Notes for Monday – May 08, 2017

May 8th is the birthday of missionary and U.S. military intelligence officer John Birch. (Born, 1918, died August 25, 1945.) Many considered him to be the first American casualty of the Cold War.

o o o

SurvivalBlog is introducing a new column this week. We intend  to let our readership know that we are not “armchair preppers”.  We actually live the life that we write about! Each week, we will share a bit of what our plans for the week are to further our preps and we invite you to do so as well. Be prepared, because we all know that no plan survives contact with the enemy. This weekend, we’re going to ask you how you did with your plan.

A couple of things to note:

As you share, please be mindful of good OPSEC and don’t post personally identifying information…




Bushnell Equinox Night Vision Scope, by Pat Cascio

This week, I will be reviewing The Bushnell Equinox Night Vision Scope.

Most SurvivalBlog.com readers readily know that I’m a bargain hunting hound. I have to be. I simply don’t have enough income to purchase all the “toys” I want. It’s been this way my entire life, too. Several of my are amazed at my bartering skills and survival mindset, but I have to be this way. Now that I’m semi-retired and collecting my very meager social security benefits each month, I once again am forced by life to make do with what we have.

I know that many people believe that all writers make millions of dollars a year. If only that were the case! Most gun writers I know hold down a second regular job. They can’t live on what they are paid for their articles. What we do is akin to a “ministry”, if you will. Our hearts are in it. We love to pass along information to our readers. When testing various products, we all hope we get it right most of the time.

The local gun shop knows that I love a bargain. It has to be a bargain before I’ll even look at a firearm and consider purchasing it. Every now and then, the gun shop will set a firearm aside for me. They seem to know that I’ll probably buy it some how! I know I’m in trouble when I walk in the front door and someone starts waving a gun in the air to get my attention. Grrrr!!




Recipe of the Week: Basic Bread, by P.B.

I have been using this recipe for about 20 years and continue to experiment with different ingredients and techniques. My favorite is still using the basic ingredients, letting it cool overnight, and slicing it for toast the next morning. My neighbors like it also.

Ingredients

4 to 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 to 2 teaspoons of granular yeast
about 1 3/4 to 2 cups of warm water[2]

May also use the following items (examples):

1/4 cup of wheat germ;
1/4 cup of oatmeal;
1/4 cup of rye flour;
1/4 cup of cornmeal;




The Editors’ Preps for the Week – May 8th, 2017

To be prepared for a crisis, every prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors will share their planned prep activities for the coming week, ranging from healthcare and purchases to property improvements and food storage. We also welcome you to share your planned activities for increasing personal preparedness in the coming week in the comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR:

The Rawles ranch is abuzz with activity as the snow has melted and life has begun to spring forth. This is the time of year that we prepare our firewood for the next season, so we are actively cutting wood. We like to manage similar projects at the same time, so this is an excellent time to a little bit of wildfire preparation. We are clearing underbrush and stacking in piles to burn this week These slash piles are still slightly damp so they take a while to burn, but that is certainly better than a raging conflagration of completely dry wood.

HJL:

With springtime quickly upon us, prepping is kicking into high gear around the Latimer homestead. The goals are starting to look ambitious:




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks to watch, investing opportunities, hedges, derivatives, and the precious metals markets. These are all from the quirky “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR:

Precious Metals:

The Outlook for Asian Gold Demand in 2017. Hmmmm… Note the recent spike in Swiss exports to China.

Commodities Economics:

Consider the source of this press release, but this sounds promising: Industrial Commodity Prices to Rise in 2017: World Bank.




The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.” – Stephen King, Different Seasons