How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 2, by H.P.

9

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

For covering all of the crop rows, we use a black on white 1 mil UV stabilized poly film. This versatile material must be replaced every year after the grow season ends. Depending on which crop is being planted, we roll it out either white up or black up. The white, best for greens and brassicas, has a cooling effect on the soil by reflecting sunlight. The black warms the soil by absorbing sunlight and is used for the majority of crops. When used in the hoop house, drip tape would be installed first on the row before the film. Using this film has several benefits besides weed control including moisture retention, erosion control, and temperature regulation.

Another unexpected benefit is that using the film prevents the plant leaves from touching the soil. Plants stay much cleaner and less at risk for soil borne disease because of that barrier. Anyone who’s cleaned garden lettuce will appreciate that. The film is easily cut with a small putty knife when it’s time to plant the soil blocks or direct seed. There are implements used to apply this film in commercial applications, but we do it easily by hand. Once the film is down, we border it with the mulch cloth to complete the install. This method serves to channel rainwater to the base of the raised rows which wicks up into the roots.

Using these weed control methods will eliminate all weeding chores for your row crops and trees. The big exception is mound grown crops like raspberries, asparagus, and potatoes. Our asparagus is finally doing great, but it requires frequent weeding due to the exposed soil requirement. A ground covering tip we’ve learned is that having loose bricks (like those left over from a chimney repair) laying around is very helpful when installing the cover material.Continue reading“How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 2, by H.P.”

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 America’s Food Supply Chain.

Map of America’s Food Supply Chain

Reader D.C.H. suggested this, at Fast Company: The first map of America’s food supply chain is mind-boggling. The article, based on a Environmental Research Letters study, begins:

“My team at the University of Illinois just developed the first high-resolution map of the U.S. food supply chain.

Our map is a comprehensive snapshot of all food flows between counties in the U.S.—grains, fruits and vegetables, animal feed, and processed food items.

To build the map, we brought together information from eight databases, including the Freight Analysis Framework from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which tracks where items are shipped around the country, and Port Trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which shows the international ports through which goods are traded.”

Your DNA Records Aren’t Private

Your DNA Profile is Private? A Florida Judge Just Said Otherwise

UK Burglars List Where They Look for Valuables

Reader DSV sent this from The Mirror: Burglars explain the first place they look when trying to steal your valuables.

Hawaii’s Big Island is Riddled with Lava Tubes

Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Hawaii man dies after falling into lava tube on his propertyContinue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” – Revelation 9 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 9, 2019

1

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.

—

I just got word that Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) is having a Veteran’s Day Weekend sale on their M4-style Complete AR Lowers with MagPul MOE Edition black furniture with six-position buffer tubes, for just $149.  If you can afford to, then I recommend that you buy several. This is a great deal. Just type “7065” in their search box, to find this item.  Note that this sale ends at 12 Noon on Monday, 11/11/2019.

Oh, and I see that they also have MagPul 30-round PMAGs on sale at $7.99, with free shipping if you buy 10 or more. Just type “MAG571-BLK” in their search box, to find those.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 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 85 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.

How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 1, by H.P.

17

A Disclaimer: I have zero commercial interest or connection to the plastic industry or any link contained herein. All links and references below are provided for informational and educational purposes only. I strongly encourage readers to use locally owned suppliers and make your purchases face to face for all of the products I recommend. Or better yet- source them via second hand, scrap, or salvage. All photos are originals and taken at my property.

—

Plastic has been getting a lot of bad press lately. Plastic pollution in our waterways is certainly a problem that deserves our attention. Leaching of toxic compounds from plastic containers into the food supply should concern us all. However, what if plastic could save farming by reducing the need for toxic pesticides and herbicides? What if plastic could increase yields and help feed you and your family? Plastic as a material, is widely available, lightweight, relatively shelf stable, and easy to work with. Plasticulture is an agricultural practice that deserves consideration.

What is plasticulture? Wikipedia defines it as:

The term plasticulture refers to the practice of using plastic materials in agricultural applications.

The plastic materials themselves are often and broadly referred to as “ag plastics.” Plasticulture ag plastics include soil fumigation film, irrigation drip tape/tubing, nursery pots and silage bags, but the term is most often used to describe all kinds of plastic plant/soil coverings. Such coverings range from plastic mulch film, row coverings, high and low tunnels (polytunnels), to plastic greenhouses.

In his book Plasticulture | Farming for Everybody, Otis Lester Bray presents plasticulture as an opportunity to transcend the problems associated with modern agriculture.

