Radioactive Groundwater in Tokyo

You all should know about the current crisis in Japan, well now the groundwater has been found to have harmful levels of radiation for babies. This along with a US and Hong Kong ban on Japanese dairy and crops. Trace radiation has been found in Seattle and California, but not enough to be worried about yet. But you should still get prepared, get some potassium iodide tablets(they dont cost much so if you see someone selling 20 for 1000$ tell them to go fuck themselves) just to have at least some protection just in case. You shouldn't be afraid about it yet though, the government will tell us when it's time to worry but for the love of good be prepared!!!

HOBO MARKINGS: LANGUAGE OF SURVIVAL

Learn the simple pictograph language of the classic hobo for creating survival routes, rally points and survivor warnings.

http://preparedcitizenwsg.blogspot.com/2011/03/hobo-markings-language-of-survival.html

SURVIVAL GEOCACHING

Guidelines to creating survival caches:

http://preparedcitizenwsg.blogspot.com/2011/03/survival-geocaching.html

Japan: Another reason to have a GOOD bag

As I am sure you are all aware about the events that have transpired in Japan I wont go into much detail about them other than to say what has happened so far. First there was the 8.9 quake, followed by the 30 foot tsunami, and now there is the problem with the nuclear reactors. These 3 things are prime examples by themselves of reasons to have a GOOD bag, but together they are a 6' 8 man in your face yelling at you to open your eyes and get ready for the future and all it's possible outcomes. Maybe you don't want to do it because you don't think anything bad could ever happen to you because you are special, but consider the fact that from the West Coast to the East Coast the threat of earthquakes is real. Then think about what happens every year in the Gulf and occasionally along the East Coast. Or look at the winter that just happened, the snow and rain that hit across the US. You need to prepare not only for yourself, but if you have family for them as well. When you read this start thinking up things you may need. Also be sure to read this post by Vault72 on what to have and where you can get it.
http://postapocalypticearth.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=bugout&action=display&thread=8

WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A DIRTY BOMB

Know what to do to ensure your survival near or far from the blast.

EXPOSED TO RADIATION? NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

How to help flush radiation from your body and shield your thyroid and bones from radiation in the event of a dirty bomb, nuclear plant meltdown or nuclear detonation.

HOW TO SETUP A SAFE/QUARANTINE ROOM

What you need to know to shield you and your family in the event you have to shelter in place.

NOW WITH "LIVE" TERROR ALERT STATUS WINDOW

Now you can be current on national alert status and type.

How to make a cheap Universal Hobo Stove vs. the Alcohol Stove

HOW TO MAKE A CHEAP UNIVERSAL HOBO STOVE VS. THE ALCOHOL STOVE
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There is alot of buzz and postings out there for several different versions of the penny, or soda can alcohol, or alcohol evaporative stove. Yes, the alcohol stove can be made from garbage found on the side of the road. Yes, the alcohol for the stove is pretty cheap and alot more readily available then most are aware. But, compared to a simple hobo stove it vastly pales. The alcohol stove is very difficult to get going in the winter because you have to heat the stove against the cold. Using a lighter to heat the bottom of the can is less efficient then just creating a fire and cooking off of the fire versus the stove or using the fire to get the stove going. The alcohol stove has a very limited fuel source when compared to the hobo stove as the alcohol content must be above 60%. The alcohol stove requires more hands-on work to make then the hobo stove does. The biggest benefits of the hobo stove are that it uses virtually any combustible fuel there is, it's small, cheap, easy to make, and more durable then the aluminum can alcohol stove.

ITEMS NEEDED TO CONSTRUCT THE HOBO STOVE
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1) one tin can candle ( can get them from the dollar tree for $1)
2) an aluminum can (any kind of beverage can that can be found on the side of any road)
3) a pair of scissors
4) cotton balls or cloth or any wicking material (hemp, cotton, tissue, dryer lint, fiberglass)
5) a small nail
6) a hammer like object


STEP 1:
Go buy a tin can candle

STEP 2:
Heat the tin can candle by putting it in a pot with a quarter inch of water and heat it on the stove for a couple of minutes until the surface has melted or just light the candle and wait for a couple minutes until most of the surface has melted from the heat of the flame.

