The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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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 how NYPD police officers are using facial recognition.

Demand for “Prepper Properties” is Soaring

Demand For “Prepper Properties” Is Soaring As More People Seek Refuge From The Nightmare That Is Coming To America

Building an Underground House with Hand Tools

Michael Z. Williamson (our Editor-At-Large) sent us this YouTube link: Building The Most Secret Underground House and Water Slide to Swimming Pool Underground.  It is no wonder that this video has had 35 million views.

Rogue NYPD Cops are Using Facial Recognition App

The New York Post reports: Rogue NYPD cops are using facial recognition app Clearview. The article begins:

“Rogue NYPD officers are using a sketchy facial recognition software on their personal phones that the department’s own facial recognition unit doesn’t want to touch because of concerns about security and potential for abuse, The Post has learned.

Clearview AI, which has scraped millions of photos from social media and other public sources for its facial recognition program — earning a cease-and-desist order from Twitter — has been pitching itself to law enforcement organizations across the country, including to the NYPD.”

Marines are Now Allowed Concealed Carry

Reader DSV spotted this: Marines are Now Allowed to Concealed Carry on Base

NOAA to Study Climate Plan B: Geoengineering

Reader Sean B. sent this: NOAA gets go-ahead to study climate Plan B: Geoengineering.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The fanaticism which discards the Scripture, under the pretense of resorting to immediate revelations is subversive of every principle of Christianity. For when they boast extravagantly of the Spirit, the tendency is always to bury the Word of God so they may make room for their own falsehoods.” – John Calvin

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 29, 2020

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Today is the birthday of journalist and inventor Thomas Paine (1737–1809.)

And speaking of Toms, this is the birthday of actor Tom Selleck (born 1945), best known for playing the title role of Magnum, P.I. He is an avid shooter and quite pro-gun.

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A special note on our waterproof 2005-2019 archive USB sticks: We discovered a formatting glitch on the first batch that were mailed out. So… We are mailing free replacements (properly formatted) for all of those customers. You may keep the old sticks–free of charge–and erase their contents, to be able to use those sticks for whatever purpose that you’d like. Just don’t mix them up with your new sticks.  Please do not mial back the old sticks. Again, those are for you to keep, as our gift. Mailing of the sticks with the updated formatting should begin on or before February 1st. Thanks for your patience!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Building the Castle – Part 2, by Jake R.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Metal Siding

Metal siding is common on a lot of the newer barndominiums and shop houses. Essentially, it’s the same as the metal roofing used on the building. These are becoming more and more popular and have their advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

Durability – This type of metal is typically durable and has good longevity. To top that off, it’s also easy to maintain.

Easy Installation – The installation of this is also straight forward which reduces the labor costs to have it installed.

Fire Safety – This material is also good to have in areas where fires are common. You may find that if it gets hot it will discolor and may rust but it should still protect your home to some extent.

Cons

Cost – This material is typically more expensive than vinyl siding so like many other things mentioned in this article, you may have to pick and choose what’s most important to you. Unfortunately, every bit extra you spend on materials may be addition funding taken away from your beans, band-aids, and bullets.

Rust – Exterior metal still has that capability of rusting, especially if it’s in contact with the ground. You’ll want to keep an eye on this and make sure soil doesn’t pile up next to the home such as ant beds. If this rusts completely through, it will open up the interior walls to the elements and can begin to cause issues.

Stockpiling – Keeping replacement panels around for this is similar to roofs. You may have a hard time finding somewhere to properly store the panels.

Continue reading“Building the Castle – Part 2, by Jake R.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on the  recently-released The Bridge on the River Kwai BluRay. (See the Movies section.)

Books:

Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual, by Jocko Willink

o  o  o

Nikk recommended the book Secret Empires, by Peter Schweizer

o  o  o

Reader R.T. suggested this: Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers.

o  o  o

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 28, 2020

January 28th is the anniversary of the rescue of General James L. Dozier from his Italian Red Brigades kidnappers. Tangentially, Colonel Jeff Cooper created a shooting drill in honor of those who freed him – The Dozier Drill.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Building the Castle – Part 1, by Jake R.

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This two-part article describes some TEOTWAWKI considerations for home building and long-term maintenance.

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Have you ever daydreamed about building the perfect home for the end of the world as we know it? If you’re like me, you may have caught yourself daydreaming about various configurations and options you would like to have on your home to help you survive with better security and better comfort. I would like to say that there is a perfect home configuration out there for everyone but that just wouldn’t be true. When building a home, you must take multiple things into consideration including geographical location, soil types, legal considerations and various other hurdles that may be encountered along the way.

With that being said, let’s go over some of the options out there along with some of their pros and cons:

Foundations
Slab Foundation

Slab foundations are essentially concrete slabs that rest directly on the ground. These types of foundations are reinforced with metal components that add strength to the foundation itself and are designed to last for the life of the home.

Pros

Low Maintenance – There just a lot of maintenance requirements with this type of foundation. The biggest concern is the level of moisture around the foundation walls. High or low moisture content can cause movement but can be prevented with proper drainage when it rains and a watering program for when it’s extremely dry.

