Can You Drink the Water from a Waterfall?

In any outdoor survival situation, acquiring water for drinking is one of your top priorities. Dehydration is seriously debilitating and can take your life in just a couple of days if you don’t have any fluids to drink.

Accordingly, many preppers’ resource plans focus on locating and gathering suitable freshwater sources for drinking. One notion that persists is the idea that water should be taken from a waterfall if at all possible, supposedly because it is cleaner somehow.

Is there any truth to this? Can you drink the water from a waterfall?

Yes, one may drink water from a waterfall in a survival situation, but it must be emphasized that it is not made any cleaner or dirtier from its passage over the falls.

Water that is comparatively clean and fresh before it goes over the falls will stay that way unless it meets contamination at the bottom, and conversely, dirty water that goes over falls will remain dirty.

This is not to say that you should always avoid or always prioritize water from a waterfall when looking for a natural drinking source in the wild. It might be entirely suitable, or it might be water you want to avoid. There is more to discuss on this matter and we will get into it below.

The Myth of pure “White Water” is just That

Preppers can sometimes be a superstitious lot, and more than most sectors outdoor and survival skills seem to come pre-packaged with a veneer of superstition and lore that might not be entirely grounded in reality.

One of the most pervasive myths that I have come across is that you should always attempt to gather water from a white water source.

This isn’t necessarily talking about rapids, just moving water that is foamy, frothy and otherwise being aerated.

Bottom line up front this myth is exactly that, a myth, and white water is not somehow purified by being bubbly. I think I understand how this myth came to be though, and it is not hard to see why.

If you were to look at two water sources, one still with a vaguely oily slick of unknown matter on top and the other moving, bubbling and refreshing looking with small white caps breaking over rocks which would you instinctively determine is more likely to quench your thirst? I thought so.

As humans we are incredibly dependent on water for hydration, and it is no wonder that every culture on Earth is completely entranced by it.

The beauty and joy attendant with moving water seems to be hardwired into us and I can understand why people would instinctively be drawn to this white water if for no other reason than its notion of purity. Too bad it just isn’t the case.

Water from a Waterfall is Not Magically Made Cleaner

Accordingly, water that goes over a waterfall is not made any cleaner by the passage over the edge and through the air to continue on its journey below.

If the water is dirty it will stay that way, just as dirty unless it meets with even greater contamination below in which case it will become even more contaminated.

Likewise water that is clean, comparatively speaking, will stay that way as it sails over the edge to sparkle magnificently through the air and splash down below. Assuming that the reservoir below is of comparative cleanliness it will remain comparatively clean.

The action or process of going over the falls does nothing whatsoever to improve the quality of the water even though it is so refreshing to gaze upon it can make one drool.

Anything in the Water Prior to the Falls will be in It After

Consider this. Anything that is upstream of the falls and capable of contaminating the water will remain in the water after it goes over the falls.

Most preppers are already entirely acquainted with the endless variety of contaminants that can make us gravely sick or potentially even kill us when drinking from untreated water out of a natural source but for completeness, we will go over them here.

All manner of microbiological life will be present in the water, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and so much more.

If you are anywhere even remotely near civilization or the activities of mankind, various chemical contaminants will be and remain present prior to the falls.

Especially disgusting stuff that can be biohazardous, dissolved solids of all kinds spring to mind, will be there, too, along with heavy metals be they naturally present or induced from dumpage or some other source.

Though you might be standing there looking at the wondrous bounty of water that seemingly never ends, you might not see the giant moose carcass bobbing by that nasty beaver dam just a little ways up the river.

Suffice it to say that this will be a source of serious bacterial and likely viral contamination in the water, to say nothing of biohazardous dissolved solids.

So even though you can’t see it, and you might not even be able to smell it in that effervescent water plummeting over the falls, just know that you have a lot of fecal-contaminated moose juice in that bubbling water currently entering your water bottle…

Any Water Taken from a Natural Source Should be Purified before Drinking

Pretty disgusting point, huh? I tell you this only to impress upon you what you likely already know.

If you have the capability, the equipment, the chemicals or the skills any water that you take from a natural source should be purified prior to drinking it in a survival situation if you have any choice in the matter whatsoever.

While it is true that the vast majority of waterborne contaminants won’t kill you and will instead only make you terribly ill with abdominal ailments to include vomiting and horrendous diarrhea, either one of those conditions will further dehydrate you and are the last thing you want to deal with in a survival situation when your life is on the line.

All of it can be avoided relatively easily if you take the time to purify any water you gather, including that refreshing looking water coming over the waterfalls or from any other source of white water.

You can use a portable water filter for the task, chemical sterilization tablets, boiling or any number of other techniques. Know though not all of them are 100% effective and a water filter is generally your best bet.

If the water doesn’t come out of your tap or out of a factory sealed container, purified, no exceptions, or else you might be dealing with a terribly upset stomach and perhaps even worse.

Conclusion

You may drink water from a waterfall in a survival situation, but you are strongly advised to filter or treat it the same as you would water from any other source.

Water is not made any cleaner by the process of going over a waterfall, and the notion that any white water is somehow pure than the water around it is an old wives tale.

You should always take the time to purify unknown water sources before drinking using a water filter or chemical sterilization tablets for safety.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/3skre9r

Illinois State Knife Laws

Illinois is a state that is rightly infamous for its oppressive laws concerning weapons and its rampant intrusion into every single aspect of its citizens lives. Illinois in many ways represents the pinnacle of government bloat and excess gone completely out of control.

Naturally their laws governing the use and ownership of knives are extraordinarily difficult to understand, often contradictory and highly repressive.

To add insult to injury there is no statewide preemption and so many cities and towns across Illinois have their own equally outlandish laws governing knives. Chief among these cities is Chicago which needs little introduction.

Even worse, sentencing for incidental and minor knife crimes is complicated and often harsh. The bottom line is that Illinois is completely hostile to knife owners and the carry of knives.

You’ll need to be on your toes, and if you are wise you will consult a veteran self-defense instructor or a competent attorney with a thorough understanding of the law before choosing to carry anything more offensive than a set of nail clippers in the state.

What You Need to Know

• Types of Knives Illegal to Possess or Carry with Unlawful Intent: “Dangerous” knives, Dagger, Dirk, Stiletto, Razor, Broken Bottle, Glass shard, “any other dangerous weapon”.
• Illegal to Possess with Unlawful Intent: Shuriken, Ballistic Knife, Switchblade
• Illegal to Possess or Carry on Public Property without Special Authorization: Any knife with blade over 3”, Dagger, Dirk, Stiletto, Axe, Hatchet, Switchblade, “any other dangerous weapon”.

General Ownership

Illinois knife laws are an absolute mess, and that is by design either through action or omission of action.

Several entire categories of knife are banned depending on what they are and where you intend to carry them. Some of them are banned if you carry them or own them with criminal intent.

Broadly, Illinois classifies restricted knives into two categories, with the first being called “Category 2” weapons or “per se” weapons, and the others being weapons that fall under the Deadly Weapons Act, sometimes called “UUW” weapons.

Illinois constantly uses such broad and nebulous terms as “dangerous or deadly weapon” throughout the statutes, which aside from being extremely difficult to define consistently are also open to interpretation by law enforcement officials and judges.

This is further complicated by the enormous amount of precedent and case law already on the books governing the ownership and carry of knives in the state.

The only thing that I can tell you with certainty is that you can carry no knife of any kind with a blade over 3 inches on public property, nor can you carry any dagger, dirk, stiletto, switchblade, axe or hatchet without special authority. Additionally keep in mind that the state law of Illinois measures blade length based on the entirety of the “non-handle” part of the knife.

Depending on the proclivities of the person doing the measuring, this could add a considerable length to the blade length beyond what the blade actually is, and it will be no challenge at all to fudge the results to put your knife over the legal limit.

As always in such places it is in your best interest to undercut considerably your chosen knife’s blade length to beneath the legal limit.

Concealed Carry, No Permit

Illinois makes no distinction between carrying a knife concealed with or without a permit. See the next section or the relevant details regarding concealed carry of knives in the state.

Concealed Carry, With Permit

Generally, concealing a legal knife, specifically a knife that is legal under the circumstances in a specific location throughout the state is not an issue.

