This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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Like most Americans, last week I was relieved to hear that Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty, on all charges. His troubles may not yet be behind him. I am quite troubled to see the incredibly biased mass media still referring to the men he shot as “victims.” After much deliberation, the jury conclusively found that they were the aggressors. Kyle Rittenhouse was the victim. I’m confident that if he were of a different skin tone, or had a different political persuasion, then the mass media would characterize the incident differently. It is also troubling to see the mass media continues to call Rittenhouse a “white supremacist”, with no solid evidence to make that claim. Did they notice that all three of the men that he shot were fellow palefaces? Or that Rittenhouse and his friends were there to protect the property of a minority-owned business? (Note the Indian surname Khindri.) I’ve now lost any remaining shreds of faith in the mass media. Clearly, they have been almost completely co-opted by leftist influence. I could see this coming, when I attended journalism school, back in the early 1980s. (I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.) Most of my professors and most of my classmates were flaming liberals. Today’s mass media can no longer be called journalists. They are propagandists. So from now on, that is what I’ll be calling them: Mass Media Propagandists. – JWR
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Cause for concern: Tesla server outage allegedly leaves owners unable to drive their cars.
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H.L. sent us this article;e link that serves as a reminder to be prepared: Disastrous Flooding Cuts Vancouver Off From Rail, Road Service.
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Cathy N. recommend this dated but still fascinating documentary: James Burke Connections, Ep. 1 “The Trigger Effect”
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Pete L. wrote the following in response to the article on ballistic upgrades for stick-built houses:
“Another inexpensive approach would be to fill the cavities with half-inch to three-quarter inch gravel and ply three-quarter inch plywood screwed to the studs over the drywall. If it is new construction, I would recommend steel studs instead of wood. I would also use three-quarter inch plywood on both sides. This will stop virtually all rifle rounds. The bullets are shredded. This is easy to try. Build a 2‘ x 2‘ box made of two by fours with plywood on each side and fill it with gravel. Stand back 20 feet and shoot into it. The results are amazing. Eventually, the gravel will be broken up and begin to settle. But if you were taking this many incoming rounds, then your situation is beyond dire.”
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And on the same topic, David wrote:
“In regard to your article on hardening your stick-built home: One quick and easy method is to access each void. Pour in DRY screened gravel to the top. Close the gap. Advantages: 1″+ DRY(!!!!! — gravel direct from a stream will hold an amazing amount of water) screened gravel should stop most handgun and many rifle rounds. Obviously, each bullet will powder the gravel somewhat, but gravel from above will migrate down to replace the sacrificed gravel. More obviously, gaps will develop at the top of the void. Downfall: Unless you have X-ray vision, voids are hard to visualize. This method only works as long as a: the inside and outside walls (wood, plaster, etc.) do not develop holes large enough for the gravel to escape and b: you have not left any unseen voids unfilled.
A MORE COMPREHENSIVE variation of this method would be to remove the inside wall covering (plaster, paneling, etc.) and line the voids on both sides, outside and inside, with fine chicken netting, then fill each void with 1″+ DRY screened gravel before closing the void. Advantages: all voids can be visualized and the chicken netting will help retain the gravel as holes develop in the wall. Also, as the gravel powders as it sacrifices itself to turn and/or stop the bullet(s), gravel from above will migrate down to fill the new spaces. Disadvantages: more expensive and time consuming AND as the gravel migrates down, new gaps will appear at the top of the void. You will also reduce the R value of the wall.
RECAP: Obviously, this method would be more easily implemented during new construction, where 2×8 and 2×10 studs could be used instead of 2×4 and 2×6 studs, so both the gravel barrier AND insulation could be installed.
FINAL NOTE: For what I consider the ultimate affordable solution in new construction, a home built with insulated concrete forms such as FoxBlocks allow 4″ to 12″ concrete walls to be incorporated in the construction. The blocks are made with Polypropylene (PP) regrind resin cross-ties that secure two pieces of modified Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam together, which contains the concrete and reinforcing rebar as the walls are poured. Any further explanation is beyond the scope of this note: Interested readers can google FoxBlocks or ‘Insulated Concrete Forms’. A home near me is constructed in this manner, and the only give-away to its construction (nothing shows outside) are the abnormally thick window- and door-sills that are seen from the inside. In addition, the house would be more resistant to wildfires and fires in adjacent homes. Another plus would be that any or all of the interior walls can be poured the same way at the same time–which also allows for poured in-place safes, fortified closets, safe rooms and/or dedicated gun-vault rooms. These homes do require access to the site by concrete mixer trucks as well as a concrete pump truck, since the forms are filled from the top of the wall (I understand that a few pump trucks can reach a block or more away from the pour site if the mixer trucks can’t get close to the house). Hurricane resistant-rated doors and windows are available, and window ballistic coatings are easily applied. The cost of the new home can be roughly comparable to or slightly higher than stick-built construction, but the security added will more than compensate for any price differences.”
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