Dave Hakes' – Island Mode

You’ll want to start from the beginning and read this (but do not do anything yet, just read it) before continuing:

Advice for Home Admins

A lot of people are being scammed right now. Some online (via text, email or website) and some with a simple phone call – let’s stop the madness! Securing your digital profile will take about twice as long as you have been online – meaning those who have been online for 5 years can expect it to take 10 years to see their digital profiles flicker out. To be “real”, there will always be a remnant – it will never really disappear – depends on how long you’ve been online, what you did online, how many social media sites you frequent and who bought that information/data/photos/etc from the sites you originally put it on – they’ve been selling your data since the day you signed on with them and it will be impossible to delete that data because you will never know who they sold it to…

The only thing you can do is try to undo what you have already done at locations you have done it to break the links from that direct data to you. This is a long process, and most folks won’t do it. All I’m gonna say is don’t call me when someone scams you or steals your identity. I’m putting it all out here – do it or don’t do it – it’s on you now:

1. Get a pen and paper and in 10 minutes (without your phone in the same room – just you, a pen and a piece of paper) write the name of individuals you regularly talk to on the phone (or text) – also write down any family or friends you would need to contact if there was an emergency. If you can not think of them in 10 minutes they do not belong on the list.

2. Turn that piece of paper over after the initial ten minutes is up and gather your monthly bills and write the contact number from that paperwork for those companies. Do the same with your quarterly, semi-annually and annual bills. Don’t forget the local DMV, doctors office, bank branch and all those companies – just the ones you deal with.

3. Go get an old fashioned phone book (small enough to fit in your back pocket would be great) and write down all names, addresses and phone numbers of the family and friends from the list your wrote above (#1) in the this book (use pencil for everything – things do change over time).

4. Then do the same for all the companies and agencies you deal with regularly (from #2 above) such as banks, electric company, water, gas, phone, social security admin, hospital, doctor – all of them – write the “main number” in your book for the local branch (the branch you use most often).

5. Change Your Phone Number and Main Personal Email Address – not joking – this is probably the single best way to protect yourself. People who have the money to hire their own security experts do this often – they’ll never get a call, text or email from someone they did not specifically give their info to…. If you do this it will be rare you have to deal with points #9 and #10 below for a good 12-18 months simply because all the databases out there (that you do not update yourself) will have your old info…
I grew up with the sons and daughters of a few very high end doctors, lawyers, actors, movie producers/directors and professional athletes in Orange County California in the 80’s – even in the 80’s, these folks changed their phone number every 12-18 months. We had to remember our friends numbers back then, so it was always “a thing” for us kids – this was before cell phones, everyone shared the phone line in their house…. Their office number never changed, but they changed their personal number often…

6. Walk in to the local branches of as many of the companies/agencies in Steps #2 and #4 as possible and give them your new number – talk to a few folks who work there, get the card of the folks you get along with so you can call them directly – this is how we use to do things, face to face…

7. Go back to your original list in point #1 of folks you regularly talk to (as well as friends and family) – now, delete anyone from your phone’s address book who is not on that list

8. You can do one of two things now.
A) As you need to contact people, do so and then let them know your new info. This is the smartest thing to do because fewer people will have your info.
B) Contact all the people in your analog phone book (it won’t be nearly as many as you think there will be) and let them know that you changed your phone number and that you no longer have email or texting capability (whether you do or not) and if they want to contact you immediately it needs to be with a phone call.
There will come a time when one of your friends wants to email something to you. That’s fine – the thing is, you are controlling who has that information…. Tell them not to pass it around and not to group email with your address in the mix – if they want to email you they can do it directly. You can control who has this information – and if it’s someone who you don’t think can follow your rules then give them your “other” email address (the old one that gets all the spam)…

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Here comes the hard part,

9. Keep your phone in “Airport Mode” if you are not using it (such as when you are asleep, taking a shower, in church, in class, doing chores, etc…)

10. Do not connect to wireless networks – your carrier signal is much more secure – not completely secure by any standard, but much more secure than the wireless network in your home, coffee shop or office.

11. Don’t answer your phone unless a familiar name pops up (in other words, only answer the phone when someone from your address book is calling) – if it is not them on the line then hang up and call their significant other, their kid or their neighbor to find out why someone else was using their phone.

12. If anyone else calls, listen to the message and do not ever call the number they leave on the message – always call the “main line” to the company or agency and tell them you were “called pertaining to…”. If the call was real then they will put you through to the right person or be able to help you themselves – if the call was bogus then they will have no idea what you’re talking about. If it is a call from an individual or company you never heard of, consider it spam – you know who you deal with, who they work for and what their voice sounds like, so only deal with them.

