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Disruptions In Daily Routine And People Panic
Often people wonder why most preppers are secretive. Many of them limit the number of people who know they are preppers, and how much they have stored for food and survival equipment.
Some people feel that you shouldn’t hide what you’ve got stored. You should form a community for survival. You will need the help of the community people to survive. I would like to explain why I don’t think this is true in the beginning of a SHTF scenario.
First of all, when you have your ‘event’ or catastrophe, panic will happen in many people. Chances are, these people that panic will be some of the first ones to not make it through the situation. Why? Panic consumes people. Their routine has just been taken from them, their minds can’t grasp onto anything, except what is no longer there. What is happening? Where is the fire department? Where are the police? What should I do? There is no reasoning ability.
Panic is an intense period of fear or apprehension that comes on suddenly and could take days to subside. Perhaps you have seen some news video of them during an earthquake and they are just standing on the sidewalk with a stupified, blank look on their face. For all intensive purposes, they are clueless.
In fact, Ken and I saw two individuals yesterday who confirmed our thinking. We were making a quick trip to the local grocery store. There was no SHTF scenario, but yet we still encountered two people that panicked. Why? Well, let me tell you the little story.
We were just getting ready to approach the last stretch of road to the store parking lot. Shortly before the lot, the road sort of forks. You can bear to the left, staying on the main road and go to the shopping center, or you can turn right, up a hill to another neighborhood. As soon as we came around the little bend to the fork area, you could see them. Department of transportation workers, with half of the intersection blocked off, digging holes in the road with a cop on duty. Which half of the road was closed? It was the left side leading to the shopping center, with a clearly placed detour sign.
There were two cars in front of us containing the two people that panicked because of a traffic detour! The first car in line approaches the police officer who puts up his entire left arm and points that first car to the fork on the right. The first car (Car #1) starts veering to their left toward the officer. The officer kept moving his arm in and out pointing that the car should veer to the right and go up the hill. HELLO! You can’t take the road to the left as it was completely blocked off. Your only options were to turn around or go to the right and follow the detour signs! This wasn’t rocket science, what question could this person possibly have for the officer? After about 30 seconds of confusion he turns and goes up the hill to the right, as the officer was getting irritated as you could tell by his arm movements. Car # 2 follows as did we.
Immediately after starting up the hill on the right, there were detour signs everywhere, guiding you where to go. Car #1 was driving ridiculously slow. Braking and debating whether or not to take a side street instead of just following the detour signs. Total confusion. Braking and incredibly slow driving. First of all, there was absolutely no reason to be braking. It was pretty obvious, there was a little panic setting in because his regular driving routine was taken from him. He makes an indecisive left turn and disappears from sight. All he would have had to do is to follow the detour signs. He is probably still lost and driving around that neighborhood!
Car #2 is also doing ridiculous braking maneuvers and crawling along. Then his right signal light goes on! Ken and I were actually happy since it meant this idiot wouldn’t be in front of us anymore. As we are approaching, ready to pass him as he starts to take his right turn, all of a sudden, with his right blinker on, he makes a left turn! What the??
Obviously these two drivers were in a little bit of a panic because of a traffic detour! Their driving routines were interrupted and they had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation. Their ability to think was gone. Ken and I knew that there was only one way back onto the main shopping center road from this neighborhood and WOW, that happened to be the way the detour signs were taking us!!! In a short bit of driving, Ken and I were in the shopping center parking lot. We didn’t see Car #1 or Car #2, so who knows where they ended up.
Now imagine, if this is the type of irrational behavior one sees due to a traffic detour, IMAGINE the behavior you will witness from people during a SHTF event! In the beginning of the event, these people that are panicked (and who have no thinking ability), will be there creating chaos and problems for those who are thinking people with logic, common sense, who have prepared or thought through issues that are not part of their normal routine.
I just thought I would mention this because of how often we see this type of people in our day to day lives and we wonder how they could possibly deal with a disaster or anything out of their normal lives. All the more reason to prepare yourself!
HAARP Magnetometer Spikes and Earthquakes
The HAARP complex / ionospheric observatory up in Gakona Alaska, in association with University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, publishes live and historical charts of their fluxgate magnetometer. The traces represent the earth’s magnetic field.
It is interesting to overlay what the USGS considers to be ‘significant’ earthquakes on to the charts to observe if there is indeed any correlation at all between earthquakes and the earth’s magnetic field.
The following chart shows the period between late March and late April, a time when the earth shook with 8 ‘significant’ earthquakes. It also happened to be a time of apparent spikes and activity on the fluxgate magnetometer. The earthquakes are positioned at the top of the chart during the days when they occurred.
The next chart shows the period of time in May, up until today. The magnetometer was fairly quiet, and so were the earthquakes. However I do notice a spike that just occurred during today, May 20. This may or may not mean anything. But I thought it was noteworthy nonetheless.
List Of French Marigold Flowers
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French Marigold flowers are a popular and ‘beneficial’ garden companion that will help your garden plants thrive because of their potent pesticide-producing root system and strong aroma to ward off pests.
Are all Marigold’s ‘French’ Marigolds?