STEP 3:
Place the additional wicking material along the inside rim of the tin can allowing it to absorb some of the candle wax. Only place enough material to make it no more then 75% around the inside rim. The reason being that if you complete a circle of wicking material and it is lit, it will create an oxygen void in the center forcing all the flames to converge at one point as a large candle flame. Keeping a gap allows oxygen to feed the flames and keeping it in the circular shape allowing it to heat a larger area.

STEP 4:
Cut 4 rectangles from the aluminum can with a length equal to the width of the tin can candle's opening and about an inch wide. Clip off the corners and trim the pieces to fit inside the tin can candle. Now cut the pieces in accordance with the drawing to allow you to attach them together there by creating the bracket to support cans or pots for cooking. The folds in the center of the bracket pieces is to strengthen the bracket and allow the flames to breath once a can or pot is placed on top of the bracket.

STEP 5:
Using the small nail and hammer like object, punch 8 holes in the lid of the can along the top circumference. If uncertain refer to the pictures.

STEP 6:
YOUR DONE!
Now you have a hobo stove that once it is done buring the fuel of the candle wax is capable of using virtually any fuel source. You can replenish the fuel with other candles, crayons, vaseline, chapsticks and lip balms, used and new motor oil, any vegetable oil, bacon grease, any oil based lubricant, kerosine, gasoline, diesel, rubbing alcohol, heet antifreeze, fuel injector cleaner, octane booster, fuel treatment, hand sanitizer, liquor, colognes and perfumes and body sprays, finger nail polish remover and even a crushed charcoal briquette. With the holes in the lid you can use the hobo stove as an evaporative burner or just light the liquid with an open top. Remember as a rule of thumb with evaporative fuels that the more surface area the better so use cotton balls or fiberglass or some other wicking material to help the fuel evaporate for a consistent burn.

NOTE: KOW, I sent one of these in with the package, enjoy :)

Wrist computers are the future

A while ago I did a post on this subject originally on the PAE main site. I then posted it here on this blog with a little extra stuff added to it, but I had plan's to do another follow up post. Now I am sure at least some of you have heard of or played a game called Fallout, in the game there is a thing called a "Pip-Boy". This is a wrist computer used be the character that gives him everything he needs to know, such as his overall health, a map, radio, and the character's inventory, as well as other things that would be rather useful like a Geiger counter.

But in the real world today we are starting to see similar devices that while can't do everything that a pip-boy can(for now at least) are still something that if you can get one, you might want to jump on the chance. One such WC(wrist computer or wearable computer) is the Zypad W200. You can take the tour of the device here.

There is also the more rugged WR100. A version that could see military use, for which it would be perfect for. Imagine the soldier of tomorrow, armed not only with  a WR100 but also with exoskeletons as well as the cheetahbot and a laser rifle.

But there is more than just the Zypad WC out there right now. Currently General Dynamics has the GD300 and HP is developing once using it's flexi screen technologies.

Now of course we are some time away from these things reaching the public market(at least for some of them) so don't expect to be able to get one of these unless you have some connection's. When it does finally become a common item among the public, expect to see it have many consumer products all incorporated into it. The WR200 already has ports for usb and other things, but that really isn't all that much. Expect to see it have a wireless phone built it, with ports for sd memory cards and the like as well as GPS(already a feature along side bluetooth and wireless connections) and recording devices built in. When these do first come out they may look a little weird now, but remember that one day it is expected that the world will be like what is seen in the anime Ghost in Shell.

