#cause quite apart from finding all that land; think of all the electric grid and water infrastructure you have to lay

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 16

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 16 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 16/? SUMMARY: The Doctor’s death is looming on the horizon and Elise is growing every day. What the Doctor doesn’t know is that he has 200 years to teach Elise all he knows. Amy, Rory, and River let Elise in on their secret, because River knows she will keep it. What will Elise do when he’s gone?

One of the smaller tanks in the room began filling with Flesh and a copy of Jennifer sat up. She shot up and every jumped back.

“Well, I can see why you keep it in a church. Miracle of life,” the Doctor said.

Elise thought it was amazing.

“No need to get poncey. It's just gunge,” Buzzer commented.

“How can you say that?” Elise asked before she could stop herself, “Look at her! She’s a living, breathing, human being!”

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder. Internally he was jumping for joy. There was the Elise he remembered.

“Guys, we need to get to work,” Cleaves told her team.

“Okay, everybody, let's crack on,” Jimmy said.

There was a crack of thunder and lightning.

“Did I mention the solar storm?” the Doctor reminded them, “You need to get out of here.”

“Where do you want us to go? We're on a tiny island.”

“Well, I can get you all off it.”

“Don't be ridiculous. We've got a job to do,” Cleaves told him.

The Doctor pulled the snowglobe out of his jacket again. “It's coming.”

A shrill alarm started going off.

“That's the alarm,” Jennifer said.

“How do you get power?” the Doctor asked.

“We're solar. We use a solar router. The weathervane,” Cleaves told him.

“Big problem.”

“Boss, maybe if the storm's back we should get underground,” Jimmy suggested, “The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit.”

“We have two hundred tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?” Cleaves asked.

The Doctor grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the tank. “Please, you are making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't, if you don't prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?”

“My factory, my rules.”

“I need to check the progress of the storm.” The Doctor turned to Jennifer. “Monitoring station?”

Jennifer looked at him, not sure if she should answer or not.

“Monitoring station,” he reiterated. He was in no mood to argue.

“Three lefts, a right and a left. Third door on your left.”

“Thank you.”

Amy, Rory, and Elise hurried after him all the while the building shook with the force of the solar storm.

The Doctor went straight for the controls. “Waves disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. See this weathervane, the cock-a-doodle-do? It's a solar router feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, ka-boom. I've to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose.”

He started to run out of the room when he turned back to them. He smiled. “I never thought I'd have to say that again. Amy, breathe.” He turned back around and ran through the corridor.

“Yeah! I mean, thanks. I'll try!” she called after him.

The three of them ran back into the Flesh room before the Monastery went dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elise sat up and rubbed her head. Amy and Rory were passed out next to her. Apparently, she had landed between them.

Rory’s eyes opened. “Oh. For want of a better word, ow!”

Elise jumped up.

“Elise what is it?” Amy asked.

“Cleaves’ team!”

Rory and Amy got to their feet, found some portable lights, and made their way to the harness room.

Buzzer was being helped down from his harness. “I feel like I been toasted,” he said.

“What the hell happened?” Jimmy asked.

“The tsunami happened. You hurt?” Amy asked them.

“It feels like the National Grid's run through my bones but apart from that…”

“I hope the meter's not bust. I still want to get paid,” Buzzer said.

Elise rolled her eyes. “We have bigger things to worry about than that.”

Amy put a hand on her shoulder. Why was everyone trying to tell her to be quiet?

Rory ran over to Jennifer who was crying and hugged her. Amy looked over at them in jealousy.

Elise took her hand and said, “Rory loves you.”

Amy smiled at the young Timelord. “Thanks, Elise.”

The Doctor and Cleaves ran into the room. The Doctor ran over to Elise, checking her over for injuries.

“I’m fine, daddy,” she told him.

“Doctor, these are all real people, so where are their Gangers?” Amy asked.

“Don't worry. When the link shuts down the Gangers return to pure Flesh,” Cleaves reassured them, “Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time.”

The Dusty Springfield song from earlier started up again.

“That's my record. Who's playing my record?” Jimmy asked.

“Your Gangers. They've gone walkabout,” the Doctor said.

