Sometime in the last two decades, the average American quietly outsourced his memory, his manuals, and most of his practical knowledge to a handful of server farms in Virginia and Oregon.
Since I started prepping, about 15 years ago, I have evolved on many topics.
THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND ITS' ACCESS
1
The advice for keeping a paper printout file is sound. However, it wasn't too many years after I started that I had 3 binders stuffed with paper. One binder with a couple dozen sheets is good. One page with phone numbers, account numbers, passwords, prescriptions and short medical histories is a must.
Printed maps of the local area and other areas if you have to evacuate. A radio frequency list is also good. The NOAA weather forecasts are on 5 channels. Most transmissions don't exceed 40 or 50 miles and much less in some areas, over all, the US is well covered.
Of course several hard copy books are a must.
The Ultimate Survival Medicine Guide: Emergency Preparedness for ANY Disaster Kindle Edition
by Joseph Alton M.D.
SAS Survival Handbook by John 'Lofty' Wiseman
or an equivalent
And the kindle versions as well. And PDFs of the rest
of all that has been written.
Pros and Cons for printed material and digital versions..
Hard copies work when there is no electricity.
Hard copies can burn, ruined with water damage or
discarded because of their weight.
Digital versions are infinitely lighter.
Digital versions can be 'word searched'.
Digital versions can be collected mostly for free.
Digital versions need a device and electricity to
access the device.
Water damage and EMP are a constant threat.
The bottom line, you need both.
2
There are many types of electronic media to store and access your information. I have kept my previous 2 smart phones. They are not activated, so there is no service, but they will work like a mini tablet. And, I have 2 tablets. Laptops? If you don't have to travel, they're fine, otherwise a smaller unit makes more sense.
How do you get that digital information stored? There are 3 extensions I use, I'm sure there are others.
1. PrintFriendly: Print Clean Pages, Save as PDF & Screenshot, AI Tools. It puts any web page into a PDF format. You can delete nonessential graphics. You can PDF just about everything.
2. 4K Video Downloader+. You can download YouTube and Rumble videos and other sources as well. The free version has a daily limit. The Plus is $25 for a lifetime, unlimited option. It does more than just videos, though I don't use the extras.
After 15 years, I have a lot of stuff. And, I have some duplicates. At this level of collection, I'm a part time librarian. For day to day use, I have a 512 GB thumb drive.
I have an External 2TB SSD, as my primary backup. 2TB is a lot. SSD is a solid state drive, basically a huge thumb drive. About once a month or two, I back up the thumb drive and keep 1 previous backup, from 'before before'. The 2TB SSD spends most of it's time an a .30 cal ammo can, inside a 6 gallon, galvanized Behrens locking lid ash can.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE.
Where can I find tons of free information on line?
Archive.org has a lot, tons, square kilometers, cubic miles of information. Text, video, software, web pages and old TV shows just to name a few. It's free.
A couple of tips. When you open the first page, go to the left column and scroll to the bottom. You can select English. Otherwise, you will get all of the languages that cover that topic.
An example, Select TEXTS (it's a book icon), it opens to eBooks and Texts. Select 'American Libraries'. Select 'California Digital Library'. Select 'The King In Yellow'. If you scroll down you will see a description of the book and any reviews. On the right side of the page you will see 'Download Options'. I always use 'PDF'.
There are books you can't download. These are books that are still under copyright. You can borrow these books, but you can't down load them. Typically, these are textbooks or recent scientific texts.
At the bottom of the page, several similar texts will be shown.
WARNING: This site is extremely dangerous for the inquisitive.
I agree on most of what you state. But be aware that Amazon has changed its rules for Kindle as of 5/20/26. One cannot download anything now to your hard drive from Kindle--ONLY TO a newer--late model (post 2020)--Kindle. If you have an old Kindle, you are limited to whatever you downloaded previously. Many new authors used Amazon's proprietary functions to write their books. So you won't be able to obtain "readable" books due to Amazon's inept and ancient protection policies--you will be frustrated if you use Amazon as a book source--get a new e-book reader, or "brick" your old Kindle (if you "brick," you will lose your current book inventory).
Also, as of Sept, 2026 (if they haven't sneakily done so already), GoOgle is controlling all its apps and other apps on any Android device. One will NOT be able to de-GoOgle anything. Might as well toss your phone if you want to be private//anonymous (or leave it at home and go anywhere w/o it, but that's your choice).
Books bought for Kindle can only be read if you have an internet connection. They can not be down loaded. Not, easily. If there are specific pages or passages you would like to have, you can use "Print Screen". It's slow and inefficient, but you can get what you want, if you work at it. Is this stealing? I don't think so. I paid for the book. But I can only read it, based on their conditions.
And remember, too, you're not alone. Know who in your various circles, especially those nearby, have the skills listed here. Share, barter, pay, work together. You need basic skills, yes, but having a group of reliable people around you is even more important in the long run.
The fact that Trump tied Israel's hands again and again, totally left Israel out of any part of his terrible USA defeat Deal and came to the rescue of Hamas in Qatar, Gaza City and once again Hezbollah in Lebanon while brown nosing hard core Islamists in Pakistan. Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia giving Iran a big indeserved victory while lying to all of us on his submissive deal with the devil, and never held Egypt accountable for it's massive weapons smuggling into Hamastan Gaza tells anyone with half a brain what Trump $ is all about $.
Since I started prepping, about 15 years ago, I have evolved on many topics.
THE INFORMATION YOU NEED AND ITS' ACCESS
1
The advice for keeping a paper printout file is sound. However, it wasn't too many years after I started that I had 3 binders stuffed with paper. One binder with a couple dozen sheets is good. One page with phone numbers, account numbers, passwords, prescriptions and short medical histories is a must.
