- Beth is excited about a new project. What is it? She's happy you asked.
- When five robbers invade your home, it's going to be a bad day. But who are they, and who would they target? Sean takes a closer look.
- Barron is On Assignment and will return next week.
- In the Main Topic, Sean and Erin use the example of the Taunton Mall Shooting to consider how your decisions under fire may cost you more than just your own life.
- Are you tired of all the political stuff? Tiffany is, so she takes a break from it and gives some new gear a whirl.
- Why are zombies able to sneak up on the characters in "The Walking Dead"? Because they aren't using proper protective equipment. Erin gives us some thoughts of eye, ear, and respiratory protection for preppers.
- If you won't conduct a proper autopsy, how can you tell the actual cause of death? And when you're talking about a political campaign, refusing to see the truth means never understanding why you lost. Weer'd takes a closer look at one false gun control election post-mortem.
- Our plug of the week is for the Grid-It Organizer.
Listen to the podcast here.
Read the show notes here.
Thanks also to Firearms Policy Coalition for their support.
Blue Collar Prepping Transcript:
Protect Your Senses
So I was watching a YouTube video about The Walking Dead -- y’know, like you do if you’re a fan of the show -- and I came across a video titled “The Walking Dead’s Silent Killer!” which asked a great question: How do these hardened survivors manage to let moaning, shuffling zombies sneak up on them? And the answer was pretty simple: The survivors are going deaf because they are shooting guns, often in enclosed spaces, without sufficient hearing protection. And so they’re going deaf, which explains why Rick seems to yell so dang much.
And so like most things related to the zombie apocalypse, this got me thinking about prepping, and I realized hearing protection during an emergency is something that isn’t talked about very often. So in this segment, I’m going to talk about how average preppers can protect their senses in a disaster.
Sight
Your eyesight is the most important sense, because it’s how humans process most of their data, so it’s very important that you protect it. Unfortunately, given the size and shape of eyes, it’s not easy to carry protection for them in the same way that you carry earplugs.
On the plus side, you probably have eye protection around you without realizing it. For example, if you wear glasses, you have eye protection. Of course, they’re very expensive eye protection and if they break you’re in a mess of trouble, but glasses can be replaced while eyes can’t.
Of course, if you wear glasses all the time, you really ought to spring for protective options like shatterproof lenses, anti-scratch coatings and the like to extend their usefulness.
But if you don’t wear glasses, odds are really good you have a pair of sunglasses nearby. While these aren’t great in many situations due to the polarization, sub-par eye protection is better than no eye protection at all.
Now if you want good protection, I recommend going down to your local hardware store like Home Depot or Lowe’s and looking in the protective gear aisle. There you can find protective lenses in both clear, tinted, and polarized colors. Some of them even look like stylish sunglasses. You can get a nice pair for around $20 to $30 that are rated against a lot of construction-sytle hazards, unlike your typical shooting glasses.
While you’re there, check out some of the goggles that protect your eyes from debris. While not suitable for every day carry, stash a pair at work or in your get-home back, just in case you have to evacuate from an emergency with the wind blowing harmful particulates or irritating vapors. And the best part about these is that they will fit over glasses, so that way we four-eyed folk can protect the things that help us see.
Speaking of goggles, another great option (although one that is quite odd-looking) is to get a set of clear swim goggles. These are small, protect your eyes from vapors and liquids as well as debris (although they aren’t as strong as actual safety glasses) and some brands, like the Speedo Optical Swim Goggle, can be bought with lenses that have negative diopters from -1.5 to -8.
Hearing
Compared to eyesight, preppers have an embarrassment of choices when it comes to ways to protect your ears. It’s very easy to stick a set of disposable foam earplugs into your EDC gear, and if you haven’t you need to do so right now.
But if you want better options than cheap foam, you certainly have them. My earplug of choice is the Surefire 4 Sonic Defender which have a filter that allows you to hear low sounds like conversation while also blocking out louder noises. If you seal the filter, they have a Noise Reduction Rating of 24 db. What’s more, they fit snugly inside the ear, allowing you to wear them with helmets, or you can put earmuffs over them if you need to double-plug.
Best of all, they’re inexpensive: you can get them from Amazon for $13.50 or less.
Smell/Breathing
Protecting your sense of smell isn’t as important as protecting your lungs, because anything which could damage your nose like that will also wreak havoc on your respiratory system. Much like eye protection, this is another of those “easy yet hard” things, because the best forms of filters are bulky and not the kind of thing you’d carry on a daily basis.
On the other hand, there are many things you can improvise as an air filter in an emergency: towels, handkerchiefs, and even socks and tee shirts can be held over your nose and mouth (if you can moisten them, so much the better) -- but a good non-improvised solution is a set of filtered noseplugs.
Yes, I know now silly that sounds, and no, I’m being completely serious here.
There’s a brand of nasal filters made by WoodyKnows that protect against volatile organic compounds, secondhand smoke, etc.
You get 3 filter frames and 6 pairs of filters -- so basically a filter set and a spare for each unit -- for $18.99 on Amazon. Carry a set with you, put a set in your get-home bag, and keep the third in reserve or give it to someone you love.
So there you go! Affordable and easy-to-carry ways to protect your senses in emergencies by plugging your ears and nose and covering your eyes.
- The Walking Deaf - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewfePPj342M
- Speedo Vanquisher Optical Swim Goggle - http://amzn.to/2eKJe8k
- Surefire 4 Sonic Defender - http://amzn.to/2g0gBkX
- WoodyKnows Gas and Pollutant Reducing Nasal Filters - http://amzn.to/2gneSdp
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