Back to the Dark Ages: 3 Months later half of Puerto Rico still without Power

 
Hurricane Maria sent Puerto Rico back to the Dark Ages and three months later half of Puerto Rico is still without power and struggling badly. What’s it like to live without power, how people cope and what challenges they face.

Like our previous post, the linked presentation below is also worth the time.
Puerto Rico, back to the dark ages.
Nothing like hands on accounts of actual events to understand for real what SHTF is like.
Notice that in general the areas that struggle the most are the more isolated ones and the ones further away from the main power grid. It is logical that these would be the ones where it is harder to re-establish power for. This contradicts the common “preper” advice of living away from main urban areas.

In the real world there’s no easy, black and white answers. The reality of such events is far more complex, what can be a benefit in some aspects can be a big handicap in other areas.
The trick is to know how to balance and prepare accordingly for whatever compromises you decide to make.

Have a great weekend folks!

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Christmas in Venezuela: What’s life like after Socialism destroys your Country

Article on Venezuelan prepper
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-25/christmas-venezuela-what-its-after-socialism-destroys-your-country
-Gary
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Thanks Gary, a fantastic read.

I get some emails from people there and what they are going through is just terrible.
Venezuelans have lost in average 19lbs because of the extreme poverty and lack of food.
So that you know, in general it’s the other way around: In developed countries poor people tend to be more overweight than the more affluent segment of society. They can afford a better lifestyle, exercise, education on what to eat, buy more expensive healthy food rather than just junk food.
When a society becomes so poor that they end up losing weight, then you’re talking about an extreme SHTF situation.

Do yourself a favour and read the article linked above. Its worth every minute of your time.
At the end of the day it’s a similar situation to other worst-case, large scale disasters. The only right answer is to just get the hell out of there. Most of the rich and middle class have left Venezuela already.

Of particular interest is the part about Christmas and toys. People that are literally starving will still do an extra effort to get their kids something for Christmas, something to put a smile on their faces.
It reminds me of Argentina in many ways.

Right before we left we sold a lot of our belongings. I remember posting how toys brought in a lot of money. They sold at a premium. My kids had many I had brought from abroad, US and Europe. I explained to them that we couldn’t take most and they were more than happy to sell them and then go to the toy store to buy new ones after we left. Many sold for even more money than what I paid for them, even after being used for some time.  I know, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it? And preppers will rarely mention stuff like this. In theory its all tools, guns, knives, bullets and food. Well, in the real world it turns out that for millions that are going through a real, long-term SHTF, a nice toy for their kid is a ray of light in their otherwise dark existence.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Micarta handle Upgrade for Schrade SCHF38

Which Rice has the Least Arsenic?

Rice is a classic staple in the survival pantry.
It is shelf stable, can be stored for years if kept in vacuum sealed mylar bags. It has good nutritional value and can be easily integrated into your daily meals.  You’re supposed to store what you eat, eat what you store.

Since you not just stock up this for when SHTF, it’s important to understand what you’re eating. What you eat daily is the most important decision you make every day, directly impacting both your quality of life and survival rate.

Therefore it’s important to understand what food you choose to eat. Rice is a fantastic staple, but not all rice is created equal. One important piece of information to take into account is the amount of arsenic in rice. Some rice has more arsenic than other and eating it as a fixed staple in your pantry means you should try to consume the one with the least amount.
Check out this article from Consumer Report.
How Much Arsenic Is in Your Rice?
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

How to keep your Bitcoin safe

So you followed my advice, put some money in Bitcoin and by now you doubled or tripled your investment. Good for you my friend!
Keep in mind what we’re doing here though. Keeping eggs in different baskets right? Crypto currency is a VERY attractive basket thought and if it ever reaches just a percentage of its true potential…
Anyway, if you bought some coin I’m sure you’re a happy camper and that’s fine but just like you keep your gold and cash in a safe, just don’t leave your money sitting there in an online account. It’s not safe, and if something happens to the company, lets say Coinbase goes under or gets hacked, you may lose your Bitcoin. I know that with reputable companies this is unlikely, but it has happened before and all experts agree on not being a good idea to leave large savings just sitting there.

What do to then?

You have a few options. The idea is to have a cold wallet for the bulk of your coin. Cold storage means storage that is offline and therefore impossible to hack. You can create a paper wallet, with extreme precautions to reduce the chances of hacking such as going off line and using a live OS in a fresh USB drive, print with an offline, wired printer.

What most experts agree on being the best way to store Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is using a Hardware wallet. These are devices similar to a USB drive, with its own screen an pin number which even in a computer infected with malware (like may are these days)  it would be save to use.

I recommend these two, which are considered the best, the Ledger Nano S and Trezor.
Using it is easy enough following a few simple steps. Make sure you keep the recovery code VERY well protected (you write this down in paper), a couple copies in different safes. This would allow you to recover your money if the device is stolen, lost or destroyed.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”