Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 16, 2024

On December 16, 1497, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama became the first European to sail along Africa’s East Coast. He named it Natal.

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The Romanian Revolution began on December 16th, 1989. No less than 1,066 civilians died in the successful attempt to overthrow the dictatorial President Nicolae Ceaușescu.

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December 16th, 1928, was the birthday of Philip K. Dick, who died March 2, 1982. He penned a remarkable number of sci-fi novels and novellas that have been adapted into movies, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Impostor, Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Next, and The Adjustment Bureau. Though he had a troubled personal life (with drug use and several failed marriages), his captivating books certainly had a knack for envisioning potential futures.

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The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. The Census Bureau’s History webpage shared this interesting tea tidbit:

“Although tea was a popular beverage in the United States, Americans began drinking more coffee than tea as a direct result of the Tea Act of 1773, the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution … Boston-area merchants like John Hancock were so enraged by the 3-cents-per-pound tax on tea arriving in colonial ports that he declared that anyone who drank the ‘baneful weed’ and paid the tea tax was an ‘Enemy of America’.”

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Today’s feature article is a review written by our own Tom Christianson.

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We need some more entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 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.

MyTopo Waterproof Topographical Maps, by Thomas Christianson

Have you ever tried to read a map in the rain? Or a map that got wet when a canoe tipped over? Or a map that accidentally got dropped in creek that you were crossing? If you have, you know that water and maps are not on very friendly terms with each other.

MyTopo Waterproof Topographical Maps offer outdoorsmen a more weather-resistant navigational aid than traditional paper maps. MyTopo maps are waterproof, frostproof, and stand up to repeated folding better than traditional paper maps.

They are available in the newest post-2009 USGS quads, the classic pre-2009 USGS quads, game management unit hunting maps, historic topo maps, national park maps, gazetteers, custom maps, and more. They come in various sizes, and can be purchased either rolled or folded.Continue reading“MyTopo Waterproof Topographical Maps, by Thomas Christianson”

Simple Farm Cheese Recipe

Reader Brian H. wrote to ask me about how I make the Farm Cheese that I’ve mentioned a few times in the Editors’ Prepping Progress column. I don’t claim any special cheesemaking knowledge.  The following Simple Farm Cheese recipe that I’ve used many times comes from “The Cheese Queen”, Ricki Carroll, in her excellent book “Home Cheesemaking”, pages 104-105:

Ingredients
2 gallons of milk
1 packet of Direct set mesophilic starter or 4 ounces of prepared mesophilic starter
1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet (or 1/2 rennet tablet) diluted in 1/2 cup of cool  unchlorinater water.
1 Tablespoon of cheese salt.
Cheese wax
Directions
Note: I generally use only a 1/2 gallon of cow milk or a gallon.  If I do, then I cut everything to a 1/4 or a half depending on the amount of milk I am turning into cheese.
1. Heat cow milk to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Add mesophillic starter and stir thoroughly. Cover and allow milk to ripen for 45 minutes.
2. Add diluted rennet.stir gently with an up and down movement for one minute. If using farm-fresh cow’s milk, top stir for 1-minute with the flat underside of the ladle no more than a 1/2 inch deep to blend the butterfat that rises to the surface.  Cover and let set at 90* Fahrenheit for 45 minutes, or until the curd gives a clean break.
3. Cut the curd into 1/2-inch cubes.
4. Place the pot into a sink full of hot water and slowly heat the curds to 100* Fahrenheit, increasing the temperature by two degrees, every 5 minutes.  This will take about 30 minutes.  Stir gently to keep the curds from matting.  The curds will shrink noticeably in size as the heating continues and you stir gently.  The yellowish whey will grow in quantity as the curds shrink.
5. Cover the container and let the curds set for 5 minutes. Pour the curds into a cheese cloth-lined colander.  Tie the corners of the cheese cloth into a knot and hang the bag in a convenient spot to drain for 1 hour.  Do not hang in a drafty spot – the curds need to stay relatively warm.
6. Place the drained curds in a bowl and break them up gently with your fingers into walnut sized. Mix in salt.
7. Firmly pack the curds into a 2-pound mold lined with cheesecloth, then neatly fold the cheesecloth over the top.  Apply 10  pounds of pressure for 10 minutes.
8. Remove the cheese from the mold and gently peel away the cheesecloth. Turn over the cheese, re-dress it, and press at 20 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.
9. Repeat the process but press at 50 pounds of pressure for 12 hours.
10.  Remove the cheese from the mold and carefully peel away the cheesecloth.  Air-dry the cheese at room temperature on a wooden board until a nice rind has developed and the surface is quite dry.  This can take 2-4 days, depending on the weather.  Turn the cheese several times a day so moisture will not collect on the bottom.
11. Wax the cheese.
12. Age the cheese for at least 1 month.

Yield: 2 pounds.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe by Ricki Carroll. – Avalanche Lily

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: How Americans Heat Their Homes. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit and Maps.com.)

JWR’s Comments:  In the Midwest, natural gas is popular in urban areas, and propane in rural areas. Despite the advent of electric heat pumps, propane is gaining in popularity in the southeast and Texas, where higher electricity rates and power outages have made many residents reconsider their home heating options.  The extended grid power failure in Texas in February, 2021 was a wakeup call for people who rely on electricity for home heating and cooking. The supply of natural gas was also partly disrupted, but propane users were largely unaffected.

From a preparedness standpoint, the best regions to locate are partly forested ones where firewood predominates as the domestic heat source. The second best would be a region where propane predominates.

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

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Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If you or I fail at business, we fail. If we cheat and fail, we go to jail. But if you’re rich and politically connected, your incompetence may be protected by a government bailout.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — December 15, 2024

December 15, 1929: Swiss pilot and photographer Walter Mittelholzer was the first man to fly over Mount Kilimanjaro.

