# Doomsday Preppers - what would you have to offer?



## Jack Secret (Feb 28, 2012)

Every now and thenI will catch an episode of that National Geographic program "Doomsday Preppers". Most of those people kind of Creep me out but the premise got me thinking

If society fell apart one day and you wanted to join a small community of neighbors to help each other survive, what kind of skill do you possess that would prove beneficial to the community as a whole? It you would have to possess something valuable to be excepted into a community in the first place.

Someone like imfree would be helpful in establishing radiocommunication with his ham radio expertise.


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## rellis10 (Feb 28, 2012)

Jack Secret said:


> Every now and thenI will catch an episode of that National Geographic program "Doomsday Preppers". Most of those people kind of Creep me out but the premise got me thinking
> 
> If society fell apart one day and you wanted to join a small community of neighbors to help each other survive, what kind of skill do you possess that would prove beneficial to the community as a whole? It you would have to possess something valuable to be excepted into a community in the first place.
> 
> Someone like imfree would be helpful in establishing radiocommunication with his ham radio expertise.



I'd make a pretty good snack for the rest of the group


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## Oirish (Feb 28, 2012)

The most important survival skill I have? I can make alcohol. Very good alcohol. It's guaranteed to be safe to drink and something always in high demand. Also, I'm a damn good cook, I can hunt and fish well, am a competent enough sailor, I'm very skilled at growing crops and keeping them healthy through natural practices; plus I would be able to make soap, biodiesel fuel, cheese, cured meat to store for long periods of time, and gunpowder. Just in case that's necessary


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## cinnamitch (Feb 28, 2012)

Well I am a former nurse so I think i could be an asset. I also fish, cook, and various other things.


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## imfree (Feb 29, 2012)

Jack Secret said:


> Every now and thenI will catch an episode of that National Geographic program "Doomsday Preppers". Most of those people kind of Creep me out but the premise got me thinking
> 
> If society fell apart one day and you wanted to join a small community of neighbors to help each other survive, what kind of skill do you possess that would prove beneficial to the community as a whole? It you would have to possess something valuable to be excepted into a community in the first place.
> 
> Someone like imfree would be helpful in establishing radiocommunication with his ham radio expertise.



Sorry to admit, I'm not a ham. I was a two-way radio repair tech for 11 years and have designed/built my own FM stereo transmitter, however. I'll do in a pinch!


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## Jack Secret (Feb 29, 2012)

imfree said:


> Sorry to admit, I'm not a ham. I was a two-way radio repair tech for 11 years and have designed/built my own FM stereo transmitter, however. I'll do in a pinch!



sorry about that I thought I had read that somewhere else 

I can hunt, fish, Preserve food and I can grow anything. I can also rebuild anything with an engine or motor and can make the fuel for combustion engines. If all else fails I can become a man-whore. I would probably starve!


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## Dromond (Feb 29, 2012)

I'd be worthless if society fell apart.


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## Dromond (Feb 29, 2012)

cinnamitch said:


> Well I am a former nurse so I think i could be an asset. I also fish, cook, and various other things.



Nurses would be more valuable than doctors.


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## Dr. Feelgood (Feb 29, 2012)

Jack Secret said:


> If society fell apart one day and you wanted to join a small community of neighbors to help each other survive, what kind of skill do you possess that would prove beneficial to the community as a whole?



I'm a good listener.


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## Deven (Feb 29, 2012)

I'm a marksman. I hunt and fish, using both guns and bow and arrow (and, of course, fishing poles. My first fishing pole was a stick with a line and hook attached using an earthworm as bait.) I can use compound bow, regular bow, handgun, or shot gun. I'm sure if in a bind, I could learn a semi automatic or automatic weapon. I can de-gland, gut and skin my own kills. I can also throw blades with precision.

My mother believes in natural medicines using herbs, and she has taught me how to make natural salves for wounds, among various other things. She also taught me how to cure animal hides for clothing using the brain tanning method. Each animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide. I can sew any material for clothing handed to me. I can use an old time sewing machine, a pump action one, or I can do it with chalk freehand.


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## cinnamitch (Feb 29, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I'm a marksman. I hunt and fish, using both guns and bow and arrow (and, of course, fishing poles. My first fishing pole was a stick with a line and hook attached using an earthworm as bait.) I can use compound bow, regular bow, handgun, or shot gun. I'm sure if in a bind, I could learn a semi automatic or automatic weapon. I can de-gland, gut and skin my own kills. I can also throw blades with precision.
> 
> My mother believes in natural medicines using herbs, and she has taught me how to make natural salves for wounds, among various other things. She also taught me how to cure animal hides for clothing using the brain tanning method. Each animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide. I can sew any material for clothing handed to me. I can use an old time sewing machine, a pump action one, or I can do it with chalk freehand.



we need a commune


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## miafantastic (Feb 29, 2012)

I can ride a unicyle. [...] HA. This show = NEW OBSESSION. I'm all over the lingo, too.