No need for additional flooring – Flooring is optional with slabs. More and more people are going with a concrete stain instead of installing flooring. This may save you some money down the road and is easy to keep clean.

No Wood Rot – As with pier and beam and even some basement foundations, you will eventually experience water damage and may even have to replace some of the wood in these areas over time. When the sawmills no longer work, this is one less thing you’ll have to be concerned about.

Cheaper to Install – Slab foundations are typically cheaper than basements and pier and beam foundations. This should free up some extra cash for that solar well pump you’ve been looking at.

Cons

Expensive to Repair – When a concrete slab does fail, its usually costly to repair it. Usually, this requires cutting holes in various locations around the home to install piers. Another downside to this is, it’s usually not a DIY project and will likely require the skills and tools of a trained professional. In the event of TEOTWAWKI, you may find that you are not able to make the needed repairs.

More susceptible to flooding – Concrete slabs usually sit lower to the ground than pier and beam foundations. This may increase the risk of flood damage if your house is in a low-lying area or if your grading and drainage isn’t performing well. Once a home has flooded, you can easily start to see mold growth. If mold takes over the home, you may be forced to find shelter elsewhere.

Concealed Plumbing – You won’t be able to look at your drain plumbing with this type of foundation. This means that if there is a leak, you usually won’t be able to see it until it shows up somewhere else, quite possibly in the form of foundation movement. This may not apply to you in a SHTF situation, but it should still be considered.

Continue reading“Building the Castle – Part 1, by Jake R.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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, we focus on wolf population estimates.   (See the Idaho section.)

Region-Wide:

Reader M.K. spotted this wire service article that mentions the American Redoubt movement and real estate agent Todd Savage: Survivalists who fear a looming, urban catastrophe are swapping city life for a fresh start off grid and far from civilisation.

Idaho

As West Coast Transplants Pour In, a Small Idaho Town Has a Big Dilemma

o o o

A first hand video message, by way of Redoubt News: The label lynching of Rep. Heather Scott.

o o o

Officials warn of falling rocks on Idaho roads near mountains

o o o

Game cameras took 11 million photos of wolves in Idaho for new population estimate

Here is how the article begins:

“Game cameras took 11 million photos to help Idaho Department Fish and Game researchers count wolves.

IDFG has a new estimate of the statewide wolf population through its new survey method using game cameras and mathematical modeling, which will be repeated annually and fine-tuned during the next few years.

At the IDFG commission meeting on Wednesday in Boise, staff reported there were an estimated 1,541 wolves in the state during summer 2019. The estimate represents the peak population shortly after pups were born.

IDFG biologists haven’t estimated the statewide wolf population in Idaho in 5 years.

From 2006 to 2015, Fish and Game’s wolf monitoring program remained under federal oversight. During that time, the department maintained enough radio-collared wolves to show there were more than 15 breeding pairs in the state and more than 150 total wolves. Those surveys were intended to show the wolf population exceeded targets needed to remove them from federal protection and oversight.”

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 27, 2020

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January 27th is commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today is the birthday of singer-songwriter Kate Wolf. (Born 1942, died December 10, 1986.)  Her untimely death of leukemia at age 44 cut short an amazing career and robbed America of a great songwriting talent.

This is also the birthday of the late Helen Chenoweth (born, 1938, died October 2, 2006). She was a controversial Republican congresswoman from Orofino, Idaho.

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Seed for Security, LLC is having a special sale: Their Colossal Security Pack is 15% off. This pack is a total of seven pounds of vegetable, grain, and herb seeds. All are open-pollinated and non GMO. Included are their three most popular collections: The Super Survival Pack, 4 Grain Collection, and their Heirloom Herb Collection. This offer is for a limited time.

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Deliveries by mail have begun for the Waterproof USB SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive sticks. Because of the recent rush of orders, please allow four to six weeks from when you placed your order. Orders are being filled in the sequence that they were received. Many readers are placing orders for multiple sticks, so these are going quickly. When I last checked, there were only 312 remaining. That is not a lot, for a blog with more than 100,000 readers. Get your order in soon, before the small available supply sells out.

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Life just got a lot more interesting with the outbreak of Wuhan Pneumonia. On Sunday, the Chinese government announced their finding that the disease has a 1-to-14-day infectious period, before symptoms are seen. (Not yet confirmed by a western lab.) If true, this is very bad news for epidemiologists.

With only four reported cases in the United States, N95 masks are already selling out, from coast to coast.  (But of course most SurvivalBlog readers were already well-supplied, years in advance.)

My advice: Don’t mess with the Wuhan. Don’t get near the Wuhan, and don’t get within spitting/sneezing distance of anyone outside of your immediate family who might have the Wuhan unless you are wearing an N95 mask, gloves, and goggles.

Worst case (i.e. in the event of further mutation to a more lethal strain): Be prepared to hunker down in isolation and let this contagion burn itself out. Please pray fervently, folks.