What is plasticulture to me? Plasticulture is abundance in my pursuit of maximizing food production for my family. Embracing plasticulture has been the single biggest difference maker for the development of our homestead (buying a tractor being a close second). Being the co-owner of a commercial building firm and father of two, my spare time is quite limited so I need every edge I can get as we develop our homestead.

First, some background

Shortly after moving to our rural homestead 7+ years ago, my wife and I hastily began building our garden on the site of what was once a pole barn. Completely overgrown and waterlogged, the site was the sunniest area of the yard. Once the remnants of the barn and surrounding rubbish was (mostly) cleared, we set out to see what would grow. Without any plan whatsoever and using basic hand tools, I built rows and beds and Mrs. P planted them. Many long sweaty evenings later, things started to grow! It was fun and exciting to experience the fruits (pun intended) of our labor, albeit with modest results.Continue reading“How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 1, by H.P.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I got busy with a few non-ranch projects and with meeting an out-of-state consulting client this week, so I only hunted one day. Mea culpa. But I did have time to make a minor repair on our reliable old Troy-Bilt Horse rototiller.

I also replaced a garden fence post that had rotted out. When I built  that fence 12 years ago, I used red cedar trees from here on the ranch, for the posts. Most of those trees were 12+ inches at the butt, so they made dandy posts, 12-feet tall (with 3.5  feet, buried.) The biggest ones went in the corners. But for the intermediate posts, I also used some of the next-higher 12-foot sections from each of those trees–and those posts were mostly under 8″ in diameter. That was a mistake. It is those smaller ones that are now rotting out. Lesson learned.  I should have over-built all of that fence!  If you build something right from the outset, you save yourself follow-up labor, in the long run.Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God,

And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.”  – Ezra 9 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 8, 2019

Today is the 105th birthday of actor/director/producer Norman Lloyd.  He was born November 8, 1914. His most recent film role was in 2015. Hang in there, Norman!

—

Natchez Shooters Supplies (one of our affiliate advertisers) just announced a four-day special promotional sale:  10% Off Orders of $99.99+. Be sure to use Promo Code:  P191108. And if you want to order a lot or primers and powder, they are also running another promotion: Free HAZMAT On Orders $150+. For that deal, use Promo Code:  FH191108. You must pick one promo, or the other–you can’t use both. Though they are best known as a seller of reloading supplies, I’ve found that Natchez has an amazing inventory of other firearms-related products, at great prices.  This sale ends on November 11, 2019. Don’t miss out!

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 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 85 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.

One Last Chance, by J.W.F.

37

And the Lord God said: ”Hear my children a father’s plea; the beginning of wisdom; is to get wisdom. At the cost of all you have, gain understanding” (Emphasis mine. Though the Word of God itself is enough for emphasis).

I am 63 yrs old. My ‘awareness’ that something was not right came about some time when I was a teen. It was an imperative enough sense, that from that moment, I began to read as much as I could. Not just books with inspiring tales, but tomes which held information pertaining to Faith. As well as prophecies, and conspiracies. Including a few that claimed to contain the ‘meaning’ of life.

In my later teens I became involved in politics. Protesting for migrant workers and such. And getting in touch with a local lawyer running for Congress and won. Twice. A Democrat. One who was considered a potential for one day becoming President.

You learn that the machinery of politics is controlled. By powerful, unseen entities.

Surprisingly, this particular man decided it wasn’t for him. Perhaps for us this was a good conclusion.

It was a difficult period for me. Trying to grasp what is going on with the world and find my place.

Example:  My girlfriend at the time was experienced with shooting a rifle. A .22. And she was good. For me, I was neither anti-gun, nor pro. Because guns were meant for one purpose. To kill.

And killing was not something I had any experience with. Yet the right to own a gun was Constitutional. And therefore a necessity. A choice. Accepted.

I later married, fathered a son, and wanted to be the best father I could. He taught me, that when love, given honestly, is forgiving. Despite bad decisions I made, he never stopped loving me. Nor I him.

Time moved on. I learned that there was an intentional activity to destroy our country. We, Americans, were the only force standing in the way of global governance. Why? Because of the 2nd Amendment. Well, that, and the fact that during WWII and Korea, we faced outnumbered forces and prevailed. So, we had spirit. Combined, these two aspects stood as a threat to stop socialistic forces from taking over. Continue reading“One Last Chance, by J.W.F.”

