Letter Re: Micro-Gasification Stoves – Taking it to the Next Level

Jim:
Thanks again for the recent posting on my piece: Local Food and Energy from Top Lit Up Draft Micro-Gasification Stove. That was much appreciated!

Are you tracking woodgas powered vehicles?

You may have heard of it from WWII stories and FEMA manual.

The old systems worked in emergencies, but were not really practical for long term use.

Wayne Keith has a new book just out on practical applications, Have Wood Will Travel. In it are detailed instructions for building, operating, and maintaining a modern woodgas powered vehicle.

Wayne has tinkered his way into the first system that is practical (in areas with abundant wood or stemmy biomass) for modern fuel injected engines. It works okay in carbureted engines as well. He has been driving all over the US on wood power for almost 8 years now. Longest single trip, 7,000 miles, also holds the LSR for wood power at just under 80 mph. I have ridden with him at higher speeds, but in his first trip to Bonneville he mostly just learned a lot about the protocols. He can go a lot faster.

Auburn University did a study on his design running on gasoline and wood. His 318 Dodge Dakota gets better BTU-to-energy conversion from wood than from gasoline.

I will have a copy sent to one of your reviewers, if you will give me a mailing address.

When I joined the Driveonwood.com forum a little over a year ago, when there were 8 subscribers. Today there are over 1400. Their web site has the largest collection of woodgas info on the web. Woodgas has its addicts, I am one of them. I have an old farm truck, a 1984 F-250 with a 460 cubic inch motor that runs great on wood. I have a gooseneck hitch in it, because it has enough power to pull a trailer.

Seeing is believing, and I no longer believe the PhD-spouted myths about woodgas not having enough power to do useful work. The engine, originally built to run on high octane, sounds better running on woodgas than on any modern grade of pump petroleum.

For off grid electrical power generation, the wind doesn’t always blow, the sun doesn’t always shine, but smoke always rises.

Letter Re: The Human Appendix

Sir:
I have a medical question that I thought that maybe you could forward to Dr. Cynthia Koelker, your Medical Editor, on perhaps she could write an article.
 
My appendix was enflamed recently and they performed emergency surgery to remove it before it burst. My doctor said that his granddad, also a doctor, performed preventative surgery to remove his daughter’s (my doctor’s mom’s) appendix. He said that there is really no purpose for the appendix except to get infected and inflamed and burst. I agree that he is probably correct in this day and age, but when I asked the same question of my surgeon, he said that pandas have the largest appendix, and they live entirely on raw plant materials, that the appendix is to make it easier to digest plant materials.
 
So here are my questions:
1. What IS the purpose of the appendix in the human body?
2. In a survival setting, how would you insure keeping the appendix healthy, especially in climates where there is a long winter and thus, difficulty in obtaining fresh food? In hot climates? In asking this question, I am assuming that TEOTWAWKI has occurred, like 10 years ago, maybe I had a baby somewhere in there, there is no food save what I have grown, no modern devices, etc. So for people that are alive now, we can go get the surgery before it gets bad, to prevent the appendix getting sick. But how would I prevent the inflammation of the appendix of a future baby?
3. I haven’t experienced problems with the gall bladder, but how do you keep it healthy?
 
Thanks so much, – Anita L.

JWR Replies: Dr. Koelker is now writing a reply. That should be posted tonight.

Letter Re: Sodium Chloride IV Bag Expiry Dates

JWR,
In my military life I can relate the reason for the expiration date on the bag is due to the bag not the fluid.  Plastic is not impermeable.  The rationale is after the date of expiration enough time has passed to question the integrity of the fluid.  The purity of the fluid can be compromised.  If you started a line and pushed the fluid you have a increased risk of infection.  The fluid is perfectly good for oral use.  It doesn’t taste very good but in a pinch it works. – Ken L.

Letter Re: Storing Coconut Oil

Jim,
When I was in Costco this week, I noticed that they had Organic Coconut Oil. This coconut oil is a good storage fat because it is very shelf-stable. The manufacturer says it has a shelf life of two years, but a friend of mine told me that she had some that she stored in her basement for 6 years, and when she used it it was just fine. 

