Letter Re: The Inflationary Handwriting on the Wall

To SurvivalBlog Readers:
I have gone back and read or skimmed the archives of every entry in SurvivalBlog since it’s inception in 2005. I’m sure that anyone who has read even a small portion of this excellent resource has come to realize that a means of self-protection is critical in a SHTF situation and that firearms are the primary tool to that end. To those that may not yet be aware, many popular types of ammunition have been scarce and have become more expensive and attempts by the government to regulate sales and possession of ammunition are becoming more frequent. A particular brand and type of .22 ammunition that I bought in bulk in August of last year at 3.1 cents per round is now almost impossible to find at below 20 cents per round. Increased manufacturing and materials costs cannot account for this increase.  This has had an effect on the entire firearms industry.

Popular opinion as to why this happened is all over the place and includes reasons such as hoarding, manufacturers/distributors/dealers profiteering, scalpers, government intrusion into the market, etc. The shortage of ammunition and the run on the purchase of firearms appears to have started shortly after the last Presidential election. Again, opinion varies but many people feel that the President’s apparent anti- firearms position along with an increase in urban violence and increased pressure on Government officials to “do something” about the “gun problem” has caused a run on the market. This run now appears to be subsiding slightly but is far from over after nearly a year.

This letter, however, is not about firearms or ammunition, gun control or politics. It is to draw attention to how thin the thread is that ties us to the things that we need for our daily survival. I may be “preaching to the choir” here but just imagine if some event were to occur that pushed the cost of your favorite kind of canned beans from $1.89 to just under $14.00! Yeah, you could change brands or stop eating beans but what if the event or events effected the entire food industry? What if the event or events effected the petroleum distribution industry? Trucking? Electricity production? Again, I know I’m preaching to the choir but the above example of ammunition is real and could have just as easily happened to something more critical to our daily existence than ammunition. We now have proof that hoarding, manufacturers/distributors/dealers profiteering, scalpers, government intrusion into the market, etc can occur in a very short period of time. We also now have proof that the event or events may not too obvious in the daily scheme of things and might even go unnoticed until it was too late to react. Notice how little it took to trigger the shortage and price increases noted above? What would happen in the event of massive crop failures, widespread climatic disasters, disease, wars, economic collapse, inflation, martial law, rioting, etc either singly or in combination?

There are statistics that show that there is one firearm for every three people in the United States. Out of every three people in the United States, how many of them eat? Drink water? Depend on electricity? Would that not make shortages and price increases occur even more quickly and severely when a greater number of people were effected and the involved items more critical to survival? JWR has said repeatedly that you should buy tangibles.  In my view, tangible does not mean gold coins that you can hold in your hand as opposed to a paper certificate saying that you own gold. Last year at this time, gold sold for $1,754 per ounce, today it is worth $1,271!  I have already shown you what some ammunition prices have done within that same time frame. If I had taken my own advice, I would have bought more ammunition instead of silver coins which have gone the same way as gold.

I’m not trying to suggest what you should  or should not buy. I’m just suggesting that the things we really need on a daily basis may be not be there when we need them or at a price we can afford and that a seemingly insignificant series of events could trigger the shortages and the hoarding, scalping, etc. etc. I know I am going to continue eating my favorite beans for some time and not at $14 a can!  We now have proof. The handwriting is on the wall. Read it.

Be safe and prep as if your life depended on it, – G.L.D.

Economics and Investing:

Here it comes! The IMF Proposes A 10% Supertax On All Eurozone Household Savings. Americans should be forewarned. We too need to minimize our bank deposits and shift into tangibles investing. (Thanks to “Beekeeper” for the link.)

C.D.V. sent this: Fitch puts US AAA rating on rating watch negative

Nobel Prize U.S. winner warns of ‘bubbly’ global home prices

Items from The Economatrix:

22 Reasons To Be Concerned About The U.S. Economy As We Head Into The Holiday Season

The US cannot avoid a soft default even if a hard default is avoided: Debt ceiling already breached and US Treasury operating in emergency mode while US is paying $415 billion in annual interest expenses.

