Odds ‘n Sods:

H5N1 in the British Isles? Yes, it’s official: Outbreak of lethal bird flu confirmed in Britain.

   o o o

Just in time for holiday travel: Pump price to jump 20 cents in next 2-3 weeks

   o o o

Thanks to RBS for sending us this article from Forbes: Empty Houses Home to Crime As Loans Fail. Here is a quote: “In the Franklin Reserve neighborhood of Elk Grove, Calif., full of subdivisions with half-million dollar homes, homeowners are fighting inner-city problems like gangs, drugs, theft and graffiti. During the boom, the suburb just south of Sacramento sprouted 10,000 homes in four years, attracting investors from the San Francisco area. Now many houses stand empty, weeds overtaking lawns, signs lining the street: ‘Bank Repo,’ ‘For Rent,’ ‘No trespassing – bank owned property.’ A typical home’s value has dropped from about $570,000 to the low $400,000s.”

   o o o

The folks at AlertsUSA (one of our new advertisers) mentioned a special offer for SurvivalBlog readers: They have set up a special promo code which, if entered at the time of purchase, will add three additional months of service free with the purchase of a one year subscription. In other words, 15 months for the price of 12. The promo code to use is: survival07

Note from JWR:

With the many hours required to write the blog, to write books, and to do consulting, I have decided to shut down my mail order business. It was fun, but it was a huge time sink. I will also no longer be taking orders for autographed copies of my novel. Fred’s M14 Stocks still has more than 900 autographed copies available.

Letter Re: Freshness Tests for Storage Foods

Jim,
Numerous web sites and books provide information about average food shelf life. However, this shelf life greatly depends for instance upon temperature (food generally stores proportionately longer at cooler temperatures), thus a properly stored food item could be good to consume well past its ‘expected’ expiration date.
Sometimes discoloration (for instance) is not a show stopper. Do you or your readers know of some simple ‘freshness test’ to ensure that a given food product is good or not (or is that a stupid question)?
I can start with what I gathered from the Internet:

– Baking powder
Freshness test: Mix 1 teaspoon with 1/3 cup of hot water. It it foams vigorously, then it still has rising power.

– Baking Soda
Freshness test: Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of vinegar. It it fizzles, then it will still help leaven a food made with flour when it is cooked.

– Oil (olive)
Freshness test: An unpleasant smell or taste indicates the oil is rancid or oxidized.

– Shortening
Freshness test: Stored too long it will go rancid and develop a bad taste and odor.

– Spices (grounded)
Freshness test: Smell a ground spice to check if aroma is potent.

– Vinegar.
Vinegar sold commercially is pasteurized. Therefore an unopened container should last indefinitely when stored in a cool and dark place. Once opened however, vinegar should last about 3 months if tightly
sealed.
Freshness test: Any sediment that develops can be strained out.
Vinegar should be clear and look clean, not cloudy. If mold develops later, throw the vinegar away.

Again, thanks for a great blog.
Regards, – Crazy Frenchman, (10 Cent Challenge subscriber)

Letter Re: Some Steel Canning Possibilities

Mr. Editor:

I read SurvivalBlog about once a week and thought you might enjoy this.

Someone commented on using their home canning machine for items other than food. I can a lot of different things up to the size of a spaghetti can. Above that takes a number #10 canner and I haven’t found one reasonably priced. If I have to I go down to a store and buy some new/never used paint cans and go that route.

Spare parts for firearms are heavily greased (sometimes placed in vacuum packed plastic, depending on size and function of items). Radio parts, electrical parts, portable survival kits, gold/silver coins, sewing kits, seeds, vitamins, medical supplies, small tools, copies of important documents/pictures/owners manuals, etc.

Call it overkill but some items will have 6+ barriers to insure that if I don’t dig it up for 20 years, it should still be intact. (Grease, plastic, (some times desiccant or O2 absorbers depending on the item), the can itself, a can coating (I have experimented with polyurethane, rubber car undercoating, shrink wrap, and wax (like you would wax a leg hold animal trap).

This is then placed in either a 5 gallon bucket or ammo can. Ammo cans are sprayed with rust neutralizer, sprayed with car undercoating and then the rubber gasket is sealed (often times with more desiccant or O2 absorbers inside). Ammo cans are then sometimes placed in a 5 gallon bucket. 5 gallon buckets are merely sealed with mastic or some kind of caulking. Most of the time I place the ammo can or 5 gallon bucket in a suitable industrial garbage bag and bury.