Cleaves shook her head. “No, it's impossible. They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves and Gangers don't…”

They followed the sound of the record into the dining hall. It was a mess.

“No way,” Buzzer said.

“I don't, I don't believe this,” Cleaves added. The poor woman looked like she was about to pass out.

“They could've escaped through the service door at the back,” Jimmy suggested.

“This is just like the Isle of Sheppey,” Buzzer told them.

The Doctor sat down at the table. “It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers.”

“They've ransacked everything,” Cleaves said.

“Not ransacked, searched.”

“Through our stuff!”

“Their stuff.”

“Searching for what?” Jimmy asked.

“Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real.”

“Oh, so they've got flaming memories now?” Buzzer scoffed. He was really starting to get on Elise’s nerves, but Elise kept her mouth shut. No one was listening to her anyway.

“They feel compelled to connect to their lives,” the Doctor told them.

“Their stolen lives,” Cleaves said.

“No, bequeathed. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?”

“I'll say it again. Isle of Sheppey. Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator right there in his harness,” Buzzer told them, “I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was all hanging…”

Jimmy cut him off. “Even if this has actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed in to them, can they, boss?”

Cleaves looked at him. “Guess we'll find out.”

Jennifer gasped and grabbed onto the table she was standing next to.

“Are you okay? Do you need some water?” Rory asked, going into nurse mode.

“I feel funny. I need the washroom.”

“I'll come with you.” Rory followed her out.

Dicken sneezed, causing Amy to jump.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Oh! That’s okay.”

The Doctor stared at the card tower on the table.

“That's me. It's good to have a hobby,” Buzzer told him, “So what, my Ganger did that all on its own?”

“Who taught you to do this?”

“My granddad.”

“Well, your Ganger's granddad taught him to do it, too. You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real.”

Buzzer shook his head and destroyed the card tower. “No.”

“Scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads.”

“We need to protect ourselves,” Jimmy said.

The Doctor popped a meal into the microwave.

Elise narrowed her eyes at him. How could he think about food at a time like this?

“Are you a violent man, Jimmy?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then why would the other Jimmy be?”

“Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor,” Cleaves said, voicing what Elise was thinking.

“You told me we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact it was an hour.”

“Sorry, I just assumed…”

“Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disoriented. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness?”

“Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out.”

“Jennifer?”

“She was standing on her own when we got to her.”

The microwave dinged and the Doctor handed the plate to Cleaves.

Elise’s eyes widened, realizing what the Doctor was doing.

“It's hot,” the Doctor told her.

Cleaves quickly dropped the plate.

The Doctor took Cleaves’ hand, looking at her palm. “Trans-matter's still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly.”

Cleaves yanked her hand out of his. “What are you talking about?”

“It's okay.”

“Why didn't I feel that?”

“You will. You'll stabilize.”

“No, stop it. You're playing stupid games. Stop it!” She turned away from them.

“You don't have to hide. Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor.”

She spun around, her face now completely Ganger.

Buzzer grabbed a knife, but Jimmy held him back. “Where's the real Cleaves, you thing? What have you done with her?” he spat.

“That's it. Good, you remember. This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn.”

“Doctor, what's happened to her?” Amy asked.

“She can't stabilize. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least.”

“We are living!” She ran out of the room, screaming.

“Let her go,” the Doctor told them.

Elise gasped. “Rory.”

Amy turned to the Doctor, realizing the same thing. “Doctor, Rory.”

“Rory?”

“Rory!”

“Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory.”

#eleventh doctor #eleventh doctor imagines #eleventh doctor fanfiction #doctor who #Doctor Who fanfiction #doctor who imagine #amy pond #amy pond imagine #Rory Williams #rory williams imagine #the rebel flesh #the littlest timelord #the littlest timelord: the death of the doctor

[aion-rsa]

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Weapons and How to Unlock Them

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart article contains spoilers.

In addition to its Pixar-like visuals, explosive set pieces, and satirical humor, the Ratchet & Clank series is famous for letting players pull the trigger on some of the most creative weapons in all of gaming. It should come as no surprise to learn, then, that the same is also true for the latest entry, Rift Apart, which is out exclusive for the PS5 with a whopping 18 firearms for you to upgrade and enjoy.