Nothing left to financially lose: Biggest drop in confidence since Lehman Brothers and why some are unmoved by government shutdown.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Arthur S. sent the link to an interesting “clock” showing worldwide births and deaths, in real time.

   o o o

Randy F. wrote to note: “As if made by the TEOTWAWKI crowd,  National Geographic is going to premiere the [docudrama] movie Blackout on October 27, 2013. It is about the effects of a total grid failure blackout in America after a cyber attack.  They follow the travails on a young family expecting a second child any minute, a yuppie couple in NYC, a group of college students stuck in their dorm, a prepper family of four, a teenage Vlogger. It should be illustrative.”

   o o o

Blogger Eric Falkenstein (of Finding Alpha and The Missing Risk fame) has posted his swan song: My Last Regular Blog Post

   o o o

Chris Carrington misses the point, in his essay: Why I Won’t Be Charitable When The SHTF. The point is: We can be charitable and maintain good OPSEC if we dispense charity through intermediaries, such as through our local church elders. That way, your name and your locale will never get mentioned. OBTW, the next day, Chris also posted this: Will I Be Called A Looter, A Forager, A Scavenger Or Just A Common Thief? Here, he talks about taking “abandoned” houses. As I’ve written before, doing that would only be morally conscionable in the event of massive depopulation. In all other instances, someone (or their heirs) would still have title to that property. And taking it would be theft. I think that Carrington and I are close to diametric opposition. I stand by my positions.

   o o o

It certainly didn’t take long for someone to pirate my recent Social Media Glossary post, strip it of all attribution, and re-post it.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour." – Winston S. Churchill

Notes from JWR:

Several readers mentioned this: EBT card food stamp recipients ransack Wal-Mart stores, stealing carts full of food during federal computer glitch. Keep in mind: A nationwide grid power failure would also mean a nationwide EBT card system failure. If and when this happens, it will not be pretty. For further perspective, see this over at Ace of Spades HQ: I saw DOOM drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s and his hair was perfect. And the always insightful Karl Denninger had these comments: No, I Will Not Help, Donate, Or Continue. At 1:20 PM Central Time today, I will interviewed on The Alex Jones Show on this topic.

—

Richard H. wrote mention this interesting obituary: Robert Ford, a British radio operator in free Tibet, died on September 20th, at age 90.

—

Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.) A full set of all 22 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $200 value, and G.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., F.) A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a Retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises (a $240 value,) and G.) A Nesco / American Harvest Gardenmaster Dehydrator with an extra set of trays, and the book The Dehydrator Bible, from Mayflower Trading. (A $210 value.)

Round 49 ends on November 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.

Second Chances, by Dirt Surgeon

Introductory Note: I originally composed this story in August of 2011 just months after our family went through a devastating event.  At the time of writing the essay was short, sweet and to the point.  I have reconstructed my family’s journey of the past 24 months to the present.

Thanks for all that you and others do by sharing information, educating and inspiring the thought process. It is my hope that this short family history will provoke some to think about their lifestyle, what is important and the effect an event like this has on a family.

Four years ago my wife and I purchased fifty acres that join our families’ three hundred and fifty acre farm, built a new home and a seven acre lake (we built both the house and lake ourselves, our labor our time).  We sold a business that we built at a very large profit.  We dumped the capital back into the purchase of the 50 acres.  The plans were to built modestly and have a small mortgage or none at all; we got carried away and ended up with land free and clear but $138,000 mortgage on the house and 10 acres.  Once the house was complete the market crash of 07-08 occurred, this is when we truly woke up, we must prepare.  In our research we discovered survival blog, and rural revolution blog we have learned so much.  Our family has farmed, gardened, canned, kept chickens for generations, just our way of life, but we didn’t truly prep for potential collapse, which leads me to the bulk of my story:

