F.J. suggested this piece over at Lifehacker: Turn a Dead Chest Freezer Into a Miniature Root Cellar
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Emergency declared [in Dallas, Texas] as West Nile virus strikes US
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Scott M. sent this: Could I survive on nothing but potatoes and milk?
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Over at Guerillamerica: Five Reasons to Hate Alexander Hamilton
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“Until recent times, every child had a rifle of his own as soon as he was old enough to understand his father’s instructions. With it he hunted game and birds, killed snakes and protected himself against the dangers of rural life. When he was grown, he passed knowledge of the rifle down to his own son.
The rifle was honored in the home. It graced the mantel, the wall, or rested above the door. It was near at hand, clean, loaded, accurate as a fine watch, ready for service. The tradition of arms is an American tradition born of generations of self-reliance, self-sufficiency and independence – independence not in theory, but in fact; independence that rested upon individual shoulders of each member of society; independence bought of self-denial, sacrifice, and personal courage. It was not permissive. It was not necessary to ask if it were legal, or all right, or moral; this was an independence that rose out of the man himself and was of himself alone.
Such was the tradition of a free society. A society free to guard its own possessions and protect its own kith and kin; free to rush from humble dwellings to restore law and order, to exact justice, or to stop an invader of the homeland. In this, the rifle was the key. It was part of America; it was part of the man. It stood beside him. The rifle was a part of the saddle of the Western cowboy, and it is still there. The rifle was in the possession of every weary wagon in the long trains that plodded slowly across the plains and prairies. It was in the California gold fields and beside the thin blanket of the prospector as he slept on the icy ground. It was in the canoe, the longboat, the paddle-wheel steamer; it was on the rafts that drifted down America’s broad, muddy rivers. The rifle was known and loved by the Indian, who did not meet it soon enough. It was the tool of the buffalo hunter and the cook of the range camp, the rustler and the claim jumper and the highwayman.
The rifle was the symbol of life, and of death. It was a symbol of the law and the lawman, and it was often the judge and jury from whom there was no appeal. Other than the rope, the rifle was the most important single factor in American life for many generations. Together the rifle and rope stood for justice until towns and cities brought the compassion of the church and the court and the psychiatrist’s couch.
The rifle and rope kept men and cattle and horses and homes and wagons and industry and the nation together in a day when the enemy was sometimes behind the nearest tree – and the nearest neighbor was a day’s ride through virgin forests.
The rifle is still the steadfast friend of the American. He has not forgotten it. Its cold royalty courses through veins of men who have never touched its warm stock, or felt its reassuring slap against the shoulder. When these young hands – these hands that do not know the good and loyal friend – grasp it in introduction and feel its weight and see its efficient build and handsome profile, there will be a meeting of minds. These friends, they will recognize each other as Americans, old Americans, trustworthy Americans of great heritage.
Should there be another war, and should there be only two men left, it will be the rifle that decides who has conquered the world and who shall be able to retain it. And if there should be another war and the world is engulfed by forces that overwhelm men and reduce them to slavery, it will be the rifle that breaks their chains and restores human dignity. For the rifle is the force of the common man, as the bow and arrow were in earlier times, and the spear and the rock were in the beginning. It is the voice of the endangered, lonely man with his back against the wall and his whole future before him. With the rifle, Americans defeated the most powerful nation of the world and became free. With it, they will retain freedom.” – T. Grady Gallant, On Valor’s Side
Today is the birthday of Congressman Ron Paul. He was born August 20, 1935.
This is also the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Tenaru River, on Guadalcanal, August 20, 1942.
I learned to cook out of necessity – I was raised by my grandmother, and she was one of the worse cooks, ever! However, she managed to raise 9 children and myself, but her cooking ability was lacking. So when I was quite young I started experimenting in the kitchen and learned to cook on my own. Of course, over the years, I learned a lot from other folks along the way. And, being from Chicago, and being Sicilian, I learned to cook some great Sicilian style Italian meals. My pasta sauce is next to none. Now, with that said, I can’t bake for diddly! That’s my wife’s department. So, when I received the Family Grain Mill from Internet Prepper, I turned to my lovely wife for her assistance. She was raised on a ranch, and knows quite a bit about baking and cooking from scratch.
The Family Grain Mill can be had in different configurations – you can have a complete “system” with the right attachments. You can set-up your Family Grain Mill as a stand alone set-up, using the hand-crank for those times when the power is out. Or, you can use the optional stand alone electric motor attachment. If you have some other kitchen appliances, like the Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixers, you can attach your Family Grain Mill to those for faster wheat grinding with an adapter attachment. And, it’s very easy to alternate between using the hand-crank or the electric motor. What my wife really liked about the whole thing was that it was extremely quick and easy to set-up. She’s not mechanically minded, and doesn’t enjoy having to read through a long list of steps to put something together.
The quality of the Family Grain Mill is outstanding – made by Messerschmidt in Germany, for the past 27 years. This is top-notch in all respects. However, this mill isn’t nearly as expensive as some other mills on the market, in fact, it is quite a bit less expensive – and I enjoy saving a buck whenever I can, while still getting the best quality I can afford. These days, we all need to spend our hard-earned money wisely. Any more, if something isn’t a “deal” in my book – I’ll just pass on it. I’ve got to get the most and best I can afford. Made from premium Lexan and hardened surgical steel burrs, and BPA free, the mill is capable of a lifetime of dependable service.
Fast, light, and easy to use, this was important to my wife (and, “no” I still don’t know how to use it– I just watched my wife). A cup of fine flour is produced in approximately one minute from wheat grain, with the electric base installed and just two minutes with the hand-crank installed. More importantly, the hand-crank base turns easily, even a child can turn it. The large 5-cup open-top hopper allows for continuous grinding, too. Another feature the wife liked is that clean-up is fast and easy, and dust-free. Everything removes easily and quickly for cleaning. The Family Grain Mill is one of the quietest mills on the market, too.
