Apr 21

We live in a world that nations seem hell-bent on going to war!

We live in a world that nations seem hell-bent on going to war!

While the Israel News Agency released an article stating war is necessary.

Business Insider is claiming that Russia has troops amassing on the northern border of Iran, just in case Israel or Israel/USA attack Iran’s nuclear sites. (This link is also at the bottom)

It looks like we are in for some rough years ahead, especially if the USA is attacked to neutralize our response.

Becoming prepared for any eventuality is a must, if we are to survive any type of retaliation. We are living in uncertain times, that is for sure!

What are some of the eventualities that you have planned for?

Let’s start a round table discussion that can help each of us to find aspects of preparations we may have not thought of ourselves as we are putting things back for the future.

Pastor Mark

Meet with us at: http://www.meetup.com/CentralMichiganPreppers/

 

Mar 25

Prepper meetup groups for Michigan

 

Map of all American Preppers Network and Partner meetup groups.

Scroll past the map for a listing.


View American Preppers Network Meetups in a larger map

Central Michigan

http://www.meetup.com/CentralMichiganPreppers/

To start a meetup group in your area go here

 

Feb 28

Insanity

Insanity

We have all heard Einstein’s definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I have wrestled with this for a long while and finally decide that I need to stop doing the same thing over and over again since the results were always the same.
I am not sure of all the reasons I started posting on Michigan Preppers Network. Some of the reasons were I am proud of my state and it gave me great satisfaction to see a new weekly post here while the Buckeye preppers post was over six months old. They have since changed that, but for a long while they were all but dead.
I liked the idea of sharing ideas and hopefully getting a good exchange of information going across the state and Midwest. Someday, we will all be in this together. If you do not believe that then you likely do not read these sites for long. If you do believe that then you understand the feeling and have a thirst for information that may help you and your families survive.
I write because I like to write. I am one of my favorite authors. That may sound strange, but I do like to re-read my writings since I write about stuff I like. Hard to explain to people, but I know what I mean and I guess that is all that matters.
I did not start writing here expecting to make a single dime from doing so, and those expectations were right on the money. As I try to explain to my boss from time to time, my main motivation in life is not money. I like the stuff, use it all the time, and could always use more, but it is not the only motivation for doing anything in my life. I have stated before that I write under my real name and do get paid for those articles. If all I cared about was getting paid I would have written only those types of articles and not written for this blog.
There is one thing though that I do need. I need validation. I need to know that the hours I spend writing are doing some good. Since there is only one yardstick that I can use to judge that by I of course check regularly to see if I am validated. The number of comments that I get give me an idea of how many people read the blog and tells me what they think. It is obvious that no one thinks much of my writing. I have not had a comment posted in months.
Each week I post hoping this will spark some interest or generate a little discussion. I will readily admit that I am jealous as hell of Creekmore and the Wolfpack. In the last few weeks he has gotten comments that number over 400, 600 and just 800! I cannot generate a single reply.
I am no longer going to beat my head against the keyboard and hope for a different result. I will keep doing my preps, writing articles for magazines, and all the other things I have done over the last three years save post on the blog.
It has been fun and interesting and I have learned a lot just by keeping myself amused, but without validation from others the motivation is gone. My old boss used to ask us, is the juice worth the squeeze? Not anymore.
Good luck to all. I hope your prepping goes well and you have a full load of supplies when the balloon goes up. I suspect at that time it will truly be insanity.
Wolverine

