More things found while looking for something else.

Here is another one of those things that I found while looking for something else. After building and using a Solar Hotdog Cooker for a couple of years, I became interested in furthering my knowledge on solar cooking. I found a lot of web sites with a ton of great information. Some solar cooker designs are fairly simple and some are quite complex. While surfing the net I also found a YouTube video with some guy using a Sun Oven cooker in his back yard to cook a favorite handed down family recipe. Here is the thing that I found while looking for something else. After watching the video I clicked on the link he had in the comments and found out that this guy was Jack Spirko and he had a podcast, TheSurvivalPodcast.com. I had only listened to a couple of podcasts in the past and was not a huge fan of podcast media but I clicked on it anyway to see what else Jack had to offer on solar energy. As it turns out Jack Spirko is the voice behind the international Modern Survival movement. Something that I had not heard of before. No, this is not a bunch of guys dressing up in camo and playing out in the woods, but more correctly termed Modern Family Preparedness. I like Jack’s term for why he spends so much effort in helping others help themselves, "Helping you live the life you want, if times get tough, or even if they don't".

Some of the things that Jack Spirko had to say about being prepared started to really hit home with me after having experienced a terrible gasoline shortage in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area and surrounding counties not too long ago. It is somewhat shocking to see how delicate the balance of our supply system is and how we are so dependent on available fuel. If the fuel is not available to the local gas stations we can’t get back and forth to work. If the supply trucks for the grocery stores can’t get fuel, they can’t deliver food to those stores, which means for most people we are going to get very hungry in a couple of days. I am planning to take at least some of Jack’s advice to get my family a little bit more prepared to handle at least some of the minor bumps in the road of life. Some of Jack’s suggestions would make almost unnoticeable changes in our lifestyle and most will cost very little over and above what we already spend from week to week. From what I can tell, Jack’s advice will help us lead a better and more secure life if times get tough, or even if they don’t. Thanks Jack.

Now you see what I mean when I say, “One thing leads to another”.

What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to vote in my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".