Continue reading“Recipe of the Week: Corn-Stuffed Pork Chops, by G.E.”
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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on antique scientific and medical instruments. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Last Week Was Just A Taste Of The Coming Gold Short Squeeze
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Gold Cleared Its First Hurdle But The Race Is Still Running – Saxo Bank
Some excellent analysis on the current Big Dang Bubble, with supporting graphs, by Charles Hugh Smith: Pensions Now Depend on Bubbles Never Popping (But All Bubbles Pop)
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Stock Market News For Oct 12, 2018
On to this at Seeking Alpha: Commodities Recap For The Week Of Oct. 12, 2018
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Jerry Welch: Do Not Be Left Behind
“In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, not does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defence.” – James Monroe
The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962, bringing the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear conflict. Photographs were taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane and offered incontrovertible evidence that Soviet-made medium-range missiles were in Cuba. These missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads and were stationed 90 miles off the American coastline.
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This has been another entry for Round 79 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
Round 79 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.
It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Needing fuel for their war machine lead Germany to invent and perfect the diesel engine. It was designed to run efficiently on vegetable oil, and they do to this day.
Circumstances forced me to make a move from my East Texas home to the deep Southwest. It was a slow, long process of gradually moving my stuff and my wife to a new homestead. I commuted from Nevada to East Texas for almost three years, at least monthly. Growing up farming, ranching, and trucking, I had a lifetime of experience with diesels, how they work, and what it takes to keep them running.
It was the days of $4.00 a gallon fuel that set me on the veggie trail. Now, after twelve years of experience running waste vegetable oil (WVO) as fuel, I have learned a few things, which I will now share with you.
I have run Mercedes, VW, GM 6.2, Cat 9L, Ford 6.9/7.3, Ford Backhoe, Kubota tractor, and Gensets, China diesel, some NA, and some turbo. There is no difference on a very cheap and easy to do system.
I have Mercedes 240D and 300TD engines that run on WVO. I had a bus with a 9 liter cat v8 that I used to commute back and forth in, serve as a place to sleep, and for hauling stuff from Texas to Nevada. A 1982 3/4 ton Chevy 6.2 did well on WVO. I setup a 1991 F250, 7.3 Turbo with no problems. Also, I had a 1981 VW pickup diesel. My 1984 F250 6.9 NA pulls a four horse trailer with 120 gallon tank in the bed, and another 1984 F350 6.9 NA with 12 ft box and none miss a lick. Beyond those, I have a Ford diesel backhoe, Kubota genset, China diesel genest, Kubota utility tractor, and my new truck, 1988 F350 dually crew, 7.3 turbo to haul my gooseneck trailers for my stuff, and my new project is my school bus, 8.2 Detroit turbo, 5 spd/2 spd axle as my new motor home. Obviously, I like diesels, and they all do great on WVO.
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 “HJL”. The cleanup from Hurricane Michael begins.
Hurricane Michael apparently has the weather experts confused. Reader T.J. sent in this news article showing that the weather service was unable to predict the strength of the hurricane as it made landfall. The wind speeds are directly related to the pressure – The lower the pressure, the stronger the winds. Michael went from an unassuming tropical storm to flirting with the Category 5 level. This makes Michael the first Category 4 to make landfall in October since 1954. According to the experts, the storm should not have been as powerful as it was.
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Meanwhile, the aftermath of the storm is making life difficult for many residents. Those who were not prepared are now finding it difficult to find food and shelter. There is no electricity in much of the state so any food in a refrigerator has spoiled. There is no city water pressure or sewer in many urban areas so waste products are piling up. The article profiles the usual assortment of people who are upset that the government hasn’t come in yet to save them and make them comfortable. While our hearts go out to the people that are suffering, this should be a strong reminder to them that the government is not the one you depend on when the going gets tough. Thanks to H.L. for the link.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” – Matthew 24:36-37 (KJV)
On October 13, 1792, the cornerstone was laid for a presidential residence in the newly designated capital city of Washington.
Quite often, when a gun maker comes out with a Mod 2 version of a current firearm, there really aren’t many new things to write about it. However, we’re taking a close look at the new and improved Springfield Armory XD-s Mod 2 version, and it’s a whole new ballgame.
When the Springfield Armory XD-s line of handguns came out, they really shook the sub-compact gun industry in many ways. This gun was available in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP; how could they do it? It’s a good question, but it’s been a super-hot seller since it first hit the marketplace a few years ago.
There has always been a demand for sub-compact concealed carry handguns, and in the not too far past that was filled with the likes of a .38 Spl snubby revolver. While always a good choice, you were limited to the number of rounds they carried and, of course, the caliber. Additionally, revolvers, even with speed loaders, are still slower to reload than a semi-auto pistol, and a snubby revolver is still thick because of the cylinder. That’s not so with semi-auto handguns; they are slim.
When I first heard about the XD-s Mod 2 version and saw the pictures of it, I was more like “ho-hum”. I though there was not much new there and that they just modified the grip area, rounding it off. Boy, was I wrong!
Continue reading“Springfield Armory’s XD-s Mod 2 .45 ACP, by Pat Cascio”
To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
We finally have the last of the hay for this winter stacked in the barn! Weather delays and down equipment had plagued us through much of summer. ıut finally, it is all in!
My most labor-intensive project this week was mucking out the chicken run.
This past week was dominated by tomato harvesting, ripening, processing, and gifting. My wife (“Avalanche Lily”) will provide the details on that…
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 “HJL”. Yet again, up to nine million webcams are at risk.
Over the last two years, we’ve been tracking the progress that Boston Dynamics has been making with their robots. Unlike the simple movements that robots like the Japanese Asimov is capable of, Boston Dynamics has been targeting “off road” use. These robots do not require level ground to operate on and are becoming quite capable of very human-like movements. Watching Atlas perform some basic parkour like jumping over a large log and leaping up multiple level platforms while not missing a beat on it’s jog is quite amazing. Atlas is a man-sized bipedal robot that has an on-board power source. Only a year ago, it was struggling to maintain balance when pushed. Thanks to G.P. for the video link.
Apparently, more than 60 percent of Americans with European ancestry can be identified through the various DNA registries and databases, even if they have not submitted their own DNA. This is according to a report issued Thursday. Because of the registries ability to track relatives, even if a cousin submits their DNA and lists you as a cousin, there is enough information present that you can be tracked.
This information can be used for good like tracking a long lost relative or family tree or tracking a criminal. It can also be used for evil, like tracking those who have genetic defects that would raise insurance rates. What happens when a particular race of people are suddenly deemed sub-human and pursued for extermination? After watching the recent mob scenes over the confirmation of Kavanagh, I have to wonder how far our society is from something like this. Thanks to H.L. for the link.
“For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” – Isaiah 54:6-7 (KJV)
Today, in 1492, after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted a Bahamian island, believing he had reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.
Now that Brett Kavanaugh has officially been confirmed, it is a good time to reflect upon where we are at as a nation. And where we are at is a nation that is rapidly moving toward a state of civil war. At one time we were a nation that was united by shared values, a shared purpose and a shared destiny, but now all of that has been replaced by anger, frustration, bitterness, strife and discord. The left hates the right and vice versa, and both sides are becoming increasingly radicalized. And without a doubt we are in a life or death battle for the future of America. Eventually one side or the other will emerge victorious, and their ideology will become dominant in this country.
Up to this point, there has been a lot of screaming, yelling and protesting, but it isn’t going to take very much to push the nation over the edge into violence.
On a daily basis the pot is being stirred by our leading politicians and the mainstream media, and it is very difficult to see any way that this story is going to end well.
Early on Sunday, the Drudge Report was being headlined by an Axios story about “the radicalization of our public lives”…
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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on crypto volatility. (See the Cryptos section.)
We’ll start with this at Seeking Alpha: What Is Behind The Market Sell-Off And Should We Worry?
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Also at Seeking Alpha: Tesla: The Cracks Are Showing
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At Zero Hedge: Trump Blames Market Rout On Fed, Says Won’t Fire Powell
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Also at Zero Hedge: How Much More Do The Quants Have To Sell?