However, with so many weapons at your disposal, you’ll definitely want to know what each gun does so you can master it as quickly as possible. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to upgrade all 18 in a single playthrough, so consider this guide your one-stop resource for finding out which Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart weapons are most suited to your playstyle and which to level up first.

How weapon upgrades work

Similarly to the 2016 reboot, upgrading your weapons in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart requires you to visit the store and pour vast amounts of Raritarium into the designated slots. This is a resource you’ll come across plenty during your adventure. The more you level up your weapons through natural use, the more hexagonal grids you can unlock and chain together in order to access further buffs. These vary from an improved ammo clip and larger blast radius, to simply higher damage. Be sure to unlock the perks situated around any orange grids first to instantly unlock special bonuses.

Burst/Blast Pistol

The Burst Pistol is the very first gun given to you in the game, serving as Rift Apart’s version of the reliable pistol with a high fire rate that’s become customary in most Ratchet & Clank installments. It’s about as basic a gun as you’ll use in this adventure, but is a good one to fall back on in the later hours when ammo becomes increasingly scarce and you want to deal tiny amounts of damage quickly. Upon reaching level 5, it becomes the Blast Pistol and fires plasma shots in a three-burst spread.

Planet it becomes available: Corson V

Good for: Hitting enemies from far away and landing lots of rounds quickly.

The Enforcer/Executor

The Enforcer is the closest thing to a shotgun you’ll find, letting you fire off one shot when the R2 trigger is pulled down halfway or firing two in quick succession with a full squeeze. Having two barrels makes it a great way to deal a lot of damage to anyone trying to invade your personal space early on in the game, helping to give you more room and keep enemies at a good distance. It graduates to the Executor at level 5 and lets you fire a quadruple barrel instead of double.

Planet it becomes available: Corson V

Good for: Dispersing tightly-packed groups of enemies and giving you breathing room

Shatterbomb/Shatterblast

It wouldn’t be a Ratchet & Clank game if you didn’t have some form of bomb glove. Here it’s known simply as the Shatterbomb, and is ideal for creating a wide spread of damage amongst small groups of enemies, or helping you trim down the health bar of any bigger fellows. Pulling the R2 trigger down halfway sets the throwing arc, helping you to better aim where the grenade will land when deployed. Upgrade it fully to level 5 and any grenade thrown will explode on impact.

Planet it becomes available: Corson V

Good for: Targeting a specific area and causing a wide blast radius of damage

Mr. Fungi/Ms. Fungal

You won’t find Mr. Zurkon in your weapon wheel this time around, making way for an all-new attack buddy called Mr. Fungi. As his name suggests, he’s more than happy to have a blast firing at enemies you can’t get to, or provide fire support while you focus elsewhere. The good thing is that you can throw up to five Mr. Fungis out at once for assistance without any disappearing. This goes double for when you upgrade him all the way to level 5, wherein each Mr. Fungi is joined by his wife Ms. Fungal.

Planet it becomes available: Nefarious City

Good for: Providing extra firepower while you focus on more immediate threats.

Negatron Collider/Large Negatron Collider

The Negatron Collider is just as badass as it sounds for the most part, unleashing a single beam of charged energy capable of passing through multiple enemies at once. That charge doesn’t last forever, though, and you’ll often be forced to switch to a backup weapon because its clip size isn’t especially large to begin with. However, it’s the perfect choice of gun when stacks enemies are lined up before you. It’s promoted to the Large Negatron Collider at level 5, triggering a huge explosion after the charge shot is finished.

Planet it becomes available: Nefarious City

Good for: Instantly wiping out enemies any time they form a single line in front of you.

Topiary/Toxiary Sprinkler

Through not quite as fun a gadget as the Groovitron from Ratchet & Clank (2016), the Topiary Sprinkler essentially does the same job. Simply launch one of these within the radius of a large enemy group and they’ll instantly be sprayed with water that transforms them into topiaries. This freezes them in place for a short while and lets you get in a lot of shots without much risk. Amazingly, it even works on bosses.

Planet it becomes available: Sargasso

Good for: Temporarily locking enemies in one place to keep the pressure off.

