tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591154080341876662024-02-08T08:54:54.848-07:00The Urban SurvivalistSuburban & Urban Survival * Staying Alive * Emergency Preparedness * SHTF * TEOTWAWKIThe Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.comBlogger254125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-10932200913180866602012-07-05T08:40:00.000-06:002012-07-05T08:40:54.992-06:00Some Self Defense BasicsHey, everyone. If you haven't noticed by now I've been focusing a lot on self defense lately. It seems to be almost completely ignored by people in preparedness circles. I can understand why. It takes a long time to get good at it. There's a lot of getting sweaty and rolling around with other sweaty people. It's pretty easy to get hurt. Especially, if you're just rolling around with your buddies in your backyard. Quality training is pretty expensive. Besides, why learn how to fight when you can just carry a gun? Realistically, though, there aren't too many situations that we should be prepping for that are more likely than getting jumped on the street and sometimes pulling a gun will get you in a lot more trouble than it's worth. Here are some really good videos on self defense basics. Stephan Kesting has a lot of BJJ videos online and he's one of the better "youtube instructors" that I've found. He sticks to the basics and he does a good job of explaining everything thoroughly and simply so that it's easy to understand. Check them out and let me know what you think.<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v8AVFmaA3Y8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PJz8YQ5rXZw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CusoFfBmTWU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Thp7ipnjyTI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hyMbOrV92Dk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-46886867337054166652012-06-15T10:30:00.000-06:002012-06-15T10:33:43.692-06:0010 Natural Disasters Caught on Surveillance<p>Today I've got a guest post for you all. If you've got an idea for a guest post you can shoot me an email at artyboy at gmail dot com. If I like it then I'll post it up. Just make sure that it's original content and not something that's been posted on a million other blogs all over the internet please. Anyway, on to the post.</p><blockquote><p>About the Author: This article was written by <a href=www.2mcctv.com>2MCCTV Surveillance</a>, international supplier of <a href=www.2mcctv.com/security-cameras>surveillance cameras</a> and <a href=www.2mcctv.com/surveillance-systems>complete systems</a>. They offer complete security solutions for home and small to enterprise-level businesses. 1-877-926-2288</p><p>The past decade has been filled with natural disasters. These recent disasters have had drastic consequences on the environment and the people affected. Tsunamis and earthquakes destroyed homes and displaced millions. What are your plans for a natural disaster; do you know what to do? </p><p>There are thousands of recorded videos on the internet depicting the tragedies. Here we’ve compiled 10 natural disaster videos captured by surveillance and security camera that do a great job of capturing disasters in action.</p><p>Keep in mind, these videos aren’t intended to ignite fear, but rather increase awareness (as is the purpose of The Urban Survivalist) of all the potential dangers out there that would require preparation, in case you are ever caught in such a catastrophic event. </p></blockquote><br />
1. Live Earthquake Cam Turkey Hospital, Erdbeben <br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Frk18kw7iQ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Turkey was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in October 2011. What would you do if you were in the same situation?<br />
<br />
2. Data Center Security Cam recordings of 09.09.09 flood at Vodafone Istanbul, Turkey <br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ttcQy3bCiiU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Watch as the flood tips over the desk at 3:20. Tip for next time: Bolt down your desk!<br />
<br />
3. Haiti Quake Seen on Surveillance Cameras<br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1hBhmZrdfos" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
This earthquake had a magnitude of 7 Mw. An estimated 316,000 people died and over 1,000,000 were made homeless.<br />
<br />
4. Family's Surveillance Cameras Rolling as Tornado Hits West Liberty, KY <br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WMsUQGL7j5Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Luckily the family is doing fine. Watch at 0:20 to see how the tree is ripped out from the ground.<br />
<br />
5. Joplin Tornado: East Middle School Surveillance Footage <br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/64covicCcIY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Check out the Main Entrance view, which starts at about 2:45 in the video. This really shows just how powerful this thing is, with pieces of the building just coming apart.<br />
<br />
6. EF5 Tornado Rips Apart House <br />
<br />
<a href>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAPnbzHvIKs</a> (embedding disabled on this video)<br />
<br />
Don’t think that because of the construction of the house this happened. On the contrary, the winds were so fast, 205 mph to be exact, that no matter what the house was made of, it would have been destroyed. <br />
<br />
7. Surveillance Cam Footage of Hurricane Ike Storm Surge in Louisiana <br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lYsq3zK5d9s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Within just 6 minutes, this Louisiana school is flooded when hurricane Ike comes into town. <br />
<br />
8. Extreme Camera Captures Volcanic Eruption <br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xzJYZ1DfB0Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
This extreme CCTV camera captures the eruption of Mount Erebus volcano in Antarctica in infrared. <br />
<br />
9. Japan Earthquake: CCTV Video of Tsunami Wave Hitting Sendai Airport <br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-DSSssHxm4Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
The whole airport is flooded in less than a minute! The tsunami hit after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific area.<br />
<br />
10. 8.8 Chile Earthquake – Office footage <br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f_NUBkJCqcQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
In February of 2010, Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake. This one does a good job of showing how violently an earthquake can suddenly start shaking a room. <br />The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-44082107603337933872012-03-22T19:40:00.000-06:002012-03-22T19:40:35.503-06:00Why you should train jiu-jitsu (or some other "real" martial art)"Where there's discomfort there's fear. In these very tough positions you're in a little piece of hell. And through this daily suffering, you learn to survive in these situations. You have to find comfort in uncomfortable situations. You have to be able to live in your worst nightmare. Jiu-jitsu puts you completely in the moment where you must have complete focus on finding a solution to the problem. This trains the mind to build that focus, to increase your awareness, your capacity to solve problems. Sometimes, you don't have to win. You cannot win. But that has nothing to do with losing." -Rickson Gracie<br />
<br />
This is why I continue to train jiu-jitsu. At a good school you'll do a lot of live grappling (we call it rolling). You get choked out, arm barred, leg locked and put into plenty of other uncomfortable situations all the time till you get used to them. Then you start learning how to defend. Then you find yourself submitting people. Then a new guy comes in the gym and you realize just how effective this stuff is when you feel like you can do whatever you want to them. Things that I would have tapped to in a heartbeat 6 months ago I find myself escaping now. Guys that used to crush me when I first started tell me how tough I am to submit now. The high level guys that used to toy with me actually have to try a little bit now. I've only been doing this for 6 months so I don't consider myself good by any stretch of the imagination but I just keep improving. It's like anything else. Apply yourself and you will get good. It takes lots of time and work, though. It's uncomfortable. It's inconvenient. It's frustrating. It's humbling. You can get hurt. It also gives you a sense of achievement. It makes you stronger. It will get you in shape. It won't make you invincible but it will make you feel a lot more comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Jiu-jitsu won't just make you better at handling some guy who jumps you in a dark alley. It will make you better at handling all types of bad situations.<br />