May 5th, 2011 changed my family forever.  With the wet spring in the Midwest early garden planting was nonexistent, May 5th was no different ground was in good condition to plant but rain was in the evening forecast so I took off from work early to plant potatoes’, broccoli, cauliflower and so on.  When I turned in the quarter mile drive I met our black lab, who never leaves the house, I thought this was strange continuing on I noticed blue smoke coming through the timber, panic struck, the house was on fire.  I grabbed the cell phone dialed 911, then the garden hose, long story short we lost everything.  People it is a sickening filling when you realize all you have in the world are the clothes on your back and the cash in your pocket.
I cursed God that evening, how could he let this happen to me and my family? Even now typing this I do so with tears in my eyes, not so much for the tangible loss but the pain I could see in the eyes of my wife and eight year old daughter, I’m dad, it’s my job to protect.  It took several days for me to realize that God sent dumpsters to my house instead of coffins, for that I am thankful, and I hope he will accept my apology for the things I said and thought.

The day after the fire my wife, daughter and I went shopping for clothes, we had been discussing money and the situation in ear shot of our eight year old daughter.  Our daughter who loves horses and collects Breyer horses lost her collection in the fire.  We had been in the clothing section of our local farm and garden center when daughter went missing.  I found her staring at the shelves full of breyer horses.  She would pick one up, look at it and set it down.  Pick another up and put it back. I watched from behind a cloths rack as she dropped her shoulders, turned to walk away with tears in her eyes.  Gentlemen if you have never seen this look in your child’s face I will tell you it will tug at your heart like nothing else.  I was so proud of her because she was not going to ask.  I stepped out from behind the rack and asked her if she found a horse she liked if not pick one out.  She said “but mom” I told her mom would understand.  This over a toy I could not imagine how I would feel if something of a larger magnitude were to happen.

Two days prior to the fire I turned the basement lights on and the light switch arced. I guess that is where the fire started.  I should have called my electrician buddy then and there. Poor choice, and poor decision.

You may ask “What does this have to do with this blog”?  Well, there are lots of lessons to learn and lots of blessing to count.

Some Lessons Learned:

  1. We lost several years worth of food, canned goods, canning equipment, meats the list goes on. Note: do not store everything in one location.
  2. Guns, ammo and hunting equipment. Note: purchase gun safe, make sure guns are on separate rider for insurance.  Most policies only cover $2000 worth of guns I had one gun that was worth that amount, just by itself. (Point of concern insurance companies require serial numbers for coverage) I listed most but not all.
  3. Cash and coins, thankfully a fire fighter was able to retrieve a large sum of cash hidden in the house.  Note: this goes in the safe or hidden outside with other cash. My dad was impressed when I took a shovel and dug up a mason jar.  He said “I thought only old timers banked that way”. Interest doesn’t pay much but I know where the teller is.
  4. Pictures, gone. Note store some in other locations
  5. Keep a list or film your personal contents you will have to list every item to collect your replacement costs from your insurance company, this is painful. Imagine setting down and listing every item in your house. The big items are easy but think of every can of beans, every item in the cabinets, bath room closet, toys (although our daughter had a pretty good idea of what she lost.)
  6. Important papers, titles, DD214, marriage license, birth certificates note: these go in the safe

Blessings counted

  1. My family is safe, yes we have a lot of work ahead of us
  2. The mortgage is gone, we can rebuild like we should have the first time
  3. Add a root cellar
  4. Insurance has eliminated all of our dept.
  5. Our commitment to preparing is stronger
  6. Our family is stronger
  7. Most of all we found out who we can truly call our friend.
  8. We will never look at someone else’s misfortune the same.

It hit me hardest when I was hilling potatoes. I thought if this was a total collapse, we’ve lost everything and if the garden I stand in fails my family would more than likely not see the spring of 2012.

