We will have all picked up something from a junk pile or swap meet in our time that caught our eye not because we needed it but because it looked cool. [Quinn Dunki] did just that with an irresistible set of 1980s air traffic control headphones. What did she do with them? Turn them into a set of Bluetooth headphones of course!
The ‘phones in question are particularly interesting, as they turned out upon inspection to be a two-way radio in disguise. Cracking them open revealed a radio board and a logic board, and what makes them particularly interesting to this Hackaday scribe’s eye is their choice of frequency. She finds a crystal with a VHF airband frequency multiplier and concludes that they must operate there, but a look at the photos reveals all the ingredients of a classic AM or low HF receiver. There is a ferrite rod antenna and a variable capacitor, if we didn’t know that these were very high-end professional ‘phones we’d almost suspect they were a novelty AM radio from Radio Shack. If any readers can shed any light on the frequency and purpose of this device, we’re all ears.
The conversion involved a Sparkfun Bluetooth module breakout board paired with a little audio power amplifier. The original drivers were high-impedance and one of them had died, so she replaced them with a modern pair of identical size. The control buttons were mounted in the headphone’s external housing, after a wrong turn into attempting to create a custom enclosure. The result is a rather novel but high-quality set of ‘phones, and one we rather wish we’d found ourselves.
Hackaday regular [befinitiv] wrote into the tip line to let us know about a hack you might enjoy, wireless UART output from a bare STM32 microcontroller. Desiring the full printf debugging experience, but constrained both by available space and expense, [befinitiv] was inspired to improvise by a similar hack that used the STM32 to send Morse code over standard FM frequencies.
In this case, [befinitiv]’s solution is both more useful and slightly more legal, as the software uses the 27 MHz ISM band to blast out ASK modulated serial data through a simple wire antenna attached to one of the microcontroller’s pins. The broadcast can then be picked up by an RTL-SDR receiver and interpreted back into a stream of data by GNU Radio.
The software for the STM32 and the GNU Radio Companion graph are both available on Bitbucket. The blog post goes into some detail explaining how the transmitter works and what all the GNU Radio components are doing to claw the serial data back from the ether.
The use of chlorine to disinfect water as well as to maintain hygiene in various ways is well-known. For consumers, there are primarily two common types of active chlorine that are used for cleaning purposes: sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite.
Sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, is typically used for laundry, cleaning materials like commercial food utensils, and more. Calcium hypochlorite, on the other hand, is popularly known as bleaching powder, and is typically used in disinfecting and deodorizing various things, even cleaning pools. Hydrogen peroxide is also another formulation of bleach, though it does not include chlorine.
All three types of bleach have their uses when SHTF, so it’s a good idea to keep one or more types around for emergency situations; however there’s a caveat I’ll tell you about in just a minute.
Storing Bleach
Chemically, bleach works by oxidation, which simply means that it releases oxygen atoms that then break up contaminants. That means it’s good for a wide variety of uses, like purifying water, killing harmful bacteria on objects, and more. Not only that, but a jug of bleach is extremely cheap, so it’s an easy chemical to stockpile, at least in the short term.
Unfortunately, bleach and bleaching powder have a shelf life of only about 6 months, because the sodium hypochlorite eventually breaks down into salt and water. If stored in the right conditions (preferably at room temperature), regular household bleach could last up to 9 months, even though it won’t have the same power stated on the label.
Bleach loses efficacy over time, so even if you can still smell the bleach from the container, it’s likely that it’s lost some of its strength. You’ll know when this happens when you open the container and no longer smell the bleach.
So, if you want to maintain a stockpile of liquid bleach, keep in mind that you’ll likely need to rotate it out ideally every 6 months, which shouldn’t be that hard if you use it regularly to clean up your house.
Calcium hypochlorite (powdered bleach), on the other hand, is a little more shelf stable than liquid bleach, so it can last up to 24 months. However, it’s very important that this type of bleach is stored in the proper container – definitely not metal, because it will eat through it and could potentially react with the metal. Glass or plastic is generally fine, but you also want to make sure it’s stored in a cool (50F – 70F / 10C – 21C), dry place far away from any other chemicals it could react with.
Bleach Safety
Because bleach is such a robust chemical, you only need a little bit of it for most common tasks. The most commonly used dilution ratio is 10:1, meaning one part of bleach for 10 parts of water.
Depending on what you’re using the bleach for, you may need to use more or less of to achieve the effect you want. For example, if you use it for laundry and need to wash out any clothes stained by blood or other protein-based stains, then you’ll typically need to use more bleach (though you probably don’t want to use too much because over time, bleach weakens the fibers of the fabric it is used on). For purifying water or cleaning, however, you’d use significantly less bleach.
Never mix bleach with chemicals like ammonia, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. If you do, you will be exposed to very toxic gases.
Vinegar reacts with bleach to form chlorine gas, which is deadly if inhaled.
Ammonia reacts with bleach to form chloramine vapors, which is also toxic.
Rubbing alcohol and bleach react to form chloroform.
Though bleach is commonly used for lightening hair (hydrogen peroxide), it is not safe to be touched for very long. The longer your skin remains in contact with bleach, the more likely it is that you will get a chemical burn, which is signaled by the affected area feeling itchy. The long-term effects of skin contact with bleach include skin lightening and permanent damage.
Though bleach can be used to purify water, you should be aware that it is a carcinogen and having too much of in your water can have negative effects on your health. In a long-term SHTF scenario, you should try to rely on other filtration and purification systems to get drinking water (Sawyer Mini personal water filter, the Big Berkey water filter etc.) In the short term, however, bleach is an excellent option if you have to drink water from the wilderness, for instance.
Bleach also gives off harmful chemical odors even if you don’t mix it with something dangerous, so if handling large quantities, do it in well-ventilated areas and use gloves and a mask. This may not always be possible in a SHTF situation, but if you have the ability to take the proper precautions, you should.
Bleach and Water Purification
There are a number of ways that water can be contaminated. Water becomes non-potable by organic impurities and chemical substances. While filtration is an effective way to remove debris, it does not remove every contaminant from the water, so most people also purify their water on top of filtering it.
Water contaminated by organic matter can be effectively made potable with the use of bleach. In order to do this, you should use chlorine-based bleach, as the chlorine is what neutralizes organic materials in bleach. The chlorine oxidizes the organic matter, which kills any harmful organisms that may be living in the water.
Use 8 drops of bleach for every gallon of water to kill harmful organisms. Make sure you use proper amounts to avoid over-consumption of bleach.
When you purify water with liquid bleach, you definitely want to make sure that you’re using unscented bleach. Many common bleaches that you can buy from the store for laundry purposes are scented; however, most major brands also offer an unscented version (including the popular brand Clorox).
Overall, using bleach is a very convenient way for removing or dealing with organic water contaminants. You don’t have to use liquid bleach to do it; you can use powdered bleach which, we already said it has a longer shelf life. Another great alternative comes in the form of aquatabs (made of Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate – different from chlorine), which you can find without much hassle online.
As with storing the tablets anywhere else, though, you’ll want to be sure that they are properly stored in the bag as well. In general, store them in a plastic or glass container, and make sure that this container is not under pressure, heated, or anywhere near other chemicals that the bleach could react with.
