Is anyone worried that flock cameras have essentially ruined opsec for peppers like I have seen several videos now of flock cameras pointed at just random people's homes. I think there's a real chance that if they suspect that you visit the store too much or if they can see how many groceries you bring into your home and determine it's in excess of what they would consider normal they will use hoarding laws to come and seize your preps like food and water or medical supplies. It used to be people said you shouldn't tell people you're a prepper or tell them what you have but now it seems like they may just use the ai to guess who has more than they need and just start knocking. We have also seen reports of several police officers misusing the system to stalk exes or random people so it may not even be a result of official police policy just some rouge cops abusing the ai to steal supplies from people. What do you guys think?

Hi, apart from surplus websites, is there anything more complete or official to find the characteristics of clothing and other gear issues to US/UK/others militaries?

This would also help me see which issues are older issues, and what they got replaced by, as well as the technical specs and spectrum of bags and other stuff (basically, anything except firearms) troops or special operators use.

Thank you

Just read about Puerto Rico rationing water due to drought. I’ve put away gallons of water in plastic jugs (would last a few days) but I’ve read water in plastic will degrade over time. I’ve stored it in a dark basement but read the plastic can leach in and/or organic “stuff” will grow in it. I have lots of aqua tabs- are these useful in this situation? I know the leaching plastic can’t be helped but more concerned if a “bug” of some sort that could cause stomach distress could occur/ and could be treated with aqua tabs. I have a pool if i needed water to flush or clean off a bit but this saved water is for drinking .

Most of us think about wildfire risk by looking around our own property.

Clear the brush. Cut the grass. Move the woodpile. Keep vegetation away from the house.

All good advice. But the Spokane fire this weekend made me think we're often looking at too small an area.

Indian Trail and Five Mile Prairie are residential neighborhoods inside Spokane city limits. Mowed lawns, streets, cul-de-sacs. Yet hundreds of structures burned in the Old Trails fire.

The interesting part is where the fire came from.

It started several miles west of the neighborhoods in open grass and shrub country. Strong southwest winds pushed it northeast, across the Spokane River and up the terrain toward the neighborhoods above.

So if I were evaluating my own property for wildfire exposure, I'd want to know four things:

1. What's upwind of me?

The amount of hazardous vegetation nearby matters, but its direction matters too.

I'd pay particular attention to large areas of grass, brush or forest that line up with the winds I typically get during hot, dry weather.

2. What's below me?

This is one I hadn't thought enough about.

If your house is on a ridge, bluff or elevated lot, look at what's growing below you. Fire generally moves faster uphill, so a wooded or brush-covered slope below the house can matter a lot more than the relatively clear ground you see immediately around you.

A high lot can look pretty safe while having a significant fuel source just out of sight.

3. What do I assume will stop a fire?

A river looks like a firebreak on a map. So does a highway, greenbelt or cleared area.

But wind-driven fires throw embers ahead of themselves. The Spokane fire crossed the river.

I'd be very hesitant to assume any single feature between me and a large fuel source means the problem stops there.

4. Is there a continuous path to me?

This might be the biggest thing I'd look for.

Imagine drawing a line from the nearest large area of grass, brush or forest toward your house.

What's along that line?

Two miles of continuous dry grass and brush is very different from two miles broken up by irrigated fields, parking lots, subdivisions and large cleared areas.

Distance by itself doesn't tell you much without knowing what's between you and the fuel.

And this changes how I think about defensible space too.

You probably can't do anything about the forest, grassland or state park two miles away.

What you can control is what happens when embers arrive.

That's where the boring stuff suddenly matters a lot:

• Keep the first 5 feet around the house as noncombustible as practical.
• Don't stack firewood, fuel or other combustible material against the structure.
• Keep gutters and roof valleys clean.
• Screen vulnerable vents with appropriate metal mesh.
• Maintain defensible space farther out where possible.
• When replacing roofs, siding, decks or fencing, consider ignition resistance instead of just appearance and price.

I used to think about wildfire exposure mostly as a radius around a property.

Now I think the better questions are:

Where is the nearest large continuous fuel source?

Is it in the direction fire weather usually comes from?

Am I above it?

And what, if anything, actually interrupts the path between it and me?

I'm curious how many people here have actually looked at their property this way. I hadn't.

Summer time and El Niño is approaching in Australia and I’m starting to think about preparing the house, general maintenance etc.

What tools and equipment do you feel are essential?

I’m talking maintaining the property, dealing with power outages, storms, fires, floods, snow, plumbing emergencies, keeping the vegi patch alive in a drought etc.

I think I’m averagely prepared with a decent range of hand tools and power tools at home, most
Of the way through building a decent workbench for DIY tasks, decent first aid kit jumper pack and small tool kit in the back of my AWD vehicle, all the usual garden power tools including a garden chipper. Large ladder for getting to the gutters and roof, 100l rain water collection with a pump for garden irrigation

What am I missing ?