Month: April 2014

Odds ‘n Sods:

Cooking with lime heat, fireless cooking in medieval, renaissance and victorian times. – G.P. o o o Obama deliberately emboldening America’s enemies – J.R. o o o Civilians not ready for EMP-caused blackout – M.A. o o o West African Ebola outbreak caused by new strain of disease: study – J.P. HJL Adds: We’ve been following reports of this new outbreak, and there is no shortage of rumors. Unlike previous outbreaks, where the infected areas were in relatively remote areas where containment was easier, this one may be more difficult. The first response of people who hear that they may …



Notes from HJL:

April 21st is Aggie Muster Day, for all Texas A&M Corps of Cadets graduates. Aggie Muster celebrations/meetings are held as far away as Japan, Germany, and Afghanistan. I should mention that Jim’s grandfather (a U.S. Army Cavalry LTC) was an Aggie–something mentioned so often that everyone in his family felt like de facto Aggies, too. Other than the officers that matriculate though West Point, the four institutions that seem to have the greatest ongoing esprit de corps for graduates are Texas A&M, The Citadel, Norwich University, and VMI. Jim felt almost obliged to include an Aggie character in his novels …


Guest Article: How to Set Up a Solar Electric Survival System, by LaMar

The majority of the U.S. population lives in a city or suburbs connected to a city and is completely reliant on grid power from coal, hydro, or natural gas power plants. In the event of a national or local disaster, regardless of the cause, the electricity system is the weakest link. Without power almost nothing else in a city or town will work. These disasters may be of short- or long-term duration, but depending on the weather and medical needs of your family going without power for even a short time could cause great hardship and even death. In this …


Pat’s Product Review – Ruger 10/22 Roll-up Cases

Innovation! That’s what has driven our country. Unfortunately, as of late, so many things are being outsourced, and many products cloned or copied, with and without a license to do so. Some time ago, I reviewed the Ruger 10/22 take-down rifle. It’s a huge hit for Ruger www.ruger.com, and they keep coming out with different versions of it. Included with the 10/22 take-down rifle is a nice zip-up storage carry case, and it does the job. However, a fellow by the name of Ron Asman, thought he could do it better. I think he has. Up front I’ll confess that …


Recipe of the Week: Dutch Oven Lasagna

B.M. answered the summons for scrumptiousness with this delectible dish: All of these ingredients may be made fresh or dehydrated/freeze dried, and both will be delicious. If making from dehydrated/freeze dried, reconstitute per package instructions. Ingredients: 1 Deep 12-inch Camp Dutch oven (DO) 1 23 oz. jar of your favorite Spaghetti sauce 2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce 1 14.5 oz of diced tomatoes (with Italian seasonings, if available) 1 pound of hamburger or Italian sausage (omit or replace with TVP, for a vegetarian version) 1 1 pound box of lasagna noodles (dry) 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese …


Letter Re: United States Economy and Status

HJL – I have been a student of economics my entire life. From my early college education in the ’70s and ’80s to continued research for hobby, and for work I have tried to understand the micro and macro perspectives of the U.S. economy. We are at a place in history that is without precedent. Never has a nation with the responsibility of the reserve currency of the world made such dangerous bets with its economy and currency. The decisions of the Treasury and FED to head off an electronic bank run in 2008 prevented what would have been the …


Economics and Investing:

Ukraine Currency Collapses Nearly 70% Against Gold In 4 Months. o o o Items from The Economatrix: Are You Ready For The Price Of Food To More Than Double By The End Of This Decade? Inflation Is Slightly Higher In March As Food And Shelter Costs Accelerated What Happened To The Middle Class? The Infographic Democrats Told “Don’t Mention ‘Economic Recovery’ – It’s A Political Loser”


Odds ‘n Sods:

An interesting plant that may provide some useful resources for those inclined to Self Sufficency. o o o Raindrops and toilets can potentially power your home. – G.P. o o o UAV Pilot Charged with Felony. The government’s double standard at work again. – T.Y. o o o Oklahoma will charge homeowners who generate their own power Taxing off grid homes in OK. – G.P. o o o Hide a secret room in plain sight. Secret bookcase door. – CDV



Notes from HJL:

On this wonderful Resurrection Sunday, I was blessed by a letter sent in by SurvivalBlog reader A.W. I’d like to share it with you too: Hi Hugh, I discovered “How Can I Keep From Singing?” in Rawles’ novel Patriots and have been curious about its origin. His book says it’s a Shaker hymn and other sources claim it’s a Quaker hymn, so I was surprised to learn [by a determined google search] that it was actually written in the mid 1800s by Robert Lowry, a Baptist minister, who also wrote “Shall We Gather At The River” and three others that …


An Eye for Eyes, by B.A.

Dear Reader, As a person who has been blessed with not needing reading glasses, I am usually happy to read lists on prepping that tell the readers to make sure that they have extra prescription glasses in case they break their everyday glasses and cannot get new ones due to unforeseen circumstances. It’s one more place I can save a few dollars. That’s great, but is it really that simple? Many times I have glossed this fact in my mind. I wear sunglasses everyday. They are cheap and available everywhere, which is a good thing because I am a little …


Letter Re: Reloading Ammo

Hugh: I was a little surprised at your comment “It is tough to reload cheaper than bulk ammo for pistol though” in your reply to CR’s letter. As an example, I reload .45ACP under 15 cents a round using 200 grain lead bullets from Missouri Bullet Company. The bullets are under 10 cents each, add a primer for 3 cents and 2 cents of powder, and there you are. I crank these out at 300-400 per hour on my progressive, at a leisurely pace. I checked on ammo prices at the local farm store this afternoon and .45ACP is running …


Economics and Investing:

How many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? A nation living precariously close to the financial edge. o o o Gold Doomed or Resting? Gold vs. Major Currencies; Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Reiterate Sell Signal Gold Doomed or Resting? Seldom is sentiment so bad for something that still appears to be a long-term bull market. When in doubt, it pays to take the opposite side of what Goldman Sachs publicly says. Goldman has a history of not only being wrong but betting against its own recommendations. – P.S. o o o Items from The Economatrix: It’s Time To Ditch The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

New York gun owners shrug off tough new rules: What happens now?. – G.G. The more people who standup to the tyranny, the more others will join them. o o o First Connecticut Arrest for Unregistered Assault Rifle? – I expected that there would be an arrest at some point, which might trigger a valid challenge to the law in a court system, but illegally shooting squirrels in front of two police officers and then admitting to owning banned weapons wasn’t what I expected. o o o IRS Among Agencies Using License Plate-Tracking Vendor . – PLC As we expected …