During the summer of 2012 we spent some insurance dollars and built a 30 by 50 shed complete with storage, 30 by 30 living space and fireproof hidey hole.  We have been living for the past two years in a two-room shed, bathroom and the rest.  This has been a great experience in close living, a great example of retreat living.  At times this has been fun and at time it has been difficult the following are some examples of both:
                 
Fun times

  1. We never replaced the satellite television.  Board games, cards, conversations and reading have been our main source of entertainment. Our 8 year old is now at the academic level of an 11 year old and her grades along with creativity have improved.
  2. The time spent outside has doubled maybe tripled. We walk the property more, garden more, camp fires in the evening
  3. This style of living has given us a glimpse of what close living will be like when family comes knocking.
  4. We purchased a Kitchen Queen Cook stove to heat with.  If you have never cooked with wood it is an experience of fun and education.  Although we installed an electric stove the wood stove has been entertaining, daughter loves to cook cookies, pizza and her morning toast on the wood stove.

Not so fun times

  1. Even though the shed is insulated the 12 foot garage door allows the cold air in when the wind picks up and the temperature drops.
  2. The experience has made the wife and I wonder how pioneers had such large families when living in a one room homestead.
  3. Storage has been an issue. Hanging cloths, books, toys, food, everything just seems to be cluttered all the time.  Constant cleanup and pickup. 
  4. Bathroom issues with just three in the house someone is always knocking on the door. Hot water is always in demand during peak times.

Lessons learned

  1. This has been hard, we cannot imagine what it would be like without electric or water.
  2. Fire wood being the only source of heat is tuff.  We have always had wood heat but we always had a backup (electric or gas) when the wood pile gets low you really start to worry about the outside temperatures.
  3. With a full time job, rebuilding the house (will discuss later) there is very little time to prep.  The garden did well this year but canning was minimal. Gave lots of produce to friends but let the garden go in august.  How did homesteaders find the time to build a home, put food by, cut fire wood? All by hand without modern equipment and energy.  This should be an eye opener for all.  Times could get very, very difficult.

Where are we now?  In January 2013 we finally demolished the old house. Our goal has been to rebuild with the end result of no mortgage payment.  Working with insurance dollars and out of pocket/savings we are finally trimming the home.  This is large mile stone to a more normal lifestyle.  We made lots of changes this time around because of our prepping lifestyle. Here are some of the major changes:

  1. We went from a conventional 2,800 sq. ft. home to a 1,400 sq. earth berm home. Both for security reason and efficiency reasons. 
  2. Because the house is a basement style home I found that if we have our water tank full we can back feed water through the hydrant to the lower level and have a toilet when the electric is out, doesn’t help with potable water but it beats running to the timber.
  3. Added some solar, but not near enough. But the house has been wired for future addition.
  4. On demand hot water (gas) hope to use the energy savings for additional preps
  5. Purchased a large gun safe all items of value are stored/protected
  6. The wood cook stove goes in the new house for both cooking and heat.
  7. This time around the kitchen stove is gas not electric.
  8. Utility room designed specifically for storage of food and other preps.
  9. All basement windows have large window wells installed for egress and potential fields of fire.
  10. Most important hard wired battery backed up smoke detectors. One in every room.

In many ways we are better prepared than we were prior to the fire. Most importantly we are free of mortgage companies and banks. This makes life so enjoyable, knowing that most of our monthly income can go towards prepping, savings, et cetera.  God has blessed us in that respect.  In many ways we are less prepared.  Our food stores are less than before, with two seasons sense the fire we have consumed as much as we have set by.  With livestock to tend, hay to bail, daily chores and a full time job something had to give while rebuilding.  It’s mid-October and we are in no way prepared for winter. Not a stick of wood is ranked.  Equipment has not been winterized. One last round of hay to get in the barn, the list could go on, but we should have enough to get us to new crop.

We have replaced many things already, we have a long row to hoe but with gods’ help and lot of work we will be prepared for our future.  We have a second chance to make changes to better prepare and make better choices.  My prayer is for all to look at your situation and think, double check and rethink, anything can happen and it may very well happen.

To my best friend whom I lost in June of 2013 to a heart attack, I think of you often, thanks for your help of cleaning, demolishing and rebuilding.  I’ve been helping with the boys they are doing fine you are missed.

