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 the Blackout: Two Million Californians will intermittently be in the dark.

Blackout: Two Million Californians in the Dark

Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Millions face power cuts as California fires spread.  A brief excerpt:

“The state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., said it expected to cut off power to 850,000 customers — a precautionary shutdown that local media say would affect about two million people.

“The weather event could be the most powerful in California in decades,” PG&E said, with dry northeast winds forecast to gust up to 70 miles per hour…”

Without Food, You Are Dead

The latest from our friends and fellow bloggers Frank and Fern:  Without Food, You Are Dead.  Here is a pericope:

“So, food. What do you have? Is it enough for everyone you need to feed? For a while? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Can you replenish the supply on your own without any outside assistance?

Food has always been used to control people. Always. Think of Joseph in Egypt. His father and brothers had to come and beg for food. They had the money to pay for it, but that didn’t mean they would receive any. It’s no different today. Look around the world. Look at how interdependent everyone is. Some countries have oil. Some have water. Some have the type of land and soil that will grow food, some don’t. If any one thing goes wrong, one spoke of the wheel breaks, all systems fail. No water, no food. No oil, no fertilizer, no commercial farming apparatus, no food. No transportation, food rots in the field. No workers, no food. “Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 28, 2019

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I was recently passing through Bonners Ferry, Idaho and stopped by to visit the Redoubt Surplus & Tactical store.  While chatting with store owner Warren Campbell, I learned that he recently obtained a small quantity of scarce U.S. Army surplus woodland pattern Goretex over-pants. He sells them brand new at $34.95 per pair.  I was impressed with their quality, so I went ahead and bought a pair. I like the fact that they have 2/3-length zippers, so that they can be put on or taken off without removing your boots. I spent quite a while looking through the shelves of Warren’s huge inventory. I also bought a couple of U.S. Army surplus extra-tall mortar illumination round ammo cans with airtight seals. These are the perfect size for caching an assembled AR pistol, an AK with a folding stock, or an AR rifle that is broken down into upper and lower halves. Just pad up the parts and a dozen magazines in bubblewrap, throw in a bag of silica gel desiccant, and it will all be safe and dry for decades. I also spotted a big box of O.D. wool WWII mummy bag liners. He sells those for just $30 each. I hadn’t seen any of those in any surplus store since back in the 1980s. Where does he find this stuff? Amazing. Redoubt Surplus & Tactical also does phone orders that are mailed out, for many of their items. You can phone them at: (208) 772-4007 to ask if they have what you are looking for.

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Today, another product review from our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Kimber Ultra Carry II Two-Tone 9mm by Pat Cascio

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Today, we’re taking a close look at the Kimber Ultra Carry II Two-Tone 1911, chambered in 9mm. I’ve always felt that, the 1911 was made for the .45 ACP, so you’ll have to excuse my bias on this – buy I’m learning, so be patient with me. More often than not, I can be “caught” packing a handgun in 9mm these days, so like I said, I’m learning. I think!

I get this question all the time, and there really isn’t any pat answer I can give to folks, but we’ll try once again! “What is your favorite gun?” And, when folks use the term “gun” it can mean any number of different types of “guns” – to include revolvers, semiauto pistols, shotguns – in any number of variations, bolt-action rifles, semiauto rifles, etc. I do have as my one and only firearm, if it ever came down to it, and I could only own one handgun, it would be the good ol’ 1911 in .45 ACP. However, these days, I’m leaning away from it for a number of reasons, more on this, later.

I got my first 1911, a full-sized Government Model, in .45 ACP during a trip to visit family down in Kentucky. For years, I didn’t even realize I had family down there, until my grandmother – who raised me – took me on a train trip to meet those folks, and there were plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins that I never knew I had.  Keep in mind, that this was long before the Gun Control Act of 1968, and buying firearms across state lines–without paperwork–wasn’t a problem. It was on my second solo trip down to Kentucky, that one of my cousins took me to a fellow who bought and sold firearms. No FFL paperwork was required at that time. I found a 1911 Government Model in .45 ACP on his table of handguns and did a deal – traded him something for it, along with some cash. My first, but not last 1911, was mine. To this day, I don’t know what happened to that 1911, but its been a lot of years since then.

