Month: July 2011

Letter Re: Planning for Multi-Family Cohabitation

Hi Jim, Just wanted to chime in here on the recent blog post about multi-family living. There are currently three families in our house: Five adults and and four children ranging in ages from 13 down to 6. (This includes two married couples and a single mom.) And how did all of this begin? Well the spark was friendship.  My wife and my friend’s wife were best friends and room mates. We spent all of our time at the girls apartment, going there after church, meeting there for evening outings, etc. I would get back to my apartment with just …


Letter Re: Observations From Fence Building

Dear Mr. Rawles: As a Texas rancher, I understand the difficulties associated with fence building and repair. Too much fence building in a short amount of time will run off a good ranch hand. Mudflap’s comments about proper clothing and hydration when fence building are right and should be given attention. We use twisted smooth wire (no barbs) for horse pens but to contain cattle, barbed wire is necessary. Good gloves are essential. Pigskin gloves are very barb resistant. You will be nicked by the barbed wire, so stay current with tetanus shots. Every vehicle on my ranch has a set of fencing pliers …


Economics and Investing:

Bernanke: Fed May Launch New Round of Stimulus. It seems that Helicopter Ben is addicted to “quantitative easing”–the Fed’s euphemism for monetizing Federal debt. If they can repeatedly get away with creating dollars out of thin air, then the end result is inevitable: the wholesale destruction of the U.S. Dollar as a currency unit. Reader John T. liked this piece by Jim Willie: The Silver Platter Opportunity Yohay over at FOREX Crunch posted this provocative article: Captain Ben Can Handle the Debt Ceiling D.S. sent this: Derivatives Rules to Help Swaps Market Grow $40.7 Trillion, Citigroup Says. The market for …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Here is something new for all you paracord hobbyists: BBK Paracord “Rip Cords”. It isn’t patented, so I suppose it a good candidate for reverse engineering.    o o o Just a slight tightening of the noose: Police: Internet providers must keep user logs.    o o o Dark Fireworks on the Sun. (Thanks to Frank Z. for the link.)    o o o Ready Made Resources has added the Goal Zero PV portable power systems to their product line.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.” – Isaiah 41:10-11 (KJV)


Notes from JWR:

Warning! Today’s Economics and Investing news is guaranteed to exceed your recommended daily allowance of Gloom und Doom. — Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A …


A Prepper Goes to College, by S. John

In this article I intend to give the prepper some Christian perspective on what is valuable in an education. First, a couple of quotes: “Youth is wasted on the young.” – George Bernard Shaw “Education is wasted on the youth.” – Michelle Hanson Many people are considering college and advanced education this year, especially with the unemployment at record highs. They believe that having a college degree will help them get out of the economic slump they find themselves in. They imagine a high-paying job in a new field, and economic prosperity. Unfortunately, college is not what it used to …


Letter Re: Unleaded Spout Solution for NATO Gas Cans

Mr. Rawles, Like many others that bought military surplus steel NATO fuel cans, I was frustrated by the fact that only large diameter leaded fuel spouts were available for these cans. This meant that I had to either use a funnel or transfer the fuel to another can before putting it into the tank of a car with an unleaded (small diameter) fuel receptacle. A friendly employee at my local Lowe’s found me an inexpensive solution.  I brought my spigot to the store so I can test fit items (always a good idea for any home improvement project), and he …


Letter Re: Winter Wheat Harvest Season

July is the time of year that Winter Wheat is harvested, priced, and sold. You can call an area “Ag service” farm and seed center, and ask for a price to buy Winter Wheat by the bushel.  Look them up in the phone book, or ask a farmer. The Ag service may buy it locally from a farmer for you, and clean it and bag it.  Or they will buy it cleaned and bagged from their seed wholesaler.  You will receive it ready to store or grind. If they ask why you want 25-50 bushels of wheat, you can tell …


Letter Re: Some Useful Figures for Grain Grinding Yields

To plan for your recipes, be advised that each of the following whole grains when ground up will yield about 1 cup of grain flour. • 3/4 C. Wheat • 1/2 C. Pearled Barley • 1-1/3 C. Rolled Oats (Grind these up in your blender) • 2/3 C. Buckwheat • 2/3 C. Quinoa • 1/2 C. Navy Beans • 2/3 C. Lentils • 1/2 C. Chickpeas/ Garbanzo Beans • 5/8 C. Popcorn • 2/3 C. Kamut • 2/3 C. Millet Regards, – K.A.F.


Two Letters Re: Strong and Sticky Stuff for Sticky Situations

Jim, Regarding J-B Weld: It is not like most other two part epoxies.  The additives in the product impart a very important characteristic: It can be machined (drilled, grinded, sanded and even tapped.   Normal two-part epoxy tends to chip and shatter when drilled, can’t be tapped effectively and is extremely hard to sand.  J-B Weld, on the other hand, is easily worked with normal home workshop tools.  Just last weekend I had a stripped machine screw hole for the screw that holds one of my car’s sun visors up.  I filled the hole with J-B Weld, let it cure overnight, then …


Letter Re: Antenna Launching Alternatives

CPT Rawles:s I know this is a very obscure topic, but having been a communication guy on a Special Forces A Team for many years and a ham radio operator, I know a couple things about wire antennas in trees. I’ve tried them all, slingshots, bow and arrow, lead weight, one-quart canteens et cetera. The problem is getting the right weight to mass ratio – otherwise you either can’t get the rope up high enough, it gets caught up in the branches or wraps around the branch you are throwing at. The single best object I have found is an …


Economics and Investing:

Hi-yo silver! Typically, the precious metals are in their summer doldrums in July and August. but not this year. This coming Autumn could get very interesting, depending on financial developments on the periphery of Europe. All eyes are presently on Greece, but Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Iceland will probably soon be in the headlines again. I wouldn’t be surprised if silver gets above $55 per ounce. Its a good thing that most SurvivalBlog readers have been buying on the dips. Reggie Middleton warns, over at Zero Hedge: Eighteen Percent of the EU is Literally Junk, Carried as Risk Free …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Health experts warn of new tick-borne threat. (Thanks to Rick for the link.)    o o o Loyal reader R.B.S. sent this: Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It    o o o One of my consulting clients took my advice and transitioned from using clunky cigarette lighter plugs to 30 Amp Anderson Power Pole genderless connectors. He showed me a large assortment of cable and terminal adapters, splitters, and and terminal blocks–all with Power Pole connectors. He had recently ordered these from a very reliable company called West Mountain Radio, in Wisconsin. Most of …