<br />
If you're interested in looking for a place to train I suggest you start by looking for an academy that teaches Gracie jiu-jitsu. I train under Relson Gracie. I would, of course, recommend any school listed on <a href=http://www.relsongracie.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=5&Itemid=60>his website</a> over all others. If you can't find a Relson school that's convenient then just keep a lookout for a few things. <br />
<br />
First of all, there seem to be a few different types of schools. First are the schools that teach "tournament" jiu-jitsu. For these guys competition is what it's all about. You'll learn jiu-jitsu here. They'll just focus more on how to win competitions. They're all about the sport. Maybe they'll have a token self defense course. Maybe they'll only teach self defense to women and/or higher belts. These schools are fine but in my opinion they're more about getting recognition for their school by winning tournaments than anything else. When they get a ton of people registered at a local tournament and they're winning every division then it attracts a lot of attention.<br />
<br />
Then there are the McDojos. These are the guys who are just in it for the money. They give you a free week/month/whatever and then want to hard sell you on a big contract when your trial is up. You know...after you "get to know" everyone at the gym and it starts to "feel like home". Then they charge you hundreds of dollars to test for your belt after 6 months and want you to pay more to take the "higher level classes". The longer you train with them the more you pay. If you feel like you're getting quality training and you're happy with what you're paying then there's no reason not to stick with a place like this. I'd just suggest trying out some other schools if you find yourself in a situation like this. A lot of times the training seems good because the people training there have never really trained anywhere else. <br />
<br />
I prefer the type of school that I train at. It's not overly expensive. When it's time for a new belt we just get it the next time Relson is in town. The main school is in my instructor's garage. He also does some classes at a few other places. His students are allowed to attend the classes that he teaches. This gives us the opportunity to train with a lot of different people. We spend a lot of time on self defense and wrestling takedowns. Being good at jiu-jitsu is worthless if you can't take the fight to the ground. Competition is encouraged but no one cares if you don't want to compete. We're all really just about getting better at jiu-jitsu. Whatever style you choose to study, that should be the primary focus of your school. <br />
<br />
So you don't have a jiu-jitsu school that's convenient. Now what? There are plenty of martial arts disciplines that work in real life. Kickboxing and boxing are both really good. The best part of both is that if you're training at a good gym you'll get to spar a lot. Did you read the quote at the top of this post? He's talking about a sparring match. If you spar a lot then you'll get used to getting hit, you'll just start reacting correctly naturally and you'll get more and more comfortable. That's the key to being good at fighting. Just get comfortable in a situation where you know you're about to get hit/arm barred/thrown/etc. If you feel confident that you'll know what to do when someone tries to hit you in the face because you've done it a million times in the gym then you'll usually have a huge advantage over the dumbass that's trying to hit you in the face. <br />
<br />
When I first started doing this stuff I was sparring at my kickboxing gym with my head coach. I kept dropping my hand trying to low block his leg kicks because of some crap that I learned in Tae Kwon Do when I was 15. He kept telling me to stop dropping my hand to block his leg kicks. I kept doing it out of habit. Then he faked a low kick and damn near knocked me out with a kick to my face. That was a lesson well learned and I have since forced myself to forget everything that I ever learned in Tae Kwon Do when I was 15. <br />
<br />
Just because you "spar" at your academy/gym/whatever doesn't mean that you're learning anything. In fact, you might be learning some really bad habits. Some obvious rules like no intentional groin shots, no eye gouges, no other cheap bs are pretty obvious but if you're in a gym where you're learning to hit someone then you should practice trying to actually hit them when you're sparring...and you should spar a lot. When you're practicing ripping someone's arm off or choking them out during class then when it's time to spar you should actually try to do it and, once again, you should spar a lot. It's like anything else. Practice makes perfect. Perfection is just that much harder to attain when you're getting hit in the face. But if you can get there when someone wants to smash you then you can do it anytime you want. That's why I train jiu-jitsu.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-86899246126609574222012-02-29T19:57:00.001-07:002012-02-29T20:00:08.971-07:00Just watch itI've been a Joe Rogan fan for a while. I've followed the UFC for years and he's always on point. That got me to take a look at his standup comedy and that's always been entertaining. Until recently I had no idea that he does podcasts until one of the guys I train jiu-jitsu with started posting them up on facebook. Interestingly enough, the dude is pretty freakin brilliant. He digs pretty deep into politics and human nature. Here's a pretty good sample of what you can expect from his content. <br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1l5wP7Ry9do" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
This one is much shorter but it's still good. Check it out. More to come.<br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7NkC93FAT_w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-51405086568485599312011-12-06T10:10:00.000-07:002011-12-06T10:10:31.491-07:00Sorry for the blackoutThings have been pretty crazy around here. I somehow managed to download a virus on my laptop that made it pretty much impossible for it to do anything. Trying to write up posts on my phone has proven to be very frustrating so I've just been neglecting the blog. I've also been ridiculously busy. I've lost 45 pounds since I started training mma/jiu-jitsu. I didn't really consider myself fat to begin with (5'11" 220) but I was getting there. Training for 2-4 hours a day 4-5 days a week, holding down a real job and being a dad tends to cut the schedule down to pretty much nothing. I've still got some posts in the works and now that my laptop is fixed I should be able to find more time to get them written up. Thanks for reading. If you need to get in touch with me you can email me at artyboy at gmail dot com.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-9076552817426450332011-09-21T08:38:00.000-06:002011-09-21T08:38:27.739-06:00Welcome to my new sponsorsI'd like to take a moment to welcome two new sponsors to my blog. I had the pleasure of meeting both of them at the Denver Self Reliance Expo. The first one is <a href=http://directive21.com/>LPC Survival</a>. If you've ever been to a survival blog with direct banner ads then you've probably seen one of their banners. For years they've supported several of the survival blogs in the prepping community. I'm happy to be the latest one on the list. They sell several different Berkey water filters and <a href=http://directive21.com/accessories.html>the parts to make your own</a> (you did see my <a href=http://theurbansurvivalist.blogspot.com/2010/03/fun-with-buckets-homemade-water.html>DIY Berky bucket filter post</a> that I did sometime last year, right?) if you don't want one that's made out of <a href=http://directive21.com/imperial-berkey.html>nice, shiny stainless steel</a> or that has a <a href=http://directive21.com/berkey-light-led.html> built in LED lighting system</a>. They also sell everything from <a href=http://directive21.com/wisefoodstorage.html>Wise food storage</a> survival buckets (keep an eye out for an upcoming review) to <a href=http://directive21.com/emergencyseedbank.html>emergency seed banks</a>. Go check out their site, have a look around and patronize them if you find something that you need.<br />
<br />
