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 possibility of another “Little Ice Age.”

Preparing for Cold Years

To start, SurvivalBlog reader R.J.R. suggested this piece at American Thinker: Preparing for the coming food shortages associated with the dark, cold years.  Here is an excerpt:

“Contemplating several years of low harvests, on a global scale, with perhaps more years of lingering bad weather, is largely outside our experience. My grandparents and parents lived through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Mom’s family farmed wheat. Dad’s folks were just plain dirt poor. They all suffered. No matter what else might happen in our lives, our families, our neighborhoods, or our country, our world is facing predictable dark cold years, and we need to prepare.

Last year, some food, farm, and household supplies were unavailable. This reflected negative impacts from reduced harvests from the previous year, bad weather, COVID interruptions of production and processing, limited imports, supply chain and transport disruptions, lack of processing supplies like metal for cans, limited commercial food service, and families being at home round-the-clock rather than at work, school, and recreation. Lines lengthened at food banks. School districts scrambled to keep breakfast and lunch programs going via delivery or centralized pick-up.”

300 Year Drought During The Little Ice Age

Here is a fascinating aricle that was posted over at the Real Climate Science blog, in May: 300 Year Drought During The Little Ice Age.

An Earthbag Chicken Coop

Over at the Natural Building Blog: A Fine Earthbag Chicken Coop. (Our thanks to Tim J., for the link.)

New Autonomous Drone for SAR in Forests

Reader C.B. sent this: An autonomous drone for search and rescue in forests using optical sectioning algorithm.  The article begins:

“A team of researchers working at Johannes Kepler University has developed an autonomous drone with a new type of technology to improve search-and-rescue efforts. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes their drone modifications. Andreas Birk with Jacobs University Bremen has published a Focus piece in the same journal issue outlining the work by the team in Austria.

Finding people lost (or hiding) in the forest is difficult because of the tree cover. People in planes and helicopters have difficulty seeing through the canopy to the ground below, where people might be walking or even laying down. The same problem exists for thermal applications—heat sensors cannot pick up readings adequately through the canopy. Efforts have been made to add drones to search-and-, but they suffer from the same problems because they are remotely controlled by pilots using them to search the ground below. In this new effort, the researchers have added new technology that both helps to see through the tree canopy and to highlight people that might be under it.

The new technology is based on what the researchers describe as an airborne optical sectioning algorithm—it uses the power of a computer to defocus occluding objects such as the tops of . The second part of the new device uses thermal imaging to highlight the heat emitted from a warm body.”

JWR’s Comment:  Just keep in mind that this same technology could be used to locate someone attempting to hide from a tyrannical government.

Hackers Expose 8.4 Billion Passwords

Hackers Expose 8.4 Billion Passwords Post them Online in Possibly Largest Dump of Passwords Ever.  (A tip of the hat to reader J. McC. for the link.)

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The first right of every human being is the right of self-defense. Without that right, all other rights are meaningless. The right of self-defense is not something the government bestows upon its citizens. It is an inalienable right, older than the Constitution itself. It existed prior to government and prior to the social contract of our Constitution.” – Senator Larry Craig

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 30, 2021

June 30th is the anniversary of the tragic death of 19 firefighters in the Yarnell Hill Fire. (In 2013.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 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. 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, 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.

Pistol Lasers and Red Dots, by Francis

Introductory Note: I’m Francis The Semi-Prepper. Two of my articles have been featured in SurvivalBlog:

The Semi-Prepper, Part 1, dated May 26, 2020 and Part 2 dated May 27, 2020

and,

Abandoning Home, by Francis dated Aug 11, 2020

I reference these as they include my background and beliefs. I’m trying to be proactive but I’ll never be a full prepper. I am constantly thinking and trying to do what I have to do to be prepared for the ominous times coming and to pass onto our grandchildren something of value. We already know the Lord but the Lord helps those who help themselves…

With 75-year-old eyes, my aiming with a semiautomatic pistol is not that good, surprise! Thus, the quest for better accuracy. This is most important today with street crime, riots, and racially-motivated attacks. Therefore, I am armed.

My goal here is to explain lasers and red dot sights and how to mount them to your pistol if it has rear dovetail sights (looking at the rear sight from the side, the rear sight dovetail looks like a triangle with part of the top cut off- /____\ ). Some pistols are set up for Picatinny rails, which will not be addressed here. It can be confusing to the novice, as it was to me, to understand the difference between a laser and a red dot for use on a semiautomatic pistol. Note that there are also fiber optics replacement sights for pistols; I will not be discussing them here because the shooter has to align both rear and front sight. I feel the laser and red dot require less “aligning effort”.

You cannot just buy any product that says it will work and expect it to. All of these products are made for a specific firearm or as in the case of the Sylvan sight pusher for many different firearms but not all. Make sure you diligently investigate what you purchase and that it will properly work with your firearm(s).

Learn from others! I participate in IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) and IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation). You can look these up but essentially they allow competitors to shoot at targets, (cardboard, etc), with some targets moving, time limits, reloading and shooters required to move. There is always a safety officer within 2 feet behind you who is tracking safety and your time. There is usually a $20 to $25 dollar fee to participate; it usually takes about 2.5 to 3.5 hours to run through each station depending upon the number of stations and the number of competitors.Continue reading“Pistol Lasers and Red Dots, by Francis”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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.

—

H.L. sent this troubling news reported by American Greatness: Deprogramming of January 6 Defendants Is Underway.  JWR’s Comment: This self-flagellating rhetoric reminds me of the public humiliation “Struggle Sessions” that were a staple of the Cultural Revolution in mainland China under the brutal genocidal rule of Chairman Mao and his henchmen.

o  o  o

My wife Avalanche Lily suggested this news item, that I also included in our Economics & Investing column: Israel has already tested a digital shekel cryptocurrency. This has some very far-reaching implications.

o  o  o

Reader M.P. wrote:

“Brian Krebs recently posted an article describing an industry survey that found that the majority of drinking water supply systems in the US have not even fully inventoried their IT/OT (operational tech) systems, let alone secured them. If they don’t know what they have, they cannot lock them down. Couple that with the highly improbably 67.9 percent that say they have had no IT security incidents in the past year and it becomes pretty obvious that this sector as a whole has not IT security strategy and is a whole set of time bombs waiting to explode, or rather be exploded from without.”

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 29, 2021

29 July 1805 was the birthday of Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville. He died 16 April,1859. He is best known for his lengthy treatise: Democracy In America.

—

Two noteworthy new listings, over at SurvivalRealty.com:

On the Pend Orielle River: Homesteading with a view!!

and,

134 acres minutes from Downtown Missoula.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 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. 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, 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.

Basic Clock Repair and Few Thoughts on Time, by St. Funogas

In The Novice’s recent article Timekeeping When the Grid is Down, he asked for someone with a better knowledge to write an article for TEOTWAWKI clock and watch repair. While we’re waiting for that person to step up to the plate, and I hope they do, I thought that I’d offer some of the clock-repair basics I’ve learned in the past eight months.

I’ve always loved any kind of windup time piece. Some combination of the beauty, intricacies, and the mechanical aspects of clocks captured my imagination at a young age. Once I used my birthday money to buy $2.50 pocket watch. I soon had the back open to examine the marvels beneath the cover, watch the mainspring dancing about, and eventually ruined the spring by accidentally sticking a needle into it while poking around the gears. This is how one learns to be a mechanic.

At an auction last year was a grandmother clock (a small “grandfather” clock) which the auctioneer almost couldn’t give away. Anyone who frequents auctions knows that auction clocks never work. He finally talked one of the auction regulars into taking it for $30, although begrudgingly. When I got home, I couldn’t stop thinking about that clock. Wow, $30, what a treasure if it were running. I wondered just how difficult it could be to repair clocks in case I ever saw another deal like that.

My biggest concern was just exactly how they got all those tiny gears in place between the two brass plates which held it all together. Even now I still wonder. So the thought of trying to learn clock repair with my nine thumbs made me shudder. A week later I finally decided to man up and research clock repair to see just what it entailed. I quickly discovered I’d been making some dumb assumptions all along. Once I figured out the secret I realized, “Wow, I can do that.”

With a brain wired for a mechanical things and problem solving, fixing clocks soon became a fun challenge for me. In the past eight months I’ve been able to repair seven of the eight clocks I’ve attempted including wall clocks, mantle clocks, an anniversary clock (so named because it only needs to be wound once a year), and a cuckoo clock which is a little trickier. I have three more clocks (and counting) to work on as soon as I have time, maybe when I put the garden to bed and fire up the woodstove.

Not only have I learned a cool new skill, but I’ve learned many fascinating things along the journey. Like how exactly cuckoo clocks cuckoo. It’s ingenious! And how their pine-cone weights remove the need for mainsprings inside the clock.Continue reading“Basic Clock Repair and Few Thoughts on Time, by St. Funogas”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, a special edition of the column with a round-up of publishing companies in the American Redoubt.

