Economics and Investing:

Mainstream media pundit Mark Levin talks serious societal collapse gloom and doom. (In his February 15th show, scroll forward to the 10 minute mark.)

A consideration in choosing your locale: State and Local Sales Tax Rates

Left In The Dark: Copper Thieves Rob Detroit Freeways Of Light

H.L. sent: Texas Prepares to Go it Alone

Capitalism works: Private navy goes to war on Somali pirates. (Thanks to KAF for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Ron Paul:  Trade War & Economic Collapse Coming

Gas Prices Hit An Historic High:  What’s Driving Them Up?

Fed Joining In Alarm Over Distortion It Enabled:  Credit Markets

Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at Mac Slavo’s fine blog: Guns And Ammo Production Maxed Out: “This is a Society Preparing For War”

   o o o

A Canadian journalist warns: Gun registration will lead to confiscation.

   o o o

The power of prefabrication: A 30 story Chinese hotel built in 15 days.

   o o o

Jeff H. suggested TubeBooks.org. They offer 4.22 GB of free technical books, mainly on radio technology and electrical engineering.

   o o o

Dan D. sent: Amazon Removing Gun Products From Store. Worse Than eBay.

Notes from JWR:

The 25% to 35% off sale for Mountain House canned long term storage foods at Ready Made Resources with free shipping and bonuses ends at midnight tonight (Monday February 18, 2013.) Be sure to place your order before this sale ends!

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Coloradoans: Contact your State Senators! I’m sure you’ve heard the news: Colorado lawmakers move forward on new gun-control measures. (They attempted to toss a Bill of Attainder bone to MagPul, but to their credit, MagPul’s managers have said that if the bill is signed unto law that they are still moving out of State–most likely Montana or Wyoming.

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Today’s first post is from L.K.O., SurvivalBlog’s Central Rockies Regional Editor

Home Power Systems: Micro Hydro, by L.K.O.

Note: This article is part of a series of feature articles about alternative / sustainable / renewable energy solutions for self-sufficiency. A prior related article in SurvivalBlog that complements this one is Home Inverter Comparison: Off Grid and Grid Tied. Upcoming articles in this Home Power Systems series include: Photovoltaics, Batteries, Wind generators, Solar Water Distillers, Solar Ovens, Solar Water Heating and Energy Efficiency/Conservation.)

Overview of Micro Hydro: One Component of a Home Power System One primary source of locally generated electricity – in the right location – is hydroelectric power generated by a small system of integrated components harnessing the power of falling water, generally called ‘small hydro’, ‘micro hydro’, or ‘pico hydro’ for the smallest of systems. The realtor mantra of “location, location, location” is particularly true for micro hydro systems, perhaps more than for any other local power source, including solar and wind energy systems. If you don’t have sufficient flow (volume of water per minute) and head (vertical drop between the water source and the location of the turbine), you can stop exploring micro hydro as a possible energy source right there. However, if you do have just the right location, micro hydro can be one of the most cost effective, efficient, simple and reliable sources of off-grid (or grid-tied) power.

The beauty of a micro hydro system is the simplicity of stored potential energy (gravity) being converted into kinetic energy (moving water) further converted into electrical energy through the generator within the turbine, with basically one moving part (aside from the water. 🙂 Since the process of converting moving water to electricity doesn’t cause any significant atmospheric emissions, greenhouse gases or pollutants (aside from the manufacture and installation of the components, which is arguably a consideration for any energy system), micro hydro, when properly sited and correctly installed and maintained, enjoys – unlike its much larger ‘environmental footprint’ sibling, large scale hydro – a justifiably deserved status as a relatively clean, renewable, and sustainable power solution.

Micro hydro systems usually cost relatively little to maintain and operate, if they are properly designed and installed. Since heating and electrical demand are typically higher in winter months, even a system with a power output that tapers off slightly in summer can be a good demand-correlated design, as long as summer cooling needs are minimal or provided by non-electrical means. If you have the added advantage of sufficient year-round flow, your micro hydro system can, in many cases, either reduce or even eliminate the need for battery storage and/or other more elaborate and expensive backup systems, which makes it even more attractive, economical, simple and reliable.

Often the sites that have that amount of flow don’t have majestic mountain top panoramic vistas, but that might be an acceptable trade off for many, considering the energy-independence such a site can provide. The micro hydro classification generally goes up to systems making 100kW of electricity or less. Larger installations within this range can power larger homes (with less painstaking economizing of energy loads during planning phases) or even small or neighborhood communities if energy distribution (and other multi-load issues) are carefully thought through and properly designed. In multi-property and/or multi-family micro hydro installations, easements, formal legal agreements, safety, power line losses and other related issues should be taken even more fully into consideration.

Micro Hydro Go/No-Go Feasibility Probably the biggest single viability factor in any micro hydro installation is the product – not to worry, it’s simple math – of the head (vertical distance between the water intake and turbine/generator) and the flow (typically measured in gallons per minute) of any proposed system. Here’s a simple formula for a ballpark idea of your stream’s capacity: Multiply the head (in feet) by the flow (in gallons per minute or gpm), and divide by 12. Power (Watts) = head (feet) * flow (gpm) / 12 This yields an approximation of the potential wattage of a fairly efficient micro hydro system. As an example, with 60 gpm and 80 feet of head, your system should generate something in the range of 400 watts (80*60/12). Over a 24 hour period, assuming steady flow, the generated power would be 9,600 Watt-hours or 9.6 kWh (24 hours/day x 400 Watts). Since this formula involves the product of two factors, a site can still be viable – to a certain extent – if the result of the multiplication is still adequate.

For example, if the flow is only 15 gpm, but the head is 320 feet, the site has about the same 400 Watts of potential power as the 60 gpm, 80 feet of head example. This rough formula starts to fail (the potential power decreases) in the fringe examples of very high head and very low flow, due to friction losses in typically long pipe (penstock) runs needed for sites like these, and minimum flows needed to keep turbines turning. The simple formula also becomes too optimistic at the other end of the spectrum, in massive flow but negligible head situations less than 2 or 3 feet. Read “Myth 5” in the article Micro Hydro Myths & Misconceptions if you’re still convinced that you can harness the river flowing past or through your property with a negligible elevation drop.

Measuring Head and Flow Now that you know the formula, how can you obtain adequately accurate measurements for the head and flow parameters? We’ll start with flow measurement. For low flow situations, a 5 gallon bucket and a stopwatch or timer can do the trick. Here’s a video showing a common kitchen pot and a watch to measure flow. For higher flow situations, a weighted-float method – scroll down this page to read details – can provide an estimate of flow. Now onward to head measurement. If you have a super tall ‘Yosemite Falls scale’ vertical drop, you could use the altimeter app on your smart phone for a very rough estimate of the head since some of the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) digital elevation model apps are accurate to +/- 10m or perhaps two readings from a 7.5 minute USGS topographic map (since some have contour lines as small as 10 feet. More likely, for any head measurements of around 200′ or less, it’s far more accurate to measure the head in other ways. Check out this detailed article: Hydropower Head Measurements that offers 3 different methods to accurately measure the vertical drop between inlet and turbine. These include: 1) Using a surveyor’s transit or level and pole, 2) Using a Hose and Pressure gauge, and 3) using a Precision Zip-Level Pro 2000ª. Here’s a video showing PVC pipe to measure head.