Some of the things the Family Grain Mill is capable of grinding are: wheat, oats, corn (not popcorn), rye, spelt, barley, rice, most beans, coffee, flax seed, sesame seeds, dried herbs, dried peppers, dried peas and other foods. My wife ground coffee beans and lots and lots of wheat. This was a “difficult” test and evaluation period for me, for the past month and a half – hey, someone had to test and evaluate all the different types of freshly baked breads that my wife made – yeah, a “dirty” job, but I was up to the task. And, other than pizza cooking in the oven, there isn’t anything better smell in my kitchen, than fresh bread baking. I made a lot of “sacrifices” for Survival Blog readers, doing all these taste-testing, but I was up to the task. There is also a meat grinder attachment, and that would be great for grinding-up some venison during hunting season.
Oh yes, you can also get a variety of additional food processing drums for the Family Grain Mill, that will allow you to grind nuts and larger seeds such as pumpkins seeds, sunflower seeds, hard cheese and baby food. There is another drum for Julienne for soups, one for slicing for dehydrating veggies, one for grating, and yet one more drum for making mash potatoes, squash and pumpkins – great for souffles.
There is also a flaker attachment for the mill, that will roll and flake: oats, wheat, rye, spelt and flax seeds. You can make your own oatmeal at home or even cream of wheat. My wife experimented with quite a few different recipes and dishes, and came up with some very cool things for us to eat. One of my favorite breads she made was a wheat bread, almost flattened, with Jalepeno peppers cut-up small, inside the bread itself, and in the final few minutes of baking, she added sliced Jalepenos on top the bread with cheddar cheese – mouth-watering good!
Quite frankly, I never once gave any thought, to storing buckets of whole wheat – I just figured that we could use white flour – and we have hundreds of pounds of it stored-up, for making bread, pancakes and other things during hard times. However, to be sure, pre-ground white flour won’t last nearly as long as whole wheat will. On average, if whole wheat is properly stored, and the buckets left unopened, the whole wheat can last 25 years or longer. Try that with a bag of white flour – ain’t gonna happen. We found some great buys on whole hard white wheat and hard red winter wheat at the local Wal-Mart. We only rarely shop at Wal-Mart for a number of reasons, one is, we don’t especially enjoy supporting the Red Chinese economy in the least. We have found, that Wal-Mart is carrying a small section of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods in #10 cans, as well as 26 pound buckets of wheat – priced under $15 per bucket – and that’s a deal. Needless to say, we have a good number of buckets of wheat in our stores now – and as soon as the local Wal-Mart restocks their shelves with more wheat, we plan on buying more. However, for the most part, we prefer to take our business to other local stores, whenever possible – just a personal thing with us.
Now that we have the Family Grain Mill, I’m wondering, how we ever got along without it for all these years? Any more, in the local grocery stores, the cheapest white or wheat bread is $1.50 on-sale, and there really isn’t any nutrition in this bread, and for the most part, it is pretty tasteless. My wife hasn’t hardly made a dent in one bucket of whole wheat, and she has baked quite a few loaves of bread and other things. Now, if you could buy this same bread in the local grocery stores, it would easily cost you $5 per loaf. For less than $15 for a 26 pounds of whole wheat, we will make dozens and dozens of loaves of bread – fresh-baked bread, with nutritional value as well. For the little bit of time it takes to grind-up your wheat, and put it in a bread-maker, and let it bake, it’s hard to find any fault at all with the Family Grain Mill, and the ease to use it. Of course, during the times when there isn’t any electricity available, you can still bake bread a number of different ways, and you can still use your Family Grain Mill with the hand-crank attachment, to grind-up your wheat or other foods.
Notes from my wife: Finding a recipe for 100% whole wheat bread was difficult. Most recipes called for regular flour with just a small amount of whole wheat. This is a basic recipe she found that is light and easily adapted for variations; and can be kneaded by hand and baked in the oven or done in a breadmaker. It is for one loaf of 100% whole wheat bread.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp. powdered milk
2 Tbsp. margarine or oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast or l pkg.
Some optional variations to the recipe:
1. 1 1/2 cups water and powder milk can be replaced with all water, all milk, or a combination of milk and water.
2. 2 Tbsp. honey & 2 Tbsp. molasses (total 1/4 cup) can be replaced with all honey, 1/4 c. brown or white sugar, 1/4 c. maple syrup, or reduced to about half the amount of sweeteners for variations in tastes.
3. I also understand part of the whole wheat flour can be replaced with other flours like rye, bulgar, cracked wheat, etc.
She also found some tricks that make 100% whole wheat bread lighter.
1. Run the grain through the mill twice for a finer, lighter flour.
2. To minimize gluten with the same effect for light bread, shake whole wheat flour through a wire mesh strainer and even dump in the bran or coarser pieces that don’t sift through. It does NOT work if you sift through a crank sifter. (for whatever reason this works -I can’t explain. I tried it and got nice light bread.)
3. Knead bread for 20-30 minutes.
There are various options you can add to your Family Grain Mill. However, the basic mill starts at only $139.95 with free shipping – making it one of the least expensive grain mills on the market. However, I highly recommend adding some options to your grain mill. If you have any questions, contact the Internet Prepper, and they will be more than happy to help you in your decision making, or answer any questions you might have. They are selling a quality product, at a great price and the free-shipping only makes the deal that much better if you ask me.
If you’re serious about long-term survival, then you need to look at the Family Grain Mill, and start turning out some of the best home-made breads you’ll ever taste. Store bought breads just don’t cut it for us any longer.
Note: This article was co-authored by Mary Cascio
Rhodes: The Race for Africa
Copyright: 1996 St. Martin’s Press
ISBN 0-312-16982-5
(This book was the basis for a Masterpiece Theater mini-series.)
