Notes for Friday – August 08, 2014

August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (born in 1930 and died March 9, 1997). Nation was the Welsh television writer and novelist who wrote two series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made a few years ago, and Blake’s 7 is presently being re-made. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,400+ worth of 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), A course certificate from onPoint …




Seasonal Items and Survival Steps, by P.F.

It never ceases to amaze me when something seemingly trivial that occurs in my life can lead to so much self reflection and totally change the direction I travel, so to speak, in my life planning. I recently decided to purchase a spare, portable plug-in heater for my camper, in the interest of redundancy. So, off I went blissfully unaware that this simple, last-minute decision would alter the course of history, my history that is. I went to my local big-box store and soon realized an important issue I had never thought about before– seasonal items are difficult to find …




Letter Re: Two Thousand Miles Into the American Redoubt

Dear Hugh, For the benefit of your readers allow me to comment on the author’s list of top 15 locations in the Redoubt. By way of disclosure, I do not live in any of those communities, but I am ten miles away from one of them. Also, my business travels in the region over the last fifteen years has taken me to most of those locations many times. All of those towns are wonderful places, with wonderfully solid people living in them and around them. Any disparaging remarks I have about the location is solely based on our assessment of …







Odds ‘n Sods:

The latest news from nanny state California: Rep. Honda announces bill to ban civilians from military-grade body armor. – T.P. o o o Smart-gun designer can’t understand objections: German gun designer’s quest for a smarter weapon infuriates U.S. gun rights advocates. – SDC o o o DOJ: Regions Near Mexico Border Most Crime Ridden in US. – P.M. o o o City Evicts Elderly Man from His Tent in the Woods – by Ruthlessly Demolishing it in Front of His Eyes. – H.L. o o o Americans worry that illegal migrants threaten way of life, economy. – M.D.







Notes for Thursday – August 07, 2014

August 7th 1933, is the birthday of Jerry Pournelle. He, along with Larry Niven, authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,400+ worth of 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), 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, …




Time “OUT”, by K.T.

Any serious survivalist has thought through numerous scenarios and situations, right down to the most seemingly insignificant minutiae. I have been engaged in various stages of “preparation” for over 40 years now. Over the last 20 years or so, I have noticed that the vast majority of the public, in general, counts on assorted digital gimmickry to keep track of time. As a result, many people now do not even wear a wristwatch; they just pull out their ever-present cell phone to see what “time” it is. Of those who do wear a wristwatch in the traditional style, an ever-increasing …




Letter: Toledo Water Crisis

Hugh: I live in Toledo and was part of the recent “water crisis”. From what I understand, a Berkey, Lifestraw, or any kind of water pills cannot get rid of “mitocystin”, which was what was in our water. So, we had plenty of “water”, but no way to make it drinkable. I was wondering if your readers: agree that these won’t work on mitocystin have any alternative method of purifying water with this in it. – B.J. Hugh Replies: This is not something that I have knowingly dealt with, so I had to do a little research to come up …







Odds ‘n Sods:

We’re All Criminals and Outlaws in the Eyes of the American Police State. – H.L. o o o Open Carry Activist Takes a Bold Stand Against County Ordinance… and Wins. – JBG While The Blaze declares the activist a winner, I’m not so sure. The officer still escalated immediately with no consequences for his actions. At a minimum, the officer deserves a reprimand for such severe escalation right up front. That’s part of the police state mentality problem and how innocent people get killed. o o o Armed Liberians ‘Poison’ Wells Killing Villagers under Pretext of Epidemic. – T.P. o …







Notes for Wednesday – August 06, 2014

SurvivalBlog picked up another sponsor for the non-fiction writing contest. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack (a $379 value), bringing the grand total of Round 54 prizes to over $12,400! Make sure you get your entry to us, so you can be eligible for these fantastic prizes! o o o Today we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of 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), A …




Food Less Fortified: Vitamins in a Time of Grid-Down Existence – Part II, by PA Jes

Today, we’ll conclude the article reviewing the vitamin situation in a SHTF scenario and how to provide our body with necessary vitamins without bottled vitamins or vitamin-enriched foods. Vitamins D, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E are reviewed in Part 1, so go back and read it if you missed it yesterday. Vitamin K Vitamin K is necessary for the body to produce blood clots. Blood clots are the body’s method to control bleeding. Without enough vitamin K, people could easily bleed to death. Worldwide, vitamin K deficiency is a major cause of death in newborns, a result of …




Letter Re: Killing, Death, and Dying

HJL, The article speaks to human nature. Being tough in a vaguely dangerous situation is easy, being tough in a moderately dangerous combat situation, like Fallujah, is a bit harder, but being tough as the first dude onto the beaches of Normandy would be truly tough. I can only imagine that level of violence. Don’t kid yourself thinking that sitting in a leather recliner watching Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan makes you understand. Nevertheless, can you or I prepare ourselves to the best of our individual ability for that type of event? Yes, as previously discussed. Regardless of mental …