Three Letters Re: Need a Power Source? Got Water?

JWR: Regarding the recent article by CentOre, titled: Need a Power Source?  Got Water?: There is good info on the waterwheelplace.com web site for the do-it-yourselfer to calculate potential horsepower and watts from any given wheel configuration. Pa in Pennsylvania James; I won’t claim to be an expert on hydro power generation, but would advise against two non-durable materials mentioned: Instead of aluminum pipe for a shaft, get some steel pump shafting from an industrial metals supply or a well supply. Aluminum won’t hold up. Another is Teflon. While very slick, it will not last at all. I would suggest …


Economics and Investing:

Brother, can you spare $2.1 trillion? Eurozone needs a cash infusion “ten times bigger than TARP”. A hat tip to Yishai for the link. Fed Minutes: Bernanke Firmly in Control of FOMC, QE3 Coming A Silver Price Surge Coming? Sprott to Buy $1.5 Billion of Silver Bullion! Items from The Economatrix: Eurozone Unlikely To Survive Intact:  Reuters Poll Rich Fleeing Euro, Says Irish Advisor MF Global Looted Customer Accounts


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. found this at The Blaze: This Hobbit house is an honest-to-goodness man-sized home. Not only does it fit a family of four, but it cost just over $4,650 to build.    o o o The Prepper Website has begun incrementally posting a review/synopsis of my novel “Survivors”. (Warning: lots of plot spoilers.)    o o o Nic recommended this video primer by STRATFOR’s Fred Burton: How to Stay Safe in an Urban Environment.    o o o Kevin A. suggested an essay by John Silveira of Backwoods Home magazine: The threat of electromagnetic pulse    o o o And …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: [and to] Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. I will gather [them that are] sorrowful for the solemn assembly, [who] are of thee, [to whom] the reproach of it [was] a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her …


Notes from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and …


Need a Power Source? Got Water?, by CentOre

My family roots go back to Ohio’s Muskingham River area in the mid 1800s.  There are no raging cataracts or other major stream drops on the Muskingham.  At least, not in the first twenty miles upstream from McConnellsville.  Observing the river channel confirms this stretch at least, is subject to erratic, heavy flooding.  Despite this my pioneer ancestors still used the river to grind their grain, and provide power for several other industries. How did they do it?  They had no metal to make pilings out of.  Wood piling would have just washed away at each flood since most of …


Reasons for Rawhide, by Pat in Oregon

This time of year we have a lot of hides on hand – deer, elk, and even cow hides when we are butchering.  We’ve tanned them, traded them for gloves, given them away to others, but usually we just dispose of them.  Not anymore.  This last year we’ve been experimenting with using rawhide, and after a year, we are convinced having rawhide on-hand is one of the more valuable items for regular or emergency use.  It is quite easy to process, unlimited in its use, and readily available to most of us.  Hopefully some of our experiences get others thinking …


Letter Re: The Accidental Orchard – Persimmons and Mulberries

James Wesley: As trees go dormant, you can look for saplings to transplant and seed to germinate.  In the southern US, right now is the time to look for persimmon fruit to get seeds.  Persimmon grows on the edge of fields and as an understory tree. About the time of the first frost, the fruit loses it’s famous sour taste and becomes sweet like an apricot. At this point,the fruit is wrinkling and starting to look spoiled but it isn’t. Look for 1″ orange fruit hanging on bare branches in moist areas, roadsides, and power line easements. Animals eat the …


Letter Re: Rawhide and Brain Tanning

James, J.M.’s article on brain tanning mentions buildings and furniture held together with rawhide straps, and I thought I’d mention another such building. The roof of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah is a particularly innovative design for its time, and because of the builders’ lack of available metals (the few metal fasteners in the roof were made from discarded ox shoes) most of the structure depends on wooden pegs to hold it together. The builders wrapped parts of the wooden trusses in green rawhide; as the rawhide shrank during drying, it formed tight, strong straps around the …


Economics and Investing:

Reader B.B. sent us this: 25 Bitter And Painful Facts About The Coming Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis That Will Blow Your Mind I warned you about this more than a year ago: Popular Mom-and-pop water purification business shuttered by DEA’s meth-hunting “knotheads” KAK flagged this: License plate readers: A useful tool for police comes with privacy concerns Robert O. suggested this NGC web page: U.S. Silver Coin Melt Values Items from The Economatrix: Wall Street Falls For Sixth Day Eurozone Debt Bomb Reaches Land Down Under — Australian Bonds Head For Implosion? 45% in US Struggle to Make Ends Meet


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mat Stein’s new non-fiction book “When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide for Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival”has been released! Yours Truly wrote the Foreword. Let’s do our best to push it into Amazon’s Top 10.    o o o I heard from Mark Baciak of PNW Arms that his company’s relocation to The American Redoubt is almost complete. They have moved their ballistics division over and should have their weapons division moved by January, 2012. They are moving to Potlatch, Idaho. They have also announced a “Black Friday” sale with a 25% discount on all in-stock merchandise. I should also …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“My advice: We are moving closer and closer to what I call ‘survival period’ — the period where the magic of compounding turns into what will be the poison of compounding. This isn’t a time for timing. This is a time for action. Reduce your exposure to bonds and all items that provide fixed interest rates. Similarly, reduce your exposure to stocks except the gold miners. Look to expand your positions in inflation-protected assets, especially gold.” “Those who are holding stocks in the hopes of the usual rebound are going to be terribly disappointed in the years ahead. This bear market …


Notes from JWR:

Because of the apparent likelihood of the U.S. Congress passing the loosely-worded Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), we are in the process of moving the primary web hosting of SurvivalBlog to a dedicated server in Sweden. (The legislation could have far-reaching effects that will go far beyond stopping pirate sites.) Our URL will remain survivalblog.com, but our dotted quad address will be changing. We’d also like to establish a couple of low-bandwidth offshore mirror sites. Any volunteers? (Eventually, we’d like all SurvivalBlog readers to have a list of of four or five dotted quad addresses bookmarked, so that you won’t …


Adaptation to Cold Environments, by D.W.

The human body can do little to adapt to a cold environment. This is in contrast to the body’s ability to adapt and become more efficient when exercising in a hot, humid environment. Cold, wetness, and wind challenge the body to maintain core temperatures above 35oC (94oF). Heat loss or inadequate heat production elevates the risk of physical discomfort, hypothermia, or surface injury such as frostbite. Blood flow bears principal responsibility for maintaining peripheral temperature in cold weather and is the metabolic vehicle for the transportation of oxygen and generation of heat. The one adaptable characteristic that can contribute to …


Three Letters Re: Guns for a Tight Budget Minimalist Survivalist

JWR: When I took the Appleseed training program almost everyone there was using either Ruger 10-.22 or Marlin Model 795 Academy Sporting Goods is running a Black Friday special on the Marlin Model 795 this Friday and Saturday only for $89. That is about $40 off the regular price — a great deal for the money. – Bryan E.   Good Day, Mister Rawles: In regards to the letter advocating bird shot rather than buck shot I humbly offer the following. Of all factors that come to play in choosing ammo for your bug-out, my opinion is that the cost …