Ricochet/Wreckochet

One of the most inventive weapons to appear in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the aptly titled Richochet, which lets you launch a giant metal ball into the air and repeatedly hit any targeted enemy over and over again with just a few squeezes of R2. This is especially handy whenever far-off enemies are sniping you and you want to halt their attacks, but is also equally perfect for demolishing smaller groups in a short amount of time.

Planet it becomes available: Sargasso

Good for: Interrupting enemy attacks to give you some breathing room.

Lightning Rod/Strike

It must be an unspoken rule in video games that any weapon based around lightning or electricity must not only stun one enemy, but also chain strike any and all others standing near them. That’s essentially how the Lightning Rod pistol operates, too. It’s another weapon that stuns enemies in place temporarily after firing, giving you a chance to maneuver when it gets too crowded. At level 5, the Lightning Rod will see electric needles jump to other enemies upon death.

Planet it becomes available: Scarstu Debris Field

Good for: Simultaneously stunning multiple enemies in place and covering a lot of ground.

Drillhound/Drillpack

The Drillhound is exactly as bonkers at sounds, but that’s what makes it great. This is essentially a spin on a missile launcher, only instead of directly launching rockets at enemies it shoots out a hound that digs its way over to enemies and blows up in their faces. Each round moves a lot quicker when you lock on to somebody via L2, greatly reducing the risk of your shots being intercepted. If you want to land a lot of shots fast and from far away, the Drillhound is your weapon.

Planet it becomes available: Scarstu Debris Field

Good for: Catching unsuspecting enemies off guard and safely unleashing a lot of high-damage shots.

Droid/Void Repulsor

Why equip a shield or a gun when you can have both? That’s essentially the thinking behind the Droid Repulsor, which is great for deflecting enemy fire, as it pops up a protective shield whenever you hold down L2 or squeeze R2 halfway. This makes the Droid Repulsor ideal for absorbing any incoming damage, letting you get up close and personal before delivering a sudden and effective wide-spread blast. When promoted to the Void Reactor at level 5, it lets you shoot back enemy fire.

Planet it becomes available: Savali

Good for: Offering a lot of defense against enemy fire so you can unleash up-close blasts.

Cold Snap

A single blast from the Cold Snap gun is all it takes to immediately freeze enemies in place. It performs similarly to the Topiary Sprinkler you acquire a bit earlier, except it specifically allows you to target single enemies rather than having you send a shot out and hope for the best. This more focused approach is often more effective and is perfect for follow-up melee hits.

Planet it becomes available: Cordelion

Good for: Incapacitating enemies in place and having them slide over surfaces.

Glove of Doom/Apocalypse Glove

The Glove of Doom quite literally lets you deploy many agents of chaos. Rounds might be scarce, even after being fully upgraded, true, but these miniaturized war bots can pack a solid punch whenever they’re sent to assault nearby adversaries. They’ll even accompany you for a short while until the next surprise attack surfaces, distracting smaller foes and giving you room to breathe as you attack with your other weapons. It graduates to the Apocalypse Glove at level 5.

Planet it becomes available: Cordelion

Good for: Distracting and attacking enemies while you reload, retreat, or seek health.

Buzz Blades/Doom Blades

Whereas most pistol types in Ratchet & Clank require direct lock-on to be effective, the Buzz Blades are better suited to more relaxed players who simply want to aim in the general direction of opponents and connect with their targets. The result is a gun that isn’t as precise as, say, Lighting Rod or the Burst Pistol, but slicing up bots using masses of blades in a swarm has its bonuses. Fully upgrade it to level 5 and the Buzz Blades will bounce off enemies and ricochet off the environment. 

Planet it becomes available: Torren IV

Good for: Dealing a minimal amount of enemy damage at a fast rate, and firing without aiming.

Warmonger/Peacemaker

If you want to do a lot of damage with a single pull of R2, look no further than the Warmonger. This is a missile rocket launcher without many bells and whistles, true, but it doesn’t really need them when you consider it delivers a satisfying wallop to almost every type of enemy, including mini-bosses. Things get more adventurous when you upgrade to level 5 and it becomes the Peacemaker, with each rocket launched releasing a series of micro-rockets as soon as it hits its target.

