3 New sites for you to get valuable information from

from American Preppers Network by APN

Here are 3 New sites that we've developed for you to get free information from. Follow them just as you would any other blog for updates.

The first is How To Make... This is rapidly becoming an ultimate free recipe site. Find the recipes you want and feel free to copy them. In addition to recipes, in the future we plan to add more information and eventually develop into a "How-To" site that will allow you to search a wide range of topics ranging from recipes to do-it-yourself and homemade projects. Have a favorite recipe or do it yourself project that you'd like to contribute? Simply email us at americanprepper@yahoo.com to have your article posted along with a link back to your site. When you submit an article for posting you also get 2 free James Stevens E-books.

The second is CheesePress.net If you love cheese, then follow this site to learn how to make the best homemade cheese possible. MMpaints will guide you through the steps to help you learn to make your own cheese using a homemade cheese press.

The third site is How To Survive... Follow this site to learn how to survive virtually any type of disaster imaginable. New disasters added each week.

By supporting and following these sites you also help to support APN.

If You Drive a Car, Read This (It Will Save a Child's Life)

Image via Wikipedia

from Code Name Insight by Code Name Insight

Today was the second time in a little over a week that a child was killed in our area by a family member who backed over them in their car. This type of thing happens every spring and summer and it is a tragedy for everyone each time it happens--for the child, the driver, the family, the EMS and LE responders, neighbors, etc.
When the weather gets warm, children are outside and they really don't care much where they play, they are just happy to be outside playing. Kids don't consider that people in cars can't see them. Kid's don't consider that playing in the driveway could be unsafe. Kid's don't make it a point to alert drivers to their location so that the driver will not make the mistake of driving over them. So, it is up to driver to take precautions in order to not have such a tragedy happen to them. These include:

• Backing into your parking space. I do this out of habit for a few reasons, one of which is that when I am driving towards a parking space, I have the opportunity to see the surrounding area and note if children are present or not before I start backing in. Obviously if there are children running around near where I am going to park, I will ensure they are out of the way before backing in. This tends to be safer then pulling into a parking space then backing out when I am ready to leave.
• I walk completely around my vehicle before getting in and leaving. Yes, the neighbors probably think I am daft and wonder what I am looking for, however it is a good habit to get into, again, for a couple of reasons, one of which is to ensure that there are no children/bikes/toys/animals/etc. in front of or behind my vehicle.
• I try to know where people are when I leave my home. Obviously you can't account for neighbor kids, but knowing exactly where your own family members are when you leave can help ensure that they aren't somewhere that they aren't supposed to be (also taking a moment to say goodbye or hug each family member before you leave home is a good thing to do in case you never see them again, but that is a different post...).
• When the kids were younger we had strict rules about where they could play (absolutely not in the driveway) and what happened to their stuff if they left it laying around, again, specifically not in the driveway (we may have been the only family that impounded bikes, skateboards, and any other items we found left laying in the driveway or road in front of our house).

Doing these few things only takes a minute or two extra each time you leave your home and could save a life. With the size and design of most cars these days, there is absolutely no way to see anyone--child or adult-- if they happen to be sitting (and in some cases even standing) behind your vehicle. I have seen these tragic accidents happen too many times over the years. The consequences for the person who drives over and kills a child (as well as the rest of the family) are too numerous to define. Suffice it to say there is no "getting over" the death of a child--siblings are impacted literally for the rest of their lives, marriages more often than not tend to dissolve after such tragedies, depression, post traumatic stress, and even suicides are not uncommon results of these kinds of accidents. A couple extra minutes of your time can help ensure that such a tragic accident doesn't happen to you or a loved one.

pressure canning unit # 3

from Preparing Can Make You A Threat - When SHTF - A Modern Day ... by RONSERESURPLUS

Hello all, RON L here - SERE SURPLUS

OK, we have covers all one can do with Hot Water canning and it's advantages and Limitations! Now, Lets talk about pressure canners and what they are made for, How do we prepare them for use and what sorts of foods we can use this to can with, shall we?

