Why are people so generous with other people's assets? If they want to be generous, they need to be so with their own assets!
My daughters all have long hair, down to their waists and beyond, because my wife and I have never cut their hair other than to trim the ends. Maintaining it's been a pain sometimes, but worth it because we - and they - like it. I'm ready to shoot the next person that says, "Your hair is so pretty, you should donate it to Locks of Love." Some of them even get somewhat belligerent when my girls decline their suggestions. I've come damned close to publicly slapping a couple of women for their "generosity." Even making comments that insinuate that they are 'selfish' for not caring about others! "But they need it!" If any of my girls wanted to cut their hair, I've no doubt that's what they'd do; however, as long as they want their long hair, it's theirs. It's not for anyone else to give away, it's theirs and theirs alone. These same mouthey people almost always have short hair - not because they donated theirs, but because (they say when asked, but generally volunteer that) maintaining that much hair is too much hassle and they just can't personally deal with it!
Where is their Holier-than-Thou generosity when it comes to them giving of themselves?? If they really care that much, why don't they learn to take care of long hair so they can donate theirs? If even once I'd heard this from a lady that had donated her own hair I wouldn't be so steamed about it, but I haven't yet. Not once. Just a bunch of busy-bodies that want to feel good without any inconvenience to themselves.
Maybe I should feel pity for them instead of disdain. Perhaps there isn't enough of themselves to share after all, so they feel they have to live vicariously through others that really do matter.
Chuck Brick.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Budget Survival, Part 2
Some useful foods that can be stored (fairly) long-term without refrigeration:
Velveeta Cheese
Canned soups for Gravies/sauces
Boullion (cubes or granular) for gravies, sauces, comfort drinks
Gravy mixes
There are certain bulk staples that will, of course, be included - such as:
Dried beans
Rice (uncooked - "Instant" or "Minute" rice won't store as well. Also, polished white rice stores better than unpolished, rough, or brown rice.)
Flour (Refined white flour stores much better and much longer than whole wheat flour; but if you can grind your own flour, wheat stores better than flour)
Sugar and Honey (refined white sugar apparently has unlimited shelf life)
Oatmeal ("old fashioned," uncooked. Instant packages may be okay, if rotation time isn't very long.)
Baking Powder
Dried Milk
Powdered eggs (Godsend to some; a Curse to others)
Dried Potato Flakes
Yeast Packets
Dry Pasta/Mac&Cheese packages/Ramin Noodles
(If your family is like mine, there are lots of Ramin Flavor Packs and "Mac&Cheese" cheese packs left over. These should have a shelf life of yearsss because of the way they're packaged, and could go a long way towards spiffing up an otherwise bland emergency-ration meal.)
Bottled Hot Sauce/Dried Peppers (Okay, I'm from Texas)
Salt & Pepper
Other basic spices (Dried Garlic Powder, Grated Parmesan, paprika, dried onion flakes - you know how you cook & eat)
Of course, there are many more possibilities.
And don't forget the cooking oils. (This is more important than most people realize. I read an article a few months ago about a Third World village [don't recall which country] where the people had to walk over a mile to obtain cooking oil - and could only afford it in 1 or 2 ounce quantities, and it was the most expensive single commodity most of them ever bought.) Do a search on "Rabbit Starvation" if you don't understand why fats/oils are vital to sustenance. For one example, without dietary fats, the body cannot assimilate and utilize the fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamin Deficiency).
If you decide to use the buckets (as described in a previous article) for food storage , or whatever other containers you may use, consider combining commodities in the buckets. That is, instead of having a bucket of rice, a bucket of beans, and a bucket of flour (three buckets total), put beans, rice, and flour all in one bucket together (in separate bags, of course) - three times (three buckets total).
If each bucket is full of one commodity, and then you lose a bucket or it gets compromised (rats/leak/lost), you will no longer have that commodity - which could really impact your survival rations (and diet) severely. On the other hand, if each bucket had a complete collection of your chosen food stores, then loss of one bucket wouldn't be so damaging. In fact, you would even be able to give a bucket to someone else, trade it for something you may need more, or - in dire evacuation conditions - grab what you can and not really be missing anything except quantity even if you only get one or two.
Take one on road trips "just in case."
Take one camping just to see what's needed and missing, or if you really can utilize the contents; or to adjust the proportions of the contents to better reflect your personal tastes/needs. Then you can adjust the contents of all the other containers to reflect what you learn.
Another advantage is that all the contents of each bucket can be more easily rotated and replaced. If you use up one bucket, re-stock it, and put it in the back of the line, you will not have to buy 50lbs of anything at a one time; rather, if you run out of one thing and have everything else left you will know to add more of that one item next time you re-stock the container. Likewise, if there is too much of one commodity left when the others have been consumed, you again know to make adjustments.
There are a couple things that I think would be prudent to have in each container. If you're just rotating your supplies at home, you may never even touch these things, but in an emergency they will suddenly be important assets:
>Toilet paper (one roll in each bucket won't use THAT much space, and not many people like the improvised alternatives)
>Can Opener (If you need one, nothing else is as effective. If you have extras, you can gift/sell/trade them to others that forgot/lost theirs.)
>"Church Key" Can Opener (cuts triangle-shaped holes) Useful for opening canned liquids, but also to make improvised camp stoves from cans.
>Matches/Disposable Lighters (Not many can start a fire with two sticks - especially in the cold and rain!)
>Hand Sanitizer (It may be the ONLY sanitation option available at times.)
>Small Kitchen Knife/Serving Spoon
>A medium-sized aluminum cooking pot with a lid is cheap and wouldn't really add any weight or take up any room since it would be packed in and around, but would be priceless if you need one. If there is one in each container, you have the option of cooking more than one thing at a time or helping others less prepared.
>Small, Cheap Pliers - the ultimate hand tool. Good for cutting light wire, smoothing the inside/cut edges of cans, handling hot pots/pans/cans (or making wire bail handles for cooking cans, hmmm....) Small "Lineman's Pliers" are my favorites, followed by sturdy "Needle-Nosed" pliers, but always with the wire-cutter function.
There are other items that could be just as useful, small, light, and cheap. For example, a coffee can with lid will fit in much like the cook-pot, but could serve many useful purposes (store food, keep the toilet paper dry, used as a second cookpot, made into a campstove, - your imagination/needs are the only limitations).
Speaking of cans: If you have canned goods, hesitate to throw away the empty cans. They can be used to cook in (or on - as an improvised camp stove for you or someone else); to drink and eat from; for measuring/dipping dry OR wet commodities; or even as distractions (toys) for small kids (smooth the inside, cut edges!)
I believe in helping others if I can. I also believe in property rights. I might be that eccentric old geezer that would shoot someone for stealing a biscuit from my camp, then turn around and give away a stocked bucket. I firmly believe that if something's mine, no-one else has a right to it unless I give them that right. I'm not selfish, I just believe in property rights. I won't steal, and I won't be stolen from. Period. Having said that, I fully intend to be able to share (although not indiscriminately, of course - I'm neither rich nor foolish enough to do that).
Velveeta Cheese
Canned soups for Gravies/sauces
Boullion (cubes or granular) for gravies, sauces, comfort drinks
Gravy mixes
There are certain bulk staples that will, of course, be included - such as:
Dried beans
Rice (uncooked - "Instant" or "Minute" rice won't store as well. Also, polished white rice stores better than unpolished, rough, or brown rice.)
Flour (Refined white flour stores much better and much longer than whole wheat flour; but if you can grind your own flour, wheat stores better than flour)
Sugar and Honey (refined white sugar apparently has unlimited shelf life)
Oatmeal ("old fashioned," uncooked. Instant packages may be okay, if rotation time isn't very long.)
Baking Powder
Dried Milk
Powdered eggs (Godsend to some; a Curse to others)
Dried Potato Flakes
Yeast Packets
Dry Pasta/Mac&Cheese packages/Ramin Noodles
(If your family is like mine, there are lots of Ramin Flavor Packs and "Mac&Cheese" cheese packs left over. These should have a shelf life of yearsss because of the way they're packaged, and could go a long way towards spiffing up an otherwise bland emergency-ration meal.)
Bottled Hot Sauce/Dried Peppers (Okay, I'm from Texas)
Salt & Pepper
Other basic spices (Dried Garlic Powder, Grated Parmesan, paprika, dried onion flakes - you know how you cook & eat)
Of course, there are many more possibilities.
And don't forget the cooking oils. (This is more important than most people realize. I read an article a few months ago about a Third World village [don't recall which country] where the people had to walk over a mile to obtain cooking oil - and could only afford it in 1 or 2 ounce quantities, and it was the most expensive single commodity most of them ever bought.) Do a search on "Rabbit Starvation" if you don't understand why fats/oils are vital to sustenance. For one example, without dietary fats, the body cannot assimilate and utilize the fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamin Deficiency).
If you decide to use the buckets (as described in a previous article) for food storage , or whatever other containers you may use, consider combining commodities in the buckets. That is, instead of having a bucket of rice, a bucket of beans, and a bucket of flour (three buckets total), put beans, rice, and flour all in one bucket together (in separate bags, of course) - three times (three buckets total).
If each bucket is full of one commodity, and then you lose a bucket or it gets compromised (rats/leak/lost), you will no longer have that commodity - which could really impact your survival rations (and diet) severely. On the other hand, if each bucket had a complete collection of your chosen food stores, then loss of one bucket wouldn't be so damaging. In fact, you would even be able to give a bucket to someone else, trade it for something you may need more, or - in dire evacuation conditions - grab what you can and not really be missing anything except quantity even if you only get one or two.
Take one on road trips "just in case."
Take one camping just to see what's needed and missing, or if you really can utilize the contents; or to adjust the proportions of the contents to better reflect your personal tastes/needs. Then you can adjust the contents of all the other containers to reflect what you learn.
Another advantage is that all the contents of each bucket can be more easily rotated and replaced. If you use up one bucket, re-stock it, and put it in the back of the line, you will not have to buy 50lbs of anything at a one time; rather, if you run out of one thing and have everything else left you will know to add more of that one item next time you re-stock the container. Likewise, if there is too much of one commodity left when the others have been consumed, you again know to make adjustments.
There are a couple things that I think would be prudent to have in each container. If you're just rotating your supplies at home, you may never even touch these things, but in an emergency they will suddenly be important assets:
>Toilet paper (one roll in each bucket won't use THAT much space, and not many people like the improvised alternatives)
>Can Opener (If you need one, nothing else is as effective. If you have extras, you can gift/sell/trade them to others that forgot/lost theirs.)
>"Church Key" Can Opener (cuts triangle-shaped holes) Useful for opening canned liquids, but also to make improvised camp stoves from cans.
