The Chip Monk Family Survival Podcast

In response to a listener's email I decided to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Pacific Northwest as a survival region on today's podcast.  I bounce around quite a bit, but hopefully there are some thoughts embedded in this episode that will get you thinking.  I apologize to my listeners in other countries as this probably isn't that pertinent to you, but some basic themes I discuss might still be of some use. (WARNING: I do touch on a little bit of the dominant politics of the region, but only as it pertains to survival and preparedness in my mind.

This is an episode that was recorded a couple of weeks ago upon my return from SHOT Show, but having done four episodes in a row related to my trip I decided to not post it at that time. In hindsight, I think it had some useful information that some listeners will find interesting so I'm posting it a while after the fact anyway. I discuss a number of different firearms this company (Century International) offers and their potential survival uses. Hopefully, you can disregard the references to the week it would have originally aired. :)

Today is one of those "back to basics" episodes where I discuss some thoughts that everyone should know, probably does know, but needs to be reminded of from time to time.  I can't say that I break a lot of new ground in what I cover today but it is the kind of subject matter that helps us keep a clear focus on the basic things necessary to keep us and our loved ones alive as opposed to focusing on the neatest new survival gadget we saw in a forum somewhere. NOTE:The basic premise of this episode came from the following thread on a site that I don't have much experience with but that looks like it might contain some good information: http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/the-5-basic-survival-skills

Today's episode was inspired by an email I received from a listener in Florida today.  And while the focus of the show isn't on exactly what they mentioned in their message, I felt it might be useful for not only them but many other listeners.  Have you ever thought about some of the special preparations that need to be made for loved ones who have certain medical conditions?  What about food intolerances?  Today I share some thoughts and considerations I've worked through on these two related ideas and hopefully you will find what I share useful. BTW... Here's the link to the Gluten-Free long term survival food I mentioned during the show: Long Term Storable GF Survival Food at Costc

We're (hopefully) back up and running after this difficult past week with an episode about considerations relating to "Operational Security" or OpSec as it's often called.  The idea is how much information are you letting get out to others about your disaster readiness/emergency preparedness/survival efforts?  Are you potentially making yourself a target?  Do your neighbors know you're one of those nutty survivalist types?  And what are some simple things you can do to reduce the amount of information you radiate that could be used against you down the road?  Well, that's the very topic that I ramble on about today.  Let me know if you have thoughts on this subject as well and I might just share them on a followup episode

After a week of family illness and technology issues Chip is back with an episode about the Foxfire series of "how to" survival knowledge.  Yes, I realize that the Foxfire books were not written with the idea of survivalism, preparedness or disaster readiness in mind, but the truth is they contain a wealth of knowledge about how to do many of the things our ancestors did to stay alive in a harsh and hostile world.  I don't go really in depth on this series, but try to give you enough of an overview so you can decide if these books might be useful in your situation. Here's the Wikipedia page about this series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxfire_%28magazine%29 Thanks as always for listening

As mentioned earlier today, problems with technology have made this episode a bit tardy but I hope that you will find it interesting and helpful nonetheless.  To begin with, I talk a bit more about what is unfolding in Egypt and the two major aspects of how it relates to Survival/Preparedness (#1. The impact it will have on the world we live in and #2. Lessons we can learn from what is transpiring there).  Then the rest of the episode is devoted to steps you can take to try to deal with a long, protracted collapse/depression.  On this topic I share some things from my own experience as well as thoughts I've gathered from other folks online.

Recently I did an episode covering survival lessons we can pick up from watching the events that unfolded in Tunisia take place. Now there is yet another example of how quickly things can change in the world and evidence that we are indeed on the cusp of a major transition in the "world order". In today's show I talk about everything from civil unrest to what this new dynamic may mean for the potential of world conflict and some tips on how to get by if events such as what is happening in Egypt ever make their way to your country.  (NOTE: There are some audio issues due to a problem with the sound on my computer which prevented me from properly editing this episode, but hopefully it will be "listenable" all the same. :))

Today is the third and possibly last episode in the SHOT Show-inspired arc where I discuss specific companies and the specific firearms they offer that are well-suited for survival and preparedness needs.  The focus of the episode is the Rossi/Taurus family of companies and a few of the unique and interesting models they have begun to put out there over the past couple of years, with greatest focus on the Rossi Wizard multi-caliber rifles, the Taurus Judge shotgun/pistol, and a several of their more basic mainstream but relatively inexpensive offerings. More on the Rossi Wizard can be found here: http://www.rossiusa.com/hot_items.cfm http://funreviews.net/publish/guns/Rossi_Wizard_Review.php http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=136858 http://forums.gunsandammo.com/forum/general-shooting-information/problems-new-rossi-wizard (Not everyone likes it, you see. :) )

Today is the next episode in this mini-arc relating to my attendance at SHOT Show, in this case discussing the usefulness of the products offered by a small American company named Hi Point.  Yes, I realize that this company has something of a mixed reputation in shooting circles but today I share my own experiences with their products along with some things I absorbed handling some of their new stuff at SHOT Show.  And I talk about why I think there is indeed a survival firearms niche that Hi Point fits into nicely. Here are a few links relating to Hi Point you may find useful: http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/ http://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/Forum/ http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun_reviews/hipoint_100605/ Also, here is the link to the Time story I mentioned at the beginning (about Survival Stores): http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884768,00.html

Today is the second in a series of episodes for this week relating to my attendance at SHOT Show.  In this show I discuss the line of innovative firearms from Kel Tec and give my opinions about their usefulness from a survival viewpoint, emphasizing both the good and the bad.  And you'll hear what it was like to be able to handle some of Kel Tec's new products like the new (and uber-cool) 14-round KSG shotgun.

On today's episode I share a bit about our family trip to Las Vegas for the SHOT Show and a few thoughts and ideas we picked up along the way.  With a 17 hour drive in each direction it was quite a road trip experience for our family and also generated some unique insights into various survival and preparedness concepts. (NOTE: This was recorded as I was driving today so the audio is somewhat garbled in certain spots.  I apologize for that.)

Welcome to another Weekend Edition of the CMFSP.  On this episode we listen to an entry from the classic radio series X Minus One called "Nightmare", based on a story titled "Revolt of the Machines".  In some ways this story has something of a Terminator feel to it, but the aspect that I found of interest in a survival context was that of a looming imminent event and how willing or unwilling people are to consider such a thing.  Enjoy!

Happy Monday!  Today I talk for a short time about some of the events that have transpired over recent days in Tunisia.  Where is Tunisia, you may ask?  Well, if you've ever seen Star Wars you've seen Tunisia:  Tatooine is Tunisia.  But more importantly it's a northern African nation that has experienced great political and social turbulence in recent days.  And on this episode I discuss lessons we can learn from what happened there. Here are some links to stories about what is taking place: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110116/D9KPL3I80.html http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70D2OV20110116 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-16/egypt-stocks-drop-most-in-six-weeks-as-tunisia-s-leader-ben-ali-overthrown.html http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/dozens-of-tunisia-jews-consider-leaving-as-violence-spreads-1.337409 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/16/tunisia-protests-suicide-algeria-arab http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110116/ap_on_re_af/af_tunisia_riots_108

Floods in Australia....  Floods in Brazil....  Floods in the Philippines....  And now floods in Chip's home region of the Pacific Northwest.  So, naturally today I talk about floods.  Some of this episode is my own experience dealing with flooding in our area over the past couple of days and some of it is referencing other larger-scale flooding going on in other places around the world.  As is always the case, this is not a completely in-depth discussion of the topic but hopefully it will serve as a good beginning point in your understanding of how to be ready for flooding.