Pat’s Product Review: Buffalo Bore Ammunition

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I like it, when an ammo maker isn’t afraid to experiment, or push the envelop a bit, especially in handgun calibers. Let’s face it, given a choice, when things go bad, it’s better to have some kind of .223 Remington, 7.62×39 or .308 Winchester rifle in your hands. However, that’s not always possible, so we are “stuck” carrying some kind of handgun, and it’s usually carried concealed, for self-defense purposes. If I can get a little boost in power from my handguns, then I’m certainly going to take a close look at doing so.

SurvivalBlog readers have seen me mention Buffalo Bore Ammunition a number of times in my articles. I’ve only been shooting their ammo for eights months or so, as compared to some other big-name ammo companies. However, I’m extremely impressed with what I’m seeing coming out of Buffalo Bore these days. When Buffalo Bore was started, back in 1997, Tim Sundles, who owns and operates Buffalo Bore, was only making big bore loads, like heavy .44 Magnum and the like. He wasn’t making ammo for most handgun calibers, however that has all changed, and for the better.

One thing I like about Buffalo Bore is the fact that Tim Sundles, actually tests his ammo in real guns – not pressure test barrels. What better way to get a true reading of what ammo will do, than by testing it in real guns? Buffalo Bore ammo isn’t for all handguns, be sure to read the warnings on the Buffalo Bore web site, as to which calibers or loads shouldn’t be used in certain guns. The .40 S&W +P load that Sundles puts together shouldn’t be used in a straight-from-the-box Glock. The load is hot, and Glocks don’t have fully supported chambers – I’ve had some .40 S&W loads let loose in some of my Glocks chambered in .40 S&W. FWIW, it was not Buffalo Bore loads, rather reloads from UltraMax ammunition. Luckily, neither myself nor my gun were damaged – but it was a wake-up call, to be sure. I refuse to use any UltraMax ammo in any of my guns any longer. I contacted UltraMax several times about this, and never received a reply – that tells me a lot about them – they apparently don’t care! Tim Sundles tells me that the 4th Generation Glocks have a better chamber, but it’s still not fully supported. So, if you are intent on shooting Buffalo Bore .40 S&W +P loads in your Glock, then have the barrel replaced with one that has a fully supported chamber.

I’ve never been all that thrilled with the .380 ACP as a self-defense round, at least not as my main gun in that caliber. I readily admit that I like the micro .380s that are on the market, and they make a dandy back-up gun, to whatever my main gun might be that I’m carrying. Still, the .380 is marginal as a stopper if you ask me. I now carry Buffalo Bore 90 grain .380 JHP +P rounds in my Ruger LCP, and these babies let you know that you have something there that will get the bad guy’s attention. This load is screaming out of a little Ruger LCP at around 1,150 f.p.s. with a muzzle energy of around 270 foot pounds. We’re talking energy around that of some .38 Special loads.

Buffalo Bore also makes Full Metal Jacket .380 loads, for those who want a little more penetration in this round, as well as an all-lead round. I note on the Buffalo Bore web site, that they are now offering the .380 ACP round with the Barnes solid Hollow Point load – this should penetrate a bit more than the standard JHP round, without losing any weight or having the bullet come apart. I haven’t tested this load yet, but I will.

Many folks carry a 9mm handgun of some type, most like the idea of having a lot of rounds in their guns – I have no problem with that! With the proper loads, the 9mm is a good stopper. Buffalo Bore offers quite a few different 9mm loads, to include JHP and FMJ, in various bullet weights, as well as in +P and +P+ loadings. Now we’re talking serious attention-getting loads in your self-defense handguns. Once again, check the Buffalo Bore web site, to see if these loads are safe to use in your handguns, and also check the owner’s manual that came with your handgun, to see if these Buffalo Bore loads are safe to shoot in your particular model of 9mm pistol. Most gun companies will tell you to not use +P+ 9mm loads, and it’s not because these loads aren’t safe in their guns, it’s because they accelerate wear on guns fed a steady diet of these hot loads.

Most police agencies have abandoned the 9mm in favor of the .40 S&W round in their handguns. However, prior to the .40 S&W coming along, law enforcement was using +P and +P+ 9mm loads in their guns, and they had outstanding results in putting the bad guys down. When a new load came along, they all wanted it – and most police departments dumped the 9mm in favor of the .40 S&W or the .45 ACP. I find that I can shoot a 9mm handgun faster, and with more accuracy on-target, than I can with a .40 S&W loaded handgun. Recoil has a lot to do with it – not that I find the .40 S&W recoil to be objectionable, it’s just that I can get the front sight back on target faster with a 9mm than I can with the .40 S&W. Buffalo Bore has 9mm loads in 115 grain, 124 grain and 147 grain bullet weights, with +P and +P+ loadings in many of these bullet weights. I personally like the 124 grain JHP +P loading, as I feel it gives me the best compromise between deep penetration and bullet expansion. And, this is just my personal choice, you may want to go with one of the 115 grain JHP loadings for more expansion and less penetration. Or the 147 grain JHP with more penetration and less expansion. Truth be told, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the Buffalo Bore loads in 9mm. Buffalo Bore also offers some FMJ loads, and I think they would be great for carrying in your handgun when you’re out in the woods – you’ll want that extra penetration if you run across big game – where the vitals are buried deep.

I can often be “caught” carrying a good ol’ 1911 of some type – it’s my preferred handgun type and round for fight stopping power. I cut my teeth on a 1911 .45 ACP pistol way back in the 1960s, and it’s still my favorite type of handgun to shoot. I just find that I can shoot a single-action 1911 faster and with greater accuracy than any other handgun type – simple as that. Sure, the 1911 is bigger than many semi-auto handguns, and a bit harder to conceal, but it’s worth the effort if you ask me. If I knowingly head into harms way, and all I can carry is a handgun, the 1911, chambered in .45 ACP would be my gun of choice. Now wonder so many SWAT teams carry the 1911 chambered in .45 ACP. It’s a proven gun and proven round.

Buffalo Bore has you covered in all manner of .45 ACP rounds, with JHP, FMJ and all-lead bullets, ranging in weight from 185 grain all the way up to their 255 grain hard cast bullet. The 185 grain JHP +P round screams out of a 5″ barrel 1911 at around 1,150 f.p.s. with 540-foot pounds of energy. Their 230 grain JHP load is coming out at about 1,050 f.p.s. with 490 foot pounds of energy. You can check out the Buffalo Bore web site for full details on the various .45 ACP +P loads they offer. And, don’t be misled by the numbers – the feet per second and the foot pounds of energy don’t tell the whole story – it’s real-life results that count, and the .45 ACP is well-documented in gun fights over the past 100 years and it gets the job done, so long as you put the bullet where it’s supposed to hit. I should mention, that Buffalo Bore also uses a low-flash powder in their handgun loads, and this is great for saving your night vision, if you have to fire your handgun at night.

The Buffalo Bore 255 grain hard cast .45 ACP+P load would be my first choice in a trail gun, if I were heading out to the woods for a day or hiking. It’ll penetrate deeply, and the bullet won’t come apart on dangerous game – you could do a lot worst than this round for a trail gun, if you ask me. On big, dangerous game, you have to have a lot of penetration in order to reach the vital organs, if you want to stop an attack.

I like the 10mm round, at least, I liked it in the original loadings – the current crop of 10mm loads have all been reduced down in power, to the point, where they are about the same as a .40 S&W round. Only a couple of companies make a full-powered 10mm load these days, with Buffalo Bore being one of them. The original 10mm loadings were approaching that of the .41 Magnum, and that gave one cause to sit up and take notice. I still remember my first 10mm handgun, it was the Colt Delta Elite, and you knew you had some real power in your hands. The gun was not only good for small to medium game hunting, it was also a great stopper in the JHP loadings. Of course, those full-powered loadings took their toll on lesser handguns, and the Delta Elite was really getting loose after a steady diet of full-powered loads. Colt discontinued the Delta Elite some years ago. However, I’m happy to report, they have re-introduced it, and they look better made than the originals do.

If you have a 10mm handgun, and you don’t load your own rounds, then you’ll want to contact Buffalo Bore and get some of their outstanding 10mm loads. The 180 grain JHP rounds are screaming at 1,350 f.p.s. with about 725 foot pounds of energy – we’re talking serious power from an autoloader. Want something that penetrates deeper in a 10mm load? Take a look at the 200 grain FMJ load, that is 1,200-f.p.s. with 640 foot pounds of energy, that will penetrate extremely deep on any animal. Buffalo Bore is also offering a 230 grain hard cast 10mm load, that should take care of most of your medium sized game out in the boonies.

As already mentioned, if you want full-powered 10mm loads, then take a close look at the Buffalo Bore line-up, they have what you’re looking for. Most big-name ammo companies are only offering 10mm loads that are reduced in power, down to the point, where their loads are no more effective than then .40 S&W is. The reason for owning a 10mm handgun is the major power-factor.

I have tested a lot of .44 Magnum loads from Buffalo Bore over the past eight months, and they have about the largest selection of .44 Magnum loads that I’ve ever seen. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, then you aren’t looking for the right load. I like the .44 Magnum, it has taken all manner of big game all over the world. While it’s not the ideal round for elephant, rhino or cape buffalo – it can take them with the right load, and of course, the proper shot placement. I like the idea of a .44 Magnum because you can load ’em up high, or load ’em down to .44 Special velocities.

Please read the warnings on the Buffalo Bore web site, about the use of some of their .44 Magnum loadings – not all loadings are safe to use in all makes and models of .44 Magnum handguns – be advised before making your selections.

If you’re in the market for a plain ol’ 240 grain JHP loading, then do yourself a favor, and walk into your big box store and buy something from them. However, if you’re in the market for some of the best, and most powerful .44 Magnum loads around, then you don’t have to go any farther than the Buffalo Bore web site. Are you looking for a 270 grain jacketed flat nose (JFN) round, at 1,450 f.p.s. with a muzzle of 1,260 – then Buffalo Bore has you covered. Want a 300 grain JFN load round, for deeper penetration? Then take a look at the Buffalo Bore round with 1,300 f.p.s. and a muzzle energy of 1,125. Want a bullet that will penetrate and stay together after hitting bone and muscle? The 305 grain lead flat nose with 1,325 f.p.s. and a muzzle energy of 1,190 foot pounds will fill your needs.

Are you looking for a bit more power in a .44 Magnum loading? Then take a close look at the Buffalo Bore 340 grain lead flat nose load, with 1,470 f.p.s. and 1,640 foot pounds of muzzle energy.  Want something a new and different? Check out the Buffalo Bore “Deer Grenade” – this round was developed for all manner of deer and the huge hollow cavity lead bullet with drop a deer in their tracks. Want something different for self-defense? I just received the new Buffalo Bore “Anti-Personnel” .44 Magnum load, which has a hard cast wadcutter bullet that weighs 200 grain. I’ve yet to test this load, but it appears to be one that will get the job done.

I’ve only touched the surface on some of the Buffalo Bore loadings and calibers. It’s not within the scope of a single article to cover all the various loads that Buffalo Bore offers. I’m sure, if you’re looking for a little more “oomph” in your handguns (and rifles) then Buffalo Bore will surely have something that will fill the need. I enjoy recommending a small company whenever possible…and in the case of Buffalo Bore, they are small (but rapidly growing) and the offer a line-up of ammo you can’t find any place else. I like doing business with the “little guys” whenever possible. They go out of their way to make the customer happy, and Buffalo Bore is doing it by offering a line of ammo that no one else offers. Expensive? Well, that depends on how you look at it…the best is never cheap, and quality is always worth the money if you ask me. So, checkout Buffalo Bore’s web site, I’m sure you’ll find something there that will catch your eye, and tell Tim Sundles, you saw it on Survivalblog. They deserve your business. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Letter Re: The Rude Awakening of a Spider Bite

Mr Rawles:
Last week I dropped off to sleep and in the night with my legs uncovered due to the room being kind of warm. Some time during the night I was bitten by what was most likely a spider. as I awoke the next morning I started my regular work day. The initial bite was what I considered nothing more then an annoyance. I figured a mosquito might have got me, maybe a spider. I never really had a bad spider bite before. So I was sure it was just something got me, and it was something really itchy but not serious.

My situation as it started out, itching and burning and only the size of a dime. I expected it would be gone in a day or two and my life would return to normal.

Sadly that isn’t what happened. by the end of the first day my girlfriend noticed it wasn’t dime sized it was now quarter sized and she basically told me I needed to go and see a doctor – me being stubborn yet in pain I decided she was right. I left work early (now remember this is only the second day of having an unknown bite.) my doctor saw me, they gave me a tetanus shot and two scrips: one for pain killers, and one for docxytetra-something or other (I don’t have it in front of me, but it was an antibiotic).

