Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 10, 2023

May 10th is the birthday of the late Janis Pinups (born 1925, died 15 June 2007). He was one of the last of the Forest Brothers anti-communist resistance fighters. He came out of hiding, after five decades, to obtain a Latvian passport in 1994, after the collapse of Eastern European communism. (He was never issued any communist government identity papers and by necessity lived as a nonexistent “ghost” during the entire Soviet occupation of Latvia.) The history of the Forest Brothers movement certainly deserves more recognition. May 10th is the birthday of the late Col. Jeff Cooper. He was born …




A New Freeze Dryer – Part 2, by Captain Nemo

(Continued from Part 1.) Testing and Bread Run Once things are assembled, it’s time to test the machine. From the start screen, press the leaf logo to go to the testing screen. They want you to close the door and also close the drain valve. Begin by touching the freeze switch. The refrigeration system will kick on and the chamber will begin to cool. Next, turn on the vacuum switch, and the pump should start. Let both run for 30 minutes. Within 20 minutes the pressure should be below 500 mTorr. If it is not, call Harvest Right Customer Support. …




SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Coming from the geographical determinist school of history study, I found this 20-minute video fascinating: Facts In Geography Never Taught In Schools — Thomas Sowell. For some further reading on geographical determinism, I recommend the book  Zones of Conflict. o  o  o A special request from JWR: A close family member of …