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Old 01-05-2014, 15:54   #61
GratefulCitizen
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Page/Lake Powell, Arizona
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A few tools useful for this scenario when considering movement/non-movement of your party (resource competition/conflict zones/impassable terrain/bottlenecks/roadblocks/etc.) as well as the movement/non-movement of others (refugees/zombies/storm troopers/etc.) which may affect your party.


Interactive population density map:
http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/index.html

Turning on the map labels makes it much more useful.
The "racial dot" color feature might matter for some (particularly in some urban settings).


Interactive topographic map:
http://bmproto.esri.com/WorldTopoMap...raphicMap.html

Couldn't get the "topo characteristics" button to work on my iPad.
Found it easiest just to type city name and state (e.g. Page Arizona) in the box at the bottom right.

Google earth is helpful, too:
http://www.google.com/earth/explore/products/
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Old 09-14-2014, 10:03   #62
mugwump
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Back to team selection...

We were noodling ideas for winnowing the wheat from the chaff, refugee-wise, i.e the original focus of this thread. We made a list of needed skills/trades that won't surprise anyone: medics, vets (both animal and mil), farriers, musicians, blacksmiths, those with food canning experience, etc. A long list. Also, all of the farms around here are of the typical American, super-efficient, energy-intensive type. We are actually going to need strong backs to plant/weed/harvest, milk cows, make hay, etc.

I had an epiphany during the conversation. Why so passive? Why wait for these skills, some rare as hen's teeth, to show up at a checkpoint? Need farriers? Check the professional association lists and scan the farrier websites and blogs for local yokels. Ditto for midwives, bee keepers, potters, dry stone wall makers, steam engine hobbyists, small sawmill operators...you get the drift. We publish our whole lives on the Interwebs, someone should profit from that besides Google and Facebook.

Still haven't worked out how to approach these folks or if we should even try. Maybe just send out someone to recruit/gather in key folk in a 25 or 50-mile radius if the balloon goes up. Talking defense/safety will be anathema to some of these people prior to an event but the issue will be slapping people in the face afterwards. Many of these guys would have tools/gear they would need anyway and we should have functional transport to spare for a while. The "recruiters" would need to be persuasive...but not coercive. Depending on the skill set, some folks might get a golden ticket and could bring in their extended family members vs just their nuclear family. Needs more thought...

Anywho, we've already identified all the amateur radio operators in the area via web search--there were two we didn't know of. All will be offered cheap faraday protection for their spare/obsolescent equipment that they can keep at their sites. It's a start. But we've definitely changed our approach going forward.
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