13. “Block” numbers of bogus calls and texts in your phone settings and you’ll never see that number again…

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I know you’re going to text – but be cognizant of just texting with folks you know. Do not respond to someone whose name does not appear – don’t even ask “who is this?” – do not respond at all…. Swipe left and delete the text – DONE…

Now, the harder part. I call this the “harder part” because it’s really hard for people to give up convenience:

1st, you have to have an Apple Device 2nd, do not download an app which has it’s own website – use the website 3rd, do not download an app you do not need – don’t download something just to try it, you are not a beta tester with the pay and all the layers of security that comes with that 4th, do not download any app made by Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft or is home based in another country – if you have them, delete them and use the website (if you really need to use them) 5th, turn off all “Location Services” – “Find My” and “Maps” are the only thing you really need Location Services for anyway 6th, turn off all “Tracking” 7th, turn off “Siri” 8th, turn off “Airdrop” 9th, turn off “Background App Refresh” 10th, turn off “Automatic Updates” – do them manually a week or two after you have read how it may effect your device (which is usually a week or two after the initial update) – so, yes, wait 4-6 weeks 11th, turn off “Bluetooth” 12th, turn off access to all “Privacy” settings within each Apple app so no other app can access any of your personal data, microphone or camera 13th, take all pics offline – out of the cloud. You probably don’t have space for this on your device so on your computer, or an external HD, is probably going to work best 14th, take all data offline – out of the cloud. You probably don’t have space for this on your device so on your computer, or an external HD, is probably going to work best 15th, “close” all your social media accounts – there’s a trick to this, first thing you want to do is get in there and delete pics and data. Then don’t do anything for 3-6 months – do not login at all. To simplify, this “breaks” the links associated with meta-data related to your data and pics from your account. The meta-data links have to be broken for a few months so that web-spiders can properly kill those links. After 3 months start searching for yourself (and your family members you may have posted pics or info about) on the Internet and see if anything pops up. If nothing pops up – do nothing. Keep the account (so no one can open an account in your name and pretend they are you), just don’t login. If something you don’t like pops up in your search after six months, then you have to contact the company directly to delete your digital profile – some may do it, some will not do it. Just so you’re aware of it, if you do have to contact the company to delete your digital profile and they agree to it, they will most likely simply delete your account (so whatever data and pics you left in there will still be on their server/s) 16th, do not save any usernames, passwords or payment information within any app or device – we weren’t always so lazy, we use to memorize this stuff all the time – here’s the “funny” thing, people always tell you not to write it down, but if you’re saving them to your device, or allowing your device to save them, then that is actually more dangerous. If you need to, go old school. Get an old pocket phone book and write all the usernames, password and (oh yeah) phone numbers in there – and keep it on you just like we use to. If you must, make a code that only you and a few family members understand in case you lose it – and write in pencil so you can easily edit when needed. Once you have them in your book, delete them from your device. 17th, encrypt as much as possible 18th, I actually put a piece of electrical tape over the camera of my devices (just in case) – take it off and put it back on as needed 19th, Don’t forget to turn off “cookies” within Safari itself – you can turn them back on (and off) as needed – the cool thing about this is, if a website won’t work without cookies, once you turn them on to use the site you know the entire time you are on that website that everything you’re doing is being tracked – knowing when you’re being tracked and by whom is a good thing 20th, use “DuckDuckGo” as your default search engine – I really don’t trust DuckDuckGo either, but they feign to be secure. I personally use old school search engines because no one else does (so they’re faster), they tend to produce better results and I can use them with “cookies” turned off 21st, Always clear history, cache and cookies at the end of each session in Safari – just in case The less interaction your device has online the less data there will be on you out there in the wild – if you need to interact, do not let it be something happening in the background (within an app) that you are not directly interacting with – shut all that down immediately. Basically, you want to make yourself a hard target so the bad guys will move on to a softer target – there’s 5 billion active internet users – they’ll move on to someone else pretty quick…

For all of you parents out there. Secure your children’s phone – the school will provide the un-secure device they need for school work – there is no reason their phone should be anything other than a phone. PLEASE. If they want to screw it all up when they get out of the house, fine…. But, while they’re under your roof, keep them safe. At the very least they’ll know what to do the first time someone scams or hacks them.
For those looking after their elderly parents I’d give the same advice. They will fight you tooth and nail, but secure their lives for them – over 60 and under 20 are the targets the bad guys are going for.

