A Texan Prepares

I occasionally get comments of the sort that I'm full of excetum bovis and don't believe half the stuff I say, or in this case write about.  One of the things I am very serious about is being prepared, following the wisdom of Louis Pasteur, who famously said, "Fortune favors the prepared mind (La fortune favorise l'esprit préparé).".  

I grew up with hurricanes and tornadoes, and I now live in one of the most earthquake prone, volcanic regions on the planet.  Furthermore, we are all living through a period in which the Bumbledicks are driving humanity to the point where things have already started to burn.  Living the prepped life, as I always have, means being fully self-sufficient under as many different circumstances as I can imagine for as long as I possibly can - meaning the rest of my natural days.

One reason I do this is to provide the most comfortable lifestyle for my family under the worst possible circumstances.

Another reason is that I have no intention of being one of those hapless people sitting in a filthy refugee camp being screamed at by goons with pathological lack of empathy and bad breath.

When one begins the process of prepping, the first order of business is to assume the worst possible scenario one thinks is most likely.  For example, a major earthquake and tsunami wipe out any semblance of civilized living, and it is necessary to get far away from the filth, rot and despair left behind.  Or perhaps millions of people are driven to desperation and begin revolting, followed by a strict military clamp down and one needs to bug out fast.  Both scenarios have occurred within the past 50 years right here - the Banda Aceh quake and tsunami of 2004, and the military coup of 1964, or the sequel in 1998.  I have no reason to believe they couldn't happen again.

So, once one imagines the worst-case scenario, one begins to ponder what things would be most important and then figure out a way to address the issues in the smallest, lightest way available.  I also look for solutions that have multiple uses, so that each item you carry has a range of survival applications.

Finally, I highly recommend reading the Foxfire Series of books.  This is a collection of lessons learned for self-sufficient living taken from folks living in the Appalachian mountains of the US (a.k.a. hillbillies).  Tools are useless if you don't know how to use them.

Priority #1: Water

The average person will die in 3-5 days without water, and dehydration is not a pleasant way to go.  There's also the issue of parasites and bacteria, which need to be addressed to prevent illness.  My pack contains a Berkey Sport filter and storage for up to 10 liters for drinking and hygiene.  I also have the necessary skills to make a water filter out of sand and charcoal, as well as knowing how to find subsurface water. 

Note also the the mylar space blankets and climbing rope (mentioned below) can be rigged to catch dew and rain water for collection in the 10-liter water bladder.

Priority #2: Food

The average person will die in 20-30 days without food.  In the tropics, finding food in the wild is not particularly difficult, but there is the matter of getting to it.  My pack contains some beef jerky and 1kg of mixed nuts, which provide a surprising variety of vitamins, minerals, fats, and carbs in a compact and flavorful form.  Chewing nuts also activates the salivary glands to keep mouth, sinuses and esophogus moist.  I also have an assortment of seeds for vegetables if I manage to find a place where I don't have to move for a few months.  Additionally, the seeds themselves can be eaten and are full of energy.  Having skills for preserving and canning food are very handy, as well.

In addition to trail snacks, I have energy bars and soup packets, along with a German military style cook set, with two pots and a bowl in one neat package.

Priority #3: Shelter

Being able to get out of the elements is not only physically desirable, it has a significant psychological effect.  My pack contains a machete, a hatchet, several knives, a 30m climbing rope, and mylar space blankets that can all be used to create and secure a make-shift shelter and even a house with enough time and scavenged materials.  I also have a 4-person tent with enough room for 3 people and gear, which can shelter up to 6 people if half sleep at night while the other half keep watch, and vice versa.

There are tools, as well.  A Leatherman's 17-in-1, a portable tool kit with a hammer, crescent wrench and pliers, and a gross of nylon and velcro cable ties.

Included under shelter are clothes.  I carry 5 t-shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of underwear, socks and a towel - always a towel.  If you've read Douglas Adams, then you know how useful and necessary a towel can be.

