Year: 2013

Holey Ground — The Use of the Auger in Homestead Food Production, by M.S.

When planning to grow their own food, many people understandably focus on the plants. A plant, however, simply expresses its genetic blueprint to the extent it can based on the energy and materials available from the sun and soil. We can therefore state that a critical aspect of successful vegetable production is the quality of the soil. Given the limitations of either the amount of warning you might have before needing to produce food for your family, or the amount of money you are able to put toward improving your soil to the point it will yield reliably, amending your …


Guest Article: Colorado’s New Law on “Large Capacity” Ammunition Magazines, by Attorney Timothy J. Priebe

On March 10, 2013, the Governor of Colorado signed into law three new statutes that pertain to gun and magazine owners throughout the state. In this post, I will start with the addition of C.R.S. 18-12-301, having to do with “Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines”. We will first begin with the name of the bill. As many of you know, a magazine which holds more than 15 rounds is not a “Large Capacity” magazine but in many cases just the stock or standard magazine that comes with the firearm. However, if you asked my mother, who is not a gun owner, …


Letter Re: Sew You Think You’re a Prepper? Look to Your Treadle in Troubled Times

JWR, The sewing submission by TJG about Singer 66 Treadle machines is informative and “generally” relays the usefulness of such a machine, especially in a grid-down environment, however, as I have learned personally, her claims that the Singer 66 can handle THICK and BULKY items like leather and nylon is not accurate in my opinion. I learned this by buying a beautiful electric-motor-driven Singer 66 “Red Eye” model to do all the nylon web gear modifications I have always wanted to do to my gear, as the Singer 66 is indeed a tough all-steel sewing machine, yet I quickly discovered …



Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. sent this gem: Fusion center director: We don’t spy on Americans, just anti-government Americans. In related news, here is one Baltimore cop who has swallowed the whole SPLC party line: 10 tips and tactics for investigating Sovereign Citizens. Here he warns his fellow officers not to be swayed by Constitutional and court case citations. Incredible! (Thanks to C.R. for the link.)    o o o Undoubtedly, a Darwin Awards Candidate. An important safety tip, folks: Most dynamic nylon climbing ropes have up to a 30% stretch factor, under load. Dynamic ropes should not be used for static rope applications, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Good money must have an intrinsic value. The United States of America cannot make its shadow legal tender for debts payable in money without ultimately bringing upon their foreign commerce and their home industry a catastrophe, which will be the more overwhelming the longer the day of wrath puts off its coming." … "From the decision of the court I see only evil likely to follow. There have been times within the memory of all of us when the legal-tender notes of the United States were not exchangeable for more than one-half of their nominal value. The possibility of such …


Notes from JWR:

A Reminder: The Get Prepared Expo will be held April 6-7, in Lebanon, Missouri. I will be one of the featured speakers (via teleconference.) My lecture and Q&A session will be from 11 AM to 1 PM on Saturday April 6th. SurvivalBlog’s Back Country Editor Mat Stein will also be a speaker. They will have 100 exhibits and 80 one-hour seminars. The latter will be running six at a time for two days. — Today we present another entry for Round 46 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three …


Sew You Think You’re a Prepper? Look to Your Treadle in Troubled Times, by T.J.G.

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The art and craft of sewing has begun to dwindle in popularity. However, this was not always the case. In the ancient world, and even in our own not so distant pioneer times, sewing has been an invaluable and necessary skill. In much of the last century, many young women (and some young men) were taught to sew by parents, in home economics classes, in some Boy Scout or Girl Scout clubs or even by employers. In this article, my hope is not to discuss hand sewing, but rather to impress the value of non-electric machine sewing. I myself first …


Three Letters Re: Losing Weight, Prepper Style

Dear Sirs, I would like to address something in the recent article, Losing Weight, Prepper Style, by Caleb E. that I hope will provide some further information to your readers.   The author of the article describes an approach based largely on the theory that calorie intake/outtake is the root cause of modern health and obesity problems. This is an extension of the classic food pyramid we were all taught since the 70s. This is not necessarily a wrong approach, but its important to know that there is growing evidence that the underlying theory is deeply flawed; that calories aren’t the problem, but rather the types of calories.  There …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. suggested this by Graeme Wood: My Hyperinflation Vacation Also from G.G.: Thanks, World Reserve Currency, But No Thanks: Australia And China To Enable Direct Currency Convertibility Reader Craig R. suggested this Op-Ed piece by David Stockman: State-Wrecked: The Corruption of Capitalism in America Items from The Economatrix: Peter Schiff:  Why Leave Extra Money In A Bank? Mannarino:  Very Close To Pan-Global Financial Collapse Cyprus:  The Worst Is Yet To Come


Odds ‘n Sods:

Californians would have to show ID when buying ammunition under a proposed new law. “Sponsored by Berkeley Democrat Nancy Skinner, AB 48 also requires dealers selling ammunition to be licensed in the state, for federal and local officials to be notified when an individual purchases more than 3,000 bullets [sic] over a five-day period and prohibits the sale of kits that help convert conventional firearms into semi-automatic weapons.” JWR’s Comment: Oh no! That brilliant Mrs. Skinner must have caught wind of the enormous boatload of Pedersen Devices and 3D-printed Shoulder Things That Go Up that is about to be surreptitiously …



Notes from JWR:

FreezeDryGuy.com is having a 25% Off Sale on All Mountain House #10 Cans from April 2nd to April 8th, 2013. Don’t miss out. — Today we present another entry for Round 46 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 …


Losing Weight, Prepper Style, by Caleb E.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, I am not a dietician, I am not a nutritionist. I am an average, overweight guy, who happens to be a prepper and believes that, after trying numerous ways to lose weight and a great deal of reading, research, trial and error, he may have a solution to wading through the sea of dietary B.S. that many people get lost in. All those who take this advice, do so at their own risk and are encouraged to seek the advice of a medical professional first. Many of us, including survival/self-sufficiency minded people, have …


Connecticut Gun Owners Betrayed by Their State Legislature

Connecticut is known as a progenitor of American Liberty. There were some small War of Independence battles fought at Stonington (1775), Danbury (1777), New Haven (1779), and New London (1781.) But sadly, legislators in Connecticut just dutifully lined up for their Kool-Aid cups and voted for a ban so-called “assault” weapons, a ban on private party sales of used guns, creates a new “ammunition eligibility certificate,” and mandates a ban on the manufacture or sale and a registry for high capacity magazines. Do these buffoons have any concept of how many millions of magazines larger that 10 round capacity exist, …