Comments

Hi guys,
I have to check every comment before aproving becuase otherwise it gets full of all sorts of spam, not only junk links but lots of porn links as well so I really dont have much of an option. The only problem is that sometimes real comments get caught too either becuase of links or some other reason, and I dont notice it for some time.
Just wanted to say that, in case someone had a comment that wasn't showing for several days. Other than those caught by the spam filter, I approve comments severla times a day.
Take care,
FerFAL

5 most underrated Survival Skills for Survivalists

This topic was suggested by fellow youtuber LordHumungus and I just finished recording the video clip. I think it’s a good exercise as a way of reviewing what’s important and what may deserve a bit more attention in our preparedness.

1) Realistic Security and Self Defense

By this I mean both planning for realistic events where your life is being threatened by criminals and how hard (or soft) your home may be to criminals.

For self defense since time and funds are limited your objective should be very clear. What are you preparing for? If its zombies just go for the sawed off 12 gage shotgun. You might as well be cool in your fantasy. But are you planning on you defending yourself from some of the worst our society has to offer, against criminals that would attack you during your daily routine when you happen to be most vulnerable? Then your weapon of choice will be reduced to what you can carry with you concealed, maybe a carbine or rifle at home or in the car trunk but not counting on it really. You’ll be outnumbered by armed criminals. “Oh FerFAL, if that happens you’re already dead”. Maybe, but then again you may survive, like the cop and his son that shot it out when attacked yesterday right in my neighborhood, outnumbered 2 to 1. (story, in Spanish ) During a car jack attempt, father and son, both police officers, killed two criminals, wounded a third and a fourth one escaped after trying to rob their vehicle. The car happens to be a popular Peugeot 206, favored by criminals because of the spare parts demand. Avoiding high priority car models is something I’ve covered before.

You can win, but to even have a chance you must have the will, the training, and consistency to carry a capable weapon with you at all times. LordHumungus mentions fitness and hand to hand training. Of course these must go along in your self defense capabilities, otherwise your weapon will be of little use. But when outnumbered by armed criminals you’re getting yourself into a gunfight, so that’s where you must excel at. Be ready for that. As for fitness, I think its underrated among survivalists too. Not physical fitness in a sissy esthetic manner. By being fit I mean being capable to walk distances carrying gear, run, fight, do physical work and not have a weight problem that brings along health complications. Either that or as fit as possible giving your age and personal circumstances.

When it comes to home defense you see post after post of how patrols would be carried out or what concertina wire brand is best to stop hordes of looters, yet at the same time the guys posting this on line have doors that can be kicked down, unlocked back yard doors, or sliding doors with locks that can be broken and opened by an angry Chihuahua . No alarm, no motion sensor lights. How hard a target is your house NOW? Its not as bad as in the 3^rd world but Americans are already suffering terrible crimes, even in the “good” neighborhoods. Expect more of that to come.

2) Saving Money.

Working on your budget, and eliminating unnecessary expenses. Too often you hear of survivalists going through rough times selling gear and supplies they probably should have never bought in the first place. We all do that at some point, its just that some get worse at it than others. Make informed decisions and purchases, there’s TONS of reviews of gear out there, including this same blog. Writing down every cent you spend per day has helped me a lot when we had little money to get by. Write down every thing, no matter if it’s a power bill you just paid or a bus ticket, it brings a new perspective to how you spend money.

3) Making money.

The ability to increase your wealth should never be underestimated. Sometimes you read about survivalists wishful thinking that the rich will be ruined after the economy collapses because they lack skills, they don’t grow their own food, etc. Well, they do have money making skills, and that’s very important. Maybe they’re not ready for accidents and disasters, they don’t have bug out bags and kits, but they’ve learned to thrive economically in a society and that’s important when a large middle class segment is becoming poor. Money isn’t the most important thing but it does matter a lot in today’s world. Be careful of the person that says he doesn’t care about money. Through the years I’ve confirmed time and again, it’s the people that say that that are the most materialistic, and place money above everything else.

4) People’s Skills.

Knowing how to talk and interact with family, friends, neighbors, etc. I’ve said several times that you shouldn’t expect much from people in general, specially friends and neighbors , 9 out of 10 will let you down during tough times, but that also means there’s that 10% and you need people’s skills for that. Even when it comes to your own family, so as to be ready for harder times you family must be a tight unit, close to one another and as strong as possible to endure what’s coming.

5) Self Development.

The ability to cope mentally and physically, being able to solve problems, having the patience, even accepting what can’t be changed. Finding solutions to problems, being as positive as possible and not letting the problems you’ll be dealing with on daily basis get to you. If you’re easily depressed, the crisis will slowly consume you. You must be emotionally as strong as you can be, leaving behind you flaws of character, hysteria fits, childish attitudes. Maybe its things like drinking or drugs. Get rid of all that. The times to come will put you to test in all areas, including your personality and mindset.

Check the video, I’m sure I’ve mentioned a bunch of different things not covered here.

Take care and good luck.

FerFAL

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Preparedness for single Dad

              Mr. Fernando,

I appreciate the information I have been finding on your blog, amongst many, but you have actually “been there”.  I have a somewhat unique situation and wondered if you had any advice for me.

I am a single father.  I have custody of my now almost two year old son, his mother left when he was only 5 weeks old (long story….).  I am working and have been working as best I can with the limited time and resources I have to prepare and be prepared.  Obviously there are some things I am at disadvantages with, having a small child along for the ride and no second to watch my back.

I have the plus and minus of always being with a diaper bag when I’m not at work or at home.  It, like other possible shoulder bags (laptop type messenger bags come to mind) can possibly interfere with a drawstroke.  So can a 2 year old whether carried or walking beside you.

Being that you were a young father when it all got difficult, I wondered if you had any advice or thoughts from your past experiences, and I appreciate the information I have gotten from you over the years.

I will admit that I haven’t read all your posts, I got hooked on your blog while back while perusing Warrior Talk and found mention of you, then….. when I met somebody’s mother, I was limited in any preparation time or effort, again part of the long story.

Sincerely,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I have a 2 year old son too. My other boy is eight years old and he’s starting to be more help than trouble if you know what I mean, but kids are always a huge responsibility all your life. We went shooting today with my oldest son, good times. Mom and the little dude came along too but they stayed playing in the club’s playground swing. Being a single parent with a 2 year old must be tough. 

You have the advantage of having the diaper bag and I see how you could convert it into a “tactical” diaper bag, but then again you need to carry lots of baby stuff as well.  Google “tactical diaper bag” for a few laughs and some good tips as well. I’d get one big enough to carry the baby stuff plus your gear as well, all separated and within easy reach. For the baby, as you know already, you basically need a few diapers, baby wipes and spare set of clothes, some snacks and juice to drink. One thing you can do is put the spare set of clothes in a ziplock bag and press out all the air before closing. That package becomes surprisingly thin and you save a lot of space. All kids are different but one thing I’m never left without is pediatric ibuprofen and amoxcillin ( 200mg.) Other kids have sensitive ears so you want to have those ear drops with you, others are more prone to throwing up so something to stop vomits makes sense. I keep a well stocked medicine box keeping in mind the children. Solution for nebulizing and a good nebulizer and lots of spare syringes. These I use for measuring the ibuprofen solution when the little one has fever. Its also used a lot for babies that don’t want to drink it. You press carefully at the corner of the lip, dropping the soluting at the back of the tongue. This works very well since babies swallow it straight down but you have to be careful and fast. Few kids like this. Then again maybe your 2 year old is like mine and he eats the stuff as if it were candy. The older one is the one I used this on most often when he was a baby because he didn’t like the taste of the fever medicine.

As for firearms training you definitely want to keep in mind you son because chances are he will be there with you if  you need to use your gun. When carrying him you would draw single handed, keeping him pressed against your torso, canting your body to protect him as much as possible. If he’s walking and theres trouble, then you should be getting yourself between him and the bad guys, pushing him aside if you expect shooting. Better to fall on the ground and get a few scratches than catching a bullet in the crossfire. If you have someone to help, its good for the kids, eve babies to visit the gun club so they get used to gunshots (at a distance of course!) even when just staying in the park or playground, that way they aren’t as scared when they grow older and they shoot for the first time.

When it comes to the food you have stocked up, make sure its food your son could eat as well, preferably food you already know he likes. Go heavy on milk and protein (canned meats) which your son needs.

Being a single parent isn’t easy and I believe its even more complicated being a single dad. Kids, specially babies, they just need their mom a lot. I hope you have someone to help you out. I know I’d be lost without my wife helping with the kids.

One thing I remember from the book “Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s life in Sarajevo” was how important it is for children to have little treats such as chocolate and toys, books and magazines for a sense of normality. In the book, Zlata tells how much she misses school and want to go to classes (at the same time the city is being sieged, shelled and under sniper fire killing people every day) Still she would write in her diary how wonderful it was to receive candy, chocolate, some toys and books. Maybe adding a few educational school books too when old enough.

Kids just demand a lot of your time and resources. Of course they are worth it, but its not easy raising kids ( or including them in your preparedness) as a single parent in times like these. Just make sure to give him the tools he will need to be self thinking and self reliant. The world he will grow up into will most likely be a bit worse than the one you knew when little.

Take care Andrew, and good luck to both of you.

FerFAL
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Mugging examples and what to do to avoid them

My wife went to the gym yesterday and some acquaintances told her of muggings they have recently suffered.

These occurred during daytime, the first during the morning and the second one about 4 PM. Keep in mind that this is my neighborhood, what is considered “very good” in local terms since we have private security in most of the street corners. These incidents occur usually in the blocks that still don’t have security, when the guard left momentarily for whatever reason (bathroom for example) or it just occurs in spite of the guards, the mugging being pretty fast.

In the first case this woman was walking calmly in the sidewalk. As she passed by a young kid walking the opposite direction, this kid about 14 or so simply turned around hit her in the back of the head, sending her to the floor. She was dizzy and had a hard time getting up. she said she started chasing this kid that took her purse before she realized she had a hard time keeping her balance. “ I can barely stand, what the heck am I doing chasing this mugger?” She said to my wife.

In the second case, a couple, man and woman, walking on the same sidewalk but opposite direction, both young, well dressed, fake surprise as they get near the victim “Oh! How are you doing!? Its been so long since we last saw you!”. Before the women even has a chance to figure out if she knows them, they both close in and hug her. As the couple hugs the surprised woman, she feels an object pressed against her side as someone whispers in her ear “If you move I shoot you”. She stays put, her purse is taken away from her, and the couple walks away. To the eyes of people just a few yards away, the scene is just a woman that happened to come across a couple old friends.

What to do?

These are probably the hardest type of crime to avoid. If the criminal acts normal, dresses well, you simply don’t have any warning signs because its just a person like everybody else. He’s not a dirty junky or gang member, but Average Joe and Soccer mom walking around.

When streets are fairly deserted and someone approaches, what I do is no matter what, if it’s people coming close I accept the possibility of them being up to no good. I just don’t like having people walk on my back, the sounds of footsteps coming from the blind spot feels uncomfortable. What I do is slow around, move towards the street (don’t do it in the other direction or you corner yourself) so as to leave enough space for the person to pass while I turn towards him. Usually it makes people feel uncomfortable when you do so but I try pretending I’m looking at something else or crossing the street. I’m not talking of hostile body language or anything, just moving to a side to leave space, stopping and turning toward them. Most people will think its strange but just hurry pass you. If it’s a criminal he may just be surprised and look for someone less aware, or if he goes for it at least you have more space to either run or fight. In any case you’re not caught by surprise and that’s good.

If its someone walking towards me I move so as to leave as much space as the sidewalk allows, and keep an eye on the person as he walks by, just turning your head and torso a bit allows you to keep an eye on the person as he or she walks five or six yards pass you. Also keep in mind the sound of the footsteps. Those usually give you some information. If as you keep walking and turn your head back to the direction you’re going you hear a fast pace of footsteps then turn back in case their moving against you. These are all very natural, basic instinctive things but as rational creatures we’ve been trying for generations to shut down this basic instinct because its considered impolite. Survival instincts may not be very polite at times but they have their reasons.

A woman who’s husband works for the local municipal government told my wife that they are going to implement “safe corridors” from schools to train stations and other points of public transportation. Seems that kids and parents are being attacked when picking the kids from school so they will post military personal (gendarmeria) to create safe corridors.

The rest of the neighborhood? Better stick to the blocks that are guarded.

Take care folks,

FerFAL
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HOTEL SECURITY by Rick Davis

Another excellent article by my good friend, Rick Davis. Good security advice in general that applies to more than just hotels and traveling.
FerFAL

HOTEL SECURITY by Rick Davis

Your concerns about security in a hotel should begin when picking an area of town to stay in. Some of my industrial clients were in a less secure part of town than the central business district. I always stayed in the central business district, because of access to travel amenities and desirable meeting locations. In most cases, people were glad to come meet me in the central business district. If not, taxis, etc were available from my hotel, and I got the phone number to call for them to come back for me after the meeting. Remember to avoid taxis encountered on the street because they may take you to their criminal friend’s neighborhood to be robbed.
A lot of hotels will pretend to not have a reservation for you. I always got a reservation through a booking agent and prepaid the first night’s stay and got a receipt before leaving home for my trip. Only twice was I denied the stay… the first time in La Paz, Bolivia and another passenger offered to share his room so I accepted gratefully and used my receipt to pay for it. The desk clerk had clearly exceeded his authority to let another guest overstay his reservation and had probably already pocketed the overstaying guest’s money, since I had prepaid the room. He based his refusal to oust the overstaying guest due to the lateness of the hour, because our flight was 6 hours late in arrival, and it was 4am. Another time, in Caracas, another 6 hours late arrival caused the clerk to refuse to give me a room and offered to put me up 45 minutes away in an unsavory part of town. I explained that since I had prepaid, I would take my travel blanket and bed down on a couch in the lobby, because I had Asian and European visitors coming to a breakfast meeting (in less than 4 hours) and I didn’t know how to contact them. I proceeded to go to sleep on the couch and was awakened in 45 minutes as the clerk implored me to please go up to the room they had cleared for me at 4am. I requested clean sheets and towels and headed up to my room. Without my receipt in this case and the receipt PLUS a kind stranger in La Paz, I would have been seriously inconvenienced.

Once you have picked an area, it is a good idea to make a point of being on the first 3 – 5 residential floors of the building. It is possible to run downstairs to evacuate the building in the event of an emergency… or, upstairs if the power is out and the elevators don’t work. In the Mumbai attacks, hotel guests on the lower floors had a better survival rate, per my sources. Upper floors have less threat from crime, due to tougher access and escape facilities. A good, strong door is important… solid-core wood or metal doors are important considerations when picking a hotel, along with a way to lock out people with pass keys while you are in the room. You may prefer to stay in a high floor for special amenities… just be sure to play the “what if… ” game in your head to figure out what to do in the case of an earthquake, fire or other “lights out” situation.

When approaching your hotel room… keep your head on a swivel to note anyone paying special attention to you. As you get to your floor, if any suspicious person entered the elevator with you, consider going past your floor and walking down the stairs one flight. ALWAYS check a stairwell door to make sure it can be opened from the stairwell, because some stairwells are locked from the stairwell side so you cannot exit until you arrive at the lobby level. Please don’t be concerned if you appear a bit goofy, walking around in the hallway, checking stairwell doors and re-entering the elevator.
Also, if you notice you are being stalked on your floor, consider going past your room to the end of the hall… turn and face the other person and ask them if they are a guest of the hotel , since they have not entered any room on that floor. It is best not to open your hotel room door with a possible attacker near… it is easier to defend yourself in an open hallway where the criminal may be too leery of the noise factor to attack
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VALUABLES are best stored at the front desk lock boxes when you leave the room for more than a few minutes. The room lockbox is of limited use. Not all deposits in the front desk lock boxes are covered with loss insurance… NONE of the room lock boxes are covered of which I am aware.
ONCE YOU ARE IN YOUR ROOM consider never opening the door unless the party trying to enter has been properly identified. You can always ask a hotel employee to wait while you check with the operator/front desk/security office to verify the visit is legitimate… unless, of course, you requested a visit by hotel staff. Still, if you do not personally know the person, put the security short chain or other device on the door while you check them out. Beware that there are peephole reversers that allow one to be viewed from outside the room, so carrying some tape product that will help you secure the peephole from exterior view is a good idea. A lady sports reporter was recently filmed through such a device recently in a famous stalking case.

Once a thug is in your hotel room with you, they no longer have to worry about security. They quickly take control and can torture you or your loved ones without mercy until everyone opens the safe, discloses the hidden goodies, coughs up the car keys, ATM cards, credit cards and PIN numbers. They may force someone to go downstairs with them to get the really good stuff hidden in the lock box at the front desk, or to the bank to withdraw a large sum of cash. They take all your personal electronics which can be mined for online account info, the names of your friends and family that they call on the phone threatening to kill you unless they receive $50,000 or more cash in a couple of hours… know as an “express kidnapping” in Latin America. So, try to not scoff at this advice. You have the right to refuse to allow access to your hotel room until the visitor has been identified beyond a shadow of a doubt as to their official need to enter your room. Don’t enter a potential nightmare situation where you are beaten and robbed and your loved ones terrorized, your private property loaded into your car and driven off by thieves leaving you sobbing and bleeding tied up and immobilized on the rug in a hotel room with the blinds closed, the “do not disturb” sign on the locked door, and the phone rendered inoperative… all because you are trying to be a nice person and help the “hotel employee” who is just trying to do his job.

KEEPING SAFE in a hotel room is often taken for granted by many travelers. While some people make fun of my apparent paranoia, I have never been awakened in the middle of the night with a knife at my throat as has happened to people I know. There are small battery powered door alarms available inexpensively on the net, Amazon, eBay etc. It is a good idea to carry several of them with you to apply at all doors and large windows. Therre are small battery powered security alarms that look like a pager that fit on your belt, and I know people who were attacked and escaped by means of an ear-splitting shriek of a personal protection alarm. My fav is a simulated cell phone with a flashlight, an alarm and electrodes that can impart 100,000 volts with enough amperage to drop a steer. A cop friend said he would pretend to be talking on the cell phone as a threat approached and when the thief said “gimme your cell phone” the natural actions of a person in compliance would get you close enough to drop the thief. Warning… not legal in some jurisdictions, so I carry large plastic tie wraps with me in my hat sweatband so I can cuff the bad guy to an inanimate object after incapacitating him and escape. If you are worried about the guy suffering from extreme weather, call the 911 equivalent and be sure NOT to leave them my name as the mystery caller. It sounds funny, but my business card has been used by other people for nefarious reasons.

TRICKSTERS AND CON ARTISTS take hundreds of millions of dollars away from travelers every year. Some hotels use electronic key cards that are used to open the door, then are used to insert into a control box to operate the lights, tv, etc in the room. There is a scam where a guy wearing khakis shows up claiming to be from maintenance and needing to come into the room to check out the keybox. They enter the room and request the guest’s security keycard, which they palm, and substitute another key card that is NOT for this room, as all key cards for that hotel work in all keyboxes… but, will not open the guest’s room door. So, the thieves wait for the occupants to leave, use the guest’s own room keycard to enter the room, and load up all the valuables, including the contents of the lock box in the room. They have lots of time and privacy to pick the lock. Some crooks target high-end hotels wherein they know the swag will include lots of high-end electronics and possibly cash and jewelry easily fenced. At these hotels, they can afford to send by a cute young lady to offer discount coupons at a local eatery or even a prepaid meal coupon that will keep the guests out of the room at a set time of day for a long period of time to guarantee their long time availability to the guest’s personal property with a higher degree of safety and surety. This means of theft may be circumvented by using the previously described phone verifications with hotel desk, maintenance or security staff. Bad guys disappear fast when you say…”Hold on… I’m checking with your boss to assure this maintenance check is officially authorized.”

WHAT THE HOTEL CROOKS ARE LOOKING FOR.

The number one thing they seek is an easy mark. Try to appear to not be an easy mark. A family with small children will not usually initiate aggressive action against a hotel room invader, but kids are hard to hide. There are limits to what we can do to keep from appearing to be potential victims, but the risk can be mitigated by just staying in a higher level hotel where site security and on-site security staff give most criminals pause about targeting their clients. Seeing guys in blazers, ties and slacks with a beefy profile, a communications earbud and a vigilant appearance is a good clue.

Many thugs hang around shopping areas for high end purchases. On many occasions, they followed the victim from the store parking lot to the hotel, and can target the vehicle or the hotel room, based on what they think may be available to steal. Being especially well dressed or exhibiting large quantities of expensive jewelry will make a thug mark you for a victim.
When you leave the room, try to remember to place the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. This is not possible on some doors with electronic locks, so I have 2 DO NOT DISTURB signs I have stolen (Hmmmm!) from previous hotel stays. One fits in the electronic key card slot and the other has a hook to hang off the door handle. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES would I turn the sign around to the MAKE UP THE ROOM side unless I was checking out. If you want to get the room cleaned, call housekeeping and advise them.

Also, it’s a good idea to leave the TV and one light on so crooks looking under the door will see light and hear activity in the vacant room.
Avoid the parking lot if possible. Use the valet service, if available. If you have to enter the parking lot, be aware that thugs\hang out there looking for targets of opportunity. Use your normal situational awareness techniques, keep your head on a swivel, keeping your distance from large vehicles and people in the lot. Check the back seat floorboard before putting your key in the lock. Be prepared to reverse your course and return to a secure area if you sense danger at any point. There is a lot of crime in parking lots all over the world.
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