Letter Re: Barnhardt Capital Management Has “Gone Galt” – MF Global Claims It’s First Major Victim

James:
We need more business leaders like Ann Barnhardt! As reported over at Zero Hedge, Ann Barnhardt, President of Barnhardt Capital Management (a cattle and grain hedge brokerage) writes an excellent letter to her clients explaining why she is shutting down her business and exiting the markets altogether. She cites the recent bankruptcy of MF Global as the last straw, and predicts the imminent downfall of brokerage firms and commodities dealers in the derivatives market.

This was mentioned on Rush Limbaugh’s show as her “Going Galt” speech, in reference to Ayn Rand’s character John Galt in Atlas Shrugged.

See: “BCM Has Ceased Operations Part 1 and Part 2”. (Linked at Zero Hedge.)

Some highlights from Ann Barnhardt’s letter:

“The reason for my decision to pull the plug was excruciatingly simple: I could no longer tell my clients that their monies and positions were safe in the futures and options markets – because they are not.

The futures and options markets are no longer viable. It is my recommendation that ALL customers withdraw from all of the markets as soon as possible so that they have the best chance of protecting themselves and their equity.

In short, the problem is a SYSTEMIC problem, not merely isolated to one firm.

Finally, I will not, under any circumstance, consider reforming and re-opening Barnhardt Capital Management, or any other iteration of a brokerage business, until Barack Obama has been removed from office AND the government of the United States has been sufficiently reformed and repopulated so as to engender my total and complete confidence in the government, its adherence to and enforcement of the rule of law, and in its competent and just regulatory oversight of any commodities markets that may reform. So long as the government remains criminal, it would serve no purpose whatsoever to attempt to rebuild the futures industry or my firm, because in a lawless environment, the same thievery and fraud would simply happen again, and the criminals would go unpunished, sheltered by the criminal oligarchy.“

Letter Re: Urban Evacuation–When The Plan is No Plan At All

Dear Jim:
I am writing in response to the recent posting entitled: Urban Evacuation–When The Plan is No Plan At All.

Several years ago when driving North out of Baltimore City, I noticed some blue and white signs which said:  “Emergency Evacuation Route”  They had a big blue arrow pointing North and nothing else.  The next time we were in the City I began looking for the signs.  I found them and began following them all the way.  They ran for miles out of the heart of the City and then just stopped … somewhere near the City line.  But, the one thing I notice for sure is that they were pointing directly toward my area.

So, I’ve looked up Baltimore’s Emergency Plan.

Here it is:  “Where do the evacuation signs posted in the City lead? The evacuation signs will lead you out of the city – They do not lead to bomb shelters.”  The web site is now almost 10 years old.  The link to Maryland Office of Domestic Preparedness is not working.  As far as I am able to tell, the “plan” is to send Baltimore’s residents out into the surrounding counties … and nothing else.  Now, there were approximately 621,000 people in Baltimore City for the 2010 Census.  There are only two counties that surround Baltimore City – Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County.  The Chesapeake Bay is to the east.

So, Baltimore City is planning to send a large portion of those gentle, refined city folk to my quiet neighborhood.  The funny thing is that people from this area are for the most part unaware of the signs – after all, for the most part, we avoid going into the City.  Should a significant disaster occur that warranted City evacuation, we in the suburbs would definitely be in trouble.  I was worried about two extra places at the table for Thanksgiving dinner.  Just where am I going to put that approximate 150,000 uninvited guests? – Grace

Economics and Investing:

Fed Now Largest Owner of U.S. Government Debt—Surpassing China. (Of $15 Trillion worth of debt, now 11% of that much, or $1.67 trillion.)

Ann H. sent this: States that Will Suffer the Most in the Event of a EU Collapse. (Yet again, The American Redoubt is looking better and better! )

Why Kyle Bass Hoards Nickels. (Thanks to K.M. for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Jumbo Mortgages May Be Next in Line to Default

I Dumped My Bank

The Assault On Financial Privacy Goes Parabolic

European debt crisis drives gold rush

Odds ‘n Sods:

Kevin P. sent an article about another arrest for an already disgraced member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) “crime fighting” pressure group. Since so many mayors from Michael Bloomberg’s group are either under indictment or have already been convicted on a plethora of felony and lesser charges, I propose that we form our own lobbying group. Since Mayor Bloomberg has proposed such cockamamie legislation, I think that we should call our new group Citizens Against Criminal Anti-freedom Mayors And Mayors In Exile (CACAMAMIE).

   o o o

Reader George S. notes: ” You know those $10 keychain cameras? They can be combined with a radio-controlled model aircraft to offer some interesting possibilities. Check out the videos embedded at this site devoted to the components and construction of such units, and their operation: The REAL (#11) HD Key Cam Thread.”

   o o o

Somalia Piracy Spurs Private Navy to Start Within Five Months. (Thanks to Kevin S. for the link.)

