Court To Bakery Owners: You Have No Property Rights – D.C.
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Some Germans Are Microwaving Their ID Cards to Stifle Surveillance – D.S.
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Detroit-area mayor seeks citywide ban on “personal flamethrowers” – T.P.
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Infestation of Opossums Kills 17 Babies in Venezuelan Birth Ward – G.P. [Warning: auto-starting video]
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Man who shot burglar charged with voluntary manslaughter – T.P.
“If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.” – Samuel Adams
Safecastle is currently having a sale on Mountain House Foods with savings of 35 to 50% off. They also have Berkeys back in stock now.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 60 ends on September 30th, 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.
So let’s go into some improvised methods for each of the prongs listed earlier.
You should get a loud dog. I have a golden retriever, who, even though he would probably just lick an invader’s boots, sounds like a dog three times his size when he barks, and he sounds very deadly. He is not effective for defense, but he could definitely deter a potential looter. A good dog would be a German Shepard, Pit Bull, or Bullmastiff to deter robbers/raiders even before the world ends. I know I would not like to even risk going near a house with a dog like that. However, you should know, never get such a dog unless it is meticulously trained how to properly behave, especially if you have small children. A mean Mastiff, Rottweiler, or German Shepard could easily kill a child, and if a bad dog starts attacking its owners, it may be too late to stop it before it causes irreparable damage. Dogs such as these are definitely not family dogs, and don’t take well to abuse or annoyance by little kids.
Some good trap ideas might be something like a tripwire activated to drop small rocks or pans on the unlucky activator’s head, or a hidden, large hole that makes one incapable of escaping. Traps require much creativity and engineering to work, so they can be difficult for the average person. The easiest trap is the classic tiger trap from Swiss Family Robinson. Dig a hole, cover it up with leaves, don’t step in it.
Depending on where you live, this will be extremely varied. If you live in the woods, you are going to have different alert systems than those who live in the city. I will tell you some generally good items that work well for both the urban and the country prepper. The first is your early warning system. If you have a good perimeter defense dog, such as a Great Pyrenees, you already have this function. Let’s face it, you really need a dog. Living in the city, you can rightly justify having one, unlike swinging logs or giant pitfall traps. Beyond a dog, you need other measures of alerting you of the assailant’s presence, such as tripwire activated bell alarms (remember the pirate alarms?) or camouflaged windchimes hanging on your porch. You could also consider hanging a ton of junk from your porch (after the world ends, of course) so they either hit their heads and make sound on it, drop it, and make sounds with it, trip over it, and hopefully get hurt real bad and then make sounds. I think you get the point. Finally, you should set up something so you know where they are, if they break in. Once again, the little jingle bells you buy at the hobby craft store will work just fine when strung with string or wire across a doorway. To get even more noise, put two cooking pots or other heavy metal object across the opening, raised a bit giving it room to fall to the floor. When they trigger it, crash. It all goes on the floor with an extravagantly loud smash.
This is the final stand. If they made it this far, kudos to them. Now they are going to feel a lot of pain. I should not have to remind you again, but if I do, I will tell you that this is about the non-lethal side of defense.
So your first line of defense is to fortify your home. You can greatly increase your safety by simply getting new doors. Get doors with steel on the outside, or steel core doors. This is also practical in everyday life, as these kinds of doors prevent burglars from kicking it in. Also consider getting kick-in stops for your doors. Another thing you need is some light blockers. These will stop light from escaping your windows so raiders will not target you. You can use pretty much anything for these. A good thing is to use some of the giant black landscaping trash bags, and just duct tape them on your windows at night. You may need multiple bags based on the amount of light coming out. After you are done fortifying, you need to be prepared for the possibility of looters breaching your walls. That is where part two of defense comes in– confrontation. There are a lot of people who just cannot and will not use lethal force to defend themselves, more than you may think. If you are one of them, or you just do not have access to practical items of deadly nature, then less lethal is your only other option apart from total surrender. We know that is not an option. If it was, why prepare in the first place? Now, I think for defense you should have at least one of these things, if not more.
Now remember, there is a whole slew of self defense tools out there, and some that were not even originally invented for it. If you are opposed to using real guns, get a high-powered paintball gun with extra CO2 and ammo. If you nail someone good enough with one of those, they will quit eventually. [Editor’s Note: These last two items are likely to get you killed. A paint ball gun may deter someone who is only interested in an easy mark, but if someone wants what you have and they realize that you are only armed with a paintball gun, you will lose. If you truly cannot bring yourself to utilize lethal means to protect yourself, you are better off pairing up with someone who will use it. In the same line of thinking, if you are going to carry a weapon that looks like a real weapon, it better be a real weapon and you better know how to use it.]
This is just a few different ways to set up defenses, and there are still almost infinite amounts of others. Remember, if someone wants to take you or your family’s lives, you have every right to remove them from the earth. You have every right to shoot them with a paintball gun, too.
Every day, you throw out stuff, useful stuff like 2-liter pop bottles. “Have an empty 2-liter pop bottle? Don’t throw it out! “I can make a raft with that!” That is the kind of mindset you need to have in order to survive TEOTWAWKI. I am going to give a quick list for uses for just a few overlooked items that may help you survive.
