Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

With snow now on the ground and the high temperatures in the 20s, I’ve been concentrating on indoor work. Now that the wall insulation is completed, I’ve mostly been paneling the inside of the workshop with Oriented Strand Board (OSB). It is a sort of low-budget substitute for plywood with a random pattern that looks like it was designed by a drunken Salvador Dali. It is stronger than particle board, but uglier and less expensive than plywood. It works fine for my needs, because most of it will be covered by Masonite pegboard and my license plate collection. And after all, it is just a utility building, not a beauty contest. My Inner Scotsman has urged me to use up a lot of short pieces of scrap lumber — from 2″ to 6″ widths — for most of the “nailer” backing boards behind the OSB. And my Inner Scotsman also dictates working in the shop without a heater running. The temperature usually hovers around a brisk 30 degrees. I just wear a heavy coat, insulated boots, and a watch ca — and I press on. My kind of fun, in 3- to 5-hour sessions. When the interior of the shop gets down to around 20 Fahrenheit, then I might consider turning on a small space heater.

Outdoors, I made adjustments to a stock tank heater and a heat tape. I also did some cursory snowplowing.   The plowing won’t begin in earnest until after the next big storm.  But at least I’ve confirmed that our Western brand plow is working properly.

Now, over to Lily…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:

That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” –  Amos 5:1-15 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 11, 2022

November 11th is a bit crowded with significant history notes…

The Cherry Valley Massacre took place November 11, 1778. According to the Infogalactic wiki:

“The Cherry Valley Massacre was an attack by British and Iroquois forces on a fort and the village of Cherry Valley in eastern New York on November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific frontier massacres of the war. A mixed force of Loyalists, British soldiers, Seneca and Mohawks descended on Cherry Valley, whose defenders, despite warnings, were unprepared for the attack. During the raid, the Seneca in particular targeted non-combatants, and reports state that 30 such individuals were slain, in addition to a number of armed defenders.”

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November 11th is of course Veteran’s Day, set in remembrance of the 11th of November 1918 ceasefire in World War I. If you value your freedom, then thank a veteran.

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It is also the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr. (born 1885, died December 21, 1945).

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November 11th also marks Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), in 1965. Remember Rhodesia!

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Optics Planet (one of our affiliate advertisers) is running a 10% off sale, for any order over $75, just for Veteran’s Day weekend. The sale started on November 10th and ends on November 13th.

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Today’s feature article is by Don Shift. It is an excerpt from his book Basic SHTF Radio: A cop’s brief guide for understanding simple solutions for SHTF radio communication, available on Amazon.com. This article is not eligible for judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, because the author is a SurvivalBlog advertiser.

Get your article in for Round 103!  More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 103 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Making a Simplex Voice Channel Plan, by Don Shift

The average person who gets a Baofeng radio will have no idea how to tune in when they turn it on and see an input like 445.000 staring back at them. Pushing the buttons to blindly tune the frequencies up or down doesn’t work like a CB radio, car stereo, or marine radio. You can’t just pick a frequency at random and start using it. First, there will probably be no one to talk to. Second, you could be transmitting on a frequency or in a mode that is prohibited.

My pre-ham radio experience was with VHF law enforcement radios; my agency had 16 channels programmed in on the main ‘A’ bank. For public safety/business use, the FCC assigns frequencies. Not in the ham world. Ham radio does not have defined voice channels like Marine radio, CB, or GMRS/FRS. The concept of saying “Go to channel __” doesn’t exist.

What exists on the ham bands are portions of the frequency spectrum that is generally understood to be used for simplex (radio-to-radio) voice communication. Imagine it as a freeway without any marked lanes. To better navigate that lane-less freeway, radio users have decided to separate portions of each band and dedicate them to specific uses.

Simplex, or radio-to-radio voice, is just a small part of that. In order for the various uses of the ham bands to all get along, local radio coordinators outline what ranges and frequencies should be used for what. These coordinators are unofficial bodies and the plans aren’t legally mandatory, but they are mostly obeyed to avoid chaos, the same way people obey traffic signals when a cop isn’t around.

You can create “lanes” for your own channel plan as long as you play by the rules that everyone else does. This is really no more than agreeing on specific frequencies to use and giving them a name or alpha-numeric designation. Having a channel name or number is for brevity and communication security. “Go to five,” is shorter and more secure than saying “Go to 158.730.” So, within your own group/family, you can know that “VHF channel 1” means 146.415 MHz. Again, this is an in-group thing because there are no public ham channel allocations.Continue reading“Making a Simplex Voice Channel Plan, by Don Shift”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the impact of rising interest rates on Federal debt obligations — the current national debt and long-term obligations.