Priority #4: First Aid

This is one thing that you can never fully anticipate nor preapare for.  Fortunately, my wife and I don't require any regular medications, so a well-designed First Aid kit, some aspirin, and a variety of salves, cleansers and bandages is sufficient for most foreseeable issues.  A little training in basic first aid helps, as well.  Knowing how to set bones, close punctures and stanch bleeding is far more valuable than a weighty pack of stuff.  Don't forget that a sewing kit not only repairs fabric, but can close a wound in a pinch, as well.   Here, the most useful tools are a sharp pair of scissors and tweezers.

Priority #5: Communications & Luxuries

These are items that are extremely useful and can make life a lot more comfortable, but not critical to survival.

My pack contains a solar panel with two USB ports for phones, power banks and a 21-channel shortwave radio.  The flashlight is also solar charged and has a third USB port.  I have a trekking stick with built-in compass and flashlight that also serves to hook fruit a high as 4m off the ground (my height plus the stick).  There's an air mattress and sleeping bag to make like just a little bit more tolerable, a magnifying glass for starting fires with a lens cleaning cloth, and a supply of Zip-Lok bags to keep things dry.  I also carry a 2T solid-state disc with scans of all our documents, which I won't bother to list, but think of all the documents you might need in an emergency, along with a little cash and barter items.  On the way out the door, I can also grab my original identity docs.

Altogether, the pack weighs about 20kg, or 50 pounds.  It's a monster, but I agonized over the purchase and ended up with a Kelty Coyote 85-liter.  It is extremely comforable and buckles up nice and tight to prevent load shifting and keep the weight close to my body.  I am 189cm/6'-2" and the pack still has a little extra slack in all directions.

Life, as George Carlin obserived, is having a place for your stuff and an ever decreasing supply line of smaller versions of your stuff.  My pack is designed for maximum survivability and functionaality, without sacrificing some key comforts.  In a pinch, though, there are things that can be shed to lighten the load.  Some are handy, other just fun, and any of those items can be pitched to get more agile.  

So, there you are.  Money where my mouth is.  I am personally prepared for what I think may be the worst-case scenario in the near to mid future, and it is adapted to the environment where I live.  The only remaining skill is knowing how to pack for maximum efficiency and functionality.

A note about electronic devices and carrying a solar charger.  Plenty of people say why bother with this if it's TEOTWAWKI.  My phone has two 128Gb SD cards, one in the phone and one stored in a safe,dry spot.  Both are loaded with books, music, art, and even a couple of indispensable movies. My book collection contains about 4,000 titles ranging from how-to references to the most arcane philosophical treatises (think of all the reading time you'll have with no TeeVee).  I am essentially carrying Western civilization on 2 grams of silicon.  Though your phone may not reach out and touch anyone, it can be a life-saving reference library and educational tool.

None of this is wasteful or silly.  Every last bit of it can be used for recreational hiking and camping.  Considering the Frankenvaxxx has probably killed off most commercial pilots, I anticipate doing a lot of that for the foreseeable future, since we won't likely get off the island any time soon.

No worries, though.  Indonesia has 5,000 deserted islands just waiting for me to assault them.

The Dead Poets Society

 From Dylan Thomas:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Villa Incognito

 

As of midnight on 3 July 2021, Jakarta will be surrounded with military and national police blocking all the exits, supposedly until 20 July.  No one will be allowed to enter or exit the city.  Folks will be allowed out of their houses to go to the supermarket, but nothing else.  To avoid being hassled, folks are encouraged to have as much as possible delivered - because, um, that doesn't spread viruses, I guess.

The Tempo article notes, "Specific Jakarta protocols "the police would bar people from conducting outdoor activities following the imposition of the policy. People are only allowed outside of their home for emergency and essential purposes. "

We chose to bug out rather than live through the sequel to The Year of Living Dangerously.  We brought our daughter, her husband and our granddaughter to the mountain house 100km south of the city.  It is difficult to express the joy at being free of masks and constant pressure to get vaccinated, where the air is fresh and a full 10 degrees cooler than Jakarta.