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S.D. mentioned that there are now more than a dozen free Morse code training apps available for the Android phone, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Just do a web search…

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) 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, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) 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.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 37 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Get Informed, by Todd X.

I still remember the conversation.  I was a freshman in high school, but I had the idea of  taking auto mechanics during summer school.  Dad told me that he would always pay for me to take a class because in the end, knowledge can never be taken away from you.  I didn’t take the class. I can’t remember why.  But his statement and philosophy has stayed with me forever.  Although it sounds cheesy, I consider myself a lifelong learner.  So, when I entered the world of prepping, I combined my love of learning with what I know of technology and learned a lot fast.

Information is growing at exponential rates ( see – http://www.emc.com/leadership/digital-universe/expanding-digital-universe.htm).  Lucky for us, that the exponential growth of digital media, includes information that is greatly valuable to preppers.  It used to be that you would have to take a class, buy a book or find someone with knowledge of a skill to learn and grow yourself in the arena of the “lost arts.”  But that is not the case anymore.  Turn on your laptop, get an internet connection and you are well on your way to learning the knowledge behind valuable skills to get you through any crisis that might be headed your way.

Blogs & Readers

There are so many great blogs out in the blogosphere.  And because so many good blogs are linked to each other, in no time, you can have a serious amount of prepping, survival, bushcraft, and homesteading blogs bookmarked in your browser. 

So, the unknowing prepper will start to visit each of these blogs on a regular basis to check for new content and information that will help in the quest to self-sufficiency.  However, traveling from blog to blog on a regular basis will get tiring and old, especially if you don’t find any new articles. The tendency after a while might be to start skipping out on checking your favorite blogs.  But then, you might miss out on some great information.  This is where blog readers come in.

A blog reader or RSS reader, captures the RSS feed from a blog.  The reader then displays every blog or RSS feed in one convenient place.  Blogs that have been updated or shown to be updated show all in one place and allows you to quickly browse through the new topics and select the articles that are truly of interest to you.

There are many readers out there.  But my favorite right now is Google Reader.  It is easy to use and you can get your feeds anywhere you have an internet connection, including your mobile phone.  Check out this link to see a quick video that explains Google Reader – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSPZ2Uu_X3Y .  And, you can visit this link for a short how-to-video on how to use Google Reader – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltttw5yORv8  NOTE: Google Reader has just been updated.  The video describes the old Google Reader.  However, the new Google Reader functions the same.

If you don’t like Google products, there is a free piece of software that I used before Google.  It is a stand-alone reader that downloads to your desktop.  It is a little dated and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but it will keep your anonymity.  The program is called Bottom Feeder. There are also others.  A quick search will point you in the right direction.

I created two videos on blogs for a teacher staff development a while back that might be beneficial on searching for and understanding blogs as well.  Part 1 – http://www.screencast.com/users/tsepulveda/folders/Jing/media/ed7d0e6d-6c1d-4daf-9e6b-d9007e76df8d 

Part 2 – http://www.screencast.com/users/tsepulveda/folders/Jing/media/ee4313ff-3966-4eb8-8538-5ce2ebbc3922

YouTube

I have to admit, there are times I feel like a prepping noob.  But for me, this next technology is a no-brainer!  YouTube is a great place to get informed on specific skills for prepping.  For instance, I didn’t grow up hunting and fishing with my dad, so I don’t even know the first place to start when it comes to skinning an animal or gutting a fish.  But I can see it on Youtube!  I can see it over and over and even ask the author or uploader of the video a question.  The great thing is that many of the people who upload videos to Youtube have the heart of a teacher and choose to do so to help others along.

One video that was very helpful to me was how to use a mylar bag for food storage.  Now, I know that this skill is basic common knowledge for most, but I had never done it.  I easily found articles and even pictures on how to do it, but it wasn’t the same as seeing someone do it right in front of my eyes.  I felt comfortable that I wouldn’t make huge mistakes when my bags finally came in….And I didn’t.

