Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I am sooooo going to get one of these:

They have them on eBay all the time. When I was a kid, all the big concrete buildings had these signs above the doorways and garageways. The idea was that back in the 50’s and 60’s, the Civil Defense office sent engineers and architects around to look for buildings that would be suitable as fallout shelters for the populace. (This was an economical alternative to building dedicated facilities.) Any place that was big enough and had enough concrete was designated a fallout shelter. One of these signs was slapped up on the side of it and it was stocked with water, sanitation supplies, food (of sorts) and sometimes even medical equipt. Naturally all that stuff has rotted away but there are intrepid urban archeologists who hunt this stuff down.

When I was in the NY public schools, every school was a fallout shelter….this was back in the 70’s and by then I remember that the garbage cans were actually old CD water storage barrels. Apparently the supplies had disintegrated to the point they were thrown out but the water barrels were still usable as garbage cans. I guarantee you, though, there are probably thousands of various pieces of old CD supplies still sitting in public garages, basements of city buildings, and in other places.

Fascinating stuff…one of the things Im going to do while Im back east is look at some of the buildings as I go by them and see if any still have the old fallout signs on them.

I am sooooo going to get one of these:

They have them on eBay all the time. When I was a kid, all the big concrete buildings had these signs above the doorways and garageways. The idea was that back in the 50’s and 60’s, the Civil Defense office sent engineers and architects around to look for buildings that would be suitable as fallout shelters for the populace. (This was an economical alternative to building dedicated facilities.) Any place that was big enough and had enough concrete was designated a fallout shelter. One of these signs was slapped up on the side of it and it was stocked with water, sanitation supplies, food (of sorts) and sometimes even medical equipt. Naturally all that stuff has rotted away but there are intrepid urban archeologists who hunt this stuff down.

When I was in the NY public schools, every school was a fallout shelter….this was back in the 70’s and by then I remember that the garbage cans were actually old CD water storage barrels. Apparently the supplies had disintegrated to the point they were thrown out but the water barrels were still usable as garbage cans. I guarantee you, though, there are probably thousands of various pieces of old CD supplies still sitting in public garages, basements of city buildings, and in other places.

Fascinating stuff…one of the things Im going to do while Im back east is look at some of the buildings as I go by them and see if any still have the old fallout signs on them.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I refuse to make a post that is solely a stupid little quiz, so let me throw some Zero-ness out there first.

Im leaving town tomorrow for a week of R&R back east. Normally, I think of a trip back east like walking into a building burning: its gonna fall down around my ears, its inevitable, I just just hope it doesnt happen while Im there.

Things here in the Treasure State have calmed a little…the fires seem a bit less these days since I can actually *see* the mountains today. Moral of the story: any remote hideaway is going to have to be as fireproof as possible and have its own dedicated firefighting equipt.

One of the Standing Orders to the other LMI is that if the apocalypse occurs while Im out of town, they are to come by my place and take all my gear and stash it at their location for me so the rampaging hordes dont get it. I so did not spend all that money, time and planning to equip a bunch of urban mutants.

Man, I hate travelling….I loathe the idea of being a zillion miles away from my fortified little home. Getting trapped in an airport for days is the biggest concern. But, I suppose if it got really, really bad I could mug a cop, take his gun, commandeer a vehicle, and work my way to a defensible location somewhere.

===========

I refuse to make a post that is solely a stupid little quiz, so let me throw some Zero-ness out there first.

Im leaving town tomorrow for a week of R&R back east. Normally, I think of a trip back east like walking into a building burning: its gonna fall down around my ears, its inevitable, I just just hope it doesnt happen while Im there.

Things here in the Treasure State have calmed a little…the fires seem a bit less these days since I can actually *see* the mountains today. Moral of the story: any remote hideaway is going to have to be as fireproof as possible and have its own dedicated firefighting equipt.

One of the Standing Orders to the other LMI is that if the apocalypse occurs while Im out of town, they are to come by my place and take all my gear and stash it at their location for me so the rampaging hordes dont get it. I so did not spend all that money, time and planning to equip a bunch of urban mutants.

Man, I hate travelling….I loathe the idea of being a zillion miles away from my fortified little home. Getting trapped in an airport for days is the biggest concern. But, I suppose if it got really, really bad I could mug a cop, take his gun, commandeer a vehicle, and work my way to a defensible location somewhere.

===========

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

One of the interesting side-effects of being Commander Zero is that you have to learn tons of stuff. Stuff that, at times, seems exclusive to the other stuff. Things Ive had to learn so far include rappeling, knot tying, advanced first aid, CPR, camp cooking, canning, dehydrating food, purifying water, basic electronics, basic ham radio, cryptography, map reading, UTM coordinate system, bicycle repair, ammo manufacturing, improvised munitions, gardening, food preservation, butchering, principles of shortwave radio, small unit tactics, home economics, etc, etc, etc. I mean, its an endless list…. probably the biggest thing Ive had to learn is strategic thinking/planning.

Things still to learn? Welding, bulldozer/backhoe operation, more radio operations, EMT/first responder course, more electronics, carpentry, plumbing, livestock management, etc, etc.

Fortunately the internet has been very very good to me in terms of helping me find reference material. All the books Ive needed Ive been able to track down and, lemme tell you, that fills up a bookshelf pretty quick. But, as Ayn Rand said “Mans primary tool of survival is his mind”. Knowledge is power and all that….which I firmly believe. So..back to updating my Amazon wish list with books and guides and handbooks and tech manuals….

One of the interesting side-effects of being Commander Zero is that you have to learn tons of stuff. Stuff that, at times, seems exclusive to the other stuff. Things Ive had to learn so far include rappeling, knot tying, advanced first aid, CPR, camp cooking, canning, dehydrating food, purifying water, basic electronics, basic ham radio, cryptography, map reading, UTM coordinate system, bicycle repair, ammo manufacturing, improvised munitions, gardening, food preservation, butchering, principles of shortwave radio, small unit tactics, home economics, etc, etc, etc. I mean, its an endless list…. probably the biggest thing Ive had to learn is strategic thinking/planning.

Things still to learn? Welding, bulldozer/backhoe operation, more radio operations, EMT/first responder course, more electronics, carpentry, plumbing, livestock management, etc, etc.

Fortunately the internet has been very very good to me in terms of helping me find reference material. All the books Ive needed Ive been able to track down and, lemme tell you, that fills up a bookshelf pretty quick. But, as Ayn Rand said “Mans primary tool of survival is his mind”. Knowledge is power and all that….which I firmly believe. So..back to updating my Amazon wish list with books and guides and handbooks and tech manuals….

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

This is the kit I carry with me most of the time in my backpack. The case is a very, very handy ‘utility pouch’ from Outdoor Research. OR makes some nice gear and Ive been quite pleased with their stuff over the years. (I am expecially enamored with their Gore-Tex boonie cap.)

The case folds out into a roll that has plenty of pockets. Theres also a zippered see-through mesh compartment for small stuff. Couple lashing points on the exterior for a sling, keeper, strap or sliding onto a belt. Nice piece of gear.

The Browning is to show comparitive size. Actual dimensions are..uhm..lets see….2″x6″x10″..approx.

Handy enough to fit in my backpack without taking up too much room. I was originally using a hard plastic box but it took up too much space and wasnt flexible enough in terms of how items could be kept in it. I knew I was looking for something very much like what I have now and only got this case just last week. Only thing Id change is to put some ALICE webbing on the outside to allow attachment to my other gear or to allow attachment of small pouches or accessories.

first aid kit pics

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Someone asked about first aid kits. Theres a school of thought that says you should only pack in a first aid kit things that you know how to use, and that if you pack things you *dont* know how to use you will wind up using them inappropriately and cause harm to someone.

I think thats a well-intentioned and incredibly stupid arguement.

Because I dont know how to use something doesnt mean there wont be someone around who will. For example, we frequently read of car accidents where the victim was saved by a nurse or doctor who was driving home and saw the accident. Same thing. If I keep, say, some sutre material or that sort of thing in my kit, *I* may not know how to use it but the doctor or nurse or paramedic who wound up hunkering down in the subway tunnel with me will.

Onto the issue at hand…

I have no less than a half dozen first aid kits of varying degrees of complexity. Theres one at home which is pretty complete, one at the shop, and one I carry around in my backpack. There are four more, as complete as my home one, in the bunker…each of those four exactly identical.

Heres whats in the one I carry around in my bag:
Assorted sized band aids up to the 2″x3″ and 4″x4″ size inc. finger bandages, eye bandages, etc.
1″x2″ gauze pads
2″x2″ gauze pads
4″x4″ gauze pads
4″x4″ sponges
1.5″ rolled gauze
2″ rolled gauze
two rolls of waterproof tape
’single serving’ packets of aspirin, ibuprofin, acetominiphon and Tylenol
2″ compress bandages
‘ketchup packet’ sized ’single serving’ packets of Neosporin and Bactine antiseptic wipes
Butterfly closures
Military compress bandages
Burn gel, again, in the handy single serving packets
Xacto knife and blades
Tweezers
Two pair sterile latex gloves
Alcohol wipes

In the one at home/shop, its more of the above, in larger quantities as well as:
Bottle of Betadine
Bottle of alcohol
Bottle of hydrogen peroxide
Bottle of sterile water
Disposable instant ice packs
Disposable instant heat packs
Elastic bandages
SAM splint
Sutures and sutre holders
Various OTC pain relievers and anti-inflammatories
Theres more to the kits at home but I cant think of them right now…

When I go to the supermarket I usually keep a small list in my bag of what I have in the various kits and then I can know what I need to get. For example, I picked up 16 Bactine antiseptic wipes, each in a sealed packet, and divvied them up between the kits.

These arent complete by any stretch…the book “Where There Is No Doctor” tells you everything you need to know to fix most minor stuff..inc. dosages and applications of prescription meds. The back of the book is unbelievably handy for when your scrounging through a looted pharmacy and need to know what meds are worth salvaging and which arent. Its definitely the “If you can only have one book..” book.

Probably the best reference for how to stock a kit , that Ive found, is in Wilderness Medicine by Forgey.

As I said, my standard is to imagine if I tumbled off my mountain bike into a pile of deadfall, fell off the side of cliff, escaped from a building collapse or that sort of thing…what would I need right then right now to get me up and running again and at the same time minimize my chances of infection or further damage? If I had access to them, I’d also include lidocaine, syringes, better suture material, antibiotics, anti seizure meds, muscle relaxants, and a host of other meds that are ‘prescription only’.

For my needs (current and projected) I think Ive got a pretty solid foundation. I need to take a First Repsonder and EMT course (already took CPR) to really get a solid background in this sort of thing.

Someone asked about first aid kits. Theres a school of thought that says you should only pack in a first aid kit things that you know how to use, and that if you pack things you *dont* know how to use you will wind up using them inappropriately and cause harm to someone.

I think thats a well-intentioned and incredibly stupid arguement.

Because I dont know how to use something doesnt mean there wont be someone around who will. For example, we frequently read of car accidents where the victim was saved by a nurse or doctor who was driving home and saw the accident. Same thing. If I keep, say, some sutre material or that sort of thing in my kit, *I* may not know how to use it but the doctor or nurse or paramedic who wound up hunkering down in the subway tunnel with me will.

Onto the issue at hand…

I have no less than a half dozen first aid kits of varying degrees of complexity. Theres one at home which is pretty complete, one at the shop, and one I carry around in my backpack. There are four more, as complete as my home one, in the bunker…each of those four exactly identical.

Heres whats in the one I carry around in my bag:
Assorted sized band aids up to the 2″x3″ and 4″x4″ size inc. finger bandages, eye bandages, etc.
1″x2″ gauze pads
2″x2″ gauze pads
4″x4″ gauze pads
4″x4″ sponges
1.5″ rolled gauze
2″ rolled gauze
two rolls of waterproof tape
‘single serving’ packets of aspirin, ibuprofin, acetominiphon and Tylenol
2″ compress bandages
‘ketchup packet’ sized ‘single serving’ packets of Neosporin and Bactine antiseptic wipes
Butterfly closures
Military compress bandages
Burn gel, again, in the handy single serving packets
Xacto knife and blades
Tweezers
Two pair sterile latex gloves
Alcohol wipes

In the one at home/shop, its more of the above, in larger quantities as well as:
Bottle of Betadine
Bottle of alcohol
Bottle of hydrogen peroxide
Bottle of sterile water
Disposable instant ice packs
Disposable instant heat packs
Elastic bandages
SAM splint
Sutures and sutre holders
Various OTC pain relievers and anti-inflammatories
Theres more to the kits at home but I cant think of them right now…

When I go to the supermarket I usually keep a small list in my bag of what I have in the various kits and then I can know what I need to get. For example, I picked up 16 Bactine antiseptic wipes, each in a sealed packet, and divvied them up between the kits.

These arent complete by any stretch…the book “Where There Is No Doctor” tells you everything you need to know to fix most minor stuff..inc. dosages and applications of prescription meds. The back of the book is unbelievably handy for when your scrounging through a looted pharmacy and need to know what meds are worth salvaging and which arent. Its definitely the “If you can only have one book..” book.

Probably the best reference for how to stock a kit , that Ive found, is in Wilderness Medicine by Forgey.

As I said, my standard is to imagine if I tumbled off my mountain bike into a pile of deadfall, fell off the side of cliff, escaped from a building collapse or that sort of thing…what would I need right then right now to get me up and running again and at the same time minimize my chances of infection or further damage? If I had access to them, I’d also include lidocaine, syringes, better suture material, antibiotics, anti seizure meds, muscle relaxants, and a host of other meds that are ‘prescription only’.

For my needs (current and projected) I think Ive got a pretty solid foundation. I need to take a First Repsonder and EMT course (already took CPR) to really get a solid background in this sort of thing.