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.
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Helene the most destructive hurricane in North Carolina history; estimated $53 billion in damage.
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New Chinese Mystery Flattop Emerges. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)
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Reader Richard T. wrote:
“I recently sold a generator that I had for many years and started doing some research on a replacement. The recent article this past week suggested that would be a good topic for the blog. After doing my work I decided to work on alternatives to a generator, the reason being is that in the past 30 years we lived here there has only been one outage that affected us for over 24 hours. Since that time the electrical system in our locality has been significantly upgraded. We did have one outage several hours long, the only time I ever hooked up the generator, and it came back before I had our generator operating. The only reason we would be concerned for an extended power outage is loss of food stored in the freezer. To have an alternative we would be ready to can food and to salt cure meat and to smoke it. We would rely on Starlink in our vehicle and charge our Bluetti from the vehicle. I’ve learned a lot from the local Amish on how to live with minimal lighting, I’ve learned how to get around the house in the dark and have solar lighting, kerosene lamps. The problem for us with a generator is the amount of fuel to keep on hand and to be continuously cycling it, the noise they would make and in general the continual maintenance. So we shall take our chances. I would like to see articles on how others have planned to live through an extended power outage without the use of a generator.”
JWR Replies:
Here at our ranch, one of our upright freezers is propane. It is a Blizzard brand, 17.3 cubic feet. I consider it worth the expense to buy one. They are made in Ohio by a company that is an Amish venture. Since your other power needs are modest, you might consider getting a small Yamaha. They are very quiet! The model I recommend is the Yamaha EF3000iS. That is a 3,000 watt inverter generator. And, if you can get by with the power produced by a smaller model, they are even more quiet.
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He’s still looking for a wife. See: A Farm Field of Dreams: Looking For a Wife For a Consulting Client.
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In Texas: Why a Hill Country school district will allow some teachers to carry guns.
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Bird flu detected in a pig for the first time in the U.S., raising concerns.
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‘He woke up’: Thousands fleeing organ-donation programs after man prepped while still alive. (A hat tip to reader D.S.V. for the link.)
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Major Lost Maya City Discovered While Searching Google.
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Reader “Sis” wrote:
“Good evening. Just a quick comment on storing food. Be careful not to store it around strongly scented items such as soap or even onions if the stored food is flour, sugar, or something else that you wouldn’t want to smell like the strongly scented items. 5-gallon buckets aren’t that difficult to acquire. Check out bakeries and pizza places. They are quite rodent-proof. Even pack rats have a hard time getting in them. They might chew on the lid a bit but I’ve never had one actually get in it that way. Be careful not to stack the heavy buckets too high unless you put a piece of plywood in between the stacked buckets. Otherwise, they tend to break the lower lid and then become accessible to varmints and critters. Just a bit of life experience.”
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Three Basic Compass Skills Everyone Should Learn.
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Reader D.S.V. sent us this: Fire erupts in southeast Missouri at one of world’s largest lithium-ion battery facilities.
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6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Oregon Coast near Bandon.
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And, lastly, from SurvivalBlog reader C.B.: World’s Tallest Teenager Is Set to Make College Basketball History.
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.