Month: May 2016

Notes for Friday – May 13, 2016

May 13th is the birthday of firearms engineer Theodor Koch (born 1905, died 1976.) Koch, along with Edmund Heckler and Alex Seidel salvaged tooling from the bombed-out Mauser factory at Oberndorf, and with it founded Heckler und Koch. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 64 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 …


Using EMP-Hardened HF Ham Radio to Send/Receive E-Mail During Nationwide Outage- Part 1, by PrepperDoc

There are multiple possible scenarios that may result in a regional an/or national combined loss of Internet connectivity and cell/telephone service, during which you would probably wish to maintain communications to loved ones and others. EMP may destroy routers, cell towers, and power sources; solar coronal mass ejection (CME) may remove power from all communications systems; cyber warfare may have similar outcomes. Travel in some of these circumstances will be difficult, or dangerous to impossible. Ham radio VHF/UHF repeaters may go down, due to power outages or EMP. Direct, point to point simplex VHF Ham radio will still work (even …


Letter Re: Venezuela Eating Worse

Hugh, I understand the situation. The people are desperate. Looking at those pictures it is easy to see they are subsisting on too many starches, which makes them appear well fed, though they are not. So I’m not meaning to criticize, but there is also in those pictures of their food something of note. There’s lots of foods there that can be reproduced. Seeds in the veggies can be planted, beans can be planted, coax seeds from the onions and carrots, plant a potato, etc. Are they doing that? Do they have a place to do that? Would it be …


Economics and Investing:

Frank Holmes: Gold Is Crushing It So Far this Year o o o Soaring Silver ETFs to Snap Up as Metals Shine o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Free Markets Do Not Need Negative Interest Rates (Mises) Excerpt: “An almost line-by-line critique of this article would be necessary, for the arguments in it are so ill-conceived and fallacious that it is hard to ignore them.” Freddie Mac Narrowly Avoids Tapping Treasury for Money (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “Lawmakers and officials have been concerned that, as government stewardship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stretches into an eighth year, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Video: Nightmarish Dashcam Footage Shows Escape from Fort McMurray Fire – Sent in by RBS o o o The new EMP/Collapse/Martial Law movie AmeriGEDDON will be released on May 13th. Although the budget and production value look low, the theme will be of interest to most SurvivalBlog readers. o o o Ammon Bundy had intended refuge occupation to end up in civil court, lawyers say – Sent in by B.B. o o o An excellent review of “How London got its new Muslim mayor”: London’s new Muslim mayor confirms urban Britain’s cultural transformation. – M.B. o o o ‘We could …



Notes for Thursday – May 12, 2016

Camping Survival just started a factory authorized three day sale on the lifestraw products. It is flying out the door at $14.95. This sale expires on 5/13/16 and no coupon is necessary. You might also checkout their Boone brands canned foods while you are there as well. o o o I just noticed that Cold Steel has put the few remaining limited edition Rawles Voyager knives up for sale at Amazon.com, for less than $85 each. Order yours, before they sell out! – JWR o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 64 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing …


Notes from “The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs”, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Did you know that you can get an estimate of distances and elevations conveniently using nothing more than your eyes and your hands? It’s really quite amazing and useful; hikers, hunters, and preppers really need to learn these skills. Ol’ Remus at the Woodpile Report (www.woodpilereport.com) recently recommended a book by Tristan Gooley entitled The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: outdoor clues to find your way, predict the weather, locate water, track animals and other forgotten skills. It sounded downright intriguing, so I’ve been reading it on my Kindle and enjoying it quite a bit. The first Appendix had …


Letter: Observations on the Fires in Canada

Hugh, I wanted to comment on the article about the folks fleeing the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Canada. I saw some classic SurvivalBlog themes in there: Keep your gas tanks full. The gas station owner noted that people were “fighting each other to get gas, growing more and more desperate as the afternoon wore on.” Keep your gas tanks full, (yes I’m repeating myself). Later on the writer notes people were abandoning their cars on the highway since they knew they wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it to their destination. Don’t be a refugee. The folks that went to …



Economics and Investing:

This Amazing Silver Trend Will Make Short Term Price Movements Irrelevant o o o Of Course the US Government Will Default on Its Debt – Sent in by B.B. o o o 90% Off Sale On Offshore Drilling Rigs? – The oil price bust has struck the offshore sector especially hard, leading to nothing less than a fire sale of oil and gas rigs. o o o Company plans to mothball Carlsbad potash plant – Note that this is a basic mineral used for fertilizer everywhere. Also ties in to reduced train loads, as it is normally shipped by rail. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Flameout: Bill Whittle’s Afterburner Finale – Once you’ve watched that, please DO go and visit BillWhittle.com o o o Trump vs. Hillary: What Are My Options? – Excerpt: “…I commit that I will be on my knees in the early morning praying for our nation–regardless of the outcome. For unless we are His children these elections just turn into modern day “towers of Babel” thinking ourselves so wise that we can outdo God.” o o o Combat Knife Instructor Ralph Thorn shows how to “no spin” throw a knife (or just about any similar sized metal object ) in two …



Notes for Wednesday – May 11, 2016

On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted into the United Nations. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 64 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 that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize …


Readiness Mindset: Your Most Important Survival Tool- Part 2, by B.G.

Keep yourself from giving up. Always stay positive. Negativity will kill you faster than the lack of nourishment, enemy combatants, or nature. It is an absolute guarantee that you will fail, if you give up. Staying calm and keeping a positive mindset will give you the mental endurance to continue on and make good decisions. Find your mental trigger. This is what you will think about when you are on your last leg, ready to give up, or don’t think you can do what needs to be done. This will be your motivation to push that one more mile, to …