I label all the items on the outside of the can with either the original labels or something I printed out. If I use a permanent marker, and later wax or polyurethane the can, the labeling can sometimes run or dissolve.

On several larger items I have performed some of the barrier practices and placed them inside a 30 gallon plastic barrel and sealed it. One contains nothing but animal traps, another tools, and yet another full-sized cream separator with parts. Why go to all this trouble? Unfortunately, our getaway stands between the good old farming families and a few families that have made meth and marijuana their main sources of income. Things of value left around tend to walk off.

After all that, I “hope” that my caches or pantry will be around when I need it most. Let me know if you or your readers think I have left any other barrier method out of my system?

A.T. in Illinois (land of humidity and precipitation)

JWR Replies: Thanks for those suggestions. One important note: Seeds should never be vacuum-packed. They are living organisms, and they will die in a vacuum. Air canning or bag sealing is fine but don’t vacuum can or pack them!

Letter Re: Advice on Dog Breeds for Retreat Security?

Jim,
Do you have any thoughts about survival dogs, no, not for dinner.
My dog alerts me if anything approaches the cabin, which is generally bears, and sometimes a charging Saber toothed, bushy-tailed, ground squirrel, a wayward mink or martin.
To the point, what about the value of hunting dogs, or breeds that will charge into the dark of night to scurry away unwelcome visitors.
My homeowners insurance is high enough, so I can rule out some of the more aggressive breeds. Thanks, – D.V.

JWR Replies: I have observed that there are as many opinions about “ideal” dog breeds as there are dog breeds. Selecting a breed depends a lot on a family’s particular circumstances. My personal preference is for medium-size “combination” breeds that can serve as watch dogs as well as be trainable for herding and hunting. A couple of good combination breeds are the Airedale Terrier (the largest terrier) and the Standard Poodle.(not to be confused with the dainty Toy Poodle.) I’m sure that some SurvivalBlog readers would care to chime in with their breed suggestions.

I’m not an attorney, so I can’t make any suggestions on reducing civil liability for dog bites other than : A.) Fence the yard around your home (or retreat/home) quite securely, B.) Post your property with warning signs in both English and Spanish, and C.) Do not select a breed with a bad reputation for aggressiveness.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Could the recently reported outbreak of Asian Avian Flu in England be the dreaded H5N1 strain? Bird flu confirmed on farm in east England. (A tip of the hat to J.P. for sending this link.)

   o o o

Rod sent us this: US Supreme Court may hear Second Amendment Case. Hopefully they will settle the “individual right” versus “collective right” controversy once and for all, and roll back some unconstitutional Federal laws.

   o o o

The high bid is still at $400 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for four items: a Baygen Freeplay Summit AM/FM/Shortwave digitally-tuned radio, and a Baygen Sherpa hand crank flashlight. These were kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, one of our most loyal advertisers. Also included in the auction lot is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. These four items have a combined value of more than $350. The auction ends on November 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.

   o o o

Thanks to Alphie for sending this one: Preparing for Life after [Peak] Oil

Notes from JWR:

Economist Jim Sinclair noted in a recent e-newsletter: “November 15th is approaching quickly. It is this date where supposed real valuations, according to accounting standards, have to be made on value-less class 3 assets.” I think Jim Sinclair is right. Thursday (November 15th) may go down in history as a financial reckoning day. Given the presently very shaky US markets, these revelations could very well precipitate a stock market drop–if not a stock market crash–led by the financial sector stocks. I pray that the readers of SurvivalBlog have all taken my advice and have minimized their exposure to stocks and other US Dollar-denominated investments. We are approaching some very turbulent times!

Our first article today is from “SurvivalistSam”, the SurvivalBlog’s correspondent in New Zealand. He is a 15 year-old homeschooler that lives on New Zealand’s South Island.

New Zealand’s South Island Readies for “the Big One”, by SurvivalistSam

The whole South Island has been told to prepare for a massive earthquake in the near future. This is due to the Alpine Fault Line which is where the Australasian and Pacific plates meet on the West Coast of the South Island. The boundary between these two plates is locked and the pressure building up needs to be released. A release of such pressure would result in an earthquake about the size of a number 8 on the Mercalli Intensity scale. Such a earthquake would last for minutes, not seconds.

Canterbury University Associate Professor Tim Davies was quoted at a recent meeting as saying that, "The longer it goes before the next earthquake, the bigger the bang will be when the spring goes."