Feb 22

The History of the Future

The History of the Future
I tend to view things through the prism of history. I see events and can relate to how those same things have happened in the past. We are so closely paralleling the Roman Empire that I feel reviewing it is a good way to predict the future. When asked how I view TEOTWAWKI I think of the way the Roman Empire fell. No, I do not see use having hoards of Visigoths raiding Washington DC, but rather the way the world economy went to hell after Rome fell.
Because of the way the empire was structured everything became interdependent on the other. Once the Visigoths toppled the city of Rome there was no one to make sure the water supplies arrived, the roads were kept up, or commerce kept going. Anything that was of value was hidden or stolen. With the influence of Rome gone all of Europe started to fall into smaller fiefdoms and Warchiefs and Overlords controlled large areas and would swear their allegiance to a king so that they could keep their control. The Overlord took from the peasant farmers, and the king took from the Overlords.
I suspect that something similar to that will happen. Call them Gangs, Militias, private armies, or what have you, whole sections of a state will be controlled by powerful lords that will take what they want as a “tax”.
Without gas to power cars and trucks we will start to have small mills and hamlets return to the countryside. A farmer in Eaton County will likely not have to leave the county to sell his wares. Rivers will provide the main travel arteries for outside markets. Study how Michigan, and most of the Midwest, grew and then play it backwards. That is what I see coming in the future.
How far ahead, Quein Sabe? Within my lifetime, possible, my son’s lifetime probable, my grandkids lifetime, most assuredly.
Both of my grandfathers had self-sufficient farms. When the depression hit both were able to carry on a fairly normal life. In fact, during the depression both grandparents added holding to their farms. My Dad’s father came out of the depression with four paid off farms, one for each of his kids. I still live on the farm my Dad inherited.
I believe the salvation for families will be returning to the old agrarian economy of the 19th century. Using guidelines like Kains’ Five Acres and Independence and the Robinson’s Have More Plan you can set yourself up for that type of lifestyle with around five acres.
It will not be easy, it will be hard work. You will need the whole family committed to having it working so that you can survive the first years of the shock to the system.
Am I ready yet? Hell no. I have a long way to go and I have been working on it since the 1970s. Will I give up? Hell no. I keep plugging away at it day after day. As I get older I worry my wife and I will not be able to do what we need to if something does happen. Of course I also feel that whatever happens will not be an overnight event where we wake up one morning and it is the lead story for that news cycle. Our decline will come slowly for most of it with a few rapid drop off cliffs along the way.
Then again, nothing could change much over the next hundred years. All the preps and supplies will be just so much junk for the family to deal with after grandpa passes away. Why in the hell did he have all those bug out bags and ammo? Prepping should be like insurance, pray you never have to use it but be thankful you have it just in case.
Anyway, that is what drives me and my long term plans revolve around that. Make the farm more sustainable and set aside items that might be useful toward that eventuality. However that is not my only thoughts and action for my future. My wife and I still work every day and invest in our retirement accounts and plan vacations. We still have our current day to day lives to live.
Regardless of why you prepare or what you are preparing for it is wise to have an end goal in mind and head for that. I use the prism of history for my lens. It may be the only way to see the history of the future.
Wolverine

Feb 15

My Reply to Jim

The other day I got a note from a friend of mine asking me about saving copper cents for the future. He also asked about buying more gold and silver to hold. Jim moved to the south a decade or so back but we still talk via e-mail nearly every other day or so. I am sure you can infer his questions by my answers.

My Reply to Jim

I am going to try and answer your questions. It is not easy since so many things are interconnected. The short answer is yes, gold and silver are better to hold than paper money. I would say that the longer answer might be that it would be better to hold things instead of gold and silver.
Remember when we first started turning our collectibles into gold coins? We always used to joke with people we were making gold soup for dinner. The reality is that we cannot make gold soup and if you only hold gold and silver than you will starve, for no amount of gold will buy food if everyone is starving. Any gold and silver should be a way to preserve your family wealth for the next few generations and not a plan to buy food after TSHTF.
Several months or a year’s supply of food, safe drinking water or the ability to make some, seeds and equipment to grow more food and preserve it will be the first line of defense. Make sure you can produce more than you need because you can bet that some Overlord will make you pay “taxes” for his protection. I believe that if we have something like an EMP or event that sends us economically backward we will end up in a Dark Age type of situation. Guns and ammo may replace swords and spears, but the theory will be the same. Small fiefdoms will develop and any landowner will be taxed with payment of food and material instead of money. Gold and silver may work to pay those taxes but my guess is once it is known you have gold and silver tucked away the Overlord will pay you a visit and “taxes” will be set high just for you to live. I hope I am wrong, but history tends to put my guess in the probably category.
As for your question about saving the copper coins, that is anybody’s guess. You know the law, Gresham’s Law I think it is, that states good money is driven out by bad money and you saw how quickly silver disappeared from circulation. Hell Jim, we met fighting over a silver dime!
You also know that you can take a metal detector out and find a bucks worth of pennies almost any day of the week. I remember us talking about the fact that someday finding wheat cents would be as scarce as the Indianhead cents we hunted. I guess because we dug so many copper cents I am not that concerned about making sure I save bags of them. I might very look back on this and wish I had later, but for now, no I am not saving copper cents.
Yes, watching Doomsday Preppers is a good yardstick to judge your preps by, but do not think that because you do not have a swimming pool full of fish or an underground bunker that you are screwed. No two preppers look at things the same way every time. Your preps for the hurricane season are way different from my preps for getting a blizzard and snowed in for a few days. Some things are similar like our need for a generator and easy to prepare food, but what and how are totally different. (I for one do not have any boiled peanuts saved!) I feel you have way too little ammo for your guns while you think I have too much. Only time will see which of us is correct in our assessments.
I could make a long list of stuff I wish I had here at the farm right now. Someday I will add some of it to my supplies, but I will never have it all. I asked the question a few posts back about trading a few gold coins for a tractor I would like. Right now my answer would be no, but maybe having that tractor might be better than gold coins if an Overlord wants my stash so I can stay alive. It all comes down to making the best possible choice at the time with the information you have available. Good luck making your choices.
Wolverine

