I don’t think I agree with the analysis, but it’s an interesting read on the breakup and reconstruction of the United States sent in by FEB
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Windows 10 is spying on almost everything you do – here’s how to opt out
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Windows 10: The first 5 things you need to do immediately after you install it – T.P.
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Kroger Executive Stands Firm Against Group’s Demand to Ban Guns from Store – PJP
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Messaging App Weaves Smartphones Into an Alternative Internet – G.G.
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“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 (KJV)
August 1st is celebrated as Swiss Independence Day, in recognition of the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291, which united Switzerland’s first three cantons. As of 2015, Switzerland has been free and independent for 724 years. Having a well-armed populacehas assured that.
August 1st is also remembered as the election day in 1946 that sparked the Battle of Athens, Tennessee, when returning World War II veterans took up arms to oust a corrupt local government that was rigging an election.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ 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.
First Prize goes to PrepperDoc for “Protecting Both Tube and Transistor HF Communications Equipment From E1 EMP Pulse – Part 1” & “Part 2” which was posted on June 5th and 6th. He will receive the following prizes:
Second Prize goes to JEE for “Raising Meat Rabbits: Mistakes and Successes” which was posted on July 30th. He will receive the following prizes:
Third Prize goes to T.H. for “Don’t Forget To Prep Your Spice Chest” which was posted on June 11th. He will receive the following prizes:
Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift certificates via e-mail) have been awarded to the writers of these fine articles:
Note to all Prize winners: Let us know your current e-mail address. We will also need the UPS and USPS addresses for each of the top three prize winners.
Round 59 ended on July 31st, but Round 60 has started, 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. Those articles that we received for Round 59 but that did not get published in time will be automatically entered in Round 60.
Food? Check. Water? Check. Tools and other supplies? Check. Do you have the entire rest of the list? Check. You are prepared and ready for an economic collapse, a catastrophic natural disaster, a terrorist attack, martial law, and a host of other scenarios. In fact, you have even convinced your family and friends to get prepared and they have totally bought in. Then that day arrives, and the power is out. The banks are closed. Water and gasoline are being hoarded. There is no phone, no tv and no Internet. On the radio, there are only official broadcasts, but these don’t tell you much, and can you even trust them? You also notice that you haven’t seen your postman lately. That is because he is at home taking care of his own family, and so are the UPS and Fedex guys. It is then that you think, “I prepared and I had my loved ones prepare, but they are across town, in another city, or across the country.” You suddenly realize that you have no way of communicating with them. You wonder, “Are they okay? Are they sick? Are they even still alive?”
Now is the time to solve this often overlooked emotional and psychological land mine. Now is the time to put the structure in place for “The Cycle Express”.
First, here is a quick history lesson. During the civil war, there was a need to communicate with the western part of the United States in the most efficient way possible. Horses were the most accessible means of rapid transit available at the time; thus, the Pony Express was born. Over 200 riders were able to cover 250 miles a day each with the mission to deliver messages back and forth across the country.
Well, I daresay most of us don’t own a horse. Also, it may be that putting together a network of cowboys to traverse the width of North America is a bit ambitious. However, many Americans do own a bike, and for those of us with loved ones scattered 20, 40, 60, or even 2000 miles away, now is the time to assign outposts, waypoints, and riders or cyclists to relay messages.
This is a fairly simple task, but if it isn’t done ahead of time, before TEOTWAWKI, it becomes exponentially more difficult.
This is how to do it:
However, it is not impossible! If people in the 1800s could orchestrate a system to get messages across the U.S., then so can we. The key is to have the system in place NOW. Once communications go down it will be much more difficult to put the Cycle Express into place. If you find that when making your waypoints on your map, and enlisting your trusted people from your List 1, that you still can’t get to the people on List 2, you will then want to ask the person at your furthest waypoint who they trust and who might be on their List 1 that can help reach the geographical goal of your List 2. The Cycle Express is already a realized network, albeit just with my personal List 1 and List 2, and as mentioned, I am trying to establish a network to get from coast to coast, and I am not there yet.
Imagine a scenario where one of your loved ones lives 80 miles away and there is no more gasoline to be found. You get word through the Cycle Express that they were injured and that the wound is infected. They have a fever and there are no meds left. Meanwhile, you have a stockpile of antibiotics. Your friendly Cycle Express peddler can make sure to pass the medications along in time to reach your loved one.