Regulatory Considerations for Micro Hydro Other ‘make or break’ considerations for micro hydro systems include regulatory and legal issues around the use of the water. Some jurisdictions don’t allow individual or neighborhood hydroelectric systems, even if theoretically every drop is returned to the stream from which the energy-generating water would be temporarily diverted. Some of these considerations include proposed projects requiring dams (that might cause flooding), affecting threatened and endangered species, location within an area classified as a National Wild and Scenic River, Wilderness Area, or National Park, and/or other factors affecting fish or wildlife. This Federal Energy Regulatory Commission page goes into detail about these locations where micro hydro should not be considered.

This page lists additional concerns that warrant investigation before investing in any micro hydro development.

Generally, micro hydro systems are ‘run of river’ systems which means that the diverted water ends up back in the same stream or river that it was taken from after powering the turbine. If this takes place entirely on your property, this makes it much simpler and minimizes any legal, regulatory, insurance or other administrative issues that might need to be dealt with. When in doubt, the due diligence of a few hours of online research, talking with local micro hydro experts, neighbors (particularly adjacent property owners and/or others that might be affected by diverted water in any conceivable way), appropriate local and state authorities, and other knowledgeable parties can be time well spent, and save further wasted time, expense and effort. Here’s a directory of micro hydro consultants world-wide that might be helpful.

Limitations of Micro Hydro Systems Site characteristics define the main limitations of micro hydro systems. Besides the obvious problem of not enough flow (or head), seasonal fluctuations can be a major concern. If there is adequate solar exposure, in some cases this can mitigate having enough pressure only in the rainy/high runoff months and still make a viable overall renewable energy (RE) system. In much the same way, a wind and solar combination can even out shortcomings in one technology by complementing with another that makes up for winter or summer energy deficiencies; when the sun is generating lots of photovoltaic energy, often a wind generator or micro hydro turbine is not, and vice-versa. Overall, if there’s enough seasonal overlap – and battery storage – a system can still be viable. A wind and micro hydro only combination might be more difficult, again depending on the location, if, for example, there’s plenty of wind and stream flow in winter months, but neither has much capacity in the summertime. If solar and wind aren’t feasible complements for a seasonal system – which is often the case down in canyons where hydro power is more plentiful, a conventional fossil-fueled generator backup might still be a viable solution, as long is the generator is only needed on a very short-term or emergency backup basis.

Another frequent disadvantage (compared to wind and solar energy systems) is the typical distance from the turbine to the house (and/or location of loads such as shops and garages). The optimal locations for both extracting water and returning it to the watercourse on any given property are often much more constraining than the relative easy of siting the location of a wind generator or photovoltaic array as close to the load destinations as possible.

Micro Hydro Construction Assuming you’ve made it this far, and done your homework on flow, head, etc., dealt with all the regulatory, bureaucratic, legal, and other considerations above and still are interested, now you can design your micro hydro system.

Unlike some solar or wind powered installations that can be a bit more turnkey or even approaching appliance-like status, thanks to advances in technology over the past few decades, micro hydro systems tend to be more custom with unique elements and individual considerations for each site. The path that water follows when flowing through a micro hydro system is sometimes called ‘civil works’ and there’s often a bit of civil engineering, hydrology and fluid dynamics involved; fortunately, micro hydroelectric systems have matured to where system design is fairly straightforward. It’s still a good idea to hire an expert or at least get someone knowledgeable with micro hydro experience to review your detailed plans before you begin or spend any significant amount on the project.

In general, there are many common components, starting with the intake point where water is diverted, sometimes a canal leading to a forebay, a penstock (closed piping within which pressure builds for subsequent turbine use), the turbine (including the generator) wiring and other electrical components (which may include batteries and other regulation) that interface the generator with intended loads, and finally a tailrace channel that returns water that emerges from the turbine back into the stream or river. We’ll look at each of these components and consider selection and design factors for each. This page has a diagram showing typical components.

Water Diversion and Intake Filtering Water used by the micro hydro turbine is diverted at the intake point. All systems should have some mechanism to exclude silt (e.g. a settlement basin and some type of filtering), both floating and submerged debris, fish and other aquatic life, ice and anything else that could impede the flow or clog the system. A progressive filtration approach with larger bars or screens that leads to finer filters may be helpful. The intake components often have some sort of mechanical valve or gate to shut off the supply for maintenance and inspection. Here’s an article that describes a variety of intake systems with typical price ranges. Some systems benefit from a canal and forebay to divert an adequate portion of the flow to minimize turbulence and ensure steady pressure to the penstock, which is the next point in the water’s travel. These canals and forebays can be made with concrete, asphalt, gunite/shotcrete or similar materials.

Penstock Considerations The enclosed piping that carries water to the turbine is called a penstock. If the distance between the intake or forebay and the turbine is long and/or convoluted, the cost of the penstock can become a major cost factor. For longer runs, larger diameter pipe may be needed to avoid losing much of the initial water pressure to pipe friction. Each bend in the piping also introduces additional losses due to turbulence of the water inside the pipe fitting; obviously a perfectly straight penstock run isn’t usually practical, but care should be made to approach this ideal, minimize unnecessary bends and keep internal pipe surfaces smooth to optimize flow. A seasoned micro hydro installer can assist with pipe sizing and layout. Here’s a formula and online calculator (using the Hazen-Williams Equation) for estimating friction head loss in water pipes. Also, since materials used in penstock piping expand and contract with temperature swings, make sure to factor this into your design.ÊTo be thorough in your penstock design, this article covers many other important details, as well as pipe sizing guidelines.

Turbine Selection The choice of turbine (and a generator carefully matched that optimizes mechanical to electrical power transfer efficiency, as well as transmission line considerations) depends greatly on the amount of head and flow. Since this usually requires site-specific design, we’ll just cover some of the primary types here and where they are generally used. Most turbines also have a valve (or valves) that can slowly and safely be engaged (since there’s often tremendous pressure at the bottom of the penstock) for turbine and generator maintenance.

Pelton wheel turbines have a ring of small buckets arranged around a wheel, each one catching the flow of one (or several) jets of water. In some systems with seasonal pressure variations, the number of active jets can be changed to optimize efficiency and performance. Pelton turbines work well with lower flows as long as there is sufficient head pressure. If you’re familiar with electrical circuitry, this would be analogous to higher voltage, lower current systems (although we’re talking about a water pressure and current here).

Francis turbines– with their spiral casing being fed by the penstock – direct water through vanes attached to a rotor, and benefit from both radial and axial flow. This type of turbine is better suited to higher flow, lower head situations.

Cross-flow turbines also known as Banki-Michell, or Ossberger turbines, use a series of fixed, curved blades mounted between the perimeters of two disks, forming a cylinder. Water flows into one side of the cylinder and out the other side, which drives the blades. Cross-flow turbines are optimal for even lower heads and larger flows. Their simpler, self-cleaning design, and hence lower manufacturing and operating cost, can be helpful.

Propeller turbines, of which the Kaplan turbine is an example, are also optimal for very low heads with big flows. Blades can be either fixed (like a boat’s propeller), or adjustable, as in the Kaplan turbine, which optimizes efficiency with varying flows. There are other types of turbines and variations, and numerous vendors. Regardless of the type of turbine being considered, always consult with the vendor and/or an experienced micro hydro installer to make sure the components match both the hydraulic and electrical characteristics of your system. As an example of typical power output for a variety of head and flow values, here’s a chart for one vendor’s turbine (Harris Hydro Pelton Wheel).

