Author: Sheila and Dan

If you are waiting for the economic collapse, you’re too  late – it’s already happened.  And it’s TWCTM (Those Who Control the Money) who did it.  They pulled the rug right out from under themselves.   We are living in a world of complete economic fantasy, using numbers that are unfathomable, unconscionable, and  un-repayable.

Those of you who already know this, bear with me for the sake of those who don’t, but here’s a quick primer on big-picture economics in the U.S.:  Congress tells the Treasury that it needs some amount of money.  The treasury asks the Federal Reserve Bank (“the Fed” – a privately held company, not a U.S. Government agency) to print/issue an amount of money.  The Treasury issues Treasury  Notes (a.k.a. T-Bills) to cover that amount of money and these Notes are sold to other countries who are, in effect, loaning us that money until the maturity date of the note.  (Lately, though, other countries are less than enthusiastically buying up our T-bills.  The biggest purchaser is now the Fed, themselves.)
Continue reading “The Illusion Laid Bare”

Tell me what actual benefit you receive from living the “normal” lifestyle –  a 2 hour commute to work each day, spending 8 hours in a corporate cubicle that removes your individuality and creativity,  to receive a paycheck from which the government has taken its huge and undeserved bite leaving almost enough to cover your bills and expenses –  just so that you can live in the kind of house and drive the kind of car that your friends and relatives think you should live in and be driving.

We all must admit that for some strange reason that we don’t really understand, we feel a profound sense of accomplishment when we get approved for a mortgage, get a new credit card, or get the “big promotion” at work. There is a scene in the movie Brazil, (a version of 1984), in which Michael Palin lifts his mask as he is about to begin torturing Jonathan Pryce and says glibly, “Confess quick – you don’t want to ruin your credit rating!”   We strive, we sacrifice health, family, and well-being for the opportunity to be a better slave.
Continue reading “What Are You Holding On To?”

Nine out of  ten people we’ve met who expressed an interest in being a survivalist or prepper,  frankly, did not know their own mind.  Like at the poker table, to win you must either be all in, or don’t bother playing.  You can’t get to home plate if you keep one foot on third base.

Often the problem comes in not with someone’s own head, but with the heads of people they are attached to –  wives, children, mothers, fathers, pets, friends, bosses, mild acquaintances. We could recount endlessly the amount of times we met people who were conflicted by others, who vainly labored at – or sought others to labor at – convincing their son, daughter, dog, cat, minster, rabbi, imam, boss, wife, husband that they should join in the bug-out.
Continue reading “Advice to the Would be Survivalist”

Some people in the scientific community speak of “genetic memory”, also known as racial memory.   This is the way in which a person’s DNA can be permanently altered by external, psychological forces.  This change – and its emotional effect – is then carried forward to the next generations.  There are genetic fears implanted deeply within us by which we are manipulated on a daily basis.  It is also possible to be free of these fears and loosen the controls under which you live.

The purpose of programming fear into the masses of people is to control us – and is it ever effective!  Fear, although it is a very low vibrational force, is an extremely powerful emotion.  It is used extensively in brainwashing programs, because nothing makes the implanting stronger than a good dose of fear.
Continue reading “Fear Itself, Part II – The Power of No”

Our commitment to living the survivalist lifestyle includes living so far off the beaten path as to make a daily commute to work impractical to say the least.  And so, in monetary terms, we have been living on just a few hundred dollars a year.  Someone, not understanding the essence of  survivalism, suggested recently that we “get a job.”  For their sake, as well as anyone else out there who thinks that living a survivalist life means transferring your suburban life to another location, here is my job description and “payment”:

1.  Collect firewood  – Much of this is done by dragging fallen and standing dead pinion, cedar and juniper trees, later to be cut into correct sizes for the wood cook stove and the wood heating stove.

Continue reading ““Get a Job””

America taught the world to be manufacturers. We honored the ingenuity of those who sparked the industrial revolution. We filled our country coast to coast with factories that gave meaningful jobs to the  people.  People who could feed their families till their bellies were overfull and live in a nice place with the wages they were paid.  But we gave it up.

We gave it up by encouraging the factories to leave America behind to set up in other countries with grand tax incentives for leaving their dedicated employees in the lurch.  Gone are the venues of production that gave us a tangible way to dig ourselves out of any economic problem.  We allowed it to slip through our fingers until it was no longer available when we needed it.  We could have stopped it.  We should have stopped it.
Continue reading “What We Gave Up”

If you are reading this on the internet, you obviously follow, quite closely, current events.  You keep up on the latest stories about the steps being taken to ensure war in the very near future, about the latest scam by the Fed to rake in more money for the already too, too wealthy, and about the degradation of our food into poisons ready to encourage every available cancer cell it can find.

You may have heard that high school students in San Antonio, TX are now being required to wear badges which contain an RFID tracking chip.  Yeah, everyone’s heard that already.  But have you heard that a student who requested a religious waiver (based on these chips being the “mark of the beast”) is being harassed – amounting to religious discrimination – by being denied access to lavatories, the cafeteria and full student privileges.
Continue reading “What’s Your HQ (Humanity Quotient)?”

Twenty five or so years ago, when we were wading through heaps of hard-copy books on religions, aliens, secrete societies and such, there were precious few others who understood – let alone would bother to research – what was going on and where we as a society/culture were going.  Basically, people we could talk with about this were few and far between.

In the past 10 to 15 years, we noticed that the number of people who “get it” began to explode exponentially.  This seemed to be the first wave of people who figured out that life as we had become accustomed to it – an affordable house, healthy food, a future for our children – was going to drastically change.
Continue reading “Rising Voices vs. Raised Voices”

On our survivalist web site we get lots of questions from people considering becoming Preppers/Survivalists.  In the course of these contacts we’ve met lots of different types of people and that gives me hope for the future.  We’ve been amazed how many people are waking up, as compared to 25+ years ago – when there was no one we could talk to!

Some people who have contacted us are sincerely looking for information on how to prep, while others are looking for an excuse not to prep.  Then there is another type of person considering prepping. These people remind me of an old story about the Empire State Building.

As the story goes, a man rode the elevator to the outdoor observation platform of the Empire State Building.   Once there, he climbs over the fence and jumps off the platform, 101 stories up.  As he passed their window, people standing at the 50^th floor windows could plainly hear the jumper say, “I’m OK so far!”
Continue reading “OK So Far”

We had no idea when we wrote the past two parts of this article on radio gear for when TSHTF, that they were going to be so very popular.  Most peoples’ concerns are based in the fear that they will loose all contact with loved ones, as well as how to get first hand, unfiltered news.  Having good communication equipment – and knowing how to use it – can put those fears to rest.  Let’s continue to learn how to communicate after chaos has hit, the Internet (and maybe the entire power grid) is down and you want to know what’s going on.

NOTE:  This article is going to be a little more technical than past ones, but if anyone has any questions, please drop us a line at surviving@lavabit.com – we’d love to help if we can.
Continue reading “Communication Items You’ll Want Before TSHTF – Part 3”

I’m sure if you are familiar with the name Nicola Tesla you have read enough articles extolling the genius that he was.  He was the inventor of Alternating Current (AC), the radio (Marconi used Tesla’s plans and experiment notes), florescent lighting, radar, radio controlled boats to name a few of the inventions of this man’s genius. What we are going to talk about today is one of the master’s little noticed inventions, “The Tesla Ground Wave Antenna”, the perfect antenna for the survivalist on a tight budget (and who isn’t!?!?!).

The Tesla Ground Wave Antenna breaks nearly all the rules of antenna theory.  This antenna is very very simple using only a couple of parts, and is extraordinary as a receiving antenna.  Some have also used this as a transmitting antenna, with an antenna tuner for HAM and freebanding.
Continue reading “Thanks to The Genius of Nicola Tesla – A Perfect Antenna for the Survivalist”

Radio Receivers

We own a used Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and recommend it highly.  These were made in the 1990s, but are still “state-of-the-art”.  The CCI radio company sells a clone of this model today. Good used Grundigs can be found on ebay in the $50 to $100 range. The YB400 has some great features: Continue reading “Communication Items You’ll Want Before TSHTF – Part 2”

Having good radio equipment is important for many reasons.  What will you do when there is no Internet?  What will you do when there is no cellphone service?  How will you know what’s going on in other parts of the country, let alone the world?  Radio signals don’t need an intermediary, they just bounce all over the earth and are received by radios.

It’s not even necessary that you transmit (speak) on the radio, but the information you can garner from just listening to others from far away is worth the time it takes to understand how to use a radio.
Continue reading “Communication Items You’ll Want Before TSHTF – Part 1”

Do you sit in traffic on the morning commute trying to get an inch ahead of the next guy, while he’s trying to get an inch ahead of you?  Would you consider fighting someone for a would-be holiday gift on Thanksgiving shopping day?  Do you have to endeavor to keep your work noticed so that you get the promotion instead of your co-worker getting it?  Are you sleepless many nights because your income doesn’t quite cover your outgo?  Are you so used to the dog-eat-dog world that you unconsciously nip at everyone around you?

What happens when  you are confronted with kindness?  Can you shed that persona needed in what you call the “real world” long enough to accept it, much less return it?  Do you take it as a sign of weakness and take advantage of the kind person?  Does kindness confuse you?
Continue reading “Would You Recognize Kindness If You Saw It?”

One in a million spouses, that is, would dare live the survivalist/self-sufficient lifestyle. The thought came to me as I watched my wife, Sheila, sweep the plywood floors of our hacienda style house and thought to myself, how many wives would even consider living this way?  The plywood floors will be replaced next spring with tapped clay floors – and that will present its own challenges – but really, when you break it down, how many of us have a spouse who would even for  minute consider the self-sufficient, minimalist life style?  Truth is, maybe 1 in a million.

Just take a look at survivalist single sites.  It’s mostly men looking for a woman to share their cabin in the wilderness with. Women have a nesting instinct (nothing sexist in that remark, it’s just a truth of physiology) and usually seem to know exactly what they want.  Men also know exactly what they want.  Regrettably, the two seldom find common ground.
Continue reading “One in a Million”

You should have seen us when we wore Rolexes^TM, big diamonds and the latest fashions.  You should have seen our 3000 sq. ft. house that required a full-time housekeeper and gardeners, not to mention the electric, phone and water bills.  You should have seen my long, weekly manicured fingernails and perfectly coiffed hair.  You should have seen the Cadillacs we drove.   It was the image of monetary wealth – unfortunately, all too often confused with real value.

You wouldn’t have known we were people who could be happy in a 1 bedroom cinderblock house in which we must keep a fire going in order to stay warm.  That is, of course, unless you chose to look under the surface.  All that opulence never impressed us, even though it was never bought on credit but with money we had worked our buns off to make.  It was just a tool we used to get ourselves to our goal – a self-sufficient, off-grid survivalist retreat.
Continue reading “Confusing Money for Value”

Regardless of how many #10 cans of “just-add-water-ready-to-eat” stuff you have, at some point you’re going to have to learn to use a kitchen in much the same way as your granny, or your great-granny, did. So we’ve put together this list of 38 essential kitchen items for any survivalist.

1. Matches – If you don’t smoke, why on earth would you need matches? But if we’re going to learn to cook like granny, for most of you that would include cooking on top of a wood heat stove, or on a wood cook stove with an oven. I know there are ways to start a fire with a magnifying glass, some straw and some kindling, but believe me, matches are easier. If you’re really good at starting and keeping a fire throughout the 3 daily meals, you could use as little as 1 match a day. If you’re not, 20 may not be enough. We have found that the most economical matches are book matches, like you get with a pack of cigarettes. They come in a box of 50 books, 20 matches per book, for about $1.50 in many stores. That’s a lot of lights for cheap. Wooden kitchen matches go for about $3.50 for 250 matches. See the difference?
Continue reading “38 Must Have Kitchen Items for Any Survivalist”

September is “National Preparedness Month”.  The one thing left out of all the hype for this new “celebration” (yes, I’ve read an ad on a alternative news web site  that said “Celebrate [9/11] with a 20% discount…”) is, for how long do you need to be “prepared”?  You have to understand that you cannot buy enough toilet paper to save your ass.

Say you’re one of the smart ones who has been prepared for whatever is coming down the pike to survive through.  You’re already set up in a remote location, gotten your dwelling built,  and you have separated yourself and your family from “normal society (the system)”.   You’ve been studying and experimenting with gardens, but haven’t perfected the art yet.  You haven’t had a need for money in a year or two, because  you’ve been living off your well-stocked larder for that time.  Suddenly, and seemingly all at once, things in that larder begin to run out.  Now what do you do???
Continue reading “Running Out – A Prepper’s Worst Nightmare”