OK…. OK…. To respond to a few emails I received last week. What do I recommend for…? What do I really want to check out? Here ya go…

The first thing you want to do is get yourself notebooks and pencils – ALOT. When “Islanding”, or prepping to go into “Island Mode”, you need to write a detailed logbook of what was done each day, what was seen each day, the weather and anything else that may seem relevant. Having everything in your brain is great, but what happens if you become indisposed? Another person, or group of folks, may need the insights of your logs…

Second thing, unless you have a good source of salt for meat storage you have to realize that all electricity you produce will go toward food storage and water pumping/purifying/desalination – charging batteries for other specific tools may be a distant second – charging your cell phones, or other digital devices, will not even make it on the list (they are expensive paperweights without something to connect to anyway)…

Third thing, look at everything as a finite resource – once it is gone, it is gone – so always keep it in your head that “three is one, two is none”…

Here’s just a few things to get yourself started on the road to “Island Mode” (you can also look to the links on the right hand side of this page for more – no one pays me for any of this, this is all personal “likes”):

Bates Boots – there are many other brands, but I’ve been wearing Bates since the 80’s and have never found anything negative with any Bates footwear I have worn.

BBQ Pits. These will be very important at your home base (or your kids games in the meantime). Try to keep the elements from them so they last. The best I’ve found are Pits by JJ and Engelbrecht Grills and Cookers – I love the idea of hooking the “BBQ trailer” up to my truck and just BBQ’ing wherever I may roam. I’m a charcoal/wood guy, but my next purchase will be something that has a small propane grill on the side – so someone who doesn’t know how to start a proper BBQ fire, or have the patience for the perfect temperature, can just kick on the small propane grill on the side and “get ‘er done” while the rest of us wait for perfection from the wood grill…

Berkey Water Filters – we’ve been using these for almost twenty years now and they are awesome – be sure to get plenty of filters – we clean our filters and have six kids but find the filters to last at least 6 months before needing replacement. But that is with faucet water – think river water, solar still or catchment water – I would suspect the filters would last longer or shorter depending on the water source (as well as how many people are using it daily)…

“DeLorme Atlas & Gazatteer Paper Maps” are very detailed, colored, state-by-state topo map books. You will need them. You can find them at places like Bass Pro Shops, Garmin and REI. At “home base” I have the old topo maps from the USGS rolled up (never folded) in a bin (they should be laminated but are not), but these books are what travel with me (in the vehicle). Get the actual books – digital maps are dependent on more than your device for accuracy and if there’s no power to all of these devices then the weakest link is what you are dependent on. Digital devices are also dependent on cloud cover and terrain for a signal. Get yourself a compass and learn how to orienteer – I learned when I was around 8 – it’s not rocket science we are talking about. I usually get topos from the USGS for 100 miles out from home base as well as between home base and hunting and fishing areas – I get the DeLorme Atlas Books whenever I see them (for any state I do not already have). I do not take the originals with me in the field (when on foot). I will scan, print and laminate from the originals to keep the originals in good condition (bring a small magnifying glass in case you need it – good to start your camp fire with as well)…

Grain Maker – self explanatory…

Flow Hives – the best way to extract honey without disturbing the bees and without doing all the processing on the back end…

HAM Radio – there may be a time when you want to get the news from other parts of the world directly from someone who lives there. Don’t go crazy and get something too expensive. Keep it simple. You’ll want a base station as well as a few handhelds. Most important is your antennae setup – you’ll want to do a lot of research on this – and again, this can get expensive, so don’t get carried away! You will find that antennae placement is very important! The more analog you can go with the radio/s the better – none of that digital crap is going to work if you’ll be needing this in a serious situation…

Hybrid Light – I have a few of these, and plan to test and use more. One thing I really moved away from the the last few years is perpetually buying batteries for my flashlights. It’s nice to put my flashlights in the window sill during the day and let the sun charge them up. I have also used them to keep my cellphone charged on long trips – so I know that works as well. I tend to have one charging while I’m using another one for a day and then swap them the next day…

GoSun – ok, I only have the “Fusion”, but I want everything these folks put out. Solar charging tables, solar ovens, just fun stuff – fun stuff that can actually help in a survival situation. Be sure to read the paperwork that comes with what you get – there’s some good info in there. As always, use it and get to know it well – don’t wait until you “need to”…

KABAR – My favorite carry is my short Tanto with a serrated edge on the topside – incredible tool – the serrated edge is a great cutting tool for all types of wire/cable. I also have a very small “skeleton” pocket knife with a sweet small scabbard that is insanely handy. I stand by every KABAR I have – and I have many…

Nova Knife P50 – this is simply as cool as it gets. They also sell the “Nova P50”, which is everything but the knife, for those of you with a KABAR on your hip already…. Solar charging flashlight and fire starter with a battery that can charge your phone. It also has a “glass shattering tool” on one end and a “seat belt cutter” in case you get stuck in a car…

Patriot Supply and Ready Wise – get your MRE’s. Get in small lots to start so you can test them to find what you like and then buy big…. We like to mix our MRE’s with fresh stuff – meat and veggies mostly…

Pure Pollination – seeds

Rainman – makes portable water desalinators. I’ve used a few older versions and they were awesome – can’t wait to pick up the newer version ASAP…

Sun Kettle – this is sweet. It boils your water in about 20 minutes with the sun. No smoke to give away your position because you don’t need to start a fire – and it fits in your backpack…

Sun Oven – these use the sun to cook – more like a BBQ than the GoSun Fusion. I’d use the Fusion to bake and the Sun Oven to BBQ…

Vermont Wood Stoves – self explanatory…

Victorinox – I’ve had the good ole fashioned “Swiss Tool BS” (multi tool) on my hip everyday since 1993. Same tool. What else is there to say…? I’d probably get a matte black one if I were to get another one today – mine’s a little too shiny – but I use it daily and it’s my number one “go to” for everything…

Wilkinson Tactical – if you’re ever in a REAL LIVE survival situation, these guys make guns in which you can change out the barrel and firing mechanisms in just a few seconds for different ammo. So you’re not dependent on just what you’ve been hoarding and you don’t have to go out there and buy multiple guns…

Get a nice crossbow (and bow) and get proficient at it – get to know the ins and outs of the gear and become an accurate shooter (in case you may come across some gear on your travels). To hunt without sound may be important in some circumstances, but when it comes down to it, you’ll have a hard time finding bolts in a survival situation – once you’re out, you’re out. Bullets will be much easier to come by – and you can always reload yourself. So think on it a bit before going all out one way or the other…
In any situation, while hunting, always strive for conservation of ammo/bolts – one shot, one kill. Every resource is finite – whether ammo or bolts, which will be easier to come across and/or trade for 6 months down the line? A year…? …and so on…. Don’t “hope for” or “wish for” in your estimate – be realistic in your local area (or the area you have picked for your “site/s” or “home base”)….

How remote are you? Do you know anyone? Do you have a group of folks with you? Are they close? Do you know the back roads? Are there any? The more remote you are the farther you’ll have to travel for resources – the distance between the two point equals more “points of potential peril” as it increases…

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!  Do not be one of those “Ready…. Fire! Aim…” people – do not fire before aiming.  Look it up and ask questions (Ready), Think and Test (Aim) and then purchase (Fire)…. Get to know your gear well.  Have an alternate plan if it goes down.  Keep it simple.  The less tech you depend on the better.  For every step, plan three ways out/through an obstacle – and so on, and so one, and so on.  Three is one, two is none…

Big Government, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Brick & Mortar Media, Big Oil…

It all connects…

Big Tech captures everything you click on, everything you roll your mouse over and everything you type on your keyboard and they sell it to anyone with the money to buy that data.
Big Pharma colluding with the Government, Big Tech and the Brick & Mortar Media as if they were their own personal marketing firms.
Government colluding with Big Tech and Brick & Mortar Media on the information you are allowed to read or watch.
It’s so pervasive that we don’t even notice it – it has become our new normal…

All of these themes have one thing in common – they want to centralize everything. Centralization, in all cases, is about one thing – the few can control the masses through any given resource. They want to own your access to history, information, food, water, electricity, fuel and all goods and services you buy. They want to own the farms, the ranches, the supply chain, the companies you work for, the colleges you go to, the bank you use and they want to own the land you build your life on… The more they can digitize the easier it is to control debate and dissent – they can simply “delete” anything they want, including your digital profile, bank accounts, home ownership documents, etc…

They need to control everything because the free market doesn’t work in their favor. They no longer have a superior product or service to sell you with decent customer service and a warrantee that has any meaning. Big Tech has done one thing really well – It has bypassed the free market. Instead of good products and services (as well as good ole fashioned customer service) driving the market, algorithms can now get you to buy something you don’t need from a company you don’t trust for a price you can’t afford with no customer service and no warrantee to back any of it up…

…and, Big Tech has gotten us all to this point in an extremely short timeframe…. So short in fact that there really is no such thing as a free market anymore.

Regionalism is a bad word to them. Decentralization is a fighting word to them. A house, neighborhood, small community, small town or small city “Islanding”, or preparing and planning to go into “Island Mode”, goes so far against their plans that they don’t even know how to respond to it.

The ultimate goal of the “bad guys” is to cut off any person, or group of people, from having any potential for self-reliance. They need everyone dependent on them – for everything…

As an American, it’s hard to visualize the American dystopia we could possibly fall in to – but the idea isn’t improbable to me – sad thought is that I can only say that because so many are asleep to the possibility… So many are doing nothing…

My an aboriginal side is actually looking forward to it. We natives may just get our homeland back without much of a fight – whodathunkit…? Yet, as a vet, I don’t want the American Experiment to end – and, I can’t stand the thought that I may have wasted my youth…

Very few actually voted. It’s nice that “The House” looks like it’s moving in another direction, but that’s not enough. There’s still plenty of bad folks out there who won and I simply do not trust them to support and defend the Constitution of the United States…

I’m not saying to live in fear. I’m saying the opposite – I’m saying it is time to stand up (and fight, if necessary) for our Constitutional Rights – NOW. I’m saying it’s time to be LOUD and SPEAK OUT – NOW. I’m saying that IT IS NOT OVER and we have to keep ALL OF IT from happening – NOW…

We do not have time to live in fear and do nothing. Doing nothing will barely give you time to tuck your head between your legs to kiss your ass goodbye. We need to do something – NOW!

There’s not too many “Islanders” out there – but we should all be prepping for “Island Mode” at least a little. A good start would be to prep for the scenario of no electricity – if electricity goes down then you will have:
no Internet from service providers,
no water from the water companies,
no gas at the gas stations,
no supply chain for resupply of goods,
no refrigerators working,
no TV’s working,
no cellphone service,
no stores able to take anything but cash or trade and
no charging for any electrical device.

When it comes to the physical aspects of prepping, the thing you need to realize is that YOU need to be able to do all of it yourself. Each individual with you should be able to do it all themselves as well. Every individual in your party should know how to do everyone else’s “job”. This does not happen overnight – start training now. Don’t wait to find out who can’t walk quietly or pull the trigger while hunting – or who doesn’t have it in themselves to gut, skin and clean for dinner – these are things you should know now. Don’t wait to find out the ammo you loaded blows your barrel or the fishing gear you bought doesn’t work. Things YOU want to work on to prep yourself and your family:

• Get off the electrical grid and all other “centralized resources”. Whether you get solar, wind or turbine power – start now and get it up and running. You want to know how to run it and fix it yourself and you’ll want spare parts NOW while you can still get them. Do not expect this to run forever! Batteries die. Electrical components rust. As you’re getting this up and running, keep in mind that you need to learn to live without…
• Find and/or create your own water supply and make a way to clean the water from it so you can drink it – if you can find a small solar desalination machine “there’s a few big oceans out there”. Electrical pumps are great until they go down, or you lose electricity – plan a way to gather water without electricity…. Do YOU have a manual pump? Do YOU know how to install and fix it? Do YOU have spare parts? Do you know how to start a fire and have something to boil water in?
• Have your own food sources close to home – meats, fruits, vegetables – that can sustain a given population for “the duration” – whatever that may be…. Do YOU hunt? Do YOU fish? Do YOU have a small ranch? Do YOU have a small farm? Do YOU have a pool of tilapia in your backyard? Do YOU have bees?
• Learn how to store foods without electricity – canning, salt, etc…
• Gear up for movement in case you need to leave your “home base” for other resources – go bags, hunting and fishing gear, horses, etc. Be conservative with resources – they are finite – once you are out, you are out. Don’t load too much gear on your way out – you need room for what you bring back…
• Create local markets for trade in goods and services so you’re are not dependent on anything outside your local areas – in todays world, banks and credit cards would have no relevance to any system without electricity or the Internet…
• Pay everything you owe off, so you owe nothing to no one and own what you have – and keep the literal (as opposed to digital) paperwork to prove it…
• Get rid of all your credit cards…
• Pull your money out of the system and buy gold and silver coins for trade for when/if it is needed – coins fit in your pocket and are easy to hide when not on your person. Silver is better for bartering because it is worth less – for one Troy ounce silver coin you can buy/trade for everyday items – so you may want to buy more silver coins than gold. Gold coins are worth considerably more so they are good for “sitting on” or paying for something large – such as a horse. Gold and silver will always go up in value (usually quicker than the interest rate at the bank), so (in the meantime) if you need to trade some in for hard cash you can always do that as well…
• Get use to living without your digital devices. Start out by spending one day a week unplugged. Work it up to only using when absolutely necessary. If you have to go in to “Island Mode” none of these devices will be necessary – and they will be nothing but a drain on the resources you may need for food storage or cooking…
• Stock up on medical supplies. You may not be a doctor, but if you need one it doesn’t hurt to have the gear they need to work with – medical supplies, if you have an abundance, may also be good items to barter with if needed…
• Stock up on books. ALL types of books. Everyone will need something to do in their downtime – and they may also give you something to barter with at some point…

Do not live in fear and do nothing – prepare. The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war…

My hope is that no one, while alone in their own thoughts a year or two from now, will ever be able to think to themselves the following:

First they came for the scientist, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a scientist
Then they subverted the scientific method, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a practitioner
Then they subverted political debate, and I did not speak out
– because I was not “political”
Then they came for our digital profiles, and I did not speak out
– because I didn’t think I had one
Then they subverted social media debate, and I did not speak out
– because I was not on social media
Then they came for our right to petition the government, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a protestor
Then they came for our religious freedoms, and I did not speak out
– because I wasn’t “religious”
Then they restricted “non-essential” workers, and I did not speak out
– because I was an “essential” worker
Then they came for the landlords, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a landlord
Then they restricted “non-essential” small businesses, and I did not speak out
– because my business was “essential”
Then they suppressed data, and I did not speak out
– because the mass media said it wasn’t relevant
Then they subverted informed consent, and I did not speak out
– even though I did not consent
Then they came for the doctors, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a doctor
Then they came for the emergency responders, and I did not speak out
– because I was not an emergency responder
Then they came for the farmers, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a farmer
Then they came for the ranchers, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a rancher
Then they came for the truckers, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a trucker
Then they came for the students, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a student
Then the intolerant went after the intolerant, and I did not speak out
– because I was tolerant
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me

None of us can live up to our principles. It truly is easier to fight for them than to live up to them – but to do neither? So many have woken up – yet are still silent – after all this, still silent…. I’m not saying everyone has to shout from the rooftop, but to not have “the conversation” with people you care about…? To not have the debate at all…? To be so afraid of offending someone…?

At this point, I hope you go out there and vote…. Please vote…. You don’t have to tell anyone who you voted for – you don’t have to tell anyone that you voted – but please go do it…

What we (individually or societal) think, feel or believe rarely makes it into the history books – what we do with what they think, feel or believe is what defines us in history – DO SOMETHING