Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“…but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.” – Jeremiah 7:23-24 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – March 25, 2016

March 25th National Medal of Honor day is officially observed on March 25th of each year.On March 25 1944 RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a jump from a Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet over Germany without a parachute. His fall was broken by pine trees and soft snow, and he suffered only a sprained leg.

This is the birthday of English film director David Lean, (of Doctor Zhivago fame), born in Croydon, England in 1908.

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You Better Pray You Never Meet America”: NRA’s New Charlie Daniels – Sent in by J.H.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. 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).

Round 63 ends on March 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.

My Favorite Materials for Clothing, by B.A.

Not being a survivalist, nor being flush with cash, I am constantly amazed at the number of times people are told to buy the newest and greatest items for their family’s welfare. Sure, if the money was available for the average person to buy the newest “gee whiz” items all of the time, we would never have to worry about TEOTWAWKI, because by the time we have finally gotten through all the fancy gear once, we would be dead of old age. In response to an outdoor sports catalog that I brought over, my mother said to me, “American’s will all starve to death, but they will look good while they do it.”

Of course, I was raised poor. I knew it, because there is plenty of people in this world who are more than happy to remind a guy of it. You did not ruin stuff; because if you did that, you then did without. Hopefully, your older cousin was changing out his wardrobe, so you had more than socks and underwear that were new. I remember having to do gym class in high school in boots, because my shoes were worn out. Yes, I eventually was kicked out of class for supposedly damaging the floor with my hard heel boots. I grew to have a very healthy respect for clothes that did not wear out.

Being Canadian, I also grew to have a healthy respect for what real warm clothes meant. If you have ever been so cold that your hands feel like they are made of broken chicken bones for hours after you are thawed out and the feeling returns, then you understand. Cheap work gloves and nylon snow suits that rip, exposing the lining in those large v-rips that never can be repaired, are things that I now refuse to even contemplate enduring.

That being said, at the risk of insulting readers, my favorite clothing materials are cotton, wool, and leather. I want clothes, not to survive the zombie apocalypse, but to survive the longest time available and to keep me in the most comfortable condition possible, without paying with my eye teeth. Think about it. There are no patents on cotton, wool, or leather. There are no material royalties that go on top of the production and sales cost. It’s like the wheel; it does not cost one cent more for a company to use this invention, because the intellectual property laws and the new science people are not trying to get more money for repackaging an old item, i.e. clothes.

Once upon a time I had the chance to wear Canadian-issue Arctic gear. The coldest it got that winter was -67 degrees Celsius with the windchill. I lived. I also learned a thing or two. The first thing I did was take my arctic mitts home and have my mother look them over and make my own copy of them. She went to a dollar store and bought an old wool overcoat, cut it up, and made both my brother and me a pair complete with the soft nose wiper on the back. She was also kind enough to knit us both toques of wool and regular wool gloves, and years later I convinced her to make me a 6-foot double knitted scarf. That is my accessories. I have all of them still, even though I changed up and bought an actual pair of Arctic mitts from Egli’s Sheep Farm in Ontario. This being the present day, I also bought a pair of shearling wool boot liners for winter boots and several full sheep hides from them to make more later. (I may have more money now, but I am still cheap.)

For my feet, I always wear wool work socks. It’s a habit broken into me that stuck. My foot wear are leather. I only have one pair of steel-toed boots. If you want to loose a toe or two, wear only steel toes in winter. Everything else in soft toed. I prefer Kamik’s boots; it is nice to be able to change out your liners every day, so that they can dry out over night proper. I work outside and hunt in them. I have walked all day in brush and swamp without twisting my ankle into a hospital visit. I get some stares in winter when I go into town, but I don’t care. I am warm, even when standing still or sitting in the cold, and they keep me going.

