What useful skills do you have for after TSHTF?

[HERMET]

I know how to make sparks by rubbing girls together

 

[ShawnZR-1]

I'm an engineer. Given enough time, I'll make water flow up hill - by itself!

Seriously, I'm a mechanic, carpenter, plumber, electrician, electronics tech, lumberjack (and I'm ok), and was a paramedic/firefighter.

... yet my wife still says I'm useless.

 

[smokey30725]

I can power a small methane-fueled power plant after chili night at my house.

 

[GAGunguy]

At least you can brew beer.

About all the good I'm for is drinking it...

I doubt I would be brewing during SHTF.

I Have, however, started filling some of my empty beer bottles with tap water to see how long they last. Tap water in Brown bottles, with air lock tops should last forever. Cheap and easy water storage, and a easy way to transport a few at a time, and possibly barter.

 

[cxglock26]

This is AWESOME!!!

 

[militaryrednek]

I can shoot people in the elbow

 

[cxglock26]

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.
Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400.
My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me. I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations with the CIA.
I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid.
On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin.
I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.
In a SHTF scenario, my mere presence would make you feel as though society has reached it's pinnacle.

Ahhhh classic.....I bat .400. That's a good one GeauxLSU. Classic!!!

 

[Retread]

Somewhere I remember reading about making hooch out of goats milk...but it was probably a load of cheese.

 

[Dbodt]

Things that i am good at.
I am actually a pretty decent carpenter, plumber, electrician, laborer or manager. I am mechanically inclined I have been known to take intricate machinery apart and put it back together just to prove that it will indeed run with some extra parts not installed. I have been around guns my whole life. I have refined my shooting to a point where I can actually hit the broad side of the barn. I am good in a crisis, I manage stress well. I can catch fish. I can hunt. I can operate almost any piece of machinery. I am a pretty good driver and even a better motorcyclist. I stay current with my first aid training. The site of blood does not bother me. My only fears are snakes and clowns. I feel I could defend the camp against any enemy unless they bring snakes or clowns and then you guys are on your own and its every man for themself. Have done some gardening. Great sense of direction. Pretty good at finding my way through the woods.


Things that I need to work on.
My spelling sucks. Would like to learn archery. Not a very good dancer if that matters. I am over weight. Would also like to learn knife throwing.

 

[IMaDad]

As some of you know - I am actively working on getting people together so that they can determine if they would work well together in a disaster situation. One thing that is vital, is to have a variety of skills withing a group - with some redundancy. It is sometimes difficult to do a self reflection on what skills you have - so...

List the skills you have now - any you are currently working on - and those you wish to gain in the future (with level of proficiency of appropriate). It would be nice to keep this on topic.

It would be fun to see what skill sets we have here - but even if you do not want to list them in "public" - I challenge you to make a list for yourself (or send them to me if you are looking for a Mutual Assistance Group).

Electrical Power Production Journeyman (back when i was USAF)
-diesel mechanic, small engines, electrician, etc. Basically a mix of diesel mechanic and electrician
-mechanical diesels are my thing, EMP proofing has always been big for me
-I can run a multimeter and troucleshoot AC and DC circuits. Line voltage and control circuits. Motors, pumps, etc.

EPA, NATE, and other testing organization certified HVAC/R Technician.
-I can install, repair, troubleshoot, maintain, replace, etc any type of HVAC/R equipment there is,sans ammonia. **** ammonia.
-I can align pumps/motors correctly, rebuild pumps and motors, etc

HAM radio operator
-Technician class only. I can set up rudimentary repeaters, program radios, scan, crossband repeat, and echolink

Shooter for the last 11 years (since I was 19. I am 30)
-military and private training.

Air traffic control school
-chunks of it. I can listen to FAA freqs and decently translate FAA phraseology.
-I have set up drop zones and called in jumpers, dont think that will ever happen again though. lol

Fabrication
-Heavy mechanical skills. Bending, bolting, welding, etc. I can fab. Mig, Tig, Arc, Plasma, Oxy-Fuel, etc

Equipment operation
-consumer vehicles to 5 ton. drove an MRAP once
- forklift from tiny electric to 15k AT, loader, grader, excavator, dump truck, snow plow, tractor, lull/telescoping forklift, etc

Full custody Single Dad
-I can handle, discipline, and raise children while keeping them properly fed, hydrated, and clean. I have parental instincts.
food
-grilling, smoking, slow cooking, etc. my kids are gluten free so i am well versed in that.
- I store my own food. I can package in mylar correctly, etc.

Im sure there is more here that i am missing. just a short list i guess.