<a href=http://forgesurvivalsupply.com/>Forge Survival Supply</a> is another new sponsor. They had one of the coolest booths at the show by far. Why? Because they were selling a wide selection of those cool survival tools and gadgets that we all love to play around with. <a href=https://forgesurvivalsupply.com/my-cart/survival-communications-gps/midland-basecamp-radio/23-162.html?redirected=1>Crank GMRS radios</a>? Check. <a href=https://forgesurvivalsupply.com/store/survival-knives/18.html?redirected=1>Knives that don't suck?</a> Check. <a href=https://forgesurvivalsupply.com/store/survival-tents/35.html?redirected=1>Ultralight 4 season bug out tents</a>? Check. Hell, they even had a <a href=https://forgesurvivalsupply.com/my-cart/survival-tools/the-grappler-grappling-hook/61-337.html?redirected=1>collapsible grappling hook</a>. So what stands out about the products that they're selling? They're not junk. They don't sell anything without testing it first and they review a lot of their products on their gear review website <a href=http://survivalcache.com/>Survival Cache</a>. Thanks to them I finally got to put my hands on a <a href=https://forgesurvivalsupply.com/my-cart/survival-knives/fallkniven-f1-military-survival-knife/18-364.html?redirected=1>Fallkniven F1</a> before buying. It's the survival knife that the Swedish Air Force has issued to their pilots since 1995. Look for the review when I finally get a chance to put it to good use. Check out their site when you get a chance. They're good guys who have good taste when it comes to survival gear.<br />
<br />
I still have room for more banners so if you're interested in advertising feel free to shoot me an email at artyboy at gmail dot com. I'm cheap, I've been around a long time and I'm not going anywhere. I'm also selective. I only take on advertisers who sell quality products and who take care of their customers (my readers).The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-9651582809359754012011-09-17T20:22:00.002-06:002011-09-20T06:58:13.112-06:00Denver Self Reliance Expo was a hitSo this weekend the Denver Self Reliance Expo was held at the Denver Western Stock Show Complex. It surpassed all of my expectations. Granted I didn't expect much. I'm not even sure what I expected, exactly. Regardless, at the end of the day I was impressed by everything. Everyone was very professional, friendly and willing to make a deal. I managed to pick up some needed preps at a good price, I met some great people in the prepper community, I got some great ideas for future posts and I even landed a couple of sponsors. I will welcome them all within the next few days in dedicated posts. <br />
<br />
The majority of the booths consisted of storage food. "Survival buckets" were the most popular item for sale by far. You've probably seen them before. They generally consist of several packages of individual, freeze dried entrees sealed in mylar, packaged in lightweight, space saving buckets. There were also a lot of vendors selling #10 cans of everything from freeze dried fruit to eggs to mountain house entrees. Besides the typical fair that you'd expect from a preparedness expo there were a couple of standout products. <br />
<br />
The <a href=http://www.enerhealthbotanicals.com/steve-quayle-specials/survive2thrive-preparedness-pail.html>40 day/night preparedness pail</a> was the best "survival bucket" at the show as far as I'm concerned. It contains a 36# assortment of organic, vacuum packed, dried whole grains, beans and other necessities. It also includes a meal supplement that they call <a href=http://www.enerhealthbotanicals.com/enerfood-green-superfood/enerfood-super-green-energy-drink.html>"enerfood"</a>. It's a dried powder that contains most of the essential nutrients that you're body needs. Even if you're not in an emergency situation a tablespoon of this stuff every day will be extremely beneficial to you. If you <i>are</i> in a prolonged emergency situation and you're down to nothing but your five year supply of beans and rice you'll wish you had something like this to ensure that your body keeps getting all of the nutrients that it needs. Would you prefer to choke down a super compressed multi vitamin ever day that's made out of a bunch of stuff that you can barely even pronounce (and barely digest) or would you rather mix a tablespoon of powder made out of easily recognizable, easily digestible organic herbs into every meal? I thought so.<br />
<br />
Another standout food storage solution was <a href=http://www.lifesprouts.com/>Life Sprouts</a>. Sprouting is something that <a href=http://theurbansurvivalist.blogspot.com/2008/04/incredible-edible-sprout.html>I've always encouraged preppers to look into</a>. Life Sprouts will show you how to do it right and provide you with the products to ensure success. They've been around for about 20 years so I'd say they know what they're doing. They've got good prices on seed that's produced especially for sprouting. Check them out if sprouting is your thing or you're interested in trying it out. <br />
<br />
There were plenty of other really cool booths there with original ideas. There was a company selling NBC shelters that they can build under your garage floor. I've looked into several different designs and that's the first one that I've seen that may actually make sense for someone with limited space in an urban environment. If you're an engineer with knowledge on NBC shelters <a href=http://smartproducttechnology.com/>feel free to rip this one apart for me</a>. The solar oven booth was cool, too. They had a few ovens set up outside when I showed up with some bread baking. It seemed to be making good progress. I'm confident that the $20 solar oven design that I have in mind will work just as well, though. I just haven't gotten around to testing it. Maybe I'll hold off until we get a nice, cold, sunny day this winter. <a href=http://amandasdamngood.com/>Amanda's Darn Good Salsa</a> was a definite winner. If you can find it you should give it a try. You can also just order it from her website if you want to take my word for it. There are plenty of flavors to choose from. <br />
<br />
I could go on all day. I'll be mentioning some other vendors in future posts. Overall, it was a great couple of days and it was nice to see my wife get excited about preparedness for once. If stuff like this is what it takes to get the masses behind it then I'm all for it.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-76856234938906318732011-09-13T18:10:00.000-06:002011-09-13T18:10:28.725-06:00Self Reliance Expo in DenverThis weekend the <a href=http://www.selfrelianceexpo.com/denver/>Self Reliance Expo</a> is coming to Denver. Adult tickets are $9 ($7 if you're a senior or you preorder online). Kids 12 and under are free. It will be held at the National Western Stockshow Complex on September 16th and 17th. It's open from 10-8 on Friday and 9-6 on Saturday. <br />
<br />
Dave Canterbury from the Discovery Channel's "Dual Survival" series will be the keynote presenter. Jack Spirko, the host of "The Survival Podcast" will be speaking as well. There will also be several workshops going on throughout the weekend. You can read all about those on the website. Of course, there will be several exhibitors offering everything from firearms to kitchen appliances. If it relates to preparedness you should be able to find someone who's selling what you're looking for. There's also a casting call going on for the National Geographic channel's upcoming prepper reality show. I have no idea what the details are behind that but I'm sure they'll fill you in if you're interested.<br />
<br />
I plan on being there Saturday morning to check it out. I'm definitely looking forward to it. It's good to see that there's enough interest in preparedness to warrant a major expo. There's another one coming up in Salt Lake City October 7 & 8 if you can't make it to this one. I'll be posting up an after action review sometime next week so keep an eye out for it.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-76512464760992991412011-08-20T11:22:00.000-06:002011-08-20T11:22:11.195-06:00Results start when you doAfter a few weeks of working out at my gym I posted up some before and after shots on facebook. I had lost about 20 pounds and the results were very noticeable. One of my coaches made a comment that kinda stood out to me. "Results start when you do." I'd known the guy for a few years. Every time I saw him I'd tell him that I was going to start training at his gym. Money was always too tight or I couldn't find the time. Finally, I decided to stop making excuses and just did it. Once I started going finding time was easy and it went from seeming really expensive to being a total steal.<br />
<br />