For my coat, I looked at buying a surplus coat, but the cost was too much. Years ago when I tried my hand at construction while freezing one day, I talked with one of the contractors and asked what he was wearing, as he never seemed to be too warm and was never cold, even as the wind ripped through the site. He was wearing Tough Duck work gear. It is a company that specializes in cotton canvas outer gear in Winnipeg. The parka I chose only cost me $100, and the lined overalls only $90. This was 18 years ago. That parka was a good civilian equivalent. I have worn that thing everywhere and done everything. It has kept me warm in -45 degree Celsius, while I sat for hours waiting for deer to say “hi”. It has kept me dry while I chained up my truck in the Rockies, and it has held every kind of tool in its pockets while fixing everything mechanical in my life. I love that coat, and its matching overalls. Everybody I know on the farm or in the workforce has one, or one like it. There is a reason. They last forever. You almost cannot destroy it. Cotton canvas, when walking through brush or over a barbed wire fence or working on machinery with sharp edges, does not tear itself to pieces. If by chance you do damage it, most likely you tore the edge where the sewing was. Even I have fixed cotton canvas by sewing my pockets back together. While cotton is flammable, it is usually treated, so you will not go up like a Roman candle, and as an added bonus, unlike synthetics, if it burns it will not bond with your skin. I had to replace my parka this winter, not because it no longer is useful, but because my wife, whom I love, is too embarrassed to be seen in public with me in it. So I went back and bought the exact same coat from the same company. Its price was $124. They do ship to the U.S. The quality is still there.

I grew up in t-shirts. Eventually, I decided that I needed something a little more. Usually that means I put on my surplus wool shirt, but sometimes I wanted something not so warm. What does a guy do? While at the farm I sucked it up and borrowed one of my dad’s shirts. You know the kind– heavy cotton in horrible plaid. That thing was comfortable. I never wanted to wear them. If my dad was wearing them, I thought they are not for me. I went and bought six more of them for myself and a couple for him to thank him. Sure enough, that summer I was sitting there sweating in a t-shirt and got to thinking about my dad’s shirts. In the summer he wears the light cotton t-shirts, in plaid of course. This time I did not even wait; I just went and bought four of them. Sure enough it was light and comfortable and inexpensive. After the clingy t-shirt, it was like I was wearing my own air conditioner. Who would’a thunk it? Our dads were onto something!

As for pants, well I only wear blue jeans. That’s simply because they are just so solid. The only concessions are cotton long johns underneath when it is too cold outside, or the canvas bib-overalls worn when it is really cold. Durability is the key. I never buy the “cool” jeans. Stone washed ones may be comfortable, but they are half worn out before you even buy them. Buying ripped jeans for style is a special kind of stupid in itself. That same pair of jeans has to do a roof, walk through thorns, and keep my legs covered. Extra pockets would be nice, but that’s why I have a jacket.

I may not be much to look at, but I am comfortable. I know that my clothes that I wear everyday are the same clothes that I will be wearing years from now. Sure it is nothing like fancy stuff out there, and when it comes down to how something will wick 2 ml of moisture at 10 degrees, the high end stuff has me beat everyday. I walked into a sports store before Christmas and everyone was wearing fancy clothes. The sales staff did not even want to talk to me. Maybe it was that nothing I wear has a logo. I don’t look like much, but I can buy double what they could, or buy the same amount and use the other half of my money on food. I think too many people are looking too far and too intensely at problems that are not really there.

Letter Re: Observations of An Old Alaskan Bushrat

Hi Mr. Rawles,

I just ran across your site and have been browsing it. Your Precepts of Survivalist Philosophy are superb. Best is that you are a 100% sold out Christian.

You may find a few observations of interest, from one who has lived extensively off the grid. First, some background. I grew up in a tiny community with the surf out my front door and a thousand-year-old forest that stretched for miles in back. My father grew up on a homestead and trapline among the Sarcees of the Alberta Rocky Mountain foothills. He never had a pair of shoes on until twelve, only Sarcee moccasins. My mother was raised in a sod-house and half dugout on the New Mexico plains, when Pancho Villa was raiding nearby. With such parents to form my youth, when in 1963 my employer left me with no food for ten days on my first job in Alaska as a 20-year-old, not only did I not starve but I couldn’t even get hungry. It took me no more than a half hour to an hour daily to secure all the food I could eat. Since, I once lived in a tent year-round for two years, lived four years in an 8 X 12 shack, and have put in a winter in a tent far north, where the temperatures commonly hit 40-50 degrees below. I have also dwelt extensively in a log cabin 100 air miles off the highway without electricity or running water.