Once you find a great prepping video, take some time to click on the uploader’s name and checkout their “channel.”  They might have a ton of other videos that will help you in your prepping.  For an example, check out Southern Prepper’s channel.

Twitter

Some of you might be wondering, “why in the world is Twitter included here!”  Most of you would be right to think this.  I don’t necessarily care to read 140 characters worth of someone telling me their every move.  “I’m at the store #groceries.”  “I’m in the #dairy section.”  “I’m checking out #plastic bags.”  That’s not what Twitter is about.

Twitter is about sharing articles, blogs and other information that you might not have otherwise seen.  For example, let’s say that I’m following @prepperwebsite.  The Prepper Website posts a link to an article on a new blog that I have never heard of before.  The article is great and I realize that the other posts on this blog are very valuable too.  I might add that blog to my Google Reader.

Other information that might be shared might be news that is not being run by the mainstream media.  It is a way of communication that has reshaped how people communicate. 

Another thing you might want to do is to follow a trend or a search word.  Many people who use Twitter include hashtags to their tweets.  A hashtag is a way to set-off a certain term or idea on Twitter.  So if I post something about prepping, I might include the hash tag #prepper in my tweet. 

Go try it!  Go to www.twitter.com and type in #preppertalk in the search box. Try #preparedness, #foodstorage and #survival too!  Try anything that you are interested in.  For something to show up in Google’s search engine takes a few days.  However, the search results in Twitter are real time and you can find new information quickly. 

A word of warning – When you use Twitter in this way, it can be addictive.  You can find yourself searching, linking and reading so much information that you lose track of what you were there for.

Check out this video I did on using Twitter for Lifelong Learning.

Podcasts

Lastly, I will touch on podcasts.  Podcasts are audio posts.  When someone creates a podcast, they upload it for anyone on the internet to listen to.  Most of the time, you can go directly to someone’s web site and listen to the podcast.  However, that means that you have to be at your computer, or at least close to it.  But just like there are blog readers, there are podcast catchers. 

Podcast catchers work exactly the same way as blog readers do.  You have to find the RSS feed and put it in your podcast catcher.  After you do that, the podcast is downloaded directly to your hard drive where you can put it on your Ipod or mp3 player.  Now if you have an Ipod and Itunes, this is a pretty easy setup.  You just have to search for podcasts in your desired field of interest. The podcast will be “placed” or “sync’d” with your Ipod when you connect it.  If you have an mp3 player, it is a matter of going to the download folder and transferring it to your mp3 player, usually a drag and drop feature as most mp3 players are recognized as another portable drive on your computer.

To see an example video of a podcast catcher in action, click here – http://www.screencast.com/t/YWVhODNl .

To download “Juice,” the podcast catcher, go here: http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/

To search for podcasts, you can visit – http://www.podcastalley.com/index.php .

Recently, I have left my mp3 player behind for podcasts and just use my smart phone.  I recently upgrade to an android phone and downloaded the App “Beyond Pod.”  I search for my favorite survival podcasts and listen to them on the way to work through my car stereo system.  It is so convenient.

In Closing

To maximize your prepping efforts, you need to be informed.  Information is powerful.  Information is necessary.  And today, information is abundant.  You just need to know where to look. 

One last word, there is a difference between book knowledge and knowledge that is based on experience.  After you find the information that you are searching for, you have to put it into practice.  For instance, all the knowledge of gardening or skinning a rabbit doesn’t mean anything until you get your hands dirty…believe me, I know!

One last last word, a natural outflow of my learning has been my new web site.  I started http://www.prepperwebsite.com two months ago and the response has been great.  I read every article, listen to every podcast and watch every video I link.  I also monitor every web site I link through Google Reader.  The site is a great place to get a varied amount of prepping information in one place.

Letter Re: Guns for a Tight Budget Minimalist Survivalist

James Wesley:

I agree wholeheartedly with your recommendation to seek affordable training through the Appleseed program. My wife and I were privileged to participate in the Appleseed event presented at the NRA Whittington Center a couple of years ago, and found it to be excellent marksmanship and safety training as well as a wonderful historical learning experience. At the end of the program, the range master told the story of a “dangerous old man” in the Revolution, and presented Rifleman patches to me and another “seasoned citizen”. One of the many Boy Scouts in attendance blurted out: “Wow, look, two dangerous old men!”

