ISIS and BLM sure act very similar...

Look! More thugs and terroris- I mean "protesters"... destroying our cultural legacy... I mean "expressing" themselves.
Hmmm... I swear I've seen this somewhere else rather recently...

ISIS Smashes Priceless, Ancient Statues in Iraq

Shattered treasures include winged bulls that guarded entrance to ancient Nineveh.

Protesters tear down Christopher Columbus statue outside State Capitol

Protesters tear down Alabama Confederate statue, Birmingham mayor vows to 'finish the job' with others

Yup, walks like a duck and quacks like a duct, then it must be a duck.
Get Ready people! These are the warnings you should notice.
FerFAL
"Street Survival Skills" https://amzn.to/2KxdbHe
"The Modern Survival Manual" https://amzn.to/2lX5TlB

South America Falls Apart

Bolivia

Chile

For those that may not know, I have a Spanish youtube channel, SupervivenciaModerna.
Lately, I’ve been getting hundreds of new subscribers each day, the channel has been growing a lot in the last few weeks.

The reason? I suspect current political events in the region have  a lot to do with it.
Bolivian President Evo Morales Resigns After Army Tells Him to Go

As I’ve said in previous occasions already, Latin America is going through some very tough times. Cristina Kirchner returns to power in Argentina, Lula is being released in Brazil, Chile is still burning and The now former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has just resigned and is escaping to Mexico as people took the streets and started going after the political class after the fraud elections recently held.

Tough times people.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . 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”

Google and Facebook are registering your Firearms

OK, just came across this, the link is from thefirearmblog.com

It seems that Google and Facebook had this bright idea of datamining photos of your guns, indexing your firearm’s serial numbers, they even index and archive serial numbers of silencers.  Its not farfetched that they would also detect other delicate material such as armor and night vision, all of course associated to your name, IP, address, political views, and everything you ever said online about one politician or another.

Of course technology to do all this has been around for some time, but its concerning that they specifically started creating what is for all practical purposes a gun (and gun related material)  registration database.

Careful what you upload, use Firefox and Duckduckgo instead of google.
Dangerous times people.

FerFAL
Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . 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”

London Trip: Thoughts, Brexit, and Tips on Security while Traveling

America is in Danger and you Guys don't see it

Gauchos vs Animal Rights/Climate change Activists

… and that went as well as you’d expect. :-)
No, no, its not just about the laughs (although I did LOL). There’s a lesson here as well.
Maybe, just maybe, you don’t go crash the largest festival of the year celebrating the rural traditions of a country, trying to impose your animal rights/climate change/ feminist/SJW/antifa nonsense imported from San Francisco?

They sure did get rid of them fast enough.

Maybe hire a few gauchos to help out with the next antifa rally??

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”

Colt Python grips, New book and some other thoughts.

Understanding Antifa and what they Stand For

Living on a 6 US Dollars Salary.... a Month

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

Just a reminder of how lucky we are, those of us that dont live under the thumb of a madman like Maduro.

Can you imagine living on 6 bucks a month?.... in a place where thats the price of a burger?
Very interesting video, both to learn a bit of what life is like in these places and to appreciate what we have.

The problem with the “When SHTF” Mentality

Did SHTF for the guy that owns this car, caught in a flash flood? I'd say it did.

This is something I keep seeing all over the community or even during conversations with other like-minded people.

“When SHTF” I’ll do this or that.
“What gun are you planning on carrying … when SHTF?”
“When SHTF, I’ll go to my ranch/homestead/bunker/friend’s house”
These are precisely the people that end up not being ready when it counts because they keep waiting for some kind of invitation, email or notification so as to official know that as of right now, shit has indeed hit the fan:

  Dear Sir, we are contacting you in regards to recent events and would like to inform you that as of right now shit has officially hit the fan. Start wearing full camo throughout the day, board your windows, booby trap your back yard (its ok, kids no longer jump around the back yard playing any more once SHTF) and start carrying your battle rifle everywhere you go. Feel free to shoot that guy down the street you never liked. Its ok, authorities won’t respond again, ever. Go around scavenging stores and houses as you see fit. That’s perfectly acceptable after the world ends. Oh! One more thing. Expect sports illustrated swimsuit models to join your brave group of survivors and idolize you like a god for the preparations you made… for when SHTF.
Good luck and enjoy the end of the world!