To take ALL OF THE ABOVE further, if you have an iPhone and absolutely want to have the most secure phone possible, do the above and then:
In “Settings” go to “Privacy & Security” and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of that page.
You’ll find “Lockdown Mode”, click on that and then click on “Turn On Lockdown Mode”.
“Lockdown Mode” will NOT allow your phone to do anything stupid – which means a lot of stuff you typically do (and think nothing of it) suddenly isn’t going to work – it will definitely help you to realize what you’ve been doing wrong because it won’t allow you to do it…
If you want your iPhone to simply be a phone with with iCloud interoperability, “Lockdown Mode” is definitely for you…

Now, I said “Do The Above” before considering lockdown mode because lockdown mode may not allow you do get into your Amazon, Google, Microsoft or Social Media Accounts to do what you need to do to secure yourself…. So you need to do Steps 1 through 15 in the box above before you look into “Lockdown Mode”…. The last few steps (16 through 21) in the box above are daily things you’ll have to pay attention to and do…

Apple’s website has more specific info on what “Lockdown Mode” will do – click here for Apple’s “Lockdown Mode” page To summarize: “When Lockdown Mode is enabled, your device won’t function like it typically does. To reduce the attack surface that potentially could be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware, certain apps, websites, and features are strictly limited for security and some experiences might not be available at all.” “ When Lockdown Mode is enabled, some apps and features will function differently, including: Messages – Most message attachment types are blocked, other than certain images, video, and audio. Some features, such as links and link previews, are unavailable. Web browsing – Certain complex web technologies are blocked, which might cause some websites to load more slowly or not operate correctly. In addition, web fonts might not be displayed, and images might be replaced with a missing image icon. FaceTime – Incoming FaceTime calls are blocked unless you have previously called that person or contact. Apple services – Incoming invitations for Apple services, such as invitations to manage a home in the Home app, are blocked unless you have previously invited that person. Shared Albums – Shared albums are removed from the Photos app, and new Shared Album invitations are blocked. You can still view these shared albums on other devices that don’t have Lockdown Mode enabled. When you turn off Lockdown Mode, you need to turn Shared Albums on again in your device settings. Device connections – To connect your iPhone or iPad to an accessory or another computer, the device needs to be unlocked. To connect your Mac laptop with Apple silicon to an accessory, your Mac needs to be unlocked and explicit approval provided. Configuration profiles – Configuration profiles can’t be installed, and the device can’t be enrolled in Mobile Device Management or device supervision while in Lockdown Mode. Phone calls and plain text messages continue to work while Lockdown Mode is enabled. Emergency features, such as SOS emergency calls, are not affected. ”

Oh, almost the most important point here, when you have these phone conversations (or any conversation really) be in a room with no smart devices (none, zero, nada) – nothing like being recorded while you’re changing passwords or account numbers…

…and… finally… put that analog phone book in a safe place… Do not carry it with you… Do not leave it out at your house… Put it somewhere safe…

If you want to make sure you can be reached even if electrical goes down, get a landline in your house – do not allow the phone company to digitize this line, keep it POTS (Plain Old Telephone System). Of course, if no one else has one it will do you no good for reaching out – but if one of your friends or family can find a pay phone they can call you (even if there is no electricity). The moment you get an unsolicited call, change the number and alert all your family and friends of the new number. I say “the moment” because once you get one of those calls that means the number is now on a list and the calls will not stop…

OK…. OK…. To respond to a few emails I received last week. What do I recommend for…? What do I really want to check out? Here ya go…

The first thing you want to do is get yourself notebooks and pencils – ALOT. When “Islanding”, or prepping to go into “Island Mode”, you need to write a detailed logbook of what was done each day, what was seen each day, the weather and anything else that may seem relevant. Having everything in your brain is great, but what happens if you become indisposed? Another person, or group of folks, may need the insights of your logs…

Second thing, unless you have a good source of salt for meat storage you have to realize that all electricity you produce will go toward food storage – charging batteries for water desalination/purification or other specific tools may be a distant second – charging your cell phones, or other digital devices, will not even make it on the list (they are expensive paperweights without something to connect to anyway)…

Third thing, look at everything as a finite resource – once it is gone, it is gone – so always keep it in your head that “three is one, two is none”…

Here’s just a few things to get yourself started on the road to “Island Mode” (you can also look to the links on the right hand side of this page for more – no one pays me for any of this, this is all personal “likes”):

Bates Boots – there are many other brands, but I’ve been wearing Bates since the 80’s and have never found anything negative with any Bates footwear I have worn.

BBQ Pits. These will be very important at your home base (or your kids games in the meantime). Try to keep the elements from them so they last. The best I’ve found are Pits by JJ and Engelbrecht Grills and Cookers – I love the idea of hooking the “BBQ trailer” up to my truck and just BBQ’ing wherever I may roam. I’m a charcoal/wood guy, but my next purchase will be something that has a small propane grill on the side – so someone who doesn’t know how to start a proper BBQ fire, or have the patience for the perfect temperature, can just kick on the small propane grill on the side and “get ‘er done” while the rest of us wait for perfection from the wood grill…

Berkey Water Filters – we’ve been using these for almost twenty years now and they are awesome – be sure to get plenty of filters – we clean our filters and have six kids but find the filters to last at least 6 months before needing replacement. But that is with faucet water – think river water, solar still or catchment water – I would suspect the filters would last longer or shorter depending on the water source (as well as how many people are using it daily)…

“DeLorme Atlas & Gazatteer Paper Maps” are very detailed, colored, state-by-state topo map books. You will need them. You can find them at places like Bass Pro Shops, Garmin and REI. At “home base” I have the old topo maps from the USGS rolled up (never folded) in a bin (they should be laminated but are not), but these books are what travel with me (in the vehicle). Get the actual books – digital maps are dependent on more than your device for accuracy and if there’s no power to all of these devices then the weakest link is what you are dependent on. Digital devices are also dependent on cloud cover and terrain for a signal. Get yourself a compass and learn how to orienteer – I learned when I was around 8 – it’s not rocket science we are talking about. I usually get topos from the USGS for 100 miles out from home base as well as between home base and hunting and fishing areas – I get the DeLorme Atlas Books whenever I see them (for any state I do not already have). I do not take the originals with me in the field (when on foot). I will scan, print and laminate from the originals to keep the originals in good condition (bring a small magnifying glass in case you need it – good to start your camp fire with as well)…

Grain Maker – self explanatory…

Flow Hives – the best way to extract honey without disturbing the bees and without doing all the processing on the back end…

HAM Radio – there may be a time when you want to get the news from other parts of the world directly from someone who lives there. Don’t go crazy and get something too expensive. Keep it simple. You’ll want a base station as well as a few handhelds. Most important is your antennae setup – you’ll want to do a lot of research on this – and again, this can get expensive, so don’t get carried away! You will find that antennae placement is very important! The more analog you can go with the radio/s the better – none of that digital crap is going to work if you’ll be needing this in a serious situation…

Hybrid Light – I have a few of these, and plan to test and use more. One thing I really moved away from the the last few years is perpetually buying batteries for my flashlights. It’s nice to put my flashlights in the window sill during the day and let the sun charge them up. I have also used them to keep my cellphone charged on long trips – so I know that works as well. I tend to have one charging while I’m using another one for a day and then swap them the next day…

GoSun – ok, I only have the “Fusion”, but I want everything these folks put out. Solar charging tables, solar ovens, just fun stuff – fun stuff that can actually help in a survival situation. Be sure to read the paperwork that comes with what you get – there’s some good info in there. As always, use it and get to know it well – don’t wait until you “need to”…

KABAR – My favorite carry is my short Tanto with a serrated edge on the topside – incredible tool – the serrated edge is a great cutting tool for all types of wire/cable. I also have a very small “skeleton” pocket knife with a sweet small scabbard that is insanely handy. I stand by every KABAR I have – and I have many…

Nova Knife P50 – this is simply as cool as it gets. They also sell the “Nova P50”, which is everything but the knife, for those of you with a KABAR on your hip already…. Solar charging flashlight and fire starter with a battery that can charge your phone. It also has a “glass shattering tool” on one end and a “seat belt cutter” in case you get stuck in a car…

Patriot Supply and Ready Wise – get your MRE’s. Get in small lots to start so you can test them to find what you like and then buy big…. We like to mix our MRE’s with fresh stuff – meat and veggies mostly…

Pure Pollination – seeds

Rainman – makes portable water desalinators. I’ve used a few older versions and they were awesome – can’t wait to pick up the newer version ASAP…

Sun Kettle – this is sweet. It boils your water in about 20 minutes with the sun. No smoke to give away your position because you don’t need to start a fire – and it fits in your backpack…

Sun Oven – these use the sun to cook – more like a BBQ than the GoSun Fusion. I’d use the Fusion to bake and the Sun Oven to BBQ…

Vermont Wood Stoves – self explanatory…

Victorinox – I’ve had the good ole fashioned “Swiss Tool BS” (multi tool) on my hip everyday since 1993. Same tool. What else is there to say…? I’d probably get a matte black one if I were to get another one today – mine’s a little too shiny – but I use it daily and it’s my number one “go to” for everything…

Wilkinson Tactical – if you’re ever in a REAL LIVE survival situation, these guys make guns in which you can change out the barrel and firing mechanisms in just a few seconds for different ammo. So you’re not dependent on just what you’ve been hoarding and you don’t have to go out there and buy multiple guns…

Things I’d like to test: BluMobile Off-Road Trailer by BluOasis – This is the ultimate small trailer. Can load everything needed and put it behind my K5. Blue Oasis – these folks make battery units to power your base camp as well as provide water. The units can be solar charged and they have a special feature that grabs water from the air. I really want to test one of these units out… Dome Guys, FDomes and Pacific Domes – temporary structures that can withstand hurricane winds, are easy to setup and tough enough to last a while. I’m thinking of putting one of these over the tilapia pool so I can control the environment… Solar Trailers – Can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. Thinking of putting one out by the workshop just to power the workshop… Living Vehicle – if you have to leave home base, and it’s safe to use the main roads, this looks like something I’d like to check out…

Get a nice crossbow (and bow) and get proficient at it – get to know the ins and outs of the gear and become an accurate shooter (in case you may come across some gear on your travels). To hunt without sound may be important in some circumstances, but when it comes down to it, you’ll have a hard time finding bolts in a survival situation – once you’re out, you’re out. Bullets will be much easier to come by – and you can always reload yourself. So think on it a bit before going all out one way or the other…
In any situation, while hunting, always strive for conservation of ammo/bolts – one shot, one kill. Every resource is finite – whether ammo or bolts, which will be easier to come across and/or trade for 6 months down the line? A year…? …and so on…. Don’t “hope for” or “wish for” in your estimate – be realistic in your local area (or the area you have picked for your “site”….

How remote are you? Do you know anyone? Do you have a group of folks with you? Are they close? Do you know the back roads? Are there any? The more remote you are the farther you’ll have to travel for resources – the distance between the two point equals more “points of potential peril” as it increases…

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!  Do not be one of those “Ready…. Fire! Aim…” people – do not fire before aiming.  Look it up and ask questions (Ready), Think and Test (Aim) and then purchase (Fire)…. Get to know your gear well.  Have an alternate plan if it goes down.  Keep it simple.  The less tech you depend on the better.  For every step, plan three ways out/through an obstacle – and so on, and so one, and so on.  Three is one, two is none…

Big Government, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Brick & Mortar Media, Big Oil…

It all connects…

Big Tech captures everything you click on, everything you roll your mouse over and everything you type on your keyboard and they sell it to anyone with the money to buy that data.
Big Pharma colluding with the Government, Big Tech and the Brick & Mortar Media as if they were their own personal marketing firms.
Government colluding with Big Tech and Brick & Mortar Media on the information you are allowed to read or watch.
It’s so pervasive that we don’t even notice it – it has become our new normal…

All of these themes have one thing in common – they want to centralize everything. Centralization, in all cases, is about one thing – the few can control the masses through any given resource. They want to own your access to history, information, food, water, electricity, fuel and all goods and services you buy. They want to own the farms, the ranches, the supply chain, the companies you work for, the colleges you go to, the bank you use and they want to own the land you build your life on… The more they can digitize the easier it is to control debate and dissent – they can simply “delete” anything they want, including your digital profile, bank accounts, home ownership documents, etc…

They need to control everything because the free market doesn’t work in their favor. They no longer have a superior product or service to sell you with decent customer service and a warrantee that has any meaning. Big Tech has done one thing really well – It has bypassed the free market. Instead of good products and services (as well as good ole fashioned customer service) driving the market, algorithms can now get you to buy something you don’t need from a company you don’t trust for a price you can’t afford with no customer service and no warrantee to back any of it up…

…and, Big Tech has gotten us all to this point in an extremely short timeframe…. So short in fact that there really is no such thing as a free market anymore.

Regionalism is a bad word to them. Decentralization is a fighting word to them. A house, neighborhood, small community, small town or small city “Islanding”, or preparing and planning to go into “Island Mode”, goes so far against their plans that they don’t even know how to respond to it.

“Islanding” is when an individual (or a family) or group of individuals (and their families) are Full-Time-Truly-Off-Grid. They own their land outright and owe nothing on their house/s -the only bill they have is their yearly land/house tax. They have their own food sources, water sources, electrical grids and bartering system for goods and services…. They have their own horses for transportation and maybe a solar vehicle or two with its own off-grid charging station/s. The community, no matter how large or small, is dependent on nothing outside the community. They learn to go without, or bypass, resources that can not be created within the community itself… “Island Mode” is when an individual (or a family) or group of individuals (and their families) are “plugged” in to the existing centralization for most things, but they have planned, built, grown and stored their resources to the point where they can flip the switch in an emergency and be on their own… This can also be called “Rationing” or “Prepping”. This community can live completely independent from the world but chooses not to. They can store resources the community feels it needs, that the community may not be able to create itself, for longer periods of time before the emergency situation occurs which makes them decide to “flip the switch” – which will then “cut off” the rest of the world…

The ultimate goal of these folks is to cut off any person, or group of people, from having any potential for self-reliance. They need everyone dependent on them – for everything…

As an American, it’s hard to visualize the American dystopia we could possibly fall in to – but the idea isn’t improbable to me – sad thought is that I can only say that because so many are asleep to the possibility… So many are doing nothing…

My an aboriginal side is actually looking forward to it. We natives may just get our homeland back without much of a fight – whodathunkit…? Yet, as a vet, I don’t want the American Experiment to end – and, I can’t stand the thought that I may have wasted my youth…

Very few actually voted. It’s nice that “The House” looks like it’s moving in another direction, but that’s not enough. There’s still plenty of bad folks out there who won and I simply do not trust them to support and defend the Constitution of the United States…

I’m not saying to live in fear. I’m saying the opposite – I’m saying it is time to stand up (and fight, if necessary) for our Constitutional Rights – NOW. I’m saying it’s time to be LOUD and SPEAK OUT – NOW. I’m saying that IT IS NOT OVER and we have to keep ALL OF IT from happening – NOW…

We do not have time to live in fear and do nothing. Doing nothing will barely give you time to tuck your head between your legs to kiss your ass goodbye. We need to do something – NOW!

