Guest Post by Mac Slavo
The net effect of technology is a mixed bag, with one major side effect:
An entire generation of youth have become inept, largely helpless and dependent upon gadgets and devices that ‘just work’ with no knowledge of how they work. And most have no clue whatsoever about what to do if these high tech things break – or God forbid, if things go “dark” in society.
While the tech revolution of the past few decades has put the tools of innovation in everyone’s reach, many simply aren’t reaching at all for answers. They are waiting to be spoonfed new toys and electronics.
That pretty much makes the future bleak, at least in general outlook.
That’s the general take away presented by Professor Danielle George, who specializes in Radio Frequency Engineering at the University of Manchester in the UK. The Telegraph reported on her warnings:
Young people in Britain have become a lost generation who can no longer mend gadgets and appliances because they have grown up in a disposable world
[…]
under 40s expect everything to ‘just work’ and have no idea what to do when things go wrong.
[…]
Unlike previous generations who would ‘make do and mend’ now young people will just chuck out their faulty appliances and buy new ones.
“We’ve got a lost generation that has grown up with factory electronics that just work all of the time.
And much more is going to waste than just electronic gadgets… it is basically everything.
A University of Missouri study published in 2014 found that sewing, too, was going out the window, and tons of textile waste along with it:
In 2012, Americans created more than 14.3 million tons of textile waste. Much of this waste is due to clothes being discarded due to minor tears or stains–easily repairable damages if the owners have the skills and knowledge to fix them.
The National Defense Resources Council highlighted how some 40% of food is wasted by consumers and dumped in landfills:
Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States. Yet, 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. This not only means that Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year, but also that the uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste… Reducing food losses by just 15 percent would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables.
Pathetic? Unfortunately. And dangerously close to system wide.
We are at a time when most everyone is texting, talking, Twittering and Facebooking constantly with little relevant knowledge about the real world around them.
It goes along with the decline of manufacturing and engineering jobs, American-made goods and an overall loss of skills in a generation oriented towards the services industry and the information age. There has also been a crippling blow to our standards for education, news media and the informed voter, despite more time and money being thrown at all of it.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom. This professor set out to inspire a fresh take on how to repair and repurpose old electronics to inspire new crafts, devices and ways of putting things to work in the post-everything world.
I want young people to realise that that they have the power to change the world right from their bedroom, kitchen table or garden shed.
“Today’s generation of young people are in a truly unique position. The technology we use and depend on every day is expanding and developing at a phenomenal rate and so our society has never been more equipped to be creative and innovative.
Professor George is among those encouraging and sharing so-called “home hacks” – ideas to reconfigure and invent, typically using just a bit of basic knowledge of electronics:
“But there is now a big maker community who are thinking hard about what we do with all of these gadgets. They are remaking and repurposing things.
During the lectures she will also demonstrate how to send wireless messages using a barbeque, control a firework display with a laptop, use a torch to browse the internet, turn a smartphone into a microscope, how to turn a washing machine into a wind turbine, and how Lego can solve a Rubik’s Cube.
Hundreds of websites have emerged in the last few years where users post ideas about home hacks and electronics.
This mentality mirrors the few and the proud who have taken on prepping as a lifestyle… by first recognizing that – at so many different levels – this system is designed to fail and won’t last, and second, by taking steps to prepare for the worst, store supplies, create contingencies and build alternative and makeshift devices to survive and even thrive.
Learning to repurpose and reuse things that are broken, tossed out, or not normally used that way is essential to the survival mentality – at an individual and societal level.
Here’s just one example, from a SHTF commenter using the 1984-inspired handle “Winston Smith”:
Now for a shortwave radio. Most preppers will tell you to buy a good, name brand model. I agree with them but I also know that it is not realistic in the beginning. Instead, I will suggest an unorthodox approach that will let you hear strong international stations for less than $20. Go to E-Bay and find a Kchibo KK-9803 10 band world receiver. Yes, it’s cheap and Chinese but it does actually work. Now, go to Wal Mart (or any other store, for that matter) and buy a metal Slinky. While you are there, get a piece of wire and two alligator clips in the automotive section. Next up, buy a tin of Danish butter cookies (and eat them!). What do you have? Well, you have a Slinky monopole antenna, a receiver that can pull in strong stations like BBC World Service, China Radio International or Voice of Russia and a Faraday cage. To put it all together, stretch the Slinky out as far as it will go while still returning to it’s original shape. This can be done inside a house or in a tree if you have to. Next, attach the wire to the alligator clips and then use the clips to attach one end to an end of the Slinky and the other to the top of the antenna of the radio. Now, you have the ability to hear news reports in English from around the globe. When you are done, wrap the radio in a rag or old tee shirt and place it in the cookie tin. It is now (somewhat) insulated from an EMP. My cookie tin also includes a solar batter charger I got from Harbor Freight and some rechargeable batteries, but that setup was another $15-20. Usually I just run it off of some batteries I got from IKEA for $1.99 a 10 pack.
There is an endless list of skills that are on the verge of being lost to the younger generations that are of direct importance to any prepper making the best of what is on hand or can be found and obtained, particularly in a crisis.
Here are a few helpful resources to start your thinking, doing and recreating:
5 Ways to Make Candles From Household Items
Top 12 Homemade Firestarters For Survival And Camping
How-To Make A Multi Key Utility-Key 18-in-1 Tool
17 Great Ways to Utilize 2-Liter Soda Bottles for Survival
8 Home Security Hacks Every Household Should Learn
SHTF Life Hacks: Secret Prepper Tip List
Candles, Clean Water, Fire, Mosquito Repellant, Solar Oven, Compass and Oil: 7 Survival Life Hacks That Could Save Your Life
And the food waste? Learn to make do, as with other basic skills we need to reclaim.
Rather than waste all that food, put it to good use. Prepper Daisy Luther explains her perspective on the art of “repurposing leftovers.” From scraps, to soup, puree, casseroles, pie and more, there is much that can be done with seemingly unwanted or useless food waste.
If you can serve your family one “freebie” meal per week that results in a savings, for a family of 4, of about $10 – $520 over the course of a year. It doesn’t sound like much until you add it up, does it?
Not all young folks are like this. Went to the local gun store with my son-in-law this morning and upon returning home, we both realized that the truck had a hot brake. It was the left rear, and we determined that the caliper was not releasing. He jacked the truck up, took the wheel off, removed the caliper, got a replacement and put the whole thing back together. I was a big help. Sat my fat ass in the driver’s seat and pressed the brake pedal while he bled the brakes. Ask most young folks if they know how to bleed brakes, or clean a gun(safely), sharpen a knife, butcher an animal, &TC and I’ll bet all you get is a blank stare. They can sit in front of a computer and play video games, that’s about it. Get yer hands dieter? No fuckin way!
Where the heck am I going to get a 35mm film can these days? From my grandpa’s photography set up in the attic, stacked next to the unused daguerretype plates? And the injuns been sending signals for centuries without even using a weber grill, just the fire and a blanket, right? Every real man already knows you can fill up a condom with a gallon of fluid or so.
Back in the day I watched my high school assistant principle bring out a big ass pair of snips with handles longer than femurs to cut off orphaned combination locks. Who knew he could have just appropriated one of the cans under the bleachers? Ah well, back in my day, beverage cans were still made of tin so maybe that didn’t work.
They should have thrown in a good ole hobo stove on that infographic; create heat and/or cook with little more than a coffee can or tin can. Think Billy posted once how to make one.
If it’s not a computer, video game or some piece of iCrap, kids don’t want to know anything about it. I don’t know how they did it but it’s like TPTB stole every bit of curiosity and inquisitiveness from the kids in this country. I’m happy to report that I’m still just as curious about things today as I was when I was a kid. There is almost nothing I don’t want to know about. I used to pester my parents about all kinds of things like how they shell nuts in order to sell shelled nuts or how a steam engine works. My dad knew most of the answers but sometimes he’d play dumb and show me how to find answers or he’d draw or even cobble together a model that explained it. He was always inventing, building or repairing things to save money or make our life easier or better. I’m the same way. I’ve never paid a penny to an appliance repairman, plumber or any other construction trade except for an A/C repairman. I used to to do all my own car repair and maintenance including rebuilding engines and transmission but now I pay someone to do some of the more tedious parts.
Doing these kinds of things is actually fun! Dreaming something up in your mind and then building a working version from “stuff” you have laying around is quite satisfying. There used to be entire magazines dedicated to this kind of thing. Everyone needs a copy of the Boy Scout Handbook. And, DO THESE KINDS OF THINGS WITH YOUR KIDS! Even if you don’t know how, learn and DO together! Both the successes and failures will build character and confidence in the kids and inspire them to try again and take on bigger projects.
