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Post by kutkota on Mar 30, 2014 13:48:34 GMT -7
I get tunnel vision and get preoccupied with things I am skilled at and loose track of, or don't realize what I am lacking in.
I would imagine most everyone needs more food, water, ammo, medical gear etc.
I have tons of medical equipment and knowledge but am very lacking in he mechanical side of things. I could not fabricate a widget to save my life.
I realize no one can be a jack of all trades unless you are Woodyz or TJ or CWI but what are some areas you lack in. Thought it might help jog the old brain bucket for areas that we are lacking that we don't realize.
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Post by cajunlady87 on Mar 30, 2014 14:23:46 GMT -7
Well this is what I have to say about my knowledge or lack thereof in comparison to many on here. It just totally sucks. Okay I got that out my system. Now having said that, I don't think I'm a dummy by a long shot. Another one of my favorite mottos is "where there's a will, there's a way". I don't need to be a walking encyclopedia to figure out how to improvise, adapt and overcome. My 2 cents for what it's worth.  |
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Post by lanyislost on Mar 30, 2014 14:44:13 GMT -7
Yeah, I've realized that this may not be the place for a newbie like me. My knowledge sucks too. I'm trying my hardest to learn alternative ways to cook, and always on the look out for items to store that have a dual purpose. I just plain don't know much and what I do know doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
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Post by thywar on Mar 30, 2014 14:53:11 GMT -7
Wow Kutkota, the list is long for me. I have a little bit of knowledge about a lot of things (not all of it useful in a SHTF situation btw). Realizing that I've made purchases of items I can barely operate but feel reasonably sure others that I know can but don't have. I watched redneckidokie make a holster the other day (and no it wasn't for my RG .22 pistol either) and that's a very beneficial skill in leather working. The man can make some sheaths now, and holsters too. I think where/how/by whom you were raised makes a big difference. I have none of my Dad's mechanical abilities yet passed the test for flight school (hearing loss stopped that). Worked all over a hospital in the 70s while in college (surgery, ER, some lab/X-ray, patient care) so I can probably stop your bleeding and would probably think I could do what was needed to help you.
Good question
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Post by cajunlady87 on Mar 30, 2014 15:00:14 GMT -7
Yeah, I've realized that this may not be the place for a newbie like me. My knowledge sucks too. I'm trying my hardest to learn alternative ways to cook, and always on the look out for items to store that have a dual purpose. I just plain don't know much and what I do know doesn't amount to a hill of beans. What do you mean by alternative ways to cook and what type of items (food or non-food) to store that have a dual purpose? |
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Post by angelhelp on Mar 30, 2014 15:07:35 GMT -7
I've never been hunting. I've rather poor gardening skills, given the pathetic overall results over past years. I've camped, but only under "optimal" conditions (enough supplies, no really bad weather, not real winter temperatures, etc.) Despite repeated attempts to conquer swimming, I have yet to succeed. I don't count getting to the side of a pool into which I've dived as swimming. Swimming requires breathing, movement of arms, and movement of legs; I can handle any two of those at once, but not (yet) all three. Once the state declared war on the firing of projectiles other than arrows, the cost of practice became prohibitive, not to mention the problem of acquisition of proper supplies (which is/was their intent). I have essentially zero knowledge of how to effect home repairs. Ditto for car repairs. Ditto for anything with a small engine (e.g. a lawnmower, snowblower). I may not take the prize for having the worst sense of direction, but I'm close. Compass navigation has, thus far, eluded my attempts to understand it enough to try it locally. Hills of beans (to borrow from your post, lanyislost) come in many flavors, which is why groups are better than going solo. |
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Post by ColcordMama on Mar 30, 2014 15:42:27 GMT -7
AH, you don't have to actually fire a gun to practice. Or are BB guns also outlawed in your state? How about Nerf guns? The theory is the same, all that's missing is the weight of an actual gun and the flash bang. I've become a pretty darn good shot over the past eight or nine years just with my BB rifle, but I can also shoot a spring loaded toy gun firing plastic pellets with the same accuracy. When TSHTF you might have to learn how to compensate for wind, get used to the kick and weight, but unless I'm full of it, you will have the muscle memory to hit the target.
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Post by Cwi555 on Mar 30, 2014 15:45:39 GMT -7
I get tunnel vision and get preoccupied with things I am skilled at and loose track of, or don't realize what I am lacking in. I would imagine most everyone needs more food, water, ammo, medical gear etc. I have tons of medical equipment and knowledge but am very lacking in he mechanical side of things. I could not fabricate a widget to save my life. I realize no one can be a jack of all trades unless you are Woodyz or TJ or CWI but what are some areas you lack in. Thought it might help jog the old brain bucket for areas that we are lacking that we don't realize. Obviously, if we don't realize it, we don't know about it. Two things that will get someone killed fast is arrogance and assumptions. I believe Woodyz and TJ will agree when I say, no one is prepared totally. I've spent a minimum of ten hours, every week, since two days past my eight birthday studying with the only time not doing so being spent in various hospitals as a patient. Even in that time, Study time increased once I could deal with the pain, especially given there wasn't much else to do other than lay there. The total hours actually average in excess of 15 per week. Through all that I have learned one very important thing. The more I know, the more I realize that I know next to nothing. Personal experience has taught me it's not so much about what you know, but more about how your mind handles it. There is an element of a person that goes beyond any skill or knowledge. It is the will to survive. The smartest, most adept, and trained person in the world will fold up sucking their thumb in a fetal position without that will to survive. That cannot be quantified, categorized, educated for, nor trained for. I've directly witnessed this on more than one occasion, and experienced the same. |
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Post by ColcordMama on Mar 30, 2014 16:12:14 GMT -7
Excellent reply, CWI. I totally agree. Let me add this: In my humble opinion it's important to know and practice the skills that require precise muscle memory (driving a car, knitting a sock, shooting a gun accurately, for example) and rapid actions in specific order for other tasks. Other than that, it's of the utmost importance to know where in your stockpile of references you'll find the information you need. That's why it's so darn important to learn as much as you can but BACK IT UP with as much hard copy as you can. Yes, you can find almost any information on the internet, but what if there IS no internet? Have it in a book you can hold in your hands. Books never need a power supply.
My Dad, career Army most of his adult life, liked to tell how endless hours of practicing assembling his 30 caliber carbine saved his life in Korea, when he was in a foxhole under fire and his weapon suddenly came apart in his hands. He didn't even have to think about putting it back together. His hands already knew how and did it in record time, and he raised his head to find all the action was over by the time his trusty weapon was ready again. Muscle memory, people. Muscle memory.
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Post by lanyislost on Mar 30, 2014 16:59:02 GMT -7
Yeah, I've realized that this may not be the place for a newbie like me. My knowledge sucks too. I'm trying my hardest to learn alternative ways to cook, and always on the look out for items to store that have a dual purpose. I just plain don't know much and what I do know doesn't amount to a hill of beans. What do you mean by alternative ways to cook and what type of items (food or non-food) to store that have a dual purpose? Alternative ways to cook such as a solar oven, a campfire with 5 feet of snow on the ground, bbq grill with winds blowing, I'm experimenting in all kinds of situations so I'll know how and what to do if I need it. Items with a dual purpose encompasses a lot of things but I've replaced all of my cookware with cast iron because it can be used on a grill, in an oven, on a campfire, on a regular house stove, etc. |
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Post by cajunlady87 on Mar 30, 2014 17:57:36 GMT -7
What do you mean by alternative ways to cook and what type of items (food or non-food) to store that have a dual purpose? Alternative ways to cook such as a solar oven, a campfire with 5 feet of snow on the ground, bbq grill with winds blowing, I'm experimenting in all kinds of situations so I'll know how and what to do if I need it. Items with a dual purpose encompasses a lot of things but I've replaced all of my cookware with cast iron because it can be used on a grill, in an oven, on a campfire, on a regular house stove, etc. Experimenting is the best way to find out what works best for you in any given situation. I've learned a lot from these guys over the past years and I also have read other forums and looked up many How To's on the internet to learn even more. But most of all I use my own life experiences to know what works for me. |
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Post by thywar on Mar 30, 2014 18:46:25 GMT -7
I'm getting all of the females from The Big Bang Theory to join my group. 'Penny' will be my favorite
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Post by woodyz on Mar 30, 2014 21:21:12 GMT -7
I am not sure I belong on the same list as TJ and CWI, I consider them and a lot of other people on here much smarter than me.
I don’t consider myself as an academia; I don’t know the why of things based on physics or science. I just know that if I do this it will result in that. And I practice it until I can consistently get the same results.
I have my little experiences I call proof of concepts, where I manufacture and item or develop a process so that I understand how to do it without needing to understand the why it works.
I have always been mechanically inclined, not being a mechanic but being able to understand the mechanics of how something works, able to visualize what the results will be in my head and how to get the same results from different materials or using a different process.
I have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, mostly I don’t care what the subject is I want to read about it and practice it until I can do it. Regardless if it is physical or philosophical, I want to try and understand it enough to know if it will be useful to me or not and if it isn’t I stop worrying about it and go on to the next thing. There seems to be no shortage of things I don’t know.
ColcordMama said it is important to know and practice the skills that require precise muscle memory (driving a car, knitting a sock, shooting a gun accurately, for example) and rapid actions in specific order for other tasks. I want to make a specific comment toward that and the use of bb guns, dry firing etc.
Practicing anything that you might want to do well is a must do, repetition until the movement becomes a reaction will never be a waste of time. Any practice that can create muscle memory is very important.
But a word of caution toward that point;
Reaction time can be improved with the practice of the movement with any tool that creates the desired effect. HOWEVER, be very cautious in developing muscle memory with a practice tool that is not the actual tool to be used.
The best example I can give is the safety operation between a Colt and a Beretta. The safety on a Colt goes down to fire, while on a Beretta it goes up. It could prove to be very bad for you to develop muscle memory by practicing with a Colt but being real with a Beretta. I carried a Colt “cocked and locked” safety on hammer back, for 30+ years, now I carry a Beretta and I can’t cock and lock it and I can’t make myself push the safety up, so I carry it uncocked and unlocked, depending on the heavier trigger pull of the double action to keep me from having a misfire.
The point is that it is very important if you are working toward muscle memory to practice using the same hardware as you will use.
Now all of my carry pistols are Berettas, all of my shotguns and Remington 870’s, all of my assault rifles are AK’s.
ALL OF MY HARDWARE AND PLATFORMS FOR MY 3 SHTF WEAPONS ARE THE SAME, I PRACTICE WITH WHAT I WILL DEPEND ON.
I have .22 conversions for each of them, but the platform, the hardware is the same.
It doesn't mean I don’t shoot an AR, or a Ruger revolver once in a while, I have too many different weapons I love to shoot. What it means is I no longer practice for muscle memory with any of the other makes or calibers. I think that is an important point.
So I have once again said everything but what I wanted to say on the topic.
What do I lack in, where am I short.
I no longer have the physical capability to do most of everything I have the knowledge to do. My body has failed me, or rather I have failed my body. I mistreated it, I used it up, I pushed it past its limits too many times. I don’t believe it has to be that way as you get older. I know many people my age who have taken care of their body and are physically able to do much of what I am not.
Yes some of the damage to my body came with the experience it has, some of it could not be avoided, but a lot of it could if I had controlled my diet and exercise like I should have. I did not and now I am paying the price. I was 10 feet tall and bullet proof, I could run 10 miles after being shot in the foot. But I did not do the due diligence required to maintain my equipment. So that is my shortage.
And I wish I was better at explaining what I can see or picture something to be, I am not as good at teaching others as I could be.
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Post by ColcordMama on Mar 31, 2014 0:15:19 GMT -7
I agree Z Man, absolutely practice with what you'll use, but in that specific case where, as AngelHelp said, her state "declared war on the firing of projectiles other than arrows," I suggested she use alternate practice weapons. You gotta go with the flow and think outside the box. Sneaky like a fox. On her lawmakers a pox.
By the way, don't discount yourself, buddy. You're a wealth of great information and experience and a real inspiration to the rest of us. Thank you for contributing when I know how much of an effort it must be for you some times.
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Post by Cwi555 on Mar 31, 2014 2:11:45 GMT -7
Woodyz,
There are only two categories of people that matter in this conversation. Those with a will to survive, and those without.
Your presence here is testament to being in the will to survive category.
Everything else becomes probabilities after that. We learn and train to bend those probabilities in our favor, but without that will, it's a waste of time and effort.
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