Tailrace Before jumping from hydraulic power to electrical power, let’s follow the water’s return from the turbine back to the stream, usually called a tailrace. Since we don’t care about maintaining pressure at this point, now that the water has done the work we wanted it to do, it can flow back to the stream or river of origin through any convenient and appropriate mechanism. Often a tailrace consists of an open, lined canal, channel or flume to minimize the cost of piping. The effects of erosion, debris and freezing temperatures should be factored in to ensure that this end-of-the-route part of the system remains as low-maintenance as the other components.

Generators Generators can be either Direct Current (DC) which generally power an inverter, or Alternating Current (AC) which typically have lower transmission losses for longer runs, and can also be part of on-grid (synchronous) as well as off-grid systems. In most cases, generators are paired with specific turbines to maximize efficiency, cost-effectiveness, safety and other considerations. Your installer or RE consultant can advise which turbine/generator pairings will optimize your particular setup.

Wiring Just as water pressure decreases due to smaller pipe diameter constriction, electrical pressure (voltage) also decreases as wire diameters go down. For similar reasons, wire gauge should be sized and optimized to match the needed run between the turbine and load(s) and/or inverter(s) and/or batteries. Low gauge (higher diameter) wire gets more expensive quickly, so longer runs benefit from higher voltages, but then safety and regulatory issues come into play (particularly with DC voltages above 48 Volts). (As an aside, cross-country utility power transmission lines use extremely high voltages to minimize power losses, since power losses are proportional to (I^2)*R [current squared times resistance], so sending power long distances at high voltages and low currents decreases the power loss that goes up exponentially as the current goes up.) Here’s an American Wire Gauge (AWG) chart to help with wire sizing and another to choose appropriate wire size for any renewable energy project (not just micro hydro).

Electrical Components There are numerous variations in electrical system architecture for micro hydro sites, just as the hydraulic components vary widely. Four main classifications include the permutations of systems with and without batteries, and with and without grid connection. For this reason, it’s best to work with the intended load(s) and variations on a case-by-case basis. A micro hydro professional (augmented with other online and offline resources) can be of tremendous help here. That being said, a few generalizations can be made. As suggested above, systems with steady, consistent year-round flow can often minimize or even eliminate storage (e.g. battery) and/or backup (e.g. generator or wind/solar complementary sources). The most reliable systems will have some sort of battery storage, charge controllers, and unless a home or shop or outbuilding is designed for Direct Current (DC) wiring, lighting and appliances, an inverter. Here are numerous professional Renewable Energy (RE) consultants as well as online resources.

Other Micro Hydro Advantages and Uses Along with the obvious benefits of self-reliance and energy independence that micro hydro systems provide, don’t forget to explore any tax credits or incentives for local, state or federal renewable / sustainable power! These vary over time and vary with the specific technology, but when in effect, can sometimes defray a significant portion of an alternative/remote power system. While this article addresses primarily water power converted to electrical power, let’s not forget the historical precedent that goes back many more centuries; water to mechanical power. Here’s an example of a commercial water-powered grain mill in southern Oregon which is a fun and educational stop if you happen to be nearby.

Additional References Wikipedia article on Micro Hydro Home Power Magazine (a wealth of useful info on all aspects of Renewable Energy) Energy Planet on Micro Hydro PesWiki: River Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Micro Hydro Neweras Develop. Limited: Micro Hydro  

Vendor Contact Info Here are a few micro hydro manufacturers; there are many more online. Home Power Magazine: Micro Hydro Equipment and Products Energy Source Guides: US Micro Hydro Turbines MicroHydroPower.net: Manufacturers Directory  

About The Author: L.K.O. is SurvivalBlog’s Central Rockies Regional Editor

The Leftist Lexicon: Translating Statist Rhetoric Into Plain English, by Ray X.

Statists use cleverly constructed language for obfuscation and to further their unconstitutional Big Government agenda. Statists rarely say what they mean or mean what they say.

Ray X., a SurvivalBlog reader in Wyoming provides us the following dictionary that describes what the statists really mean:

Access: Our people put on TV or put in positions of authority, via our access to your wallet.

Activists: Rabble without jobs but with access to TV cameras.

Affirmative Action: Giving hiring preference to those with lower test scores, for countless generations.

Advocacy/Advocate: Advocating our agenda. All others are not Advocates. They are, Radicals, Haters and Tea Baggers.

Agenda, The. The word that shall never be spoken, unless in the context of The Right Wing Agenda. Instead use: Fairness, Change, Hope, New Direction, Social Progress, et cetera.

Agreement (Reaching): Forcing an agenda on unwilling Citizens, via the courts, regulation, legislation, bureaucratic decree, or character assassination through the mass media.

Allocate/Allocation: To extort by coercion, force, or threat of force, under color of law.

Alternative Lifestyle: Guys who do perverse things with other guys, little boys, or goats.

Alternative Media: Leftist guys who couldn’t get a job as a newspaper reporter.

Alternative Sentencing: Forcing felons to stay at home under house arrest or give lectures or teach classes about the dangers of criminal behavior instead doing hard time.

Amnesty: Giving citizenship to someone who stole their way into the country and promises to vote Democrat.

Assault Weapon: Any firearm that Dianne Feinstein thinks looks scary, regardless of how it operates.

Assistance: See: Redistribution of Wealth.

Balance/Balanced Media: The scales tipped solidly in the direction of our agenda.

Bias: Any view held by a conservative. (A label we never apply to ourselves or to our Fellow Travelers.)

Big Oil/Big Pharma/Big Tobacco: Any company, regardless of size, with a politically conservative board of directors.

Bipartisan: Making conservatives cave in, repeatedly.

Birther: Epithet hurled at anyone who dares to challenge the place of birth of Barack Obama.

Bitter Clingers: Civilians who refuse to be disarmed.

Budget Cut: Any reduction in the rate of increase of a budget. See Also: Deep Cut.

Budget Imbalance: Spending far too much money of Free Stuff to maintain our large voting bloc.

Cap and Trade: Obsolete term. Use “clean energy” or “market-based”, instead.

Carbon Credit: Paying people overseas to not produce things, so that our companies can, with permission, under close supervision, and with fines for any company that produces too much.

Censorship: Refusing to allow taxpayer funds to be used to push our agenda.

Change: Fabian Socialism or Marxism, depending on the speed of the change.

Child Development: Molding young people into compliant sheeple. Requires lots of Programs.

Choice: Choosing to murder a baby, at taxpayer expense.

Civil Union: Two sodomites who want to pretend they are normal, and want to be given health benefits to cover the cost of their expensive HIV medications.

Clean Energy: Energy created by Programs and the lavish infusion of taxpayer dollars, regardless of the cost per kilowatt hour.

Coalition: A group of groups that excludes the participation and opinions of conservative or libertarian groups.

Codeword: The term we use to demonize anyone who stands for less government, individual responsibility, and

Common Sense: Our agenda, on our terms, and on our timetable.

Common Sense Gun Laws: Civilian disarmament.

Community Leader: A leftist who has learned how to work the system.

Compassion: Wealth redistribution.

Compound: Any house outside of city limits that is owned by either a Kennedy or a Survivalist.

Concerned Citizens: People who agree with our agenda. All others are Radical Right Wingers.

Contributions: Coerced payments. See: Revenue, Taxes

Compromise: Forcing you to agree with the statist agenda.

Consensus: Using Focus Groups and other tools to drag everyone into agreement with our agenda.

Conservative: Anyone who drags their feet or who speaks out against the statist agenda. See also: Ultraconservative.

Constituency: The deluded fools that keep voting us into office, again and again.

Contribution: A tax or fee.

Create jobs: Create new agencies and programs. If any actual jobs are thence created then they must only be government jobs or union jobs.