Observation 1: When I think about really prepping, I think about not just setting up for the long haul but the permanent long haul. If the survival situation never gets better, you’re set. If it does get better, you can always move back to more modern life. All of the reliance on mechanisms that run on fossil fuels and use of technologies, like welding and so forth, are fine, as long as supplies last. However, if the collapse goes on long enough, survivalists will have to live with technologies of an earlier age. So here’s my take: I am not saying immediately abandon all newer technology before you are forced to, but put most of your preparation effort into reverting back into 1870’s to rural 1920’s technology. You do not want to be forced into Stone Age technology by lack of tools. I have lived a lot without electricity and running water in the ways of the turn of the 1900’s bush. It is totally comfortable and easy to slide back and forth, losing 150 years or gaining them back.

Observation 2: When you put a premium on living places, like down in America, where there is lots of sunlight to run solar generators and nice, deep, rich soil with plenty of clean water, you are looking to set up in digs that will be super attractive to the inevitable raiders. Places down there that seem rather rural and thinly populated will get populated (overrun) when the millions upon millions of city dwellers scatter out of Dodge. Hunger, and their kids going hungry, will change many into savagery, and some will be have Swat team-quality training in law enforcement and Special Forces-level military training that allows them a huge advantage in assaults on the amateur fortifications of most preppers, no matter how well laid. I don’t want to be anywhere hordes of that ilk are likely to be attracted to or have the bush and sea travel skills to reach. I don’t want them to be able to drive or even bicycle or ride a horse to my family.

My area, instead of banking on rich farm land, allows me to tap the richness of the sea. Not only from the depths but from the inter-tidal zone, where “when the tide’s out, the table’s set.” Summer or winter, it doesn’t matter. And when fuel is spent, no raider types are likely to want to row, paddle, or sail across perilous waters as far as my chosen area is from the nearest population centers, which the nearest three at 50-75 miles distance number but 50-200 souls. By the way, I won’t be totally dependent upon seaweed and forest edibles. A greenhouse will supply vegetables.

The native tribes that inhabited the area had the easiest life/highest standard of living of any in North America. It took them so little to take a living from their surroundings that they had leisure time to develop their religion, art, housing, trade, and warfare to a high standard. In their great cedar war canoes of 40-60 feet, they raided for slaves as far north as Cook Inlet and south to the Columbia. Their weaving technique is one of the world’s most complex and beautiful. This is all because the living was—and is—easy there.

Keep up your outstanding ministry,

In Him, – Rod

Economics and Investing:

Uh oh! The growing economic case for ‘helicopter money’ – P.S.

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Record Breaking Silver Factors In 2015 Can Make 2016 Quite Interesting

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‘Rich Dad’ author says the 2016 market collapse he foresaw in 2002 is coming – G.G.

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It’s Official: Canadian Bank Depositors Are Now At Risk Of Bail-Ins – G.G. Excerpt: “Earlier today, Canada’s new Liberal government unveiled a stimulus budget meant to revive slumping growth with a surge in infrastructure spending and said it would run a deficit nearly three times larger than promised during last year’s election.”

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Yellen, Draghi, Kuroda: Deranged Lab Rats

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

All of the recent talk about the BHO Administration opening up to Castro’s Cuba and doing the Twisted Tango begs a few questions: When do we get our plane hijackers and escaped convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard back? (There will, of course, be an extradition treaty… Riiight!) And when do we get to see all of those Cuban FAL and AR-10 parts sets arriving on our shores? Or will we only get additional boatloads of impoverished immigrants? – JWR

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Some interesting maps showing net population gains and losses: The U.S. Population Is Swelling in Almost Every State

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Roger Simon’s latest editorial: James Comey and Loretta Lynch Hold the Whole Country in Their Hands

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NASA appears to be planning/assisting with the use of large drones in US airspace. – P.S.

