A Simpleton’s Guide To Preps: The Best And The Overrated, by B.H.

The Best:

  1. Become a faithful, obedient Christian.

    Why? Because we’re thinking long-term. Prepping doesn’t exempt death; it just postpones it (maybe). If you believe in prepping for the few decades you have on this earth, doesn’t it make sense to prep for the eternity that follows?

  2. Develop a long-term attitude in all your preparations.

    Why? At various gun-shows and events I attend, I occasionally see a small patch for sale that reads, “Embrace the Suck.” How true this could be. Simply giving-up during bad times will most likely kill more folks than anything, including smoking unfiltered cigarettes or running with scissors. Everyone runs fast the first mile of a marathon, but how many actually finish strong, or finish at all? I would imagine the first item you’d want to acquire in your prepping life is the right attitude, so think long-term with everything on this list.

  3. Prepare shelter from the cold, including the most important skill of making fire.

    Why? With the exception of lava flows, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, sharks, lions, mudslides, avalanche, coral snakes, lightening strike, asteroid impact, stampeding cattle, hurricanes, or lack of air, absolutely no element of nature kills quicker than cold. Being prepared to survive the cold includes clothing, coats, and blankets. It also includes ways to make fire; a place to make fire; the means to cut, split, and chop wood; a roof to keep you dry; and walls to shield the wind. (Walls also have the duel benefit of keeping sharks and stampeding cattle at bay.)

  4. Know where and how to obtain clean water.

    Why? You can’t go more than a few days without it. However, just having access to water is only half the battle, because dirty water may be almost as bad as no water at all, so you need to know how to make dirty water clean. There are many easy ways to keep “the runs” away. (Grandmother used to say that.) You can boil it, bleach it, filter it, or chemically treat it. Just don’t get confused and boil your filter in chemically-altered bleach; that would be overkill.

  5. Build sources for live food, such as chickens, rabbits, and a vegetable garden.

    Why? After a collapse, Taco Bell will probably cut back its hours of operation and not even Bill Gates can afford to buy enough pre-packaged #10 cans of dehydrated gourmet entrées to last a lifetime. Keeping chickens and brussel sprouts alive takes practice; practice takes time; and time will not be available post-collapse. Getting these items in place now will force you to get the tools you need (both physical and mental) ahead of time. This type of food is healthy, and you’ll get a lot of exercise in the process, but the really good news is you’ll have no trouble reaching that weight-loss goal you set during the New Year’s holiday. You’ll look great come swimsuit season.

  6. Buy that rifle or shotgun (and ammo for the same).

    Why? There are many obvious reasons why a firearm or two would be a pretty good idea following the collapse of society. First, we will be back to the Wild West style of justice. Even though government organized law enforcement will no longer be worried about things like littering, seat-belts, or car window-tint that is just a tad too dark, they will still be a little busy. (Assuming they haven’t ditched the job entirely to stay home and look after their own families.) Secondly, hunting will become America’s most popular pastime, and while slingshots and bow and arrow certainly make the hunt more challenging, using a good old American-made firearm will be your best bet at putting meat on the table. I mean no offense to you vegetarians reading this. Finally, the number of homeless cats and dogs will explode; homeless cats and dogs just love chickens and rabbits. (Read #5 again, if I went over your head with this comment.)

  7. Store salt, soap, and candles.

    Why? All of these will last forever. All are dirt cheap now, and all will be invaluable at meal time, bath time, nighttime, and “romance” time. (Well, the salt won’t help here, unless someone knows something I don’t.) Don’t skimp; stock up. I mean fill your closets and drawers with them. Also fill every empty box you can find. There is no such thing as too much here. Plus, these are great barter items.

  8. Buy and store silver.

    Why? Eventually you may want to buy something when paper money may not be accepted. Credit cards, checks, PayPal, and those cute, trendy little “bit-coins” might not work out for you either; I’m just sayin’. Have no fear. Whether it’s as simple as buying a drink of water or as difficult as finding someone to betray Jesus Christ, silver can always be counted on to get you what you need.

