disaster Archives - Survival in Motion

Survival In Motion 055 -- The Benefits Of Paranoia

Episode 53 – Nukes, Radiation, And Burns

Cal Wilson on January 31, 2022

A much-ignored explosion at an Iranian nuclear site last December may have heralded Iran’s entrance into the world’s nuclear club. Iran has been enriching uranium for years, and it may finally have developed nuclear bombs. I believe this is the case, and Iran is probably making smaller nuclear bombs like what was exploded in early December. Small nuclear bombs can be hiked in backpacks into enemy countries and detonated.

This was all hypothesized in my book EMP NYC, and it looks as if it may be coming true.

A small (2 kiloton) nuclear bomb can be used to do all kinds of damage, like destroying bridges, buildings, and stadiums full of people. But a few miles away, people are not so threatened, as was shown in this test by Army volunteers who, in 1957, stood 3 miles beneath a 2 kiloton nuclear explosion. If they had had any electronics with them, the electronics would have been fried by an EMP, but they were not physically harmed.

Still, despite the media blackout on the explosion in Iran, it is time to stock up on radiation pills, radiation detection equipment, and items that can help in case of skin burns.

Here are some great pills to have on hand in case you are downwind of a nuclear explosion, in danger of getting exposed to radioactive fallout. Right now these pills are cheap and plentiful. Dosage info comes with the pills.

A dosimeter is important to measure your accumulated radiation. Here is the link to a combination dosimeter / geiger counter, but at $130 it is a bit pricey. Here is the link to a less-expensive credit-card size dosimeter that you can keep in your wallet.

Burns also accompany nuclear explosions, and I spent some time in the podcast discussing the usefulness of aloe vera plants and coconut oil.

Here is the link to an indoor aloe vera plant, available on Amazon for only $5. (Some states may not allow you to order these.) Aloe vera plants are great to have around to treat burns. Back in the old days these plants were kept in kitchens, to use for cooking burns.

Coconut oil is great to have around, not only to treat burns and moisturize skin, but also to use as an oil and butter substitute in cooking. I mentioned some great deals on coconut oil that I found at Walmart and Costco, but here is a pretty good deal I found on coconut oil at Amazon.

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Anyone can follow Author Cal Wilson on Amazon at this link here, and that way you will be updated by Amazon whenever I have a new book sold on Amazon.

Please stay in touch with the Survival In Motion podcast, and with Author Cal Wilson, by subscribing with your e-mail address, and by subscribing to this podcast by RSS, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or the other audio service providers. It would also be cool if you would leave a review for this podcast on iTunes or somewhere.

Episode 24 – A. American And Off-Grid Power

Cal Wilson on January 27, 2019

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What will you do when the power grid goes down? It might be time to prepare to go off-grid, or just stay on grid and reduce your electricity bill.

Author Angery American, who spent 20 years as an industrial electrician before becoming an author, joins us and describes some tips and tricks to installing an off-grid power system, or economically staying on the electrical grid.

Follow this link here to see all of the books Angery American has written, and follow him on Amazon, so that you can be alerted when he has new releases.

A lot of what we discuss in this podcast can be found in chapter 23 of my book, Dirt Cheap Valuable Survival Retreat. In that book I have a TON of references to off-grid power suppliers and sources of education.

Here are some links to other things discussed in this episode:

The Donna Reed Show. This television show was my idea. Refer to Survival In Motion’s Christmas 2018 podcast

Honda 2kw Portable Generator. These things are great and usually go for around $1,000. Start it like a lawn mower.

Honda 3kw Generator. These things are also great, a little more powerful than the portable 2kw Honda generators, and they come with their own internal battery, so they can start like a car.

Wheel Kit For The Honda 3kw Generator. The 3kw generator weighs 150 pounds, so this wheel kit will make it more portable

Canadian Solar

The Inverter Store

The Solar Biz. This is my favorite supplier and educator. They will make sure you know what you are doing to go off-grid

Backwoods Solar. This is a great supplier and they will help educate you. Lots of articles and personal help.

Real Goods. A good supplier and educator

Amazon sells an impressive 24-volt battery bank at this link here. It might be a good place to start looking.

Scott Hunt (“Engineer 775”)’s website and consulting business is here

Scott Hunt (“Engineer 775”)’s YouTube channel is here. Extremely educational

Scott Hunt’s book (The Practical Prepper’s Complete Guide To Disaster Preparedness) is here. This book should be included in every prepper’s library.

Charlie’s Requiem Retribution (Book 4) by Walt Browning

An Old Fart’s Survival Guide, by Ron Foster

Beano Anti-Flatulence Pills. “Take Beano Before And There’ll Be No Gas.” It just seems appropriate to refer to these pills when also referring to a book written for Old Farts.

