Year: 2015

Notes for Sunday – March 01, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 57 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 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, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with …


Your Brain On Paper—How to Write Useful Operating Instructions, by M.R. – Part 3

Responsibilities I designed the storage system and have assumed all responsibilities for filling the water containers and replacing the water every two years. In my absence, that responsibility falls to the oldest member of the remaining family who is also responsible for the continued upkeep of this operating instruction and ensuring that it is available to all group members. If group discipline problems erupt in using the water, that person acts with the authority of a group leader. I may be gone, but I’m watching from heaven! Policy Refreshing Water: The blue, plastic, storage containers at the ranch and in …


Letter Re: Bug Out Bag [Baloney] by RS

I too am in agreement on the weight of packs. Most people I know base their “ability” on how much they can carry over a short, flat distance and they have little practice at judging that distance. If I can brag a little, I was graced with shooting a nice bull elk this last fall. I went in on foot about three miles that was steep, rough, and covered with brush and dead fall. Coming out it started to snow. I had a small pack that day, my rifle, the head, antlers, and cape. It took me three hours to …


Economics and Investing:

California Rental Armageddon: Nearly half of Los Angeles adults doubling up, working class moving out, or you have the option of simply living in poverty. o o o “That Couldn’t Possibly Be True”: The Startling Truth About the US Dollar. – T.F. o o o The long inflation con on the public: How the CPI severely underreports inflation and the slow erosion in the American standard of living. o o o Interview with Steve St. Angelo


Odds ‘n Sods:

Veterans Place Corrupt County Board Under Citizen’s Arrest – They Laugh, Until the Sheriff Shows Up . – M.L. o o o Father Of Black Teenager Murdered By Illegal Alien Asks ‘Do Black Lives Really Matter?’ o o o SurvivalBlog reader H.E. writes in to say: “Here is what I discovered by accident. The silver heat shields for vehicle windows can also be used in your homes. Your body heat can’t be detected from outside. I was in fire department years ago. We used a scanner to find where people may be in building. Using this material can stop people …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he …


Notes for Saturday – February 28, 2015

February 28th is the birthday of famed Swiss investor and economic pundit Marc Faber (born 1946). o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 57 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 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 …


Your Brain On Paper—How to Write Useful Operating Instructions, by M.R. – Part 2

Topic Areas for Operating Instructions Topics will vary for different groups, depending upon the extent of their preparations and unique specifics. I live in the mountains of California. You will find earthquake instruction in my binder, but you will not find one concerning hurricanes. Choose one or two areas important to you, and start with them. This will allow you to learn and test the format and save a lot of re-do time. On the bright side, you may find that the operating instructions and the binder provide a place to organize and include papers and information that you have …


Letter Re: My Personal Alexandria, Now Less Flammable!, by ASC

Good Morning Hugh ASC’s article on the E-readers is spot on. I’ve been using e-readers in various forms for some time now, and I’ve incorporated them into my jourmey of getting ready for whatever may be on the horizon. If I may I’d like to add a few additional points that may be of help when using an E-reader as part of a preparedness plan. As JWR has said many times, “Two is one and one is none.” Words to live by. In regards to an E-reader, I encourage those who rely on these devices to accumulate more than one …


Economics and Investing:

Check the cushions! Thieves loot $18,000 worth of nickels from Florida home. – P.M. JWR Adds: Saving nickels makes sense. However, they are bulky and you will need to find a secure place for them. A hidden walk-in vault would be ideal, but just a very well-hidden compartment will suffice. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Fourth-Quarter GDP in U.S. Rose Less Than Prior Estimate Here Is What Americans Spent Their “Gas Savings” On Why Does Maryland Have The Most Millionaires Per Capita? The Answer Might Make You Angry Pending Home Sales Miss For 5th Month In A Row


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was doing some web wandering and discovered that my old friend Yasha at www.WhatACountry.com has some of the now quite scarce green tip SS109 5.56 ammo available. Theirs is Australian military M855, in 900 round cans. They also have some original “new old stock” MG-42 antiaircraft (AA) tripods available for just $269 each. These make great stand up range tripods for Class 3 shooters. Mount adapters are made for a wide variety of guns. It is hard to believe that there is still NEW WWII surplus equipment floating around! – JWR o o o I would suggest everyone watch …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan. If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and do them. This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain …


Notes for Friday – February 27, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 57 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 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, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with …


Your Brain On Paper—How to Write Useful Operating Instructions, by M.R. – Part 1

Do you have any idea how much of your prepper knowledge is actually recorded in your head and nowhere else? I’m talking about details that you think are common knowledge but aren’t actually common among those in your survival party. If you are the key member of the group—the one who has done the lion’s share of planning and training, it’s likely that others don’t know as much as you think they know or that they will be able to remember as much as you think they will. If you drop off your twig unexpectedly or suffer a mentally-incapacitating illness …


Letter Re: To Camo or Not To Camo?, by J.M.

Good morning, Hugh, J.M.’s letter on camouflage is a good one. As for group members procuring the more expensive camo patterns, digital camo is nearly impossible to duplicate, but “generic casual camo” can be home made. Begin with clothing of an appropriate base color. Desert requires tan shirts and pants, woodland a medium brown, urban a medium gray, and so forth. (Don’t get shirts and pants in exactly the same base shade; it’ll look like a suit.) A few dollars of clothing dye, rubber gloves, and some rags or inexpensive paintbrushes will allow adding random shapes of complimentary colors. When …