Posting

I have been writing short stories and posting them here:
http://www.lostzombies.com/profiles/blog/list?user=04zrg69a6d6ew

I have been posting stories that come to mind, pre-zapoc.

I plan to do some more before I pull the apocalyptic trigger and then all the introduced characters will be plunged into the zapoc and slowly come together to survive, some will make it, some will not.

Artificial Lights - Kill those vampires with flashlights!

Dawn commented the other day about growning crops without lightsources, so I did some research, here are the results:


There are special lightbulbs called grow lights, these lights emit an electromagnetic spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis similar to sunlight.

It is said that you can further improve plant growth by using different kinds of light from the grow lamps which ranges from blue towards red in the light spectrum.

LED grow lamps

LED panel light source used in an experiment on plant growth by NASA. Pictured plant is a potato plant.Recent advancements in LEDs have allowed for the production of relatively cheap, bright and long lasting grow lights that emit only the colors of light required for plant growth. These lights are attractive to indoor growers since they do not consume as much power, do not require ballasts, and produce a fraction of the heat of HID lamps. The lamps consist of arrays of many wide-spectrum red and a few narrow-spectrum blue LEDs of specific wavelengths.

This will be perfect for my underground bunker, maybe I should get started and try growing plants indoors.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_light
http://www.led-grow-master.com/

Crop Rotation

Trying to keep up with post-zarmaggedon times, this info will yield a lot of utility when people start growing their own crops to survive.

Basically its the idea of having several beds of crop in your own garden and rotate the types of crop to maximize nutrient's replenishment and lower threats to the crop like disease build-up or insect desvastation. I think its a wonderful idea and anyone serious enough to survive in a post-apocalyptic world should at least learn the basics of this system:

The types of crops used and the time frame of the rotation sequence would depend upon many factors like climate, commercial considerations and soil quality. Here is a rough guide for a five year crop rotation sequence.

First year: Plant potatoes. A good potato crop needs a lot of manure, which would prep up the soil for the remainder of the cycle.

Second Year: Plant leeks, onions or garlic. This group of plants also needs a lot of manure or compost, for which the soil is already equipped from the potato crop. Additionally, if the farmer is interested in multiple cropping, he could plant other vegetables that need extra manure, like the gourds (pumpkin, bottle gourds, courgettes etc).

Third Year: To replenish the soil, plant legumes like peas and beans. These fix the Nitrogen in the soil, readying it for the next crop.

Fourth Year: Crops like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli that need extra Nitrogen will grow well after a harvest of legumes.

Fifth Year: Plant root vegetables like carrot, parsnips and beetroot, which can take advantage of soil nutrients lower under the ground. Wherever there is space, lettuce and other salad plants may be planted.

I suggest you go ahead and print this out:
http://organicgardening.org.uk/schools_organic_network/leaflets/CropRotation.pdf
and have it somewhere in your BOB. You never know when you might need it.

Stay Alive people!
Prepare Now!

Death of a Blogger

It has come to my attention that a dear blogger of mine will stop blogging due to personal issues. I am very saddened by this but hope (s)he can still mail me from time to time. Here's to you, Eostre. Hope you come back from the dead someday.

Pandemic and Vaccination.

Today, the WHO announced that the H1N1 virus to be a global pandemic and virtually "unstoppable". Meaning that no matter what, every country around the globe will eventually get it.

It took a little more than 2 months from being spread from Mexico to everywhere. The H1N1 virus was transmitted passivly through infection, someone coughed or sneezed close to you, you might get it. You could also get it if you touched an infected surface and then touched your eyes, nose or mouth. 2 months it took to go completly global. Given, the virus is not that fatal and I dont think countries have took aggressive methods to stop the spread of infection.

Imagine now the Zapoc.. how fast would it spread? I'd say 2 weeks, transmission would essentially be the same as above with the side effect of infected people actually trying to kill you! Couple that with global panic, and you got anarchy, chaos and armageddon. Two Out of Three of my favorite words.

As for a H1N1 vaccine, they say that they are almost have one finished.

I leave this question to you, my loyal readers, how ready do you think your govemerment will be in case the zapoc happens? Will they be able to fight it aggresively? Can they contain it?

Waiting out the Zarmageddon

What if when the Zarmageddon comes, instead of running and settiung up your own survivor's camp, being a wood's hermit or becoming a roaming nomad you just stay put and wait it out?

It sounds safer to me, you basically wont have to do more then learn basic maintenance skills for your underground shelter of your choice. Boredom will be the biggest threat but its not that dangeours if you have a plan or share the shelter with someone else. I remember this movie called "Blast from the Past" I can imagine that scenario happening, heh.

In any case. Here are the cons and pros of going underground in this way.

Pro:
* Very Safe
* No complicated skills required
* Minimal risk of contamination, raider attack, zombies.

Cons:
* Expensive
* Boring
* No chance for you to be a hero "aka, save others" (unless you want to share your carefully picked and stored rations)

As for now, the only problem for me to get this kind of shelter is the money, I dont have money to buy or even plan for one.. it would be nice to find out if there are any shelters nearby.. maybe I can get lucky and the owner will be dead or I can convince him/her that Im worth saving, hah..

Here's a link to a place that explains about UG: http://survivalcenter.com/UG.html

Feel free to post your thoughts on this, even if this is an old, old post. ;)

Cheers ye all.

Having a good cry.

I just watched "What Dreams May Come" I cried a lot, even though its like the sixth time I see it. It gets me everytime, what I noticed was that I feel less stressed after it. Love the movie, if something has to be rescued from the pre-apoc, I will definetly bring a copy of this DVD with me. I wish in my heart that the afterlife is the same way its depicted in this movie, that gives me hope for what is next.

Mindful when you eat.

Well, yesterday I started my slow approach to physical fitness.
I walked.. yes, you read correct, walked for 30 minutes, .8 miles.

That might not seem to be very much to 99.9% of you, the readers, but after 2 years of sedentiarism, it is a good start. I plan to make a goal of walking 1 mile every day for the next 2 weeks and them up the ante. As it turns out, I have high blood pressure and according to my doctor are at risk of diabetes if I dont exercise more, the ZA is a very good excuse to start being healthier and Im as well take up on the offer.

I got a very good weight-training book yesterday, I will study it and maybe start on it after I can handle 1 or 2 miles without feeling dizzy or tired afterwards.

As for the other part of the training, I read up on foods and expiration dates.
Looks like we only have less than a year to raid food from supermarkets.
Canned Foods being #1 priority and Pastas and Cereals being #2, everything else goes fairly quickly.

Here's a good link about food and expiration dates, something you might find useful even though we live in pre-ZA times.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/09/foodlabel/index_01.htm

Planning for the Journey

After reading several interesting sites and blogs, I have decided to start getting prepared for Z-Day.

With the news of the fast spreading H1N1 virus, it was demostrated that we do not have the capability to contain a virus as such, yes, it is a given that the virus was not as deadly as most people assumed, never the less, its infection rate was very good for a "test". Now imagine if a mad scientist or evolution itself decides to take this one or two steps ahead making this an "rise from your grave" prion! (Infectious proteins which infection rate is almost impossible to stop or prevent) and we have the Zarmageddon.

That is why, in the following days I will prepare a plan on the activities and themes I shall execute and research for my purpose.

As for now, I will now leave you, readers, with a preliminary list:

* Physical Fitness Goals which include:
- Being able to sustain continued sprint-mode speed for more than 30 minutes.
- Being able to carry/and run with at least 30 pounds for more than 15 minutes.
- Learning Yoga for flexibility and Judo for personal defense (To throw/dodge those attacking zeds)
- Being able to life myself into high places (cross a high-fence, get to a roof)
- Learn how to tumble.

* Research Goals which include:
- How to create and maintain my own small farm (tomatoes, potatoes, etc.)
- Creating a bug out pack. (In case of emergency)
- How to maintain essentials like knives, purified water, survival gear, etc.
- Make a map of points of interest within 50 miles of where I live.
- First Aid procedures- Learn on edible/dangerous U.S. wild flora and fauna.
- Learn about "on the fly" medical procedures on common types of injuries.
- Research and obtain a low-maintenance ranged weapon.

I'll add more to the list as I go along.
The list above was made from topics "out of the top of my head".