Planet it becomes available: Scarstu Debris Field (Second Time)

Good for: Giving foes an explosive thump from far away.  

Bombardier

When one bomb isn’t enough, you can always rely on the Bombardier. Why? Because rather than let you throw a single grenade one at a time, when fired, this device launches a drone that will fly overhead to release a stream of bombs dropping in a row. Using it most effectively requires precision and timing – two things that aren’t always possible in a heated Ratchet & Clank firefight. However, the Bombardier can still be great for crowd control.

Planet it becomes available: Scarstu Debris Field (Second Time)

Good for: Reigning explosive death over your enemies from above, provided they’re in a straight line.

Headhunter

The Headhunter acts as Rift Apart’s version of a sniper rifle, letting you dispatch far-away adversaries from a first-person view when aiming. The catch is that it has a pretty slow fire rate compared to some other rifles in the game. Having said that, upgrading the Headhunter to level 5 is a worthy endeavor, seeing as it can then also slow time.

Planet it becomes available: Ardolis

Good for: Picking off foes from afar and popping precise head shots.

Blackhole Storm

The Blackhole Storm is capable of unleashing a tirade of rounds at any enemy you point it towards at an incredibly rapid pace. This does mean it will easily overheat over time if you don’t ease off the trigger every once in a while, but it’s a worthy trade-off considering how effective it is at keeping the waves of enemies at bay. Just bear in mind that the Blackhole Storm also takes its time to spin up in comparison to other weapons.

Planet it becomes available: Sargasso (Second Time)

Good for: Piling on the damage rapidly within a very brief space of time.

Bouncer

Despite being a Challenge Mode weapon that’s not unlocked until you’ve beaten the game, the Bouncer is a remarkably standard gun. It’s kind of like a grenade launcher that fires projectiles that then break off into smaller explosives. While not the most exciting gun in the game, it is remarkably effective.

Planet it becomes available: Challenge Mode unlock/Deluxe Edition unlock

Good for: AoE damage and dealing with large groups of small enemies.

Pixelizer

Here’s another Challenge Mode weapon that proves to be surprisingly standard from a sheer functionality standpoint. The Pixelizer is pretty much a shotgun that just so happens to turn its victims into pixels. It’s actually a lot of fun to use even if it’s not the best weapon in the game.

Planet it becomes available: Challenge Mode unlock/Deluxe Edition unlock

Good for: Enjoying retro visuals/sound effects while dealing respectable close-range damage.

Ryno 8

Tapping into Rift Apart’s themes of time displacement and dimension splitting, the Ryno 8 is your reward for collecting all 10 Spybots hidden across the various planets. It’s effectively a built-in easter egg machine that pays tribute to PlayStation history, opening up rifts and dropping various bits of memorabilia out of the sky to create a large explosion. Objects include the Thunder Jaw from Horizon Zero Dawn, among many others.

Planet it becomes available: N/A

Good for: Covering a wide blast radius and taking down small groups of enemies instantly.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[thecoroutfitters]

  I don’t know about you, but I would love to own about 25 acres of land in the middle of nowhere and live solely on what I develop from the land itself.

The sad fact is, most of people caught in a crisis will either live in bands of scavengers or wind up dead.

Even those fortunate enough to live on a homestead or in a dedicated survival group are apt to find themselves being attacked by anyone desperate enough to try and steal from them.

If you can afford to purchase land and live off grid, it offers a better standard of living and added peace and comfort in a time when just about everything else is falling apart. If you intend to succeed at moving off grid, there are 10 mistakes you must avoid at all cost.

Not Accounting for Weather Conditions and Radiation Threats

Even though you may rarely hear about nuclear events, there are ongoing situations like Fukushima, as well as potential ones that can make your homestead as dangerous as it is worthless.

For example, if you purchase or have land in California or anywhere along the western coast of the United States, including Canada, ionized radiation from Fukushima is more than likely contaminating the land, air, and water already.

While it may not seem like much now, or at “low levels”, the fact remains that the leak at the Fukushima reactors is still releasing radioactive waste into the ocean, and the currents are still bringing that radiation to the western shore of the United States.

