours without too much trouble. Can you fit all of this in one bag? Absolutely.

For clothes you only need an extra pair socks and underwear. It's sometimes good to have an extra shirt. If you have room feel free to put in a spare pair of jeans. You want a pair of jeans because when walking through the woods or through rough terrain you want to protect your legs as much as possible.

Food can get expensive and take up a lot of space. You can get creative by buying power bars and MREs. You don't need a lot of food to survive for three days. You can stick a box of pop tarts, three or four cans of beans or Chef Boyardee, a box of power bars, and maybe some hard candy of some sort that will give you that burst of energy when you need it. You're not really worried about nutrition at this point. You just want to survive 72 hours. I'm more worried about fending off the hunger pangs.

You can keep several bottles of water in your bag. Water gets heavy so you want to be careful how much you carry. You also want to have enough to survive. If you don't have water, you can dehydrate really fast especially if you are hiking or climbing. I will keep two bottles of water in the side pouch of my backpack. I will also keep one or two ways to filter or clean water so I don't have to carry gallons of water. If I can keep a water bottle with a biofilter built in then I can drink water from any river, lake or stream. If I can carry chlorine tablets I can clean water pretty easily by adding a tablet to a jug of water.

A knife is an important tool to have with you all the time, not just an emergency. I always keep a pocket knife on my keychain. I use it several times a week. I use it to cut into boxes or wedge something out of my shoe or hundreds of different things that might come up in my life. I try to keep it sharp. There are many types of knives you can carry but a pocketknife is probably the most versatile. It's also one you can keep in your pocket and no one has to know that you're actually carrying it. You can keep a hunting or camping knife in your backpack but if you get caught by the law carrying a knife that's longer than what is legal then you might get in trouble. It's better to carry something that's legal for the public to carry.

I like to keep several different ways to start a campfire in my bug out bag. I keep a lighter and a box of matches in my bag but I also keep a battery and tinfoil or a striker of some sort with cotton balls covered in Vaseline. These are ways you can get a fire started pretty easily and in a pinch. If you can wrap these items up in some kind of container or even just plastic wrap to keep them dry then stuff them in the front pocket of your backpack then you'll be set and you won't have to think about it again. The only time you will need them is if you need to start a campfire.

There are many other things you can put in your bug out bag other than these five items. You can keep a radio or some kind of signaling device so if you were stranded somewhere you can signal far distances. You can keep a compass and a map in your bag so you know your way around the area you live. You can add a first aid kit in case you get hurt. All these things are important but the more things you put in your bug out bag the bigger that pack will have to be and most likely the heavier it will be. My suggestion to you is to pack smart and have that bug out bag ready at all times and in a spot that's easy to grab and go.