The Overrated:

  1. Gold

    Why? You can’t easily make change. Let’s say you walk into a convenience store with a gold coin. Both you and the cashier may agree that your shiny gold coin is worth $5,000. However, in the end, you will not be going home with that loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter you wanted, unless you’re willing to pay $5,000 for it.

  2. Medications/Antibiotics

    Why? They have a short shelf life. Band-aids and aspirin are fine. Okay, I’ll give you a pass on Viagra, as well, but let’s be realistic. Antibiotics have a short shelf life. Heat or moisture makes it even shorter. Some medicines must be refrigerated. A total collapse is going to be very unpleasant, and unfortunately some of its realities are going to be hard to accept. Still, look on the bright side; chopping wood will do your body more good than any blood-pressure medicine, anyhow.

  3. Gasoline and anything that runs on it

    Why? Again, it’s the shelf life. Yes, of course I have a gasoline-powered generator, but its sole purpose is so I don’t lose the 2-3 weeks of food in my refrigerator and freezer. Beyond that, it’s overrated. If you take the time to treat gas with a stabilizer, you’ll still be lucky to get 18 months out of it. Then what do you do? Here’s the bigger problem: gas engines make a lot of unwanted noise, like a cell phone in church. Don’t be the guy who loses everything because his cell phone went off in church.

  4. Batteries and anything that requires electricity

    Why? Batteries eventually die. (Yes, even the re-chargeable ones eventually die.) Have you ever seen a Clint Eastwood western where he whined about a lack of batteries, air conditioning, or cell phone service? No, you haven’t. Did a lack of electricity keep men like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin from becoming studs of American history? No, it didn’t. Don’t be a prepping “hipster”! Man-up, put your “big-boy” pants on, lace up them boots, and ditch the electronics.

  5. Bugging Out

    Why? Let’s see. Could it be that I have no shelter other than what I can quickly build with what is on hand, my supplies are limited to what I can carry or pull in a little red wagon, I’m alone (or in a relatively small group), and I’m in an unfamiliar and lawless environment with a good chance of running into a bunch of hungry, desperate strangers. Oh, by the way, hungry, desperate strangers are never ever intimidated by a person pulling a little red wagon. What could possibly go wrong?

  6. A Survival Retreat You Don’t Live In

    Why? You have to get there BEFORE the collapse. If you don’t, you have to bug-out; read “Bugging Out” again. The only way you can be there before the collapse is to see it coming, and what are the chances of that? 40%? 60%? Even at 80%, this seems like a poor return for a prep that cost tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we’re just talking about getting there! That’s not to mention what you may find waiting on you, if and when you arrive. What could possibly suck worse than someone breaking into your retreat before you get there, eating all your Tactical bacon (Google it if you don’t believe me), grabbing your $3,000 spiral-fluted-barrel assault rifle (with greasy fingers no less), and shooting at you with your coveted premium Zombie-Load ammo, all while using your shelter as, well…..shelter? Verdict: OVERRATED.

  7. That 3rd, 4th, or 5th Firearm

    Why? Because you’re kidding yourself! You aren’t prepping. You just like guns and are using prepping as an excuse to buy more of them. It’s like thinking you actually look cool wearing black leather chaps to the mall, because they are “necessary” for the Harley you have parked in your garage. (Sorry, that was the best analogy I could come up with, and remember I’m shooting for 1,500 words here!) Hey, don’t get me wrong; I love guns and have more than my share, but I do not believe for a second that convincing my wife to let me buy that 7th assault rifle is going to somehow extend my survival.

  8. NBC Equipment

    Why? Exactly! “WHY?” Chances are a nuclear or biological attack will not be small scale. They don’t call them weapons of MASS destruction for nothing. Who wants to live in a land that is poisoned for centuries while wearing a hot rubber chemical body suit and mask? How can you enjoy a romantic evening with your spouse, if you both are forced to wear a hot rubber body suit and mask? So much for all that stockpiled Viagra. While I hate closing on a dark thought, I do believe that contrary to the thinking of many, there are some survival situations that are worse than death, but hey, just don’t forget the words of the Apostle Paul, “to die is gain.” Sooner or later (hopefully later), we’ll all get there. So make the best of it. Enjoy what you can. Embrace it if you have to, and learn to laugh at yourself at least a little.

