Our 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.
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This new video shows that the Gear Rack guys still have DRMO surplus stacked to the rafters, and more truckloads arriving regularly: We Bought 20,000 LBS of Military Surplus From the U.S. Military [1]. If you place an order with Gear Rac [2]k, then be sure to mention that you saw them linked at SurvivalBlog. (They really should be a SurvivalBlog advertiser or a writing contest prize sponsor. Hint, hint.)
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Note that most U.S. military surplus companies are presently grossly overstocked on the dreaded “gray blob” UCP digital camo gear. But there is a cure for that: Dyeing Military Surplus 101 [3]. For anyone on a tight budget, this is a viable option.
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The Internet, Reinvent [4]ed. JWR’s Comments: Mesh radio networks work fine in cities, but they have hardly any utility in lightly-populated regions, or at sea. A mesh depends on having numerous nodes. Without that density, you’ll be better off using HF skywave or point-to-point line of sight, perhaps supplemented by a 2-Meter repeater network, if you can touch one. (Our ranch is too remote for that.)
Tim. J. sent this: Solving the 2×4 US lumber problem [5].
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Reader Connie in Missouri wrote:
“I found the recent graphic on firewood availability to be interesting. I live in southwest Missouri. The graphic was correct for our area. We heat with wood, only using electric space heaters and heat lamps in the kitchen, well house and chicken coop during extremely cold spells. We only cut dead or downed trees on our property to use as part of our supply. We’re trying to save it in case our main supply fails. Our main reason for cutting these trees is fire safety, keeping wild fire fuel supply to a minimum.
All of the supplies needed to store firewood we also get for free. Even if you don’t have the resources available, free firewood and storage supplies can be found. I am not on Facebook, but have friends that tell me they see free firewood on there fairly regularly. My son got free storage supplies for his wood on Facebook. I’ve also seen these kinds of supplies and wood on Craigslist. All it takes is time and patience to get a good supply stored up, essentially for free. As energy costs continues to increase these may become less available as more people decide to use these resources. The time to stock up is before the rest of the world has to pivot to free and reduced-priced things.”
I was asked by a consulting client about how he could make contingency plans for an A.I. takeover of the economy. We discussed a number of issues, starting with traditional prepping, large-scale gardening, and home-based self-sufficiency. (He has just 5 acres of land, but he is 125 miles away from the nearest city of 250,000+.) We also discussed the importance of developing both a trade skill and a home business for his family to transition to, if and when he loses his white collar telecommute job. He settled on small appliance repair and power tool repair as his trade. My client mentioned acquiring a metal lathe, a drill press, and a high-temperature 3D printer as the requisite tools to operate a home-based manufacturing/mailorder business. He plans on: “You name it and I’ll print it for you at a good price–but I keep the rights to the design” as his business model. His hope is that his planned trade and his business should facilitate one another, synergistically. Our consulting call ended with a lengthy prayer. – JWR
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Speaking of A.I., in the last few months, two readers both mentioned the near-future military novel Wretched Descent, by Robert Leach [6]. Leach recently retired after 21 years in the U.S. Army, and now works “…within the halls of the 5th Special Forces Group as a project manager on the Futures Command, Catalyst-Pathfinder program.” Leach also wrote, forebodingly:
“My experience over the last twenty years and my further work in the military innovation space has placed me in a particularly unique position to write a novel such as Wretched Descent. I truly believe the nature of war is shifting, and the rapid pace of technological change will only cause the distinction to be all the more destructive for militaries as they struggle to keep up with the unprecedented disruption. I see Wretched Descent as not only a tool for readers to visualize what reality could look like within the next unforeseen war but as a beacon of caution for all industries, as the pace of change continues to outstrip our capacity to comprehend the full implications of the machines we create.”
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A video with some useful advice from an Aussie: I Started a 3D Printing Business from Home – Here’s My Advice [7].
And from an American, with a larger-scale biz: You’re Asking the Wrong Question… 3D Print Business Advice [8].
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There are lots of new retreat-worthy listings over at SurvivalRealty.com. Here are just two examples:
10 Acre Turn Key Homestead w/ Main House, Off Grid Cabin, High Tunnels…Much More in Mississippi [9].
and,
14-Acre organically maintained New Hampshire Homestead with Open & Wooded Land, ADU, and brook [10].
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Two new suppressor design videos:
Colion Noir: The Budget Suppressor Nobody Expected [11].
and,
Garand Thumb: Silent Weapons For Urban Collapse / Urban Clandestine Warfare [12].
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Jim Snow 2.0: Mamdani Requires Snow-Shovel Volunteers Show Two Forms Of ID, Social Security Card [13].
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JPMorgan Admits to Closing Over 50 Trump Bank Accounts [14]. JWR’s Comment: I was de-banked in February, 2022 by my bank in Nevada [15], without any warning or proper explanation. I had never bounced a check. I kept the account quite active, with monthly deposits (by mail) and checks written. I always kept a positive balance of at least $2,000, in a non-interest bearing account. I was a perfect customer, but someone there decided to treat me like Kryptonite.
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From our friend Patrice Lewis: The blessings of proper tools [16].
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Tam at the great View From The Porch [17] blog posted a link to this fascinating piece: How far back in time can you understand English? [18]
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Please Send Us Your Snippets!
Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR [19]. or AVL [19]. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact [20] form.