Odds ‘n Sods:

Sometimes, the “crude, but effective” approach will work: How to open a can without a can opener    o o o Diana V. pointed out this important article: In United States v. Bond, The Supreme Court Could Be Ruling On The Safety Of All American Rights    o o o Does this look familiar? “Strawberry” sent us a video link, showing a couple of carags casting off. (You can skip the first minute or so.) A carag is of course featured in my most recent novel, and shown on the cover. Note that gas engine carags tend to be much …



Notes from JWR:

Last day! The benefit Redoubt silver coin auction for Orange Jeep Dad in the aftermath of his traumatic house fire ends today at 2:58 PM PST. ( Monday, November 4, 2013.) You can be assured that 100% of the gross proceeds will go to OJD’s family. The auction ends at 2:58 PM PST on Monday, November 4, 2013. Thanks, folks, for your very generous bids for this worthy cause. Note: Once the bidding got up above $1,200, I decided to also include three autographed books and two of the SurvivalBlog Archive DVDs as bonuses for the winning bidder. UPDATE! Monday …


Choosing a Retreat Locale: Dela-Where?

I was recently hired by a consulting client from Wilmington, Delaware. Like most of my other clients, we had our conversations by phone. He spent a lot of time quizzing me about various towns and microclimates in The American Redoubt. He was stunned when I mentioned that the county where I live has less than 20,000 residents, yet it is larger than the entire state of Delaware, which has around 917,000 residents. To put the demographic differences in focus, the following are some comparisons. For privacy reasons, instead of my own county I’ll use Idaho County, Idaho as a point …


Pat’s Product Review: Meal Kit Supply MREs

Back in the day, when I was in the military, we had C Rations or “C-Rats” as they were called, when we were out in the field. And, quite honestly, they were really pretty bad tasting, and lacking in much of anything. I served in the Illinois National Guard, as well as the US Army, and have quite a bit of experience with C-Rats. While in the National Guard, when we went on weekend maneuvers, a bunch of us would bring our own food along. And, we’d bring, cheeses, pepperoni, olives – gourmet foods, instead of eating C-Rats, or on …


S.A.’s Book Review: 77 Days In September

77 Days in September by Ray Gorham. (Published in 2011.) 306 Pages.     Note: Possible spoilers ahead.  On June 16, 2013, “Retired Rev”. wrote a SurvivalBlog article entitled “Prepping For Seniors” and referred to the e-book “77 Days In September.” I made a note-to-self on my iPad to read it in the future. However, in the months in between, I’ve read several self-published End Times-type print books sold on Amazon, and those turned out to be somewhat painful experiences. A piece of advice to writers: If you are not positive that you can punctuate and follow standard grammatical rules, either hire …


Letter Re: The Consequences of Mass Inflation

Jim: I never paid much attention to warnings of [mass inflation or] hyperinflation. Because most discussions about hyperinflation only mention the loss in value of savings, and I have none (in the form of dollars, anyway) I blew this off as a threat that wouldn’t affect me. But I recently realized that the threat of hyperinflation to folks like myself, who live paycheck to paycheck is not the loss of value of our savings. Rather it is the time it takes our pay-rate to catch up with the new price of the goods and services we purchase… if it catches …


Recipe of the Week:

Old Kimber Girl’s Sweet Pickle Relish 6 quarts ground cucumbers (medium sized) 8 to 10 medium sized onions 3 large sweet red peppers 3 large sweet green peppers ¾ cup salt Wash cucumbers and grind.  Add salt and mix.  Let stand 2 hours. Drain well.  Grind onions and peppers.  Add to ground cucumbers. In a large pot, combine cucumber mixture and: 2 quarts vinegar 8 cups granulated sugar 3 tsp. turmeric ¼ cup mustard seed 2 tsp. celery seed Heat mixture to a light bubble.  Pack into hot, clean canning jars.  Adjust caps.  Process in hot water bath 15 minutes. …


Economics and Investing:

Fed Wants Inflation to Sustain Asset Bubbles & Monetize Debt U.S. No Longer Among 20 Most Economically Prosperous Countries. (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.) Man Opens Old Safe, Discovers Gold Coins Items from The Economatrix: Where Is The US Labor Market Heading? Fed stimulus: No end in sight Unemployment payouts since 2008 at record level


Odds ‘n Sods:

An innovative new company that makes portable DC power systems has been launched by three Florida college students: SharkBox.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) spotted this: How to Make a Soup Can Forge. (Of course a section of scrap Schedule 80 steel pipe would prove far more durable for the outer sleeve. )    o o o The Republican Liberty Caucus of Idaho is sponsoring the Treasure Valley Liberty Expo on Saturday, November 9th at the Red Lion Downtowner Hotel in Boise, Idaho.    o o o Beyond the Bunker: Preppers Go Mainstream.    …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time."  – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity


Notes from JWR:

Today, November 3rd, 2013 the CBS Sunday Morning show is featuring a news segment with Mark Baird, spokesman for the State of Jefferson Declaration Committee. — Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $8,500+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) 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 …


Resolve: The Ultimate Survival Attribute, by Talon Flyer

Ask yourself this question:  “Do I really think I could use deadly force against someone to protect my family?”  Most, (if not all reading this) quickly respond with a resounding YES!  In fact, you may even have fantasized about scenarios where that might happen; usually in the context of “what would I do if…”   One has to plan for every contingency, right? The thing is, these fantasies are usually on the same level as a Hollywood movie—contain some sense of bravado—and almost always leave you feeling like somewhat of a hero.  There are those who are unnerved about this and …


Economics and Investing:

Don’t miss this: Jim Sinclair: Gold Will be $50,000 per Ounce, Gold Confiscation, Dollar Gets Hammered and More. Note: Jim Sinclair is famously terse in his writings, so it is a treat to see a 40+ minute interview with him. From Rochester to Dorchester: New York firearms importer ATI to move operations to Summerville [South Carolina], create 117 jobs California’s dependency culture extends to the far northern counties: Hoopa Tribe has to dip into emergency food supplies during 17 day federal shutdown Items from The Economatrix: Annihilation Of U.S. Dollar Coming – Jim Sinclair China Is Preparing To Declare Financial …


Odds ‘n Sods:

H.L. sent this news from Nanny State New York: Three Too Many Cartridges Means Loss of Firearms Rights    o o o Reader B.B. recommended the latest essay by Matt Bracken, over at the WRSA site.    o o o How to disable MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Light Armored Vehicles    o o o JMC sent: Holocaust And Resistance: “Without A Weapon, You Were Worthless.“    o o o Amnesty Is Republican Party Suicide (Phyllis Schlafly )