Unhappy People Waiting For The Apocalypse

Discussion in 'Mental Preparedness' started by EarlyMarksman, May 9, 2021.

0/5, 0 votes

  1. EarlyMarksman

    EarlyMarksman Master Survivalist
      262/345

    Blog Posts:
    0


    Besides his beliefs in evolution and man just being another animal, I think he makes a decent point in this video.

    I remember watching this when it aired a couple years ago but I just now really have gained an understanding of it.

    Work, pay taxes, die. An endless loop that can really get to me sometimes to be truthful. Anyone know the old songs about the workin' man blues?

    Sitting on my phone at the house mindlessly scrolling, and at the end of these "scrolling sessions" I feel an emptiness. Then I'll either keep scrolling or read something, etc. knowing that at the end of the day I'll have to go to sleep, wake up, clock in, go home, and repeat.

    Take for example though the other night I went camping. When I reached my spot I had to set up my sleep system. After that I had to dig a hole for my fire. After digging I had to build the fire. Then I had to cook supper over the fire. Forgot my spoon so I had to make one out of the lid of my beef stew can. Then I ate. After that I had to wash my dishes in the branch so no coons, insects or other animals would be raiding my campsite for the smell of food residue. Then I had to store my dishes and hang my rag up to dry. Finally I played some music and laid in my hammock for the night.

    I was constantly having to move and do something in order to have a comfortable stay in the woods.

    The advancement of technology has in some instances really assisted our lives and enhanced them. In other cases the opposite. Like in the video he states that we are satisfied but not fulfilled. We sit in our climate controlled homes all day and night feasting upon the media and movies. It leaves nothing but an emptiness.

    There isn't anything inherently wrong with watching a movie or a TV show, but when it consumes you to the point of blankly staring at whatever the screen of choice is for hours on end, then there is an issue.

    I speak from experience. I was a gaming addict for seventeen years. I know the toll it can take and the havoc it can wreak on relationships. Maybe I'm talking to myself here, but for what it's worth I wanted to put this out there to see what everyone else thought. And I've only hit the tip of the iceberg really when it comes to this topic.
     
    Rebecca likes this.
  2. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    LOL! My friend, it sounds like you are suffering from the technology blues. Technology can be great but it is creating a social black hole. Everything is being sacrificed to it including family relationships, couples relationships, family ties, childhoods, and so much more. People prefer to sit on there phone now, absorbed by the tech, than to have conversations at the dinner table. Tech tells you that it brings you everything you need at your finger tips. What it doesn't tell you is that NOTHING it promises is REAL. The computer screen and TV in front of me. The phone beside of me. All of the so called social medias and games and VR. They are nothing but smoke. They could all vanish that fast.

    There is a cure for the Tech Blues. A date with a pretty girl (wife or girlfriend) or your choice. Go. fishing/hunting/camping or any other outdoor preference. Try your hand at art or music or both. Talk to a friend. Put the tech down and do anything real.

    I personally set a daily limit on how much time I am on tech. That way I don't neglect the things and people in my life that make it worth living. It all comes down to personal choice.

    What do YOU want from life?

    Just my opinion.

    Dale
     
  3. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Technology is something I use in the here and now, it may be here for a long time but then it could be gone tomorrow, everything could change in a flash.
    as a prepper friend of mine was fond of saying post SHTF "use what is available to get you to a point in time where you can survive without it when it no longer exists or no longer works".
     
  4. Morgan101

    Morgan101 Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Workin' Man Blues, a big hit for Merle Haggard. I understand the frustration and the monotony of it, but I would also say "The only thing worse than working is not working." Anyone who has been between jobs for any period of time can relate to this. All of a sudden working isn't such a bad thing.

    Early Marksman: I agree. Technology is a blessing and a curse. It has made life easier, and the access to information is remarkable. It has also consumed peoples' lives, and severely hindered if not ruined our ability to communicate with each other. I do not do any Social Media, and try to limit my on-line time.

    A weekend away with no technology sounds pretty good. We should all do it more often.
     
  5. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    "A weekend away with no technology sounds pretty good. We should all do it more often."

    Westerners are fully engaged in distracted living.

    Many Westerners read few books.

    Westerners are losing their ability to communicate with others ... and this is the deeply tragic part, they are losing their inner dialog. Because people are getting used to having information electronically piped into them, they are losing core capabilities within withing the realm of reason itself. People simply can't think for themselves.

    There is now the phenomenon of people developing digital addiction. We joke about people going into withdrawal without their computers, however it is a very real psychological pathology.

    I'm working from home today. On two computers, I currently have 10 windows open. To six of the windows, I must pay very close attention. Must keep up with remote activities, work actions of others. I must maintain some serious timing parameters.

    I've learned to juggle that and be able to contribute to this forum. That is not natural for a human. Our brains are being stretched, yes; however, while at the same time being denied normal ideation. Again, this is Abby Normal.