Cecil John Rhodes may be the most important man you never heard about if you were educated in the United States of America. His death in 1902 at the age of 48 was followed by the largest memorial every recorded on the continent of Africa. He expanded the British Empire more than any other man; adding almost 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers). His achievement was so great a country larger than most of Europe was named after him. Yet, less than one hundred years later many came to vilify him. His namesake countries has become Zambia and Zimbabwe.
How does a sickly preacher’s son rise to his levels in politics and business? His legacy at de Beers still controls world diamond prices. Rhodes: The Race for Africa looks into these issues with one of the most objective views possible.
Rhodes: The Race for Africa can be a challenging book to read. Most people will be looking up definitions on a regular basis. In addition to the challenging vocabulary, the differences between an American writer and one of British decent are awkward at times.
The book uses many citations in its 352 pages. The bibliography is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to delve more deeply into Cecil Rhodes and the events around his life. Thankfully the citations are just a superscript number and not a longer traditional author/title, page format. This helps the flow for those not immediately concerned about the source material.
The author Anthony Thomas gives us a very well researched and unbiased look at Rhodes. He points out clearly where his information comes from, mostly first hand accounts (primary sources), and what bias the source may have had. On occasion he will look at the opinions of other bibliographers who wrote about Cecil Rhodes. This was interesting to see how attitudes and opinions changed based on the time period and how more was found out about Rhodes. After reading this book you will feel like you have an honest look at Rhodes and what transpired around him.
Nicely dispersed throughout the book are many pictures and a few sketches. It’s a pleasant surprise to turn the page and see a picture of the mining camp or what Jameson’s Raiders looked like at the time. What would have been nice it to have more maps showing the different stages of his expansion. This would be especially helpful for those not intimately familiar with southern African geography.
Chapters are divided into themes or events. Generally easy to follow but a departure from the normal timeline based history (chronological). To Thomas’s credit, where important events overlap in different parts of the book his gives you page references. Also, he writes a brief sentence or two to refresh your memory that is very helpful.
“Every man has his Price,” as Cecil Rhodes was fond of saying. This is something he proved time and again in his quest. Money alone did not put him in a position where he could dictate to the British Crown. No, it was his ability to talk with anyone regardless of class, race, or religion and get that person to see things his way. The book covers several examples where he would engage with people for days. Upon his leaving they saw things Rhodes’s way.
Rhodes, despite his great successes, said on his deathbed, “So little done. So much to do.” Over the years he came to believe in the expansion of the British Empire. In his mind and that of many other people of the period British rule was good for the “savages”. It is easy to see why in their minds. They would educate, convert to Christianity, give them a common language, and show them modern ways of production and trade. As the reader progresses through the book they will be presented with events that question the magnanimity of the empire builders.
Rhodes’ South Africa evolved into what was known for as apartheid. A small minority of whites ruled over the indigenous black population. As common sense will tell you, the few cannot control the many without the threat or use of force. Understanding the series of “harmless” injuries to freedom can turn into near slavery is not the theme of the book. It will be what many patriot readers can take away from reading this book. No, the bigger ideas that should worry the SurvivalBlog reader are the corrupting influences of power and the world will turn out another like Cecil Rhodes.
Emergency Preparedness The Right Way
ISBN: 1-4392-4478-2
When the author set out to write this book on emergency preparedness skills, he wanted it to be “not overly complicated”. He has had many years experience in fire skills, law enforcement and the military, has taught preparedness skills and helped organize preparedness shows. With this background, he found that many of the books available were either incomplete, or attempted to be too comprehensive. He elected not to write about firearms, self-defense, nuclear, biological or chemical warfare, or medical care in detail—not because these were not valid and important subjects, but because he felt there were numerous books dedicated to these subjects already available. Instead, his purpose was to prioritize basic emergency items needed, suggest ways to improvise whenever possible and provide a healthy resource list of suggested reading/web sites/suppliers, etc. In other words, this is a great book for those new-to-the world of emergency prepping!
His chapter on water is an excellent overview of all things that need to be addressed when planning for this important need. He distinguishes between environments—suburban vs. rural, desert vs. mountains, etc. He delves into different sources for water, such as wells, springs, swimming pools, rainwater, hot water tanks, etc. He addresses the contamination and water-borne diseases issue, along with many different types of disinfecting processes, including chlorine dioxide and iodide tablets, solar water disinfection (SODIS) and various types of filters. One thing I found to be very helpful is that he frequently discusses some “reputable brand names”, which serves as a good jumping off point for a newbie looking into these types of purchases.
He discusses the question we have all asked; “how much food do you store”? His answer, while emphasizing that the final decision has to be based on individual needs, is three months of food you would normally eat every day, backed up by enough “long term food” for a year. He discusses the pros and cons of purchasing the “one-size-fits-all” food packages, and, in addition, writes at some length about the basic grains, legumes, oils, salts, sugars, honey, etc. He explains the basic difference between freeze-dried and dehydrated foods, and the processes used to make them. This should help someone new decide how they wish to store their food.
In the chapter on “Cooking, Lights and Fuel”, the author is assuming there is a non-functioning electrical grid and the reader is dependent on their own resources. Generators, solar ovens, and different types of stoves and fuels are discussed. He includes pictures and diagrams along with some comparison charts, which I found to be very helpful.
While he does not go into any great detail in his chapter on “Medical and Sanitation”, he does provide a basic first aid list, along with important over-the-counter medications to have available. He especially stresses the importance of good sanitation and hygiene practices. He addresses how to improvise sewage facilities and properly dispose of garbage and rubbish.
One of the last chapters is devoted to the “72 Hour Kit”. He feels each member of the family should have their own kit, and it should be individualized accordingly. He is a big believer in improvising whenever possible and buying from garage sales, thrift shops etc, if necessary. The bottom line, he says, is that the kit must meet your 3 most important needs: food, water and warmth. Food choices vary from MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) to canned tuna and protein bars. Water choices depend on many personal factors, including ability to carry at least 2 quarts of water and have a method to purify more. Different types of fire starters, including how to simply make your own is also explained. Multiple types of back packs and sleeping bags along with pros and cons to different styles are discussed.
