Research Downloads

When I write anything, I tend to do a LOT of research. When I'm done, I want to share the information with others so they don't have to do all of the digging that I just completed. This is why a lot of my posts have URLs embedded in them. I also, when applicable or available, include screenshots from any file I created as a result of the research. This page is where I house the research (whitepapers) and make it available to my fans and readers.

Feel free to download any of the files which may be of interest to you by clicking on the download button I placed under each file.  Please note that these files have been posted somewhat in chronological order based on the date of the post they were associated with - they are not in alphabetical order. 

01/22/2016 - All About Seeds

I wrote this paper in the hopes that I could convey a smidgen of the information I knew about seeds. I've gained most of this information naturally, but my knowledge base was expanded and accelerated over the course of writing the series, Part I in particular. As you might have guessed, I learned a great deal about the GMO industry as a whole as well as the disastrous seeds they produce. The things they put in seeds should never be ingested by a human... like ever. Anyway, this article contains a wealth of information which includes sourcing, storage, harvesting, and starting seeds indoors.

01/26/2016 - Rainwater Harvesting

This file contains a generic equation and a relevant example to demonstrate just how much rainwater you could potentially capture from spring to fall. The equation does not account for the pitch of your roof.

02/13/2016 - Tracking and Trapping

Many people don't know how to find food... period. They can possibly grow, collect, and store food (veggies, fruits, nuts) for the winter, but if they happen to be a meat eater and they were forced to find protein on the hoof they'd be SOL. This paper gives a brief rundown of some basic tracking principles that would allow you to place a trap/snare.

02/16/2016 - Currency Options After a Collapse

Here's a brief exploratory look at what one might expect to be able to use as forms of currency post collapse. These types of currency could range from services rendered, flesh, barter, not to mention the usual human infatuation with gold, silver, and the like.

02/28/2016 - The Weight of it All

In Part IV of my Foreign & Domestic series, I have a character standing there, just staring at a pile of gear wondering how they are going to transport everything. When I came across this article, I just knew I'd found a way to solve my issue. As a result, I used this bit of research and some creative ingenuity to solve the matter... fictionally of course.

03/08/2016 - Hydroponic vs. Soil... What's the Hub-Bub??

I want to be an author and a farmer full time. My dream is to grow organic herbs and vegetables year round. Apparently some schmucks have sufficiently whispered in the ear of the USDA regulators. This whitepaper represents me researching my ability to grow organic hydroponic herbs and vegetables. Here's a hint... you can. 

04/12/2016 - Orchards

Suppose everything goes to heck in a hand basket. Money is useless and the comforts of life are only attainable via barter. Do you think you'd be fairly popular, or welcomed in at the gates of some community enclave, if you had a wagon or cart of some kind that was laden with various fruits and nuts? Uhh, the answer would be an enthusiastic 'YES'! 

05/02/2016 - Ohio EPA - Bulk Petroleum Storage Sites

If you haven't noticed by now, I do a lot of research. This is particularly true when I am considering a rather large purchase... like land. I didn't spend a lot of time on this topic in my Foreign & Domestic series, but one of my principle issues, or fears, is that I spend my savings on a piece of land and something happens upstream from my water source. So, to help me in my decision making process, I started researching the Ohio EPA website looking for sewage treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, etc. I was intrigued when I also came across data for bulk petroleum. This type of facility never entered my mind. That being said, I'm going to have to assume that each state has a similar site where someone could do exactly what I've done which is to map all of the EPA permitted operations.  

05/02/2016 - Ohio EPA - Wastewater Treatment Facilities

Believe me when I tell you that if you are considering a land purchase of any kind, you don't want to be downstream of one of these should there be an EMP style event.

05/02/2016 - Ohio EPA - Water Treatment Facilities

While these facilities pose a lesser risk to your water than a wastewater treatment plant, I'd still avoid any streams, rivers, lakes, etc. where these operations generate a discharge. 