Alongside purifying water, bleach can also be used to sanitize objects. For sanitizing severely contaminated surfaces, mixing a cup and a half of bleach with a gallon of water and allowing the bleach to sit on the surface for three minutes will sanitize it. For small objects like utensils and other things, however, you should use a quarter cup of bleach to a gallon of water.
Especially if you’re using it to sanitize cooking utensils and other objects that come into contact with food, you will always want to make sure that you’re using the right amount.
Summing It All Up
Liquid bleach and bleach crystals/powder are easily one of the most cost effective methods to having clean potable water in an emergency, but they do come with downsides. Bleach can be a harmful chemical if improperly mixed, ingested in great amounts, or allowed to remain in contact with skin. Another issue is the 6 to 12 month shelf life. However, it is also cheap, and easy to rotate because you can use it around the house.
Not only that, but because it comes in so many forms, you can store more than one kind of beach in order to properly prepare for any situation. Pellets and tablets, for example, can be easily carried around in your bug out bag, while powdered bleach can be stored in larger amounts at home and at your bug out location. Or, you can just buy good old-fashioned unscented laundry bleach and store those containers until the shelf life is up.
Because of its many and varied uses, bleach can be found in just about any household. As a simple and cheap solution to cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing, there are few comparable products that you can get as much use out of. So long as you properly store and handle your bleach, it can aid in a number of situations, especially when SHTF.
To be honest, I'm not sure if this is in exactly the right category - it could also go in Lucid Experiences, but it does have to do with attaining lucidity and reality checks so I posted it here.
I'm only just getting back into lucid dreaming for the first time in almost a year after having a few spontaneous lucid dreams over the past few months (drastic life changes led to a nine-month-long depressive episode that killed my interest in more than just lucid dreaming). Though I'd been working mostly on rebuilding dream recall because my foggy state of mind kept making attempts at reality checks difficult. My mental state is much better now than it was at my lowest points, but by now I'm not doing as many reality checks because I keep forgetting.
So, I haven't been doing reality checks nearly as much as I used to - mostly the blow-through-nose, counting fingers or fingers-through-palm reality checks. However, last night I had a DILD that wasn't spontaneous (or at least the lucidity wasn't - I attained it by RC'ing first), but I didn't utilise any of the reality checks I'd been doing in waking life. Instead, when I questioned reality in the dream, I didn't know how to check if I was dreaming because my difficulty with mindfully doing reality checks in waking life had given me a constant worry that the RC's I'd been using might stop being reliable in dreams. However, I'd recently gotten back into Doctor Who since the newest season has started airing, and my dream self randomly remembered that the Doctor had two hearts, because of the inhuman biology of Time Lords.
So, my dream self spontaneously made up a new reality check before I even became properly lucid: humans don't have two hearts, but if I'm dreaming then I can change my physical form into something non-human. So, I can give myself two hearts; if I have two hearts, then I'm dreaming. If I have only one, then I'm probably in reality.
Then my dream self tested this new "a-ha!" moment by feeling my heartbeat with my hand; I felt heartbeats on either side of my sternum: Two hearts...I'm dreaming - BAM, lucidity! (After my improvised reality check succeeded I also did the finger reality check to double check/reinforce the lucidity, which worked because I grew a sixth and seventh finger during the check.)
The LD felt really long, and the dream faded in and out numerous times, so I did the "two hearts" reality check about six or seven times to reassure myself that I was still in the dream. It still worked without fail, so if the chance that it was a fluke is still high, then it would have to be that success of the reality check was a fluke contained to just one dream in a certain context. I'm not exactly sure.
I was wondering if anyone else had their non-lucid self get creative and improvise successful reality checks in dreams before - and if these unusual RC's had worked. Even if they're just suggestions that have or haven't been tested yet, let's build a list of unusual reality checks that might work for DILDs.
(I think I'll make this check a part of my regular RCs to see if I can test it in my dreams again.)
(If anyone does want to test the "two-hearts/Time Lord" check, feeling for your heartbeat isn't too much trouble and doesn't take long, so go ahead. However, it is something I haven't had any more chance to try out, and I thought of it as a biology-based reality check because one of my lucid dream goals for years has been to transform into non-human creatures (to the point where my non-lucid/ dream self will attempt it in normal dreams), so I'd built up a lot of intention for biological transformation that probably made the check easier. A reality check concerning non-human biology probably works best if you're used to being able to transform in dreams.)
via Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views - Attaining Lucidity https://ift.tt/2qjD5DD
One of the most important things post-collapse is getting information. If you don’t have the right info, a slew of bad things can happen. You may not know in tine that that wildfire is getting near your house, or that invading forces have taken over a town or have blown up a bridge.
I can literally give hundreds of examples of how a communications can keep you alive post TEOTWAWKI, but let’s focus on the things that will help you communicate and store or share information.
Cell Phones
Cell phones are great. It seems that everyone has one. They are so completely indispensable that I can’t imagine not having one. They are basically handheld computers and with access to the internet, literally ALL of the knowledge of man is at your fingertips. As telephones, their one touch speed dial calls up whoever you want to talk to instantly.
Many people are too reliant on their cell phones though. However, those in the prepper community who have their favorite websites that they like to access for information need to realize something. In worst case scenarios of SHTF/TEOTWAWKI there will no longer BE an internet, and there will no longer be cell phone reception due to lost satellites and cell towers.
So, what is a person to do? Well, first off, keep in mind, that even without cell phone and internet reception your smart phone is STILL a handheld computer. If you put a large capacity micro SD card in your phone you can store a LOT of word DOC or PDF files full of vital information.
I have a 100 GB external hard drive that I use for long term storage of files for my laptop. It is about the size of a cell phone. Well, a mere three of the 32 GB micro SD cards are about the size of my thumbnail, and about as thick as three playing cards, and they will basically hold the same amount of information as that big, clumpy external hard drive.
So, this shows that using the micro SD cards is a very viable method of storing information in SHTF/TEOTWAWKI times. But you can buy a 256 GB micro SD card if you want to spend the money on one, a good brand costs a couple hundred dollars, a generic one on ebay is 10 bux. Hmmm, 10 dollars for a 256 GB SD card? Caveat emptor…
Also keep in mind you can have several of these cards, sure, you can only put one at a time in the phone, but that’s all you need to do. You can have several with the same info just in case something happens to one, you have a backup. You can keep several of them stored in an air and water tight container, like a 35mm film canister (remember those?) or something similar.
I’d probably opt for something with a screw on lid with a rubber seal for something like that so the lid won’t accidentally pop off. But if you have a hundred or so GB of storage for your cell phone, then you will have a LIBRARY worth of information on hand and it weighs nothing. I just plugged mine in and that was it.
That many books and papers would literally weigh a ton, yet by storing the info on a micro SD card for your cell phone you can carry that ton of info like it isn’t even there. In this way you can store information on indigenous foods in your area, i.e. wild berries, tubers etc.
You can store information on medicinal plants, how to do anything you can think of, all of this information can still be at your fingertips, you just have to process and store it NOW. You can store gun repair, medical emergency procedures for shock and drowning etc, CPR how to instructions, how to deliver a baby, how to suture a wound (I just use super glue), just anything you can think of needing you will have on tap.