However, Illinois lacks entirely any statewide pre-emption concerning knife laws, and that means you will be dealing with a nasty jigsaw puzzle of city and county laws wherever you go, and there are plenty of them that are far more stringent than the state laws. Chicago, for instance, is first among them.

I cannot impress upon you how likely it is that you will run afoul of local laws taking any kind of knife almost anywhere in the state.

This is a place that does not want you to be armed in any meaningful way! Illinois’ extremely vague and slippery wording regarding the carry of weapons, and the carry of weapons for self-defense in particular, is a disaster waiting to happen.

Consider for instance the carrying any kind of weapon to proactively defend oneself from an attack that might occur is an extremely flimsy defense in the state of Illinois. Said another way, you are not allowed, necessarily, to carry any kind of knife just because the possibility exists that an evildoer might attack you!

For anyone with a reasonable cell left in their brains, this is the summit of doublethink: if you were able to say definitively that you would be attacked any particular time in a particular place chances are you will not be attacked at all because you would avoid it.

Going armed as a reasonable precaution is not a reasonable precaution under the law and may in fact be construed as criminal intent!

Open Carry

Illinois makes no distinction between open and concealed carry of knives based on type or category; knives that are restricted under specific circumstances or in specific places are not necessarily legal just because they are carried openly.

Prohibited Places

There is a laundry list of places where you cannot carry a knife in the state of Illinois, and you may not specifically carry any UUW-classified knife on the grounds of a school or in a school building, at any school activity or gathering, on any public transportation including subways, buses and monorails, into any penal institution or attendant facility, into any courthouse or into any public housing.

Assessment

Illinois is a terrible state for the ownership and carry of knives thanks to abundant restrictions on type and length, a total lack of statewide preemption and an affirmative history of punitive measures against anyone who carries any kind of weapon even approximating something that they don’t think the peasantry should have.

Additionally, county and city laws throughout the state are equally onerous and staying on top of them will require a considerable amount of mental bandwidth. If you’re going to carry any kind of knife in the state it should be tiny, as inoffensive and innocuous as possible

Disclaimer

This article is not to be treated as legal advice. The author is not an attorney. Neither this website, its principals, owners, operators, contractors or employees, or the author of this article, claim any criminal or civil liability resulting from injury, death or legal action resulting from the use or misuse of the information contained in this article. Any comprehensive self defense plan will include preparing for the legal aftermath of any self-defense encounter. The reader should hire and consult with a competent attorney as part of your preparations.

Important Illinois State Statutes

720 ILCS 5/24-1

(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly:

(1) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or carries any […] metal knuckles or other knuckle weapon regardless of its composition, throwing star, or any knife, commonly referred to as a switchblade knife, which has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife, or a ballistic knife, which is a device that propels a knifelike blade as a projectile by means of a coil spring, elastic material or compressed gas; or

(2) Carries or possesses with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other piece of glass, stun gun or taser or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character; or

…

(9) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or about his person any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or firearm or ballistic knife, when he is hooded, robed or masked in such manner as to conceal his identity;

…

(b) Sentence. A person convicted of a violation of subsection 24-1(a)(1) through (5) […] commits a Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of a violation of subsection […] 24-1(a)(9) commits a Class 4 felony; […] A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subsection […] 24-1(a)(9) commits a Class 3 felony. The possession of each weapon in violation of this Section constitutes a single and separate violation.

…

(720 ILCS 5/21-6) (from Ch. 38, par. 21-6)

Sec. 21-6. Unauthorized Possession or Storage of Weapons.

(a) Whoever possesses or stores any weapon enumerated in Section 33A-1 in any building or on land supported in whole or in part with public funds or in any building on such land without prior written permission from the chief security officer for such land or building commits a Class A misdemeanor.

(b) The chief security officer must grant any reasonable request for permission under paragraph (a).

…

(720 ILCS 5/33A-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 33A-1)

Sec. 33A-1. Legislative intent and definitions.

(a) Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares the following:

(1) The use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a felony offense poses a much greater threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare, than when a weapon is not used in the commission of the offense.

(…)

(c) Definitions.

(1) “Armed with a dangerous weapon”. A person is considered armed with a dangerous weapon for purposes of this Article, when he or she carries on or about his or her person or is otherwise armed with a Category I, Category II, or Category III weapon.

(2) A Category I weapon is a handgun, sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, any other firearm small enough to be concealed upon the person, semiautomatic firearm, or machine gun. A Category II weapon is any other rifle, shotgun, spring gun, other firearm, stun gun or taser as defined in paragraph (a) of Section 24-1 of this Code, knife with a blade of at least 3 inches in length, dagger, dirk, switchblade knife, stiletto, axe, hatchet, or other deadly or dangerous weapon or instrument of like character. As used in this subsection (b) “semiautomatic firearm” means a repeating firearm that utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round and that requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.

(3) A Category III weapon is a bludgeon, black-jack, slungshot, sand-bag, sand-club, metal knuckles, billy, or other dangerous weapon of like character.

…

8-24-020. Sale or possession of deadly weapons.

(a) No person shall sell, offer for sale, keep, possess, purchase, loan or give to any person any bludgeon, blackjack, slung shot, sandclub, sandbag, metal knuckles, or other knuckle weapon regardless of its composition, throwing star, switchblade knife or ballistic knife; provided that this subsection shall not apply to the purchase, possession or carrying of a black- jack or slung shot by a peace officer.

(b) No person shall sell, offer for sale, loan or give to any person 18 years of age or under any type or kind of knife with a blade which is two inches in length or longer.

(c) No person 18 years of age or under shall carry, possess or conceal on or about his person, any knife, the blade of which is two inches in length or longer.

(d) No person shall carry or possess with intent to use unlawfully against another, or carry in a threatening or menacing manner, without authority of law, a dagger, billy, dangerous knife, razor, broken bottle or other piece or glass, stun gun, taser, or other dangerous or deadly weapon of like character.

…

(f) No person shall carry concealed on or about his person a dagger, any knife with a blade more than two and one-half inches in length, or other dangerous weapon. Provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to the following officers while engaged in the discharge of their official duties: sheriffs, peace officers, and corrections officers; nor to the following employees or agents while engaged in the discharge of the duties of their employment: conductors, baggagemen, messengers, drivers, watchmen, special agents and policemen employed by railroads or express companies; nor to persons lawfully summoned by an officer to assist in making arrests or preserving the peace, while so engaged in assisting such officer.

(g) Unless the enhanced penalty imposed by subsection 8-4-350(b)(3) or subsection 8-4-355(b)(3) of this Code applies, any person violating this section shall be fined $200.00 for each offense, or shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/3Ebtzpp

10 Emergency Indoor Cooking Options

Just because you are living in the aftermath of a major disaster or even a society toppling event doesn’t mean that the daily processes of life won’t go on more or less as normal.

For instance, you’ll still need to eat, and if you are enduring the circumstances at home, either because you decided to bug in or because the event did not directly affect your home, that means the kitchen will still be the nerve center of your house.

Unfortunately, just because you’re home is still standing doesn’t mean your kitchen will be functioning normally. One watchword during any major disaster worth the name is power outage.

Whether or not you’re stove is electric or gas that is probably going to put the kibosh on most of your usual cooking plans. To say this will make meal prep an order of magnitude more difficult is an understatement.

It follows, then, that preppers must have plans in place for cooking indoors during emergency situations when they’re usual means of heating or preparing food are offline.

Don’t worry; we have your back today with indoor options for cooking that will serve you well during any emergency. With just a little bit of prior preparation you’ll soon be whipping up proper meals like usual!

Loss of Power or Gas Means Your Usual Stove is Out of Action

Both natural and man-made disasters have a way of knocking out power in the immediate area, and major disasters can seriously hamper or even totally knock out utilities in a region.

Electricity is almost invariably the first to go, and if you have an electric stove top and oven they’ll be out of action for the duration if you don’t have your own backup power supply.

You can also kiss your microwave goodbye along with your toaster oven and any other electrical appliances.

But don’t be feeling too smug just because you have a gas cooktop. Gas supplies might be safe, more or less, for most disasters but damage or degradation to the intricate supply lines that deliver it is far from out of the question, and many municipalities will shut down gas supply immediately out of an abundance of caution.