ARK TWO SHELTER COMMUNITY NETWORK

Check out the ARK TWO COMMUNITY at :

http://www.webpal.org/SAFE/aaasurvival/index.htm

They have many books on survival available for download for free and have established a global network for helping society rebuild after the collapse. So, if you have a survival community or plan on starting one, register with them so they can put you on their global network map and you can contact other registered groups in your state via their TEAM leader map. The Ark Two SAFE (Safe America For Everyone) Community is the largest pluralistic survival community in North America without any political, religious, or cultural bias. Its purpose is to ameliorate the catastrophe of a nuclear war or other world-wide cataclysmic catastrophe and to help restore civilization. Inquiries from all are invited. Since most people think that a Doomsday such as all-out nuclear war is not survivable, either individually or for society, and since somehow most intellectuals feel that to make positive plans for its aftermath would seem to somehow advocate or condone it - there is absolutely no scholarly discussion on this subject. We cover areas that deal with 'Reconstruction of Society', 'Recovery in Your Community', . This section I sub-divide into the following subjects:

While you will find in the above hundreds of pages of information on our website, it is in fact a very small percentage of the info stored at Ark Two, and which we hope to be able to make available through the SAFE network - afterwards.
Our personal library is very extensive. At one time I counted 13 sets of encyclopedias. These are mostly specialized - like a 14 volume set on gardening and another 16 volume set on do-it-yourself repairs. There are others on health and medicine and a variety of other subjects.

We have also acquired CDs with hundreds of books and one summer put a crew to work microfilming thousands of documents which we have on microfiche. These, plus many many books, are in just our own home but our two Ark Two Community librarians are the real gatherers of information - one has many thousands of books, mostly on technology for recovery, and the other over a terrabyte of information stored on CDs.

In the future, when people want it, we hope to be able to disseminate widely whatever is needed from this information. There are many blind spots in our library. We have little information on modern technology and almost no information on leading edge technology. Members of our Ark Two community are of far more than average knowledge about nuclear and computers but there are many, many fields such as in modern metallurgy, petroleum refining, hundreds of specialties in chemistry, medicine, and untold numbers of other areas that the expertise to re-establish them will have to survive with the experts - if they are going to be recovered in the immediate decades following.

A great many of our resources deal with old Pioneering skills. We cannot just go back to the old ways. We have lost many of the skills. No one had them all then and you would be hard put today to find a wheelwright, a miller, a tanner, a barrel maker. All those trades, like farming, have advanced into modern technology and the present experts seldom have used the old ways. Many of the old implements are no longer around and we certainly don't have the horses. Modern horses are neither bred nor conditioned to pull the plow. Still, in the skills of the past we may find solutions to the problems of the moment.

The problem of the moment has not been getting information, but one of determining which information is going to be most useful to survivors. What we offer in these pages, measuring radiation contamination in food, producing food without the modern technology and its skills, finding alternate sources of energy, recovering and repairing remaining machinery, and in the reconstruction section on how to create the nucleus of an economic and monetary system and restore the basis of functioning society - is what we feel will be most needed at the outset. It is our sincerest hope that we will be able to get it to the people who need it and that they will find it useful.

Our primary task of the moment is to create the SAFE Community Network so that the information will be widely disseminated and distributed ahead of time.

Get free virus/terrorism/disaster text updates

Get free text updates to any viral outbreaks, track the flu spread rate on a color coded map of the U.S., get updates to natural disasters and terrorist attacks within the U.S., get vaccine price listings, tips for cold and hot weather and for inclement weather. How you may ask? Simple, just go to the www.cdc.gov and register your phone number for free text notifications. Stay ahead of the general public, know when there are outbreaks and where. Know before everyone else about any incident and beat the crowds at the gas pumps or groccery stores if you haven't stockpiled already. Don't get caught in the chaos like everyone else.
Try texting 4health to 87000 for h1n1 updates and health tips. Or get more texts by creating an account and setting up your email for updates with wireless texting being your primary means of notification. Go to this website it gives you step- by- step instructions.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/updates.htm

Exoskeletons will see combat by end of decade

Someday soon, likely within this decade even, our soldiers will be give a rather large boost towards catching up with technologies found in games. The exoskeleton is a basically a wearable robot that gives it's user's increased strength, and because it takes a lot of the weight off of the soldier, more stamina. There are several different companies working on models for use by US soldiers on and off the battlefield. Likely we will first see tethered versions being in logistics. So it's likely that the first soldiers that will be the one's to use it, will be loading and moving equipment.