Solar Charger
As for keeping the cell phone charged, a simple solar pad for charging small electronics costs very little. It also stores in a very small area, about the same size as your cell phone, maybe a little thicker. This solar charger will keep your phone charged as long as the battery is good and will power the phone long after the battery dies. You can buy one of these chargers for about thirty dollars.
But you might want to get a different charger, to make sure it will charge the next electronic item I am about to suggest.
Here is a video about using a solar charger on your cell phone. Really everyone should have at least one solar charger for their electronics.
Two way radio (AKA walkie-talkie)
Yep, we used them when we were in the woods hunting because my cousins Verizon cell phone didn’t get any reception there (my Cricket phone did). But he got a really nice pair of walkie-talkies for about $35 and they had a range of about 15 miles, maybe more.
Right now for $80 plus shipping, you can get a six pack of two way radios with a thirty five mile range! This is enough communication gear for the whole family or recon group. With several channels to choose from, you can not only dial up a channel that may be private, but you can also dial around and listen in and see if you can hear other people. You might even pick up other people that are trying to sneak up on you.
Here is a video about walkie-talkies. Even a cheap one can do the job so scan the yard sales; you might find a pair for a dollar.
The two way radio, or the walkie-talkie as they are commonly called, is a must have for the survivalist/prepper that is operating within a group. Whether it is your family unit or just a group of friends that have banded together, communication is VITAL to your survival.
And for the home base you need to have a CB radio or even a ham radio. The CB radio is what truck drivers use and can reach out for miles. If you rig up an antenna that is tall and/or wide, you can reach out there pretty far.
I remember way back before the common man could afford a cellular phone, we used CB radios in our cars and homes as a way to communicate aside from the house phone.
Back in the day
I knew a guy that was an electronics wizard and he could rig up a power linear (which was illegal of course) and when he drove down the street and keyed the mic everyone’s televisions went out. That thing would reach about 100 miles or so.
He also knew how to make it dial in between channels somehow; I never understood all of that. But he would make contact, then say go to channel 6, but really that meant go to channel 9.5. Then we could say whatever we wanted to say and no one was the wiser. The unit pictured right is the type used in a vehicle.
He even met his wife that way, back then the CB was like Facebook and Twitter. You just keyed the mic and said breaker breaker, whatever channel you were on, then someone would reply. Sometimes it would be a female, then you could make conversation, and viola’, new friend.
In the days of SHTF/TEOTWAWKI the CB radio can be a lifeline, but it can also be a death line if someone else knows how to triangulate your signal and find you. So care would have to be used if you thought there might be bad nasties about.
But yeah, I would carry a walkie-talkie in my pocket when I was around the neighborhood and someone else I knew could beep me. Several of us had them and they all worked together as long as they had adjustable channels and we all would be on the same channel, or we could click around until we found them.
This technology is older, but it still works, and it works without satellites and towers. As long as the battery is charged you are good to go. Back then they used a 9volt battery, you know, those square ones your older brother tried to get you to lick when you were 12.
But now days they are usually rechargeable, and so as long as you have a solar charger you can keep them up and running. Communication will be vital. Imagine that you are out hunting and you just feel a little safer because you know that you have a way to contact your family or survival group should an emergency arise.
Or, if you are the forward observer and you see a person or group of people heading towards your home base, then you can radio ahead and warn them. If you can do the between channels thing then you will have a more secure communication system. I wish I knew how to do that, I would tell you, but Steve always rigged our radios and CBs for it.
Here is an informative video on the CB radio:
I have a CB radio and a good antenna for it. It’s not hooked up, but in an emergency all I have to do is hook it to any 12 volt power supply, like my car battery, wire up the antenna and run it up a tree as high as I can climb, or put it on the roof etc. the higher the better. Then I can listen in on emergency services like fire and police, and any other 2 way radio communications that may be going on.
I could possibly even hear military channels; I’m not sure how that works. But anything that is going through the air I will be able to pick up. And in those times maintaining a line of communication and having your vital information available, will go a long way towards helping you survive.
In the words of John R. Lott, Jr., “More Guns, Less Crime.” I first meet Mr. Lott in 2000 when he came to testify against the Glendenning “smart gun” legislation. I presented him as an expert witness to counter every aspect of the former Maryland Governor’s initiative to restrict firearm ownership from law-abiding taxpayers.
One of the first things I learned that year is everything in the legislature is orchestrated. Everything. And the conductor is not We the People. In spite of the solid facts economist Lott put forth, Glendenning’s legislation passed. The bill signing took place in the State House Rotunda in Annapolis with the then POTUS Bill Clinton in attendance.
THE DEBATE
There was no doubt the bills would leave the House and Senate judiciary committees un-amended. This was the Governor’s “Legislative Package” for that year and he’d be damned if it would be changed in anyway during the committee process. Democrats had their marching orders and if they fell short, sanctions included not having a leadership role or benefiting by other preferential treatment of the majority “leadership.”
Politics is the epitome of “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” On the surface, it can appear to be adult negotiation all in the best interest of We the People. However, it is not at all. There are so many individual agendas it is nearly impossible to repeal any laws. Consequently, the “power” that permeates through the hallowed halls of the Maryland General Assembly does not have “to the people” as a tagline. Unfortunately, our elected officials soon forget their elected position is a responsibility and not power.
Under the historic, stained glass dome crafted by Tiffany and presented to the people of Maryland in 1902, in the round Joint Hearing room, the Senate and the House judicial committees convened to hear the second reader testimony from citizens. During the joint committee debates, pro second legislators argued for days against any and all legislation that was against our United States Constitution to no avail.
We did everything we could to slip in an amendment to the extent Glendenning sent his goons in to monitor the committee room. Lurking in the back, they would serve as a stark reminder to the Democrat members to accept no amendment. So regardless of the evidence presented to curtail the myths of “evil” guns, there was no way the minority would ever win.
The hearings on these bills lasted well into the night with 100’s of “average” law abiding, taxpayers and experts such as John Lott, Jr. showing every reason gun control is not in our best interests. The presence also put pressure on the chairman to move things along to minimalize any risk of an amendment. It was in preparation of the Third Reader floor battle that it became apparent my purpose was to don my armor every day, dodge knives, and throw grenades. We would never win against the liberal gun grabbers but our voices would be heard.
FOR WEEKS leading up to the “third reader” debate, every time Glendenning had a news conference, I was there. I would stand directly across from him, stare him down, and hope the media would report my rebuttal to everything he said.
I became his worst nightmare to the point where one day we were walking across Lawyers Mall from opposite directions; he from the State House and I from my office in the House Office building. As our eyes met, he began to turn around but then quickly walked into the Legislative Services building. I felt a bit victorious; as it was apparent, the commie gun grabber did not like me and dreaded crossing my path.
On third reader, the majority Democrat party gave us, however reluctantly, the opportunity to voice the opposition. They really were quite aggravated that the Rules required it. In their minds, it was a done deal and a waste of their time to hear otherwise. At one point, during my debate, the majority leader at the time John Adam Hurson, a delegate from Montgomery County was forced to come back to the floor from the legislative lounge, take his microphone, and debate this Freshman Delegate from Carroll County.
In the end, unfortunately, it was a basic party line vote albeit for a few Dems who were pro-gun. And I promise they were only given a pass on the vote because it was wrapped up and so they still could “save face” with their gun community constituents, win reelection, and return to help keep the Dem majority power.