Aside from Fukushima, every location within 100 miles of a nuclear power plant or nuclear waste facility should be avoided at all cost. If there is a major waterway such as a river that connects one nuclear are to within 100 miles of your planned homestead site, it is best to avoid the area or consider how you will best escape problems caused by nuclear contamination.

Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and droughts are all becoming more common. Make sure that you pay careful attention to how the weather patterns are changing. It does not matter what the media says is causing these changes or what they say they mean.

All that matters is you pick a safe location or know how to handle changing weather patterns in the area that you choose.

Not Having a Means of Income

Taxes, emergencies, and adapting to an off grid life can all cost a good bit of money. Even if you can meet basic needs from the land itself, it never hurts to have enough contact with the rest of the world so that you can make some money.

Together with this, you also need to diversify your currency stockpile. While cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin can be very dangerous, it may still come in handy to have some money in this form of currency.

Just make sure that you never put so much into these currencies that it will cause problems if the currency fails.

Lack of Experience with Growing Food Underground

If there is one common factor in all ultimate survival shelters and homesteads, building underground is it. Not only will an underground shelter protect you from nuclear radiation, it can also shield you from just about everything except earthquakes. When built correctly, an underground homestead can last for generations and remain in good condition.

The lack of light and free moving air underground can be fatal. If you do not have sufficient experience with growing foods and herbal remedies underground, then you will need to gain these skills as well as make sure that you can repair or replace every part of the lighting system used to grow plants.

Make sure that you also have a good grounding in disease management.

This old forgotten secrets helped our parents survive!

Inability to Generate Power or Communicate

Today, far too many people think that they can follow the traditions of the Amish or other groups that have never become accustomed to electricity and petroleum based fuels.

While these people do have some valid ideas about many important areas of off grid living, they do not know how to manage the kinds of waste that exist in the world today. Without electricity, it will be harder than you expect to deal with environmental toxins.

Because we have become a “global economy”, and a “global human environment”, what happens in one part of the world cannot be ignored. You will still need radios and other communications systems so that you can find out about larger scale threats and then find ways to manage them as the situation develops.

No matter how much you may want to think you can make it in the world alone, the fact remains just as many others may have the same idea. Unless you know where they are and what they are doing, you will be in very serious danger of building a false utopia that will crash around your ears.

At the very least, make sure that you know how to generate electricity underground and using solar and wind based methods.

You should also know how to build a foxhole radio and a spark gap transmitter. It is also very important to know how to build electronic communications devices with or without solid state technologies.

Lack of Knowledge and Ability to Manage Sanitation Issues

Chances are, if you have been doing your research on prepping and off grid issues, then you already know that poor sanitation can lead to serious disease outbreaks.

While a composting toilet may seem very useful, you must still consider what to do with bathing water, kitchen garbage, disposal of old paint or other chemicals, and managing nuisance insects if you are not able manage sanitation properly. In addition, if you decide to build a septic system, then you will still have to pump out the tank or find some other way to manage this aspect of sanitation.

Overall, you should focus on systems that recycle as much as possible without the use of dangerous or toxic chemicals. Always remember that the land you have is all that you have. If you ruin it, there won’t be a way to replace it, and there may not be a way to fix the problem.

You can try composting toilets, compost generators for kitchen waste, and conversion of other waste into some kind of fuel.

For more ideas on other kinds of waste, look to Sweden, where less than 1% of household waste winds up in landfills. Reducing your reliance on the local rubbish company is also something you can start doing now.

As you become more proficient in this area, you will have at least one part of your off grid skills in good order.

Lack of Medical Knowledge and Skills

Considering the rampant and continuous scandal around modern health care, it should come as no surprise that people are becoming more nervous about every aspect of treating diseases. While there are some parts of modern medicine that are valuable and cannot be replaced or duplicated, there are still some very important things you can do for yourself.

Perhaps most important, as an off gridder, you will need to understand and take advantage of the relationship between good health and lifestyle choices.

While your “national pride” may say have another hot dog that may have human remains in it, or your mouth may water for cheeses and meat filled with pesticide and antibiotics, in the end these decisions can cost your life and your well being.