Feb 08

Doomsday Preppers, the 3% Solution

Doomsday Preppers, the 3% Solution

I, like many of you, watched the start of the new season of Doomsday Preppers. One thing struck me after watching the two hours’ worth of shows, the low odds that the “experts” felt the preppers were preparing for. Hyper inflation, EMP, Madrid fault earthquake, California earthquake, riots, terrorism, and all the others reasons that folks prepare were listed rather low as a probability.
Ok, I understand that some things are well within the realm of possibility, but low in the realm of probability. Just because something can happen doesn’t mean it will happen. Elizabeth Shue could leave her husband and become my mistress, but really is that ain’t gonna happen. Possible but not probably.
I am going to pick a number out of the air to use as an example. My number may be close or way off, but for this effort we will use it anyway. Let us say that the chance of any event happening is only 3%. Earthquake, 3%, terrorist attack, 3%, hyper inflation, 3%, and so on. That is a low number yet still within the possible range. Now, make a list of all the things that can happen. Add EMP, riots, peak oil, drought, global warming, super volcano, and all the rest of the things we have ever thought about. To my line of thinking we should now add all of those 3%’s together and we get a fairly high odd of SOMETHING happening. It doesn’t have to be something far-fetched like a Lake Michigan Tsunami wiping out western Michigan. (Probably a lower number than 3% chance.) All we have to do is realize that something can happen.
Ten, fifteen, maybe twenty different things are mentioned as reasons for prepping. If you add that 3% to each one it doesn’t take long to get to a 30%, 40% or 60% chance that something can happen. Those are not great odds. Even if my 3% number is off we can still be looking at a fifty-fifty change or even one in four chance of something bad happening.
If I were telling Nat Geo my reasons for prepping it would not be one thing alone. I have taken the shotgun approach for my prepping and plan for a multitude of possible events. The fortunate thing for me is that most of the preps overlap and preparing for an earthquake on the New Madrid fault is similar to prepping for a Michigan snowstorm. As far as me saying anything to Nat Geo I can tell you that ain’t gonna happen either. My wife and I talked about those people having their preps filmed and names on TV. As far as I am concerned that would be the same as a drug dealer wearing a sandwich board with an ad stating: Crack, Meth, Weed, your choice, $20.
I am glad that Doomsday Preppers is out there. It shows us that we are not alone. I am not sure what the yardstick is that the “experts” use to evaluate the preps of the shows profiles, but it does give us a yardstick to judge our own reps on. I noticed several of the folks profiled said they did not reveal everything to the show. I just fear that some OPSEC is not enough and those folks have put themselves at risk. Do not make that mistake yourself.
Wolverine

Feb 02

Living Off the Grid?



Being laid up like I am I have had a chance to catch up on some reading. One book I
finally got to read is called Living off the Grid by Dave Black. The book put me off the first time I tried to read it with a lot of touchy feely stuff about saving the earth by using less energy. I got passed that this time around and read with some interest the ideas Mr. Black put forth. I also started thinking long and hard about my feelings and thoughts about going off grid. Now my wife will tell you that I would just as soon go to war with the local Edison as not. It is a long story but they are a bunch of lying stealing SOBs and if this were a hundred and fifty years ago I would tell them to come armed the next time they see me for I plan to shoot ‘em on sight.  But, this is not the old west and I can’t do that so I just bite my tongue and hope they go away.

Anyway, I like so many of you, have dreamed of going off grid and getting rid of that
Edison bill. I can imagine telling them to come get their poles off my land; Idon’t need them anymore. In a real good day dream, I take the poles myself and use them to build an elevated deer blind.

Mr. Black laid out a lot to think about when it comes to going off grid. The type of house, direction it faces, and material it is built of all make a difference in your cost and ability to go off grid. Common sense says an earth shelter house in a south facing hill will heat cheaper than an old farm house sitting in the middle of a windy field.

