SurvivalBlog readers on the East Coast are doubtless already making preparations for the expected double whammy of a nor’easter and Hurricane Joaquin. Meteorologists are expecting “a historic” 10 to 15 inches of rain in only 72 hours perhaps between Georgia and Virginia. Batten down the hatches! You are in our prayers, folks.
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Today we welcome our newest advertiser, Tom Henthorn, CPA, of Somers, Montana. (That is deep in The American Redoubt, up at the top end of Flathead Lake, not far from Glacier National Park.) He has taken up the small advertising spot that was formerly occupied by Mara Helland, CPA, who is also in Montana. Mara decided to discontinue advertising on SurvivalBlog, but only because of her success–her roster of accounting clients is now full. (And I assume that many of those clients are SurvivalBlog readers.) Tom Henthorn offers very similar services as Mara’s to residents of most States, and he of course has the same very strict level of confidentiality. In addition to personal tax accounting, he also specializes in consulting and accounting for companies in the oil and natural gas industry, including oil field service companies. Welcome aboard, Tom!
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A brief note of clarification from JWR: I have never used social media, and I do not intend to ever do so. I consider these web sites little more than intelligence gathering tools and traps for self-incrimination. Everything that you post on social media is archived FOREVER, even if you delete it. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies regularly use social media to build relationship databases. And even if you have a couple of degrees of separation between yourself and some criminal or crazy, you will inevitably end up on multiple watch lists as a “known associate.” For The Record: All of the Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, and other social media accounts using my name are fabricated and were not created by me, and none of them were created with my permission or my input. I have had several of them removed, but they keep popping up like mushrooms in a cow pasture. Here is just one example of a fabricated social media page that still exists: www.facebook.com/James-Wesley-Rawles-Books. (Facebook refused to delete that one.)
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Today, we present another entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value.
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day 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,
- DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools, and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
- Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 MagPul PMAG 30rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. (An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.),
- Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- A Model 120 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $340 value),
- A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
- KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, and
- Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).
Second Prize:
- A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
- A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
- A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training. (A $400 value.)
- The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
- A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
- A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
- Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
- A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
- RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
- Safecastle is providing a package of 10 Lifestraws (a $200 value).
Third Prize:
- A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
- A $245 gift certificate from custom knifemaker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana.
- A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
- Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
- Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
- Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
- APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
- Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
Round 61 ends on November 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.