Idaho

Many SurvivalBlog readers are already familiar with Backeddy Books, in Boise. I highly recommend their books The Last Of The Mountain Men and Idaho For The Curious. From their web site:  “Established in 1976, Backeddy Books is a small regional publisher printing nonfiction titles, largely about Idaho, and for 36 years was located in Cambridge, a town in western Idaho that serves as gatepost to Hells Canyon. The business has moved downstream to Boise.”

o  o  o

Canon Press. “Publisher of Christian fiction and non-fiction for adults, homeschooling and educational resources, and more. Canon Press is one of the literature ministries of Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho.”

o  o  o

Keokee Books in Sandpoint specializes in wilderness and fishing guidebooks.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Over The Counter Pain Relief, by Pat Cascio

I’m not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be. This article covers some of the Over The Counter (OTC) pain relief medications that I’ve used and continue to use. I’m not giving medical advice, just my opinions on this subject.

I live in pain – all the time – and I’m sure many of our readers can appreciate where I’m coming from on this subject. For at least 60 years, I lived in pain from my right hip. It was x-rayed dozens of times over the years, and every doctor said the same thing “osteo-arthritis” and nothing more could be done – just take some OTC pain medications. Well, I finally saw an orthopedic surgeon about four years ago, and within 30-seconds he spotted the problem with my right hip. Yeah, osteo-arthritis, but in my case it was caused by a misshaped femur bone – from birth. I used to be very active in all kinds of sports, and always thought that the pain was just from over-doing things – nothing more. I had the right hip replaced, and it is the only part of my body these days that works as it should, and is pain-free, as well – well worth the $22,000 surgery.

I have osteo-arthritis in my lower back, as well as my hands, the right hand is much worse than the left and is now deformed – fingers are turning sideways and misshaped as well – and painful – not a good thing for someone who does a lot of typing on a daily basis. Osteo-arthritis is caused, or so I’m informed, by wear and tear in the joints – makes sense. And, there is no such thing as a “cure” for this ailment, only some various types of treatments. Treatments are usually in the form of some kind of pain pills to one degree or another, and of course OTC spray-on, or rub-in creams and lotions. However, everything is only temporary, and the pain comes back in short order.

Don’t Over-Medicate!

In this article, I’ll cover some of the OTC creams and sprays I use, and continue to use. I’m a firm believer in not taking any more medications than needed. I suffer from Diabetes Type 2, as well as high blood pressure, so I’m limited to some oral pain meds. One of the worse offenders for me is, Aleve, as it is known to raise blood pressure. So I rarely take it – and at best, it just barely, on some days, takes the edge off of my pain. Plus, for some reason, my body “leaks” liver enzymes – not very much, but it shows a little elevation when I have blood work done. And, this is a real sore spot for me, when a nurse tells me to cut back on my drinking. I don’t drink alcohol – took my last drink August 17, 1977 – period! Doctors have told me that the enzyme leak isn’t anything to be concerned about. Any sort of NSAID (look it up) also raises my blood pressure, so they too are used very rarely.

I have a prescription for a couple “narcotic” pain meds, and once again, I rarely take them – just don’t like taking meds for the most part, and once again, they rarely do much for my pain – just take the edge off, so I can function. One of the best things is an oral Prednisone, and there is a process when taking this medication over a period of a week or so…one drawback is that Prednisone, tends to destroy muscle, and I don’t need that in my old age, either.Continue reading“Over The Counter Pain Relief, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Egg Croquettes

The following recipe for Egg Croquettes is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book is one of the many bonus items included in the latest edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. The second production run of the 15th Anniversary Edition (2005-2020) USB stick should be available for ordering on July 4th, 2021. The first batch sold out quickly, so don’t miss out!

Ingredients
  • 2 cups chopped eggs, hard-cooked
  • 1 cup thick white sauce
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • Dash of cayenne
  • Egg and crumbs
DirectionS

Eggs should be chopped fine, moistened with sauce as soft as can be handled, and seasoned.

Let chill thoroughly on flat dish, well buttered, then divide evenly into portions, allowing two tablespoons for each croquette.

Shape into balls, cylinders, cones, or any desired shape.

Roll in crumbs, dip in egg. Roll again in crumbs and fry in deep fat till light brown in color. Drain on soft paper.

SERVING

Serve with a sauce.

—

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 ponder where the price of Bitcoin will bottom. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.)

Precious Metals:

Interview: The Biggest Buyer of Silver on Earth 2021.

o  o  o

Stefan Gleason: Central Banks to Keep Buying Gold.

Economy & Finance:

At the CBS News web site: What’s behind the push for a fourth stimulus check.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: New Harvard Data (Accidentally) Reveal How Lockdowns Crushed The Working Class While Leaving Elites Unscathed.

o  o  o

California to pay off unpaid rent accrued during COVID-19 pandemic.

o  o  o

World gained 5.2m millionaires last year in Covid crisis – report.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”