Asteroid

As of now, there's no comet or asteroid that's definitely due to smash into our planet, but experts say it's high time to figure out how to deal with the uncertainties, misunderstandings and political wrangling that will inevitably arise during the asteroid alerts to come.

Read More

29,000 Pounds Of Danger Falling From The Sky

If Russia is unable to regain control of the 29,000-pound Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, it will plunge into the atmosphere uncontrolled with a full load of really toxic propellant.


The Russians and NASA have stressed a re-entry of Phobos-Grunt would pose no threat to Earth, saying its full load of toxic rocket propellant inside aluminum fuel tanks would rupture and explode high in the atmosphere and pose no danger to the public.

On the other hand the same people who say its not a problem are also the same people who tell us never to touch a piece of fallen spacecraft as it could be dangerous.

The fact is that things falling from space have a strange habit of not behaving like we expect. A dish of worms survived the break up of the space shuttle.

So my advice is to have your go bag ready and if it lands in your back yard. RUN AWAY.

1/2 of the World is DEAD. What will you do?

I already mentioned the H5N1 bird flu strain which was genetically altered to become a much more contagious virus. Some say it has the potential to kill up to half the world’s population. Now forget for a moment all the arguing the academic and bioterrorism experts are doing over whether to publish the recipe, and whether the research should have been done in the first place. Thats out of your hands. Think about what you are going to do if it ever gets free of the lab. DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?

Bird Flu. A BIG DANGER

It is said that H5N1 bird flu virus has killed about 500 people and outbreaks have sparked fear around the world about the possibility of a global pandemic. Lucky for us the virus has not been contagious enough to pose much of a threat. The simple truth is that its hard for sick people to pass it to healthy people.

However new bird flu research that shows that the dangerous virus can mutate to become easily transmissible among ferrets and perhaps humans has embroiled the scientific community in a difficult debate.

Some biosecurity experts are concerned the research could be used as a blueprint by nefarious forces and are arguing against publication of the work.

But others, especially influenza scientists, are countering that the flu world needs to know the possible paths the H5N1 virus could take to become one that can spread easily among people so laboratories can be on the lookout for those changes in nature.

'Third World' power outages plague US

In an annual report, Eaton, a multinational power management company, said power outages affected 17.5 million people in all 50 states last year when there were 3,419 separate power outages, up from 2,840 the year before. The average blackout lasted four hours, but together all the outages added up to 156 days. California had the most incidents by far (508) followed by New York (176) and Texas (145). Bad weather was responsible for one in four outages, and faulty equipment or human error caused one in eight incidents.

Read More

Freezing Turkish quake survivors loot aid trucks

Survivors of Turkey's devastating earthquake have reportedly begun looting aid supplies as authorities struggle to provide shelter and food for the tens of thousands left homeless. 17 aid trucks belonging to the Turkish Red Crescent have been looted in quake-hit eastern Turkey. As night-time temperatures drop to below zero and snow was forecast to fall overnight, authorities are in a race against time to provide some form of shelter for the thousands of people who face another night out in the open. People are desperate to look after themselves and their loved ones and will do whatever it takes to survive.

Things are getting worse in Greece.

Greek riot police have fired tear gas and fought running battles with protesters, amid a 48-hour general strike that has paralysed the country. Protesters hurled petrol bombs and stones at the police, as a march by tens of thousands of people in central Athens turned violent.

I have said before that I believe Zombies really do exist. Just not in the Hollywood brain eating form we think of. Any kind of disaster can create Zombies. In this case its an economic disaster. Tens of thousands of desperate, scared, angry, frustrated people with no real plan roaming the streets venting their emotions on other people.

And it could happen here.

Black Death Is 'Grandmother' of All Modern Plagues

I was just reading about the new genetic research that indicates the bacterium blamed for the Black Death, a bug that wiped out more than a third of Europe's population within about five years. Looks an awful lot like the modern versions of the plague-causing bug. And I was struck by the thought that perhaps we need to be very careful about messing around with this kind of stuff in a laboratory.