Here's an example of the insane rubbish being foisted on Indonesians by the President's personal physician:

 "Dapat konfirmasi dari pak Martiono Hadianto (mantan Dirut Pertamina), bhw betul beliau terpapar Covid dan saat ini sedang isolasi di RSPP.
Dari hasil analisa medis, beliau terpapar Covid varian Delta (India), beliau sudah vaksin 2 kali (selesai). Beliau tidak tahu kira2 kapan & dimana terpaparnya. Namun dari penjelasan dr Muthalib (salah seorang dokter Presiden), kondisi di Jakarta spt dibawah ini.
Pak Martiono memberi saran:
1. Dalam rumah agar secara rutin disemprot disinfektan.
2. Keluar rumah, walaupun hanya dihalaman agar menggunakan masker dua lapis.
3. Menurut dr Muthalib, ukuran virus varian Delta ini jauh lebih kecil dp varian sebelumnya, sehingga virus varian delta ini bisa melayang bebas diudara. Sedangkan varian sebelumnya melayang mengikuti droplet ludah dari orang yang sedang berbicara (jarak 1,5 meter dari lawan bicara droplet sdh jatuh ketanah).
4. Saya serahkan pada masing² individu utk mencernakan saran pak Martiono, apakah diterima dan dilaksana kan seluruhnya, dilaksanakan sebagian, atau diabaikan. Monggo saja, karena itu hak masing2 individu.
Saya mohon kalau teman2 berkenan utk mendoakan kesembuhan pak Martiono.
Terima kasih.
Wass ww. Samto Utomo

Dr. Muthalib :*
✅Minggu 27.6.21 Dihimbau jangan buka masker di manapun, Varian Covid Delta sudah rata di udara kota Jakarta, penangkalnya hanya pakai masker double."

"I can confirm from Mr. Martiono Hadianto (former Pertamina Managing Director), that he was really exposed to Covid and is currently isolated at RSPP  [Ed. Pertamina Hospital]. From the results of medical analysis, he was exposed to Covid Delta (India) variant, He was vaccinated twice (finished). He doesn't know about when & where he was exposed. However, from Dr. Muthalib's statement (one of the presidential doctors), the condition in Jakarta was below. Mr. Martono gives this advice: 1. In the home, routinely spray disinfectant. 2. Outside the house, despite lack of evidence use a two-layer mask. 3. According to Dr. Muthalib, the size of the Delta variant virus is much smaller than the previous variant, so that the Delta variant virus can float free in the air. Whereas the previous variant floated on saliva droplets from people talking (a distance of 1.5 meters from the origin of the droplets. 4. I submit to each individual to decide whether Mr. Martiono's suggestion is accepted and carried out and entirely, partially or partially carried out, or ignored. Just so, as is the right of individuals. I beg for friends to pray for Mr. Martiono's healing. Thank you. from WW. Samo Utomo Hansel Muthalib: * week 27.21 is encouraged to not open your mask anywhere, the Covid Delta variant has been flat in the air in Jakarta, using a double mask."

 

So here we have  a supposed :expert" first using fear (former employee of the national oil company getting "exposed to a supposed "variant").  Then, he tells us that the "sick" person was vaccinated and has no idea where or how.  Then he appeals to authority, a formal fallacy, by quoting the President's personal doctor, who says the "Delta variant" is "smaller" and so floats easier on the breeze.  Then the"doctor," who has offered no science or reference for the ridiculous assertions, to continuously disinfect our homes and wear two masks at all times (24/7), despite the provable fact that masks do nothing to stop the older, "larger" virus.

All of the statement are speculative, anecdotal and completely devoid of any evidence whatsoever that the information is true or based on any objective facts, or that the recommendations have any efficacy against any virus, much less against a supposed COVID or any variant by any name or "size".

