Prudent Prepping:Plan C?

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping. 

I know that most of us have a Plan A and then a Plan B, but how many of us have a Plan C?

Plan The Next
A family member is now on their Plan C after a trailer kept in a storage facility caught fire. There wasn't a lot kept in the trailer, but it did have extra supplies of food and clothing in case of a local disaster, like the expected big earthquake.

photo courtesy eastcountytoday.net

As you can see, the fire was visible from several miles away and burned several motor homes and trailers. Their biggest loss was the shelter and possible last-ditch bug out vehicle.

The plan in case of earthquakes was to:

1. Evaluate any damage to everyone's home.
2. Consolidate from most damaged to least damaged housing, if necessary.
3. Get to the trailer on surface streets (doable but tedious) with all the bug out gear, if everyone had severely damaged houses.

As you can see, that isn't happening now. It was quite a shock for them to go to the storage facility to put the current registration sticker on their trailer, only to see everything shown in the photo below. (The storage yard sent out a letter asking for a call back, but didn't try to call them.) Obviously it was quite a shock for them to roll in and see their property gone.

photo courtesy of www.patch.com

What Now?
That is a question still unanswered as of this week. Calls are being made to the insurance company and lists are being made of the things stored inside. As with most insurance claims, the paperwork seems endless and the money paid will probably be less than expected. 

This leads into the other part of prepping: keeping a good record of your stuff. Since this was a trailer that wasn't used often, there wasn't an accurate inventory of the contents. Many of the things lost were of little monetary value but did have some sentimental value. Even so, an accurate listing is important for situations just like this.  I didn't lose any property in the fire, but I have lost my Plan C as well. 

The Takeaway

• Always have a backup plan to the backup plan. The old cliche' "Two is one and one is none" does have some truth in it.
• Insure your gear and equipment properly.
• Keep an accurate listing of everything, even if it isn't high-value goods.
• Replacing a large quantity of gear all at once out-of-pocket hurts.

The Recap

• Store things in as good and as safe a place as possible.
• Don't rely on strangers to be as mindful of your possessions as you are.
• Plan for as big a disaster as you can afford.
• Expect your plans to change at the first sign of 'action'.

Nothing was purchased this week, but I am making a very thorough listing of all my gear starting last weekend.


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Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

 NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Get A Grip: Knife Handle Basics

A truism of knives is that a knife without a sharp edge is no knife at all, and as true as that is, a knife without a place to hold it is equally useless. With that in mind, there are a whole lot of options regarding knife handles and reasons for choosing each. Today we'll take a look at the basic breakdown of a knife handle and give you the information you need to make educated choices about this part of your knife.

The two key elements of a knife handle are the tang and the scales. The tang is the metal portion of the handle that is connected to the blade. It ties the gripping part of the knife to the cutting part of the knife. Different kinds of tangs will affect the strength, weight, and balance of the knife.

The knives on the left and right are full tang knives: the metal in the handle runs top to bottom of the handle. This adds weight to the knife, but also contributes substantial strength. It also moves the balance of the blade toward the rear, making it a bit less forceful as a chopper, but far more delicate and controllable when slicing.

The Mora in the center is a hidden tang style of construction, with the tang contained entirely in the handle. It is lighter than a full tang, with a very comfortable handle, but isn't quite as strong and therefore unsuited for heavy batoning and chopping.

Scales are the gripping material of the handles. In the picture above, the knife on the left has rosewood scales, the center knife has a rubber and plastic handle, and the knife on the right has aluminum scales.

The natural rosewood handle scales are absolutely beautiful and traditional. Sadly, because of their smooth nature, they become very slippery when wet, such as with sweaty or bloody hands. While this knife is an entirely functional knife, these weaknesses limit its utility.

The rubber and plastic handle on the Mora in the center provide a very nice gripping surface. They can be damaged by chemicals, however, so be very careful using solvents or harsh substances around this knife. They are also the least aesthetically pleasing option, so if that is a consideration in your knife choice, be sure to keep that in mind.

Aluminum scales are virtually impervious to rust and chemicals. They make for an incredibly resilient tool. However, they are at least as slippery as the wooden scales, which necessitated the lanyard you can see at the end of the knife. This knife is my fishing/river/boating knife, because it will handle all of the abuse those environments dish out and keep coming back for more.

This picture gives a better view of a hidden tang on a Bowie knife project I'm currently working on. The knives are positioned such that the hand positions to use them are lined up. Notice how much shorter the tang on the Bowie is than the handles of the finished knives!

When I'm finished, there will be almost an inch of walnut beyond the end of that tang, giving a nice usable handle length while keeping the mass of the big blade down a bit.

Lokidude

Planning IS Prepping-Raspberries!!

Carpe diem can be prudent prepping.      

Prudent Prepping: To Save, Or Not to Save

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping. 

My phone 'bricked' over the weekend. I went to start it up and it never turned on. Suspiciously, I had the new phone page from my service provider open before turning on my phone. Inquiring minds *cough Google tracking cough* and all that. Could there be a connection? Nahhh!

...To Save, There Is No Question
I had the old phone for almost 5 years, well protected in a slimline Otter Box case with a Gorilla Glass screen cover. It was never dropped more than 3 feet on a hard surface (4 times) or wet to the point of needing to take the case off. Prior to this, I went through 2 iPhones in 5 years. Nothing against Apple; I just beat them up because my job was very different.