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 the risk of buying faked antique guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Stocks:

Lance Roberts, over at Seeking Alpha: 15 Extreme Risks And How You Can Navigate Them

o  o  o

Uber Loses Another $1.2 billion, Stock Dives Again

Economy & Finance:

Berkshire Becomes Global Cash King: $128BN Cash Pile Bigger Than Apple, Google. JWR’s Comment:  Berkshire has doubled their cash holdings in the past  18 months.  Whenever Warren Buffett heads for the equities market exit door marked “Cash”, then watch out!  Recession must be on the way! (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: Turning Japanese? Growth In $9BN US Adult Diaper Market Explodes, Topping Baby Diapers

o  o  o

Debt-Maggeddon: $6.2 Million Per U.S. Birth In 2019

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: What’s Behind the Fed’s Bailout of the Repo Market?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 7, 2019

1

November 7th is the anniversary of the death of actor Steve McQueen (born March 24, 1930, died November 7, 1980). The many well-publicized exploits in his tempestuous life and his enduring persona are well known. However, the end of his life is actually the most noteworthy part of his legacy, even though it seldom gets much publicity outside of Christian circles; he came to Jesus after he had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. He died with his forefinger pointing to his key verse in his Bible– Titus 1:2.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 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 85 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.

My Ankle Ammo Rig, by Spotlight

27

It may sound crazy but I can routinely carry over 50 rounds of ammunition on my person at all times without it being obvious, uncomfortable or hampering my normal activities. After more than two decades of law enforcement work and now nearly seven years of a combination of private investigation (PI), private security work, and consulting, I have come full circle. I started out in the late 1980s as a small town cop and was issued a Ruger Security Six .357 Magnum revolver. As with most law enforcement agencies, we went through a series of semi-autos starting in the early 1990s. First, in 1991 we went to a S&W 9mm (the model number escapes me). We carried those from 1991 until around 2009 when we switched to S&W M&P .40s. Just after I retired in the early 2010s, my old agency switched to Smith & Wesson .45s. Basically, we followed the trend of most of the agencies in our area and in particular the state police.

Once I retired, I carried what had been until that point my standard off-duty gun, a Smith & Wesson 3946 9mm single stack semi-auto that holds 7-8 rounds depending on which magazine you have. I always called this my “wedding gun” because shortly before my wife and I were married, she commented to me that when we got married money would probably be a bit tight for awhile so if there was something I wanted I should probably buy it before the wedding, hence the 3946!

To be honest, I had never really shot that gun that well. I could pass the required course with it to carry off duty but I don’t have a lot of confidence with it beyond 10 yards or so. Like most cops I don’t consider myself a “gun guy”. I am very familiar with the guns I carry and never leave home without one, but I couldn’t talk very long about ballistics, the differences between various grains of ammunition, etc. I enjoy shooting as far as preparing to defend my family, or myself but it’s not a hobby for me, just a necessity for my chosen field of work. On the job I carried the ammo they gave me. Now that I’m retired I did some research on the best self defense rounds and stick with those.Continue reading“My Ankle Ammo Rig, by Spotlight”

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 Google’s newly-announced photo OCR technology.

Google Can Now Search for Text in Your Pictures

Regular content contributor G.P. sent this: Google Photos can now search for text in your pictures, copy and paste it. JWR’s Comment: Never forget that the Internet is an enormous vacuum cleaner, sucking up data. Whatever goes there often ends up ends up in persistent databases. This technology is probably already being misused by malefactors–both state actors and non-state actors. In addition to using a tool like ExifPurge to remove GPS tagging from your personal photos, it is very important to not post any close-ups that reveal your fingerprints and to not let things like firearms serial numbers, credit cards, personal correspondence, bills, receipts, or car license plate numbers be seen in any uploaded photos. OCR technology is progressing rapidly. And with AI now increasingly being used to cross-correlate data, the implications are huge.

Maunder Minimum? Central England’s Chilly October

SurvivalBlog reader A.D. spotted this news: Central England experiences Historically Chilly October. The article begins:

“The UK’s October 2019 sure felt like a chilly one, but now official Met Office temperature data has confirmed it — Central England just experienced a month on par with those of the mid-to-late 1600s.

The Central England Temperature (CET) record measures the monthly mean surface air temperatures for the Midlands region of England, and is the longest series of monthly temperature observations in existence, anywhere in the world.

Its mean reading for October 2019 came in at a nice round 10C — that’s 0.7C below the already cool 1961-1990 average (the current standard period of reference for climatological data used by the WMO).

In the 360 years of CET data there have only-ever been nine other years with an October average temperature of 10C — these are 1659, 1660, 1663, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1672, 1679, and 1722.”

No Power = No Phones

Peter sent us this: PG&E blackout knocks out quarter of Sonoma County cellphone towers. JWR’s Comments: California’s regulations don’t require backup power–even for some land line phones. This underscores the need to have both our own power generating  capacity and to have ham radio gear and practice with it.

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