Month: September 2013

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 48 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 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 $300 …


Two Sisters Like Peas in in a Pod, by Peggy W.

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My sister and I both retired due to disabilities are working as we can trying to prepare for the family. Often, we say did we really do that, like talking to a stranger in our local Wal-Mart and saying we would like some green beans and he happened to have about a bushel in his truck he had not sold so, we got them and yielded 14 quarts of beans we needed. Ask and ye shall receive hit us in the face so hard, Thanks be to God! We are on an extremely small budget but we continue to buy …


Letter Re: Preserving a Digital Library

JWR: I had to ad my own two cents to the Preserving a Digital Library. As a seasoned IT pro myself (one of my early customers upgraded all the the Windows for Workgroups network I setup for him to Windows 95 himself and called me when he couldn’t get it working) I have reliance on my systems, be it my cache of reference documents and ebooks to documents I’ve written myself to my gear and prep inventory spreadsheets. I see no reason to choose Windows XP over Windows 7 or Windows 2000 or Windows 3.1 when it comes to back …


Economics and Investing:

Wall Street Week Ahead: Markets could turn choppy as Fed, Syria risks mount Economy Minister says Italy will dodge political crisis Items from The Economatrix: 169,000 New Jobs Created In August, Bad Downward Revisions; Labor Force Participation Rate Falls U.S. Economy Adds 169,000 Jobs As Unemployment Rate Falls Unemployment And Jobs Not Good Enough To Bring End To Quantitative Easing


Odds ‘n Sods:

A reminder from Al in Maryland: Readers in Maryland are doubtless already aware that after October 1, 2013 it will be illegal to buy a firearm defined as an ‘assault long gun’ including any long guns deemed to be ‘copies’ [of banned models.]  Current owners are grandfathered-in, for now.   Handguns will be harder to acquire and there will be more hoops to jump through.” There will also be restrictions on full-capacity magazines. So Marylanders should stock up, muy pronto!   In related news: Maryland gun applications overwhelm police, dealers as tough limits draw near.    o o o B.B. sent: Homeland …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is …


Notes from JWR:

September 7th is the 98th birthday of Richard Cole, (born, 1915) who is one of just four living Doolittle Raiders. He was General Doolittle’s co-pilot. Today is also the birthday of Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler (born 1912 in Freiburg, Germany; died 1983) Vorgrimler was the designer of the Spanish CETME rifle, from which sprang a plethora of roller-lock descendents from HK including the G3, HK21, and MP5. His bolt design was also copied by the Swiss for their excellent PE57 and SIG 510 rifles. (Although the Swiss felt obliged to mount a “beer keg” charging handle on the right side of …


Interrogation for Preppers, by Tim G.

(Editor’s Introductory Note: The following article is presented as an intellectual exercise, or gedanken. Be forewarned that there are mentions of torture (mental and physical) herein which are of course not conscionable behavior! But this mention is only for the sake of showing the full range of potential interrogation techniques, and as a warning that in the future — under different circumstances — you might have to be prepared to resist interrogation. “Forewarned is fore-armed.” Again, none of the following is intended to encourage any SurvivalBlog readers to do anything immoral, or illegal, or unethical. It is in your own …


Pantry Paratus Announces Photo Contest

I just received this announcement: Pantry Paratus is excited to celebrate our second year on as an e-store.  We are looking to expand our digital marketing appeal with real pictures; so in order to do that we are hosting our first annual 2013 photo contest to celebrate all the harvest of this season’s bounty.  All the official rules are here, but the basics are these: -all photos must be original work and submitted to photocontest@pantryparatus.com between Friday, September 6th and Friday, September 20th. -there are two categories: “Canning” and “Food Preservation.”  The first one is easy to define, but the …


Two Letters Re: Preserving a Digital Library

To correct a letter regarding software (Microsoft Windows): I do consider myself an expert in this area for several reasons. Partly because I do it for a living, but past jobs have required off grid computing for various security reasons. 1. All current and and past versions of Windows can be activated without a network (Internet) connection.  This is generally accomplished via an automated call to Microsoft through the use of the keypad and voice prompts. I’ve done this on ALL versions of Windows. Some companies and government rules require that certain computers are always off the grid and Microsoft …


Economics and Investing:

Ann Barnhardt talks Syria and economic collapse. Uh-Oh: Chinese Chicken Processors Are Cleared to Ship to U.S. Here is a key quote: “And because the poultry will be processed, it will not require country-of-origin labeling. Nor will consumers eating chicken noodle soup from a can or chicken nuggets in a fast-food restaurant know if the chicken came from Chinese processing plants.” (Thanks to F.G. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: U.S. Stocks Rise As Payrolls Data Revise Fed Views G20 Says Economy Recovering But No End To Crisis Yet Dollar Holds Near Recent Highs, Upbeat Jobs Data To Help


Odds ‘n Sods:

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I wished someone commercially made a soft start power box for radios that use vacuum tubes. Now I’ve been told there already is such a product, made by the folks at Electric Radio Magazine. Such a device will likely pay for itself in just a few years, given the inflated price of tubes. (Have you priced a replacement 1L6 Pentagrid tube, or a Magic Eye tuning tube recently?)    o o o Here is a good message: Why I’m a Republican. Sadly, however, the Republican Party’s leadership has now embraced statist socialism. …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” – Psalm 33:10-12 (KJV)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 48 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 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 $300 …


Direction of Force: Working Safely Now and at TEOTWAWKI, by Arizona Slim

We all accept basic firearms safety rules and know that if we were able to carry them out flawlessly, there would be no such thing as an unintended injury or what we pitifully refer to as an “accidental” discharge. [JWR Adds: Properly, this is termed a Negligent Discharge.] There is another much more broad concept that, if we can also just hone it to a fine edge, we can employ it across a broad array of activities to greatly reduce the chance of damage, injuries and even death. Activities as diverse as cutting a project out of construction paper, opening …