Preppers/survival

Hello :)

I have a Suunto MC 2G compass, and I am learning about magnetic declination. First, the area I live in has a -8° declination. So, if I set my adjustment to reflect that, then orient my map in the traditional way, everything on my map should reflect exactly what I see in real life, correct? This appears to be true for me, but it is hard to tell given such a small declination.

Second, with my adjusted compass, do I take and measure bearings in the traditional way? If I take a bearing on an object that reads 340 at the index line, then I don't have to worry about accounting for that -8, because I have already set it, correct? I suppose what I am asking is that, once my declination is set, I can just continue using my compass in all the ways I have before, and not worry about declination anymore.

Hello!

I am learning how to use a map and compass for navigation, and I have been using Be Expert with Map and Compass. So far everything is straight forward and makes sense in theory and in practice, but then I hit a wall on page 126, second and third paragraph. It is about drawing in magnetic north lines on a map using declination. I'm going to take a picture of the page because it is too much to type on my phone :)

I can't highlight or underline anything because it is a library book. Can someone explain this section to me if the map I am using has a longitude line of 44°52.5 N' in the upper margin, and 44°45' N in the lower margin?

Edit: I think I realized my mistake here. Those lines I mentioned would be my latitude lines, not longitude. My longitude lines read identical at the top and bottom of 86° 0' W

But even so, if the longitude lines at the top and bottom didn't line up, say 86° 0' W and 86° 9' W, how do I add magnetic north lines using a meridian, and which longitudinal lines are considered meridians?

An interesting read, analysing the likelyhood and impact of 63 scenario's on the uk, and a few paragraphs describing each in more detail.

I'm wanting to make a fairly basic SHTF survival kit for recovering from an incident in either the Alabama forest or in town, and intend to fit it with some basic firestarting in a container meant for a UCO match kit. I still intend to carry a few matches, as well as some sort of small cutting tool, maybe a shelter type item, and in general enough tools and material to get myself reoriented and to where I can use available materials to fashion additional tools from available material in the area in the event of something like an auto accident. 0F is flippin' cold for me and probably just below what I would see for lows, though 100F does happen in the summer. I'm not thinking too much about signaling and noisemaking at this time, so that can probalby be moved to my backpack kit. I would put items on my keyring except that I think I am likely to leave my keys in the vehicle if I did have to GTFO, which I did have to do with a car fire one time. (Was not injured in car fire, fortunately. Also had family nearby to take me the few miles I had left to get home.) Since I have largely forgotten many of my survival skills I haven't thought about in awhile, I will be spending some time trying to get to where I am not so woefully unprepared. Suggestions on what to fit in the match box?

Match box I am using: https://www.amazon.com/UCO-Stormproof-Waterproof-Matches-Strikers/dp/B00773VVHO/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2TN2JNYDCSVP0&keywords=uco+matches+stormproof&qid=1689487019&sprefix=uco+matc%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-2

Hi All,

I'm going to be moving soon from an outbuilding on a family property with plenty of space, gardens, and a clean creek into renting a 3-storey condo- style townhome in a small city 30mins away. There is no yard space, though I do have a small balcony.

What are some of the key preps that you all have or would recommend for a place like this? I have a number of things at my current house that I'll bring - mainly 1+week of food/water stores, but you never know what you don't know, so I'd appreciate input from anyone with other thoughts or ideas of things I should get.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/331418

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/331416

The use of guardian dogs for livestock protection has a long history - farmers have been using dogs to protect their livestock from predators for thousands of years.

Books on agriculture written 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome made it clear that livestock guardian dogs were essential for successful farming and gave detailed instructions on their selection and management.

What if it is just too hard to keep this system working in the long term? Maybe predators initially avoid farms protected by guardian dogs but eventually learn to outsmart or intimidate them and go back to killing livestock; or perhaps farmers find guardian dogs too difficult to manage in the long term and give up on them.

Some farmers gave up on guardian dogs because of two kinds of problems: 24% had trouble with dog misbehaviour, and 19% had trouble with neighbours who objected to the presence of these dogs close to their own farms.

From the answers, we estimate that farmer-to-farmer contact is increasing the total number of Australian farms with guardian dogs by 5% per year.

According to the statistics from the Donner party, it's better to be a woman between 20-39.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Donner-Party-Members-Sex-and-Survivorship-by-Seventh-Census-Age-Class_tbl3_268376085

Now, what about fat vs skinny?

Within one or two days of your last meal, your body will have exhausted all the glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Most of your energy requirements will be met by breaking down stored fat into ketones, but brain cells and red blood cells can't metabolise ketones, so their glucose requirements must be met by breaking down muscle.