By the same token, not getting enough exercise, not paying attention to air quality, smoking, drinking alcohol in excess, and using “recreational drugs” will all take a toll on your well being.

If you are going to live off grid, you won’t have the time to deal with health problems from these choices let alone live comfortably.

It is also very important to educate yourself as much as possible about emergency medicine, herbal remedies, and any side effects that may come from the drugs you are using right now.

Do what you can to use holistic methods and lifestyle improvements. Aside from learning a lot about how your body works, you may also gain enough improvement to reduce your reliance on drugs that will eventually stop working or cause more harm than expected to organs outside of the system being treated.

Lack of Self and Property Defense Equipment and Skills

I must admit there are definitely days when I wish I could go live on a few acres of land and never need to worry about all the crime and other hazards that come with living in a more populated setting. Quite frankly, believing that safety will automatically come when you isolate from others is a huge mistake.

Among other things, you may have to deal with criminals passing through the area looking to hide out, as well as others looking to commit some kind of crime. Unless you can defend yourself and your property even in these times, there is every chance you will wind up dead.

Inability to Store and Prepare Foods

As simple and obvious as it may sound, many people that plan to live off grid don’t know how to store and prepare foods. For example, many people think canning is easy because they see many recipes online, and the standard supplies are available in the department store each fall.

The truth is, canning takes a good bit of practice and skill. You must carefully time the water baths, and also know how to manage the hot bottles at the precise moment when they are ready to be sealed down.

Unfortunately, as with many other areas of off gridding, there is a lot of wrong and outright unsafe information around. While you can give things like oven canning, dehydration, and and vacuum sealing a try, it is still best to know how to smoke and dry foods.

It is also very important to make sure you have an effective and efficient food inventory system so that you don’t wind up eating something that is too old and may have become contaminated because of improper storage. This is especially important to consider if you are planning to use oxygen absorbers or other systems that will lead to different kinds of bacterial growth.

Perhaps it can be said that you would be better off taking a risk of a discernible mold or fungus growing rather than a deadly botulism strain that won’t be as easy to pick up on.

Inability to Obtain and Purify Water

People that go camping or spend a lot of time outdoors may think they know all there is to know about obtaining and purifying water. While there are many valid methods for both tasks, the fact remains modern “potable” water supplies are incredibly dangerous.

Aside from medications, fluoride, and nuclear waste being found in most surface level water, heavy metal contamination is also a serious problem. In fact, unless you go down to the south pole and melt off some glacier ice, chances are you don’t have access to clean, let alone safe water.

For some people, the short answer is to distill all water used for drinking and cooking. Even though distilling will get rid of pathogens and most chemicals, it will not get rid of tritium. In addition, drinking distilled water over weeks or months increases your risk of electrolyte and mineral depletion. Therefore, you will need to know how to compensate for this loss using foods and other beverages.

Today, many people also give very little thought to the safety and cleanliness of the water they wash with. Many chemicals can be absorbed by the skin, or wind up being absorbed through mucus membranes. It may take a lot more work to purify all water that you use for bathing and washing, however it will be well worth the effort in the long run.

Inability to Make Clothes

Even if you normally go to the goodwill store for second hand clothes, chances are you have more garments than you know what to do with. When you have to tend your own farm, or carry out a lot of intensive physical labor chores, your garments are bound to wear out much faster. To add insult to injury, the detergents you use to wash you garments can also spell disaster. Sadly, there are many recipes online for “natural laundry detergent” that can actually ruin your clothes in a very short period of time.

The best thing you can do to solve this problem is make sure that you know how to make your own clothes from the ground up. Learn how to grow cotton, sheer sheep, and spin these fibers into fabric or yarn. At the very least, even if you do make a mistake on washing and garment care, or your clothes get ruined for some other reason, you will be able to make new ones.

There is no question that off grid living comes with many rewards and opportunities. If you are going to live comfortably and peacefully, however, there are a number of common mistakes that you need to avoid. Take the time to learn and practice as many skills as possible so that you are ready for any situation that comes up. Even if you wind up needing to rely on goods and services for a short period of time, make it your business to learn what you need to know so that you don’t wind up having to look to others because of repeated failures.

This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.

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