I believe there may be some confusion out there (I know I was initially confused) about which Marigold flower to use for the greatest benefit for my garden. There are lots of Marigold varieties with many different names. When I first discovered the benefits of this flower, I went out searching for them while looking for the word “French” in the name. I searched everywhere but didn’t find a one. Having returned home, I hopped online and began my search for an answer. Well, to my surprise, I discovered that there are allot of variety names that are ‘French’ Marigold’s!
There are two basic types of Marigold flowers, American and French. The French Marigold varieties are bushier, they generally do not grow as tall and do not have large full flowered heads like the American varieties.
The French Marigold has roots that exude a substance which spreads in their immediate vicinity killing nematodes. For nematode control you want to plant dense areas of them. These marigolds also help to deter whiteflies when planted around tomatoes and can be used in greenhouses for the same purpose. Whiteflies hate the smell of marigolds.
French Marigolds are particularly helpful for tomatoes, squash, eggplant, broccoli, potatoes, and peppers (but don’t plant with beans). At the end of the season, leave their root system in the ground because their ‘anti-nematode’ effect is said to last for a few years afterward.
Here is a list of variety names that you can look for that fall under the classification of French Marigolds.
What did you do to prep this week?
Well folks, that is it for me this week – what did you do to prep this week? Let use know in the comments below.
Originally at: The Survivalist Blog dot Net Copyright © 2012 · All Rights Reserved
Container Garden On Your Porch
Just because you may live in an apartment or rent or live in a home with little or no garden availability (or permission to dig up part of the yard), don’t let that stop you from trying your hand at growing some vegetables this summer!
There are lots and lots of things that you can grow in ordinary containers or pots that can simply sit out on your deck or somewhere sunny in whatever you have for outdoor space. Most places seem to have some semblance of a deck or balcony, which should be perfectly adequate for holding a few pots of choice vegetables.
My container garden currently consists of a few tomato varieties (Big Boy, SuperSweet), a dozen peppers (Sweet Pepper, Jalapeno), and several herbs (Oregano, Herb Chives, Garlic Chives, Sweet Basil, Rosemary) in container pots, all of which are setting on the back porch. I plan to add more, but this is my first start with it this late spring.
Container gardening is unique in that it makes for easy and controllable gardening. For example you can use purpose mixed soil or buy nutrient rich garden soil, weeds are easily controlled, the pots themselves act as a barrier for some pests or insects that may otherwise be in your yard soil, and having the pots on a porch or balcony will deter some of the 4-legged creatures who would otherwise munch on your bounty.
The procedure is simple. Buy the plants. Buy the pots. Buy the dirt. Of course you could’ve started your own from seed, and you could come up with your own dirt (be aware if it’s ‘good’ dirt or not). But for the sake of easy container gardening, it’s simple and cheap enough to buy what you need. Your vegetable bounty will more than make up for the costs involved.
I like to cut a piece of porous ‘landscape’ ground cover cloth-fabric material to put on the bottom of the container to keep the dirt from clogging the drainage holes. This year I’m trying something different with the tomatoes, and am filling the entire inside of the container with the fabric rather than just the bottom. The thought being to keep the container in good clean shape for next year (even though I could scrub it good next year).
Before planting, be sure to pick the roots with your fingers and pull them apart some, instead of leaving in a tight ball when you take them out of their original pot. It makes a big difference in how their root structure will end up and will promote better growth.
When finished, water very deeply.
Here’s the thing to remember about container gardening… they tend to dry out fairly quickly because everything is exposed to the sunlight. One thing that helps maintain the soil moisture is to add about two inches of wood chips on top. So, be sure to leave some room at the top for this (don’t fill the pot all the way with dirt).
You will need to be diligent about checking the moisture of the soil. If you see any signs of wilting, they are probably running dry.
Enjoy!
Primitive Weaponry for Preppers, or How to Get Medieval on Someone Else’s Buttocks
This is a guest post and entry in our non-fiction writing contest by Steve A
For thousands of years, our ancestors fought to find new and more efficient ways to fold, spindle, and mutilate others. At the same time, they also looked for better ways to farm, hunt, and make their livelihoods. For most of them, the tools they had at hand had to suffice for both tasks.
Until fairly modern times, people were relegated to muscle powered weaponry, with the bow, crossbow, and a few other missile weapons added. Today, the firearm is the weapon of choice.
I know there are some people who by choice choose not to include firearms in their prepping. I won’t argue for or against that, even though I’m definitely not one of them. Nonetheless, there may be a time when a firearm is not available, broken, out of ammunition, or just not the tool for the job. In that case, you need to have a back up. I’m assuming of course, that you don’t have another firearm. Our ancestors put a lot of thought and effort into developing non-firearm weaponry, and we would be silly not to learn from them.
There are a few caveats that I need to include before I start. First, most preppers are armed with firearms, and are at least basically proficient in their use. However, there are a many circumstances that may preclude having a firearm with you. I my case, I am often on military property, and federal law prohibits carrying firearms on military property except under very specific circumstances. Second, no one knows when or even if things are going to come apart at the seams, so it is possible that when SHTF actually occurs, you are not sitting on top of your gear and personal arsenal. Third, it is entirely possible that you could lose your supplies and stockpiled gear, due to flooding, fire, or just having to leave quickly to prevent being overrun. All that said, I think I can assume again that you are not just going to give up and be a victim just because you don’t have a firearm.
Just about anything can be a weapon if needed. A chair, a broken bottle, a scrap of 2