Anyone can follow me on Amazon at this link here, and that way you will be updated by Amazon whenever I have a new book sold on Amazon.

BE WATCHING FOR THE SEQUEL TO MY BOOK, EMP: THE END OF THE GRID AS WE KNOW IT. RELEASED SOON!

Episode 20 – Inside Venezuela Today

Cal Wilson on September 27, 2018

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In this episode I play some interviews I got from three people who currently live in Venezuela and speak fairly good English. I asked them to answer these questions:

Question 1: What are things really like in Venezuela today?

Question 2: What were Venezuelans told to get them to vote for Hugo Chavez in the late 1990’s?

Question 3: What would you stockpile if you could go back to Venezuela before things got bad that would allow you to better survive Venezuela today?

Question 4: What are your immediate plans?

In my opinion, these people were not nearly as nervous about the situation in Venezuela as I would be if I lived there. Let’s face it, Venezuela is on its way to becoming a failed state, like Syria, Somalia or Libya. Anyone who currently lives in Venezuela should just leave.

Also, I believe that what is happening in Venezuela today could someday happen in the United States.

My main takeaway was the common answer to the “stockpile” question. Most of these Venezuelans said that if they could go back to Venezuela many years ago, they would stockpile dollars. For American preppers, that translates to the importance of stockpiling “junk silver.” “Junk silver” is loosely defined as dimes and quarters with the year 1964 or older. In those coins, it is acknowledged that the silver content of the coin is at least 90%, and it is believed that these coins will be the currency of choice in a post-SHTF United States. You can buy junk silver coins at a local coin shop or online here or here.

Earlier in the podcast, I read from the end of chapter 1 of my book on survival retreats, Dirt Cheap Valuable Survival Retreat. As I wrote in this book, setting up a survival retreat in the country is easier and cheaper than you might suspect. But it would also be a good idea to have a “Plan B,” meaning that if society doesn’t collapse as expected, then you can still sell your survival retreat for a profit several years down the road. My inspiration for this idea is comedian Bob Hope, who made a lot of money with his real estate investments back in the day.

I also recommend another book that also discusses survival retreats, Going Off The Grid by Gary Collins.

Here are some movies that I referred to as giving a good introduction of what life is like in a failed state, like what I believe Venezuela will soon be:

Mad Max

Road Warrior

Book of Eli

Titanic (not that it has anything to do with what I was talking about, but it is a good metaphor for Venezuela today)

If you are interested in donating money to charities to help either people inside Venezuela or those who have left, I found some worthwhile charities:

Matthew 25 Ministries

Catholic Relief Services

International Rescue Committee

American Refugee Committee

Here are some charities that look interesting but are not rated by Charity Navigator:

Cuatro Por Venezuela

Salto Project — Helping Venezuelans Leave

Before donating to any charity, it is a good idea to first check out the charity at Charity Navigator.

Anyone can follow me on Amazon at this link here, and that way you will be updated by Amazon whenever I have a new book sold on Amazon.

Episode 17 – Sneak Preview Of New Post-Apoc Book

Cal Wilson on June 29, 2018

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I this episode I discuss my previous post-apocalyptic book, entitled EMP: The End Of The Grid As We Know It, available at Amazon at this link here, and the sequel to it, which is coming out soon. I discuss some of the challenges I had in writing both books, including not making an end of the world book too graphic.

Then I include a reading of parts of the sequel book, which will be released late summer or early fall. The setting in the part of the book included in this reading is this: it has been three days since the EMP attack on New York City, and the protagonist, David, has decided to stay in town and help out (I advise against this, BTW). David works for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, and he is working on clearing the stalled cars from the Brooklyn Bridge so that food can be brought in from Long Island to feed the people of Manhattan.

At the end of the reading of part of the sequel book, I have an announcement about something I will be giving away soon, available for a limited time.

Anyone can “follow” me on Amazon at this link here, and that way you will be updated by Amazon whenever I have a new book sold on Amazon.

Episode 13 – My Bug Out Bag Inventory

Cal Wilson on March 5, 2018

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In this episode I review the contents of my bug out bag and share some unusual ideas on bug out bags. I believe it is okay to over-pack a bug out bag, enabling you to discard unneeded items depending on the disaster at hand. I also value comfort items and good-tasting food, to keep up morale.

Here are some of the items I discuss in this episode:

Black Backpack

Pup tent

Tire Iron (18-inch Wrecking Bar)

Machete (Gerber Gator Machete With Black Nylon Sheath)

Gerber Folding Shovel + Case

Stansport Collapsible Water Bag 2 Gallon

Berkey Sports Water Filter

Mainstay Emergency Wafer, 3600 Calories

Esbit Camping Cook Set

Gerber Multitool With Sheath

EDC (Maxpedition E.D.C. Pocket Organizer)