05/02/2016 - Ohio Fracking Map

I don't know why, but fracking scares the snot out of me. Is it a rational fear? Time will tell. I can tell you this though, I'd feel a whole lot better about fracking if the companies performing the work disclosed ALL of the ingredients being used to drive the natural gas to the surface.

05/02/2016 - Ohio EPA - Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Information Map

This map is incredibly interesting and helped me to realize that I can control absolutely nothing. The best I can do is make the best decisions possible and pray. You'll see what I mean when you see this map.

06/11/2016 - Available Food Sources 20 Years After

Where can you find food food 20 years after and major cataclysmic event? I had to answer this question, and many others, while writing Part IV of my Foreign & Domestic series. This PDF represents a wealth of information pertaining to the natural unencumbered ranges for the five types of deer (White Tail, Mule (Black Tail), Moose, Caribou, Elk, as well as Wolf, Coyote, Bison, Bear, and Big Horn Sheep.  

08/30/2016 - Disaster Preparedness Inventory - Sample

When I was first starting out, I found myself staring at James Wesley Rawles' (JWR) 'list of lists' Excel file dumbfounded. As someone who works with documentation day-in and day-out, the first thing I wanted to do was clean-up the file and standardize each of the tabs for easier reading/viewing. But that's not why I was looking at the file, so I moved on. The Excel file that I've provided here as a sample was inspired by JWR's file, but my file focuses on tracking what you do have vs. a wish list of things you DON'T have.

01/10/2017 - Electoral College Explained

The Electoral College was envisioned and included in our Constitution in an effort to level the playing field when it came wildly popular regional candidates vs states with small populations. In this paper, I breakdown the 2016 Presidential Election and explain how the Electoral College worked as designed.

03/22/2017 - USGS Topographical Maps

Click on the View Map button below to view, zoom in on, and ultimately download for printing a USGS topographical map for your AO. It feels like Christmas every time I print one of these!

08/13/2017 - Critical National Infrastructures Report - Executive Report

This download, as well as the actual report itself, has been used as source material so many times by so many authors that even the casual reader of the dystopian genre pretty much knows it forwards and backwards. The 'Executive Report' is a summary of sorts for EMP effects in the United States so if you just want the highlights without all of the minutiae, read this document.

08/13/2017 - Critical National Infrastructures Report

Click the button below to download the original US Government report on EMP's... 208 pages of sheer detail!

08/14/2017 - Shotgunning

The original post that contained this information was titled 'Complete and Utter Randomness'. I thought it might be useful to pull the shotgun information out as a stand alone piece.

11/18/2017 - Most Popular Ammo Calibers

My brain is always churning. Earlier in the year I wrote a post regarding reloading and host of other related topics. Not long after that I was working on my Preparing to Prepare non-fiction piece and mentally merged the topics. What came from that was this piece dealing with popular ammo calibers.

12/27/2017 - Sample Task List Spreadsheet

Click on the button below to download my sample Task List spreadsheet. The file is completely customizable to your needs. I even provided a URL so you can learn about making drop down lists in Excel.

12/27/2017 - Home Maintenance Schedule - Microsoft Template

I found this while I was doing research on something that I don't recall. It kind of helped inspire me to write the Task list post. Having said that, I didn't know Microsoft even offered templates like this so I thought I'd not only mention it in the post but also make it available for download here on my website.

01/20/2018 - Fruit Maintenance

Below are two downloads that I pulled from the Stark Bros website. One is for the care and maintenance of raspberries and the other is for blueberries. To view all of the Stark Bros guides, go to their website and select Growing Guide from their menu and then select the See All of the How-To Guides link. Once you make a selection, you can select the Print the Series button in the right-hand navigation bar to access the full PDF file. From there, you can either Print the file or simply download it for later use. 