The anti-second amendment legislation passed.
STATS v. FACTS
In the “third edition” book, “More Guns, Less Crime,” Lott presents the results of his unbiased factual analysis of crime data for every county – 307 counties in all – in the United States spanning a 29-year period from 1977 to 2005 (1st edition through 1998). The facts revealed show very clearly a few things.
First, the very areas where firearms are desperately needed for protection are the areas the government hits first when seeking to restrict our right to bear arms. Therefore, the inner cities where there are many law-abiding, taxpayers are the center target. Then the government will use the stats of injuries, deaths by guns including gang-related incidents as well as deaths of “kids”/juveniles under age 18 and sometimes they will include stats for under 21 in an effort to distort the facts. The Center for Disease Control also will skew the numbers in their favor.
This is by design so that they can use the murder, gang-related stats to further the agenda. We all know that in areas where we have gun-free zones or laws that prohibit the good guy from firearm ownership are going to help produce, not prevent crime.
It is incomprehensible THAT those who are anti-God-given rights:
1- Cannot see the demise of a free nation with every restriction to our God-given right. It is incomprehensible that they want to restrict honest Americans and in essence with these “pretended laws” make an innocent into a criminal.
2- Always want to blame the inanimate object and not the criminal for the illegal use. Someone needs to tell the gun grabbers hands that firearms are not sold with hands and fingers attached.
Dr. Lott’s, study also shows where there are less laws on firearms, crimes is not as prevalent. Of course, that only makes sense when no one is armed there is a better chance of crime being committed. That is why gun-free zone laws are rotten. It makes everyone a sitting duck, when no one in the gun-free area is armed and have no way of protecting self and/or others from some criminal who wants to hurt someone.
When we have no gun-free areas, and there is a possibility that a good guy with a gun may be present, the risk to the criminal is higher, and so the crime potential decreases.
GOOD GUYS with guns save lives
The stories the Mainstream media never disseminate happen all the time. At least 6,850 times a day, a life is saved because a good guy somewhere had a gun, and was at the right place at the right time, according to Gary Kleck. A criminologist, Professor Kleck does not work for nor compensated by either side of the gun debate. His book, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America reveals that each year armed good guys lawfully kill 1500-2800 criminals.
Just this past June, an armed citizen shot and injured a crazed shooter in Lyman, S.C. According to police and witnesses, the shooter was in an argument that turned heated and he shot three people in front of a nightclub. Prevented from further harm to others by the good guy’s bullet.
Other such incidents:
September 11 2016: Shawnee Kansas a woman was attacked in a parking lot, and two good guys came to assist. One had a gun and he shot the attacker.
September 7 2016: Richland County, S.C. a clerk responses to an armed robber with the barrel of firearm in his face. The robber fled.
September 2014 in Oklahoma, Alton Nolen of Moore beheaded a co-worker at Vaughan Foods. Mark Vaughan, a reserve sheriff’s deputy and the company’s chief operating officer, who used his personal firearm to wound, halted his rampage.
Shortly after her husband died in 2012, an 18¬-year-¬old mother saved the life of herself and her baby in Blanchard, Oklahoma. There, a knife-wielding intruder was attempting to enter Sarah McKinley’s mobile home. She fired and killed him. The additional intruder fled the scene..
In 2007, former cop and volunteer security worker, Jeanne Assam, saved the day at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Thousands of people were exiting from Sunday mass that day as the shooter opened fire. However, Assam ran toward the line of fire, killing the shooter and saving countless lives.
And even as those type of incidents continue, the gun grabbers continue to win with more and more restrictions on our rights. In my time, the Glendenning “Smart Gun” legislation was the…
…BEGINNING OF THE END
The night before the day that legislation was signed, I sobbed with a broken heart. As I sat in the old Maryland Inn treaty of Paris bar the same area where patriots including Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson convened and schemed the succession from King George III, I told my tales of that battle to whoever would listen.
I warned everyone I saw that night to buy guns now because the extinction has begun. The battle had left me weary. I wept for a Nation under siege. I prayed for more strength and I heard Ben Franklin repeatedly say “A Republic if you can keep it.”
On signing day, I awoke to the sound of a rotating mast of rotor blades from a helicopter batting through the skies over the harbor of downtown Annapolis. It was making its way to the Naval Academy for landing. Clinton was aboard. He would then be driven to Maryland’s historic state house.
My eyes swollen shut from the all night crying, I still managed to go to the window and give the finger to whoever was in the whirly bird. I was sick to my stomach and my heart. I saw no pleasure in the irony that General Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief marking the end of the Revolutionary War and the slap to his face with the signing of the Glendenning anti 2A legislation.
This is what we have; a political system filled with gangsters who believe they always know what is best for us, politicians who continue to say one thing and do another. Elected officials who only work to further the One World Order agenda snub facts, like those presented via the hard work of Dr. Lott, and Gary Kleck. The only way to conquer a free society is by disarmament. Any legislation that goes against our God given rights should be damned. It is the duty of every patriots to nullify these pretended laws.
My medication makes me sleep for 11 to 12 hours. I have trouble remembering to do techniques because I feel dopey. If I use a nicotine patch and B6 to counter the dopiness I find it really hard to go back to sleep after a WBTB. I had some luck with SSILD and Mild. With the SSILD I pushed my finger through my hand then woke up. With the Mild I had a few lucid dreams each week in this augusts and september then this month I tried about 10 times but failed. I'm thinking maybe VILD will work for me.
via Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views - Attaining Lucidity https://ift.tt/2CQZvUW
In 1949, George Orwell wrote a rather prophetic book. 1984 was a fictional account of a future society in the year 1984. The book was also made into a movie titled nineteen eighty four It was a nightmarish, dystopian world.
The world was divided into three major powers: Oceana (the US, UK, and the nations of the British Commonwealth), Eurasia, consisting of Europe and Russia, and Eastasia, or China and Southeast Asia. The three great powers were in a state of perpetual war with the other for control of a belt of geography from roughly North Africa to India.
The story focused on two characters, Winston and Julia, who dared to rebel against the totalitarian state, with disastrous results.
Airstrip One, what we know as the UK, was an impoverished, oppressive, dull, and rigidly controlled totalitarian state. The lower class and middle class was under the iron grip of the ruling party, known as Ingsoc, or English Socialism, who distracted the populace from their daily misery with dubious luxury items such as Victory brand Gin, Victory brand cigarettes, and rarely, a chalky, dull chocolate bar.
All were inferior products. Young women joined the Anti-sex league, whose purpose was to remove any trace of pleasure from sexual intercourse, reserving it only for procreation. It was a grim and bleak existence. People wore the same plain grayish fatigue-like clothes, worked joyless jobs, mostly in bureaucracy, industry and farming.
Commodities such as razor blades and necessities such as food were in short supply. A chunk of stale bread, and a stew made with “not-meat” was a typical meal. The state was personified by a figure, which somewhat resembled Josef Stalin, who was called Big Brother. The enemy of the state was personified by a man named Emmanuel Goldstein.
At the start of their shift, workers would gather for the Two Minute Hate, a morale boosting and motivational session in which they spewed their rage against the enemies of Oceana who were depicted on a movie screen, and then were comforted by a reassuring image of Big Brother. I found this one of the most disturbing and disgusting scenes in the movie adaptation, watching these brainwashed drones chanting and crossing their arms in an X shape above their heads.