God bless and please learn from our experience.

Letter Re: EBT Card Chaos Parallels “The Wayward Journey”

Hi James,
I just came across the news story about some EBT cards to have apparently unlimited balances leading to the almost cleaning out of a Wal-Mart before the computer glitch was corrected.

I bring this up because it is a near perfect parallel to the situation Nathan Hale Jefferson put in “The Wayward Journey” which I reviewed several months back.  He deserves a pat on the back for anticipating this. – Harry

Letter Re: Some Stump Burning Advice

Mr. Rawles,

Here is a way to efficiently burn stumps:

1.  Get a 55 gallon steel drum

2.  Remove both the top and bottom

3.  Cut some holes in the lower sides from ground level to about 1/3 the way up.

4.  Place the barrel sleeve over a stump.  Put a few crumpled-up paper sacks soaked in diesel fuel in the bottom and close to some of the holes. Pile all your wood debris in the barrel. 

5.  Light the sacks. [The barrel .sleeve contains the heat, creates a draft, and keeps the wood fuel from rolling off.]

6.  Every couple of hours, poke into the holes with a metal rod to break up ash build-up.

Depending on the type of wood that you piled in and the size and type of stump, it may take between a couple hours to a couple days to burn the stump to below ground level. – P.S.

News From The American Redoubt:

Here is a great news segment, by Chuck Holton from CBN: Redoubt: Northwest a Haven for Dismayed Americans. There are several brief interviews in this segment including one with Todd Savage of SurvivalRetreatConsulting.com.

   o o o

Boise Market TalkRadio host pushes petition to bring “Gun Jobs” to Idaho

   o o o

A family practice medical group is seeking two or three Board-Certified Family Practitioners, in Riverton, Wyoming, right near the center of the state. If interested, e-mail: kstockto@wyoming.com. This is a great opportunity for several like-minded doctors to relocate to the American Redoubt and work at a well-established and well-respected practice.

   o o o

I heard about yet another great company located in the Redoubt: Titan Straps. They are headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. They tell me that their first batch of straps were made about 30 miles away from Bozeman, but they eventually found a top-notch injection molder (with high quality and on-time delivery) in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is great to find another American-made product!

   o o o

Western U.S. best for business, Tax Foundation says. Wyoming tops the list, and the state of Washington and Montana were #6 and #7, respectively. (Thanks to R.C. for the link.)

Economics and Investing:

Life imitates art: IMF chief: U.S. dance with the debt limit is ‘very, very concerning’ [JWR’s Comment: Thankfully, she stopped short of saying: “default appears imminent.” Perhaps next week someone from the Deutsche Bundesbank will make some off the record remarks…]

G.G. flagged this: U.S. Adds Two Times More Debt than Economic Output in Last Two Years

Shenandoah blog: Stasicare. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)

P.W. sent this from Zero Hedge: They’re Coming for Your Savings

Also from P.W.: U.S. banks no longer too big to fail says Tucker

From The Economatrix:

If We Are In An Economic Recovery, Why Are Major Corporations Firing Thousands?

What China Really Thinks of the Shutdown

More D-Word: Tough choices if US Defaults:  Debt ceiling crisis could leave millions in lurch

Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate G.G. suggested this at CBS News: This ain’t your average survival shelter.

   o o o

Randy F. wrote to mention that a large prepper conference is scheduled in Mesa Arizona on Oct 18th and 19th, 2013. It has been extended to the 20th due to the high expected turnout.

   o o o

There is also a preparedness show in Atlanta the same weekend.

   o o o

   o o o

The next Life Changes. Be Ready! Preparedness and Gun Expo will be held in in Lakeland, Florida on November 2 & 3, 2013. Advance tickets are sold at a discount.

The SurvivalBlog Social Media Glossary

I’m often asked about social media, forums, and meetup/networking web sites as a method for preppers to get together. I generally discourage the use of social media, as a big OPSEC risk. As I’ve warned my readers many times in SurvivalBlog, these sites are intelligence-gathering vacuum cleaners for self-incrimination, plain and simple. It has been well established that the NSA gobbles up as much information as it can and wherever it can.

