Day: September 5, 2010


Airsoft for Survival Training Adventure, by John Durfee

You see the open field coming up, and the only way to access the bridge to cross the river is to also traverse the field. You’ve been following them for several miles now and certainly don’t to reveal your position. You’ve trained extensively for this, and you decide to cross using the stalking crawl also known as the Sniper crawl. If you don’, then you’ll surely lose all the ground you have gained on them. You successfully make it to the other side, and much to your delight, they are resting on a fallen tree on the other side. You …


Letter Re: Purslane: Portulaca Oleracea

Jim: Today, I’m writing about Purslane, also known by farm folk as “Pigweed”, (because pigs just love it). It’s one of the earlier wild herbs, (wild edible) found in springtime , but thrives throughout early and mid-summer. By most people, It’s considered a nuisance weed that pops up everywhere in late spring. It grows well in disturbed soils, and can be found mostly in old garden plots, meadows fields and along trails, stone walls and fence rows. It’s a small inconspicuous looking weed [see photos] that grows to about 6 inches to a foot tall, sometimes lying down to assume …


Economics and Investing:

Unemployment Rate Rises to 9.6%. That is the official figure from the BLS. But the really telling number is for under-employment. That is buried down in line U-6 in Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization. And again, that is the official figure. A 2004 article suggested that the real world numbers are probably substantially higher. (Somehow I doubt that this under-reporting has been rectified.) Sue C. sent us this: Bernanke: Shut down banks if they threaten system 120 Days to Go Until the Largest Tax Hikes in History. Items from The Economatrix: Global Collapse of the Fiat Money System: …


Inflation Watch:

Pearl wrote me to mention: “We homeschool and therefore I stock up on supplies when they go on clearance after public school children have started. I still have boxes of Papermate pens left over but couldn’t resist picking up a couple packages when I noticed they were on sale. When I got home I compared the clearance tags… Last year, I purchased boxes of 12 Papermate pens for $.35. This was 30% off the original price of $.50. This year, I purchased packages of 10 Papermate pens (no box) for $.70. These were also 30% off the original price of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Rourke recommended the Patriot Nurse video blog. Rourke says: “She has done many videos on several survival topics. Check this one out in particular.    o o o “Your Agonizer please, Mister Kyle.”: Inmate-frying microwave pain blaster turret installed in US jail. This news really bothers me on several levels. To start: This isn’t at a prison. It is a County Jail, where I assume a good portion of the population is awaiting trial, and presumed innocent. This sounds like “cruel or unusual punishment”, to me.    o o o I spotted this over at TSLRF: Talk about adrenaline powered …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The preparation which Hezekiah prudently made against this storm that threatened him: He took counsel with his princes what he should do, what measures he should take, v. 3. With their advice he provided, 1. That the country should give him a cold reception, for he took care that he should find no water in it (and then his army must perish for thirst), or at least that there should be a scarcity of water, by which his army would be weakened and unfitted for service. A powerful army, if it want water but a few days, will be but …