Month: February 2013

Local Food and Energy from Top Lit Up Draft Micro-Gasification Stoves, by Doug B.

"Food and energy are the two keystones of any community economy anywhere on earth.   If we produce and distribute food and energy locally, we have the food, the energy and the money.   We establish the capacity to create and retain wealth in our community.   We put in place the two foundations of any human economy."  -David Yarrow. More and easier food and energy production immediately raise standards of living. Less time worrying about essentials, leaves more time to do everything else.  Do not overlook this simple truth in preparedness and future planning.  Top Lit Up Draft (TLUD) stove technology has …


Letter Re: The Water Filter Quest

JWR, I found the recent water filter article interesting and appreciate all the time Scott spent researching water filters.  I set up filters for missionaries in Third World countries and have found that plastic water containers can promote bacteria growth.  I believe there are two causes: 1. The plastic scratches when cleaning and provides a place for the nasties to attach and hide on the sides of the container, and 2. The container allows sunlight to enter which also encourages some types of bacteria.   Another problem with only using mechanical filtration is some viruses are physically impossible to filter …


Letter Re: A Newbie’s Perspective on Raising Chickens

Jim, I wanted to comment on this article.  I thought it was a great play by play of getting chickens and keeping them for eggs. Just a few comments about the article and some tips I’ve learned over the years (mistakes I made myself) that I figure could help Adventane and others reading the article.   1.  It’s common for a group of hens to find a preferred nest and use it as a community nest.  I commonly find two hens in the same nest.   2.  The crumbles are great for smaller birds but unfortunately for larger laying hens …


Economics and Investing:

The dip in spot silver is continuing. Silver was down to just $28.54 per troy ounce, the last time I checked. This is a great buying opportunity. Buy on the dips! The handwriting is on the wall for the U.S. penny and nickel: Minting Coins Cost U.S. Taxpayers $436 Million: Chart of the Day Reader Joe B. sent this: If the Euro Collapses, the Swiss Army Is Ready B.B. sent this: Peter Schiff: It’s Going To Hit The Fan During Obama’s Second Term Items from The Economatrix: Will We See $5 Gasoline This Year? Refinery Closures Send Gas To Near …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Build Your Own Emergency Phone Charger with Common Household Objects.    o o o Gun bill giving sheriff right to inspect homes pulled by Washington lawmakers. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)    o o o Reader Larry R. suggested CHIRP — a free, open-source tool for programming your amateur radio.    o o o Alex Jones reports: Gamechanger: Printable Gun Magazines. This technology is maturing much faster than I had anticipated. Visit Cody’s Wilson’s web site: DefCAD.org. “Download a magazine, today.” And after you do, please make a donation, via BitCoin or PayPal. The Powers That Be surely hate …



Notes from JWR:

Camping Survival has begun their semi-annual sale on Mountain House foods. They are offering 25% off #10 cans and kits, and 15% off all pouches. Order soon! — Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …


The Water Filter Quest, by Scott H.

Living in a rural southern area of the eastern United States I am keenly aware that we are usually the first to lose power and last to regain power in any natural calamity.  A few years ago, we lost power for over a week.  With recent environmental catastrophes like Sandy et al, I have been reminded of a significant deficiency in my family survival preparations, water filtration.  I am not getting into the nitty gritty of the micron levels of filtration (most units reviewed were .2 microns or better) or the science of the systems.  This is a layman’s attempt …


Michael Z. Williamson on the New DHS “Non-Traditional Threat” Pistol Targets

Apparently, this server is straining as news of the DHS targets is spreading virally. A friend wrote to ask: “Don’t these people have any devil’s advocate types on staff who might say, “Gee Bob, I’m not sure this is the best idea…” Description: [Note: cut and pasted, all typos and bad grammar original to these Protectors and Servers of Freedom] Non-traditional threat dipicting [sic] a hostile young mother surrounded by childred [sic] on a playground. Background is faded further highligting [sic] and highlighting the threat. Full Color realistic target. Size: 23″ x 35″ Site is overloaded.  Target shows an armed …


Letter Re: Diesel Fuel Storage and Dyed Diesel Issues

Greetings, In a short response to Simon S. from “Across the pond” and his letter about using heating oil for diesel vehicles, please let me add one small bit of first hand advice;  The heating oil that you buy for your home is not only dyed differently for tax reasons, it isn’t filtered as well either.  I also live in Europe and I got the idea to burn heating oil in my diesel vehicle once most people started converting (wrongly I might add) to Natural Gas from Russia.  The people who converted were expected to pay a lot of money …


Economics and Investing:

The latest scary chart, over at Jesse’s blog: The Fed is increasing its monetary base aggressively again. G.G. flagged this: Fiscal trouble ahead for most future retirees Manny Pacquiao KO’d by 39.6% Tax Rate, Refuses to Fight in U.S. US Jobless Rate One Of The Worst In Industrialized World (Thanks to C.N. for the link.)


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Elaine K. sent a link to a very recent report commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia that provide some great state-level statistics. This could be useful in choosing a state for relocation. Note that the Per Capita Income statistics are skewed because they don’t reflect the value of barter transactions (“I’ll trade you hay for firewood”), and because traditionalists (Mormons, Amish, Catholics, etc.) tend to have large families.    o o o Good for the Gander…: Olympic Arms Joins Magpul and LaRue Tactical and Tells New York Government to Pound Sand. And in related news: York Arms Cancels All …



Notes from JWR:

Another legislative alert: This time is is Maryland that is trying to clone the Madame Feinstein’s gun and magazine ban. Citizens of Maryland are urged to contact their state legislators both vociferously and frequently. — Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …


A Newbie’s Perspective on Raising Chickens by Adventane, in Northern Virginia

More than fifteen years ago my wife and I began collecting a year’s supply of food.  Once we’d collected almost 20 cases of food in #10 cans, we pretty much let the matter slip from our thoughts.  It wasn’t until about six years ago that we began to realize that we didn’t really know what we had, or how long it might last.  That led us to thinking about what else we needed, and eventually we stepped with full intent into the prepping mindset.  We recently moved out of the urban shadow of a major US metropolis and into a …