Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Surviving the Covid-19 Pandemic

This blog is about surviving the zombie apocalypse.  I've always thought that if you were ready for our favorite fictional bogeyman, the zombie, you'd be ready to face other challenges like natural disaster.  Now, the entire world is facing the Covid-19 virus pandemic.  It's caused thousands of deaths and it may be with us for awhile.  That means we have to do what we can to protect ourselves and our families.

I am not a doctor or a medical professional.  Therefore, I suggest you visit the -


In this emergency, we all have to work together to stay apart and maintain social distances of 6 feet or more from other people.  The Corona Virus can survive on surfaces for long periods of time and is easily spread.  You'll want to wash your hands thoroughly and take appropriate precautions.

One thing that everyone should know is that the corona virus is not the zombie apocalypse.  There is no breakdown in civil authority.  Goverment at every level and industry is working together to ensure that our country will fight the virus and that our society will emerge intact.  If you were prepared for this sort of emergency, that is great for you and your family.  However, it is too late to start hoarding food and toiletries now.  Now is the time to take what you need and leave some for others.  That reduces stress on the supply lines we all depend on and gives the stores time to replenish their shelves.

Stay calm.  Think about minimizing your time among others.  Don't hoard.  We will all get through this health emergency.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

How to Build a Survival Stove

If civilization ever collapses and leaves us without electricity and cooking gas, we'll need to know how to create a stove and get things cooking again.  Fortunately, there are many ways to build a stove.

The Rocket Stove

One stove design that can be very useful in developing countries and survival situation is the Rocket Stove.  A rocket stove uses the principals of a chimney to build a very efficient stove that runs well on scrap wood, twigs, and other easily collected materials.  These videos from Youtube show how to construct a rocket stove from simple materials like bricks or cans.

This first build uses bricks to create a rocket stove.  It's an easy to see how this stove is easy to start and feed using sticks and kindling.


This second rocket stove was created using cans and small pebbles.  These sorts of stoves provide portability.  One note of caution, while traditional cans are usable for a rocket stove, galvanized buckets and cans release dangerous zinc fumes when heated.  Since these zinc fumes are toxic and will contaminate foods, don't use anything galvanized for stove construction.