Preparedness / Survival Education

Since I've started this blog, I've been doing a lot of reading and research on preparedness and survival, and it's lead me to the revelation that I should share some of the resources I've come across, rather than have you wait for my post.

Get Formal Training!

First and foremost, I recommend that you get formal training.  It's one thing to read something on the internet or in a book, or watch a few videos, but getting hands on experience and actually being put through a test is a whole other thing.

Flat Tire Preparedness Part 2

I had a pleasant conversation with one of my friends about my previous blog post My Flat Tire Is Your Next Lesson, and she mentioned that the rim of her "space-saver" spare tire bent under the weight of her SUV.  Apparently this is not a defect, but a known design flaw that the spare tire manufacture does not freely repair or replace.

I was never aware of this issue, and was bothered that a known defective device was provided as an emergency replacement.

Given that concern let's take a look at alternatives to "space-saver" spare tires.

My Flat Tire Is Your Next Lesson

As I was pulling away from my parking spot, I heard a loud pop followed by the sound cracking glass. I knew it wasn't good. I pulled out my handy flashlight to confirm I did drive over a glass bottle. Turning off my radio I slowly continued to drive on and exited the gravel lot to reach solid pavement - no way had I wanted to set up a jack in a gravel lot. As I exited the lot, I noticed the sound wasn’t quite the same. Pulling over and inspecting the tire I then saw it appeared to be slowly loosing air. Better to change a flat sooner than later.

If I risked driving home on it the damage could have easily and quickly worsened. Losing a tire while in motion is also extremely dangerous as you can lose control of your vehicle. And of course there is a higher risk of injury replacing a tire on the expressway or an unfamiliar area. Also letting a tire go completely flat can damage it to a point beyond repair. You can cause a pinch or slash, also tires contain fabric and steel wire as reinforcing materials which can also be distorted beyond repair.

Preparedness - When Disaster First Strikes

When most people think about a survival plan, they tend to think food and medical caches, personal bunkers, energy sources, communication equipment, and methods of self-protection as some of the core basic necessities.  In truth your cache of supplies is useless if you can't get to them.

Most of us spend the majority of our time away from our homes, as such we likely will not be home when an event occurs.  Do you know how you'll get home?  Do you have the supplies readily available to support your travel to your home?  Would you be able to find safe shelter if you can't get home?  These are questions that you should be prepared to answer without much though.  Yes some of these questions have simple answers, but how clearly will you be able provide solutions to these problems under duress?

Survival 101 - Intro

Last weekend my sister started talking about TEOTWAWKI.  Though I don't particularly live in fear of doomsday and or heed doomsday predictions, it dawned on me that although I have some basic survival skills and knowledge, I would not be able to survive in a post-apocalypse or major crisis without receiving significant aid.

Thus the birth of "The Esteveban Files". In the beginning this blog will mostly be covering the 'Survival' and 'Preparedness' labels since that's a bit more important than rants and ravings and posts about food (unless we're talking freeze dried and preserving).  Don't worry, I do have many of other non-gloomy topics to write about; just let me feel a bit more safe before actually getting there.

In the end, I think we can agree that it's best to be somewhat prepared, than not at all.