While I am not saying that these scientists are doing any thing that is dangerous. They are only looking at DNA. It makes the Mad Scientist in me think about all kinds of nasty things that could come out of such knowledge. Then again. That's always the price we pay for knowledge.

It also makes one think about how horrendous it must have been for the people of Europe at that time. Its hard to contemplate the effect of a third of the population dying. If it were to happen today it would devastate the economy. In fact it could conceivably destroy our entire civilization.

Scary thought.

Seedbank Vaults Hedge Against Apocalypse

In times of accelerating climate change, extinction threats and the commodification of genetic resources by agribusiness, the sealed, and concealed, activities of seed-saving operations across the globe.

Read More

Today's plague pathogen was also the cause of 'Black Death 600 years ago

A team of German and Canadian scientists has shown that today’s plague pathogen was also responsible for the Black Death, the most deadly outbreak of disease ever that claimed the lives of one-third of Europeans in just five years from 1348 to 1353.

The University of Tubingen’s Institute of Scientific Archaeology and McMaster University in Canada have been able to confirm that the bacterium Yersinia pestis -- known to cause the plague today -- was behind the great plague.

http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_today-s-plague-pathogen-was-also-the-cause-of-black-death-600-years-ago_1582120

Global warming could lead to global warring

In the hot zone that girds the Earth near the equator, ethnic violence, religious strife, vicious criminality, piracy on the high seas, even civil war are being fuelled by the rising temperatures that bring drought, famine, fire and floods.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1048806

Should you worry about alien invasion ?

A few weeks ago some friends of mine were chatting about what to do in the event of an Alien attack. It was a light hearted discussion but it got me thinking. Should you worry about alien invasion?  Then the other day scientists announced the discovery of a super earth that just may be in the right place to have some life. And of course we have all seen the movies. Aliens invade earth, millions are killed and mankind is just able to defeat the invaders by the skin of our teeth.

Well don't worry too much about it. Of all the possible disasters that could befall our civilization this is the least probable one. Mind you if you are serious about being prepared for everything. You can take some comfort in the fact that the preparations you have completed for all the other, much more likely disasters. Are probably all you could do anyway in the unlikely event you find ET at your door.

Lets look at the facts.

1. As far as we know Earth has never been visited or invaded by aliens.

2. We don't even know that aliens exist.

3. If aliens do exist. How would they know we are here. Our radio signals have only traveled out about 100 light years as of right now. That's not very far.

4. How would the aliens get here. As far as we know you cant travel faster than the speed of light. If this is correct it would be really hard for ET to get here.

5. How do we know ET is hostile. Aliens could be quite friendly.

6. Would we have any thing they want? As far as we can tell the Earth has nothing special that you cant find on lots of other planets. The earth is made of the same stuff as the rest of the universe. Aliens are not going to travel all that way to take stuff they don't need.

7. Any Aliens that are advanced enough to get here would be so technologically superior to us they could probably wipe the floor with us. So not much point in worrying about it. Then again. I could be wrong.

Rice. A low cost survival food.

In another example of how it really is not that expensive to stockpile food I found 8kg bags of rice at the store for less than $5 bucks a bag. And as rice has an extremely long shelf life it is a fantastic way to stockpile for a disaster.

An 8kg bag of rice will feed you for a week so you dont need to spend a lot to provide for a long time.

Get Yourself A Toy Gun

One is fake. One is real.

Many people do not like guns. Many people live in places that do not allow guns. But most people (not all) don't mind having a toy gun and live in a place that toy guns are allowed.

Y would you want a toy gun?

From a few feet away many people cant tell the difference between a toy gun and a real gun. In fact some of the toy guns out their are so realistic its almost impossible to tell them from real guns with out picking them up. Another interesting fact is that most confrontations involving a gun end with no shots being fired. People just don't like to get shot.

So in simple terms if the bad guys think you have a gun they will often pick another victim.

WARNING

Most toy guns now have an orange painted muzzle. This is done to help the police tell toys from real guns. I am told that in some places it is illegal to paint over this orange. So you might want to find out about whats legal in your area. Or wait until things are really bad and you no longer need to worry about the law.

Stockpile Things Other Than Food

Human beings by nature tend to be short sighted. We often think only of today or perhaps tomorrow. We have a hard time thinking a year or perhaps longer down the road. But long term planing is very important for any of us who believe that the ZA (Zombie Apocalypse) could last for more than a few days or weeks.

Stockpiling food is a prime example of short sighted thinking. While I agree it is incredibly important to have as much food on hand as you possibly can. You also need to think about what you are going to do when that stockpile inevitably runs out. What do you need to have in order to start producing your own food. Do you have seeds for planting? Do you have the tools you need? Do you have the skills you need? Do you know how to hunt? Do you know how to fish? And yes you can stockpile skills and knowledge. You may not hunt of fish or farm but you can learn about these things and stockpile it in your head for a rainy day. You can also get books and print things of value off the Internet and add them to your survival library.

Medical supplies are another incredibly important thing to stock up on. You will not be able to run to the store and get a bottle of peroxide during the ZA. Ammunition for your guns. Fuel like gasoline, diesel, propane. Matches. Cleaning supplies like bleach and ammonia. The list of things that would be great to have is endless so each of us has to come up with our own ideas of what is important.

Remember also that you may be able to trade extra things you have for supplies you need. So if you have the opportunity to get more of something than you think you need don't pass it up. I found .22cal ammo on sale for $10 per box of 550 rounds. I now have way more than I need but I know lots of people wont. It could be worth more than gold to someone who has run out.

So yes food comes first. But food is only the beginning.
 
   

Emergency Food Supplies for a Family of Four

Hubs and I have a lot of food stored for an emergency. We watch the grocery store flyers carefully so that we can stock up on needed food items when they are on sale. Every family should have at least 3 months of food on hand in case of a disaster or emergency situation.



Sometimes families want to start stockpiling food but they are overwhelmed by the challenge and don't know what to get and how to store it. We aren't experts but we've done a lot of research and a lot of trial and error so we have a pretty good idea of what nutritional value is in certain foods, which foods have the longest shelf life and which are best value for the money (in terms of shelf life, ability to extend the ration, variety of meals possible, and cost)



I've already given you the list of 7 basic essential foods which will keep you alive. I explained how much of each you need for one adult for one week. I know you can do the math but let's look at how much of these basic essential foods an average family of 4 needs for 3 months.



It is going to shock you. But it's doable! An important fact to remember is that any child over the age of 7 is considered a adult in terms of food storage.



I am using mostly metric measurements but you can convert for a fairly accurate measurement by using the following:



1 liter = 0.26 US gallons

1 kg = 2.2 pounds

1 US cup = 236.6 ml but you can convert using 250ml=1cup and remember that 1,000 ml or 4 cups is pretty close to 1 L

ITEM	1 ADULT 1 WEEK	4 ADULTS 3 MOS	SHELF LIFE
Grains	3.5kg	168kg	20-30yrs
Legumes	1/2kg	24kg	20-30yrs
Oils	3/4 cup	36c (9L)	forever if vegetable oil
Salt	2/3 c	32 c (8 L)	forever
Water	7-21L	336-1008L	forever
Sugar	1/2kg	24kg	forever
Milk	1c	48c	20yrs if powder

Vinegar, The Magic Food, Medicine and Cleanser for Survival

Vinegar the magical food item. That's what I call it. It's something you should have on hand for long-term food storage.



What can you do with vinegar? Vinegar can be used as a disinfectant. Put it on wounds, or with your laundry, or dilute it and wash floors and bedding with it.



Vinegar has medicinal properties and is useful for treating bedding in a sick room. In the 19th century vinegar was an important item for ships' surgeons to have on board. Entire ships were disinfected using vinegar and water to wash floors and bedding and clothing.



Vinegar was in use as a healing medicine and antibiotic in ancient Greece and during the Civil War.



You can also make a salad dressing with vinegar, oil and sugar.



Indigestion can be treated with a dink of vinegar and baking soda.& Yes the old "Make a volcano for science fair" trick. But if you drink a bit, it helps a burp and thus relieves the indigestion. It works better if you use apple cider vinegar.



My father used to drink a small glass of vinegar after every meal. He claimed it helped him digest his food! And my grandmother swore that a tiny glass of vinegar daily helped thin the blood. Who knows, maybe there's some truth in these old home remedies!

Bird Flu is Back

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free countries and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia. Its unlikely this bird flu will pose much threat to developed nations but it is important to keep an eye on it.

Hurricane Irene a wake up call.

Hurricane Irene is yet another reminder of just how important it is to be prepared. It may not have been the doomsday disaster that many had feared but it did cause severe flooding and power outages. 4 or 5 million people lost power at some point. Irene left at least 21 people dead in eight states. And Initial property damage estimates ranged up to $7 billion.

Again on the news before the storm we had thousands of people running around trying to purchase water, batteries and other supplies.  DON'T WAIT TILL ITS TOO LATE. You must get ready for emergencies before they happen. And forget the 48 or 72 hrs of supplies that the Government authorities tell you to have on hand. If you don't have every thing you need to be totally self sufficient for at least a week you are a fool. Sorry to be blunt but that's how I feel.

Its not hard to have a weeks worth of supplies on hand. Every one can do it. It just takes a little effort.

Water Water Everywhere...

Water Water everywhere and not a drop to drink? Hopefully you've planned your water storage for emergency situations. An adult requires 1 to 3 litres of water daily so for one month you need 30 to 90 litres! That's for ONE ADULT. Phew. That's a lot of water.

This past weekend I purchased several rain barrels. They hold 200 litres of water so a full one is good for my wife and I for at least one month, perhaps longer. I set one up yesterday on the deck and added a spigot so I can have a tap and a hose to drain the water out. I'll use it for watering my herbs grown in window boxes on the deck. And it will be one of three that we're going to set up around our house and outbuildings.



We have a small garden shed which only needs a bit of eaves troughing and bingo we can set up another rain barrel. We have another larger shed which can be set up easily too. That gives us 3 200-litre rain barrels, enough water to last the two of us for 3 months or more.



Rain barrels plus large containers of water stored in your basement or closet are a good way to be sure you have enough water on hand for any crisis or emergency situation. 

Survival Food Groups Choices: The Basics

We've talked about the 7 basic survival food groups my family uses to plan and store emergency food for a crisis. I've also mentioned spices and dried soup mixes as an extra to provide more variety. But do you know what food choices there are within each group?



Grains

Rice, oats, wheat, pasta, cornmeal, flour



Legumes

Dried beans, split peas, lentils, dry soup mix (my fav!)



Fats/Oils

Vegetable & Olive Oil, Mayonnaise, Peanut Butter, Shortening



Sugars

Sugar, honey, molasses, corn syrup, flavored gelatin, powdered fruit drinks



Milk

Powdered milk, canned milk - evaporated and condensed



Remember that different foods have different shelf lives. So for example I only buy vegetable oil, not olive oil, because vegetable oil lasts indefinitely but olive oil does not.



Canned goods only last about 3 years then you must use them and buy new. So I don't buy canned goods, but that's a personal choice. I'm far too lazy to rotate my food supplies!

More Than the Basics: Additional Foods to add to Your Emergency Storage

I've been working on our plan to buy and store enough basic foods for my family for 3 months. Our goal this year is to concentrate on the 7 basic foods I talked about in a couple of other blog posts.



But we also need other supplies to supplement our basic stockpile. Extra supplies include long-term foods that help give variety to meals and add nutritional value.



If I just had my 7 basic foods PLUS dried soup mixes (I didn't mention those before but I'm hooked on stockpiling as many dried soup mixes as I can!), I could make oatmeal with milk and honey for breakfast, a tortilla and soup for lunch, and tortillas, rice and beans for supper. That's pretty decent in terms of helping to fill someone up but let's look at nutritional value.



1 cup cooked oatmeal, 2 tortillas, 1 cup of rice, 1 cup of pinto beans and 1 cup of  beef vegetable soup made from water and dried soup mix provides one adult with the following % of my daily needs for these nutrients:



Fats 55%

Salt 95%

Fiber 83%

Vitamin A 5%

Vitamin C 5%

Calcium 59%

Iron 133%



It's pretty obvious that I need more of Vitamins A and C as well as Calcium. I can live without the fats but I'll start losing weight pretty fast. And more fiber would certainly help.



The question now is to find out what foods will give us those missing vitamins AND have a long storage life. Foods that are high in Vitamin C that my family likes are raspberries (1 cup = 54%) and potatoes (1 large - 37%). The problem is they don't provide enough and I'd have to lay in a stock of dried raspberries or potato powder and those are expensive.



Sprouts The Magical Powerhouse



But I have a solution. Sprouts. Sprouts are an amazing powerhouse of nutrition. They also give high yield of edibles compared to the small amount of raw seeds you start with. As an example, 1 cup of sprouted kidney beans provides 119% of your daily Vitamin C needs! So start sprouting right now. You want to be sure you know how to do it in case of an emergency. I'll talk more about how we grow our sprouts in future blog posts.



There is one caveat - kidney bean sprouts are toxic if eaten raw, so must be cooked. To be safe, cook all bean sprouts (mung, lentils, navy etc) before eating. Just toss them into stews or soups or stir fry them to remove the toxins. Soaking beans overnight prior to sprouting will also help neutralize the toxins present in them but better safe than sorry, especially if you are in a crisis (emergency) survival situation where little or no medical help is available.



You can eat most other sprouts such as alfalfa raw. Think about what a great "salad" you can toss together during a crisis - 3 or 4 varieties of sprouts and some homegrown herbs such as parsley make a tasty (and nutritional) addition to an emergency survival meal. Or stuff them into your tortilla with a few beans. Yum!



Vitamin A Foods

1 cup of dehydrated carrots provides 1013% of daily Vitamin A needs. Wow. So that means to have 100% all you need is 1/10th of a cup. Now dehydrated carrots are expensive but what a magical food!



This will blow your mind - did you know that you can get 44% of your daily Vitamin A needs from 1 Tablespoon of chili powder or cayenne pepper?  So why not stock up on one or both of these spices? There's another magical spice you might want to have on hand - paprika - it gives 71% of your daily Vitamin A needs in 1 Tablespoon.

























Calcium

We need 41% more of our daily calcium needs.  How can we do that? Well, we could stock up on Calcium Pills but they are expensive and gradually lose potency over time. So let's look at foods rich in Calcium. 1 cup of cooked rhubarb gives us 35% so if you have rhubarb in your garden (as I do) you've got a great source of extra calcium when it's in season.



Those magical dehydrated carrots are helpful and if you're eating them to get their high Vitamin A, guess what - you've just given yourself an extra 16% of your daily calcium and iron needs too! They sure pack a nutrition punch in every cup. 



I'm going to talk about menus and recipes and dried soup mixes in another blog post so stay tuned. I'm also going to show you my successful sprouting of Alfalfa and share how I save and store my seeds.

Buy Emergency Foods on Sale and Buy in Bulk

Kraft Dinner Emergency Food

Score! The Canadian Superstore had a super sale on Kraft Dinner (the original). Half price. So I stocked up for my family emergency survival needs. 

This is how you stock up on foods for long-term storage for your family. Buy on sale and buy in bulk. 

One box of Kraft Dinner cooks up to 3 cups of final product for lunch, dinner or a snack.

Can't afford to stock survival emergency foods for a year? Aim for one month. One flat of Kraft Dinner cost $21.30 and is 35 boxes.

Guess what? 35 boxes of Kraft Dinner at 1/2 cup per person per day feeds a family of 6 for just over a month (at one box daily)

Guess what? 35 boxes of Kraft Dinner at 1 cup per person daily fees two adults for 7 1/2 weeks.  Wow, almost two months of survival!

You are a family of two adults and two children? Okay for 4 people you will get at least 4 weeks and you can have 1 full cup of Kraft Dinner daily.

Everyone can do this. Aim for 30 days of food. Watch for sales. Be sure the foods you are buying have a good shelf life. Store them carefully when you get them home. Protect from humidity and extreme temperatures.

Basic Suvival Foods to Keep You Alive

Let's start our Disaster Plan with learning what basic foods are needed to keep a person alive. The basic survival foods you should be storing are:



Grains (Rice, Pasta, Wheat, Oats, Cornmeal)

     One adult needs 3.5 kg or 7.5 lb of grains for one week



Legumes (Beans, Peas, Lentils)

     One adult needs 1/2 kg or 1 lb of legumes for one week



Fats and Oils (Vegetable Oil, Mayonnaise, Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Shortening)

     One adult needs 3/4 cup of fats or oils per week



Salt

     One adult needs 70 grams or 2/3 cup of salt for one week 




Water

     One adult needs between 1 to 3 L of water daily which is 7 to 21 L of water per week.  Water requirements depend on the temperature,  the amount of exercise the person is doing (how hard they are working) and their body weight. 








I also include in my basic survival needs plan Sugar (sugar or honey) and Milk (powdered or canned)




Sugar (sugar, honey)

    For one adult you should have 1/2 kg or 17 1/2 oz. or just over 2 cups or 1 lb of sugar per week



Milk (powdered milk, canned milk)

     For one adult plan on 140 grams or about 1 cup of milk per week

These 7 essential basic foods will keep you alive for one week. You won't have very interesting or fun meals as you will mostly be eating such things as rice and beans but you'll survive.



Note that there are only 15 L of water (30 bottles) in this photo on the right. I personally store the maximum per adult per week which is 21 L. 



I've included oatmeal and rice as my weekly grains as that gives me more variety in meals. What meals can I make with these basic foods?



Not much! That's the reality. But I can make hot oatmeal every morning with a bit of sugar (or honey)



I can make beans and rice for supper. Lunch could be lentil soup. I think you get the idea.



Remember, these are BASIC survival rations. They will keep ONE adult alive for ONE week.



I'll show you how to expand your food rations and make more variety of meals cheaply and easily in future blog posts.

Reen

There is a roughly 1% chance of a super-eruption in the next 500 to 7000 years

I found an interesting interview with Dr. Clive Oppenheimer. He is the author of the book, Eruptions that Shook the World  and apparently quite the expert on volcano's. Now I don't claim to know much about volcano's and cant really say much about the subject. But the 1% chance of a super-eruption in the next 500 to 7000 years is sure interesting.


If you want to take a look at the interview.

Preparing for Emergencies and Disasters

Do you have a plan in place for your family in case of emergency or disaster? We decided long ago that we should always have a 3 month supply of food and water on hand.



Like many other families we began with saving  a 2-week food supply. Eventually that became one month of food, and now we are prepared for 3 months.  One month of food for your family is a realistic goal and I'm going to help you figure out what you need and where and how to store it.



We're not alarmists. We don't think the world is ending in December 2012  But natural disasters happen - floods, tornadoes, super volcanoes, pandemics, hurricanes, forest fires, earthquakes to name a few.



Ice storms also occur where we live and power can be knocked out for weeks. If it's winter and you have no power, can you survive? Do you have a plan for staying warm? What about cooking your food IF you have food stored - how will you accomplish this?



Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are short-lived - perhaps a few days or a week or two of power outages and inconvenience. Some could be longer - even up to a few months. Do you have enough stored food on hand for your family for that long?



In a series of blog posts I'm going to share with you the plans that hubs and I have in effect. I'll show you what foods we have stored and tell you our reasons (mainly shelf life and ability to extend to feed many people)



There's so much to research and learn before you start buying and storing food. Hubs and I started as most families do - we bought in bulk whenever something went on sale. So we ended up with many cans of pork 'n beans and soup. But guess what - canned goods have a short shelf life (less than 3 years) so unless you're prepared to eat a lot of beans and soup when that 3 years is up, it's not the best emergency supply food.



So stay tuned, check back frequently, and follow the topic in the right hand menu bar "SURVIVAL FOOD STORAGE" or "DISASTER PLANNING" to read all the great tips I'm going to be sharing with you.

Reen

My New Zombie Gun. The Smith & Wesson Model 500

Smith and Wesson Model 500
Well I just picked up my newest addition to my arsenal. A Smith and Wesson Model 500 revolver. The Smith and Wesson Model 500 is a five-shot, double-action revolver firing the massive .500 S and W Magnum cartridge.

It is built on Smith and Wessons largest frame, the X-Frame. Smith and Wesson claims it is the "most powerful production revolver in the world today" and this is largely correct. The Model 500 can fire a bullet weighing 350 gr ( 22.7 g; 0.8 oz) at 1975 feet per second (602 m/s) generating a muzzle energy of over 3,030 foot-pounds.

Now many people believe this gun is just way too big and powerful to be of much practical use. In fact that was my first thought when I first heard about this firearm a few years back. But after having shot it I soon changed my tune. Now I will say this gun is not for the novice shooter. The recoil is quite sharp and the weight of the gun (1.59 kg to 82 oz 2.32 kg) would make it just too heavy for some. And the fact that it only holds only 5 rounds would deter some who like a lot of rounds backing them up. However I believe that for the right person this gun can be a practical and let's face it, just plain cool addition to your anti zombie arsenal.

So what good can a heavy revolver with a lot of recoil and only 5 rounds be? Well lets see. Portable, accurate, large caliber, long range fire power that you can take any place. In simple terms this gun fills a niche that many other firearms do not. It gives you the ability to reach out and hit targets at distances that you just can't with an auto pistol or small revolver but its smaller and more compact than most rifles.

So why not just carry a smaller handgun and a rifle? Well the simple answer is that most of the time in a survival situation your guns are just dead weight that you have to carry around. Most of the time you are working or walking or engaged in some other activity and your guns are just a pain in the ass.

Think about it. You are out working trying to scrounge supplies or plant crops. What are you going to do with that heavy rifle. You are going to take it off and lean it against a tree because its just way too hard to do any work with it slung on your back. Yes you may have a smaller pistol on your belt but that's only a short range weapon. Most people can't hit a target with a small handgun beyond about 30 to 50 yards. And that's at a shooting range. It's a lot harder in the real world when the bad guy is hiding behind a car or tree and shooting at you. The 500 allows you to reach out to 100 or 200 yards with precision.

Now I know that there are other firearms that might fill this role. The PDW guns of the last 20 years or so like the FN P90 give fantastic firepower in a small portable package. But the bottom line is people are all different in what works for them or what they like. Their are lots of people who just don't like fancy hi-tech semi/auto guns. People who are used to more old fashioned simple technology. Or perhaps some one who is really comfortable with their smaller revolver and would like something in a format that they are familiar with. The 500 can fill this role.

