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Godholio posted:Don't walk, build a STEAM ENGINE and riiiiiiide into the woods in style. Chugga chugga chugga chugga wooooo woooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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May 29, 2022 04:14
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The Voice of Labor posted:not knowing anything about first aid, but wouldn't that also suggest that hiking/hunting/saquatchin' should be done with a partner(s)? bummer to me too, because solitude and a little goddamn quiet is a large part of the pursuit Personal acceptance of solitude varies, but having a buddy definitely makes things safer. My idea of camping is too spartan for most people so I only ever really go alone anymore. I always make sure somebody knows where I'm going, the general route I'm taking, and when I'll be back so they can send help/find the body.
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May 29, 2022 04:26
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Godholio posted:Don't walk, build a STEAM ENGINE and riiiiiiide into the woods in style. Must be a Geared Shay Engine 
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May 31, 2022 14:13
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Guest2553 posted:Personal acceptance of solitude varies, but having a buddy definitely makes things safer. My idea of camping is too spartan for most people so I only ever really go alone anymore. I always make sure somebody knows where I'm going, the general route I'm taking, and when I'll be back so they can send help/find the body. Just grab a garmin inreach or something like it. You'll be able to communicate almost anywhere in the world with it. I take it even out on my day hikes in case I fall off the trail into a ravine or whatever. I've added my family to my account so they can see where I'm at when it's on and tracking and let them know when I'm going out and when I'm back.
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May 31, 2022 14:24
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I don't mean to restart the steam chat but I found the type of interesting kind of reading that I was talking about wanting to find here so thought I'd share it. I think that there's definitely "lost" knowledge that exists out there that isn't as widely held in such a technologically dependant life we have, so having some idea of what people used to do is worth a peruse at least.
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Jun 1, 2022 21:32
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So I am stocking my basement in case a major storm or something would necessitate me and my family to shelter in place for one to two weeks. Theres plenty of analog entertainment down there as it's the game/hobby room and I'm a huge dork, but If there were a power interruption I'd ideally like to still be able to charge small devices to give the kids a little normalcy and diversion. Are any of those advertised kinetic hand-crank USB charger weather radios able to deliver enough juice to keep a smartphone going, or will your arm fall off before you even get a couple percent?
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Oct 9, 2022 00:27
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It would be easier to just keep a few of those phone battery packs on hand. I usually have one or two charging somewhere, while another collection lives spread out in the car, the wife's purse, and whatever carry-on is the current favorite. We have more than a few charges worth of juice for each of us. The hand crank radio is still a good idea, radio broadcasts might be useful to hear, especially if the internet/cell towers are down. I have used it to "charge", it was a trickle but doable. I wouldn't want to do it though.
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Oct 9, 2022 00:57
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I’m pretty sure I could keep my phone running for at least a week of normal usage if I collected all of the external battery packs I have around.
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Oct 9, 2022 01:10
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If you’re planning on staying in your home for said event, why not invest in a generator?
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Oct 11, 2022 18:59
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Owlbear Camus posted:So I am stocking my basement in case a major storm or something would necessitate me and my family to shelter in place for one to two weeks. If you just want phone power a small solar panel plus a couple of small battery packs will likely cost you less than $100 and be fine for phones, but not much more
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Oct 11, 2022 20:01
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ganglysumbia posted:If you’re planning on staying in your home for said event, why not invest in a generator? Budget is unfortunatelya consideration, and the "or something" I anticipate as an outside possibility would necessitate strictly being indoors for the duration. 
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Oct 11, 2022 20:09
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Be really wary of focusing too much on the basement if you're worried about big storms. I'm not sure where you are but in my area which is sort of in the margins of both having a basement and getting tropical weather, the basement tends to be the first place to have trouble unless something really dramatic like a tree or tornado occurs. You might be dealing with an indoor swimming pool, especially if you have a sump pump you can't power.
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Oct 11, 2022 22:18
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Gonna level with you. When I say "sheltering in place for a week or two after storm 'or something'" it's my way of whistling past the graveyard prepping for something much worse. Let's just say I got iodine pills with the canned food and flashlights and such down there. I don't feel like level heads are at the helm of state, and while I don't think the probability is like... 'October 62 high, I don't think escalation to that point is as unthinkable as it was a year ago. gently caress, they put out that bizarrely chipper PSA back in July about just hunkering down in your Manhattan high rise apartment after a nuke strike; weird thermometer reading on the zeitgeist or what? I know maybe it would be more rational to embrace futility and gallows humor and just say "lol I hope a Sarmat hits my balls, I'll strike a cool pose and be an environmental storytelling skeleton" but, welp, I went and had two kids. So if the balloon goes up and we're far enough out of the immediate strike zone (seem to be) I'll wait out the worst of the fallout and see if there's anything to be made of things after that because TF else am I supposed to do? For the most part having that kind of stuff on hand if fine general prep anyway, lanterns, first aid kits, battery packs, etc is dandy if a tornado takes out power for a couple days, canned/freeze dried food/MREs you can rotate out and take camping. Iodine pills, well, IDK.
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Oct 11, 2022 22:39
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You can definitely just get a proper setup then, buried under your yard with stairs up into the basement, hatches, the works. It's a big business in luxury new construction especially these days but definitely pay to play.
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Oct 11, 2022 23:19
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slurm posted:You can definitely just get a proper setup then, buried under your yard with stairs up into the basement, hatches, the works. It's a big business in luxury new construction especially these days but definitely pay to play. It's also hilarious to me that the 2 biggest bunker builders have beef with each other on YouTube.
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Oct 11, 2022 23:36
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Atticus_1354 posted:It's also hilarious to me that the 2 biggest bunker builders have beef with each other on YouTube. I wish I knew how common bunkers are. I've seen a lot of very nice homes go up with no opportunity to install a bunker without my knowledge. I wonder if they're rarer than the sellers want to represent them as being.
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Oct 11, 2022 23:45
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slurm posted:I wish I knew how common bunkers are. I've seen a lot of very nice homes go up with no opportunity to install a bunker without my knowledge. I wonder if they're rarer than the sellers want to represent them as being. My rock Mason buddy has put in a lot of reinforced rooms with metal reinforced cinder blocks and safe doors. Nobody called it them a bunker but it's probably better quality than most buried bunkers.
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Oct 11, 2022 23:59
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I have one of those cheap amazon hand crank radio/lights/chargers and the charge function is useless.
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Oct 12, 2022 00:05
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in the event of a nuclear holocaust, I assure you the children will not be bored
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Oct 12, 2022 00:21
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Owlbear Camus posted:Are any of those advertised kinetic hand-crank USB charger weather radios able to deliver enough juice to keep a smartphone going, or will your arm fall off before you even get a couple percent? To actually be helpful something like this is going to be more useful in all scenarios without power. https://youtu.be/1tZpGncD81w Iceholepower sells diy components and kits also. https://www.iceholepower.com/diy-kits I'm going to put together a battery/solar kit for travel and a second kit that holds all my starlink stuff so I can have portable internet during a disaster or while taking long road trips. Just waiting for the right case to pop up on AtoZcases. Atticus_1354 fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Oct 12, 2022 |
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Oct 12, 2022 00:55
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I don’t mean to sound like a doomer because one of the reasons why BAF and I started this thread was to dispel doomerism but potassium iodide pills are going to be pretty much useless in the event of a major nuclear incident (ie an exchange at the strategic level.) KI is effective against a certain type of radiation that affects the thyroid and can lessen the likelihood of thyroid cancer, but it’s not going to do anything for acute radiation sickness. The best way to protect yourself against radiation is to be directly under the blast, preferably after you’ve taken a long pull off that really good bottle of bourbon you’ve been saving. Failing that, it’s to put as much distance between yourself and the radiation, which means a lot of soil and good ventilation. I thought about doing an effortpost about radiation stuff but considering how I live like 1.5 miles from the White House my plan in the event of a nuclear exchange is to say “oh hey what’s that?” and then disappear so I leave it in more capable hands.
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Oct 12, 2022 01:36
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pantslesswithwolves posted:I don’t mean to sound like a doomer because one of the reasons why BAF and I started this thread was to dispel doomerism but potassium iodide pills are going to be pretty much useless in the event of a major nuclear incident (ie an exchange at the strategic level.) KI is effective against a certain type of radiation that affects the thyroid and can lessen the likelihood of thyroid cancer, but it’s not going to do anything for acute radiation sickness. This is really the only correct take. Besides, who would want to live in a nuclear wasteland?
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Oct 12, 2022 02:35
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it's not like you'd have to live in it for very long
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Oct 12, 2022 02:39
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I'm way more worried about it happening while I'm at sea tbqh
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Oct 12, 2022 03:37
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pantslesswithwolves posted:I don’t mean to sound like a doomer because one of the reasons why BAF and I started this thread was to dispel doomerism but potassium iodide pills are going to be pretty much useless in the event of a major nuclear incident (ie an exchange at the strategic level.) KI is effective against a certain type of radiation that affects the thyroid and can lessen the likelihood of thyroid cancer, but it’s not going to do anything for acute radiation sickness. The way things are going, I don't know that we can assume that we can even annihilate ourselves correctly. I'm expecting US nukes to rain IOUs, and who knows what garbage Russia has in theirs.
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Oct 12, 2022 04:54
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Atticus_1354 posted:To actually be helpful something like this is going to be more useful in all scenarios without power. That looks cool. I have been seeing a lot of thru hikers on youtube using those portable solar panels, seems to work well for them in regards to charging phones/cameras. In regards to nuke chat, we are far more likely to seem some sort of limited strikes and not full blown nuclear winter, in which case having some iodine pills around would not be a bad idea. Especially for those of us living in and around Europe.
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Oct 12, 2022 08:11
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Jedi425 posted:The way things are going, I don't know that we can assume that we can even annihilate ourselves correctly. I'm expecting US nukes to rain IOUs, and who knows what garbage Russia has in theirs. After covid I expect that if a nuclear exchange doesn't annihilate all infrastructure entirely that we'll all be expected to show up at work the next day and just carry on as per usual.
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Oct 12, 2022 15:07
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Arven posted:After covid I expect that if a nuclear exchange doesn't annihilate all infrastructure entirely that we'll all be expected to show up at work the next day and just carry on as per usual. Different kinda mask mandate though.
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Oct 13, 2022 06:36
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To anyone here who works in EM: What were some things that you felt were critical to do in your first 90 days in your job? I'm interviewing for an EM position and this is a question that I need to answer for the prep. I have reviewing and revising hazard risk assessments and resource inventories there alongside the general orientation stuff of getting to know who does what where etc. Also looking at initiating the planning for a discussion based exercise in a field of interest.
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Nov 8, 2022 14:19
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my morning jackass posted:To anyone here who works in EM: I recently started (day 58 baby!) a new position in a role that isn’t 100% emergency management, but it’s adjacent and I work very closely with the EM team. For me, my strategy was doing a hasty assessment of my new institution’s activities, finding the biggest gaps, and working to fill them. This ranged from inadequate incident response procedures to unclear coverage in our international insurance. Having an idea of how you’d fix problems from a policy and procedural standpoint is great.
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Nov 9, 2022 05:49
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pantslesswithwolves posted:I recently started (day 58 baby!) a new position in a role that isn’t 100% emergency management, but it’s adjacent and I work very closely with the EM team. For me, my strategy was doing a hasty assessment of my new institution’s activities, finding the biggest gaps, and working to fill them. This ranged from inadequate incident response procedures to unclear coverage in our international insurance. Having an idea of how you’d fix problems from a policy and procedural standpoint is great. Yeah I almost messed a question like this up but covered by rambling incoherently until everyone seemed satisfied I hit all the points.
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Nov 10, 2022 02:12
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ihrGNGesfI If you’re not familiar with Deviant Ollam, he’s a legend in the physical security/penetration testing/lockpicking spheres. This is his latest talk about how if that if you don’t already have a lawyer, locksmith, passport or gun well in advance, they’ll be next to impossible to source when you actually need them. The legal preparedness stuff is a particularly  in terms of just how frightening a trip through the legal system can be, and if firearms aren’t your thing, he also talks about the necessity of recognizing physical threats and being prepared to prevent or mitigate them. That said, he does promote Tacticool Girlfriend and Yellow Peril Tactical in this video, so he is definitely approaching this from a non-authoritarian and inclusive standpoint. I can’t stand most youtube videos longer than five minutes but I assure you this is well worth an hour and twenty minutes of your time. It really is a foundational lecture on what it means to be “prepared” vs a “prepper.”
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Nov 11, 2022 22:18
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pantslesswithwolves posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ihrGNGesfI Deviant is really cool and yes, he's very progressive.
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Nov 12, 2022 00:32
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I know his wife socially, they're the sort of cool people I hope one day to grow up to be (I'm 44)
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Nov 12, 2022 01:06
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Hi everyone, hoping for some practical advice here that obviously has some logistics considerations. I have close family in SW Ukraine, and while they've been lucky to not have been caught up in any direct conflict, they're now starting to deal with the power and water shortages from missile attacks on infrastructure. I'm helping with money to help with their immediate needs that they can get on their own, but despite the recent fanfare unfortunately I also want to prepare them for the possibility of worse or sustained infrastructure difficulties. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic but I know it's very difficult currently to get truly accurate forecasting given the ongoing info ops campaigns. From an emergency supplies situation what could I send them that they themselves might have difficulty procuring? Obviously I can't exactly Amazon Prime a generator to them so has to be some practical considerations. I'm thinking specifically ideas that they themselves (urban / big city folks) wouldn't consider that could make their lives just a bit easier? Any research I should prioritize over others? Any valuable lessons learned in recent modern urban emergencies I should read on? On the 5th they've had electricity and water shortages (they live in your typical Soviet era block apartments which rely on electric water pumps). Luckily weather wise they're much luckier than northern Ukraine (mild winters on the coast) so it's currently +6C to +10C but still will get colder as the winter goes on.
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Dec 8, 2022 20:50
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Probably the biggest thing to procure is a way to ensure water is potable. If power goes out and there's no way to boil water without starting a fire, then some filtration system would be ideal.
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Dec 8, 2022 22:33
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The biggest portable batteries you can send them. That way they can keep their phones charged and stay up to date on the news and have communication when needed. If there's a chance of them having to evacuate a handful of water filters and bottles would be good to have. Sometimes there's water available but it's suspect due to inability to safely store and transport in an emergency situation. The gravity style like the platypus would be preferable for a family and is easily packed away in a backpack. Atticus_1354 fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Dec 9, 2022 |
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Dec 8, 2022 23:59
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Android Apocalypse posted:Probably the biggest thing to procure is a way to ensure water is potable. If power goes out and there's no way to boil water without starting a fire, then some filtration system would be ideal. This is a good idea. Lifestraw makes a good filter, including ones that are designed for small groups, if you can get that to them. Worth remembering that it's not perfect, and in a pinch, you can also render water safe for drinking with bleach. It's not pleasant (and may still have particulates), but it will kill anything in there. I think 2 drops of bleach per quart of water is the ratio. Atticus_1354 posted:The biggest portable batteries you can send them. That way they can keep their phones charged and stay up to date on the news and have communication when needed. For the bolded above, I'd add a method to charge said batteries. There are a bunch of portable solar panels on the market that are designed for this, find the one that fits your budget. I'm assuming their cell phones have some kind of camera. One other thing to consider is a year's subscription to an online file storage provider. Ask them to upload photos of any and all important documents - ID, birth records, bank records, etc. If they are evacuated, it may happen quickly and it can be tough to assemble all that stuff on short notice. Even if you can, there's no guarantee that they'll be able to keep physical documents with them. This is a real "Oh poo poo" scenario and hopefully won't happen, but a one year subscription is a very inexpensive insurance policy. (This is a good idea for everyone, there's always the remote chance your home burns/floods/etc. and you have to figure out how to access everything again.)
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Dec 9, 2022 02:38
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Lot of good advice so far so the only thing I can offer is this: redundancy. Think second and third order effects of Russia’s attacks on infrastructure- for water, get purification tablets in case the filters are no longer viable. For fire, send them a ton of Bic lighters (they’ll be viable well past the point of freezing) and some fire starters; if they can take the time to learn how to use a ferro rod that can also be good if not a good way to pass the time and a teaching point in case they ever have to make a fire with more primitive means. Goal Zero makes a bunch of solar powered battery packs and small generators that can at least power a laptop and several phones; that could be a good starting point as well. The documentation thing would be a significant priority- scan or take pictures of all family member’s personal docs (birth certificates, passport data, bank statements, paystubs, house deeds, etc.) and store in a cloud storage folder. Also a password manager like LastPass. This could be invaluable if they ever become IDPs or hopefully not refugees.
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Dec 9, 2022 08:43
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Just wanted to check in and say thanks to everyone for the great advice. On another topic but similar, anyone have good resources for learning or hobbies that would be beneficial skills in a sort of emergency/crisis/collapse situation? I feel like I'm in my early 30s but my day job is a computer-toucher so all my skills revolve around something which will literally be useless. Honestly, even if its just cosplay level hobby just for lmao cope and to make me think I'm getting prepared is fine too, lol lets be realistic. I know its some of this stuff is just more cope, but stuff like this and this kind of thing all sort of tickle a weird train-autism in me so I thought why not make use of that (obviously I know I'm not actually going to build a 3D printed forge, these are just sort of "thematic" examples).
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Dec 16, 2022 21:32
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