Why you should be concerned about nuclear radiation in your food.

Doug Ford.

The name brings fear to the minds of many people in Ontario.

Doug Ford is the Premier of Ontario, and he is a jerk. A real nasty jerk. He wants to dump nuclear waste in Bruce County, close to the town of Teeswater. The Teeswater River (and the underground aquifer beneath the region) supplies the drinking water to:

• Tens of thousands of people.
• Dairy cows.
• Water for agricultural farming (corn, potatoes, soy beans and more).
• Water for Aquafina bottled water.
• Cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens. Bruce County is the Beef Capital of North America, but it also produces a lot of other meat products.

If you live Ontario you've eaten food many times from Bruce County. Guaranteed. You've drank the milk. You've eaten the cheese. You've eaten beef, pork, turkey and chicken. You've eaten the corn, the potatoes, the soy products. You've drank Aquafina water.

Even if you are a vegan and don't eat milk and dairy, you should still care where your soy products and other vegetables are grown and where your bottled water comes from.

And that is why you should care.

If you care about what you eat, then you should protect what you eat. Learn more at:

https://www.protectsouthbruce-nodgr.org/

If you care write to Doug Ford. Tweet him. Phone him and leave an angry voicemail.

Share this post. Copy/paste it to other websites. Share it on Facebook. Share it on Twitter. Share the memes below.

Show that you care about your food and where it comes from.

Protect your food and your health from Doug Ford.

Coronavirus Stats and Why You Should Worry

Below are the Global Coronavirus Stats, starting on March 17th until April 1st.

Known Cases

What you will see is that globally we went from less than 190,000 known cases on March 17th up to 912,000 by April 1st (as of 5:34 PM GMT). Up 480% during that time period.

Deaths

The deaths during that same time period skyrocketed from 7,518 to 45,540. Up 605% during that time period.

Recoveries

During that time period recoveries went from 80,874 to 190,933. A moderate increase in recoveries, suggesting that the virus is either deadlier than we give it credit for, or that recoveries take longer than expected.

Unknown Cases

This is the problem. We don't know what percentage of the population has the coronavirus and is transmitting it to other people willy nilly. As such it becomes difficult to estimate just how common it is, and exactly how deadly it is.

Some Countries Getting Hit Harder

Certain countries like the USA, which has high rares of diabetes and other health problems, are more vulnerable than other countries.

• USA Known Cases 205,036
• USA Deaths 4,516
• USA Recoveries 8745
• USA Unresolved Cases 191,775

Stats as of April 1st, 2020 at 5:34 PM GMT.

Now what is important to look at is the number of people who have died or recovered, because those are "Resolved Cases". They either died or recovered. It is purely binary. All other cases unresolved and those people could either die or recover.

The Coronavirus has killed 34% of the resolved cases in the USA.

If you want it in simpler terms, the virus eventually kills 1 in 3 known cases in the USA.

The USA currently has 191,775 unresolved cases. Based upon a death rate of 34% we can expect ‭65,203.5‬ of those unresolved cases to die.

And it could ultimately become worse than that if the USA runs into a shortage of ventilators which are critical for people to beat this particular pandemic.

Other Countries Fared Better

To their credit, China locked down parts of the country quickly to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Also China has relative low numbers of diabetes and other health problems, so their death rate is much lower.

• China Known Cases 81,554
• China Deaths 3312
• China Recoveries 76,238
• China Unresolved Cases 2004

Thus in China the virus is only killing 1 in 24 resolved cases or 4.16%.

That is a huge difference in terms of how much deadlier the coronavirus is in the USA vs China.

Canada also has a similarly low death rate, partially due to having a better healthcare system, but also because Canadians get more exercise and have lower rates of diabetes and other health problems.

• Canada Known Cases 9,489
• Canada Deaths 108
• Canada Recoveries 1,445
• Canada Unresolved Cases 7,936

Thus Canada's death rate is currently only about 1 in 14.4, or 7% of resolved cases. It isn't as low as China's death rate, but it is still way better than the USA.

What is the Global Death Rate?

Of ‭236,473‬ resolved cases, 45,540 people have died thus far.

So it is currently killing, on average, 1 in 5.2 people. 19.26% of known cases.

Expectations

We can expect this to get a lot worse.

As the coronavirus spreads to poorer nations with poor health care systems we can expect the death rate to go up.

Even wealthy countries are going to run into shortages of ventilators, doctors/nurses who are healthy enough to treat the sick, and the materials those medical staff need.

Countries like China might even recover completely from this, having closed their borders and stomped down on the spread of the virus by using quarantines and martial law in effected regions. China has already lowered their number of cases to 2004. Two months from now they might have zero new infections and be able to resume normal life.

