SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.
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Sadly, due to a freak accident, I’ve temporarily lost the use of my left hand for couple of days. I’ve been reduced to hunt-and-peck typing! Lets just say that anyone who tells you that they fear a firearm more than a knife in close quarters has no idea what they are talking about. The accident was self inflicted during work on the garden irrigation system, but the number of sutures required to repair the damage caused by a simple box cutter is terrifying. With that in mind, I’m just going to list some articles that SurvivalBlog and it’s readers readers found interesting. Hopefully, in a couple of days, the swelling will have gone down enough to allow for the fine motor control required by typing.
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What Hyperinflation In Venezuela Really Looks Like
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The Founders’ Lesson On Gun Control
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Michigan town’s feud over military gear gets ugly
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The Problem With Expired Medication. Note: Tetracycline becomes toxic, so you need to check your preps and rotate.
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What Kind of Information Does Google and Facebook Have on You?
California Democrats Seek To Ban Books, Speech That Violate LGBT Priorities
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How to change your iPhone or iPad password to a phrase. Go beyond a 4-digit or 6-digit password.
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Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
The legal system is pretty messed up in general, I definitely agree with that. I’ve dealt with trying to get justice in this legal system. It is no longer blind justice for the sake of justice. Now, it’s who you are, who you’ve offended, and then we will consider whether or not to allow you to have justice.
Down here in Mississippi, if you’re in a rural county with a good sheriff, if you have to defend yourself when you feared for your life, it falls under the castle doctrine. You can’t shoot them as they’re running away. They must be coming toward you, threatening you. But if you do that, it will fall under the castle doctrine.
At least for now, the south has a mentality of the honor code. I’ve heard people say, “well, it was an honor killing” as if that answered it. That means that someone was defending their honor, or the honor of their family. It comes from a herding culture, where to be a man, you have to have valor on the battlefield. You have to have a reputation of being the meanest, most violent man around. It is to make people respect you and your boundaries. If someone questions your integrity, you must defend it, to the point of death. If there is a fight, whoever comes out of it alive is who was right. It’s how it is. This may sound cruel to those not used to this mentality, but in its rawest form, this is how it is. In the animal kingdom, it’s also true. I’ve heard people say, “A person who would take what doesn’t belong to them is no better than a wild animal, and I will defend my property, material or animal, from a wild animal that would take or destroy what is mine.” To survive out in the wild, you must have that determination. Personally, I would rather deal with a wild animal than a human who has lost all common sense. A wild animal isn’t malicious. A human who would take or destroy what isn’t theirs, is malicious. But wild animals or crazed humans all understand and respect a human determined to protect and defend their property. You must have that protective determination to protect what is yours, even to the point of death. Historically, society had that mentality, and our laws reflect that. Sadly, they are being eroded.
Praying you heal quickly with no complications!
Hello Hugh.
Sorry to hear about the accident. I accomplished the same thing back in my golden days as a graphic artist.
Took the left half of my middle finger clean off with a number 11 X-Acto blade and a metal straight edge. My only shock-induced thoughts were what a damn stupid thing it was to leave a finger hanging out and to keep the blood off the artwork. Fingers can be reattached, but that drawing took me a long time to finish!
By the way, there doesn’t seem to be an option to reply to James’ comments about the mass exodus to the Redoubt. Was this an oversight? No responses desired?
Anyway thanks for making all the links despite your wound. Get well soon, and get a pipe cutter for that irrigation tubing!
Hey Hugh, take care and get well soon. I’m with Mr. Gene Blister of Idaho about the un-ability to respond to James’ comments on ‘Mass Exodus’???? Anyway you folks are pretty good about fixing those things.
One part of that article was about Californians” fleeing civil disarmament laws is not likely to flee to a place like Colorado, which is becoming more restrictive.” I was under the impression that the Citizens Of Colorado had Repealed many if not most of the Unlawful gun laws in the State Of Colorado, such as; So called high capacity magazine (you know, STANDARD capacity magazines) and more. If this is not so, can anyone let us know what was repealed and what was not.
It would be a shame if a beautiful state like Colorado fell in line with the Socialist movement.
Both articles are very informative Thanx for the info and keep up the good work.
Colorado’s gun laws could be a lot better. They are fairly restrictive, by the standards of other Western States. Their gun laws are summarized here: https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/colorado/
Sadly, there are no more private party sales of modern guns in Colorado. ALL sales must go through a Federally-licensed dealer, with a background check.
And, unlike Idaho, Wyoming, and Arizona, a permit is required to a carry a concealed firearm.
Worst of all, attempts to repeal the onerous “high capacity” magazine ban have failed. See: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/22/colorado-gun-hearing-2018/
With the Democrat Party in control of the Colorado State House, I expect things to get worse before they get any better.
Thanx for the info. Your right about Colorado’s gun laws ” could be less restrictive ” . What a shame I enjoyed living there, now it sounds like no one cares if it becomes a Socialist State.
Thanx again for info and keep up the good work.
Hugh, hope you heal quickly. Box cutters with breakable blades are terrifyingly dangerous. A lady who worked in my office required months of physio therapy after she cut her wrist badly while trimming some shoots of a window plant in my office. For work requiring some pressure to cut, use a Mill Knife or other fixed blade knife. God speed.
I have gotten into the habit of using cut resistant gloves when using any box cutters/razor knives. It has kept me from that kind of injuries so far.
For me the most dangerous tool is hammers, I have smashed 3 fingers severely, using them.
Yea hammers. Years ago I was putting the last nail in a garage door jamb. Nice hot summer day and my Wife and Kids were watching as the hammer slipped out of my sweat soaked hand. The hammer hit me just below the right eye. The guys at work started calling my Wife “the hammer”
HJL heal well. We have never met but it sounds like you are made of heart and gristle. Cut won’t keep you down for long.
Hugh, hope your wound heals cleanly.
“Been there, done that”. 3M Tegaderm Transparent Film Dressing is good for faster skin healing and debridement leaving less scar tissue.
Of course, to avoid any confusion, the above is not medical advice.
While debridement is an effective tactic in some cases, it is not always the correct wound care tactic.
Prior to making the decision on debridement, healthcare professionals must decide if the patient’s wound requires debridement to promote healing, and select the appropriate method based on the specific wound criteria and the patient’s overall health
This wound is actually in the forearm. I was cutting the circumference of the tubing. Most of the cut had the force away from my body, but the one section where the force was aimed at me was the area where the knife slipped. It was as fast as a rattler strike. I ended up with a slash the full depth of the boxcutter (~3/4 inch) running from just above the wrist on the inside of the forearm towards the inside of the elbow for about three inches. I had just put a fresh blade in so the cut is very clean and nothing critical was severed. No arterial bleeding, but lots of blood. Not fun for sure, but direct pressure kept the fluid leak to a minimum until it could be stitched.
As Gene mentioned above, my only thought was “stupid, stupid, stupid!” I knew better, but took a shortcut.
Hugh,
Stuff happens. It’s how you react to it. Sounds like you did the right thing afterwards.
Funny, like Gene above, I was working on a graphics project cutting foam core with an X-acto knife while holding down with my bare foot down a yard length metal ruler to score … listening to guitarist Peter Townsend of the ‘Who’ (last century rock group) imitating his 360-degree guitar swing … until I noticed I managed to cut off the tip of my toe overhanging the ruler.
First thought: Don’t get blood on the foam core model.
Second thought: Ha, I just did that. Interesting, until the realization hit me it was my toe part.
Third thought: Would hot glue (nowadays Super-Glue) work?
Moral: Air-Guitar and sharp objects don’t mix.
Best to a speedy recovery.
You may already know about Dr. Christopher’s Complete Tissue and Bone, if not please give the products a try. From many experiences I know they work. God knew what He was doing when giving us herbs.
Prayers,
Hmm, been there, done that. Used a knife off and on in 40 plus yrs in the packing house. Wishing you a speedy recovery
Get well soon, chief. I been cut by pros, and shot by amateurs, and I hated them both. You got to stay very well hydrated when you’re cut, it lessens the scar. When you’re shot, they usually IV the daylights out of you, to prevent shock, and replace mass in your vascular system, which of course helps get that blood pressure back up there. I’ve been cut to the bone several times, and some of the scars still hurt when touched. And cocoa butter on the healed cut, to help with stretching and preventing big scars. Didja get them staples? They tickle coming out. I took out my own staples and stitches, last time I was in hospital. The reason is that they always send a noob to take them out of you, so they can get valuable experience. On you. So I do it myself and save myself some pain. Just sterilize your hands, and have at it. Remember, when the SHTF, you’ll have to stitch yourself up, too. Only done that once. Ouchamundo.
This just in from Fox News; Effingham County, in southern Illinois, the County Board in a vote of 8-1 in favor of becoming a Sanctuary County For Gun Owners!
Go to Fox News.com for more info and video!
Evidently there are some seriously Ticked Off People in the state of Illinois!
Hugh,
Two years ago I managed to “filet” my left index finger tip with my table saw. Right to the bone. There really wasn’t much left to stitch up as a kerf like that produces a lot of ‘burger.
I did the self medication option and coated the wound with honey twice a day and kept a light bandage on it. Complete healing took a little over a week. I was astonished. Today the scar is only noticeable if one looks.
Several friends have used a honey pack on nasty hand wounds and again the healing was quite fast. Obviously this isn’t medical advice; it’s just a good “story” with a happy ending. YMMV
Hope you heal quickly.
Sir, I hope you recover quickly! Take care of yourself! We’ll be standing by!!
You are so spot on with the gun vs knife thing, HJL. A gun in close quarters is bad, maybe deadly, but you can “win” a confrontation with a knife and still be dead a minute later or permanently maimed. Nobody wins a knife fight, except in movies. General rule for fighting with a knife is being already convinced you will get cut and maybe die, and being okay with that. Not most peoples cup of tea. Hope you heal fast and suffer no permanent loss of function from this episode.
For what its worth, I took the entire pad of my right trigger finger to the bone and nail with a circular saw a couple of years ago. Went to a clinic to ensure no damage to the bone, got the open wound packed with gauze for my trouble. Now, the fingertip has a lot of nerve endings in it, which were a bit raw, so I was not watching as the doc wrapped it up. So imagine my surprise and chagrin when I removed the bandage the next day to find gauze embedded in the dished out wound site, and stuck fimly into the wound by dried blood and the like. I promise you, removal of that gauze was several orders of magnitude worse than the initial removal of tissue, or the subsequent probing and wrapping up at the clinic. And while the pad grew back, I have a nice scar just where some fibers of gauze I could not remove effectively must have impeded the healing process. I could have done better without the clinic, and should have.
Updates on CommRadio’s CTX-10
On April 16, 2018
By ncscout
https://brushbeater.wordpress.com/2018/04/16/updates-on-commradios-ctx-10/
“This QRP radio is ideal for field use and emergency operations.”
American made
Old Gray Wolf… You are also spot on. Sounds like you did a slightly better job than I did with removing finger parts unnecessarily. And yeah… gauze in those kinds of wounds scares me. I think most of us have been there & done that in some capacity. My application of honey seemed to have prevented the gauze from getting stuck as I did change the dressing twice a day and it was loosely wrapped. Hey… it worked well for me.
Lets all learn from HJL’s experience. Haste makes waste or as the Marines say it, slow is smooth; smooth is fast. Back to lurking for me. 😉