Odds ‘n Sods:

Important Safety Tip: Don’t sleep in bear’s den. Bear kills militants in Kashmir.

   o o o

Don T. suggested this: Farmers growing electricity along with their crops

   o o o

The spin-meisters are at it again! Here is an update on the Jordanian-American terrorist gunman at Fort Hood, Texas: Now they’ve stopped calling it “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” since he had never been deployed to Iraq! Well, perhaps “Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder”? Or, since Major Hasan was a psychiatrist with the US Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, perhaps his case should be labeled: “The Stress of Studying Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I am being unfairly accused. Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges.” – Mayor Sheila Dixon, in her blog on January 10, 2009. (Her trial on a dozen theft, corruption, perjury and bribery charges is scheduled to begin on November, 9, 2009. Two others implicated have already pled guilty, and are cooperating with prosecutors in Dixon’s case. Dixon is a member of the controversial Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.



Letter Re: Preps and Minimizing My Debts Paid Off When Unemployed

Dear Mr. Rawles,
With all the bad news reported every day and your personal heartbreaks I hope I can reassure you about our future just a little by sharing my story with you. I started reading your blog three years ago, during the good times. I’m a 23 year-old man from the liberal north east, some college under my belt, married, and willing to dig in and work to secure my family’s future. I had a good job with a subsidiary of a major european telecom, I worked every hour of overtime I could and pushed myself to excel at any challenge thrown at me. I rose to the top of the EE techs at my former employer, but that still didn’t stop my being laid off when production was shipped to China.

It’s been a year since I’ve been able to find work, and in the intervening time my wife and I have struggled to stay afloat both financially and physically as my wife has Multiple Sclerosis. Thanks to what I had learned from your blog and Patriots, we’ve made it. When my wife and I were married two and a half years ago I made sure we paid off debt, were smart enough to skip buying an overpriced house, and built up our food stores.

Thanks to you when I watched over the past year the price of homes crash and energy skyrocket we were relatively secure in our apartment debt free and chopping up all the deadfall I could find out in the state owned land behind us to burn in our fireplace. I must have saved a thousand dollars last winter heating with wood and more importantly got myself into shape. Once again thanks to you when inflation hit food prices I dug into our larder to get us past the rise in prices. And thanks to you for getting me to take an interest in emergency medicine because I’ve been able to keep my wife stable during health scares a couple times now as we waited for the emts to arrive.

We made it through the rough times, thanks to you and the survivalist community. Today my wife is healthy, our persons secure, and my family while not rich will begin to prosper again. I’ve found a new job, I enlisted in the US Air Force and am shipping out in two weeks. I’ll miss all the holidays this year but I’ll know my family is celebrating safe and in peace.

Next to good planning, the most important lesson I’ve learned is to never quit. So through all your trials Mr. Rawles, I hope you can take heart knowing that you and the Memsahib have touched lives from afar for the better. Sincerely, – Brent S.



Letter Re: Book Recommendation: “Possum Living”

Dear James Wesley,
In October 1978, with a seventh-grade education, 19-year-old Dolly Freed published a book called Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money, about the five years she and her father lived off the land on a half-acre lot outside of Philadelphia. The two of them lived in a renovated gas station bought “free and clear” in foreclosure for $6,100; they raised rabbits for slaughter in their basement and obtained the rest of their food by growing it in their garden and fishing in local creeks; neither chose to hold a job (jobs were scarce in any case), and instead avoided the kind of gracious one-upmanship that seemed to make so many Americans miserable. “We have and get the good things in life so easily it seems silly to go to some boring, meaningless, frustrating job to get the money to buy them,” she wrote, “yet almost everyone does. ‘Earning their way in life,’ they call it. ‘Slavery,’ I call it.”

Following her success as an author, Dolly Freed grew up to be a NASA aerospace engineer. That is, after acing the SATs with an education gleaned from the public library and putting herself through college. She’s also been an environmental educator, business owner, and college professor. She now lives in Texas with her husband and two children.

Tin House Books will reissue the book in January, 2010, and it includes new reflections, insights, and life lessons from an older and wiser Dolly Freed, whose knowledge of how to live like a possum has given her financial security and the confidence to try new ventures. You can see Dolly Freed in a documentary made by Nancy Schreiber in 1980. Wishing You All The Best, – Nanci M.

