Mossberg MC1sc Pistol, by Pat Cascio

1

I can honestly say that I’ve only been to a few dances in my lifetime, but I don’t ever recall coming to any of those dances late.  As a matter of fact, I hate coming to anything late – very rare for me to arrive past the starting time of anything – just something in me, that doesn’t allow it to happen. More often than not, I arrive early to anything. So, why do I keep hearing that the Mossberg MC1sc pistol has arrived “late to the dance” with their subcompact 9mm pistol? I don’t know, better late than never I guess. And, did the MC1sc bring anything new to the dance, when it comes to subcompact 9mm handguns? You’d better believe it.

I heard this same type of thinking, when the subcompact .380 ACP pistol came out, many makers jumped on the bandwagon, and wanted to produce a small subcompact .380 ACP pistol. And, some makers are still releasing new and/or updated subcompact .380 ACP pistols to this day, and I sure don’t have a problem with this. As I said, late is better than not coming at all.

I’m not a huge fan of a subcompact .380 ACP pistol as my one and only self-defense weapon – not so much the weapon itself, but the caliber. I regularly carry a subcompact .380 ACP of some type as a back-up to whatever my main gun is, so I’m not a hater of this caliber, I just think it has it’s place when it comes to self-defense. Sure, a .380 ACP chambered handgun is better than a rock or a sharp stick, when it comes to self-defense, but its not my first choice.Continue reading“Mossberg MC1sc Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Letter: Converting Edison Lamps to 12 VDC

Jim,
Would you mind offering a link for a 12-volt bayonet mount adapter [for standard 120 Volt AC floor and table  lamps to use automotive interior and tail lights] that you referenced in your novel Patriots?

Thanks, – Marc

JWR Replies:

Marc:
Sadly, those bulb adapters are no longer cataloged by Real Goods. These days, with the profusion of inexpensive LEDs on the market, I would instead opt for Edison base 12 VDC LED conversions. This makes sense because LEDs draw so much less current than traditional automotive filament bulbs, and they have a much longer service life.

NOTE: These are NOT 120 VAC-compatible. These have the standard Edison bulb threaded base, but they run on 12 VDC.

I like this arrangement, because you can convert you favorite old desk lamp, swag lamp, or floor lamp to 12 VDC without having to change any wiring–other than the plug, of course. For that, I recommend using genderless Anderson Power Pole connectors, to avoid any confusion.

If for some reason you decide to revert your conversion, you can just cut off the Anderson Power Pole connector, re-install a 120 VAC plug, and install a 120 VAC bulb. – JWR

 

Recipe of the Week: Anne’s Oatmeal Cookies

Anne kindly sent us her favorite recipe for delicious oatmeal cookies.  It works well with bulk storage oatmeal. There are variations for cinnamon, chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rolled oats (Standard, steel cut, but not “quick” oats)
  • 1 cup butter, warmed to room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Optional Ingredients

  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1-to-2 cups raisins or chocolate chips, or
  • 1-to-2 cups chocolate chips, or
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Dough-Making Directions

  • Beat the butter in the bowl using an electric mixer for 30 to 45 seconds.  Add brown and white sugars and beat until light and fluffy. (You may need to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl).
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.
  • Stir in vanilla extract.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together: flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and (optional) cinnamon.
  • Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until completely combined.  Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so ingredients are well-mixed.
  • Gradually stir in oats until completely combined.  If using raisins, chocolate chips, or walnuts, then stir them in at this stage.
  • Chill the dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes, to firm it up.

Baking Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375F and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
  • Drop cookie dough by rounded 2-3 Tablespoon-sized balls onto parchment paper, spacing at least 2″ apart.
  • Bake at 375F for 10-12 mimutes.  Note: Edges should be slightly browned. The centers may still be slightly under-baked but shouldn’t be raw. They’ll bake completely as they cool.
  • Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before serving.

Storage

There will only rarely be left-overs! But they will store fro up to 48 hours at room temperature sealed in plastic bags.  Do not bag them until they’ve completely cooled and sat out for one hour to dry a bit.

—

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the effect of legislation on the price of photovoltaic power panels. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Adam Taggart: We’ve Arrived At The End Of The Road

o  o  o

Goldfinger, Silver and Gold

o  o  o

Chartist Hub Moolman: Gold Price Analysis 2019: Who is Lying: Gold or the Dow?

Economy & Finance:

Reader H.L. recommended this at Zero Hedge: Bids For $260 Million Harlem Apartment Ensemble Disappear Overnight Thanks To New NY Legislation. Here is a quote:

“About 12 investors made offers on a collection of rent stabilized Harlem apartment buildings that listed in April for $260 million, according to Bloomberg. But then, the NY legislature re-wrote the rules of stabilized rents, which capped property values and slashed the potential for increases in rent overnight.

