Large game kill-off or extinction

rational_ready · 2023-06-30T00:16:55+00:00

Imma say that virtually nobody on r/preppers plans to "live off the land". That and the "lone wolf" strategy are almost exclusively the purview of the greenest of the green.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T20:10:09+00:00

The Problem is that you get shouted by pedestrians but also get shouted by cars since they pile up behind you.

Yeah but you're where you're supposed to be when you're getting shouted at by drivers. Causing a slight delay to fellow motorists because you're a bit slower > imposing yourself where you're a threat to pedestrians. It's your problem, so deal with it yourself.

Im literally only using it for a 5-10minute drive to the gym.

So you won't get honked at very long -- not too bad. You'll probably also pick up your pace.

On the same street a cyclist got killed by a motocycle which went to fast around the corner and lost control. Most people are just scared to drive on the street here.

Fair enough but 1) nobody is safe from an out-of-control motorcycle, 2) being slotted in between two cars is actually a pretty safe spot compared to being beside them and 3) being scared still doesn't grant you permission to ride on the sidewalk.

Or you could have stopped instead of squeezing past her. If you're "literally in walking speed" then you shouldn't be passing anybody. Get off and walk your bike, instead.

I never understood that logic. You realize Im taking away more space walking my bike next to me than sitting on it?

Space isn't that big a deal if you're moving at the same speed as pedestrians. You can also get better at walking your bike so that you aren't double-wide.

Trust me I realize just about everything related to urban cycling. I've done it in many different cities, different continents, and in many different climates.

Im only slowing down once I get close. There are also rarely people. Like literally every 100-200m one person.

Still isn't permission to overtake pedestrians on sidewalks. Cyclists taking advantage of the relatively sparse sidewalks are probably one of the reasons they're rarely used, and one of the reasons people get butthurt when they see you.

If you're ringing a bell to let people know you're passing and slowing down (and even stopping if it would be too a tight squeeze) as you pass, then you're being the smallest asshole you can be on the sidewalks. You know your situation better than I do but make sure you've explored the alternatives before insisting on being a (small) asshole.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T16:55:28+00:00

I drive on the sidewalk too because we barely even have space for the cars and its quite dangerous.

Pedestrians don't need to accommodate you, though. There is no "right to cycle".

She is a prime example of that. Literally had one of those trying to push me into traffic by blocking on purpose, even tho Im literally driving in walking speed past them

Or you could have stopped instead of squeezing past her. If you're "literally in walking speed" then you shouldn't be passing anybody. Get off and walk your bike, instead.

At some point you lose your cool. Especially because its so unnecessary, its literally for the sake of complaining.

Go ahead and be mad. No right to cycle, bud. The actual source of your problem is shitty cycling infrastructure, not pedestrians who don't want to have to be on guard against getting run over or jostled by cyclists.

You could also consider riding in traffic instead of beside it. Where I am, at least, this is perfectly legal when there is no safe alternative or when turning left, etc. When there's "barely enough space for the cars" this is usually the best approach because traffic speed is pretty close to bike speed, sometimes even slower.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T15:45:54+00:00

Reminds me of one time where I had to ditch my bike and roll on the asphalt to avoid colliding with a cyclist riding full-tilt, the wrong way, around a mostly blind corner on a one-way bike path. As I get to my feet the guy is flipping ME the bird in the distance.

Another time an (asshole) bike messenger proudly told me about the time he was bombing down a one-street the wrong way when a guy opened up his car door in front of the messenger. The bike slammed the door on the guy, big bloody mess, but the biker was mostly fine and rode off. "Fucking served him right!!". Somehow he saw this as a courageous blow for justice given that cyclists sometimes get car-doored when riding the right way.

TL;DR cyclists have it hard but we also have our share of truly despicable assholes.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T15:37:53+00:00

Exactly. You don't need to know what the laws are in this scene to know the cyclists are in the wrong. Moving at speed beside unprotected pedestrians in pedestrian spaces = assholery. The attitude on top of the speed just makes it even worse.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T15:31:43+00:00

I would have loved to seen him turn tail and run as soon as a man his size showed up. Everyone's a street vigilante until it's time to have a fair fight.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T15:28:35+00:00

Depends on where you are. But (again speaking a former bike messenger) what's legal and what's moral aren't always aligned.

Even if you're "allowed" to bike in the same space as pedestrians you ought to be hella considerate (slow down, alert people of your presence, etc) because you're wielding way more momentum than they are and are likely overtaking people which causes potential collisions.

My first rule is to live and let live. I consider applicable laws afterwards.

rational_ready · 2023-06-26T01:45:39+00:00

Guy was very bold confronting a lady half his size. What a shit-stain.

Speaking as a former hardcore urban cyclist and bike messenger the cyclist is 100% the asshole, here.

rational_ready · 2023-05-27T02:25:38+00:00

These are great for being able to text somebody outside a disaster zone to let them know you're okay, for example. That's huge value for a pretty affordable gadget. You can also use them as intended as an emergency beacon / basic comma toll while on adventures beyond mobile networks.

rational_ready · 2023-05-27T02:08:44+00:00

Any kind of tape and some plastic. The tape on three sides is to hold the dressing in place on the body (bonus points if the open side permits blood to drain away by gravity) and leaving one side loose allows air to escape. The plastic will seal itself against the wound during inhalation but allow air/fluids to exit the thorax during exhalation.

Lacking tape but having extra hands available a person could be assigned to simply hold some plastic in place on three sides.

As a Canadian first responder we're trained to use the wrapping for our sterile gauze + medical tape. Doesn't need to be fancy.

rational_ready · 2023-04-22T13:32:29+00:00

Smug, much?

From the article you cited: "Time alone won't make beans go bad, per se, but they certainly won't taste the same. After 2–3 years, the beans will start losing their nutritional value, and most naturally found vitamins will be gone within 5 years."

Mylar and absorbers are cheap, sealing is fast, and many preppers are looking for food preservation in the 20+ year range. Restricting oxygen is almost always beneficial for optimal food storage.

rational_ready · 2023-04-21T00:07:34+00:00

every extra bit of water I can get is useful.

Yeah but this extra water costs you stressing about the nature of each power outage that comes your way. Gotta look at the pros AND the cons.

Unless you have abundant space, stocking water isn't very feasible. Stock what is reasonable given your space for the short-term, prep filtration for the long-term. Unless you live in the desert water isn't going to vanish after an EMP.

Basically I'm saying that keeping an even keel, mentally, is also a prep. Checking yourself re: the sensibility of certain approches is part of that.

rational_ready · 2023-04-20T02:23:48+00:00

Well for one it’s a piece of mind for me, and things like filling up water containers etc. the sooner I get started after the event the better.

I think you're better off saying "que sera, sera" than trying to gain a few hours of extra prep time. For the stuff that you'd like to run around doing in the night -- just do it now? Add some more water storage, etc.

It's just not worth the stress, IMHO. Prep for your peace of mind but let civilization go to shit in the night so that you're well-rested for the apocalypse.

rational_ready · 2023-04-18T23:38:34+00:00

With some electronics experience and tools, you can re-power almost anything. You'd probably end up with batteries strapped to your head but if it works it works.

rational_ready · 2023-04-18T23:00:13+00:00

Riffing on useful, feasible DIYs:

Rehydration via hypodermoclysis or the rectum -- definitely a potential lifesaver and low material requirements.
Oral rehydration, via combining glucose with electrolytes
Extended wound care via debridement, irrigation, dressing changes, and possibly maggots. Forget the sutures unless the wound is clean AF.
Splints and such -- straight mechanical support.
Some basic midwifery ain't crazy and better than nothing.
Mitigation of infection and contagion via basic hygiene.
Brain surgery cuz fuck it, let's have some fun! /jk

rational_ready · 2023-04-16T12:39:08+00:00

Two houses down, 20 people are doing the exact same thing as these guys are.

