Steve does Paris

Although it rained most days it was warm enough for a t shirt at times and nothing more than a sweatshirt. If you want to do Paris on the cheap without the crowds don’t hesitate to go at this time of year. Now Paris on the cheap is an oxymoron.  I changed $100 at the airport and got Euro 58 back, which is not enough money for a taxi down town.  That will buy you 6.6 pints of draft at a pedestrian pub.  I never got to go to the Moose Bar. One of my French guides was a Canadian who moved to Paris at age 11, talk about an independent child. Anyway, according to him the Moose is the only place to watch hockey in Paris. The tour group put on two teambuilding exercise, one had us do a Hells Kitchen like episode and cook dinner for 42 people. It took place on a boat floating on the Siene under the supervision of 3 chefs, it was fantastic and the meal was superb. The other was skating at a hockey rink, it was the only time in my life anyone in any way suggested I was a phenomenal skater. They don’t believe in Zamboni’s or flooding the rink in France.  It was like skating on bamboo stalks.  At least they did have hockey skates instead of figure skates like most skate rental places in Europe. I had to try on 3 pair to get a set with the blades aligned at 90 degrees to the boot. Sharpening is also another skill the French have failed to master. Basically I spent an hour picking people up off the ice.  The French believe hockey is a violent and dangerous game, well most of the people at this event injured themselves worse than being on the wrong end of a Pronger two hander. Air travel continues to decline from the sublime to the ridiculous, but what are you going to do it’s a big world out there.

Mean Mr Mars

A Very exciting development that could have a huge psychological effect upon humanity.  Imagine knowing there was life on other planets, imagine all those words  directly from GOD that did not take that important information into account.

X Prize takes the Prize

Motivation is a multifaceted wonder, and the X Prize is a jewel in this field. The latest victory is the $1million dollar prize for oil clean up, advanced the art more in a few months than the Oil Industry had done in two decades since Exxon Valdez. One million dollars is less than Exxon spends on coffee each month, shame on them. How much better could oil refineries be, how much cleaner could gasoline and diesel be.

Not a survivalist a Prepperationist

I am not a survivalist. I believe the media over amps violence and fear, and governments of all stripes echo this because it makes them seem more useful and relevant. Now Canadians are under attack from a government that is pushing a law and order agenda that has been proven to create the opposite. Surely this is the goal. In relatively crime free Canada it’s hard to get the population to fear for its safety, so the Government is going to bring us an American style nihilistic underclass, as a foil to extend its ideological grip indefinitely. Therefore I have been projecting that in my future situations that exist in the USA and worse places will come to Canada. I spent a couple of weeks on business in Buenos Aries before the economic collapse. My hosts kept me constantly occupied continually exposing me to all aspects of life in Argentina. I left with nothing but platitudes for that country. I have lived on continental Europe for most of a decade and spent years in most Asian countries. At that time if I had to choose to live elsewhere Argentina would be a top consideration along with Australia and New Zealand. Recently I came across the blog surviving Argentina. It was shocking to read about the dystopian reality of today's Argentina. It was more shocking to read the authors conclusions and evidence that America was deep into the precursor events that changed Argentina.

Although I have real fears the US will descend into madness, I am hopeful Canada will not change much and repelled by events in America will soundly reject our current Conservative government. Nevertheless I was both a Boy Scout (always be prepared) and an avid consumer of speculative fiction. Therefore I will use this post to gather materials and methods to survive the potential collapse.

Location, location, location, geography is going to be the biggest factor in any scheme. In my scenario I rule out tropical islands, and moving to New Zealand. I am not independently wealthy and billionaires are going to be the first to fall unless they are extremely clever. Assume I have a couple of million, but anyone can take something from the coping solutions I follow.

City or country: its counter intuitive but in a simple economic collapse the city is safer than the country. It is far too easy to plan an attack on an isolated location. There will be organized gangs who make it their business to forage upon the remote defenders. Furthermore, isolation means little hope of reinforcements. So I am choosing a suburban environment.

Picking a location that has temperate climate, good soil, water and sustainable population narrows the field considerably. Then one must consider the three secrets to success. 1) Education 2) Effort 3) Native cunning. With native cunning predominate in a society in flux. Therefore pick someplace you understand. Pick someplace you’re going to have allies you can gauge for trust and reliability. In conclusion moving someplace you have never lived is a huge risk. Don’t even consider places where you are not a fluent speaker.

I have selected a 50 acre farm in Niagara on the lake. This is relatively densely populated area, with wind, sun, water, good soil and a temperate wine growing climate. Creating a compound of three shipping container basedQuik will provide sustainable security. The houses would feature armored shutters, external fires suppression, and air exchange from a hidden source. Two of the homes would be for families sharing my survival dream. With electronic sentinels, remote firearms and a network of blinds, defense of the realm against gangs is accomplished.

Firearms

In Canada the selection of legal firearms is relatively restricted. Handguns are not legal accept under very very tough terms.

The Remington R-25 semi-automatic is a beauty, .308 caliber bullets will punch through armor and be deadly at long range.

Remington R-15 recoilless .22 semi-auto. Perfect for women and children.

PS90TR Yes its the civilian version of the Stargate gun.

Hi Fernando,,

I would like you to settle and argument. Compared to an AR 15 or even an AK47 is the http://www.fnhusa.com/le/products/firearms/model.asp?gid=&fid=FNF009&mid=FNM0016

A better choice.  The ammo can be shared with a pistol, and the weight is considerably lighter than either of the alternatives. The argument against, Ammo hard to find.

Steve

---

 Hi Steve, its not a bad set up and I really do like the 5.7 pistol, but it comes down to millions of units and decades of proven reliability. It just takes time and considerable success to achieve that, and so far the Glock is still to be beaten and the Ak has set the standard for carbines. Its not a bad weapon combo, and as you say light amo, fast follow up shots, light weapon sistem. Still, I preffer the more time proven models. That's just me, others like the light recoil and accessory of the AR and there's guys still packing 1911s because they feel that works best for them.
Regards,
Fernando

The Black Special is a civilian version of the Swiss Army Rifle.

Crossbows like the Excalibur can’t live without them.

Pioneer Airbow-8 shots

Swords but you have to practice. Good knives Gerber gear featured on the Walking Dead. and Ontario Tactical Knives, official wet work weapons. Buy swords here. and here

Seal Team Six Knives

Zombie Fighter

All in one

New double barreled gun

Practical safe house.

A container house without the container.

As a bug out vehicle Fernando loves his CRV, and in his estimation, gas mileage is almost as important as reliability and jumping curbs.

If your going to go seriously off road there are a number of good suggestion given by a guy who has had mondo experience on the exploration side of survival. Gas mileage not a consideration here. I like the idea of a EClass.

The Beast I would add some kind of fenders and a rattrap. However a pure electric is a preppers delight.

A Factory in a box

Basic prep is playing Fallout, and picking locks, an invaluable skill.
http://www.bussecombat.com/knives/index.shtml

Personal Radiation Monitor (EMP resistant)

Geiger Counter watch

Remote fire station

A Better Remote Fire Station. It tracks using x box tech.

  blog by a real survivalist, he has lived our nightmares.


Flashlights, going to need light

Better eating greenhouse tips.

Watches that will last.
Food
Pressure Cooker to self-preserve your food

Pemmican

Now thats a knife

Detailed Plan


Wireless Remote Webcams. See whats going on where they are installed from anywhere you have a internet connection.

http://www.humbleseed.com/
http://www.urbangreenenergy.com/products/eddygt
http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-greenes-48-laws-of-power-2012-4#never-outshine-the-master-1
http://boingboing.net/2012/06/11/recreational-robot-shooting.html
http://www.pinterest.com/tough3rrhino/zombie-apocolypse-prepperation-board/
http://www.maxpedition.com/

Floating Island

Best Professions for the end times

Scalable Electric Independence using Stirling Engine and thermal mass.

Prepper shop on line

Owners Manual for the rebuild

Preppers Subdivision in Panama.

The official Steve Prepperation clothes. 500 Denier Cordura, indefinably highly zombie resistant.

I have mixed feelings about a dog. They are another mouth to feed, and can get you into situations better avoided. Nevertheless surely the plus side wins handily. The best choice a Dogo Argintino. You can buy a good one here.

Tips from JamesStarSlayer

A Billionare Prep

Are Direct Injection Gasoline Engines ready for prime time?

I love Honda, and admire Toyota. Unless I was independently wealthy I would need a lot of convincing to purchase anything else. My top 5 criteria for choosing a car are:

1.         Reliability (life cycle cost)

2.         Fuel Economy

3.         Interior comfort

4.         Exterior Styling

5.         Safety

While GDI engines were invented in 1925, it was not until 1996 there potential became mainstream. In 2011 most Brands have a version except for Honda and Toyota.  Now I know why. Despite a 10 to 15% boost in both power and fuel economy, two big liabilities. First the high pressure pumps needed are expensive and complex (repair Kaching$). Secondly there are burn issues that lead to oil burning and carbon build up. Therefore I now know why Honda and Toyota have been cautious, and if you’re buying a car with GDI, beware.

Blow him out of the sky Dano

When ideology rules the police have air to air destructive capability. Despite spend close to $1 trillion a year (on defense) the NYC Cops can still justify air to air combat redundancy. Why not just put shoulder mounted SAMS in the police car trunk?

No way to sugarcoat Nazi's emerging from the South Pole

Even reading the sanitized version of Operation Highjump raises doubts. Then ponder how Admiral Forrestal died weeks after  Operation Highjump. Lots of Highjump links, here, here, and lets not forget the tie in to Operation Paperclip, here. Rosswell has cover from Occams Razer, Operation Highjump is the truth shaved.

Wikileaks may be poised to(video for hardcore only) blow the lid off these mysteries. Ironically I could not find any rational links to the Wikileak UFO story, who would have guessed it? Will history fundamentally change in October? No matter what the facts, highly unlikely. However, what if the current finance crisis is a front for a Nazi takeover? The Nazi’s after 60 years of living in Hollow earth choosing this time to emerge would explain everything.

A link that takes things a step further.


A movie based upon the above.

People still Read?

Like most fans I love to wear the colour.

Some of my favorite T shirts are brands, products, or places from fictional worlds. HBO got me hooked on Game of Thrones and I am slowly reading the series. I think about reading like I think about listening to the Beatles. I know I like the sound but I just cant get thrilled about the idea any more. Then a song comes on the I pod and I am hooked all over again.

One of the most underrated contemporary future history authors has to be Australian John Birmingham. If you liked the movie The Philadelphia Experiment , this 3 book series will be a real treat. The premise is the same but instead of a single ship going forward to the present, a whole fleet of 2020 NATO ships goes back to WWII. Great stuff and please make the movie.
http://www.disclose.tv/action/music/596/THE_PHILADELPHIA_EXPERIMENT/

Dreaming of the Future in a 787

Update Jan 1, 2013, oh how wrong I was.

Boeing in order to spite the unions almost destroyed the company with its bungles on the 787 development. However, now the first plane has been delivered and all will be forgotten.
http://gizmodo.com/5852073/could-boeings-miracle-plane-make-flying-suck-less

Rambling again

It’s been a few weeks since I posted, mostly nothing new to discuss or worthy subjects already well-reviewed with better prose and more passion.

What is it with Conservatives and Jets, why do they love toys more than their country? First we have too many private government jets, likely because every time the Bombardier salesman needs a sale he calls daddy. However, its time to cut this fat. The bigger issue is why does our PM fly private when the British PM fly commercial?

Glad to see Ford Nation chewing off its leg to get out of self-made traps. Is it too late to save transit city?

The Ontario provincial election is a mess. Liberals should win, but Tim Hudak is not challenged even by his stupidest policies. Number one, power, if he gets rid of the Smart Meters your power bill will go up 44% on 69% of your FAMLIES consumption.

I join the chorus of those who are writing off Obama, Washington a place where hope and change go to die.

My beloved Canadians are shaping up for a cup run, but it all depends on the big M to make it a lock.

Conrad Black never disappoints. In essences he is now in jail for obstruction of justice. The evidence of this is the video of him removing boxes. In his defense he claims he installed the cameras to make it easy for the Justice Department to catch him. Thus totally innocent, and its not a crime in Canada, pity!

Quaddaffi Duck and GWB

They were having a torture bromance, how sweet. In 2004 CIA kidnapped off the streets of Bangkok the guy who is now leading the Libyan Rebels and delivered him to Tripoli. Next time some pol talks about freedom, your money and your sons and daughters remember this.

Bob and Doug Ford do the Waterfront

After decades of excruciating negotiations planning and getting three levels of government to commit to a plan the vision of a world class waterfront for Toronto has been advancing and all the ducks are a row to finish the project over another 20 years. Doug after watching the Simpsons scribbles on his napkin and comes up with a better plan, a shopping mall with a Monorail and Hotel on the waterfront. I support this urban planning wunderkind, who needs all that education planning and consulting, go Dougie.

Top ten reasons to build shopping mall on the lake

1)No waterfront city in the world including Hong Kong has done it.

2)When the international car thief’s steal your car its way more green to load it directly from the parking lot.

3)All the runoff from rain can do directly into the lake, do you have any idea how much it costs to process all the runoff from other shopping malls.

4)It will be a world class destination for RV drivers. No other city in the world has this kind of infrastructure for them to utilize. Direct access to water, and a place for those who are libertarians to dump organic waste.

5) The wind from the lake will blow away any trash, operating cost for this mall will be world class.

6)The Don Valley Parkway and Gardner expressway are infrastructure treasures, a mall will fully utilize this resource.

7)People shopping don’t care about the noise from the airport, killing two birds with one stone.

8)It will have a monorail, and monorail was the best Simpsons ever.

9)The West Edmonton mall is only on a river.

10)Ford nation will be able to view the waterfront from a drive through.

NPR list of top 100 Sci Fi and Fantasy

Cover art from Peter F Hamilton Reality Dysfunction by Jim Burns

Of the top 100 I have read 49(80finalist). IMHO too much fantasy, but a great list. I would add some Greg Bear, Peter F Hamilton and David Birn and take out some fantasy writers. Margret Atwood’s Ornyx and Crate should have made the list as well.
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/07/138938145/science-fiction-and-fantasy-finalists
John Birmingham has some terrific movie worth works.
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dca-books-english-tree&field-keywords=+John+Birmingham&x=13&y=15
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2011/09/sfsignalnpr100flowchart.jpg

RIP Jack Layton

A great Canadian who will be missed dearly. Condolences to his immediate family and his family of millions of Canadians.

Top Ten Reasons Canadians Should celebrate Castro's Birthday

Photo by (Podknox)

Top ten reasons Canadians should celebrate Castro’s 85^th Birthday

1) Over the years we have made a bundle selling Cuban cigars to Americans

2) Gives Canadians a safe place to go south in the winter.

3) Provides an answer to the question how are Canadians different from Americans?

4) The iconic photo of Che looks great in your dorm or on a T-shirt.

6) Even when he had the chance he did not nuke America

7) Keeps Giorgio Mammoliti busy plotting his overthrow.

8) Gives Canada breathing room otherwise we would be the “socialist menace less than a meter from the border”

9) If not for Cuba, Canada would be the star in every Michael Moore documentary.

10) We can all wear sandals in the summer now because PET wore them once in Cuba.

Controlling the Narrative

Do you want sulphur with your gas

Falling over the Falls

I feel terrible for the family of the young woman who fell off the railing and was swept over the falls. The British call it death by misadventure. I live near the falls and was shocked to learn it is common for people to stand on the stone blocks that make up the barrier. I hope her death revives common sense.

Bicycle

Chris Hume in the Toronto Star is spot on with his examination of Toronto's dysfunctional culture.

The wars on the bicycle and muddleheaded worship of the car are perfect symbols for Toronto’s ennui with progress.

Cure for Cancer

A quick google looking for links between HIV virus and cancer cures pulls up this 2005 story from Austraila. The only story linking the University of Pensylania cancer cure to HIV is here.. Is the HIV aspect of this discovery buried because of fears the public will not understand that HIV can cure as well as kill, or is it a fear that many will think it is proof HIV was a man made  virus?

Stupid on purpose

Someday I will add always on appliance to my list of stupid things we used to do. In Europe the boxes have a sleep mode, but in North America, ohh no, I might have to wait a second for it to come on and we can’t have that. So 9 coal fired plants run full time costing $2 Billion in wasted energy to power set top boxes that are not being used. These vampires are using more energy than the refrigerator. If you have one you can save a bundle just by putting them on a power bar and shutting them off when you go to bed.

Littoral Ships Fail

I support a reasonable military, and weapons to support a supportable strategy. The US has long lost the forest for the trees. The air force is doomed with the F35 and the Navy has lost it with the Littoral ships, a horror story beyond belief.

Atwood Vs. Ford

 Doug Fords attempted beat down on Margaret Atwood reveals a lot. All the early statements are gone, but it maybe he really did not know who she was and did not even take the time to find out before making his statement.

It is incredible that a pint sized pol would insult one of the greatest living Canadians. Shame Shame Shame! Her book Oryx and Crake is one of the finest sci fi ever written by any author of any nation.

Taliban on the ropes

Picture by(isafmedia)

The mayor of Kandahar was assassinated, and the US ambassador to Afghanistan commented “this is proof we have the Taliban on the run, they are so weak all they can do is assassinate top level targets.”  Why do Politian’s continue to flog dead horses insisting they are only resting, and sure to win the race? Maybe its not that they think we are stupid it’s that enough people are stupid enough to accept these spin statements as reassuring. Looking at the debt ceiling battle in the US confirms this assumption.

Also confirmed is that the Karzai government will last about ten minutes after the Americans leave. So why spend another dollar, or lose another life in Afghanistan?

Montreal trip

Just about recovered from a three day trip to Montreal. I got a very cool souvenir from Ikea. I love to read sitting on the lazy boy like chair, but have never found a good light to complement the excellence of the other parts of my mancave. Well the LED from IKEA is fantastic, buy at least one.


I came to Montreal in a fully loaded cargo van in keeping with my parental responsibility to help my offspring move forward from first to second year at McGill. So my question is why did Montreal move against me. Every key intersection, interchange and even the highway was under construction. Traffic moved like Stephen Harper rolling a joint. Then just when the whole city was torn up and covered in orange detour signs the construction union took the annual two week holiday. Sincerely this is what I love about Montreal, the Anglo can go to the beach and the worker will be at his  or her side.


Move went great, nice apartment in a very funky neighborhood.

Harry Potter the Progressive Model

I just finished watching the last Harry Potter, and find it wonderful so many young people will enjoy this tale of a progressive turning his back on concentrating power at his center. Republicans will be burning JK Rowlings books very soon.

Why Chinese Canadians do not enlist in Military

Photo (stevendepolo)

Top Ten reasons Chinese Canadians don’t enlist

1)  No German made vehicles to drive, Chinese only drive German made.

2)  White guys never serve rice

3)  Way to much beer drinking, never see cognac

5)  Get very insulted at rife range when instructor says, “you can stop squinting now”

6)  Barracks totally lacking Feng Shiu

7)  Have way to much combat experience all ready from Team Fortress tournaments

8)  No business class on C5A(Transport Planes)

9)  Camoes are all generic brand

10)            No Armani dress uniforms

11)            Jackie Chan always fought without guns

12)            No Ninja units in Canadian Forces

13)            Know most Ammo comes from China and likely will not work when most needed.