Being a Knife Fighter

Here's an interesting article on how to use a knife (or, by extension, other weapon, including firearms) successfully in a serious situation. It's not about technique, it's about attitude. Not "Look at me, I'm a tough guy, aren't you scared?", not "see my flashy moves", just go ahead and put him down. If you read some of Miyomoto Musashi's duels, you'll see the same thing. The usual procedure was that the duelists would square off, recite their lineage, announce their challenge, and posture. Musashi would run right up and attack on the run. Often one blow was enough to finish the opponent.
Or to put it another way: when the bad guy get the drop on someone, he doesn't just shoot; instead, he holds the ambushee at gunpoint while he makes a speech. Don't be a bad guy.

By the way, an amusing bit from that article: "Lesson number one...if, in a physical confrontation, an old fat man ever asks you if you are ready, you are going to learn a very unpleasant lesson."

CDC on Zombies

An article by the Centers for Disease Control on how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse (or any other pathogen-driven disaster).

Emergency Preparation

News of late has had a spate of tornadoes and flooding up and down the Mississippi. Here's Instapundit's guide to low-budget disaster preparation.

Zombie Squad

If you're going to prepare for hurricanes, tidal waves, currency collapse, electromagnetic storms and epidemics, you might as well go ahead and prepare for zombies. And that means Zombie Squad : 

"Nobody knows the walking dead like Zombie Squad. With one of the toughest training programs in the business, our Zombie Extermination Specialists make up the world's premier non-stationary cadaver suppression task force."

On a more serious note, Zombie Squad's mission is "to educate the public about the importance of personal preparedness and self reliance, to increase its readiness to respond to a number of disasters such as Earthquakes, Floods or Zombie Outbreaks."

Politics as usual is over

From Armed and Dangerous

NorKo EMP Bomb?

North Korea Nears Completion of EMP Bomb

Speaking as someone who lives on one of the prime military targets on the East Coast...not what I wanted to hear.

Saturday night Zombies

Josh's laptop realized it was a week or two out of warranty, and expired. He needed a computer, I have a spare computer; so we agreed that he and his buddy* Richard would meet me at the halfway point, outside Richmond, and make the exchange. The rendezvous point is 108 miles from my house, and the speed limit is 70mph for most of the way, so it should have taken about an hour and a half. Reality was coinciding with theory pretty well, right up to Mile Marker 214 or so, at which point traffic slowed, then slowed further, and then got down to "I really could walk faster than this." It never came quite to the point of turning off the ignition, but it was close. Eventually we crept up to the Rte 609 exit, where everyone had to get off the Interstate and follow Rt 60 parallel to the Interstate for twelve miles--and watch the eastbound lanes moving just as slowly as our westbound traffic--until we got to I295 and got back up to speed. I'd left the house at 5:48 and got to the rendezvous at 10:02, so roughly 4.25 hours. Coming back, they'd re-opened the highway so it was 1.5 hours.

The interesting question is, why was the Interstate closed? The main newspapers in the area didn't mention it at all. The signs that directed us to the detour said "Accident Ahead" but it would have to be a pretty impressive accident to close both sides of the highway.  One of the tiny local papers said the closure was due to brush fires, and on the trip back, I smelled smoke; but I didn't smell any smoke on the way up, or see flames. And the "highway department" trucks closing off the highway were white, and the workers wore white jump suits; but VDOT's color has always been orange. I don't recall seeing a man in a black suit and black tie and sunglasses at 8:30, but then I wouldn't remember that, would I? I do remember thinking about having seen him, though.

So it appears there was some kind of unusual activity in the area. Zombies? Mutants? Aliens? Killer sheep? I don't know. But it's certain that something happened, that some mysterious agency dealt with it, that "brush fires" destroyed the evidence, and local news didn't report it. I'm getting more shotgun ammo, just in case.

*Possibly "sidekick" or "minion" would be more accurate than "buddy". Josh has read all the Miles Vorkosigan books, and applies them. 

How to Care for Wounds

What would you do if the medical system collapsed and you got hurt? You'd need to know how to treat wounds and avoid infections. The short form is:

• Stop bleeding by direct pressure
• Clean it with hydrogen peroxide, mild soap and water, or by pressure washing it with a syringe
• Pack it with sterile gauze and bandage; don't suture

It's worth reading the rest, and the comments, if you want to be prepared for emergencies.

Norfolk

We went to Stark & Legum in Norfolk today to look at some clothes, and it turns out that Bob's Gun Shop, right across the street, was offering a $19.99 deal for first timers who wanted to take a loaner pistol, 50 rounds of 9mm, and two targets. The safety briefing was a lot less comprehensive than at Virginia Beach's A&P Arms--essentially "Have you shot before? Yes? Okay, sign here"--so it was a good thing I already knew what to do. I've been wanting to try a SIG for a while, so I picked up a P226, ran the target out to 10 meters, and started putting holes in paper. It's a nice pistol, although a Glock 17 fits my hand better. Next time I go to A&P, I'll try the .40 version of the Glock.

After leaving the gun shop, we stopped for barbecue sandwiches at Doumar's, original home of the ice cream cone.

I checked out One Second After, by William Fortschen. He's a competent writer rather than a brilliant one, but the situation--an EMP bomb disables, well, pretty much the whole country--is compelling. The idea of suddenly dropping back to the technology of 100 years ago, is not terribly appealing.

Emergency planning

A friend and I were talking about emergency plans, and she said, "I guess you can never really be sure of the future..."

On one hand, that's true, in that I don't know whether the next disaster will be a stock market collapse, tsumani, flu epidemic, the next 9/11, losing power for a few days, or a zombie uprising. But I'm confident that something is going to happen, sooner or later; and part of wisdom is using foresight and making preparations. We can't expect to be as omni-competent as a Heinlein hero, but there are a few things we can work on:

• Money. I had a goal for a long time to build up enough money to cover six months of expenses. Not an easy one to achieve, but a lot less worry when you've done it.
• Food and supplies. We have a couple of months of food in the pantry; other vital supplies might include first aid kit, weapon, tool kit (including tools that don't need electricity), flashlights and batteries, firewood.
• Planning. If you needed to evacuate, does your family know where you'd go and what route you'd take? If cell service is overwhelmed, do you know who's in charge of picking up the kids? Are your valuable documents, wedding photos, etc, all in one place, or scattered around the house? Do you keep your car fully fueled, or usually hover on empty?
• Knowledge. How do you keep your pipes from freezing (aside from living in a decent climate)? If you lose your utilities, do you know how to make sure you have enough water, or how to keep your frozen foods good as long as possible?
• Skills. Can you use a chainsaw? Clear a jammed pistol? Give CPR?
• Mindset. When you have a problem, do you work out what the solution must be, do you look for someone to tell you what to do, or do you panic and hope someone helps?

If you have suggestions, leave them in the comments. I might not have thought of "how to hotwire a car", for instance, but my son did.