    People should take vacations to simply ponder nothingness. One must regain their spirit, their Karma, their inner connection to creation and their Creator. Without this we begin to dissolve.
    .
     
    Blitz likes this.
  6. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    "People should take vacations to simply ponder nothingness"

    I absolutely agree but sadly many people 'just have to be connected'. Go on holiday and look around, whole families sitting there like zombies starring at their phones. When I go away my work phone stays home and the number on my personal phone is known to less than thirty people and its turned off until I want to make a call which these days is pretty much just to check in with my son.

    I'll maybe take a quick look online before brekkie or bedtime but not everyday. Vacation = music/movie catchup and general chill out time :)
     
  7. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    No damned 3o people know my phone number!

    I know far more people who are dead than who are alive.

    Except for my immediate family, all of my relatives are dead. All of them.

    Can't be friends with the younger people I work with. They have precious little life experience.

    With all of the above said, communications is not some significant segment of my life.

    The "walking dead" do exist. You see them wandering aimlessly staring into their iPhones.

    I wish quality movies were still being made. Over 99% of movie writers of this era are overtly mentally ill.

    Everyone has gone stupid.

    At least during a zombie apocalypse, you get to shoot the undead.
    .
     
    Blitz, Kranky and TMT Tactical like this.
  8. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    I like technology. I seldom do it one at a time though. Right now the TV is on and I'm pounding away on ly lap top. That said, when my daughter was with us and in school we would turn off all of the TVs, radios and stereos for a month in the summer. I have always spent a lot of time outdoors or in my shops. I spent several hours in one of my shops today and do that most days now that I am retired. I like to make things as does my wife. She has a shop for her art and crafts and I have two. One is a machine shop with wood and metal lathes, table saw, band saw, chop saw, Belt sanders, grinders and drill press. he other is more for my hand crafts but also has a drill press, and sanders and grinders.

    I am a prodigeous reader and have thousands of books both fiction and non fiction. i have a lot of hobbies and do all sorts of crafts. I write, carve, hunt, fish, make corded projects, wood and metal working, leather working, fly tying, knife making and almost anything else that I see and like I try to make it myself. I love being retired!! I get to do the things that I enjoy the most.

    I used to go out and spend a lot of serious time alone in the woods or fishing. Being alone has never been an issue for me. I have one friend that I fish with on Fridays and a couple that I see once or twice a month. My wife and I live on three fenced acres with my kids and granddaughter. I have everything that I need.
     
    TMT Tactical and poltiregist like this.
  9. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    there are no files on my laptop and nothing stored on it, if the internet went down tomorrow all I would lose is access to this forum.
    I have a large library of real books, these are my reference library, mostly prepping and survival subjects, these will be accessible long after the power grid is ancient history.
    I dont make phone calls and I dont receive phone calls, mobile phone is for emergencies only and stays in my pocket turned off.
     
    TMT Tactical and poltiregist like this.
  10. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Once data/audio/video files are on your machine you don't need the internet to access them. Very handy to have on or offline; how many books can you carry? I have a thousand in the side pouch of a back pack.
     
  11. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    why would I need to carry them? I'm not bugging out anywhere.
    computers and phones need to be recharged at some point, books are accessible immediately.
    some peoples dependency on technology will be their downfall post SHTF.
     
    Blitz and TMT Tactical like this.
  12. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    You can charge phones/tablets easy enough off a cheap solar charge https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284023688243?hash=item4221218c33:g:L0QAAOSwbTNesCxX sort of thing and planning to bug in seems sensible to me you need a plan B for if you have to get out of dodge fast. Many laptops run off 12V these days so its easy enough to get charge into them even of the little 20W rig I linked. Lot of LED lanterns are charged from USB too these days.

    I love real books but its nice to have the option of having a library in the palm of your hand at times.
     
    Blitz and Rebecca like this.
  13. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    British people dont evacuate, "cut and run" is not in the British psyche.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  14. Rebecca

    Rebecca Master Survivalist
      315/345

    Blog Posts:
    0
    What I find, living the way I do is that it gives me more flexibility. Instead of that everyday TV or phone evening (well not tv since I don't own one lol), with almost no variation, I find here its often different. For example last night I spent hours whittling down a fruit/nut tree catalogue to what we want and need the the soonest and can afford. Some nights there just seems to be things that have to be done..eg caring for a sick animal or repairing something and the next thing you know the evening is gone. And then there are still tbe nights I will just scroll. But at least things get changed up.

    And credit where due, Max has some good points and ideas here.
     
    Blitz, Alaskajohn and EarlyMarksman like this.
  15. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    if someone is a technophobe maybe.
    relying on technology post SHTF is what will kill a lot of people.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  16. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    "The Apocalypse" may mean different things to different people.
    to me it means a new start, a simpler more natural way of life, closer to the earth.
     
