Day: January 20, 2012

Letter Re: The Year I Accidentally Grew Wheat

Hey There! I really enjoyed reading “Year I Accidentally Grew Wheat”, by Gonzo In Virginia. It’s a familiar scenario to me, as I have learned many valuable and interesting lessons by accident as well. I wanted to comment on one of the things that was mentioned in this great post. At the end o, of the article, he mentions that he now has some knowledge of ways he can use his stored wheat. I have something to add, that I learned by accident myself. If you are using your stored grain for planting (which I did last year) you will …


Note from JWR:

A reminder that Safecastle’s Freedom Awards Finalists are now posted on Safecastle’s blog site for public viewing and voting. One of the finalists is K.M., for his article “What is a Well-Stocked First Aid Kit?” (that appeared in SurvivalBlog.) Please post your vote for your favorite article or video before midnight on January 20th. — Today we present another two entries for Round 39 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 …


Self-Sufficient Farming in East Prussia in the 1930s and 1940s, by Mrs. Icebear

Please keep in mind that English is not my mother tongue, and that these recollections are from the perspective of a young girl, now in advanced years. My mother-in-law grew up in what was then called East Prussia (Ostpreussen) – now Poland. She was born 1929 – got twice evacuated – the first time at the age of 14. The beautiful area is called “die Mazurische Seenplatte” and  “die Mazuren” and is today developed for tourism. I´ve picked her brains to learn as much as I can, and here are some of the things she remembers of life on the …


Dragging Your Family Into Preparedness, by W.M.

I am 52 years old – a working woman, a wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, niece, and daughter.  My parents had six children, I have six grown children, and you can start counting out from there.  We are a big family.  We are the typical outgrowth of middle class American suburbia.  Some of us are financially better off, but all of us are accustomed to our luxuries, even if that means rich, freshly ground coffee in the morning or a delicious sip of good red wine in the evening.  Many of us lost substantial resources during the past …


Hypertension Prevention and Planning, by Dr. Bob and Docswife

Along our continuing efforts to make prevention a big part of our push to inform, we need to now address hypertension.  High blood pressure is by far and away the most common condition experienced by the general population of the United States. Anti-hypertensive drugs are a multi-billion dollar business and for good reason.  High blood pressure, especially under or untreated, can lead to heart disease, stroke, memory problems, headaches, kidney failure, liver disease, bowel troubles, blindness, and can contribute to other serious disease states.  High blood pressure is a serious problem.  If you have high blood pressure; surely you have been …


An Update To Our Contact Page–Combatting Spammers

Because our e-mail box is now getting hammered with more than 100 pieces of spam mail per day, we are now reluctantly removing the direct e-mail links in SurvivalBlog. Henceforth, all of the “e-mail us” links will be directed to our Contact page. There, at the the top of the page, you will see a fractured e-mail address: james–AT SYMBOL–rawles.to (Change the “–AT SYMBOL–” to @). This formatting is designed to divert web spiders that harvest e-mail addressess for Nigerian scammers and those V*agra hucksters. Sorry for any inconvenience that this might cause you. Note that there is no need …


Economics and Investing:

Debasement of 5 Pence and 10 Pence coins in England is causing problems: New coins won’t work in parking meters and vending machines. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) B.B. sent this charming news: Treasury dips into pension funds to avoid debt: “The Treasury on Tuesday started dipping into federal pension funds in order to give the Obama administration more credit to pay government bills.” China Brings US Treasury Holdings To One Year Low, Russia Cuts Treasury Exposure By 50% In One Year. (Thanks to S.M. for the link.) Craig D. flagged this: World Bank warns on risk of global …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader V.P. wrote to mention that advance Chapters from the new edition of “Where There Is No Doctor” are now available for download at the Hesperian Foundation web site.   Look under the ‘Downloads’ tab.    o o o Fast and Nefarious? Here is an article that reveals an even greater depth of iniquity for the Treasury Boys: Another ATF weapons operation comes under scrutiny.    o o o Kevin S. mentioned a great source of free information on metal casting: My Home Foundry.    o o o What would John Wayne think? Even the venerable .30-30 lever action is getting a …