For those new to firearms, or to the 1911, just a little bit of history on it: It was adopted in 1911 – and was designed by John Moses Browning. He is still a legend, when it comes to many of his gun designs. It wasn’t until 1985 that the 1911 was replaced by the US military, with the Beretta Model 92 (M9 in military form). And, to this day, there is still controversy over the 9mm replacing the .45 ACP. And, also to this day, there are still a few military units who use the 1911 – mostly SpecOps guys. They know a good thing when they see it. So, the 1911 is still the longest-serving handgun in US military history. And, we can’t even begin to count the number of makers turning out 1911s these days – probably a hundred or more to choose from. The number of variations? Who knows, one can’t keep track of this, but its probably safe to say, the 1911 is the most customized handgun in history, bar none!

As I’m rapidly approaching my 70th year on this earth – only a few more years to go. So I have found that my daily Kimber Ultra Carry II in 9mmcarry needs have changed. I used to love carrying full-sized handguns, especially the 1911 in .45 ACP. I was younger and dumber – but I loved carrying the 1911 police duty and during private security work. There was just something reassuring about that big old .45 caliber bullet, and the 1911 – they were made for each other. I don’t feel the need to carrying full-sized handguns these days, so I carry some sub-compact and even micro-sized handguns concealed, and I ALWAYS carry a spare magazine, no matter what semi-auto handgun I might be carrying.Continue reading“Kimber Ultra Carry II Two-Tone 9mm by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Amy’s Baked Chicken and Rice

Reader “Amy in Militigan”  kindly sent us her recipe for Baked Chicken and Rice. You may substitute the same volume of turkey, in place of the chicken. This recipe makes seven servings.

Ingredients
  • 2 C regular white rice (not the instant type)
  • 1-3/4 C milk
  • 1/2 cube of butter, melted (optional)
  • 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
  • 2 Cups of boiled-down chicken soup broth (or, substitute 2 C hot water and 3 or 4 dissolved bullion cubes)
  • 4 or 5 raw chicken (or turkey) breasts, cut chunked to large bite-size
  • 1 C grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 C mushrooms, sliced fairly thick (optional)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.
  2. Coat with cooking oil (or spray PAM), a 9″x13″ Pyrex casserole
  3. Spread the uncooked rice in the bottom of the casserole dish.
  4. Mix together the milk, melted butter, cream of chicken soup, and the broth
  5. Pour that mixture over the rice.
  6. Stir until well-blended with the rice.
  7. Sprinkle on 1/2 C Parmesan cheese.
  8. Sparingly add some salt and pepper.
  9. Add the chicken and the mushrooms (optional) in the pan, layered.
  10. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 C of Parmesan cheese.
  11. Add some more salt and pepper, to taste.
  12. Cover with aluminum foil
  13. Bake at 350 F for 2 hours.
  14. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes, again at 350 F.
Variations
  • You may substitute the same volume of turkey, in place of the chicken.
  • You may substitute other types of rice.
  • Mushrooms are optional.
  • The butter is optional.
  • You may substitute onion salt, if you like onion flavor in your food.
  • You may omit the salt, if you are on a low-salt diet.
  • Can be garnished with parsley or a just bit of chopped chives, after baking, for color.
SERVING

Serve hot with any green vegetable side dish.

STORAGE

Left-overs store for to three days refrigerated, if kept covered.

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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 the breakdown in the global diamond market. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Is it the global credit market instability, or just recession fears? Germany Increases Gold Reserves In September For The First Time In 21 Years – IMF

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Video: Gold’s entire investment thesis can be summarized by this one metric

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: “There Is A Global Crisis” – Israel Diamond Industry Collapses Amid Faltering Demand. The article start out with this:

“Macroeconomic headwinds are developing across the world. At least 90% of all countries are experiencing a slowdown in growth that has stumped central bankers and policymakers. No one at the moment can figure out how to restart the global economy. With the risk of a worldwide trade recession soaring for 2020, if not has already arrived, consumers are pulling back on spending, which has contributed to a collapse in the global diamond industry, something that we’ve been documenting this year.

The latest stress in the global diamond industry is emanating from Israel. Ynetnews is saying the country’s diamond exports have plunged 22%, a sign that consumer demand from Asia is faltering.

Trade data showed for the first three quarters of 2019, Israeli exports of diamonds were $2.62 billion, down from $3.32 billion during the same period last year.

In 3Q19, imports and exports of diamonds by Israel plunged 28% YoY. “

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Here Is The Real Reason The Fed Restarted QE

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At Wolf Street: Dual-Track Economy: Slowdown in Industrial Sectors Hits Truckers & Railroads. But Consumers Are Still Buying Stuff

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Reader C.B. was the first of several readers to send us this: Crisis could claim third of big global banks: McKinsey

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Running a Gun Show Business – Part 3

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(Continued from Part 2. This installment concludes the article.)

Legal Issues

I’d be remiss if didn’t go over some of the statutory legality issues, liability issues, and tax issues associated with running gun show tables.

As most folks know, when they walk into a gun show they will be seeing two types of sellers with guns on their tables:  Professional dealers with FFLs, and casual unlicensed sellers. The FFL holders can buy and sell both new and used guns. Legally, they must display their license. Casual sellers like me can only buy or sell guns that have already been “papered”, or ones that never were papered (pre-1968 guns.) These can still be “new in box”, but they must be secondary market guns. Folks like me are mainly there at shows to trade, with the goal of upgrading and.or expanding our collections.

Casual secondary sales of firearms do not require a license or any background checks, in the 37 still free “private party sales” states. But there are sadly now 13 states that require background checks on the sales of ALL post-1898 guns. Gun shows in those states are now require the rigamaroll of selling through “transfer dealers”, complete with a “Mother May I? ” phone call to the FBI. In my opinion that is unconstitutional. But until that law gets overturned by the courts, it is still the law.

Applying for a FFL is not required under Federal law, unless you are “engaged in the business” of selling modern guns for your principal livelihood. Whenever the ATF is asked to define how many guns per year or what percentage of income constitutes “engaged in the business”, they are always evasive. They don’t want to go on record as doing so. I consider this a fear tactic, and it troubles me. But I cannot see any rational jury ever convicting someone of being “engaged in the business” if their weekend sales make up less than 20% of their annual income. For the record: I am not a “gun dealer” as my profession. I’m a novelist and blog writer.  Those are the sources of 95% or more of my income.  If I sell or trade guns occasionally at gun shows, that does not make be a “dealer.” This simply is not my principal livelihood. And remember, it is only sales of seriaiized, modern (post-1898) guns that count toward the “engaged in the business” percentage. Sales of any other merchandise (including pre-1899 guns, assorted parts, and 80% complete receivers) are not regulated under Federal law. So they are outside of Federal jurisdiction.Continue reading“Running a Gun Show Business – Part 3”

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 the new B.O.A. Tourniquet.

New Army Technology to See Through Walls

Regular content contributor G.P. send this item: The Army is eyeing new tech that would let soldiers see enemies through walls. A pericope:

“The winner of an Army competition searching for innovative technology for troops would let soldiers see their enemies through walls.

The second Expeditionary Technology Search (xTechSearch) came to a close last week at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting, when Lumineye, Inc., was announced as the winner for its radar technology.

Lumineye has created a “wall-penetrating radar” that would help soldiers “identify people and potential threats through walls,” according to the Army’s press release.

As the winner of the competition, The Army awarded Lumineye $250,000. Mike Howard, spokesman for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology told Task & Purpose that the cash prize doesn’t necessarily mean that the Army will purchase the radar.”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.” – 2 Thesssalonians 2  (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 26, 2019

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Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bear his name.

October 26th is also the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978.

Running a Gun Show Business – Part 2

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(Continued from Part 1.)

Not Just Guns

There is a lot more for sale at gun shows than just serialized modern guns. Magazines are always good sellers. In fact, your average guy walking in to a show cannot afford to buy another gun, at any given show. But he  usually wants and can afford to buy a few magazines. It is magazines that have always been my “bread and butter” sellers, at gun shows. There is also a lot of money to be made with ammunition, but that as a primary inventory should only be considered by men under age 50, with strong backs!

There is also a lot of money in optics. Those have a high profit margin, and are relatively compact and lightweight to transport and store, per dollar value. Another advantage is that they are fairly noncontroversial, and can be sold at sites such as eBay.

Books can be profitable, but it is best to mainly sell books that relate to your firearms specialty. They are heavy to lug around from show to show and tend to be slow sellers, so keep your book inventory small, and specialized.  Also, one word of warning:  If your main inventory consists of dirty military surplus or greasy items, then don’t sell any books. Otherwise, countless grubby fingers will end up soiling your books, making them un-sellable.

Bayonets and knives also tend to be steady sellers. Avoid selling any junky Chinese knives, or it will make your entire inventory look suspect. For liability reasons, you should prominently post a sign that reads: “No knife handling allowed by anyone under age 18!”

Selling holsters can be problematic. This is because they are sized items. This is something akin to running a shoe store–it takes a huge inventory to keep all customers happy. The inventory turn-over for modern holsters is painfully slow. So your inventory of new holsters gets toted around to dozens of shows, and ends up looking like a bunch of used holsters. One notable exception is specializing in selling antique holsters with marks from famous makers. Those sell quite well at cowboy-themed gun shows in the western states. If you want to try this, you really should get a copy of Richard Rattenbury’s outstanding reference book, Packing Iron.

Authentic Western and Native American artifacts sell quite well, especially at cowboy gun shows in the western states. But be warned: This is a very specialized market, and it takes a lot of research.

One growing market segment is 80%-complete frames and receivers. These days, you could easily fill two or three tables and have brisk sales, if you sold nothing but  80% AR lowers, 80% Glock frames, 80% SIG P320 pistol trigger group modules, along with the requisite completion parts.  I’ve often thought that this would be a good biz for someone. Ideally, you’d hunt around and find a police department that is retiring one model of Glock, and make a deal to have them strip (and discard or destroy) the frames and then sell you the full parts sets. Those, combined with an 80% frame, would sell sell like hotcakes!

Continue reading“Running a Gun Show Business – Part 2”

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. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This week I made preparations for another gun show road trip. I love to travel in the American Redoubt at this time of year, with the Aspen and Tamarack (Western Larch) trees in full color.

My plan is to sell off all of our extra ARs and with the proceeds buy some carefully selected pre-1899 cartridge guns. I’m hoping to have this gradual process completed by April or May of 2020. This will mean making several more gun show trips, and consistently scouring the online antique gun sales listings and auction web sites. The market for pre-1899 antiques is surprisingly thin. For example, you can’t just go out on any given day and buy half a dozen Swedish Mausers that are dated 1898. There may be a total of only three or four on the market–across more than a dozen web sites–and of those listed there might be just one or two that meets all criteria for bore condition, mechanical reliability, and in some cases, originality. (I do buy some “sporterized” and refinished guns, if they are priced accordingly.) The quest continues…

I must say that having antique guns as an investing hobby is quite fun and profitable. I do love to finding a bargain. The only drawback is that I feel a bit torn when it comes time to turn over some of that inventory. I ask myself: “Will I ever be able to find another of “X” model, in this condition?” But then I remind myself:  A man should never fall in love with an investment. If you can’t bring yourself to sell it, then it isn’t an investment–it has become your precious heirloom. And you have become Gollum.

Comically, some people get attached to their “favorite” stock shares, or crypto coins. I’d sell any stock or e-coin in a heartbeat to take advantage of a market move. One share is just like any other, and can be replaced on the next trading day or even intraday. I might take pause before selling precious metals–especially any silver that I’ve earmarked for post-collapse barter. But such assets can quickly and easily be replaced, identically. But there there some guns, other tools, and books that I have to consciously re-evaluate before selling. The decision is almost always to go ahead and sell, but I do recognize that these are not fully fungible assets. For these, I look both toward to my future hindsight, and to that of my progeny. Will they ask: “What was Grandpa Rawles thinking, when he sold that?”

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.

Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.

And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.” – Genesis 33 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 25, 2019

This is the birthday of explorer and pilot Admiral Richard Byrd (1888–1957). His autobiography titled Alone is a must-read.

Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925.   She was the UK’s first female Prime Minister.  She died in 2013.

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We are running quite low on articles in our queue of writing contest nonfiction articles, so I encourage you to write! Just a 1,500-word article will qualify you for the judging — and the heaps of great prizes. Please share your knowledge, folks. Many Thanks!