This is just a very short list to get your creative juices flowing, so use your imagination and think up uses for thrown out items that may one day save your life.
In the end, you will be desperate for things you wasted just a year ago. Stock up on these items, as you will probably need them, or you could barter them off to someone else. Everybody knows they’ll need things like food, ammo, et cetera, but people often don’t really think about things like bug spray and the socks on their feet.
I hope you can draw some useful knowledge and skills from this paper. I enjoyed writing this very much and send you my best wishes for TEOTWAWKI.
Keep your powder dry, brothers and sisters.
JWR,
Just a note to thank you for the input on the new knife design: WOW!—
I’m pretty cheap on knives but was recently chastised by a client and retired police officer to always conceal carry (we were at a police qualifying range so “thought” I didn’t need to there) and have a large folding knife in my pocket—ALWAYS!
He was very adamant, which woke me up in a good way. So seeing the JWR knife with all the key features that I felt were excellent, I ordered this knife to meet the retired officer’s recommendations; I’m very impressed!! – M.G.
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Dear Hugh,
I received it via UPS today. It is a very impressive knife and certainly is “as advertised!” I am very pleased with this purchase and will purchase another as a gift. Convey to JWR that this piece is AWESOME! – M.R.
World shipping slump deepens as China retreats – G.G.
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Venezuela’s currency is now so worthless that people are using it as napkins – G.P.
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
Why Gas Prices Are Rising Despite Oil’s Plunge – I for sure have been wondering this. I’m making an assumption that this is true, but who knows.
Ben Carson wants forced vaccines, with schools serving as enforcement checkpoints – H.L.
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China Tests New Long-Range Missile with Two Guided Warheads – G.P.
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UFC Fighters Experience Marine Corps Martial Arts – T.P.
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Christians Are Being Systematically Purged From The U.S. Military – T.P.
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California drought pictures – D.N.
“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” – Tom Clancy, American author (1947-2013)
Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 60 ends on September 30th, 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.
I am here to teach you some practical tips for preparing and surviving the end of the world without fancy preps or high-dollar retreats. I will also share some practical uses I have found for everyday items.
As much as I would like everyone in America to be able to afford nice, expensive things for their preps, that just cannot be. Let’s face it, Mr. James, not everyone has enough money, time, or space for prepping, or maybe it is just not a big aspect of their life. Yes, I would love to have a multi-million dollar retreat, but some people are just not blessed like that. It is kind of sad to see people who don’t care about prepping and who waste their time saving the trees and whales. These people just think everything will be fine and that nothing can happen to them, but some do care. To those who do, read on, and I hope you can learn a bit from this.
First, I am going to say that I am in no way telling you to use these methods over conventional and practical methods and equipment, nor am I advertising for any specific product or brand. I simply mean to present an informative and useful guide for when any of the conventional methods fail or become unavailable. Also, it might be handy to take a few notes, as there is a ton of information in here.
Now I know you’re probably thinking “Not another of these Beaver Dam duct tape idiots.” That is not what I am about to say here. Duct tape does a lot of things, and while you may think it is just one of those prepper fads and that it is not all it’s cracked up to be, duct tape can save your life. Think about Apollo 13! When stuff breaks, duct tape fixes it. In WWII, when it was first officially invented, the soldiers soon discovered more applications for it than sealing ammo cans. The bottom line is that you need duct tape. It can be, will be, and will always be a valuable resource before, during, and after TEOTWAWKI. So I am going to give you a list and helpful guide to things to use it for.
Wrist splint
One of its many uses is making an improvised splint for sprains and breaks. Once again, I advise you not to use this as opposed to a real splint. It is simply a substitute until medical help can be found. Also, never use this if there is protruding bone. This design works best for wrist injuries, as a leg splint will require a lot more duct tape and sticks. Here are the steps to follow:
This method will also work for full arm splints, but for leg splints it is better to get some thick, long, and flat pieces and tape them in place.
One of the best things about duct tape is how inexpensive it is. Another great thing is how easy it is to tell the quality of the tape. The different tiers of quality dictate how you can use it. I use a 1-5 scale with three criteria:
So for Gorilla brand tape, I rate it
Strength: 5
Adhesive: 5
Ease of use: 3
The gorilla brand tape is exceptionally strong, but it is so thick it is very hard to wrap around oddly shaped items, and it’s hard to get perfectly flat.
Another good brand is Duck brand tape. It works well for average jobs.
Strength: 3
Adhesive: 5
Ease of use: 5
It has very strong adhesive and is very easy to work with. It is slightly thin, making it very useful for odd items. It’s only downside is that the coating over the cloth mesh on the inside will wear down quickly, if it is used on surfaces getting a high amount of friction and impact.
A few other tried and true uses for duct tape are to:
Even if you despise the thought of duct tape being used in practical survival, you should still stock up on it, as nutcases like me will want to buy or trade for it in the end if we don’t have any.
I have really bad OCD, so I can go on and on and on about duct tape rating scales, loonies, and Jerry rigged CO2 scrubbers, but I know by now you are probably ripping out your eyeballs with boredom, so I will move on.
In a post-TEOTWAWKI America, you will need to develop a few early-warning systems to prevent people from sneaking up on you, especially if you do not have enough people for exhaustive security routines or if you are against the prospect of taking a person’s life in defense. This is actually more common than you might think. I am not against taking a life to save yours or your family’s, but a lot of people are. My mentality is that by taking his life, I am:
Of course, that is your decision to make, and I am not here to change that. I just wish to inform you. So I recommend a four-pronged system called D.T.A.D (Dee-Tad), which goes like this:
Deter: Make them not want to come in. This might be a fence, sandbag walls, Concertina wire, or something else. Whatever you put, it should deter and protect from them, but don’t rely on them alone. There will be lots of desperate, hungry people willing to cross it for a bite of your food.
Make sure you have at least two layers of this prong of defense, such as fence, followed by wire, followed by sandbags. That would work well.
Trap: Make them have second thoughts about raiding you. Tripwire, disguised holes placed at random, or fishing line strung between trees (to get the Saran Wrap effect; there’s more about this later) will get their attention and maybe make them think twice about you. I believe things like Punji stakes to be fairly brutal and inhumane, as you will have to execute the victim or they will die of a raging infection and be in unbelievable agony from the stakes. You also run the severe risk of stepping in them yourself, and that could be crippling to your family’s survival chances. All in all, Punji stakes are a really bad idea and so I do not recommend using them.
Alert: Make it known that the enemy is there. You can use bells, airhorns, or even wind chimes, and pans or anything that makes enough noise so you know someone is at you property. Use these by your door and by any tactical points or easy entry points, such as gates.
Defend: This is the last prong; if they get through your gauntlet of security, kudos to them. This is commonly broken into two divisions: lethal and non-lethal. I will explore the non-lethal area, as all people using lethal options already know how to use them. There are many options for less lethal weapons. You can use real guns loaded with rubber bullets, pepper spray, or even wooden spoons. There is one goal of defense, and that is to make the attacker stop. Less lethal options use to modes to accomplish that. The first is pain. This involves making them stop by hurting them or incapacitating them. The other way is intimidation, which involves making them soil themselves either by sheer force or by making them think you can/will kill them. The point of less lethal methods is to not kill/maim/permanently hurt your assailant. You want to stop them, so that you can take them prisoner or make them get the heck outta’ your way and also tell their buddies something to the effect of “Those people down there are complete lunatics! Stay away from them.”
HJL,
Regarding “Tails for MacBook Users: Anonymity for the Survivalist, by Losttribe”, almost every Mac made, since around 2006, has been Intel-based. From a name perspective, the products were renamed with the shift.
Earlier product names were PowerMac, iBook, or PowerBook.
Intel-based product names are: Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, et cetera.
The only two devices that didn’t get a name shift were the Mac Mini and the iMac. You can see full details at these wikipedia links, and to figure out which mac you have, you can go under the Apple Menu to “About this Mac” and it will tell you (see attached image) both the model as well as the processor type. – J.A.
Monday storm sparks 35 new fires in northern Idaho
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Over at the excellent Paratus Familia blog,”Enola Gay” comments on the many lightning-sparked forest fires now burning in The American Redoubt: In The Line Of Fire.
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For those considering a move to the American Redoubt, Pastor Harry Sheppard of Mountain View Baptist Church has let us know about himself and his congregation:
“We are a brand new church plant in the Sandpoint area and will be holding our first service on October 4th. I am a firm believer in the Redoubt concept and the need for Bible believing Christians to coalesce. So much so in fact, that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with the blessing of our home church, my family and I relocated to north Idaho from Texas with the goal of evangelizing the lost and discipling the saved both, in this area and beyond.”
You can view their website or call them at 208-610-7975.
He is also asking for SurvivalBlog readers to pray for his ministry – That they would be used of God to be a light in a quickly darkening world.
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The current status of wildfires can be tracked at InciWeb – DCB
This Alarming Indicator Is Back At A Level Last Seen Before The Bear Stearns Collapse
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THE U.S. EMPIRE INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Export All Of It’s Gold… The Barbarous Relic
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
8 Reasons Why The Telegraph Thinks The Market Doomsday Clock Is One Minute To Midnight
Is The ‘Dumb’ Money Doing Something Smart?
Ron Paul: China’s Woes Give Fed Cover on Rates – Of course they won’t raise rates unless they are ready to pull the plug, because that is exactly what would happen if they did. Letting the market determine the price of money is what should happen, but that would bring about a painful correction that the economy needs but the Fed is not interested at all in a free market system because the Fed, by its very nature, is anti-free market.
High beef prices fueling rustling revival in Plains states – T.P.
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60 Minutes uncovers huge mobile phone security vulnerabilities – P.S.
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Woman fined for Facebook pic of police car parked in disabled spot – T.P.
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CA plans for huge water tunnels – P.S.
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Police Shooting of White Driver Gets Less Publicity , because he was white – P.M.