"Hits the fan."

"Bug out."

H. Christ. Fascinating. But really, I can ride a unicyle AND I was a Junior Girl Scout for three months.


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## Deven (Feb 29, 2012)

cinnamitch said:


> we need a commune



You guys would have to deal with my insanity for too long. 

I keep boxes of canned foods (checked, used, and replaced regularly) oil lamps with spare oil (silly not to have in Pennsylvania during Winter,) bottled water (used and replaced regularly,) and ways to boil water. I also have a first aid box (with everything from papercut bandages to a suture kit. I'm not talking a dinky box, I'm talking a packing box.) some of those shake flash lights, a battery operated radio (with spare batteries,) needles and thread. I also have blankets coming out my ears (only because I like having a variety of comforters, and I'm allergic to wool, so military blankets are out.) I also have a camping stove that I keep fuel for. 

My family has lived through our share of natural disasters. My mother was caught in a tornado that ripped the roof off of her house, my brother lived outside of Huntsville, Alabama last year, in a mile strip that was missed by the tornadoes, and I lived without power in a snow storm after some girls hit the pole and took out the lines. Not to mention the blizzard in the mid 90's, and the resulting flood... Living in the sticks most of my life, 30 miles away from the nearest grocery store, I find having essentials in the case of a freak snow storm is satisfying.

My bows also have plenty of arrows. I got my hunting license for this year and never went out. I also have my shotgun, but I need to get some shells for it.


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## cinnamitch (Feb 29, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> You guys would have to deal with my insanity for too long.
> 
> I keep boxes of canned foods (checked, used, and replaced regularly) oil lamps with spare oil (silly not to have in Pennsylvania during Winter,) bottled water (used and replaced regularly,) and ways to boil water. I also have a first aid box (with everything from papercut bandages to a suture kit. I'm not talking a dinky box, I'm talking a packing box.) some of those shake flash lights, a battery operated radio (with spare batteries,) needles and thread. I also have blankets coming out my ears (only because I like having a variety of comforters, and I'm allergic to wool, so military blankets are out.) I also have a camping stove that I keep fuel for.
> 
> ...



Sounds like some good preps. I need to get my family serious about it.


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## CleverBomb (Feb 29, 2012)

I need to remember to zoom in on the text when reading thread titles.

"Doomsday Preggers..." wait, shouldn't that be on the Hyde Park board?

-Rusty
(Has scooters and computers, which aren't all that helpful in this context.)


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## LeoGibson (Feb 29, 2012)

That reminds me of a time when my friend in New York City was killed by a man with a switchblade knife. I thought to myself, I'd sure like to spit some Beechnut in that dude's eyes.

You see, because I can skin a buck and run a trot line, yep, a country boy can survive. Oh snap, that isn't me, that was Hank Williams Jr., nevermind, my mistake.:doh:

I guess I'm screwed!!:doh:


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## imfree (Feb 29, 2012)

imfree said:


> Sorry to admit, I'm not a ham. I was a two-way radio repair tech for 11 years and have designed/built my own FM stereo transmitter, however. I'll do in a pinch!



Oddly enough, VLF Natural Radio frequencies, essentially radio waves at audio frequency, and the receivers I've built to receive them, could be used to detect storms, nuclear detonations, vehicles, and power systems going back online, much like the Tricorders on Star Trek! Monitoring VLF could enhance a group's security by detecting activity too far away to see or hear.


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## Deven (Mar 1, 2012)

imfree said:


> Oddly enough, VLF Natural Radio frequencies, essentially radio waves at audio frequency, and the receivers I've built to receive them, could be used to detect storms, nuclear detonations, vehicles, and power systems going back online, much like the Tricorders on Star Trek! Monitoring VLF could enhance a group's security by detecting activity too far away to see or hear.



I'll keep you well guarded and fed, you work the radios. My husband's father is a HAM operator, so he'll check for survivors. Cinnamitch can tend to the wounded. When things have settled, I'll take a party out for other necessary supplies, such as antibiotics and medications from the Pharmacies.


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## cinnamitch (Mar 1, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I'll keep you well guarded and fed, you work the radios. My husband's father is a HAM operator, so he'll check for survivors. Cinnamitch can tend to the wounded. When things have settled, I'll take a party out for other necessary supplies, such as antibiotics and medications from the Pharmacies.