The nurse told me as she drew in ink on my leg that if it gets any bigger with redness come back in ASAP, or call ASAP.

My next day was Friday, a day off for me. My girlfriend wasn’t impressed about this leg wound and she was worried about it- so she said it would be a good idea to come over to her place of work and have her friends (who lucky for me are nurses, have a look at it.) I almost decided to just stay home and wait it out because of the leg pain and getting in and out of the car- but I thought about it, and I wanted to have the nurses opinion on what it looked like to them. My doctor and his PA already said it looked like a spider bite, but I wanted to know what it looked like to the nurses. aside from that I had already paid for my doctor’s opinion, and these nurses would be okay with taking a look for free. The ink outline drawn at my doctors office was pretty close to being in the red zone.

The basic consensus on day three was get back to the doctor’s office. Call him right now! And get back there! You are in bad shape!

So I called – and was told to come in ASAP. So ASAP I dashed back to the doctors office.

Once there he took one look at what was yesterday’s quarter sized red swollen wound was now a half dollar in size. my whole calf was looking red, hot and swollen, it was impossible to stand now with out everything hurting. after taking about two minutes to really examine this mess, the doc said the words that I never want to hear again: “Sorry but it looks like your going to need to be admitted.” He directed me to the local hospital where his patients go. So back in the car and off I went to the hospital.

I’m not complaining about anyone doing anything wrong, or even suggesting that things are some how worse then I am making them out to be. But while at the hospital I was given 12 hour doses of IV antibiotics twice a day – I can say it turned the inflammation, pain, and progression of this infection back and likely saved my leg from more serious ends.

Now consider this, a spider put me in the hospital for four days. Friday to Monday. I am writing this Wednesday morning and I’m still hurting, things are looking like I’m mending. I am taking antibiotics 2x a day, but it’s going to be a while before i heal up.

Here is my big issue: What would have happened in grid down or no power/ no hospital- no help scenario?

I’m almost 40 and this is the first time I’ve ever had anything like this happen before, so it’s not common in my experience to be bitten by more then mosquitoes. I’ve never had a bite from a spider let alone one that became infected to the point of my needing serious medical help. I’ve slept on a ground cloth camping, with a tarp over head as a kid and woke up with slug trails on me, but never got bitten. Maybe I was just lucky? I don’t know.

Perhaps a doctor that reads SurvivalBlog could comment on this article: Spider Bite Treatment. (I’m not affiliated with them, I just read the information and would like to know if that would have been a better option- cortisone treatment at the bite site? ) I’d like to hear the Doc’s opinion on spider bites from treatment to prevention.  as stated in the article it would appear that doctors aren’t exposed to treating spider bites, and this information could be really useful as I might have waited too long to be seen because I didn’t know better, but it was never suggested to me as an option for treatment – just IV antibiotics, pain meds and rest…. what are my best sources of stable store-able antibiotics and/or cortisone? is that even an option?  I’ve seen in past posts about using fish antibiotics. I am not certain this would have been helpful in this situation, but like everyone else I’m still looking for ways to prepare.  

I decided to check out more about why this happened to me. I also decided to see about correcting or preventing this from happening again.

My first order of business I looked at my circumstances like a mystery: Why did that happen? How did it happen? One of my first courses of action is going to be get rid of that porch light!! (I plan on replacing it with a yellow light that won’t attract moths) Okay, I know it sounds crazy or even unrelated to a spider biting me in bed, but consider this – the light is left on at night for security- it attracts food sources that spiders eat- they congregate at my front door…- if I remove their food sources they will hopefully find someplace else to eat, and I’m really good with them moving on. 🙂

How did I make that connection? my first day out of the hospital walking in the kitchen I had a spider hanging off my arm just after opening the door. I’d say I walked in to his web and carried him in to my world by accident and he didn’t last long in my world. I don’t want to kill a beneficial living creature that eat pests. I don’t want them to accidentally kill me either.  

My next order of business is I plan to get this: Sawyer Extractor Professional Snake Bite & Insect Sting Kit. (BTW, I have no faith in the snake bite part of the kit -and have no plan to use that just because I think it’s a bad idea to cut/suck/cut a snake bite wound in an effort to extract venom. It seems time would be better spent doing anything but that.) After reading that spider poison is only in the skin (not in the veins) it makes sense that a suction at first detection of the bite would be really better then letting it get inflamed and letting the poison destroy the skin/tissue.

This has been an expensive lesson. Most of the expense has been measured in pain so it should be really easy to remember it. I hope by sharing this with you and your readers they can learn from my pain also. As this is one lesson that I would have loved to skip. Ouch! – Fitzy in Pennsylvania

Economics and Investing:

Scooby Doo say: “Rutt-row!”: Moody’s Downgrades Portugal to Ba2 From Baa1, Outlook Negative

John T. suggested this by Peter Schiff: The rise of the barter economy

Tyler Durden reports at Zero Hedge: Planned Job Cuts Increase by 12% in June, Second Sequential Increase. Here is a quote: “Forget new job formation. According to the just released Challenger jobs report, job destruction is starting to be an issue again, after the June report disclosed that “the number of planned job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers increased by 4,297 or 11.6 percent to 41,432 in June.”

Europe takes another step closer to the edge. (Thanks to Tony B. for the link.)

John R. sent this: Eric Sprott: Paper Markets are a Joke: Prepare for Bullion Prices to Go Supernova

Commentary from Agustino Fontevecchia at Forbes:  Dollar’s Share of Global Reserves Continues to Slide, Reserve Status Questioned  

Items from The Economatrix:

Zimbabwean currency illustrates: Rapid Effects of Massive Hyperinflation

Seven Reasons The U.S. Needs A Good Depression

Moody’s Downgrades Portuguese Bonds to Junk Status

Bankers Built Private Empires On Public Credit

Odds ‘n Sods:

A few folks have written to ask me if I was “the anonymous expert” in the recent National Geographic “Doomsday Preppers” documentary. I was approached by the producers when they were planning the project last year, to be a “subject matter expert”. I didn’t have a good feeling about the project, so I passed. I’m now glad that I did. Their anti-prepper bias was apparent. Through some careful editing and voice-overs, the producers made the subjects of the documentary appear to be mentally imbalanced. For the record: I was not their anonymous expert!

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F.G. sent this: New wolf pack confirmed — a short drive from Seattle

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B.B. pointed me to an interesting piece at the Sipsey Street Irregulars blog: Pneumatic antenna launchers

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Reader J.H.B. mentioned a fascinating educational site: KoreanWar.org. This site would be of interest to anyone that enjoys military history and would be a great enrichment site for homeschoolers to launch some studies. OBTW, the site has even created a bit of controversy.