I also agree with the recommendation to consider a WWII era bolt action military rifle as a cost-effective Main Battle Rifle. However, such weapons, while powerful, are also heavy, bulky and may be difficult for a new shooter to master. I’d like to propose some other ideas:

For a primary learning, small game hunting and “survival” tool, I’d propose a semi-automatic Ruger 10/22 rifle. I’d look for a used rifle in good condition, which should be available for under $200. A used rifle may be found with a scope already mounted for little additional expense, although a scope is not really a necessity. A simple nylon strap sling is an important accessory, as are extra magazines. I’d recommend sticking with original Ruger factory magazines rather than after-market, for best reliability. The 10/22 will function fine with inexpensive “bulk box” Federal or Remington .22LR ammo available at Wal-Mart and other discount outlets. I’ve had better luck with the Federal brand, personally. A 10/22 is easily customized if desired, but is perfectly capable in it’s standard format. My wife used a 10/22 with an upgraded trigger and Tech Sights (http://www.tech-sights.com/ruger3.htm) military style aperture sights at Appleseed. While a .22 caliber rifle is not ideal for self defense, it is light, easy to carry, accurate and puts out 10-25 rounds (depending on magazine capacity) very quickly. In a self-defense scenario, just remember to aim carefully and shoot till the threat is stopped, which is good advice whatever the weapon used. I personally believe that this is the first weapon any new shooter should acquire.

Next, for personal defense, I would recommend a handgun in a caliber of at least .38 Special. While a semi-automatic Glock or similar weapon in 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP might be ideal, they are still in the $450+ range, and can be somewhat complicated for new shooters to learn to operate. In this case, I would keep an eye out at pawn shops, gun shops and gun shows for a used but not abused Ruger Security Six, Service Six or Speed Six 4″ barreled revolver in .38 Special or .357 Magnum (the .357’s will also chamber and fire .38 Special ammo, which is less powerful, lower recoil and less expensive for training ammo). Smith and Wesson .38 Special or .357 Magnum revolvers can also be found at fairly reasonable prices, particularly “police trade in” Models 64, 65, 10 or 13, as well as the Ruger GP100 in .357. I’d recommend the medium framed, six shot, 4″ barreled service weapons over a smaller five shot “pocket” type revolver. I wouldn’t overlook a good deal on a six shot Ruger or S&W with a 2.75″ or 3″ barrel, although they usually command a premium over 4″ models. I found a dirty but very functional Ruger Service Six stainless steel 4″ .38 Special at a gun show for $225. Once it was cleaned and polished, it looks and functions like new, is very accurate and is one of our primary “house guns”. Service size revolvers like these were the main sidearm of law enforcement and security officers for many years, and still provide a simple, durable, reliable and inexpensive personal defense weapon for a new shooter. The heft and barrel length are sufficient to dampen recoil to a manageable level, while providing the accuracy necessary to learn to shoot well. Ammunition cost can be moderated by using the most inexpensive .38 Special lead or full metal jacketed ammo for training, and buying more powerful .38 Special +P (or .357) hollow points for self defense use. A wide variety of ammunition is available in either caliber and such revolvers are generally reliable with all types of ammunition of the proper caliber. A 4″ barreled service revolver can still be carried concealed in a well made “pancake” or “belt-slide” high ride belt holster, and rapid reloads can be facilitated using HKS or Safariland Speedloaders or Bianchi or Tuff Products “speed strips”. Again, it’s important to remember that handguns are low powered weapons and “one-shot stops” are basically a myth, so accurate shot placement and multiple shots must be expected to stop a threat. For a definitive primer on shooting a double action revolver, see this excellent new book by Grant Cunningham: Gun Digest Book of the Revolver.