That this "doctor" would assert that the "smaller" size of the Delta variant more easly floats on the wind is so utterly devoid of rationality as to make one question his sanity, much less his accumen.  The average size of the hundreds of types of corona viruses is around 0.125 micrometers.  That is hardly an impediment to "wafting".  Furthermore, there is no mention of the sanitizing effect of UV-A light (sunshine), nor the fact that virus density in open air can practicaly never approach infectious levels (viral load). 

Either this "doctor" is a complete babbling idiot, or he is a fear monger trying to drive the masses to PCR tests and vaccines, which have vast financial benefit for the Insiders, who are skimming off the top of all this money being sloshed around.

In addtion, having a military deployment pays soldiers active-duty bonuses, keeping the military placated and compliant to the political PTB.

What I hear is that an "authority" figure "tested positive" using PCR tests that have been widely proven to be cheap knock-offs, with people rinsing the swabs to pocket the money used to purchase them, and the "authority can not think of any risk factors or possible sources for his "positive" result?  In one question, I drove an entire fleet of trucks through the gaping hole in logic.  The only exposure mentioned is the fact that the former Pertamina Big Wig has been vaccinated twice, which must be assumed to be the most likely source of any exposure.  We are not told which vaccine the "authority" used.

Given Indonesians' unwillingness to read or research for themselves - much less use critical thinking - and their seeming innate credulity of anyone with a title or position of "authority," they actually circulate this silliness like passages from the Koran.

Based on wholly unscientific information and completely speculative and anecdotal information like this, the president has shut down the two most populous islands in the country, and conveniently the capital city.  The "authorities" are now considering expaning martial law outside Java and Bali, given the unmitigated and abject failure of the effort so far.

My use of the term "martial law" has been challenged, but when the militiary is deployed for civil enforcement, it implies that the civil authority has failed and the only option to maintain order is deployment of military on the streets - martical law.  In other words, the civil authority has declared itself incompetant.

I have had two colleagues independently mention the similarities with current events to those under Soeharto, when he assumed power in the 1960s, a parallel that echoed my own personal thoughts.

A president issuing edicts with punitive consequences without the issuance of laws from the Parliament is a dictatorship under any definition of the term.  As Mark Twain warned us, history seldomly repeats, but it often rhymes.

At the moment, the current situation here is rhyming like a fascist dysfunctional Dr. Seuss..

Indonesia Under Martial Law

 

With the stroke of a pen, President Joko Widodo has nullified Indonesia's Constitution, cancelled all Human Rights and placed the military in charge of enforcing his unilateral dictatorial edict, and all on the eve of the country's 75th anniversary of independence.  They should all be charged with blasphemy and jailed for no loess than two years for denying Divine Providence.  Soeharto was never this bad.

By His Majisty's Royal Pen:

The government has officially established Emergency PPKM in Java and Bali as of July 3. Rules apply until 2 weeks after that.

There are several important policies taken by President Jokowi in this regard. Just to stop the spread of the corona virus.

The following are the complete rules in the Emergency PPKM:

=============================================================

I. Implementation Period of Emergency PPKM: 3-20 July 2021, with a target of decreasing the addition of daily confirmation cases <10 thousand/day

II. Area Coverage: 45 Regencies/Cities with an Assessment Score of 4 and 76 Districts/Cities with an Assessment Score of 3 in Java and Bali.

III. Scope of Activity Restrictions:

1. 100% Work from Home for non essential sector [Ed.-house arrest]

2. All teaching and learning activities are carried out online

3. For essential sectors, a maximum of 50% of work from office (WFO) staff is applied with a health protocol, and for critical sectors a maximum of 100% of work from office (WFO) staff is allowed with a health protocol.

a. The coverage of essential sectors is finance and banking, capital markets, payment systems, information and communication technology, non-quarantine handling hotels, and export-oriented industries.

b. The coverage of critical sectors is energy, health, security, logistics and transportation, food, beverage and supporting industries, petrochemicals, cement, national vital objects, disaster management, national strategic projects, construction, basic utilities (electricity and water), as well as industrial needs fulfillment everyday staples of society.