Countries like the USA, who have leaders who are unwilling or powerless to invoke quarantines and martial law, will see the coronavirus spread across their entire nation until no place is safe.

In the USA the coronavirus has already spread to every state and is multiplying within the USA at a rapid pace.

The USA currently has 205,036 known cases, but back on March 17th the USA had only 5266 known cases.

In 15 days the USA went from 5266 cases to over 205,000 known cases - and they presumably have many more cases because the USA has a shortage of tests.

So up by a factor of 40 in 15 days. A 4000% increase.

Earlier this morning the USA had only 188,000 cases, but in the last 5.5 hours the number of confirmed cases went up 17,000. So the number of confirmed cases is going up by more than 3000 per hour right now.

By April 16th the USA could be looking at 8.2 million people with the coronavirus, and most of them probably already have it right now and just don't know it yet because they haven't had any symptoms yet.

The Plateau

Eventually countries like the USA could reach a plateau, wherein the virus has spread to almost everyone, and infected almost everyone who is vulnerable to it.

In the USA, due to the older population and the number of people with diabetes/other health problems we can expect the virus to effect roughly 30 to 40% of the population.

As of TODAY, April 1st 2020, the USA's estimated population is 331,002,651.

30 to 40% of that would be 99.3 million to 132 million people.

The coronavirus/COVID19 should be expected to kill 34% of them.

Between ‭33,762,270 and ‭45,016,360 people. Roughly 10 to 15% of the American population.

Meanwhile Donald Trump, the glorious leader in the White House, has been saying that if the USA only has 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus that would be a good thing.

Yes, that would be a good thing.

100,000 is way better than 33 to 45 million.

Then on March 29th, 3 days ago, Trump said that Americans should expect 200,000 deaths.

We should expect him to reprise his estimates again and again, because he doesn't listen to mathematicians.

There is another (unreliable) source out there saying that 2.2 million Americans might die. But these are really low ball statistics that are people are putting out there because they don't want to frighten people and because they don't know how to do math properly.

Using faulty math is just going to make the problem worse. It creates a false sense of security that less people are going to die.

Faulty Math

What do I mean by faulty math?

Well, lets pretend you ignore the recoveries rate and only look at the total number of known cases and the deaths so far.

• USA Known Cases 205,036
• USA Deaths 4,516

Looking at that you might think the death rate in the USA is only about 2%, even though the USA has 191,775 unresolved cases.

Roughly 35% of Americans are vulnerable to COVID19.

35% of 331,002,651 Americans is ‭115,850,928. 2% of that is 2.3 million dead Americans, assuming that the pandemic eventually spreads everywhere.

And voila, that is how faulty math predicts a much lower death rate.

This is what happens when politicians and other people who don't know how statistics work try to do math. They use *unresolved cases* as part of their metric for determining how many people will die, when they should really be using resolved cases only.

As more and more Americans die or recover from the coronavirus we will get more accurate numbers of just how deadly the virus is. Some states within the USA might have much higher or lower numbers than the national average.

Eg. I expect Mississippi / West Virginia to have really high death rates, and Colorado / Hawaii to have comparative lower death rates. (Due to lower rates of diabetes, and the fact that states like Hawaii and Colorado are more isolated.)

The Global Death Rate

223 million.

That is how many people I expect to die from coronavirus during the next 9 months, by December 31st 2020.

How did I arrive at that number?

The global population is 7.8 billion people as of April 2020.

Approx. 30% of the population is vulnerable to coronavirus.

‭2,340,000,000‬ vulnerable people.

Of those people who are vulnerable, I expect 1 in 10.5 people to die. At least.

Result: ‭222,857,143.

Maybe more, maybe less. Most likely more.

We should also expect people to die from food shortages, medicine shortages, lack of safe access to doctors, increased crime/murders, increased suicide rates, and a host of other problems.

So Why Should You Worry About This

• You could die.
• You have family who will die.
• You have friends who will die.
• You have neighbours who will die.
• Everyone is going to know multiple people who will die from this.
• Doctors and nurses will die. Some already have died.
• The global economy is going to go into the biggest recession since the Great Depression.
• Worst Case Scenario: Economic Chaos / Social Anarchy.

 There was a source on an American news agency that was predicting that the USA will at some point start seeing over 1000 deaths per day during April.

And possibly 3000 deaths per day in May.

For comparison purposes the September 11th 2001 attacks only killed 2,977 people.

That is going to feel like a paltry number compared to the 33-45 million Americans I expect to die from the first wave of the coronavirus.

The Second Wave

Eventually when countries start lifting quarantines and orders to self isolate we will likely see a Second Wave of the virus.

At which point that country or countries will need to self isolate all over for months to contain the virus. The countries which lift the quarantines too early are the ones which are going to be hit the hardest by the second wave of the virus.

There is also another potential problem. If a virus spreads for a long enough time period, like influenza/the Common Cold does, it eventually mutates and evolves into different versions of the virus. If it does this then there is the potential it could evolve into a deadlier version of the virus.

So it is really important we stop the virus during the first wave and wipe it out completely, so we can prevent a second wave of the virus, and also to prevent an evolved version of the coronavirus from becoming the next big killer.

Tired of Being Indoors?

Maybe it is time to go camping.

You can finally build that off grid cabin you've been dreaming of.

You have time right now, so why not just go and do it? Isolate yourself in the woods, build a cabin to your heart's content, and keep yourself safe.

Survival Lilly on the Coronavirus

Okay, so if you are one of the many people who watch Survival Lilly on YouTube then you are probably familiar with the fact that she is taking the Coronavirus / COVID19 very seriously.

One to two months ago her videos were on topics like:

• A new gadget for her recurve bow.
• She got a new dog.
• How to sharpen an old bow saw.
• 5 types of survival shelters.
• Her #2 knife design becoming available. (Two videos just on that topic.)
• Her current bow setup.
• How to make a fire the "primitive" way.
• Firesteel vs magnesium bar vs lighter.

And then suddenly her videos shifted to an all new theme: Coronavirus Panic Time.

A video of her panic buying toilet paper and other items.




A video about why teenagers and the Austrian media should not be mocking people dressed up to protect themselves from the Coronavirus.



Plus videos on:

Immune System Boosters.
News reporting on people stealing disinfectants.
Survival gear for her dog.
Another video of her panic buying things at the store.
Coronavirus Updates.
Spending a night overnight at her buy out camp. X2.
Austrian Curfew imposed.
Storing water for emergencies.
Panic buying more stuff.

And getting her survival bug out camp ready.




So...

Is Lilly Overreacting?

No, I don't think she is.

I think she is taking this topic seriously.

Did she really need that much toilet paper? Probably not. But whatever. Lots of people have been stocking up on toilet paper. My wife and I purchased toilet paper on SALE back in January before the current crisis hit North America, so we're set for a good amount of time anyway.

I also think there is plenty of young people out there who are not taking this seriously.

Possibly because those same young people don't understand what the worst case scenario of this virus is:

• The virus could mutate and become deadlier, killing young people too.
• The global economy could completely collapse. Resetting us back 200 years. Monetary wealth could become completely worthless.
• Complete anarchy as society breaks down.

Governments globally are trying to prevent this from happening. Stopping the virus before it can potentially mutate and become deadlier is important. If we just let the virus run rampant it will eventually mutate into something deadlier.

It is in their own best interest (and ours) that the global economy doesn't collapse and society falls into anarchy.

Because as much as the sound of hunting, fishing and growing my own vegetables sounds like a grand adventure the vast majority of us would much prefer to keep our KFC, pubs, beer, and freezers full of frozen food that is ready to eat. To say nothing of toilet paper, air conditioning, and access to a healthcare system.

That grand adventure doesn't sound so good if it means mankind brings itself close to the brink of extinction.

So everyone should be doing their job to prepare and to stay safe.

And that includes idiot teenagers and centennials in their 20s. (Millennials are in their 30s. We need to stop using the term millennials to describe young people.)

Take the coronavirus seriously. Stay Safe!

Worried about the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Are you worried about Coronavirus?

Well you should be, but not because of the health hazards. The virus typically only kills people over the age of 50, and even then only kills roughly one in ten people over the age of 50.

The bigger issue seems to be the economy which has currently gone into a tailspin nose dive.

Eg. In the past 26 days the Dow Jones has fallen from 29,551 to 23,581. A drop of over 20% in less than 1 month. Other markets are also similarly effected.

If the economy also continues to head in this direction and the virus becomes a widespread pandemic we will see global economic chaos.

In which case there are some things you should probably do to prepare.

#1. Double Check your Bug Out Bag

Now is a good time to double check your Bug Out Bag. If the economy collapses, wars break out or other problems that cause a societal collapse now is a really good time to make sure your Bug Out Bag is full of everything you need to escape from the rest of society and go off grid completely.

See my older post on Filling Your Bug Out Bag.

If you don't have a Bug Out Bag maybe it is time you finally prepared one?