The chapter on Miscellaneous Recipes was most interesting. I never knew, for example that there was an actual recipe for hard tack, or a use for acorn flour! But, the last chapter, which focuses on how to make or improvise equipment could prove to be extremely helpful. Included are the plans for an iceless refrigerator, solar oven and rocket stoves.
Threaded throughout the book are many observations, “random thoughts” and tips from the author. All are useful and thought-provoking. For example, I have never thought of using a now non-functioning car as a place to dry vegetables—but, it would work! His tip about “keeping a pair of shoes by your bedside, as one of the most common injuries in an earthquake is cut feet” also makes a great deal of sense. The author has emphasized that preparedness is paramount for any number of potential disasters, from nuclear explosions and Electromagnetic Pulses (EMPs) to floods and other disasters. His list of recommended reading and web sites will prove invaluable for anyone, either a newbie or a seasoned survivalist. At 141 pages, the book is concise, and very readable, and, as Mr. Godfrey wanted “not overly complicated.” Anyone who is a serious prepper will obviously have a more complete library, but this is a great jumping off point for someone just starting out.
JWR,
I know that you advocate American made cars and trucks for BOV purposes based on availability of parts, but I would like to share with you a three-part video series demonstrating the abuse that a Toyota 4×4 pickup truck can take and still be driven. All with only a mechanic using no specialty tools and no replacement parts. This truck was driven down stairs, lost in the Bristol Channel at high tide, driven through a shed, had a camping trailer dropped on it, hit with a wrecking ball, set on fire, and put on the top of a high rise apartment building while it was demolished. Spoiler alert…the truck still started up and was driven after all this.
Video 1 of 3
Video 2 of 3
Video 3 of 3
Regards, – Mike Q.
JWR Replies: The Toyota 4×4 pickup truck was the first BOV choice of my Chinese-American friend D., upon whom the fictional “Dan Fong” in Patriots was based. I often talked down his choice (mainly because of parts availability), but I must concede that these videos vindicate him.
James, to follow up on the recent article, here is some additional info your readers might find valuable on shipping containers for storage and housing…. We have over a dozen at our ranch that we use for storage, so I’ll share a bit about that use for containers. These containers are the cheapest space you can “build”. They are weatherproof, earthquake proof, will probably make it through tornados and hurricanes, in short, they are excellent all around space.
If you can afford them, you should stick to the “one trip” containers because they will be in near perfect condition — you can always convert these to housing in the future, too, because they will be in the best condition. Even if you bought a new container from China, they would still have to ship it to you — therefore these are also “one trip”. When you first get the container, you should inspect it to be sure it wasn’t used for hauling some bad chemical or nasty smelling thing. You should also check for dents and dings and even punctures from fork lifts. The vendor we used would allow us to return the container and swap it out (we’d have to pay the freight charges. You can also go to the dock and inspect them prior to delivery, but this isn’t always practical.
It’s also possible to get containers with double doors, though you might need to special order these. Color selection is usually limited to gray, tan, olive drab (OD) and occasionally blue and red. We’ve opted for the darkest green we could get and in fact had to paint most of the containers with a spray gun setup as they were tan or gray, the most common one trip colors.
If your roads are at all windy or steep, you might not be able to get a 40 foot container into your location. We could probably get one up there with some extra work, like using a backhoe to move the tail end around the corners, but we haven’t tried that yet. You can also helicopter these things in, but that’s just prohibitive and puts on quite a nice show for your neighbors to see what you’re doing.
We built flat pads for containers with roadbase gravel prior to setting the containers in place. Be careful to choose your 1-2% grade for drainage as to where you want the water to go, but also be mindful that rollable items will move inside the containers. A single backhoe operator can easily move around an empty container and place it within 1 inch or less of where you want it to go. Make sure you also include a pad in front of the doors to keep the mud under control.
New containers should be painted on the outside, if you want to change the color, and then aired out. We usually leave the container open and empty for 30-60 days before doing any modifications to the interior, you might also want to seal the wooden floor as it can be quite attractive when finished. Cargo containers aren’t the most attractive thing in the woods, so paint and location, or camo netting are recommended… Lately, we’ve been getting dark green factory painted containers, so we don’t have to paint them, but you’ll still need to peel off the numbers for aesthetics. In our area, a new, one trip 20 foot container runs about $4,000 delivered. Doors on both ends are a bit more and for some purposes like housing, you may want to consider this option. That’s definitely a special order item.
If you are using containers for food storage, you will need to insulate the inside of the container with 4 inch foam panels and metal ducting tape to get a good seal on the corners. This keeps a container comfortably below 65F in the summer even when it’s over 100F outside and above 45F in the winter in the temperate climate we have here. Your mileage may vary based on the interior thermal mass provided by whatever you are storing and your local weather conditions.
We’ve also installed sliding doors on several of the containers so we can leave the metal doors open and keep critters out. I highly recommend this, especially for containers that the ladies need access to, say a pantry or nice walk in “closet”. Some of the doors can be “tight”, so it’s an issue for people who aren’t used to wrangling heavy items to open the doors, but my 13 year old daughter is getting pretty handy with these.
Lighting and some power outlets are also a good idea, depending on what you’ll be using them for. You can also install a fan controlled by greenhouse type controllers to blow in cool or warm air to keep the container close to a certain temperature.
Be sure to check your county’s zoning ordinances. The collectivists won’t want to miss a single chance to tax something or issue a permit that can be revoked at some time in the future for any reason. Even though they are considered “temporary”, some counties don’t allow them, others charge a per year permit fee (I’ve seen $75 in one place), while others have zero restrictions. If you are concerned about this, paint the containers to match the environment, place the containers under tree cover and/or cover with camo netting, which makes them nearly invisible from the air and also keeps them much cooler. It’s a little extra work to put a pad under the trees, but it’s worth the effort as it will provide mud free winter access and keep the container from rusting, as water will drain away. In the trees you could have a fire issue, so never store flammable items in these containers. Best, – C.K.
