Year: 2015


Notes for Sunday – February 22, 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 …


Wisely Preparing for a Healthy and Secure Future, by J.O.

Growing up, I never put too much thought into “the future”– that long distant and magical place always just beyond the horizon. Born and raised in Queens, New York, I was immersed in the leftist mindset of self-entitlement and self-superiority. Never once did I consider how unremarkable and fragile my existence truly was. I was smart, strong, good in a fight, and clever enough to not get caught when I was up to no good…at least until I wasn’t. Enter a good soul with a badge, who spoke on my behalf, and a kind man with a gavel. The long …


Two Letters Re: Bug Out Bag (Baloney), by R.S.

Hugh, I am in full agreement with R.S. As a backpacker, the thought of a 60lb bug out bag for even a three-day hike is pretty laughable. Also, no matter what your ability to carry a load, you’ll be limited by the suspension system of the bag. Some of the better packs out there have beefed-up suspension pads that better distribute the weight to your hips and off your shoulders. With relatively lightweight compressible gear, I can get down to about 3500ci for a pack size and 35 lbs for a 3-day pack, not including food, water, or ammunition. I …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Dear Hugh, I had to attend a LEO meeting at the county courthouse. Waiting around between sessions, some local inner-city police there were showing me “another goofy idea” that their higher-ups were considering implementing to make locals “feel good”. Ta-Da! Enter “Alternative Ballistics”. I asked these officers: “If you ran up against an armed criminal with speed the likes of Ed McGivern or Jerry Miculek, can you mount this device in, say 1/2 second, before your adversary gets off his first shot?” (They called this thing “another ‘widow-maker’”.) Another inquiry as to: “Would you use this at your own home …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“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 arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” – Mark 4:37-39 (KJV)


Notes for Saturday – February 21, 2015

February 21st is the birthday of Zimbabwe’s President For Life, Comrade Robert Mugabe (born 1924). Despite the 2011 revelations of the apparent murder of at least 640 political opponents, Mugabe was elected again in 2013 to a five year term in office. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF henchmen must be driven out office and sent to prison, where they belong! February 21st is also the birthday of Group Captain Douglas Bader (born 1910, died 5 September 1982). He was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during the Second World War. He lost his legs in a pre-war flying accident, but …


Save A Life, by H.H.

I could not help but reflect, when I read the article under the Odds N’ Sods section about a person being at a range and looking like they did not belong. This was me, too. I appreciate the lady protecting her children. However, I, too, once walked onto a gun range and did not know what I was doing. My first outing at a gun range was while I was in college. I received a Concealed Carry Permit (CCP) from our Sheriff before I was 21 under the circumstances exception rule, as I was driving two hours to college and …


Letter Re: Surviving Homeschool, by M.

I am always excited to read about others Home-Schooling or “home educating” their children. I am a veteran of home-schooling our four children through high-school (or secondary school, for our international friends). They are all now married with small children of their own, and each have become competent adults with a sober view of the future. When we started, home education was only a few years legal in my state. Before the birth of our first child, we had already met two families of “renegade home schoolers” who were educating their children at home secretly because they were appalled by …


Economics and Investing:

The revival of the American debt machine: auto loans, student debt, and credit card debt surge in latest report. Total non-housing debt now at $3.15 trillion. o o o Greece is a sideshow – watch US T-bonds instead. – A.D. o o o Infographic: Too Big to Fail o o o “When central banks print money nothing begins to make sense!”— “It is no longer a free market. Markets are now manipulated by governments and notably by their agents, the central bankers.”


Odds ‘n Sods:

Law enforcement divided over releasing StingRay docs. – K.D. o o o The nanny state strikes again! We’ll see how long it takes this to make it into the school lunch program. America Should Adopt ‘Plant-Based’ Diet. – D.S. o o o Spies Can Track You Just by Watching Your Phone’s Power Use. – RBS o o o Too Many Lies, Too Much of the Time o o o From one of our favorite video blogs – Wranglerstar: How To Build A Treehouse



Notes for Friday – February 20, 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 …


Surviving Homeschool, by M.

As I began this homeschool journey, my expectations and reality have clashed more times than I’d like to count. Being a former teacher, I love to make lesson plans and think of how I can relate a topic or subject to incite excitement and see the light of understanding dawn on the student’s face. I love that part of teaching. (Most teachers do.) However, the daily life of homeschooling was much different than that of a typical school room. My days start when I wake up and don’t end until I go to bed. I am always “ON,” which makes …