Crisis: Any event, however small, that is an excuse for more government.

Cultural Literacy: New curriculum designed to encourage Alternative Lifestyles, Diversity, Sensitivity, Fairness, et cetera Never include any mention of the Bible or The Constitution of the United States, which were creations of Dead White Males.

Deadlock (Legislative): Failure to move quickly enough in advancing our Agenda.

Dead White Male: The originators of all human suffering who we must denigrate at every opportunity

Debt (public): Money that we spent that we didn’t have, but which doesn’t matter, because we can always print more.

Debt Ceiling: The convenient fiction that there is a limit to what we can spend on Programs. Revised annual or semiannually, as needed, following false protestations and then Compromise.

Deep Cut: A decrease in the rate of increase of a budget by more than 10%.

Deeply concerned: I have no intention of changing anything.

Deep Pockets: The ultimate source of Revenue.

Deficit: Money that we overspent and haven’t yet taxed or created out of thin air.

Democracy: Socialist tyranny, via incrementalism.

Democrat: The political party that is pushing statism, in a hurry. (See also: Republican.)

Deserving: Daytime TV-watching and EBT card-using.

Dialog: A mono-directional lecture from the Ivory Tower to the plebeian masses. They are then told that they “have a voice.”

Dictator: Any national leader who doesn’t agree with our agenda. Anyone who does is a Leader.

Disadvantaged: Multigenerationally accustomed to sucking from the welfare teat.

Disparity: Some who makes less money than you, but who wants Free Stuff.

Diversity: Let’s force people to stop saying “no” to sodomy, bestiality, and pedophilia.

Divisive/Divisiveness: Anyone who disagrees with our agenda.

Eco-Friendly Lighting: Chinese-made Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs

Economic Justice: Marxism.

Enhancement: Getting things to go more our way.

Election: An advance sale on stolen goods.

Empowered/Empowerment: Getting more Free Stuff at taxpayer expense, and face time on TV.

Elite: Anyone with a Wikipedia biography page but who does not agree with us.

Enable: Handing out taxpayer money.

Entitled: See: Deserving.

Equal Access to Opportunity: Jobs based on quotas rather than merit.

Equality: Inequality enforced regardless of facts or logic. Also: Paying everyone the same regardless of whether or not they choose to work. Bonus definition: Fining anyone for being above average.

Estimated Tax: Self-employed people writing huge quarterly checks for their own enslavement.

Excess Profits: The profits of any company that doesn’t buy in to the statist agenda.

Extremist: Anyone who dares to speak up for their God-given rights.

Fairness: Giving Free Stuff to people who did not work for it, at the expense of people who did.

Fairness Doctrine: Always giving the statist agenda prominence, and making conservatives pay for the air time to do so.

Fair Share/Fair Shot: Taxing some people at a higher rate than others.

Fee/Fine/Assessment/Levy/License: A tax by any other name.

First Amendment: Freedom from any mention of Christianity in schools. (But not Wicca or Islam, which should be part of the new school curriculum.)

Fiscal Conservative: A socially liberal politician, regardless of their voting record. (All Democrats are automatically “Fiscal Conservatives.”)

Flash Mob: “Youths” who have learned how to use their Obama Phones to get Free Stuff without even signing up for a Program.

Focus Group: Putting people in a room, reaching the lowest common denominator, and then labeling it Consensus.

Freedom: The freedom to do only what we tell you what you can do.

Free Thinker: People in our constituency who have a hostility to faith in God.

Free Stuff: Stuff we don’t have to pay for. You pay for all of it, but just don’t realize it.

Freedom Fighter: Anyone in a conflict overseas who agrees with our agenda. In contrast anyone who does not agree is a Colonialist, Imperialist, a Terrorist or an Evil Oppressor.

Free Press: Our lackeys who are fully or partially complicit with our agenda.

Fully-Funded: A Program that has reached multiple teats.

Funding: See: Taxes.

Global: A policy that matches the Agenda of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Global Warming: : Obsolete term. Use “climate change” instead. (You know, just incase of a Little Ice Age.)

Good Government: More government, with incremental degradation of liberty. In the long term, total government.

Gun Buy-Back: Paying 10 cents on the dollar for something that we never owned, and then destroying it at taxpayer expense.

Gun Control: People control, dissent control, and civilian disarmament.

The Gun Lobby: Gun owning Citizens.

Gun Show Loophole: Two guys in the same state, privately transacting the sale of a used gun, like they’ve always done.

Harmony: The lack of resistance to our Agenda

Hater: Anyone who loves individual freedom and who stands up for God’s Moral Law

Hate Speech: Saying something critical of our agenda. standing up for morality, or otherwise speaking the truth.

Helping Hand: The hand that helps dollars out of your wallet and into government coffers, and then helps a portion of those dollars into the wallets of layabouts.

High Capacity Magazine: Standard capacity magazine. (We deceptively called any magazine over 10 rounds “high capacity” when in fact the standard military issue has been 30 rounds or even 40 rounds since the early 1970s. Thus, we want to force the plebes to own only reduced capacity magazines.)

Homeless: Bums.

Homophobia: Term of derision for failure to enthusiastically subscribe to the homosexual agenda.

Human Rights: The Right to free health care, the right to a Living Wage, et cetera. To pay for providing all of these “rights” necessitates a large and intrusive government, and taxing your income, to operate it. (Note that “Human Rights” do not include the right to keep and near arms, the right to home school your children, the right to work without joking a union, the right to travel without being searched, et cetera. Those are rather privileges, which must be closely regulated. )

Inclusion/Inclusive/Inclusiveness: Including people with every wacky idea imaginable into our power base, to form a larger voting bloc

Inflation: Obsolete term. Instead use: Monetary Policy.

Injustice: Anyone who has not yet benefited from Wealth Redistribution.

Inflation: Stealing your money incrementally, so that you don’t notice it.

Integrity: Willingness to buy in to our Agenda.

Invest in: Fund with tax dollars, lavishly and interminably.

Investment/Invest in the Future: A new tax.

It takes a village: Obsolete term. Use “Governance” instead.

Judgmental: Anyone with moral values and discernment.

Justice: Just Us.

Labor Organizer: A leftist who quit his job to push The Agenda, and now lives off the “dues” or other forced contributions of guys who still work for a living.

Labor Union: An organization that two or three generations ago fought for fair working conditions but now exists only to perpetuate itself and to push The Agenda.

Less fortunate: Layabouts and moochers.

LGBT: An initialism that secretly stands for Liberal Goat-Loving Blasphemous Terrorists.

Liberal: An obsolete and soiled term. Do Not Use. Instead substitute “Progressive” in all cases.

License: Permission to do what would otherwise be illegal under our make-believe laws, granted only after coerced payment of a fee.

Living Wage: Enough money, whether it is earned or not, to have air conditioning and a big screen TV.

Long Term Obligation: Money that is mathematically impossible to repay unless we inflate away the value of the currency by more than 90%.

Lower Income Workers: People who don’t work but who are given a middle class income, at taxpayer expense.

Marginalized: Someone who has not yet (in their opinion) received enough Free Stuff.

Marxist: A statist who has foolishly tipped his hand.

Mean-Spirited: People who want to keep what they earn.

Mechanism: Our latest scheme. See also: Program.

Metrosexual: An ostensibly straight guy who thinks his neighbor’s perversion is okay.

Militia Movement: Two or more Citizens who have similar gripes and who each own a gun.

