Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) At one auction, I found some very odd tools for some type of woodwork.  Upon research they were used by wheelwrights to make wooden wagon wheels.  I have an interest in several old trades but wheel making is not one of them.  On a trip to Holmes County, Ohio (in Amish country) I took those old wheelwright tools and traded them for some other tools (blacksmithing and chisels) that I did want at the Colonial Homestead Store, in Millersburg.  This store offers old but usable tools from many old trades.  Just walking …


Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

We have all seen the post-apocalyptic movies where improvise armored vehicles with machine guns roam the landscape.  These Hollywood creations make for great entertainment but are such cobbled together machines just fantasy?  The civil war in Somalia introduced the world to “Technicals”, or utilizing civilian vehicles, like decades old Datsun and Totota Hilux pickup trucks, as a platform to mount heavy machine guns, like the Soviet era DShK 12.7mm.  Thirty years later and such vehicles are now being used on the battlefields of Ukraine.  Not only has Ukraine made improvised war wagons out of civilian pickup trucks but they have …


What I’m Growing This Year – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Meat, Dairy, and Eggs My first cow to calve this year is due in a couple of weeks, and being that she is a first time heifer, she could calve any time now.  So, I’m trying to finish up house projects, cleaning the farmhouse top to bottom. and get the garden going before I need to ensure a healthy calf, and train its mother to the milking machine.  I’ll be honest.  I’m apprehensive about training this particular heifer.  She’s a big Guernsey, taller than me, and has long “kickers”/legs, and she’s a little skittish.  Some heifers settle …


What I’m Growing This Year – Part 1, by SaraSue

Time to start the garden and not spend time watching world news.  I can’t change a thing that is happening, but I can grow food and pray.  I must stay focused on the farm and move forward rather than spend time fretting and scanning “the news”.  Fear can be paralyzing.  Growing food and praying are the most important things I can do, at this time, in this place. Unless we get a surprise Spring cold snap, which is likely, the weather should be fairly mild temperature wise, from here on out for my location in Tennessee.  Our long range weather forecast looks mild (in …


What Happens Next in Iran? Decapitation, Quagmire, or WWIII?, by Brandon Smith

Before I begin this analysis of the situation in the Middle East and its consequences, I want to warn people that this examination is going to be largely secular and nuanced; which means people on both sides of the divide are going to be perturbed and moan about it. Frankly, I don’t care. To be clear, I’m not interested in the “plight” of the Palestinians, the Islamic regime in Iran or the conspiracy theories of “groypers.” I find appeals of empathy and compassion for Islamic societies to be naive – They are perfectly indifferent and hostile to the west, they …


Processing Spaghetti Squash, by Patrice Lewis

JWR’s Introductory Note:  This photo-intensive article was written by our long-time friend Patrice Lewis. It was posted at her excellent Rural Revolution blog.  We highly recommend bookmarking it. Last fall, if you remember, we had a bumper crop of spaghetti squash. With this much abundance, we were tasked with how best to store the sheer volume.       In the end, we divvied up the ripe squash from the unripe, then stored the ripe squash in the well house.         The unripe squash was stacked in crates in the library, where it slowly ripened over a …


Home Pressure Canning, by Mrs. Alaska

The following describes my approach at pressure canning meat and dairy products, with some comments on fruit, vegetables, and other preservation methods Pressure canning cookbooks, like Ball’s Blue Book, include recipes for making and canning meat broths, but, in my experience, most do not for meat itself. Similarly, they lack recipes for canning most dairy items. However, families have canned both for generations. Below, I share my positive experience of canning meats, cheese, and butter, for shelf-stable pantry items, based on the advice of friends whose families have done so for decades, and from my own experiences over many years …


It’s Time To Accept That Civil War 2.0 Has Already Started, by Brandon Smith

In July of 1917 as the fires of WWI raged across Europe, the Russian city of Petrograd was facing its own special turmoil in the form of a large scale Bolshevik insurgency. Up to 500,000 protesters, agitators and provocateurs had entered the city from across the country, many of them armed. They took over large swaths of the metropolis, hijacked private vehicles and confiscated private buildings. Some soviet leaders including Vladimir Lenin called the event “premature” and did not publicly endorse it, which may have been a calculated attempt to avoid direct blowback. The official historical explanation is that the …


Your “Gray Man” Camouflage, by A.C.

Background I travel for work, often traveling all over the word into some not-so-friendly environments where I don’t want to be a target but I still need to remain capable. I’ve interviewed behaviorists about the science behind being memorable and I’ve also spoken with members of certain 3-letter-agencies about what they’ve learned about traveling in austere environments. This short essay is an aggregate of that information that is easily consumable and understandable. In the world of tactical preparation and survivalism, there is a pervasive image of the “operator”, that is; someone decked out in multicam patterns, sporting morale patches, and …


An Update on the Elenco AM/FM Radio Kit, by Mike in Alaska

Recently I wrote about the Elenco AM/FM radio kit and was pulled away from the build before I could do a full alignment of the radio. The kit was finished but my work took me out of town, and I wasn’t able to do a full and complete alignment of the kit per the builders manual. I should add that I am employed full-time as an electronics engineer and have been involved in electronics repair, design, and building for over 50 years. And as an amateur radio hobbiest, my experience goes further back than that timeline. My “shop” is equipped …


The 21st Century Rural Migration, by Single Farmer

The idea that our country is thought of in terms of conservative versus liberal areas caused me to think about how so many people today and in the recent past have either moved, will be moving, or even thinking about moving for better opportunities. I wanted to write more about how this has occurred historically and more about how my conservative region is part of this trend including how it is impacting farms. Technological change and government interventions are often two factors that cause the settlement and population redistribution throughout the country.  Urbanization following the Second World War was just …


Mobile Device Battery Management – Part 4, by J.M.

(continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) Battery Safety If you’ve ever watched the news you’ve probably heard stories about exploding Lithium batteries in cell phones, electronic cigarettes, USB battery packs, etc. They’re all true – lithium is an extremely hazardous chemical; it’s poisonous, it’s unstable, it burns extremely fast and hot (>3500F) and it produces hazardous gas when it burns. So why is it used in all of the most common forms of battery electrolytes? Because it has the best cost/size to energy density ratio currently available and manufacturers decided it’s worth the risks, and consumers agree with …


Mobile Device Battery Management – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2.) Battery Drain While I briefly mentioned battery drain earlier it’s worth going into a bit more detail. Drain rate describes how fast a device uses power when a device is in operation. Examples of high-drain devices include things like digital cameras, GPS devices, portable gaming consoles, high-lumen LED flashlights, radios (when transmitting) and motorized devices like power tools. Some low-drain devices include television remote controls, wall clocks, smoke detectors, and red dot sights. Rapidly draining a battery’s charge can significantly shorten its life, so choosing the right type of battery for each type of device is …


Mobile Device Battery Management – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) Rechargables Rechargeable batteries come in a much wider variety of chemistries than primary ones, including nickel–cadmium (NiCd), nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) and various lithium-ion (Li-ion) and Lithium Polymer (LiPo) chemistries. It’s important to understand the ‘Li-ion’ and ‘LiPo’ aren’t specific chemistries, they’re categories of chemistries that use Lithium as one of the components of the electrolyte. Li-ion batteries use a liquid electrolyte, are usually cylindrical, and common chemistries include: Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LiCoO2, LCO): Known for high energy density and used in portable electronics like smartphones, tablets, and laptops. It has a nominal voltage of 3.60V with …


Mobile Device Battery Management – Part 1, by J.M.

There have been many articles by myself and others on SurvivalBlog that discuss the use of mobile electronic devices such as radios, flashlights, cell phones, red dot sights, drones, cameras, etc. for emergency preparedness and disaster scenarios. The one thing all such devices have in common is that they require power of some sort, usually in the form of a battery, and without power those devices are about as useful as a paper weight (I guess you could use them as projectiles). Understanding how batteries work and how to best manage them can help ensure you get a long and …