This brings me to the issue of payment. Unless you are fortunate enough to have an entirely closed network of trusted friends and family in all of your waypoints between List 1 and List 2, it might be necessary to get a friend of a friend on board. Chances are that they will want to know what is in it for them, but in the coming new world as we will know it we will need ways of working and contributing to society in order to support our families. Being a cyclist in the Cycle Express could be a great line of work, and it could be one that will be much needed and respected. It not only brings a means of bartering, but it also will be a grassroots way to get a most valuable commodity—information.
As a believer in the Lord Jesus, I believe:
“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)
He has given us everything we need for life, and that will hold true, regardless of what happens in this temporal world. He is calling us to participate in His divine nature, and one aspect of His nature is that of creativeness. He is our Creator, and being made in His likeness He invites us to co-labor with Him in being creative in solving challenges. He called Joseph to prepare for famine and gave him the knowledge, ability, and position to make a difference and succeed. All through scripture He prepared prophets and kings and priests to carry out His work on the Earth. Now is our time. He is calling us. Answer His call. The Cycle Express is just one tiny task that I can do to help solve a potential problem when the communication age comes to a screeching halt. I hope you will join me. May the God of all grace make your paths straight!
I have a special appreciation for the letter written and posted on July 25th by S. C. S. C. has mirrored my sentiments exactly. I have had several friends say to me, “When the SHTF I know where I am going, I am coming to YOUR house.” My reply, as I laugh hysterically, “You might want to rethink that one, cause you might get shot!” They do not realize just how serious prepping is. When I began prepping in earnest (I prepped somewhat half-heartedly for more than 20 years), I was very excited about it. I wanted to tell everyone I knew about my epiphany, my new-found knowledge, and my plan to save myself and my family from disasters and hard times.
Today, my feeling on OpSec is completely different than before. I regret ever having said anything at all to anyone about being a prepper. Additionally, I feel mounting pressure to move far from my current location. Partially to get away from those that know that I prep, and also to choose a better location with fewer people. This is a double-edged sword in that it also puts me in a position of being far from those who do currently give me support in my prepping endeavors. In other words, I would have to make new friends fast, and I know it. So I am merely validating how many people likely feel about their friends and neighbors in relation to prepping. It is a slippery slope. The Christian thing to do is to help those in need, but when you do that you may be risking yours and your family’s lives in the process. Also, when we give up those extravagant vacations, Saturday night movies, new clothes, and the like, in order to assign that income to our perceived long-term survival needs, do we really owe that to anyone else? My thought is that if you give to those in need, they will be back for more, and before long you have nothing to eat and nothing to give. What happens then? My family has and is doing without now so that they might be fed later. – PJP
JWR responds: As I’ve mentioned a few times in SurvivalBlog, I recommend that you make arrangements in advance to make charitable donations of food through your local church. Just brief your church elders, and get their solemn assurances that your name will never be mentioned.
This method has several advantages: First, it maintains your anonymity. Second, it keeps your charity food stocks separate from your home larder (which reduces the chances of your home being identified by miscreants). Thirdly, it encourages a godly, humble attitude. This is in accord with Matthew 6:3, which states:
“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth”
11th Circuit: Law Barring Doctors From Asking About Guns Is Constitutional – JBG
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Police State “Ministry of Truth” Hits Spain; Man Fined for Calling Police “Slackers” on Facebook – P.S.
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Ministry of Education Worsens Actions against Christian Schools in Israel – C.S.
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Rochester General Hospital in NY Newborn Policy Includes Medical Kidnapping – C.W.
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From the nanny state of Australia: The letter that was sent to panicked parents at a primary school after a 10-year-old boy brought in a GUN for show and tell – A.S.
“Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.” Deuteronomy 7:12-13 (KJV)
31 July is the 94th birthday of Army Air Corps veteran David Thatcher, one of just two living Doolittle Raiders. He lives in Missoula, Montana.
31 July is also the birthday of free market economist Milton Freidman (born 1912, died November 16, 2006).
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More moving sales from Camping Survival: Canned Cheese, DAK Ham and Red Feather Butter.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 59 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 59 ends on July 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.
Obviously, being able to make a fire in a SHTF scenario is of utmost importance. In addition to providing warmth and cooking capabilities, fire also provides a psychological boost.