Coconut oil is definitely healthier for you than Crisco (which is hydrogenated vegetable oil) or hydrogenated lard (the lard you commonly find in the grocery store); we’ve all heard about the health issues associated with hydrogenated fats. Coconut oil is very heat-stable, and can be used for high-temperature cooking. It can also be used as a skin moisturizer, and it has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. 

It seems like an ideal storage item! – L.A.

JWR Replies: The health benefits of coconut oil are well known. I highly recommended it. In my Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course I described the quandary that many preppers face: Fats and oils are essential for nutrition, but they generally don’t store well. It is easy to find foods that store for a decade or more, but not so for fats and oils. The good news is shelf life of olive oil and coconut oil can be extended to ten years or perhaps more by storing them in a chest freezer.

Recipe of the Week:

KAF’s Five Fruit Bread

1 16 oz. can fruit cocktail
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 c melted butter
1/4 c toasted slivered almonds
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tblsp grated lemon peel

Drain the syrup from fruit into a measuring cup and add enough water to it to make 1 cup.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
Stir syrup into flour mixture along with the eggs, butter, and lemon peel.
Stir in fruit and almonds.
Pour into greased 9 x 5″ loaf pan.

Bake at 350 F for 1hr and 15 minutes.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Fruit Bread Recipes at AllRecipes.com

Bread Machine Fruit Loaf Recipes

 

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

John Michael Greer: The Hard Road Ahead. (A piece recommended by Jeremy M. in New Zealand.)

The new Dodd-Frank rules on collateral requirements for derivatives were scheduled begin in January, 2013. This legislation was passed in 2010, in reaction the 2008 Mortgaged Backed Securities (MBS) fiasco that had triggered the global credit market collapse of 2008. Perhaps this in part explains why the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve selected MBSes as their junque de jour for Quantitative Easing Round 3 (QE3) “out of thin air” purchases. MBSes will remain solid as long as Uncle Sugar keeps buying them, month in, and month out. I have some suspicions about the quality of the MBSes that are being bought up. So QE3 is propping up three sectors: the bond market (directly), the stock market (indirectly), and the real estate market (indirectly), and the derivatives casino (directly). How incredibly convenient for the folks on Wall Street. Your (inflated) tax dollars at work: boosting the bottom line at the brokerage houses. OBTW, any bets on the collateral level of the MBS paper that is being bought up? Hmmmmm? The Fed plans to buy up $40 billion worth of MBSes per month, indefinitely. OBTW, the derivatives collateral requirements are briefly explained in a Business Week article: A Shortage of Bonds to Back Derivatives Bets.

Items from The Economatrix:

Average Americans Are Feeling Pain of US Debt

Business Spending Improves as US Profits Grow

January Factory Orders Confirm Manufacturing Slump Continues

Odds ‘n Sods:

One of the newest advertisers over at our growing SurvivalRealty spin-off web site is Mark Twite Realty. Along with some larger parcels, they have listings for some bargain-priced mining claims and small rural properties in western Montana. Oh, BTW, the map of listings at SurvivalRealty is fully zoomable, and there is a new page featuring all properties and contacts in the American Redoubt.

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Reader T.T.C. sent: Mark Levin’s take on the current ammunition shortage.

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A tyranny alert: Christian, Please Wake Up! by Chuck Baldwin

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There is a lesson here: Cubans evade censorship by exchanging computer memory sticks, blogger says
Stay Connected

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Avalanche Lily liked this piece over at the excellent Paratus Familia blog: Ten Things to Do Until the Revolution

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 45 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), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

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.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) 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.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, 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.

Pre-TEOTWAWKI OPSEC, by P.J.

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Isaiah 39:5-7

God’s word to Hezekiah, king of Judah, through the prophet Isaiah immediately followed a dramatic sequence of events that twice should have led to Hezekiah’s death, but ends with his miraculous healing and a visit by Babylonian envoys bearing gifts and congratulations. Hezekiah welcomed these envoys gladly and, for some reason, decided to show them “his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.” Isaiah was not aware of the envoys or their grand tour, and upon discovering their presence began questioning the king about them and what they had seen. The king’s confession prompted Isaiah’s prophecy above, and so it was that some 100 years later the first wave of Babylonian invaders began to deport Jews from their Judean homeland into what became known as the Babylonian captivity.

