Why do I do This?

The fundimental Question was asked of me today -Why?- ... Why do I do anything?
My answer was "There is maddness in my method and method in my maddness. There is also maddness in my maddness, but there is method too" This was in response to my girlfriend asking me why I had a bunch of plastic containers of water behind my trailer, in my backyard. I explained I was testing them and I gathered some data I found interesting. The semi-clear or as I call them frosted plastic jugs break down faster than the same size jugs that are solid. The totally clear containers also faired very well.
I read hundreds of books and websites on survival and related material and I try out some of the stuff I read. I would like to know by trying out something, which method works or works better instead of waiting till an actual emergency happens.


Here is my short list of the types of plastic containers I would prefer to use to store water in if I had to store it outside.


First choice- solid plastic

Second choice- clear plastic

Third choice- frosted plastic


There are ceramic and glass jars and if I wanted to stretch my imagination, metal jars(tin cans)I could use but I prefer plastic for that application.

I need to stop this blog for tonight. In the middle of it my neighbour pounded on my door to tell me I was in danger from the big horse-chestnut tree next door, which has cracked and a large limb has already hit my garage. I am making preparations for evac and I need to sleep as well. The storm is dieing down and it is almost 2:30 am. my time.

Night all.
Michael.

Over A Barrel!

Ever heard that expression? We are living it as I type this. I don't know how bad it is in the U.S., but up here in Canada we are getting hit with huge increases in gas prices. The irony was brought home to me last night when some people were late for a Green Party meeting I attended because they had to wait in line to buy gas. Rationing has not started yet but it will and soon.
I do not drive a car or truck,yet this affects me almost as much as everyone else. My girlfriend just upgraded(downsized) her car since the old beast she was driving finally bit the dust. It was a boat! We hauled alot of stuff in that car since it had a big-ass trunk and a larger engine to take the loads. Her new car is smaller with a smaller engine and still a fair size amount of space to haul stuff. She got it just as the gas prices spiked to $1.25+ Canadian/litre.
Here is my short list of things to have for your vehicle.
A locking gascap!
An extra portable tank to fill up in between the spike prices.
CAA or AAA card.
Extra passengers helpping to pay your gas.
A trunkload of patience and humour!

That is it as far as this list is going to go for this post.

We cannot blame Katrina for all our troubles. We need to share the blame on getting ourselves in a mess by being totally dependant on one source of fuel to drive our economy. That is foolish and shortsighted ( a short form definition of most governmental and corporate policies). WeMUST develop hydrogen and other alternative fuels. From the way I see it we must do it NOW! That is the end of my rant for today, thank you for listening. If you have any comments, feel free to vent them here.

Michael J. Kaer , President of Kaer Enterprises (.com) and
www.mikesworms.com
one of my other blogs are at http://kaerpackage.blogspot.com
Contact me at michaelkaer@yahoo.ca

Hurricane Katrina

In the richest country in the world it took days to get to the people in New Orleans. I think that proves the point that most of these survival sites have been advocating for decades. In my research for my latest book I searched thousands of pages with people giving their knowledge or questions to be answered going back to the days of BBS posts.

Bug-out kit

This is the name used the most for the knapsack or gym bag filled with the most needed items to get through 3 days to a week. In it the suggestions list water, food and clothing as well as a good book and a deck of cards as the most needed items. Other suggestions are photocopies of all your important papers, credit cards and ID placed in a waterproof bag. If you lose everything, at least you have valid back up numbers to phone and get new ID and credit cards to where ever you get settled.

Water - 4 litres (about a gallon) a day per person

Food - 2000 calories per day per person, ready to eat (MRE's would be perfect for this)

Clothes- a change of clothes plus extra socks and underwear and extra shoes.

I would add a camping blanket and a small pillow as well as a piece of plastic or an emergency blanket ot 2. I would also add a swiss army knife, a can opener and a note pad (and pen) to write things down.

I am working on getting my kit together, but in the end it is going to weigh a ton. How much does 12 or more litres of water(3 gallons) weigh?(12 kilograms or 26.5 pounds!) Most people have it ready to toss in the car, but I would make it so it is easy to carry on foot. Cars break down or can't be used for several reasons.

I have a flashlight that has a radio built in and it can run on a built in solar panel, or a built in generator or regular "AA" batteries. That would be my choice as far as lights and radio equipment go. I have seen ones that has a shortwave radio as well as AM and FM that have the other features (minus the solar panel). That maybe the better choice in the long run. For now I will stick with what I have and upgrade if and when I can.

Single mothers or fathers with kids will have to make extra allowances and carry more since little ones can't carry 25+ pounds for long periods of time. I am modifying a golf cart to be able to carry extra and in a pinch could be used as a pole to drape the plastic over to make an emergency shelter. I am thinking way ahead!

I have more details in my book which will be ready for sale soon. The writing part is done, now it has to be proofed and the format converted to .pdf and images inserted.

Till next time...

Michael J. Kaer

President of Kaer Enterprises (.com)

and

www.mikesworms.com

michaelkaer@yahoo.ca

What $75 can buy!

I just spent under $75.00 Canadian on mostly emergency groceries along with some milk, munchies and cheese. Here are the supplies I got.

1- 8kilo bag of long grain rice, 1-8kilo bag calrose rice (short grain-so I can make sushi!)

4 cans carrots, 4 cans peas, 4 cans corn, 4 cans mushrooms, 4 cans chicken noodle soup, 4 cans creme of mushroom soup, 2 tins flakes of ham, 2 tins flakes of chicken, 2 cans flakes of turkey, 5 bags of soup mix(pot barley,yellow and green split,yellow and green whole,green lentils and bean mix)( each bag makes about 12 cups of stew), 2- 400 gram bags of instant noodles, a 2 kilo bag of kidney beans, a 2 kilo bag of chick peas, 6-1.5 litre bottles of water, 2 cans of apple juice and a kilo tin of coffee.

All that (except the bottles of water) fit a 2 foot x 16inch x 16inch or metric 61 x 40 x 40 cm rubbermaid container with a lid. That takes up the tiniest corner of my computer room, under a table which was wasted space. I can make alot of meals with that small outlay of cash. Since I finished the book "What Money Can't Buy" (still not ready for sale- soon I promise) I have been setting aside a few dollars and buying emergency supplies. I have lots of batteries and re-chargers and a couple of working solar panels. I am going to buy many more as soon as possible.

I am going to get 2 back up batteries for the lap top and I already have an inverter to plug the laptop into when power goes down. I would like one of those foot pumped generators, but every time I have gone to the website , they are not in stock. I could make my own. A treadle sewing machine could be used to generate some small amount , as could a stationary bicycle. Wind generators will not work on my property since I am surrounded by tall trees.

It is that time of the year to put my order in for about 100 pounds of bee's wax. I just finished a small order of tea lights and I am using up all the left over wax I have, including parafin. I made 10 hobo stove fuel cells while I was working on the other order. If you do not know what hobo stoves are and the fuel cells I am talking about, Email me at my private email address michaelkaer@yahoo.ca . It is all in the book but you can't get it yet, so I will send you an email explaining it.

Thanks. Michael J. Kaer

www.mikesworms.com

www.kaerenterprises.com

www.kaerenterprises.com/3Q4U.htm