So how does it pertain to preparedness? That statement can be applied to just about anything. Whether you're planning on starting a food storage plan, getting serious about paying down debt or just learning a new skill it's easy to make excuses and procrastinate. You've got to start doing it and stick to your plan or you'll never get results. Once you start doing it it's never as hard as you had convinced yourself it would be. If it's worth your time and money you'll find the time and money to keep doing it. The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-52005782933071597072011-07-17T19:01:00.000-06:002011-07-17T19:01:34.051-06:00Getting into shape with MMAI'll admit it. I have absolutely no discipline when it comes to working out. I'm the guy who walks around the gym for 5 minutes, does 10 reps then walks around for another 5 minutes. Then I get on the treadmill and walk at a pace that's barely fast enough to get me to break a sweat for 20 minutes while I watch Fox News. When I have a partner things are a lot better. It's easy to stay motivated when you're competing with someone. Unfortunately, I've never had much luck with finding a workout partner that lasted more than a week or two. Then I had my kid. At that point my workout sessions went from half assed to non existent. Waking up, going to work, coming home then taking off again to go to the gym wasn't sitting well with the wifey. <br />
<br />
So for the last couple of years I've been doing basically nothing. I guess that walking my dog burns a few calories. I keep the beer in the basement so that when I want to go grab one I have to take the stairs. I still eat better than most people. That's probably the only thing that saved me from getting ridiculously obese. A couple of weeks ago I tipped the scale at 220. That was sort of the benchmark in my head that I had set when I knew I wasn't going to be able to do much to stay in shape. <br />
<br />
Luckily, a friend of mine had just started coaching at a new MMA gym not far from my house. He invited me down to check things out. I went in for my free class and was instantly hooked. From 6-9:30 we get our asses kicked every night Mon - Fri. The schedule works out pretty well for me. So far I've managed to get in about 3-4 nights of training per week. That's plenty. It's brutal, it's humbling and it's great training. What better way to stay in shape than to learn how to fight? <br />
<br />
What I like about these classes is that they're done as a group. You're not really competing with anyone but you don't want to fall behind, either. The last thing that you want is to be the loser who can't hang. It really makes me push myself a lot harder than I would if I were working out alone. After just a couple of weeks I can already feel a huge difference. I think that this is something that I'll be sticking with for a while. <br />
<br />
It's expensive. Expect to pay $100-$150 a month to train at a quality MMA gym. Most of the "real" MMA gyms will make you sign up and pay for specific classes on a schedule. You train in the classes that you pay for. More classes cost more money. Some gyms let you pay for x nights of classes per week and others book you for a certain class at a certain time on a certain night. Some gyms have a punch card option. You show up to a class and they punch your card. With some gyms, you pay a flat membership fee and you get to go to as many classes as you want. That's how my gym is set up and it's really the only way that I'd want to roll. If you find a really good, smaller MMA gym you can usually work out a deal with the owner. Don't be afraid to try and negotiate.<br />
<br />
Training MMA regularly is the best workout that I've ever had for a lot of reasons. First of all I actually like doing it. It's very hard work and I can't imagine how many calories it burns. You actually learn how to defend yourself in the process of staying in shape. There's so much to learn that I don't see it ever getting boring. You also get to punch people in the face. That's fun. Basically, you're always active and you're always learning new things. It's worth the money if you find a good gym.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-42275358730251831252011-06-28T06:16:00.003-06:002011-06-28T06:37:58.911-06:00My Country My Ass - the mp3Here's a pretty good song I heard on a local radio show. There should be a "clean" version and an "x-rated" version which isn't that bad imo. He says the f word...once. Oh my. The production value isn't phenomenal but the content makes up for it in my opinion. Anyway, check it out if you've got a second. Here's a crappy youtube video:<br />
<br />
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F7JY-pn-OkM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
You can also download it here.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.khow.com/pages/boyles.html?article=8764322#article_comments">My Country My Ass | Peter Boyles - TalkRadio 630 K-HOW#article_comments</a>The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-43074671702763950872011-06-25T22:03:00.001-06:002011-06-25T22:05:36.665-06:00"Terrorist attack" on my turfSome "bombs" went off at a local mall today. My wife was actually in the mall. She's fine and wasn't in any danger. Apparently, a couple of knuckle heads went into Borders and set off a couple of worthless, homemade explosives. It was taken very seriously and the bomb squad, the FBI and homeland security all showed up. You can read the sad attempt at a full story <a href=http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18353020>here.</a> Here's the statement from the FBI:<br />
<br />
"The two small crude devices partially functioned in a nominal manner causing no damage to the Mall and only minimal damage to a small area of the interior of the Borders Bookstore."<br />
<br />
Who knows where this story will go. I'll be watching next week. I'm sure that it will catch a few headlines. It might even get a lot of attention. I wouldn't be surprised if it just gets swept under the rug, though. No one got hurt. Damage was minimal. Should the msm make a big deal about it when someone lights a firecracker? The initial shock value is high but when you step back and think about it I don't think that it's that big of a deal. If you've got enough bomb on your person to do some serious damage then it will be blatantly obvious. If you can walk into a shopping mall unnoticed then it's not enough to concern me. If you know what to look for and to avod then you shouldn't have to worry about it. Even if you are totally oblivious and could care less about opsec the chances of you being affected by an explosive device in this country is next to infintisimal.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-16148655549365472102011-06-17T19:04:00.000-06:002011-06-17T19:04:37.493-06:00A few simple storage food recipes using TVPI've been playing with TVP quite a bit lately. I've found it to be very versatile and one of the cheapest shelf stable alternatives to meat out there. You can buy #10 cans of freeze dried ground beef for $60 a can (if you can actually find someone who isn't backordered by 3 months) or you can get TVP for a fraction of that and not have to worry about getting put on a waiting list. Before you go all out and buy a 10 year supply on Amazon I encourage you to find a store in your area that sells the 10 oz bags of Bob's Red Mill just so that you can try it out. You may not like it. Anyway, onto the recipes.<br />
<br />
Red Chili:<br />
<br />
1 cup TVP<br />
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes<br />
1 15 oz can tomato sauce<br />
1 15 oz can pinto beans<br />
2 tbsp dried onions<br />
2 tbsp chili powder<br />
1 tbsp red chili flakes<br />
1 tbsp garlic powder<br />
1 tsp cumin<br />
1 tsp oregano<br />
<br />
This is a pretty basic chili recipe. Just dump everything into a pot, bring it to a boil then let it simmer for a couple of hours. You can tweak this recipe quite a bit with fresh ingredients and it will taste a lot better. If you're getting deep into your larder, though, then you probably won't have many fresh ingredients left. <br />
<br />
Pasta Sauce:<br />
<br />
15 oz can tomato sauce<br />
1 6 oz can mushrooms <br />
1 tsp oregano<br />
1 tsp basil<br />
2 tsp garlic powder<br />
2 tbsp dried onions<br />
1/2 cup tvp<br />
<br />
Once again, dump everything into a pot, bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for an hour or two. Boil up a pound of pasta of your choice and you've got a good family meal. Are you noticing a trend yet? Using TVP and canned/dried ingredients eliminates most of the prep and precooking involved in recipes using raw ingredients. Making things from scratch with fresh ingredients definitely tastes a lot better but it may not be feasible in an emergency situation.<br />
<br />
"Beef" and bean burritos:<br />
<br />
1 cup chicken stock (or water with a bullion cube)<br />
1 6 oz can tomato sauce<br />