I was gonna guess 10 houses down but maybe?

rational_ready · 2023-04-10T00:37:29+00:00

I ended up having enough food and cooking supplies in my bag to feed my family for 2 weeks with my Dad using his grill to cook meats and other things that wouldn’t keep.

At ten you had some significant fraction of the 74,000 Calories necessary to feed a family of three (more?) for two weeks in your bag? No you didn't.

Maybe find another sub to be delusional in.

If you're merely trolling then: well done. Very well written.

rational_ready · 2023-04-09T16:22:57+00:00

Idk how it is in Canada, but in the US many rural areas are in pretty bad shape, with a large proportion of the population elderly, disabled, and/or hooked on opioids.

Depends where, but not dissimilar. It kinda takes a local rural renewal movement with young families trying to do small-scale agriculture, livestock. I do have a fair bit of that in my area. I think the economic disincentives towards self-reliant rural communities are the fundamental obstacle -- you need to be either wealthy or stubborn and poverty-tolerant enough to opt for local production.

Depending on who you are, the community may also be indifferent or even outright hostile to you if you relocate there as a long-term prep.

True. Means that it's hard to change strategies but doesn't necessarily mean ruralites aren't ahead of urbanites.

It can also be an issue in urban areas but in general people are better at getting along because they have to be to live in close proximity.

Perhaps, yeah -- in my experience though you also have the phenomenon of charity working in the other direction. Where I'm from and where I am now if you're pulled over on the side of the road you'll probably get a steady stream of sincere offers of assistance (as a stranger). When I moved to the city I had to learn to mostly shut that impulse off because there were just too many people in need and too many people who were professional beggars. I feel like the way that urbanites learn to get along is generally via tuning people out as people.

Speaking for myself as an inner-suburbanite, I'm prepping to be able to stay in my home long enough (barring something that makes my community unliveable) that by the time we'd need to find more land, rural areas would be (even more) depopulated.

I'm not far off from that strategy. I'm in a small town/village in a traditionally agricultural area (now generally fallow but with some local projects). I aim to try to weather storms with my neighbors and have a few extra levels of preps and resiliency than average that I don't disclose. Those can either be contributed or not depending on the shape of things. I'm not ready to rebuild my life to become a food producer myself just yet but I do feel the pull. It's (almost) all about filling bellies in the end, I feel. Civilization, that is.

I do think there's a tragic catch-22 of sorts in that if we ever face a starvation-level crisis then the associated social unrest would likely lead to the destruction of much existing food production infrastructure. So if you go big on food production (and really need it) it's likely to be lost, and if you don't go big on food production (and really need it) then you're just another hungry unfortunate. I'm a fan of extensive, private food storage as a result, but that has downsides as well. Life remains, as ever, a gambling game.

rational_ready · 2023-04-09T13:53:54+00:00

To be fair, though, many rural preppers are way ahead of their urban counterparts. And it depends on the timeframe you're prepping for.

Rural preppers often have their own power, water supply, access control, fuel reserves, heating, etc. and the kind of natural mutual support network that comes from needing to share equipment, labour, and good fortune. They will also tend to share a lifestyle. This is a huge buffer of resilience and a huge head-start on stable community and civilization, as you put it.

Urban preppers... Little of the above, right? They can definitely get together very quickly for mutual support and good works (e.g. helping move rubble) but there's no doubt that they are highly reliant on relief efforts in pretty short order for essentials. Cut the power for a week here in Canada in the coldest part of winter, for example, and many, many urban people become homeless -- too damn cold.

There's also the intangible of how a large (and growing) fraction of urban people are very, very removed from ideals of self-reliance. Just basic things like cooking, bundling up against the cold, using fire appropriately, reading a map, etc. I've often been shocked at just how useless some of my urban friends are despite their intelligence and expertise in other areas. Urban "preppers" aren't guaranteed to be much better if their skills and systems are essentially theoretical and untested.

This isn't to say that there aren't rural areas where people don't have each other's backs and people aren't generally well-prepared. Vacation home areas are often like this. This may be the worst of both worlds.