As you can see by that video this particular exosuit rather large and bulky. It is a Raytheon XOS 2 exoskeleton, this is one that has to be tethered but which will as I said before see use in logistics in 5 years with a combat version 3 to 5 years after.

While Raytheon may be going the more bulky route, the LEGENDARY company Lockheed Martin has gone with a smaller lighter version. This version will likely see use outside of the military for helping disabled people to once more walk again. With the possibility of the technology possibly one day doing something along the lines of what Doc Ock used in the second spider-man movie, a system that hokes into the spinal cord and uses that to tell the system what to do.

While exoskeletons are by no means a new thing it has taken a while for more practical version of today to come around, with General Electrics version being a rather massive bulky looking thing from the 1960's.

Also these of exoskeletons will likely lead to the development of the Power Armor seen in games like Fallout and more notable Halo.

With the end result looking likely a modern suit of armor, these exoskeleton's will, alongside other technologies, revolutionize both warfare and and civilian lives. We are really right now at the beginning of a new dawn for humanity, with the old ways still wheezing along. While the the new way's making more and more of a headway against it. I leave you with this image of one of the concept power armor's of the future, may the steel be strong.

Update:


Well it seems that I already have to do a update on this!! The HULC has already gone through lab tests and will be starting field tests this year. The battery life of it is 72 hours. For more info check here: http://singularityhub.com/2010/07/28/armys-hulc-exoskeleton-to-test-at-end-of-2010-hints-at-industrialmedical-uses/

To add to this update here are links to Lockheed Martin press release's and the HULC:
HULC
Energy supply
Lockheed Martin Contract

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U.S. Navy Successfully Uses Laser to Shoot Down Drones

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20011041-501465.html


So it seems that the US now has laser anti-air capabilities. How long till US infantry troops and armor get theirs? And how long till a energy source is made so that they will be able to use said weapons?

Currently there are microwave guns that are both man portable and vehicle mounted, they do not kill but instead cause the target to be exposed to heat from the microwave beams. It is a non-lethal deterrent made to disperse crowds, but they are not the true laser rifles.

How long till troops are armed with true laser weapons? And then how long till they become available to the civilian market?

US bunker building on the rise

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-28-doomsday28_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

So it seems that US citizens are building bunkers again in larger than normal number's. Our own Vault72 is planning one(hope you don't mind I mention you 72!!), and i plan to make several down the line myself. Let's hope that the people making these things are stocking them good!!

The Key to the Internet

Some of you may not know it but the internet has keys!! Find more info about it here: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20100728/ttc-brit-holds-the-key-to-the-internet-f0c422d.html
The location to restart the internet is in the US, which I found very satisfying myself.

Pip-Boys Now and future

From the Zypad to iKey the present tech is rapidly catching up to the futuristic tech seen in video games. The US army hope to have this on the wrists of soldiers in the near future, and with hope this will help out boys so much that we start seeing the State side. If anyone has played the newest generation of "Megaman" then you know what we could one day see, I know I wouldn't mind having a BOS AI giving me status updates from my wrist!!

While this isn't a wrist computer it is still something that you could try to pass off as one if you really wanted to. Today's technology is advancing at a exponential rate and it's not hard to think about cellphones becoming outdated soon to be replaced with wrist computer's that have a built in wireless headset, or dental implant phones which work with said pip-boy wrist computer.