Year: 2015

Notes for Tuesday – July 14, 2015

July 14th is the birthday of Colonel Einar A. Malmstrom. He was born in 1907 and died August 21, 1954 near Great Falls, Montana, in the crash of a T-33 jet. He was a decorated Air Force pilot, a Luft Stalag POW survivor, and test pilot. Malmstrom AFB was one of the settings for JWR’s novel Founders. (The base was named in his honor.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 59 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 …


A Year’s Supply of Food on a Budget, by J.H.

Without enough food, all other preparations you do are worthless. In a SHTF (grid-down) scenario if you are out of food, there may not be any way to obtain more. This article represents my own research on how to get a year’s supply of food on a budget. By the end of this article, you will see how I can feed a family of four for under $2,000 for an entire year. Initial Criteria and Plan First off, let me tell you why my focus is on inexpensive instead of nutrition or other criteria. The short answer is I don’t …


Letter Re: Steel Buildings

Hugh, The key is the galvanized steel used in metal building construction (galvanized to prevent rust). Galvanized steel with the difference in electrical conductivity between zinc and iron makes a primitive capacitor but more importantly exhibits dielectric properties. From Wikipedia (to make it a simple explanation): A dielectric material (dielectric for short) is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. When a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the material as they do in a conductor, but only slightly shift from their average equilibrium positions causing dielectric polarization. …



Economics and Investing:

Greece Today, America Tomorrow? o o o For America’s economy, the end is nigh – H.L. o o o Strategic Investment Manager Warns Of Worldwide Financial Detonation: The Whole Thing Is Going To Blow Up – B.B. o o o Global Banking System on the Verge of Total Collapse o o o Why Greece Is The Precursor To The Next Global Debt Crisis – H.L.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Our friend Commander Zero had a link to a fascinating article by a Montana journalist Michael Finkel: The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit o o o An excellent article on the mentality of homesteading: There’s Nothing You Can Do? o o o The liberal-progressives are at it again: Don’t make a success out of life – ( It’s simply too rough on your health ) – T.P. HJL adds: Contrast that article with the one just above it! o o o Are Private Companies Color Coding Your House For Law Enforcement? In other words, if the …




Scot’s Product Review: Emdom Gear

One of life’s little problems is how to carry the things we need. A lot of junk can go into pockets, but what about all the stuff that can’t, particularly in a self-defense scenario? We may have to hide our defensive equipment, but in some scenarios we don’t. That’s where gear like belts, chest rigs, and plate carriers can come in handy, especially if they have the Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS) found on most western military Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) these days. PALS is a system of webbing that allow you to mesh one piece of gear to …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Ruger’s Model 77/17 in .17 WSM

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I remember when the .17 WSM (Winchester Super Magnum) round first came out, and I believe it was Savage Arms who was the first gun maker to chamber this hot, new round in their rifle. Everyone was jumping on the bandwagon to get this new rifle and new caliber. I sat back and waited for a while before taking a close look at the .17 WSM. I liked what I saw and what my results were in my testing. Still, I wasn’t about to run out and buy a rifle chambered in .17 WSM. Ruger recently announced their Model 77/17 …


Recipe of the Week: Grandmother Upton’s Shortcake, by Nan

Here is my grandmother Upton’s shortcake recipe. This is fantastic with strawberries or peaches. Of course, Grandma served this with some real whipped cream. It serves six. Ingredients: 2 cups of flour 5 tsp. (rounded) baking powder 1 good pinch of salt 5 Tbsp. Crisco, butter, or margarine 3 tsp. sugar slightly less than 3/4 cup whole milk Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a fork or pastry cutter, blend together the dry ingredients with the Crisco and sugar. Stir in the whole milk. Using a fork, press mixture into …


Letter Re: EMP Shielding

HJL, Hi! Can anyone tell me why parking your vehicle in a metal building will not provide the same EMP shielding as a metal ammo box or trash can? If my building is all steel, with no windows and has a metal roll up door, then where is the wave penetration? I was wondering if any experts out there knew the answer. Thanks. – R.M. HJL Responds: The key to a Faraday cage is that the construction has good electrical conductivity across the entire surface and that there are no “holes” that are large enough to allow significant leakage through …



Odds ‘n Sods:

The WHY of the Christian States of America.. – C.B. o o o It’s good to see some good peace officers out there! Constitutionally aware police officer dresses down thug security guard – T.P. o o o The Army’s robo-exoskeleton will help soldiers shoot straighter – D.S. HJL Adds: This will be an interesting development to follow. It has always been my understanding that the tremors it is designed to combat are not the issue with “misses” but instead it’s the co-ordination with simultaneously pulling the trigger and holding on target. Our brains have a tendency to want to jerk …