Letter Re: Beginning Bee Keeping

Dear Mr. Rawles, A.N. presented some excellent overall information in Beginning Bee Keeping, but a few additions are in order: A nuc is not just a screened package of bees but rather is a nucleus colony, usually of 5 or fewer frames.  It is a working colony complete with drawn comb, brood, pollen stores and honey, often with a new queen.  For those thinking about jumping into bees, it is a great hobby, but not an easy one.  Most new beekeepers do not last past the third year, often discouraged due to repeated bee losses.  There are lots of tricks …


Economics and Investing:

Ryan warns of financial collapse over debt, urges Congress to avert ‘moral failure’ Cypriot bank customers get fleeced: Europe Announces Stunning Bailout For Cyprus — Bank Depositors To Get Instant 10% Tax Before Banks Reopen This Week. (Beware, this could happen in other countries–even our own! Thanks to Andre D. and the other readers that sent this link.) And, inevitably, we read: Cash machines emptied across Cyprus after savers learn 10 billion euro bailout agreement includes levy on all bank accounts. (Thanks to Tim R. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Housing Foreclosures Start To “Flare Up” Again Private …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The folks at Pantry Paratus wrote to mention that thusfar they have raised $3,312 for Christian Reformed Outreach, South Sudan Ministries (C.R.O.S.S.) And of course the recent C.R.O.S.S. benefit auction of a PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope brought in $3,900 in one felled swoop. Special thanks to Ready Made Resources and Night Ops Tactical, who split the wholesale cost of that scope.    o o o G.G. sent: SWAT officer attracts ridicule after he’s pictured with his rifle sight on backwards. (Gee, if they can’t cure s”stupid” with training, then perhaps with an equipment retrofit.) The scary thing is, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“[Let] love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. [Be] kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. [Be] of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be …


Notes from JWR:

Emergency Essentials has begun their semi-annual Mountain House Sale.  All Mountain House cans are priced 20-25% off.  The sale is for one week only, ending the night of March 21st at midnight.    — Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The 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 …


Beginning Bee Keeping, by A.B.

I always planned to have a bee hive someday but someday had not come until I mentioned my interest to a friend who promptly told me he was splitting a hive (taking a few hundred bees out to prevent them from feeling over crowded) in one week and that he would share the “split” (a couple pf hundred bees) with me.  I promptly ran to the library and checked out three books on bee keeping.  Many questions and concerns kept floating around in my mind, a few of which included:  I know nothing about bees!, What equipment do I need …


Letter Re: Advice on Retreat Properties in Southwestern Oregon

Dear Mr. Rawles, We relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of 2012 to southern Oregon, as I was able to find a job with [deleted for OPSEC] in Medford. We have been spending part of each weekend looking for a retreat property, while renting a modest home in town. We were even under contract for a lot outside of Jacksonville, but the well produced just 0.16 gallon per minute and other wells surrounding were over 400 feet and were also low producers, Oregon has plenty of water not to struggle with that unknown outcome of re-drilling. …


Letter Re: Taxes for Millionaires: Food For Thought

Jim, How many times has the President said that we need to raise taxes on those making more than $1 million per annum? Some believe that the government will also confiscate gold and silver. As many know, our government already confiscated gold in America, circa 1933. Even so, collectable coins were exempt, which is reason enough to own gold/silver coins that have value beyond the base metal – a discussion topic for another day.   Many of us at retirement age receive some form of retirement income from the federal government. Some receive disability pay as well, but the feds …


Economics and Investing:

H.L. sent this Reuters article: More US States Weigh Gasoline Taxes. Unfortunately this superficial article failed to detail the aggregate gas taxes–it only talks about the recent and planned increases, such as Wyoming’s 10 cent cent rate “leap.” But this map from 2012 gives a more complete picture. In fact, Wyoming merely normalized its gas tax rate with its seven contiguous neighboring states. It is noteworthy that the Northern Rocky Mountain states have taxes that range from 40 to 46 cents per gallon, which is well below the national average of 48.8 cent and far below the west coast states …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader C.D.V. mentioned this handy online table: How many cups in a pound of…    o o o Drone Strikes On American Citizens: Peter Schiff / Rand Paul Interview    o o o Census shows record 1 in 3 US counties are dying off. (Thanks to Tim J. for the link.)    o o o Reader C.D.V. sent some more demographics: America’s sadness belt: Alarming map shows residents in South and Midwest are far more likely to be depressed, obese and hate their jobs    o o o Kevin S. pointed me to this prototype: Quadski. [JWR’s Comment: In our …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The church used to be a lightning bolt, now it’s a cruise ship. We are not marching to Zion – we are sailing there with ease. In the apostolic church it says they were all amazed – and now in our churches everybody wants to be amused. The church began in the upper room with a bunch of men agonizing, and it’s ending in the supper room with a bunch of people organizing. We mistake rattle for revival, and commotion for creation, and action for unction. ” – Leonard Ravenhill


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The 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 courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


Out of Options — Get a Guard Dog, by T.J.

We came late to the prepping party.  We didn’t own any guns.  We lived paycheck to paycheck in a suburban area.  We couldn’t afford to buy property in Idaho, while it’s still a dream.  We have slowly stocked up on short term and long term food and water, bought heirloom seeds and learned to garden, loaded up on firewood for two huge fireplaces for cooking and warmth, but that’s about it.  Recently our son, honorably discharged from the Armed Services, came home to start his life as a civilian.  He owned a 9mm and promptly proceeded to purchase a .22 …


Letter Re: Useful Space Weather Updates

James, Many folks have an interest of viewing solar information and typically subscribe to raw data feeds; however probably do not understand a lot of the science behind the numbers. There is a gentleman who produces daily morning youtube forecasts typically from 3 to 4 minutes long which covers the gamut of space weather and it’s impact on terrestrial weather. These broadcasts are extremely informative and he does an excellent job breaking down all of the information. His Youtube channel is called Suspicious0bservers. I have become a regular daily viewer of his short yet extremely informative broadcasts. Warm Regards, – …


Letter Re: Colorado’s Magazine Ban

Hi, I saw that the Colorado law banning magazines of greater than 15 round capacity passed – outrageous but not unbelievable for this state. Colorado  used to be a great and conservative one, but no longer. [Regarding the law’s limited grandfather clause,] I have written out documents for all of my magazines, which I have had notarized, transferring ownership of the magazines I own to my children. This way, when I die, it can easily be ascertained that the magazines were actually their property before the law went into effect. I am not a lawyer, but this sort of thing …