You will also want a tent, transportation, a plan for getting out of the city (eg. a route and possibly backup routes), and a heading so you know where you are going. Eg. I know a swamp where the deer and wild turkeys are plentiful. Plus it is a swamp, so privacy should be assured.

#2. Self Defense and Hunting

"Speak softly and carry a big stick." - Theodore Roosevelt.

You should have multiple options for self-defense in the event you need to leave the big city and head to the countryside to wait out the chaos. The preppers have the advantage here, many of them have been ready for this sort of thing for years. Still you should definitely invest in something to protect yourself.

Having more than 1 weapon or skill to potentially protect yourself is beneficial, as certain weapons/skills are more suitable for certain situations.

For example:

• Archery is quieter and stealthier than rifles.
• Arrows can be reused, but bullets are one time (the shells can be recycled however).
• Black powder rifles are less likely to run out of ammo because it is easier to make your own.
• Martial arts is more portable than swords.
• Axes and knives are both tools you will end up needing in the wild and to protect yourself.
• Your best defense is to stay hidden. Nobody can threaten someone who cannot be seen.

Archery has an advantage as it is both quieter and can be used for both bowhunting and defense, but an archer is unlikely to run out of ammo as they can easily make more arrows once they know how.

The real trick to archery is that a person really needs lessons to get good at it. In the video below for example a new archery student hits a target ball at a distance of 37 yards/111 feet, and she manages to do it on her first lesson.

An amateur trying to teach themselves archery would struggle to hit a similar sized target at HALF that distance. So getting archery lessons makes a big difference.

Toronto Archery Lessons

Someone who chooses to arm themselves with a bow, axe, knife, and learns some martial arts / how to be stealthy will have an advantage over people who are using rifles and are not stealthy. The rifle hunter will eventually run out of ammo. The exception to this of course is the black powder rifle or anyone who knows how to recycle/make their own bullets, but those are very rare skills.

And even if Coronavirus doesn't become pandemic at least you learned archery and other useful skills. We can always hope that the economy doesn't collapse and everything turns out just fine.

#3. The Five Meter Rule

If possible try to stay at least five meters away from strangers and avoid public places. Why five meters?

Cough droplets carrying the coronavirus can float in the air up to five meters and infect people who are 17 feet away.

Health officials have been telling people to keep a distance of 2 meters, but this is very difficult to do on sidewalks, public transportation, in stores, etc. Let alone 5 meters, which is more ideal.

Worse, the coronavirus can survive on surfaces for up to 1 hour. So if you touch something and then touch your face you could become infected by someone who coughed into their hand, touched an object, and then you touched it less than an hour later.

So you really want to stay 5 meters away from strangers / anyone possibly infected, and if going anywhere public you should avoid touching anything that hasn't been cleaned first. This whole fist-bumping / elbow-bumping idea is actually too risky.

#4. Soap, Soap, Soap

Ironically Purell and similar anti-bacterial products don't actually kill the coronavirus. What you really need is good old fashioned soap and water.

#5. Stop touching your face so often

The average person touches their face at least 20 times per hour. It isn't bad if you are at home all day, but if you go out to a public place you should avoid touching your face.

Protecting your Ears while Hunting

It is September, which means bowhunting season for whitetail deer in Ontario is upon us and rifle hunting season is soon to be here too. (And black powder hunting too, lest we forget!)

If you love hunting then you know that having a keen ear is one of the hunter’s most important assets when it comes to finding the elusive whitetail.

And you also know that it is essential to protect your hearing against sudden gunshots or other hunting-related noises. Studies have found that men over the age of 48 who hunt regularly are statistically more likely to experience high-frequency hearing loss – the type associated with damage from sudden loud explosions and similar loud noises. At the same time, the evidence shows that many hunters fail to take precautions to avoid serious hearing problems. Many of us think we are invincible, but we clearly are not.

How can you protect your ears while out stalking your prey? How can you keep your ears in great shape while out hunting so you can even hear the prey in the future? In short...

How do you protect your ears while hunting?

The first thing to do if you are worried about your hearing is to understand the risks. Even a single loud gunshot can permanently damage your hearing. Just one. I personally have hearing damage dating back to an incident when I was 12 years old.

It doesn’t have to be a couple of feet away, either. Shots from twenty to thirty yards away can also degrade your auditory abilities, particularly if heard repeatedly and/or over a long period. Generally, experts report that noises of 85 decibels or more can cause permanent hearing issues, and gunshots are usually in the range of 120 to 130 decibels – more than enough to damage your hearing for good. (And black powder rifles... they are often in the 150 to 160 decibels range.)

For reference a Boeing 747 during takeoff is 140 decibels. Guaranteed severe hearing damage.