1. Preperation Please refer to the Pics Listed to see what I'm talking about? Preperations, as in with the How water Canner, we need to start with a Hot Cleaning with a few drops of Bleach as well as anto-bacterial soap or dish washing liquid. Once thoughly scrubed top to Bottom set out to dry!

2. Components of the Pressure canner!

Canner main Body, top and Weight, see seal under the lid! - See Pic #1-2-3



1. Individual parts of the pressure canner
a. Pot
b. Top cover
c. Rubber Seal
d. Pot screen
e. Pressure Weight or gage




3. Differnt types of Pressure canners

A. Most are seperated into 2 types

1. Pressure canner with gage - These have a Manual or Digital gage that shows internal pot Pressure listed in pounds on gage! Max listing on most pressure cookers is 25 poounds though most are max of 20 pounds. These allow closer observation of your cooking pressure and watch for variations! More ability, but disadvantage of Higher cost and more complexity and more that can fail!

2. Pressure canner with Weight to set pressure - Thids weight has seperate holes to set the weight on top of the top to establih pressure mne is listed as 5, 10 and 15 pounds! These are not only Easier to afford as they are often cheaper but also less parts easier to use and less to fail!


WHATS IT FOR? If Hot water canners are vailble, cheaper and easier to use WHY NEED A PRESSURE CANNER????
The anwser is easy, MANY FOODS AS MEAT, FISH AND LOWER ACID VEGTABLES, SOUPS AND FOODS WITHOUT THE ACID COUNT TO KILL MOLD AND BACTERIA need this Pressure caning method This Pressure system allows water to BOIL at a Higher Temperature seal the jars with greater authority and allows the deadly Botulism to not be alowed to grow! THIS IS NECESSARY FOR NON ACID FOODS, MEAT AND FISH!



ADDITIONALLY, I USE A PRESSURE CANNER TO COOK SOME MEATS AND FOODS TO TENDERIZE THE MEAT AND OR VEGTABLE,S COOK QUICKER AND TO MAKE LOWER GRADE MEATS TASTE BETER AND MARINATE QUICKER! See, It's not all about Just FOOD STORAGE, it's about makng your Life easier and costing you less $!
I have used a Pressure cooker to Cook Cheaper and tougher slabs of meat suck as ELK or Bear or Beef if it's a rougher cut and not as tender meat! If you add marintae to your Pot with the meat the marinate will be forced into the meat injecting flavor as well as making it more tender and better tasting!



PIC # 1


PIC # 2


PIC # 3


PIC # 4


PIC # 5








End of unit 3 (Pressure canning Preperations)

DIY Dry Stacked Concrete Block Shelter

Image via Wikipedia

from Connecticut Preppers Network by APN

From Whisper on our forum

Shelters, My favorite subject. I wanted to write something about stacked concrete block Shelters, insulation and water myths. You don't have to be an expert to build a dry stacked concrete block shelter yourself. The hardest thing would be pouring a footing, which you can either read about how to do this or pay someone.

The way it works is simple compared to other building methods. The web site listed at the bottom of the post recommend using mortar on the first row or two in case the footing isn't level. The rest you simply stack at your own pace, no mortar between the joints. After you start stacking, just use a level to make sure they are going up straight. Then pour your concrete down the center cores with rebar as you go. Check out the site, there's pics and more details.

http://www.drystacked.com/sequence.html

Here are some of the nice things about it. First off, after reading dozens of books on underground homes, green building, corn cob homes, straw bail, rammed earth, earth bags, cord wood...... one of the many things I learned is the worst way to build a home is with wood for many reasons. But the most important one being mass. Energy is stored in mass, whether it's hot or cool. This is why the best material is concrete (although log cabins have mass because they are so thick, you can't really insulate them correctly without loosing the log cabin look...). Concrete is the best material for holding mass although some may argue that rammed earth or earth bags are as effective. I go along with the concrete people.

The second thing that I learned is all about insulating a home/shelter. If you ever heard the term "super insulated home" this is where it came from. Without the insulation, the mass is useless. We have been doing it wrong for the last 100 years! This will be shocking to read if you haven't read it before. All your insulation should be on the outside of your home only. This is whether you are going to build above ground or below. This is also not an opinion but a fact proven by studies at universities. The way it work is simple. If you are producing heat or cool air, the insulation on the outside of the house holds it in. I have read results in the past that stated, if you had insulation on both the inside and outside, it wouldn't be nearly as efficient. I think the best book that I read about it was by the university of Minnesota. But it's packed somewhere.

There have been some myths out on the internet about water and or moisture problems building an underground concrete shelters. Well yeah that's true if you don't water proof it. There are many products out there to do this. I wouldn't go with drylock alone on the outside of an underground shelter. I probably wouldn't use it at all. I've seen it peal. I also had an underground bomb shelter in my last house. It came with the house. I used drylock on the tunnel. It didn't work. I think tar may be the cheapest thing to use, but I know there are far superior products out there.

If you are thinking of building an underground shelter then you have to decide what are you preparing for? Is it to hide? If that's the case then you could go with those underground fiberglass things. In my opinion, that's all there good for. Those companies have spread some of the misconceptions about concrete shelters having water problems. If you want a shelter that can withstand earthquakes, bombs, nuclear fallout or what ever else, concrete is the only way to go. Before you disagree, ask yourself this. How many countries have you heard about making underground shelters out of fiberglass? Give up? The answer is none! (at least that I heard of) OK, how many countries have you heard of that are building underground concrete shelters? Answer: Out of all the countries that I heard about.... All of them. Hmmmm There must be something to it.

OK, I wrote all that to lead up to what I am planning for next year when I move. I plan on building an underground concrete shelter using stacked concrete block. My plan, at this point, unless someone can convince me otherwise, is to have two walls of dried stacked concrete block walls, which I will drill holes in the blocks to connect rebar to both the inside and outside walls. Then pour concrete in-between.

I hope people picked up something on this long winded post. Please share your thoughts on this.




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Backpacking Tips: 7 Uses for the Lowly Trash Bag

from Great Outdoors Information by admin

The term “trash bag” is likely to evoke an image of something of rather lowly status. But, a large heavy-duty trash bag can be very useful in the wilderness. Even though it is designed to be disposable, it is really quite durable and it weighs mere ounces.

Image via Wikipedia

Below I will give some uses for heavy-duty trash bags, you know, the big black lawn and leaf, 42 gallon models.

Use #1: Emergency Rain Poncho: Just cut a hole for your head and two more for your arms. If you cut the hole slightly smaller than the diameter of your head and of your arms and force your head and arms into the holes, you’ll get a snug fit.
Use #2: Emergency Windbreaker Coat: If you need to add one more layer to avoid hypothermia, you can make a windbreaker coat with the same simple instructions for making a rain poncho. It won’t have any sleeves, but it can help keep your torso warm by blocking the wind.
Use #3: Moisture Barrier: You can use a heavy-duty trash bag as a moisture barrier when sitting on wet ground. Or you can use it between your sleeping bag and the damp ground. To double the length of the barrier, just slit the seams on both sides, but not on the bottom.

Use #4: Dry Sack: Store, in the bag, items that you want to make sure will stay dry in a downpour or in a tricky stream crossing.
Use #5: Emergency Backpack Rain Cover: Of course, a rain cover that is made specifically for your backpack will fit best. But, the trash bag will work in a pinch to keep things dry.

Use #6: Makeshift Patches: Using cutouts from a trash bag in combination with duct tape, you can temporarily patch almost anything from a sleeping bag to a tent.
Use #7: Firewood Protector: Store in the bag the precious firewood that you have collected in case the ground is wet or you expect rain. It will be much easier to light an emergency fire if the firewood is kept dry.
There you have seven useful applications for a heavy-duty trash bag in a backpacking setting. I’m sure you could think of more uses to add to the list. With that, I hope the trash bag will see a bit less trashy and somewhat more classy.

by Richard Davidian, Ph.D.

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