Even if you have lots of body fat left to burn, you can still starve to death if you don't have enough muscle because vital muscles like the heart will have been weakened to the point where they stop working. For this reason, doctors normally consider 40 to 50 per cent weight loss as life-threatening, regardless of your initial body weight.

Total starvation is normally fatal in eight to 12 weeks. In less extreme cases, however, where you are still receiving some calories - particularly if these calories include a high proportion of protein - being fat will help you survive much longer, because your body will be able to meet the majority of your calorie requirements from stored fat.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/who-would-die-first-of-starvation-a-fat-or-a-thin-person/

So, if you know help will eventually get to you, being a larger woman is to your benefit. If you know help is probably not on the way, being a fit man or woman is most likely your better bet, as you'll need to be active in hunting down prey or searching for other food sources.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1071599

The most ignored area in medical training that I have seen in survival circles is homecare nursing. Per longtermcare.gov, a person age 65 has a roughly 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports before they die. However, it’s not just the elderly who may require homecare nursing. Anyone with special needs may also require more specialized care.

So while it may be a boring subject, but it’s an absolute necessity to keep your patient alive and viable.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1070179

We don't think much of it because it is so common. Consider, though, how many ways there are to use it. Flavoring, curing, preservation, etc. Plain salt has no expiration date, but flavored does.

Shelf life:

https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/ever-wonder-about-iodized-salt/

https://www.mortonsalt.com/article/morton-salt-expiration-guide/

If shit were to seriously hit the fan, salt could once again become a much sought after commodity. It has been so important throughout history that at one point it was worth more than its weight in gold. Roman soldiers received part of their pay on the frontier in salt, and, in fact, the word "salary" comes from "salt".

If you live near the ocean, you can even produce your own, thus insuring a steady supply and even trade goods.

If you are simply interested in the history of salt, I recommend this as an audiobook:

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1070149

The biologically active, slow-flow sand filters of lake water treatment would remove nanoplastics from the raw water very efficiently. This was shown both in the laboratory and in larger, realistic tests and modelling.

This is good news for those who are deciding upon what kind of water treatment system to implement. This is dependent, of course, upon how badly the SHTF, resources available, and permanence of location.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1070101

I was curious about how little you can do with to survive and started looking around. Then I thought about refugees and how many governments give them the bare minimum. If SHTF, you could expect a bare minimum package if the disaster were widespread enough. Also, this will give you a guide as to how much you'll need to survive.

A Syrian refugee in Jordan receives the following. These are rations for one adult for one week:

• 420 g of rice
• 400 g plain flour
• 400 g tinned kidney beans
• 170 g dried lentils
• 85 g dried chickpeas
• 125 g tinned sardines
• 300 ml of vegetable oil
• 400 g flour coupon
• 1.5 kg rice coupon

You'll be making a lot of flat bread and hummus to go with your rice and beans. All of this is taken from: https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2017/06/14/why-i-will-be-eating-syrian-refugee-week

Page 57 of this report breaks down a diet analysis in one of those camps:

https://www.fsnnetwork.org/sites/default/files/a_cost_of_the_diet_analysis_in_azraq_refugee_camp_jordan.pdf

A lot of prepper content seems to wrongly focus on grand sudden events-Hollywood-style collapses of society or environment. The reality, from the fall of Rome to Lebanon this century, is that collapse is usually a slow crumbling where the things people rely on become less and less reliable.

A useful intuition pump is to do your threat modelling with two likely events that, if they happened separately, would only be inconveniences, but together pose a serious threat.

For example:

• Your kid is away at summer camp and there’s a gasoline supply shock.
• A storm washes out your road and your dad gets readmitted to the hospital.
• There’s a wildfire and your car battery is dead.

What are the two most likely inconveniences given your loved ones and where you live?

I want to fill my cold room in the basement with hundreds of cans of food. What are the best choices and how should I go about getting them all?

All appreciated. Totally new here, don’t know what I don’t know.

It contains tons of information. Hasn't been updated for a while, but still great.

My wife and I are getting more and more into prepping, and one area I really want to break into is food preservation. We have a garden going, and I know we're going to have more than we can eat, so I'd like to save some over. However, whenever I start doing research into canning, it becomes very complicated very quickly, and a little overwhelming. What are some good ways to get some practical food preservation accomplished for the uninitiated? Currently, I'm looking at fermentation as a good way to preserve some of our vegetables, but without canning them, they are only safe in the fridge. I do know that it varies somewhat depending on the specific foods, so maybe include details like that a well.