JWR Replies:I encourage readers to take 28 minutes to watch that documentary. You’ll find that there is quite a bit of the SurvivalBlog mindset there! Dolly Freed’s book is a must for the bookshelf of anyone interested in genuine self-sufficiency.



Two Letters Re: How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer

Jim:
Car batteries are designed for one thing and one thing only – delivering a bunch of power for a very short period of time. Said time is measured in seconds, not minutes, hours, or days.

I have been living “Off the Grid” for fifteen years, and can assure your readers that vehicle batteries can only handle 3-5 complete discharges before they are useless, i.e., after but a few discharges they cannot be recharged and expected to hold said charge. Ergo, they are the wrong choice for any task where discharge exceeds the constant charging input into the battery. They will not last, and the monies and the time procuring and cabling such will have been wasted.

If one intends to utilize batteries and a charger of whatever source to power lights or equipment of any sort, only use “Deep Cycle” types as the plate construction used in these is designed for multiple deep-discharges. The number of discharges varies given the size of the battery itself, and can range from as few as 100 to well over 2,000. Yes, in the case of batteries, size matters.

Another little hint: When engaged in the mathematics of power generated in relationship to end use, whether from solar, microhydro, wind, or fuel powered generators, remember that when using a battery to “store” generated power, factor in a loss of 6% of the power produced due the requirements of the chemical reaction in the battery. Period. And never forget that “Volts X Amps = Watts”. If you don’t model your production and usage with these numbers in mind, say goodbye to your batteries.

On the way out the door, one more bit of advice, this on “Phantom Loads.” Many of the appliances we buy today are never actually “off”, even though one believes such is the case. A few decades back, the appliance manufacturers decided to stroke our egos because having to wait a few seconds for an appliance to “warm up” was frustrating. Now such a wait would border on a personal insult. We demand “instant on” from everything, and this comes with a price. Even “off”, many of your appliances consume power. Either you pay the power monopoly for it, or if “Off the Grid”, you deplete and perhaps even destroy your batteries.

The easiest way to find how much your favorite appliance is robbing you is to buy a little device called a Kill-A-Watt [electricity usage monitor], about $30.00 or so, available at hardware stores and places like Lowe’s and Home Depot. One plugs it into the wall and then you plug the appliance into it, with the appliance still “off”. Much to your surprise and then chagrin, a little digital readout tells you how many “watts” that appliance uses when it’s “off”. Pardon the pun, but the results will “shock” you. That television that is presumed “off” may well be using 30-40 watts constantly, 24-7-365. Add in stereo components, computers, printers, and all those other things that we believe make life worth living and pretty soon we’re talking about real money. And if you are dependent on a battery bank, well, you get my drift. It’s more than just money.

Solution? Whether “Off the Grid” or dependent on a power monopoly, put all such appliances on power strips, and when you want them truly off, shut down the power strip. Then “Off” really means “Off”. There’s no point in paying for something your aren’t using, and if out there pioneering, ignoring this will destroy your batteries, Good Luck! – J. Mo

James,
I noted with concern one item in the recent blog article: How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer, by Jeff M. He recommended using car batteries for lead to cast bullets from. As a caster myself I have learned that this is an extremely hazardous thing to do. The lead plates in car batteries are impregnated with arsenic and calcium to aid the the chemical reaction to generate electricity. Melting these down will generate arsine gas which is highly poisonous. He also recommended using lead wheel weights. [Traditional lead alloy] wheel weights [made before the recent switch to zinc] are the preferred metal for most bullet casters. While they contain about a quarter of a percent of arsenic they do not contain calcium and do not generate arsine gas when melted. Safety First!
God Bless, – Jim E.



Economics and Investing:

Regular contributor GG flagged this piece from Zero Hedge: Fannie Mae Seriously Delinquent Rate Hockeysticks to 4.45% From 1.57% In Prior Year

M.M. in Utah suggested this piece by Eric Sprott and David Franklin in Markets at a Glance: Dead Government Walking

Karen H. sent this: Profit ‘Not Satanic,” Barclays Says

Also from Karen H.: ADP says U.S. Companies Cut an Estimated 203,000 Jobs in October

Items from The Economatrix:

Gold Extends Record High on India Purchase

US Service Industry Expands Less than Forecast

Rogers Says Roubini is Wrong

US Home Price Slide to Continue to Mid-2010
[JWR’s Comment: Gee, what optimists! I think “Mid-2020” would be a more accurate prediction.]

Silver Set to Soar as it Did in the 1970s

The Government Will Default on its Debts

Geithner Signals Gold Going Much Higher

Months of Gains Ahead for Commodities



Odds ‘n Sods:

Rourke suggested this article: What Survivalists Have Right

   o o o

Reader Jim S. suggested this mainly humorous piece: 12 places to go if the world goes to h***

   o o o

Bob B. found an essay titled: Why Bother? (To Prepare) Bob says: “It underscores the fact that preparing significantly alters your mindset, which might turn out to be the most valuable preparation of all.”

   o o o

“Straycat” sent us this: Water rationing for Venezuela’s capital city. Have you bought a Berkey or Katadyn filter for your family yet?



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed, and next oblige it to control itself." – James Madison



The Reliability of the Gas Tube-Driven AR-15/M16/M4 Design is Again Questioned

Several readers wrote to mention these articles: How Reliable is the M16 Rifle? and, a follow-up: The M16 Argument Heats Up, Again. This is sure to raise a ruckus with some of the SurvivalBlog readers that are owners of AR-15s, registered (Class 3) M16s, M4geries, and even AR-10s. Before you send me a fusillade of angry letters, please note that most of the failures mentioned in the After-Action Report (AAR) were with M16s and M4s that had been used in very high volume of fully automatic fire–something that they were not designed to do. (After all these are individual weapons–not crew-served weapons that are designed to be used like garden hoses.) So that is not relevant, in the context of survivalist planning. (If it were relevant, then you ‘d be living through a “worst case” whilst living in the the wrong neighborhood!) Meanwhile, as I mentioned earlier this week in the blog, this report was circulated by a British newspaper, castigating the inconsistent stopping power of 5.56mm NATO: Bullets used by British soldiers ‘too small to defeat Taliban’. (That too, has been debated before in SurvivalBlog, and umpteen other venues.)

Clearly, the Army and Marine Corps could do better for our troops that the current M16/M4 design. Although it would be an expensive thing to do and it would take a bit of a logistics tap dance during the transition, the entire inventory of M16s and M4s could be retrofitted with new gas piston driven uppers for the 6.8mm cartridge. SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Mike Williamson notes that the 6.8 cartridge would provide more consistent stopping power, but he sees it more likely to be fielded as the new cartridge for a light machinegun. And I (JWR) believe that regardless of whether or not a caliber change occurs, a gas piston upper should replace the quick-fouling gas tube design that has plagued the M16 and its offspring for more than 40 years. I doubt these either of these changes will be made, since although they are technically the best solutions, the political will and dollars required will be problematic.

Mike Williamson continues: The Brits found out that 7.62mm NATO recoiled too much for full auto, and most of their L1A1s were converted to semiautomatic-only upon being fielded.The 7.62mm NATO is a good cartridge, but it’s too much for an individual full auto weapon.

Along those lines, I believe that the recent Special Ops tests with 6.8mm were in no way related to replacing 5.56. It doesn’t take any field tests at all to determine that 6.8 is a more effective stopper, but not more effective enough to justify the reduced combat load (for the same weight of ammo). Logistically, it is an inferior military round in terms of mass carried for stops made. However, the modular nature of the AR made the tests easy to perform.

I expect that 6.8mm will be the next support weapon and machine gun caliber, given its shorter action length than .308, and its considerable effectiveness. I predict we’re about to witness the end of .30 caliber weapons in the US military.

JWR concludes: I wasn’t surprised to see SOCOM do field tests of the 6.8mm rifles. They are famous for “thinking outside the box”, for “off the shelf” procurement of various goodies, and for adopting different tactics and even different weapons than those used by “The Big Army”. (The SF’s casual term for the balance of the US Army–it’s conventional forces.) Weapons fielding changes for a couple of thousand SF troops can be done fairly rapidly, but fielding a new rifle for the entire US Army isn’t going to happen overnight. That sort of thing takes congressional approval and waiting for slow turning of the gears of the Big Procurement Machine, which from many perspectives is a snail’s pace.



Letter Re: A West Texas Retreat Locale

I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers consider the land here in the desert of West Texas for rural remote retreats that are affordable and located away from the major city targets.

The desert acts as a sandy, hot, dry, moat around such retreats…and will attrite gangs of marauders roving out of the ruined cities. Land out here around

Balmorhea, Texas is cheap by your standards: $300 an acre average. The San Solomon spring brings in 26 million gallons of fresh water daily to the one mile square irrigation/fishing lake two miles east of Balmorhea. Balmorhea is about two miles south of Interstate 10, around mile marker 209.

There are about 20-30 farms on concrete viaducts that receive water from the lake for irrigation without pumping…and those can grow plenty of food to support those who live there and in the area. The population is only 700.

A natural gas pipeline supplies Balmorhea without compressors. There are over six new flowing gas wells on that line now so after the SHTF, Balmorhea and the area will still have unlimited gas service to power generators, heat homes, and so forth, even with the national power grid down permanently. It is an oasis in the desert of West Texas with lots of abandoned farm land in the area. Farmers have been driven out of business by the lift cost of water away from the irrigation lake. Madera Valley Water Supply has water lines running all over her supplying these abandoned farms, but their pumps are electric and will be down until we replace them with gas fired pumps or gas fired generators.

If your readers are not scared of good ol’ boy redneck west Texans. They can get a good deal out here on survival retreat property. But, don’t come expecting to have a high paying job. There aren’t any!. In fact, Reeves county has an official unemployment figure of 14 percent, but is commonly acknowledged to be above 20 percent due to the oil and gas exploration downturn. Use ZIP code 79718 for Balmorhea if you want to do a Google Earth flyover and look at the landscape. The circles are center pivot sprinkler systems that irrigate entire sections of land, and most are out of action because no one can now afford the electricity to pump them.

My condolences on your loss of your wife, Jim. Keep up the good work with your SurvivalBlog. It is linked to my SurvivingTheDayAfter@yahoogroups.com group and considered a must read daily. Semper paratus. – R.L.



Letter Re: Retreat Construction, Afghan Style

James-
One of the most notable features of the architecture here in Afghanistan are the adobe-walled compounds called qalats. Looking at them, especially from the air, it seems to me they would be an excellent style of construction for those with the time (and money) to build their own home retreat. See this photo.

As you can see in the picture (which shows attached qalats for three or more families), a qalat can be almost a miniature castle, complete with a tower or towers. The walls are thick adobe, requiring demolitions or tank cannons to breach. (If you’ve got enemies with access to tanks and [tank] main gun ammo who know where you are, you’re pretty well screwed anyway.) One gate to control access, which, if you were so inclined, could easily be built as a old-school sally port. The walls enclose enough space for vegetable farming and in some cases small orchards, along with space to park vehicles. In the winter, the vegetable garden area can be used to pen livestock.

The biggest downside, at least for building in the US, is that I’m pretty sure adobe doesn’t meet most building codes, plus it’s usefulness is limited to the southwest. Also, a proper qalat takes a long time to build. Now, I don’t see any reason you couldn’t build one with reinforced concrete walls (covered with stucco if bare concrete is too ugly for you) if you’ve got the money to pay for it, which would probably obviate any building code issues.

What considerations am I missing? – David L.

JWR Replies: Adobe and rammed earth construction will work in wet climates, as long as they are covered by a roof long with wide eaves, to protect them from rain erosion. As with any other high-mass construction material, it is essential to include plenty of re-bar. (This often neglected in Third World countries, mostly due to poverty. Without re-bar, masonry and earthen structures are prone to collapse in earthquakes.) Do not under-rate the utility of adobe and rammed earth! In retreat architecture, mass is a good thing! As I wrote in my latest book: There is no substitute for mass. Mass stops bullets. Mass stops gamma radiation. Mass stops (or at least slows down) bad guys from entering a home and depriving its residents of life and property… …When planning your retreat house, think: medieval castle.

Rammed-earth Fujian Tulous have been used in China for centuries to protect co-located families from the depredations of bandits.
One shortcoming of Afgjan qalats is that they typically have blind sides. (See my previous commentary on Vauban Stars and Cooper Corners.)