Well lets get moved on out to our refuge. We just need to find it lol.


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## imfree (Mar 1, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I'll keep you well guarded and fed, you work the radios. My husband's father is a HAM operator, so he'll check for survivors. Cinnamitch can tend to the wounded. When things have settled, I'll take a party out for other necessary supplies, such as antibiotics and medications from the Pharmacies.



Deal!!!, Kind Lady, who is wise, far beyond her years! We could, indeed be a serious and strong group of survivors. I guess I should have also mentioned that my little "FM Pup" 2 Watt FM Stereo microstation could be a "bright light in the sea of darkness" left by those huge multi-kilowatt gobbling radio stations being off for lack of electric power. 2 Watts should do about 10 miles in the "darkness"! The "Pup" only needs to be fed 12 VDC at 1,25 Amps and munches happily on battery or solar power!

FM Pup Theme 

View attachment FMPup 101.5 FM web md lg.jpg


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## Jess87 (Mar 1, 2012)

Usually only half of my party died while playing Oregon Trail. More for the Organ Trail version, but that had more to do with willingly sacrificing others to the zombies.


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## Deven (Mar 1, 2012)

cinnamitch said:


> Well lets get moved on out to our refuge. We just need to find it lol.



I always tell my husband that if I ever get the money, I'm having this baby built:

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/post/4956385434/the-first-zombie-proof-house


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## Ernest Nagel (Mar 1, 2012)

I am a competent blacksmith, gunsmith and farmer. I have a working rudimentary knowledge of winemaking, distilling and brewing. Along with that I am able to operate most heavy equipment and nearly all wheeled vehicles, especially backhoes. I'm a licensed private pilot (single-engine, VFR) and have extensive experience in skydiving, scuba and welding. My general knowledge includes physics, chemistry and metallurgy.

That said, in a scarcity situation I am surgically unable to reproduce so I'd likely defer resources to those with that capacity.


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## Dromond (Mar 1, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I'll keep you well guarded and fed, you work the radios. My husband's father is a HAM operator, so he'll check for survivors. Cinnamitch can tend to the wounded. When things have settled, I'll take a party out for other necessary supplies, such as antibiotics and medications from the Pharmacies.



If you can find a spot for a mobility limited smartass who has a fetish for organization (I was an office manager by vocation), I'm in. Plus you get Jackie, who is a nurse. Two nurses are better than one.


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## Deven (Mar 1, 2012)

Dromond said:


> If you can find a spot for a mobility limited smartass who has a fetish for organization (I was an office manager by vocation), I'm in. Plus you get Jackie, who is a nurse. Two nurses are better than one.



We'll need smart asses that can organize after the fallout. We need someone who can keep birth and death records, and keep them organized. 

Ernest: As long as we can keep the ones who can reproduce safe, we're golden.


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## cinnamitch (Mar 1, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I always tell my husband that if I ever get the money, I'm having this baby built:
> 
> http://all-that-is-interesting.com/post/4956385434/the-first-zombie-proof-house



I saw that on one of the prepper sites i belong to. ( yes I said prepper)


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## cinnamitch (Mar 1, 2012)

Ernest Nagel said:


> I am a competent blacksmith, gunsmith and farmer. I have a working rudimentary knowledge of winemaking, distilling and brewing. Along with that I am able to operate most heavy equipment and nearly all wheeled vehicles, especially backhoes. I'm a licensed private pilot (single-engine, VFR) and have extensive experience in skydiving, scuba and welding. My general knowledge includes physics, chemistry and metallurgy.
> 
> That said, in a scarcity situation I am surgically unable to reproduce so I'd likely defer resources to those with that capacity.



Ernest you had me at the booze making ability


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## penguin (Mar 1, 2012)

CleverBomb said:


> I need to remember to zoom in on the text when reading thread titles.
> 
> "Doomsday Preggers..." wait, shouldn't that be on the Hyde Park board?
> 
> ...



That's okay, I keep reading it as "doomsday peppers" and think it should be in the foodee board.

On topic, I can take care of the kids. I've worked in childcare, babysat a lot, and have one of my own, so while you're all out doing that useful hunter gatherer stuff, I'll tend to the homestead. Someone's gotta be able to keep them under control. We'll have access to valium, right??


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## Deven (Mar 1, 2012)

penguin said:


> That's okay, I keep reading it as "doomsday peppers" and think it should be in the foodee board.
> 
> On topic, I can take care of the kids. I've worked in childcare, babysat a lot, and have one of my own, so while you're all out doing that useful hunter gatherer stuff, I'll tend to the homestead. Someone's gotta be able to keep them under control. We'll have access to valium, right??



