HJL, I am a truck driver. At any giving time I am about 200 to 600 miles from my house. In a mad max scenario, martial law, et cetera, I have a get home bag that I keep with me at all times. What I want to know is, what would be the best way to get home? Do I follow the roads? Do I go through the woods? Do I follow train tracks? I have a map of the rail system. Thanks and keep up the good work. – J.M. HJL comments: The answer is “Yes”, to all of …
Copper Like iron, copper is an essential element in a person’s diet. Too much copper, however, can cause health problems, as it accumulates primarily in the liver and kidneys. Like the current issue with lead in the water supply in Flint, Michigan, copper in drinking water can come from corrosion of copper pipes. Flushing the tap for 30 to 45 seconds can reduce the copper that has accumulated when the plumbing is not in use. Reverse osmosis or ion exchange are effective at reducing excessive copper from water. Lead The recent events in Flint, Michigan have raised awareness of problems …
After years of dreaming, planning, saving, and sweating, you are finally ready to leave occupied territory and make your move to the American Redoubt. You have poured over maps, studied census data, consulted with real estate professionals, and talked to county planning and assessors offices. You now are down to your short list, but what about the water supply? Water can make or break your new homestead. “It’s no problem,” you say. You checked the well logs, and the general area has good producing wells of reasonable depth, or your selected property already has a well. What is a Well …
HJL, In response to the question “Let them in or not?” in “Dealing with Troubled Teens in a Post-Collapse World- Part 1”, do yourself a favor and answer “NO!” to that question. Dealing with a “troubled teen” when the child is your own is one thing. Voluntarily inviting that kind of volatility into an already bad situation is sheer insanity! Not only will the child not listen to you, you run the risk of an “authority conflict” between you and the child’s parents. This will affect everyone under your roof and could spell disaster for all. Reaching out to others …
Aside from sexually-related conversation, which is discouraged in the classroom, food is probably the number one topic of interest among juvenile inmates. After assignments are collected and they are conversing in the few minutes of free time before an officer comes to escort them out, these juveniles endlessly talk about what will be their first meal after they get released from jail. Needless to say, they’re not too thrilled with the bland institutional food they get. Burritos, burgers, cakes, cookies, and candy are among the delectable delicacies that they can’t wait to sink their teeth into. Imagine what things will …
The collapse has happened. You thought you were prepared for just about any challenging circumstance. Do you have enough food? Check. Enough water? Check. Enough guns and ammo? Check. Are you ready to deal with unexpected guests, including lazy, rebellious, criminal, troubled teenagers? You better check! Why do I bring up this issue, you may ask? Maybe it’s because in my own line of work as a substitute teacher, I come into contact with quite a few teenagers. Before I retired, I taught in elementary school, middle school, and even adult school. After retirement, I’ve had the unique opportunity to …
The garden is doing well so far this year, and we are right now awash in romaine lettuce. Ten little lettuce seeds at planting time doesn’t seem like much, until the stuff is ready to harvest all at once. There are only so many salads a person can consume. Anyway, taco pizza is one of our favorite ways to use up our fresh lettuce when we tire of salads. It’s terrific! Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef 1 packet (1.0/1.25 oz.) taco seasoning 1 pizza crust of choice (I prefer the box of Jiffy or packet of Great Value; they are …
More and more individuals today are diagnosed with food allergies and sensitivities, and the market for foods which contain alternate ingredients is ever-expanding, reacting to the increasing demand for tolerable foods. There is a definite difference between a food allergy and a food sensitivity. Healthline.com describes the most common symptoms of a food allergy as hives, swelling, itching, dizziness, and anaphylaxis. Symptoms of a food sensitivity include bloating, diarrhea, constipation, cramping, and nausea. Regardless of the reaction, a person with an allergy or sensitivity to even common pantry staples must remain vigilant when shopping, cooking, and dining out. As one …
Mr. Latimer: Regarding the problem of smelly outhouses– Deuteronomy 23:13 directs us to “cover that which cometh from thee.” This can be done with soil, or with sawdust, straw, or other common materials. If this is done every time the pit privy is used, the foul odor is nearly eliminated, rendering it no worse than a properly-functioning compost pile. This will also help to reduce danger of contaminants leaching out into the water table. It also eliminates most of the fly problems. You will notice that this is the equivalent of a composting toilet, primitive style. However, there is no …
Latrine Alternatives There are many alternatives to using a latrine, all of which have positive and negative aspects to them. By far and away the best option of all is to have a septic system installed. This kind of system requires a substantial amount of space for its installation, and it can be somewhat costly. However, it is a well understood system that is commonly used throughout rural America. If you live in a house attached to a septic system, then you should have few worries. Portable Latrine. Another alternative is the use of portable latrines. These are typically used …
Hugh, I have an idea to provide rain water for toilets when other water is not available. My thought is to place a small broad flatish tank (10 gallons or so) on the rafters in the attic above the bathroom. Then I would modify the vent through the roof to feed the tank and to still provide venting. When the tank is full, the rain would just flow over the “roof drain”. A sort of V shaped channel dam on the roof could divert additional water to the drain into the tank. There are many possible ways to fill the …
If you go out onto the Internet, whether it is YouTube, one of the many prepper websites, any of the preparedness forums, and so forth, you are always treated to a wealth of interesting and useful information. Information on food storage, bug out bags, fire starting, EDC reviews, and all sorts of other subjects are common, with the issues of food and clean water being the most important. While many would think personal defense is the next most important issue to be discussed, the truth of the matter is that the need to defend yourself is a potential and not …
HJL, I always assumed that as long as I was somewhere far far away with a one year supply of food and water, if you just wait it out, then you could have your pick of relocation areas and homes as most of the population would be gone. Am I missing something here? Why go to all the trouble NOW of relocating and setting up the BOL that you might in fact have to abandon, when you can just hunker down with some good paperbacks and videos and wait it out? HJL’s Comment: The concept of relocating now is designed …
Accomplishments of the Finance Committee The finance committee ended up being comprised of one person, and that individual set up a bank account and received funds from individual members, GoFundMe donations that came in through the GoFundMe page, and from corporate donations. One thing that was emphasized (falsely) by the opposition was that our group was funded by the NRA. While I am a proud member of the NRA, and many of our members are life members, in a smallish upscale suburban community the NRA is viewed very negatively. To be linked to them by these residents was not a …
In March of 2016, a local radio show mentioned that my town was considering gun control laws and these proposed laws would be voted on at the town meeting in May. Immediately, I checked online news sources, which confirmed that there were warrants added to our Town Meeting that would enact restrictions far beyond what the state already had in place, and the state’s were already some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. My heart dropped from that first moment when I heard the news of these proposals, and I have only briefly recovered after the victory against …
