Note from JWR:

Today we are pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, EM Gear. Check out their great line of outdoor, tactical, and preparedness products.

Letter Re: Treadle Sewing Machines and Advice on Storing Bolts of Fabric

Jim:
Having just restored my 1925 Singer treadle-powered sewing machine to operation, I want to get some fabrics so that I can start making clothes for my family. Would someone with the appropriate experience please advise for a semitropical climate what weight fabrics, what types of fabrics and how many yards would be considered a good ‘cache’ of fabric so as to make a family of four clothing independent?
Thanks, – SF in Hawaii

You question about fabrics goes beyond my expertise. Perhaps some of our readers would care to comment.

The Memsahib and I do have some experience with treadle sewing machines. In addition to a spare drive belt and plenty of needles, the most critical spare part for a treadle sewing machine is its shuttle (a.k.a. bobbin holder). They do eventually wear out. Thankfully, these are fairly easy to find for the Singer brand, but replacement shuttles for New Home and some of the other less popular brand of sewing machines can be quite hard to find. One great resource that we found for treadle sewing machine information and parts is Treadle On.

Letter Re: Rolled Oats Versus Steel Cut Oats for Storage

Mr. Rawles;
Here is another thing that readers should be aware of: steel-cut oats require substantially more cooking than the more processed varieties. I buy #10 cans of steel-cut from Honeyville Grain, mostly because I like the taste of this product. Compared to “just add boiling water” instant oats, steel cut is much slower to cook, requiring about 20 minutes of boiling to become sufficiently soft.
As a preparedness food, it requires too much fuel and preparation time to be a first-line food of choice.

On the other hand, a pressure cooker could probably make short work of preparing any of these “semi-processed” commodities, so your mileage may vary. – JN

Letter Re: Recommendations for a Storage Food Vendor in Canada?

Hi Jim,
I live near Ottawa, [Canada] and have no idea where to buy wheat, whole corn, etc. The only place I can think of would be the feed and seed store, but don’t know about whether these are human consumption quality. I went to a huge local farm and asked them, and they said “I’m not sure where to buy it…” Thanks, – Chris R.

JWR Replies:

I have heard positive reports about FC Surplus, a storage food vendor in Ontario, Canada. At last report, they carried Mountain House freeze dried foods, the Canadian “Freddy Chef” MREs, and a good selection of military surplus and preparedness items, mostly Canadian and from the UK. If they don’t stock bulk grains in five gallon food grade buckets, then they can probably direct you to another Canadian vendor that does. Here is their contact information:

FC Surplus
1712 Dundas Street E.
London, Ontario N5W 3E1, Canada
(519) 451-0246 (Inquiries) Toll Free (877) 393-0056 (Orders only)
(519) 451-9341 (FAX) E-mail: question@fcsurplus.com

Odds ‘n Sods:

I’ve recently received two anxious e-mails from SurvivalBlog readers about the Mental Militia Forums (formerly called “The Claire Files Forums”). It seems that the old URL:
http://www.tcftalk.com/clairefiles/index.php — was allowed to lapse and folks were getting a “not found” error message. But the new URL http://thementalmilitia.com/forums/ is working fine. I hope that the board’s new owners see the wisdom of maintaining the old URL with an automatic URL redirect.

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Eric S. sent us a link to a speech by Federal Reserve Board Governor Frederic S. Mishkin: Financial Instability and the Federal Reserve as a Liquidity Provider. My favorite snippet: “Moral hazard occurs when the lender is subjected to the hazard in which the borrower has an incentive to engage in activities that are undesirable from the lender’s point of view, that is, activities that make it less likely that the loan will be repaid.” This leads me to ask: If it it is “moral hazard” to knowingly lend to the less than creditworthy, then what do you call it when you use billions of taxpayer’s dollars to bail out bankers that made those bad lending decisions?

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By way for reader RBS: Extinction by comet?

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Three readers forwarded us this article link: America’s big, fat housing inventory

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There is nothing wise nor noble for a person to act merely in their own self-interest. Such action is in fact rudimentary in nature and referred to as a survival instinct. Even microbes move toward food and favorable conditions of light and heat. They do this most likely without wisdom, or knowledge and understanding of conditions of the past. Noble acts in nature are largely seen in acts of parenting, which some see as purely instinctual as well, and thus not noble. Mankind is of course the one species which has the knowledge and understanding of the threats which it faces and thus the opportunity to wisely prepare for them, yet the vast majority of mankind does not. Thus to be instinctual, noble, and wise, a person would have to be a charitable survivalist. ” – Rourke

Note from JWR:

One last reminder that today is the last day of the special “six pack sale” for autographed copies of the latest 33 chapter edition of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. The sale price of a box of six books is still just $90, postage paid. (Normally they are $24 per copy, but during this sale you get six autographed copies for $90, mailed in a Priority Mail Flat Rate box, sent to anywhere in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses.) This sale ends on October 31st. This is your chance to buy some extra copies for Christmas presents. Note that because of the recent rush of orders, I am now out of stock. I will continue to honor the special $90 six pack price, but there will be a delay for re-stocking until perhaps as late as mid-November, when the remaining six pack orders will be shipped. Orders will be shipped in the sequence that payments are received. Do not order from me unless you are willing to wait until the third week of November for your six pack of books to arrive! (If you are in a hurry, you can order from Fred’s M14 Stocks. They recently bought 1,000 autographed copies for resale.)

Letter Re: Rolled Oats Versus Steel Cut Oats for Storage

Hello Mr. Rawles,
I recently discovered something called ‘steel-cut’ oats which are healthier than rolled oats. Are you familiar with this and how do they differ when it comes to long term storage. I did find a small container in the store that was about 2-1/2 times the cost of regular rolled oats.

I have enjoyed reading your daily tips and the blog. Thank you, – Margo

JWR Replies: The advantages of steel cut oats are marginal. They do have slightly more nutritive value than rolled oats, but certainly not enough to justify their substantially higher price! Rolled oats are typically steamed, rolled, and then re-steamed and finally toasted dry. The steel cut variety are less heavy processed, so they have just a bit more nutritive value. They also supposedly are a bit more flavorful, but I guess my “Fresh Off the Turnip Truck” palate is not very sophisticated, because I can’t taste much difference. Oh yes, I should also mention that when cooked steel cut oats also swell up more than rolled oats.

All in all, I recommend buying rolled oats for storage. If it means the difference between supplying one family versus supplying two families for the same money, then I’m all for quantity! With rolled oats, you typically get more twice as much for your money. And BTW, from what I’ve read, there is no significant difference in shelf life between the two.

Letter Re: Advice on Resources for Canadian SurvivalBlog Readers?

Hello Jim,
I am wondering if there is anyone here in Canada doing the great work that you are doing?

I have just introduced my husband to the idea of getting prepared. I don’t know if I’ve seen one too many movies or if I have a premonition, but I would like to devise a plan sooner rather than later.
I am also looking for a place to escape to, if we (probably) have to get out of our area (which is just on Lake Ontario ). We are thinking that we should go north.

I live less than 30 minutes west of Toronto, in [deleted from OPSEC], which is about an hour from the Niagara Falls border.

Any thoughts or links you would recommend? Thanking you in advance, – Liz G.

JWR Replies: For our readers north of the border, I recommend Survival Bill’s Forums. There, you will find an interesting exchange of information, most of which has a distinctly Canadian slant. (The majority of posters are Canadians.) If you intend to “link up” with like-minded folks in your area, I also recommend the quasi-hidden(unlinked) web page sponsored by SurvivalistBooks.com. They have a surprisingly large number of postings from Canadians there. OBTW, if you use this free service, then please be sure to give SurvivalistBooks.com some patronage!

Letter Re: The Falling Dollar–Sheltering Your Assets in Steel and Alloy Tangibles

Jim,
I really appreciate your web site and your wisdom. I agree with your evaluation of the need or the wisdom in storing magazines. You recommend original factory or military surplus. My question is what would you advise as far as AK mags go? Any thought on the polymer mags would also be appreciated. Thanks, – Andy

JWR Replies: For steel AK magazines, I recommend buying any of the magazines made in the former Soviet Bloc that have a full length standing metal rib on the back. Virtually all of those are quite robust and reliable, regardless of the country of origin. (They were all made to essentially the same specifications, on USSR-supplied tooling.) The only steel AK magazines to avoid are: A.) the Chinese magazines (which can be identified by their lack of a “dorsal rib”), and B.) Aftermarket magazines from companies like USA Magazines and Triple K. Their quality control is pitiful, which generally results in unreliable junk.

For polymer AK magazines, I recommend buying either Finnish Valmet green “waffle” magazines (which can be identified by their molded-in lanyard loops), or Bulgarian waffle magazines. Both are excellent. Polymer magazines are available from KVAR, although I’ve noticed a few genuine bargains from time-to-time on Buddy’s Board.

I should also mention that most of the AK drum magazines on the market are overpriced and many of them have poor feeding reliability. My advice: stick with 20 and 30 round magazines.

Two Letters Re: Influenza Exercise Shows the Potential for Major Infrastructure Disruptions

James:
In deference to Ben, his numbers are a little off.
I have been spending a great deal of time studying everything I can get my hands on about a pandemic flu. (I am the Emergency Preparedness Specialist for my Church) If you go to www.pandemicflu.gov you’ll see that the “experts” expect a morbidity rate (those who will become sick) of 40% of the US population.and a mortality rate that would be about 20%. If you do some quick math:
360 million Americans
144 million Americans sick
28 Million Dead.
One of the reasons that the numbers would not be as inflated as Ben states is that, while H5N1 is killing at a 50% to 70% range, when and if it mutates, the mortality and morbidity rates would be much lower. Any virus that wants to propagate itself needs to keep a higher rate of “Typhoid Mary’s” just to survive. If it kills it’s host too well it wont be a global threat. Think back to other viral scares. Ebola, although tragic to any who come in contact with it, it kills so well and so fast that it doesn’t spread very effectively. Same goes with the SARS scare in the 1990s.
A pandemic flu will be disastrous and possibly the worst thing we have ever experienced. Couple that with an economic downturn, a massive hurricane, earthquake, flood, ice storm, or war, and it may be the kind of “event” that changes the way we look at TEOTWAWKI. Regards, – KM

 

Jim,
The 1918 Flu is normally used to project/predict the effects of Avian Influenza because it is the last major flu epidemic for which we have decent records. Apparently, the current virus also seems to share some characteristics with the 1918. With regards to Ben’s figures on higher mortality: the fact is we don’t know what the mortality rate of adapted Avian Influenza will be. Usually, when a virus makes the jump to easy transmission between humans, it loses some of it’s potency. This isn’t guaranteed, but it seems to be the general trend, and so the models used to predict Avian Influenza generally follow this reasonable assumption. All the predictions being made are based on history, understanding of mutation mechanisms, and the like–but they are still basically guesses, since we won’t really know how the virus will mutate until it does.

I’d suggest doing some Operational Risk Management, balance the potential impact with the reasonable probability, and apply preparation resources accordingly. From my reading on the subject, there is a theoretical “tipping point” in pandemic disease casualties (whether natural or bio-warfare) where society may disintegrate–possibly between 10 and 20 million for the modern US. The projections based on 1918 are below the admittedly “fuzzy” guesstimate of this point, while the worst case (lethality of Avian Influenza remains in the 50% range without affecting its ability to spread) are well above. It’s food for thought. Regards, – PSJ

Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to LW for sending this: The $915 Billion bomb in consumers’ wallets

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I just received a review copy of Michael Z. Williamson’s latest science fiction novel “Better to Beg Forgiveness”. I really like his books, so I can’t wait to dig in to this one. I will post a full review once I’ve finished it. The novel is now available from Amazon.com.

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RBS flagged this one: US Mint considering cheaper coins. Our currency has become a pitiful reminder of its past greatness. So go all irredeemable fiat currencies, in time.

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Our friend Chuck mentioned: “Chris Nelder, an editor and frequent contributor at Energy & Capital took extensive notes on each speaker’s presentation at the ASPO conference in Houston. The notes (47-pages) are very useful for those studying the peak oil issues.’

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." – Henry Ford

Note from JWR:

A reminder that tomorrow is the last day of the special “six pack sale” for autographed copies of the latest 33 chapter edition of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. The sale price of a box of six books is still just $90, postage paid. (Normally they are $24 per copy, but during this sale you get six autographed copies for $90, mailed in a Priority Mail Flat Rate box, sent to anywhere in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses.) This sale ends on October 31st. This is your chance to buy some extra copies for Christmas presents. Note that because of the recent rush of orders, I am now out of stock. I will continue to honor the special $90 six pack price, but there will be a delay for re-stocking, possible until mid-November, when the remaining six pack orders will be shipped. Orders will be shipped in the sequence that payments are received. Do not order from me unless you are willing to wait until the third week of November for your six pack of books to arrive! (If you are in a hurry, you can order from Fred’s M14 Stocks. They recently bought 1,000 autographed copies for resale.)

Letter Re: Whole Grains Versus Milled Grains for Storage

Jim:
With regards to food storage, I’ve heard a great deal about people buying buckets of wheat to put away. What would be the feasibility of just cutting out the middle-man and stocking up on baking flour, cornmeal, etc.?
If this were possible it would allow one to forego the price of a grinder and put those funds toward even more foodstuffs. I imagine it would keep pretty well if packed with a good vacuum-sealer and socked away in food grade buckets. What am I missing? – L.C.

JWR Replies: As described in my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, once ground, wheat, corn, and other grains begin to lose their nutritive value almost immediately, and their shelf life is shortened drastically. Once the outer kernel (bran) of a grain is penetrated and the inner germ is exposed, the inevitable degradation begins. Here are some rough storage life figures to consider:

Whole corn: 8 to 12 years. Cracked or ground corn: 18 to 36 months

Whole wheat: 20+ years. Flour: 24 to 36 months

If you were to bake all of your own bread each day, and religiously rotate your supplies of flour and corn meal every 18 months, then I suppose that you could get by without owning a grain mill. But if you want to store more than an 18 month supply of grains, or have extra on hand for barter and charity then the only viable alternative is to buy whole grains and a grain mill.