You’ll be in the same boat as your electric oven brethren in that case.

The bottom line is, you won’t be able to count on cooking unless you have your own, self-contained methods for doing so. Chances are, you already do, in the form of an outdoor fire pit or a backyard grill, be it charcoal or propane.

However, cooking indoors is far more challenging, logistically. You’ll have significant safety and operational hazards to deal with if you want to handle it without harming yourself or others or potentially burning your house down.

This is not a time to figure something out in the heat of the moment!

Alternate Cooking Methods Can be Dangerous!

Anytime you have a source of intense heat inside your home, to say nothing of open flame, there is the risk of accident and injury. You need to look no further than house fires statistics on an annual basis for confirmation of this.

Most house fires begin in the kitchen as a result of normal cooking activity, so you can imagine how much worse it will be when suddenly you are improvising and perhaps not even cooking in the kitchen at all, ostensibly the location in your home best equipped for dealing with it.

It must be stressed that using any of the alternate cooking methods on this list entails a certain amount of risk on your part, and you must be completely engaged with the process to prevent disaster.

Furthermore, you’ll have more to worry about than the risk of accidental fire.

The combustion of any material releases deadly carbon monoxide gas into the atmosphere, and if that gas is allowed to build up due to a lack of proper ventilation it could make you and your family extremely sick, or worse.

Check out the list of hazards below for more information.

Fire

The most obvious and most devastating consequence of a mishap with indoor cooking is an accidental fire. A small, out of control fire can rapidly turn into a devastating conflagration that can consume your home and everything in it in a matter of minutes.

To say this would add insult to injury during an SHTF scenario is an understatement. A house fire is a disaster all its own anytime, and to be rendered homeless and deprived of all of your accumulated preps is a devastating loss under the circumstances.

For this reason you must take excruciating care that you protect all flammable surfaces and materials from your emergency cooking solution.

Remember that something does not have to come into direct contact with a hot surface to be heated to the point of combustion, and then anything, from a spatter of hot grease to a burning ember could jump out or off of the cooking surface to ignite something some distance away.

As always, you must have properly rated and functioning fire extinguishers on hand for dealing with such an eventuality if you want to have any hope of stopping it before it gets out of control.

Make sure you keep them handy and close, and now as before rehearse a family fire response plan.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is another major threat when doing any kind of indoor cooking, or burning anything indoors for that matter. CO gas is deadly, and it is also odorless, invisible and tasteless.

Symptoms will be noticeable as it builds up in your bloodstream, however, and begins with comparatively mild feelings of discomfort that will progress to confusion along with flu-like symptoms before victims eventually slip into a coma from which they will not wake if they are still in the contaminated area.

Many victims of carbon monoxide poisoning fall victim to it while they sleep, such is its deadly and insidious effect.

Understand that anything you burn, any fuel you ignite, no matter how clean any fishing it is will release carbon monoxide gas, though some fuels are much, much worse than others in this regard.

This is the reason why you are constantly warned to never, ever drag your outdoor grill inside for emergency usage during storm season and throughout the winter.

Accordingly, any of the emergency options on the list below must be used in an area with adequate ventilation, and you must use the strictest caution to prevent CO gas from building up in enclosed areas.

If possible, all of your carbon monoxide detectors in your home should be battery powered or self-contained as a backup precaution.

Burn Hazard

You don’t need me to tell you that any surface hot enough to cook on is hot enough to severely burn you.

But unlike your electric stove top or gas range, a couple of options on this list feature flames that burn so hot and so cleanly they are invisible, or very nearly so.

One option doesn’t use any electricity or fuel at all, but can still get hot enough to badly burn you with a careless touch, so be careful!

With all of these precautions out of the way, let us get on to our list.

10 Emergency Indoor Cooking Options

Electric Burner

The first entry on our list might seem a little discordant since we are talking about emergency options for indoor cooking, and I just spent a whole section telling you all about how your electric range and stove are going to be out of action for our purposes. That’s still true, but hear me out.

If you have any capability of generating your own electricity, for instance using a standby or portable generator or perhaps pre-charged, deep cycle whole house battery banks on your property, you might be better served simply hooking up a small electric burner for your cooking needs.

Compared to your large and power hungry stove and cooktop, a single electric burner should plug into a typical outlet and will consume far less electricity. This will make the most of your now precious supply and also streamline setup.

You’ll probably need to restrict yourself to boiling water, making soup and other one pot meals compared to your typical four burner arrangement, but it is more than enough to take care of the basics under the circumstances and one of the few options on this list that does not generate carbon monoxide in operation.

Fireplace

One of the best and simplest options for emergency indoor cooking is your fireplace, if you have one. In bygone eras the fireplace was the primary method of cooking, period!

However, to make the most of your fireplace for cooking you’ll need some specialized gear to help you place vessels over or near the flames safely and under control.

Pot holders, racks, grates, stands and the like are essential, as are long-handled utensils for interacting with your food without crowding the firebox.

This method works best if you have a wood burning fireplace, but you should be surprised how well you can do with a gas fireplace assuming it is still functional.

As always, have a plan for dealing with accidental fires, and cooking over open flames inside your home is risky business, especially if anything is spilled and ignited on the flames.

Note, just because you have an operational fireplace does not mean you are free from worry about carbon monoxide buildup. Make sure your chimney is regularly inspected and serviced so that it will perform without problem when you need it.

Wood-burning Stove

Coming up right behind a fireplace when it comes to convenient and comparatively safe indoor cooking is the wood burning stove.

Still the primary source of heat in many places around the world and because of affection or necessity the same thing in remote homesteads here in the U.S., wood burning stoves are quaint and charming but also highly efficient and practical if they are properly maintained and installed.

Modern examples in particular burn extremely hot and highly efficient, minimizing smoke and maximizing return on your fuel.

There are two ways to cook on a wood burning stove. If you are fortunate enough to have a wood burning stove with an actual cooktop, all you’ll need to do is stoke it and get to work whipping up a meal.

If you don’t have a dedicated cooktop on your wood burning stove, you might need to set down a cast iron griddle or some other improvised surface on top of it for the purpose.

Naturally, your wood burning stove is no good without wood and the best burning performance comes from seasoned firewood.

Putting in greenwood or unseasoned wood will work in a pinch but is going to generate considerably more smoke and that will result in dramatic build up of creosote in your exhaust flue.

As always, you must keep your wood burning stove and ventilation system inspected and maintained if you want to depend on it in an emergency!

Camp Stove

The camp stove you use when out on the trail or at the campsite can be repurposed for cooking indoors with a little bit of caution.

Camp stoves definitely have the efficiency and portability on their side to get the job done in an emergency situation, but they have some decided drawbacks you’ll need to be aware of.

First, you’ll be limited to heating pots or similar vessels, as a rule. You won’t be doing any baking with one of these bad boys.

Second, you’ll only be able to heat one pot at a time, perhaps two with the largest and old fashioned briefcase style models as popularized by Coleman.

Another thing to keep in mind, these stoves are typically intended to be set directly on the ground and that means the source of the heat will be very close to your flooring or countertop. You must take care to protect against burns and accidental fires because of this!

Lastly, whatever kind of fuel your camp stove uses, be it propane, white gas or something else, it will definitely emit carbon monoxide, same as usual.

Ensure that you have proper ventilation and plenty of fresh air, and considering how furiously many of these little stoves go through fuel you could be generating carbon monoxide at an accelerated rate.

Tealight Oven

Tealight ovens are an ingenious option for indoor cooking. Consisting of a lightweight, metal enclosure with a door that looks for all the world like a miniature version of the oven in your kitchen, tea light ovens work exactly as you are probably surmising.

For heat, tea light ovens except a bank of tea light candles, typically in a removable insert for easy replacement, that allows you surprisingly precise control over temperature with a little practice.

In conjunction with its high efficiency middle enclosure tea light ovens can get screaming hot, hot enough to bake bread and take care of any other tasks that you would use your oven for. Best of all, they are relatively easy to use and quite safe, with minimal risks of accidental fire or carbon monoxide build up because of their mode of operation.