Influenza Pandemic Update:

Reader Karl B. sent this new item that he spotted on a news wire, dated 29 October: Unidentified virus kills 30 in western Ukraine. Since I was unable to find a link to the English translation of the piece (originally from a Kiev television outlet), I’ve decided to post it in full:

[Presenter] An unknown deadly virus has taken lives of over 30 people in western Ukraine. The preliminary diagnosis is viral pneumonia. The results of analyses are to be made public early next week. According to the latest statistics, some 12 people died in Ternopil Region, 11 in Lviv Region and six in Ivano-Frankivsk Region. The decease has spread to other regions. Another three people died of viral pneumonia in Chernivtsi, and two in Rivne Region. The Health Ministry has called on people to call at hospitals immediately if they have any symptoms of pneumonia. Prime Minister [Yuliya Tymoshenko] plans to start playing audio clips with this information on the radio.

[Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevych] Today the doctors are ready and they know how to provide emergency treatment [of pneumonia], but the main issue is the timeliness of visiting the doctor. We are already able to detect if this is the so called flu virus, if this is our traditional flu or if it is the California flu, H1N1, the so called swine flu, as we call it. This will be confirmed.

[The UNIAN news agency at 1037 GMT quoted Knyazevych as saying that among people diagnosed with viral pneumonia were those of working age and pregnant women. He said that the best health care experts in Ukraine had been sent to western Ukraine to help tackle the spread of the virus].”

SurvivalBlog reader John in Ohio sent us a link to a Wall Street Journal follow-up: Swine Flu Fears Grip Ukraine

Now They’re Calling it Hemorrhagic

Global Uptick In Swine Flu Deaths

China Warns it Faces Severe Challenges in Combating H1N1 Swine Flu

Ukraine in Panic Over Swine Flu

Four Ukraine Doctors Dead of Swine Flu



Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson pointed us to some commentary by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal that sheds some light on attitudes about the current recession: We’re Governed by Callous Children.

GG flagged this: Junk bond revival stokes credit bubble fears

GG also sent us this troubling piece, from England: More quantitative easing is on the way – and that’s a good thing. The UK government considers debt monetization a good thing? Watch out!

Items from The Economatrix:

Oil Hovers Near $78 on Positive US Economic News

World Markets Fall as US Recovery Doubts Linger

Three Strong Economic Reports Lift Recovery Hopes

Obama: Hiring Last to Come as Economy Rebounds

Oil Edges Lower Ahead of Fed Meeting


Author Says G20 in Scotland this Week is About Dumping the Dollar

Bankruptcy Filings to Match Divorce Filings in 2009: 1.5 Million, 35.8 Million Americans on Food Stamps — 11% of the Population. The 5 Indicators of the Misery Index

Mish Shedlock: Obama Creates 640,329 Jobs at a Cost of $323.739.83 Per Job



Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Bill R. recommended the RadioReference.com. Here is Bill’s description of the site: “It is the only site that I’ve found that covers county 911 dispatch in my county in rural northwestern Tennessee. This is a good site to find out what’s going on at any time. There is a wealth of real time information here, as well as threads and discussions re: 911 comms, amateur radio, and all things radio.”

   o o o

The folks at Ready Made Resources have announced that they are having another free drawing for November. It will be for a Lifesaver 4000 water filtration bottle (a $169 retail value.). It is free to sign up, with no purchase necessary. They will also be having a sale on Mountain House canned long-life storage foods, from November 15th to 30th. Full Case Lots will be 25% off and qualify for free shipping! Mixed Case Lots are 25% off, plus shipping.

   o o o

Disasters may catch Canada unprepared: AG report. (Thanks to Richard S. for the link.)

   o o o

One of my relatives mentioned the products from Tactical Medical Packs. They appear to be top quality. Take a look.



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I find it simply fascinating how little is currently being written about the big bull market in gold. Where anything is written, it’s almost a warning that ‘gold is volatile,’ that ‘speculators are driving gold up,’ or that ‘the gold shorts are simply being squeezed.’ Never a word about the Fed creating new inflationary oceans of liquidity, never a word about the dollar losing its purchasing power, never a word about real money rising against all other asset classes. Silence reigns regarding what could be the most significant bull markets in recent history.” – Richard Russell