>Matches/Disposable Lighters (Not many can start a fire with two sticks - especially in the cold and rain!)
>Hand Sanitizer (It may be the ONLY sanitation option available at times.)
>Small Kitchen Knife/Serving Spoon
>A medium-sized aluminum cooking pot with a lid is cheap and wouldn't really add any weight or take up any room since it would be packed in and around, but would be priceless if you need one. If there is one in each container, you have the option of cooking more than one thing at a time or helping others less prepared.
>Small, Cheap Pliers - the ultimate hand tool. Good for cutting light wire, smoothing the inside/cut edges of cans, handling hot pots/pans/cans (or making wire bail handles for cooking cans, hmmm....) Small "Lineman's Pliers" are my favorites, followed by sturdy "Needle-Nosed" pliers, but always with the wire-cutter function.
There are other items that could be just as useful, small, light, and cheap. For example, a coffee can with lid will fit in much like the cook-pot, but could serve many useful purposes (store food, keep the toilet paper dry, used as a second cookpot, made into a campstove, - your imagination/needs are the only limitations).
Speaking of cans: If you have canned goods, hesitate to throw away the empty cans. They can be used to cook in (or on - as an improvised camp stove for you or someone else); to drink and eat from; for measuring/dipping dry OR wet commodities; or even as distractions (toys) for small kids (smooth the inside, cut edges!)
I believe in helping others if I can. I also believe in property rights. I might be that eccentric old geezer that would shoot someone for stealing a biscuit from my camp, then turn around and give away a stocked bucket. I firmly believe that if something's mine, no-one else has a right to it unless I give them that right. I'm not selfish, I just believe in property rights. I won't steal, and I won't be stolen from. Period. Having said that, I fully intend to be able to share (although not indiscriminately, of course - I'm neither rich nor foolish enough to do that).
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Surviving on a Budget
This article will be a bit different than my others. Rather than being a rant, this will be a collection of thoughts, experiences, and ideas about what an average family can do to prepare for a disaster without requiring tons of time and money or disrupting their normal lives.
Naturally, the "dedicated Survivalist" family/group will likely have an advantage over the family/group that is "budget prepared" like I'm proposing, should disaster strike. However, if the residents of New Orleans had applied even some of what I propose, many would have better managed Katrina. Remember too - no matter what I present here, you WILL be able to improve on it. That is deliberate; I want you to think for yourselves about what is best for you. I'm just offering the most generic options for the least possible effort/expense. Just don't get so caught up in "improving" my suggestions that you don't get around to actually doing anything! You'd be better off with "marginal" in your posession, rather than a shopping list of "the best." Get the minimum now, and replace/improve as you can. That is my hope, anyway. But, even if you never get around to upgrading, you will still have something.
I'm not going to make out Survival Lists; there are plenty of those around. I'm just going to suggest cheap ways to acquire/store the stuff that you decide to put on your list. There is one exception: Water. There is no substitute for water. Even if you build a high-output solar still, dig a well, have a pristine mountain stream, you will still need a supply of water until your permanent source is actually available. I recommend a case of bottled water for each person, and an extra case thrown in for each 2-3 people. Just my own rule-of-thumb; but at ~$5/case, it can't hurt much.
Storage Ideas
Public, neighborhood, or even private swimming pools often use chorine tablets. These tablets usually come in sealed buckets with screw-on, safety-lock lids to keep the chlorine in and kids out. Sometimes these are 5-gallon size buckets, but they also come in a larger (8 or 9 gallon?) size. They are almost always discarded, as the chemical companies won't take them back. These larger ones are large enough to put stuff in. Leave it out in the sun with the lid off for a couple days and the UV will "bleach" out the chlorine smell. With one bucket per person to start, you can put a small pillow, a sheet, a throw (the down-filled throws frequently seen at WalMart, Dollar Stores, Walgreens, etc. are great - we use them for camping all the time, and they pack small.), and a rolled-up sleeping bag. You may also be able to cram a small plastic tarp (or two) and a hank of rope (like parachute cord[1]) if you want, so you can improvise (or weatherproof) a shelter. Then, with the lid on, you could throw them into the back of a pick-up truck or open trailer and still have dry bedding.
Put toothbrushes, toothpaste, comb/brush, deoderant, etc., and a can-opener in each bucket. (You can't have too many can-openers. They're cheap. If you need one and have five, you're ok. If you need one and have none, you have a problem. Too many just means you have something to share/trade,)
If you toss a Bounce drier sheet in the bottom, it will keep the contents fresher - as in, not stuffy - and will discourage invasive critters almost as well as mothballs.
Either the smaller or the larger buckets would do to store socks, underwear, dry change of clothes, feminine products, toilet paper, baby wipes[2], diapers, and anything else that is best kept dry. Gallon sized, ZipLoc-type freezer bags[3] can help keep the contents sorted out, labeled, dated (batteries, power bars, etc.), and drier in case you have to dip in during wet conditions.
If you carefully spray[4] the rim of the bucket and the sealing gasket of the lid with food-grade silicon spray[5], then let it dry before screwing the lid on, it will preserve the sealing surfaces and make it open as easily years from now as it will today.
Of course, there are containers and systems for sale that can do the same at least as well, but I'm cheap; these are free if you can find them.
[1](Real parachute cord is much better, but the cheap stuff is OK too.)
[2](Baby wipes aren't just for baby bottoms. They are handy for hygiene under adverse conditions - to clean your hands to eat/prepare food when there's no way to wash; feminine concerns; anywhere you need to clean. It would be hard to imagine having "too many.")
[3](Freezer bags are often heavier and more durable than sandwich bags, and generally have a label to write on.)
[4]Carefully, and/or outside in the grass, as overspray can make your floor dangerously slick - and won't mop up!
[5]Food grade silicon spray doesn't have the solvent carriers that might adversely affect the rubber gasket in the lid, like some industrial type silicon sprays.
Medicines/First aid
You know what your medical needs are, but my suggestion is to take everything you have with you. Get another big bucket, throw everything in it, and screw the lid on; you can dig through later and find what you want when you need it - but only if you didn't leave it behind. If you take everything, it's harder to miss "that one thing." Later, when in relative safety, you can leisurely sort and discard whatever you want to.
Other than that, I strongly recommend having plenty of anti-diarrhea medicine. Bluntly put, if you are constipated for a couple days (not likely in an emergency!), big deal. One less thing (function) to demand immediate attention when you're already stressed. If you have diarrhea (not unlikely in such stress), your evacuation (bad pun unintended) or other efforts may be distracted, to say the least.
How to eat?
Another convenience that can be stored in sealed buckets: picnic supplies. No, I'm not trying to be funny. Paper bowls, paper hot drink cups, paper napkins, and disposable spoons. Paper bowls and cups, not plastic or foam. You may need to burn them, for disposal and/or firestarting, and if you've ever burned plastic or foam items in a camp/cooking fire, you'll understand. If not take my word for it.
Plastic dinnerware can be discarded - no sanitation concerns (trying to clean dirty utensils). Spoons are more versitile than forks. If it's in liquid or chunks, use a spoon; if it's too big for a plastic spoon, just pick it up and eat it. You shouldn't need plastic knives, either; if it needs to be cut, use a kitchen knife or bite off a piece. Forget table manners, and just eat.
You can put anything in a bowl that you can put in a plate, and the bowls don't usually try to flop your food over the back like an unsupported, limp ..paper plate. Small bowls will help reduce overly-generous (food-wasting) portions, give you more bowls in the available space, and there's no reason for a variety of sizes anyway. The less variety of stuff you have, the more stuff you can have. Just make more trips if you need to. Same thing with paper cups. You could also save the cups (mostly) and keep a water bottle as a canteen (re-filling it), using the cups only for drinks other than water (tea/coffee/juice/Gaterade, soups and broths, etc.), that would leave residue in the bottle.
Water!
I touched on that first. Now the rest.
Solar stills are a popular suggestion but they only work in sunlight ("Solar!"), and the amount of water they produce is rather less than stunning. If you're alone in the desert or if you're adrift at sea one could keep you alive, but as a resource for our discussion I think it would be of questionable utility.
Instructions on how to use chlorine bleach and/or iodine tablets to disinfect water are easy to find, so I won't bother with that. However, even though you may be able to safely drink disinfected pond water, it will likely taste like disinfected pond water if you don't clean it first. "Clean" is not the same (in this article) as "disinfected," it just means the tadpoles, leaves, and most of the silt are out of it and it looks like water. There are some excellent filters for survival, camping, etc.; one of the best is the Katadyne filter. However, if you don't have one, you can improvise. A piece of cloth (bandanna, T-shirt) will sift the debris out for you. It doesn't have to be clean, just preferably not filthy. A disposable paper coffee filter (Lots; the cheap ones) will remove most small particles from suspension. Repeat or double them if you need to. Bleach or iodine will disinfect the water (even if your T-shirt was dirty) and a simple, cheap Britta filter/pitcher from the grocery-store/WalMart will finish cleaning it. (The cloth and coffee filters are to extend the life of the Britta filter; keep it from clogging up so soon.) A couple extra Britta filters, maybe another pitcher, and something to store the water in, and you could produce quite a bit to keep your stocks up. Try a Britta filter/pitcher for each (your number here) of people. (How about adding a funnel to pour water back into the water bottles for storage? Use the funnel for the coffee-filter step, too.)
There are little packets of flavoring available, pre-measured for standard water bottles (12-oz or so), that make an instant drink (lemonade, tea, etc.) when added to water; even sugar-free and electrolyte drinks are now available. Being a powder in packets, they store well for a long time.
As a free bonus, UV will disinfect water through clear plastic, though not through glass, so your refilled bottles will keep fairly well if given sunlight. In your car, though, the car windows will filter the light; it must be direct sun.
What to Eat?
If you have reasonably dry clothes and bedding available, and you don't thirst to death, you'll probably get hungry sooner or later. If you have MRE's, a Survival Pantry(tm), or stocks of backpack foods, you probably don't need this article because you likely have time/money invested already. If you think the price of MRE's at REI is WTM[1], I agree. Foods that you already eat daily, and are already in your pantry, are not as fancy but easier for most of us to obtain since we already buy them. They'll probably be easier for you to "adjust" to, since you don't have to adjust. Just buy an extra case of "this" one time, "that" next time, and "whatever" after that. Cases can fit under the bed or stack in the 'dead' corner of the guest room closet quite well. If it's the foods you normally eat anyway (as it should be), just "shop" from under the bed, then replace each case once it's been opened - that will rotate your stock automatically. Don't worry about a great variety, or balancing meals; just have food. Take vitamin/mineral supplements if you're worried about it, but the important thing is to have food. Canned foods that don't need lots of water, but aren't mostly water weight, are usually best. Canned chile, beef stew, spaghetti-o's, - you know what you eat. For my carniverous family Spam, vienna sausages, beef stix, smoked summer sausages that don't need refrigeration (or at least, last for several days/weeks), sardines and smoked (canned) clams, canned ham. Pre-cooked bacon slices in plastic "envelope" type packaging that has a long shelf-life is available, and its good. We use lots of it when camping.