It's one of the items on my "pharmacy shopping" list. I leave the child care to you... I'm not exactly always the mothery type.


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## Dromond (Mar 1, 2012)

penguin said:


> That's okay, I keep reading it as "doomsday peppers" and think it should be in the foodee board.



The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper would qualify as a "doomsday pepper" I think.


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## Deven (Mar 1, 2012)

Dromond said:


> The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper would qualify as a "doomsday pepper" I think.



I want to try it!!!!! I LOVE spicy. I mean love. I eat hot sauce.


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## penguin (Mar 1, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> It's one of the items on my "pharmacy shopping" list. I leave the child care to you... I'm not exactly always the mothery type.



I'd be useless at the hunting, growing, gathering, building, stuff. I'm sure that if there weren't kids with us to start with, there'd be kids with us sooner or later!


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## TwilightStarr (Mar 1, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I'm a marksman. I hunt and fish, using both guns and bow and arrow (and, of course, fishing poles. My first fishing pole was a stick with a line and hook attached using an earthworm as bait.) I can use compound bow, regular bow, handgun, or shot gun. I'm sure if in a bind, I could learn a semi automatic or automatic weapon. I can de-gland, gut and skin my own kills. I can also throw blades with precision.
> 
> My mother believes in natural medicines using herbs, and she has taught me how to make natural salves for wounds, among various other things. She also taught me how to cure animal hides for clothing using the brain tanning method. Each animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide. I can sew any material for clothing handed to me. I can use an old time sewing machine, a pump action one, or I can do it with chalk freehand.




So in general you are AWESOME when it's Doomsday! And make me feel like the biggest girlie girl ever!! LMAO!


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## TwilightStarr (Mar 1, 2012)

As an "extreme" couponer for the past 10 months I have accumulated a very good stockpile.
So I have plenty of toothpaste, shaving cream, toilet paper, baby wipes, and various other products! 
It doesn't seem like much but I would rather go to my closet for something then venture out into the unknown! lol


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## Ho Ho Tai (Mar 2, 2012)

I'm old . . . old and slow. But I'd make a hell of a speed bump.


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## Deven (Mar 12, 2012)

Well, I can teach others to hunt, and as long as someone else will cook, I'll do tons of the hunting. So, if the end starts looking imminent, I'll gladly post my address before the power/cable go out (it'd take a few days. Losing communication wouldn't be immediate unless it was a HUGE nationwide natural disaster.) :happy: So, when society breaks down and you're still alive, check Dims and see what my game plan is if you can. 


I just needed to bring this back:

I am getting a new gun! My shotgun is older than dirt (it was my Grandfather's) and it was just a pain to hunt with. And, as a joke, my husband bought me these:

http://www.hornady.com/ammunition/zombiemax

I also got a few cool things for my just in case shelf:

http://www.rei.com/product/407106/space-all-weather-blanket (I found 3 at a fleamarket for 10 bucks.)

I was also given a few of these by my friend who is also a Doomsdayer. He is IMMEDIATELY coming to our house with his guns, and I store enough water and food in case something happens (he also comes if there's flood warnings because he lives in a flooding area.)

http://www.mtnhse.com/mm5/merchant....de=M&Product_Code=0080695&Category_Code=MHEFK (We mailed 2 to my brother, since he lives in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife. The tornadoes worry me, because he's been without power and water twice in the past year. He called me a worry wort.)


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## Ernest Nagel (Mar 12, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I was also given a few of these by my friend who is also a Doomsdayer. He is IMMEDIATELY coming to our house with his guns, and I store enough water and food in case something happens (he also comes if there's flood warnings because he lives in a flooding area.)
> 
> http://www.mtnhse.com/mm5/merchant....de=M&Product_Code=0080695&Category_Code=MHEFK (We mailed 2 to my brother, since he lives in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife. The tornadoes worry me, because he's been without power and water twice in the past year. He called me a worry wort.)



These are also good, economical and 100% organic. I have a number of them stashed around.

http://www.enerhealthbotanicals.com...e-40-days-nights-100-organic-food-supply.html


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## imfree (Mar 12, 2012)

As an oxygen patient, it's no mystery what my greatest fear in a doomsday scenario would be, yet survival without oxygen could be more possible than we think. I live on a busy street and carbon monoxide levels would rapidly begin to subside. Particulates and other industrial air pollutants should decline,as well. I have no physical endurance, so it would be nearly impossible to avoid dangerous overexertion, while I would be trying to adjust, as the universal emergency unfolded . I'd sure have to sit still, so power and communications skills are what I have to offer. Very scarey, to say the least!


