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.

Letter Re: Numismatic Coins and a Gold Confiscation Redux?

Dear Jim:
I just finished reading an article from the Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA) group which quotes a Treasury Department official as saying “The U.S. Government has the authority to prohibit the private possession of gold and silver coin and bullion by U.S. citizens during wartime and declared emergencies…” I have also learned that the USG also considers “junk” pre-’64 silver coins to be bullion and therefore subject to confiscation when the situation arises. In talking with our good friends at Swiss America it appears that, currently, only coins minted before 1933 and having a numismatic grade of MS64 or better would NOT be confiscatable because they are considered to be collector’s coins and not bullion. Any other type of gold/silver bar or coin is not exempt. I would appreciate your comments on this please. – Dr. Sidney Zweibel

If there were a monetary crises, I think that gold confiscation would be far more likely than silver confiscation. The sheer weight and volume of silver versus gold would make any government silver confiscation scheme problematic. (Since dollar for dollar, silver is seventy times bulkier than gold.)  This is just one the reasons that I prefer investing in silver rather gold.

IIRC the U.S. 1933 gold ban law exempted any  gold coins “with significant collector’s value.”  Therefore in the event that similar legislation is enacted, presumably any coin that is graded at or near mint state (MS-60 or higher–or perhaps even AU-58) would be exempt. Why pay so much more, for MS-64 coins? AU-58 and MS-60  $5, $10, and $20 gold pieces can still be found for as little as 30% over their melt value if you buy coins with common mint dates.

OBTW, for any SurvivalBlog readers considering investing in numismatic coins: Unless you have experience with coin grading, then I recommend that you buy only PCGS or NGC “slabbed” (professionally graded and encapsulated) coins. Buy only from a reputable dealer such as Swiss America.

Excerpts from Seven Reader Letters Re: Sources for Canned Hams

…The Army Aviator might want to track down Plumrose ham. I’ve bought the cans at Sam’s Club in 3 packs, and at CVS in singles. No refrigeration needed, but they are only one pound cans. They are not an American product, they are an import from Denmark…

The DAK brand Danish canned hams are…   …at Walmart on occasion. I also like supporting our friends in Denmark…

…PLUMROSE makes a 3 pound ham in a sealed metal can… …I buy mine at SAM’s Club, WalMart, and Publix….SAM’s have them in a 3 pack, and I usually get 2 or 3 [of  the thee packs] every time that we go to SAM’s for the quarterly buy out of goodies. They are fantastic…bake them, chop them for beans, eat out of the can…they are really tasty. I probably sound like a commercial. (LOL.)

…I bought some at WalMart a while back, although I haven’t seen them recently. My family didn’t particularly care for the meat – “too much
like SPAM”. Plumrose USA is the packager. Check out www.plumroseusa.com (under Products > Specialty Items)

…They can be found in my area at the different “value” stores like Dollar General, Family Dollar Store and Wal-Mart. The “hams” are small, but quite satisfactory…

…There is a 1.5 lb shelf stable canned ham (Royale) sold at Big Lots. It is a Canadian product priced at $2.99. We have stored it and eaten it. It’s pretty good…

… both the DAK and Danish Crown brands are available as one pound units with a 5 year marked shelf life approximately $2.50-2.80 each, retail. The last batch that I got 3 yrs ago were an “After New Years” closeout at a Super Walmart for $1 each.

Letter Re: Making a Living in The Country

James,
Going back to the subject of, “Well now I live in the middle of nowhere, how do I make a living?” The middle of nowhere is surrounded by farms, small towns and older townsfolk. What does this mean? Antiques! Old store signs, auto parts signs, gas pumps, oil can racks and tools will bring in a nice price from eBay or other auction houses. Just think of the estate sales or farm sales! Generations of old furniture and other household goods! Yes it’s sad to watch our farms and farmers die off (I’ve read that the average age of the American farmer is in his 70s.) So if your dealing with a widow, {be charitable and] fix the leaky sink or re-glaze the window.
Soon you’ll be known as the “Guy Who Buys the Old Stuff.” So the trick is to get the goods to the people that collect these items, but don’t have access to them. Or as they are often known as, “City Folk.” This could be an all-cash business and if you get the reputation of being fair, then word will spread. Your truck and mileage and storage area and phone and office could all be a tax write-off. Any idea what a 1940s Quaker State Oil sign would bring on eBay? – Stimpy