Printed maps of the local area and other areas if you have to evacuate. A radio frequency list is also good. The NOAA weather forecasts are on 5 channels. Most transmissions don't exceed 40 or 50 miles and much less in some areas, over all, the US is well covered.
Of course several hard copy books are a must.
The Ultimate Survival Medicine Guide: Emergency Preparedness for ANY Disaster Kindle Edition
by Joseph Alton M.D.
SAS Survival Handbook by John 'Lofty' Wiseman
or an equivalent
And the kindle versions as well. And PDFs of the rest
of all that has been written.
Pros and Cons for printed material and digital versions..
Hard copies work when there is no electricity.
Hard copies can burn, ruined with water damage or
discarded because of their weight.
Digital versions are infinitely lighter.
Digital versions can be 'word searched'.
Digital versions can be collected mostly for free.
Digital versions need a device and electricity to
access the device.
Water damage and EMP are a constant threat.
The bottom line, you need both.
2
There are many types of electronic media to store and access your information. I have kept my previous 2 smart phones. They are not activated, so there is no service, but they will work like a mini tablet. And, I have 2 tablets. Laptops? If you don't have to travel, they're fine, otherwise a smaller unit makes more sense.
How do you get that digital information stored? There are 3 extensions I use, I'm sure there are others.
1. PrintFriendly: Print Clean Pages, Save as PDF & Screenshot, AI Tools. It puts any web page into a PDF format. You can delete nonessential graphics. You can PDF just about everything.
2. 4K Video Downloader+. You can download YouTube and Rumble videos and other sources as well. The free version has a daily limit. The Plus is $25 for a lifetime, unlimited option. It does more than just videos, though I don't use the extras.
3. https://twittervideodownloader.com/en/ Of course this works for videos on X.
After 15 years, I have a lot of stuff. And, I have some duplicates. At this level of collection, I'm a part time librarian. For day to day use, I have a 512 GB thumb drive.
I have an External 2TB SSD, as my primary backup. 2TB is a lot. SSD is a solid state drive, basically a huge thumb drive. About once a month or two, I back up the thumb drive and keep 1 previous backup, from 'before before'. The 2TB SSD spends most of it's time an a .30 cal ammo can, inside a 6 gallon, galvanized Behrens locking lid ash can.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE.
Where can I find tons of free information on line?
https://archive.org/
Archive.org has a lot, tons, square kilometers, cubic miles of information. Text, video, software, web pages and old TV shows just to name a few. It's free.
A couple of tips. When you open the first page, go to the left column and scroll to the bottom. You can select English. Otherwise, you will get all of the languages that cover that topic.
An example, Select TEXTS (it's a book icon), it opens to eBooks and Texts. Select 'American Libraries'. Select 'California Digital Library'. Select 'The King In Yellow'. If you scroll down you will see a description of the book and any reviews. On the right side of the page you will see 'Download Options'. I always use 'PDF'.
There are books you can't download. These are books that are still under copyright. You can borrow these books, but you can't down load them. Typically, these are textbooks or recent scientific texts.
At the bottom of the page, several similar texts will be shown.
WARNING: This site is extremely dangerous for the inquisitive.
I agree on most of what you state. But be aware that Amazon has changed its rules for Kindle as of 5/20/26. One cannot download anything now to your hard drive from Kindle--ONLY TO a newer--late model (post 2020)--Kindle. If you have an old Kindle, you are limited to whatever you downloaded previously. Many new authors used Amazon's proprietary functions to write their books. So you won't be able to obtain "readable" books due to Amazon's inept and ancient protection policies--you will be frustrated if you use Amazon as a book source--get a new e-book reader, or "brick" your old Kindle (if you "brick," you will lose your current book inventory).
Also, as of Sept, 2026 (if they haven't sneakily done so already), GoOgle is controlling all its apps and other apps on any Android device. One will NOT be able to de-GoOgle anything. Might as well toss your phone if you want to be private//anonymous (or leave it at home and go anywhere w/o it, but that's your choice).
Noted. I will check this out..
Books bought for Kindle can only be read if you have an internet connection. They can not be down loaded. Not, easily. If there are specific pages or passages you would like to have, you can use "Print Screen". It's slow and inefficient, but you can get what you want, if you work at it. Is this stealing? I don't think so. I paid for the book. But I can only read it, based on their conditions.
And remember, too, you're not alone. Know who in your various circles, especially those nearby, have the skills listed here. Share, barter, pay, work together. You need basic skills, yes, but having a group of reliable people around you is even more important in the long run.
The problem in so many urban areas is that people aren’t that close or likeminded
Yup. In my mind I've pretty much written off cities except as a source of strife that'll have to be contained.
It's not that the internet will be gone but the fact that true Christians will refuse to upload their "digital ID" to access it:
https://rumble.com/v4lbnmz-soon-you-will-need-a-license-to-access-the-internet.-digital-id.html
Please do NOT upload your digital ID as that is giving the beast system your mark to buy and sell:
https://sumofthyword.com/2022/05/18/the-mark-of-the-beast/
We are already in the 2nd half of the timeline within this link folks so prepare accordingly!:
https://sumofthyword.com/2016/10/04/the-rapture-of-the-church-is-after-the-tribulation/
The fact that Trump tied Israel's hands again and again, totally left Israel out of any part of his terrible USA defeat Deal and came to the rescue of Hamas in Qatar, Gaza City and once again Hezbollah in Lebanon while brown nosing hard core Islamists in Pakistan. Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia giving Iran a big indeserved victory while lying to all of us on his submissive deal with the devil, and never held Egypt accountable for it's massive weapons smuggling into Hamastan Gaza tells anyone with half a brain what Trump $ is all about $.
Have been accumulating how to books for a while now…
You talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. Living in San Francisco, your credibility is diminished.