The mTOC User’s Guide

Introduction A few months back, we posted the introduction to the ISG micro Operations Center, with the intent of showcasing the “what” of the project. So while we hope it was an interesting look at what the project is, a little less defined is the “why?”, and more importantly, the “how?” of the device. After…

Cyber EDC: Updating your Digital Arsenal

Introduction “If you can’t secure your connection in some dingy hotel, nothing else downstream will matter.” That’s the answer I received when I asked if I could use a Raspberry Pi to remote start a car, like a total noob. Looking back it was the perfect answer for a stupid question, but like a LOT…

The ISG micro Operations Center

Prologue Late in 2019, we (the world) found ourselves in the grip of a Type III emergency. A strange illness was making its way around the globe, toilet paper became currency, and information changed forever. I was, like so many others, utterly dependent on the grid, woefully unable to describe what the internet even is,…

No Man’s Land: The “Last War” Paradigm

  Introduction “War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” ― Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West It’s tough to convey a point, at times. Porteus wrote “a murder makes a villain, a million [deaths make] a hero…” I think…

Overlanding is not Preparedness

So, in the annals of internet redundancy, is the ISG emphasis on mobility. It’s to the point that it’s frustrating in a way that calls to mind Shel Silverstein’s “Hector the Collector”, and leaves the impression on me that I’m presenting my junk as if it were treasure. The other day, Jake was cruel enough…

Self Esteem and Exploding Dirigibles

In early 1990, I was utterly uninterested in any sport except boxing. All others, it seemed, were some convoluted route to what boxing was at it’s very core: two men in a fight. In boxing, men didn’t set out to chase a ball or perform a feat against gravity, they sought to physically beat another…

Engineering Strong Children for Hard Times

Introduction In the world of disaster management, the most impacted populations are the most underserved. When it comes to self defense, almost everything is tailored to the adult male, and very rarely does serious conversation spill over into discussion on “hey, what happens to our families?” Given the ongoing reality in Ukraine, we have yet…