Although people were married, romantic relationships were forbidden, and men and women could copulate only to produce children. Children were encouraged to turn their parents into the state for any violation of the rigid and inflexible rules. The doctrines of the state were brutally enforced by the Thought Police, who had both an Undercover and Uniformed division.
They watched people through the telescreen, a device which both presented information and watched you periodically, though you didn’t know when (sound familiar?) The Thought Police would fly helicopters around neighborhoods, shining searchlights in people’s windows, mainly focusing on the lives of the middle class. Dissidents were arrested, and held in squalid prisons.
They were subjected to torture, not to extract information, not only to crush their spirit but alter their perception, and submit to the state, loving Big Brother above anyone else. Some were sent to the dreaded Room 101; a torture chamber in the basement of the prison where they were faced with their worst fears. Upon successful brainwashing, they were released, and possibly executed a short time later, though this is somewhat uncertain from the book.
There are elements of Orwell’s story which are being expressed in our world today. There has been a gradual erosion of free speech. The right to bear arms is being threatened. Freedom of religion has been taken more as freedom from religion, and our words are being increasingly policed. We are all under surveillance from cameras in stores, on the street, on traffic lights, and even on our laptops and HED’s (Hand-held Electronic Devices). Many expressions that you hear are based on Orwell’s book.
The term Orwellian is synonymous with something benign sounding presented by those in authority, which is actually sinister. Social Justice Warriors are referred to as thought police, as they scour people’s speech and work to sanitize it lest it offend some little snowflakes fragile sensitivity.
Here is a breakdown of key elements from 1984, and the eerie similarities we are facing today:
Newspeak & Doublespeak
Language is used as a means of oppression and social control in 1984. The very concept of rebellion or insurrection, disobedience, or even criticism of the state or Big Brother was being made impossible through elimination of the words for such concepts.
This has happened in our world. Through the poison of political correctness, language has been gradually and subtly altered to distort and change reality, making ugly heinous things more acceptable, softening and dulling the sharp edges of reality, and changing our perceptions. Here are a few examples:
Illegal alien
Undocumented immigrant
Prostitute
Sex worker
Mass homicide
Ethnic cleansing
Slavery
Human trafficking
Psychiatric patient
Consumer
A man or woman
Cis-gendered individual
The need to police language is becoming ubiquitous. When you do a google search, a box pops up urging you to report any offensive search keyword suggestions. This is unbelievable. We wouldn’t want to offend anyone.
Why do people mindlessly embrace the idiocy? Why not speak up and say this is crazy, instead of following along? Because to speak out against the idiocy of political correctness gets you labeled as hateful, a misogynist, a bigot, narrow minded, ignorant, and other labels. Your job may be threatened.
Your freedom may be threatened in what was once a democratic society like Canada, the UK or Germany, if you do not use the correct words. There are too many highly sensitive whiny weaklings that have complained about the most irrelevant minutiae because they took offense. Then you have spineless individuals who bend to them instead of telling them to fuck off and not worry about it.
What about an ordinance in a South Carolina beach town where swearing can get you a $500 ticket or 30 days in jail. Are they fucking serious? Who comes up with this shit? This is what elected officials are concerned about? Maybe you should be concerned with real crimes and threats to public safety.
Or the California anti-discrimination law that makes it a crime to call someone the wrong gender. Yes I read the fine print, and it only applies to health care workers who deliberately and repeatedly use the wrong gender, but this is a Teflon coated slope that free speech is sliding down. Criminal penalties for refusing to indulge someone’s mental illness by not calling them the delusional title they imagine? People are buying into the gender politics lunacy without question. It’s enough to make you want to scream at the sky.
See the video below for further thoughts on the power of words:
The government divisions in 1984:
There are four bureaucracies who manage the state of Oceana:
The Ministry of Truth, aka Minitruth, whose job is propaganda dissemination. We have this with the mass media. CNN has become infamous for their distortions, inaccuracies, and outright lies. It is remarkable how small changes in the written word or inflection of the voice in a newscast can change our perception, and our thinking. Other news is suppressed, tucked away, and given minimal attention. I don’t understand whose side the media is on. Much of the content they publish seems traitorous to our nation, or intended to incite outrage, civil unrest and violence. What is most disturbing is how people mindlessly embrace what they are told, without question.
The Ministry of Peace aka Minipax, in charge of the Armed forces, or Department of War. Come on. Let’s call it what it is. Don’t try to pretty it up if it is ugly, as reality often is. The armed forces are armed. They are about protecting our nation and national interests by killing those who threaten us, or convincing them they will be killed if they threaten us. If we really wanted to be badass, we could rename the Department of Defense the Department of We Pity Our Enemies.
The Ministry of Love aka MiniLuv, A prison where political dissidents are tortured and brainwashed. This does not sound very loving. Maybe I am just being narrow-minded.
In 1984, the main character, Winston, was part of a bureaucracy which would periodically re-write the past to suit the needs of the state. He would scour news archives, deleting and changing events to reflect consistency with the current party doctrines.
Here we are now. Confederate statutes are being taken down. Streets are being re-named, holidays no longer celebrated or the names changed, our founding fathers decried as slave owners.
Reality: Our Founding Fathers and ancestors were not perfect. They were flawed and imperfect human beings, following the social norms of the time, and eventually changing those norms. They owned slaves as most people did who had any wealth.
Slavery has been practiced throughout history, including the enslavement of Africans in America. Note that slavery also ended due to the effort of White Republican men. Instead of trying to rewrite or erase the past, preserve it. Let it demonstrate how far our nation has progressed, correcting injustices.
The correction of injustice is historically a process; it is an unsteady series of changes and improvement. Celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday that commemorates a peaceful gathering and feast between colonists and Native Americans. Some states have substituted it with Indigenous People Day.
Like the Aztecs who practiced human sacrifice and beheaded prisoners of war? Like the Comanche who fought against their neighbors for territory, tortured captives, raped women? Here is a historical reality: Native Americans are human beings. Human beings are warlike and aggressive. The Native Americans were not all peaceful and living in harmony with nature until the evil white European Christians came and slaughtered them. They were making inter-tribal war and slaughtering each other before Columbus arrived. Learn History everyone.
The Telescreen
The telescreen was a media device that was present in all public buildings, and all citizens had one in their homes. It was always on. It broadcast propaganda and mandatory calisthenics classes among other content. People would watch the telescreen, but you never knew when a member of the Thought Police or another government official on the other end was watching you.
See the Ted Talk below as the importance of privacy:
Big Brother
Big Brother is a figurehead, the symbol of the state, ruggedly handsome, with a thick mustache, and a countenance that promises fatherly protection to friends, and brutal and certain death to enemies. In the world of 1984, his face is on posters on every corner, and appears reassuringly during the aforementioned two-minute hate.
No one has ever seemed to actually see him, and it is unclear if this man even exists, or lived at one time and is deceased. We see similarities with the regime of Kim Jong-Un. To the oppressed, victimized and isolated people of North Korea, he is regarded as a semi-divine being, who has supernatural powers, and loyalty to him must be absolute.