Jackie and Brenda’s Venison Chili
1 ½ pounds ground venison
2 cans light red kidney beans, drained
1 Six ounce can tomato paste
1 Twenty eight ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 onion, diced
Chili powder and ground red pepper, to taste.
Brown venison and onion together in large pot or Dutch oven. Add all other ingredients and cook on low heat for 1 to 1½ hours or 1½ to 2 hours if using dried beans.
Chef’s Notes: Dried kidney beans can also be used but be aware that red kidney beans require longer soaking than other beans to reduce the risk of red kidney bean poisoning. Consuming as few as 4 or 5 raw or improperly cooked red kidney beans can cause severe, rapid-onset food poisoning characterized by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Red kidney beans have a high concentration of phytohaemagglutinin (or lectin), which is toxic unless destroyed by high temperatures.
Red kidney beans should not be cooked in slow cookers, which do not achieve sufficiently high temperatures to destroy the phytohaemagglutinins and might actually increase their toxicity. Red kidney beans should not be sprouted.
The beans should be left to soak in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Drain and rinse before cooking. Be sure to boil the beans for at least 10 minutes and stir periodically. Cook chili with dried kidney beans for 1-½ to 2 hours.
Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:
Best Chili Recipes from Big Oven
Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books:
Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners A Book of Recipes
Free Cookbooks For Kindle: Linked List of Over 100 Free Classic Cook Books
Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!
Reader R.B.S. sent this: Schools Pass Debt to the Next Generation
M.E.W. web-wandered into this: California Doesn’t Exist—It’s Now Two States
Items from The Economatrix:
2012 Gas Prices Head For Record
Factory Output In U.S. Climbs As Prices Remain Tame
22 Stats That Show How The Emerging One World Economy Is Absolutely Killing American Workers
In keeping with our well-entrenched philosophy of redundancy, we now have five ways to cut firewood at the Rawles Ranch: 1.) A reliable (but noisy) Stihl 024 gas engine chainsaw with a 20″ bar, 2.) An assortment of felling axes and mauls, 3.) an early-1900s vintage 1-1/2 man saw, 4.) A Makita electric chainsaw
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F.J. suggested: Make Shingles from Aluminum Beverage Cans
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Cat parasite that worms into humans’ brains can drive victims to suicide. (Credit to Pierre M. for the link.)
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I noticed that our SurvivalRealty spin-off web site now has more than 120 active listings, including our first one in Ecuador.
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H.L. sent: Living in a 70 square foot floating cabin.
"They will live a long time, these men of the South Pacific. They, like their victories, will be remembered as long as our generation lives. Longer and longer shadows will obscure them, until their Guadalcanal sounds distant on the ear like Shiloh and Valley Forge." – James Michener, Tales of the South Pacific
Today we present another two entries for Round 42 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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), F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.
Second Prize: A.) 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. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) 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, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.)Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 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.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.
Round 42 ends on September 30th, 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.
Let me premise this by saying I am no expert in the material I will provide. I, like most everyone on this site, is an avid hobbyist in these matters. For some background on me though, I am a Mathematics and Computer Science Major in my fourth year of college, a phone and computer enthusiast, I enjoy white hat hacking and build computers for fun. Maybe not the average prepper, but I get by.
I am writing this article as I have found almost nothing on modern technology in the several blogs that I visit on a daily basis, even this one, as esteemed as it is. Frankly, this troubled me quite a bit. First off, as many of you know, our great country is delving deeper and deeper into the lives of you and me, citizens in this country, and even people all over the world. The amount of data they receive from seemingly harmless web searches or Facebook posts by you would curdle your blood. I recently read an article that the NSA (National Security Agency) has been gathering data electronically on US citizens for over 10 years now. I’m not trying to scare you, this is a fact. So what I will do in this article is try to educate you on how to better protect yourself from further implicating yourself on any more FBI and NSA lists than you already are, and to guide you on a technologically sound path that will help you post TEOTWAWKI.
First things first: GET OFF OF SOCIAL MEDIA. That may seem drastic, especially in today’s society where it seems that if you aren’t on Facebook or Twitter, you don’t exist. But this is the number one place that the government and other malicious agencies are getting their information on you. And if your OpSec is that terrible that you post about your prepping online, then this may be too late for you. But that’s number one. Live with it. If you feel that this is just impossible, then take as much info about you off. The agencies that run these sites already have this information, but it will limit others from accessing it, especially black hat hackers, who may try to gain access to your accounts to steal your identity. Another point to make, which I hope many of you already know: DO NOT post anything about vacation or your time away from home on the internet. This includes posting pictures of your vacation after you get back. This is an invitation to criminals to see that your home is empty and ripe for the picking.
Number Two: Protect yourself online. This is a very complex issue, as there is a plethora of ways that malicious hackers can get to you, but that’s not what I’m referring to; I’m telling you to try to become as incognito while online as possible. The first thing you can do, if your up to the task of learning a little programming, is to get the Internet browser Tor. If you aren’t into that, then get Iron as a browser. ABSOLUTLEY DO NOT browse the Internet with anything else. Maybe Firefox, but that’s a stretch too. If you are using chrome, IE, Opera, or anything else, STOP NOW. There are so many trackers and hidden packets that track every web site you go to, every keystroke you make, and every opinion you post. In other words, everything you do online is stored somewhere where someone can hack it, or the government can just swoop in under any pretense and take it, for “the betterment of the country”. Fun stuff, right?
