The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 11, Issue 20
Hey everyone, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. We’re looking at yet another round of potentially severe weather this evening (as I write this Tuesday afternoon). Where I’m located, they’re calling for high winds more than anything else, apparently. We’re at a 3 out of 5 for the potential for other severe weather. Is it just me, or does it seem like every time you turn around they have a different system in place for rating the potential for bad weather?
On the work front, I finished up the first installment of a new writing assignment (non-prep related) and have been puttering around with some other stuff. By the end of the week, I’ll start digging into the articles for Prepper Survival Guide 24. We have a few new-to-us writers in this issue and I’m excited to see what they’ve submitted.
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Prepper Tip -- There are a few reasons why you might consider stashing these types of tools in your vehicle. If you’re in an accident and need to pull a fender away from a tire so you can continue driving, a pry bar could be handy. I’m not talking about the little pocket-sized pry bars that are so popular among the EDC crowd, but full-size ones.
They could also be used to pry open doors or gates, should the need arise. Same with bolt cutters being used to cut off padlocks or cut through fencing. I would never advise anyone to break the law. But let’s say you were evacuating in your vehicle and ended up facing a padlocked gate. On the other side, you can see where you need to go. If cutting that lock and opening the gate means you can get your family to safety, I know what I’d do.
While you’re at it, a supply of zip ties and some wire can help you resecure gates behind you. They won’t be as good as locks, but it’ll keep the gate closed.
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I recently reduced the rates for my Patreon page. I’ve had a lot of people drop off my subscription list in the last several months because they weren’t able to afford it. Effective immediately, I’ve dropped the prices on my Patreon tiers.
Basic went from $5/month to $4/month. Advanced went from $8/month to $6/month. Honestly, that’s as low as I can go with the rates and have it still be worth my time to write. I mean, a buck a week for three posts a week is a steal, yeah? A buck fifty each week for a post every day in your inbox? C’mon, it can’t get much cheaper than that.
I’m doing what I can on my end to make this as affordable as possible. I know the changes are small, but I’m hoping they’ll be helpful.
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I found out a few days ago that the Wisconsin Prepper Expo that was scheduled for July 12-14 has been canceled. The organizer has had some pretty major family emergencies crop up. We’ll see what next year brings.
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I’ve shared my prepping philosophy here before, but we’ve had a lot of new subscribers sign on since then, so I thought perhaps it might be beneficial to include it here for them.
There are many different approaches to preparedness. I hesitate to say that there are no wrong ones, as there are certainly some that I feel are questionable at best. But I felt it might be a good idea to share some of my own perspectives on the subject.
First and foremost, I encourage people to be realistic with their plans. We all have limitations, including physical and/or budgetary, and some are more difficult to overcome than others. But I firmly believe that there are always things we can do to move forward, provided we approach the problem with a distinct absence of fantasy. Keep plans practical and down to earth.
Another touchstone for me is financial preparedness. I believe this is just as important as stocking up on food and other necessities. In fact, I think this should be one of the foundations of your overall prep plan, it is that critical. I also highly encourage the development of so-called soft skills, like communication, interpersonal conflict resolution, and critical thinking. These are things that can only benefit you, in your day-to-day life as well as in a crisis.
See, I truly feel that prepping isn’t something that should just be limited to the extremes, like hurricanes or terror attacks. Rather, it involves being prepared for, well, life in general. What I mean is that prepping encompasses being ready for all sorts of situations, from vehicle breakdowns to the death of a loved one, natural disasters to manmade catastrophes. I believe far too many survivalists and preppers have their eye focused on the end of the world and lose sight of the more mundane, but far more likely, things that can and do happen all the time.
In general, though, I’m not so much concerned about WHY someone preps as I’m focused on HOW a person preps. That said, I have very little patience for alarmist bullshit and scare tactics that are geared toward gaining clicks and follows. I feel that sort of nonsense not only degrades the focus of preparedness, it risks becoming a “boy who cried wolf” situation. I’m also very critical of divisiveness and encourage people to understand that we’re all in this together.
Prepping is a lifestyle, yes. But, here’s the thing. It shouldn’t run your life. Prep to live, don’t live to prep, as the saying goes. Make intelligent, informed decisions, but never lose sight of the fact that life is meant to be lived. Spending your existence in fear of what might happen one day isn’t the best use of the limited time we each get.
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I stumbled on this a few days ago and I had to share it here. I’ve talked about creating a Death File before. The Nokbox is that same idea, but on steroids. The Nok in Nokbox stands for Next of Kin. Personally, I’d have done the name as NOKBox, but that’s just the wordsmith in me.
There are 15 categories of information contained in the Nokbox, each with its own file folder. On the front of the folder is a checklist of what you should be putting inside. Listed on the back are instructions for your next of kin as to what to do with the contents. There are also zippered bags for spare keys to property, vehicles, and such.
I absolutely love this idea. I’ve not yet checked out the product in person, but will be doing so soon.
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Coming up in a few weeks is the Grind-In at Bark River Knives. If you’re a knife person, this is an event you should attend at least once in your life. The gist of it is that you get to make your own knife from the ground up using all of Bark River’s materials and equipment. At every step, you’ll have very experienced craftsmen and craftswomen showing you exactly what to do. You can do as much or as little as you’re comfortable with at each station.
Bark River Knives is located in Escanaba, Michigan, which is in the Upper Peninsula. The scenery in that part of the world can’t be beat.
The dates are June 7-9 and you can find all of the details here.
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For our hike this week, we went to a nature area that’s the former site of a resort. I like this spot quite a bit. It’s mostly shaded, so it’s great for really hot summer days. There’s a neat pond, complete with a small waterfall. And it has this spring house that is just plain cool.
Survival Tip – Multi-Tasking
I know this will seem like a bit of a departure from prepper-related topics, but bear with me. We’ll get there.
For years now, multi-tasking has been a buzzword in the working world. It’s considered a desirable trait when Human Resources is going through resumes, cover letters, and applications. I mean, it or some variation of it is probably one the most common terms found in want ads, right?
Here’s the thing, though. Multi-tasking isn’t all that awesome. Let’s say you’re a fly on the wall in a high school Algebra class. The teacher is showing how to solve an equation on the board. You look around the room and see a handful of students who are texting or otherwise using their phones. A few others are leafing through notes for a different class, trying to cram a bit before an exam. You recognize immediately that those kids aren’t absorbing the math information very well, right? Guess what -- they’re engaging in multi-tasking, and that’s exactly what happens when you are trying to have a conversation with someone while you’re also tapping out a text to your spouse, or when you are making notes for a grant request while in the middle of a meeting at work.
When you’re trying to learn a new skill, if your focus is fractured, then so will be the learning. And when we’re talking about preparedness information that could quite literally save a life, that’s not a good thing.
It can be very hard to stay focused in today’s world. It seems like our collective attention span has gotten smaller and smaller over the last several years. We tend to want to flit quickly from one thing to the next, trying to get as much crammed into each day as possible. A better approach, at least from a learning perspective, is to take some time to sit back and focus on just one thing at a time. For my part, I’m trying to commit to spending at least 30 minutes a day reading books I’ve picked up to further my own education. No radio, no TV, just the book.
I know that’s not feasible for everyone. I remember what it was like when our kids were little and clamoring for attention seemingly every waking moment. Maybe you can only get ten minutes at a time. So be it. Do what you can with the cards you’re dealt, rather than lament about not getting any aces this hand.
And actually, that’s a pretty good approach to preparedness in general, when you think about it.
Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for both Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide magazines. Here are the covers for the current issues that are available in stores right now.
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