Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 1, 2021

November 1st, 1923, is the birthday of science fiction writer Gordon R. Dickson (pictured at a sci-fi convention.)  He was born in 1923, died January 31, 2001.) Many of his novels and short stories, such as Wolf and Iron, have survivalist themes.

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November 1st is also the birthday of economist Martin A. Armstrong. For many years he was a prisoner of conscience, in part because he refused to turn over his proprietary trading algorithms to Federal prosecutors. After seven years in prison without a trial, the longest Federal incarceration for contempt in American history, Armstrong was finally put on trial in a proceeding that was branded as a sham. He was convicted on securities fraud charges based upon some marginal testimony and given a five-year sentence. He was released from prison in September of 2011. Notably, Armstrong continued to write his economics newsletter while in prison, producing most of the issues on a prison library typewriter.

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Today we present another review written by our Field Gear Editor, the Redoubtable Pat Cascio.

CRKT Shenanigan & Stylus, by Pat Cascio

Today, I have a couple knife reviews. Both knives are made by the same company, both from the same designer, and both manufactured in Taiwan — Free China.

It’s a pretty rare thing for a knife company to re-introduce a knife design, but that’s exactly what CRKT did with the improved Shenanigan folder. Some years back, I reviewed this folder for our readers, and didn’t find anything “wrong” with it – so I was a little disappointed when it was retired. A really good knife design, is good for about two-to-three years on the market, before people tire of it. More often than not, three years is the maximum on the life of a knife design. Of course, there are a few exceptions, and some knife designs have been on the market for 50-years or longer. Still, I hated to see production of the original Shenanigan come to an end.

The Shenanigan is a Ken Onion design, and he is one of the world’s more famous knife designers. Ken lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii however his work is known all over the world. Some years back, I did an article on some of Ken’s factory-made knives, and I interviewed him on the phone – it was an interesting conversation we had. Without a doubt, he is a wildman – much like I used to be…I’m mellowed in my old age. Still, I gleaned a lot from our talk, which lasted several hours on the phone. I’m glad that Onion is doing several collaborations with CRKT, because they are bringing a number of his custom designs to buyers that couldn’t otherwise afford them.

CRKT didn’t just bring the old Shenanigan back to life. Nope, they added a few new features. One is, the added Veff serrations to the blade, and you have to try them to know how superior they are to the old-fashioned serrations. These are more aggressive in a number of ways – they aren’t just for looks. They will easily tear through rope and cardboard boxes with ease – especially wet and thick rope. Read up on the Veff serrations – they were designed by a custom knifemaker, right here in my home state of Oregon, and CRKT has added them to many of their knives.

Secondly, CRKT added the award-winning Assisted Opening innovation, and IKBS ball bearing pivot system to a super-smooth and fast opening of the blade. Onion designed this assisted-opening system. The Shenanigan easily opens when you deploy the flipper on the blade – and I mean it is F-A-S-T and smooth. The IKBS ball bearings are the smoothest opening out of any folder – bar none – in my humble opinion. The blade locks up with the liner lock and it is even easy for closing the blade as well as locking it open.Continue reading“CRKT Shenanigan & Stylus, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Red Wine Venison Stew

The following recipe for Red Wine Venison Stew is from reader Kelly in Montana. Kelly says: “This is an old French recipe that requires 8+ hours to marinate the meat, but it is worth the wait.”

Ingredients
  • 2 to 3 pounds of venison, cubed
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped white or yellow onions
  • 3 medium carrots, sliced to 1/4-inch thickness
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • Up to 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  • Up to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 3/4 cups beef stock (Preferably fresh rather than from b-cubes.)
  • 5 slices bacon, chopped up into chunks just under bite-size
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
Directions
  1. Place the venison, onions, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, and the herbs in a large casserole dish or glass mixing bowl.
  2. Pour the red wine and beef stock over the venison, and cover it. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. I do mine for 12+ hours, overnight.
  3. Drain the liquid marinade and set it aside for use as described later.
  4. In a large saucepan over high heat, cook the bacon until it turns crisp.
  5. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  6. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease from the pan. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in the bacon grease for 5 minutes, until the vegetables turn soft. Transfer them to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set it aside for a moment.
  7. Toss the venison with the flour and brown it in the remaining bacon grease.
  8. Once all sides of the meat are browned, stir in the tomato paste and cook the mixture for 1 minute.
  9. Add the mushrooms, cooked vegetables, crisped bacon, and the marinade liquid that you set aside into the pan with the browned venison.
  10. Cook the mixture over low heat, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The venison stew is done when the meat and vegetables are tender and the sauce is thickened.  If covered, it can be simmered at very low heat for up to two hours, depending on the timing of your dinner serving.
SERVING

Serve the stew with green vegetables and mashed potatoes or perhaps rice, to soak up the juices.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

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 rising fertilizer prices. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Why Isn’t Gold Going Up With Inflation?

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“$3000 In Months, Not Years” – Gold’s Inflation-Protection Means “Violent” Run-Up Imminent

Economy & Finance:

Missed Interest Payment Upped, Evergrande Bankrupt, Western Media Corrupt, Financial Disrupt, China Hiccuped, HSBC Next Up And If The Poop Hits The Fan The Public Might Just Erupt.

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Pelosi upbeat on Biden deal but Manchin pans billionaire tax.

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At Zero Hedge: How Long Until Supply Chains Finally Normalize: Three Things To Watch.