The shaking from the predicted earthquake would be felt all throughout New Zealand and may even be felt as far away as Sydney. Mr. Davies also emphasized that people should have food and supplies on hand to last for up to three weeks after a quake. Shaking damage and land instability from a quake like this would disrupt surface transport for months, tourists will be trapped, and distribution of vital supplies ( e.g. food, fuel) will be limited. Hydro stations will shut down immediately and may be slow to restart, power reticulation will be damaged. Only satellite phones will remain in use. Landslides into lakes and fiords may cause tsunami, as may the collapse of river deltas in lakes or the sea. Queenstown, Milford and Wanaka are likely sites of tsunami damage Tour bus operators are also urged to stock up on food and supplies for their customers who could likely be trapped for days in isolated locations.

Letter Re: Show Caution When Dispensing Charity

Jim–
Some years ago, we enjoyed a power outage when we were living near Tacoma, Washington. It occurred on Thanksgiving day, so everybody’s turkeys were slowly cooling in their ovens. Our next door neighbor, knowing we were into preparedness, called over (land line phones were okay) asking to borrow our Coleman stove so they could heat up water for coffee. I sent one of my girls over with the stove. After about 15 minutes, the neighbors called again asking for help in lighting the stove. It was an old stove and I was embarrassed that it might have given up the ghost. When I got there, however, I found them in their family room (housewife, pre-teen daughter and Mom and Dad) all huddled around the stove. Several burnt matches were in and around the stove box. To my surprise, the gas tank was still in[side] the stove body. I realized that had they managed to turn the red knob on, they could well have started a dangerous fire.
Mind you, the housewife was a school teacher and her Dad a physician, so they were not uneducated people.
My point: handing these folks, educated as they were, a surplus bucket of wheat or beans would be worse than useless–you lose the food, but they don’t get fed. Even if you gave them flour, honey, salt, oil, water and yeast, they still would not know what to do with it.

In a disaster scenario, they probably wouldn’t even have a can opener to deal with any canned goods you might hand them.
You’d better either: (1) prepare for woebegone beggars who will need/expect your continuing generosity/expertise, or; (2) plan to order needy folks to get on their way.
Worst case scenario: they circle the block and show up back on your doorstep, hungry children in the forefront. Now it’s one thing to threaten, perhaps even to have to kill a thief, but what will you do with the obviously desperate (no food/water for 24 hours) neighbors?
Thinking about all this made me realize that perhaps one charitable solution is a 6-pack or two of energy bars, plus a few liters of water as you send them on their way.
But doggone it, then they’re likely to pass the word to others who are needy and you are back to numbers (1) or (2) above.
Sure looks like urbanites and suburbanites who want to and/or have made some survival preparations need to also prepare a place away from home so they can G.O.O.D. and not have to face these unhappy choices.
On a different note: Some years ago, I read an article in a Farm magazine reporting that most large-acreage farmers didn’t have their own gardens. The article was praising the virtue of having a garden and quoted a few farmer’s wives waxing poetic about their little plots. I couldn’t believe it–farmers being encouraged to do a little self-help farming!
So, you may escape to your retreat only to find neighbors stopping by for a handout even there. Better start preaching self-reliance a little more vigorously, maybe an article in the local rag, free handouts on the local store bulletin board regarding 72-hour kit contents, etc. Maybe throw in a little scare about the economy and inflation. Good luck with that. – Bob B.

Letter Re: Recovering Salt from Hickory Chips

Mr. Rawles:
Your suspicion was correct. Boiling hickory chips will not provide quantities of salt sufficient to be detected by human taste senses. It is not feasible to use this method as a means of acquiring salt for consumption.
Hickory chips are used in the curing process for pork and other meats only when they are heated to the extent that they start to emit smoke. Normally the chips are wetted to prevent them from rapidly burning. The benefits of the process are as follows:
1) The primary benefit of the smoking process is that it coats the meat (most commonly pork) with a smoke residue that discourages flies. Flies are notorious for laying eggs on hams. These eggs develop through larval stages. The most widely known larval stage is, in the southern U.S., called the skipper. Skippers will readily ruin a country cured ham. Infestations of skippers are hindered by the process of smoking the pork in smokehouses.
2) The secondary benefit of the smoking process is that it imparts a delightful aroma and flavor to the meat that is enjoyed by many people.

Salt licks were, at one time, so critical for acquiring salt (and naturally attracting game) that they still appear on maps. Some towns even carry a name associated with salt, such as Salt Lick, Kentucky.

Letter Re: Military Surplus Versus Civilian Field Gear

Jim,
There is a plethora of gear on the market, whether it is nominated as ‘survival’ or ‘hunting’, etc. Through the years I have basically used military surplus gear as opposed to what the civilian market offers. This includes back packs, sleeping bags, clothing, etc. I have found that much of it is superior to what is offered on the civilian market as those products lack the necessary function, form and fit for day to day and week to week use. My Gortex field jacket is light years beyond the hyper-expensive Cabela’s type jacket my brother owns. With his, you stay dry but it is cumbersome, bulky and not designed to wear while conducting the myriad things one might otherwise find themselves doing on a daily outdoors basis.

However, there are some things that I use that are exclusively found on the civilian side such as footwear is an example. I’ve never owned military surplus boots because I just didn’t want to risk the investment when I had a winning thing already.

Here’s my question: ‘Over the broad spectrum, would you recommend military surplus gear over the civilian gear market?’ and ‘Over the narrow spectrum, where would you diverge from the military surplus and use exclusively the civilian market?’ I have the military bags but you recommend the Wiggy’s product, likely because of its weight, et cetera. Anyway, maybe your comments would be instructive and helpful for the readers. – Matt B.

JWR Replies: I generally prefer full military specification (“mil-spec”) gear or most applications like backpacks, clothing, and web gear. However, much like your preference for civilian boots, I consider sleeping bags a “special case”. I have found that Wiggy’s brand sleeping bags are superior to both military surplus and other civilian brands in a number of ways. Their greatest advantage is loft retention. Unlike most other bags, they do not lose their loft when stored compressed, even for long periods of time. Because of their method of construction, they have no “cold spots”. Since they are synthetic, they dry quickly. (Wiggy’s uses a proprietary synthetic insulation called Lamilite.) They are also more lightweight than military surplus bags with the same temperature ratings.

As previously noted in SurvivalBlog, I prefer the Wiggy’s brand FTRSS. (A two bag system, where you can use either the inner bag or the overbag separately, or zip them together for the coldest weather.) We have five sets of FTRSS bags here at the Rawles Ranch, and they have served us very well for many years. I have probably spent more time sleeping in a Wiggy’s bag than even Jerry Wigutow. (The president of Wiggy’s.) Because I had a very bad back injury in a black ice vehicle rollover accident in 1994, I ended up sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag with just a thin pad. (Sleeping on any bed put my back into spasm.) In fact, it has only been in the last year, after I built a special bed–that is topped with a piece of plywood and a thin memory foam mattress–that I was able to stop sleeping on the floor. So for more than 10 years I slept every night in a Wiggy’s sleeping bag. That was the equivalent of three lifetimes of normal field use for a sleeping bag belonging to an avid outdoorsman. (If I had anticipated that I would have been using the bag every night for so many years, I would have kept track.) Through all that use, the Wiggy’s bag held up amazingly well: No clumping, no loss of loft, and no broken zippers. It was simply amazing. I lost count of how many dozens of times the bag was machine washed. Both halves of the FTRSS that were used in the “10 year test” are still quite serviceable. That is a testament to their excellent design, materials and workmanship. Lastly, unlike virtually all of their competitor that have outsourced to China, Wiggy’s bags are still made here in the United States. That is commendable. If this sounds like a gushing endorsement, you are right. I would never own a different brand. And given the amazing longevity of Wiggy’s bags, I don’t think that I’ll ever have to.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent contributor DV sent us this piece of news, which hardly came as a surprise: Currency Controls Return as Central Banks Fight Dollar Freefall

   o o o

Eric. S. suggested this article from MIT ‘s Technology Review: Oil from Wood–Startup Kior has developed a process for creating “biocrude” directly from biomass.

   o o o

Courtesy of the folks at Swiss America (one of our loyal advertisers); comes the link to an article by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Gold eyes all-time high on currency crisis.

   o o o

Thanks to Richard at KT Ordnance for sending this article by Dan Dorfman at The New York Sun: Talk of Worst Recession Since the 1930s. It includes this snippet: “Balestra Capital Partners, Jim Melcher, says he’s “worried about a recession. Not a normal one, but a very bad one. The worst since the 1930s. I expect we’ll see clear signs of it in six months with a dramatic slowdown in the gross domestic product.”