Don't forget to treat yourself, sometimes: canned fruit, or fruit cocktail, etc., can take the edge off a spartan meal of cold chile from the can, with disinfected water that tastes like a kiddie pool (remember the flavor packets? Potable is not necessarily palatable!)
[1]Way Too Much
Got Heat?
Heat for comfort and cooking is so easy and cheap to get at camping-supply places, I don't see any point in trying to "beat the system" here with fancy, improvised equipment stoves/heaters. There are plenty other sources of information if you want to try that. Same with lighting. I will, though, point out some things to help you decide what you want to use. Propane is fast, easy, doesn't spill, won't leak onto your other stuff (like liquid fuel can), you don't have to gather/chop/stack it (wood), it doesn't get black dust on you/your stuff (coal/charcoal), lights when you want it to (unlike wood/coal/charcoal) and goes out when you turn it off (also unlike wood/coal/charcoal), and burns clean (odorless/smokeless). If you use the 40lb. cylinders (standard BBQ-grill tanks), you can run a small catalytic heater for a few nights off a tank, or cook dozens of meals. You can also get an attachment that allows you to refill the small (1-qt?) cylinders, for your camp stove and portable lanterns. It's probably the most convenient and easiest to actually use.
On the other hand, liquid fuel (coleman fuel; gasloline) is a higher density fuel, and is in lighter containers. That means an ounce of Coleman fuel gives more heat and light, for longer, than an ounce of propane, but also the small (1-qt-size) propane cylinder is as heavy as three 1-gallon Coleman fuel cans. Another point that often gets overlooked: Since the lead has been removed from motor fuel (your car/motorcycle/lawn mower gas), it can now be used in Coleman-type appliances. It may be easier to syphon from your car or lawn mower for a few ounces of gas, than to try to find a propane refill in an emergency. This gas has additives that Coleman fuel doesn't, so if you use it extensively you may need to perform a little more cleaning maintenance, but it's worth it for the option.
My family has done a lot of camping, so we've accumulated some of both (gas & propane) types. We use them equally. Other than the points I've laid out, we really see no real difference in their performance. If, however, you live far north (far north!), it may get cold enough that propane won't boil[1], leaving you without fuel unless you can first heat the container (body heat? aargghhh). Gasoline, on the other hand, is not as easily affected by any temperature we humans could reasonably expect to survive in.
No matter what you choose to use for fuel, if you use lanterns, get a good supply of lantern mantles. Even if you're extra-gentle, and never break one, they will still fail. I've seen a hole blown in an otherwise perfectly good mantle by the "gust" of turning on the valve, trying to light it. (I've also had them arrive intact after 800 miles of bouncing around in a trailer to our destination. Go figure.) Getting the heavy duty mantles might help longevity some, but mantles are cheap enough there's no reason to risk it by not having several spares. Without the mantle, the lantern will - quite literally - burn itself up like a torch. But that's another story.......
[1]The liquid propane doesn't burn; the fumes - almost like steam - from "boiling" is what we actually burn. It is kept liquid by being kept compressed, stored in the pressure vessel that is its container. I don't remember at what temperature it boils, but it is below freezing (32f). However, the lower the ambient temperature the more reluctant it is to boil, and in cold climates it may even need to be heated to get it started, and have a set-up whereby some of the heat it produces returns to the container.
How to Evacuate?
I was talking to a co-worker the other day about related topics, and he assumed that, were he to evacuate the city, he and his wife (only - no kids) would take the (full-sized, 3/4-ton Diesel) pick-up truck. After we talked about things, he suddenly realized: "Three cases of water, a couple boxes/cases of food, about three or four buckets, a couple fire-arms with ammo for self-defense, campstove/lighting, and flashlights - we could just take the Honda (car)!" Not only will that be easier to drive, give better mileage (Cheaper overall if/when returning, cheaper/easier to manage if not. Plus, it can go another 30 miles on a gallon can of camp fuel in emergency!)
If he had a camper shell on the truck it might be different; as it is, everything he has would be open to the weather (no problem in sealed containers) and to other people (oops!).
Most people automatically assume that a HumVee or Supercharged MegaMonster is the way to go. That makes for good movies and ForumTalk, but think about what you really need.
What About Firearms?
Everybody knows that you need two (matching) primary handguns, a scoped long-slide magnum-caliber hunting pistol, a concealed pistol, a back-up pistol (8 to 10 mags and 1,500 rounds - for each handgun of course, not per caliber!), a riot shotgun (200 slugs, 550 double-aught buckshot, and 250 mixed #4-buck/#1-buck/bb shot loads) , a scoped sniper rifle, a battle rifle, a matching back-up battle rifle (10,000 rounds and 15-20 mags each rifle), a few .22 rimfire rifles (minimum 4 bricks for each[1]), a blowgun, a crossbow, and a tactical folding knife to survive so I won't add much to that. (matching weapons allows for repair parts, of course.)
Now that I've got that spoof[2] out of my system, I'll move on.
Firearms really do have a place - an important place - in disaster preparedness. If you can't protect and maintain what you have, why have it? You might even be better off without provisions if you can't hld them.
Why?
If someone(s) decides they want what you have, you've already gotten their attention. Not good. If they are inclined to take what they want, then your possessions are a magnet that may bring them to you. Depending on how ruthless these characters might be, it could be anything from a snatch-and-run to a beating-to-death and gang-rape. Unless you're Steven Segal or Bruce Lee, then your only choices are to stand your ground and argue (refer to the previous sentence), or run away and hope they choose to stay with your stuff and not chase you for sport. (If they chase you, they your stuff will still be there when they come back after they're through with you.)
Or, you could have defensive firearms. Of course, I was having fun earlier, but a handgun can make a 90-year-old in a walker suddenly the physical equal of a 24-year-old college football star in a confrontation. (There is an article, "Why The Gun Is Civilization" that expounds on this better than I can. It's on-line, but I don't know how hard it would be to locate.)
Ideally a handgun is the last thing you use before you pull your knife, but if you learn how to carry and use one it's very effective within its range, and it can always be there for you.
A shotgun is the devastating King of Close Combat.
There is a reason all the militaries in the world use a battle rifle - it works.
You don't have to have the latest Neutron-enhanced, 3-mile-range, heat-seeking, Shark-toothed, Belt-fed, Uranium-cored, Mach/6, Magnum Devastator Anti-Personnel "Social" tools to be effective. People managed to achieve the same degree of death from cap-and-ball single-action .36 caliber revolvers in the 19th century. Go figure. Just make sure it works, whatever it is. If you don't know what works, go with a military caliber and you can't go wrong.
The AK/SKS[3] or the AR/mini-14[4] are small, light, and easy to use (won't break your shoulder or your bank). Some of them are downright cheap, and tough/reliable/simple as a rock, and cheap surplus ammo is usually available too (especially the 7.62x39).
There are also some great 9mm carbines, many of which take common pistol magazines, as another option. A pistol-caliber carbine is easier to learn to shoot than a pistol, uses cheap pistol ammo, has all the recoil of a .22 rifle, and generally they are not expensive. They are low-powered and short-range (75-100yds) for a shoulder-fired weapon, but they generally glean more power from the ammo than a pistol of the same cartridge and are still effective.
In other words, whatever you have, or can get - use it. If you have all the above - use them! Just don't bother to take anything you don't have ammo for, because if your bluff is called - and if it is a bluff - you've just made them angry as well as mean.
If challenged or threatened, take every advantage for yourself and deprive the adversary of any - any - advantage that they may have, or try to attain. Don't let them in, on, or near your car or stuff. Remember, you aren't the aggressor, they are; you're just trying to leave - with your "stuff." So don't worry about being "polite" and "considerate;" one way or the other, you'll never see them again, anyway. You don't have to be rude, but you don't need to be social either. Just be assertive and authoritative, and stand your ground. Crime victims are mostly chosen, but often they also "volunteer" for the part. Don't volunteer.
[1]A "brick" of .22 is 10 boxes/50rounds per box; 500 rounds.
[2]No offense meant to anyone. It really is meant as a toungue-in-cheek slap at (us) all.
[3]SKS/AK series is a 7.62x39mm - this is a 30-caliber round that very closely matches the classic American .30/30 round ballistically (but is not interchangeable!).
[4]This is a high-velocity, .22-caliber round. It is the round used in the M16/AR15 weapons system, and is also popular as the Ruger Mini-14.
What About the Ladies?
This is something I've seen little-to-nothing written about, but it's very real. Women especially, but not only, need to consider this issue. Even "tough" women are still women, and need to feel like it. It takes surprisingly little to accomplish this. ("High-maintenance" models may vary in mileage, however!)
Several years ago I read an interesting article (I don't remember where) about the English and how they endured the stress of the Nazi Air Raids. There were a couple of things that really stood out for me. First was the obvious (to me, anyway) fact: pacify the women, and everyone fared better. (Facts aren't always politically correct or gender-neutral.) What did surprise me was how they accomplished that, under such grave conditions: the bomb shelters were supplied with lipstick! It didn't have to be "the good stuff." It didn't even have to be an appropriate shade. What they found was, when the women had something - anything - to help them feel "civilized" and "feminine," their whole disposition changed and they could better cope.
Years ago when I worked at a shipyard there were two older women that worked there,one a pipefitter and one a welder, as a team. They could - and did - equal any two men there for hard and/or dirty work. In fact, I worked around them for a couple weeks before I realized they were women. One hot day[1] they came out of a double bottom[2] for a water break, and when one pulled off her welding hood she wiped the sweat, grunge, and welding grit off her face - not to take a drink - but to put on the (melted, greasy-looking, beat-up-tube) lipstick she had in her pocket! Then, she got a drink and started laughing and talking! Her whole disposition seemed to change immediately. I understood what I saw because I remembered reading the article, but I was still surprised.
[1]Beaumont, Texas - "hot" is three digits, and humidity averages 90%+ at the water's edge - a shipyard, after all; you figure the heat stress index.
[2]Double-bottom, or double-hull, is close quarters - steel "floor" and "ceiling" often 3-4 feet apart at most, and almost totally enclosed except for vents - and all of it in the full sun, as the upper decks hadn't been installed yet. Most people can't work in that stifling, marginally ventilated heat for more than a few minutes at a time, but somehow they could handle it for an hour or more at a time, a few times a day, every day. These ladies were tough! But at the end of the day, they were still women.
This article is much longer and more ungainly than I had intended so I'll end it now, although I may add more later - but I'll just write it as another article (Part 2).
Stay safe.
Chuck Brick.
Naturally, the "dedicated Survivalist" family/group will likely have an advantage over the family/group that is "budget prepared" like I'm proposing, should disaster strike. However, if the residents of New Orleans had applied even some of what I propose, many would have better managed Katrina. Remember too - no matter what I present here, you WILL be able to improve on it. That is deliberate; I want you to think for yourselves about what is best for you. I'm just offering the most generic options for the least possible effort/expense. Just don't get so caught up in "improving" my suggestions that you don't get around to actually doing anything! You'd be better off with "marginal" in your posession, rather than a shopping list of "the best." Get the minimum now, and replace/improve as you can. That is my hope, anyway. But, even if you never get around to upgrading, you will still have something.
I'm not going to make out Survival Lists; there are plenty of those around. I'm just going to suggest cheap ways to acquire/store the stuff that you decide to put on your list. There is one exception: Water. There is no substitute for water. Even if you build a high-output solar still, dig a well, have a pristine mountain stream, you will still need a supply of water until your permanent source is actually available. I recommend a case of bottled water for each person, and an extra case thrown in for each 2-3 people. Just my own rule-of-thumb; but at ~$5/case, it can't hurt much.
Storage Ideas
Public, neighborhood, or even private swimming pools often use chorine tablets. These tablets usually come in sealed buckets with screw-on, safety-lock lids to keep the chlorine in and kids out. Sometimes these are 5-gallon size buckets, but they also come in a larger (8 or 9 gallon?) size. They are almost always discarded, as the chemical companies won't take them back. These larger ones are large enough to put stuff in. Leave it out in the sun with the lid off for a couple days and the UV will "bleach" out the chlorine smell. With one bucket per person to start, you can put a small pillow, a sheet, a throw (the down-filled throws frequently seen at WalMart, Dollar Stores, Walgreens, etc. are great - we use them for camping all the time, and they pack small.), and a rolled-up sleeping bag. You may also be able to cram a small plastic tarp (or two) and a hank of rope (like parachute cord[1]) if you want, so you can improvise (or weatherproof) a shelter. Then, with the lid on, you could throw them into the back of a pick-up truck or open trailer and still have dry bedding.
Put toothbrushes, toothpaste, comb/brush, deoderant, etc., and a can-opener in each bucket. (You can't have too many can-openers. They're cheap. If you need one and have five, you're ok. If you need one and have none, you have a problem. Too many just means you have something to share/trade,)
If you toss a Bounce drier sheet in the bottom, it will keep the contents fresher - as in, not stuffy - and will discourage invasive critters almost as well as mothballs.
Either the smaller or the larger buckets would do to store socks, underwear, dry change of clothes, feminine products, toilet paper, baby wipes[2], diapers, and anything else that is best kept dry. Gallon sized, ZipLoc-type freezer bags[3] can help keep the contents sorted out, labeled, dated (batteries, power bars, etc.), and drier in case you have to dip in during wet conditions.
If you carefully spray[4] the rim of the bucket and the sealing gasket of the lid with food-grade silicon spray[5], then let it dry before screwing the lid on, it will preserve the sealing surfaces and make it open as easily years from now as it will today.
Of course, there are containers and systems for sale that can do the same at least as well, but I'm cheap; these are free if you can find them.
[1](Real parachute cord is much better, but the cheap stuff is OK too.)
[2](Baby wipes aren't just for baby bottoms. They are handy for hygiene under adverse conditions - to clean your hands to eat/prepare food when there's no way to wash; feminine concerns; anywhere you need to clean. It would be hard to imagine having "too many.")
[3](Freezer bags are often heavier and more durable than sandwich bags, and generally have a label to write on.)
[4]Carefully, and/or outside in the grass, as overspray can make your floor dangerously slick - and won't mop up!
[5]Food grade silicon spray doesn't have the solvent carriers that might adversely affect the rubber gasket in the lid, like some industrial type silicon sprays.
Medicines/First aid
You know what your medical needs are, but my suggestion is to take everything you have with you. Get another big bucket, throw everything in it, and screw the lid on; you can dig through later and find what you want when you need it - but only if you didn't leave it behind. If you take everything, it's harder to miss "that one thing." Later, when in relative safety, you can leisurely sort and discard whatever you want to.
Other than that, I strongly recommend having plenty of anti-diarrhea medicine. Bluntly put, if you are constipated for a couple days (not likely in an emergency!), big deal. One less thing (function) to demand immediate attention when you're already stressed. If you have diarrhea (not unlikely in such stress), your evacuation (bad pun unintended) or other efforts may be distracted, to say the least.
How to eat?
Another convenience that can be stored in sealed buckets: picnic supplies. No, I'm not trying to be funny. Paper bowls, paper hot drink cups, paper napkins, and disposable spoons. Paper bowls and cups, not plastic or foam. You may need to burn them, for disposal and/or firestarting, and if you've ever burned plastic or foam items in a camp/cooking fire, you'll understand. If not take my word for it.
Plastic dinnerware can be discarded - no sanitation concerns (trying to clean dirty utensils). Spoons are more versitile than forks. If it's in liquid or chunks, use a spoon; if it's too big for a plastic spoon, just pick it up and eat it. You shouldn't need plastic knives, either; if it needs to be cut, use a kitchen knife or bite off a piece. Forget table manners, and just eat.
You can put anything in a bowl that you can put in a plate, and the bowls don't usually try to flop your food over the back like an unsupported, limp ..paper plate. Small bowls will help reduce overly-generous (food-wasting) portions, give you more bowls in the available space, and there's no reason for a variety of sizes anyway. The less variety of stuff you have, the more stuff you can have. Just make more trips if you need to. Same thing with paper cups. You could also save the cups (mostly) and keep a water bottle as a canteen (re-filling it), using the cups only for drinks other than water (tea/coffee/juice/Gaterade, soups and broths, etc.), that would leave residue in the bottle.
Water!
I touched on that first. Now the rest.
Solar stills are a popular suggestion but they only work in sunlight ("Solar!"), and the amount of water they produce is rather less than stunning. If you're alone in the desert or if you're adrift at sea one could keep you alive, but as a resource for our discussion I think it would be of questionable utility.
Instructions on how to use chlorine bleach and/or iodine tablets to disinfect water are easy to find, so I won't bother with that. However, even though you may be able to safely drink disinfected pond water, it will likely taste like disinfected pond water if you don't clean it first. "Clean" is not the same (in this article) as "disinfected," it just means the tadpoles, leaves, and most of the silt are out of it and it looks like water. There are some excellent filters for survival, camping, etc.; one of the best is the Katadyne filter. However, if you don't have one, you can improvise. A piece of cloth (bandanna, T-shirt) will sift the debris out for you. It doesn't have to be clean, just preferably not filthy. A disposable paper coffee filter (Lots; the cheap ones) will remove most small particles from suspension. Repeat or double them if you need to. Bleach or iodine will disinfect the water (even if your T-shirt was dirty) and a simple, cheap Britta filter/pitcher from the grocery-store/WalMart will finish cleaning it. (The cloth and coffee filters are to extend the life of the Britta filter; keep it from clogging up so soon.) A couple extra Britta filters, maybe another pitcher, and something to store the water in, and you could produce quite a bit to keep your stocks up. Try a Britta filter/pitcher for each (your number here) of people. (How about adding a funnel to pour water back into the water bottles for storage? Use the funnel for the coffee-filter step, too.)
There are little packets of flavoring available, pre-measured for standard water bottles (12-oz or so), that make an instant drink (lemonade, tea, etc.) when added to water; even sugar-free and electrolyte drinks are now available. Being a powder in packets, they store well for a long time.
As a free bonus, UV will disinfect water through clear plastic, though not through glass, so your refilled bottles will keep fairly well if given sunlight. In your car, though, the car windows will filter the light; it must be direct sun.
What to Eat?
If you have reasonably dry clothes and bedding available, and you don't thirst to death, you'll probably get hungry sooner or later. If you have MRE's, a Survival Pantry(tm), or stocks of backpack foods, you probably don't need this article because you likely have time/money invested already. If you think the price of MRE's at REI is WTM[1], I agree. Foods that you already eat daily, and are already in your pantry, are not as fancy but easier for most of us to obtain since we already buy them. They'll probably be easier for you to "adjust" to, since you don't have to adjust. Just buy an extra case of "this" one time, "that" next time, and "whatever" after that. Cases can fit under the bed or stack in the 'dead' corner of the guest room closet quite well. If it's the foods you normally eat anyway (as it should be), just "shop" from under the bed, then replace each case once it's been opened - that will rotate your stock automatically. Don't worry about a great variety, or balancing meals; just have food. Take vitamin/mineral supplements if you're worried about it, but the important thing is to have food. Canned foods that don't need lots of water, but aren't mostly water weight, are usually best. Canned chile, beef stew, spaghetti-o's, - you know what you eat. For my carniverous family Spam, vienna sausages, beef stix, smoked summer sausages that don't need refrigeration (or at least, last for several days/weeks), sardines and smoked (canned) clams, canned ham. Pre-cooked bacon slices in plastic "envelope" type packaging that has a long shelf-life is available, and its good. We use lots of it when camping.
Don't forget to treat yourself, sometimes: canned fruit, or fruit cocktail, etc., can take the edge off a spartan meal of cold chile from the can, with disinfected water that tastes like a kiddie pool (remember the flavor packets? Potable is not necessarily palatable!)
[1]Way Too Much
Got Heat?
Heat for comfort and cooking is so easy and cheap to get at camping-supply places, I don't see any point in trying to "beat the system" here with fancy, improvised equipment stoves/heaters. There are plenty other sources of information if you want to try that. Same with lighting. I will, though, point out some things to help you decide what you want to use. Propane is fast, easy, doesn't spill, won't leak onto your other stuff (like liquid fuel can), you don't have to gather/chop/stack it (wood), it doesn't get black dust on you/your stuff (coal/charcoal), lights when you want it to (unlike wood/coal/charcoal) and goes out when you turn it off (also unlike wood/coal/charcoal), and burns clean (odorless/smokeless). If you use the 40lb. cylinders (standard BBQ-grill tanks), you can run a small catalytic heater for a few nights off a tank, or cook dozens of meals. You can also get an attachment that allows you to refill the small (1-qt?) cylinders, for your camp stove and portable lanterns. It's probably the most convenient and easiest to actually use.
On the other hand, liquid fuel (coleman fuel; gasloline) is a higher density fuel, and is in lighter containers. That means an ounce of Coleman fuel gives more heat and light, for longer, than an ounce of propane, but also the small (1-qt-size) propane cylinder is as heavy as three 1-gallon Coleman fuel cans. Another point that often gets overlooked: Since the lead has been removed from motor fuel (your car/motorcycle/lawn mower gas), it can now be used in Coleman-type appliances. It may be easier to syphon from your car or lawn mower for a few ounces of gas, than to try to find a propane refill in an emergency. This gas has additives that Coleman fuel doesn't, so if you use it extensively you may need to perform a little more cleaning maintenance, but it's worth it for the option.
My family has done a lot of camping, so we've accumulated some of both (gas & propane) types. We use them equally. Other than the points I've laid out, we really see no real difference in their performance. If, however, you live far north (far north!), it may get cold enough that propane won't boil[1], leaving you without fuel unless you can first heat the container (body heat? aargghhh). Gasoline, on the other hand, is not as easily affected by any temperature we humans could reasonably expect to survive in.
No matter what you choose to use for fuel, if you use lanterns, get a good supply of lantern mantles. Even if you're extra-gentle, and never break one, they will still fail. I've seen a hole blown in an otherwise perfectly good mantle by the "gust" of turning on the valve, trying to light it. (I've also had them arrive intact after 800 miles of bouncing around in a trailer to our destination. Go figure.) Getting the heavy duty mantles might help longevity some, but mantles are cheap enough there's no reason to risk it by not having several spares. Without the mantle, the lantern will - quite literally - burn itself up like a torch. But that's another story.......
[1]The liquid propane doesn't burn; the fumes - almost like steam - from "boiling" is what we actually burn. It is kept liquid by being kept compressed, stored in the pressure vessel that is its container. I don't remember at what temperature it boils, but it is below freezing (32f). However, the lower the ambient temperature the more reluctant it is to boil, and in cold climates it may even need to be heated to get it started, and have a set-up whereby some of the heat it produces returns to the container.
How to Evacuate?
I was talking to a co-worker the other day about related topics, and he assumed that, were he to evacuate the city, he and his wife (only - no kids) would take the (full-sized, 3/4-ton Diesel) pick-up truck. After we talked about things, he suddenly realized: "Three cases of water, a couple boxes/cases of food, about three or four buckets, a couple fire-arms with ammo for self-defense, campstove/lighting, and flashlights - we could just take the Honda (car)!" Not only will that be easier to drive, give better mileage (Cheaper overall if/when returning, cheaper/easier to manage if not. Plus, it can go another 30 miles on a gallon can of camp fuel in emergency!)
If he had a camper shell on the truck it might be different; as it is, everything he has would be open to the weather (no problem in sealed containers) and to other people (oops!).
Most people automatically assume that a HumVee or Supercharged MegaMonster is the way to go. That makes for good movies and ForumTalk, but think about what you really need.
What About Firearms?
Everybody knows that you need two (matching) primary handguns, a scoped long-slide magnum-caliber hunting pistol, a concealed pistol, a back-up pistol (8 to 10 mags and 1,500 rounds - for each handgun of course, not per caliber!), a riot shotgun (200 slugs, 550 double-aught buckshot, and 250 mixed #4-buck/#1-buck/bb shot loads) , a scoped sniper rifle, a battle rifle, a matching back-up battle rifle (10,000 rounds and 15-20 mags each rifle), a few .22 rimfire rifles (minimum 4 bricks for each[1]), a blowgun, a crossbow, and a tactical folding knife to survive so I won't add much to that. (matching weapons allows for repair parts, of course.)
Now that I've got that spoof[2] out of my system, I'll move on.
Firearms really do have a place - an important place - in disaster preparedness. If you can't protect and maintain what you have, why have it? You might even be better off without provisions if you can't hld them.
Why?
If someone(s) decides they want what you have, you've already gotten their attention. Not good. If they are inclined to take what they want, then your possessions are a magnet that may bring them to you. Depending on how ruthless these characters might be, it could be anything from a snatch-and-run to a beating-to-death and gang-rape. Unless you're Steven Segal or Bruce Lee, then your only choices are to stand your ground and argue (refer to the previous sentence), or run away and hope they choose to stay with your stuff and not chase you for sport. (If they chase you, they your stuff will still be there when they come back after they're through with you.)
Or, you could have defensive firearms. Of course, I was having fun earlier, but a handgun can make a 90-year-old in a walker suddenly the physical equal of a 24-year-old college football star in a confrontation. (There is an article, "Why The Gun Is Civilization" that expounds on this better than I can. It's on-line, but I don't know how hard it would be to locate.)
Ideally a handgun is the last thing you use before you pull your knife, but if you learn how to carry and use one it's very effective within its range, and it can always be there for you.
A shotgun is the devastating King of Close Combat.
There is a reason all the militaries in the world use a battle rifle - it works.
You don't have to have the latest Neutron-enhanced, 3-mile-range, heat-seeking, Shark-toothed, Belt-fed, Uranium-cored, Mach/6, Magnum Devastator Anti-Personnel "Social" tools to be effective. People managed to achieve the same degree of death from cap-and-ball single-action .36 caliber revolvers in the 19th century. Go figure. Just make sure it works, whatever it is. If you don't know what works, go with a military caliber and you can't go wrong.
The AK/SKS[3] or the AR/mini-14[4] are small, light, and easy to use (won't break your shoulder or your bank). Some of them are downright cheap, and tough/reliable/simple as a rock, and cheap surplus ammo is usually available too (especially the 7.62x39).
There are also some great 9mm carbines, many of which take common pistol magazines, as another option. A pistol-caliber carbine is easier to learn to shoot than a pistol, uses cheap pistol ammo, has all the recoil of a .22 rifle, and generally they are not expensive. They are low-powered and short-range (75-100yds) for a shoulder-fired weapon, but they generally glean more power from the ammo than a pistol of the same cartridge and are still effective.
In other words, whatever you have, or can get - use it. If you have all the above - use them! Just don't bother to take anything you don't have ammo for, because if your bluff is called - and if it is a bluff - you've just made them angry as well as mean.
If challenged or threatened, take every advantage for yourself and deprive the adversary of any - any - advantage that they may have, or try to attain. Don't let them in, on, or near your car or stuff. Remember, you aren't the aggressor, they are; you're just trying to leave - with your "stuff." So don't worry about being "polite" and "considerate;" one way or the other, you'll never see them again, anyway. You don't have to be rude, but you don't need to be social either. Just be assertive and authoritative, and stand your ground. Crime victims are mostly chosen, but often they also "volunteer" for the part. Don't volunteer.
[1]A "brick" of .22 is 10 boxes/50rounds per box; 500 rounds.
[2]No offense meant to anyone. It really is meant as a toungue-in-cheek slap at (us) all.
[3]SKS/AK series is a 7.62x39mm - this is a 30-caliber round that very closely matches the classic American .30/30 round ballistically (but is not interchangeable!).
[4]This is a high-velocity, .22-caliber round. It is the round used in the M16/AR15 weapons system, and is also popular as the Ruger Mini-14.
What About the Ladies?
This is something I've seen little-to-nothing written about, but it's very real. Women especially, but not only, need to consider this issue. Even "tough" women are still women, and need to feel like it. It takes surprisingly little to accomplish this. ("High-maintenance" models may vary in mileage, however!)
Several years ago I read an interesting article (I don't remember where) about the English and how they endured the stress of the Nazi Air Raids. There were a couple of things that really stood out for me. First was the obvious (to me, anyway) fact: pacify the women, and everyone fared better. (Facts aren't always politically correct or gender-neutral.) What did surprise me was how they accomplished that, under such grave conditions: the bomb shelters were supplied with lipstick! It didn't have to be "the good stuff." It didn't even have to be an appropriate shade. What they found was, when the women had something - anything - to help them feel "civilized" and "feminine," their whole disposition changed and they could better cope.
Years ago when I worked at a shipyard there were two older women that worked there,one a pipefitter and one a welder, as a team. They could - and did - equal any two men there for hard and/or dirty work. In fact, I worked around them for a couple weeks before I realized they were women. One hot day[1] they came out of a double bottom[2] for a water break, and when one pulled off her welding hood she wiped the sweat, grunge, and welding grit off her face - not to take a drink - but to put on the (melted, greasy-looking, beat-up-tube) lipstick she had in her pocket! Then, she got a drink and started laughing and talking! Her whole disposition seemed to change immediately. I understood what I saw because I remembered reading the article, but I was still surprised.
[1]Beaumont, Texas - "hot" is three digits, and humidity averages 90%+ at the water's edge - a shipyard, after all; you figure the heat stress index.
[2]Double-bottom, or double-hull, is close quarters - steel "floor" and "ceiling" often 3-4 feet apart at most, and almost totally enclosed except for vents - and all of it in the full sun, as the upper decks hadn't been installed yet. Most people can't work in that stifling, marginally ventilated heat for more than a few minutes at a time, but somehow they could handle it for an hour or more at a time, a few times a day, every day. These ladies were tough! But at the end of the day, they were still women.
This article is much longer and more ungainly than I had intended so I'll end it now, although I may add more later - but I'll just write it as another article (Part 2).
Stay safe.
Chuck Brick.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Ridiculous Gun Violence
I read an interesting article a couple years ago that proposed the interesting idea that TV and movies were not violent enough, rather than being too violent. I wish I knew where to find that article again, so I could share it and represent it accurately. The writer made some valid and interesting points that I wish to pass on, with a few additions gleaned from other sources and some of my own ideas thrown in. If someone knows who wrote it - or has the article - please send it to me so I can acknowledge him/it properly.
Not violent enough?
Think about this:
When TV characters get shot to pieces, survive, then the next week are back to 100% and getting beat/stabbed/shot-up again, for season after season, even intelligent people can start to underestimate the real severity of gunshot (or stab) wounds. So, Jack Hammer, P.I., gets shot in the shoulder while on a case; he puts a Kotex over the hole, secures it with DuctTape, and continues the chase. In the next scene (about two days later) he has his arm in a sling, he's well on his way to a full recovery, and he's going home with The Girl. Great part to play, fun show to watch. Properly depicting his wounds as causing severe blood loss and shock, possibly shattering the shoulder joint (or at least 1 or 2 bones) so that he will probably have a lifetime disability, maybe a collapsed lung; this would make the story a little too realistic to be as much fun.
Even "just a flesh wound" can cause tremendous (read: permanent) muscle/tissue damage.
Stuck with a knife? No problem, of course; just pull the knife out, apply a little pressure to the wound, fend off the perpetrator, drive yourself to your ex-wife's house to have her sew it shut, and you're back to 100% in a day or two. What a man!! Not like the rest of us that would run the risk of systemic infection from an un-sterilized blade invading our abdomen, even if there were no risk of peritonitis from anything other than skin being damaged. (I remember well when my appendix ruptured and they "cut" me! Ideal surgical conditions, still not negligible.)
