Month: December 2014


How To Be As Prepared On The Inside As On The Outside, by A.K.

So, you have made your basement bomb-proof, installed solar panels, dug a well, and canned enough food to last ten years. You’ve engineered, on your own, a heating system that is not reliant on electricity, and you’ve rigged a longer-lasting septic system. You’ve stocked up on guns and ammo, bought night vision goggles, mapped all your exits, created an EMP-proof shelter for your electronics, stocked up on medicine and herbs, planted a garden, invested in silver, got a gas mask, and bought enough nutella and coffee for trading value. But…are you ready? Most prepers would reply, “More ready than that.” …


Scot’s Product Review: MRE Depot Foods

MRE Depot is one of a number of vendors that sell storage foods aimed at preppers. As the name implies, they sell MRE’s, but they also carry a number of other items of interest. While MRE’s are useful, and I think everyone should have some, the other items are, in my view, more important, as MRE’s alone are going to make for a boring diet. MRE Depot was kind enough to send six different items for me to review, and I added a seventh from my personal stores. When I write about food, I need to give more than just …


Recipe of the Week: Chicken Pot Pie Using Mostly Storage Foods, by E.S.

I don’t do much measuring when I cook, but I did my best to get pretty close measurements so I could share this. Pretty much any veggies would work in this. Ingredients: 2 poached or otherwise cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 1/3 c. Augason Farms (or other) Cream of Chicken Soup Mix 1 Tbs dehydrated onions 3 c. water 1 c. Pioneer Baking Mix (or Bisquick, or homemade version) 1/2 c. milk 1 egg olive oil or butter 1/2 of a 14.5oz. can chopped carrots 3/4 of a 14.5oz can red potatoes (I use all but three …


Two Letters Re: Unified Crime Reporting

Hugh, I work in law enforcement intelligence, and my team frequently creates policy papers, reports, and so forth that focus on crime trends. It is often tempting to use Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics to make a point. Our policy is to only use that source if no other information is available, due to lack of reliability. UCR data is collected from local, state, and federal law enforcement agency reporting. We find considerable variations in reporting standards, timing, and reliability. Different jurisdictions categorize crimes differently, and this variation causes serious doubts in the validity of UCR data. Researchers and your …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Google and other tech giants want an exemption from “Do not track” Using a search engine like DuckDuckGo, your own email server, and more will be needed if you want any hope of a level of privacy. This doesn’t even consider the NSA… – P.S. o o o The Drone That Could Save You From Drowning. – P.S. o o o Bring back thrift – G.G. o o o U.N. sending thousands of Muslims to America. – T.P. “The United States, with its commitment to accepting 70,000 displaced people a year, absorbs more refugees than all other countries combined. This …



Notes for Sunday – December 28, 2014

Book Bomb Day is December 30, 2014: Tools for Survival: What You Need to Survive When You’re on Your Own Now available for pre-ordering at Amazon.com, but I’d prefer that you wait for December 30th to order: Tools for Survival: What You Need to Survive When You’re on Your Own. This book is a guide to the selection, use, and care of tools. It will also be available as an e-book and audiobook. -JWR o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 56 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: …


The Importance of Bushcraft and Survival During TEOTWAWKI, by M.R.

You’ve all seen it. Hollywood makes films of a plane crash or shipwreck that cause only one or a few survivors to end up on a deserted island. He or she– the main character– frantically panics at first, maybe even screaming. Then a few months go by, the camera cuts back to him or her, and now this person is an advanced survivalist with a wide variety of skills and gear. They seamlessly kill and eat animals and make impractical but cool looking shelters. Then, he, for the sake of drama, is faced with some dire problem and has to …


Letter Re: Armor Plate

The thing about armor plate on a vehicle is it’s really heavy. The point of a vehicle is that it moves. Also, the engine, transmission, and suspension are all built for the specific weight of the vehicle, not a couple thousand pounds of steel. If you add the weight of armor, you have to upgrade everything, or modify it to go slower with the existing system, without flipping over or disabling itself. Top Gear, a car show in the UK, actually tried this with SUVs a couple years ago. It did not work well. DIV Bond Car Pt. 1 video …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Cops Hate Being Filmed. So Why Are They OK With Body Cameras?. Police body cameras are worthless, as long as the police can turn them off at will. – T.P. o o o Riot Police Needed To Protect Christians Worshipping Midnight Mass In Saint Louis From Rioting “FTP” Protestors… – T.P. o o o Nuclear Power Plant In South Korea Hacked o o o But We Should Demand That Toy Guns Be Painted Bright Colors?. – T.P.


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.” John 4:50-53 …


Notes for Saturday – December 27, 2014

Camping Survival is offering a Mountain House with 15% off pouches and 25% off of #10 cans. Check it out if you need to replenish your stores before the new year. (Price increases by Mountain House are expected January 1st.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 56 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 course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s …