For hunting and self-defense, another inexpensive and versatile weapon to consider is the 12 gauge shotgun. Available ammunition ranges from relatively light recoiling “bird shot” loads up to heavier recoiling buckshot loads for self defense to very stout recoiling rifled slug loads for deer, bear or other large animal hunting. Do not use bird shot loads for self defense, as the small, light pellets simply don’t penetrate reliably enough to reach vital organs. I recommend the “tactical” 2-1/2″ eight-pellet 00 buckshot loads as best for self defense, while reserving bird shot loads for practice and bird hunting. Used Remington and Mossberg pump action shotguns (generally with a capacity of three to five rounds) should be available for under $200. An even less expensive and simpler alternative is a single shot, break open shotgun such as one made by H&R. These should be available used for around $100. Be aware that either version, but particularly the lighter single shot, will exhibit fierce recoil with the heavier self defense loads. For survival use, a simple sling is a useful accessory, along with a butt stock mounted “ammo cuff” or a receiver mounted (pump version only) “side saddle” ammo carrier to hold extra ammunition. Barrel length should be no shorter than 18.1″ to remain legal in the U.S. Many pump action models have replaceable barrels, allowing the user to switch between a longer barrel for bird hunting and a shorter barrel for self defense. Consider the “youth models” also, which generally have a barrel length of 20-22″ and a shorter butt stock, which make them light and handy to carry and use, as well as being a better fit for smaller statured shooters. My son, now a grown man, grew up shooting a single shot H&R youth model shotgun, and can still make amazing wing shots with that little gun! See the YouTube video of Clint Smith for his ideas on using a simple, inexpensive shotgun for self-defense. I highly recommend Clint Smith’s series of videos as training tools for a new shooter interested in self defense.

Finally, in lieu of a bolt action or semi-automatic battle rifle, I’d suggest that a new shooter consider looking for a good used lever action .30-30, either a Marlin 336 or Winchester 94 model. You can sometimes find old “house brand” versions of the Marlin, such as the Montgomery Ward “Western Field” at very inexpensive prices. I personally prefer the Marlin 336. These rifles are smaller, lighter, quicker into action and easier to carry than a WWII bolt action rifle. The .30-30 cartridge is superior ballistically to the 7.62x39mm AK-47 round while exhibiting lower recoil than the larger WWII rounds such as the 7.62x54R, and is available virtually anywhere rifle ammo is sold. The lever action rifle can be a very viable personal defense tool as well as a big game hunting tool, and has the advantage of not being a “military” weapon that might bring undue attention from authorities. As with the shotgun, a buttstock mounted ammo cuff and a simple sling are useful accessories. For personal defense, I don’t recommend mounting a scope, although scope mounting is simple on the Marlin version. See Clint Smith’s video on “Learn to Use the Gun You Have”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzXR24J1wgE.

There are many different opinions on this subject, and you’ve just read some of mine. I’d like to emphasize that it is not a question of what is the “best” weapon, but what weapons can you afford to purchase and provide with adequate ammunition in order to learn to shoot them well enough to defend yourself if necessary. Don’t obsess over the “power” of the particular ammunition or how many rounds of ammunition your weapon can spew out. Concentrate on learning to operate your weapon reliably while placing however many rounds available on target accurately and consistently. These suggestions will allow you to achieve this goal without spending too much money, and provide you with a lot of fun in the bargain! – S.M.O.

Letter Re: The Information Snowball

Mr. Rawles,
Thank you for your blog site. Sorry to add to the “snowball” burden but when building a library make sure the paper used is not acid-based or in a few years it will all turn to dust. Use alkaline paper or “Archival” paper only. This will make the information available for many generations. See the Wikipedia article discussing the matter.

Numerous companies sell their alkaline and archival paper on-line and it is available in larger office stores. Also a chemical test pen is available that will test whether a given sheet of paper is acid or alkaline is available.

I have no connection with any manufacturer or seller of these items. Given the invasion of chinese counterfeit products it might be prudent to use this pen to check papers that purport to be alkaline/archival, just to be sure.

Also. If the papers are to be stored in plastic protectors make sure the plastic is polypropylene. Some plastics emit chemicals that break down paper fibers quickly, leaving nothing but fragments after a few years. The basic rule is if you can smell it, it will destroy the paper. Polypropylene is odorless and harmless to paper. Also many office supply stores sell archival-quality protectors labeled as such.

And Mr. Rawles. The prepper movement is maturing. Instead of people attempting to gather all this information individually and on their own you should start a prepper version of Wikipedia or something similar and make it available for download. It is always the details that kill, and it would be a shame for so many otherwise survivable individuals to fail simply because they are missing a small bit of information that could have been available. – GMAN

Economics and Investing:

More Friday FDIC Follies: Regulators close small banks in Iowa, Louisiana for total of 90 bank failures in 2011

Debt Crisis Contagion: The Euro Zone’s Deadly Domino Effect

It’s All About Gold Now

How Can The America People Ever Trust Congress Again After Learning Of The Rampant Insider Trading That Has Been Going On?