Minority-owned business: A business that is foolishly started in an economically depressed ghetto. This term does not apply to Asians or to any successful businesses owned by minorities if they are in wealthy suburbs. Hence, Famous Amos Cookies is not a “Minority-owned business.” See also: Uncle Tom.

Misunderstood: Insane, Idiotic, or Perverted.

Moderate: Left wing.

Money: The stuff that was once minted with silver and gold, but is now created out of thin air.

Move forward: Move to the left, create a Program, and subsidize with tax dollars.

Monopoly: Any company with market capitalization greater than $200 million USD, regardless of their market share.

Multicultural: High crime.

Narrative: What we call the history that we don’t like and would prefer didn’t really exist.

Nation Building: Sending American taxpayer dollars to prop up Third World dictatorships.

Nazi: A derisive term formerly reserved for members of the National Socialist Party in Germany, but now used as smear for anyone who opposes Socialism.

Neocon: A derisive term that we apply to anyone not in the Hard Left Camp, regardless of where they are on political spectrum, or when they got there. No longer has anything to do with George McGovern and the politics of 1972.

Nonviable Tissue Mass: An unborn baby.

Obamacare: Socialist imposition of medicine paid by a few taxpayers but provided to all, and brought to the lowest common denominator. Wait in line over there.

Obama Phone: More Free Stuff, for loafers. This device has the side benefit of alerting other loafers about where to line up or sign up for more free stuff.

Obstacles: Anything that stands between our constituents and the Free Stuff.

Occupy ___________(Location). Organize smelly layabouts to camp out, beat on drums, and demand The Agenda and more Free Stuff.

Offshoring: Sending factory jobs overseas, so that the then-unemployed will vote Democrat–because their party claims to stands for unions, job protection, and long term unemployment benefits.

Open-Minded: Those who embrace sin without any reservations.

Oppressor(s): Taxpayers who speak out against the statist agenda.

Opportunity: See Revenue and Wealth Redistribution.

Our: Your. (e.g.: Our Resources, Our Taxes, Our Cities, Our Nation, etc.)

Our Troops (Supporting): Formerly our sons, now Their Troops, used to collect revenue and assure a steady flow of overseas oil.

Outcome: Getting things our way.

Palestinian: Mostly Arab Muslims who got kicked out of North Africa or Saudi Arabia and then settled in Israel to get ahead economically when they saw Jews were prospering there. We pretend that they’ve lived there since Biblical Times. Does not apply to Jews with multigenerational roots in Palestine.

Patriot Movement: Anyone who dares to speak out against statism.

Patriarchy: A label used by those who make believe that it wasn’t only men who founded and led Western Society and who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Payroll deduction: Stealing your money incrementally, so that you don’t notice it.

People of Color: People of a dark skin tone who promise to vote Democrat. (Does not apply to any gainfully employed Asians or to anyone with dark skin who is a registered Republican. See: Uncle Tom.)

Privileged, The: Anyone who make more than $100,000 per year unless he a is liberal.

Poor, The: Anyone who doesn’t want to work, but promises to vote Democrat.

Privileged: Anyone who works for a living. (See also: Oppressor and The Rich.)

Pro-Choice: Insisting on taxpayer-funded abortion.

Program: Waste of money, our latest scheme.

Progressive: Marxist, collectivist, or otherwise regressive to personal freedom.

Property tax: Paying rent to someone who doesn’t own your land.

Provide: To take from one (by coercion) and to provide as “Free Stuff” to another.

Public Education: Systematic indoctrination into the statist mindset.

Public Housing: Taxpayer-paid housing for layabouts.The buildings are destroyed through neglect and abuse and then torn down and replaced at great expense roughly every 30 years.

Public-Private Partnership: Fascism.

Quantitative Easing: Creating Dollars out of thin air to prop up the Bond market and to dilute the value of all other Dollars already in circulation.

Racist: Anyone who opposes the statist agenda, regardless of their thoughts on race or ethnicity.

Radical Right/Radical Right Wingers: Anyone who dares to speak out against statism or refuses to be disarmed.

Reasonable Restriction: Degradation of a pre-existing right.

Redistribution of Wealth: Theft for the purpose of implementing Marxist Leninism. This is an obsolete and maligned term. Instead use: Empower, Give Respect, or Allocate.

Religious Freedom: The freedom to tout any religion and inject it into public school curriculum, except Christianity.

Representative: The elected officials who formerly represented the people, but who now represent an agenda.

Reproductive Health: Murdering unborn babies.

Reparations: Payment for a crime committed seven generations ago, even if your family never owned slaves and opposed slavery, or if your kin has only been in America for three generations.

Republican: The political party that is pushing statism, but in less of a hurry. (See also: Democrat.)

Respect: Paying Tribute.

Revenue: Theft, by any means possible.

The Rich: Anyone who works hard and saves part of what they earn. (See also: Hater, Privileged and Oppressor.)

Rights: Our constituents’ rights to Free Stuff.

Right Wing/Right Winger: Anyone more conservative than Chairman Mao.

Safety: More government. (Such as: Airline Safety, Gun Safety, Highway Safety, etc.)

Say No To Drugs: Say Yes To Some Legalized Drugs.

Sell Out: See Uncle Tom.

Second Amendment: An obsolete part of the Constitution that protects the National Guard’s right to keep weapons.

Senate: The elected body that once represented the states, but who now represent an agenda.

Separation of church and state: Exclusion of Christianity from schools. (But not Islam, because it is trendy.)

Share The Wealth: See: Redistribution of Wealth

Situational Ethics: Abandoning ethical and moral values.

Sliding Scale: Charging higher fees to the people who work hard, and less for people who don’t work at all.

Sniper Rifle: Scoped deer rifle.

Social Contract: Big government, more government, higher taxes.

Socialism: Obsolete, soiled term. Do not use. Use “Fairness:, “Empowerment”, ,or “Investment” instead.

Social Justice: Wealth redistribution.

Social Responsibility: Abandoning personal responsibility and signing up for the Free Stuff.

Social Security: The promise to pay people money that doesn’t exist, in perpetuity.

Social Security Trust Fund: A nonexistent pool of money that has been promised in perpetuity.

Sovereign Citizens: Those whackos who dare to believe that they have rights that cannot be violated.

Special Interest Groups: Conservative companies that dare speak up, or contribute to political campaigns. (Does not apply to liberals who do the same thing.)

Special Needs: Kids that we want to give special or individualized instruction that we aren’t willing to pay for.

Sporting Firearms: The humble-looking guns that we haven’t tried to ban yet.

Stakeholder: Anyone who wants More Free Stuff.

Statistical Anomaly: How we dismiss any statistics that are embarrassing.

Stimulus: Handing out money that was either taxed or created out of thin air.

Streets, The: More accurately: Your house or Your bedroom closet. (As in: “Get guns off the streets.”)

Survivalist: Anyone we dislike who lives outside of city limits, or who had “survival” training (such as that given to all Boy Scouts.)

Sustainable: A Government Program or industry propped up by the Government that can be sustained, ad infinitum, only with taxpayer funds.

Talking Point(s): Our agenda, cozily wrapped up in soothing terms, delivered to our friends in the media, for delivery to the sheeple.

Taxes: Money, coerced under threat of force and under color of law, that we we take from The Privileged to implement our agenda.

Tax Loophole: Any legal way to avoid being robbed too badly, as used by literate people (i.e. those who can read Tax Code.)

Tax Refund: Giving you back part of what we incrementally stole from you, and making you feel joyful for getting it.

Tea Bagger: Anyone who dares to speak out against the agenda. See also: Hater, Oppressor, The Rich.

Tenth Amendment:An obsolete part of the Constitution that was never intended to prevent the preeminence of the Federal Government and its Programs.

Tolerance: Toleration of our agenda. (Tolerating anything else is intolerable Hate Speech.) A key goal of Tolerance is silencing anyone who disagrees with out Agenda. That is not tolerated.

Too Big To Fail: Too Cozy to Prosecute.

Treasury Department Officials: Former stock brokers, who now “regulate” other stock brokers.

Ultraconservative: Any conservative who finds a media platform.

Unfair: People who work harder earning more than those who don’t.

Urban: High crime area.

Uncle Tom: People of a darker skin tone who don’t unquestioningly adhere to the statist agenda.

Underprivileged: Anyone who votes for a living rather than works for a living.

Undocumented Immigrant: Illegal Alien, future registered Democrat.

Union Shop: An employer that in the name “freedom of association” refuses to hire anyone who doesn’t want to associate with their union.

Universal Background Checks: Universal Gun Registration. (And leading to Universal Gun Confiscation.)

Victim(s): Poor, inner-city People of Color who are seen as suffering any offense, either real or imagined. This term does not apply to rich White or Asian people, even when they are killed or when their livelihoods are wiped out.

War on Terror/Drugs/Poverty/Ex Cetera. Excuse for bigger government.

Weapons Cache: A gun collection consisting of more than three guns.

Welfare: Robbing Peter to Pay Paul a Living Wage, whether he wants to work, or not.

We Owe it to Ourselves: You owe it to us, or we’ll throw you in prison for tax evasion.

White Guilt: A time travel metaphor for people in the present somehow causing the wrongs of their Great-great-great-grandfathers, or for people of the same era who were no kin to them whatsoever.

White Hispanics: People with Spanish surnames, regardless of skin tone, who make more than $100,000 per year. (See also: Oppressor.)

White Male. The Devil. Unless he is a registered Democrat, but even then, he still must have White Guilt and support Affirmative Action and Reparations, as penance.

White Male Value System: Antiquated adherence to hard work, property rights, morality, etc. See also Bitter Clingers.

Windfall profits: Any profits, if earned by the wrong company.

Win the future: Create more Programs

Workers: The children or grandchildren of people who once worked, but who now watch TV and collect Free Stuff.

Working Poor: People who haven’t yet received enough Free Stuff or reached the status of Community Leader.

Voluntary: Mandatory, under threat of force and under color of law.

You didn’t build that: You DID build that, but we’d like to tax most of it away from you, and give it to someone who lives in Public Housing and uses his EBT card to party at strip clubs.

Youths: Gang members.

Zero Tolerance: Not allowing anything we don’t like (e.g.: Smoking, 32-ounce sodas, Hate Speech, etc.)

Note: Permission to reprint or re-post this copyrighted piece by any method (printed or electronically) is granted as a long as it is not altered in any way and attributed to SurvivalBlog.com, with a link.

Pat’s Product Review: The Inner City Survival Pencil

On a daily basis I hear from many SurvivalBlog readers with a variety of questions. Most of these have to do with wilderness survival, or weapons for hard-core survival. Rarely do I hear from folks who think in terms on city survival. Seeing as how a large portion of the population live in urban areas, I’m always stumped, that the readers, don’t have a lot of questions about urban survival. Many readers that I hear from live in big cities, and they always have questions about bugging-out to the wilderness. Hmmm!!!!
 
I was born and raised in Chicago, one of our biggest cities in the USA, and I happen to know a thing or two about urban survival, in many forms. To be sure, I never went looking for trouble, but it always seemed to find me – ever since I was a little tyke. I guess maybe that’s why I got into the martial arts when I was only about 15 or 16 years old – I wanted a way to defend myself with just my hands and feet. To be sure, the martial arts can aid you in urban survival, or survival on the battlefield, if you are willing to be a serious student and understand that it takes years to master any style of martial art.
 
Unfortunately, many big cities, also have the most restrictions on what you can use to defend yourself with on the mean streets. Many places won’t allow you to carry a firearm – California, is one place that comes to mind. Additionally, many large cities have some tough laws regarding the carry of knives – some have blade restrictions, as to how long of a blade your pocket knife can have. Many have outlawed automatic folders – switch blades, if you will – falsely believing they are some how deadlier than some other type of folding knife. To be sure, I can draw and open most folding knives with the flick of my wrist, much faster than someone can draw and find the button on an automatic folder to get it opened – go figure? In my home state of Oregon, automatic knives are legal to carry, so long as they aren’t “concealed” and therein lies some confusion as to how you can carry an automatic folder. So long as any part of the knife is showing – as with a pocket clip, with the knife in your pants pocket the knife isn’t concealed. However, you can also carry an automatic on your belt, in a belt sheath, and it isn’t considered concealed – confusing to say the least. And, they are many police officers in Oregon, who mistakenly believe automatic folding knives are flat out illegal to own and use.
 
I heard about the Inner City Survival Pencil, that is available from US Tactical Supply.
and I have featured some of their other products on SurvivalBlog, and I’ve heard from many readers, how happy they are with the products and the customer service, too. I’ve personally been dealing with US Tactical Supply for some time now, and know they carry the best of the best in their product line-up, and their customer service is one of the best in the business in my humble opinion.
 
So, what do we have with the Inner City Survival Pencil? Well, first of all, it actually isn’t a pencil, it only looks like one. It looks for the all the world like a drafting pencil – a high-quality one, at that. The Inner City Survival Pencil looks just like any other regular pen or pencil when it is clipped to your shirt pocket or pants pocket. However, what we have is a spring-loaded steel rod that has a very sharp point on the end – the business end! The pointed rod comes out of the pencil with the push of a button – on the end of the pencil, and it comes out of the pencil with authority, too. It locks firmly in place, with no fear of the rod failing you when you need it most. The entire pencil is top-quality inside and out, and not to be confused with cheaply made imports from overseas.
 
The pointed rod is slightly over 4-inches long and appears to be made out of carbon steel, but don’t quote me on that. The rod locks inside of the pencil’s barrel until you need it and with a push of the button, it flies out and is locked in place by four claws. To retract the point, you simply push on the button and push the point against a hard surface to get it back into the barrel – please don’t try to push the rod in with your finger – it will penetrate your finger in short order.
 
I did some penetration tests with the Inner City Survival Pencil – no, you can’t place it against an object, push the button and the rod will penetrate into the object – that is not the idea behind this pencil…the spring isn’t strong enough to make the rod fly out hard enough to penetrate something, other than a piece of paper. The concept behind this device is that with the push of a button, the pointed and heat-treated rod, can open in an instant and be used as a last-ditch weapon. Now, needless to say, this wouldn’t be an ideal first-line of defense, however, it is better than an untrained fist to the eye. The rod never collapsed in any of my testing, and I stuck in into cardboard and wood. Now, it wouldn’t penetrate very far into wood, but I have no doubt whatsoever, that the rod would easily penetrate its complete length into clothing and flesh if you had to use it in a self-defense situation – no doubt at all!
 
Of course, there will be locations where the ill-informed local legislators will have outlawed something like the Inner City Survival Pencil, so check your local and state laws before purchasing this item. However, the good news is, this isn’t considered a knife, dirk or automatic knife any place that I’m aware of.
 
I would have given anything to have had the Inner City Survival Pencil when I was a kid in high school – having to transfer buses in a very bad neighborhood – more than once I was forced to defend myself against more than one attacker, and this “pencil” would sure have helped even the odds a bit. I can see this as a great item for the elderly and the handicapped, who are often targeted by lowlifes. It would also be great for women, and law enforcement officers – again, as a last-ditch back-up weapon. No one would give it a second glance if you had this in your shirt pocket – just don’t attempt to board a plane with this – you will go to jail!
 
So, what we have is a high-quality, very well made product, that looks like any other pen or pencil, that can be used in urban areas as a last-ditch weapon, to help even the odds in your favor, and we are talking about urban survival – something many people don’t think about – those in the big cities only think about bugging out to the wilderness – never once stopping to think that they are in the big city every day, and face any number of threats, where a simple item like the Inner City Survival Pencil can save their lives. Most folks think in terms or firearms and knives, and then don’t even carry them…when they can be carrying the Inner City Survival Pencil on the streets they walk every single day!
 
The Inner City Survival Pencil is only $34.95, and that is a great bargain, that can help insure your survival in the inner city. They would make a great gift to anyone in your family, of course, within legal age – you wouldn’t want to give this to your grade school children. However, if you have someone off to college, in the military or in law enforcement, this is a great gift, as well as a gift to yourself. Pick one up today, you’ll thank me! – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

JWR Adds: Reader Michael R. wrote to remind me that carrying a “writing pen knife” is a felony in California. In many counties in California it is almost impossible to be granted a CCW permit but oddly carrying a gun without a permit is a misdemeanor on the first offense in most cases. But carrying a dirk/dagger or stabbing pen is a felony on the first offense. See California Penal Code section 12020.

Letter Re: Storage Food At COSTCO Stores

Jim,
I just noticed while in COSTCO today that they have 6 gallon buckets of freeze dried food on offer. For $99, you get a one-month supply of 2100 calories a day, enough for one adult. I wonder how many people caught in the megastorm that hammered the East Coast recently had any food stored in, and how difficult it was for most folks to get provisions before the stores were stripped bare?  Just another reason to keep something one hand. For more variety, though, folks should really consider storing other stuff, as taught in your Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course. – S.J.

Letter Re: Diesel Fuel Storage and Dyed Diesel Issues

James,
I don‘t know how things are in your country, but in most parts of Europe we have heating oil extra light for household use. This is red in colour and virtually identical with standard diesel fuel. The only differences are the colour and the taxation, because this is always very much cheaper than the vehicle fuel. For obvious reasons it is forbidden to use this as a vehicle fuel, but it is theoretically possible.

Heating oil can be stored in large quantities without any special permits, which is not the case for vehicle fuels. Containers for it are readily available and may already be on the property. It will arouse no especial comment if you order it and store it.
It can be ordered in summer at a lower price usually.

Since it is a common consumable there is no difficulty about rotating stocks, especially if you have an oil-fired heating.
The standard central heating will not function without electricity for the pumps, but there are plenty of individual stoves that can burn heating oil extra light.

If the world goes pear-shaped, then nobody is going to be checking the fuel in diesel vehicles to see that it is the correct one.
Diesel powered vehicles are generally more robust and will last longer with little maintenance, in addition to using less fuel in most cases.

Diesel vehicles will generally operate on old and dirty fuel, although the modern electronic systems are now leading to motors that are more fussy. The old style mechanical injection pumps needed clean fuel, but otherwise would keep running.
The cooling oil used in large electrical power transformers can also be burnt in a diesel engine, especially in summer. Please only remove the coolant from a transformer if you know it will never be switched on again, you are not likely to be the flavour of the month if you drain the coolant from a transformer that is in use! – Simon F., Across The Pond

JWR Replies: Diesel fuel stores for 10+ years if an antimicobial such as PRI-D is added.

Here in the United States, red dye is also used to differentiate “Off Road Diesel.” This is to ensure that this untaxed fuel is not used in vehicles operating on highways. Depending on state law, dyed diesel is generally legal for use in farm tractors, off road vehicles, stationary engines, to burn in frost protection smudge pots, or for use as a substitute for home heating oil.

Most diesel engines work fine when burning dyed diesel or even home heating oil. (But neither is legal, when driving on highways.)

Be advised that some of the latest-generation Chevy and GM diesel engine vehicles have an optical sensor built into their fuel systems that can be stained and ruined by dyed fuel. I have read that they cost about $250 to replace!

Recipe of the Week:

Karen D.’s Tortilla Soup

Creamy Tortilla Soup

2 cans chicken
2 cans chicken broth
1 jar garlic salsa (we love Trader Joe’s)
8-16 oz. heavy cream
Shredded cheese
Tortilla chips

Put chicken in pan and smash with fork.  Add broth and salsa.  Heat until soup is hot and simmering.  Add your desired cream and heat.  Spoon soup into a bowl; add crushed chips and cheese.

Chef’s Notes:

This is a soup recipe the whole family loves.  It is quick and one that I can store many of the ingredients for.  Even the heavy cream I can substitute with canned milk, if needed.

Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books:

Quinoa Recipes For Weight Loss: Health and Weight Loss Recipes

35 Slow Cooker Pork Recipes: Pulled Tenderloin Meals to Quick and Easy Pork Chop Recipes for Your Crock Pot

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

More gloomage coming from a mainstream outlet: Is the Dollar Dying? Why US Currency Is in Danger

Gold & Silver Price Takedown February 15th: Noise vs Facts

A hard money investing blog worth reading: Deviant Investor

Items from The Economatrix:

Recovery Sign:  More People Quitting Their Jobs

Mortgage Mess Still Mires Housing Recovery

State of the Union Reaction:  Gun Sales Still Strong

Ron Paul on the State of the Union

Odds ‘n Sods:

Check out the interview with Buck Adams (a USMC vet) who is providing jobs and wholesome locally-grown food in the Denver Metro area, in a program called Veterans To Farmers.

   o o o

Mike H. sent us a caching lesson learned: Cave full of weapons discovered by California deputies.

   o o o

Coming soon to your neighborhood? This is How the DHS Seizes Your Guns. On a tangential note, Brandon Smith asks: Gun Rights: Are There Any Peaceful Solutions Left?

   o o o

Darra mentioned: DIY Cannned Good Storage

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Re-Evaluating Priorities: Food vs. Sleep, by Jared S.

I was reviewing some back issues of the Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, published by the Wilderness Medical Society, and came across an article that I realized may be of use to preppers.  The article deals with the effects of food deprivation vs. the effect of sleep deprivation, on cognitive ability, decision making, and risk taking behaviors.  Here I will attempt to summarize the relevant findings and examine how these realities might inform our choices in prepping and responding to emergency survival situations. 

We have all been taught the easy to remember device for setting priorities for survival, right? You can’t live more than 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.  While this list has been examined and tweaked over the years to suit the uses and particulars of various groups, it remains essentially a fair, if imprecise rubric of priorities.  Except the food.  Studies have shown what reality has long known: when things get tough, people do not starve to death; they are killed or injured as a result of poor decision making (often related to trying to obtain food).  From a strictly starvation stand point, it takes far more than 3 weeks to die, but the poor decisions you make, whether in a moment of hunger or a prolonged calorie deficit, are much deadlier much faster.

