Firearm Production Has More than Doubled Since Obama Took Office – H.L.
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Heading Toward An EMP Catastrophe – M.A.
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Collusion or Coincidence? – T.P.
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Court Declares Air Fresheners, Pro-Police Stickers as Reasonable Suspicion for Cops to Pull You Over – JBG
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Dear Leader Redesigned Our Laws on Citizenship and Immigration This Week – B.B.
Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (KJV)
A message from Ready Made Resources:
They are currently having trouble with their web site. If you attempt web access, you are told it doesn’t exsist. Rest assured, they have not gone out of business. You can still reach them at 1-800-627-3809. Hopfully their provider can get the issues worked out this weekend.
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The late Jerry Ahern passed away on this day, July 24th, in 2012. He is missed.
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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.
This article is presented as an example only. The author is not a licensed medical practitioner and is unable to diagnose any medical condition or give recommendations on treatment of any medical condition. There is inherent risk involved with any physical training, and if you undertake anything mentioned in this article it is at your own risk. Neither the author nor SurvivalBlog.com are responsible for any injury that occurs while exercising under the guidance of this article. Please consult with a physician before beginning any exercise program.
I’ve spent the largest part of a decade in the United States military, including deployment to combat. I’ve attended a number of highly advanced courses within numerous branches of the military, all of which have high physical demands. I’ve experienced the physical rigors of both real world combat, and successfully trained for some of the most difficult selection processes. I have real world experience with real world fitness.
How many times have you thrown on your BOB and walked more than three miles? How long did it take? Were you winded after, and could you repeat the effort numerous times in a single day? How recently have you dug a trench, chopped a cord of fire wood, fell trees, or hammered fence posts? When’s the last time you carried cans of water, crates of supplies, or (God forbid) another human up a hill? My guess is that most of you haven’t done many of these things, and unfortunately all of them are very real tasks, which may have to be undertaken in a “TEOTWAWKI” scenario. As self-sufficient people/survivalists/preppers, we have a tendency to greatly overestimate our own physical capacity. What good is your BOB if you can’t move with it efficiently and consistently? What good are knowledge and skills if you’re exhausted or too broken to enact them? My hope is that this article will give people a reasonable starting point for building a base of physical fitness, one that is both applicable to a TEOTWAWKI scenario, and sustainable in their current every day lives.
This article will address only the physical training side of fitness. Diet and nutrition are beyond its scope, and there are volumes of information freely available about those subjects to the curious reader. This article will not detail what physical training (if any) should be undertaken in a post-event world, as that is too highly individualized and circumstantial. This article will also not detail specific physiological adaptations to exercise, as that information is also freely and widely available. This article WILL detail what the author feels are the essential components of fitness for a post-event world, and it will provide templates that can be used to enhance those components. The overriding purpose then is not to give readers a rigid, defined workout plan; rather it is intended to give the tools and knowledge to build an effective and sustainable program. Teach a man to fish…
Fitness can be defined as an organism’s ability to fulfill a particular task or role. Various organizations and establishments have defined the components of fitness in various ways, and most are valid. For our purposes, we’re most concerned with the following (very simplified definitions):
Throughout time there have been numerous tests created to gauge physical fitness, and most of the time people default to those tests administered by the military. While these are valid tests, they are most often very basic and far from the be-all end-all. It is my opinion that you can come up with your own standards of fitness. which may be more applicable to your situation. For example, you may say, “I want to be able to walk ___ far under my ruck, in ___ amount of time. I want to be able to sprint 100m. I want to be able to fell and process a tree, and still function the next morning.” Our first objective then will be to define a set of goals. Training without goals is akin to running in a hamster wheel. To give ourselves a starting point, let’s first reverse engineer our primary objectives. In a post-event world, we will likely need to perform a variation of five different tasks
We can see from this list that every activity involves stabilization of the core to prevent injury and large muscle movements in the extremities. Each movement will also likely involve odd objects– ones that are not perfectly balanced or are uneven in some way, which is something we should try to replicate with the implements we choose in our training (more on this later.)
Additionally, we can see that very rarely, if ever, will a true test of maximal strength be required. What is much more likely is that stamina and cardiorespiratory endurance are taxed. With that being said, strength is a huge part of how fast one can sprint and what level of activity the muscles can repeat at a given intensity, so it is still of the utmost importance.
To give some simple guidelines in creating your own goals, we can look at some commonly accepted standards. The average person walks at 3.1mph (about 20 mins/mile), an Army infantryman must be able to carry a 35lb ruck at a 4 mph (15 min/mile) for distances of 12 miles or more. A good standard here might be three miles, with your BOB, at a 15 minute mile. The army uses an abbreviated physical test known as the 2-2-2, to gauge whether or not a person is physically capable of graduating basic combat training. The scores required for this are 35 pushups in two minutes, 47 sit-ups in two minutes, and a two mile run in less than 16:36. A 20L gallon can of water weighs approximately 44lbs, and carrying one in each hand for 100 meters without stopping is a solid goal. These are just examples of “fitness standards,” and I encourage you to create your own based on what you think may be required.
According to the SAID principle (specific adaptations to imposed demands), we should try to emulate our work as closely as possible in training to elicit the most advantageous adaptations. If you have access to a gym, by all means use it! Squat, dead lift, press, and row to your hearts content. The resistance a barbell or dumbbells can provide are extraordinary tools and should be used whenever possible. It is not, however, required to have a fully stocked gym in order to attain a high level of fitness. Below I will detail a small number of movements that can be done with no commercial gym equipment. All of these movements can be done with no weight at all, or they can be done with improvised implements (slosh pipes, sand bags, stones, weighted ammo cans, etc.):
I have chosen not to give detailed descriptions of how to execute each exercise here, as some of them are complex and compound movements. There are ample demonstrations and detailed descriptions of every movement I’ve listed freely available on the Internet. In addition to the movements I’ve listed, there are the old standbys of classic calisthenics.
Constructing your own gym equipment is affordable, easy, and can be highly functional. The four training tools I outline here will make for a well-rounded start, or an invaluable addition to any equipment you already have.
•Slosh Pipe – This is a very effective tool to add resistance to both upper and lower body exercises. It consists of a pipe, generally PVC, which is capped at both ends and filled approximately 2/3 of the way full with water. This provides an unstable and constantly shifting center of gravity, which forces the user to stabilize the weight throughout the movement. A small amount of weight can become very challenging, very quickly. I recommend starting out with a much lighter slosh pipe than you think you’ll need. Bear in mind that one gallon of water weighs 8.34lbs, and a 40lb slosh pipe is no joke!
•Sandbags – A durable, effective, and affordable sandbag can be constructed by measuring out predetermined portions of filler inside small plastic bags and adding them as necessary to a USGI duffel. I recommend shredded rubber mulch as a filler, because it doesn’t rot the way wood mulch does, and it’s bulkier than sand. To start, fill a few plastic bags with 10lbs each, and duct tape them completely shut. It is important to make sure the bags are taped well, to prevent them from bursting while being dropped or tossed. With these 10lb bags, you can adjust the weight of your sandbag as you see fit. (I’ve found that 80lbs seems to be the sweet spot, but I’ve used them upwards of 100lbs). Add your desired weight to your duffel bag, bunch the top together, and secure it using 550 cord or zip ties.
•Tire Sled – You’ll need an old tire, an eye bolt with a nut and washer, a sheet of wood just larger than the tire, and 20-30 feet of cordage that’s thin enough to run through the eye bolt, and thick enough to hold on to. The tire doesn’t need to be new or even in good condition;, an over-sized SUV or tractor tires work great for this. To start, cut the sheet of wood just small enough to fit inside the tire. It should seat on the inner bead of the tire and not fall through. This is where you’ll add weight as needed. Drive your eye bolt through the tire with the eyelet outside, and fasten it inside the tire using the washer and nut. Run your cordage through the eyelet, and tie a handle into either end of the cord. Your sled is complete.
•Ruck – This is something most of us probably already have. Don’t underestimate how powerful of a tool it can be. Add weight, strap it on, and start stepping.
To begin, I would highly recommend you start with the most basic of movements– walking. Walk three to five days a week, until you can walk three or four miles at a stretch without stopping. Once you’re able to do this, you can begin adding in resistance to build strength and running to further build your cardiorespiratory system.
To create a template for yourself, first assess your goals and assess where you currently are. Figure out how much time you’re willing to train each week. A good starting point is three non-consecutive days a week. If you can manage this, you’ll be able to build and maintain all of the areas discussed earlier. If you’re able to train four or even five days a week, that’s even better. However, remember to start slow!
To begin on a three-day template, you may choose to do something like this:
To build each type of workout, you should again assess your goals.
Bearing in mind we are not overly concerned with absolute maximal strength, we should aim for three to five sets of four to twelve repetitions. A very effective way to build a strength workout is to use a superset method, in which two opposing movements are paired. For instance, you may choose to do 10 push-ups, followed immediately by 10 ammo can rows, completing that combination four times. Another way to do this effectively is to pair an upper body movement and a lower body movement in the same manner for instance five over head slosh pipe presses, followed immediately by 10 lunges. Try to make sure that whatever type of exercise is performed, its opposite is also performed. This will prevent asymmetry in the body and reduce the risk of injury. Each of these workouts should be full body, meaning both upper and lower body should be worked. At the end of a strength focused workout is a great time to add in some of the carries mentioned earlier. Farmers carries for time or distance can serve to build an enormous work capacity in a very short amount of time. Don’t believe me? Go pick up 44lbs in each hand, and walk for 60 seconds. Then repeat that process four more times.
To build an endurance/cardio workout is much simpler. Running and rucking are the best and most applicable, but they should be taken on very slowly as the risk of injury is higher. Running distance should not be increased more than 10% per week, meaning if your weekly mileage is five miles one week, you should aim for no more than 5.5 miles the next week. For most people rucking should never be done at more than 25% of your bodyweight (unless in an emergency, of course) and should be done no more than once a week.
To address the durability portion of our formula, I also recommend adding core specific work after each workout. This doesn’t mean endless sit-ups and crunches; in fact I mean quite the opposite. The core is designed to resist movement and stabilize, and it is for this reason that planks and bridges are my favorite type of core exercise. Sit-ups, crunches, and planks will go a long way to building a strong and stable core. Stretching after a workout (never before!) should never be skipped, and warming up with an easy walk or jog is equally as important.
The most important aspects of any training program are consistency and progressive overload, meaning that in each workout you should always push for one more pushup, one more pound, or one more meter of running. Realize that everyone will have bad days. There will be missed training sessions, and there will be days where you’re just too tired. That’s okay! That’s when the consistency part comes into play. Just pick up where you left off, and let it go.
This article is a very basic outline of ideas and methods that can get you started on the road to being physically prepared for whatever may come. I encourage everyone to educate themselves further on the subject of personal fitness, and take their bodies into their own hands. Don’t be a liability to your group or family. Be an asset!
HJL,
About ten years ago my wife and I made the decision it was time to get out of the city and move to a more sustainable rural environment. We discovered a place with great climate, reasonable land prices, good neighbors, good job opportunities. You know, it had all the right stuff. We moved and began and continue to put our “prep” plans into effect at our new location.
Over the years we have had numerous family members come to visit, and they also have fallen in love with the area. Although they are not involved in any type of “prep” plans, we have had six groups of our extended family move to the area. While my individual family is very low key about our plans for the future, it was obvious to our family members what was going on. That is where the problem comes in.
Because my family is trying to move toward being as self sufficient as possible, we have accumulated a lot of “stuff” to make this happen. Various family members have now moved to a attitude that my family is their supplier for a variety of things. This attitude is usually that they need to “borrow” from our supplies to take care of some need or problem they are having. Right now, we have a chain saw, 22 rifle, a set of predator traps, a utility trailer, lawn mower, logging chains, garden tractor, and a log chipper out on loan. Some of these items have been away from home for over a year. I guess today is what really brought this to a head when someone came to “borrow” 24 quart canning jars. This person has a great job, probably the best paid individual of all the family members. I asked them why they didn’t go buy their own jars, only to be met with a tirade that was basically “you stingy *——*, you have cases and cases of jars you are not using.”
Yes, it is my family and I need to deal with it. But the alarming thing is that if those who know your supply situation act this way during the good times, what is going to happen when SHTF and they are potentially in a life or death need position. This problem easily expands to cover neighbors and anyone else living in your immediate area.
It’s just something to think about. – Bison Billy at the end of the dirt road
HJL Responds: I think anyone who has “stuff” has had to deal with this problem and “family” can be some of the worst freeloaders there are. Because you have to balance Christian charity with the stewardship of your stuff, and the fact that some people are really good at “guilting”, you have to grow a thick skin. My breaking point was reached when our family decided to make our old and tired van last another five years so we could afford a diesel tractor with a front end loader and assorted attachments. I purchased from a friend who was a dealer, and he delivered it to the property on a flatbed trailer. Within an hour, I had three requests from neighbors to “borrow” the tractor. Before the week was out, that number had nearly tripled. Because the investment was so costly to us, it was easy for me to refuse any and all requests though. I adopted a policy of allowing friends, family, and neighbors to “borrow” both me and the tractor, if my schedule permitted it and I had the available resources. I never straight out loaned the tractor to anyone. Now, six years later, the newness has worn off of the tractor and it is just another work tool, but the policy remains in place. In fact, the policy has worked so well, that I use it for anything that gets a request for usage. Either I come with it, or it doesn’t go at all. I’ve actually made some pretty good friends with that policy too. It’s always better to work with someone when the work is hard.
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World Trade Drops Most Since Financial Crisis – H.L.
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Social Security Disability Fund Could Run Dry in 2016 – B.B.
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While this is a start, there is still the issue of the $1million in medical bills for the four reconstructive surgeries that the SWAT is taking no responsibility for. You can accidentally throw a baseball through a window and be held liable to pay damages, but intentionally throwing a flash-bang is somehow exempt? Grenade lobbed in baby’s crib, now cop indicted – J.F.
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American students are now being given threat assessments – H.L.
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Update: Student builds ‘Flying Gun’ drone – Is investigated by F.A.A. and Police – T.P.
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U.S. Army To Recruiters: Treat Armed Citizens as Security Threat – T.P.
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A nice multi-part series of videos on mounting a blacksmith anvil from Wranglerstar: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4
“The problem is that democracy is not freedom. Democracy is simply majoritarianism, which is inherently incompatible with real freedom. Our founding fathers clearly understood this.” – Ron Paul
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.
You have two options for getting bees; you can buy them or capture them. As a beginner, I would suggest buying bees or have an experienced beekeeper help you to capture a swarm. (I will not go into the process of capturing bees in this article.) If you capture a swarm, you must make sure that you capture the queen too.
There are two ways to capture “wild bees”.
Lightly misting the box of bees you have bought with the sugar/water solution will calm them down. Smoke can also be used. I have found the sugar to be more effective when moving bees that I have bought. You will move the bees into the hive box, (talk to the people who sold the bees to you about their advice on the best way to release the bees from their shipping box and into your hive box) and block them inside by sliding the outer cover over the inner cover opening, and closing the lower entrance. Blocking the lower entrance may be done with an entrance reducer, or by using old, clean rags. Old socks work especially well. The feeder fits in the open slot on the reducer. If you do not use a reducer, you will need to put the feeder to one side of the entrance and close the rest of the entrance with rags.
Your bees will need to be confined for one week after putting them in the hive box. During this time, be sure to keep sugar/water in the feeder. After one week, you can open the entrances. Continue to feed the bees for another two or three weeks. This will ensure your bees will be established in their new home and that they will have enough to eat until they find a natural source of food. If you experience drought conditions that kill the sources of nectar for your bees, you may need to feed them during this time too. As mentioned earlier in this article, be sure that your bees have a constant water source.
I like to occasionally inspect the beehives. When you do this, take care to not injure or kill the queen. You need to be sure that you still have bees in the hive and that there are eggs and larvae in the cells of the comb. Check to be sure the bees are producing honey too. When the bottom super has well-established comb on the frames filled with honey, you may add other supers to the top.
This is my favorite part of beekeeping. I love honey and have a long list of people who are willing to purchase any extra that my family and I do not need. Be aware that you will not be able to harvest any honey for at least one year after you start a hive. You must leave enough honey in the hive to feed the bees during the winter months. If you do not, they will die.
Harvesting and storing honey requires more supplies. These supplies include the following:
-or –
To harvest honey, I wear my protective clothing. I smoke the bees, remove the hive covers, and smoke the bees again. I do not harvest honey from comb that contains eggs or larvae. Next, brush the bees off of the honeycomb. Cut the honeycomb from the frame, allowing it to fall into a five-gallon bucket. If you wish to let your bees make their own comb, you will need to leave a small amount of the comb on the top of the frame for a starter. Put the frames back into the hive boxes, put the covers on, and your bees are ready to start again.
You may use an extractor, but they are expensive to buy, and are not always available to rent. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, extractors will not be available. I believe the best way is the simplest way. Five-gallon buckets, time, and gravity are my chosen extractors.
To set up your own honey extractor:
Take a 5-gallon bucket and attach the honey gate valve according to directions. Place the paint strainer bag inside this bucket. Cut the center out of a plastic lid, leaving a rim of about two inches around the edge, and place the lid on top of the bucket. This will allow another bucket to set on top. (The valve bucket is the lower bucket– the last one in the series of filtering.) Drill several holes about ½ inch in diameter in the bottom of another 5-gallon bucket, being careful that the holes will be within the area of the large hole on the lid of the previously prepared bucket when set on top of it. Set this bucket on top of the previously prepared bucket and lid. I like to set the stack of buckets on my kitchen counter. This makes filling the jars easier.
To clarify and review, from bottom to top, the order is:
I take my heavy-duty grill spatula and crush the honeycomb while it is still in the bucket I used for collection at the hive. After you have broken up the comb, pour it into the top bucket. I loosely place another lid on the very top to keep any insects out of the honey. Now you wait, while gravity does its part. (Backwards Beekeeper’s YouTube video is where I learned this method of honey extraction, and I give him full credit for this method.)
After several hours to a day’s time, the honey should be strained. Now you can fill the clean Mason jars. The difficult part is keeping your fingers out of the honey for a taste or two. I believe in giving into the temptation. After all, you’ve worked hard, and a treat is in order. This is the best time to bake some biscuits and enjoy some honey on top.
I love honey, and it is an integral part of my TEOTWAWKI preps. Honey never spoils. If it does crystalize, just set the jar of honey in warm, not hot, water and wait for the crystals to dissolve. Granulated sugar will not be available at the grocery store in a TEOTWAWKI situation, so I have honey available. Substituting honey for sugar in your recipes is easy. Substitute 2/3 to 3/4 cup of honey per cup of sugar, and decrease the amount of liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of honey used. Stir the mixture very thoroughly. Lower the baking temperature by 25 degrees. Watch the baking time carefully, since foods brown more quickly when honey is used. The taste is a bit different but wonderful in its own right.
Honey also has many health benefits, although it should never be given to a child under one year of age. When TEOTWAWKI occurs, these health benefits will be even more crucial.
If you are like me, you won’t want to waste any part of your labors. I believe responsible beekeepers should also use the beeswax. There are many things you can do with it, and another article could be written on using beeswax. It can be used for health and beauty aids, furniture polish, covering cheese, candle making, crafts, and the list goes on.
I hope I have given you some useful information about beekeeping. I have discovered that the more I know, the more I realize there is to learn. I still consider myself a “newbee”. I hope I have given you enough information to decide if beekeeping is right for you. My hope is that some of you will realize that beekeeping is not scary, and you will give it a try. We live in increasingly disturbing times. Beekeeping is one more way of taking care of your family’s needs. Good luck, and may God bless you in your preps.
[Editors note: Normally, SurvivalBlog does not usually allow for banter back and forth between contributors of articles and letters, as it has a habit of getting personal and out of hand. However, we will make exceptions when the technical information presented warrants it. Today’s letter is a continuation of the discussion between two such contributors on the effects of NEMP upon metal buildings, and it’s starting to get very technical. If you have a technical bent, enjoy being the fly on the wall.]
HJL,
When subjected to a rapid increase in an electromagnetic field, the differential in conductivity between steel and zinc is what causes the dielectric effect. Zinc has a conductivity of 106 x 16.6 Siemens per square meter, and steel has only 10.1 x 106. Plus steel has a resistance of roughly 10-8 x 9.9 ohms per square meter, and zinc has a resistance of 6.0 x 10-8. It is this differential in the face of an instantaneous rise off induced current that creates a temporary dielectric effect just as if you had parallel plate capacitors. See this website for a description of parallel plate capacitors.
Also see effects of SGEMP. Key here is the electrons are created on the outside of the structure and must pass to the inside through a layer of greater resistance (speaking of the zinc-steel-zinc layers). Yes, once current flow is established, the author is correct; however, it is in the instantaneous rise of current that is a part of E1 EMP that the problems arise. (A good primer can be found here on the differences between the three types of EMP.)
The author is correct in that normal electric currents won’t cause a dielectric effect. HEMP will. HEMP or nuclear EMP also creates a magnetic field in the earth. See this document for a good starter on the true nature of HEMP or nuclear EMP.
Metal fencing, aka zinc coated steel wire, is a known good collector of nuclear EMP effects. See this document for details. It screams capacitor to me.
Finally, as to grounding, as stated above a nuclear EMP does create a ground magnetic field effect. Grounding, however, is for far more than lightening strikes, as the author stated. Most data centers (and I’ve been running them for close to thirty years now and currently have 167 data centers worldwide that I am responsible for) ground for many more reasons than lightening, aka E2 type EMP. See this document for an idea of what we deal with. Mostly we ground to even out the effects of variances and differentials in any long line, be it electric power, data cables, or even the steel structure of the building.
In short, there is about as much difference between regular electrical concepts and those that deal with the first few nanoseconds of HEMP as there is between regular electrical transmission theory and quantum electrical theory. – H.D.
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Jewish Holocaust Survivor Saving Christians from ISIS to ‘Repay Debt’ – B.B.
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Armadillos believed to have caused LEPROSY in nine Florida patients – T.P.
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These 41 Companies Donate Directly to Planned Parenthood – D.S.
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Lawmakers: Thousands Of Violent Felons To Be Released In November – G.P.
“There can be no greater stretch of arbitrary power than is required to seize children from their parents, teach them whatever the authorities decree they shall be taught, and expropriate from the parents the funds to pay for the procedure.” – Isabel Paterson
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.