    EarlyMarksman and TMT Tactical like this.
  17. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    technophobe
    /ˈtɛknə(ʊ)fəʊb/

    Learn to pronounce

    noun
    a person who fears, dislikes, or avoids new technology.


    Technology is a matter of scale, you can stick at the lower end of the tech scale or adapt and move up. A steel axe came about from massive leaps in technology and people embraced it, no different to modern people adapting and using modern technology.

    You house catches fire and you loose your library, my house catches fire and I grab my kindle on the way out, I still have my books but you don't.

    A plus point for living in a 'throw away' society is that last years technology sells cheap this year.

    You can pick up an i5/8GB/SSD for £200 and a used Kindle for £25 off ebay (or install the kindle app on your laptop/phone). Lots of old classic books are now free on sites like https://www.gutenberg.org/ and if you don't mind 'pirate' downloads you can get pretty much any book published in electronic format for free (I'm not advocating illegal downloads of course).

    The technology is here, established and reliable so we may as well use it IMHO.
     
  18. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    as my friend said " use it to get to a place and point in time post SHTF where you can learn to live without it when it no longer works or just dosent exist".
    technology is for the here and now, rely on it post SHTF for survival and its a recipe for failure.
    not that you believe in SHTF.
     
    EarlyMarksman and TMT Tactical like this.
  19. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Nowhere in the UK to go and live off the land LW, sure you could bug out and live a while on rabbit and if lucky fish but long term you are reliant on technology like your axe or the food stock you stored, they are as much for the here and now as is your electronic tech kit.

    I like kerosene/paraffin lanterns, they are simple and easy to use but rely on a constant supply of fuel and wicks but I still use them camping. I've also got four of these types I picked up cheap enough to dump if they did not work

    [​IMG]

    They work and need no fuel or wicks. I modded them to run off external power packs as well. I expect to get an easy five years of use out of them, more depending on the Cree emitter fitted.
     
  20. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    your posts just show how little you know about real prepping and survivalism.(your above remark is so wrong for several reasons).
    and I'm not the only one that thinks so.
     
  21. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    If any people can't live off the land, they are dead.

    In this small town where I live, I could till my property and the property of my neighbors and we could get by. My small garden has consistently produced a steady output of veggies for immediate consumption and for storage. I could at least quintuple the garden's size.

    Due to this being an agricultural region, even inside our towns city limits there are corn fields. I was saddened to see such an acreage go up for sale this past month. One swath of land near the grocery we patronize has at least an acre of vegetable production going on. Inside town, there are woods and land overgrown with scrub.

    A river passes through our town and their are many creeks. Finding water is no issue. Anyone in town can walk to flowing water. We are nestled among the mountains, after all. Snow melts after winter often bring flooding to low-lying land. The mountains are too steep for agriculture, however there is forage therein. Too, there is no shortage of dead wood that has not gone to utter rot ready to be turned into firewood. (This deadwood will pose a major fire threat some year when a drought strikes!) Same could be said for in-town downed trees, ha ha ha! I could walk down any street or road with Mr. Chainsaw and cut more wood than we could burn in a season.

    In-town homes have flowers growing out front and veggie gardens out back. There are at least five in-town stores that sell veggie seedlings during spring and they always sell out -- get there late and they'll have nothing left. This newest rototiller of ours is only bit over five years old and in excellent shape. I wish I were in as good of shape as my tiller. We also have two stacks of manual gardening tools. I've busted sod with a mattock a many a day, but those days are sure behind me now.

    I can drive three minutes and be surrounded only by for-profit agriculture and forests. Indeed, three minutes another direction and I'd be in the mountains thus in solid forest. Only a very few roads cut through these mountains. If one road gets cut, one has to drive 30+ miles north or south to find some road to get across them. Large interstate highways across the mountains are separated by over 100 miles. Just one mountain landslide can kill east-west trucking or rail transport -- diversion represents a greater than hundred miles' worth of detour. This has happened and certainly will happen again.

    America's urban areas are jammed into coastal areas of oceans and the Great Lakes. Interior cities are surrounded by agriculture.

    There are two separate and distinct Americas. The self-sufficient and the dependent. Post SHTF, the dependent will be ravaged. During the soon upcoming SHTF days, those nations who have been importing their food from America will go wanting.

    Europe can feed itself, I'm sure.

    https://www.science20.com/news_staf...and_a_new_report_wants_it_to_get_worse-240283

    I think the U.K. could feed itself also, especially after the urbanites finish-off each other. What with the import of aggressive people, the city population numbers will get whacked when push comes to shove -- as in knife-shoving. Even during SHTF and after SHTF, the most aggressive will eat. History confirms this to be darkly true. The material out of destroyed buildings will provide kindling for the campfires heating canned goods whose previous owners have been eliminated. The most savage will eat well ... for a while anyway. In the countryside, the locals will get by; plus, they'll have a bit of time to make more defense preparations for the surviving urbanites who will inevitably show up hungry.

    https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/articles/can-britain-feed-itself

    .
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  22. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Lonewolf it depends on your definition of prepping and survival. I'm well prepped in materials and stores and I'd guess my personal survival skills are as good as anyone here including you LW none of which make me a better or worse 'prepper' than anyone else here.

