Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 9, 2023

On December 9, 1793, Noah Webster established New York’s first daily newspaper, the “American Minerva“.

—

On December 9, 1315, the Swiss Woudsteden renewed the Eternal Covenant. (The Oath Society)

—

On December 9, 1688 King James II‘s wife and son fled England for France, to help preserve the Stuart family.

—

December 9th, 1914 was the birthday of Maximo Guillermo “Max” Manus. He was one of the few Norwegians who had the testicular fortitude to put his life on the line, fighting the Nazi occupiers. (There surely would have been more active resistance fighters, but fearing widespread reprisal executions by the Germans, King H7 asked the civilian populace to stand down.) Max Manus passed away in 1996. His exploits are fairly accurately shown in the movie Max Manus: Man of War.

—

We are in need of entries for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 110 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

For Your Bugout Bag: The Humble Sillcock Key

One often overlooked item for a bugout bag is a Sillcock Key. This handy little wrench will allow you to access tap water from commercial establishments that have “limited access” water spigots.  It is commonly called a Sillcock Key, Sillcock Wrench, or Sillcock Handle.

You often see “security” spigot taps on the exterior walls of restaurants, stores, school buildings, shopping malls, and warehouses. There are several different styles.  Some of them are “frost free”, and some are not. There are at least four different anti-tamper key patterns in common use in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Hence the need for a versatile key pattern design. Note that this tool is most apropos for urban or suburban bugout situations, rather than for bugouts in rural areas. But I’ve even seen a few Sillcock anti-tamper fixtures used at some farms, ranches, and middle-of-nowhere parks and campgrounds.

Notes on Safe and Legal Use

Take heed that exterior faucets are often used infrequently, so be sure to flush the line for a few seconds before filling water containers.

Note: The legality of accessing tap water in this way is questionable, so only resort to the use of a Sillcock key in genuine emergencies.

The cruciform type of Sillcock key that I bought for myself and a couple of my family members will actually fit six different sizes of valve fittings since the transverse center hole has a hexagonal lug on one side and a square lug on the other side. These are available quite inexpensively on eBay, for about $8 each.

Ersatz Knucks

I should also mention that the cruciform pattern Sillcock key also has another use that I’ve never seen mentioned, even in survivalist literature:  When grasped in your fist, one of these provides an ersatz brass knuckle effect. Position it with the smallest of the four key heads pointing outward, with two fingers on either side, for maximum effect. Surprise! and Ouch!  It is best directed at pressure points such as the solar plexus.

Consider keeping the humble Sillcock Key in your vehicular bugout bag, as “cheap insurance.” – JWR

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I came down with a cold last weekend. Whilst sick in bed, I took the opportunity to do some reading. My goal was to gather some Quotes Of The Day.  I stumbled into a treasure trove when I began to read The Debates in the Several State Conventions. (“….an influential early 19th century edition of key documents about the ratification of the US Constitution by the states.”) In the next week, you will be reading from a few of these founding fathers.

I bounced back from that cold fairly quickly.  Thankfully, I’m back to my regular chores and my regular writing/editing schedule.

Now, Lily’s report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?

And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” – Genesis 48:8-22 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 8, 2023

On December 8, 2010, the American aerospace venture SpaceX became the first commercial company to release a spacecraft—the Dragon capsule—into orbit and successfully return it to Earth.

—

On December 8, 1542, Mary, Queen of Scots was born, and six days later she became queen of Scotland.

—

We are now in need of entries for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 110 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.) Newsletter Plan

In response to requests from several long-time readers, we are developing the infrastructure to produce an “Old School” hardcopy mailed newsletter, starting in 2024. The concept is to be ready to revert to distributing a paper newsletter that is sent out by traditional mail, for if and when SurvivalBlog is expunged from the Internet’s World Wide Web. (“Taken down.”) I’ve dubbed this contingency project: SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.)

The infrastructure required to produce and distribute the S.O.S. Newsletter will include…

For grid up, but Internet-down situations:

  • A very sturdy desktop photocopier.
  • Dozens of reams Reams of paper.
  • Boxes of self-sealing legal-size envelopes
  • Boxes of Avery adhesive address labels. (#8160 – 1″ x 2-5/8″)
  • A recent-production Macbook (Already purchased.)
  • A laser printer. (Already purchased.)
  • Toner cartridges for photocopier.
  • Toner cartridges for desktop printer.
  • An IBM Selectric II correcting typewriter, circa 1978. (Already purchased.)
  • A pair of late 2008 production 15” Macbook laptop computers with pop panels for quickly-removable batteries and hard drives. (Already purchased.)

Continue reading“The SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.) Newsletter Plan”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the rise of spot and futures gold prices. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals

Gold continues to roar! After hitting an intraday all-time high of $2,119.50 USD per Troy ounce on Sunday night (December 4th, 2023) — which was Monday morning, in Asia — gold settled down in the $2,020/oz. range. That is still quite high.  For the record, I am still quite bullish on gold, and I’m confident that silver, platinum, and palladium will all soon bounce back to catch up. It is also noteworthy that Bitcoin is moving up in unison with gold. When I checked on Friday morning, it cost $43,920 USD to buy 1 BTC, and Ethereum was at $2,374!

o  o  o

From Kelsey’s Gold Facts: Gold Price, Inflation, Dollar Collapse, & BRICS.

o  o  o

Over at Seeking Alpha: Gold Price Spikes To All-Time High To Start December.

o  o  o

And at Gold-Eagle.com: Andy Schectman, Lee Freeman: Sunday Gold Spike The Result Of Shift To Gold Over Treasuries.

Economy & Finance:

Chinese Wealth Giant Crumbles: ZEG’s Insolvency Shakes Shadow Banking. JWRs’ Comments:  Beware.  If the Mainland China banking collapse continues, then we can expect to see contagion worldwide in the credit derivatives markets.

o  o  o

Rail union says Union Pacific layoffs of over 1,000 track maintenance workers jeopardizes safety.

o  o  o

And speaking of The Oracle of Omaha: Warren Buffett may help Occidental Petroleum pay for a potential $10 billion takeover. Here’s what’s fueling the speculation.

o  o  o

“Spiraling Out Of Control”: The U.S. Debt Crisis Goes Parabolic.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 7, 2023

On December 7, 1972, American astronaut Eugene Andrew Cernan commanded the last crewed flight to the Moon, effectively ending the Apollo program.

—

On this day in 1941, Japanese bombers launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, precipitating the entry of the United States into World War II.

—

On the very same day, Adolf Hitler issued his Night and Fog Decree, a secret order for the arrest and execution of “persons endangering German security.”

—

An important Reminder:  TODAY, December 7th, 2023 is the deadline for comments on ATF’s “Engaged in the business” rule.  PLEASE politely post your objections to this unconstitutional rule.  In your comment, make two points very clear:  There is NO valid jurisdiction (“Federal Nexus”) for ATF to regulate private party INTRAState sales of used guns that are no longer in INTERstate commerce. Private party sales of guns from personal collections that are sold to fellow private party residents of the same state are NOT “interstate commerce.” Furthermore, per the Bruen decision, there is NO pre-1791 analogous gun law that anyone can cite. (Bruen‘s “History, text, and tradition.”)

—

Today’s feature article is a “how-to” piece that was authored by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

—

We are in need of entries for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 110 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Changing the Blade in a Leatherman Skeletool, by Thomas Christianson

My favorite everyday carry (EDC) knife is actually a multi-tool: the Leatherman Skeletool. I like the convenience of carrying a combination tool that includes a pair of pliers and several screwdrivers with, as well as a blade.

I first acquired the Skeletool in 2021, and reviewed it in an article published in SurvivalBlog at that time.

I have never been fully satisfied with the part-plain/part-serrated combi blade that came with my Skeletool. This is a matter of personal preference, but I like fully plain blades on my EDC knives more than combi blades. I know that there are some situations in which a serrated blade is helpful. But in my experience it seems that there are a hundred or more situations where a plain blade works best versus the rare situation where a serrated blade would be more helpful.Continue reading“Changing the Blade in a Leatherman Skeletool, by Thomas Christianson”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, a retrospect look at Winter Storm Elliott.

FERC Report on Winter Storm Elliott

Several readers sent us the link to this troubling report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation: Winter Storm Elliott Report: Inquiry into Bulk-Power System Operations During December 2022. Here is a quote from page 147 of the report:

“Many natural gas-fired generating units indicated during the Event that they were unavailable because they did not have advance arrangements for natural gas fuel supply for the hours they were committed to operate, and by the time they were notified for commitment, natural gas supplies were unavailable. All of the [Balancing Authorities (BAs) thought that they had sufficient reserves arranged to meet their forecast peak electricity demands, until they were faced with escalating unplanned outages and increased customer demand that, for most, exceeded their load forecasts. By the time that these trends were apparent, the BAs had limited flexibility, leading many of them to declare Energy Emergencies and some to shed firm customer load.”

Neil Oliver Spells Out the Tyrannical Risks of Digital ID

An important 10-minute essay video from Neil Oliver: We face surveillance of our lives and attempts to control our every behaviour. (Note: With his heavy accent, you might want to turn on subtitles.)

Could 2024 Election Trigger Societal Collapse?

Reader G.G. sent this from the very mainstream leftist USA Today: Could 2024 election cause society to collapse? Some preppers think so — and they’re ready.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The people cannot be all, and always well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive.” – Thomas Jefferson

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 6, 2023

Today is the birthday of pilot Dominic Salvatore “Don” Gentile.  (December 6, 1920 – January 28, 1951).  He was a World War II RAF and USAAF pilot who achieved fame as he came close to surpassing Eddie Rickenbacker‘s World War I record of 26 downed aircraft. He later served in the post-war U.S. Air Force. His birthday was coincidentally on the same day as fellow fighter pilot George Frederick Beurling, who was born one year earlier: December 6, 1920.

—

Sad news!  By way of Steve Quayle’s site, I just heard of the passing of my dear friend, Bob Griswold.  You may know of him as the owner of Ready Made Resources. Please pray for his wife Roxanne, his son Joshua, and the other members of his extended family.  Bob was a saved man, so I am fully confident that he is now with the Lord. He will be greatly missed! Bob was a champion of Reformed theology.

—

An important Reminder:  December 7th, 2023 is the deadline for comments on ATF’s “Engaged in the business” rule.  PLEASE politely post your objections to this unconstitutional rule.  In your comment, make two points very clear:  There is NO valid jurisdiction (“Federal Nexus”) for ATF to regulate private party INTRAState sales of used guns that are no longer in INTERstate commerce. Private party sales of guns from personal collections that are sold to fellow private party residents of the same state are NOT “interstate commerce.” Furthermore, per the Bruen decision, there is NO pre-1791 analogous gun law that anyone can cite. (Bruen‘s “History, text, and tradition.”)

—

There are several new listings of interest, over at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealty.com real estate advertising site.  One in particular jumped out at me, because back in 2005 I had considered buying a ranch in the same valley: Dixie Ranch — $3,480,000 —  3125 Unionville Road, Unionville, NV. This is an isolated green valley in the Basin & Range country, between Reno and Winnemucca. It would make a great retreat/retirement property for someone now living in California who wants to be safe yet remain fairly near California.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 110 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

How to Grow and Process Luffah Sponges, by St. Funogas

There are three types of people when it comes to luffah sponges: those who have no idea what they are, those who know what they are but think they’re for the kind of ladies who frequent health spas, and those who know they’re one of nature’s best all-around cleaning tools and natural scrub brushes.

I’ve personally progressed through all three stages, and hopefully this article can get you straight to stage three.

In a grid-down world, after all our sponges and scrub brushes have worn out, luffah sponges can take their place. They can also do the same before the SHTF and best of all they don’t come from the ocean, they’re a type of gourd that can be grown in our gardens.

Luffahs are easily home grown and don’t take up much space. They can be planted on improvised trellises in waste areas like fences, pergolas, and even small trees as I discovered by accident. A single plant can produce more luffahs than you can use in a year and once the seeds are planted and germinated, luffah vines can be completely ignored until the first frost when they’re harvested. They’re fun to watch progress as the vines grow to incredible lengths, and then so many gourds start coming on they make zucchini plants look like sparse producers.Continue reading“How to Grow and Process Luffah Sponges, by St. Funogas”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

—

New York Retailers Blast Gov. Hochul After Losing $4.4 Billion to Theft Last Year.

o  o  o

SaraSue sent us this snippet:

“Busy, busy, busy.  I have sold some dairy cows who needed pregnancy checks, disease testing, and a health certificate from the vet in order to move out of state.  One cow who tested positive for pregnancy went into heat, so I had her re-bred.  This is something family milk cow owners know too well.  Sometimes it takes numerous A.I. (Artificial Insemination) attempts before getting the timing just right, without the aid of “syncing protocols”.  I don’t like the idea of injecting hormones into my dairy girls in order to produce ovulation in order to breed them.  A bull knows exactly the right time, but there are no bulls here.  The girls should be leaving in a couple of weeks, pending all of the above.  They need to get to their destination before the poor weather settles in.

I sold two of the piglets (deposit accepted) and have to sell more.  I discovered that the piglet market is fairly well saturated, even out here in the country.  Of course I discovered this *after* purchasing a breeding group of pigs.  I now have some decisions to make.  Sell the whole group, butcher most of them for the freezer, or try and stick with it for a year or two.  My reoccurring nightmare is a farm overrun with piglets!  That problem can be solved my dispensing with the boar.  It seems that most folks would prefer to purchase “pastured pork” and not have to deal with the raising of the pigs.  It costs a lot of money to “organically” raise pigs to butcher weight, not to mention the infrastructure required.  I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do yet.

Commercial pig operations produce pigs that are filled with vaccines and antibiotics – most of the pork in the grocery store – pork I wouldn’t put in my mouth.  Pastured and holistically raised pork is a labor of love.  Pigs aren’t much trouble at all if you get the electric fencing right.  The trouble is that they are more expensive to raise than cows or chickens.

Thanksgiving was delightful as I had a house full of family.  We are celebrating birthdays and Christmas early this year, so those preparations are also underway.  I went over the calendar trying to find a break in there somewhere – just so I could focus on the inside of the house.  There is a short window in January.  LOL.  We shall see.”

o  o  o

Foreign-Born Living in America Reaches 49.5 Million, Highest Ever in Recorded History.Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”