The Two Minutes Hate
Liberals scream at the sky to protest a democratically elected president, a year after he was elected. In the video below, a pallid, hideous, ghastly woman with a vacant stare is screaming repeatedly and holding her middle fingers high during a trump rally. She looks possessed. I worked with the seriously and chronically mentally ill for the five years early in my career.
They heard voices, saw things that were not there, had little in the way of coping skills, and were largely disabled. At their very worst I never saw any of them behave the way this woman did. She really personified the definition of unhinged and deranged, as they are being called. They do not appear capable of rational thought.
Take a look at this video:
Thought Police & Thought crime
It’s here. We have our thoughts, expressed as our words, being scrutinized. On social media we are tried and found guilty and sentenced in seconds. Free speech is being suppressed.
Conclusion
1984 was a fictional look at a very disturbing world, and a warning not to let our world regress to that state. It is about remaking reality, twisting, yanking, and distorting objective reality so it better suits one’s individual preference. Read the book, see the movie, and think for yourself. Spread the word to anyone who will listen, as Western civilization and our nation are in trouble.
Ham radio operators bouncing signals off the moon have become old hat. But a ham radio transmitter on the Chinese Longjiang-2 satellite is orbiting the moon and has sent back pictures of the Earth and the dark side of the moon. The transceiver’s main purpose is to allow hams to downlink telemetry and relay messages via lunar orbit.
While the photo was received by the Dwingeloo radio telescope, reports are that other hams also picked up the signal. The entire affair has drawn in hams around the world. Some of the communications use a modulation scheme devised by [Joe Taylor, K1JT] who also happens to be a recipient of a Nobel prize for his work with pulsars. The Dwingeloo telescope has several ham radio operators including [PA3FXB] and [PE1CHQ].
You can find technical particulars about the satellite on its web page. There are also GNU Radio receivers and information about tracking. If you want to listen in, you’ll need some gear, but it looks very doable. The same page details several successful ham radio stations including those from [PY2SDR], [CD3NDC], [PY4ZBZ], [N6RFM], and many others. While the Dwingeloo telescope is a 25-meter dish, most of the stations have more conventional looking Yagi or helical antennas.
If your Mandarin is up to it, there is live telemetry on that page, too. You might have more luck with the pictures.
For working conventional satellites, you often need an agile antenna. We suspect the lunar orbiting satellite appears to move less, but you’ll have other problems with more noise and weak signals. Although hams have been bouncing signals off the moon for decades, they’ve only recently started bouncing them off airplanes.
Energy bars, aka power bars, aka food bars, are small rectangular, nutritious, palatable, have a long shelf life, are simple to prepare, and are easy to carry. The recipes I have presented below make use of several common ingredients; peanut butter, wheat bran, wheat germ, protein powder, and honey. Here are five recipes for delicious, nutrient dense, calorie dense food bars.
1) Krispy Meal Replacement Bars
I miss Carnation Instant Breakfast bars. They were delicious, inexpensive and convenient. Why must companies stop making products that are so good? Dedicated foodies may start a petition to bring back discontinued favorites, but until then, take the initiative and come up with substitute recipes. Here is my version:
One packet of Carnation French Vanilla instant breakfast mix, or chocolate, or strawberry, flavor instant breakfast mix. Or mix all three flavors together. Why not?
½ cup Peanut butter
½ cup Milk or Dark chocolate chips
½ cup honey
¼ cup oat bran or wheat germ
Preparation:
Melt honey over low heat in a heavy bottomed pan. Stir in peanut butter. Turn the heat off, and it is time to move fast. Add in the packets of carnation instant breakfast, the oat bran, and chocolate chips, a and Rice Crisp cereal. Press into baking dish, and let it harden in the freezer.
Shelf life: These bars will remain fresh and edible for months if kept at refrigerator temperatures of around 45 degrees F. They will be edible for a week or more at room temperature, but will soften. These bars are also fragile and prone to breaking and crumbling, but will still be edible.
2) Morning Oatmeal Bars
These are very simple, no bake, delicious chewy oat bars, and are packed with nutrients. They are also calorie dense, and intended as either an emergency food, or a meal replacement bar. This recipe will provide fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates, and numerous vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
I used a five grain hot cereal mix for the bars I photographed below, but oats, wheat flakes, rye flakes, barley flakes, or any combination thereof will work. You could also get some good results using a few packets of good quality instant oatmeal.
Ingredients:
1 cup Oats or other whole grain flakes
¼ cup Honey
½ cup Peanut butter
½ cup Chocolate chips
½ cup any combination of raisins, golden raisins, and/or dried cranberries
Preparation:
Heat a heavy bottomed pan over low heat. Put honey in pan and let it liquefy. Stir in the peanut butter. Stir in the chocolate. Turn the heat off. Now you will have to work fast as the mix will harden rapidly, similar to epoxy setting once it is mixed. Add the raisins, cranberries and oats, and mix together. Place onto the oiled cookie sheet. Spread it out evenly. Place the pan in the freezer for an hour or so, then remove and cut into bars or squares.
Shelf life: This will keep for months in the fridge or temperatures around 45 degrees F. They will be edible for a week or more at room temperature, but will soften.
3) Vanilla- Lemon Hard Tack
Some of the recipes here are not actually bar shaped, but they fit the criteria listed in the introduction. (You could call a cracker/cookie an energy disc). This is ahealthier and better tasting cracker- cookie version of the infamous Civil war era hard tack biscuit.
In addition to provide an indefinite shelf life food source, the original hardtack could be hurled at the enemy to cause massive blunt force trauma, or used as a trauma plate to stop large caliber rounds, or shrapnel from artillery. I exaggerate slightly. Seriously, the original, two ingredient recipe yields a hard giant cracker. It is tasteless, and typically has to be dipped in coffee, tea or soup to make it edible. Saltines or oyster crackers are the modern descendant of hardtack. This recipe adds two other ingredients to give it a sweeter, vanilla and lemon flavor. It is still rock hard, and long lasting, but also much more nutritious.
1 packet of Carnation French Vanilla Instant breakfast mix, or Vanilla Whey Protein powder
2 packets Myer’s Lemon flavored
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Oil a cookie sheet. Mix Bisquick, protein powder, and Myers Lemon EmergenC together, gradually add water until you reach a thick, doughy consistency. Go easy with the water; you will need less than you think. Oil your hands lightly, and pinch off a piece of the dough. Roll into balls and place on the oiled cookie sheet. Place in the oiled cookie sheet. Press the balls flat and Stick with a fork, making a pattern if you want to get creative. Lower the oven temperature and bake for 45 minutes at 200 degrees, or until the crackers harden and dry out.
Shelf life: At least months if you keep them dry; probably longer.
Bonus recipe: Protein Pancakes
OK, these are not bars, but they can be folded up and eaten cold. They are also delicious of course served hot with maple syrup and butter. Use the real stuff from Vermont and Quebec, not that horrid artificial maple flavored, artificial-colored High Fructose Corn Syrup – syrup. The batter can also be baked in the oven in a skillet at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes to make a simple but nutritious cake. You could cut the cake into bars if you must.
Milk or water to reach desired consistency. The thinner the batter, the thinner the pancake. Try using dark beer or cider for a different taste. The carbonation in the beer will also make for a fluffier pancake if you give it a little time to rise.