c. For supermarkets, traditional markets, grocery stores, and supermarkets that sell daily necessities, operating hours are limited to 20.00 local time with a visitor capacity of 50% (fifty percent); Ed. - curfew 8p to 4a]

4. Activities at shopping centers/malls/trade centers are closed

5. Restaurants and cafes only accept delivery/take away

6. The implementation of construction activities (construction sites and project sites) operates 100% (one hundred percent) by implementing stricter health protocols;

7. Places of worship (mosques, prayer rooms, churches, temples, and pagodas, as well as other public places that function as places of worship) are temporarily closed. ]Ed.- suspension of religious rights]

8. Public facilities (public areas, public parks, public tourist attractions and other public areas) are temporarily closed; [Ed.- suspension of right to assemble]

9. Art/cultural, sports and social activities (locations of arts, culture, sports facilities, and social activities that can cause crowds and crowds) are temporarily closed;

10. Public transportation (public vehicles, mass transportation, taxis (conventional and online) and rental/rental vehicles) is enforced with a maximum capacity setting of 70% (seventy percent) by implementing stricter health protocols; [Ed.- suspension of right to travel]

11. The wedding reception is attended by a maximum of 30 (fifty) people by implementing stricter health protocols and not allowed to eat at the reception. Food can still be provided in sealed containers to take home.

12. Travelers who use long-distance transportation modes (airplanes, buses and trains) must show a vaccine card (at least dose I vaccine) and H-2 PCR for planes and Antigen (H-1) for other long-distance transportation modes.

13. Regional Government Satpol PP, TNI, Polri to carry out strict supervision of the implementation of the tightening of community activities above, especially in point 3. [Ed.- martial law, military enforcement]

14. Strengthening 3T (Testing, Tracing, Treatment) needs to be continuously applied: [Ed.- suspension of right to privacy, specifically violates Article 28(g) of the Constitution]

a. Testing needs to be continuously improved to reach a minimum of 1/1000 population / week. Testing needs to be increased until the positivity rate is <5%. Testing needs to be continuously improved for suspects, i.e. those who are symptomatic, and also in close contacts.

b. Tracing needs to be done until there are >15 close contacts per confirmed case. Quarantine needs to be carried out on those identified as close contacts. Once identified close contacts should be checked (entry-test) and quarantine needs to be carried out. If the test result is positive, then isolation is necessary. If the test result is negative, then quarantine is necessary. On the 5th day of quarantine, it is necessary to carry out an exit-test to see if the virus is detected after/during the incubation period. If negative, then the patient is considered to have completed quarantine.

c. Treatment needs to be done comprehensively according to the severity of the symptoms. Only patients with moderate, severe, and critical symptoms need to be hospitalized. Isolation needs to be done strictly to prevent transmission.

15. Achievement of vaccination target of 70% of the total population in priority cities/districts no later than August 2021

===================================================================

Personal Report:

In the town of Kudus, Central Java (pop. 94,000), a major effort was undertaken to vaccinate the entire town in early June.  In the past week and a half (as of July 1), we have lost two in-laws and two friends, and the problems there have made global news.

My wife's cousin reports that a similar vaccination campaign took place in the town of Jatiwangi, Central Java (pop. 83,000), and nearly the entire town is now sick or dying.  There appears to be a complete blackout on this story.

JIExpo Convention Center in Jakarta has been identified as a potential emergency field hospital and I have seen truck-loads of soldiers coming and going in the past several days.

Though the emergency is being blamed on "Delta Variant," it is clearly related to areas where vaccinations have had the widest distribution.  The primary vaccine being used here is SinoVac, developed by SinoPharm.  AstraZeneca is also being distributed, and much of the supply for this one comes from the EU and Australia, who have stopped using it and are dumping it in the Third World.

The "Delta Variant" seems clearly (to me) to be vaccinosis and not a virus of any kind, much less a variant of SARS-COV-2.