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K.A.F. sent this: Thieves Targeting Air Conditioners

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Thieves Steal Hundreds of Gallons of Diesel From Underground Tank

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 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.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 35 ends on July 31st, 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.

TEOTWAWKI Preventive Medicine, by Dr. Bob

There have been many article about medical advice and certainly there is no shortage of information available in SurvivalBlog. But as a good old-fashioned country doctor I hope to give you some solid, comprehensive information that you can use now to prepare for WTSHTF.  There are some basic assumptions about TEOTWAWKI that most people have pondered.  Let’s go over the lists first.  It will be darker, colder, hotter, wetter, drier, and dirtier.  There will be less safety, less clean water, less food, more danger, more work, more exposure, and more pain.  Sounds like a bad camping trip. The difference is that it lasts forever and there is no hot shower and massage afterwards.  Anyone reading this already knows this, so what can you do about it now medically to make survival for you and your family more likely and easier?  First, go shopping for some basic supplies.  Second, go shopping for some basic over the counter medications to put on your shelves.  Third, go to the local doctor or health department for some shots.  Fourth, head to the dentist a lot this year.  Fifth, and lastly, figure out how you are going to get some medication for infections and ongoing maintenance treatment for chronic medical conditions when there is no pharmacy available.

Basic supplies include first aid materials that you might not think of and the ones you probably already have.  My experience has been that most camping first aid kits have 1 or 2 useful items and a dozen or more that take up space.  Don’t buy a kit unless it is a good one and get gauze, Band-Aids, Ace wrap, chemical ice packs, a couple splints, and tape.  Make sure you have enough quantity to last your family or group for a couple years.  Gauze and Band-Aids really can’t be reused, so make sure that those are given a priority in space accommodations.  Ace wrap and splints can be rewashed and reused for a long time.  The good old cowboy method of using a stick and some rags works—but only if you lay in a bed, don’t move, and expect to die while not contributing to your society.  Chemical ice packs will be a great thing to have when there is no ice, having them or ice will be extremely helpful WTSHTF.  This is not rocket science and you probably grow angry that you have wasted your time reading this so far—fear not, good stuff is coming.  Medical supplies you may not have thought of include screen, duct tape, foam spray, super glue gel, soap , eyeglasses, and a glasses repair kit.  It is assumed that shelters of some sort will still be standing and hopefully there is some ability to weatherproof such a structure against critters large (like dogs) and small (like mosquitoes).  Therefore the duct tape, foam spray and screen.  Prevention of bugs is a really helpful way to reduce your risk of stupid things that can kill you like infected bites, malaria, or a variety of killer meanies.  Duct tape should never be in short supply repairing large gaps and tiny holes, and holds wounds and bandages too.  Super glue works great to close up small wounds when stitches are not available, of course the soap is needed to wash them first which is reviewed in detail in some of the prior posts in great detail.  The gel works better than the watery stuff because it is much easier to control and not glue yourself to the patient.  We have used super glue on our animals many times, it works great on torn goat and dog ears so it would work on humans too.  Many of the glues we use medically are just expensive super glue in individual sterile containers.  Owning just one pair of eyeglasses is a really bad idea, as Twilight Zone fans are fully aware.  It would be best to have three or more, even old ones are better than nothing.  If you have lots of cash laying around losing value, you might talk to your local eye doctor about getting surgery to avoid glasses altogether, but there is risk involved and certainly eyeglasses are fine if you have them.  An eyeglass kit with the little screws and tools would make you a real friend to lots of people WTSHTF.

Over The Counter (OTC) meds are currently readily available at rock-bottom prices, so make sure they are on your stock shelves and not in your medicine cabinet.  Medicine cabinets are a horrible place to store medications long term because of the humidity and temperature changes.  Our  family likes to have regular supplies and TEOTWAWKI supplies separate because we are just not that organized to replace everything multiple fingers may “lift” from the stockpile without proper notification.  You already know how much lists amuse me, so here goes the next one:  Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin, naproxen (Aleve), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), RID, anti-fungal cream and spray, vitamin C, multivitamins, bug spray and sun block.  Benadryl will work for allergies and itching, plus is a pretty good sleeping pill for most people.  Tylenol works good for fevers, some headaches and pains.  Aspirin is one of the world’s greatest medicines, multipurpose pain pill and blood thinner.  In the future, will be a must-have for anyone on a blood thinner now that would be unavailable.  Naproxen is another good pain and ache medicine along with ibuprofen to have on the shelves.  Pick one, unless you have the room and the knowledge about Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflamatory Drugs (NSAIDs) beyond the general population. 

RID will come in handy to try to get the lice out, but again prevention and haircuts work better.  Anti-fungal creams and sprays may help but usually won’t eliminate fungal skin problems in wet, dark scenarios.  Vitamin C is a great thing to stock up on, many of us will not have the available fruits and vegetables we are used too, and vitamin C is kind of important to prevent you from looking like a pirate in 2020.  It also helps fight off infection and should be used anytime anyone is sick with fever, so having enough vitamin C may be tough from a shelf space standpoint.  My suggestion is the chewable type as kids can easily take them and is a great substitute for candy which won’t exist.  A regular old multivitamin a couple times a week will provide some of the micronutrients missing from a fattened calf American diet we are all currently used to, so taking one  more than twice a week won’t do much for survival and makes for expensive urine.  Bug spray prevents ticks and mosquitoes, both of which carry potential infections you don’t want to have to put up with if you could help it, so use when needed until supplies are gone.  Obviously, the medical recommendations above are loose and should be verified with the most senior medical mind available in any given scenario.

Now, to address your local health care professional usage preventively.  The one thing you can and should do now is get your tetanus and pneumonia shots from your local health department or clinic.  Make sure your kids are up to date on their shots.  (Conspiracy theories should be ignored, shots are a good thing generally; this is a subject books have been written about on both sides, short story is:  shots don’t give you autism—case closed.)  The only other health-related info that you may find helpful is really basic and simple.  Be able to be in good enough shape for hard labor and lots of walking.  If you are obese now, lose weight so you are overweight but not obese.  There are some evidence showing obese people actually die sooner in starvation situations because of ketone buildup as they process their fat stores they believed would protect them from the hard times.  You are kidding yourself if you think your pasty, flattened fat bottom is suddenly going to burst into survival mode “when the time comes”.  The time is now, tubby, to get your body mass index (BMI) to 26-29 to maximize your survivability.  The same applies if you are currently working on your modeling career and have a low BMI of under 22.  You do need some fat on you; so certainly you should shoot for 24 if you really want to live longer and not been eaten as “lean meat” by the survivors.   There are BMI charts available online and at every clinic that will tell you your BMI for your height and weight.  Now you can lecture all your too fat or too skinny friends and neighbors with some authority on the topic of optimal survival weight—you’re welcome.  Medication that needs to be prescribed by a health care professional (used loosely) is a complex topic addressed in the last section and will be addressed separately below.