06/20/2018 - Convention of States Pocket Guide

Article V of the Constitution allows the citizenry and states to call for a Convention of States (COS) in the event that any of the three branches of government becomes an issue for We the People. The current COS push aims to "...discuss amendments that, “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, impose fiscal restraints, and place term limits on federal officials.” I encourage you to visit the Convention of the States website and download this 'pocket guide' for reference and consider signing their petition.

11/05/2018 - The Swanson Speed Square

When I started building houses in the early 1990’s, one of the tools the foreman told me to pick up was a ‘speed square’. This was in addition to the usual assortment of basic items necessary for home construction like a tool-belt, 25’ tape measure, hammer, and chalk-line. As I made more money and could afford my own tools, I procured a sundry of power-tools like a skil-saw, sawz-all, jigsaw, framing and trim nailers, an air compressor and hoses, etc. Aside from the tape measure, the most useful tool I’ve ever owned is the speed square. When you buy a speed square, you also get a very useful booklet that tells you everything you could possibly want to know about how to measure and cut hips, valleys, and rafters for the roof system. I made a copy of it and converted to a PDF. All rights and copyright protections reside with the Swanson Tool Company, Inc.

08/22/2019 - Foreign and Domestic Parts IV and V - Character List

Apparently, the three year lag between the publishing of Part III and the release of Parts IV and V caused more than a few people to sort of forget who’s who in the series. I’ve added the following information to the kindle versions of Parts IV and V. I have to have the graphic artist adjust the spine width to get it into the printed paperback version. However, since no one seems to be buying the paperback versions, that adjustment is low of the list of things to do right now.

12/05/2019 - Foreign and Domestic Parts I-III - Character List

I’ve been pouring through Parts I-III and enhancing parts now that I know where the story goes and how it ends. I even added some new scenes to better explain why characters are behaving a certain way Parts IV and V. Also, I figured that since I added a Character List to Parts IV and V, I might as well add the data to Parts I-III. The entirety of this effort is being done in preparation for all five parts to be recorded for audio versions of the series.

12/05/2019 - Can You Really Escape the Man? - A Presentation

I put this presentation together as an extra credit project for my Environmental Laws and Regulations class. The premise behind the project was to research concepts that you might want on your off-grid homestead and then determine whether or not you could possibly implement each of the proposed concepts with little to no involvement by a state or federal regulating entity.

07/26/2020 - Preparedness Guide to the Marxist Revolution

This was an article written by Glenn Beck. At a high level, he makes several points that everyone keeping a weary eye on the government and their surroundings most likely already knows. However, given the current state of affairs between COVID-19 restrictions, violent riots and protests masquerading as ‘peaceful protests,’ and efforts to de-fund police forces nationally, there are a LOT more people thinking the term ‘preparedness’ isn’t a silly word rife with paranoid dreams of destruction.

10/19/2020 - Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines Water Disinfection for Wilderness, International Travel, and Austere Situation

One of the doctors on a forum I am member of posted a link to this file and, given it’s content, it only made sense to share it with everyone here. Water is the key to everything when it comes to your ability to survive a disruption of any specific length let alone in your daily life.

03/06/2021 - Coronaviruses and How Vaccines Work

This download is from my wife. She uses this presentation to teach her high school Biology students about coronaviruses and how mRNA vaccines work. What the Trump administration and Operation Warp Speed was able to accomplish with this groundbreaking vaccine is unprecedented and he and his administration deserve to be lauded for bringing this vaccine to market in less than a year. While technically not the first mRNA vaccine to ever be developed, as mRNA vaccines have been tested in humans before for rabies, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and Zika, the COViD-19 mRNA vaccine is the first to ever be brought to the market. It’s amazing what can happen when you remove bureaucratic red tape.

02/23/2022 - 7 Steps to Preparedness, Resiliency, & Self-Sufficiency

This article was written by Sean Mitzel and was discussed at length during Episode 58 of the Dave Kershner Lightning Round podcast. While I presented “Cliff’s Notes” version during the show, the complete article is available for download here.