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7 Strange Questions About The Brussels Terror Attacks That The Mainstream Media Is Not Asking – B.B.

Notes for Thursday – March 24, 2016

March 24th is the birthday of Dr. Art Robinson, who was born in 1942. Also, today, the 14th day of Adar II, starts Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman (boo!), who was planning to kill all the Jews.

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Round 63 of the Writing Contest is coming to a close in only a few short days. Make sure you get your article finished and submitted for this round!

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. 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).

Round 63 ends on March 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.

A Random Walk Through The Risks of Silicon Valley, by Epaminondas

As a technology executive who has worked extensively with most of the big, high-tech firms (Microsoft, Google, Verizon, Dell, Qualcomm, and more), I thought that it could be helpful to share a perspective on the general role of technology on prepper thinking and planning. This readership is much more sophisticated than most, but the hard fact is that most of us cannot live an independent, off-grid lifestyle for a variety of reasons. Technology is the great enabler and force multiplier that can make it much easier to work remotely, maintain close contact with family and friends while benefiting from the vast knowledge of the Internet.

The danger zone here is around the data. Silicon Valley companies are not deliberately trying to repress freedom. They are providing technologies to drive new solutions and profits that can often have the unwanted side effect of providing Big Brother an unprecedented tool for compromising freedom. A big part of the problem is that companies never think (or care) about the freedom impact.

Here is how I view the risk/reward of certain technologies and current events in technology:

Mobile Phones

The network needs to know who and where you are to deliver a call, just as a mailman needs to have your name and address to deliver a letter. If you are uncomfortable with this, use a VoIP account for your telephone and access it from any browser (using a VPN) to check voice mail. While Blackberry devices have the highest security of any mass market phone, the company is dying and the U.S. government can still access anything that they want. In about five years, 5G technology will be here and it will include a direct handset-to-handset ability that can keep some communications off of the main network. I would consider a Blackberry for secure third world messaging. Most countries outside of the big ones cannot crack the encryption, and some (India) have mandated a back door in return for market access. One thing to keep in mind is that location technology is now embedded in much more than just phones and cars. A GPS module with antenna is now smaller than 17mm by 17mm and can be put into almost any electronics.

Google

I would avoid all Google products (Gmail, Android phones, et cetera) like the plague. Google is in the data business, and they are not shy about using any and all information that touches their world. For them it is a business decision, since they are all about data in every form. Businesses of any size are concerned enough about protecting their information that they will not use Google for anything. The perception in Silicon Valley is such that when they acquired Nest (a smart home thermostat), people in tech starting removing Nest devices from their homes. Google has now added video capabilities for a light home security monitoring capability. The latest Google Nexus phone is made by Huawei, the big Chinese telecom company with close ties to the Chinese government. The U.S. government has banned Huawei from selling network equipment to the U.S. due to security concerns (CNBC has a story on this.) As a friend of mine, who is a top mobile industry analyst, jokes, “If you buy a Google Nexus phone, you have four people listening to you– Google, NSA, Huawei, and the Chinese government!”

Apple

Apple upgraded their security on the ***AMAZONamazon.com/iPhone-Plus-Gold-16GB-Unlocked/dp/B00OB5TCN6/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1458782988&sr=8-10&keywords=iphone***iPhone in the past few years, hence the growing issue of the U.S. government’s request for Apple to unlock the iPhone. There are a few challenges here, starting with the government’s request. The government is asking for a master key to unlock any iPhone at their discretion versus a specific request to unlock the terrorist iPhone in question. We should all be very concerned about any back door technology. Experience has proven that the government cannot protect the most important secrets that they have, let alone a master skeleton key to a widely used operating system.