Naturally, you’ll need to have plenty of tea lights on hand to feed these hungry little stoves over time, but this is likely a small concern. Tea lights are plentiful and dirt cheap, and so long as you are stocking up now you should have more than enough to get you through a bad situation.

Candles

Piggybacking off the concept of the tea light stove, it is possible to meaningfully warm up your food, and even do some simplistic cooking, using candles alone.

A group of candles clustered closely together can easily produce enough heat to boil a small quantity of water, heat soup, canned vegetables and other similar foods.

The trick is positioning them in such a way that you can safely place your cookware over the flames without knocking them over or snuffing them out. If your candles are short this is considerably easier, but if they are tall, elegant tapering candles you’re going to have a tougher time.

One easy solution is to place your candles on a pan or inside some other holder and then place them in the bottom of your oven before repositioning a rack to hold your cookware close to the flames. Make sure you leave the door cracked so they can get plenty of oxygen or they will go out!

like tea lights, this is one of the safer options when it comes to the release of carbon monoxide since their output will be absolutely minimal, even when you are burning multiples at once, but candles remain a significant contributor to the number of house fires yearly, so always keep an eye on them and place them somewhere that pets or children cannot reach them.

Flameless Heaters

Flameless heaters are chemical compounds, typically containing various metals, that will heat up vigorously when exposed to moisture. This exothermic reaction is quite impressive and is easily capable of meaningfully heating up a small quantity of food.

Probably the most famous example of this type of emergency heater is found in the common MRE. Simply add a little bit of water to the pouch, insert your ration pack and then give it a couple of minutes to heat up your dinner.

Thankfully, you don’t have to rely strictly on MREs or MRE sized portions to make use of this technology.

There are a variety of products on the market capable of heating up much larger portions inside larger compartments, and all you need to do is add a little bit of water which you should, I trust, have on hand.

This is a great option for people who don’t have too many mouths to feed because they produce no meaningful amount of carbon monoxide except perhaps trace levels, they require no additional fuel source and considering most of them utilize a wet reaction the risk of fire is vanishingly rare, they’ll never zero, so be careful.

One thing you must be cautious of with these heaters in particular is the fact that they generate a considerable amount of hot steam in operation, so they must be handled and opened with the greatest care after use unless you want to get burned.

Alcohol Stove

Alcohol stoves have long been choice of mariners and anyone else who needs a reliable, super clean and super hot stove in a compact footprint.

Using denatured alcohol as a fuel, or other alcohol blends, these stoves are easy to operate, adaptable and more than capable of cranking out an amazing amount of heat. They can easily heat food in a pot or pan, fry eggs, boil water and more.

Even better, these stoves run so hot and so efficiently the release of carbon monoxide is minimized though, again, the output is not meaningless and they should always be used in an area with adequate ventilation.

That being said, compared to other, smokier stoves with dirtier fuels these are a godsend.

What’s more, the alcohol used to fuel these stoves has an extraordinarily long shelf life compared to kerosene or other similar products, making them ideal for long haul prepping with a minimum of logistical fuss.

However, if alcohol stoves have a drawback it is that the flames produced can barely be seen, if at all. If you don’t know the stove is on or anyone else does not understand the danger posed by an alcohol stove it is easy to get burned or start an accidental fire.

Similarly, you must make sure you extinguish one of these stoves cautiously and ensure that it is completely out before walking away from it!

Canned Heat

So called canned heat, in reality disposable alcohol burners, go by a variety of brand names but they all work similarly.

In essence, they are a one shot, disposable alcohol stove as described above, and were originally designed to heat food over a steam tray for catering and other food service tasks were more elaborate setups were impossible or impractical.

For the money, canned heat is an excellent short-term option for indoor cooking and is available in a variety of configurations and types.

Burning anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, perhaps a little more, one or two of these puppies can easily heat up a pot of food in short order or keep it warm for a long time.

Prospective buyers should note that certain varieties of canned heat are intended specifically for indoor food service or buffet use, and produce basically no carbon monoxide, while others are intended for indoor outdoor use and produce a little bit of carbon monoxide. regardless and as always, the user must ensure adequate ventilation for safety.

Also note that like alcohol stoves above, the flame produced by canned heat is often completely invisible so take great care when operating them!

Solar Oven

And probably what is the most jaw-dropping entry on this list. I know it sounds crazy, but you can use a solar oven for indoor cooking. before you start dropping moms on us down in the comments, let me explain.

For those who are unfamiliar, a solar oven is exactly what it sounds like, an oven that uses solar energy to cook your food.

Typically consisting of a highly reflective metal box that is sealed with a closing glass lid, solar ovens rely on the copious radiation emitted by our nearest star to gently and evenly but thoroughly cook food from all sides.

These really are marvelous devices and though they have limitations they are one of the best, and one of my favorite, post disaster cooking tools.

Obviously you’ll need sunlight and plenty of it for a solar oven to operate, but so long as that light reaches into your house your solar oven can work just the same as it would outside.

If your windows or skylights are kept clean they proved to be very little, if any impediment to sunlight and if you position your solar oven to catch these rays and protect the surface beneath it it will cook just as well indoors as out.

Obviously a solar oven is not going to work on cloudy days or at night, but assuming your house is set up with plenty of windows or skylights and you keep them clean a solar oven can handle everything from baking bread to roasting whole chickens!

Even better, there are absolutely zero carbon monoxide emissions from this gadget.

Conclusion

You don’t need to relegate yourself to cooking outdoors over an open fire in the aftermath of a major disaster that sees your kitchen knocked offline. With just a little bit of prior planning and the right equipment you can keep preparing meals more or less as normal indoors.

The list above will provide you with options to serve any purpose in any circumstances, so make sure you review it carefully and keep your survival food prep plan on track.

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Massachusetts State Knife Laws

Massachusetts is a brutal state for knife ownership, in keeping with their proud tradition of extraordinary government overreach and invasiveness into the most mundane matters of civilization.

The poor denizens of Massachusetts along with visitors will be harshly constrained by state laws that explicitly forbid a great many knives based on the shape of their blades alone, and additional, seemingly innocuous features will also earmark a knife as forbidden.

As you are probably already expecting Massachusetts lacks entirely any Statewide preemption statute of any kind that might rescue residents and travelers alike from an increasingly treacherous patchwork of varying state and local laws affecting what kind of knife they might carry, under what conditions they may carry it, and where they may legally carry it.

There is nothing easy about navigating Massachusetts knife laws but we have done our best in the rest of the article below.

What You Need to Know

• What Kind of Knives Can I Own?: Any knife except the following – Ballistic knives, any double-edged knife, any switchblade with a blade over 1.5”, stilettos, dirks, daggers and any folding knife equipped or designed with a device or feature that allows it to be drawn with the blade in the opened and locked position.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed Without a Permit?: Yes, any legal knife.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed With a Permit?: Yes, any legal knife.
• Can I Carry a Knife Openly?: Yes.

General Ownership

Sifting through Massachusetts knife laws is a unique challenge. Between the length, intricacy and seemingly contradictory statutes it is very difficult to arrive at a definitive determination of what is and is not allowed when it comes to knives under varying circumstances.

This is likely by design, as Massachusetts has proven time and time again in the past that they will harshly punish any transgressions regarding weapons.

The less certain and secure the populace feels when it comes to carrying them the less likely they are to risk carrying them. Ergo, mission accomplished for the nanny stating overlords of Massachusetts.

Generally speaking, you are forbidden from possessing or having on or about your person any double-edged knife, any stiletto, any dirk, dagger, switchblade with a blade longer than 1 ½ inches or any ballistic knife.

Considering the double-edged knife, the duplicity that Massachusetts shows over such a seemingly obvious feature is difficult to believe; they consider even an unsharpened false edge or a clip point that is just a bit too acute to be a double-edged knife.

This is not conjecture, and this is not theory; such cases have been tried in court to the detriment of the unfortunate person on the receiving end of the Massachusetts justice system.

Equally troubling is Massachusetts’ prohibition on any folding knife designed or equipped with a device that is intended to allow the knife to be drawn with the blade in the deployed or locked position.

This could be anything from a hook or “wave” feature on the spine of the blade to an entire category of knife, such as a butterfly knife.