My theological beliefs hold that God is sovereign in all things, and He used Hezekiah’s actions and the subsequent Babylonian invasion to ultimately point the Jewish people back to Him. I also believe Paul in his second letter to Timothy when he said “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16). It follows then that the Bible is replete with great examples of how we should live our lives daily, not just in a spiritual sense, but in a very practical sense. God used Hezekiah’s mistake as part of His ultimate plan of redemption, but that does not take away from the fact that Hezekiah made a very grave error in judgment by laying open all the possessions and capabilities of his kingdom to foreign visitors, ultimately making and giving justification to their later invasion.

So what lessons do you and I stand to learn from Hezekiah’s actions? Any student of history, and certainly any frequent reader of SurvivalBlog, should be intimately familiar with the concept, application, and importance of Operations Security (OPSEC). However, being familiar with OPSEC and putting it into practice are two very different topics. Today we face the same danger that Hezekiah faced. Relatively speaking, things are good for many of us in this day and age. We lead busy, active lives and while we know dangers exist, our busy lives have a way of lulling us to sleep and coaxing us to take our guard down because total chaos has been averted for yet another day. Just as you should not wait for a disaster to begin making use of your preparations and training, you should not wait to begin practicing OPSEC in your daily lives.

Where do you start? Any writing on OPSEC that tries to address the entire concept in a few short pages is being overly general and probably not very useful. With that in mind, I will try to focus on one specific aspect of OPSEC: the role of critical information in maintaining essential secrecy.

Let’s begin with two definitions:
Critical information is that information that is either 1) important to you successfully
achieving your objective or mission (i.e. your route to your retreat WTSHTF) or 2) information which may be of use to an actual or potential adversary (i.e. the fact that you have a deep larder when Wal-mart’s shelves are empty and never being restocked).
Essential secrecy is actually a condition that is achieved by denying critical information to actual or potential adversaries, through the combined means of traditional security (physical boundaries, guards, etc.) and OPSEC.

As preparedness-minded people, our goal is to maintain some type of essential secrecy. Note that there is a difference between maintaining essential secrecy and being paranoid. If you treat everyone in your life as a potential adversary, then you already have little hope of surviving, much less thriving, through TEOTWAWKI. This is where the often understated importance of community comes into play. It is a subject that I feel we do not emphasize often enough, but nevertheless, it is not the topic of this article.

We achieve and maintain our essential secrecy by protecting our critical information. In DoD parlance, it would be incorrect to refer to your critical information as “secrets,” but for our practical purposes it is fundamentally the same thing as few of us have a tiered system of classifying documents. To practice OPSEC is to keep your secrets secret. One of the first and most important steps in the OPSEC process is to identify information about you and your capabilities, activities, limitations (including vulnerabilities), and intentions (CALI) that you consider to be critical in nature. What is critical, you ask? Naturally, it depends.

Immediately, the size and location of your larder, the grid coordinates to your retreat, and your bug out route may come to mind. Yes, these are very important capabilities and activities, but do not stop there. Go back to the CALI acronym above. We like to focus on positives – the fact that we have made preparations and plans. Equally as critical to the things that we have done are the things we have yet to do – our limitations and vulnerabilities.

As you begin to formulate in your mind what information you would classify as critical, it is good to set a few parameters. First, you should initially limit your list to ten items. Over time and as your OPSEC practices improve, this list can expand. Trying to prioritize pieces of information in importance can become cumbersome, which brings us to the second point, prioritization. To those in your immediate circle who are like-minded and cooperatively preparing with you, your critical information will be common knowledge. However, as new members are brought into the fold, the extent of their knowledge of your preparation should be based on your critical information list and revealed incrementally as deemed appropriate by their proven level of commitment and upon approval of the primary members of your group. Next, the critical information list should be physical in form and its content and importance known by all in your group, with the understanding that its existence highlights the importance of keeping it secret from those outside. Why keep a hard copy? To serve as a reminder of what is at stake. If you cannot protect that document, what makes you think you can protect your family during a disaster? Finally, your critical information list is a living, breathing document. As your level of preparedness changes, so too should your critical information change. You should reexamine and update your critical information list quarterly, ideally at the conclusion of a rehearsal or training event (you are rehearsing and training for WTSHTF, right?).