As an avid outdoorsman, who is originally from Canada, I’ve got a lot of experience and training, but I’m by no means claiming to be an expert. I just want to share some of my findings that may prove useful to others. I have several stories about the importance of fire-making. Here’s an example:
I was in the Boreal Forest in Canada and noticed a large billboard containing the writing “Nature Trail” and a map of the trail, which went in a 1-mile circle. I thought I’d love to learn more about plants so decided to take the trail.
I had two bags of groceries in my truck, along with my camping gear. It was only a mile, so I figured I’d be only gone 30 minutes. Well, the end never came. It started getting dark, so I started jogging in hope to reach the end quicker. As darkness fell, I soon realized that I was lost.
The temperature was getting cold, but that didn’t stop the mosquitoes; there were ungodly swarms of them eating me alive. All I had to make a fire was a dead Bic lighter. Thank God someone once showed me a trick with a Bic! If it’s dead and you hold down the valve and then make the spark, a very tiny flame will result. With that I was barely able to start a fire, which helped keep the mosquitoes away and warm me up. I heated up a bunch of large rocks, put my jacket over my face and arms to keep the mosquitoes away, and covered my body with the rocks to keep warm. They were still warm to the touch when I woke up in the morning.
When I finally found my way out, I asked the locals about that nature trail. They said, “Oh sorry; that isn’t finished yet. You were on trapper trails that go for a hundred miles north!”
Anyhow, that’s one example of the importance of knowing how to start a fire. Fire-making is almost an art. It’s a near impossible art when the wood is wet. Even when you think that you’ll be able to start a fire because you stacked good wood correctly, it’s not guaranteed, depending on wind, oxygen availability, the wood, and other variables.
This is what happened to me the other day. I put a large pile of tinder down and then stacked some thicker pieces on top; I figured this will be easy. It wasn’t, and is the reason I’m writing this article. I landed up using a poor man’s fire starter. Previously, in the winter (for my wood stove), I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of those pre-formed paper coin wrappers, some cotton balls, and petroleum jelly. You dip a cotton ball in the jelly, and stuff it in the paper tube, until it’s filled. These beauties work awesome. The one I used in the aforementioned fire burnt for fifteen minutes! With that fire, I had to stoke it with tinder several times before I was able to get some logs to burn; it had rained a day prior and the wood was waterlogged, even though it appeared dry.
When I go camping though, I prefer the small plastic pouches that have a fire starter chemical in them, because the cotton ball starters are a little messy.
The absolute best wood to use in starting a fire is dried out pine needles, you know, the brown ones. The first internal combustion engine was powered by turpentine and ethanol alcohol, which is made from pine. It’s no wonder; it burns like gasoline! I had a fire recently that was easy to get started, because I had a few pine boughs that had been drying for months. It ignited like gasoline, and putting larger branches on top, it was a no brainer. I believe we could get off of our reliance on oil by harvesting the oil in pine leaves instead.
Another ideal fuel starter is birch bark. However, you need to be careful not to kill the tree by taking the bark off. Only take the bark that is already peeling off. It naturally repels water. If hiking and you spot some, put some in your pocket in case you need a fire starter.
Dry grass is the easiest to light (pine needles take more heat to get started).
If your kindling is wet, use a pocket knife to cut off the outside layer and make shavings on the stick. (Don’t cut the shaving all the way; but leave the shaving hanging on the branch.) According to this article, if you find wood oozing with sap, you can use that too, although I’ve never had the occasion to try that. My recent experience with starting a fire with wet wood resulted in the fire initially raging successfully but then dying out later.
Softwoods (i.e. fir, apple, and witch hazel) burn quickly and give off good heat and lighting. They make sparks when they burn. They are ideal for starting a fire and cooking rapidly. The wood is quickly burned up, leaving only ashes.
Hardwoods (i.e. birch, hickory, ash, maple, and oak) burn slowly and evenly, giving off heat and also result in coals that can be used to cook over.
The trick to fire-building is to build the fire beginning with tinder and steadily adding twigs, sticks, and branches, but really, fire-making is an art form, even with years of experience. I still have trouble occasionally. Not enough space or too much space between the sticks or logs can put the fire out. With too much smoke, the same thing happens. Too much moisture, well, causes it too. The environmental conditions make a huge difference. I’ve tried tepee style fires, log home type stacking, and just plain randomness. Basing my decision on the conditions is what I’ve settled with. Every time I start a fire I usually have a unique configuration. However, proper construction beforehand has proven reliable too. Strategic blowing of air onto the fire to help fuel it is mandatory in wet conditions. Also, in a wet environment, once the fire is burning robustly, keeping it fueled in a robust burning condition will ensure that your fire is not extinguished, unless you’re under a torrential down pour, in which case you should give your fire shelter.
I was in Boy Scouts (even did winter camping in Canada), and they teach you for winter conditions to build a “Reflector” out of logs to reflect the heat from your fire into your shelter. Well, I tried that when winter camping for nine days in -30+ degrees Fahrenheit in Canada. We made a lean-to with a fire in front and a reflector (wall of logs) behind the fire. It didn’t work; we froze. What saved us was my partner had a great idea to instead build a teepee out of a canvas tarp. Tepees are awesome! You build a fire on the floor in the center, and the little hole at the top of the tee-pee sucks out the smoke. Though better off, we were still cold, which was resolved when we made a stove out of metal pails that we found at a garbage dump. After we built that, it was toasty warm in the tepee. However, it required constant firewood chopping all day to stay warm. It was a full-time job to chop enough wood. I’ve heard that to have enough wood, multiply by five the amount you think you need. Respecting nature, I always try to find dead fall wood, which there usually is in abundance, except sometimes you may need to travel a distance.
Just for fun, I’ll share another experience where fire was my best friend. I was in the Canadian forest in minus 30 degree temperatures once again. My truck wouldn’t start, and there was no one around for 100 miles. The battery was so cold that it couldn’t crank the engine. So what did I do? I built a fire under the truck by the battery. I managed the size of the flames so that it wouldn’t start the truck on fire! I didn’t think it would work, because I had no tarps to keep out the wind, but it did, thank God! That time I had a fully-functioning BIC lighter!
Although the subject is not about tools to start a fire, here’s a good video exactly on that subject.
As far as tools go, there’s nothing like the good old reliable Zippo Lighter! My friend from Iowa taught me a great trick regarding Zippo’s. There is nothing worse than needing a lighter; it’s fully fueled, but the flint runs out! His trick, which is amazingly simple, is to put a spare flint or two beneath the felt cover flap, sitting on top of the cotton. It’s awesome. You’ll always have a spare flint that way.
HJL,
This is just a note to let you know that three years ago, based on information obtained on SurvivalBlog, my daughter stopped using commercial pellets to feed her pedigreed silver fox rabbits. I gave her an article about all the things you can eat from your yard. Two hours later, she had found most of them in our yard and decided to feed her rabbits that way. Since then, she harvests clover, wild strawberry, dandelion, mulberry, sorel, wild violet, and much more from about six yards in the neighborhood that use no chemicals. She supplements in winter with bales of alfalfa and BOSS, so the rabbits are fed 100% natural food, about 80% locally grown. Her rabbitry is small, with one litter at a time, and no more than two dozen total mouths to feed. – M.E.
Rental Apocalypse: US homeownership collapses to 48 year low while rental rates continue to climb.
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
2nd Quarter GDP Misses Expectations
Alan Greenspan: This is ‘Extremely Dangerous’ – While what he is saying is true, Greenspan has no room to lecture anyone, considering his abysmal track record at inflating debt and destroying an economy.
US Economy Grew At 2.3% In Q2, Below Expectations, “Winter” Quarters Revised Higher On Double Seasonal Adjustments – Venturing further down the “Ministry of Truth” era.
Total Collapse: Greece Reverts To Barter Economy For First Time Since Nazi Occupation
War drums beating: China, Russia to hold military drills in Sea of Japan – G.P.
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Violent Street Gangs Launch Shocking Contest: “Kill 100 People In 100 Days” – B.B.
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Michigan Officer Shells Out $35,000 For Open Carry Stop – D.S.
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Dem Congressman: With Sanctions Relief, Iran Can Just Buy a Nuke from North Korea – B.B.
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US military’s smart rifle can be HACKED to change weapon’s target and disable its scope – JBG
“Profit is a signal that valuable services are being rendered to people on a voluntary basis.” – Lew Rockwell