No one knows the date of WTSHTF and it could be today—we all know that and will recognize it when it comes.  Until then, get some friends and family together and make your local dentist a lot happier.  Preventive dental care can save a lot of pain and suffering when it is not available anymore.  Get that tooth pulled that looks like a gray chiclet, fix that small cavity, repair any current dental devices with the best permanent options available.  If there is a choice, my advice is always opt for pulling a tooth from a survival standpoint.  We will all be a lot uglier, hopefully the people around you won’t really care that you look like the rest of us.  Tooth lifters and booze may be the only option to pull a nasty tooth in the future—it works, but it sure isn’t fun.  Flossing is the world’s greatest dental prevention, start now and continue to floss at least twice a week until death.  Having floss, a toothbrush supply, and some toothpaste will really pay off for long-term survival and general happiness.  All of us have had a toothache before, it’s not really happy.  Topical numbing medication does work and should be on your shelf.  Toothpaste, even used rarely, will provide that loving fluoride to your teeth that will be missing without government provided water.  Teeth are something that most people take for granted, don’t leave them out of your survival planning.

Lastly, we get to the very tricky topic of getting the medication that you may need for survival or at least comfortable existence.  Know your medications, what they are for, and what you really need for survival.  If you show up at your local doctor’s office requesting medications for TEOTWAWKI, you may end up in a hospital bed with a nice snuggly coat on.  Most doctors are too busy to really care about TEOTWAWKI and are not married to survivalist nuts like yours truly.  Some doctors have not thought even one tiny bit about the subject and will not cooperate when you dreaded “educated patients” come barging into their routine day with demands for the unusual; it will also increase your likelihood of ending up with the snuggly coat.  Most doctors also work for large organizations with electronic health records—tied in heavily to government control and potentially government monitoring now or in the near future.  It is to your advantage to keep most of your survival preparation out of your medical record, just to be safe.  Antibiotics, antiparasitic, and antifungal medications are very complicated in real-world use and need extensive knowledge to treat effectively and safely.  There are some resources available and doctors that still take cash out there not connected to electronic health systems—for now.  Seek them out and pay cash for what you need—that is the best way to stay “under the radar” as they say.  A final word about medication expirations—they are just numbers on the side of the bottle WTSHTF.  The U.S. military asked the FDA to conduct a major SLEP test on medications when they started dating them. They found that 90% of medications were good up to 15 years after their expiration date was long past.  Both OTC meds and prescriptions should be kept in cool, dark, stable environments to maximize their effective use.

Hopefully, this information was helpful to you and can help give you a new check list of worries that can be completed shortly and without too much difficulty. We own and operate a clinic and a web site that provides medications to patients for health and survival.  Our web site is SurvivingHealthy.com. Antibiotic preparedness packs are available along with all the information here and much more.  You can also use my consulting service for your ongoing prescription needs for disaster preparedness.  This blog has helped inspire us to help people with their medication concerns and was one of the motivating factors in keeping us on the right track.  Stay strong and stay healthy, – Dr. Bob

Letter Re: A Different View of Diapers for Prepper Families

Hi Jim,
I feel compelled to offer a contrary view with regard to diapering for prepping families.  In preparing for survival situations, I believe that disposable diapers offer a number of distinct advantages over reusable diapers.  
To qualify myself, I will tell you that I am a father of three young kids, and have changed hundreds of disposable diapers.  I am also a mechanical engineer who works for one of the largest diaper manufacturers.  In my work, I have seen all kinds of diapers (disposable and reusable) from all over the world.  But my points are grounded in simple common sense.  

1.) In an emergency where you cannot wash clothes, reusable diapers are not feasible.   It seems that many proponents of reusable diapers are preparing for a single scenario: a long-term grid-down situation, where their family has taken to a kind of organized country living that assumes an abundance of clean water, the availability of wash stations, and time for regular laundry.  While this is one possible scenario, it certainly does not encompass the full range of situations for which we should prepare.  I can imagine dozens of survival scenarios where a family does not have the water, the equipment, or the time to wash and dry diapers.  Think about the images from the emergencies that we have seen lately in the news.  We see people who are running from danger, searching for family members, seeking medical attention, and begging for food and water.  We do not see people who are pressing ahead with wash day, despite disaster all around them. 
               
2.) Without your electric washer and dryer, reusable diapers are potentially unsanitary.   What kills the bacteria and viruses in your laundry?  It is not soap and water.  It is not the agitation from the washer or the tumbling in the dryer.  Only three things can (and do) kill the bugs: an adequate amount of bleach, very hot water (at least 140-150 degrees), and time in the dryer on high.  Which of these things will be available in an emergency?  The power is out, so you are drying on the line.  Maybe you have some bleach, but you can’t use it on your dark clothes and camo.  Are you willing to do a separate bleach load, just for the diapers?  What happens when you run out of bleach?  Or, are you going to boil water for every load of diaper laundry?  That’s a lot of work, and at the required temperature you’ll burn yourself if you are washing by hand.  If you have reusable diapers, the gross truth is that every time you do the wash (unless you bleach or boil) you’ll simply be concocting a stew of fecal matter that will spread bacteria onto your washing equipment and into your other laundry.  Obviously, this greatly increases the potential for sickness and infections.   

3.) Disposable diapers are a predictable choice; easy to size, buy, store, use, and resell.   Compared with reusables, disposables are offered in more sizes with more variations.  Disposable diapers are remarkably consistent in size from brand to brand while there can be tremendous variation in fit among reusables.  Looking at baby growth charts, in a matter of minutes, you can accurately estimate how many of each size disposable diaper you will likely need, until your child is potty trained.  Available everywhere, disposables have a shelf life of many years.  Name brand disposable diapers are high quality and quite effective at containing your baby’s mess.  Store brand diapers vary in quality, but some can be pretty good.  Some reusables work reasonably well, but some do not.  By and large, they are simply not as well engineered as disposables.  For disposable diapers that you do not use, there will always be a demand, so you can easily resell them or give them away as you see fit.

4.) Many disposable diapers are quite durable and somewhat reusable.   For sanitary reasons, always immediately change a diaper that has feces in it.  Also, for a baby with a rash or skin irritation, change whenever a diaper is wet.  However, outside of these two situations, changing frequency can be much more flexible.  For a diaper with urine only, on a baby with healthy skin, when to change is a choice, made by the caregiver, for comfort, convenience, and cost considerations.  In a survival type situation, a caregiver may wish to wring every last bit of use out of each disposable diaper.  With this view, it is instructive to know about some diaper practices in less developed countries. 

In some countries, caregivers will only change a disposable diaper when the baby has a bowel movement.  Most disposable diapers can effectively hold at least three large urine gushes, and only leak after the core is completely swollen.  Some caregivers extend the life of their diapers by adding absorbent material (e.g. newspaper) on top of the cores.  Some caregivers reuse their disposable diaper by cutting out the used core, and adding more absorbent material.  This is a bit tricky, but if the core is removed without damaging the outer cover, the chassis of the diaper can often be used several times before failing.  With some disposables, it is even possible to wash the chassis a couple of times, before it falls apart.  (Never attempt to wash a disposable with the absorbent material still attached, it will make a huge mess!)  While these practices may not appeal to our quick and convenient lifestyles, they are real possibilities for us to consider, if faced with scarce resources in an emergency.          

Now, to be fair, disposables are not cheap, and they do require storage space.  (I won’t get into a discussion of comparative environmental impact, except to say that, in an honest evaluation, there’s not much difference between disposables and reusables.)  However, in light of the advantages described above – especially in an emergency – if you can afford them, I would strongly encourage family preppers to stock up on disposable diapers (and wipes!) as part of their preparedness planning.  At the very least, by buying them now, you can avoid some cost increases from inflation.    

Like any other tool or system, learn the diapers that you plan to use in an emergency.   Diapering is a bit of a skill.  And choosing the right diaper for your baby takes some trial and error.  If you are using disposables today, don’t simply buy a stack of cloth squares and some safety pins, and think that you are prepared to survive in the diaper department.  Like any tool or system, if they don’t fit or if you don’t know how to use them, then you are not properly prepared.  At the very least, try out your survival diapers (whatever kind they are), verify that they can work for your baby, and learn how to use them.  That’s the least that we can as responsible parents.

JWR Replies: Rather than looking at this as a point of contention, I can see plusses for both approaches under differing circumstances. Obviously for a short-term bug-out situation, disposable diapers make a lot of sense. But in a long term grid-down situation, there simply won’t be disposable diapers available, at any price.So it is wise to stock up on cloth diapers, washable bottom clean-up rags, and bleach.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Matt R. sent something of interest to M1 Garand owners: Olongapo Outfitters has introduced new Garand Cartridge Belts to their line of products.  Though based on the original M1923 Cartridge Belts, they are not reproductions like those used by historical reenactors.  Rather, they are made from modern heavy duty material and are available in O.D. Green, Coyote Brown, and Khaki with either heavy duty snaps or Velcro for closures.  Matt says: “I have bought other gear from them and their products are first rate.  The owner is a former Marine and is a pleasure to deal with.”

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Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommended this article: Defunding of NOAA Weather Satellites Means Goodbye To the 7-Day Forecast.Mike’s comment: “We don’t need satellites, just check The Weather Channel.”

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Steve M. spotted this: Considerations for a Catastrophic Declaration: Issues and Analysis

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NATO on the Ground in Somalia?

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Cameron pointed me to an Australian News Article: 64 million empty apartments in China’s Ghost cities

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 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.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 35 ends on July 31st, 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.

Some Creative Gardening Techniques, by Kristi N.

I often have dirt under my fingernails. Fortunately, my husband doesn’t care.  He doesn’t care that unlike most of the women living in this southwestern suburb with us, I don’t have fake fingernails.  He doesn’t care that I like digging and fertilizing and mounding up dirt, burying seeds and planting seedlings so that we can enjoy a summer harvest of fresh vegetables and fruit.  My wonderful husband doesn’t care that I come in flushed and sweaty from watering plants and snipping herbs under a brutal Sonoran desert sun, and I am grateful for that! 

It might sound like hard work, and it is, but it is completely and totally worth it.  I guess it sounds like we’ve got a good deal of land to play with, to till up and furrow and weed and plant.  But we don’t!  We actually have a smaller-than-average yard for the area we live in.  We are going to harvest almost every vegetable and fruit we grow from containers.  The members of our family are big believers in small-space container gardening. 

In late fall, winter, and early spring, we grow lettuce, spinach, radishes, and broccoli in a five-by-seven-foot raised bed on the side of our yard.  The rest of our crops – zucchini, cucumbers, various herbs, green onions, sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, yellow squash and strawberries, to start with – are being grown in a plethora of pots, buckets, two-liter pop bottles, and even a kids’ wading pool that are happily scattered around our patio and yard.  Some are right-side-up and some are upside-down.  All of them are bursting with the promise of a healthy and inexpensive harvest to supplement our family’s diet, something we desperately need as food prices increase more every month.  I would like to share with you some solutions that we have discovered and implemented for small-space container gardening.

First of all, I refuse to be picky about what I put a plant in!  Some of the pots that we used this year are terra-cotta, left over from years past when we could afford to pay $30 or more for a clay pot.  They’re handy, they tend to hold moisture well, and I’m glad that we saved them, but I would never pay that much for a planting vessel now!  The majority of our plants have found a home in re-purposed containers. 

Here are some ways to think about gardening “outside the box.”

Children’s Plastic Pools

We live in the desert southwest, which means that every year local stores make a killing on those cheap little plastic wading pools.  People buy them for their kids, their dogs, and – believe it or not – even their drinks when they have backyard barbeques.  Then, around October, they toss them out by the front curb for the bulk garbage pickup.  That is the time to go foraging for free gardening containers!  You may find them earlier in your area, like around August or September, but if you’re interested in small-space gardening, don’t pass those free pools by.  I pick them up and toss them in the back of my van.  When it’s time to plant in them, use a 1/2 inch drill bit and drill several drainage holes in the bottom of the pool.  If you’ve got gravel handy, you can strew a layer in the bottom of the pool (about 1 inch deep); then fill the rest with your favorite mixture of gardening soil, incorporating some fertilizer into it as you mix it up.  These wading pools are perfect for raising a few zucchini plants for a prolific summer squash harvest, two to three bush cucumbers, or two to three bush bean plants; maybe even more, if you get one that’s on the bigger side.  These little pools are a perfect way to grow plants that are just a little too big or sprawling to fit comfortably into a large pot.  Their inexpensive plastic will eventually break down around the top with several seasons’ exposure to the sun and elements, but that’s all right – just get a new round of tossed-away wading pools, and transfer your soil before your next season of planting.  Not only are you container gardening, you’re also recycling! 

Plastic Buckets

Every time I go to my local “warehouse store,” Wal-Mart, or the grocery store, I drop by the bakery to see if they have any plastic frosting buckets that I can have.  If they do, they’ll give them to me for free.  All I have to do is take them home, wash them out with warm water and soap to get all of the fat from the icing off, and get them ready to hold some garden goodness.  Again, just drill a few 1/2  inch holes in the bottom of the bucket, add a layer of gravel to the bottom for drainage, then fill it up with dirt and whatever type plant you want to put in there.  Currently, my sweet red bell peppers and an aloe vera plant are growing in these re-purposed frosting buckets.  Their carrying handles are a convenient bonus if you need to move your plants around the yard – where we live, we need to move them several times in the summer season to make sure they’re getting enough shade so that they won’t get completely scorched by the hours and hours of direct sun our area gets.  (Note: You can also use these buckets for food storage since they’re food-grade plastic containers.  Wash them out very well with hot water and lots of soap, then dry them thoroughly before fitting them with a Gamma Seal lid and pouring in whatever bulk food item you’d like to store.  You just can’t beat free!)

You can also create hanging buckets, a la Topsy-Turvy tomato containers, with these plastic frosting buckets.  My husband, who is much more handy with the power tools than I am, used a 3/8 inch drill bit to drill a series of holes in the shape of a circle, essentially “drawing” an approximately two-inch circle in the middle of the bottom of the bucket.  We then had a lot of fun banging it with a hammer until it fell out while our children looked at us as if we’d gone completely insane.  The end result was a bucket with a hole in the bottom.  I cut an X in the middle of a coffee filter and threaded a tomato seedling through it, then centered the coffee filter over the hole in the bucket, with the plant hanging down (it’s easier to do this if you place the sides of the bucket on two chairs pushed quite close together).  Then, all we had to do was fill the bucket up with soil, leaving about two inches of space on top for mess-free watering.  Hang your bucket up on something that will support its weight and you’ll have a homemade upside-down tomato container!

Pop Bottles
You can also make hanging containers out of two-liter sodapop bottles.  These are great for growing plants that remain relatively small, like hot pepper plants and strawberries.  Making them is quite simple.  First, use a solid, sharp pocketknife to cut the spout off of the two-liter bottle.  Then, cut the bottom of the bottle off.  Poke three small, equidistant holes about a half inch down from where you cut the bottom off the bottle; these will be used to thread wire or monofilament through to hang the bottle.  Cut an X in the middle of a coffee filter, and thread your plant through it; then place the coffee filter into the pop bottle, threading the plant gently through the opening where the spout used to be.  Fill the container with soil.  Then hold it between your knees as you insert a length of thin wire or monofilament through each of the little holes you drilled through the former bottom of the bottle (which is now the top of your planter) and twist or tie it off.  You’ll wind up with three lengths, which you will twist or tie off at the top in order to create a hanger for your pop bottle planter.  There are some great videos on YouTube regarding these planters, if you’re more of a visual learner; just go there and search “Upside Down Tomato Planters.” 

So as you can see, your ability to garden in a small space is only limited by your creativity in utilizing the space you have, both on the ground and to hang containers from.  Container gardening is just as rewarding as gardening on an acre plot of land (and you don’t have to deal with as many weeds!).  For people who are gardening on limited land, container gardening – in just about any container you can get your hands on – is a great alternative to totally relying on grocery store or even farmer’s market produce.  And in a crisis situation, it can provide not only nourishment, but essential vitamins and minerals, variety for the diet to prevent appetite fatigue, and a renewable supply of seeds to prevent hunger in the future.  As we gradually learn more and more about gardening in our hot little neck of the woods, I will definitely be on the lookout for anything I can pour dirt into and grow plants in.  If you wish you had acreage but you only have a yard – or a terrace or a patio — try your hand at container gardening.  It’s well worth the effort and your family will thank you for it!

Letter Re: Some Experience with Clothing and Field Gear in Desert Environments

Captain Rawles,
I came across a good post by Erik M., a brother Marine, about the practicalities of humping the brush in full gear, in your archives from last year.  Where he writes from the perspective of an east coast Marine, I thought it would be good to complement that by writing on the same subjects from a west coast Marine’s viewpoint (was stationed at 29 Palms, California), as I’m guessing from his time reference that we were contemporaries, or close to it.  If someone else has done so already, my apologies for having missed it.

For the high desert, and desert southwest environments, I recommend the inexperienced start off with only their cartridge belt/combat harness, and do 3-to-5 miles at a normal walking pace.  Do not do this in the heat of the day, else you risk becoming a heat casualty, regardless of how much water you’re humping.  When it gets 110 Fahrenheit in the shade, you don’t want to be humping anywhere if you can at all avoid it.  Early to mid-morning, and early evening are the most user friendly times for this purpose.  Listen very carefully to your body as well, as your body will inform you in no uncertain terms when it’s time to stop.  Eat lightly beforehand, preferably fruit or something similar, and drink well before you step off.  Being well hydrated here in the desert is even more a necessity than it is in the humidity of the eastern areas.  I will not here address night movement, as I believe I saw that dealt with in other posts.  (Note: Desert tactical movement will eventually become necessary in full daylight, but with good OPSEC, and proper discipline, you can avoid it in most instances. YMMV.)

Once a person is capable of doing five miles in combat harness/cartridge belt, with canteens, and first aid kit only, then step it up by adding the remainder of the pouches that will ride on your harness and belt.  Do this until you are acclimatized to the weight and water requirements, then again with either the actual magazines or weight equal to that load.  Again, rigorously avoid the hottest parts of the day, unless there is no choice.  In my experience, unless you are actively being shot at, there is almost always a choice, so don’t go humping when it’s the hottest part of the day.  Once used to this level, step it up to include your body armor, or tactical vest, if you intend to use any, and repeat the process. (You might wish to do this on a country/county road, as the LEOs are likely to get hinky over folks walking about in tactical gear, in the middle of town, here, and I’d assume the same for elsewhere.)

 At that point, you should be more or less doing a “Boots, Utes, an’ Kevlar” physical training cycle.  Keep in mind, for those who are reading this, that the normal forced march step is a full forty inch step, by the book.  As Erik said, almost a run.  One can, once fully used to the rigors of humping, and with a bit of patience and attention to detail, find a more or less comfortable rhythm, where that extended step will really eat up the ground, without wiping you out before you’ve gotten out of town.  Find yours, as best you can, as quick as you can. 

As for humping the burning desert with 100 pound of gear, and such, I will merely say the same thing I said to my troops when I caught them loading that much garbage in their ALICE pack. You want spare skivvies, socks, cold weather clothes, poncho, and at least one full change of regular clothing.  Don’t bring or wear all that slinky satiny tight nylon taffeta garbage.  You want good solid work clothing, that will stand up to the nastiest beating you can give it, if you don’t have any actual utilities.  All else is already covered elsewhere.  Such things as spare toilet paper, fire starters, mess kit, first aid extras, ammo, and whatnot, are automatically part of your harness, and need not be mentioned here, to my mind.   It is also not necessary, unless you in northern climes, to tote twenty-odd pounds of tent, stakes, and subzero rated mummy bag with accessories.  In the environment of the southwest, and high desert west, you’ll just end up pitching all that in the ditch in favor of more water, and more ammo. 

Does it get cold in the desert? Yep.  Sure does.  Sometimes we’ll have a difference from midday to dew point of some sixty-odd degrees.  That is to say, from an average of 105 plus, down to maybe 40.  On a really rough day it can be more than that, even, but it is exceedingly rare to see temps of less than about 40 at night, in this area.  Thus, unless we’re all unlucky enough to have SHTF in the middle of winter, all that heavy gear is not necessary, and in my experience should be staged at one’s retreat, if possible, beforehand.  As an example, for me it rarely gets cold enough to justify much more than long johns, and a standard field jacket, besides my regular clothing, even in January.  You might choose to keep the mummy bag for really cold nights, or you might choose you go with a lesser bag and augment with a blanket or two.  That’s up to you, so long as your circumstances make the weight worth the effort.

One thing that I feel most compelled to address is the mention of boxer shorts.  I agree with my brother Marine. Get rid of ’em.  For all those wannabe couch commandos and mall ninjas running around who think you ain’t a man unless you wearing boxers, I say this;  The first time you’re out humping the boonies with your life depending on it, sweating your butt off, lugging your whole world on your back,  and those things twist all up in and around your tender bits, you gonna get rubbed raw and bloody with a screaming quickness. Find some good briefs, or maybe some of those hybrid half brief/half boxer legged jobs.  Cotton preferably, for the absorbent qualities, and a little bit of stretch, and same goes for the skivvie shirt, too.  Seriously, with as much as almost all of us will be sweating when things go sour, we’ll do better with the absorbent properties than with the macho/ego picture associated with boxer shorts, and we’ll do a whole lot less screaming in the end.  I speak from hard experience, both personal, and from the perspective of pushing troops once upon a time.  Get rid of the boxers, and save yourself a seriously raw groin/upper thigh area.  And don’t even think about going commando either.  I know it sounds corny, but it’s something that should be considered.  Especially if you are blessed with a pair of thighs that rub in the best of conditions, like I am.

Rest places.  In addition to the rehabilitative issues, such as resting turned ankles and such, I would recommend finding a reasonably sheltered rest area every couple days for tactical reasons.  You’ll want to stop and recon the surrounds every so often on a long hump, even if there are no en route injuries.  This allows things to settle some, and you to get a fair look about to see how the ebb and flow of the Golden Horde, Mutant Zombie Bikers, or even just the locals, is working out.  These stops, not more than a day or two, unless there are injuries present, also afford the chance to scout out watering holes, and if one is lucky, grab a decent canteen cup bath, instead of a quick wipe down, and maybe even some warm chow while you’re treating your refills on water.  Such things can go far to keep your morale meter in the green, when all else is going to hell in a hand basket.  So try to incorporate a rest stop every few days at most, if for no other reason than to catch your breath and have a good look around.  This will also give you a good opportunity to perform other sanitary measures, such as improvised laundry (dry method, or use a rock, if there’s little water), or do cleaning/maintenance on weapons and gear, while eyeballing the territory.  Surprisingly, even your own county that you grew up in can, and most likely will, change dramatically when things get nasty, so these little pit stops will give you a chance to re assess while you rest, and hopefully do it before you have to take off again.  One is a serious believer in the art of the low profile, if you can’t tell:)  Stop, look, and listen when and while you can, so you got better info for when you can’t. And when you can’t, move as discreetly as circumstances allow.  Rule of thumb:  Even if it’s “friendly territory”, it isn’t.  So recon every chance you get, while still making the miles roll by.

All in all, the remainder of that post was pretty much on point, and brings back a number of memories. Semper Fi – J.H.

Economics and Investing:

Courtesy of David N.: Lessons of Argentina crisis ignored in handling of Greece

The latest from The Daily Bell: So Many Lost Decades – Why?

Items from The Economatrix:

Be sure to watch this: Economic Armageddon & You

Factories Busier In June After Spring Slump

Enough of this Greek Farce, Everyone Knows Default is Coming

The Great Misdiagnosis

Selling Gold Teeth in Greece to Make Ends Meet

Jim Rogers:  Boost Food Production At Any Cost Or “No Food At Any Price”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Derek C. suggested an encrypted phone service that makes voice over IP (VoIP) calls.  This is a free Android application called Redphone, and when both phones have registered, “secure” calls can supposedly be placed between the phones. Note that if you have Google Voice installed, you need to log out before you can either register or receive Redphone calls;  however, once registered, you can place Redphone calls while still logged into Google Voice.  Derek notes: “I installed this on my wife’s phone and my phone, so we theoretically have an emergency ‘secure channel’ for communications.   If I want to initiate secure communications with her, I can just start dialing on Redphone.  If she wants to initiate secure communications with me, she must first text me with a codeword, which is a signal to me to log out of Google Voice.  She can then initiate a Redphone call to me.”

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Randy K. thought this was a interesting: The Key to Disaster Survival? Friends and Neighbors

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F.G. sent some news about double standards for “special people”, in California: Good Fence, Good Neighbor? Los Angeles Okays Getty House Plan

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Chad S. sent this article about covert surveillance: Police officers find tiny pocket cams are “silent partners”