Precious Metals:

Just as I predicted, the platinum-to-gold ratio is narrowing. Platinum just bumped up over $1,000 per Troy ounce. If you haven’t done so already, you should consider doing some ratio trading out of gold and into platinum. I have concluded that the ratio is headed back below 1-to-1. That is the historic norm for platinum, both in good economic times, and in recessions. – JWR

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Avi Gilburt: Sentiment Speaks: Have We Begun A 20-Year Bear Market Already?

Economy & Finance:

Most folks look at rising interest rates, and simply opine on how that will affect the number of people who qualify for home loans.  But much more importantly, and not widely publicized is this:  How much the Federal government is paying in interest on its debt obligations. This FRED chart says it all. See that “hockey stick” spike at the right end of the chart?  That simply isn’t sustainable. Within two years, Uncle Sam will be shelling out more on interest payments each year than they do the entire national defense budget. Ponder that. – JWR

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H.L. sent us this: MMT Alert! US Debt At $10.7 Trillion In Q4 2008, Now At $30.6 Trillion, +186% In 14 Years (M2 Money UP +162.5%) US Unfunded Liabilities At $172.4 TRILLION!

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A Wolf Street video: “The Math No Longer Works”: Sky-High Mortgage Rates Pop Housing Bubble.

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H.L. sent this: Six Myths About Student Loan “Forgiveness”.

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The S&P 500 saw a big rally on Thursday, rising 5.5%. But it is still down 17% for the year-to-date.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 10, 2022

November 10th is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Coincidentally, the 10th on November is also the birthday of the late Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov, born in 1919, died December 23, 2013.

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November 10th is the anniversary of the sinking of the Great Lakes ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald, in 1975.

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I’m pleased to report that we’ve established an affiliate advertising relationship with Midland Radio — makers of two-way radios, micro-mobile radios, business radios, and weather radios.  They are headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Today’s feature article is from SurvivalBlog’s Senior Editor, James Wesley, Rawles (JWR).

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We are seeking entries for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 103 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

Greater Idaho Movement Gains Two More Oregon Counties

The vote tallies are in!

The mid-term elections held on Tuesday (November 8th, 2022) included a few interesting county-level and state-level ballot propositions in several states. But in this article, I’ll be focusing on Oregon.

First, for some background, take a couple of minutes to read this article, from a liberal publication:

Gun laws, abortion, taxes: Why Eastern Oregon is voting to join Idaho.

The votes in favor of partitioning Oregon for attachment to Idaho passed easily in both Morrow County and Wheeler County. There are now 11 counties in central and eastern Oregon that have passed Greater Idaho ballot measures.  Most of these propositions passed with 62% or more majorities.  Before Tuesday’s vote, there were nine counties: Sherman, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Harney, Grant, Malheur, Baker, and Union. And now, Morrow (60% of the vote) and Wheeler (58% of the vote) counties have joined in.Continue reading“Greater Idaho Movement Gains Two More Oregon Counties”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the results of the recent midterm elections.

The Red Wave Was Just a Swell

Though there were some successes for conservatives, overall, the midterm elections were a disappointment.

One of my long-time friends wrote: “What a disaster in these elections. The Democrats will probably continue to control the Senate which is where all the Federal Judges are confirmed. That means more left-wing judges and possibly one or two [leftist] Supreme Court judges in the next few years.”

Another friend wrote: “Well, what was supposed to be a red tsunami turned into a red spitball. I can’t see America changing course at this point. If there was ever a time to be a prepper, it’s now.”

The markets also disliked the election results. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 declined 2.1% to 3,749. The index is now down 21.3% for the year-to-date, in 2022.

And some folks including Mike Lindell are already crying foul, on the vote-counting process.

Diesel Shortage is Worsening

Overt at MSN: Diesel shortage keeps fuel prices high at the pump.  A quote:

“Retail prices for diesel were at $5.32 a gallon on Nov. 7, and have climbed 3.4 cents in the last week, according to data from GasBuddy. Prices have posted a decline of less than 9% from their record in June. “

A Spartan Thanksgiving Feast This Year?

In the Louisville Courier-Journal: How inflation will hit your dinner table this Thanksgiving.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 9, 2022

Today is the anniversary of the death of Colonel Ulius Louis “Pete” Amoss. This former OSS officer was best known as the originator of the resistance warfare concepts of Leaderless Resistance and “phantom cells.” Amoss was born in 1895 and died on November 9, 1961 from coronary thrombosis. He had a fascinating life.

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November 9th, 1938 was “Kristallnacht”. Be forewarned, folks: Once a group in any society has been singled out for ridicule and persecution, then they can be systematically attacked, physically. Someday it may be “Constitutionalists” who are targeted.

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I’m pleased to report that we’ve established an affiliate advertising relationship with MagPul Industries. Although I’d prefer that you order your MagPul PMAGs through one of our long-time advertisers like GunMag Warehouse, Brownells, or Palmetto State Armory, you can now also order them directly from the MagPul factory, at roughly the same price.

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Today’s feature article was written by Field Gear Editor Thomas Christianson.

We are in need of entries for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 103 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Backwoods Home Magazine, by Thomas Christianson

A couple of years ago, I ran across an online ad for a magazine called Backwoods Home. The magazine looked interesting, so I added it to my Christmas and birthday wish lists for a couple of years. My family decided to buy me other gifts instead, so I decided to take the bull by the horns. I contacted the Editorial and Advertising Coordinator for Backwoods Home Magazine, and asked if they would be willing to provide me with some back issues for review. They were kind enough to provide me with all four quarterly issues from 2021 (January/February/March, April/May/June, July/August/September, and October/November/December 2021: Issues 183 through 186).

I found the magazine to be interesting, informative, attractively illustrated, and filled with useful and practical information for those in the preparedness community. I would characterize it as good Sunday afternoon reading. I plan to keep it on my birthday and Christmas wish lists until further notice.Continue reading“Backwoods Home Magazine, by Thomas Christianson”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

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. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Toby sent this suggestion on do-it-yourself garage door security:

“Here are step-by-step instructions for a low-tech, garage door security system:

I use two ¼” red-handle cushion grip T-handle, Allen wrenches that are 8-inches long inserted in the slots/square holes located on both sides of my garage door rails and locking into the crossbar on the garage door. The photo above shows one of these wrenches in place, as seen from above. I don’t know if I got lucky or if other rails have square holes that align with the crossbar, but the Allen wrench fits perfectly through the square hole and onto the inside of the “U” crossbar.

Since I have a garage door opener, I keep the cheap metal door lock wired open (I never use the door handle lock). I don’t think the handle door lock offers much protection. I have removed the orange pull-down cord (no real need for it) and I have defused the manual opener with a zip tie. If I need to manually open the door, I can cut the zip tie, attach a cord, and pull the door open manually.

I am getting older, so sometimes I need reminders, visual reminders work best. So as not to open the garage door while my “security system” is in place, I hang a red dish towel ($1 @ the Dollar Store before the price changed to $1.25, still cheap) in the center of the garage door on the horizontal wire used for the door lock. When I “disable” and remove the Allen wrench lock pins, I then remove the red dish towel. When I “activate” and install the Allen wrenches, I hang the red dish towel.

My garage door opener wall control has an on/off switch. I switch it “off” when I install the Allen wrenches and hang the towel. I like redundant prompts and controls, so when the security system is activated, I cover the wall control with blue painter’s tape. When the security system is “deactivated,” I stick the painter’s tape on the door trim next to the wall control. I make sure the security system is “activated” each night before going to bed.

When I am going to be away for any length of time, I pull the vehicle out of the garage and “activate” the “security system.” I then exit the house through an outside door. Granted, I don’t have the ability to remotely open or close the garage door from my vehicle, but I do not have to worry about someone else accessing my garage.

The only maintenance required for my security system is to replace the blue painter’s tape every few months as it loses adhesion.

Costs:
T-handle, T-key Allen wrenches (2) = $15
Red Shop Towel = $1
Zip tie = $0.05
Blue painter’s tape = $0.01
Total cost = $16.06

May YHVH bless you and your family. – Toby (Torah Obedient Believer in Yeshua)”

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‘Planet killer’ asteroid found hiding in sun’s glare may one day hit Earth. (Thanks to reader D.S.V., for the link.)

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I highly recommend this lengthy interview that connects a lot of dots: How Elites Will Create a New Class of Slaves — Whitney Webb — The Glenn Beck Podcast  —  Ep 162. (Thanks to reader A.K. for the link.)

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Tim J. spotted this interesting video: The Cheese Caves of the United States.

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Reader X. wrote to mention a free database of amateur radio manuals.

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A.K. sent this video link: Virtual Chicken: Part 1: The Female Reproductive Tract.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Who stands firm? Only the one for whom the final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these, when in faith and sole allegiance to God he is called to obedient and responsible action: the responsible person, whose life will be nothing but an answer to God’s question and call.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 8, 2022

Today is the birthday of the late actor/director/producer Norman Lloyd.  He was born on November 8, 1914. His final film role was in a movie released in 2015. That was filmed after he had turned 100. I just learned that he passed away at the remarkable age of 106 on May 11, 2021. Our condolences to his family.

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Please get out and vote today!

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I’m happy to report that we’ve established an affiliate advertising relationship with Wing Bikes. They make some of the world’s best e-bikes.  They just started their Black Friday Preview Sale with $700 off their e-bikes!

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 103 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.