# Teotwawki



## Qwertyportne (Jan 27, 2012)

The attached PDF article is my attempt to condense the tips and survival information I've collected over the years from books (fiction and non-fiction), forums like this one, and my own experience. Hope you all find at least some of it helpful to your preparations...

Bill


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Thanks. Lots of things to think about in there!


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## Qwertyportne (Jan 27, 2012)

Glad you found it interesting. Over 100 views so perhaps others found it worth while as well. I look forward to at least a few specific comments, however, for that is one way we all learn new things and revise the old things we thought we knew...

Bill


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

That is a well layed out guide to prepping, thank you for sharing


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

Good logical lists in there.
Props!


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## Qwertyportne (Jan 27, 2012)

I have always seen myself and my family as independent of other people, their preparations and their response to local emergencies--even ones that require evacuation. I don't need them and in fact fear the average citizen would be a hindrance to my own survival.

But when SHTF on a national or global level, I know my family and I will have to hook up with other like-minded survivors. We will need them. If you have read my take on networking, you have seen my reasoning for preferring to be hooked up before SHTF rather than after. 

Problem is, my criteria is still only on paper. I've never applied it to networking with other survivors in my community because, well, I just don't see much like-mindedness. Perhaps there are others like me who are prepared but wary of letting anybody around them know it.

Bottom line is that I think networking with other prepared people is the most essential element of preparedness. So I'd be very interested in reading what others have done to risk revealing their preparations by getting involved with other preppers.

Thanks,
Bill


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## labouton (Jan 24, 2011)

Qwertyportne said:


> I have always seen myself and my family as independent of other people, their preparations and their response to local emergencies--even ones that require evacuation. I don't need them and in fact fear the average citizen would be a hindrance to my own survival.
> 
> But when SHTF on a national or global level, I know my family and I will have to hook up with other like-minded survivors. We will need them. If you have read my take on networking, you have seen my reasoning for preferring to be hooked up before SHTF rather than after.
> 
> ...


I would intend to agree with you about finding others of the same mind. If you could find a group of around 4 couples that are preppers, I think you would be pretty well set. The problem is, who can you talk to and who can you trust. I was talking with and individual and as soon as I mentioned "trust", that was the end of the conversation and the proposed meeting. I guess it's just a matter of asking some probeing questions to find those of the same mind. IMHO


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## Qwertyportne (Jan 27, 2012)

Labouton,

I hear what you are saying. Trust takes time. And even with time, most people have reasons, subjective and objective, for giving or witholding it. My experience says when all is said and done, more will be said than done. So right now I'm into watching what people do rather than engaging them in conversation. Some would probably think I'm a paranoid whacko and others might think I'm not whacko enough.

My definition of trustworthy is somebody who has established a thoughtful, prepared position somewhere between over and under reacting to problems--neither too crazy nor too cautious. Seems to me that both approaches would worsen, not better your chances of survival.

But trust is not an issue for me during local emergencies. Two forest fires and three earthquakes taught me that most people will hinder my survival, not help it. Trust only becomes an issue for me if a SHTF event becomes TEOTWAWKI. In that case, I'll need to find like-minded preppers I can trust to barter supplies, pool skills and resources, increase firepower and so forth.

You can probably see how my list of questions to answer before a world-shattering disaster... _How do they handle problems like their car not starting or a leak in the roof? How likely is it that they would shoot somebody who was shooting at them? Would they roll up their sleeves and begin to rebuild America from the bottom up? Or wait for the government to bail them out from the top down?..._ eventually led to a list of where (location) I meet people (who) versus the activity (what) and the likelihood of them having a survival oriented mindset--even if they are not now preppers:

Gun and Rifle Range
Emergency Preparedness Groups
American Legion
Veterans of Foreign Wars

I'd love to see the Where-Who-What lists others on this forum have put together and how fruitful or fruitless those lists have been so far. I hope we never have to go down that road. But if we do, as I said in my article, knowing them very very well before disaster strikes could make the difference between surviving and not surviving.

Bill


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## allyn211 (Mar 3, 2012)

Qwertyportne said:


> The attached PDF article is my attempt to condense the tips and survival information I've collected over the years from books (fiction and non-fiction), forums like this one, and my own experience. Hope you all find at least some of it helpful to your preparations...
> 
> Bill


Just saved the PDF to my computer for later perusal. Thanks!


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## Qwertyportne (Jan 27, 2012)

mosquitomountainman said:


> "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." - Charles Darwin


Your byline caught my attention this afternoon. Reminds me of Shawn Hubler's remark in the LA Times many years ago... "It takes a certain strength to live in civilization, for it is community with its slings and arrows that is man's true Darwinian test. The weak and troubled cleave to the shelter of the fringes, to the skid rows, shuttered apartments and nooks and crannies of the wilderness."

My guess is that some emergencies will require many of us to hunker down in one nook, cranny or another--alone or otherwise. But if we have chosen to join others, I think Darwin and Shawn make a good point. Can we adapt to the changes wrought by the disaster itself? More importantly, can we adapt to the other preppers in our group?

Bill


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