I think I’d feel like a prisoner or a failure if I couldn’t do things like this for myself. 99% of the skills I have came with no formal training…….just watching, reading, thinking and trial and error. Those things are all free.
I’m reminded of Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High:
[after Spicoli wrecks Jefferson’s car]
Jefferson’s Brother: My brother’s gonna kill us! He’s gonna kill us! He’s gonna kill you and he’s gonna kill me, he’s gonna kill us!
Spicoli: Hey man, just be glad I had fast reflexes!
Jefferson’s Brother: My brother’s gonna shit!
Spicoli: Make up your mind, dude, is he gonna shit or is he gonna kill us?
Jefferson’s Brother: First he’s gonna shit, then he’s gonna kill us!
Spicoli: Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he’s got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.
I was Spicoli including the stoner part but without the dumbass part.
It’s beyond me how anyone could NOT want to know how to design, build and repair things.
@ AgingAmericanDude
The old aluminum film canisters make awesome little storage containers… you can even make tiny survival kits out of them…
About a year ago or so, I found a guy on Ebay selling a grocery bag full of them for only a couple bucks… I bought all he had. Good stuff.
And the “survival tips”… I’m surprised nobody included the Frito Corn chip as a firestarter… seriously! If you have a bag of genuine Frito corn chips in the pantry, go dig one out. Take it out on the porch and touch a lighter to it… those things burn FOREVER…
By the way… good article…
I just finished mending a pair of winter gloves yesterday. Sprung seams. Twenty minutes with a needle and thread and they’re back in business…
I also darn my own socks. The wife thinks its stupid, but so long as you know how, it’s easy and saves money…
and who was it who raised these kids to be this way ???
enough said
BILLY
I have heard this about the corn chips, must be good for your health also. Do you have a good list to follow for a survival kit? Thanks Bea
And who is it that raised these kids …?…
Enough said
Those survival tips are great! The pic at the beginning of this article showed a Commodore monitor, which brought back memories of my first PC–a Commodore VIC 20!
I always try to keep old stuff working…and usually do, even when I can afford to just junk something and replace it. There’s a satisfaction in repair and re-use.
Everyone should know how to distill moonshine. Just, well, just because. .
@ Bea
What goes in a survival kit? I know it sounds like a cop-out on its face, but “it depends”,…
I mean, you’re wanting a Bug Out Bag? A kit to keep you going after you get shipwrecked? Lost in the mountains? The desert?
Okay… you’re separated from home and have to get back… doesn’t matter where.
The core items for your kit won’t change. That will take up about half the weight. The rest is what you think you might need..
First thing is the mantra “Three is two, two is one, one is none”. Means you need redundancy. Having only one way to start a fire won’t do you any good if it craps out.
The second is “Ounces equals pounds”. Means if you take everything you might need and all your Tacti-cool shit, you probably won’t be able to carry the rucksack.
I can tell you what I did, personally, and you can adjust fire from there…
You don’t want a new bag. The ones you find in places like Dick’s sporting goods are usually in garish primary colors and might as well have a rotating light on top. You will mark yourself as having a nice bag – and what’s inside just might be worth snuffing you for… you want to be the Grey Man.
I bought a used German Gebirgsjäger rucksack. That’s “mountain infantry” to you. They’re sort of a blah green color, tough as nails and generally wear like iron. The used ones look like shit, which is what you want. It’s cover for anyone looking to make a score.
You need water. And a means to filter it. I went with a plain stainless steel water bottle with a screw on lid and a wide mouth. A Katadyn micro filter will keep you going for a long time. It filters damn near everything… downside is that it’s slow. Good alternatives are the British Pattern 58 canteen, etc, as well as the American version…
Food. Usually a 3 day supply of it. You’re wanting stuff high in sugars, carbs and lipids. Lifeboat rations fit this bill. They’re small, dense and nutritious, but they get old after awhile. MRE’s have more variety, but are bulky. They do have the advantage of having stuff like coffee in them…
Fire. At least 3 different ways to make it. Waterproof lifeboat matches, a couple Bic lighters, a fire piston or fire bow, a ferrocerium rod – also known as firesteel. Light My Fire Swedish firesteels are good… I got the big one. Having charcloth is also good. Or scrounged stuff, like tinder fungus or birch bark.
One sheath knife. Carbon steel. Mine’s made by Bark River. A Gameskeeper II. Having a wee sharpening stone attached to the leather sheath is good, too. Like a Randall. I bought a Randall Model 3 for my boy… he got the better knife.
Primary long arm. Standard load out of ammo, plus another 200 rounds in ruck.
Sidearm and full mags, plus 50 extra rounds of ammo in ruck.
I also carry an old school military poncho and poncho liner. If you don’t have time to knock together a shelter, this is almost as good as a proper tent.
To the list, I added either on your person or in your rucksack:
– 100 feet of parachute cord. The genuine article. Not the cheap shit. (also wrapped around knife sheath and for bootlaces)
– An IFAK (individual first aid kit). Know how to use it.
– One forged steel tomahawk. Hammer poll type.
– Sabercut saw.
– One small prybar.
– Small sewing kit.
– Small fishing kit in an Altoids tin.
– One Mini-Maglite, plus spare batteries.
– One micro maglite.
– Couple pair of spare socks.
– Spare skivvies, t-shirt, etc.
– Footpowder.
– Boonie hat.
– Dob kit (contains your personal hygiene stuff)
– 50 feet of duct tape, rolled small.
– Small coil of baling wire.
– Swiss Army knife.
– Leather gloves. Heavy cowhide.
– Lensatic compass. Tritium. Military issue.
– State map, folded up. Plus fresnel magnifier.
– Something to write on.
– Something to write with.
– Half a dozen safety pins.
– Small radio. Can be wind-up or solar powered. Mine runs on AA’s.
– “Green Cravat” (these are general purpose big green triangles of cloth often found in military first aid kits.. can be used for many things – scarf, dust muffle, a sling for a broken arm, making a splint, etc)
– 2 Israeli pressure bandages, plus Quik Clot bandages. (bullets make two holes, most times. One in, one out).
– P40 can opener (bigger than P38)
– One big spoon. Stainless.
– One pair dust goggles.
– 3 chemlites.
You can adjust up or down, but this is basically everything… if colder, add some warm clothing, possibly a wool blanket (rolled up and strapped across the top of the ruck), warm gloves, etc… you know, your sniffle gear…
Everyone wants to focus on the Cool Guy shit like guns, knives, etc… but the shit that will keep you alive is the more mundane shit. Being able to build a fire and stay dry and warm. Being able to feed yourself. Having enough clean, potable water. Knowing where you are going – where you need to go – and staying low and unnoticed.
Wearing some of this stuff, carrying others – like your long gun – and putting the rest in either cargo pockets or your rucksack will distribute the weight evenly. Moving fast and light, and staying out of people’s notice is more important than being loaded down with tons of crap you have to hump all over creation…
There’s other things… like sewing a pocket into the inside of your boonie hat – that’s where you carry your map. Wrapping your knife sheath with paracord. Replacing your bootlaces with paracord. Carrying your charcloth in an aluminum film tin, along with a wee bit of other tinder and perhaps a shard of flint. Peel off the duct tape and roll it on itself to make a tiny roll of 50 feet or so. More…
We can go into all that later on, if anyone cares…
Jebus Krist BILLY I was hoping to fit everything into something the size of a spam can.
Great advice and you are obviously a expert but I’ve packed less than that for a 8 day cruise. LOL
When you said reel cans make a good survival kit, that is where I was going.
Llpoh
I upped you because I think you are right about the moonshine. Could be a hot item in bad times.
Well it is quite an accomplishment that the Sheople have learned to do all that…but it is only one word.
Baaaa.
Everyone should know how to distill moonshine. Just, well, just because. .-llpoh
Yeh, cause I want to go to prison for a decade making one dollar an hour producing rubber dog turds for some chinese company.
Say llpoh do you ship across state lines?
I jest.
@ Bea,
Well, you all weren’t very specific, now were you?
I figured “worst case/total collapse/EMP”, your car is DRT and you’re stuck. It’s getting on dark, rain is falling and so’s the temperature. It won’t snow, but it will be miserable and hypothermia is an issue.