Knocked unconscience with gun butts and pieces of pipe on a weekly basis? Wake up a couple hours later with a mild head-ache, jump up and continue the persuit. No worry about concussion, possible annurism, chipped/cracked vertabrae, or a torn/detached retina like we mortals are prone to suffer from such severe trauma.
The point is, with so much action on TV and movies, no-one ever suffers more than a passing inconvenience at worst. Being raised on this nonsense undoubtedly convinces some ignoramuses (ignorami?) that committing such violence can't be that bad.
Now, to add to this confusion, let's outlaw guns - especially (shudder!) handguns - so that they become prestige (street cred), something with almost magical powers that make you invincible - like on TV. Now you have a street thug - a predator - that has The Power, and knows that law-abiding citizens don't because they aren't smart enough to carry (albeit, illegally) like he does. (Know why the criminals call themselves "Wise Guys?" Because they believe they're smarter than the rest of us.) Drugs are illegal, but he deals in those. He can get cocain from South America and opiates from Asia and Afganistan; why do gun-control freaks think
that guns don't come in with the drugs? That supplies the (already) criminal element, while laws only disarm the law-abiding citizens, creating easier victims.
Ignorance of guns makes them more alluring, more fantastical. Something almost magical. (Remember Robinson Crusoe's Man Friday when they "met?" Knowing nothing of guns except for having seen his own attackers shot, he jerked off his shirt to see where the hole in him was.)
People in TV and movies calmly discuss their divorces, their present predicament, how much ammo they have (don't have), etc., while shooting hundreds of rounds at an adversary that also carries hundreds of rounds (already loaded in magazines, of course!) Have you ever fired a full magazine without hearing protection, then had a normal conversation? I can't hear plainly for an hour or so after a trip to the range, even though I use foam ear plugs and earmuffs together.
Never mind that I need a range bag to carry more than one handgun, a couple hundred rounds, and spare mags, but they have all this just stuffed in their jacket pockets - as often as not, grabbed on the fly. (Of course, the BG's use the same caliber and magazines as the Hero/Heroes so all can share!)
Perhaps if guns were a part of everyday life like they should be (ever heard of the Second Amendment?), and everyone had (freedom to access) them, there would be less misconception and subsequent misuse (read: abuse) of them. And never mind that crime would be lower: statistics have proven this many times, while gun control laws have never - never - shown to be effective against crime (just the opposite, in fact - quite literally and consistantly so. Look at Australia: Violent crimes jumped some 70% in the couple years following the (near) total dis-arming of the general public.)
If we didn't treat guns like some Devil's Magic that should be shunned; if we didn't attach some artificial, imaginary stigma to gun ownership that makes it unacceptable for "polite company;" if we could remember that Hollywood is nothing but fantasy, totally detached from reality - guns could again be regarded as nothing more than the potentially dangerous tools they really are. Potentially dangerous, yes. So are propane torches, bandsaws, hydraulic logsplitters, tillers, - anything is dangerous if misused or abused. Cain and Abel only had rocks. The simple truth is that a handgun is a specialized tool intended for self-defense rather than splitting firewood or soldering pipe joints. Why is that evil? Because it might hurt a child? If that's a legitimate concern (not just emotional leverage), why do you drive a car? I know, and know of, several minors (under 18) killed and/or maimed by cars over the years, but I don't know anyone accidentally shot as a child. I do, however, know one senior citizen that lost an eye as a child from - you guessed it! - a thrown stick.
Anyone that takes TV and movies - and anything else from the entertainment industry (Entertainment Industry - get it?) - seriously or literally probably also believes Michael Moore is filming rightous documentaries.
Not violent enough?
Think about this:
When TV characters get shot to pieces, survive, then the next week are back to 100% and getting beat/stabbed/shot-up again, for season after season, even intelligent people can start to underestimate the real severity of gunshot (or stab) wounds. So, Jack Hammer, P.I., gets shot in the shoulder while on a case; he puts a Kotex over the hole, secures it with DuctTape, and continues the chase. In the next scene (about two days later) he has his arm in a sling, he's well on his way to a full recovery, and he's going home with The Girl. Great part to play, fun show to watch. Properly depicting his wounds as causing severe blood loss and shock, possibly shattering the shoulder joint (or at least 1 or 2 bones) so that he will probably have a lifetime disability, maybe a collapsed lung; this would make the story a little too realistic to be as much fun.
Even "just a flesh wound" can cause tremendous (read: permanent) muscle/tissue damage.
Stuck with a knife? No problem, of course; just pull the knife out, apply a little pressure to the wound, fend off the perpetrator, drive yourself to your ex-wife's house to have her sew it shut, and you're back to 100% in a day or two. What a man!! Not like the rest of us that would run the risk of systemic infection from an un-sterilized blade invading our abdomen, even if there were no risk of peritonitis from anything other than skin being damaged. (I remember well when my appendix ruptured and they "cut" me! Ideal surgical conditions, still not negligible.)
Knocked unconscience with gun butts and pieces of pipe on a weekly basis? Wake up a couple hours later with a mild head-ache, jump up and continue the persuit. No worry about concussion, possible annurism, chipped/cracked vertabrae, or a torn/detached retina like we mortals are prone to suffer from such severe trauma.
The point is, with so much action on TV and movies, no-one ever suffers more than a passing inconvenience at worst. Being raised on this nonsense undoubtedly convinces some ignoramuses (ignorami?) that committing such violence can't be that bad.
Now, to add to this confusion, let's outlaw guns - especially (shudder!) handguns - so that they become prestige (street cred), something with almost magical powers that make you invincible - like on TV. Now you have a street thug - a predator - that has The Power, and knows that law-abiding citizens don't because they aren't smart enough to carry (albeit, illegally) like he does. (Know why the criminals call themselves "Wise Guys?" Because they believe they're smarter than the rest of us.) Drugs are illegal, but he deals in those. He can get cocain from South America and opiates from Asia and Afganistan; why do gun-control freaks think
that guns don't come in with the drugs? That supplies the (already) criminal element, while laws only disarm the law-abiding citizens, creating easier victims.
Ignorance of guns makes them more alluring, more fantastical. Something almost magical. (Remember Robinson Crusoe's Man Friday when they "met?" Knowing nothing of guns except for having seen his own attackers shot, he jerked off his shirt to see where the hole in him was.)
People in TV and movies calmly discuss their divorces, their present predicament, how much ammo they have (don't have), etc., while shooting hundreds of rounds at an adversary that also carries hundreds of rounds (already loaded in magazines, of course!) Have you ever fired a full magazine without hearing protection, then had a normal conversation? I can't hear plainly for an hour or so after a trip to the range, even though I use foam ear plugs and earmuffs together.
Never mind that I need a range bag to carry more than one handgun, a couple hundred rounds, and spare mags, but they have all this just stuffed in their jacket pockets - as often as not, grabbed on the fly. (Of course, the BG's use the same caliber and magazines as the Hero/Heroes so all can share!)
Perhaps if guns were a part of everyday life like they should be (ever heard of the Second Amendment?), and everyone had (freedom to access) them, there would be less misconception and subsequent misuse (read: abuse) of them. And never mind that crime would be lower: statistics have proven this many times, while gun control laws have never - never - shown to be effective against crime (just the opposite, in fact - quite literally and consistantly so. Look at Australia: Violent crimes jumped some 70% in the couple years following the (near) total dis-arming of the general public.)
If we didn't treat guns like some Devil's Magic that should be shunned; if we didn't attach some artificial, imaginary stigma to gun ownership that makes it unacceptable for "polite company;" if we could remember that Hollywood is nothing but fantasy, totally detached from reality - guns could again be regarded as nothing more than the potentially dangerous tools they really are. Potentially dangerous, yes. So are propane torches, bandsaws, hydraulic logsplitters, tillers, - anything is dangerous if misused or abused. Cain and Abel only had rocks. The simple truth is that a handgun is a specialized tool intended for self-defense rather than splitting firewood or soldering pipe joints. Why is that evil? Because it might hurt a child? If that's a legitimate concern (not just emotional leverage), why do you drive a car? I know, and know of, several minors (under 18) killed and/or maimed by cars over the years, but I don't know anyone accidentally shot as a child. I do, however, know one senior citizen that lost an eye as a child from - you guessed it! - a thrown stick.
Anyone that takes TV and movies - and anything else from the entertainment industry (Entertainment Industry - get it?) - seriously or literally probably also believes Michael Moore is filming rightous documentaries.
Gun Controversy - Deeper Than Just the Hardware
Everyone is probably familiar with all the rhetoric and arguements pro- and anti- private ownership of firearms. I admit right now, up front, that I am biased: I am a staunch believer in and supporter of the 2nd Ammendment. However, this is not about my stand on gun rights but my observations of the people that get involved in debating the issue.
Invariably, the Anti's make the point that if everyone had guns, violence would be uncontrollable - simple arguments might escalate out of control, fender-benders could become shoot-outs, cutting in line at the grocery store check-out would possibly be a fatal mistake, and on and on. They seem to believe that people, our citizens, apparently cannot be trusted to show restraint or judgement if they have the (potentially) lethal power of a firearm available.
How depressing it must be to feel that way about their friends, neighbors, co-workers, family. If they really believe this, perhaps (probably?) they feel that way about themselves, too, deep inside. After all, if they are part of this society it must be part of them, and they can't be so different than what they seem to observe around them. (Maybe they need anger-management counselling for themselves?)
The Pro's generally contend that people don't necessarily choose to be violent if there is any alternative, people can be trusted to manage the responsibility of having (potentially) deadly force available to use, and they should be allowed the right to self-defense if it proves necessary.
No, the Pro's don't deny that there are violent criminals in our midst; they simply choose to believe that they don't dominate our society, and thus society as a whole shouldn't be punished or deprived for the aberrant few.
The Anti's arguments seem to me to be negative, dis-trustful, even paranoid about society in general, whereas the Pro's arguments seem to demonstrate more faith in people, a more positive opinion of their (our) society in general.
Another sticky point: The majority of the Anti's leaders seem to feel - even demand - that since they don't choose to own firearms, no-one should be allowed to. Seems like a societal control issue to me, more than an object control issue. Something to think about when deciding whom to repeat, support, or emulate.
On the other hand, even the most adamant 2nd Amendment proponents don't demand that everyone should own a gun just because they choose to. What they do say is that everyone has the right to decide ownership status for themselves. Quite a different disposition, I'd say.
Interestingly, there is the town of Kennesaw that passed an ordinance requiring every head of household to own and maintain at least one functional firearm in the home, but it is my understanding that there has never been any attempt to enforce it. Personally, I would assume such a law to be more of a statement than a binding rule. (In this case apparently the "statement" made was that the town's inhabitants were not helpless or willing victims, because crime levels dropped dramatically and have remained low since.)
But, what about those "nuts" that want to stockpile weapons and supplies for "The Day?"
So what?
That doesn't diminish society - you, them, us - in any way. What's the danger in that anyway, if they aren't taking from you? The only real danger is to themselves, from the Janet Reno-type Anti's that would "take them down" for - what? Those people are only a threat to you if you attack them, so why not just leave them alone? (Besides, if "The Day" does come, who will you look to for protection? The Police? Guard? Reserves? Ever heard of "Post-Katrina New Orleans?" Maybe those "nuts" are on to something, after all.........)
If I just suddenly fell to earth, having no concept of firearms and no possible means to learn anything about them other than to hear the two different sides debate the issue, I believe I would choose to side with the Pro's because of the less negative attitude.
It also seems just a little bit amusing to me that, if you try to approach NYC's fanatical Mayor Bloomberg, or Rabid Rosie O'Donnell, or pretty much any of the top Anti's, you will be swarmed by their personal armed bodyguards.
I can afford to buy a reasonable quality firearm and ammunition and training to protect myself, my wife, and our four children, but I cannot afford to hire bodyguards for all of us. Does that mean my family and I have less right to live in safety than they do?
Would they change their minds about me (personally) if I carried a gun to protect them? Would they change their minds back if I left their employ and decided to just protect my own family?
Apparently so.
How can anyone be so hypocritical, self-important, self-righteous? (After all, they are paying the guards to carry privately-owned firearms! In public!) They have money, I don't, so I guess their safety matters but mine doesn't.
Money is just money; it buys things like education, cars, radio/TV time, fame, even politicians.
It can't buy intelligence, or class, or morality, or a sense of principles.
Invariably, the Anti's make the point that if everyone had guns, violence would be uncontrollable - simple arguments might escalate out of control, fender-benders could become shoot-outs, cutting in line at the grocery store check-out would possibly be a fatal mistake, and on and on. They seem to believe that people, our citizens, apparently cannot be trusted to show restraint or judgement if they have the (potentially) lethal power of a firearm available.
How depressing it must be to feel that way about their friends, neighbors, co-workers, family. If they really believe this, perhaps (probably?) they feel that way about themselves, too, deep inside. After all, if they are part of this society it must be part of them, and they can't be so different than what they seem to observe around them. (Maybe they need anger-management counselling for themselves?)
The Pro's generally contend that people don't necessarily choose to be violent if there is any alternative, people can be trusted to manage the responsibility of having (potentially) deadly force available to use, and they should be allowed the right to self-defense if it proves necessary.
No, the Pro's don't deny that there are violent criminals in our midst; they simply choose to believe that they don't dominate our society, and thus society as a whole shouldn't be punished or deprived for the aberrant few.
The Anti's arguments seem to me to be negative, dis-trustful, even paranoid about society in general, whereas the Pro's arguments seem to demonstrate more faith in people, a more positive opinion of their (our) society in general.
Another sticky point: The majority of the Anti's leaders seem to feel - even demand - that since they don't choose to own firearms, no-one should be allowed to. Seems like a societal control issue to me, more than an object control issue. Something to think about when deciding whom to repeat, support, or emulate.
On the other hand, even the most adamant 2nd Amendment proponents don't demand that everyone should own a gun just because they choose to. What they do say is that everyone has the right to decide ownership status for themselves. Quite a different disposition, I'd say.
Interestingly, there is the town of Kennesaw that passed an ordinance requiring every head of household to own and maintain at least one functional firearm in the home, but it is my understanding that there has never been any attempt to enforce it. Personally, I would assume such a law to be more of a statement than a binding rule. (In this case apparently the "statement" made was that the town's inhabitants were not helpless or willing victims, because crime levels dropped dramatically and have remained low since.)
But, what about those "nuts" that want to stockpile weapons and supplies for "The Day?"
So what?
That doesn't diminish society - you, them, us - in any way. What's the danger in that anyway, if they aren't taking from you? The only real danger is to themselves, from the Janet Reno-type Anti's that would "take them down" for - what? Those people are only a threat to you if you attack them, so why not just leave them alone? (Besides, if "The Day" does come, who will you look to for protection? The Police? Guard? Reserves? Ever heard of "Post-Katrina New Orleans?" Maybe those "nuts" are on to something, after all.........)
If I just suddenly fell to earth, having no concept of firearms and no possible means to learn anything about them other than to hear the two different sides debate the issue, I believe I would choose to side with the Pro's because of the less negative attitude.
It also seems just a little bit amusing to me that, if you try to approach NYC's fanatical Mayor Bloomberg, or Rabid Rosie O'Donnell, or pretty much any of the top Anti's, you will be swarmed by their personal armed bodyguards.
I can afford to buy a reasonable quality firearm and ammunition and training to protect myself, my wife, and our four children, but I cannot afford to hire bodyguards for all of us. Does that mean my family and I have less right to live in safety than they do?
Would they change their minds about me (personally) if I carried a gun to protect them? Would they change their minds back if I left their employ and decided to just protect my own family?
Apparently so.
How can anyone be so hypocritical, self-important, self-righteous? (After all, they are paying the guards to carry privately-owned firearms! In public!) They have money, I don't, so I guess their safety matters but mine doesn't.
Money is just money; it buys things like education, cars, radio/TV time, fame, even politicians.
It can't buy intelligence, or class, or morality, or a sense of principles.
Monday, July 16, 2007
What's with this generation, anyway?
This is a question that's as old as humankind, but for now I'm talking about this generation - the Columbine, West Nickel Mines, Red Lake Minn., Santee, Ca., Jacksboro Tn., Essex Vt., Virginia Tech, (etc.) generation. There have always been malcontents, aberrations, miscreants, whatever label you choose to apply. But, what is it with this generation?
I heard my wife and her friend having a discussion recently, and one of them made an observation that floored me: This is the first generation raised on Ritalin from earliest childhood.
Think about that.
If you squirm in your seat in Kindergarten or first grade, you may be put on Ritalin to "calm you down." (The fact that you're a child, and full of life and energy, is apparently moot. The teachers shouldn't have to deal with childish behavior; they have a job to do. Go figure....)
If you have trouble staying focused on your studies, or if you're caught talking in class sometimes, you may be put on Ritalin for "behavioral problems."
If you appear to be having social problems in school, you may need Ritalin to help you cope.
If you have personal/private issues - perhaps your parents are separating, or you just moved to a new school - Ritalin is faster and easier than counselling.
Just take your pills and let the medication cope with whatever may (or may not) be troublesome in your life.
Then, when it is determined that you have outgrown the need for bliss-in-a-bottle (or you leave home and Daddy's health insurance won't pay for it any more) you are suddenly without your psy-crutch.
Meanwhile, during your formative years you've been deprived of the true impact of most of the learning experiences of childhood - good and bad - that should have prepared you mentally for the Real World. Now, when your lover moves on, or you get teased in class, or you suffer a career setback, it's devastating because - although you're an adult already - you haven't learned how to cope with life.
Obviously, those who you believe may have slighted you must be removed from your (developmentally retarded) world! We certainly can't allow you to be offended, after all!!!
(What if Albert Einstein had been put on Ritalin, since he was known to be a restless and sometimes disruptive student?
Surely Benjamin Franklin was a spirited youth.
I'd bet Samuel Clemens wasn't the most docile student in the room.....
Think what this generation may have lost from over-utilization of Ritalin. I know it may be a stretch, but what if - what if - even just one of those outbreaks were the result of a brilliant mind being stifled and packaged neatly for conformity's' sake!)
Added to this situation is the "Feel-Good," Humanist attitude that is so prevalent in our society; the attitude that places higher importance on one's ego and self-image, and denies the reality that we all occasionally lose out on things throughout our life. If there were no losers, there would be no winners. Our nanny-state society that refuses to let anyone lose, likewise can't allow anyone to win. I was raised to believe that "The only thing worse than a poor loser is a poor winner." But if there are neither winners nor losers, how does one learn to be a gracious/generous/caring individual?
One of the traits of humanism is, it goes counter to the teachings of popular religion - especially the Judeo-Christian beliefs that founded our nation. (Yes I am Christian, and I also greatly value the Jewish teachings that influenced Jesus; but that is not the point at this time.) Confucius is quoted as saying, "I have no use for a man with no religion; for without a source of power, what good is a cart?" He didn't appear to promote any particular religion, but he felt everyone should have some belief system to be a complete human. Our society - moving itself ever closer towards Humanism - is removing all religion, bit by bit, from its populace.
See what happens when people believe themselves to be the Pinnacle of existence? When we create people that have no Higher Authority to answer to, we create people that believe they can make the decisions of life and death. They are, after all their own God.
The all-too-commonly held attitude of entitlement is another symptom of this social decay. If you aren't willing to work for "it", I'm sorry, you don't deserve "it." If you are willing to work for "it", and you do deserve it, you still may not achieve "it". This is called "LIFE." Even when it seems to suck it's still worth living; learn to accept disappointment and move on. (Unless, of course, you're medicated so that you don't experience such emotions.) When you don't get everything you want when you want it, you can better learn to appreciate - and care about - what you do get.
So, what's wrong with this generation?
This is possibly the most self-indulged generation since Roman times.
This is likely the most pampered generation in our Nation's history.
This is certainly the first generation raised Humanist in our Nation's history.
This is the first generation of Ritalin-induced social retardation.
What's wrong with this generation?
- Not the TV or violent movies.
- Not the violence-based video-games.
- Not the failing educational system.
Obviously - sadly - the previous generation.
This generation only got what our generation allowed them to have. We are, after all, their parents - aren't we? Or, are we also teaching this generation how to deny personal responsibilities and consequences?
oh, yeah.
sorry.
Chuck Brick.
(Many people have benefited from Ritalin, properly administered. I am aware of that. Ritalin certainly has its proper place and legitimate uses. However, it's wide-spread abuse and over-use has greatly overshadowed this fact. It is this blatant and unacceptable abuse that I'm railing at)
I heard my wife and her friend having a discussion recently, and one of them made an observation that floored me: This is the first generation raised on Ritalin from earliest childhood.
Think about that.
If you squirm in your seat in Kindergarten or first grade, you may be put on Ritalin to "calm you down." (The fact that you're a child, and full of life and energy, is apparently moot. The teachers shouldn't have to deal with childish behavior; they have a job to do. Go figure....)