Preparation:
Mix all dry ingredients, and add liquid. Whisk together thoroughly. Let the batter sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, covered with a clean dishtowel or paper towel for best results, e.g., nice fluffy pancakes. Pour spoons of batter on to a hot oiled or non-stick griddle or pan. Cook on one side until you see bubbles in the batter. Carefully flip over and finish cooking. Serve with butter and maple syrup, or add apricot or raspberry jam, and roll up.
Shelf life: The prepared pancakes will keep for a day or two. The best way to extend the shelf life is to store the dry ingredients in a Ziploc bag. The contents can be mixed with whatever liquid you have on hand, whether water, milk, cider or beer when you are ready to make the cakes.
Conclusion
As you may have noticed throughout, I am very critical of poor quality ingredients. It is a fallacy that if you blend enough stuff together you can make it tastes good. Use the best quality ingredients you can get and the finished product will taste best. You will not need any correcting with sweeteners or flavorings to make a recipe edible. The idea of making things from scratch is quality control, you know what you are eating, and can put together something highly nutritious.
We are used to imagining radio telescopes as immense pieces of scientific apparatus, such as the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, or the Lovell telescope in the UK. It’s a surprise then that they can be constructed on a far more modest sale using off-the-shelf components, and it’s a path that [Gonçalo Nespral] has taken with his tiny radio telescope using a satellite dish. It’s on an azimuth-elevation mount using an Ikea lazy susan and a lead screw, and it has a satellite TV LNB at the hot end with a satellite finder as its detector.
So far he’s managed only to image the wall of his apartment, but that clearly shows the presence of the metal supporting structure within it. Taking it outdoors has however not been such a success. If we wanted to hazard a guess as to why this is the case, we’d wish to look at the bandwidth of that satellite finder. It’s designed to spot a signal from a TV broadcast bird over the whole band, and thus will have a bandwidth in the hundreds of MHz and a sensitivity that could at best be described as a bit deaf. We hope he’ll try a different path such as an RTL-SDR in the future, and we look forward to his results.
Most civilized nations ban the use of landmines because they kill indiscriminately, and for years after they are planted. However, they are still used in many places around the world, and people are still left trying to find better ways to find and remove them. This group is looking at an interesting new approach: using ground-penetrating radar from a drone [PDF link]. The idea is that you send out a radio signal, which penetrates into the ground and bounces off any objects in there. By analyzing the reflected signal, so the theory goes, you can see objects underground. Of course, it gets a bit more complicated than that (especially when signals get reflected by the surface and other objects), but it’s a well-established technique even though this is the first time we’ve seen it mounted on a drone. It’s a great idea: the drone allows you to have the transmitting and receiving antennas separated with both mounted on pole extensions, meaning that the radio platform can move. Combined with a pre-planned flight, and we’re looking at a system that can fly over an area, scan what is under the ground, and store the data for analysis.
This team includes [J. Rodriguez], [C. Castiblanco] [I. Mondragon] and [J. Colorado] at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotoa, Colombia. This team attached an Ettus URP B210 SDR card with two Vivaldi antennas to an Astec Firefly drone, linked via WiFi to a Linux server for the heavy data analysis in GNURadio. The two antennas were located on either side of the drone, attached to a crossbar that separated them and also held the Ettus SDR device.
The trials on the device look promising: the team was able to detect several metal objects in a number of different soil types. The soil type and moisture level is a big part of the problem here: it affects the transmission of the radio signal, and thus the object detection. It’s a promising project that has potential: as the writers note, the use of an SDR system means that the radio detection system can be reconfigured, literally, on the fly. That means it could be adapted to different soil types, and even to detect different sized objects.
AI is currently popular, so [Chirs Lam] figured he’d stimulate some interest in amateur radio by using it to pull call signs from radio signals processed using SDR. As you’ll see, the AI did just okay so [Chris] augmented it with an algorithm invented for gene sequencing.
His experiment was simple enough. He picked up a Baofeng handheld radio transceiver to transmit messages containing a call sign and some speech. He then used a 0.5 meter antenna to receive it and a little connecting hardware and a NooElec SDR dongle to get it into his laptop. There he used SDRSharp to process the messages and output a WAV file. He then passed that on to the AI, Google’s Cloud Speech-to-Text service, to convert it to text.
Despite speaking his words one at a time and making an effort to pronounce them clearly, the result wasn’t great. In his example, only the first two words of the call sign and actual message were correct. Perhaps if the AI had been trained on actual off-air conversations with background noise, it would have been done better. It’s not quite the same issue, but we’re reminded of those MIT researchers who fooled Google’s Inception image recognizer into thinking that a turtle was a gun.
Rather than train his own AI, [Chris’s] clever solution was to turn to the Smith-Waterman algorithm. This is the same algorithm used for finding similar nucleic acid sequences when analyzing genes. It allowed him to use a list of correct call signs to find the best match for what the AI did come up with. As you can see in the video below, it got the call signs right.
Tweaking your bug out bag is a never-ending endeavor. The more you learn, the more you add and remove items, the goal being to make it more lightweight, more functional and more tuned to your unique situation and the disasters you’re prepping for.
Today we’re going to talk about some of the things you may not have considered before for your bug out bag, but given the wide variety of scenarios and real dangers that await you on your evacuation journey, it’s worth cross-checking this list to your existing BOB and your priorities.
#1. Nail Clippers
Nail clippers should be a part of anyone’s hygiene kit. Few preppers consider how long their nails will grow in a couple of weeks. Not only it’s unhygienic, it’ll annoy the shit out of you.
Plus, consider many nail clippers have an additional 1 or 2 small knives in them, and that’s always useful.
#2. Binoculars
One of the problems you’re going to have as you move along to your bug out location is people. You want to know in advance whether an area is safe to move through, so a pair of suitable hunting binoculars is going to be useful, or you can opt for a monocular, because it’s more compact and lightweight.
#3. A Respirator Mask
N95 or, better yet, N99 respirator masks could be a lifesaver in an emergency. You don’t know the kind of air you’ll be forced to breathe, maybe you’re running away from a volcano, maybe there’s an airborne pathogen you want to avoid. Respirator masks are pretty cheap on Amazon, they are lightweight, so there’s no reason not to add one in your bug out bag.
#4. A Pair of Small Scissors
Since multi-tools don’t have them, you should definitely add a pair in your backpack, for things such as cutting cloth or a bandage, and many more things. They’re also useful as puncturing devices.
#5. Sunscreen
If you ever hiked through the sun for a prolonged period of time, you know how detrimental this can be to your face and body. You can skip this if you don’t get burnt that easily, and if you pack a bandana or a hat that can keep the sun away, but if you live in or near the desert, or if your skin is more sensitive, it would probably be a good idea to have it.
#6. Mosquito Net
Keeping insects at bay in the wild is going to be difficult. You can’t carry enough spray to last you several weeks, it’s going to be heavy. And when you finish it, then what?
A mosquito net will last you indefinitely provided you keep it intact.
#7. Floss
Not only is floss good for cleaning your teeth, you can use floss to tie things together, make traps for small game, and dozens of other uses.
#8. Poncho
I have one in my BOB and it’s great, because it replaces the need for a tarp and a jacket. It’s useful to keep you warm in chilly and windy conditions, and, while not as big as a tarp, you can use it to sit on when you take a break. You can even use it to help make shelter by blocking a side of the shelter that you either want windproof, or to help trap the heat from your outdoor fire.