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December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia. We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud.

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December 15, 1923, was the birthday of Uziel “Uzi” Gal (born Gotthard Glas). According to Wikipedia, he was “…born in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 he moved first to England and later, in 1936, to Kibbutz Yagur in the British Mandate of Palestine where he changed his name to Uziel Gal. In 1943, he was arrested for illegally carrying a gun and sentenced to six years in prison. However, he was pardoned and released in 1946, serving less than half of his sentence.” He is, of course, remembered as the inventor of the famous Uzi submachine gun. Uzi Gal is not to be confused with Israel Galili, the chief weapons designer for Israeli Military Industries (IMI), who along with Yaacov Lior designed the Galil improvement to the AK-47.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 116 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. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — 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. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

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. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 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.

Staying Sane and Happy in Isolation, by M.J.E.

When an October snowstorm brought down leaf-covered tree branches all over the city and onto the power lines, we were without electricity for nearly two weeks, and took in our friends who had neither a wood burning fireplace nor gas appliances. During the pandemic, lockdowns found people all over the world sheltering in their homes in isolation. In the dead of winter, with feet of snow on the ground, getting out of an isolated cabin can be not only dangerous, but sometimes impossible. Since we all prep, we have food and water and heat, our people are fed and the animals are safe, but now what? Here are some of the things we’ve done to keep ourselves and our families and friends sane, entertained, and filled with joy.

1. Sing. Even people who can’t carry a tune in a bucket can still belt out a song, or maybe can do “the talkin’ blues”. In German, it’s called Sprechgesang, “spoken singing” and a surprising number of people have talked their way through the lyrics including Lee Marvin, Lorne Green, Jimmy Dean, C.W. McCall, and a bunch of others. If someone in the house can play along on an instrument, that’s even better. The opportunity of a long winter can be used to learn to play an instrument; guitars, and keyboards are surprisingly affordable. It’s even possible to make instruments—have you ever seen a cigar box banjo? Cowbells, drums, washboards, and spoons are fun, too. We used to do Stars and Stripes Forever every Fourth of July on kazoos—yes, it sounded terrible, but it was also hilarious. We all know songs and have ones we love, especially Christmas carols. Singing and music, believe it or not, are good for your body as well as your mind.Continue reading“Staying Sane and Happy in Isolation, by M.J.E.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week: 

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Daniel Penny Was Found Not Guilty

It Was Because He Did The Right Thing

It Was Not “By Reason of Fabulous Hair”

News Link:

Jury finds Daniel Penny not guilty in subway chokehold death of homeless man.

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,

Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:

(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)

By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:

But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” – Hebrews 7:14-24  (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 14, 2024

On December 14, 1542, Princess Mary Stuart succeeded her father James V to become Queen Mary I of Scotland, at just six days old.

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December 14, 1702:  The famed forty-seven Ronin (leaderless samurai), under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master in Japan.

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December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013). Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name– Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg.

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This is also the birthday of Air Force General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, who died September 27, 1993.

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Today’s guest article was too short to be considered in the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are seeking entries for Round 116 of the contest. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 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.

Twelve Live Gifts that Keep on Giving, by Mrs. Alaska

In the spirit of the season, I offer a “Twelve Days of Christmas” list of LIVE gifts that keep on giving to us here, at a remote homestead in Alaska.

1- Gallon of red wiggler worms, divided among my food gardens. They eat the kitchen scraps I toss there and rapidly improve the soil.

2 – Years’ worth of seeds (many degrade after that: check with a float/sink test each year).

3 – Rabbits (1 buck and 2 does). They can be mated at about five months and over the year, fill our larder. (In the photo at left, can you see all three?) They do breed…

 

 

 

 

4 – Months of summer (yes, we have a short but glorious growing season).

5 – Hens (Dominiques and Jersey giants are very reliable egg layers for us – almost one egg per hen per day except in the darkest and coldest weather). As free-rangers in summer, they are terrific at reducing flies and other pests as well as weeds at the base of bushes.Continue reading“Twelve Live Gifts that Keep on Giving, by Mrs. Alaska”

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:

With out-of-town travel and some visits to the ranch over Thanksgiving, I had been falling behind on my blog writing.  I generally try to keep the blog written several days in advance. So this week I did some catching up.

I laid some more linoleum tile in our little guest cabin. This time it was in the sleeping loft.  I had some tile left over, so the next day I also tiled the cabin’s smaller storage loft. That all went fairly quickly. I really like working with the new-style adhesive 6″ x 36″ tiles.  It seems much easier to keep the tiles lined up squarely and snugly with the long, rectangular tiles.

On Friday, I attended a gun show, searching for more pre-1899 cartridge gun inventory for Elk Creek Company. Check the web page for the new inventory, as I catalog it.  There are some real gems.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” – Psalm 34: 1-16 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 13, 2024

On December 13, 1266, rebels that were holed up inside Kenilworth Castle surrendered after 172 days to Henry III, ending one of the longest sieges in medieval English history. Here is an excerpt from a piece at English-heritage.org:

“In the mid 1260s England was divided by civil war. Henry III, who had been on the throne since 1216, was at loggerheads with some of his leading nobles, who wanted to reform how the king governed. Their leader was the king’s brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who defeated the king’s forces at the Battle of Lewes in 1264 and captured both Henry III and his elder son, Edward. He held the king captive for 15 months before he was himself defeated and killed in August 1265 at the Battle of Evesham by Edward, who had escaped captivity.

Many of Montfort’s supporters fought on after his death, and Henry had to deal with uprisings across the country. The rebels had one key asset: Kenilworth Castle.”

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December 13th was the birthday of Sergeant Alvin York.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 116 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. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — 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. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

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. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 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.