After that, I would suggest using Proxy Servers to connect to any web site you may think is incriminating, like this one. No offense JWR, I love your site, but I’m probably on a watch list or two because of my ignorance, so I hope to help all of you. For those of you who do not know what a Proxy Server, or Proxy, is, then here is a great explanation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server). In short, it hides all internet traffic on your IP address (your computer’s personal traceable address online), and routs all the data you access through an offsite server, making it seem like you aren’t going to any of the sites, the other server is! You can go to any site you want, and no one will know it is your computer. Obviously there are ways around this, but it’s better than nothing. It will prevent your internet provider from getting a large majority of your internet traffic, which it does at all times, as regulated by the government. This is the number one way that school kids and other people get around firewalls on public computers in schools and libraries, so I would not recommend doing this on a computer you don’t own, as your access may be revoked.
Next up, an Antivirus! I would suggest AVG. Its free, and the free version is GREAT! As always though, if you enjoy the software, support those who make it, and pay the one time fee. Its nominal, but helps programmers like me a lot.
Next up the most important item in your EDC: your SMARTPHONE. Many people think that post TEOTWAWKI, this great culmination of modern technology will be dead and useless. Those who think that, and think that we will go back to hand cranked HAMs are fairly wrong. Yes, the grid may be down, and you won’t have internet or communications on it, but these phones are some of the smallest, most powerful computers in the history of the world. It matters what’s on this device BEFORE the collapse. As many people are preparing, you all most likely have a backup way to generate small amounts of power. Well, good think these phones do not require a lot of power! A hand cranked generator could power these phones easily. So like I said, the important thing is what you have on these phones. This is a pretty laborious topic, so I’m going to split it up.
1) Brand. Get an ANDROID! I cannot stress this enough. There are several reasons why this is imperative.
First, they have an external microSD card. For anyone who does not what this is, it’s a tiny tiny flash/jump/thumb/usb drive. Whatever you want to call it. They are getting very inexpensive, and can hold the same amount of info as a flash drive. I currently have a 32gb microSD in my phone, and can only fill half of it. This aspect of the phone is so important as even though you may store all your important files on a usb flash, this means that you will need a power-hungry laptop or desktop to read those files. Why? Get a micro dedicated to your BOB and then you can load it into your small, portable phone, and show anyone on the screen you documents. There are even water/shock proof micro sd cards now. I have an 8gb elements proof dedicated just for my BOB files. Fills less than a 20th of it. The rest is my favorite music and a couple good movies, for the entertainment side of survival.
Secondly, most of these phones have a removable battery. This is especially important, as extra batteries are cheap now, and bleed power pretty slowly. So I keep three extra around so that I not only have extra power now for a long trip or if I forget to plug the phone in, but also as a great BOB item. Remember, these phones can be a force multiplier, so the longer you can go without a crank or solar, the better off you will probably be in the crucial days post collapse.
Lastly for hardware, get an OtterBox. These are fairly expensive cases, but they protect your phone from almost anything! I would splurge on this, and drop around $60-$100 on a good case. They are shock proof, waterproof, everything proof. I assume you all can figure out why this is so crucial.
One more point, as with anything recommended on this site, READ THE MANUAL! Especially with these devices. They are complex pieces of machinery that are fickle beasts at best, and must be dealt with properly. Also, there are ways to turn off the tracking devices if you are worried about that. Read the manual, or go online and read blogs on how to do some easy hacking to prevent anyone from using your phone against you.
Now, enough of hardware, onto the software!
When it comes to these phones, they literally have no software limit. You can game, live video chat across the world, have it sing you to sleep, wake you up, etc. But the important thing of course, is how it helps you in TEOTWAWKI.
There are several apps that deal with survival: the full army survival manual FM-21 76, Coast Guard survival, urban survival, camo tips, gun tips, sniper windage directions, incendiary devices, gardening practices, scuba practices…
If you didn’t get where I was going with that, you can get literally EVERY book on your shelf on that phone. Now I know many people advocate a Kindle, or are completely against this in the case of it breaking, power, EMP, etc, and I’m not advocating replacing your library with this. But this is ideal in a GOOD situation. You cant bring that library on your back, but you may be able to come back to it. This phone could save you in that time. Also, Amazon has made Kindle for Android, so you can access all of your Kindle books on your phone, and the resolution is great. I read books on my phone all the time, as I feel that a Kindle is a wasteful expense.
Not only can it store your survival library, but these devices have a flashlight app that can help if your other flashlights are gone/out, it has video/audio recording which may come in handy if you need to prove self defense to a later start-up government, and maybe more importantly, they have the capacity for sanity items. Like games, cards games, novels for fun, and most importantly, music. I know I will fall into depression pretty quickly if I feel that most of my favorite music, especially brilliant classics like Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, etc are lost to the destruction. That would be a blow I could not bear. So instead, you can help preserve these masterpieces, and a few others for your own entertainment!
Some especially useful apps I would recommend are:
Engineering Unit Converter: this will change every known unit to almost every other known unit. This is essential if your book tells you to take one oz of meds, but you only have a dropper labeled in ml.
Calculator: this is pretty straightforward. We use calculators more than we know, and these can be especially useful, giving you a competitive edge over the pen and paper competition.
Notes/Picture: Notes are great for about everything, but combined with a camera, you can take pictures of the land and note defensive positions, fields of fire, water sources, food sources, the list is endless. So you can send a few men on recon with these, and have better and more accurate knowledge to get a leg up over the enemy/nature.
First Aid: I cant believe I forgot about this one until now, but you may not always have an experienced medic around. And even if you are fairly comfortable with the basics, you have to remember Murphy’s Law: what can go wrong, will. So for those especially strange wounds/infections/symptoms, these apps are a huge wealth of knowledge.
Cargo Decoder: This app has you type in the number on a truck and it tell you what it is hauling and gives you the MSDS info on it. This is a great app if you want to know if you should salvage an abandoned truck or not, how to prepare for the extraction of the material, what to do first aid, etc.
