originally posted by: Asktheanimals
a reply to: Phage
I think the idea is to keep you downloading right through the apocalypse.
You won't notice a thing.
Get Tom Brown's Field guide to wilderness survival.
Good starter book that covers the basics.
Nobody has time to read 6,000 pages.
If it's important enough have it committed to paper if not memory.
First of all I agree, books are invaluable, my modest library of 150 or so books is probably my most valued possession, and thank you for the
suggestion, I will keep an eye out for Tom Brown's Field Guide.
I wonder how difficult it would be to generate enough electricity to charge a smartphone or tablet in a power grid down situation?
I know an EMP situation could make this problematic, but I'm just wondering, in a non-EMP situation, just how viable of an option is it for someone
like me to download anywhere up to... I'm thinking of an average person with a smartphone that uses an SD card with at least 16 to 32 gigabytes of
storage, and they use this everyday for everything else like GPS navigation, browsing online, taking pics, playing games, listening to music... So I'm
thinking of maybe 1 to 2 gigabytes of survival information. (My Google Maps has an option to download area maps for offline use, so that would not be
included as part of the 1 to 2 gigabytes.) Maybe 1 gigabyte for someone with a 16gb or less SD card and 2 gigs for someone with a 32gb or higher SD
card?
You could probably have some kind of a solar rig set up to charge phone. May as well go big and build a family or community size deal.
I would have it so that, in the event of inclement weather, you could switch from solar power, to some kind of exercise bike powered dealie. With
multiple bikes, and other exercise equipment so it can adequately fulfill the purpose of a legitimate gym to promote the health of the community.
And, in addition to being an
alternativeto solar, it could
supplement solar, in cases where the main battery/batteries need to be
recharged more quickly than the solar "system" could handle.
I know paper has its obvious advantages. Maybe a few disadvantages...however we should keep in mind that, things that hurt paper, like fire or water,
also hurt most electronics. The main disadvantage I guess would be size, and thus, weight and portability. Although, if you only had the necessary
information, recorded in a compact way, you could have several copies (for work, home, backpack, wife's purse, car, etc) scattered and each one
taking up very little space. And memorize the basics.
But I'm just saying, it's not completely unviable or unreasonable to have this information on your phone. What if you're away from home when disaster
strikes? What if it's a survival situation, as in a plane crash in the Alps, as opposed to a national or global disaster/cataclysm? I always have 2
fully charged "portable chargers" with me almost everytime I leave the house. At least enough to fully charge a phone once (while still constantly
using the phone if you limit the power consumption by turning brightness down and stuff). And at home I have about 5 more. That's at least enough
power to access my information and write it down or print it if I'm able to find a printer that I can use with my phone, or type it if I find a
typewriter or a laptop that can work with a printer.