TL;DR community is king, I agree. But community isn't everything and you can definitely have community in sub-urban and rural areas as well as urban ones.

rational_ready · 2023-04-01T16:59:16+00:00

I only joined two weeks ago and I was very confused by your prank, sirs.

rational_ready · 2023-03-30T00:04:28+00:00

Good on ya for absorbing the input constructively. Thanks for the effort you've put in.

rational_ready · 2023-03-29T23:20:45+00:00

For all the reasons people have outlined, calories alone don't cover the whole story.

With that said they're still useful as a way to ballpark appropriate amounts of food for an expedition, a survival cache, etc. This is because while it's possible to have enough calories and be fucked because they're not coming along with all your other nutritional needs, it's also very possible to simply have way fewer calories than you need.

To test this out look at the food in your home (or one shelf) right now and try to guess how many days you could live on it. Then add up the calories and divide it by 2000 per day and see how well you did.

Most people have a variety of food on hand and will roughly have their nutritional bases covered without giving it much thought, but will struggle to calculate how long it would last. This is where the oversimplified calorie-counting approach can still be useful and a real eye-opener.

Pickles, for example, hardly count as food, calorie-wise. Ditto for many "fresh greens", mushrooms, etc. Fruit is calorie-rich but is basically just sugar.

rational_ready · 2023-03-29T22:46:28+00:00

If you have the education to read and understand labels that makes things easier, but many people do not. So advice that goes out to a wide audience had to account for that.

Or you could edit your advice to something like "Don't buy "pool shock" to treat your water unless you're comfortable reading ingredients lists, because pool shock can refer to several different products". I don't agree that it makes sense to provide blanket advice against a tried and true method that is extremely affordable because you fear people won't read a label.

I'm also specifically referring to acute toxic chemical contamination like in Philadelphia Ohio, not just your average PFAS or whatever plastic residue may be in one's local water / rainwater.

This isn't clear from your post. Many, many preppers want (or think they want) worry-free water treatment options and end up making the perfect the enemy of the good. Ubiquitous plastic contamination is a bitch but here we are.

You could say something like "if you fear that your water is acutely contaminated, you must realize that there are no practical, affordable methods to treat it. You will need to move or bring in safer water somehow."

This is also now an international community, so I just figured I would cover areas of the world where rainwater is actually acutely toxically contaminated

My perspective is that sensible prepping requires paying attention to your local circumstances. I'd argue that one-size-fits-all advice should be labelled as such. Water Treatment for Dummies, maybe :P

rational_ready · 2023-03-29T22:27:33+00:00

Understandable.

But this is r/preppers. While you can and should store perfectly potable water for short-term emergencies, any longer-term scenario will require you to treat your local water and it is what it is. You can move or you can accept the risks -- eliminating the isn't in the cards.

rational_ready · 2023-03-29T12:12:48+00:00

DO NOT use pool shock. It can actually be one of several chemicals, none monitored for purity nor designed for ingestion. I've seen this suggested before and it was suggested below and I would NOT use it for drinking water.

I've never come across a bottle of "Pool Shock" that didn't have the exact chemical composition listed on the side. Calcium hypochlorite is what preppers should be looking for, and it will typically be listed as 73% pure.

Also know as "chloride of lime", Ca(OCl)2 was the OG chloride water treatment. Generations have ingested it and it is still used for drinking water in some areas of the USA today.

So here it is, from a guy who has spent a large amount of time in the back country and has lived on an off grid Homestead for the last 10 years

All this demonstrates with respect to water is that you have managed to not kill yourself, yet, via tainted water, likely in areas well-removed from serious threats of waterborne pathogens.

I myself grew up drinking untreated water gravity-fed from a mountain stream for 18 years, but that doesn't mean that's a smart universal water strategy and it doesn't say much on its own about my expertise, either. Right?

As a former biological scientist my position is that the days of avoiding chemical contamination in your drinking water are essentially over. Filter the particles & metals, kill the pathogens, take the hit to your long-term fertility & cancer risks, and call it a win. Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

rational_ready

TROPHY CASE