In speaking with some of my colleagues, I am a bit surprised that the government is making this request, as I would expect that the NSA or some other U.S. agency would already have the capability to unlock an iPhone. I am not a conspiracy kind of guy, but I do wonder if this unlock request is being made to give the world an overblown sense of security when using an iPhone. Cracking a password is mainly a function of the length of the password, and the U.S. certainly has enough brute force computing power to work on this problem. (An InfoSec Institute ***LINK to http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/password-security-complexity-vs-length/***article about password security is informative on the subject of password complexity versus length.) It has also been reported now that a FBI technical expert could have retrieved that suspect’s iPhone data from an automatic cloud backup, but they had an accidental “fat finger” incident. While not impossible, I find this unlikely, as this would be the first approach that anyone would try.

There is one more interesting dimension to the unlock request. Silicon Valley companies felt very burned by the government as a result of the Snowden disclosures and other information leaking to the public. They are now reacting in such a way that any request is suspect, mostly out of a concern for public perception rather than a strong feeling around personal liberty. Don’t forget that Google quickly bent to Chinese pressure for a back door to all data passing through Google in China a few years ago. Most other technology companies also need to cut some sort of deal to expose data and user information to do business in China. While these companies are not necessarily anti-liberty, they tend to think in terms of self-interest instead of principle.

Amazon Echo

You may have seen the Alec Baldwin commercial for this device during the Superbowl. Yes, you can now control more things around your home using a voice interface device. Google also has a similar feature now embedded into their browser and mobile devices, and even Microsoft has added Cortana into Windows 10 that also responds to voice commands. As tempting as it is to act like Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek, I would advise against these types of technologies. We know that these types of user interfaces can be easily hacked, and someone could use the always-on microphone to commit identity fraud or other bad acts. To enable this functionality is to voluntarily place listening devices around your person and your home that are potentially open to anyone. If these technologies are not in constant “listening mode”, they do not work. That means they need to analyze every word they hear to recognize when they are being given a command.

Traveling Abroad

I am not aware of any issues when traveling to Western countries, but look out when going to place like China or Russia. China has a very deliberate approach to capture the data on most anything that touches a network within the country. Most companies of any size have taken the approach of giving travelers a temporary laptop with minimal information for travelers visiting places like China. This approach has been well documented by research. China employs huge numbers of people to constantly monitor phone calls, emails, et cetera. They mandate special versions of all major world technologies to give them access and control before allowing deployment in China. This approach even applies to mobile phone standards and WiFi. One must assume that any and all communications in China is being monitored.

Social Networks

As often stated on this site, social networks are fraught with issues. The entire purpose of their existence is to coax data out of the user that can then be sold to advertisers and many other third parties. While I personally need to be a LinkedIn user for professional purposes, I go so far as listing a location much larger than where I actually live. Of course, please do not be that person who publicly advertises when you will be on a business trip! Facebook is probably the worst, as they promote “quizzes” to unveil more and more personal information. While there has been a backlash against potential employers mandating access to personal social media accounts, the fact is that they can still find most of what they want. There are tools out there now that allow you to see anyone’s email on LinkedIn, regardless of whether you are connected to them. Tools, like Snapchat, are very popular with younger people and are advertised as being temporary. Users are told that they can make sure that the videos are deleted within ten seconds of viewing. Don’t you believe it! This assumption is very naïve, and the latest information tells us that Snapchat data could be as persistent as anything else on the web. If you do not want something to be on the Internet, do not upload it!

Parting Thoughts

A good rule of thumb that I have used with our children is that anything you electronically publish– email, social, et cetra– is forever and everywhere. Cross platform data mining is becoming so good that there is a new class of startups offering very accurate alternatives to FICO scores, using hundreds of seemingly mundane data points. This could be everything from your Instagram photos to your spending at the grocery store. It is very difficult to escape all of this, but you can work to minimize and control what you can.