Lastly you are not safe to carry an assisted-opening knife in the state of Massachusetts thanks for the state’s description in the text concerning automatic knives and switchblades, including any such knife with “an automatic spring release” into that category.

There is no language exempting assisted-opening knives such as the increasingly popular and sensible “bias towards closure” clause.

Concealed Carry, No Permit

Concealed carry of knives in Massachusetts is legal without a permit so long as your knife is legal.

Concealed Carry, With Permit

Possessing a Massachusetts concealed weapons permit affords you no additional privileges when it comes to knives. Once again you may carry any knife concealed, with a permit, so long as your knife is otherwise legal.

Open Carry

There is no issue with open carrying a knife in Massachusetts so long as the knife is legal. However, considering how aggressive this pearl-clutching state is you would be ill-advised to do so lest you get yoked up for some petty charge of disturbing the peace and then tagged with weapons charges accordingly.

Prohibited Places

As always school zones are forbidden, all the way from grade school up to and through college and post-secondary schools. You may, however, carry a legal knife on the grounds of a college or post-secondary school if you have the express written permission of the ranking official at the school.

Assessment

Massachusetts statutes covering civilian ownership and carry of knives are ambiguous, extremely long and difficult to interpret.

You’ll be walking a tightrope to make sure the type of life you choose to carry is legal, and furthermore is legal wherever you choose to carry it as there is no statewide preemption in Massachusetts.

Assuming that the knife is legal a concealed weapons permit is not required, but that is hardly a silver lining considering everything else that knife owners must deal with in the state.

Important Massachusetts State Statutes

Chapter 269 CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC PEACE Section 10 Carrying dangerous weapons; possession of machine gun or sawed-off shotguns; possession of large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device; punishment

…

(b) Whoever, except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, any stiletto, dagger or a device or case which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife, or any knife with a detachable blade capable of being propelled by any mechanism, dirk knife, any knife having a double-edged blade, or a switch knife, or any knife having an automatic spring release device by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches, or (…) a shuriken or any similar pointed starlike object intended to injure a person when thrown, (…); or whoever, when arrested upon a warrant for an alleged crime, or when arrested while committing a breach or disturbance of the public peace, is armed with or has on his person, or has on his person or under his control in a vehicle, a billy or other dangerous weapon other than those herein mentioned and those mentioned in paragraph (a), shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years in the state prison, or for not less than six months nor more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction, except that, if the court finds that the defendant has not been previously convicted of a felony, he may be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction.

…

(d) Whoever, after having been convicted of any of the offenses set forth in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) commits a like offense or any other of the said offenses, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than five years nor more than seven years; for a third such offense, by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than seven years nor more than ten years; and for a fourth such offense, by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than ten years nor more than fifteen years. The sentence imposed upon a person, who after a conviction of an offense under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) commits the same or a like offense, shall not be suspended, nor shall any person so sentenced be eligible for probation or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct.

(e) Upon conviction of a violation of this section, the firearm or other article shall, unless otherwise ordered by the court, be confiscated by the commonwealth. The firearm or article so confiscated shall, by the authority of the written order of the court be forwarded by common carrier to the colonel of the state police, who, upon receipt of the same, shall notify said court or justice thereof. Said colonel may sell or destroy the same, except that any firearm which may not be lawfully sold in the commonwealth shall be destroyed, and in the case of a sale, after paying the cost of forwarding the article, shall pay over the net proceeds to the commonwealth.

…

Chapter 269 CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC PEACE Section 12 Manufacturing and selling knives, slung shots, swords, bludgeons and similar weapons

Whoever manufactures or causes to be manufactured, or sells or exposes for sale, an instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as a dirk knife, a switch knife or any knife having an automatic spring release device by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches or a device or case which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife, or any knife with a detachable blade capable of being propelled by any mechanism, slung shot, sling shot, bean blower, sword cane, (…)a shuriken or any similar pointed starlike object intended to injure a person when thrown, (…) shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months; provided, however, that sling shots may be manufactured and sold to clubs or associations conducting sporting events where such sling shots are used.

…

Chapter 269 CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC PEACE Section 10 Carrying dangerous weapons; possession of machine gun or sawed-off shotguns; possession of large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device; punishment

(j) For the purposes of this paragraph, ”firearm” shall mean any pistol, revolver, rifle or smoothbore arm from which a shot, bullet or pellet can be discharged.

Whoever, not being a law enforcement officer and notwithstanding any license obtained by the person pursuant to chapter 140, carries on the person a firearm, loaded or unloaded, or other dangerous weapon in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university without the written authorization of the board or officer in charge of the elementary or secondary school, college or university shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or both. A law enforcement officer may arrest without a warrant and detain a person found carrying a firearm in violation of this paragraph.

Any officer in charge of an elementary or secondary school, college or university or any faculty member or administrative officer of an elementary or secondary school, college or university that fails to report a violation of this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by a fine of not more than $500.

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Shipping Containers vs. Storage Sheds Which One Should You Get

Everyone who lives in a rural or suburban environment understands the requirement for exterior storage. Tools, lawn care equipment, vehicles and other large, bulky or dirty items that don’t belong or fit inside your home’s closets are best kept out of sight and out of mind while still being protected.

Two of the most popular options for exterior bulk storage are the traditional shed and the modern shipping container. Both have their adherents. Both have their pros and cons.

Which is best for the average person? Should you get a storage shed or shipping container?

Modern shipping containers offer the most advantages for the best price, being stronger, far less maintenance intensive, less expensive on a square footage and upkeep basis, more mobile and less sensitive to improper placement and installation.

The only advantage a traditional storage shed offers is appearance, as they can be designed to suit any property or home appearance.

As one would expect there is far more detail in this calculus that is worth considering, and then the remainder of this article we will show you how all the factors involved shake out. Keep reading to learn more.

Shipping Container vs. Storage Shed At A Glance

	Shipping Container	Storage Shed
Cost	☑ Cheaper	❌ More expensive
Durability	☑ More durable	❌ Less durable
Weather resistance	☑ More resistant	❌ Less resistant
Pest resistance	☑ More resistant	❌ Less resistant

Cost Analysis

Significant savings and cost per square foot is one major advantage shipping containers have over sheds.

However, performing an apples-to-apples comparison can be challenging due to the extremely wide variety of build options, finishes and installation requirements for traditional sheds compared to only a handful of standardized shipping container options.

Let us consider the typical short configuration shipping container, which measures 8 ft wide by 8 ½ ft tall and 20 ft long for a total of 160 sqft.

The typical cost of one of these containers is anywhere from $3,300 to $3,600. We’ll use the latter figure for comparison. Using that price point, this shakes out to $22.50 per square foot, more or less. Remember that.

Now let us compare it with the more or less typical 12 ft by 12 ft storage shed, possessed of 144 sqft.

Though you can build a shed from scratch yourself or have one professionally built to suit many residents now choose to purchase their sheds complete from big box hardware stores before having them delivered, which drives up the cost a little bit.

Owing to huge variability in finishes and features a shed this size could cost anywhere from $4,700 to $6,000. This breaks down to about $32.65 per square foot for the lower figure and about $41.65 for the higher price.

As you can see, the shipping container blows the storage shed right out of the water when it comes to cost per square foot of storage!

Durability

Considering durability, shipping containers once again decimate traditional storage sheds. Shipping containers are made out of welded steel with reinforced, marine-grade wooden decking whereas the average shed is wood and a shingle roof on a concrete slab or pilings.

A shed could be seriously damaged by an impact from a large broken branch or large hail, whereas such an impact is highly unlikely to significantly damage a shipping container.

Likewise if worse comes to worst and an entire tree should fall on your storage solution your shed is going to be flattened along with everything in it while there is a better than average chance that your shipping container will not be completely destroyed.

With a little luck, it might even deflect the worst of the damage. Shipping containers are designed to be stacked one on top of another, and their load-bearing capability is substantial.

This is also a worthwhile consideration for theft since a shipping container equipped with an appropriate high security and high durability lock must be broken into with power tools and considerable effort.

A hefty hammer, crowbar or even a shovel will earn you quick access into a typical wooden shed, on the other hand.

Weather Resistance

All things being equal there is no comparison between traditional sheds and shipping containers, with shipping containers once again being victorious.

And yes, it is true that shipping containers can and do leak, but they are far less likely to leak or permit the intrusion of moisture than any kind of shed.

Additionally any shed made from wood, no matter what kind, is going to be vulnerable to mold, mildew and rot unless kept scrupulously inspected and either painted or sealed against the weather.

The heavy-duty steel of a shipping container is far more resilient, and the steel employed is of a type that is specialized for weather resistance. Given a coat of appropriate paint their weather-resistant qualities are improved even more.

You’ll need to factor in the cost of regular repainting or refinishing for your shed, typically something that must be done every few years for maximum longevity. This has a not-insignificant dollar value attached to it and, if you are going to do it yourself, a significant investment of your time.

Pest Resistance

Made to the correct standard, and properly maintained, a shed is reasonably effective at keeping out pests, in particular mice and insects.

But over time, with the effects of wear, damage and degradation not to mention the efforts of both rodents and termites the shed will become host to a variety of life that is otherwise milling around on your land.

Though any container, including shipping containers, are similarly vulnerable the steel construction of shipping containers is utterly impervious to both insects and rodents

So long as the doors are properly hung and fitted and their gasketed seals are intact mice will not be able to get it in, and only precious few insects can be expected to squeeze in assuming they try.

If you want to keep your possessions free of infestations and the roaming teeth of both insects and mammals a shipping container is your top choice.

Mobility

When the time comes to deliver, relocate or otherwise move your storage solution shipping containers once again beat the brakes off of storage sheds. They are, after all, designed to be dragged, hoisted, hauled and otherwise, well, shipped to and fro over and over again with no ill effects.

Even modern sheds that are purchased intact and delivered before being placed will not hold up nearly as well to repeated moves, and building a shed on site may more or less make it part of the property.

Anyone who has tried to move an intact building before, even a tiny one like a shed, will tell you that the activity is fraught with risk and there is always a permanent element of uncertainty: Damage or just an overall weakening of the structure is far from out of the question.

Aesthetics

Considering that you have to live with your storage solution and not just use it, aesthetics are not something you should completely disregard, especially if you live in a rural neighborhood or right in the middle of suburbia.

Anything you place on your property will either beautify it or make it look uglier and tackier, and it is here where the storage shed claims an uncontestable victory.

A storage shed that is properly chosen, properly finished, kept in good repair and appointed according to the parcel around it and your home if appropriate will blend beautifully into the appearance of your property, or even beautify it.

You can add windows or false windows, a variety of trim, even some tasteful landscaping around it. This all adds up into a cute and tidy storage solution.

A shipping container, on the other hand, decidedly will not unless painstaking steps are taken to visually modify it. A square, corrugated metal container is no one’s idea of “aesthetically pleasing”, at least as far as most residential settings are concerned.

Though it is possible to clad them in vinyl siding and employ other tricks to conceal what they are, they are usually too large and too obvious to truly fit into their environment.

Also consider that shipping containers might not be a practical option at all if you live in a place with an HOA.

Conclusion

Considered on a cost-effectiveness basis and also for practicality, shipping containers are far and away the superior choice for storing your goods and possessions compared to any traditional shed.

Unbeatable combination of price, durability, weather resistance and ease of maintenance makes these sturdy containers ideal for preppers and everyday citizens alike.

The only advantage that typical sheds offer is aesthetics, so long as they are chosen with care, maintained and matched to their surrounding environment.

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Nebraska State Knife Laws

Nebraska is a strange state when it comes to the civilian ownership of knives. On the one hand, the general attitude of the state regarding prosecution and test cases seems to be fairly friendly for civilian carry, but the way the statutes are written can give you an impression that is decidedly anything but friendly.

This is exemplified in their confusing definition of “knife” as a seemingly separate term from ordinary cutting instruments, such as, uh, knives again, and a downright puzzling proscription on blade length.

Confused? Good, they probably have you right where they want you. Though you’re unlikely to run afoul of the law concerning knives unless you go out of your way to get in trouble, ignorance or misinterpretation of the law is still no excuse so any responsible citizen who carries a knife in the state of Nebraska must take the time to unravel the mysteries of the states statutes.

We will try to help you do that in the article below.

What You Need to Know

• What Kind of Knives Can I Own?: Any kind of knife.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed Without a Permit?: Any knife that is not a dagger, dirk or stiletto with a blade shorter than 3.5”.
• Can I Carry a Knife Concealed With a Permit?: Any knife that is not a dagger, dirk or stiletto with a blade shorter than 3.5”.
• Can I Carry a Knife Openly?: Yes, any legal knife.

General Ownership

You may own any kind of knife in the state of Nebraska, something of a sharp contrast, if you’ll forgive the pun, to the condition of their concealed carry laws covering knives which we will investigate just below.

Be aware that Nebraska has no statewide preemption laws, and though the state is generally knife-friendly there are several cities that have local restrictions significantly more imposing than those of the state at large. Omaha and Hastings are two such settlements.

Make sure you do your homework, as ignorance of the law is no excuse, especially when it comes to weapons!

Concealed Carry, No Permit

When it comes to concealed carry, Nebraska restricts several knives by type but more importantly places crucial emphasis on the length of the blade; no knife of any kind is legal for concealed carry if it has a blade measuring 3 ½ inches or longer.

It does not matter if it is folding or fixed, and no other salient features make any difference though the state specifically makes mention that any dagger, dirk, knife or stiletto with a blade over 3 ½ inches in length qualifies as a knife which means it is subject to the prohibition on concealed carry.

It is interesting to note that Nebraska has a definition for “knife”, as a category of weapon which includes the description and definition above, and knives per se, which they define as any dangerous instrument capable of inflicting, cutting, stabbing or tearing wounds which if used in the manner that it is intended to be used will produce death or serious bodily injury.

Fairly confusing, huh? Yes it is, but what is more important is what this means to you and thankfully that is fairly simple.

The bottom line is any knife of any kind with a blade measuring 3 ½ inches or longer cannot be legally carried concealed. There is nothing more complicated than that that you need to remember, and this has borne out multiple times in court.

If you really want to get down to brass tacks, it is worth pointing out that Nebraska state law does not prevent common knives with blades measuring less than 3 ½ inches from being classified as concealed deadly weapons, and thereby potentially landing you with a charge.

To the best of my knowledge there has been no reckless prosecution of citizens who were otherwise behaving properly and carrying ordinary knives, but the law does say what it says, and so you must be aware of it.

It is worth noting that Nebraska makes allowances for the concealed carry of forbidden knives through an affirmative defense claim of self-defense, but remind yourself that any affirmative defense is one that must be proven in court; it will not exonerate you on the street at the moment of arrest or prevent you from being charged.

Concealed Carry, With Permit

Nebraska makes no additional allowances when it comes to the concealed carry of knives for those who have a concealed weapons permit, and the state statute enumerated possession of a permit as a defense against the charge of carrying a concealed weapon specifically makes mention of only handguns, no other firearm and definitely not knives. That is just the way it is.

Open Carry

There is no restriction whatsoever on the open carry of knives in Nebraska, including any of the types that are otherwise forbidden from being carrying concealed.

Make sure you read and understand exactly what defines and determines “concealed” in the state so that you do not get wrongly accused of trying to conceal a knife on your belt or carried in some other way.

Prohibited Places

Once again you may not carry your knife onto the grounds, into the buildings, or into the events or vehicles of any school in Nebraska.

Assessment

Nebraska is a frustrating state for knife owners. On the one hand you may own legally any kind of knife you desire, but you may only concealed carry any knife with a blade measuring less than 3 1/2 inches under any conditions and in any circumstances. Obtaining a concealed weapons permit will not give you any additional permissions.

Residents and travelers to the state must also stay aware that a lack of statewide preemption has given certain localities free reign to implement even more restrictive laws than the state standard.

Important Nebraska State Statutes

28-1201 Terms, defined.