Letter Re: Generators And Their Proper Implementation During TEOTWAWKI/Disasters

HJL,

I’ve passed this along many times to JWR when the subject of generators and transfer switches come up. It is a more versatile solution than a transfer switch. It is a product named Generlink. It installs at your pole and allows you to choose which circuits to power via your breaker box, instead of having to wire specific circuits with a transfer switch and is a less expensive solution than a transfer switch. Generlink has been approved by my electric co-op and many others. Check it out at generlink.com, I have no financial interest in it. Regards, Keith

o o o

Hi Hugh,

I figured it was time for me to bring this up regarding generators. As to my background, I’ve used my preferred generator series for more than 20 years. My ranch is completely off grid; there is nothing coming in or going out of the property– no electric, water, or phone. I use a Trace inverter which automatically starts and stops the generator as needed. Now, as the OP did, most people will go get a generator, then gas and fire it up. What people don’t realize is the difference between generators and generators. The Troy-bilt referenced in the original post is a 3600RPM generator and, amongst other things, they are LOUD! No matter how you try to jerry rig it, no muffler, exhaust pipe, baffles, whatever clever idea you come up with, will make it quiet. Those cast iron pistons cannot be made quiet. In other words, there is NO OPSEC!

Allow me to clarify while keeping it simple. The Troy-bilt is a good generator, but it’s engine runs at 3600 RPM, and it’s designed for “Temporary Duty”. It’s good for emergencies and construction sites. The max recommended is 8 hours usage out of 24 for design life.

The best for OPSEC, and our readers intended use, is an Onan or Kohler RV generator, available in 120 or 120/240 VAC, 4KW, 6.5KW, 7.5KW, or bigger. Get the single phase only. They have a bigger engine because they run at 1800 RPM and produce more stable power. They are also designed as a “Continuous Duty” generator, although not in the “Commercial Sense” of continuous duty.

Drawbacks:

  • Heavier, not designed to be portable, no battery charging built in.

Advantages:

  • Electric start,
  • Running 20 hours a day for days on end won’t hurt it (if you can afford the fuel),
  • Easily convertible to tri-fuel (Natural Gas, Propane, Gasoline),
  • Less likely to get stolen,
  • BTW, some folks have put them on wheeled dollies and move them easily, and
  • They’re QUIET! They meet the National Park Service quietness standards. Mine can be running and you can have a nice conversation standing right beside it.

As a wrapup, the newer Honda and other brand inverter generators are great for small power requirement applications, but they’re not very EMP proof. Anyway, this is food for thought since you can get one on Craigslist for under $1000. They’re built very well, lots of spare parts around, too.

Best regards, to all,

The Army Aviator

News From The American Redoubt:

WWII-era plane crash site rediscovered at INL. – RBS

Interesting to note that JWR’s new book, also named Liberators is being released on October 15th. This book’s title is a shared homage, in honor of:

  • The veterans of the U.S. Army 14th Armored Division  (“The Liberators”)
  • Those who designed and built the Consolidated B-24 and PB4Y-1 “Liberator” heavy bombers,
  • The aircrewmen who flew B-24 Liberator bombers in WWII.
  • George Hyde, the German-born designer of the American FP-45 Liberator pistol made during WWII,
  • And Cody Wilson, the inventor of the 21st Century  “Liberator” 3D-printed pistol.

Amazon is already taking pre-orders for the novel.

o o o

Billings Police to begin using encrypted transmissions. – T.P.

o o o

Cape Air boardings are taking off in Eastern Montana. – T.P.

o o o

Police: BASE jumper too drunk to exit canyon

o o o

2014 Northern Rockies Machinegun & Cannon Shoot in Mills, Wyoming. Download the registration form.

Economics and Investing:

“It’s total moral surrender”: Matt Taibbi unloads on Wall Street, inequality and our broken justice system – RBS

o o o

Items from The Economatrix:

Catastrophic Outcomes May Come Faster Than Expected – James Rickards

The Size Of The Derivatives Bubble Hanging Over The Global Economy Hits A Record High

A Global Crisis Of Young Adult Unemployment: 12 Countries In Europe Have An Unemployment Rate Of 20 Percent Or Higher For Adults Ages 25 And Younger.

As Goes Walmart, So Goes America: “Major Holes Are Starting to Form In Its Business”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Six Ways to Separate Lies From Statistics – JBG

o o o

Justice to count feds’ guns. It will be interesting to compare the resulting numbers with those of 10 years ago. I suspect we are in for an eye-opener.

o o o

Government Agency Scraps Employee Ratings To Avoid ‘Discrimination’. Because your rating system just can’t be accurate if it rates minorities below the average. Some ideas are just worthy of a face-palm. – Mike Williamson, Survivalblog Editor At Large.

o o o

Why War Is Inevitable — Paul Craig Roberts. – B.B.

o o o

And here another showdown begins between personal liberty and public safety. Every driver who refuses to blow is strapped to a table, put in a head lock, blood forcibly taken. (video). What keeps the police from fabricating the claim for the warrant just to get you in the system? How far will they take this concept? Injections of RFID? – T.P.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“The early American knew that freedom was nothing more than the absence of external restraint on behavior; the government could not give you freedom, it could only take it away.” – Frank Chodorov

Notes for Monday – May 26, 2014:

May 26th is the birthday of Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams, Jr.). He was born in 1949. When not touring, he lives somewhere in Montana, so he qualifies as a Redoubter. He reportedly has a large gun collection, which is heavy on Sharps rifles and rifles that have factory letters showing that they were originally shipped to Montana. His song A Country Boy Can Survive is of course practically a survivalist anthem. His father was just 29 when he died, and despite a couple of close calls, Hank Jr. is now 64, so he may yet live to a ripe old age.

o o o

Another Memorial Day is upon us. It’s a day established to remember and honor those who have paid a price for freedom, including my freedom to write this blog today. While I have not served in the military, I am deeply moved by those who have sacrificed much, whether it is only two to four years of their lives in service or those whose marriages struggle because of a career-long commitment. I am especially moved by those who made the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom. It is with much sadness that I watched as Walmart was mobbed by families with grocery carts full of barbecue and chips this weekend, as they head to the lake or mountains, treating this honorable day as just another long weekend to party. I don’t begrudge them their escape from the rat race, but I only wish they would slow down and take the time to reflect on why they have that ability to have fun.

I do, however, hold a grudge against the politicians of our time, who so willingly throw our young men and women into danger, risking their lives for no discernible moral high ground as they sling mud at one another in this election year. Krayton Kerns, DVM says it very eloquently in his blog: My Melancholy Memorial Day.

Have a good time with your family this memorial day but do take a moment, at least, and reflect upon the sacrifices made by those who protect us from the evil within this world, praying for the solace of their families and friends.

Guest Article: Kleptocracy and Capital Controls, by William Lehr

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that the psychopathic, controlling oligarchs will go to in order to strengthen their grip on humanity.  Control and power are the weapons of these few.  While weapons, they will also serve as their demise.  You see, we are not boiling frogs, despite all the fluoride and GMOs we are force fed.  We, the rational minded, can see through the scam.  We are waking up and growing tired of being pushed into the corner.  Awareness of the controlling power mechanism is what is driving us for a better tomorrow.

When we first wrote about the IRA LLC on SurvivalBlog, we generated quite a bit of interest from the community.  As people discover the ability to take home delivery of IRA gold and silver, it changes the game.  Through this process we are encountering skeptics, evangelists, and outright government tyranny.  

After the recent events at the Bundy ranch in Nevada, overreaching government oppression is on the mind.  What we do here, at Perpetual Assets, may seem trivial to modern day Lexington and Concord moments.  I will not argue against that; there is little comparison available to the valor of the men, women, and III percenters who stood with the constitution and people against government tyranny.   However, our fight with financial oppression is real.  

As a facilitator of IRA LLC rollovers, we experience the worst of government control of private assets.  Our clients come to us because they want to “jailbreak” their hard-earned retirement savings.  Most come to us because they have learned they can take gold and silver purchased with their retirement account and store it at home.  Many of them have an existing IRA that they plan to rollover, but some are trapped in 401ks or similar defined benefit plans. 

401ks and like plans allow the employee to contribute a portion of pretax income to the account, similar to the option an individual has with less restriction in an IRA.  The benefit of the 401K plan is the often matching employer contribution.  Here the employer matches the employee’s contribution, up to a point, and adds those funds to the employee’s account.  It is important to envision this accumulated fund as the individual employee’s property.  If you ever paid into one, I bet you’ll agree.  I liken these types of plans to a group health insurance plan, only financial in nature.  This is a plan type whereby the individual funds the account but participates as a member of the group.  The group contracts with a third-party plan administrator and has a series of funds and investment options, but each individual has his or her own account inside the greater plan.  

The problem with these plans is the tyrannical and outright fascist restrictions on capital– your capital.  If you leave the company for whatever reason, it is no problem; you can roll the accumulated funds out into an IRA.  Therein lies the catch. If you want to access your money, you must quit your job!  That’s right, the corporate, banking, and government powers have all merged to withhold the control of trillions of dollars in 401k retirement plans.  It’s a complete racket.  I had one client tell me the words of his plan administrator were such that he had to die, quit his job, or pay penalties and taxes to get his own money back.  Keep in mind that not all employers provide matching contributions, meaning the entire accumulated fund would be paid in by the individual.

Don’t set the office on fire yet.  Some employers (about 16%) allow a little-known maneuver called an “in service” withdrawal.  If you have one of these plans and want to roll the money out to an IRA or IRA LLC for even further benefits, you may be eligible.  Some employers are more lenient and allow you to withdraw your own money at age brackets with percentage limits.  For example at age 50 you may be eligible to withdraw 80% of your balance, and at age 55, you can withdraw up to 90%, and so forth.  If you have attained age 59.5, you should be free to take taxable distributions with any plan or roll the balance out into a friendlier platform.  First check with your human resources representative or plan administrator to inquire about your options.

It is our mission to free individuals and their hard-earned money from the tyrannical grip of overreaching government.  If we can assist in any way we certainly will.  Feel free to reach out to us with questions or if you want to learn more about the IRA LLC concept and its benefits.  

Trust Yourself!

Will Lehr of Perpetual Assets

Scot’s Product Review: Grain Mills

Some call bread the staff of life. To make it you need flour, and that usually comes from wheat. Wheat is nutritious and can be turned into many tasty foods. Some argue that wheat made the original Old Testament cities in the Mideast possible, since it could be transported and stored so easily. Storage is of special import to a prepper, and many of us keep wheat as a key item in our long-term preparations.

The part that we use is called the wheat berry. That’s the kernel. Most of the time, it is milled into flour. Keeping the kernels intact, however, is the best way to store wheat, since flour deteriorates fairly quickly. While wheat can be used without milling into flour, it would get really boring after a while. This means that if we are going to store wheat, we really need a way to mill it.

Beyond storing it, a big advantage of milling your own flour is that you will have healthier flour. A lot of the nutrition in wheat is in oils that turn rancid if not separated from the flour. Commercial millers remove these oils, since their flour must sit on shelves in stores. Since we are going to use our flour quickly, this isn’t an issue. We get to keep all the nutrition from the wheat berry and put it in our bread. There are also a lot of things, in addition to bread, we can make with wheat once we mill it. Pasta and pastries come to mind, along with cereals and biscuits.

Choosing a grain mill will depend on your goals for your wheat. If are buying a mill solely for a SHTF grid down situation, you want a manual one to stash with your wheat. If you plan to make all your own flour starting now (a good plan in my view), an electric is very alluring. Flip a switch, do some other chore in the kitchen and come back to fresh flour. A very strong case can be made that it is good to have two, one electric and the other manual, just in case. If you have the funds, that is probably the best plan.

Be sure to mill some wheat, even if you don’t plan to regularly make bread before the SHTF. You want to be sure it works. You also want to be aware of how long it takes to make flour and how much energy you need to do it. Hand milling flour involves work. You also want to be sure you can successfully make bread. It does take some practice. It is also good for your family to know what a hearty, full-flavored loaf of bread tastes like. Most people like it, but for some, it is a bit of a shock.

I’m primarily dealing with milling wheat in this review. Both of these mills will, however, grind other stuff, but

the manual grinder is far more versatile. That might make it good to have, even if you have electricity.

WonderMill Electric Grain Mill

The WonderMill Electric Grain Mill is on loan from the nice folks at WonderMill. It is going to be very hard to send back. It is stunningly fast and makes flour in one pass without problem. It will even make ultra-fine pastry flour in one quick run. WonderMill claims it can mill over 100 lbs. an hour. I didn’t try that, but it milled four cups of flour for a loaf of bread in what seemed an instant.

The WonderMill does heat the flour when it mills. Some folks are disturbed by mills that heat the flour, fearing a loss of nutrition. Although I’m not a nutritionist and have no means of conducting scientific tests, I don’t worry about it. After all, I’m about to pop it into a 350 degree oven. I might be concerned, if I were going to store the flour for any length of time, but a driving reason for milling one’s own flour is that fresh flour is better flour. Why store it when you can mill so easily with the WonderMill?

The WonderMill uses teeth on revolving plates to micronize the grain. It can handle most dry grains, legumes, and lentils. They have a page to show everything it can handle. Small grains require an attachment to feed properly through the mill. It cannot be used with oily or wet materials, so no coffee beans.

A REALLY nice feature of the WonderMill is that it catches the flour in a separate canister, and it catches EVERYTHING that comes from the mill except air. I’ve been used to mills that liberally spread flour and bits of wheat around the kitchen. As one who hates cleaning, it is a big plus to stop this mess. There is even a filter so that the air pushed from the canister by the mill doesn’t carry dust into the kitchen. They give you a spare filter, too.

The flour, by the way, made an excellent loaf in our elderly Hitachi bread machine. It had a pleasing crust and a soft, finely textured interior. It made great toast and sandwiches. A problem for many of us in using home ground flour is getting it fine enough for this sort of bread. I enjoy coarse breads, but they don’t work well for toast and sandwiches, so this is a big plus.

The only problem I have with the WonderMill derives from our cramped kitchen. It is a bit large, compared to some other mills. The detachable canister system that catches the flour and dust adds to the bulk, but I think it is worth the space.

WonderMill gives a limited lifetime warranty on the unit. Their web pages list a number of endurance tests and cases of people using them commercially to grind prodigious amounts of flour. I suspect the average family will have trouble wearing this thing out.

The unit comes with a nice instruction book. It says not to start the mill with grain in it and to not stop while grain is being milled. A video on their site, however, says this is ok. I checked with WonderMill, and they say the older version of the mill had a weaker motor. The current motor can handle stops and starts, though it is still best to keep it running until all the grain in the hopper has been milled.

Wonder Junior Deluxe

The Wonder Junior Deluxe mill uses a totally different strategy to mill wheat. You are the motor, not Mr. Electricity. This is important. It takes time and energy to convert wheat to flour with any manual mill. I get some help from my nine-year-old, but he runs out of steam about half-way through making the four cups of flour we use in most of our loaves. The hand cranking is good exercise, though. There are some options to motorize it that I will cover later, but primarily, this is a manual tool.

You can make the crank easier to turn by running things through twice. The first time breaks it into chunks; the second time makes it fine. It obviously takes longer to do it this way, and I think it consumes the same amount of energy overall, but the crank is easier to turn. This might help someone with low strength and high endurance. My nine-year-old prefers this, but he doesn’t want to stick around for the second pass.

I complained earlier about mills that spread wheat and flour about. WonderMill came up with a guide that fits around the stones on the Junior Deluxe. It does a great job of guiding the flour into a wide mouthed cup. Things don’t stay quite as clean as with the WonderMill, but it is far better than the other two mills I’ve used. A smooth steady pace helps with this. My son can get jerky, which causes more spreading of food bits.

The flour guide is a bit fussy to fit. You have to hold the crank pushed in while attaching the burrs, holding the guide in place, and screwing in the adjustment knob. It took me a couple of tries to get it down, but you can do it solo.

The Junior uses stones that rub together to mill wheat and other dry grains into flour. It is even more versatile than the WonderMill, though, thanks to the set of steel burrs included in the Deluxe kit. With the steel burrs, you can grind oily beans and even make peanut butter. It worked quite well for coffee. You can grind coffee all the way down to an espresso grade if you like. To see everything you can do with the Junior, check out the “what will it grind” page in the manual.

One of the other things I really like about the Junior is the clamp system it uses to hold it to a counter. You can bolt it down, but it’s nice to be able to move it out of the way when not using it. The clamp makes that easy. More important, though, is that it keeps the mill solidly mounting while you are using it. A lot of force is generated when cranking it, and a lesser clamp allows the mill to come loose and fly off the counter. I had that problem with another manual mill before making a better base for it.

The Junior can be used with alternative power. There is an adapter to allow you to turn the mill with the power of a drill (though it needs to be a pretty powerful one). WonderMill also sells a pulley that replaces the handle, and with some ingenuity (as shown in the videos they post) you can connect the mill to an assortment of power sources. Electric motors are one route, while others have used bicycles. The bike seems like the best plan to me, as it would work in a grid down scenario. Legs are stronger than arms, so you should be able to get more wheat milled with leg power than by hand cranking.

I made good bread with the wheat I ran through the Junior. I think that the flour from the WonderMill was a little better, but I haven’t spent enough time futzing with adjustments on the Junior. I think I could get the flour slightly finer, once I learn the machine better. Part of my problem is fear of setting it too tight and damaging the stones. I suspect I am being too cautious.

Incidentally, the WonderMill site is worth poking around on. They have a number of videos and articles that are very helpful. There is an excellent one on adjusting the Junior.

Overall, I am very impressed with both mills, and I’m planning to buy them. That means a negative profit from writing this review, but my preps will be better. So it goes. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Scot Frank Eire

Recipe of the Week: Beef Strogannoff

How to Make that Meat Go Further

People can be very picky eaters, but down the road that may not always be an available luxury. People will also start in a litany of “I don’t eat mustard, or onions, or garlic, or mushrooms, or whatever.” (This is not to be confused with a legitimate food allergy!) Remember, a recipe is a combination of pleasing ingredients that impart delightful flavors and textures. Think about liquid vanilla extract. It smells out-of-this-world, but it tastes like nothing you would want you eat. Sugar must be added to make it edible.

The following recipe uses meat extenders, so you can feed a small family with filling, nutritious ingredients. Onions and mushrooms are associated with beef and can be used to make servings larger. I’ve read that very strict Hindus will not eat onions because they are so closely associated with beef– a forbidden and sacred animal.

Ingredients:

  • 6 oz ground beef
  • 1 small can of mushrooms stems and pieces diced into small pieces, saving water in can
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, more if desired
  • 1/2 onion diced
  • 1 clove garlic diced
  • 1/2 carton sour cream
  • 1/2 cup or more of catsup
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Sauté onion in olive oil until golden.
  2. Add garlic and sauté only 1 minute, so it won’t burn.
  3. Now add drained, diced mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. At this point, people in the house will ask, “What’s for supper?” because it smells so wonderful. Brown ground beef until totally crumbled and cooked through.
  5. Now, combine onion and mushroom mixture with ground beef.
  6. Stir in catsup, mushroom water, and sour cream.
  7. Completely mix until well-coated. Add a little water if mixture is too thick. Your entree has now doubled in size from the original 6 ounces of meat.

Serve over noodles or toast or oven roasted potatoes. By using a wheat product, like noodles or toast, the total protein in the meal is increased. Wheat has amino acids but is an incomplete protein. By combining with a complete protein, like the beef, it becomes complete and the meal is even more loaded.

Serves 2-4, depending on portion size

Storage and pantry application:

  • Freeze dried or dehydrated onion
  • Freeze dried ground beef or your own canned ground beef, if you are into that
  • Dried sour cream
  • Dehydrated or canned mushrooms

From the garden: Garlic, Onion, Potatoes

On hand: Condiments

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it viae-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: The Little Things, by Claymor

Hello Hugh,

In the recent post entitled “The Little Things“, writer Claymor mentions the importance of water and of providing for a means of treating non-potable water. I certainly agree with this, however he goes on to assert “If you’re lucky you’ll die from dehydration before giardia takes claim.” This may not be the case.

Every reputable survival school in the country teaches the same thing– if faced with the choice between drinking questionable water and suffering the effects of serious dehydration, you should (almost) always err on the side of drinking the water. The reasons for this are several: the negative effects of severe dehydration are rapid and immediately dangerous and will progress rapidly. Further, if the water source is merely questionable (as opposed to confirmed to be contaminated), then there is the chance also that it is safe. However the result of not drinking it (dehydration, possible death) are certain. Finally, even if your chosen water source is contaminated, many of the enteric pathogens people fear (giardia, hep A, cryptosporidium, et cetera) have an incubation period of days to weeks. That means you may be without symptoms for that amount of time, giving you time to: #1 survive the immediate crisis of no water and #2 prepare for the possibility that you may come down with some unpleasant diarrhea. Invasive diarrhea is no laughing matter to be sure, but it is treatable and at least in the healthy and strong, very survivable even with minimal medical infrastructure. Treatment of invasive diarrhea is a topic for another day (or a search of the SB archives), but it is done every day in the developing world. Lastly, there is a surprisingly large percentage of the population which may be exposed to giardia, even colonized by it, and even become a carrier of it, without ever developing symptoms. Death by dehydration, however, is symptomatic for everyone.

Surely treating your water and preparing ahead of time for that possible need is best. But lacking the means to do so, don’t be like the desert visitor who dies next to a water hole because he lacks the means to purify it. All the best, – j

Letter Re: Generators And Their Proper Implementation During TEOTWAWKI/Disasters

Excellent article about generator usage. I might mention that when using a portable generator there is a better option than running an extension cord to an outlet and then cutting off the main breaker. You can buy a manual transfer switch that will allow you to wire selected circuits in your breaker panel through the transfer switch. After plugging up and starting the generator, you flip breakers on the transfer switch. This transfers the selected circuits to the generator output and isolates them from the main incoming power. These switches are readily available at almost any home improvement store or electrical supply store. These switches are easily installed with basic electrical knowledge. This is a much safer option and will protect both the homeowner and the lineman working on the outage. Thanks, – S.R.

HJL Replies: That is an excellent idea and one that the blog has covered many times in the past. All it takes is one careless moment to put a utilities lineman at risk for electrocution. These transfer switches should be standard in any home that is using any form of backup AC through the regular wiring.

Economics and Investing:

What does $600,000 buy you in Southern California real estate? A look at Pasadena, Arcadia, and Torrance. Some boomers cashing in their housing lottery ticket.

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Items from The Economatrix:

This Is Why Hewlett Packard Just Announced Another 16,000 Job Cuts

Why Are Boomers Cashing Out In Droves? Because “Everyone Understands The Market Went Crazy Last Year”

Richard Russell – More U.S. Lies As The Public Is Going Broke

Video: Peter Schiff: Brace For Impact!

Odds ‘n Sods:

If the grid fails, will you die?. So you think that we will simply revert to the 1800 and move on with life? Try the early middle ages instead.

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U.S. Media Bias: Three large media outlets reporting on the shooting/stabbing in California, CNN, Boston Herald, and NY Daily News, and not one of them mentions the three stabbings, only the shootings. I have to find out about it in the UK based Daily Mail. – T.P.

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Physical Limits to Food Security: Water and Climate – J.W.

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Tampa welcomes “Invasion Force” – T.Y. An interesting news report on a Special Forces convention and the mock invasion performed for an audience. I do hope the news reporter learns the difference between an “Apache” helicopter and an “MH-6 little bird” at the convention though.

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Wyden: “Every American Has The Right To Know When Their Govt. Believes It Is Allowed To Kill Them” – H.L.