There’s not too many “Islanders” out there – but we should all be prepping for “Island Mode” at least a little. A good start would be to prep for the scenario of no electricity – this means prepping for
no electricity from the electric companies,
no Internet from service providers,
no water from the water companies,
no gas at the gas stations,
no supply chain for resupply of goods,
no refrigerators working,
no TV’s working,
no cellphone service,
no stores able to take anything but cash or trade and
no charging for any electrical device.

When it comes to the physical aspects of prepping, the thing you need to realize is that YOU need to be able to do all of it yourself. Each individual with you should be able to do it all themselves as well. Every individual in your party should know how to do everyone else’s “job”. This does not happen overnight – start training now. Don’t wait to find out who can’t walk quietly or pull the trigger while hunting – or who doesn’t have it in themselves to gut, skin and clean for dinner – these are things you should know now. Don’t wait to find out the ammo you loaded blows your barrel or the fishing gear you bought doesn’t work. Things YOU want to work on to prep yourself and your family:

• Get off the electrical grid and all other “centralized resources”. Whether you get solar, wind or turbine power – start now and get it up and running. You want to know how to run it and fix it yourself and you’ll want spare parts NOW while you can still get them. Do not expect this to run forever! Batteries die. Electrical components rust. As you’re getting this up and running, keep in mind that you need to learn to live without…
• Find and/or create your own water supply and make a way to clean the water from it so you can drink it – if you can find a small solar desalination machine “there’s a few big oceans out there”. Electrical pumps are great until they go down, or you lose electricity – plan a way to gather water without electricity…. Do YOU have a manual pump? Do YOU know how to install and fix it? Do YOU have spare parts? Do you know how to start a fire and have something to boil water in?
• Have your own food sources close to home – meats, fruits, vegetables – that can sustain a given population for “the duration” – whatever that may be…. Do YOU hunt? Do YOU fish? Do YOU have a small ranch? Do YOU have a small farm? Do YOU have a pool of tilapia in your backyard? Do YOU have bees?
• Learn how to store foods without electricity – canning, salt, etc…
• Gear up for movement in case you need to leave your “home base” for other resources – go bags, hunting and fishing gear, horses, etc. Be conservative with resources – they are finite – once you are out, you are out. Don’t load too much gear on your way out – you need room for what you bring back…
• Create local markets for trade in goods and services so you’re are not dependent on anything outside your local areas – in todays world, banks and credit cards would have no relevance to any system without electricity or the Internet…
• Pay everything you owe off, so you owe nothing to no one and own what you have – and keep the literal (as opposed to digital) paperwork to prove it…
• Get rid of all your credit cards…
• Pull your money out of the system and buy gold and silver coins for trade for when/if it is needed – coins fit in your pocket and are easy to hide when not on your person. Silver is better for bartering because it is worth less – for one Troy ounce silver coin you can buy/trade for everyday items – so you may want to buy more silver coins than gold. Gold coins are worth considerably more so they are good for “sitting on” or paying for something large – such as a horse. Gold and silver will always go up in value (usually quicker than the interest rate at the bank), so (in the meantime) if you need to trade some in for hard cash you can always do that as well…
• Get use to living without your digital devices. Start out by spending one day a week unplugged. Work it up to only using when absolutely necessary. If you have to go in to “Island Mode” none of these devices will be necessary – and they will be nothing but a drain on the resources you may need for food storage or cooking…
• Stock up on medical supplies. You may not be a doctor, but if you need one it doesn’t hurt to have the gear they need to work with – medical supplies, if you have an abundance, may also be good items to barter with if needed…
• Stock up on books. ALL types of books. Everyone will need something to do in their downtime – and they may also give you something to barter with at some point…