Wrap-Up!
I know this isn’t a long list, but keep in mind the point was to show you some of the items that are most often overlooked by preppers.
Do you have a bug out bag item you added after a few years, and wished you had done so sooner? Tell us what it was in a quick comment below.
In today’s increasingly degenerate, sensitive society full of a growing number of soft weakling men, and uptight angry women, the threshold for what is traumatizing has been lowered, and the definition of trauma has been grossly expanded.
13 children held prisoner for years, allowed to shower only once a year, and chained, starved and beaten. They were held prisoner by their “mother and father”.
What an insult to those who truly suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and have experienced life changing events. PTSD changes one’s view of the world, themselves, and others. PTSD rips away any prior sense of safety. Children are born innocent, and ideally psychologically attach to their mothers securely.
According to psychologist Erik Erikson, the first 18 months of life or so are critical to develop a sense of fundamental trust in the world, as we are helpless infants, totally reliant on our caregivers for our survival needs. If these needs are unmet in a timely manner, we are fed kept clean, warm, and dry, infants feel a basic sense of emotional safety, which prepares us to navigate subsequent stages of development, and become well adjusted, functioning adults.
Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud held a similar view, but was more metaphoric, referring to the first 18 months of life as the oral stage of development, in which the infants focus was on stimulation of the oral cavity, distressed when the oral needs were not met, and comforted when they received the nipple or bottle.
According to Freud, some men never outgrow these needs, they just project them elsewhere. Thus the male fascination with places like Hooters. Again, when the infant’s needs are met, they develop a sense of safety, and are prepared to reach subsequent developmental milestones and become functioning adults, able to Work and Love as Freud said.
Most people walk around with a degree of denial of reality and the illusion of safety. This is a deeply ingrained coping mechanism that allows us to leave the house and go out in the world every day. It is necessary to function as an adult. When these fundamental needs are not met in infants and children, or if they are later torn out and forcibly removed by life events, the result is PTSD.
Causes
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs when a person is exposed to an event, or series of events, in which they believe they are in danger of death or serious injury. This can be a one-time only event, such as, or a series of events such as People with PTSD can develop a view of the world which leads them to compulsively seek out similar situations which traumatize them, and replay events in real time, trying to gain mastery over the trauma. This often results not in mastery, but in further trauma, which is termed complex PTSD.
PTSD can result from:
Combat
Rape
Bullying
Child abuse
Natural disasters
Industrial accidents
Assault
People will consume alcohol and abuse drugs in a vain effort to shut off the psychological pain. People will sink into depression and become suicidal, self-isolate, or cave dwell, in an effort to shut out the world and reduce it something manageable, because the world just feels to big.
They can’t sleep; because they don’t feel safe, when they finally sleep from exhaustion, it is a fitful sleep interrupted by nightmares. Woe to anyone who sneaks up on somebody with PTSD; there will be an exaggerated startle response and a defensive response. More than one relationship has ended because someone thought it would be funny to sneak up on their lover and surprise them, only to get back handed, or kicked.
The potential for PTSD in the event of societal collapse
People with PTSD will be re-traumatized. About 15 to 25% of the people exposed to the event will later develop PTSD. In a local, regional, or nationwide disaster, there will be many cases of psychological as well as physical trauma.
Prevention: Mindset & CISD/CISM
CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) is a form of brief psychotherapy which takes places shortly after a potentially traumatizing event. It is used for police, Fire, EMS, military, and civilians who have been held hostage, or been involved in a mass casualty event such as a building collapse or natural disaster.
It may be done in a small group setting, or individually. It will be facilitated by a mental health professional, and anyone who was involved in the potentially traumatizing event will be in attendance. Attendance can be either mandated as a job requirement, or voluntarily.
The purpose of CISD is to process the event, get information on what to anticipate in the weeks or months ahead in terms of emotions, thoughts and behaviors, get a list of Do’s and Don’ts which can either minimize or exacerbate ones response to the trauma, and where to go for follow up. CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) is a more comprehensive and broader approach to managing trauma long term.
A change in mindset is crucial to both preventing and successfully deals with trauma. Is PTSD a curse? Or is it somehow a blessing? The answer is it can be both, or it can be one or the other. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is about change. People with PTSD are haunted. But they are also acutely aware and more in touch with their surroundings.
Their senses and awareness has been honed to a fine edge in the crucible of their suffering. They are people watchers, they are more alert and observant, and can detect danger when other people are oblivious. While the trauma was costly, it also opened the eyes of the sufferer to a whole different facet of reality that most people miss.
Treatment
Therapy Psychotherapy with a therapist experienced in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, sleep disorders, and drugs and alcohol. Methods called exposure therapy and systematic desensitization are the gold standards in treatment. Psychotherapy can also help you understand PTSD, integrate what you have experienced into your life, help you develop coping skills, and lower anxiety levels. A psychotherapist can also provide a referral to a physician for medication if needed.
Meds Medication is often necessary for someone with PTSD to have a good quality of life. There are numerous anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications on the market with a long safety record, minimal side effects and good effectiveness at managing symptoms.
(Eye Movement De-sensitization and reprocessing. This involves the therapist tapping their fingers or, moving their fingers from side to side horizontally, diagonally, or vertically while the person thinks of the trauma vividly. It is supposed to help people integrate the traumatic memories and provide symptom relief. This had become a highly popular approach of which I remain very skeptical.
Therapy dogs are trained to support someone with PTSD. They are more than just great companions. They will enter a dark home and clear the house, stand between you and a stranger, wake you from a nightmare, or help you ride out a panic attack.
Social support. Surround yourself with successful, smart, sober, responsible people, whose opinion and judgment you trust.
Lifestyle changes and a change in perspective. Take good care of you. Here is something I have seen in my nearly two decades as a psychotherapist: People with long term, complex trauma from child abuse, bullying, and/or repeated molestation do not value their bodies. They tend to let themselves go. They smoke, drink too much, have drunken, insipid unprotected sex, don’t exercise, and eat garbage loaded with fat sodium, and sugar. They are a mess as are their cars and homes. This lack of self-care is about not valuing yourself. Others have beaten, insulted, and raped you. They beat you, raped, spit on you, humiliated you, and used you. They sent a clear message you are worthless and have no value.
Fuck them.
Do not believe that message. Starting today, take better care of yourself, start making gradual changes, just one thing today, and develop healthier habits. By caring for and training your body, you will experience a multitude of benefits.
What you can do if you know someone with PTSD
If you believe you have PTSD, seek professional help. Don’t wait for it to go away or get better.
Beware of quacks. People with PTSD have a treatment resistant condition, which is not quickly o readily relieved. After seeing therapists and doctors, taking med, going on weekend retreats and seminars, and still not getting relief, it is easy to become frustrated and seek out relief from any source.
There are a lot of either unscrupulous people out there who want to separate you from your money with false promises of a cure, or deluded individuals who truly believe in what they are doing, but their methods are ineffective.
His experiment was simple enough. He picked up a Baofeng handheld radio transceiver to transmit messages containing a call sign and some speech. He then used a 0.5 meter antenna to receive it and a little connecting hardware and a NooElec 