The bids for the 28 building “Harlem Ensemble” apartments that were on the sale block instantly disappeared.

David Chase, partner at B6 Real Estate Advisors said: “They called us every day — and then we couldn’t reach them.”

The listing will expire at the end of the month.

Many other multifamily deals also collapsed due to investors fearing that the new legislation, which governs about 1 million apartments in the city, takes direct aim at landlords’ income and investment returns. It makes it nearly impossible to raise rents, remove units from state regulation or recoup the costs of capital improvements.”

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Who Holds the $3.2 Trillion in “Leveraged Loans” and CLOs?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 28, 2019

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July 28th is the anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, in 1914. This war irreparably changed geopolitics. Officially, the war lasted until November 11, 1918, as did our involvement. But American troops were still running around shooting Russians until 1920.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

A Beginner’s Handgun Journey, Part 2 by The Novice

20

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the two-part article.)

Firing from a Rest

When comparing the accuracy of various ammo, it was usually helpful to fire from rest rather than offhand. This involved putting a couple of dense foam blocks on a table, and resting the frame of the gun just in front of the trigger guard on the blocks. It helped to have my arms extended in front of me just like I was firing offhand, but with the gun resting on the foam blocks for extra stability.

At first, I sat by the table in a chair while firing from rest. Leaning forward over the table made it difficult for me to tilt my head back far enough to focus on the front sight through my bifocals. Kneeling by the table rather than sitting in a chair gave me a better angle for acquiring the sights.

CLP and Hoppe’s No. 9

Decades ago when I took my hunter safety course in junior high, military surplus ammo using corrosive primers was still in common use. As a result, our instructors recommended cleaning our firearms after every outing. Old habits die hard, so I still clean my guns after every range session. Growing up, I always used the Outers gun oil that my Father used. Later on, my father-in-law, who had served in the military, gave me some Break-Free CLP. For a while I used that exclusively. Then I discovered that Hoppe’s #9 bore cleaning solvent was more effective than CLP at cutting through carbon deposits and other dirt during the early stages of cleaning. Hoppe’s No. 9 is also less expensive per ounce than CLP, making it a less expensive solution for the preliminary stages of cleaning. I continue to use CLP for the final stages of coating the bore and other parts that need lubrication and/or protection from rust.

Dry Fire Practice

Although many people shoot the Hi-Point C9 well, I found its gritty double action trigger difficult to master. In retrospect, I should have invested more time in dry fire practice. Dry fire practice involves holding the unloaded gun steadily on target (on a safe backstop) while pulling the trigger.

Note: Dry firing is not recommended with most rimfire firearms, since the firing pin may eventually damage the edge of the chamber. With a centerfire gun, it may be wise to use a snap cap during dry fire practice in order to reduce stress on the firing pin.

One way to test whether or not you are holding the gun steady during dry fire practice is to balance something like an empty cartridge case on the top of the frame while you pull the trigger. The goal is to pull the trigger smoothly enough that the balanced object does not fall off.

Since I did not do enough dry fire practice, I was not able to shoot the C9 as well as I should have. If my goal had been simply to hit man sized targets at home defense ranges, my skill with the C9 would have been sufficient. But I wanted to do better than that.Continue reading“A Beginner’s Handgun Journey, Part 2 by The Novice”

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 now ubiquitous red light camera.

Browser Extensions are Stealing Data

By way of Peter X.: My browser, the spy: How extensions slurped up browsing histories from 4M users. The article begins:

“When we use browsers to make medical appointments, share tax returns with accountants, or access corporate intranets, we usually trust that the pages we access will remain private. DataSpii, a newly documented privacy issue in which millions of people’s browsing histories have been collected and exposed, shows just how much about us is revealed when that assumption is turned on its head.

DataSpii begins with browser extensions—available mostly for Chrome but in more limited cases for Firefox as well—that, by Google’s account, had as many as 4.1 million users. These extensions collected the URLs, webpage titles, and in some cases the embedded hyperlinks of every page that the browser user visited. Most of these collected Web histories were then published by a fee-based service called Nacho Analytics, which markets itself as “God mode for the Internet” and uses the tag line “See Anyone’s Analytics Account.”

Web histories may not sound especially sensitive, but a subset of the published links led to pages that are not protected by passwords—but only by a hard-to-guess sequence of characters (called tokens) included in the URL. Thus, the published links could allow viewers to access the content at these pages. (Security practitioners have long discouraged the publishing of sensitive information on pages that aren’t password protected, but the practice remains widespread.)”

Lies, Damn Lies, and Wikipedia Edits

Our own Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson is prominently mentioned in this piece by Marta Hernandez: Lies, Damn Lies, and Wikipedia Edits. The article notes that some of these same trolls also campaigned successfully to get Mike Williamson banned from Facebook. Clearly, the lunatics have taken control of the asylum!

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

Touch not; taste not; handle not;

Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” – Colossians 2 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 27, 2019

4

July 27th is the birthday of Captain Samuel Whittemore (born in 1694, died February 3, 1793). He was an English-born American farmer and soldier. He was eighty years of age when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American War of Independence.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

A Beginner’s Handgun Journey, Part 1 by The Novice

29

About three years ago, I decided to buy a handgun. Rifles and shotguns are useful tools in many situations, but in some situations a handgun works best. The decision to buy a handgun led me on journey of discovery. The things I learned may be useful to those who are beginning a similar journey. They may also be entertaining to those who are already farther along the way.

The Hi-Point C9

As I evaluated various handgun calibers, I decided that 9mm would best meet my needs. The round is powerful enough for self-defense, reasonably priced, and readily available.

Out of all of the many 9mm handguns available, I decided to seek a A Beginner’s Handgun Journey, Part 1 by The Novice. Although reviled by many, the C9 seemed to have a reputation for reliability, durability and reasonable accuracy among those who actually owned one. It’s chief virtue in my eyes was that it was inexpensive. Another advantage was that Hi-Point firearms have a lifetime warranty. I bid on C9s on several different occasions at Gunbroker.com. Finally, I won one of the auctions.

Holding the Gun

When I first picked up my “new” C9 from my local FFL, I handled it like a venomous snake or some other dangerous creature. I was comfortable with shotguns and rifles from a lifetime of use. I had seldom held or fired a handgun.

I knew that the basic rules of firearms safety applied: always treat the firearm as if it is loaded; always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction: always keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot; and always be aware of your target, what is in front of it, and what is behind it. It is also advisable to wear hearing protection and eye protection while using firearms.Continue reading“A Beginner’s Handgun Journey, Part 1 by The Novice”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

31

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:

Most of last week was dominated by hay hauling, and hay stacking. I also acquired another electric chest freezer.  Bringing it home necessitated some cleaning and reorganizing our garage, to clear the requisite footprint, against one wall. This is now our fourth freezer, and it will probably be dedicated to beef. The other three are increasingly filled up with garden produce, some wild game, fish, wild huckleberries, some store-bought blueberries, broth bones, and some plastic bags of frozen broth. I wish that we had more than our one propane chest freezer, but that is not within our budget.

I’ve also been quite busy writing and editing. I also spent some time downloading and formatting photos from a recent road trip. (For example, see the photo at the top of this column.) My dear wife Avalanche Lily took some amazing photos. And I snapped a few, too.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.

For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.” – Hosea 4 (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 26, 2019

1

On July 26th, 1931, a swarm of grasshoppers descended on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Already in the midst of a bad drought, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota suffered tremendously. The swarms was said to be so thick that it blocked out the sun and one could shovel the grasshoppers with a scoop. While America has not seen infestations on such a scale since then, North Africa and parts of the Middle East continue to experience them.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Including Old Books in Your Preps, Part 4, by Marica Bernstein

31

(Continued from Part 3. This part concludes the series.)

Now What?

Old BooksRefer to the photo at the right side of this paragraph. First, step back and take in a whole section to spot collections such as the nine-volume The Scribner Radio Music Libraryxiii (1946) collection of sheet music. Look for extremely thick old books. These are single volume encyclopedias of facts, histories, “what everyone should know” books published until they became obsolete thanks to the Internet. The large, thick book at the far left is Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature Ninth Editionxiv (1891, the last edition Bartlett himself edited).

Then begin scanning each row. Draw your attention to barely readable, or unreadable spine titles. The small set is an extreme example, but it contains The World’s Famous Orationsxv (1906) from the Greeks to Americans. The unreadablexvi volume at the far right is The Book of Life Volume Five: Bible Poetry (1934).xvii Note how many have gold lettering, and in the case of the wrong-facing book on the top of the pile, The Poems of Goethe (1882), gilded pages all around.

Leary’s Ready Reckonerxviii (1909, various arithmetic tables), measuring about 3”x5”– perfect pocket size. Timeless classics such as Piers Plowman: The Vision of a People’s Christxix (1912, orig. ca. 1370-90) were often published as small, 4”x6” books.Continue reading“Including Old Books in Your Preps, Part 4, by Marica Bernstein”