So remember those numbers in your mind before you head out hunting: There is a constant risk when using firearms of permanent hearing damage, and you need to take precautions. But what are the specific precautions you need to take?

The most important thing to do is to wear protective gear that muffles sound and vibrations from gunshots such as earplugs and "game ears" (ear muffs designed to dampen noise). This is easily the most important fix you can make that will prevent hearing damage. Fortunately, there are a number of items hunters can use to achieve that outcome.

Different types of ear protection for hunters to consider

The most common form of ear protection for hunters is earplugs. Generally made of foam and ridged to ensure they remain securely in place.

There are also specialist hunting earplugs are available from brands like Sportear or Auritech. These earplugs have been designed with firearms users in mind.

Not all hunting stores sell such things, but not worry. If you visit a local audiologist / hearing centre they can usually order specialty items for you that cannot be found in hunting stores. eg. Omni Hearing in Vaughan (not far from the Bass Pro) has a wide variety of hearing aids and ear plugs. And if they don't have them, they can order them for you.

So even if you cannot find what you are looking for at a hunting store like Bass Pro, just visit a hearing centre and they can usually order whatever you need. (Or recommend products you didn't know existed.)

Auritech Earplugs

When you choose a pair of earplugs, you will likely come across a metric called the "noise reduction rating."

To find out how much your earplugs actually reduce gunshot noise, take this number, subtract seven, then divide it by two, and that will give you a rough estimate of the percentage value.

However, there is a catch: earplugs cannot reduce the impact of vibrations from gunshots, and they are a blunt instrument, blocking out all ambient sound, which can be a big problem for serious hunters who also want to hear their prey.

This means that many hunters avoid earplugs and prefer ear muffs instead.

However when practicing shooting, you should probably just wear both. Earplugs and earmuffs. And then during the actual hunt, use just the earmuffs.

Brands like Peltor or Honeywell manufacture hunting headsets that muffle the sound and vibrations of gunshots by blocking out the louder sound wavelengths. At the same time, they actually amplify other noises via sophisticated detection systems, allowing hunters to remain aware of what’s going on in the brush without risking their hearing. If you intend to hunt regularly, it’s definitely worth checking out these smart ear muffs, which fortunately are not much more price wise than standard models.

But wait, there is also a 3rd option!

Electronic ear plugs. The great advantage of these devices (which are worn like hearing aids) is that they can be tuned to block out specific frequencies. The disadvantage is that they provide little protection against vibration, but for hunters who need to remain alert and mobile, this is often a sacrifice worth making.

What about hunting with hearing aids?

If you are a hearing aid user, you might assume that hunting is a thing of the past, but that doesn’t have to be the case. There’s no doubt that hunting poses some challenges for hearing aid users. Most importantly, rapid, loud noises like gunfire can overload the microphones on many hearing aid models, rendering them ineffective. And hunters can also fall into the trap of assuming that their device’s noise cancellation function will protect them against gunfire, when that’s not usually the case.

Abrupt noises can be too fast for many devices to detect, delivering every single decibel to your inner ear. So, what is the solution? A hearing aid that is made specifically for hunting. As we touched upon earlier, there are electronic ear plugs that resemble hearing aids. But there are also hearing aids that feature highly sensitive noise detection and cancellation that can handle gunshots. eg. Starkey’s SoundGear.

The point is that there are a wide range of options out there for people who want to hunt and want to protect their hearing / preserve their current hearing if they already have hearing damage.

Rifle Hunting Vs Bowhunting

Hearing damage is a good argument for learning how to bowhunt honestly. Or spearhunt. Getting close enough to your prey (25 yards or less is normal for bowhunting) is an extra challenge for a hunter, but the benefit is that you don't have to worry about hearing damage. No, you only need to be a good enough shot to get the whitetail in the vitals at 25 yards or less.

You also benefit (usually, varies on province or state) from a longer hunting season for bows and crossbows.

For rifle hunting and black powder hunting there are definitely risks. Few know these risks better than Elmer Keith or Nash Buckingham - professional hunters - who didn't take the hearing damage warnings seriously and became almost deafened by their love of firearms.

And you don't have to be frequent shooters like they are. A single shot that is louder than normal can make all the difference.

Ask yourself:

Is protecting my hearing worth paying a few dollars in order to keep it?

Why not just make every shot count by making certain your ears are protected too? For a tiny investment in earplugs and/or earmuffs it is certainly worth it.

Personally I already own earmuffs that I use when operating my bandsaw and other machinery in my workshop. It is bright yellow, so I probably won't use them for hunting at any point. But I have them to protect my ears.

And since I prefer bows and crossbows I don't really need them.

Dentistry in the Post Apocalypse

In Canada we take our publicly funded healthcare system for granted, and I admit I am also in favour of adding some level of dentistry to the things covered by OHIP (Ontario's Health Insurance Plan). Not everything should be covered by OHIP, but $880 worth of coverage per year would cover 4 cleanings.

Everything else, x-rays, surgery, dentures, braces, etc would still have to be covered by patients.

However lets pretend for a moment that the apocalypse were to happen. Zombie apocalypse, nuclear apocalypse, economic collapse and chaos, climate change and rising sea levels, etc. It doesn't really matter which version of the apocalypse we are talking about.

The problem that then exists in this new post apocalyptic world is how do people take care of themselves in terms of healthcare?

And in the case of this post, specifically dental care which effects us constantly as we really should be cleaning our teeth daily.

Four years ago in October I wrote a post titled: "DIY Dental Care??? Crazy or Feasible???"

In the post I mentioned a number of things.

1. I really like my dentist. Archer Dental offers the best dental services that money can buy in Toronto. It cannot be beat.
2. DIY Dentistry is basically crazy and involves putting fibreglass and epoxy in your mouth like some deranged lunatic.
3. If you have the option to pay the best dentist in Toronto to work on your teeth as opposed to sticking fibreglass and epoxy in your mouth, you should definitely choose the dentist.
4. Good luck wearing the wooden dentures because that might be your best option if you start experimenting on your teeth.

What if there is no dentist?

During the Post Apocalypse you probably won't have a dentist available unless you manage to find a large community of survivors who are lucky enough to have a dentist (and hopefully a doctor too).

So in our What If Scenario we face the real problem of what to do in the event that there is no dentist available.

Well, here is what you need to do:

#1. Stockpile Dental and Medical Supplies

You should be stockpiling the following items:

• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Mouthwash
• Dental Equipment (in hope that you eventually find a dentist)
• First Aid Kits
• Bandages
• Painkillers / anti-inflammatories
• Antibiotics
• Insulin
• Needles
• Everything you could possibly hope to find in an old fashioned medical doctor's bag
• Anything else you can think of. eg. epipens, allergy pills, etc.

It is also possible to clean your teeth using salt water (brine), and likewise baking soda can be used as an alternative to toothpaste. But you still need a toothbrush at least. Mix the baking soda with something acidic (eg. apple juice or lemon juice) and then use the resulting paste on your teeth with a toothbrush. For best results, spit out any saliva before using this method.

#2. Preventative Dental Care

You know how your dentist is always telling you to brush your teeth, floss and use mouthwash every day?

You need to actually be doing those things. Every day. Today. Right now if you haven't done so already.

And you should start today, because if you are lazy and don't do it then 2 years from now you could literally be on your way to the dentist when the nukes start flying, and you've got dental problems ALREADY because you were not prepared.

#3. Take the best possible care of your teeth now, BEFORE the apocalypse happens

One more reason why I go to Archer Dental. In the past 4 years I have gone from being very unhappy about my teeth to extremely happy about them.

• If you are not currently happy with the state of your teeth, you are not prepared for the apocalypse.
• If you currently have major problems with your teeth, then you are not prepared for the apocalypse.
• If you are not in the habit of taking care of your teeth daily, then you are not prepared for the apocalypse.

Do you honestly think that if the apocalypse happens you will suddenly remember to take care of your teeth? Probably not.

Are you going to be one of those people chowing down on Twinkies (one of the things that endure for decades) during the post apocalypse? Maybe. If so, you really need to be taking better care of your teeth now.

"A true prepper is prepared for every possibility, including a lack of available dentists."

#4. Find Allies

Family and friends are best, but the loner approach to the Post Apocalypse is not good for your survival chances.

You fall and break your leg, it might not kill you but your chances of starving to death just skyrocketed if you don't have any allies.

Get a tooth that becomes infected and needs to pulled properly? Think you can do it by yourself? Your chances of survival double or triple if you have allies to help you.

Think an infected tooth cannot kill you? Think again. A man in California in January 2017 died from an infected tooth because the infection spread to his blood and his lungs. He thought it was just a toothache, but the autopsy revealed otherwise.

An infected tooth can also cause swelling, which makes it impossible to eat food. The victim literally starves to death.

Bacterial infections of abscess teeth can lead to serious heart, lung, and brain infections if left untreated, all causing death.

