Letter Re: The Recent Blizzard on I-90 in Wisconsin

JWR,
I read the link that was submitted by Craig in Odds ‘n Sods. The Channel 3000 story couldn’t be farther from the truth. As a local first responder, I can attest that we are getting the short end of the stick. The State Patrol didn’t even acknowledge there was any problem on the interstate until hours after our crews were already on scene. They didn’t even know that Dane County had set up an incident command headquarters at the Highway 51 interchange. The first semi trucks started losing traction as early as 10 a.m.that day. Near blizzard conditions had been present all the previous night. I am on Stoughton, Wisconsin EMS team, and my cousin is with the Stoughton Fire Department. My cousin and his friend, also a firefighter, responded to the command center with personally owned snowmobiles.

Shortly after these two individuals start checking the welfare of motorists, a State Patrol officer stopped them and read them the riot act for daring to drive snowmobiles on what he called “my interstate.” He threatened to give both emergency responders (acting under fire command orders) citations for operating the snowmobiles on the interstate. They had been tasked by the incident commander with recon of the southbound lanes, they made it to the Rock River (where the Rock County incident command was set up), and were met by more than 30 members of the local snowmobile club. These private citizens came ready equipped with food, water and first aid. The two local firefighters were tasked by Rock Co. incident command to split up the club members into two teams and check lanes in both directions.

At no time did the local responders ever see National Guard members on snowmobiles. Nor did they ever see any on the interstate. The National Guard were handing out water and food from one truck at the Dane Co. incident command headquarters to emergency workers. The stranded motorists soon started to become covered by snow drifts. Many said that was the most scary aspect, as well as the total lack of information. Local cell towers became overloaded. Communications were accomplished by “CB relay chains”.

Several diabetic motorists were assisted by snowmobilers, and one patient who was en route to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in his privately owned car was loaned a portable generator since the internal battery on the patient’s medical device ran out.

The National Guard chopper was seen overhead on several occasions, but never landed as far as I know. Much later in the day, after some traffic flow began, the snowmobilers had to go back out to the interstate to wake up some of the semi truck drivers, who had been sleeping in their cabs, and whose rigs were now blocking traffic flow. All told, the firefighter/snowmobilers logged over 400 miles traversing a 25 mile stretch of I-90. – BadgerDad, EMT-IV

Letter Re: Advice on a Starlight Scope Platform

Hello James,
I’ve been putting off acquiring a AN/PVS-4 [–a Starlight technology electronic light amplification night vision weapons sight–] for too long primarily due to the expense (and other priorities). The time has come to get one from STANO Components night vision (and I’ll be sure to mention your blog). I’ll be getting a Gen2 refurbished scope with a new [image intensifier] tube and the other details you mentioned recently. I have three options for mounting the scope. I am inclined to mount the scope on my M1A Match (at present is equipped with a 10x super sniper scope) but have other options, an AR-15 or a FN-FAL (none of these have optics).
Note: I have one M1A but two AR-15s and two FN-FALs. I do have a Springfield [Armory M1A] SOCOM (.308) but that is probably not the best choice here. I understand that I should be able to remove/mount the AN/PVS-4 scope without messing up the zero each time but would prefer to just mount it on a firearm and just leave it there as the full time dedicated night firearm. Plus, not having to remount it is just one less thing to do.

I just want to be sure that I’m not missing anything tactically or otherwise before I advise STANO Components to set it up [with a reticle] for .308. Thanks for any input, – Pete.

JWR Replies: I agree that your SOCOM-variant M1A would be a poor choice for use as your dedicated night-fighting rifle. They have 16.25″ barrels and consequently have a huge muzzle flash. While a .223 might suffice, I believe that a .308 is much more effective, particularly at long range. I would recommend mounting the Starlight scope on one of your FALs, for two reasons:
1.) FAL (and L1A1) flash hiders are fairly efficient.
2.) FAL scope mount top cover have a good reputation for “return to zero” when removed and reinstalled. Even the inexpensive TAPCO top cover mounts exhibit remarkable return to zero stability.
And thanks, BTW, for mentioning SurvivalBlog whenever you deal with any of our advertisers–or any companies that are potential advertisers.

Odds ‘n Sods:

There is some good commentary from John Ing, posted over at Gold-Eagle; Gold: Lies, Lies And More Lies

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The cable television Sci-Fi channel will air the “Jericho” pilot episode and then the entire first season, starting tonight. (Monday, Feb. 9, 2008.) The second season of the show will be aired on CBS on Tuesday evenings, starting tomorrow night.

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RBS suggested this piece of old time lore on preserving eggs without refrigeration.

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Check out the series of free outdoor survival videos at this British web site: A-Z of Bushcraft.

Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $250. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items combined in one lot: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), a SurvivalBlog Key Logistics Tote Bag (a $17.50 retail value), and an autographed set of Michael Z. Williamson’s “Target: Terror” modern military fiction sniper trilogy, from Avon books: “The Scope of Justice“, “Targets of Opportunity“, and “Confirmed Kill“. This auction ends on February 15th. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.

Impassable Freeways and Highways in an Eleventh Hour “Get Out of Dodge”

Jim,
I found some depressing analysis on G.O.O.D. for those of us near US population centers: Read this PDF.

For further information on the ineffectiveness of G.O.O.D. when times get bad, US DOT generated this report: Using Highways for No-Notice Evacuations.

In addition, there is no shortage at the US DOT web site of well-intentioned and theoretical research reports on disaster planning.

For many of us, last minute G.O.O.D. plans are likely to be characterized by a high probability of failure along with its associated human costs. One might guess that the chance of failure is an exponential function of the distance to the retreat. I need to remind myself that it is not a simple matter of just getting in the car or BOV and heading out to the safety of my retreat. Might work, probably won’t.

Thank you again for your hard work, – The DFer

JWR Replies: I concur that “Eleventh Hour” G.O.O.D. is a bad idea. Even if you have 90% of your gear pre-positioned at your retreat, there is the prospect of never making it there safely. (Or, arriving days or weeks late, on foot, only to find your retreat occupied by armed squatters that are gleefully eating from your carefully planned deep larder.) As I illustrated in my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”, being forced to abandon a vehicle and traveling on foot is a dicey proposition, at best. I strongly recommend that readers live at their retreats years round–even if it means giving up a high-paying big city job.

You mentioned: “One might guess that the chance of failure is an exponential function of the distance to the retreat.” I would qualify that by saying: “…the distance that you need to traverse in a high population density region to get to the retreat”. It is best if one can get away from urban regions fairly quickly and then take secondary or tertiary back roads. For those that are forced by circumstances or family obligations to live a long distance from their intended retreat, I recommend doing some detailed map studies, and then some test drives with a GPS receiver in hand, to establish five or more G.O.O.D. routes–some quite circuitous–to stay away from high population regions and expected refugee lines of drift. Needless to say, always, always, have enough fuel on hand, to make the drive from your home to your retreat without buying any fuel. Depending on the fire code in your town, that might necessitate caching some fuel along your route. (Ideally, with relatives or friends.) Along with that comes the further complication of systematically rotating that cached fuel.)

If and when “The Day” comes, do not hesitate! You need to get out of town well ahead of The Golden Horde, while roads are still passable. It is better to be ultra-cautious and run the risk of burning up some of your hard-earned vacation hours in the event of a few false alarms, than to be complacent and thereby end up stuck in traffic, staring at the tail lights and back bumpers of the enormous horde that left town ahead of you. (Just ask the folks that tried leaving the Gulf Coast cities just before Hurricane Katrina arrived. It was a monumental traffic jam.)

Letter Re: Consumer Price Inflation is Upon Us

Dear JWR,
I thought you’d like to pass this on if people want to save some of their hard earnings. Now is the last call to purchase before the commodity price increases. Shipping cost increases are to hit us again on February 19th. Here in North Carolina, we’re seeing an average of 20% increases in prices of staple shelf items like flour, corn milled products, honey, milk, eggs and canned goods within the last two weeks in the grocery stores. One bell pepper now costs a dollar. Other produce is following the same increases. Products made of plastics, paper and aluminum and galvanized fencing materials have jumped about 25%. The inventory has also been pared down dramatically in the general stores and farm supply stores, especially on animal feed.

We prepaid and ordered a pallet each of salt blocks, crushed calcium, and lime and had to wait almost a month for them. When we picked them up the manager told us we were fortunate that we prepaid because the prices had increased to about 15% on them.

Local grown soy beans, wheat and corn are hard if nil to come by. The soy has all been shipped to China. Many shelves are bare for several days before resupply. Lumber prices have gone crazy and the available quality is getting poorer and we have dozens of mills and thousands of tree farms within 100 miles of here.

Of course, because of God’s providence and foresight to act, we don’t need to buy these as we’re stocked adequately for a very long haul, but I always make note of the prices on these items, because we have the capability and produce many of these ourselves and we barter excesses of these for other items we don’t produce. The going market value is important to monitor if you want to barter and maintain a balance for the goods you exchange.

Keep up the great work! You have done so much toward educating us all in maintaining our independence and in preparing ourselves for the worst of the worst. We now proudly stand at the ready. God bless you and your family. – KBF

Letter Re: A Hearty Letter of Recommendation for Todd Savage

Dear SurvivalBlog.com and SurvivalRealty.com Readers:
I wanted to take a moment to thank Todd Savage for the outstanding work that he did for my family helping us become familiar with Northern Idaho and helping us find the perfect retreat. Todd helped us discover Idaho in its entire splendor, helped us manage our expectations properly and never led us astray.

Initially, we had some good ideas on what to look for in a retreat having read both the novel “Patriots” and [JWR’s nonfiction book] “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” more than once. Nonetheless, we weren’t 100% sure what we wanted in a retreat and we decided to look at everything that was available in our price range with very few limiting criteria. We looked at dozens of properties as we spent the next four months looking for the perfect retreat for our family. Todd was there every step of the way. Our searches were sometimes challenging, like the time we ditched our 4×4 at 2 mph and had to bring in a tow truck from Troy, Montana to get us out of a very dicey iced over mountain road in the middle of a heavy snow (fortunately it was only Todd and I that time). Todd, like the truly prepared individual that he is, took everything in stride and resolved the issue promptly allowing us to continue our search in short order.

Throughout the entire process he was professional, meticulous, and motivated. I always felt as though I was his only client.. Todd is also very conscientious and perceptive and quickly adapts to changing situations with his clients’ searches such as the spouse that may only be 95% on board and doesn’t necessarily want to live in a fortified MX missile silo as many of us in the XY [chromosome] crowd happily would. Todd consistently went above and beyond his duties as a Realtor and retreat consultant, previewing properties for us and making sure that we did not waste any time looking at property that would not fit our needs. Flying into Spokane with two preschool age children for a weekend tour of Northern Idaho is not for the faint of heart; Todd’s meticulous attention to detail with pre-generated reports, satellite views and feasibility studies for each property made the treks all the more enjoyable and fruitful.

If you’re looking for retreat property in Northern Idaho you could never hope to meet a better person to help you find the right place. I placed my trust and potentially the future well being of my family in Todd’s capable hands and he came through the way a Marine always does. Semper Fidelis.
From a very satisfied Survival Realty customer, – E.S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

After a near-death experience, the post-nuke television drama series “Jericho” returns to CBS on Tuesday (February 12, 2008). It is noteworthy that “Jericho” was resurrected from cancellation by popular demand from loyal fans, who inundated CBS officials with shipments of 40,000 pounds of peanuts. As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, I have hopes that both “Jericho”, and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (on the Fox network) will in some small way help get people to “think outside the box” about the fragility of our modern society and motivate them to prepare for more inimical times. OBTW, for anyone that wants to chat about either series, there is both a The Sarah Connor Chronicles Yahoo Discussion Group and a Jericho (TV Series) Yahoo Discussion Group.Both of these are moderated by a SurvivalBlog reader.

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Eric found us this: UK- Price of food soars to all-time record

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Thanks to RBS for this one: Your cost of living may be rising faster than the Consumer Price Index

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John R. sent us: Couple survives 12 days in snow. John’s comments: “This is why everyone should have carry a kit in their vehicles. The couple made it out alive, thankfully, though one rescue worker died as a result of over-exertion. But it doesn’t sound like it was easy.” Meanwhile , Craig sent this: Hundreds Of Motorists Still Stranded On I-90. Craig asks: “I wonder how many of them had winter survival kits in their cars?”

Two Letters Re: Is Grain Sold as Seed or Animal Feed Safe to Eat?

James,
A reader asked about “deer wheat” in a video posted on Youtube. The intent of the video was to show how someone could inexpensively pack their own dry goods, not to argue the merit of “feed” wheat.

Just to clarify though, the wheat in the video was purchased from a feed store selling it as “feed” wheat not as “deer wheat.” As you mentioned there is essentially two types you’ll find at feed stores- seed wheat and feed wheat.

Down in the southern parts of the country there are more insect problems, so much of the “seed” wheat is treated with pesticides. The good news is that if you can smell, it will be readily recognizable to you as having pesticides on it.

Having purchased and packed a fair amount of “feed wheat” for personal use and having talked to numerous grain mills in this area, here’s what I’ve found-

The “feed” variety of wheat isn’t cleaned as much as “triple cleaned” wheat which is normally what is sold for human consumption.

Quality typically varies from one source to the next. We recommend folks buy one bag to start with after telling the store owner you need non-treated wheat for animal feed. Lots of people mix there own scratch grains, etc. so this is not uncommon. Get the bag home and test it for yourself. We have only noticed a slightly higher amount of grain dust and chaff, but again this will vary from one source to the next. You could always winnow this out yourself if you so desired.

It does offer a cheap alternative for folks to put up wheat. I realize not everyone will see the utility of using this type of food, nor will everyone “approve” of it. I can only tell you that my family (and others) have consumed quite a bit of this with no ill affects. – Dave in Idaho

 

Sir:
While animal feed at this time is not par with food, these rules will be changing. The FDA is pressuring, producers, storage facilities and feed mills to bring their standards up to human food chain levels. We will see this transformation in the next three to five years as laws will be brought forth to force this process.

Speaking of food and feed, we are going to see another twenty percent rise in wholesale food pricing within this year.

The preceding statements came to me from the heads of various feed mills, food manufacturing plants and grain shipping/storage facilities where I conduct pest control services on the west coast. – S.M.

Three Letters Re: Frozen Livestock Water Tank Woes

Hi Jim,
I have not tried one of these yet. But it seems like a good idea. – Paul D

 

Jim,
I came across this interesting product while surfing the Internet a couple of weeks ago. It is one possible solution to the problem of freezing livestock tanks. The web site also mentions that insulating the sides of the tank helps retain the heat. – Jeff

 

Good Evening Mr. Rawles;
In reference to the posting regarding heating a livestock tank, please review this web site.

I purchased one of these tubs and stoves several years ago but not for livestock use. I do remember my grandfather having something similar at our farm when I was growing up. When I visit my retreat in the winter and temperatures are in the 0 degree range, I can fill the tub with well water and have it heated to 100 degrees in about four hours. Maintaining the temperature is then relatively easy, albeit the tub is covered with an insulated cover when not in use. Also tubbin’ temperatures are warmer than required for livestock watering temperatures.

As a secondary benefit, I keep the tub full during the non-freezing months as it makes a great back-up source of water.
I am not affiliated with this vendor, just a satisfied customer.

Also, another note to those that use programs like Quicken to track their financial date, putting the 10 Cent Challenge in your Scheduled Transactions, will insure that you keep up to date on the Challenge. It helps me keep my subscription current. Thanks for all of your work on the site. – S.N.

Letter Re: Homemade and Expedient Vegetable Oil Lamps

Sir,
I clicked on this link from your site, JOTW – Home Made Vegetable Oil Lamp. This got me to thinking about something I read about and tried once, some years ago. Take a tangerine, and using a knife, cut the nub off of the top, to expose the fruit, and using a spoon, separate the fruit from the peel and the segments from each other, leaving the sting like ” pith ” that runs from top to bottom, down the center of the segments, connected to the bottom. After letting the thing dry a bit, the pith is cut a bit to act as a free standing ” wick “, a bit of olive, vegetable, or corn oil is put in, leaving about 1/4” of the pith above the oil to light. If it soaks up the oil enough, the lamp can be made to last quite a while for survival needs.

If you go to the extreme in a survival situation, a lamp could be fashioned from natural clay like the ones seen in the Middle East that have been made the same way since biblical times. . Many thanks to Hawaiian K. for the link. I like to try some of these type preparedness do-it-yourself projects from time to time to learn a new skill that may help me and my family some bad day. – Dim Tim

Letter Re: SHOT Show Report

Jim,
I just returned from the SHOT Show held in down in Mordor (Lost Wages, Nevada.) Here are my top three favorite innovations that I saw there.

1) This product is number one by a long shot. It is a huge monumental leap in technology for night vision. My buddy just back from Iraq fell over when he saw it. SuperVision(tm) Digital Night Vision. Forget the blurry and hazy green from the past. The new generation shows clear blue-gray out to 300+ yards. Its clarity is impressive and the cost is half of the current top offering of night vision. www.xenonics.com for live video.
Downside-only have handheld unit-working on rail mount for front of scope-due soon.

2) A 5 inch by 3 inch water purifier that purifies up to 2000 liters, and costs only $59.95. It fits in the palm of your hand–very small and compact. Made by Middleboro Water, LLC ph. (508) 947-6824

3) A multi-tube Magazine located in fore-end stock of a semi-auto shotgun. When one tube is empty you rotate the stock to engage a new tube. Total capacity is 16 rounds. Made in Meridian, Idaho. See: SRM Arms PDF and Defense Review article. [A hat tip to Ron A., for sending those links.]

Cool factor: Beretta Pistol with 1000 diamonds embedded in the pistol grips. 90 carats total. And of course, a Perazzi shotgun set: a .410, 28, 16 and 12 gauge shotgun set costing a mere $447,000. Pocket change!

The 2008 SHOT Show had 7,000 vendors and new overflow tents in the parking lot. As you can guess I only saw a percentage of the show in two full days. God Bless, – B.