1/2 cup flour<br />
1/4 cup TVP<br />
1 tbsp chili powder<br />
1 tsp garlic powder<br />
1 tsp onion powder<br />
1 15 oz can pinto beans<br />
tortillas<br />
<br />
Combine everything but the pinto beans, bring it to a boil and then let it simmer. Add some flour a little bit at a time while simmering until you get a thick consistency. Once your "meat" filling is finished put 1/4 cup of pinto beans onto a tortilla. Cover the pinto beans with the "meat" filling and then roll up your burrito. Obviously, you'll need to know how to make tortillas to use this recipe in an emergency but that's for a future post. <br />
<br />
So as you can see working with TVP isn't rocket science. If you can boil water then you can use it in all kinds of recipes. I'm still working on burgers, meatballs, meatloaf and a few other recipes. Once I get those down I'll share them. I've even seen people doing things like fried chicken nuggets. That could be interesting.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-57786028840749671612011-06-13T20:09:00.001-06:002011-06-13T20:21:47.333-06:00TVP - Textured Vegetable ProteinIf you've done much research on any of the long term, freeze dried, canned storage foods besides Mountain House that are being heavily marketed then you probably already know what TVP is. Otherwise, you'd have to be a pretty hard core health nut/vegan to know what it is. For those of you who don't know what it is it's a high protein meat substitute made from soybeans. <br />
<br />
Soybean oil is separated from the soybean flour. Then the soybean flour is superheated and shot through a nozzle to create the desired size "nugget". When the "nuggets" cool they're completely dry, can store for years and, by adding some boiling water, you have a product that's the equivalent of ground beef. Is it a replacement for real meat? I don't think so. Is it a viable alternative when real meat isn't available? Yes it is. <br />
<br />
Like I mentioned before, if you're buying a long term, canned storage food solution that isn't produced by Mountain House then it's probably made with TVP rather than real meat. Obviously, as evidenced by the severe shortage that Mountain House is experiencing right now, it's not as easy to make long term storage food out of meat as it is to make it from TVP. I'm not aware of anyone else who's experiencing severe backups in their filling of orders. Maybe it's because people would rather wait for the real thing rather than settling on a lesser product. More likely, the companies using TVP as their "meat substitute" just have very little problems getting the product that they need to fill all of their orders. Then again, maybe the government is just buying all of the Mountain House and letting us little people buy as much TVP as we want. <br />
<br />
To be honest, I don't really care about the long term, freeze dried, canned storage items. I have a can of this and a can of that that I've acquired over the years but the bulk of my food storage consists of some bulk basics (beans, rice, sugar, wheat, etc) and the extra stuff that I buy every time I go grocery shopping (canned food, boxes of pasta, etc). After playing with TVP I've added it to my "extra stuff list". <br />
<br />
Here's why I like TVP. The flavor is best described as neutral. If you cook up a batch with nothing but water then it will have no flavor. In my opinion that's a good trait. Because every little TVP nugget is like a sponge it soaks up flavor wonderfully. It picks up the flavor of whatever you reconstitute it in. Different stocks and spices can make it extremely versatile. Reconstitute it in chicken stock? It's like ground chicken. Use beef stock? It tastes like ground beef. Use something like hotsauce or wine? Now you've got some applications. <br />
<br />
So what's bad about it? It does have a bit of a "fake" flavor no matter what you do to it. I think that the texture has a lot to do with it. While it's close to the texture of cooked meat it's not quite spot on. It's almost artificially chewy and rubbery. Just cook it like rice. It will pick up whatever flavor you cook it with.<br />
<br />
I like it. Some people don't. It's a good substitute when the real deal isn't available. It's easy to prepare and it's very versatile. It's also really cheap. If you can find it in a store then you'll probably find Bob's Red Mill brand (which is pretty expensive compared to other brands). A bag of that is a few bucks. It reconstitutes to the equivalent of a few pounds of meat. Once reconstituted it's also a lot cheaper than real meat. I've tried several recipes and have yet to be horribly disappointed. It's not a replacement for the real deal but if it's all you've got you'll be extremely happy that you've got it handy. If you're local store doesn't sell it then you can always buy it in bulk on Amazon or from other online sources. I encourage you to play around with it if you haven't already. You'll probably add it to your list of "bulk necessities" pretty fast.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-7335883707561274442011-06-05T05:36:00.000-06:002011-06-05T05:36:19.842-06:00Bank of America Gets Pad Locked After Homeowner Forecloses On It<a href="http://dailypaul.com/166777">Bank of America Gets Pad Locked After Homeowner Forecloses On It</a><br /><br />We need to see more of this. Go ahead big banks.... Keep trying to sweep people under the rug.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-979499422394740942011-05-19T12:46:00.000-06:002011-05-19T12:46:45.750-06:00Pressure cooker severs woman's leg<a href=http://www.local10.com/news/27950778/detail.html>Here's</a> a freaky story for you. Apparently, a woman was cooking with a pressure cooker when it fell off of the stove and exploded, severing her leg. Luckily, whoever was home with her knew how to apply a tourniquet. Be careful when you're cooking with a pressure cooker. As fantastic as they are for cooking (and absolutely necessary in some cases) they can also be extremely dangerous. Use high quality, newer models. Keep the seals and gauges in good condition. Be extremely careful when moving them around. Don't skimp on your pressure cooker. All American pressure cookers are the best on the market. There are plenty of other's out there, though. I use a Presto for canning and a smaller one (can't remember the brand) for normal cooking. <br />
<br />
In other news, despite the "good news" about the economy that the current administration is trying to get people to believe, some really rich guys <a href=http://www.observer.com/hedge-funds-running-farms-05172011>are still investing in aerable farmland</a>. We're talking about huge swaths of land with water on site. They're not exactly living on site or working the land with their bare hands but smart, successful farmers don't do that, anyway. No, these guys are buying up land in South America (Bush did this a few years ago if that tells you anything). With farmland in Kansas and Nebraska up 20% from last year people are obviously still buying it here, too. If I had serious money to invest that's where it would be going right now. For now I'll just have to stick to gold and silver.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-49693309364755170592011-05-19T05:33:00.003-06:002011-05-19T06:22:19.799-06:00Zombie Survival tips posted on CDC websiteSo <a href=http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2011/05/preparedness-101-zombie-apocalypse/>the CDC</a> finally owned up to the prospect that a deadly plague could strike at any time that turns people into flesh eating maniacs. You know the one. A few people get sick and then they get REALLY hungry. Before you know it they're taking a chunk out of Aunt Lili's arm. Then Aunt Lily gets really sick and before long SHE starts to get hungry. By the time people realize that you have to shoot anyone who's been bitten in the head there are already way more people who have been bitten than there are bullets. By then your only hope is to put all of those years of preps and training to use to keep your own ass from getting bit. <br />
<br />
The zombie scenario is always a fun one. I maintain that it does a great job of getting people interested and thinking about preparedness who otherwise would never think twice about it. Hell, that's how I got into it years ago. Just about anyone who gets past "Dude, what would you do if a horde of zombies were breaking down your door" quickly starts to realize how woefully unprepared they would be if anything serious ever happened. The whole zombie apocalypse scenario, as implausible as it is, is about as worst case as you can get. If you're ready for a zombie apocalypse then a hurricane or an earthquake will be a walk in the park. If nothing else, it gets people thinking about what they can do. Knowledge is one of the most important resources available to you during an emergency so if it gets people to do any kind of research on the subject then it's good in my book. <br />
<br />
The CDC blog post seems to be generating a lot of traffic. It took a few minutes for it to load for me. That's saying a lot about a government website. Expect the government to find more "silly" ways to get people to think about what could be coming. People have known for years that the "zombie apocalypse" scenario is an effective tool to get people into the preparedness movement. The fact that the government is suddenly on board does make me worry that something bad is on the horizon. Now is the time to kick things into overdrive. I have been. Between work, the baby and prepping I haven't had much time for posting. I've tried to sit down and do a few posts but they always devolve into a political rant. I really want to stay away from that stuff. I've got several ideas that I've been kicking around that don't pertain to current events, though, so eventually I'll get some of those posted.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-11246892784648176852011-03-20T16:27:00.000-06:002011-03-20T16:27:59.530-06:00The Survival LaptopIt wasn't so long ago that I made a post about <a href=http://theurbansurvivalist.blogspot.com/2010/09/smartphones.html>smartphones</a>. I'm still loving mine. With the extended battery I can go all day without charging it as long as I don't play video games or watch movies. As cool as it is, though, it doesn't replace my laptop. They're faster. They have a better, more customizable user interface. They're easier to fix if they break. The screen is bigger and they're much better at multi-tasking. Some of the batteries last several hours. You just have a lot more options with a laptop.<br />
<br />
So what should you think about when you're picking out your survival laptop? First of all it needs to be small enough to take with you. That's why I like netbooks. A netbook with a 6 cell battery (I think that they make them with 8 or 12 cell batteries now) will last several hours between charges. The screen is smaller and everything in the system is bare bones so they're energy sippers. They're powerful enough for the basic stuff that you'd need in an emergency situation. They're a lot cheaper than most regular laptops. Get a solar charger and you can keep it running indefinitely. <br />
<br />
Make sure that you have a good case for it. Another nice thing about netbooks is that there are good cases available that are cheap, small and lightweight. All laptops are fragile. The weak points tend to be the keypads (especially if you're using it in the woods), the screen and the hard drive. I have a spare mouse and keyboard for mine. I hate laptop keyboards and the mouse pads that come standard are even worse. There isn't much you can do about the screen. Try not to drop it. Solid state hard drives are starting to get cheaper and easier to find. I've heard that they're a lot more durable than mechanical hard drives (no moving parts). They also use less power but I'm not sure if it's a noticeable difference. I have no personal experience with them. I'm still waiting for the price to come down a bit more. I plan on upgrading to one soon.<br />
<br />
You also need to take into consideration what you're going to be using it for. The most practical uses are obvious. Rather than trying to bring along your huge collection of survival books, military manuals and foxfire magazines you can just download them all and have them at your fingertips. Having hard copies are better in a lot of ways but you can fit a lot more in a smaller space on a computer. It's also easier to navigate your library and find what you're looking for when it's on your computer. Keep everything backed up on a thumb drive. You can get them small enough to fit on a keychain. You can also install an operating system on a thumb drive that allows you to boot up the computer from the thumb drive just in case your hard drive dies. More on that in a future post. Most phones have a slot for a micro sd card. Keep a backup on that, too. Just be sure to keep an adapter card handy. <br />
<br />
The internet is the ultimate resource. I don't think that there's a laptop produced today that doesn't have built in wi-fi. The problem will be finding a wi-fi connection. You can get a cellular modem. They're about the size of a thumb drive and they're pretty cheap. Unfortunately, they'll only work when you can get a cell phone signal. I have one. Even on normal days it can be dodgy and annoying. The internet will be an invaluable resource for news and information during a major disaster. If you're actually in an emergency situation you can count on it being spotty at best. Just expect it to be extremely difficult to access. To improve your chances of being able to access it you need to make as many options available to yourself as possible.<br />
<br />
The entertainment value cannot be written off. You'll have plenty of space to save movies, mp3s and even instructional videos. You can also play a lot of games. It's easier to keep a journal on a computer. If I ever have to survive an extended emergency I'll want to document the experience. If nothing else you'll have all of your pictures and family videos at your fingertips. <br />
<br />
So if you ever find yourself bugging out or otherwise on the move I believe that a laptop is one of the most important tools that you can have with you. Mine is an <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4025956-10474050?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FAsus%2B-%2BEee%2BPC%2BNetbook%2B%2F%2BIntel%26%2523174%253B%2BAtom%26%2523153%253B%2BProcessor%2B%2F%2B10.1%2522%2BDisplay%2B%2F%2B1GB%2BMemory%2B-%2BBlack%2F1222971.p%3Fid%3D1218237710153%26skuId%3D1222971%26ci_src%3D11138%26ci_sku%3D1222971&cjsku=1222971" target="_top"><br />
Asus Eee Netbook</a><img src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4025956-10474050" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>. I've been very happy with it for the year or so that I've had it. I suspect that it will hold up as well as any other laptop (except for maybe a Toshiba toughbook....low specs, expensive and a marketing gimick in my opinion). <br />
<br />
As you can see from some of the links in this post and a couple of banners that I've added on the sidebar I'm now affiliated with Best Buy. I've been shopping there for years and I've always had great luck with their products and, especially, their service. Since Amazon seems to be more interested in cutting off ties with affiliates and closing down warehouses in states who threaten to make them collect sales tax I've had to find some new ways to make a buck off of my hobby. At least with Best Buy you can walk into the store and talk to someone face to face. Not that you need to do anything but call them. I've always had great experiences with Best Buy and their customer service. A few years ago a fridge that I'd bought from them died. They fixed it twice. On the third try they brought me a new one. No questions asked. No hassles. I've never used Geek Squad so I can't speak for them. The only thing that I hate about walking into their stores is that I'll probably be bothered by a Direct TV rep. The clerks can be a little overly helpful, too. If you get within ten feet of one you can expect them to ask what they can help you with. You can avoid all of that by using the site to store service. Just order whatever you want online (by clicking one of my links of course) and then pick it up at the store. <br />
<br />
Why affiliate with Best Buy on a survival site? Well, first of all this is an urban survival site. We city folk like our electronics. Besides, what better way to practice surviving the apocalypse than by picking up a <a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-4025956-10474050?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FMicrosoft%2B-%2BXbox%2B360%2B250GB%2BConsole%2Bwith%2BKinect%2F1219686.p%3Fid%3D1218237046870%26skuId%3D1219686%26ci_src%3D11138%26ci_sku%3D1219686&cjsku=1219686" target="_top"><br />
Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB Console with Kinect</a><img src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-4025956-10474050" width="1" height="1" border="0"/> or a <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4025956-10474050?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FSony%2B-%2BPlayStation%2B3%2B%2528320GB%2529%2Bwith%2BPlayStation%2BMove%2BBundle%2F1122275.p%3Fid%3D1218223234264%26skuId%3D1122275%26ci_src%3D11138%26ci_sku%3D1122275&cjsku=1122275" target="_top"><br />
Sony PlayStation 3 (320GB) with PlayStation Move Bundle</a><img src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-4025956-10474050" width="1" height="1" border="0"/> and <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4025956-10474050?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FFallout%2BNew%2BVegas%2B-%2BPlayStation%2B3%2F9701386.p%3Fid%3D1218152459820%26skuId%3D9701386%26ci_src%3D11138%26ci_sku%3D9701386&cjsku=9701386" target="_top"><br />
Fallout New Vegas</a><img src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-4025956-10474050" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>? With games like <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4025956-10474050?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FKillzone%2B3%2B-%2BPlayStation%2B3%2F1028986.p%3Fid%3D1218210980557%26skuId%3D1028986%26ci_src%3D11138%26ci_sku%3D1028986&cjsku=1028986" target="_top"><br />
Killzone 3 - PlayStation 3</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-4025956-10474050" width="1" height="1" border="0"/> you can practice blowing people away to your heart's content without even leaving your living room! They also sell some stuff that's actually relevant to the topic. From time to time I'll post something up. In the meantime, if you're planning on buying something there, anyway, I encourage you to do it through this site.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-33114267892669847412011-03-08T19:30:00.000-07:002011-03-08T19:30:57.865-07:00Aquariums, The End of the World and Other StuffSo my aquarium has been going strong for a few weeks now. I decided to go with zebra danios and some cory's that look like plecostomus. According to the pet shop they only get a few inches long. The run of the mill plecostomus that most pet shops sell can get two feet long! That's way too much fish for my little 20g tank and I don't really want to find a home for one when it gets too big. I also added some neon tetras today. From what I've read they're pretty fragile and need very specific water conditions. We'll see how they do. I also found a tub that should be the perfect size for my grow bed. Once I'm sure that the nitrogen cycle is established and the fish are doing well then I'll go ahead and set it up. I've been using the water from water changes to water my house plants and they have exploded. That's encouraging. I'm looking forward to the results.<br />
<br />
If you listen to talk radio then you've probably heard the commercial that tells you to visit the website www.theendofamerica11.com. I finally got around to it the other day. If you follow the link to the actual website then you get stuck watching a one hour flash movie. The words come up and a voice reads them. You can't pause, fast forward, rewind or any of that. Luckily, you can watch the exact same movie on youtube where you can pause, rewind and fast forward at will:<br />
<br />
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kso_ObaIvP4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
I highly recommend that you check it out. Just turn it on sometime when you know that you'll be at the computer for a while. You don't have to watch it. Just listen. He lays out the currency crisis that we're in, explains the consequences in detail and gives examples of it happening in recent history and how it affected those countries. Make no mistake. If it happens here then it will be significantly worse than anything since the fall of Rome. You need to know what's happening, what the results could be and what you can do to protect yourself. <br />
<br />
Obviously, the guy is trying to sell you something. What he's trying to sell you are a bunch of reports that explain the best investments you can make to insulate you from the coming crisis. I'm not about to pay for them so I have no idea what they are. Luckily, 99% of the video consists of him explaining the crisis we're in, what could happen and how other countries have been affected when they've gone through it. The common sense things that you can do become very apparent very quickly if you've already got the prepper mindset. I actually intended to do a very detailed post about it that broke everything down and explained in detail several of the points that I found important but I did it all in notebook and I woke up to find that my computer had reset. No I didn't save said notes. Maybe I'll try it again in the future. For now I'm too lazy. <br />
<br />
The other day I received a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569758735?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwtheurbansu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1569758735">Getting Out Alive: 13 Deadly Scenarios and How Others Survived</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwtheurbansu-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1569758735" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /><br />
by Scott B. Williams in the mail. I'm saving my review for after I finish it. I love the premise. While preparing for the end of the world is fun and all it hasn't happened in a long, long time. You're a lot more likely to get stuck in a difficult situation where you have no one but yourself to rely on to get out. It's always good to know what someone else did to get out of a similar situation. That's what this book is all about.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-63756033317294211042011-02-23T18:05:00.000-07:002011-02-23T18:05:02.387-07:00Aquaponics project is on holdI've decided to put my aquaponics project on hold for a little while. My biggest hurdle has been finding a suitable grow bed to match up with a 20 gallon aquarium tank. I tried a few different storage totes but none of them worked out. It's too hard to get a good seal for the siphon and drain that has to go on the bottom because the plastic is so flimsy. I need to find or build something that's a lot more sturdy. The hydroponics grow beds that I looked at were too shallow for an aquaponics system to work properly. Everything that I've read so far says that the grow bed needs to be 12 inches deep. <br />
<br />
I haven't given up. I'm just going to set up an actual aquarium for now. I need to learn how to keep small fish alive under normal circumstances before I go crazy and try to do it on a large scale using unconventional methods. A lot of the principles that go into setting up an aquarium are used in an aquaponics setup, anyway. The nitrogen cycle is the core of an aquaponics system and you have to get it under control in a normal aquarium, anyway. I'll just use the water from my water changes to water my plants. We'll see how it goes. <br />
<br />
Hopefully, within a few months I'll have a good sized indoor system going. I need to build a greenhouse that I can keep warm in the winter before I try to build something outside. I'm not sure if my patio slab will be able to hold a ~200 gallon tank plus a grow bed, anyway. That's the only good place in my backyard where I have room to make it work. We'll see how it goes.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-73380375556417834722011-02-14T22:49:00.000-07:002011-02-14T22:49:10.047-07:00Back in My Day....I saw this on facebook and had to repost it. Sometimes we just need something to laugh at.<br />
<br />
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school ...every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda<br />
<br />
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!<br />
<br />
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!<br />
<br />
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!<br />
<br />
2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!<br />
<br />
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!<br />
<br />
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!<br />
<br />
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?<br />
<br />
6) We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!<br />
<br />
7) There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MYGOSH !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.<br />
<br />
8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!<br />
<br />
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!<br />
<br />
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!<br />
<br />
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled rotten little rat-bastards!<br />
<br />
12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!<br />
<br />
13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!<br />
<br />
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!<br />
<br />
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-65841053557803068862011-02-12T13:38:00.000-07:002011-02-12T13:38:44.751-07:00Quote of the day"To those who prepare for the worst, the worst never seems to happen. To those who prepare for the best, the worst always seems to happen".<br />
<br />
I have no idea who said this but in most cases it rings true.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-90179993526953051972011-02-11T21:11:00.000-07:002011-02-11T21:11:08.502-07:00AquaponicsSo I've been doing a lot of research on aquaponics lately. Basically, when you set up an aquaponics system you're setting up a miniature eco-system. Everything works together. Ideally, you'll end up with a system that requires very little maintenance and it produces a lot of food. At first glance, it sounds like pie in the sky voodoo. From what I've seen it's pretty impressive when implemented correctly. The cool thing is that you can implement it correctly on a very small scale. So what the hell is it?<br />
<br />
Basically it mixes hydroponics with aquaculture. You raise fish and vegetables at the same time. The fish create ammonia. The bacteria in the medium that the plants are planted in convert it to nitrites. The plants convert the nitrites to nitrates and that water is pumped back to the fish. The cycle continues. <br />
<br />
I want to try the idea but it's kind of hard to do here in the middle of winter. Once I get an indoor setup set up I'll let you all know. From what I can tell on Craigslist people are VERY proud of their fish tanks so I'll be hitting some pet stores this weekend. My goal right now is to get a small scale aquaponics system going. I'll probably plant a small bed with some herbs or easily cultivated baby greens. Hopefully, by this spring I'll know a thing or two and I'll be able to get something going that produces something meaningful. Stay tuned.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-12731175863027816522011-02-08T18:09:00.000-07:002011-02-08T18:09:15.956-07:00Recipe from preps: Penne Pasta in tomato sauceDo you cook with your preps? From time to time I'm going to post up a recipe for preps made entirely out of long term storage food that you should probably have plenty of. <a href=http://mayberry-keepitsimplestupid.blogspot.com/2011/02/mayberrys-grub.html>Mayberry gave me the idea a few days ago</a>. I'll try to post up the recipe and then mention any tweaks you can do in case you're short on something. Of course, if you know that you need something for a recipe that you really like then you'll probably have plenty of it on hand. Experiment, tweak and, most importantly, LEARN HOW TO COOK now so that you can benefit from the cheapest, easiest, most cost effective luxury there is whether the world is ending or you're just having trouble making rent. Anyway, on to the recipe.<br />
<br />
What you'll need:<br />
<br />
16 oz cup Penne pasta <br />
16 oz Can of chicken<br />
8 oz can of tomato sauce x2<br />
1/4 cup dried onions<br />
1 tbsp garlic powder<br />
1 6 oz can of mushrooms<br />
15 oz can of chicken stock<br />
1 tsp each of oregano, basil, parsley, salt and pepper<br />
<br />
Drain the chicken and then brown it in a hot, 10" cast iron skillet. Add the cans of tomato sauce, penne pasta, dried onions and mushrooms. Pour in enough chicken stock so that everything is just submerged. Add the garlic powder and spices and stir it all together. Once it comes to a boil turn off the heat and cover the skillet. Let it sit for 20 minutes and it should be ready to serve. <br />
<br />
Tweaks and notes:<br />
<br />
You can sub the pasta for any other type of pasta. The chicken can be subbed for just about any other canned or dehydrated meat. I, personally, have a couple of cans of freeze dried hamburger lying around just in case I can't keep the freezer running. If you're using canned chicken you can dump the entire contents of the can into the skillet to save a bit of water/stock. You can use a jar of pasta sauce in place of the tomato sauce. I just prefer the little cans of tomato sauce because they're MUCH more versatile and they're cheaper. If you don't have chicken stock you can just use water. Throw in a bullion cube to spice it up some more. If you've got fresh herbs, garlic, onions, mushrooms or chicken handy you should definitely use those rather than the canned/dried versions.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359115408034187666.post-87514223659739246352011-02-05T21:27:00.000-07:002011-02-05T21:27:29.661-07:00Sensible Food StorageThere are a few different approaches to food storage. As long as you're doing it at all I don't care how you do it. Just make sure that you're actually doing it and you don't just think that you are. It's really easy to make mistakes and assume that you've got "enough". What if you couldn't leave your house for a week? A month? If the power went out for more than a day or two how much of the food in your house would go bad? If we're talking worst case scenario how long could you really hold out? Your food storage strategy will go a long way towards answering that question. <br />
<br />
If you've got the money then the easiest solution is just to buy a freeze dried food supply. Mountain House is the most recognized name in the industry and you can get it from several reputable dealers. <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4025956-10363745" target="_top">Nitro-Pak</a><img src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4025956-10363745" width="1" height="1" border="0"/> is an excellent source. They ship free if you order $100 or more. I do have some Mountain House in my supplies. It's very convenient, lightweight, stores easily and never goes bad. They claim that the shelf life on their #10 cans is 25 years. If in 50 years I'm wandering the wasteland and I stumble across a case of Mountain House #10 cans that are dated 1970 I won't even question whether or not they're still good. They don't go bad. They just lose their "nutritional value". A vitamin D deficiency probably won't kill you. A calorie deficiency will. Mountain House meals will continue to provide a source of calories and a lot of the "nutritional value" long after they're "expired". If you can afford it, a supply of Mountain House really is the best "get it and forget it" solution. Keep in mind that a lot of people have come to this realization, including the US government. Supplies are tight because so many people are freaking out. <br />
<br />
Then there's the budget "get it and forget it" option. Lots of beans, rice and wheat sealed in mylar bags inside of 5 gallon buckets is by far the most economical solution. Pinto beans and rice are both easy to find in big box stores for around $.50 a pound. Combined, they also provide a complete protein. Some say that you could survive on it indefinitely if you had to. I have no intention of trying. One thing you have to keep in mind when going with this approach is that you need to have a way to process the food. Rice is easy enough. A stock pot and a heat source will get the job done. Technically, you can also cook beans in the same way but it takes several hours and if they're not fresh then you can count on them being hard, chewy and nasty. Get a pressure cooker if you want to get serious about cooking some beans. If you want to store wheat then you need to get a grinder. Some people recommend a Corona. I have one and after spending a bit more on a <a href=http://ourhappyhomestead.com/index.php/kitchen-equipment/grain-mill/back-to-basics-grain-mill-555.html>Back to Basics grinder</a> I will never use the Corona to make flour again. I would also HIGHLY recommend baking bread with your preps often enough to get comfortable with the process. Making bread with freshly ground whole wheat flour is tricky and you might need to implement some tricks of the trade to end up with an edible product consistently. At the end of the day, though, wheat, beans and rice will probably stay wholesome longer than we do if properly stored. They have found wheat in Egyptian tombs that actually germinated. That tells me that there is still some nutritional value packed away after a couple thousand years. <br />
<br />
The other food strategy is the one that I use. I have some bulk rice, wheat and beans. I also have some #10 cans of Mountain House. Then there are the cases of MREs and CRATs. The bulk of my preps, though, is what I eat every day. My cabinets are packed with canned vegetables, soups, tomato sauce and pasta. If the power goes out I have plans to use everything that's in the (packed) fridge and the freezer. As I use stuff I replace it. I use my wheat storage to make bread. I eat a lot of rice. I even break open an MRE every now and then. My Mountain House is really the only thing that I never touch. Use what you eat. It's the best way to rotate your preps.The Urban Survivalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152463957382927413noreply@blogger.com6