IKEA Cook Set (Budget Camping Gear Under $10)

 

For this video I wanted to share this great find from IKEA - a stainless steel 4-piece of cookset that can easily be integrated into anyone's camping gear. As I've mentioned on the vid, we were originally there to purchase a bookshelf for our ever-growing collection of books (we found one for a great price by the way).

I also picked up a utensil caddy that I've seen in various DIY sites and vids used as a wood stove/ fire pit. Not bad for $5.99. They did have a shorter version of the same caddy but I went with the taller piece.

I've made it a habit to seek out items that may be used or repurposed as camping/outdoors gear whenever I'm at a shop. You just never know where you'll find something useful with a matching low cost to boot.

I'll be testing both items out hopefully soon to see how it holds up and will post the results here and on YouTube, of course.

Infographic: Healthcare Data Disaster Preparedness

I love infographics - here's a emergency disaster preparedness (healthcare data) related one for all our ApocHubbers (FYI that's what I call our readers) . Some food for thought.

Source: Dell

Thanks for the tip, Nina!

Zombie Survival Map: Map of the Dead

All you zombie fanatics will dig this - Map of the Dead is a new site that uses the Google Maps API and color-coded keys to show you where you can get essential supplies in case the zombie apocalypse goes down.

Relax, it's all in the name of fun and entertainment folks - nobody really thinks a zombie outbreak will happen....Right?!

Cool, anyway...the map divides areas into danger and non-danger zones. (I'm basically SOL due to my location, practically everything around me is a danger zone).

It shows you where the gun stores are located as well as pharmacies, cemeteries, malls, outdoor stores, radio towers, among other things. Plus, it also allows you to print your map.

Go have a look for yourselves.

http://www.mapofthedead.com

Zombie Short Film: Too Late

I'm always on the lookout for zombie / apocalyptic feature films and short films so I just had to share this one to our readers.

Clever work, well done!

Dating Site for Survivalists and Preppers

Just when I think I've heard of everything...

Then someone sends me a link to a CNN article about a "Doomsday dating site."

Do you scare away potential partners when you bring them home and they see your stockpile stash?

Looking to share your bunker with that special someone?

Then this might just be the place for you -

It's called Surivalist Singles and so far it has a little over 2000 members.

Here's the CNN article about it.

and here's a screenshot of the actual site.

Ruin: Animated Short set in Post-Apocalyptic Universe

Check out this Post-apocalyptic animated short by OddBall Animation

Note: The fluttering robots kind of looks like the MKV (Multiple Kill Vehicle) from this old test footage.

 

Check out their other works in progress at OddBall Animation

The one called In Search of Humans looks pretty interesting as well.

Zombie Apocalypse Scenario Used to Teach Social Work

Cool way to get undergrads interested in social work

"In times of catastrophes some people find their humanity, while others lose theirs. What will you and your group do?"

MSU (Michigan State University) School of Social Work is offering a course elective taught by Glenn Stutzky called Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse: Catastrophes & Human Behavior.

Don't let the subject title fool you - the course explores the human condition among other key concepts. According to the description, the class is designed to "examine major catastrophic events from the past, look to potential future events, and consider a concept for increasing our chances of survival."

It even incorporates a catastrophic simulation (Coronal Mass Ejection Incident has caused a Zombie pandemic) during the beginning and end of the course which includes assigning the students into survival groups. They, in turn, are posed with a challenge to come up with solutions to surviving and coping with the aftermath.

[Source: MSU School of Social Work]

TEOTWAWKI in the Mainstream: Shock Top Beer Commercial

Another TEOTWAWKI themed commercial - this time it's for Shock Top Beer.

Kinda like the Chevy Silverado Super Bowl commercial I previously posted

Chevy Silverado Superbowl Ad 2012

Cool commercial. I guess I'm not gonna make it. I drive a Toyota 4-Runner. =) 

Doomsday Clock: Another Minute Closer to Midnight

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on January 10 that they have moved the hands of the hypothetical clock another minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007.

They cited the lack of initiatives regarding climate change and rising international tensions as one of the key reasons for the adjustment.

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by  the board of directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago using the imagery of apocalypse -- a countdown to midnight -- to convey the level of threats to humanity and the planet. The original time was set at 11:53pm, seven minutes to midnight.

The Bulletin is a periodical founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project. The clock was initially focused on nuclear war but has since broadened to reflect other risks that could have a serious impact on human life.

Source:LiveScience

 

Related link:
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Interesting Numbers on Gun Purchases During Holidays 2011

Guns were a hot item during the 2011 Holidays.

The FBI recorded 1.5 million background checks requested by gun dealers regarding their customers this past December alone.

On December 23 there were 102,222 firearm-related background checks.

These figures may actually be significanty higher since an individual can purchase multiple guns.

Close to 500,00 of the background checks were done six days before Christmas.


Sources:
 NY Daily News
 USA Today
Telegraph

Bugging In Idea for Preppers - Infographic: How to Build A Panic Room

I was looking through various infographics (because they're an excellent way of presenting new ideas and data), and I happen to stumble upon this.

It's by ADT (home security company). 

Solar Bottle Light

Here's another amazing alternative energy idea being implemented in the Philippines right now to help bring light to those who aren't able to have electricity in their homes.

The project is called One Liter of Light. All that is used are 1.5 liter bottles, water, 2 capfuls of bleach (to keep the algae from forming) - this only needs to be replaced every 5 years.

Developed and designed by MIT students, this simple light source can produce the equivalent of 55 watts of light.

You can check out their site: http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/

Living off the land: an infographic

Interesting information included within this visual representation of how much of a backyard you would need to live off the land.

Go to  1BOG 
for a larger image.

Ducked & covered: A survival guide to the post-apocalypse (video)

Came across this short film during one of my scavenging sessions for material for this site.

Supercomputer That Sees Like Humans Could Drive Robotic Vehicles

A new supercomputer that "sees" the world very much like humans do could allow cars to drive themselves someday, researchers say.

The supercomputer, dubbed NeuFlow, is based on the mammalian visual system and mimics its neural network to quickly interpret the surrounding environment.

NeuFlow is embedded on a single chip, making the system much smaller and yet more powerful and efficient than a full-scale computer.

"The complete system is going to be no bigger than a wallet, so it could easily be embedded in cars and other places," said Eugenio Culurciello, an associate professor of electrical engineering Yale University who has helped develop NeuFlow.

In order to be able to recognize various objects encountered on the road – such as other cars, people, stoplights, sidewalks, not to mention the road itself – NeuFlow processes tens of megapixel images in real time.

The system is also extremely efficient. It simultaneously runs more than 100 billion operations per second using only a few watts, or less than the power that a cell phone uses, to accomplish what a bench-top computer with multiple graphic processors needs more than 300 watts to accomplish.

"One of our first prototypes of this system is already capable of outperforming graphic processors on vision tasks," Culurciello said.

Beyond autonomous car navigation, the system could be used to improve robot navigation into dangerous or difficult-to-reach locations, to provide 360-degree synthetic vision for soldiers in combat situations, or in assisted living situations where it could be used to monitor motion and call for help should an elderly person fall, for example.

Culurciello presented the results Sept. 15 at the High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) workshop in Boston, Mass.

[Via Tech News Daily]

Zombie tribute poster

Check out this detailed poster using names of 978 zombie movies, books, and games.

Go here for a larger image.

Nuclear Weapons - a brief visual breakdown

Click here for larger image

[Source: Online School]

Ford uses zombie survival for car ad

Clever, but I think I'm sticking to my SUV.

100 skills you should know

There's a guy named Napoleon who talked about skills.

This guy:

 

Not this guy:

Here's an old list (circa 2008-2009) from Popular Mechanics I just discovered. How many can you do?

Automotive

1. Handle a blowout
2. Drive in snow
3. Check trouble codes
4. Replace fan belt
5. Wax a car
6. Conquer an off-road obstacle
7. Use a stick welder
8. Hitch up a trailer
9. Jump start a car

Handling Emergencies

10. Perform the Heimlich
11. Reverse hypothermia
12. Perform hands-only CPR
13. Escape a sinking car

Home

14. Carve a turkey
15. Use a sewing machine
16. Put out a fire
17. Home brew beer
18. Remove bloodstains from fabric
19. Move heavy stuff
20. Grow food
21. Read an electric meter
22. Shovel the right way
23. Solder wire
24. Tape drywall
25. Split firewood
26. Replace a faucet washer
27. Mix concrete
28. Paint a straight line
29. Use a French knife
30. Prune bushes and small trees
31. Iron a shirt
32. Fix a toilet tank flapper
33. Change a single-pole switch
34. Fell a tree
35. Replace a broken windowpane
36. Set up a ladder, safely
37. Fix a faucet cartridge
38. Sweat copper tubing
39. Change a diaper
40. Grill with charcoal
41. Sew a button on a shirt
42. Fold a flag

Medical Myths

43. Treat frostbite
44. Treat a burn
45. Help a seizure victim
46. Treat a snakebite
47. Remove a tick

Military Know-How

48. Shine shoes
49. Make a drum-tight bed
50. Drop and give the perfect pushup

Outdoors

51. Run rapids in a canoe
52. Hang food in the wild
53. Skipper a boat
54. Shoot straight
55. Tackle steep drops on a mountain bike
56. Escape a rip current

Primitive Skills

57. Build a fire in the wilderness
58. Build a shelter
59. Find potable water

Surviving Extremes

60. Floods
61. Tornados
62. Cold
63. Heat
64. Lightning

Teach Your Kids

65. Cast a line
66. Lend a hand
67. Change a tire
68. Throw a spiral
69. Fly a stunt kite
70. Drive a stick shift
71. Parallel park
72. Tie a bowline
73. Tie a necktie
74. Whittle
75. Ride a bike

Technology

76. Install a graphics card
77. Take the perfect portrait
78. Calibrate HDTV settings
79. Shoot a home movie
80. Ditch your hard drive

Master Key Workshop Tools

81. Drill driver
82. Grease gun
83. Coolant hydrometer
84. Socket wrench
85. Test light
86. Brick trowel
87. Framing hammer
88. Wood chisel
89. Spade bit
90. Circular saw
91. Sledge hammer
92. Hacksaw
93. Torque wrench
94. Air wrench
95. Infrared thermometer
96. Sand blaster
97. Crosscut saw
98. Hand plane
99. Multimeter
100. Feeler gauges

Sidenote: Uh, #18 is slightly disturbing. Skill-wise I scored about 1/3. I do own some of the tools. Hell, I don't even have nunchuck skills. I can juggle though. Do I get points for that? Not so much. I'm screwed.