Hunger isn’t the only stressor facing the would be survivor (doesn’t matter what the disaster–could be TEOTWAWKI, could be a wildfire/hurricane/tornado/ice storm/train derailment/etc.).  Lack of sleep,  whether caused by a need to remain vigilant (security threats, long haul driving) or insomnia related to mental stress or environmental stimuli, is a very real and very common reality in the days and even weeks immediately following disasters.  Back when I was a wild land firefighter, the feds would not let a crew work more than 18 hours in a stretch, no matter what the fire was doing, because after so many hours of constant wakeful work, reaction time was dulled to the point of being legally drunk (so I was told).  A crew must be taken “off the clock” and given a safe place to sleep, even if that place was 3 feet back of the fire line they had just been working on.  Better to let a crew sleep and loose a few steps on the fire, than push a crew past the point of fatigue and have to deal with the inevitable costs and casualties that come with high risk work and dulled perception, reaction time, and impaired decision making.    

Even if zombie squirrels ate every last protein bar and bit of hardtack in your BOB, you will not die of starvation on your 3 day (or 3 week) journey to safe haven.  What is much more likely to get you into trouble is making bad choices.  In light of this fact, the authors of this study wanted to determine which had the greater negative impact on decision making and cognition in civilian survival situations, lack of food, or a lack of sleep.  To do this, they examined the effect of food deprivation for 18, 42, and 66 hours and of sleep deprivation for 26 and 50 hours on blood glucose levels, simple and choice reaction time, memory/recall, risk taking, and navigating a computerized maze. 

Results
The tests found that while food deprivation had the effect of increasing symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), these symptoms where increased even more when deprived of sleep.  Reaction time was slower for both groups (food deprivation and sleep deprivation) in both simple reaction time (how quick you can perceive a change and react) and in choice reaction, which forces a choice between three actions when prompted.  Sleep deprivation of 26 and 50 hours was found to have a more deleterious effect that either 18, 42, or 66 hours of food deprivation.  Memory and recall tasks were both negatively affected to nearly the same extend for both groups, with the exception of delayed recall, which suffered a much larger (almost 50%) decrease after 50 hours of sleep deprivation.  Visual/spatial learning was also negatively affected by both treatments, again with sleep deprivation causing a more dramatic worsening of ability to navigate a computer generated maze.  Finally risk taking behavior was affected very little by food or sleep deprivation, with the exception that 50 hours of sleep deprivation decreased subjects risk tolerance, and both food and sleep deprivation cause subjects to make risk taking decisions faster. 

Discussion:
So what does all this mean?  Essentially given the choice between expending energy to procure food or toward procuring sleep, we should prioritize the sleep.  This of course is easier said than done.  In fact the authors even acknowledged that even small amounts of food may make sleeping easier.  “Sleep hygiene”, as it is known among those who counsel people with insomnia, includes things like avoiding caffeine after noon, not watching TV while lying in bed, keeping a consistent pre-bedtime routine, having a quiet, dark, cool place to sleep, and going to bed at the same time each night.  Good luck finding any of those things in the hectic days immediately following a major disaster.  So what to do?  For starters, be aware of what environmental factors are affecting our mood and decision making process.  By being aware that perhaps it is not only the stupid knot on your tarp shelter you can’t untie in the freezing rain at night that is causing your disproportionately angry feelings, but also the lack of sleep, you can compartmentalize the things that you can control and the things that you can’t, fix or improve what can be fixed, and prioritize what is important in the long run (sleep!) over the task at hand (untying that knot).  Finally, it may be worth considering some supplements to your emergency sleep hygiene plan.

Pharmacology:
Chamomile has been used for centuries as an herb that calms and promotes sleep, and is available in tea form at the supermarket right now.  Melatonin is also available over the counter, and used on an occasional basis by many night shift ER nurses, among others.  Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is the most common histamine blocker used to treat allergies, but its’ number one side effect is drowsiness.  In fact, the exact same drug in the exact some dose (diphenhydramine 25mg) is sold as an over the counter sleep aid, often cheaper than the same drug in a different bottle sold as an allergy blocker!  A brief warning, there is a very small percentage of people who have an opposite reaction to Benadryl and get a stimulant effect from the drug.  My mother is one such, who refuses to take it because she’ll be up all night cleaning the house and unable to sleep.  Of course there are also prescription drugs available to promote sleep, and while their action is different than those listed above, they share the warning that they are NOT for long term use, as they can cause a dependency that makes is difficult to fall asleep without them.  But as a useful addition to a disaster medical kit, I would certainly give them strong consideration.  Among these, the benzodiazepines such as Ativan, Xanax, and Valium are common, useful, and powerful, and have the added benefit from a survival medicine chest perspective of being anti-seizure and anti-anxiety drugs.  The down side is that they are also commonly abused and are controlled substances, which makes it less likely that even a sympathetic doctor will prescribe them “just in case”.  You may have better luck with the non-benzo hypnotics such as Sonata, Lunesta, and Ambien, which have less potential for abuse and are meant for short term treatment of insomnia.  In any case, never mix these drugs with alcohol (even the over the counter drugs), use the lowest effective dose possible to avoid over sedation and grogginess the next morning, and use only after consultation with a doctor (Disclaimer: nothing in this article should be construed as specific medical advice).

This is not to discount the value of food, as negative effects with food deprivation on performance were noted in the study; it is just that they were not as dramatically negative as the effect of sleep deprivation.  This study also cites other, prior published works that illustrate the negative effects of combined food and sleep deprivation, which of course is a real possibility in a survival situation, This study however was attempting to discern the relative contribution of each to the noted reduction in capability.  The study also cites prior literature dealing with the effect of hypoglycemia on cognition and decision making, and found it to have a greatly deleterious effect.  Even though in this study sleep deprivation was found to increase hypoglycemia symptoms, this study intentionally excluded those with diabetes or other confounding health problems.  For that reason, food would certainly be a bigger priority for those with diabetes, hypoglycemia, or other metabolic conditions.  Finally, the study authors also acknowledged that even small amounts of food may improve endurance and be critically important to preventing hypothermia in cold conditions.  All of these are valuable considerations for preppers.  Better to know why we do the things we do, rather than blindly following by rote the prescriptions of a variety of experts. 

Through better understanding we can be better prepared for unanticipated circumstances.  In particular it is an easy temptation for the strong (well prepared) member of a group to shoulder a bit more of the burden, to take that longer shift on watch, to hike through the night, thinking after all that it is only a little sleep you are missing out on.  But bear in mind it is not just sleep and comfort you sacrifice, but rather it is your keen edge in decision making, reaction time, and spatial reasoning that you give up.  Knowing this, you may be better prepared to appropriately weigh all priorities should you ever be faced with such a situation.

For those with an interest in reading the entire article, it is available to the public in the WEM archive here.  In addition to this article there are a variety of others on all kinds of topics related to emergency, wilderness, remote, expedition, combat, and improvised medicine.  Be aware, the details of some of these articles may be difficult for those who don’t speak “medical”, but the abstracts are generally very comprehensible.   The Wilderness Medical Society also holds several conferences each year, with expert speakers in many disciplines of medicine and hands on workshops on subjects like improvised splinting, litters, and orthopedic care, avalanche awareness and rescue, snow shelters and hypothermia prevention and treatment, and many others.  While these conferences are geared for medical professionals, there is no reason interested lay-persons (preppers) can’t attend and learn alongside the pros. 

Finally, a very reasonable standard of medical training for peppers would be Wilderness First Responder, an approximately 80 hour program that goes much deeper into prevention, assessment, treatment, and ongoing management of the sick and injured with an emphasis on austere environments, limited resources, and improvisation.  Numerous schools with some excellent instructors include Wilderness Medicine Institute, Aerie, SOLO, WMA, and others.  A quick search online will locate a school near you.  Given that fracture/laceration/heart attack type “disasters” are much more common than EMP/hurricane/asteroid type disasters, the wide spread dissemination of a useful level of medical training makes all of us safer.