Notes for Monday – January 25, 2016

On January 25th, 1995, the world was minutes from nuclear annihilation. Russia’s early-warning defense radar detected an unexpected missile launch near Norway and calculated that they only had minutes before impact on Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the defense minister, and the chief of staff were informed of the missile launch and the nuclear command systems were switched to combat mode and the nuclear suitcases were activated for the first time in the history of the Soviet-made system. Five minutes after launch Russian command determined that the missile’s impact point would be outside Russia’s borders and three minutes after that …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Zero Tolerance 0900 Folder

Anyone who has followed my knife articles for the past 23+ years will know that I’m just not a big fan of little folding knives. However, sometimes smaller is better for certain applications. Under other conditions, bigger knives are called for. I remember when I was 11 or 12 years old the local hardware store in my neighborhood had a shipment of pocket knives coming in. To be sure, back in those days, almost every kid carried some kind of pocket knife. Sadly, that’s not true today. If caught with a knife in school, it’s a one year suspension in …


Recipe of the Week: Two Ingredient Biscuits, by C.P.

Ingredients: 3 cups self-rising white flour 1 1/2+ cup Bulgarian buttermilk (not low fat) Directions: Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix flour and buttermilk together to form dough. If needed, add extra buttermilk. Do not over mix. Put a little flour on counter; dump dough on counter and knead four times. Turn dough over and pat to about an inch thick. Cut out biscuits with cutter or pinch off in small balls. Place in a cast iron skillet or baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or coated with a light coat of bacon grease or shortening. Bake …


Letter Re: Bug-Out Boats Revisited

HJL, Regarding bug-out boat power generation, I just wanted to add that there is a tow-behind unit that generates power while under sail from the water flow. I’ve always thought a sailboat in warm waters would be a pretty nice escape, especially Cats with their low draw and excellent access, much more living space, and top speeds. However, there are a couple concerns: If it’s a true EOTW scenario, establishing any “community” or tribe from such a mobile homebase would seem to be very difficult and going within sight of land could put you in danger of being easily run …


Economics and Investing:

Items from Mr. Econocobas: Norway’s Biggest Bank Demands Cash Ban – This call for capital controls is not likely to go away; hedge yourself to the best of your ability. The Markets Are Backing Central Bankers Into a Corner – As you are well aware, and plenty of folks have been saying for a long while, QE and other central bank interventions are a monetary roach motel. You can never check out. Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Waste-O-Meter: GOP Lawmakers Create Meter to Target “Wasteful” Government Spending (The Providence Journal) In an attempt to tackle the problem of “out …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Zika virus, a wolf in sheep’s clothing A virus that has no vaccine and no specific treatment is on the rise and prevention appears to be the only real option. The mosquito-borne virus is actually a minor illness that resembles a light case of the flu except when it holds a nasty surprise. – D.S. o o o No idea what you’re going to do when TEOTWAWKI is here and there is no GPS? How about doing the same thing that Native Americans did for hundreds of years: Native American GPS – T.Z. o o o Flint Residents Told That …



Notes for Sunday – January 24, 2016

January 24 is the birthday of Tamara K., the editor of the View From The Porch blog. This is also the birthday of René Barjavel (born 1911, died November 24, 1985). This prescient French science fiction author wrote several books with survivalist themes, including Ravage, which was titled Ashes, Ashes in its English translation. o o o Today is the day we move to our new server! We expect a few hiccups along the way in the move but hope to be stable by tonight. o o o Don’t forget that we are nearing the end of Round 62 of …


Bug Out Boats Revisited, by P.J.C.

As more and more prepper books and articles are written to address the issue of what one should do in order to have a viable bug out plan, most primarily focus on having a physical location, such as a cabin or small house in a remote area within reasonable driving distance of your present home. Somewhat surprisingly, far less attention has been given to the alternative idea of having a bug out boat to use for the same purpose. Once carefully examined, a “proper” boat will have certain advantages over a remote physical location, not the least of which is …


Letter Re: Letter Re: Root Cellaring Potatoes

It is very possible to grow potatoes from true pollinated seeds. I have been doing it for years. Potato seeds store for a long time, if kept dry. Enough seed to plant a large garden can fit into a small seed packet. Something like 85% of commercial varieties are sterile and thus don’t produce seeds. On my farm I have chosen to only grow varieties of potatoes that routinely produce seeds, and I store the seeds from them even if I most commonly grow from clones. Regards, J the farmer.


Economics and Investing:

Nearly $8 trillion wiped off world stocks in January, U.S. recession chances rising: BAML – B.B. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: David Stockman- 700 Days In No Man’s Land – Why They Can’t Keep It Up Venezuela Default Imminent Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Moody’s Puts 175 Energy and Mining Companies on Downgrade Watch (Financial Times) Excerpt: “Several of the world’s biggest oil and gas groups— including Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Chesapeake Energy— are among 175 energy and mining companies at risk of rating downgrades following a collapse in crude and other commodities markets….” Bonner: The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I had to chuckle a bit, seeing the news reports from the east coast. You see, we get five to eight feet of snow most winters here in our part of the American Redoubt. And it is not unusual to get two feet of snow with just one two-day storm. When we do, we just throw another log on the fire, top off our livestock water tanks, and our kids have an excuse to slack off on their homeschooling to do some extra sledding. But we certainly don’t call it #SNOWMAGEDDON, and the local police chief doesn’t threaten to arrest …



Notes for Saturday – January 23, 2016

January 23rd is the birthday of John Moses Browning, born 1855. He was the brilliant designer of dozens of guns, including the M1911 pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the venerable M2 .50 Caliber Machinegun. The latter is still in service in at least 95 countries, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still in service in 2075 or even 2100. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 62 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from …