Even if what you mention about your private life in Tweets and Facebook posts is presently legal and commonplace (such as food storage, hunting, and shooting), that doesn’t mean that it won’t someday become demeaned or even illegal.

You must recognize that whatever you post in social media is there forever, even if you later “delete” your posts, and even if you completely delete your user account.

I will not be surprised if it is someday revealed that most of these sites were created specifically for the purpose of intelligence gathering. (Google and Facebook have many CIA and NSA connections, and what could best be described as an incestuous relationship. Google, in particular, is suspect.)

For all of these reasons, I have never created a Facebook or Twitter page for myself, and I discourage others from doing so. And likewise, I do not have a “SurvivalBlog Forum”, or a YouTube channel with “followers”, nor do I have a mechanism for auto-posting of comments in my blog. Those can be tracked and easily cross-correlated. I have no intention of making myself a tool for some malefactor. The few letters from readers that I post are edited for OPSEC. For example I almost always change or truncate names and change their initials.

One quiet afternoon I did some pondering and decided that the names of the social media sites and some of their operative terms are in fact acronyms, which I’ve defined, as follows:

Sites:

FACEBOOK: FBI-Arranged Confessions Eternally Bookmarked On Our Komputer.

KICKSTARTER: Kicking In Cash Koupons Solely To Accord Retarded Teenage Enterprises with Relevancy

MYSPACE: My Yesterdays Saved Permanently, Allowing Character Extirpation

PINTEREST: Police (or Pedophiles) Interested in Nattering Teen Effusiveness, Regardless of any Eventual Statist Tendencies

TWITTER: Those Willingly Incriminating Themselves to The Evil Regime

LINKED IN: Lashed Interminably to National Komputers, Every DHS Intelligencer is Notified

MYLIFE: Many Youngsters Lured into Intelligence Fusion Enterprises

DEVIANTART: Datamining Extroverts and Voyeurs In Artfully Nefarious Temptations, Arguably a Resilient Trap

LIVEJOURNAL: Low Intelligence Value Everyday Jests Or Unthreatening Rantings of Nutcases And Lunatics

YAHOO GROUPS: Your Antiquated Hooligans and Obstinate Old-timers Gather Religiously–Obviously Under Police Scrutiny

GOOGLE+: Gatherings Of Overweight Geriatric Lechers and Enticers, (+Police)

PHOTOBUCKET: Photos of Hotties Obseverable To Officers Briefly, Until Canceled (but Kept Eternally in Terabytes)

BLOGGER: Blogs for Lazy Old Grannies, for GOOGLE’s Evidentiary Research

MEETUP: Matching Every Extrovert To an Unprincipled Provocateur

ORKUT: Only Read in Kolkata or at Universidade Teresina

PANDORA: Pilfering Another Ditty Or Radio Attraction

SECONDLIFE: Some Escapist Charades Only Needed by Delinquent Losers, Indolents, Fantasizers or Evaders

SKYPE: Sent Konversations of Youths Penetrated by ECHELON

STUMBLEUPON: Surveillance That U.S. Magistrates Blithely Let Enforcers Use to Pressure Opponents and Naysayers

DELICIOUS: Designating Eternal Links In Cyberspace (Ignorant of OPSEC), Utilized by Stasi

YOUTUBE: Youthful Obsessions Unfit for Television, Until Brin-Endorsed

FOURSQUARE: Forgettable Or Unstable Relationships, but Some are Qualitatively Utilized (the Addresses Reveal Entanglements)

DIGG: Dissident Intelligence Gathered by Government

WIKIPEDIA: Wasted Intellect, Kreating an Immense Propaganda Encyclopedia Designed to Incapacitate America

INSTAGRAM: Innocuously, Napolitano Seizes Treasured Assets and Gendarmes Reap Actionable Material

WAYBACKMACHINE: Wonderfully Accurate Years of Belligerent Allocution by Citizens Knavishly Making Archives, Compiling HUMINT Inventories of Natterings Evidence

MY YEARBOOK: Meeting Youth of Yesteryear, Enrolling Alums at Reseau Bluffdale Or Other Keeps

FLICKR PHOTOS: Fotos, Largely that I Couldn’t Kontribute Rationally, Possibly Holding On To Old Shamefulness

CLASSMATES: Could Lead Alumni to Squeal Stories Mistakenly to Agencies and Their ECHELON Storehouses

TAGGED: Those Agencies Getting Gun Evidence Details

WINDOWS LIVE HOME: Where Imbeciles Naively Disclose Old Wrongdoings, Snoops Love It, and Vigorously Engineer Hoards Of Maleficent Espionage

Component and Operative Terms:

TWEETS: The Way Everyone Evinces Themselves Slavishly

FANS: FISA And Napolitano Sensors

HASHTAGS: Harmful And Sly Handles with Thousands of Aggregated Guilt Summaries

PINS: People In NSA Stings

FORUM: Future Ordered Roundup of Undesirable Malcontents

MEETUPS: Meeting Extraordinarily Eccentric, Tactless, and Untrustworthy People Somewhere

FRIENDS: Folks who are Really Intelligence Envoys, Navigators, Dupes, and Servants

BLOG COMMENTS: Buffoons Letting Others Generate Confessions for Our Mainframes, Makes Every Nazi’s Task Simple

REACH: Rahm Emmanuel’s Asset Collection Hooks

GEOTAG: Getting Everyone’s Obscure True Address and Geolocation

HANGOUT: Handing All Nefarious Government Operatives Useful Tidbits

MASHUP: Mixing Assorted Schumer, Hunting Unwitting Patriots

FOLLOWERS: Feds Only Like Lots Of Willing, Emasculated, Robotic Slaves

TROLLS: Those Really are Obama’s Lawmen, Lying for the State

CLOUDCOMPUTING: Clapper’s Latest Outlandish and Unrestrained Dream of all Computer Operations Manipulated by Placing them Under The Interests of the National Government

FLASHMOB: FISA-Launched Assemblies Secretly Harnessed to Manhandle Objective Bystanders

LURKER: License to Unrepentant Roving Komputer Expert Rabble-rousers

AVATAR: A Vivacious Alterego That Averts Reality

WIKIS: We’re In Kolusion and Infiltrating Systematically

CHAT: Conversations Heard and Arranged by Troublemakers

RSS: Routed Straight to Stasi

BSD: Big Sis Department

CROWDSOURCING: Counting Reliably On Wisdom and Dollars Swiped from Others, Using Resourceful Cunning or Intrigues that Needle for Generosity
(Alternatively: Corralling and Recruiting Others to Waste Dollars and Scarce Opportunities in Uncompensated Risk to Co-create Idylls, Instituting Nothing Good)

SEO: Surreptitious Evidence Obtained

UGC: Usurped (Government’s) Content

WEBINAR: We’re Essentially Being Interrogated, the NSA is Always Recording

TAGCLOUD: Tallies Arranged for Government’s Clandestine Location Of Unbridled Dissidents

TRIBES: The Roundup Is Becoming Extremely Simple

You have been warned! Stay away from social media sites.

My advice: Learn the lost art of letter writing. In this age of universal surveillance, a stamped envelope in the mail is perhaps the only relatively secure way relate your thoughts over a distance without risk of interception. Oh by the way: Because of the new US Postal Service mail logging program, you should type the recipient’s name and address in both the center and upper left hand corner of the envelope. – JWR

Pat’s Product Review – Whitman Four Person Emergency Preparation Kit

I receive products weekly, to test for SurvivalBlog, so much so, that as of this writing, I’m still about four months out on trying to catch-up. And, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is that, I receive a product in the mail or UPS or FedEx, and when I open the box up, there is no letter or anything included with the product. So please, in the future, if you are going to send me a product to test, be so kind as to include some literature and a letter, with the products you send to me. And, perhaps a contact person, if I have questions!
 
