System Shock

One subject that few of us regular folk have mastered: EMP protection. I could have spent a while condensing the information on the web site of this link but that would have been a waste of time. The author has exhaustively covered the subject. I'll let him speak for himself.

http://www.futurescience.com/emp/emp-protection.html

His article is full of links to outside sources of info about hardware involved and other items of interest to preppers. One link leads to a list of EMP myths. Very interesting stuff you won't find elsewhere.

He really covers the two most likely sources of EMP 'attacks'- a solar flare and an intentional nuclear detonation. Personally, I find the solar flare a bigger threat. A flare can easily cover the entire globe and leave us all in the dark. The only 'good' part is that we will have 2-4 days' warning of the arrival. That can make a critical difference, as we scramble to shield our delicate electronics. And if we're lucky, some shelter for ourselves.

Tool Time

Now. Ineed to bring up a subject- tools. Iread prepper forums and I see lots of posts on peoples' plans for water, guns, and food, as if that is all we'll need to worry about. I, on the other hand, have devoted a goodly chunk of space to tools.

I think that after TEOTWAWKI we are going to need our tools more than ever. I know that I'm a pretty fair hand at most things. I can build anything from a garden to a house, given materials, time, and TOOLS.  Know what I mean? So save room on the ark for tools, they can be the only ones around. You won't be running down to Lowe's if you need something. That includes nuts, bolts, washers, nails, screws, and a host of other fasteners and connectors.

Before someone comments, I know that there will be people forging nails, but will they be near you? And, will they feel like sharing? As noted above, there  are lots more that can't be home forged. Even screws and bolts need steel rod as a start. Heavens, we may have to rely on scavanged items, cause I doubt there'll be new steel made for a long time.

Now start thinking about ALL the consumables. Think about saw blades, razor blades, all the sanitary supplies, over the counter drugs, prescription drugs, car/bike/trailer tires, electrical wire and cable, and on and on. Go write a list (eek! And paper and pencils/pens!) of all the disposable/consumable things you need to live and work at whatever trade you think will make you valuable in an agrarian society. Remember: the more valuable you are alive, the less time you need to waste on self-defense!

The Short of it

I've given a fair amount of thought to this over the years. I still consider myself a beginer. I'll write things down as I go. Maybe it will help some other beginer and maybe more experienced types can point out where I stumble.

Looking back, I find that I've been making contingency plans for things going to hell in a big way for over 40 years. Watching Doomsday Preppers let me see that #1 I'm not crazy, and #2 There are others out there who feel like I do. Maybe we'll all end up 50 years from now alive and in good shape, but I have no intention of leaving it to chance.

On the plus side, there are a lot more tools out there for people like us. There are two tags hung on us: preppers and survivalists, and I'm not sure I like the connotations of either one. Let me get this clear: I don't expect the world to go to hell, but I don't intend to let such a possibility steamroller me, either. So... if you have to hang a tag on me to be happy, then feel free to call me s prepper. I surely do intend to prepare for whatever I can. I don't have much for resources, my wife doesn't believe in prepping and we don't have a lot of space for huge pantries, so this will be an exercise in worst-case scenarios.

What I'm doing is picking up a couple of items as the budget allows. So every couple of weeks, I will pick up something on my list of must-haves. Oh, yes, I do have a list. A huge one, of course. You realy do need one. Thank goodness we now have computers to help out. It certainly does speed up things.