This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
Tonya sent this instructional video link: Building a Smokeless Burn Barrel.
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Mike in Alaska pointed me to this fascinating read: Exclusive Front-Line Report: Modern Trench Warfare in Eastern Ukraine.
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‘Doesn’t happen every day’: Bear climbs tree, bites Wisconsin deer hunter in the back.
Reader Tom R. sent this:
“To your comment about HF signals being hard to find, they can be located almost instantly using TDOA and, if aircraft or satellites are involved, FDOA. DF is just a bonus when closing on the transmitter.”
JWR Replies: I suspect that to achieve truly precise NVIS HF-DF accuracy, a TDOA HF system must be supplemented with a chirp sounder to gauge which layer of the ionosphere a signal is propagating from. That data wouldn’t be necessary with a long-duration signal intercepted by a space-based FDOA system. However only a few national-level intelligence agencies have access to that equipment, and it must be specifically tasked, based on the priority of the intercept mission. Intercepting some militia in Michigan’s HF comms will probably not make it to the top of the NSA’s tasking list.
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A Naomi Brockwell video: Snowden recommends THIS operating system: Tails.
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Reader C.R. sent:
“I wanted to mention another book by Gary Paulsen, The Rifle. My older son brought the book home from his elementary school. Circumstances arose and I decided to read it. In a nutshell, a flintlock rifle, passed down/passed around ended up being loaded-for a hundred years? Placed upon the mantle of a house, the sparks from the fire land on the frizzen and cause the gun to discharge. The projectile goes through the wall of that home and through the wall of the adjacent house, striking a 10 year old boy in the head, killing him.
I remember thinking what a terrible tale this was. Why was it written for young readers and why did my son’s teacher have the book in the classroom?
My takeaway from the book was that firearms were to be feared, not treated with respect. Paulsen did a great disservice to his young readers, as well as to the 2nd Amendment.
He had an unpleasant childhood, and the darkness of this book reflects that.
He is not alone- there are many more authors writing these kinds of books. I subbed last school year(had a ball) and on more than one occasion read with my class. Inevitably the father was dying, or there was a divorce- some family tragedy was the story’s anchor.
Do kids need to read this in the 4th and 5th grade? If it is relatable, should the kids living it have to live it in the classroom too?
Parents need to know what is going on in their children’s classrooms. And parents should have a say in what goes on.”
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Michelle sent this video link: Arizona sheriff goes viral for message against mandating vaccines.
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Doc wrote us:
“Tennessee has changed a lot, with Nashville looking like a forest of tower cranes building new apartments and business buildings. New homes are being built in the country away from small towns. Real estate is a sellers market and prices have gone out of sight and the supply is drying up. Rent is high and the wages are low in the rural areas.
A lot of folks are coming in from the coasts and don’t have a place to live when they get here, and the weather is getting cooler. We welcome conservative folks that leave all the crazy laws and regulations back where they came from. We are having some bare shelves here, but a lot of shelves are full of junk food; not what you can survive on. Ammo is available for some calibers, but the local folks bought it years ago. If you arrive with money, you can survive. If you want to get a loan with no job and plan to live on welfare, stay where you are; you can starve and freeze here. We don’t have a warm beach where you can sleep, like Florida and California!”
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Reader R.S.C. noted:
“I am not a cell phone techie. I recently heard that a smart phone not connected to a phone service like AT&T for example can still function as a electronic (non-phone) device through it’s WiFi capability. That is, if I understand it correctly, it can act much like your laptop computer and go on-line and use the internet even though it is a “decommissioned” phone. I could be wrong but this sounds like it could be really useful to preppers. Perhaps you could solicit one of your readers who may have the expertise to explain this and how to use it.”
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An anonymous reader sent this snippet:
“I just came across a piece with a list ofcompanies that have donated BIG DOLLARS to anti-2a organizations and/or politicians, which sadly, you have probably supported with your hard earned law abiding dollars.
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Ken D. in South Dakota wrote:
“I was forwarded a copy of your Survival Blog article citing Daniel Greenfield regarding California’s trucker.
Before we escaped California, we lived in Colfax, CA, a small (pop. 1,400) at the time, railroad town halfway between Sacramento and Reno on Interstate 80.
In 2008 I found myself appointed to our city council after the mayor and vice-mayor abruptly quit because one of them stated she “did not like being yelled at!”!!!!
I was talked into running for a seat in the following election and ended up serving as mayor from 2010-2011. After my term was completed in 2012, I was asked to run again in 2014 and I did, to back up the incoming mayor with whom I had served previously.
In February 2015, I was asked to serve on committee investigating the California Air Resources Board due to the damage they were doing to the trucking industry and by extension, the logging industry. CARB’s actions did not affect just the truckers.
In many logging communities, all of a sudden the cafes, restaurants, movie theaters, medical facilities, gas stations and other businesses were gradually drained financially due to truckers leaving for “business-friendly” states.
But CARB was not satisfied damaging those ‘Mom and Pop’ businesses…they also colluded (my opinion) in ruining other businesses like the Drake’s Bay Oyster Company which specialized in farming oysters and sending them around the country. This was a “Green” business WAY BEFORE the ‘New Green Deal’ was even a thought. There are numerous references to the business online.”
Please Send Us Your Snippets!
Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR. or AVL. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.