Items from The Economatrix:

Real Estate:  Why Home Prices Won’t Bottom Out

Paul Drockton: MF Global and Derivatives Disinformation

Student Loan Default Rates Surging Largely Due to For-Profit College Expansion

Foreclosure Crisis Only Halfway Over

Odds ‘n Sods:

My old friend Rob L. wrote to mention: “A reminder to pass on to your readers in the U.S. that they only have about six weeks left to purchase Primatene Mist Inhaler(s) over the counter. After December 31, 2011 they will no longer be sold [even with a prescription.] As most of you know, this is an Epinephrine inhaler and can be used for any type of anaphylaxis. Cost is around $21.” JWR Adds: Other inhalers still on the market will require a prescription. Am I now to feel safer on January 1st, knowing that there is an infinitesimally smaller amount of CFCs out there, “destroying the ozone layer”? (I’ll have to avert my gaze if I see an asthma sufferer collapsed and gasping for breath. It is all for the Greater Good, we are told…)

   o o o

Science panel: Get ready for extreme weather. (Thanks to Sue C. for the link.)

   o o o

G.G. flagged this: Antibiotic-resistant infections spread through Europe

   o o o

Pit Bulls Slaughter 42 Goats. (Credit to F.G. for the link.)

   o o on

I heard that Safecastle has extended their 25% off Mountain House sale until November 21st. They offer free shipping, a wide selection and competitive pricing, be sure to place your order soon!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.” – Romans 1:8-9 (KJV)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) 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, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) 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.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 37 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Information Snowball, by Scott T.

My wife and I have just recently started prepping (about a year now) and were amazed to find out how little we knew, in regards to living a self sustaining lifestyle/homesteading.  We had recently moved from our big house in the suburbs where farm animals weren’t allowed, to a secluded 5 acre parcel just outside of a small rural town. We, in this troubled time are in the midst of trying to build a cabin (cash as we go) while preparing for The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI).  We started storing food while learning to garden with our newly purchased heirloom seeds.  My wife and I built a chicken coop which now houses 13 hens that are laying about ten eggs a day.  We have found our selves searching the internet constantly for information and soon a thought had occurred to me, if we lose the nternet, we are ruined!  I suddenly realized that information storage was just as important as food storage.  We have all this wheat, sugar, salt, beans etc..  But we don’t know how to turn it into edible foods!  Thus I began saving web pages on almost everything that had to do with cooking and gardening,  etc.. but the more I searched the more I realized I needed to know.  I bought a Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs, then found myself wondering how I would store so much meat without a freezer?  That led me to another purchase of a book on how to build a smokehouse and cure your own meats. 

All of this has turned into a “snowball effect” on information gathering, as soon as I learn something new, I realize the need to learn something else.  At first I began to save the web pages on my computer (file save as, for most browsers) knowing that I had a back up generator and even if the internet was down I could access them.  I created file folders on my computer such as cooking, gardening, chickens, pigs, automotive, etc… and began to fill them with any pertinent articles that I came across on the internet. Then my sister emailed me an article about solar flares and EMPs.  Argghh!  Now, we are going to really be ruined, how are we going to protect our vital information?  The next day my wife returned home from shopping and handed me two 3-ring binders with the plastic sheet protecters. I know how much printer ink cost these days, but if the founders of the library of Alexandria had an Epson840 do you think they would have quibbled about ink prices?    Who knows what the repercussions were for the loss of all that information.  In a TEOTWAWKI situation we need to protect our vital information.  Thus, I began the long process of printing all my articles and putting them into the little sheet protectors.  My wife and I made a book on gardening and one on cooking.  

This giant information snowball then had a strange side effect, it collided with our survival supplies list and actually began to dictate it.  The recipes we had downloaded called for ingredients that weren’t in our food storage.  The growing season at our altitude wasn’t long enough to accommodate some of our heirloom seeds therefore we had to research how to extend our growing season (we plan on building cold frames next year).  We had no idea on how to pump water out of our well in a grid down situation.  Until we came across a SurvivalBlog.com writing contest round five Winning article “How to Build an Inertial Well Slow Pump for Grid Down Emergencies” by TruthFirst.  You can bet that those articles will be added to our ever expanding survival book.  It is not enough however to just store articles without reading them.  You don’t want to wait until the SHTF to read an article only to find that the article requires an ingredient, part or component that you don’t have.  We have found it is best to start to try and live as self sustainable as we can now.  That way we can learn from our mistakes without the serious consequences those same mistakes would have in TEOTWAWKI situation.

