National Geographic’s new series, Doomsday Preppers, premiers with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, February 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. National Geographic contacted me last week and said, “We want you to preview the show.” I said, “okay.” Then they overnight this action:

I open it and …

Nifty little “survival pack” marketing idea. I’d touch on the contents, but frankly, it’s more marketing than practical, so let’s skip that and cut to the show, which National Geographic describes as:

Doomsday Preppers explores the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. Unique in their beliefs, motivations, and strategies, preppers will go to whatever lengths they can to make sure they are prepared for any of life’s uncertainties. And with our expert’s assessment, they will find out their chances of survival if their worst fears become a reality.

That sounds fairly accurate based on the three profiles I saw on the pre-screening DVD they sent. What did I think? Well … it’s made for television. Sounds obvious, but what I mean is, it’s … dramatized. You know the drill, they profile someone or some people, play dramatic music, accentuate dramatic points, and generally try to stir the pot a bit. I wonder what the non-prepper watching the show will think of it, because for me, it was hard to watch it without critiquing the folks and their preps as the show went on. So let’s do that, shall we?

Profile #1: A couple living 35 miles outside San Antonia in an elaborate shipping container … “house.” I watched these folks and I could only think – “Holy crap! Seriously!?” They have it all, little windmills, solar panels, pigs, goats, methane gas system and food – food upon food upon food. Oh, and they have old 2nd hand school buses specially configured to bug out. “Our animals are trained to bug out,” they say. They’re afraid of a polar shift, but let’s not go there.

Case in point on the over-dramatization of the show. The narrator says something like, “They’re concerned about their home’s ability to stop bullets so today they’re testing their home by firing a .22 caliber rifle at it, a common caliber they are likely to encounter in a catastrophe.” The people then spray paint a big black dot on the corner of a shipping container (where the steel looks thickest) and fire a few .22 rounds at it, saying, after inspection, “I feel better.” Ummmm …. seriously? Never mind that any house will stop a .22 or that they their “house” has windows!

Then the guy talks about his methane gas system, touting how the gas is odorless, that wood smoke can be smelled far away and that he doesn’t want to be the person being found by wood smoke WTSHTF. Never mind that they provide ALL kinds of aerial views of their shipping container compound that’s just 35 miles outside San Antonio. Anyone see a disconnect here?

Profile #2: A guy in Los Angeles that is afraid of an earthquake so his idea of preparing is learning foraging techniques and staying mobile with his survival backpack. He said he hasn’t found a survival or bug out pack that he’s liked so he’s made his own, and that each person’s pack should be customized to his/her needs. That makes sense. I mean, this guy’s pack has a bottle of salad dressing. Yes, SALAD DRESSING!

Then he says that he’s prepared for bartering, because people won’t have access to cash. What does he have for bartering? Homemade arrow tips. Yes, HOMEMADE ARROW TIPS! No arrow shafts, no bow – just homemade arrow tips. Buddy! Ever hear of .45 auto!?

One good idea that I got from him, yes, I did get one, is that he rightfully claims that commercially purchased wire saws are crap. He instead made one himself out of a chainsaw blade. I thought that was pretty cool … though I wonder how it’d work.

Profile #3: Some “20-something party girl” living in Houston that is afraid of an oil crisis and everything running out. Her big plan is to load up a heavy backpack and bug out to … Mexico. Yes, MEXICO. Does she have friends or family there? Mmmmm – no! But c’mon, I hear the beaches are nice. She claims to work out 4 hours a day 6 days a week. She does look rugged, but … seriously? She’s cocky. Her SHTF storage supplies include, as she puts it, 120 condoms, which, as she puts it, should last a couple of days. See what I mean? She’s cocky (nyuck nyuck nyuck).

Why, after watching her clip, does National Geographic *bleep* out “sh*t” but not “wh*re” or “a$$”? Does not compute.

Will I watch the entire series? No. I don’t have cable.

All of this being said, the series should be interesting for any prepper. If nothing else it’ll be entertaining. Though the first folks profiled were WAY over the top, it was interesting to see them give away their location and all of the extensive preps on national television. Not something I’d do, but hey, whatever.

- Ranger Man

BTW: I did ask if I could mail the DVD to a random reader, but promptly got my hand e-slapped for even suggesting it. *shrug* I tried.

No related posts.

Oil.  Our world revolves around it and nearly everything our society does is dependent on it.  Most of us couldn’t get to work or the store and groceries and other supplies couldn’t be delivered around the country or around the world without it.  This is a relatively new dependence in our world today, but when we get addicted to something we do it in a big way.