The product under review today is simply called the 4 Person Emergency Preparation Kit  – and I had to spend some time on the Internet tracking down this company, or at least, the company that is selling this product. What we have is a sealed, red-colored, five gallon bucket, that is supposed to have survival supplies or preparations for 4 people, presumably, to help survive a disaster. The kit is advertised for 4 people – they also make a kit for one person. What I received was a kit clearly labeled for 4 people, however, it was missing a few items.
 
The bucket is supposed to contain  “A Centralized all in one, preparation kit designed by a team of U.S. Military and Homeland Security experts who consult on chemical, biological and nuclear risk management. This kit will help you prepare and protect for Catastrophic Weather Events. Epidemics and Terrorist, Protect your family from an emergency before it’s an emergency.” That is what is says on the web site.
 
The contents of the red bucket are supposed to be: a hand crank emergency radio with flashlight with hand crank cell phone charger, bio-hazard bag, four thermal emergency blankets, 4 rain ponchos, 10 function tool kit, 2 whistles, 4 dust masks, towelettes, work gloves and a roll of duct tape. There is also a hard cover, 224 page “Prepare For Disaster” guidebook. That’s it! Only problem was, my 4-person kit only came with one emergency blanket, one dust mask, one pack of moist towelettes, and a small first aid kit. Whoever packed this kit, didn’t pay attention to its intended use and what was supposed to go inside of it. And, as already mentioned, the red bucket is clearly marked that it is a 4 person emergency prep kit. And, there was no mention of a first-aid kit on the web site, but it came with one – a very small first-aid kit.
 
 
The 224-page “Prepare For Disaster” book is a good starter book, so this was a worthy addition to the kit. The hand crank radio/cell phone charger was also a nice touch, as is the bucket it all comes in. The dust masks work gloves, duct tape are also handy things to have around, too. Rain ponchos – also a good thing to include, as was the little tool kit and the emergency blankets – if they had actually included 4 of them, instead of one. I believe the idea behind this little red bucket kit, is to have this stuff on-hand, and ready for an emergency – only problem is, what if you had not opened this bucket beforehand, and when you actually needed it, opened to only to find, you were missing items – items that your family needed in an emergency? Not good!
 
I would also have added some freeze-dried foods to this bucket, if only enough for one or two days for a family of four! Of course, this is something you can add yourself. I think a water filter of some sort would be nice to have, too. You could use the bucket for collecting water, but you’d have no way of making the water safe to drink, without a water filter of some type. Like I said, this could be a starter kit, if everything that was in the bucket, was actually in the bucket – it wasn’t!
 
I’m not often disappointed by a product I receive for testing, and if something isn’t up to SurvivalBlog expectations, I don’t usually review it – I send it back – at my own expense. SurvivalBlog readers deserve only the best of the best, in my humble opinion. Now, while this all-in-one prep kit, isn’t a bad starter kit, I don’t believe it justifies the $89.95 asking price. And, what if there had been a genuine emergency, and my family needed the items that were suppose to have come in the bucket – and I opened it, only to find I was shorted some of the items? That would be disastrous if you ask me.
 
I didn’t know who to return this prep kit to, when I received it, the return address was torn-off the shipping box. And, as I mentioned at the onset of this review, I had a hard time finding out who sold this kit – the web address on the bucket didn’t exist – or else it was misprinted…I had to do a search to find this product. I’m not sure if “Whitman” is the manufacturer or just a company who bought this kit and resells it.
 
If you want a kit – a starter kit – I guess you could start with this one, but don’t believe this red bucket has all you need for your survival – it doesn’t! You need to add to it – add a lot of things to it. So, that’s my take on the 4 Person Emergency Preparation Kit. I’m not sure I believe this kit was developed  by U.S. Military and Homeland Security experts – just sounds like hype to my thinking. Then again, knowing our FedGov, it might well have been designed by those folks. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio