Day: March 23, 2012

Note from JWR:

Today we present two more 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 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


Horseback Riding for Children and Beginners – A Primer, by Elaine M.

Many children today are ill prepared to safely conduct themselves in a variety of natural settings. Watching all the parents around me twist themselves into knots dropping off and picking up their children, running them constantly to practices and clubs and using all their vacation days to be with the precious children on every field trip, it is apparent that wrapping children in steel wool is still strongly favored. The world is a harsh place and many of these children are ill prepared for a really bad situation. Older but still useful skills can encourage independence in a child and …


Homeschool for Less Than $30 a Year, by Kathryn T.

It’s that time again.  Spring, you say?  No, it’s curriculum sale time!  Every spring, homeschooling support groups used book sales and homeschool conventions sprout like tulips.  March, April, and May are the season for planning and obtaining next year’s curricula. If you have considered homeschooling as an educational alternative for your children or would like to stockpile educational materials for potential hard times ahead (whether or not you homeschool currently), now is the time to be looking.  Homeschooling does not need to be expensive to be effective.  In fact, it is possible to home educate well for under $30 per …


Letter Re: A Prepper’s Guide to Beginning Ethanol Fuel Distillation

James Wesley: The author of the article “A prepper’s guide to Beginning Ethanol fuel distillation” is using the wrong recipe for his mash.  Corn will not ferment unless it is “malted” either by sprouting the grain and then drying and crushing it, or by treating crushed corn with the enzyme diastase.  The old, illegal, moonshiners did this by sprouting and then drying whole, fresh corn.  The enzyme treatment is usually done by incubating the crushed corn with a malted barley high in diastase content, such as malted six-row barley. When your author ferments his corn/sugar mix the only thing he …


Letter Re: Fire – Your Partner in Survival

Jim:   D.P. ‘s article “Fire -Your Partner in Survival was very good!    I would like to add that firewood storage life depends greatly on the type of wood.  Oak and other similar types can be stored for well over 20 years with no problems. (Especially if split and covered with a quality tarp or stored in a woodshed with a good roof.) But in contrast, un-split white birch will start to rot in a single year. Poplar and some other species also degrade quickly.   D.P. is right on about the type of heater to use.  When I …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent this: Geithner: My Debt Ceiling Threshold Would Make You Uncomfortable. Commentary from Doug Casey: The Ascendence of Sociopaths in US Governance Items from The Economatrix: IMF Sees $160 Oil Risk Despite Libyan Boost The Truth About Minimum Wage that Will Make You Gasp California Cities Scramble to Avert Insolvency Why 3.5 Million Job Openings Isn’t Great News


Odds ‘n Sods:

A very useful article over at the Radio Free Redoubt blog: How to Receive Ham Radio Digital Communications. (Text messaging, via HF radio.)    o o o Roger E. mentioned ShowMy Street. Roger’s comment: “Very scary to see your house from the air and the street just by typing in the address!”    o o o More charming news: ICANN Confirms That It’s Going To Make It Easier For Governments To Seize Domains Around The Globe    o o o Hotdogging like this is not career enhancing.    o o o F.G. sent this: Is Eight Hours of Electricity a …