Emergency Alerts: This app makes your phone up no matter what state it is in (unless off) and beeps loudly if there is an emergency or warning in your area. Great app to give you a leg up on those not ready for an incoming disaster.
And some others I like: United States Constitution, The Federalist Papers, The Weather Channel, Knots Tying Guide, SurvivalGuide, Screen filter.
*All of the apps I listed are free, so this won’t hurt the wallet. The list of what these phone can do is endless, but alas, your patience is not. So for a final point, if I haven’t convinced you to do all this now, at least get the phone for fun pre-TEOTWAWKI! Live the good life while we can! And these phones definitely help.
People who are interested in preparedness seem to love lists. So, I have compiled a list of 30 steps that may be useful for average families who don’t necessarily have a hideout in the mountains (yet). This list is by no means all-inclusive and it presumes a basic background in preparedness. In other words, I hope you have been reading this blog for a long time already! I am a proud military wife and mother of two grade school students. I have a master’s degree in chemistry. We are just an average family trying to get by in uncertain times. I am just optimistic enough to believe that there is hope for the future and just realistic enough to prepare otherwise.
Coming from Alaska, where power outages can mean the difference between life and death at forty below zero, prepping is as mainstream as owning a TV. Geomagnetic storms knock out power regularly and a good aurora borealis may mean you better get out the generator. It is good to see the preparedness trend catching on in the Lower 48 states. Alabama recently held their first tax-free weekend from July 6-8, 2012 to purchase hurricane preparedness equipment, with tax exemptions on generators, batteries, flashlights and more. There also appears to be a massive education campaign going on throughout U.S. schools. My kids are coming home with all sorts of flyers and papers encouraging them to get their parents involved in basic preparedness for hurricanes, tornados, ice storms and more. Propaganda mission? Who cares—If we want to make preparedness the norm, then asking kids to make sure their parents have flashlights is one place to start. There is certainly an emerging capitalist market for all things survival related. Embrace it and get the goods while you can. These are the steps that have been useful to me so far, but it is a never-ending job to be prepared. Good luck.
1. Water is always number one on any survival prep list, so I have to start here. Learn the location of the nearest source of fresh water to your home and how to walk to it with filtration equipment and water containers. Not everyone lives near an Alaskan glacial stream, but it doesn’t matter if you are in inner city Philadelphia next to the Schuykill River (I’ve tried both places), it pays to know your drinking water source in case the taps run dry. Try drinking it too–AFTER boiling it for ten minutes or filtering it with a Katadyn filter or adding iodine or bleach of course. Add some Gatorade powder if you have to. If it gives you giardiasis or cholera now, at least you will be able to see a doctor now while we still have a functioning society. Then, you will definitely know that you need to work on your water purification skills.
2. Learn to grow something. Tomatoes in an upside down hanging basket, potatoes in a bucket on your rooftop, sunflowers on your back patio, or anything you can. You can do a lot with potatoes. I have grown them from sprouted organic potatoes from the supermarket. Don’t be afraid to experiment with seed saving techniques. Pumpkins and watermelons are great starting points for saving seeds. Kids can help rinse and dry those seeds easily. A great resource on seed saving that I like is the book Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.
3. Practice outdoor cooking. We love our Volcano stove and use it for everything from S’mores to grilled salmon. You can even put a Dutch oven in it. Dutch ovens are great because you can practice using them indoors in the winter when outdoor BBQs are not as appealing. “The Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook” by Tim and Christine Conners is an invaluable guide.
3. Get off the couch and get in shape now. Walking is a great place to start. There are elderly people who walk laps around the malls of America that are in better shape than the average high school student.
4. Lose 5 pounds. Stop eating all that delicious Hershey’s chocolate and start saving it for bartering. With the price of groceries going up every day, it’s not too hard to cut back the caloric intake in an attempt to break even on food inflation.
5. Take care of your teeth now. Make an appointment to see the dentist for a cleaning and/or fillings now while you still can. Don’t be afraid to get your kids the braces they need just because the end of the world is near. There are numerous articles on this blog on how to remove orthodontics in an emergency survival situation that involve little more than a wire cutter.
6. Go to the library and check out some books. Better yet, start your own survival library. National Geographic’s “Complete Survival Manual” by Michael S. Sweeney is very useful. You can get books on everything from how to make goat cheese to how to knit socks to how to can peaches in a water bath. If the library is not your thing, go online or to Amazon Kindle or Pinterest or whatever works for you.
7. READ the books and learn a new skill, such as how to make goat cheese or how to knit socks or how to can peaches in a water bath. Read to your kids too. There are great books for kids about gardening or keeping chickens for example. One book I have found useful to get kids thinking about prepping is “Farmer Boy” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 9 year old Almonzo in 19th century upstate NY does more after school chores than you can imagine. He gets a calf yoke for a birthday present! Happy Birthday Almonzo, now go break in the calves. I haven’t heard any more complaints about taking out the trash after reading that with my kids.
8. Download the Latter Day Saints Preparedness Guide for free. The 2012 15th Anniversary Edition is available now. You will be amazed and forever grateful for this outstanding contribution to society.
9. On your next trip to the grocery store when you are stocking up on extra rice and toilet paper, don’t forget to throw in a bag or two of bird seed. I’ve been known to eat a handful of those sunflower seeds myself when I’m refilling the feeders. I’m not too sure I’d eat suet, but you never know. Just skip the millet because most birds don’t even like that and it tends to get left uneaten by even the hungriest chickadees. The corn cobs designed for squirrels are cheap and can attract all sorts of game in range of your gun or traps.
10. While you are at the store, spend some time in the drug aisle and look for things beyond the usual hand sanitizer, multi-vitamins and Band-aids that preppers stockpile. There was a sale on lice shampoo the other day and we picked some up. It even came with two nit combs, which we didn’t have on hand. We also grabbed some pinworm medicine. It seems like there are OTC meds for everything these days. Take advantage of it while you can.