I spent a large part of Saturday afternoon at my service provider, working my way through their staff until I finally talked to their 'techie' guy. I had already done everything listed on several websites and in YouTube videos, and the first 2 employees tried the same things I just tried, but hey, they need to qualify the damage before passing everything up to the next person. I didn't have anything else to do, so there I was.

Nothing worked.

Now while my core data like Phone List, Contacts, Email, Calendar and other programs were saved in a backup, I didn't have EVERYTHING set to copy over, such as all the pictures on my phone. Yes, I know it's stupid, but I always dumped them on my computer before this. My (poor) excuse is I've moved twice in 3 months and I don't have a desk with enough room for a mid-tower and the other things I need out of boxes, but it's still all my fault. IBacking up a phone is really simple to do, whether it's Android or Apple. Cnet is a wonderful source of info for techno dorks like myself, which is where I found one of many 'how to' guides. Here is a Cnet link to what needs to be done BEFORE you have problems.

How to back up your iPhone or Android phoneFrom the Cnet article linked above, here are the steps to save data from an Android phone:

• Go to Settings.
• Tap the search engine bar at the top and search for "Back up" (two words).
• Choose the first option that shows up -- it varies depending on what type of Android phone you have.
• If your phone shows "Back up to Google Drive" at the top of the screen, make sure it's toggled on, OR
• If your phone shows "Back up my data" and "Automatic restore," make sure both are toggled on.

For an iPhone the steps are very similar:

• Connect your device to a Wi-Fi network.
• Go to Settings > [your name], and tap iCloud. If you're using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings, then scroll down and tap iCloud.
• Tap iCloud Backup. If you're using iOS 10.2 or earlier, tap Backup. Make sure that iCloud Backup is turned on.
• Tap Back Up Now. Stay connected to your Wi-Fi network until the process completes.

Pretty simple!

Several tech savvy people said that there may be a way to see if my pictures are salvageable, but I should be ready to spend some money. I'm afraid those pictures are gone.

Now get up and do it yourself! Don't be like me and lose graduation pictures, birthday party shots and saved pictured from years ago.


                                                                   ***

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

 NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Knife Basics 101: Terminology

Lokidude

Buying?-No Selling Tips for Social Media

Tips for selling those wares..to buy more wares??

Pilot Bread

When I bought the canned bread for last week's article, I also picked up a package of pilot bread and some light rye crisp bread for comparison. Both are shelf-stable breads that have been around for a long time; the brands I picked were both founded in 1919 by coincidence. Let's see how they stack up.

Pilot Bread Crackers

• The 2 pound box of Sailor Boy Pilot Bread Crackers costs $12, or $6/pound. Cheap saltines run around $3/pound, with some brands getting close to the price of the pilot bread. There are 38 crackers in a box.
• About 80% of the Sailor Boy crackers are shipped to Alaska, where they are a staple food.
• These are a round cracker about 3.5 inches in diameter and ¼ inch thick. Not something you're going to pop into your mouth and chew on.
• A form of hardtack, they are mostly enriched wheat flour with salt, oil, yeast, and leavening added. This brand also uses artificial flavoring and a preservative. Hardtack has a long history as a staple of explorers and military forces on deployment.
• The flavor is close to that of a normal saltine cracker, but the density is much higher. There's not a lot of air in these crackers, making them harder to bite into than a saltine.
• Being a baked cracker, there are crumbs when you bite into them. The density makes them less fragile than a saltine, but they can make a mess if eaten dry.
• The box they came in was made of thin cardboard and the crackers are in an open-top plastic bag with a twist-tie closure inside the box. The crackers themselves are sturdier than the packaging.
• There was no “best by” date on the box, just a production code. Looking around the internet, I've seen claims of a 10 year shelf-life for this brand and up to 30 years for the brands that package them in steel #10 cans. For comparison, normal saltines have a shelf-life of 6-9 months.

Wasa Light Rye Crispbreads

• Wasa is a brand name, founded in Sweden in 1919 and more popular in northern Europe than in America. There are other brands out there, but I can get Wasa at my local grocery store.
• The crispbreads are about 2” x 4” and 3/16” thick. There are 30 in a package.
• The light rye is one of about a dozen offerings from Wasa. They even make a gluten-free crispbread.
• A 9.5 oz package costs a little under $4 at the store. Amazon has them in 12-packs for about $3/pack. This is comparable to the cost of the pilot bread if you look at price per pound.
• The “best by” date stamped on the package was about a year from now, which isn't great, but I believe they'd last quite a bit longer if properly stored. I think it's time to get out the vacuum sealer and experiment.
• The ingredients list is short: rye flour and salt. I like simple things.
• The rye flour isn't as processed as common wheat flour, making the bread less fragile than a cracker. It has fewer crumbs and is easier to bite into than the pilot bread, which is a plus.
• Rye bread has a stronger flavor than common wheat bread, something that I've come to enjoy but that might take some getting used to for people who are used to tasteless white bread. The light rye is a good middle-of-the-road if you're not a fan of rye.
• Rye is closely related to wheat and barley, so it does contain a form of gluten.

Both the pilot bread and the crispbread are a good source of carbohydrates for energy, and they're sturdy enough to use with various spreads and toppings to make a quick meal. Both would make a good addition to a storage pantry, with the canned versions of pilot bread being the best bet for long-term storage.