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Another Massive Short Squeeze Leads To Spectacular 5Y Auction.

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At Wolf Street: Rents Spiked 10% to 25% in Half the Cities in October: How it’ll Push Up CPI Next Year, Ridiculing Fed’s “Transitory” Inflation.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 31, 2021

As Christians, our family does not celebrate the pagan Halloween. Since October 31st is also Reformation Day, that is what we celebrate.

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Sorry, but I didn’t have time to prepare a feature article for today, as I’m out of state to attend a memorial service for my late mother, Barbara Marie Rawles. I’m also assisting my siblings in clearing out her house, to prepare it for sale. Our regular posting schedule should resume by Wednesday.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The system that best ensures that resources are used as efficiently as possible is free-market capitalism—an economic system based on transferrable private property rights, freedom of contract, the rule of law, and consumer sovereignty.” – Donald J. Boudreaux, in The Essential Hayek

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 30, 2021

October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) He died on July 4, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson.

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First up is the monthly precious metals column by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins. Sorry, but I didn’t have time to prepare a feature article for today, as I’m out of state to attend a memorial service for my late mother, Barbara Marie Rawles. I’m also assisting my siblings in clearing out her home, to prepare it for sale. Our regular posting schedule should resume by Wednesday.

October 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in October?

All the headlines that moved gold prices in October boiled down to two things: inflation, and how the Fed planned to deal with it.

Gold spent the first week of October treading water around the $1,750 mark. This ended on the 13th, when gold saw big losses, then big gains, all in one day.  Inflation fears rocked the markets that morning when CPI came in much hotter than expected. This sent gold down sharply as bond yields and the dollar advanced.

Later in the day, the release of the September FOMC minutes revealed that most Fed officials are ready to start tapering of QE in November. This sent bond yields higher and the dollar lower. Gold took advantage of this to erase those early losses and jump $26 higher. This triggered stop losses that saw gold end the day up by $36 to $1,795.

Gold gave up most of those gains two days later, when retail sales came in far higher than expected. Combined with strong earnings reports from major companies, the week ended solidly in risk-on mode.

Gold got another chance at greatness on October 20th. The release of the Fed’s “Beige Book” report showed most of the nation reported “significantly higher prices”. The Markit flash manufacturing PMI came in 8 points lower that morning, to a 7-month low of 52.9.

These two reports together painted a picture of high inflation and shrinking economic activity – the very definition of stagflation. This sent gold $30 higher before noon.

This must not have been part of the script on Wall St., as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was trotted out to say the Fed will for sure begin tapering next month. This sent gold down vertically by $60 to $30 in the red. By the end of the day, prices had pushed up $44 to finish the day with a $14 gain.

The end of the month saw PCE come in at the second record high in a row, giving a big boost to the dollar and pushing bond yields lower. This sent the dollar down $28 early in the session, but the yellow metal managed to erase half those losses by the end of the day.Continue reading“October 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”

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:

My report for this week will be just one line, as I’m very busy helping to prepare for a memorial gathering, and frantically busy, clearing out my late mother’s house. Now, over to Lily…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their death.” – James Madison

Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 29, 2021

October 29th is the birthday of fighter pilot Vermont Garrison, an American who fought in three wars – WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died on February 14th, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho.

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Please contact your congrescriiiters are voice your opposition to HR 2377, a Federal “Red Flag” law — that would allow guns to be seized without due process!

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We are still seeking entries for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 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.

 

Potemkin Village on the Potomac

I’ll begin this essay with a bit of history, and then take a look at what I foresee in the near future of America.

The “Potemkin Village” (Potyomkinskiye derevni) was an invention of Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski to impress Empress Catherine The Second (“Catherine the Great”), while she was traveling through Crimea, in 1787. As the story goes, along the banks of the Dnieper River, Potemkin had workmen erect a fake village, peopled with paid actors. This village was designed to give Catherine with the illusion of economic vibrancy in the region under the prince’s rule, as she floated by. After her boat had passed, Potemkin would have his workmen disassemble the village and then hastily reassemble it, farther downstream, to be seen the next day. As the story goes (perhaps exaggerated) his ruse went on for several successive days. The phrase Potemkin Village is now used in both the economic and political realms to describe any construction or situational artifice built solely to deceive others into thinking that conditions are better than they actually are. In modern times, North Korea is famous for creating well-stocked fake storefronts, and non-functional computers, to impress visiting foreigners.

Sadly, 21st Century Potemkin Villages are not created by just Third World dictators. It is becoming common in Western nations. There is now a virtual Potemkin Village on the Potomac River. Unlike the movable village on the Dnieper, the Potemkin Village on the Potomac centers on boasts by the Biden-Harris Regime about a “strong economic recovery” and the merits of a multi-trillion dollar “Building Back Better” spending plan. It is Joe Biden mandating inoculation with flawed vaccines.  It is the Federal Reserve creating trillions of dollars out of thin air. And it is the media and academia perpetuating the whole charade.

The governments of most western nations have become a farce. They are led by power-hungry sociopaths and financed by extorted tax dollars of the citizenries. Their laws are willingly enforced by local, state, and federal police officers and agents who are more concerned with “officer safety” and their fat pensions than they are with protecting our constitutional rights. Meanwhile, the leftist stooges of the mainstream media blather on endlessly, repeating their socialist mantras.Continue reading“Potemkin Village on the Potomac”