The ability to protect your critical information is a result of the total process of OPSEC, rather than a few simple, one-time steps that will lead you down a mythical yellow brick road to essential secrecy. The fight to protect yourself is ongoing and ever-changing. This process only begins with identifying your critical information. In order to protect that, you must analyze threats against you, analyze your own vulnerabilities, assess the inherent risks, and implement measures to counter each of these areas. Each of these steps in the process have been the subject of countless pages of analysis and policy implementation, but for all the various means of implementing OPSEC, the first step will always be to identify your critical information. Without knowing your most important secrets, what use is it to plan painstaking measures to protect them?

To conclude, let’s go back to our analogy using King Hezekiah. We see that he exercised absolutely no discernment when it came to protecting the critical information and CALI of the Kingdom of Judah from his Babylonian guests. The foolishness of his actions, however, was all too clear to Isaiah when he learned of what had transpired, and God revealed to him the prophecy of what was to come for the people of Israel in the future as a result of these acts.

Now think about your own experience in taking steps to be prepared for the unforeseen. Whether you are preparing for a complete economic meltdown, an infrastructure-crippling CME event, or next year’s hurricane season, there are certainly things that are better left unsaid, especially to those who do not bother to reign in their own tongues or some who would undoubtedly turn to barbaric behavior as a result of their own failure to prepare. Perhaps you have even made an error in judgment of another’s character and trusted them with information that you now regret. Now is the time to begin systematically structuring your OPSEC plan so that it is an inherent, organic part of your preparedness plan, rather than a simple buzzword in your prepping vocabulary that you use on occasion. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” so spend this weekend identifying your critical information and start taking steps to protect it. Do not let the wisdom of the Bible as portrayed in Hezekiah’s mistake slip by unheeded.

Auction Update: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope to Benefit C.R.O.S.S. Ministries

CURRENT BID is $3,700 (Bid by Reader M.V.)

Simply e-mail us your bids. I will post regular updates on the bidding. The final deadline will be Midnight EST on Monday, March 11, 2013. Thanks for your generous bids in support of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries.

We are continuing a benefit auction of a brand new AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope. All proceeds (100% of your bid) will be donated to C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. (A very worthy Christian ministry that is sharing the Gospel of Christ in South Sudan. Their outreach method is unique: They are teaching rural villagers tactical marksmanship, water purification, and firefighting skills, free of charge.)

The monocular is one of these. (The same model that we use here at the Rawles Ranch.) These night vision scopes normally retail for around $3,600. (Although Ready Made Resources sells them at the discounted price of $2,695.) This monocular was kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, in cooperation with Night Ops Tactical.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Chris P. spotted an item of interest to ATV owners: Polaris introducing flat-proof “airless” tires.

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Do You Count As an Extremist ‘Patriot’? A Closer Look at the SPLC Report. Readers are warned that the SPLC specializes in besmirching almost anyone who is right of center. They often attempt to make anyone who does not follow their collectivist agenda looking like a neo-Nazi or KKK member. This is a form of gray propaganda. Their key weapon is guilt by association. They even attempt to cast guilt by non-association. That is what they recently did with me.

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UK deer numbers spiraling out of control, scientists say. What sissybritches! There is a solution to the problem. It is called venison–and quite tasty.

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A UK site rates the Top Ten Threats Envisioned by Preppers

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Reader G.T.J. wrote to mention that LeftistAgendaPedia has apparently declared Don McAlvany an Unperson.You see, to the Wikipedian Elite, the fictional Papa Smurf is notable enough to have his own Wiki bio page. And so are academic nobodies like James Lentini. Oh, and let’s not overlook the all-important Wedding dress of Kate Middleton. But in contrast, some published conservative economists are “non-notable“. (All non-Keynsians are immediately suspect.) FWIW, Wikipedia’s biography about Yours Truly went through a couple of unsuccessful Articles For Deletion (AFD) campaigns. But they DID successfully delete the Wiki pages for two of my novels, claiming that there was “consensus” that they were “non-notable“, even though they had both been on the New York Times bestsellers list. To clarify the convoluted logic of the Wiki world: In the eyes of Wikipedia’s editors “Bestseller status does not confer notability.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:1-16 (KJV)

Notes from JWR:

March 9th is the birthday of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to ever travel in space. (He was born 9 March 1934. He died 27 March 1968 in the crash of a MiG-15-UTI fighter.)

—

Today we present another entry for Round 45 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), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

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.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) 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.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, 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.