If someone is “Islanding”, they most likely want to be as far away from other people as possible – they have finite resources so they don’t have the capability of “sharing”. For folks prepping to go into “Island Mode”, they most likely don’t want to be more than an hour from “civilization” – they probably will work in and gather resources from civilization until they flip the switch. When buying land make sure it has an existing well (not that you’ll use that well, but knowing the capability of water on the land exists is important). Set up water catchment in any case. Figure out how much water you and your people will use in a year (simple calculation) and get a tank that size – keep it full from the well… Hills and woody land are great for “cover” – and you will want “cover” – but make sure there’s some existing clear-flat spots to build on, put your solar panels on, pasture your animals on and grow on. You don’t want to have to clear too much if you can help it – it takes time and resources from other areas… You’re going to grow food for your animals as well as yourself. So make sure the terrain is good for that – you don’t want horses and cows breaking legs on the terrain. It takes a few years to get the soil adequate for growing if you’re doing it naturally – so you want to start on it now. Once the soil is good to go, you can grow vegetables in a season, but it takes a bit of time (a few years) for fruit trees to bear edible nutritious fruit… Start raising your animals now. Not only will they help you to create awesome soil but they take a few years to mature. At minimum, you want a few cows, chickens and pigs. Simply put: Bring the cows in for a few days to graze and poop in an area and then move them on to another area, bring the chickens in after the cows for a few days to spread the cow poop, poop themselves and eat all the critters you don’t want in the soil (including ticks) and then the pigs come in and churn everything. Keep the rotation going. This needs to start now. Each lot (and each group of animals) is different, so it will take a bit of trial and error to get this system down on your piece of land… Another thing to consider is buying a fuel tank so you can be your own personal gas station. Farm gear runs off fuel. Figure out how much gas you use in a year and get a fuel tank – a tanker can come by and fill it up (at reduced rates) as often as you need. If that tank is not affordable, then get a smaller one – when estimating things I now estimate for a year – before the lockdowns happened I would estimate at six months, but now… a year sounds safer to me now. This fuel is a finite resource when you go into “Island Mode” – once it’s gone, it’s gone…

Do not live in fear and do nothing – prepare. The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war…

My hope is that no one, while alone in their own thoughts a year or two from now, will ever be able to think to themselves the following:

First they came for the scientist, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a scientist
Then they subverted the scientific method, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a practitioner
Then they subverted political debate, and I did not speak out
– because I was not “political”
Then they came for our digital profiles, and I did not speak out
– because I didn’t think I had one
Then they subverted social media debate, and I did not speak out
– because I was not on social media
Then they came for our right to petition the government, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a protestor
Then they came for our religious freedoms, and I did not speak out
– because I wasn’t “religious”
Then they restricted “non-essential” workers, and I did not speak out
– because I was an “essential” worker
Then they came for the landlords, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a landlord
Then they restricted “non-essential” small businesses, and I did not speak out
– because my business was “essential”
Then they suppressed data, and I did not speak out
– because the mass media said it wasn’t relevant
Then they subverted informed consent, and I did not speak out
– even though I did not consent
Then they came for the doctors, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a doctor
Then they came for the emergency responders, and I did not speak out
– because I was not an emergency responder
Then they came for the farmers, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a farmer
Then they came for the ranchers, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a rancher
Then they came for the truckers, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a trucker
Then they came for the students, and I did not speak out
– because I was not a student
Then the intolerant went after the intolerant, and I did not speak out
– because I was tolerant
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me

None of us can live up to our principles. It truly is easier to fight for them than to live up to them – but to do neither? So many have woken up – yet are still silent – after all this, still silent…. I’m not saying everyone has to shout from the rooftop, but to not have “the conversation” with people you care about…? To not have the debate at all…? To be so afraid of offending someone…?

At this point, I hope you go out there and vote…. Please vote…. You don’t have to tell anyone who you voted for – you don’t have to tell anyone that you voted – but please go do it…

What we (individually or societal) think, feel or believe rarely makes it into the history books – what we do with what they think, feel or believe is what defines us in history – DO SOMETHING

The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) promises $369 billion for climate and clean energy policies, but also sets the untenable task of extracting and processing key battery minerals locally. “Locally” being the operative word here. The bill says that at least 2/5 of the critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries should be extracted and processed locally in the U.S. or with a free trade agreement (FTA) partner, or recycled in North America.

To date, no one in the U.S. is recycling these minerals in any quantity that would be quantifiable in any way (nor is anyone planning to), so we can simply drop the idea of recycling from the equation (and from this post).

An EV battery is typically made of nickel, cobalt and manganese (the three main elements of the cathode), graphite (for the anode), lithium and copper. The mining and refinement of these six minerals is controlled predominantly by China. Under the IRA, any EVs made after 2025 that contain ANY materials coming from China will be excluded from federal tax credits.

At bare minimum, the top three required minerals for “clean energy technology” are Lithium, Cobalt and Nickel. The demand for these materials will go from 7 million tons per year (today) to 42 million tons per year by 2040 – add Copper, Graphite and Manganese to the equation and it’s very simple to see the task is not possible.

Australia, Chile, and China produce the world’s lithium supply
Congo produces about 1/2 the world’s Cobalt supply
Indonesia produces about 1/3 of the worlds nickel (most of it for stainless steel – about 6% for batteries)
If you add to this that Chinese state-owned firms own (throughout the world) about 80 percent of global cobalt refining operations and more than 90 percent of refineries that produce nickel, manganese and graphite – it really makes you wonder if any actual thought went into the IRA at all. It’s very apparent that no thought went into the last 50 years as we allowed this to happen.

S&P Global says that even if every lithium project around the world came online by 2030 there is still going to be a minimum 220,000 ton shortage versus demand in 2030 – possibly as much as 2 million tons short per year. The cobalt shortage will begin in 2024. These mineral shortages will actually effect the economy in various ways. Of course, no one mentions that these are finite materials – what happens when we run out?

According to Benchmark analysts, unless 384 new mines are up and running in the next ten years, the EV transition will be “indefinitely transitional”. The world will have to open AT MINIMUM:
74 lithium mines,
62 cobalt mines,
72 nickel mines,
97 natural graphite mines and
54 synthetic graphite plants.

Just to give you an idea of where the U.S. stands today, there is ONE EV battery-grade cobalt mine in the U.S. (it is in Idaho) and one lithium mine in the U.S. (it is in Nevada).

Was there any calculation on how much the existing mines could produce? Was there any calculation on how much planned (on the drawing board to open in the near future) mines could produce? Was there any calculation on anything other than the tabulation of votes to pass something that looks and feels good to the press and public…?

I would assume that our representatives are given material to read before they vote on a subject. I often wonder if they read the material or simply vote how they’re told to vote. If they did read it, I wonder if they understand it. Do they question it? Do they try to find the answers to the questions they have before they vote?

There is not enough thought, planning, time, resources or money to phase out fossil fuels and open up the 359+ mines needed to fulfill the “climate agenda” by projected target dates (if ever). It takes a bit of time to find where to mine the minerals, a few years to get the right people into office so you can bribe them to bypass the legalities of destroying that particular local watershed and around 7 years to build a mine and refining plant – so each mine will take about 10 years to get up and running from the date of someone gathering the funds for one.

Either no one did the math on this or it is simply put in place to redirect our attention away from something else (until everyone realizes it is untenable).

There is no way in hell Americans are going to allow their local ecosystems to be stripped away, allow more species dependent on these ecosystems to disappear, allow our water supply to become even more contaminated and allow our sacred indigenous lands pilfered – long story short, this will kill our food supply. Mining for rare earth minerals generates large volumes of toxic and radioactive material. The transition to climate neutrality cannot mean leaving large tracts of the earth uninhabitable. Environmentally, everything depends on everything else. To put it simply, Big things eat little things and so on and so on and so on down the food chain – and everything needs clean water…

When I was a kid, it was all about the trees. Trees take in CO2 and breathe out Oxygen. For 50+ years we simply couldn’t regulate this. For 50+ years we couldn’t bribe these folks into doing the right thing. For 50+ years we never came up with a plan to use other materials for home construction, retrain workers how to use these materials and rework our county systems to allow for such construction.

How about a simply rule: Every tree you cut down has to be replaced and tended to maturity.

How much would it cost to pay people to plant trees and grow their own gardens? How much would it cost to bribe people and companies to stop cutting down trees for construction? How much would it cost to retrain them? How much would it cost to bribe our construction industry into using materials other than wood? I’m sure it’s a hell of a lot less than it would be to bribe ALL industry and local government into trashing our environment (and the coming “sad attempt” of cleaning THAT up after they do their thing) – does it really make sense trashing the environment to save it?

When the cure is worse than the disease where do you go from there?

I am absolutely positive that if you directed $369 billion dollars to planting trees and gardens and using something other than wood to build houses, it would get done – not only that, it would save our environment and our economy at the same time…

Here’s some simple math for you. If we directed $369 billion dollars to the above paragraph we could pay the following people for the next ten years:
We could pay 100,000 people a salary of $184,500 for ten years to do nothing but plant and tend to trees, gardens and crops
AND
We could pay 1,000 companies $1,845,000 for ten years to support the individuals planting and tending (with seed, tools, machinery, etc)
AND
We could pay 2,000 companies $1,845,000 for ten years to produce the wood replacement for home building
AND
We could pay 3,000 companies $1,845,000 for ten years to retrain construction workers on how to build with the new materials
AND
We could pay 4,000 companies $1,845,000 for ten years to stop cutting down tress for construction and to replant what they have cleared

As I write this, I think about earthbag homes. Look them up – I don’t want this post to go too off topic, so take the time to look up earthbag homes/barns/sheds/domes…

Guillaume Pitron wrote in his book “The Rare Metals War” that over the next three decades “we will need to mine more mineral ores than humans have extracted over the last 70,000 years”. This cannot end up costing the Earth. China established its dominance over the rare earths industry because of lax environmental regulations and a cheap workforce. It has paid a high price. Today, 10% of its arable land is contaminated by heavy metals, and 80% of its groundwater isn’t fit for consumption.

Do we really want to go there…? Does anyone…?