If you have trouble staying focused on your studies, or if you're caught talking in class sometimes, you may be put on Ritalin for "behavioral problems."
If you appear to be having social problems in school, you may need Ritalin to help you cope.
If you have personal/private issues - perhaps your parents are separating, or you just moved to a new school - Ritalin is faster and easier than counselling.
Just take your pills and let the medication cope with whatever may (or may not) be troublesome in your life.
Then, when it is determined that you have outgrown the need for bliss-in-a-bottle (or you leave home and Daddy's health insurance won't pay for it any more) you are suddenly without your psy-crutch.
Meanwhile, during your formative years you've been deprived of the true impact of most of the learning experiences of childhood - good and bad - that should have prepared you mentally for the Real World. Now, when your lover moves on, or you get teased in class, or you suffer a career setback, it's devastating because - although you're an adult already - you haven't learned how to cope with life.
Obviously, those who you believe may have slighted you must be removed from your (developmentally retarded) world! We certainly can't allow you to be offended, after all!!!
(What if Albert Einstein had been put on Ritalin, since he was known to be a restless and sometimes disruptive student?
Surely Benjamin Franklin was a spirited youth.
I'd bet Samuel Clemens wasn't the most docile student in the room.....
Think what this generation may have lost from over-utilization of Ritalin. I know it may be a stretch, but what if - what if - even just one of those outbreaks were the result of a brilliant mind being stifled and packaged neatly for conformity's' sake!)
Added to this situation is the "Feel-Good," Humanist attitude that is so prevalent in our society; the attitude that places higher importance on one's ego and self-image, and denies the reality that we all occasionally lose out on things throughout our life. If there were no losers, there would be no winners. Our nanny-state society that refuses to let anyone lose, likewise can't allow anyone to win. I was raised to believe that "The only thing worse than a poor loser is a poor winner." But if there are neither winners nor losers, how does one learn to be a gracious/generous/caring individual?
One of the traits of humanism is, it goes counter to the teachings of popular religion - especially the Judeo-Christian beliefs that founded our nation. (Yes I am Christian, and I also greatly value the Jewish teachings that influenced Jesus; but that is not the point at this time.) Confucius is quoted as saying, "I have no use for a man with no religion; for without a source of power, what good is a cart?" He didn't appear to promote any particular religion, but he felt everyone should have some belief system to be a complete human. Our society - moving itself ever closer towards Humanism - is removing all religion, bit by bit, from its populace.
See what happens when people believe themselves to be the Pinnacle of existence? When we create people that have no Higher Authority to answer to, we create people that believe they can make the decisions of life and death. They are, after all their own God.
The all-too-commonly held attitude of entitlement is another symptom of this social decay. If you aren't willing to work for "it", I'm sorry, you don't deserve "it." If you are willing to work for "it", and you do deserve it, you still may not achieve "it". This is called "LIFE." Even when it seems to suck it's still worth living; learn to accept disappointment and move on. (Unless, of course, you're medicated so that you don't experience such emotions.) When you don't get everything you want when you want it, you can better learn to appreciate - and care about - what you do get.
So, what's wrong with this generation?
This is possibly the most self-indulged generation since Roman times.
This is likely the most pampered generation in our Nation's history.
This is certainly the first generation raised Humanist in our Nation's history.
This is the first generation of Ritalin-induced social retardation.
What's wrong with this generation?
- Not the TV or violent movies.
- Not the violence-based video-games.
- Not the failing educational system.
Obviously - sadly - the previous generation.
This generation only got what our generation allowed them to have. We are, after all, their parents - aren't we? Or, are we also teaching this generation how to deny personal responsibilities and consequences?
oh, yeah.
sorry.
Chuck Brick.
(Many people have benefited from Ritalin, properly administered. I am aware of that. Ritalin certainly has its proper place and legitimate uses. However, it's wide-spread abuse and over-use has greatly overshadowed this fact. It is this blatant and unacceptable abuse that I'm railing at)
Friday, June 29, 2007
American Socialism/Illegal Immigrants
FDR - Franklin D. Roosevelt - would seem to have been the most popular president of all time, having served four full terms in the Oval Office. With his New Deal, he started our nation off into an exciting new direction: Socialism.
Any time a government takes from one person (taxes) to give to another (welfare; subsidies), that is Government imposed redistribution of wealth - the very premise upon which Socialism and Communism stand and operate. (To each according to their needs; from each according to their abilities to produce - ever heard of Lennin or Marx?)
The communist/socialist ideal is to achieve financial equality for all.
Just because you have the initiative and the imagination to create - for example - an Improved Digital/Electronic Mousetrap that earns you a million dollars a month in profits does not mean that you have any right to a better life than, say, a 27-year-old that delivers pizza part-time, plays World of WarQuest online70-hrs a week, and still lives with his mother. That would be socially shameful and unacceptable! After all, if you earn millions of $$ a year, don't you OWE IT to this man and his mother (who raised him to be what he is, by the way) to improve their lives?
Well?
Put another way, just because you're a different disposition with different priorities shouldn't give you special priviledges, should it? So, let's take some of your money to help improve their (chosen) situation. That would be the more socially responsible course, after all. Right?
I've heard, all my life I suppose, that the reason we "need" the illegals in our society is because they'll do the menial jobs that no-one else wants to do.
Huh?
If we didn't have a welfare (Socialist) system that rewarded people for their lack of initiative, there would be no jobs that noone wanted to do. If you need work, work. It's there, - really it is! You just have to want it more than the alternative. Generally, people that can't find a job actually can't find a job they want. I know that there will be some out there who say this isn't true, that I'm being unreasonable, etc. Well, I've been un-employed many times - but only once for more than a couple of days at a time. I worked as a journeyman pipefitter at a shipyard that failed in the early 80's; I found a job as a construction laborer at just over minimum wage and took it until I could find something else. I worked as a security guard on construction sites, a laborer for a tile mason, and I don't even remember what-all "between job" jobs. Quite often my wife and I qualified for food stamps during these lean times, but we found that we didn't need them, and have never filed for any form of assistance. We just accept what we have and move along. Now, just because I work steadily (unsteadily at times!), WHY should I be taxed to pay for someone else that could have done the same "demeaning" jobs I often performed, except that they were too good for that kind of job?
Yes, I sure do wish I had invented that Digital/Electronic Mousetrap, and certainly I envy the guy that did, but HE OWES ME NOTHING!! I ENVY him; I DO NOT RESENT him. If I had thought of the D/E Mousetrap, after all, I would want my money for my family.
Illegal Aliens are (GASP!!) ILLEGAL! That makes them as criminal as muggers, jay-walkers, and burglars. "They came here to make a better life for themselves," you say? Well, yes - but illegally. That drug pusher down in the "hood," and the prostitutes that are working around the block from your business are trying to "make a better life for themselves," too - also illegally; but we tend to persecute and prosecute our citizens for crimes that are no worse than the crime of being an illegal.
(After all, an illegal immigrant is nothing less than a tresspasser - on an international level, yet.)
Go figure.
If someone's very presence is criminal and they know that, how can you believe they will have scruples and principles in any other aspect of their lives here? Why should they? They don't exist, so they can't be traced, taxed, or held responsible for their actions. If the authorities choose to ignore their illegal presence, how can they effectively enforce the laws - our laws - on them? And, of course, by their presence alone they have demonstrated a measure of disdain for our laws. Quite a notable introduction to our society.
Do we really "need" more of this, for any reason?
We already have our own criminals, thank you, without importing more.
Any time a government takes from one person (taxes) to give to another (welfare; subsidies), that is Government imposed redistribution of wealth - the very premise upon which Socialism and Communism stand and operate. (To each according to their needs; from each according to their abilities to produce - ever heard of Lennin or Marx?)
The communist/socialist ideal is to achieve financial equality for all.
Just because you have the initiative and the imagination to create - for example - an Improved Digital/Electronic Mousetrap that earns you a million dollars a month in profits does not mean that you have any right to a better life than, say, a 27-year-old that delivers pizza part-time, plays World of WarQuest online70-hrs a week, and still lives with his mother. That would be socially shameful and unacceptable! After all, if you earn millions of $$ a year, don't you OWE IT to this man and his mother (who raised him to be what he is, by the way) to improve their lives?
Well?
Put another way, just because you're a different disposition with different priorities shouldn't give you special priviledges, should it? So, let's take some of your money to help improve their (chosen) situation. That would be the more socially responsible course, after all. Right?
I've heard, all my life I suppose, that the reason we "need" the illegals in our society is because they'll do the menial jobs that no-one else wants to do.
Huh?
If we didn't have a welfare (Socialist) system that rewarded people for their lack of initiative, there would be no jobs that noone wanted to do. If you need work, work. It's there, - really it is! You just have to want it more than the alternative. Generally, people that can't find a job actually can't find a job they want. I know that there will be some out there who say this isn't true, that I'm being unreasonable, etc. Well, I've been un-employed many times - but only once for more than a couple of days at a time. I worked as a journeyman pipefitter at a shipyard that failed in the early 80's; I found a job as a construction laborer at just over minimum wage and took it until I could find something else. I worked as a security guard on construction sites, a laborer for a tile mason, and I don't even remember what-all "between job" jobs. Quite often my wife and I qualified for food stamps during these lean times, but we found that we didn't need them, and have never filed for any form of assistance. We just accept what we have and move along. Now, just because I work steadily (unsteadily at times!), WHY should I be taxed to pay for someone else that could have done the same "demeaning" jobs I often performed, except that they were too good for that kind of job?
Yes, I sure do wish I had invented that Digital/Electronic Mousetrap, and certainly I envy the guy that did, but HE OWES ME NOTHING!! I ENVY him; I DO NOT RESENT him. If I had thought of the D/E Mousetrap, after all, I would want my money for my family.
Illegal Aliens are (GASP!!) ILLEGAL! That makes them as criminal as muggers, jay-walkers, and burglars. "They came here to make a better life for themselves," you say? Well, yes - but illegally. That drug pusher down in the "hood," and the prostitutes that are working around the block from your business are trying to "make a better life for themselves," too - also illegally; but we tend to persecute and prosecute our citizens for crimes that are no worse than the crime of being an illegal.
(After all, an illegal immigrant is nothing less than a tresspasser - on an international level, yet.)
Go figure.
If someone's very presence is criminal and they know that, how can you believe they will have scruples and principles in any other aspect of their lives here? Why should they? They don't exist, so they can't be traced, taxed, or held responsible for their actions. If the authorities choose to ignore their illegal presence, how can they effectively enforce the laws - our laws - on them? And, of course, by their presence alone they have demonstrated a measure of disdain for our laws. Quite a notable introduction to our society.
Do we really "need" more of this, for any reason?
We already have our own criminals, thank you, without importing more.
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