(1) Firearm means any weapon which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or frame or receiver of any such weapon;

…

(5) Knife means:

(a) Any dagger, dirk, knife, or stiletto with a blade over three and one-half inches in length and which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury; or

(b) Any other dangerous instrument which is capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds and which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury;

(6) Knuckles and brass or iron knuckles means any instrument that consists of finger rings or guards made of a hard substance and that is designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious bodily injury or death by striking a person with a fist enclosed in the knuckles;

(…)

Annotation : The Legislature intended the words “with a blade over three and one-half inches” to apply to daggers, dirks, knives, and stilettos, such that any of these items having blades over 3 1/2 inches are “knives” under subsection (4) of this section. Daggers, dirks, knives, or stilettos with blades over 3 1/2 inches are knives per se. When a case involves an instrument not specifically named in subsection (4) of this section, the State bears the burden of proving that the instrument is a dangerous instrument capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds, and thus is a “knife” for purposes of section 28-1205(1). State v. Bottolfson, 259 Neb. 470, 610 N.W.2d 378 (2000).

…

28-1202 Carrying concealed weapon; penalty; affirmative defense.

(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person who carries a weapon or weapons concealed on or about his or her person, such as a handgun, a knife, brass or iron knuckles, or any other deadly weapon, commits the offense of carrying a concealed weapon.

(b) It is an affirmative defense that the defendant was engaged in any lawful business, calling, or employment at the time he or she was carrying any weapon or weapons and the circumstances in which such person was placed at the time were such as to justify a prudent person in carrying the weapon or weapons for the defense of his or her person, property, or family.

(2) This section does not apply to a person who is the holder of a valid permit issued under the Concealed Handgun Permit Act if the concealed weapon the defendant is carrying is a handgun.

(3) Carrying a concealed weapon is a Class I misdemeanor.

(4) In the case of a second or subsequent conviction under this section, carrying a concealed weapon is a Class IV felony.

(…)

Annotations: In order to be a deadly weapon per se under subsection (1) of this section, the weapon must be one specifically enumerated in the statute. Whether an object or weapon not specifically named in the statute is a deadly weapon is a question of fact to be determined by the trier of fact, and the resolution of that fact question will depend on the evidence adduced as to the use or intended use of the object or weapon. State v. Williams, 218 Neb. 57, 352 N.W.2d 576 (1984). Whether an object or weapon not specifically enumerated in subsection (1) of this section was a deadly weapon is a question of fact to be decided by the trier of fact. State v. Kanger, 215 Neb. 128, 337 N.W.2d 422 (1983).

…

79-267 Student conduct constituting grounds for long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment; enumerated; alternatives for truant or tardy students.

The following student conduct shall constitute grounds for long-term suspension, expulsion, or mandatory reassignment, subject to the procedural provisions of the Student Discipline Act, when such activity occurs on school grounds, in a vehicle owned, leased, or contracted by a school being used for a school purpose or in a vehicle being driven for a school purpose by a school employee or by his or her designee, or at a school-sponsored activity or athletic event:

(1) Use of violence, force, coercion, threat, intimidation, or similar conduct in a manner that constitutes a substantial interference with school purposes;

(2) Willfully causing or attempting to cause substantial damage to property, stealing or attempting to steal property of substantial value, or repeated damage or theft involving property;

(3) Causing or attempting to cause personal injury to a school employee, to a school volunteer, or to any student. Personal injury caused by accident, self-defense, or other action undertaken on the reasonable belief that it was necessary to protect some other person shall not constitute a violation of this subdivision;

(4) Threatening or intimidating any student for the purpose of or with the intent of obtaining money or anything of value from such student;

(5) Knowingly possessing, handling, or transmitting any object or material that is ordinarily or generally considered a weapon;

(6) Engaging in the unlawful possession, selling, dispensing, or use of a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance, as defined in section 28-401, a substance represented to be a controlled substance, or alcoholic liquor as defined in section 53-103.02 or being under the influence of a controlled substance or alcoholic liquor;

(7) Public indecency as defined in section 28-806, except that this subdivision shall apply only to students at least twelve years of age but less than nineteen years of age;

(8) Engaging in bullying as defined in section 79-2,137;

(9) Sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault any person if a complaint has been filed by a prosecutor in a court of competent jurisdiction alleging that the student has sexually assaulted or attempted to sexually assault any person, including sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults which occur off school grounds not at a school function, activity, or event. For purposes of this subdivision, sexual assault means sexual assault in the first degree as defined in section 28-319, sexual assault in the second degree as defined in section 28-320, sexual assault of a child in the second or third degree as defined in section 28-320.01, or sexual assault of a child in the first degree as defined in section 28-319.01, as such sections now provide or may hereafter from time to time be amended;

(10) Engaging in any other activity forbidden by the laws of the State of Nebraska which activity constitutes a danger to other students or interferes with school purposes; or

(11) A repeated violation of any rules and standards validly established pursuant to section 79-262 if such violations constitute a substantial interference with school purposes.

It is the intent of the Legislature that alternatives to suspension or expulsion be imposed against a student who is truant, tardy, or otherwise absent from required school activities.

…

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5 Safe Places to Stay Safe During Martial Law

The term martial law is just as likely to elicit a sneer of disgust as it is a shiver of apprehension. All people who love freedom know that the implementation of martial law is a significant step towards the erosion and infringement of the rights of the free.

As we approach another historically momentous intersection and the annals of our nation, one that is so divisive conflicted and full of strife, it is no wonder that many people think it is only a matter of when, not if before martial law is implemented.

When that happens things in this country, or maybe just in your city, will change. The military and its ranking officer will be in charge of administering local government and law enforcement.

Even if you are emphatically pro-military it does not take much imagination, or delving too deeply into the history books, to see how that can go terribly wrong.

Most of us have at least considered the possibility that martial law can occur on a greater or smaller scale and that it can go badly for citizens.

Accordingly, plans should be made if one is not okay with simply going along under the new status quo while hoping for the best.

Remind yourself that hope is not a strategy: You must have a place in mind that you can retreat to, either to get out from under the oversight of martial law entirely, or simply reduce your profile enough that you will be just one more face in the crowd.

In this article we will share with you five safe or at least safer places to be during martial law.

Is Martial Law Really a Possibility?

Martial law is definitely a possibility in the United States, and elsewhere in Western countries. Even in the US where its implementation is rare it has already happened several times historically.

When this occurs, the military will be placed in charge of civilian law enforcement and civilian governance in the affected area.

Though the declaration of martial law can be lawful according to the laws of the land, all that you should concern yourself with is that when it happens things will not work quite the way they did before.

Martial law might be declared at a local, citywide level, a state level, regionally or even nationally. This will typically, though not always, indicate the scale of the problem as far as the government perceives it, with any nationwide declaration of martial law almost certainly coming as a result of massive unrest or some other calamitous event.

But let that inform you that some areas may be completely unaffected or otherwise not under martial law, allowing you to plan your movements accordingly.

It might sound bleak but it is only a matter of time before martial law is declared again in this country, at any level. You must be prepared for that eventuality.

What Will Happen to Citizenry Living Under Martial Law?

While it is true that you might not have any particular cause to flee from martial law you might well feel differently after learning what it entails!

Right up front most of your civil rights will be suspended in the area of effect for the duration. You will not have any right to assemble, you will not have any right to move about freely and you will not have any privacy from searches, confiscations, or detention without formal charges.

It is entirely possible you could be arrested and tossed into a holding cell indefinitely with no opportunity or mandate that you be presented in front of a courtroom or whatever presiding officer will hear your case.

One hallmark of martial law is strict implementation of checkpoints, searches and confiscations.

Now as in times past this will all be done under the thin veneer of providing “security, safety and the deterrence of subversive activities or insurgency”. Cue the eye-roll.

You likely will not be able to move around after a mandatory curfew and you should expect to be frisked, have your vehicle searched and your home and other properties inspected for any number of reasons at any time.

Your properties might also be seized for the housing of troops or other purposes that the military deems expedient.

Time and time again history has shown us that placing the military in an immediate oversight capacity over civilian affairs and administration of justice will, eventually, result in systematic abuses and tragedy.

The less interaction you have in any regards with controlling forces during a period of martial law the better your chances are of obtaining a good outcome.

For this reason, picking where you will weather this particular storm is important.

Safety and Security Considerations

Quickly, before we get to the list, I want to impress upon the readers if there is no one, true best place to be or shelter for escaping martial law and its pervasive influence over your life.

Unfortunately, nothing we do as preppers, at least no “big picture” things, can be said to be best; everything is a compromise and every choice has its trade-offs.