I would like to share with you how our information storage got started in order to give you an example of what you might store.  Keep in mind that everyone’s survival plan is different, therefore everyone’s information storage needs will be as well.  You might have different food tastes; specialized diet requirements; geographical location; or particular medical conditions which you will need to plan for.  Our survival plan and information storage focuses on self-sustaining living since we all ready have our own property away from the city.  First, we started by identifying some of the basic needs necessary for survival.  Let’s name a few such as air, water, shelter, food, and security.  Now, lets take food as an example and break it down further into some sub-categories:

1. Food

A. Growing your own food
                        1)Gardening
                        2)Heirloom Seeds vs hybrids
                        3)Climate Zones
                        4)Harvesting
                        5)Storage
                                    a)Canning
                                                1.Pressure Canner
                                                2.Water Bath Canner
                                                3.Jars, Rings and Lids
                                                4.Pectin
                                                5.Canning Salt
                                                6.Canning Books/Recipes
                                                7.Heat Sources
                                    b)Root Cellar

B. Raising Your Own Meat

                            1)Pigs
                            2)Chickens
                                        a)Various articles saved on how to raise chickens
                                        b)Various articles saved on how to butcher chickens
                                        c)How to store chicken
                                                    1.Freezer – added Foodsaver to survival supplies
                                                    2.Added recipe for canned chicken to cookbook

    I don’t want to bore you anymore with a dull outline as that could go on forever,  as you can see learning one thing can cause the need to learn something else.  I also don’t want you to think that we sit around outlining all night either.  We just start doing new things, like growing potatoes, which lead to us putting articles in our gardening book such as how to grow potatoes, how to harvest potatoes, then one day we were sitting there with like 300lbs of potatoes which led us to adding an article to our gardening book about how to store potatoes which added burlap sacks to our survival list. We downloaded some information about how to make a root cellar. We also canned  20 quarts of potatoes, so we added a recipe for processing potatoes to our cookbook. My wife then added a delicious potato soup recipe.  Another example is since we planted too late this year we had to research how to extend our growing season.  Thisin turn added an article to our gardening book on how to build cold frames, which led to the discovery of these really cool hinges with nitrogen filled cylinders that open and close the vent automatically (www.solarventworks.com).  We then found another article about how to get your green tomatoes to ripen and added it to our gardening book.   

                In closing, I would just like to say that there is no cookie cutter program for survival and that buying a bunch of random survival supplies only gives you a false sense of security.  Knowledge is the key to survival!  Start a gardening book and a cookbook. Try living off your food stores and see how many recipes you actually need, then print them off and add them to your book.   You will be amazed at how many ingredients you are missing, then add those to your food stores.  Learning how to survive takes years, it is not something that happens overnight. Don’t wait till the SHTF it will be too late! Try learning self-sustaining skills today.  Take that knowledge and store it in some three-ring binders, even if you think you will remember it.  The three-ring binders make a great reference, not only for yourself, but if something were to happen to you, your spouse, children, and group will have a wealth of knowledge to draw from.  Currently, my wife and I only have the Cookbook and Gardening Book.  However, lately I have been thinking about all the other knowledge we could need in a survival situation.  Here are a few ideas for our next books:

    1. A Maintenance Book filled with repair manuals for my vehicles, generator,chainsaws, tractors Etc… That could lead to a spare parts list like air filters, spark plugs, bar oil Etc…
    2. An alternate power book with information on how to wire solar panels and micro hydro that could lead to a basic supplies list like inverter, panels, wire and batteries.  Even if you cant afford the supplies at least you would have the knowledge necessary    to hook up a system.  In an absolute TEOTWAWKI situation it’s quite possible that you could  scavenge batteries from abandoned cars for your battery bank.

    The list goes on and on, create your own knowledge books and share your ideas on the SurvivalBlog.com forum.  Maybe collectively we can store enough knowledge to keep us from reverting back to the Stone Age.  Remember information gathering has a snowball effect.