    Where I differ from some here is I don't allow myself to over focus on what may or may not happen and fill up with negative thoughts; I wake up each day intent on enjoying life and if it hits the fan I have 'things' and skills to employ and fall back on.

    You don't like technology fine, I don't care but I'll promote aspects of it if I think it useful to other people (as in the little tent light I listed...no need to carry batteries) and I can't see harm in that.

    As it turns out I'm attending a funeral Tuesday of an aunt of mine who passed away, non covid, in her sleep, wonderful woman, full of energy and positivity toward life and a great role model me growing up but my brother and I won't get sad over it, we'll have a happy day celebrating her life.
     
    Blitz and TMT Tactical like this.
  23. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Those who cannot focus, inevitably perish.

    During the interim, they fiddle away, gloriously happy to outward seeming.

    upload_2021-5-14_10-13-54.png
     
    lonewolf and TMT Tactical like this.
  24. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    it will be interesting to see how many or how few manage to ADAPT to the new normal post SHTF, many will try to hold onto those things they had before the collapse and it will drag them down, we cannot live a technology type life once things like electricity, home deliveries and even flushing toilets are no more.
    if someone cannot grow their own food having a stock of cans will only delay the inevitable.
    the big apocalypse wont come straight at the beginning but will come later when all the processed food has been used up, that will seperate the survivors from the non survivors.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  25. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Electronics will be around for a long time after a major event, it won't 'drag them down' on the contrary it will help in building a new community whether its basic electronics like power generation or providing reference material for adults and educational material for children stored on computers.

    I'm no farmer but I've got books on farming, making compost, making fertiliser, hydropincs, husbandry et al, the knowledge is at my our fingertips and I for one am not prepared to be under-prepared by limiting the tools I have to hand and electronics are certainly in my tool box.

    When I go camping I take a tent and equipment to suit conditions...I use technology. If that technology disappeared I'm more than capable from making a shelter from materials to hand whether thats in the woods or building a Quinzhee from snow. I embrace technology whether thats in the design of a new jacket or a compact portable laptop (like my i7 Surface Pro). You stuck in a time warp LOL But hey ho, each to their own...enjoy everyday as if its your last :)
     
    1. Ystranc
      Books on farming and animal husbandry tend to miss out practicalities and just provide dry facts.
      There is a critical path of learning without which it is almost impossible to prosper as a farmer. My advice to anyone thinking of farming after the apocalypse is to get some experience now, even if it's just helping out on a farm in order to get some hunting privileges.
       
      Ystranc, May 24, 2021
      Rebecca likes this.
  26. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    "Electronics will be around for a long time after a major event", thats your first error, we wont be able to rely on anything outside of our own skill and knowledge base, for instance having books on farming does not make someone a farmer ( anymore than they will make me a rocket scientist!).
     
    TMT Tactical and Dalewick like this.
    1. Ystranc
      This is one of the rare occasions that I unreservedly agree with you Lonewolf. Farming cannot be learned from a textbook, the ability to prosper is built on "hands on learning"
      Reference books are useful but experience is key.
       
      Last edited: May 24, 2021
      Ystranc, May 24, 2021
      Rebecca and lonewolf like this.
  27. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    You can develop your skill set and knowledge base with books, thats the idea of having knowledge stored and to hand...can you understand that? If not then thats your first mistake.

    Electronics will be around a long time. Next time you hiking on the moors look around you at the technology employed by hikers, everything from hi tech designed clothing to hand held electronics and very often the means to charge them.

    If you break away from your Luddite views and want help going down a mobile power route to help you in prepping don't be afraid to ask, I'll give you some pointers...ignore the old saying, you can teach an old dog new tricks mate.
     
  28. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    If a series of EMP attacks occur, or if a solar coronal mass ejection is a good one, then our radios will be back to tubes for a while. Cars and trucks with point-type distributors will be running.

    I can see an old farmer using a crank pump to get fuel out of an underground tank at an abandoned gas station. He'll drive off in his 1960s truck to feed his 1960s tractor.

    Rototillers will work with stolen gas also. Seeds, mattocks, hoes, ... . Back to back-work, oh my!

    Electronics will return after 5 to 10+ years, meanwhile there will be none during the SHTF war days.

    Industrial control equipment is EMP protected, but lately some software hackers have gotten into systems that were inadequately fire-walled. (I've personally shot a 35,000 Volt bolt into a controller housed inside a NEMA cabinet. I didn't hit the cabinet, I opened it to test the controller itself. The controller didn't die! It was hard for me to believe also!)

    You want to keep something, it had better be kept in a Faraday cage if it wasn't specifically engineered to be noise-hardened. Many cars, trucks, and farm equipment will survive a massive EMP. HOWEVER, if the energy levels within the EMP get high enough, no electronics will survive it. Military aircraft have triple redundant-systems and the Russians kept tubes in their electronic circuits for their MIGs for one long time.

    https://qrznow.com/ham-radio-emp-kit-the-tactical-trash-can/

    .
    .
     
    lonewolf and TMT Tactical like this.
  29. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Just a suggestion. For those that haven't watched the movie: Greenland. You might want to have a watch. Tech can be great, but it can also be a 2 edged sword. Just a thought.

    Dale

    R1970e64574f5b64314367b069097b29b.jpg
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  30. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    as this thread is about the apocalypse it is not about the here and now.
    relying on anything which we cannot make or repair ourselves post SHTF WILL result in failure.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  31. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    "relying on anything which we cannot make or repair ourselves post SHTF WILL result in failure."

    It will eventually...to a degree.

    In my opion the biggest threat to humanity is a virus. We've been lucky todate with C19 and it low mortality rate but it has shown us how fast a virus will spread and how unprepared we were and no doubt will be in the future. Its also shown that a lot of people are unwilling to co-operate in halting the spread, won't observe social distancing/wear a mask or refuse to vaccinate and that combination combined with a highly viralent virus could give the mass deaths so many preppers seem to desire :(

    That said, there will be survivors and those survivors will (I hope) have access to knowledge to help start building communities. Post major event like this we won't have access to China and its factories which churn out so much of what we use in our daily lives but we'll be able to scavenge from what the dead leave behind for a long long time and maintain power, computers (if only home computers) and communications which gives us a massive advantage over previous generations.

    Could you build a hyro-electric generator from a washing machine LW? No? No problem, you can learn


    Do you know how to setup a basic home solar power system? No problem, you can learn


    What are your home canning skills like? You can learn


    Install https://www.4kdownload.com/products/product-videodownloader free version and any video on youtube/dailymotion can be downloaded, if its music you have the option to just download the audio track. For over a year I've downloaded thousands of videos and articles, I've backed them up, I've backed up the backup and all this knowledge is free to anyone who wants it.

    If TSHTF now technology will narrow down in its scope but it will be around for longer than my lifetime.

    Your never too old to change your ways and open your eyes mate and thats not meant as an insult, but you do seem very stuck in your ways and to people more open to new ideas like me your fixed stance on prepping is very perplexing, to be honest I just can't understand it.

    Anyway, each to their own and all that.

    Typed on a lappy, sent via 4G from the comfort of my campervan (dodging the rain) parked up on the Gower peninsula complete with sea view.....gotta love technology :cool:
     
  32. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    without a supply chain and a manufacturing base NOTHING will be produced post SHTF unless we can do it ourselves, which is why I say "if you cant make it or repair it yourself, then learn to live without it". scavenging the bits to repair electronics or whatever could be a risky business in a post SHTF/WROL world.
    better hope for a huge mortality rate then because if it isnt there wont be much of anything left to scavenge as the looters will make sure of that, what they cant use they will destroy.
    putting all ones survival hopes on falling over stuff to use after a major event is a risky strategy.
    the biggest threat to human beings is other humans, and for a long time this has been so and nothing has changed.
    the main occupation post SHTF is putting food on the table, nothing else, without food humans will die, its that simple.
    its better to start at a basic lifestyle that we know we can survive at, without needing help or assistance from either humans or machines that may not be available, either for a long time or not at all.
    I have tried to explain it as best I can but I feel I may be "flogging a deceased equine":rolleyes:
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  33. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    Roving groups of trash people will be a major problem for the first year or so. As they move out of the cities they will be thinned out pretty fast. Their silly assault weapons won't do them a lot of good when people that have hunted their entire life start popping them from 200 to 300 yards out. Even a vintage old 30-30 is easy and good out to a couple hunred yards when all you want to do is hit them. You couldn't care less if they run off and die a week later. I am well armed and will have no problem killing intruders that don't leave when I advise them to go.

    Food is easy if you know what is available and will eat what you can find. Native Americans were masters at this. What I have done over the years is go to flea markets and pick up old school things like hand powered grinders and pressure cookers. When old people die their kids don't have any intrest in all that old stuff and you can pick it up for very little. Meat grinders, meat saws, pressure cookers, and mason jars will allow you to put up thing when they are produced for eating later. I was raised doing this so it isn't a big deal to me. We canned almost year around as different things can to harvest. If you don't have refrigeration canning meat will keep it for a LOOOONG time.

    For a great number of people the psycological issues are going to be real bad and hard to deal with. When the power goes down you will suddenly realize that any of your family that doesn't live very near to you may never be seen again. You will not know what is happenong anyplace that is as little as 50 miles away. Many of your friends that seemed close re suddenly a full day away walking. A LOT of people around you are going to die and there is nothing that you can do about it. If someone has major health issues it is just a matter of time for them. Old people are not going to last long. If they were not in good physical shape on the day things went down they probably won't be able to adapt. A lot of young people won't be able to deal with "the end of the world."

    Have you ever dug a grave? I have and it is hell. Where I live when you get a couple of feet down you hit clay that is like a brick! You have to deal with all of the ugly things that our sociaty has done for us and it is NOT going to be pretty. With no hospitals or doctors even a minor injury can kill you. People used to die from mosquito bites that they scratched and go infected. Without anibiotics you can die. The problem with all of our antibiotics is that instead of having a strong immune system that fights infections we have become dependent on drugs.

    Lot of things to think about...
     
    Blitz, TMT Tactical and lonewolf like this.
  34. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    "Meat grinders, meat saws, pressure cookers, and mason jars will allow you to put up thing when they are produced for eating later. I was raised doing this so it isn't a big deal to me. We canned almost year around as different things can to harvest. If you don't have refrigeration canning meat will keep it for a LOOOONG time."

    Spot on!

    I'm so glad my wife is good at canning. She learned a lot from my maternal grandmother who was a canning guru, i.e. came from poverty, big time. You caned food and salted pork, or you didn't make it through the bad winters.

    I put my rice and dried beans away in Mason Jars. As you use-up the dried food, you free-up your canning jars. Remember to put back jar lids.

    Don't forget to put back salt and sugar and seasonings. These items mightily lend themselves to storage. They last on and on and on. Cooking oil doesn't have the shelf life I'd like, but canola oil lasts a year and a half. Perpetually rotate the cooking oil in your pantry.

    I myself do not know about canning lard, so I found a video. Anyone with more knowledge, please contribute. Also, if you find fault with this video, let us know. In my family, we didn't put back lard. The Streaked meat was salted, but used rather quickly, so I don't know about lard storage. Streaked meat went into the beans, so poof! it got gone quick. New renderings provided weekly needs.


    .
     
    Rebecca and Ystranc like this.
  35. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    absolutely, I havent seen my half sister, or my cousin because of the pandemic for over a year and I'm not expecting to see them anytime soon, in a major SHTF I will probably never see them again, wife hasnt seen her family for about 18 months.
    I used to go to car boot sales before Covid not like some people to just mooch about on a Sunday morning, I went to buy things, mostly hand tools and the like and I've now got a decent lot of hand tools, backups for tools and backups for backups too.
    post SHTF survival wont be just about how much canned or stored food one has, if that was the case all human life would end when all stored food was gone, post SHTF survival is about self reliance, what you and yours can do to help you survive, without tools and the proper seed-which must be gathered before any event happens you wont find it afterwards, just throwing any seed into the ground without knowing what your doing is not going to work, as someone I knew used to say when growing stuff he had the "black hands of death" not green fingers!!!
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  36. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    People scavenge, you at car boot sales and it will be the same post major event; its human nature.

    Look at the Black Death which wiped out a large portion of the population (took an estimated 200 years to get the population back up to pre plague numbers) and you'll see that we owe a great debt to monks who while often living in isolation became the repositories of knowledge, of technology, they copied books...they stored knowledge, they helped maintain the knowledge base. My worry for many preppers who don't have access to stored knowledge is that they'll be breeding generations of ever ignorant people which won't bode well for the future of humanity.

    As a prepper, how are you preparing to educate children?
     
  37. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    yep, flogging a dead horse, heads and brick walls, horses and water spring to mind.
    Scavenging is a risky venture even at the best of times and may not even be possible post SHTF , sensible people will be hunkering down and staying put not looking for trouble, Scavenging is NOT prepping , scavengers are looters and thieves who havent prepared for bad times.
    preppers will have more knowledge at their fingertips than any scavenger and looter, who will probably be shot on sight anyway, like I said before its a risky strategy and could be a fatal one.
    prepping is about being prepared not doing nothing until after a major event has already happened, it used to be called common sense but that is in short supply these days.
    children will be educated but they will be educated in things they need to know like growing food, animal husbandry, black smithing and forestry, not woke subjects like rewriting history and communist ideology.
    The Black Death /plague killed about 45% of the population but in some villages it was nearer 80-90% and some places just ceased to exist and that was with lower population numbers than now, (around 6 million to our 66 million +)with our crowded cities and large urban centres the mortality rate would be much higher.
     