And even if you do manage to pull the tooth, who is to say the infection goes away? You really need antibiotics to get rid of the bacteria that is thriving in your empty tooth socket. Simply pulling the tooth isn't necessarily going to solve the problem if you don't also kill the bacteria. You need the extra people around because the more people you have as allies, the more chances there are someone has antibiotics which can help you.

#5. Lone Wolf DIY Dentisty = Good Luck

Seriously, if you end up alone with zero allies, you didn't stockpile any dental supplies, you didn't take preventative measures like brushing your teeth daily, and you didn't take care of your teeth prior to the apocalypse...

Well, then you really and truly are screwed, aren't you?

Hence why I am saying good luck, because you are going to need it.

In case of an infected tooth your best possible solution is to pull the tooth (the whole thing, don't leave any broken pieces of infected tooth behind) and to treat yourself with antibiotics. Oh, but you don't have any allies to make sure you got the whole tooth, and you forgot to stockpile the antibiotics. Whoops! Sucks to be you.

What if you need surgery on your teeth? Are you going to do it yourself with no proper tools? You cannot even see inside your own mouth properly to be doing that. A mirror won't help because your hands will be in the way, preventing you from seeing properly. So your plan then is to perform surgery on yourself, by feel, with zero experience of doing such?

Good luck sewing yourself up after the surgery!

It is one thing to sew stitches on your own leg, but another thing to sew up bloody gum tissue inside your mouth when you cannot even see what you are doing.

In that dire scenario your best bet is to try and find a community of survivors who are friendly to you and will welcome another survivor into the midst. With luck they might have a dentist, a dental hygienist who understands the principles of what needs to be done, or a doctor - or someone with steady hands who is at least willing to try. They might even have painkillers and all the needed medical supplies.

"In the winter the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

DIY Dental Care??? Crazy or Feasible?

I recently went to a dentist because I thought I had a chipped tooth but it turned out I just needed a deep cleaning. But the incident got me thinking about what could people do if they are living in the middle of nowhere and don't have access to a dentist.

(Incidentally, the dentist I went to was Archer Dental in Toronto - which according to multiple sources is the best dentist in Toronto.)

If you've ever read any website about DIY Dentistry (google it sometime if you don't know what I am talking about) what you will discover is that the people listing DIY things to do on your teeth are actually brain-dead.

No seriously. They're more than likely brain-dead.

How do I know? Horrible spelling. Grammar mistakes. Plus the kind of advice they were giving sounded like it had been written by a redneck with his two remaining braincells being rubbed together.

eg. One of the DIY Dentistry websites I looked at was claiming "making your own fake vampire teeth" to "putting a crown on your tooth" was basically the same thing. WOW.

:o

I have to say it again. WOW!

Also let me explain what he was recommending putting inside your mouth. Fibreglass and a toxic epoxy. Fibreglass pieces as we all know is so tiny it gets under the skin and causes irritation. If it gets into your lungs it causes all sorts of problems. And this moron was suggesting that you stick fibreglass in your mouth - with a toxic epoxy as the glue!

HOLY **** WOW!

Then there was a different website claiming people could fix chipped teeth using Krazy glue - which is also toxic. The container even has a warning on it of what to do in case you swallow it.

I should point out that not all of this websites are written by braindead rednecks. I have even seen similar articles posted on more reputable websites - but at least they are limiting their advice to things like how to get rid of canker sores.

Want to have nice teeth?

#1. Get dental insurance - you don't have to get it through your workplace. Many insurance companies offer dental insurance for individuals.

#2. Find a nice dentist. I recommend Archer Dental in Toronto. But if you live in the boonies just find the nicest dentist that is nearby.

#3. Brush, floss and use mouthwash daily - brush/mouthwash 2 to 3 times daily, floss once per day, all three, every day.

#4. Eat healthy and your teeth will be happier.

#5. Avoid doing stupid things with your teeth. eg. Fibreglass and toxic chemicals is a bad idea.

Don't want to do these things and still think DIY dentistry is a good idea? Well then you are one crazy MF.

Well then you might as well start carving yourself a pair of wooden dentures now. DIY Dentistry at its Finest.

Vaccination Fears - Paranoia or Legitimate Worry?

One of the things I have learned over the years is that a number of people who are into "off the grid living" have a tendency to have unfounded superstitions about vaccinations against measles vaccinations, tetanus vaccinations, polio vaccinations, etc.

Measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, etc.

Basically a long list of contagious diseases which can kill you, your child, and are actually pretty commonly spread infections that can be carried by people who are immune (because they were vaccinated) and can make other people sick.

The paranoia behind the people who refuse to have their kids vaccinated is because they are worried about the following things:

#1. Autism.

I find this one funny. You see children are BORN with autism. You cannot give them autism with a vaccination shot. There has never been a single recorded incident of anyone ever being "given" autism as the result of a vaccination. That would be like giving someone "down syndrome" by giving them a needle.

Of all the brain-dead conspiracy theories, this is the worst one that people cite when they say they don't want their kids to be vaccinated. I mean okay, if there was actual proof of children getting vaccinated and getting something, that would be different. But there is no proof whatsoever, just an urban myth with zilch for proof.

And apparently a lot of gullible people who think autism is somehow connected to their kids getting vaccinations.

#2. Government Control.

Seriously. There are people out there who see the government in the drinking water (oh no, chlorinated water!), spy satellites in the sky (which apparently are so horrible they cannot find plane wreckage in the Indian ocean), and think that vaccinations contain "mind control drugs" that will force people to conform and do what the government wants.

Well I have news for you. I drink chlorinated water and I have had all of my vaccination shots and I absolutely despise Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Trust me, there is no mind control drugs in the water or the vaccines. And if the government is spying on me with their crummy satellites, they are welcome to watch. All they will see apparently is blurry images that cannot be differentiated from ocean garbage.

#3. Allergic Reaction.

Now this is the only legitimate reason. Basically what happens is the family's older child had an allergic reaction when they had their vaccinations, and the parents decide that when they have a 2nd or 3rd child to skip getting the vaccine for their newest child. On the plus side, the allergic reaction is only temporary.

So there you go, two paranoid delusions and one legitimate worry.

I firmly believe that people who refuse to get their kids vaccinated have been drinking too much unfiltered ground water that has lead in it.

Lead Poisoning has the following symptoms:

• Learning difficulties
• Irritability
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Sluggishness and fatigue
• Abdominal pain
• Vomiting
• Constipation
• Slowed growth

So if you were paying attention, lead poisoning makes you stupid. Not vaccines. Not chlorinated water. Lead poisoning. Learn the freaking difference.

But there is a very valid reason why your kids should be vaccinated. Because someday they will come in contact with someone carrying an infectious disease that your child should have been vaccinated against - and your child will get sick, and depending on the disease there will be a high or low change of death. 50/50 really.

So your choice. Be paranoid. Or be smart and protect your kids from diseases.

Finding Medical Help Off The Grid

How do you find medical help when you are living off the grid in a remote location?

Honestly... You don't.

Think about it. Where are you going to find a dentist or an audiologist in the middle of nowhere??? Or what happens if you break your leg and live in Northern Ontario? You would feel much safer living in the GTA in contrast and having a broken leg, because the TTC and taxis are just a short distance away.

So again the answer is that you just don't. You are going to have to find the following near to wherever you happen to be living... and some of these things may feel like they are a lot further to get to when you actually have a medical emergency.

• Audiologist (Eye Doctor)
• Chiropractor
• Dentist
• Doctor
• ENT Doctor (Ear, Nose and Throat)
• Hospital
• Pharmacy
• Optometrist (Eye Doctor)
• Etc...

It really makes you realize that if you live in the middle of nowhere you had better not get sick or injure yourself.

Or have problems with your eyes, ears, etc... Like hearing loss in your old age. Where will you find a place that sells hearings aids in Northern Ontario for example?

Well the truth is you can find them in the larger towns and cities very easily (eg. there are lots of hearing clinics in Woodbridge, Vaughan and Thornhill). But such places are few and further between when you are living in the north.

In contrast if you live in Toronto such places are a dime a dozen. Eg. There are 3 pharmacies within a 2 minute walk from my home. There is also 2 optometrists, two health clinics (doctors, chiropractors, etc) and a hospital 5 minutes walk away.

So when it comes to second hand healthcare good luck if you are aiming to live off the grid. First hand healthcare, AKA taking care of yourself so you don't end up sick or injured - eating healthy, not taking risks, being proactive about any genetic problems you have (eg. If your family has a history of type one diabetes you will need to stock up on everything you need).

There are some health services you can access online. For example you can take a hearing test online or talk to a doctor over Skype or over the phone. You won't get the same quality of care as seeing them in person, but if they suspect that something is seriously wrong with you health wise then they will recommend coming in for a real checkup.

However talking to a doctor over Skype is really only so you allay your fears and get health advice.

It is not going to help you if you fell, broke your leg, and need an ambulance.

Or get your arm ripped off by a black bear.

Or got a series of bee stings on your ear and you are allergic to bees. (eg. I am allergic to wasp stings.)

It is not such a big deal if you just need a hearing centre so you can have a hearing test once every 5 years, but it will be a big deal if you accidentally chop off your hand with a chainsaw.