Mysterious nocturnal rumble in Windsor Ont

An interesting story about a mysterious rattling, humming and shaking in Windsor and Detroit is making the rounds. Every one including the authorities are baffled about its source. Its not earthquakes. No industrial reason has been found. Its a real mystery.

Now it will most likely turn out to be nothing. Whatever it is its probably nothing dangerous. Mind you if i lived in Windsor or Detroit I would keep my bags packed. Then again. I always do.

Read More About This Mystery

Whats With The Weather ?

Let me just start by saying I am not a scientist. I don't know a lot about green house gasses or Arctic ice sheets. I can only go by what I see around me. And what I see is not normal. At least not in my lifetime. Are we in trouble ? I don't know. But it makes one think.

Here’s the data on the number of U.S. records broken or tied in the month of July so far:

•All-Time Highest Maximum Temperature: 70
•All-Time Highest Minimum Temperature: 175
•Monthly Highest Maximum Temperature: 125
•Monthly Highest Minimum Temperature: 330
•Daily Highest Maximum Temperature: 2,125
•Daily Highest Minimum Temperature: 4,787

Surviving a tornado: what you should do

Last month, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in recorded history hit Mississippi and Alabama and killed hundreds of people. Would you know what to do if that happened here? Knowing how to stay safe could mean the difference between life and death.

Read More

Zombie Ant-pocalypse

This news story about Zombie Ants and Zombie Fungus has been making the rounds and while I am pretty sure its nothing to worry about. It shows that there are lots of strange things in this world. SO BE PREPARED.

These particular fungus species take over ant brains with mind-altering chemicals, control them like voodoo dolls and then kill them once they have done the fungus’ bidding.


Read More about Zombie Ants

200000 would die and public order could break down in flu pandemic

As many as 200,000 people would die and public order could break down if Britain were hit by a full-scale flu pandemic, according to an official planning document. The Department of Health report says that half the population could develop symptoms of the disease, possibly “overwhelming” hospitals and doctors as well as costing the economy £28billion, but police and the army would be unable to help as their forces would also be depleted.

It says the outbreak of a new influenza pandemic is “one of the greatest threats facing the UK” as it could not be stopped from spreading and vaccines would take months to develop.


Read More

World ill-prepared for severe influenza pandemic

A independent expert-review committee, tasked to look into the experience gained in the global response to the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in 2009, has issued its preliminary report.

They found the world is ill-prepared to respond to a severe influenza pandemic or to any similarly global, sustained, and threatening public health emergency.

Nuclear Power Plant Disaster In Japan

The recent nuclear power plant disaster in Japan is a reminder to all of us who live near a nuclear power plant that we need to be prepared. It also highlights the need for each us to take precautions to protect ourselves and our love ones. The slow and in some cases inept handling of this disaster just goes to prove that you can not rely on your government or a power company to protect you. Only you can protect yourself. Don't be a victim. Take charge.

Egypt Chaos - Civilians watch over neighborhoods

In order to fill the vacuum left by the withdrawal of the police. Civilians armed with guns, knives, axes, golf clubs, firebombs, metal bars and any other makeshift weapon they can find are watching over many neighborhoods. They are defending their families and homes against widespread looting and lawlessness.

On Saturday, the army sent out an appeal for citizens to help.

"The military encourages neighborhood youth to defend their property and their honor," it said in a statement.

This is again a reminder to all of us that it can happen here. Remember New Orleans?

2010 the year the Earth struck back

This was the year the Earth struck back. Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

Read More

Vesuvius's big daddy: The supervolcano that threatens all life in Europe

Two thousand years ago Mount Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii. Today, a larger, far more deadly supervolcano lurks on the other side of Naples. If it erupts, Campi Flegrei could wipe out all life in Europe.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1342820/Vesuviuss-big-daddy-supervolcano-Campi-Flegrei-near-Naples-threatens-Europe.html#ixzz19vVemxEb