It just doesn’t work that way. In places where shit has very much hit the fan there’s people with this mentality. I still see if from people living in true hell holes, places like Venezuela, still talking about what they will do when it gets worse.

Prepare now. Act now. I live in a very safe part of the world, one of the safest countries in Europe where going around for a walk at 3 AM is still perfectly safe. That doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen. Purses get snatched, pockets picked and stuff still gets stolen. A girl getting drunk in a beach party can still end up getting raped. At the end of the day you can get into a violent altercation with someone (especially now during the holyday season). So arm yourself as well as you can now and learn how to defend yourself if you don’t already know how.

Not looking after your health will get you killed SHTF or not, so get that blood test you’ve been postponing NOW, not after SHTF. Put that fire extinguisher in your car now, keep one in your kitchen now. Have a kit in your vehicle now because you can still get stranded on the road.

As rare as home invasions are around here, a while back someone broke into a neighbor’s house. His teen daughter was home alone when it happened. She locked herself in the bathroom. She called her father who was abroad at the time. Whomever broke in tried to force the door open, failed, so they took a few things quickly and left. Teach you family how to defend themselves now.

Believe me that when there’s not a drop of water coming out of the faucet, that’s not the time to go fill up that empty “water bob” you were supposed to fill … when SHTF. Have enough water for a week now. Learn to cook with your food stash now. Store what you eat, eat what you store so if there’s ever riots, lootings, food shortages or if for whatever reason you need to dig into your food supplies there will be no hard learned lesson or adaptation period.

Whatever important change in your life or idea you have on what you would do, do it now. Trust me on this, if you cant pull it off today, you wont when things get worse.

Stop thinking in terms of “when SHTF” and thing of how you will act if things make a serious turn for the worse tomorrow, or right this moment. That’s just life and that’s how real SHTF, the kind that change your life in an instant, hit you when you least expect it.
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”

Teaching your kids to be Tough

I guess I’ve always been a bit strange, even when I was little. When every other kid wanted to be an astronaut, football star or famous celebrity of some kind, my dream on the other hand was to be a dad, have a family of my own with a loving wife and a bunch of kids. Of course you grow older and just like the 5 year old that wanted to be a fireman ends up having different dreams later on in life I went through that same process as well. But still, in spite of different careers and lines of work that idea always stuck with me as the core of what makes a happy life.

An important part of having a family is raising your kids well. Making them is easy enough (for some of us, for other it’s a painful and expensive process or not possible at all) but raising them takes time, patience and dedication.
I want my kids to be above all good, joyful people, and to me that means being tough and self-reliant. The world is a hard place, even in the not so hard parts of the world. The strong prevail and no one said life was supposed to be fair.

I try to teach that to my kids. That being strong, physically and mentally (especially mentally) is important and that they should strive to be that. Set your mind to it and it will be so. No, this does not apply to everything in life like the Left wants us to believe. A boy can’t be a girl anymore than he can be a flying pink unicorn. But tough? Yup, that’s all about mindset.

So last Friday I get that phone call no parent ever wants to receive: “we’re calling from your son’s school…” “he got hurt” … “come as soon as possible”.
I get to the school as fast as I can and I see my ten year old standing there waiting for me with a teacher. “Hi dad”. He was perfectly calm, looked perfectly fine… well… except for that finger…

Playing with his friends he tried to grab a kid as he ran away, got his finger caught in the kid’s tshirt, dislocating it.

I’m not particularly sensitive about these things but when it’s your kid it’s always different. I grabbed his bag and I told him he’s be fine, not to worry, we’ll get that fixed right away. He stopped my rant “dad! I’m fine. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt”. He was as calm as always. Maybe too calm. I though he was maybe in shock but as time went by I realized it was none of that. He’s just tough. Tougher than his old man, that’s for sure.

It took about an hour to get the bone back in place. The paediatrician that saw him first took an xray and didn’t dare touch it, he couldn’t tell for sure if it was broken or not. The trauma specialist arrived and after taking a look set the bone straight. My son didn’t complain once during the entire thing and kept saying that it didn’t hurt. Without any anaesthesia, he barely flinched when the doctor realigned the bone.