Gotta make it home, so that leaves the old Shank’s Mare… after you build a fire and hole up for the night…
Sorry, but one Altoids tin or an old Kodak 35mm aluminum film canister ain’t gonna get it… If you’re 100 miles from home, it will take you 5 days of humping to get home, and that’s on hardball and in a straight line, with no holdups, delays, injuries or hostiles… making 20 miles a day. I did that when I was 20, and it damn near wasted me. I know you ain’t 20…
Chances are, you’re not gonna be on hardball, or traveling in a straight line. Or making best time. You might make as little as 2 or 3 miles a day. Maybe none, if you’re injured, or slowed down by another member.
Go long, then adjust fire as needed…
@ BILLY
+100 Have saved your list, never thought of having to hike 100 miles to the zombie outpost.
Thanks Again Bea
Bea,
KB – the distilling it is not likely to get you into trouble, for personal consumption, not that Iam reccommending that, you understand. But should a person distill moonshine and sell it, well, that is a whole different kettle of fish.
Hey Bea…
Check this out… these guys operate out of Alaska. If anyone knows survival, these guys do.
This survival kit, if you read the contents, is remarkably similar to what I have listed… one or two differences, and the amounts are different, but all in all, it’s a dead match…
Best Glide ASE Ultimate Adventurer Survival Kit
There’s other good stuff on the site… they even got a nice OD green bag to carry it in… I checked out the dimensions. The above kit will fit, no problems…
Best Glide ASE Zulu Survival Bag
@BILLY
That looks like a decent kit, I think aspirin/pain killer in the first aid items is a good thing. If I were on a long hike at my age I’m SURE I would need first aid before it’s over. HA HA
Did you think their price was fair?
@ Bea,
Hmmm…
Okay, I read the complete list. Some of the things I have in my ruck are the beefier, hell-for-strong versions of what’s in that lightweight kit.
Example: They have a wire saw. I have a SaberCut Saw. The wire saw is exactly what it says it is… and it can be… well, fragile. The SaberCut is literally a hunk of chainsaw chain with two handles. Weighs 6 ounces and rolls up into a tin.
Some other things I’ve found out the hard way. Like, the moleskin being included is awesome… but chances are the bandaids are not the “good” kind… the “good” kind being the “Flexible Fabric” ones. Those FF ones can get wet and they stay on…
“Aspirins”… heh… they’re called “Ranger Candy”. I carried a bottle of them… coated Bayer. The large bottle. Along with other sundries like Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus Medicine (that shit rocks balls, and will keep you rolling all day..). You can have two or three packets of A-SCPM crammed into the bottom of your canteen carrier, under your canteen cup and not even notice them… but you’ll be all “PRAZE DA LAWD!!” when you remember them…
Bottom line? It’s not an awful price for that kit… either one (standard or “ultimate”)… but I would slowly upgrade the contents over time.
Like, they include snare wire. That’s great and all, but if you have parachute cord – the real thing, and not the phony-baloney shit – you can cut a hunk of it off, then pull out the individual core strands. The core strands will do just fine in making snares (provided you know how to tie a knot and actually make a snare), which means you don’t need to hump around the metal version… but, whatever…
Yeah, sure… I’d spring for the kit and the carrier. The plain vanilla OD green one. Then hunt down a military surplus green pistol belt, an issue US quart canteen, plus a canteen cup (so you don’t look like a dork with more than one of those green bags…)…
BILLY
Ever come across a product called a Rocket Stove? I am on the fence but think I might like to keep one at the Lever zombie cabin. Just in case of EMP.
@ Bea,
Yeah, I know what a Rocket Stove is. There are tutorials online showing how to make them out of empty cans. We used to make a version of it we called the Hobo Stove. Basically an empty, unlined can, rinsed out. Use a church key to punch a couple 3 or 4 holes around the bottom edge for air, and make the detached lid into a carburetor of sorts… one of those would boil water, cook food, keep a foxhole warm on a cold night…
I would learn how to make one, and then double down by getting a big ole Dutch Oven…
One thing I thought you might be interested in is something called the Kelley Kettle. The Brits make it, but it’s sold over here. Comes in several sizes, both aluminum and stainless, and has add-on kits. They look really handy.
http://www.kellykettle.com/
Pretty cool, huh?
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That is the shit, thanks for the lead. I will research it tomorrow and I hope the price is agreeable. Rocket stoves are around $150 but they are much larger.