Odds ‘n Sods:

Six months ago, one of my consulting clients bought a newly-manufactured Amish-made Blizzard brand propane upright freezer. He reports that the freezer (which has 18 cubic foot capacity) works quite reliably, with the temperature always staying within two degrees from where he first set it: 10 degrees, Fahrenheit. (The freezer came with an Accu-Rite wireless digital thermometer–something by the way that I recommend for all freezers. You simply leave the “outdoor” sensor-transmitter inside the freezer.) He noted, however, that since the freezer is equipped with two burners, it does consume a substantial amount of propane. These freezers are perfect for …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 42 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any …


Adapting Preps as We Age, by Retread

Soon after the Hurricane Katrina disaster we discovered Survivalblog and have since read thousands of (for us) Heaven sent articles. These last seven years has changed our lives for the better. We are dedicated preppers, now living on our new-to-us farm/retreat. We are busy setting it up properly for SHTF, and making good progress. We cannot thank you enough Mr. Rawles.  Prepping is preparing for the day things change for the worse. In all our planning, it never occurred to me that it might be me that changed. I seem to have hit that spot where I was forced to …


Two Letters Re: Dan Fong Vindicated: The Toyota 4×4 That Wouldn’t Die

JWR: I have to concur with Mike Q. I have a Toyota pickup (22RE) with 310,000 miles that doesn’t burn any oil and runs perfectly. You cannot kill these trucks. For a bug out vehicle (BOV) you can’t beat these trucks. – Larry   Captain Rawles. I have owned two Toyota trucks since 1995. I thought I would share some knowledge I have gained on Toyota truck platform with your readers if any are interested in owning a Toyota truck. First, the most reliable and maintenance free Toyota truck model is the 1989-1995 22 RE 4-cylinder engine with five speed (manual) …


News From The American Redoubt:

One bad bit of news for a Redoubt state: No Consent: Your Child Can Now Be Sterilized In Oregon For Free    o o o Feds prepare to end wolf protections in Wyoming. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.)    o o o This is interesting: United States Peace Index 2011: Violent Crime Ranking. Once again the American Redoubt states plus the Dakotas and Utah have a good showing. BTW, the Infoplease web site has some more detailed statistics.    o o o Another spectacular video from TTabs: A Evening Flight to Troy Idaho


Economics and Investing:

Italy’s tax hunters target super-rich and their yachts off the Sardinian This was mentioned in SurvivalBlog about a year ago, but bears repeating: USA National Gas Price Heat Map. (Thanks to Ben N. for the reminder.) You will note that portions of the American West perennially have some of the lowest gas prices in the country. Also note the map’s red shading for California. The high prices are in part attributable to a recent refinery fire in Richmond, California, but they are mostly indicative of one of the many ways that California is attempting to balance its budget: on the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. suggested this piece over at Lifehacker: Turn a Dead Chest Freezer Into a Miniature Root Cellar    o o o Emergency declared [in Dallas, Texas] as West Nile virus strikes US    o o o Scott M. sent this: Could I survive on nothing but potatoes and milk?    o o o Over at Guerillamerica: Five Reasons to Hate Alexander Hamilton    o o o Making Pectin From Scratch


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Until recent times, every child had a rifle of his own as soon as he was old enough to understand his father’s instructions. With it he hunted game and birds, killed snakes and protected himself against the dangers of rural life. When he was grown, he passed knowledge of the rifle down to his own son.   The rifle was honored in the home. It graced the mantel, the wall, or rested above the door. It was near at hand, clean, loaded, accurate as a fine watch, ready for service. The tradition of arms is an American tradition born of …



Pat’s Product Review: Family Grain Mill

I learned to cook out of necessity – I was raised by my grandmother, and she was one of the worse cooks, ever! However, she managed to raise 9 children and myself, but her cooking ability was lacking. So when I was quite young I started experimenting in the kitchen and learned to cook on my own. Of course, over the years, I learned a lot from other folks along the way. And, being from Chicago, and being Sicilian, I learned to cook some great Sicilian style Italian meals. My pasta sauce is next to none. Now, with that said, …


R.J.’s Book Review: Rhodes: The Race for Africa

Rhodes: The Race for Africa, by Anthony Thomas Copyright: 1996 St. Martin’s Press ISBN 0-312-16982-5 (This book was the basis for a Masterpiece Theater mini-series.) Cecil John Rhodes may be the most important man you never heard about if you were educated in the United States of America. His death in 1902 at the age of 48 was followed by the largest memorial every recorded on the continent of Africa. He expanded the British Empire more than any other man; adding almost 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers). His achievement was so great a country larger than most …


A PrepperNurse Book Review: Emergency Preparedness the Right Way

Emergency Preparedness The Right Way, by Howard Godfrey ISBN:  1-4392-4478-2 When the author set out to write this book on emergency preparedness skills, he wanted it to be “not overly complicated”.  He has had many years experience in fire skills, law enforcement and the military, has taught preparedness skills and helped organize preparedness shows. With this background, he found that many of the books available were either incomplete, or attempted to be too comprehensive. He elected not to write about firearms, self-defense, nuclear, biological or chemical warfare, or medical care in detail—not because these were not valid and important subjects, …


Letter Re: Dan Fong Vindicated: The Toyota 4×4 That Wouldn’t Die

JWR, I know that you advocate American made cars and trucks for BOV purposes based on availability of parts, but I would like to share with you a three-part video series demonstrating the abuse that a Toyota 4×4 pickup truck can take and still be driven. All with only a mechanic using no specialty tools and no replacement parts. This truck was driven down stairs, lost in the Bristol Channel at high tide, driven through a shed, had a camping trailer dropped on it, hit with a wrecking ball, set on fire, and put on the top of a high …


Letter Re: Shipping Containers — A Retreat on the Cheap

James, to follow up on the recent article, here is some additional info your readers might find valuable on shipping containers for storage and housing….  We have over a dozen at our ranch that we use for storage, so I’ll share a bit about that use for containers.  These containers are the cheapest space you can “build”.  They are weatherproof, earthquake proof, will probably make it through tornados and hurricanes, in short, they are excellent all around space. If you can afford them, you should stick to the “one trip” containers because they will be in near perfect condition — …