It’s been said that one gallon of gasoline has the equivalent of three weeks of human work.  (source.)  Three weeks!  It’s no wonder the internal combustion engine has allowed the clever human race to advance to where we are today.  But there’s one little caveat here…

Our economy is driven by oil.  When oil prices go up so does the price of our food.  It’s all interconnected with our economy and when you have a system that dependent on something you’ve got the potential for big trouble.  Enter Iran and potential big trouble.

It’s well known that Iran doesn’t care for the United States and when their country is the fourth largest oil exporter in the world (source) it can cause some tension.  I won’t go into the politics of the issue at this point more than to say that Iran is now threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which runs 20% of the worlds oil.  With the way the markets  react to news today I’m surprised oil hasn’t already gone above $150 a barrel.  If this sabre rattling keeps up I wouldn’t be surprised to see gas prices go well over $4 at the pump in the next few months.

Could Iran really block the strait if the rest of the world decided they wanted it open?  Probably not, but all it would take is a couple of anti-ship missiles hitting an oil carrier and it wouldn’t really matter.  I suspect ship owners and captains wouldn’t want to run their expensive tankers and cargo through the strait until things had settled down a little.  Maybe not enough to put a big dent in the oil supply, but certainly enough to drive up gas prices and put a strong economic headwind on the “recovery” that’s being touted in the United States.

Arguably we have passed the point of peak oil and to me it seems unlikely that oil prices are ever going to go back to where they were before.  When there’s a shortage of something what happens to it?  I’ve rarely seen prices go down on something that was in high demand.

This post isn’t about sounding the trump of doom, but it is a good idea to keep your eye on situations that could potentially cause problems in important areas such as transportation, food prices, heating oil prices and yes, even an economic crash due to high energy prices.

Check out some oil and energy predictions and thoughts here.  And for those of you interested in military action here’s a threat assessment for the Iranian military threat.

Are you ready for high gas prices?  What have you done to prep for it?

-Jarhead Survivor

No related posts.

Hello everyone, remember my Looking to Hire Another Writer post? Enter “Calamity Jane.” There were a lot of good writers/preppers that responded to the post, many more than I anticipated. It was nice having a good selection to choose from. Calamity stood out for a few reasons: 1) she’s a woman, so she’s bringing a different perspective; 2) she knows about areas of prepping that Jarhead and I do not; 3) she seems to be a decent writer; and 4) she was already familiar with blogging.

Welcome to SHTF Blog, Calamity.

- Ranger Man

*******************************

Phase one: Prep
Phase two: ?
Phase three: Survive and Thrive*

Everyone likes to ignore Phase two. Phase one is fun, exciting and no one gets hurt. Three is all about the future and has it’s own rewards. Phase two though, its messy, it’s full of grays and sometimes it’s more work than you really want to do.

Phase two is when you’re trying to keep up a decent life with a lot less of everything. Phase two is dodging the flood waters and job loss in the same year. Phase two is building your own underground house, in your spare time between jobs, (while living with your mother).

Yea, I prep. I’ve got the beans and the bullets and quite a few bandaids. But, there’s a difference between *having* preps and *using* preps. There’s a difference between 100 gallons of water a day, and 10. There’s a difference between seeds in a sealed can and food on the table all winter. That difference is Phase two.

What I will be bringing to to SHTF is a lot of boots on the ground advice about Phase Two. I’m a mother and a wife, employed as a computer engineer in the manufacturing industry. I prefer to manage the transition as gracefully as possible from our current on-the-grid lifestyle to the realities we’ll face when the grid is down, be it temporary or permanent. And not the wishful thinking “realities” of a perfectly stocked bunker on paid for land with a few close buddies. I’m talking about the messy realities of life in the home we have now, with the neighbors we only half like, preps that have gaps in spite of our best intentions, and the 2 year old who wants dinner. Realities that you can’t shoot your way out of.  The way I see it, grace under pressure requires practice, and flexibility. I’m comfortable with tillers and will use one if it’s offered, but I’m equally content to use a hoe; I know I’ll need those muscles and callouses. I have a perfectly good stove top, but cooking meals on an open fire is something I do for fun. As with any skill set, there are tricks and tools that make things truly easier and it’s better to learn them now before they are needed in an emergency. I’m hoping some of you will be encouraged to try more of them. After all, we prep to survive, let’s not forget the second step.

- Calamity Jane

* Bonus points if you know the South Park episode that inspired the opening. Big Hint: Underpants gnomes.

No related posts.