Odds ‘n Sods:

The mainstream media pundits keep saying that “inflation remains low”, yet Uncle Sugar’s own statistics show that the aggregate supply of U.S. dollars in circulation (both printed and electronic) grew from $2.5 trillion in 2000 to $4.5 trillion by the end of 2005. So is it any wonder that price of gold and gasoline have nearly doubled?  One might conclude that we are not so much seeing commodities going up in value as we are seeing the dollar going down in value. I recommend that you protect yourself from the mass price inflation to come. There could even a full scale monetary crisis and dollar devaluation. Invest in tangibles.

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“Secret Squirrel” (a regular SurvivalBlog contributor) recommends two useful web sites: http//solarcooking.org and the CDC’s page on water treatment: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/water_treatment.htm

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I just noticed that Safecastle has added several varieties of large “ScramKits” to their product line  (I posted a review of their smallest kit, which fits in a belt pouch, back on Friday, January 27, 2006.) Their big ChowHaul duffle bag kits are ideal to keep stowed right next to your Get Out Of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) backpacks. Because ScramKit sales have been brisk, most of their kits are currently sold out, so please be patient.
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SurvivalBlog contributor Dr. Sidney Zweibel mentioned that the ubiquitous Wikipedia has added a new page titled “PetroEuro“–describing the implications of the nascent Iranian oil bourse. It will be denominated in Euros rather than U.S. dollars, so it could have major implications. The same article mentions that about the same time that the new oil bourse opens up, the M3 aggregate money supply figure will no longer be reported by the U.S. Treasury Department. I’m sure that these two developments did not escape the attention of either the oil traders or the international currency traders. Two possibilities: war with Iran or a dollar crisis–we might expect either (or both) in the near future.  Buckle your seatbelts. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroeuro
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A site that focuses on country, organic foods, and self sufficiency issues was recommended by a SurvivalBlog reader. He described it as “educational and empowering.” See: http://www.metrofarm.com
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Syria switches to the Euro amid confrontation with U.S.. See: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-02-13T153028Z_01_L13432231_RTRUKOC_0_US-SYRIA-US-FOREX.xml&rpc=22
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A web site for those who would be interested in heirloom fruit trees and berries: http://www.treesofantiquity.com
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The latest news about using RFID biochip implants in humans: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ec414700-9bf4-11da-8baa-0000779e2340.html

From The Memsahib: Do You Know Where Your Gardening Seed Comes From?

This is the time of year when all those inspiring colorful seed catalogs are arriving. I have been spending too much time dreaming of my Spring garden and comparing the offerings of all the different catalogs. That was until the latest issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal (March/April ’06) arrived. There, I read the article by Jerri Cook on page 60 entitled “Do You Know Where Your Seed Come From?” According to this article, just six companies: Dupont, Mitsuri, Monsanto, Syngents, Aventis, and Dow control 98 percent of the world’s seeds. Monsanto holds over eleven thousand U.S. seed patents. Monsanto is estimated to control about 90 percent of the U.S. nursery market. When an American buys garden seeds most of the time they are buying from Monsanto regardless of which catalog they order from. Almost all the large seed and garden companies use the same seed brokers to buy tons of seeds at a low price selling the same seeds to everyone. Furthermore seed companies can resell seeds, plants, roots, bulbs, and trees using whatever names they wish. You may think that because you ordered string beans from three different companies each named differently that you have three different varieties. Think again!
Monsanto, Dupont, Mitsuri, Syngents, Aventis, and Dow are eliminating older open pollinated varieties and replacing them with patented hybrid varieties (which are illegal to save seed from or propagate!). They are also genetically modifying plants so that they won’t produce seeds at all or the seeds that they produce are sterile. Since 1980 there has been a 90 percent reduction of seed varieties available to Americans. Seed biodiversity will be compromised globally. But we can do something about this. We can grow and save heirloom seeds. A great place to start is The Seed Savers Exchange (see: http://www.seedsavers.org.) Order heirloom seeds–not patented hybrid seeds. Then save your seeds and share them with your friends and neighbors.

Letter Re: Defensive Shotguns on a Budget

James:

Jake at The Armory brings up a good point to expand on, regarding the feeding of a Mossberg pump shotgun with a Sidewinder detachable magazine. [His premise was correct that] you don’t have a mag tube to feed anymore. So, if you don’t have a spare detachable magazine, you throw in a new round through the ejection port. From a Sidesaddle this is very fast with practice. It’s fastest to load the shells in the Sidesaddle with the rim (primer end) up. Keep the weapon at the shoulder, grab the shell, go over the top of the receiver and drop into the ejection port. [JWR Adds:  This matches the “shoot one, load one” doctrine that is now espoused at many of the recent tactical shotgun courses. Just like in the early days of bolt actions rifles with a “magazine cutoff” device (such as Krags and M1903 Springfields) the weapon’s magazine is kept topped off and essentially held in reserve, except in situations where you are rushed by multiple opponents. OBTW, perhaps some enterprising individual will invent a modern-day “magazine cutoff” device for Remington 870s and Mossberg 500s and 590s.]
It is marginally faster to pause to load six rounds in a tube magazine, and then shoot six rounds – but I sure wouldn’t want to take that long a pause in a real gunfight. The Sidesaddle lets you keep a steady stream of fire, loading one round at a time. It’s faster than loading a mag to get one more round off, so you might even want to do it in an emergency, as a stopgap before you get a fresh mag on.
Whether you have a Sidewinder detachable magazine or not, this “combat loading” a really useful trick for anyone with a pump shotgun so you can keep fire going downrange without a long pause feeding a tube. It does take practice to get smooth under pressure, just like most other gun skills.
The Powerpak shell carrier added on the SpecOps buttstock is best loaded up with heavy slugs to counterbalance the muzzle heavy weight of shotguns. You don’t need the weight for recoil control, but a better balanced gun is much more ergonomic.
Pistol Grip versus. SpecOps BUTTstock Options:
Knoxx, the maker of the SpecOps recoil reducing BUTTstock, also makes two recoil reducing PISTOL grips, see:
http://knoxx.com/NewStyleKnoxx/Products/BreachersGrip.html
and
http://knoxx.com/NewStyleKnoxx/Products/COPstock.htm
My recommendation was for the SpecOps BUTTstock, since it gives you the recoil reduction in BOTH the pistol grip AND the buttstock – and of course you have a proper buttstock to aim and steady the gun with. The buttstock is even collapsible like a CAR-15 buttstock so you can shorten up the whole weapon. The pistol grip options are more for door lock breaching than home defense. Hope this clears up the confusion. Regards, – OSOM – “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”

Letter From The Army Aviator on Various Topics

James:

To catch up on several topics…

On Satellite Internet:
As you all probably know from previous letters, I do both motor home living and the ranch, out in the country without common city amenities. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve been using Direcway satellite for the internet and TV at both locations. I put in a real T-1 at work back in 1996 and honestly, other than the fact that uploads do take a little longer through the satellite, I don’t see any obvious difference at home via satellite. Perhaps it’s the fact that I have a fixed IP [address] at each location. Beats me, but I’m happy. I even run my web page out from one of the motor home servers. Pretty cool, actually, I can even access the remote control camera at either location from anywhere I can get Internet.
Just my two cents worth regarding satellite.

Mossberg 500s:
I looked at the mag feed conversion awhile back, but didn’t do it. I figure the 500ATP with the long tube has always been adequate in the past. Maybe they’d be nice for use with an auto-shotgun but then I never did see anything beneficial regarding the “Street Sweeper” other than Hollywierd Bravo Sierra. With a shotgun, mags just seem like something else to have to carry. The military 12 pack shell holder for the belt is pretty workable. I comfortably carry two on a web belt.

Liquid Fuel Lanterns:
I got the PetroMax/BriteLyt lantern and it’s ok, but I still like my Coleman Peak 1 better. It’s my opinion, and I feel comfortable with it, that the PetroMax style should not have gasoline used in it. Just my decision and if others want to use gasoline in them, good for them. I think most people should have a couple Petromax style, a couple normal railroad style kerosene, a couple of Aladdin’s and some coleman gas lanterns as well. All in all, they are actually inexpensive and each is suitable for particular purposes. Similar to different calibers need different needs too. The particular thing I like about the little bitty Peak 1 is that I can turn it full bright or all the way down to run all night, which is kind of like an electric lamp.
I just wish somebody made a neat brass lampshade for the Peak like they do for the PetroMax. I have to admit I really LIKE the lampshade.

Liquid Fuel Stoves:
In addition to my Optimus and MSRs of many years, I still use my Military issue Coleman Peak 1. Nice if you have gas, ok if you have kerosene or diesel, JP8, etc. Lately, I’ve been using two others. One is a low pressure Kerosene, a old Perfektus and the other is a 10 wick stove, both about the size of a coffee can.
The Optimus, MSR and Peak 1 have lots of heat but they are noisy. The Perfektus is the first low pressure kerosene stove I’ve ever used and it’s a pleasure. Just a quiet blue flame same as the kitchen gas stove. Now here’s the surprise. I like the 10 wick stove best. No pumping. Just light it and wait couple of minutes and go for it.The stove looks really cheesy but what a joy. If you get yellow under your skillet, you’ve got it cranked up too high. Between the 10 wick stove and 2 Lodge cast iron skillets (made by John Lodge in South Pittsburgh, TN.) I made the best shrimp scampi and linguini with garlic sauce that I’ve made in a long time… WOW!

Butane Lighters:
I’m pretty sure it’s been brought up but here it is again. BUY a CASE of butane lighters. Cheap and great barter. Even seen a smoker who has cigarettes and no flame while stuck four miles up a trail?

Now I need some advice. What was the name of that book, circa1962, written about a nuclear war on the USA and was set in northern Florida?
Just can’t pull it up. Anyway, that’s what lead me to the next thing: The fellow in the book had, on a whim, put away a canned ham for a special time.
So, remembering that, I went looking for canned hams that don’t require refrigeration. You know, like a big SPAM can only tastier.
All I can find in Safeway, Albertsons, King Supers, Walmart, etc. is a Hormel Black Label ham (three pound) in a white plastic container with a metal top and it has to be refrigerated. So what’s up with this?
Even the FDA site you listed showed these hams with just a two month usefulness if unopened and refrigerated. (Not good for storage, eh?)
All the clerks I asked knew what I was looking for but were surprised that they no longer carry them.
The FDA site also listed the non-refrigerated canned hams I was looking for as good for two years at room temperature and longer if kept cooler.
So who out there has a good site for canned hams in real “all metal” cans that taste good and aren’t too expensive? Help?
One last request, any good leads for MCW/LRP meals? They sure disappeared from the market. Best Regards, – The Army Aviator

JWR Replies:Yes, the efficacy of storing cheap butane lighters has been mentioned by several SurvivalBlog contributors including the gent that wrote the article on Flea Market shopping, as well as David in Israel in his recent article of fire starting.

I believe that the novel that you were referring to was Alas Babylon, by Pat Frank.  It is a bit dated, but I still highly recommend it. BTW, that book is included in my “must read lists” at The SurvivalBlog Bookshelf web page.

Perhaps some of the SurvivalBlog readers will be able to answer your questions about the canned ham issue, as well as a source for MCWs and/or LRPs.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Readers on the East Coast should make plans to attend the specialized Tactical Lifesaver Course on April 15-16, 2006, in Douglas, Georgia. A Iraq war vet Physician’s Assistant will teach you a lot of skills that the American Red Cross doesn’t. (Such as: how to prep an intravenous infusion, how to insert and orthopharyngeal airway, wound debridement, suturing, how to treat a sucking chest wound, and much more.)  Don’t miss this one. In fact, SurvivalBlog readers from Canada or the West Coast ought to seriously consider burning some of their accumulated frequent flyer miles to attend this course. See: http://www.survivalreportblog.com/Tactical_Lifesaver_Course.html

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A tip of the hat to Noah at the Defense Tech blog, who pointed out a blog article at Intel Dump about the soft life led by some of the “Fobbits” at the nicer FOBs in Iraq.See: http://inteldump.powerblogs.com/posts/1139566139.shtml. I wish that all of our deployed troops lived in such safety and comfort.  Sadly, most do not.

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H5N1 Asian Avian Flu has now spread to Italy: See:  http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/02/11/birdflu.wrap/index.html. Granted, it still isn’t a strain that is easily transmissible between humans, but the more it spreads, the statistical chance of the dreaded mutation increases.