11. Take a quick stop at the pet store or online and while you are getting an extra bag or two of dog or cat food, grab up some FishMox, FishFlex and Bird Sulfa. Vetdepot.com sells FishMox 250 mg, 30 tablets for $8.87. Yes, these are identical to human antibiotics. Ever taken amoxicillin for strep throat? In a true emergency with no hospitals, I will not hesitate to take 250 mg of Fishmox three times a day for strep throat even if it were 10 years after the expiration date. It’s best to store them in the fridge though. Just please consult one of the many useful survival preparedness antibiotic guides if you have no medical training, or better yet, get medical training now while you can.
12. Prepping supplies cost money, I know! Budget and get your financial house in order now. Get out of bad debt and don’t rack up credit card debt. If the SHTF or not, you do not want credit card debt.
13. De-clutter your life. Get and eBay account. Learn to sell stuff lying around your house. Supplement your income. It is really so easy my school age kids can do it. They are accustomed to helping me scour their drawers and toy boxes for things they no longer need. You would be absolutely amazed at the things people will buy. I have sold half-used bottles of perfume that I didn’t like. Get rid of all that useless stuff around your house to make room for more useful supplies.
14. While you are thinking about used stuff, take a trip to your local thrift shop. Do it regularly. Volunteer there if you can so you can get first dibs on incoming items. I have found some great preps at thrift shops from cast iron pans to down parkas.
15. Get organized now. With all the material stuff people deal with, it pays to stay on top of your game and be organized. My WaterBOB to fill up the bathtub with drinking water is useless in a hurricane if I can’t find it.
16. Don’t let your bug out bags sit in a corner collecting dust. Unpack and repack them regularly to stay familiar with what you have. That is an easy task for us with kids because we have to constantly re-evaluate kids’ clothing to account for their rapid growth.
17. Take a camping trip this weekend and pack nothing but your bug out bags and see how you do. Try to start a fire with that fancy flint tool you have.
18. Include kids in prepping. Start them young. I’m sure it’s not easy trying to talk to a thirteen year old plugged constantly into Facebook about potential life without power. Little kids feel more empowered and less anxious when they have confidence that they can do some useful things. Start small with where they are, and include them as much as you can. It could be as simple as making sure you have extra foods on hand that they like, such as macaroni and cheese, or it could be a more involved task like teaching them to swim. Be open with them about the reality of our times, but help build their confidence to alleviate some of their fears.
19. Invest in a good pair of hiking shoes and break them in. Don’t forget the kids. Do you really expect junior to haul water with flip flops? You get what you pay for and that goes for clothes too. You may not need a new North Face Gortex rain jacket for everyone in your family, but don’t expect to thrive in the tissue thin cotton T-shirts from Old Navy.
20. Find a good old fashioned washboard. They have been selling nice American-made ones at Columbus Washboard Company since 1895. I love this company because they send donations to our troops overseas that include a washtub, washboard and supplies. Just make sure you get stainless steel. After you buy it, make sure you stain it with several coats of waterproof stain. I’m not sure why they even sell galvanized ones (they rust) and I sure don’t know why the wood doesn’t come pre-stained, but I guess most people just buy them for decoration. Try using it in your bathtub with a bucket of water and see what a pain it is to do laundry in third world countries like Afghanistan.
21. Learn how to make a honey bucket. No, I’m not talking about a bucket of the delicious golden stuff, but that is good to have on hand also. Having lived in Alaska for many years, where many people still voluntarily live in cabins with outhouses and no running water, I learned that a honey bucket is not so sweet. In the remote Alaskan bush, people just don’t have the amenities that you know and love down in the Lower 48. In Alaska, a honey bucket is defined as a place where you go to the bathroom like a chamber pot that you fill up and then go dump. It basically consists of a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket lined with a trash bag and an adult-size potty chair insert. You don’t need to buy the fancy camp toilets that they sell at Cabela’s.
22. Practice using one weapon or help train someone in your family to use one. Have a “Take-Your-Wife-To-The-Range-Day”. Get her a pink gun if you have to: they do make them. Our daughter has a pink Ruger 10/22. There is something for everyone. Slingshots for squirrels are great for kids. Just be sure and protect their eyes and teach them basic safety rules. Don’t overlook axes and knives. I know I am preaching to the choir when I lament about how many American children have never helped butcher a chicken or a deer. Make it a point to train others if you have skills.
23. Convert some of your assets to silver and/or gold and have it on hand, not in a safe deposit box or ETF. Junk silver coins (pre-1965 quarters, dimes and half-dollars) are available for sale at such places as Northwest Territorial Mint. It is worth buying now while you can. You may experience a three month wait to receive your package since it is so popular. In this economy with the dollar’s value rapidly sinking, yesterday was the time to convert your hard earned savings to tangible assets such as silver, gold, food, ammo, medication, chainsaws, or whatever preps are on your list. The general rule of thumb in the investment portfolio brochures is that you should have at least 20% of your savings in the form of gold or silver. Just don’t stick it under the mattress. Buy yourself a good safe.
24. However worthless the dollar is, it is still good to have some cold hard cash on hand in small bills. Even nickels are worth stashing around since they are worth more in metal content than face value.
25. Get a passport for yourself and everyone in your family. If things get really bad, you can always head for New Zealand, Northwest Territory or central Patagonia with all that silver for a while.
27. A supportive community is key. Choose your allies well and always have backup plans.
28. Practice, practice, practice. Everything from cooking rice over a camp fire like they do on the Survivor television show to composting with your morning tea bags or coffee grinds.
29. Have faith in yourself and confidence in your abilities. Just don’t get overconfident. Confidence with humility is essential to a prepper’s lifestyle.
30. Pray. I’ll be praying for you all if things get as bad as some of the National Geographic Doomsday Preppers think it’s going to get. Lord have mercy on us all! Amen.