Also modern life complicates the plans of even the most evasive among us. Almost everyone has been on the “grid” for a lengthy part of their life.

Every, single thing about you has been collated, recorded, sorted, sifted, neatly packaged and then sold or transferred to commercial interests and government agencies alike.

You already have a profile and you should better believe it is already safely recorded waiting to be used against you.

Gone are the days where you could reasonably expect to move out of the state, assume a nom de guerre and then just start your life over with a fresh identity and a reasonable chance of success, success being your old life not catching up with you.

Now, a single swipe of an ID or a credit card, logging in on any network where having your face recorded by advanced sensors and detection algorithms is enough to pop you on a network and set authorities on your trail.

This can happen far, far easier and far faster than you might be thinking. Keep this in mind as you read through our choices below and know that this certainty has influenced some of them.

5 Safe Places to Be During Martial Law

#1. Large City

This has to be the most contradictory option on our list, but it is still a good one for certain preppers. Sometimes, it is easiest to hide in a herd where you are just one of many faces in the crowd.

When that “herd” numbers in the hundreds of thousands or even millions it is far easier to become effectively invisible then when you are standing among 10, 20 or 30.

But before you think you can just grab your coat or your hoodie and disappear into a sprawling metropolis you must understand that it is all but certain any city above a certain size is going to fall under the auspices of martial law and all but the most localized instances. Understand this up front, and get used to it.

Just because you’ll be able to effectively hide in plain sight does not necessarily mean you’ll be guaranteed from having to interact with military forces.

Instead, you are depending on the day in and day out drudgery of having to process hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousands of people through checkpoints, turnstiles and other points of inspection will make you effectively invisible unless you are already flagged as a person of interest.

That means if you’re going to live and exist normally in the city you’ll be dealing with plenty of lines, showing of papers and all the other annoying things that go along with martial law.

But so long as the troops instituting it aren’t looking for you specifically you’ll pass right along with all the other effectively faceless citizens.

But, there are trade-offs. If you are within reach of the military you are quite simply within reach of the military, and if things go bad or you’re acting naughty you’ll be that much closer to their grasp compared to living further out on the fringes.

It is also worth considering that as major centers of commerce academia and much of the time political power cities will remain hotbeds of legal and illicit activity even while under martial law and innocent people have a way of getting swept up in such things.

#2. Small Community

Leaving a populated area for a small, remote community is sort of the standard response for many preppers when it comes to societal upheaval, and we could certainly chalk up martial law under that category.

Considering that it is unlikely martial law will be properly instituted on a nationwide level, because that is borderline impossible, chances are that a small, agrarian community or perhaps a remote vacation village could be completely unsullied by the presence of troops. That makes these an attractive option.

If you have the good fortune to have been raised or lived for any length of time in such a place you will have other built-in advantages. Small communities have an entirely different culture from large cities, where relationships and bonds really make a difference.

Your genuine social standing is everything in these places, and if you are fleeing into one of these communities from elsewhere it is highly likely that you’ll be treated with suspicion or even outright hostility under the circumstances.

It is also worth considering that local infrastructure for furnishing crucial survival provisions are likely to be far more durable and well understood than the usually highly dependent big cities.

Food, water and general expertise in trades and other blue collar skills is going to be proportionally higher in these places than elsewhere. That is always a major perk in times of trouble.

However, it will be disingenuous to say that the military will not be interested in these places depending on the circumstances.

As we have learned from bitter experience overseas these remote villages are often where insurgents can go for rest and recuperation, support or to facilitate black market dealings out from under the eye of big brother.

It stands to reason the military might keep an eye on these towns or at least the people coming and going to them if they are anywhere near the area of importance.

#3. Deep Wilderness

Probably the most stereotypically survivalist option on this list is simply to flee into the wilderness when martial law is declared in your area.

So long as you don’t set up camp near an area of interest to the military you probably will not be missed.

As you probably already know, having a bug-out location pre-selected in a nature setting is already part of most preppers’ plans for dealing with various eventualities.

This is certainly a viable approach, but it is one that has an equal share of drawbacks to go with the positives.

One of the pluses is it chances are high you will not have to interact with any troops or other military personnel in any capacity so long as you are staying out of trouble while in your wilderness retreat period.

When you really want to get away from society and its problems, this has always been and remains a viable option.

But the problem with retreating into deep wilderness to escape martial law as you still have to deal with all of the logistical and other survival issues inherent to existing in such a setting.

The notion that you will live off the land making use of nature’s pristine bounty of wild game, fruits, veggies and so forth is largely a myth at this point, even for an individual that are extremely skilled.

You’re going to need food and water, and lots of it, and this problem becomes exponentially more challenging if you have other people to take care of besides yourself.

Also you’ll need to be prepared to provide shelter no matter the weather and no matter the season.

Where exactly are you going and what are you going to stay in once you get there? If you’re going to build a fire, that’s great, but consider that a fire greatly increases your signature and is a surefire way to attract attention from aircraft both manned and unmanned.

Retreating to the wilderness is an option we should only be considered by those who are legitimately hardcore survivors with few true dependents.

#4. Foreign Nation

I know this option will sound like anathema to the deep-fried patriots in the audience who bleed red, white, and blue, but it must be considered especially in cases of harsh and widespread martial law or in case you are wanted as a particular person of interest by authorities.

Yes, it is true that there is nowhere left to run on earth for freedom-loving people, but consider that a tactical retreat might be necessary to ensure your values live on. It is tough to solve problems if you are dead or thrown in some dark, dank cell somewhere.

Despite the logistical difficulties attendant to such a choice this is an attractive option because it is unlikely that you will be pursued across the borders of the United States when there are so many other problems at home and all hands will be needed on-deck by the government and its many agencies.

If you already live near the Canadian or Mexican border you might be a hop, skip and a jump away from leaving all of this bull crap behind.

However, you would be wise to get all your advance work done well prior to any anticipated departure.

Being an expat is not easy, and is especially tough when countries that have friendly relations to the one you are fleeing might be incentivized to report on or even return citizens to their origin country.

It will be a blunder of epic magnitude to arrive at the airport or the seaport only to be turned away.

Also consider the other issues that arise from traveling to a foreign country. How will you work? How will you get paid? Do you even speak the language? Are there any vaccinations or other medical checkups you should consider, especially if you are traveling to any third world country?

It is also worth considering how you will return, assuming you are able to return.

Especially if you left your home country under cover of night and entered another country surreptitiously there might be major complications when it comes time for you to return. All of this must be accounted for ahead of time.

#5. Place Outside of Martial Law Declaration

Sometimes you don’t need to properly bug out: you just need to head elsewhere! As mentioned above, it is highly likely that any serious implementation of martial law will be of a smaller scale than the national level. Particular cities, perhaps even a few states or an entire region, could see martial law implemented.

If this occurs, it would probably be best for you to simply head somewhere that martial law is not in effect and is unlikely to be put into effect based on the current situation.

Depending on your life, family circumstances and other factors you might only have to move across your state, into a neighboring state or even potentially across the country.

It all depends, but you should not rule anything out, especially considering that life is likely to more or less go on per usual in areas that are unaffected by martial law.

This means you can very likely still obtain transportation, perhaps even moving assistance, and lodging in your new and hopefully temporary home.

It might even be worthwhile to look at a long-term vacation rental assuming you can afford it or negotiate a good price.

This eventuality more than any other is probably the best argument for making your life and career highly mobile and internet capable as this will create the least possible disruption under the circumstances.

But before you decide to plunk yourself down anywhere and wait out the situation back home consider that any place that has major industrial, political or transportation importance might soon be sucked under the martial law umbrella preemptively.

It would not do to move into a new, freer and safer place only to be forced to pick up and move once more as soon as you set your bags down.

Conclusion

It is hard to imagine life going on as normal under martial law and though this is distinctly possible most folks would prefer to not live under the threat instituted by it.

So long as you know where to go and what you should do when you get there you may find that you can wait for the situation to change or blow over entirely without being hassled, having your rights infringed or risking a negative outcome at the hands of troops instituting martial law.

Consider the potential locations on this list and see which one will work for you based on your lifestyle.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/3rXiVjC