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## Jack Secret (Mar 12, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> Well, I can teach others to hunt, and as long as someone else will cook, I'll do tons of the hunting. So, if the end starts looking imminent, I'll gladly post my address before the power/cable go out (it'd take a few days. Losing communication wouldn't be immediate unless it was a HUGE nationwide natural disaster.) :happy: So, when society breaks down and you're still alive, check Dims and see what my game plan is if you can.
> 
> 
> I just needed to bring this back:
> ...



zombie-Max 12gauge rounds Check.


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## Dromond (Mar 12, 2012)

What you need is a hydrogen fuel cell, a water cracking unit, hooked up to a well. The system needs an outside source of energy to start up (batteries), but once running it will sustain itself. The fuel cell power plant pumps the water and powers the water-hydrogen refining, while the water is the fuel. The excess energy (and there would be a lot) would be useful for other things. As long as the water source keeps producing, the system would sustain itself.

All the equipment already exists. You'd just have to be able to afford it.


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## Scorsese86 (Mar 13, 2012)

Oirish said:


> The most important survival skill I have? I can make alcohol. Very good alcohol. It's guaranteed to be safe to drink and something always in high demand.



When the time comes, I want you around!


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## moore2me (Mar 17, 2012)

Dromond said:


> What you need is a hydrogen fuel cell, a water cracking unit, hooked up to a well. The system needs an outside source of energy to start up (batteries), but once running it will sustain itself. The fuel cell power plant pumps the water and powers the water-hydrogen refining, while the water is the fuel. The excess energy (and there would be a lot) would be useful for other things. As long as the water source keeps producing, the system would sustain itself.
> 
> All the equipment already exists. You'd just have to be able to afford it.



Two words "The Hindenburg" . . . 

View attachment 260px-Hindenburg_burning.jpg


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## Dromond (Mar 17, 2012)

Baloney sauce. Do you drive a car? You are driving a bomb. Any combustible fuel is an explosion hazard.


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## CastingPearls (Mar 17, 2012)

Dromond said:


> Baloney sauce. Do you drive a car? You are driving a bomb. Any combustible fuel is an explosion hazard.


Your own body is an explosion hazard. 

With the right ingredients. And a match.

For that matter so is a can of carbonated anything.


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## moore2me (Mar 18, 2012)

CastingPearls said:


> Your own body is an explosion hazard.
> 
> With the right ingredients. And a match.
> 
> For that matter so is a can of carbonated anything.



Lainey,

So very true. And I don't even need a match to set off one of my infamous explosions or implosions. Just a spark of static charge or whenever I stick a butter knife into an electrical outlet has been known to trigger a flash fire from one of the below:

- my flammable hairspray
- my polyester pantyhose
- my alcohol based perfume
- my Jack Daniels neat.

However, my carbonated drinks (such as Diet Coke or Diet Dr Pepper) release carbon dioxide gas. This gas will not support fire - it will most likely extinguish a flame.


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## moore2me (Mar 19, 2012)

Dromond said:


> Baloney sauce. Do you drive a car? You are driving a bomb. Any combustible fuel is an explosion hazard.



Dromond - the baloney sauce sounds tasty. You don't have a recipe for such a thing do you? Baloney is a staple food at the M2M house. Add white bread, Cheetos and a Little Debbie and supper is served.

On another note, I know you Mississippi stump burners and fire ant killers know the difference in combustible and flammable. Grandpa used diesel to pour on the ant hills around his pond in Mississippi. Just for the young'uns reading this . . .* diesel "Yes"/ gasoline "No - Never".

*Gasoline (or hydrogen gas, and certain other solvents) are flammable. Do not start fires, clean paint off stuff, or burn leaves with gas. You can win a one way ticket to the burn unit of the hospital and spend the next year getting skin grafts and horrible burn treatments.

Diesel, "Goo Off", some paint brush cleaners or strippers are combustible. They may not send you to the burn unit and you can work with them okay if you take care and follow label precautions.


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## Dromond (Mar 19, 2012)

moore2me said:


> Dromond - the baloney sauce sounds tasty. You don't have a recipe for such a thing do you? Baloney is a staple food at the M2M house. Add white bread, Cheetos and a Little Debbie and supper is served.
> 
> On another note, I know you Mississippi stump burners and fire ant killers know the difference in combustible and flammable. Grandpa used diesel to pour on the ant hills around his pond in Mississippi. Just for the young'uns reading this . . .* diesel "Yes"/ gasoline "No - Never".
> 
> ...



First of all, I may live in Alabama but I'm not a southerner. I'm a damn Yankee. 

Second, your pendantry over my simplification doesn't change my point.

Third, "baloney sauce" is Bolognese sauce. Bolognese sauce (Ragù alla Bolognese) is a marinara base pasta sauce traditionally served with tagliatelle.


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## Zandoz (Mar 20, 2012)

I had a friend long ago who said I was good to have around to say something like "Are you sure you want to do that?", right before he was about to do something likely to end badly. <shrug>


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## imfree (Mar 20, 2012)

Zandoz said:


> I had a friend long ago who said I was good to have around to say something like "Are you sure you want to do that?", right before he was about to do something likely to end badly. <shrug>



New quote "A safety observer is always better that a Dead Man Switch"! 

View attachment ~ 500_kV_Switch1.jpg


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## QuasimodoQT (Mar 20, 2012)

Er, I'm a good listener, people say I give good advice and good massages and that I'm funny, I think creatively and logically, and I've read up a lot on how-to survival stuff. 

I guess I need to put it all more into practice to be a real prepper, though I have taken some steps.


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## joswitch (Mar 20, 2012)

Jack Secret said:


> Every now and thenI will catch an episode of that National Geographic program "Doomsday Preppers". Most of those people kind of Creep me out but the premise got me thinking…
> 
> If society fell apart one day and you wanted to join a small community of neighbors to help each other survive, what kind of skill do you possess that would prove beneficial to the community as a whole? It you would have to possess something valuable to be excepted into a community in the first place.
> 
> Someone like imfree would be helpful in establishing radiocommunication with his ham radio expertise.



The first rule of Prep Club - you don't talk about Prep Club.
The second rule of Prep Club .... you don't talk about Prep Club.



( http://www.uk-preppers.co.uk )


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## joswitch (Mar 20, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I'm a marksman. I hunt and fish, using both guns and bow and arrow (and, of course, fishing poles. My first fishing pole was a stick with a line and hook attached using an earthworm as bait.) I can use compound bow, regular bow, handgun, or shot gun. I'm sure if in a bind, I could learn a semi automatic or automatic weapon. I can de-gland, gut and skin my own kills. I can also throw blades with precision.
> 
> My mother believes in natural medicines using herbs, and she has taught me how to make natural salves for wounds, among various other things. She also taught me how to cure animal hides for clothing using the brain tanning method. Each animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide. I can sew any material for clothing handed to me. I can use an old time sewing machine, a pump action one, or I can do it with chalk freehand.



So much awesome.


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## joswitch (Mar 20, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> Well, I can teach others to hunt, and as long as someone else will cook, I'll do tons of the hunting. So, if the end starts looking imminent, I'll gladly post my address before the power/cable go out (it'd take a few days. Losing communication wouldn't be immediate unless it was a HUGE nationwide natural disaster.) :happy: So, when society breaks down and you're still alive, check Dims and see what my game plan is if you can.
> 
> 
> I just needed to bring this back:
> ...




Oooh, what shotty are you going to get?? Mossberg 500? Remy 870??

Also, idle minds must know, what's in the 12G Zombie ammo? Slugs? 00 Buck?


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## Deven (Mar 20, 2012)

joswitch said:


> Oooh, what shotty are you going to get?? Mossberg 500? Remy 870??
> 
> Also, idle minds must know, what's in the 12G Zombie ammo? Slugs? 00 Buck?



It's the same as the V-Max with a green tip. 

I really want a new handgun, and my favorite character in the books I read dons a Browning HiPower 9mm... but my friend says they tend to jam. I'm not sure yet...


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## joswitch (Mar 21, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> It's the same as the V-Max with a green tip.
> 
> I really want a new handgun, and my favorite character in the books I read dons a Browning HiPower 9mm... but my friend says they tend to jam. I'm not sure yet...



Oh, so a they've put a big old bullet in a sabot??

Oooh, what handgun(s) do you have already? (You don't have to answer that of course) If you want to go 9mm, there's a lot of fans of the Kel-tec p9 and p11 out there, at the budget end.. And of course the Glock and Sig Sauer families are supposed to be super reliable... *getsalloverenthusiastic*

Pardon my gun envy / geeking out from over here in the UK. I only haz UK legal off-ticket kit: an air rifle, various homemade bows & arrows, and sligshots / slingbows. I like target shooting - it's very Zen mind.

Off-ticket = you do not need a licence for this stuff in UK.


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## seavixen (Mar 22, 2012)

It's been a long time, but I used to be decent at cleaning hides. Uh, yeah, cleaning hides... I'm totally lacking in squeamishness when it comes to meat / blood / so forth, and was raised with nothing but wood heat, and often no electricity - so cooking from scratch on the wood stove, gathering snow and boiling it for baths, etc., have all been well within the scope of normal for me in the past. Those aren't skills, but I'd be a little more acclimated to the lifestyle, at least. lol

I'm good with non-powered tools and could build some very basic furniture; I can knit, crochet, and (barely adequately) sew by hand. I can make things out of wire, but I don't really think vanity stuff would be at the top of the list of needs in a doomsday situation.  I do know how to dry meat and make preserves, but anybody can do that.

Unfortunately, I would be overall pretty useless... so, while I might be able to endure the elements, I would probably end up becoming soap or something before long lol. It's funny, because this is actually something I think about frequently - how very unprepared most people are, given the world that we live in. Many of the modern professions have no real, tangible worth (in terms of skills applicable to survival, etc.) - freaky, huh?


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## PandaGeek (Mar 22, 2012)

I can hold back the zombie hordes while the rest of you get away.


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## joswitch (Mar 22, 2012)

seavixen said:


> It's been a long time, but I used to be decent at cleaning hides. Uh, yeah, cleaning hides... I'm totally lacking in squeamishness when it comes to meat / blood / so forth, and was raised with nothing but wood heat, and often no electricity - so cooking from scratch on the wood stove, gathering snow and boiling it for baths, etc., have all been well within the scope of normal for me in the past. Those aren't skills, but I'd be a little more acclimated to the lifestyle, at least. lol
> 
> I'm good with non-powered tools and could build some very basic furniture; I can knit, crochet, and (barely adequately) sew by hand. I can make things out of wire, but I don't really think vanity stuff would be at the top of the list of needs in a doomsday situation.  I do know how to dry meat and make preserves, but anybody can do that.
> 
> Unfortunately, I would be overall pretty useless... so, while I might be able to endure the elements, I would probably end up becoming soap or something before long lol. It's funny, because this is actually something I think about frequently - how very unprepared most people are, given the world that we live in. Many of the modern professions have no real, tangible worth (in terms of skills applicable to survival, etc.) - freaky, huh?



Butchering, cleaning hides, building fires, knitting, drying meat and making preserves... those are totally valuable skills! And there's a whole lot of anybodys who can't do them.... I look after a house with tenants in it... OMG the utter helplessness when they click a switch and something doesn't happen!!:doh:

E.g. "[Jo], the hoover's broken. [Landlord] needs to buy us a new hoover*, eh?" (in Australian accent)
"Have you checked if the bag's full? there's new bags in the kitchen drawer."
"Whaaat!?? I don't know anything about that, it's just broken!!"

(*Brit to US translation - vacuum cleaner)

I went round. Looked at it, worked out how to open it in about 45secs. Opened it, bag was full. Changed the bag.

Come the Zombie Apocaplypse most people will run about like headless chickens on fire. Hell, I reckon most of the population would lose their minds in a power cut that lasted longer than a day!


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## joswitch (Mar 22, 2012)

PandaGeek said:


> I can hold back the zombie hordes while the rest of you get away.



We'll compose an epic story of your brave sacrifice to share around the campfire while we nom rat-on-a-stick.


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## Jack Secret (Mar 22, 2012)

joswitch said:


> Oh, so a they've put a big old bullet in a sabot??
> 
> Oooh, what handgun(s) do you have already? (You don't have to answer that of course) If you want to go 9mm, there's a lot of fans of the Kel-tec p9 and p11 out there, at the budget end.. And of course the Glock and Sig Sauer families are supposed to be super reliable... *getsalloverenthusiastic*
> 
> ...



I'm suddenly compelled to say "God bless America". A gun lover that can't own a gun That just ain't right!


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## Deven (Mar 22, 2012)

I want!

http://www.geekologie.com/2012/03/pizza-under-the-stars-camping-ovenstove.php


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## thatgirl08 (Mar 22, 2012)

I don't think I'd have much to offer. My boyfriend makes fun of me because I always say that in any doomsday scenario I hope I'm the first to go because I just couldn't do some of the stuff you see these people doing in doomsday movies! But for real.. if nearly everyone I know is dead or dying and every single day is a struggle, I'm not so sure I'd want to stick it out eating space man ice cream sandwiches and trying to fight off zombies (or aliens or nuculear explosions or whatever.)

My grandma is a big fan of the doomsday propaganda crap. She has a whole stock pile of food and is thinking about buying some of those big barrels to seal water in and some of that freeze dried food. I guess she'd be my asset - I'll bring her with me to the commune or whatever, haha. She has enough in her basement to feed a family of four for at least a year! It's crazy.


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## cinnamitch (Mar 22, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I want!
> 
> http://www.geekologie.com/2012/03/pizza-under-the-stars-camping-ovenstove.php




ooh I like it


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## imfree (Mar 22, 2012)

DevenDoom said:


> I want!
> 
> http://www.geekologie.com/2012/03/pizza-under-the-stars-camping-ovenstove.php



Cute, looks really handy! I think I want one, too. A person would need a doomsday supply of propane, but what doomsdayer wouldn't be stocked with plenty of propane, storage batteries, and solar panels, any way?


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## joswitch (Mar 22, 2012)

Jack Secret said:


> I'm suddenly compelled to say "God bless America". A gun lover that can't own a gun That just ain't right!



Is sad story. On the up side, it turns out that teaching yourself to shoot with an air rifle in your backyard translates well when you get to visit your uncle in Canada and have a crack on a 100yard range with a lever-action .22mag with a red dot sight. Nailed some coke cans that day!


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## joswitch (Mar 22, 2012)

you'd be amazed what you can cook on one of these Trangia meths stoves:




^That's the mini one that I've got, I've cooked many meals on it, during various adventures, but mostly the years I lived in the caravan and later on the boat...

I'm thinking of getting another if I wind up cooking for more than one or two...
Methylated spirits takes v. little space per. calorie heat and it's easy to store safely...

But for zis season's bug-out bag, a solid fuel / hex type stove is even smaller and more versatile than the Trangia:





Should it be TEOTWAWKI, I've got enough chimney flue liner and old bricks in the yard to jury rig my old pot-belly stove from when I lived in a caravan (tow-trailer in USA), which looks a bit like this:





Of course we already have the old Rayburn in the bar next door, (fed from the wood pile the tree surgeons bring) it looks like this, but much older and more knackered!:


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## seavixen (Mar 23, 2012)

joswitch said:


> Butchering, cleaning hides, building fires, knitting, drying meat and making preserves... those are totally valuable skills! And there's a whole lot of anybodys who can't do them.... I look after a house with tenants in it... OMG the utter helplessness when they click a switch and something doesn't happen!!:doh:
> 
> E.g. "[Jo], the hoover's broken. [Landlord] needs to buy us a new hoover*, eh?" (in Australian accent)
> "Have you checked if the bag's full? there's new bags in the kitchen drawer."
> ...



Wait, the tenants get vacuum cleaners? And the bag changed for them? Seriously? How are there people who can't change a vacuum cleaner bag? I can just imagine how horrifying a slipped belt must be. Do they even change light bulbs themselves? 

This is the kind of thing that I am continually shocked by: the total lack of capability and common sense in general. I cannot count the number of times I've cooked for guests, and had them be dumbfounded by the fact that I cook from scratch. Like cooking from scratch is in any way, shape, or form a difficult task, or outside the norm. It's actually easier than most of the "easy" crap. (Except for making butter. We used to churn butter by hand when I was a kid, and that SUCKED.  Someone else can do that.)

"This chicken is great! Where did you get it?"
"What?"
"I mean, is it frozen, or did you Shake 'N Bake, or what?"
"Um, I made the breading. Dried some bread, mixed some spices... you know, I made it. It's really easy; nothing elabourate. I can write down the basic ingredients, if you want."
"I tried Shake 'N Bake once, but it wasn't very good. Now I buy the breaded chicken."
"Uh huh.."

I really don't know how some people function in their day to day lives, when it seems like people need to have their hands held for *everything*. The gap between [most] people in their teens and early twenties now vs, say, my grandmother at that age is utterly unbelievable. I consider myself fortunate to have been raised in a very remote location, with harsh weather (kept people away) and a hunting + local agriculture food supply / way of life. I really miss it, actually.

And... I kind of like it when the electricity is out, TBH. Everything is so quiet, which is not something you really get anymore without going camping somewhere VERY remote, where no one else will show up with their electronics and noisiness and so forth. I think I might be too antisocial to survive a zombie apocalypse.  That said, I have a lot of excellent memories of prolonged power outages with great people. It seems like you don't isolate yourself so much when all of the distractions and conveniences are gone. Everyone gathers around the fire together and actually talks to one another...


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## Jack Secret (Mar 24, 2012)

And... I kind of like it when the electricity is out, TBH. Everything is so quiet, which is not something you really get anymore without going camping somewhere VERY remote

You just reminded me of how quiet the sky was on September 11. You'd be surprised how much noise airplanes make even out in the country


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