What can I say? I’m super proud of all my kids and I wanted to share this.
It’s not easy, takes time and sometimes it’s hard to tell if you’re doing good for your kids but then these things happen and you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
Teach your kids not to complain, to be strong and resilient. Teach your kids to COPE.
Last time we went hiking we went through some thorny brush (kinda did that on purpose) , got a few scratches here and there. When my youngest mentioned getting pricked I said “Its just a bit if pain, kids. It’s not as if you have a broken bone or something more serious”. When he later showed me a thorn stuck in his hand I told him that was perfect for practicing using the tweezers in his Victorinox. If you teach them to overcome small inconveniences then even when bones do get broken they will deal with it much better and the same will apply to other challenges and hurdles in life.

While I’m at it, I do have one small favour to ask. Wanting to be like dad, my son has his own little youtube channel. English is his second language and I encourage him to practice it as much as possible.  I’d appreciate if you dropped by and liked a video of his, maybe leave a word of encouragement.

Thanks!

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”

Turns Out Communism is kind of Great!

If you are a corrupt communist leader, that is.

Message:

Fernando—
Reading your most recent post about how innovative ordinary Cubans have to be.
But the New Class does not suffer the same hardships as the common man…in Cuba or the other egalitarian communist paradises…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6936503/Cuban-leaders-granddaughter-rents-mansion-Havana-650-night.html
Castro's luxurious Havana mansion which boasts Jacuzzi, private terraces and four bedrooms is being rented for $650 a night by the Cuban leader's granddaughter on an island ravaged by poverty and food crisis

• Vilma Rodríguez is listing a lavish residence located in Havana, Cuba, which is being rented for $650 a night on Airbnb

• Rodríguez is the granddaughter of former president Raúl Castro and operates her business from Panama
• The mansion is readily available for up to 10 guests and features four bedrooms, including two master bedrooms, a jacuzzi, and five and a half bathrooms
• The United States imposed an economic trade embargo in 1962 under President John F. Kennedy, and since then most of the island's 12million residents live in poverty
• Basic food items such as bread, meats and eggs have become scarce of the last couple of years

An Airbnb posting of a mansion in Havana is showing just how far the Cuban regime is willing to go to enrich its pockets on an island where ordinary residents are struggling to feed themselves.
Vilma Rodríguez, the granddaughter of former president and current First Secretary of the Communist Party, Raul Castro, is listing a luxurious residence on the global online marketplace that as of Thursday morning was fetching $650 a night.
The homeowner, who is based out of Panama according to her Airbnb profile, bills the lavish Caribbean home as 'Casa Vida Luxury Holidays' or 'Dream Home Luxury Holidays.'
'In Casa Vida, elegance, design, and tradition come together to create cheerful, spacious, and luminous spaces,'  Rodríguez wrote as part of her home's profile.
Rodríguez is not the only member from the Castro clan that has benefited from the communist family's coffers despite sanctions imposed by the Washington.
Tony Castro, grandson of the late Fidel Castro, drew the ire of the Cuban exile community in January after an Instagram follower of the aspiring model shared photographs of the young man flaunting his wealth on overseas trips.
Raúl Castro succeeded his brother Fidel as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2011.
The 87-year-old holds the most senior position in the communist party and has absolute power of the country.
-A
...

Thanks for your email.

Yes, communisim sounds great as long as you're the one making billions out of it.

It’s also amazingly inefficient. For the millions of people that it enslaves, you’d think they’d have an actual “mansion”. That’s a rather tacky 4 bedroom house, certainly not a “luxurious mansion”. Bet they have billions squirreled away in accounts all over the world though.
Very communist of them to amass all that capital…

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”

Terrorism Wins in New Zealand

New Zealand Primer Minister Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand Primer Minister and President of the International Union of Socialist Youth Ms. Jacinda Ardern made sure to deliver within days on the demands made by the terrorist in his manifesto: Ban guns for law abiding citizens, leaving them unarmed to defend themselves, their families and their country.

A brave leader would have stood strong and not cave to the demands of a terrorist, refuse to let a madman dictate the law of the land and how law abiding people should live their lives.  But Jacinda Ardern is a proud socialist and we all know what that means: “Socialists gonna socialist”.

Jacinda Ardern is so drunk with power, even the terrorist manifesto itself got banned and anyone caught with it faces up to 14 years behind bars. But hey, who cares about silly things such as censorship and freedom of press? Its interesting to see how she banned the paper that explained the man’s actions and the intended results, and how he got exactly what he wanted. This kind of censorship goes beyond anything most in the Left dare to in the western civilized world and goes right into the kind of thing seen in dictatorships like North Korea.

New Zealand has two anthems, "God Defend New Zealand" and  "God Save the Queen".

God will indeed have to defend NZ because its population clearly wont. Certainly not now that they are being disarmed like medieval age peasants.

As for the queen, she’ll do just fine.  She has guards armed with real assault rifles and she sure as hell wont give those up.

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”

10 years of Modern Survivalism: Skills, Preparations and Lessons learned

Hi FerFAL,

It has been a long time since I have written to you but I have been following your blog all this while. In fact, it has been 10 years since I started reading your blog. (I have read and reread both your books too.) Seeing that you have been writing various posts about 10 years after XYZ or ABC event, I find it apt to send this update to you. This write-up also serves as a self-assessment of my preps.

In 2009, your blog and first book really opened my eyes to the world of survivalism. Before that, I was fascinated with wilderness survival and survival for an NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) event. But your first book presented chillingly realistic aspects of modern survival which I have never thought of. I found major gaps in my preparedness efforts. Your book henceforth became a blueprint for my preparedness strategy which includes changes in my mindset, acquisition of certain vital skills and procurement of relevant gear and stuff.

In no particular order, I list down below 10 aspects (in following the theme of 10 years) of my preparations and my thoughts about them.

1. Shooting
   I researched and tried out shooting at the one and only civilian range  in this country. I later joined as a full member and have since been working on shooting with a Glock 17 based on your recommendation. Shooting is not cheap here. Membership fees, range fees, ammo prices make shooting a rich man’s sport though I try to maintain and upgrade my skills as much as I can afford but not as much as I wish.
2. Hand-to-hand
   Your advice is the prime motivator for me to lift up my butt and train in martial arts. I have trained in Muay Thai for years now and done some MMA along the way. I wish I could have taken up BJJ but time and money are always constraints.
3. First Aid
   I have been going for first aid training long before reading your work. But you have drilled into me the importance of this skill and now I make it a point to keep myself trained and adopt the mindset to be prepared to use these skills anytime. I would like to upgrade myself by joining an ambulance crew but so far have yet to sign up.
4. Fitness
   Since I left the army (we have conscription here), exercise has always been a regular activity but it was upon taking up a martial art that I have become more systematic in it. I have also enlarged my coverage to include certain previously neglected aspects e.g. flexibility, plyometrics.
5. Food
   I have yet to reach a stockpile of 2 months and am unsure I ever will since space is a premium here. I put my estimate at 2-3 weeks of supply currently in stock. Not ideal but much better than many others with only a couple days’ supply.
6. Water
   I have stored enough real water for a week or so. Not as much as I would like but again, space is a premium and water REALLY takes up space. I also got a Doulton gravity filter (similar to a Big Berkey) in case water is available but not in a clean state.
7. EDC
   I have experimented quite a bit here based on your recommendations. The setup is more or less stabilised now or at least until something significantly more effective comes along (probably recommended by you). I suppose the gear can always change but the mindset is more or less fixed and this is what counts. Concepts like 3 is 2, 2 is 1, 1 is none; a piece of gear should serve more than 1 purpose are now ingrained.
8. Money
   “Cash is king” has become a mantra. I make sure there is always a bit of cash around. I am certain that despite being fiat money, it can keep me running when banks are closed and credit/debit is down. The same show played in Argentina can surely happen here too. Precious metals are a bit out of reach financially but I am sure they will be a good asset to keep.
9. Security
   This could be my blind spot and is something I want to continually work on. I agree with your security recommendations but being a relatively safe country here, complacency has a bad habit of creeping in. And it only takes a single moment of complacency to lead to a regrettable outcome – something I definitely want to avoid.
10. Politics and media
    These are issues overlooked by many survivalists. Yet, they potentially have the greatest impact on our way of life. I have since scrutinised both more critically or even cynically. No longer can both be trusted at surface value.
11. Relocation
    I know I have gone on to 11 points but relocation is an option that I have become more open to. I totally agree that sometimes, the only way to survive is to relocate. Getting a second passport, planning for a location (or two) to run to, opening an offshore bank account are important to a survivalist. Though I must admit that I have yet to accomplish many of the above tasks, they are continually on my radar.

I hope this mail has not been too long. I am sure I have missed out other aspects of my preparedness journey. Nonetheless, the above are what come to mind and probably for the good reason that they are close to my heart.

Thanks for reading.

Ken

.

Hello Ken. Your email wasn’t too long, at all. I very much enjoyed it, thank you.

I’m glad you enjoyed my books, “The Modern Survival Manual” and “Bugging Out and Relocating”.
It just makes my day when I read about having a positive impact on people’s lives. Its’ very humbling and gratifying at the same time.

You touch on various key topics. I believe you’ve got modern survivalism pretty well covered. As you so eloquently explain, both time and money are limited resources and we can only do so much. Of course we would all want to be national shooting champions, have military experience, have police experience, have experience in the medical field, be UFC champions in our weight class and while at it why not ask to be rich, have a great family and plenty of spare time to actually enjoy life.
We only have so much time and we always end up compromising to a great degree. I believe that you’ve acquired a pretty balanced set of skills that most definitely gives you an advantage for when things get complicated in life.

You’re right about shooting being a pretty expensive sport. For anyone new to guns reading it, my advice to save money is to keep things simple. A Glock 17 and spare mags. Don’t waste time and money “plinking”. I wasted many days and thousands of USD just punching holes into paper and not actually learning. I know it sounds counterintuitive but the best thing to do to save money is sign up to a good defensive shooting class and stick to practicing what you learn there. That’s far better than shooting 50 rounds any given weekend for years, never learning anything.

As for precious metals, it sure isnt a priority but it does make sense and it can also be a lot of fun to learn about them. Most countries had silver coins in circulation at some point and that is your “de facto” junk silver. Shopping around you’re likely to find a few around for little over spot price. Personally, I like doing the research, learn about different coins, their value and history.

Also regarding politics and the media, I do believe they have an important role in our life and it can affect us for better or worse. I try to be balanced and objective. Cant say I trust most politicians in general and when it comes to the media I read both left and right outlets so as to get both sides. I also look into who owns each given media outlet. Its usually there that you see the agenda they follow.

The only thing I would add to your list would be family and friends. Socializing and networking with people. I make the effort to “work” on being a good husband and a good dad. Also try to make friends when I can. Being social, the relationship with our families, these are key not just for survival but for our quality of life and you need dedication to make it work. Same thing when it comes to friends and networking. The people you know and contacts you have are essential, not just for SHTF but also for doing well in normal times as well.

Anyway, thank you for your email and for sharing your experiences.

Kind regards,
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”

Tory MP says every knife sold in UK should have GPS tracker 'fitted in the handle'

             MP for North Cornwall Scott Mann, the genius behind this idea.

No, this isnt a joke. This is what a British Member of Parliament is seriously proposing when he was debating UK’s “knife crime” problem.

Again, not a meth-crazed bum living under a bridge, but an elected British Tory MP, you know, the people that are supposed to be “conservatives” and “on your side”.

Tory MP says every knife sold in UK should have GPS tracker 'fitted in the handle'

Scott Mann said ‘If you’re carrying it around you had better have a bloody good explanation, obvious exemptions for fishing etc,’.

The proposal was suggested as a potential means of dealing with increasing levels of knife crime in the UK.
He said: “Every knife sold in the UK should have a GPS tracker fitted in the handle.”
“It’s time we had a national database like we do with guns. If you’re carrying it around you had better have a bloody good explanation, obvious exemptions for fishing etc.”

Just let that sink for a minute.

Seriously proposing a knife having a GPS attacked to it. He also wants a national database "like we do with guns".

Every single knife would cost at least 100 bucks. Every. Single. One.
You would have to CHARGE your knife.

Police would constantly be going after you every time you had a BBQ outdoors or forgot to charge your knife.

Last time I checked. People in freaking prison make shanks and knives rather easily. Whats stopping a criminal from grabbing any piece of scrap metal and making his own non-GPS registered knife?

Is this GPS knife dishwasher approved? Make that 200 USD per knife.

This man gets PAID (well north of 100,000 USD a year, plus a pile of benefits) for saying idiotic things such as these.

Again, this is coming from the Conservative (Tory) party, supposed to be the Right in United Kingdom.

Oh, he's also a brave man that wants to ban water as well since it nearly killed him once (he doesnt know how to swim)

I Am An Adult, And I Am Unable To Swim

Again, NO I am not kidding. This a a real person that exists in this planet and is an elected politician.

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”

Being alone and the impact it has on your survival rate, your health and quality of life.

Continuing with the line of thought of my post about preparedness as we grow older, I’d like to bring up another taboo subject.

Being alone.

Coming from a Latino culture, I fully understand the hesitation to even talk about something like this. You’re supposed to be tough, rugged and not complain about silly things such as feelings. Feeling lonely falls well within such category. Making matters even worse I actually do enjoy some alone time, maybe a bit too much. At last for people like me (and many in the survival community are this way) its dangerously easy to be ok with being along. In spite of all I also know perfectly well that without my wife and kids I’d be miserable.

A lot of people are very much alone, they do feel lonely and its not by choice.
Census figures show that one in 11 Americans age 50 and older lacks a spouse, partner or living child. That’s roughly eight million people in America.

The Loneliest Generation: Americans, More Than Ever, Are Aging Alone
We also know that being lonely isnt good for you, it directly impacts both your health and quality of life.

Loneliness Is as Lethal As Smoking 15 Cigarettes Per Day. Here's What You Can Do About It
What I do and would advise others to do is work at making these relationships work.
To that end, here’s my piece of advice of the day:

Work at making your marriage work. Work at having a good relationship with your kids. I’m lucky in that I have a great family and love wife and children. But I also admit it wasn’t all some lucky coincidence. I did go out there to find the right woman and didn’t settle for anyone less than what I wanted. Once I found her, I made the conscious effort to make it work, as a father and husband. We live in this screwed up, selfish and disposable society. People are just as disposable as relationships and we are told that’s the way its supposed to be. If you don’t want that to be you then act accordingly.

Work at making friends. This one is hard for me because I enjoy more being with my wife and kids than anyone else. Of course, I’m lucky in that regard (we already addressed the matter of luck when it comes to these things) but it also means I struggle a bit to get outside that circle and make friends.
I do try though, and trying enough you eventually have success. Do try to talk with people, do smile, say hi, engage in conversation. Even if it seems like silly small talk it is still social interaction that is good for you. It’s also about practicing that skill which you probably need to get better at anyway.
Just a couple things to think about people.

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”

Reply: Changes in Survival & Preparedness as you Grow Older

Now that I'm older, just turned 61, this video was for me. Thank you for bringing up this delicate subject most like to avoid. Though I'm in good health, physically fit, eat right. Ect., I have noticed pronounced changes in the last few years. Namely, eyesight is less focused, slower in moving, get tired more easily and temperament.

Just the way it is! A couple of things besides those mentioned is taking supplements.
Number one is for joint health, which has glucosamine, chondroitin, some brands have additional boosters like vitamin D. It something I've taken for decades, start young, pays dividends later on. Yes, exercise is critical, move around and stretch!

For me, light yoga and minimum walk at least one hour a day (3miles).
A little trot run to speed it up for a hour is better.

I've read we age in spurts, so be prepared for a lot of change in a short time frame. We don't like to face it but when the hair gets sparse on top of the head and your eyelids droop so it affects your eyesight, one is forced to deal with the change. In my case, preparing for the day when I have to get an eyelids lift procedure.

Being without children, I will have to create an extended family. Translation, perhaps again going back to sharing a resident. That means being active maybe in church religious, social clubs ect.
Oh, thumbs up for the recommendation on DOGS...important, yes the are excellent security measure and company.

Lastly, it can really suck getting old, so learn how to keep a smile on your face!
I read amateur runners in a long distance run preformed better when they smiled while doing it!
Attitude works wonders.

Thanks again and looking to reading your next book, Ferfal.
-A
.


Thanks, thank you for your honesty and observations.

Yes, attitude is essential in all stages of life but it seems to be even more so the older we grow. You just have to stay positive and active. Some of the older people I admire the most work harder than many that are ¼ their age. There’s some 80 year olds out there that wake up every morning excited about the day ahead of them and that makes all the difference in the world.

Sharing residency sounds like a very good idea. Not sure how it works but I see how splitting bills between two or three people helps a lot. You also have other people for company, help one another and think of ways of staying busy. We often complain about other people and prefer to be alone (I know I do) but at the end of the day we are social creatures and not meant to be alone.
Take care and good luck!

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”

Teaching your kids about the value of money and earning a living

Replying to: Teaching your kids to not only to Survive but to do well in Life

All wise words, mate. Sounds like your kids are well on the way to being the kind of people we all want to be around.
I am also trying to encourage my daughters to learn about the expectations of doing work, both paid and unpaid. Giving youngsters some kind of chores to carry out ( laying and clearing the table around meals, caring for and feeding the dog, keeping their room tidy etc) encourages them to see that looking after themselves, their environment and community is normal and rewarding. They also have the opportunity of volunteering for extra task ( chores are expected and unpaid ) to earn a bit of pocket money. I encourage them to save some of it and budget to some extent, as learning to delay immediate gratification in exchange for a longer-term goal is a very valuable skill which few adults have mastered.
-Orsotoro

Great topic, thanks for bringing it up.

In our home we have it written down in a chart kept on the fridge, who’s in charge of cooking and cleaning up each day. It does help a lot and it gives kids and teens a sense of order and reasonability. It also teaches them to value what parents do for them every day and not take it for granted so much.
As you said, its chores, it’s their obligation. They do a little bit to help around the house, it both helps parents and it helps them so as to know how to do things when they end up living by themselves.
Money from Christmas or birthdays, it all get put away and saved. The money stash soon reaches interesting figures when its not thrown away on silly junk.

For our oldest son, he’s been doing a bit of freelance programing. My wife and I told him several times how great it is to have this experience at his age (16) to actually earn your own money, to be able to do it online and while doing something you like.  Not only that but having the work experience, talking and communicating with a client, learning how much he should charge per hour and how long it takes him to get the job done.  All invaluable.

Some may not realize this, but these skills, knowing how to budget, how to save money, how to make it, these are all very important survival skills.

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”

Teaching your kids to not only to Survive but to do well in Life

I took my 10 year old to the movies this past weekend. We saw “Alita: Battle Angel” (liked it, good action movie and true enough to the comic).

So we’re sitting there, waiting for the movie to start, when I see this kid walk into the theatre.  He must have been about ten years old too, same as my boy. But this kid was easily twice his size, maybe more. The boy had no neck, just a giant roll of fat and a belly like a 9 month pregnant woman. Boobs like one too, printing through the loose basketball tank top he was wearing. He really did NOT need the large soda he had in his hand and whatever junk food he had in the other. The kid climbed the steps towards the row of seats in the back. Half way there he was already short of breath and you could hear him gasping for air. This ten your old literally struggled to walk across a room and climb a few steps.

The movie started and it was quite good. No, thankfully it wasn’t a liberal girl power mess but rather similar to the original Gunnm: Battle Angel Alita of 1993.

Driving back home I found myself again thinking about that kid, how bad his parents had clearly screwed up and how, while not perfect, I do pat myself in the back about how mine are turning out. My wife had asked our paediatrician about our ten year old being too thin. He emphatically told her not to change a thing in the boy’s diet, that he’s perfectly healthy and that she has no idea how many children are overweight and the many problems they have because of it.

Being a good parent isn’t always easy but it’s not rocket science either. It’s not that most parents out there didn’t read the right parenting book. It’s simply that they don’t care and that they’d rather be doing something else than spending time with their own children.

It’s easier to stuff a kid full of junk food than to teach him to eat fruits instead and explain why those are better for him. Or why even in Halloween he can only have so much candy because large amounts of processed sugar are terrible for him. If you let them eat an entire bag of candy they’ll let you watch TV or check out your Instagram in peace which is what most people want these days.
I’m no Dad of the Year but these are a few things I do with my kids, so that they are healthy, strong of mind and body.

• Be there. Be a damn Dad. Do as much of the stuff you’re supposed to do. For some people its hiking, for others its camping, fishing, hunting, shooting but have some bonding activity and try to teach them valuable skills while at it. Above all, make those quality time moments happen. If you can’t be bothered to actually make them happen, then maybe you’re not Dad material and are better off not having kids at all.

• Teach your kids to eat. The morbidly obese kid in the theatre is not something you see very often around here in Spain. Come to think of it, the movie was in its original language (English) and people going to these are mostly English speaking foreigners so there’s a good chance that’s exactly what he was. But its all about the food. Moving, walking, running, that’s all great for a child but a child is fat not because he’s not hitting the gym enough but because he’s eating garbage instead of real food. The same goes for adults. If you teach your kids well from an early age, they wont even be inclined to eat much processed food and downright find it unpalatable compared to real homemade food.

• Teach your kids to fight. Knowing how to stand up for themselves is vital. At a certain point a kid has to understand that “tell the teacher” isn’t how the real world works, that they have to face their problems themselves. Standing up for yourself against your peers is a rite of passage for every boy. Most people fail at it, others succeed, and at the end of the day there’s a lesson there as well. My teenage son had to face his bully when little and successfully dealing with that hurdle noticeably changed him for the better. Recently my ten year old had to experience that as well, how sometimes violence is the only solution. It’s an important step and your child will remember it forever, for better or worse. Feeling scared, too afraid to fight back, its soul crushing for a 10 year old (bet it is for and adult as well). At the same time if they do find the courage to put a beating on them, the results are just as drastic. There’s an euphoria in fighting back, in beating your adversary, in winning. Nothing compares to it. You know you did well when the former bully now chases your kid wanting to be his friend instead.

• Read with them. Every night, a few pages just before going to sleep. It’s sad how many kids have never read a single book other than the few short ones required for school. Once a kid starts appreciating reading, they will keep doing it on their own.

• Teach them to think for themselves. Explain to them that what their teacher says, what they see on TV, its will most likely be agenda driven depending on who’s saying it and what interests it represents. You want your kid to be a free thinker, not another marketing target zombie that thinks and talks like everyone else in their social circle.

• Support and incentive that which they are passionate about. For my oldest son, that’s computers and programing, so gifts are usually PC related, programing books and that sort of thing. For my ten year old its survival stuff, fire starting and fantasy books (he’s read all of the Harry Potter books and is now starting with The Hobbit, all of them in English)

Once your kids know what they are passionate about, then encourage them to be good at it. There’s a chance that either directly or indirectly, it may become a way or earning a living for them. If that’s the case, when you do that which you are passionate about, then they wont work a day in their lives and that goes a long way not only towards professional success but also happiness.

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”

“Bikini Hiker” Freezes to Death

Gigi Wu, Taiwanese 'bikini hiker,' dies after mountain fall

Yeaahhhh.. not a good idea.

GiGi Wu was known as the “Bikini Hiker”. Famous for… well, hiking in a bikini and posting it on social media.

Which is fine. For all I care you can hike butt naked (if your local laws allow public nudity, that is).
The thing is, its just a pretty stupid idea and nature has no sense of humor.
So this last Saturday “Bikini Hiker” went solo hiking in Taiwan's Jupen Mountain, fell into a gorge 30 meters deep where she was injured but able to use her phone to call for help. A Chopper was sent but unable to land on location. A team on foot found her body the next day, cause of death seems to be hypothermia.

Don’t be fooled though, this 36 year old woman was an experienced hiker and we still don’t know the details regarding how she died. If they are speculating hypothermia though, its probably because she was visibly poorly dressed.

The lessons here is, obviously enough, when hiking outdoors, adequate clothing is essential and can in fact save your life. Hiking solo, while fun and some people prefer it, it also involves an additional risk. Don’t make it even worse by making an obvious, ridiculously poor decision such as hiking solo and doing so practically naked. Take adequate clothing (obviously) and footwear, spare food and water, a small survival kit, and these days an additional battery bank for your phone is a must have.
Also, just as important as having the right gear, let people know where you’re going and when you are expecting to be back.  Email a map with your intended route to a trusted family member or friend, detailing your schedule and when you’ll be calling in and who to contact if there’s no news of you by a given deadline.
Stay safe!

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”