Letter Re: Backup Electric Power Design Considerations

Editor,

As a full time user of off-grid power I’ve a few quibbles with this article. One is the casual reference to rooftop solar panels. Solar panels get dirty-fast. Solar panels in general are not all that wonderful in generating concentrated energy and dirty panels generate far less than optimal. They need to be cleaned with a soft brush and hose often. In northern parts snow sticks to panels real well and then generate nothing. Unless you have a widows walk installed below the panels, don’t even think about installing them on high roofs. Anything that gets in the way of the sun will have a totally unreasonable negative effect on solar panels. Even that tiny bare twig way up in the top of a tree, so make sure you have a clear path especially in winter when the sun is low in the south (for northern hemisphere).

The author mentions “installing an inverter at the panels and sending an AC current down the line to the battery bank”. Obviously you cannot charge batteries directly with AC power. Any inverter has to be installed after the battery bank. As the author says, hook several panels up in series to boost the voltage to higher values and minimize current loss. The author also mentions using welding cables for the battery to inverter run. No reputable solar company or installer does this. Short runs of dedicated 0000 swaged cables are the best option for any reasonably sized system. These can be bought online or a local installer can make them up for you. Regards, – Expat

Economics and Investing:

Study Finds Public Pension Promises Exceed Ability to Pay – G.G.

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Reader T.A. submitted this article from Zero Hedge: A Glimpse of Things to Come: Canadian Oil Company Liquidates Hours After Bank Demands Repayment

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Puerto Rico’s Financial Crisis Has Been Brewing for 75 Years (Business Insider) Excerpt: “If Puerto Rico and its bondholders are to receive a bailout, it should at least be accompanied by the long overdue privatization of its New Deal structures.”

Puerto Rico’s Slide (Bloomberg QuickTake) Excerpt: “It’s a tale of financial mismanagement, Wall Street complicity and good intentions gone awry.”

CAGW Releases March 2016 WasteWatcher (Citizens Against Government Waste) A Tale of Two Spending Bills. Obamacare’s Festering Fraud Wound. Privacy in the Digital Age. More!

Ahead of Major Tests, Obama Claims Success on Banking Reform (Washington Examiner) Perhaps the most interesting part of this article is the question it raises: what comes next?

International News

Greek Banks Admit to Charging Customers to Exchange Big Bills for Smaller Ones (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: ” So if you are Greek and you were effectively forced to take your money out of the bank because after last summer you feared a depositor bail-in might be right around the corner, you now have the distinct pleasure of having to pay a fee to exchange your large bills for smaller ones at the very same banks where you withdrew the money in the first place.” Warning: Commentary following the article may contain bad language and/or inappropriate avatar images.

Europe: Go Big or Go Home (Huffington Post) This is an interesting take (although certainly only one opinion, which will no doubt raise the decibel count of all the voices in the global room) on the question of Turkey accession to the European Union. Excerpt: “Given the size of its economy and its geostrategic location, Turkey could reenergize the EU at a time when the body is so desperately in need of a blood transfusion.”

The Budget’s Bottom Line: Taxes will Rise and Rise Again (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “So the idea that their forecasts, however mathematically rigorous and objective, should be trusted four or even five years ahead is laughable; the view that these should form the entire basis of our fiscal policy is terrifying.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

How to Start a Business (US Small Business Administration) Thinking about starting your own business? Here are some organizational tips to help support the development of a sound business plan! SurvivalBlog has posted a number of insightful reader contributions over the years on this important subject. Here are just a couple in review: How to Create a Home Based Business for TEOTWAWKI by TJ and Making a Business of Preparedness by HP.

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Rob Moffet posted a new video on how to make a folding multi-fuel camping stove using an old automobile license plate. It’s a nice DIY project.

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Teacher Killed by Cop in Crosswalk “Assumed Risk” by Crossing Street Excerpt: “NYPD and the city Law Department are fighting a lawsuit filed by the family of a Brooklyn man who was killed in a crosswalk by an on-duty officer, on the grounds that the victim behaved recklessly by crossing the street. … The city’s response to the suit says Coss “knew or should have known in the exercise of due/reasonable care of the risks and dangers incident to engaging in the activity alleged.” Submitted by T.P.

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Those who think that mass surveillance is okay, when you don’t have anything to hide, should read this article sent in by D.S.: Mass surveillance is ‘chilling’ online dissent by encouraging groupthink

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Flashback: U.S. Admits More Muslim Immigrants in 5 Years Than Entire Muslim Population of Belgium. Something to think about as we mourn for those who have suffered in Belgium the last couple of days. – B.B.

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Is that a manshake gone awry? Obama and Castro, the Weird Handshake. As the article states: Forget about the thought that dissidents were arrested moments before President Barack Obama landed in Cuba. Obama pretends that he heralds the freedom of the Cuban people, while in reality he is condemning them to a living hell. – W.C.

Notes for Wednesday – March 23, 2016

This is the birthday of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. 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).

Round 63 ends on March 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.

Response to Making a Final Run, by Jim Fry

I must confess that I haven’t had a chance to read every single post on “Making a Final Run”. A farm in winter can be a very busy place. So I hope I’m not just repeating someone else.

In the main I agree with most posters, a final run is possibly/probably not a good idea, maybe.

If you’re talking about a last run to Walmart, then maybe you run the chance of getting into the middle of where you don’t want to be. However, there are lots of other sorts of “final runs”, such as to the bank, the gas station, the feed store, and others. How safe a final run is can depend on how fast, prepared, and organized you are, and what particular goal you have in mind.

When 911 happened, I was in the barn working on something. When the news about the first tower came over the radio, I decided to go to the house to see what was on TV. I got there just in time to see the second tower get hit. Over the next hour, reports came in that we were under attack. The Pentagon was hit, there were reports of shots or a bomb at the State Department, the President was taken into hiding, a plane was in the air heading for DC, and there were all kinds of other reports and rumors. Then two fighter jets flew low over my house chasing a small plane. (That was really impressive!) It seemed early that first day that things might really be coming apart. Every bit of me wanted to sit and watch what was happening.

I also thought if things were going to go south, there were some chores to do. There were various tractor parts I had planned on picking up the next week. I also wanted another milk goat. So, I jumped in the truck and took off. It was remarkable. There was no one driving. It appeared everyone was watching, instead of acting. When I got to Tractor Supply, it was a ghost town. The lone clerk complained he wanted to close the store so he could go home and watch the news like everybody else. I was able to stock up with no problem.

When I arrived at the goat farm, I got the nanny also with no delay. I don’t recall the farmer even knowing of the events. He didn’t have a radio in his barn like I did. (Had the event been a nuke from N. Korea instead of several commercial planes, he might have been in a tough spot not knowing what was happening.) Since then I have occasionally wondered if things had really gotten bad that day/week, if goat guy would have been so quick to sell what might later have become a prime asset. Early on, he was happy to make the deal.

My third stop was at the feed store for some additional 100 lb. bags of corn and 80 lb. bags of wheat and oats. Animals eat, and not a bit of that extra grain would go to waste if nothing more happened. If things really did get nuts, several hundreds of pounds of additional animal feed would feed a heck of a lot of people. Our supply store also sells a wide variety of heirloom and open pollinated seeds. No matter how many seeds you have, seed is simply one of those things you can’t have too much of. There will very possibly be fewer seeds available for trade than even antibiotics and lead. Of course the feed stores have fertilizers, sulfur, soil amendments, and Epson salts. I picked up a bit of all of those.

The day was passing and still very few people were out and moving. All three of these possible “final runs” were very quiet and easy, on a day that could have turned out to be a much greater long-term disaster. Had more planes dropped or bombs had gone off and if the terrorists had planned even greater evil and blown the power grid at the same time, people would have very likely panicked at some point. But early on, before folks got moving and were still just sitting in shock watching, a final run was safe. Thank God that day didn’t continue to grow worse, but in the early hours no one knew, and I felt it was better to act than to sit and hope.

Not too long ago another event happened. The stock market went down 500 points one morning. There for a short while no one knew what it meant. I called my brother who lives on the farm next door and said, “Let’s go.” We got to our local bank within 10 minutes of the first radio report so we could clean out our accounts, just in case there was some sort of Wall Street/bank shut down. The bank folks (who we have known for a long time, as networking is a good thing) said they were well aware of events and the central office had already put them on notice to be ready for possible orders to close their doors. We apologized to them for withdrawing our money and we said we hoped we wouldn’t feel too bad or too foolish if we came back the next day to redeposit if nothing happened. The manager was entirely sympathetic and said they had even had a couple people in before us doing the same thing.

My brother and I then went to our second stop– the local gas station– to fill up our gas cans. Please note to those folks who claim to have a 10-year supply of everything on hand, on a farm one thing you are always need is to top off your fuel supply. There just aren’t that many days you don’t run a tractor, chain saw, mower, and/or generator. You can always use more fuel, and the cash we had just gotten out of the bank was going to hold much better value as gas than green backs might have been worth in a melt down.

My brother and I returned home, satisfied that if for some reason commerce stopped that day, we were a bit better prepared. We had gotten cash and gas before any possible rush or shut down had happened.

Over the years I have, of course, become well prepared for “what may come”. I have certain ideas about what is best, including prepping for the next several generations, instead of merely 10 or 20 years. But I also try to be mindful of preparing for other possibilities. I often remind myself to not get rigid. Sure, it’s not a good idea to go to Target when a thousand other people are also there grabbing things, but nevertheless I have prepared to do just that. You never know what will happen, so prepare for it. Something I’ve done with the big box planning is to make maps of exactly where the things are located that I might want in a rush. One of our local big box stores has routinely carried exactly three 25lb. bags of salt. It’s on a bottom self and hard to find. With the map, it’s easy. It’s half way down aisle 3, bottom self, on the left. I don’t have to search. I don’t have to look. I don’t have to think or remember. Just go. Simple. I’ve also marked muck boots, spices, OTC drugs, canning jar lids, and other such items usually not craved in a panic. While most folks will be grabbing canned tuna and meat, I may be off to the side picking up pepper and sewing machine needles. So if I do decide I should go, at least I wouldn’t be in the middle of the worst of the fuss.

We’ve done that with every store within a certain distance. I don’t plan on going there. But if something unexpected happens and we decide we must, it’s much simpler, quicker, and safer with a map and plan than it might be otherwise. You might also check at your stores to see if they have store maps. The stores here provide them for anyone who asks, in order to help them in their shopping. Another thing a map accomplishes is that when “things happen” and our group gathers here, it’s simple to send out folks to various locations to pick up items if we decide it’s worth the effort or risk. We can just hand out a map and a supply list and simply say, “Go.” No discussion and no descriptions are needed, just go. If you can get to where you are going fast enough, and especially before the rush, things get much easier.

Another thing we do is to go to one of the local grocery stores every day to pick up the produce they throw out. It makes great free chicken and pig food, and since some of it just came off the sales shelves it’s still good for us to eat (but please don’t tell them that). We go knock on the back door of the huge store about noon every day, and there they are waiting. We go inside and talk a bit, look around while talking, and make friends. There is an incredible amount of food and such in the back rooms and loading docks of any major store. While the hoards are fighting in the store’s front, it just may be possible to meet your store “friends” and load up out back. Maybe not, but it’s worth investigating and considering. (Once again, networking can be a very good thing.)

So the point of all this is to remain flexible. In general, it may be best to not make a “final run”, but you just never know. With the right planning and forethought, a final run can be highly productive and even very safe. You may never get a second chance at an opportunity, so be ready to move fast if the right situation presents because you may be just as mistaken if you aren’t prepared to make the right move of opportunity as you are if you make the wrong move in panic.

Jim Fry is the proprietor of www.SurvivalAndSelfReliance.com who is holding a 5 day Ultimate Prepper Training course scheduled for this coming June 20th to June 24th, 2016. Among the instructors at this training will be Dr. Cynthia Koelker, SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor