Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." – Anatole France

Note From JWR:

As you can see from our new ClustrMap web visit tracker, there are now SurvivalBlog readers all over the world: http://clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=https://survivalblog.com&type=small&clusters=yes&map=world BTW, it appears that we will have a new foreign correspondent, in Brazil. I’ll have more details about that in the next few days.

Thank you for making SurvivalBlog such a rapid success. Please keep spreading the word. One awareness tool that has been proven to work well is a “fortune cookie” paper strip that you can hand out at public events such as gun shows, ham radio swap meets, first aid courses, et cetera. Or you can “carelessly” leave them tucked in books when you return them to the library. 😉   All that the strip needs is two lines: survivalblog.com / “Come with me if you want to live!”

Letter Re: Katrina’s Aftermath: Lessons Learned

Mr. Rawles:

Well, it seems that Katrina and friends have amply proven what you and many, many other survival writers have been saying for a long time.
1. You cannot depend on any governmental agency to look out for you and yours. Not federal, not state, not county and certainly not local. You have to be fully responsible for looking out for yourself and for your loved ones.
It also proved what I have always felt about FEMA‘s vaunted 72-Hour home survival/preparedness kit.
2. A 72-Hour (three day) Kit simply does NOT cut it, at all
Anyone who plans on anything less than a minimum of seven days (one week) is just kidding themselves and asking for trouble.
More realistically it really should be for fourteen days (two weeks).
And if you can handle it thirty days (one month) would not be at all unreasonable or out of line.

When you consider the great amount of death and destruction that was visited on the people of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast it is certainly not hard to feel a great deal of compassion and sympathy for those folks who lost their homes, businesses, loved ones or all three. Yet at the same time, considering the past history of hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and all the warning that was provided, how poorly many of those people were prepared for Katrina and her aftermath (in a great number of cases, not at all) I really cant and don’t feel too sympathetic. Mostly, I feel some anger and a lot of disgust that so many people paid so little attention to their own welfare and that of their children and old folks and totally ignored the well-known hazards of living on the Gulf Coast.
Lets take just a couple of points. First, WATER. There were hundreds (maybe thousands) of cases of severe dehydration, even death due to the lack of water. How stupid! How lazy!! Here in central Los Angeles County, California, I can buy a case of six one gal. bottles of Arrowhead drinking water for less than $5. Four cases for under $20. That’s enough water to take care of one person for more than three weeks. I’m sure that there are similar deals in the New Orleans area. Maybe even better ones. No one should have had a dehydration problem with just a bit of thought and pre-planning.
Another point It doesn’t really seem that many folks gave much prior thought about getting out of their second floors or attics onto their roofs. I mean really, using a shotgun to blow a hole in the roof! Dangerous and what a waste of shotgun shells. How about having a hatchet or small ax along with a tree-trimming saw. Chop a small hole with the ax and then make a larger opening with the saw. And what’s with this making the holes in the middle of the roof at the highest point of the roof. Cut the hole down near the eves and one or two rafters in from the end of the roof where its easy to get out and where any incoming rain wont be soaking the area where you would be trying to live.
One could go on and on about items like this but enough said. Think it through people and get prepared before TSHTF again! – J.S.

Letter Re: Alternate Short Term Sources for Drinking Water

Jim–
Instead of water barrels a previous contributor mentioned in fashioning a water supply setup, surplused water heaters can be used.
(1) They usually are sound, only have failed heater systems–just need flushing;
(2) They are already fitted with correct interior piping and external pipe fittings;
(3) If you can get one tank in the sun (make an insulated box–plans are everywhere), presto, a pre-heater for the hot water tank and a savings on your heating bill;
(4) If you can get these tanks elevated, you should be able to get a little bit of extra pressure for draining off needed water from the lowest one–or, put a pressure tank first in line;
(5) The valve between the street supply and the first tank in the lineup is called a check valve.
And those barrels? Fill ’em up and use that water for flushing. – Bob

JWR Replies: Keep in mind that water heaters have thin walls. So anything that you construct with used water heaters should be assumed to rust out and leak at any time. Position them accordingly, to avoid having a flooded house!

Two Letters Re: Barns, Barn Designs, and Fire

Jim:
I was reviewing the Blog. this morning and saw the letter on “Barn Designs and Fire.” As a retired Lieutenant from the Fire Department I would like to make a suggestion! A 250 Gallon fuel oil tank filled with water, in a house attic or barn attic, can be piped to use a{n automatic] fire sprinkler system. Don’t forget to reinforce the weight! Use a pendent sprinkler head rated for the normal high temperature the area will receive and the temperature that you would want the head to go off. Use and a sidewall sprinkler heads for along side walls. – GCP

 

James:

The recent letter on barn fires compelled to me to write. Many readers are already equipped with kerosene lanterns or pressurized mantle lanterns for use outside or during long power outages. However, these present a significant fire risk when used around dry bedding material such as wood shavings or straw. It may be a good idea to invest in a battery powered or rechargeable lantern. The fluorescent units provide reasonable runtime per charge and run cool. The rechargeable units usually come with both 110 VAC and 12 VDC chargers and could probably be charged from a small solar panel. They can be found in the camping section of most mart type stores for around $30. – Buzz

Letter Re: Do You Know Where Your Gardening Seed Comes From?

Memsahib:
I have a question concerning heirloom seeds. My question is how long can a seed be stored in ideal conditions and still produce a viable plant? I am currently not at a position of having more then a very small garden, but I would like the security of a stockpile of seeds stored with me in case I need them in the future. what is a realistic storage time frame? and also what would be considered an ideal storing environment? Once the plants are harvested what is the best way to remove and prepare the new seeds from the plants for storage? I live in Wyoming so I am mostly concerned with plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, zucchini, Etc. Due to the short growing season here. Thanks in advance for your time. – Brian

The Memsahib Replies: One excellent source of heirloom seeds is Dr. Geri Guidetti of The Ark Institute. Another is The Seed Savers Exchange (see: http://www.seedsavers.org.) Again, it is important to order heirloom seeds–not patented hybrid seeds. The best place to store your seeds is in sealed containers (such as Mason jars), in your refrigerator. The germination rate starts to drop off rapidly past two years of storage, but you can still get halfway decent yields out of seed that has been refrigerated for four or even five years. Beyond that, that buy a fresh stock of seeds. It would take a book to describe how collect and re-use the various types of heirloom seeds, so let me recommend one: I HIGHLY recommend that you buy a copy of “Seed to Seed” by Suzanne Ashworth.(ISBN 978-1-882424-58-0.) The knowledge on seed saving that is packed between those covers goes far beyond my own!  For the climate in Wyoming, you will need to build a greenhouse, or at least cold frames to get a head start on sprouting your seedlings.

Letter Re: Defensive Shotguns on a Budget

Sir,
WRT the recent posts regarding “Defensive Shotguns on a Budget”, am I the only one that GREATLY prefers the Remington 870? Guess it is probably a Pepsi versus Coke type thing, but I have owned many different brands over the years, and the 870 series is what I find to work best for me. I found a few interesting discussions on the topic online at some of the links listed below, but I would suggest to everyone that if possible, try actually shooting a few different models before making a decision. I learned that lesson the hard way once when I bought 3 HK-91s in a package deal, based on “internet research.” Don’t get me wrong, I love Heckler and Koch products, and most of my armory has their logo on it, but I just couldn’t stand the ergonomics on those rifles, regardless of any other positive factors. Luckily, I live in a state where I can just walk into a gun show with a rifle on a sling over my shoulder and a for sale sign hanging from a stick in the barrel.
Again, I am not saying that anyone that the Remington 870 is the best choice for everyone, but I felt it was worth bringing up how important it is to make sure that whatever you buy, make sure it works for you.
http://www.tacticalshotgun.ca/content_nonsub/shotguns/ compare_870_590.html
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=1700
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-280.html
keep up the good work! – Jeff

Odds ‘n Sods:

A popular new bumper sticker: I’d rather go hunting with Dick Cheney than ride in a car with Ted Kennedy.

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U.S. brings back the venerable .45 ACP — at least for Special Forces Operators. http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/2006251215.asp

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A fairly definitive piece on Iran’s New Euro-denominated Oil Bourse: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CLA20060210&articleId=1937

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Now H5N1 is in Germany, Austria, and Iran:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-02-14T223300Z_01_L09218784_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU.xml&rpc=22
…and in Southern Russia:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/15/060215162126.c9uj06hd.html

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Doc at Big Secrets recommends this Water Well tutorial: http://www.lifewater.ca/

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The paper money disease has been a pleasant habit thusfar and will not be dropped voluntarily any more than a dope user will without a struggle give up narcotics… I find no evidence to support a hope that our fiat paper money venture will fare better ultimately than such experiments in other lands…" – Nebraska Congressman Howard Buffett, 1948 (The father of Warren Buffett.) As quoted in Financial Reckoning Day.

Note From JWR:

Please keep spreading the word about SurvivalBlog. Just by adding one line to your mail “.sig”, or by pasting a SurvivalBlog banner in your web page, you could help attract hundreds of new readers.  Many Thanks!

Letter Re: Alternate Short Term Sources for Drinking Water

Jim:
Seeing the following got me thinking: “JWR’s Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Sierra is typical of most suburban survivalists in that he is tied to a Big City job. I recommend that he store at least 100 gallons of water”
Have you mentioned the need for people to flush their hot water heaters twice a year? This minimizes the mineral buildup and provides a fine source of drinkable water.

Putting some chlorine in the toilet tanks does the same thing. This kills bacteria and upon cleaning twice a year, provides more drinkable water.

I have seen systems where people have strung together 55 gallon barrels with removable lids. Their household water from the street runs through these drums. One valve between the drums and the street will prevent contamination if the city/county water supply gets contaminated. – Dave

Letter Re: Barns, Barn Designs, and Fire

Hello James,
I have had the heart rending experience of watching my neighbor’s barn burn to the ground a few days ago. His livestock fleeing out of it, in desperation… I don’t think they all made it. This brings up many topics of discussion. In moving to the country, it is easy to use an old building like it was designed to handle new demands, (i.e.- specifically power consumption, hot temp equipment storage, etc…). Somewhere in your archives the topic of fire protection came to mind. I hate to admit, but it did not sink in like it did seeing that massive structure go from first sight of smoke to flattened, in 20 minutes.
Here are a few observations that may have contributed to this fire-
1). Old building construction methods (“balloon” type framing.)
2). Old wood will never be fireproof
3). 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s wiring is not likely to be safe to use in an agricultural building where the wires are almost always exposed to rodents and the elements, resulting in damage. [JWR Adds:  Any such wiring should be completely replaced with modern wiring that is fully encased in galvanized steel conduit!]
4). Concrete and heat do not mix
5). Leave a viable escape route for the livestock, (i.e.-light duty tube gates, light duty flat channel gates, or just electric fence strands in aisleways.)
6). Storing wet/damp hay
7). Overloading electrical wiring/circuitry

If you own an older agricultural building and plan on needing it because that new “Morton” building is too expensive, than plan on some time consuming preventatives. Fire stops, (i.e.- draft stops) are the most important contribution you can make yourself with little expense. Take the time and plug every dang gap,crack,void, or cavity that permits you to view or pass air between the levels. This at the very least will buy you more time until the fire department arrives.
You will be better off to condemn the power service to the barn than to overload it and have a catastrophe.
Once a structure has a fire, the foundation and associated concrete items are severely structurally damaged. Try tossing a cement masons block into a fire and leave there until the next day, give it a tap with a bat, and then [for comparison] tap an unfired block. The fired block is not worthy of the structural demands it was designed to meet any longer. In the case of my neighbors barn fire, the adjoining buildings suffered damage that we can’t see simply from the heat. The grain silos, (concrete and steel) ignited their contents from heat alone. These are still burning and are now a 7 story disaster waiting to happen. I have seen it happen before. They will collapse without warning.
Wet/damp hay WILL combust and cause many barn fires. DO NOT BALE WET OR HAY THAT IS DAMP WITH DEW! Save yourself some money and hire it done by an expert. One last topic worth discussing is where should you put your Gun Safe. If your safe is situated over a basement, crawl space, or basically any wood structure below, you are asking for trouble. If/when you have a fire in the building that houses the Gun Safe, and it collapses upon itself, you literally have less than an hour to retrieve your safe before the contents are toast. Think about locating your safe on a north wall, (winds in much of the U.S.A. are predominantly from the N.-N.W.) This could give you the ability to get closer to the safe with some piece of equipment (in the event of a fire) and increase your chances of retrieving it. Consider welding a heavy chain to the safe and hiding [the tail end of it out the building, an slightly bury it [and “flag” the end, somehow.] A backhoe could easily reach the chain and hook it with it’s teeth to rip the safe from the hot coals. Do not store ANY ammunition inside your vault. Once the internal temps get so far, the ammunition will start cooking off. In doing so, it will likely ruin all the contents of your safe. At least there is a chance of salvation if there is not any ammo in the safe.

I pray for those who have experienced a fire. There are very few forces like it in nature. It was a very helpless feeling. Plan, Prepare, Do not despair, -The Wanderer

JWR Replies:  For any of you that might ever build a farm from scratch, even if you build a steel barn there is always a greater risk of barn fires than house fires. Therefore, it is important that, terrain permitting, you: a.) build your barn at least 50 feet away from your house, b.) Make sure that your house has a fire-proof roof, c.) Install a proper fire fighting hose rig with at least a 2,000 gallon cistern feeding a 1.5-inch or larger service line, preferably gravity-fed, and d.)  Build your house upwind from your barn. (BTW, the latter is an advantage vis-a-vis barn smells, too.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

The Army Aviator recommends upgrading the plugs on pump action shotguns with fluorescent ones. He notes: “I did this on all of my shotguns and I like the idea. I’ve never actually shot a tube empty but a couple of times it was comforting to roll the weapon and not see fluorescent yellow.”

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Take the opportunity to read (and copy) the Hirsch Report on Peak Oil before it disappears again.  See: http://www.energybulletin.net/12772.html

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Another entry for the “ingenious, but stupid” file, on some storm drain denizens: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060204-9999-7m4encamp.html

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As previously noted, I recently finished reading the science fiction novel “Freehold” by Michael Z. Williamson.  Now I’ve moved on to another of his other novels, “The Weapon.” (Published by BAEN Books.) It is sort of a “intra-quel” storyline to Freehold. I enjoy Williamson’s writing, so I’ll be posting reviews here, on Amazon.com, and at a few other sites.

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NAIS became mandatory in Texas on Monday (Feb. 13 2006), with $1,000 per day fines. Could any SurvivalBlog readers living there give us some more information? See: http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/02/04/monday-last-day-of-freedom-in-texas/?s=texas

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NoNAIS.org has announced that there will be a speaker from the USDA addressing NAIS at Oroville, California on February 23, 2006. There will be time for questions during the meeting. See: http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/02/11/ca-usda-nais-speaker-223/  Be sure to watch for announcements for similar meetings and public feedback sessions in your area.  Let’s raise a ruckus! 

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A South Korean study shows that shopping cart handles have more germs than bathroom doorknobs. Yeech! See:  http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/2/14/112554.shtml?s=he. After you read this article, you will probably want to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your car, and one in your desk drawer at work.