My farm house is of new construction. It is not one of those McMansion with seven different roof lines and walls that jut in and out nor does it have huge windows. I built my house with one roof line and square walls. The builder fought me every step of the way, he didn’t think I should build what I wanted
but rather he wanted to build something that had “style and resale value.” I could not make him understand this farm was in the third generation of ownership and my boys already have plans to live here after they are done with their military careers. That notwithstanding, I did several things right according to Mr. Black and a bunch of stuff wrong. I did right when I built the outside walls with 2X6s for extra insulation. I also built it with all brick to keep it both warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I also insulated several inside walls so we could cocoon down to one large room if we needed to. I did some major things wrong too. My house has only one window on the south side, and my house runs North/South not East/West. I get no solar gain during the winter from southern windows and I can’t put solar panels on the roof because it doesn’t face the south with the biggest part of the roof. The biggest drawback to going off grid that I see is the cost. I only did a guesstament calculation so I could be off by a lot, but this is what I got. To start, I need solar panel and or wind turbines, or both, enough to cover the fact that Michigan doesn’t have all that much sun generating days. I also need stands or towers for same, storage batteries, invertors, and of course wiring. Based on the amount of juice I currently use (no pun intended) I would need to spend in the neighborhood of thirty thousand dollars.

Ok, for the sake of argument let us say I have that much. (I don’t, trust me on that.) If I
spent it on going off grid I would save a little over one thousand dollars a year in Edison bills. Not a great return in my book. If I put it in the bank I could make maybe 2% or around $600 which would cut my bill down to about half.

Or, and here is the plan I like, I could take that money and buy about ten acres of farm land which goes for around three grand an acre right now around here. Even if I shared the land and stayed a “gentleman” farmer that much land would produce about two thousand dollars a year in crops payment. Not only could I knock off my Edison bill but pay the taxes or about half of my year’s gas bill for heating the place. It also gives me long term investment potential if TSHTF with the ability to raise more food crops to sell locally. Yeah, I would like to be off grid if we go to TEOTWAWKI, but even then sooner or later the solar cells will need replacing as will the batteries, so eventually I will be just like everyone else.

Mr. Black gave me a lot to think about in his book that is for sure. He also points out that even if you are off grid the rest of the world is not. If we have a major event that knocks out the power grid all the items that are produced with the grid will be lost. How will we buy new solar panels or batteries? Yes, going off grid would be good in some cases, but not all. Before I would take that step I would sit down and run real accurate numbers and make sure that it was a good investment to go off the grid.

Wolverine

Jan 25

(No title)

The Price of Procrastination

Last summer
my work partner and I stopped at a Mexican specialty market that had a small
restaurant in the back. We ordered our lunch and walked around the store
checking out all the imported items. I spotted a bottle of coconut oil for
cooking. I have heard that the US no longer allows the sale of coconut oil
because of the high fat content, but that it is really some of the best oil for
certain items to be cooked in to give them good flavor. I decided to go back to
the store and buy a bottle for my supplies.
We got our
lunch and after it was set in front of us we realized this was no Taco Bell.
This was true south of the boarder fare. It was ok, but not to our taste for a
lot of repeat business. We left and I forgot to grab the oil.
Fast forward
six months. My partner retired from work and I am off with my shoulder surgery.
I had to see the doctor today and run several errands. One of those errands
took me by the Mexican store. I went in a looked all over for the oil. I could
not find it anywhere so I finally asked a clerk. Sorry, they no longer sell
coconut oil was the answer. I screwed around and missed my chance to buy
something I know I could use with my survival supplies.
How many
times have you done that? You see a box of cheap ammo, a good set of tools, or
maybe you just keep putting off filling those gas cans for a cheaper price? We
all find it easy to delay certain things and spending money is one thing that
is easy to delay. I could make a long list of things I have delayed over the
last few years.
If we hope
to have ourselves well prepared for those possible events coming on the horizon
we need to make sure we don’t keep putting off important item acquisitions.
Make that list of items you need and carry it with you in a small notebook. If
you spot an items and cannot buy it right then write down the store and
location so you do not forget where you can find it again.
Being prepared
is an everyday chore. It doesn’t have to be drudgery, it just takes small
amounts of action on your part to stay ahead of the curve and not pay the price
of procrastination.
Wolverine
——————————————
Join the APN Forum at www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net

Jan 23

Local community support

By Bekka Lee

Hi all!!! I am hoping to help others network and find useful ways to survive when needed. First a background on our efforts. We have a farm in rural Michigan and have tried finding others via the internet mostly. When we found that people were not willing to move or couldn’t, we changed strategies. Last year we started an authentic Farmers Market where people could sell their produce or crafts at our farm. It was a little slow to start as far as income which we expected. We never had the intention of becoming rich for this, as our intention was to begin networking with others in our area. That part of it was a huge success!!! We went from being alone basically, to now striving to keep up. We have meetings with the others that have become friends and plan things like gardens, supplies, etc. Some of these people were already in our circle as most people don’t have large tracts of acreage to grow things and had small gardens but needed more space. So we organized a community garden on our farm and plan, purchase, and tend all of it as a group. We even share some of the more expensive things such as farm equipment, wheat grinding, etc. I have found great comfort in that what we were searching for around the world we found under our noses. I don’t think most realize how many people that are local may not be fully awake to the reality of this corrupt and greedy world. But they want and crave self sustainability!!! And when they reap the rewards it becomes almost addicting to provide for oneself!!! I have taken GREAT satisfaction in watching them be ecstatic when they pick their first tomato and eat it right away, or one of their children come running into the garden covered in cherry juice or blackberry juice from raiding the fruit garden or orchards!!! And so do they!!! We even had a little boy that got into our chicken coop and came out with a handful of chicken poo and was proudly proclaiming his hard work for cleaning the chicken coop…..wish I would of had a camera!!! It would of made you tube celebrity status immediately!!!

So how I got started. I put an ad in the local paper asking for people who were interested in an old fashioned farmers market. A true market where not just veggies and fruit were sold but also crafts, plants, and even services, were offered. Our area has taken a downhill turn as far as a real farmers market, they require liability insurance, the cost is horrendous, and they pick and chose as to whom can participate…..so with that in mind we offered to find interests in the community as far as what people wanted to learn, or teach and coordinated it. We had a person that played the mandolin for us and it became a hit! Now I know everyone can’t start a market but they can get to know the market master at their local market and offer to help coordinate classes, find musicians, vendors, etc!! People would be amazed at what they can learn about networking by just reaching out for assistance!! Now I wouldn’t put an ad in the paper that read GET READY FOR CIVIL UNREST OR THE WORLD IS ENDING!!!! But one that just read, Looking for individuals who want to learn self sustainability, gardening, certain crafts, etc….. You will be surprised at the response I am sure!!! Once you get a list of a few people have coffee at a local restaurant to get to know eachother. We had our first meeting in our backyard. There were only eight of us meeting but word got around and now there are eight active families, and several inquiries to myself and the other members. We had thought of doing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm but our goal isn’t to make money from this it is to teach and learn from others. As well as network and share in the work!! With that said you will find people that have good intentions but not enough fortitude for the work. As most younger people now want everything just for the asking it is difficult for them to know that it takes hard work to gain anything. The best way to deal with this is find out what each person in your group is good at. Someone that isn’t a “hard worker” may be a computer whiz that can find resources easier than you, or learn to do something useful that they didn’t know they liked. Like sewing or woodworking. Everyone has something to contribute!!! If there is that one person that refuses to do anything they don’t belong in the group. Period!! At our meetings, the very first thing we announce is a work detail. Once that is done and everyone knows what’s expected of them it usually works out. But if not then they have to be told, contribute or you won’t be receiving your share. It isn’t easy!!!! But when you have to keep in the back of your mind that you can not “carry” others all the time, it is easy to make the call.

Even an ad in the local paper looking for others that share the same interests as yourself is helpful!!! As long as the interest is something that will be valuable after tshtf…. I hope this helps others find a way for networking and learning. The one thing in my many travels across this nation is there are people in EVERY burg that have a craft or talent that can teach you!!! And most are happy to do so!! Just gotta get out and look!!!

 

 

Jan 22

FEMA Orders Mass Amounts of MRE’s

by PillarsofSalt

FEMA, the nation’s supplier for emergency aid, recently put in a request for four hundred and twenty million MRE’s. Their usual stock of meals is about six million. Their request would be enough to feed fourteen million people for over ten days.

Their request for mass MRE production has put the two top suppliers of MRE’s, Mountain House and Oregon Freeze, decommissioned for public circulation. The government request for food has completely used all their resources and capabilities to distribute food to average consumers.

To read the rest of the article, visit http://www.pillarsofsalt.com/2012/01/13/fema-orders-mass-amount-of-mres/

“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way” -Henry David Thoreau

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