    TMT Tactical, wally and poltiregist like this.
  38. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    The giant urban population centers will be deathtraps unless you have a prepared second site and can bail FAST and lead the pack out of town. The problem will be that first off people that are evacuating all to often seem to leave their brains behind. If you aren't leading the pack you may well end up in the middle of nowhere and having to adandon everything except what you can carry. I have seen this several times when people from Houston were evacuating andrunning from a hurricane. If you live in the big city you need to get out fast and get off the intersyaye hyways fast.

    The next problem that the big city folks with run into will be people in the small towns blocking off the exits into their town. This isn't as mean as it seems. A little town of 500 has no way to deal with several thousand people with little more than the clothes on their backs and very little money. A word to the wise, country and small town people don't take well to pushy city slickers and it will get UGLY in a flash.

    Since I sort of bugged out nearly 40 years ago I am well set but have learned lot too. When I bought this place I hunted deer in my front yard. I had one neighbor and they were never home except to sleep. They owned a resraunt and he works mornings and she worked the evenings 7 days week.

    I have over the years added lots to the original place. I have three out buildings each devoted to different crafts and two 2 car carports one of which I put sides on. Both my wife and I are serious crafters. I try to keep food for a couple of months. I live in the country and have lots of hunting and fishing near by. We usually have a small garden, actually my daughter who lives beside me on our three acres is the serious farmer. The entire place is fenced and we have three big dogs that will make sure nobody sneeks up on us. They are mostly harmles but my yorkie might chew your ankle if you don't act nice.

    Even if you can't afford a country place or to move to the country you can look for a nice area and maybe "vacation" there and make some connections. If you have some useful skills and are armed you may be able to find someone that will need to help and more security. We have 4 and a kid here but I would much prefer if we had at least 6 adults. When you are growing food the more the merrier. We are surrounded by open land and after the fall the owners either never be seen again or might like to join with us.
     
    TMT Tactical and wally like this.
  39. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Sounds like a nice setup Dan, space, land, family...sounds good to me. Land prices in the UK are crazy high, you see woodland for sale at anywhere between $US 15,000 - $US30,000 and acre and cripling planning restrictions...you can't do anything with it. Small holdings, like 5 acres with house and outbuilding will cost half a million dollars or more. In Spain I can buy a 'Finca' (farmhouse) and a few acres from $US80,000 for a fixer upper.
     
  40. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    One thing about Texas is that we have lots of land and once you get away from the major urban areas it is pretty nice and not crowded. It has its down sides but i don't mind them. It is 20 miles in any direction to go to a store other than a convience sized store. There is one exception in that one of our little stores does butchering and has great meat. It is 20 miles to school for the kids and you put a lot of miles on a car that way.

    You can find forested land here for about 3 thousand an acre. If it is developed it goes up and you may need a 4 wheel drive to come and go in the wet months if you are not used to driving on dirt roads but you get used to that. I never had a problem with a regular two wheel drive truck but I have been on mud roads for 30 or 40 years. we now have a paved road but that wasn't true until a few years ago.
     
    TMT Tactical, wally and Max rigger like this.
  41. Kranky

    Kranky Expert Member
      190/230

    Blog Posts:
    0
    As it is I'm hoping we have a bit of time before a true SHTF scenario. Mainly, the sandy soil is still being worked to produce a decent garden. For now we're growing a few things in big buckets, but no where near able to subsist on what it can produce. It's what we're working on.

    Other than getting the garden going better, I think we can adapt fairly well. Couple hours from a major city, and a smaller city about 10 miles away. Our home isn't visible, and there's 3 other homes scragglers would get to before it could even get to ours, if they found it. Lots of producing trees and bushes and quite a bit of wildlife. Deep well and hand pump if needed. House is situated purposely to take advantage of passive/solar and does great other than extreme heat or cold.

    We also lucked out inheriting the land that connects with husbands grandparents. Grandpa collected a lot of low tech and antique tools, he's passed and grandmother has moved to town giving use to anything we find. Speaking of, their underground house sits not far and is an option for weather extremes. There is enough land we could bring some family members, safety in numbers.

    If SHTF tomorrow we'd have a small leg up. But will still keep working on it, because I'm happy waiting on it.
     
    poltiregist, BSHJ, wally and 4 others like this.
  42. Ystranc

    Ystranc Master Survivalist
      410/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    There are good points raised in this thread but the initial title doesn't just describe those trapped in unfulfilling 9-5 jobs, "unhappy people waiting for the apocalypse" sums up quite a few people on this forum as well.
    Knowledge is what will drag us back out of the dark ages, we have a responsibility to educate our children so that they can achieve things that are beyond our own expectations and limitations, in order to do so it is important to keep knowledge secure (in whatever format) and provide opportunities for them to learn.
    Certain things/skills do not translate well from books to real life and are better learned first hand, it is better to do so before you need to.
     
  43. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    does anyone do a 9-5 job any more? there are many people unhappy in their work whether the Apocalypse comes or not.
    its not that we will go back to the "dark ages" but that we will revert to a simpler way of life.
    reference books are okay but one has to know something about the subject or else it might just as well be written in double dutch for all the sense it makes.
     
    TMT Tactical and wally like this.
  44. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    You will need to educate children and for that you need a community that can afford the luxury of having a teacher, having someone who is not needed working the land who they can spare from general chores to teach and also be able to afford children the time from work to teach.

    Its thought that a typical graduate will forget about 20% of what they were taught and effectively de-skill themselves unless they keep learning, topping up their knowledge. So, get a teacher who does not update teaching only at most 80% of what they were taught means the new graduates have a poorer education who in turn if they don't update will just encourage the downward spiral and turn out ignorant children.

    I lurk on a few prepper/survival forums and education doesn't seem to get talked about much :(
     
  45. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0

    Home schooling is far more effective than classroom education. What it takes a classroom 7 hours a day for can be done at home in 2 to 3 hours a day. Home schooling becomes more effective if you have a small group of parents that have varied backgrounds. Especially if any work or worked professional positions. My wife is a retired elementary school teacher and she is where I got that info from. As parents, we weren't happy with the education our kids got in public school, so we used all possible moments as teaching moments. All the things that they didn't get in school like, geography, advanced biology, history, etc as well as actual life skills like first aid, art, marksmanship, home finance, etc. I guess we got something right. The oldest is a Aerospace Engineer and the youngest is a Biomedical Engineer.

    Working on a farm or surviving after a major SHTF will include educating children. Children learn what they see even when adults aren't teaching. It's just part of being young.

    Dale
     
  46. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Any studies done on that Dale, impartial studies? Germany, Holland and most of Spain have banned home schooling because its shown to be detrimental to a child's education and social developemtn.

    Certainly in the UK during lockdown home schooling by parents has shown to have failed big time but then what your suggesting is in effect setting up a school with volunteer teachers running a shorter day which may work if you have a bright pool of parents to pick from I guess.

    Community education post 'fall' would need some serious planning and implementation thats for sure.
     
  47. Old Geezer

    Old Geezer Legendary Survivalist
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    1
    Dale is at base minimum twice the man you are. This is when you should be listening to your elders.

    Speaking of elders: In humankind's evolution, it was the crew of elders, men and women with a half-century-plus of learning who were the repositories of knowledge -- this, for all tribes of humans. Mother Nature usually writes-off those who are beyond their reproductive age, but NOT with humans. We humans are not just smart animals. We must learn for this world AND the coming planes of existence beyond this material world. Elders dream dreams. Elders are inspired by those on the other side. I have had my dead speak to me.

    Back to this world, teachers in America often only prove themselves by being proficient in making paper mache dinosaurs. Two decades ago, the state of North Carolina was going to require teachers to prove that they could pass a high-school exam. This caused utter rage amongst the teacher's union. Such a test was deemed racist.

    Home schooling often times is the only REAL schooling kids get. We had our kids in government schools, private schools, parochial schools, also got them tutoring when needed. My wife and I had to become experts on education, because the government schools were profoundly incompetent.
    .
     
    TMT Tactical and Dalewick like this.
  48. Dalewick

    Dalewick Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    There are studies, but there American studies so I'm thinking I won't post them. Differences in philosophies and lifestyles. Education is only as good or bad as the effort put into it by those doing the teaching. The masses had the same experience here while schools were operating under COVID. Same kind of people that sit at a restaurant table engrossed in the cell phone and never talking to there kids are the ones that think it's a bother to care about there education. Junk in. Junk out.

    As far as what Germany, Spain and Holland go. The history and love of control of there populations (including fascism) leave me to wonder is there concern education.....or control.

    I tend to look at what countries ban or restrict home schooling and what countries embrace the practice, like New Zealand, Australia, UK and the USA. I've visited countries where home schooling was not allowed and watched some of those kids doing bayonet drills for there PT.

    Dale
     
    TMT Tactical and Max rigger like this.
  49. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Twice the man ? LOL what a stupid statement. I respect elders who earn respect, age does not always endow wisdom, knowledge or good character, remember that old geezer.
     
    1. Old Geezer
      Dale is a combat veteran. From the bottom of my very soul I pray that one day you will mouth-off to just the right man. I don't want you dead, but it would be a joy to learn of your being put in intensive care.
       
      Old Geezer, May 26, 2021
  50. Max rigger

    Max rigger Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Dale, take a look at the educational system in Finland (if you've not already), at first glance it can't work but...it does work and its very different from traditional teaching models.
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Family Of 7 Discovered Living In Dutch Farm Cellar For Years Waiting For World To End News, Current Events, and Politics Oct 18, 2019
Still Waiting For The Trip Report ! The Hangout Sep 17, 2019

Share This Page