Sportsman 1,000-Watt Portable Generator, by Pat Cascio

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If you’re serious about your preparedness, then you really should consider owning a backup generator! Of course, a portable generator isn’t meant for long-term use. It is mostly for power outages, that might last a few days or at most a few weeks. You can’t possibly store enough gas or oil, for operation of a portable generator for years and years. It is a short-term solution – period!

There are so many different types and sizes of generators out there, it will make your head spin. When shopping for a portable generator, you have to keep in-mind what you intend to operate with your generator. We own several portable generators, one is a 3,500-watt, for heavy usage, and the other one is only 1,000-watts and it gets the most use. We simply don’t need to operate everything in our home, that runs off of AC electricity when the power goes out.

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: DO NOT OPERATE ANY GAS POWERED OR PROPANE POWERED GENERATOR INDOORS – IF YOU DO, YOU RISK CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING – SIMPLE AS THAT.

The Sportsman 1,000-watt portable generator under review today, is one we purchased from Home Depot,  several years ago. I studied their web site for what I believed would be the best choice for us, for our second portable generator, that would be used more often than the larger portable generator we already had on-hand. You must also keep in-mind that, the bigger (more wattage) your generator puts out, the more fuel it needs to run – that is something to keep in the back of your mind. Plus, you also need to know local laws, when it comes to storing fuel on your property – some locales are very strict on this, and might only allow you to have 5-gallons of fuel – if you have a high wattage portable generator, that 5 gallons of fuel, probably won’t last you half a day, if you are running the generator with a full load.

The copy hype for the Sportsman 1,000-watt generator states that this unit is “the ideal size for hunters and campers to run small appliances, such as a portable television”. Personally, if I’m out hunting or camping, I don’t believe I’ll have a portable television with me, unless I’m in my travel trailer. This little two-stroke portable generator only weighs 38-pounds. So its easy to transport in the trunk of your car, or bed or your pick-up truck – without fuel in it. I don’t do tailgating parties or anything like that, so I don’t worry about transporting this generator – it stays at home.

A two-stroke engine requires a mixture of gas and two-stroke fuel. In the case of this generator, the fuel tank holds .8-gallons of gas, and you have to have that gas mixed 50:1 with the two-stoke oil, you can’t just mix any kind of oil with it. No, it takes a special two-stoke formulated oil that you can get at any big box store, farm/ranch supply store, etc. This oil is cheap enough, and it doesn’t require very much of it, that you can keep several bottles on-hand and mix it as needed. Some places sell this fuel ratio already mixed, however it is very expensive – I priced a one quart can – and it was almost $20. That equates to $80 per gallon, and that is highway robbery, if you ask me.Continue reading“Sportsman 1,000-Watt Portable Generator, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Chicken-Rice Casserole

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This week’s recipe is for a Chicken-Rice Casserole. It is a recipe excerpted from the scarce book Nine Hundred Successful Recipes, by Lulu Thompson Silvernail. This book, from my own book collection, was published in 1923. A recent change in U.S. copyright law now puts most pre-1925 books in the public domain.

Lulu Thompson Silvernail’s emphasis in this book was recipes that included hard red winter wheat flour. This entire recipe book is just part of the extensive bonus content that is included in this year’s SurvivalBlog archive waterproof USB stick. Note: The USB sticks are now in stock. They are selling quickly, so get yours soon, before they sell out.

IngredientS

2 cups boiled rice
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups of chicken broth or top milk
4 tablespoons butter
3  tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Butter a casserole dish and line dish with the cooked rice, retaining some to place on top. Melt butter in saucepan and add flour, allowing butter and flour to brown lightly. Stir into this the chicken broth or top milk. Then add the chicken. Allow mixture to boil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour all in rice lined casserole, placing [more] rice on top. Cook in hot oven for 15 minutes.

SERVING

Serve hot.

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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

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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 pre-1899 antique guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Silver, Platinum Missed Much of the Commodities Rally. Prices May Catch Up in 2020

o  o  o

Craig Hemke, over at Gold-Eagle: Real Gold vs Pretend Gold

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: The ‘Golden Age Of Plastic’? Banks Are Quietly Raising Credit Limits For Freespending Borrowers
o  o  o

Reuters reports: Frustrated Lebanese depositors turn rage on crisis-hit banks

o  o  o

Wolf Street had this: Union Pacific Cut 17% of its Workers, Will Cut 8% in 2020. Revenue Fell 9.5%, Income 10%. Bought Back $5.8 Bn in Shares. Stock Hits New High

o  o  o

Report: Your State Is Likely DESTROYING Your Money

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“A man builds a house in England with the expectation of living in it and leaving it to his children; while we shed our houses in America as easily as a snail does his shell. We live a while in Boston, and then a while in New York, and then, perhaps, turn up at Cincinnati. Scarcely any body with us is living where they expect to live and die. The man that dies in the house he was born in is a wonder. There is something pleasant in the permanence and repose of the English family estate, which we, in America, know very little of.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe