Eight Lessons Learned From the Polar Vortex Plunge

24

The recent plunge of the Polar Vortex deep into the American Midwest should serve as a wake-up call for those who are preparedness-minded. Here are some recent headlines:

Briefly, I’ve observed eight lessons from these recent weather events:

1.) Cold kills. Quietly. When traveling any substantial distance in winter, you should carry a sleeping bag for every passenger of your vehicle.

2.) Severe weather can create huge, multi-hour of even multi-day traffic snarls. Keep your vehicles’ fuel tanks at least 3/4ths full, as a matter of habit. (Most preppers already do so, year-round.)

3.) Slow down. Ice-slick roads can put you in a ditch so fast that you’ll find yourself asking: “What the heck just happened?” If you don’t have studded snow tires, then carry chains. Also: Carry a tow strap/chain, jumper cables, a snow shovel, and a bag of traction sand.

4.) Folks living at 30 degrees latitude and northward should seriously consider installing engine block heaters. These are already pretty much standard for folks living in the American Redoubt. Folks living in Indiana and Arkansas night equip their most winter road-worthy vehicle with one of these, of they don’t have a heated garage.

5.) The wind chill factor makes a huge difference. With a 30 mile per hour wind, a temperature of 0 degrees F has the same physiological effect as  -26 degrees F in still air.  If there is substantial wind chill, then do not go outdoors unless it is absolutely necessary. Frostbite of any exposed skin can develop in just a few minutes.

6.) Extreme weather can drastically affect public transportation. There were plenty of flight delays and cancellations. Some train and bus systems simply ground to a halt. Plan accordingly.

7.) Desperate people will rob you of your warm clothing, at gunpoint. It happened last week in Chicago. I’m certain that it could happen in the suburbs, in really hard times.

8.) The motto of “Have a Plan B, and a Plan C” also applies to sources of heat. Many people were without heat when local grid power failed. Their natural gas or propane whole-house heaters were essentially useless when there was no electricity to operate their fans to push hot air through their house HVAC ducts. So always have a second source of heat and store plenty of fuel for it.

Conclusion

As preppers, we should use this recent weather event as a “teachable moment” for discussions with family, friends, co-workers, and a fellow church congregants. Urge them to prepare for the next big weather event. If something like this doesn’t convince them to take steps to prepare their families, then we must conclude that they are beyond convincing! – JWR

 

 

 

 

 

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

16

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”.  Today, we focus on the planned New USMC Squad Organization.

Vashon Islanders Prepare for a Major Earthquake

A reader sent us this news from Vashon Island, Washington: A Small Island Town Prepares for a Major Earthquake. 

Viable Online Payment Alternatives?

Since PayPal jumped on the Censorious Bandwagon during the recent Patreon debacle, conservatives and libertarians are quickly looking for alternatives. Even the traditional credit card processing companies may be clamping down more, in the near future. A few alternatives that I’ve head mentioned in the past two weeks are 2nd Amendment Processing, Bitbacker, and Payoneer. Since PayPal got such an early start in online payments, it is very difficult to make a dent in their quasi-monopoly. Please pray that some of these new upstart startups can gain a toe-hold!

  • 2nd Amendment Processing’s tag line is:  “No Contract, Free Equipment, Veteran Owned.” This Michigan-based venture is so new that they have a Facebook page, but no web site yet. Phone: (517) 492-4972.
  • BitBacker.io bills itself as a block-chain-based alternative to Patreon.
  • Payoneer is going head to head with PayPal–or at least one segment of PayPal’s business.

Virginia: Senate Passes Church CCW Bill

Reader DSV sent this: Virginia Senate passes bill to allow churchgoers to carry a firearm alongside their Bibles. Here is a passage from the article:

“The 21-19 vote was strictly along party lines and repeals a law the Washington Post reported may date to Colonial times that makes it a misdemeanor to ‘carry any gun, pistol, bowie knife, dagger or other dangerous weapon without good and sufficient reason, to a place of worship.’ Fittingly, the upper chamber of the Virginia General Assembly, first established in 1619 and the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World, proves that, as the Founding Fathers intended, states remain laboratories of democracy — not that the occasional mad scientist doesn’t prevail, as seen last week in New York when abortion was legalized up to the moment of birth.”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” – Ephesians 6:10-18 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – February 2, 2019

3

Great news!  South Dakota’s newly-elected Republican Governor Kristi Noem just signed a permitless Constitutional Carry bill into law! The news report states:  “There are currently 12 states that allow permit-less carry: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Vermont. That number will rise to at least 13 with South Dakota, and could further increase to include Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa, all three of which are witnessing efforts to repeal permit requirements in their respective states.”  Freedom is on the march!

—

February 2nd is the birthday of Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum in 1905), died – March 6, 1982) She is of course remembered for her novel Atlas Shrugged, which is considered a Libertarian classic. While I sharply disagree with her views on religion (since she was an atheist), I admire both her skill as a writer and her ability to articulate some core precepts of human liberty.

Guest Article: Maps and Pins Won’t Save You, Part 2, by Kit Perez

7

Editor’s Introductory Note:  This article first appeared at the excellent American Partisan web site, and is re-posted with permission. This the second of two parts.  Part 1 was posted on Friday, February 1, 2019.

I recommend American Partisan as “must reading.” Be sure to bookmark it.

—

Part 2: Information vs. Intelligence

In Part 1, we talked about your Area of Operations (AO) and how to figure out what your boundaries are, as well as what your actual capability is within that area. Today we’ll focus on another problem area that gets a lot of misguided attention: information vs. intelligence.

What is Information?

You might see this as a stupid question, but it’s not. Information is data; it’s the facts, photos, knowledge, and other pieces that make up the raw material you use to create intelligence. Information is not intelligence. If you take nothing from this article series, understand that. Information is just that: information. It may or may not be true; it might be old or recent, credible or not. It’s not your job to collect as much information as possible and then make decisions about it, contrary to what you might think. In fact, far too many people do that and then wonder why their decisions turned out poorly. That happens because people do not take the time to correctly analyze, process, and distill their information into actionable intelligence.

I don’t care how many maps you have on your wall, or “contacts” you have that feed you information (in many cases, gossip and rumors), if you don’t know how to process information into an actionable, exploitable intelligence product, you’re off the mark — and all of your decisions and plans will be, too.

What is Intelligence?

Intelligence is what is created from information. That creation process is structured, it’s quantifiable, it’s logical. There is a cycle and system to it, and while entire books have been written about that process, it basically comes down to five steps (four for the average prepper since you’re probably not creating intelligence reports):

  • Planning and Direction
  • Collection
  • Analysis and Production
  • Dissemination

Continue reading“Guest Article: Maps and Pins Won’t Save You, Part 2, by Kit Perez”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

31

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR

Here at the Rawles Ranch we had some wonderful atypical sunny days this week which cheers us all up. We’re happy that the days are starting to perceptibly lengthen, but we will be very happy when the Grip Of Winter is released.

Aside from my usual writing, I did some organizing and inventorying. I concentrated on making certain that I have all of the parts needed to complete my few remaining planned M4gery and AR-10 builds. It would be embarrassing to be a few parts short. You see, ARs have a nasty habit of not functioning unless all of the requisite parts are present, sober, and ready for duty. There are a few exceptions–such as the ejection port cover parts and sling swivels–but as for most of the rest: They have to be there, or the Poodle Shooter doesn’t go “bang” reliably or accurately in a serial fashion, as it should.

Avalanche Lily Reports

Dear Readers,
To conclude the discussion of backpacking gear and food, that I began last week:

Food Issues

I spent more time in YouTube listening to videos of Through Hikers planning their meals, preparing and organizing their foods in boxes and sending it.  I wanted to know what their food choices were.  What I found were that many of these hikers live on highly processed foods: candy, freeze dried meals, nutrition bars all of which are full of additives: corn syrup, soy, MSG, salts, other flavorings, dyes, preservatives, dried milk, blueberries, bananas, nutritional yeast, maltodextrin, aspartame and other fake sugars, et cetera. Those are all things that I refuse to eat, or am intolerant to.  I have food sensitivities (the big ones are yeast, mushrooms, cane sugar, blueberries, bananas, milk and milk products, eggs, crustaceans, mollusks, and whole wheat.  (Gluten is not an issue).  If any foods contain these items, I would prefer to fast that meal than to eat it, and feel lousy, later.

For the most part, our family eats an all natural, very loose kind of Paleo-Keto diet, which is dairy free and mostly wheat and yeast free. We eat very little packaged processed food, mainly canned tuna, salmon, Kirkland plain potato and corn chips, some Premium Saltine crackers, dark chocolate, canned organic tomato sauce, paste, diced; Lara Bars, peanut and almond butters, organic ketchup, and relish.  Most everything else we buy is bought in it’s pure, single state form, or we buy fresh, or grow it ourselves, or raise it ourselves.

I am not currently milking cows, because we are mostly dairy free. Our cows are now being raised for beef. But one of them can be milked if we had long term guests who need milk. For instance if our son, his wife and the grandchildren came home, they would want milk and eggs. A similar situation has arose with the chickens: sensitivities to eggs, thus we raise them for meat and give most of the eggs away.

Well, so what do we eat? We eat lots of beef, chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, cod, nuts and seeds of all kinds: almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds; rice, sweet and white potatoes, squash, oats, barley, some honey and maple syrup, and lots of fresh, frozen and dried fruit, veggies, olive and coconut oils and milk, and only a little bit of pure dark chocolate. We eat very little dairy, wheat, pastas, yeast, sugars, desserts, jams.  The kids do sometimes eat cheddar cheese melted on corn chips. I will eat white flour (non yeast or dairy) homemade biscuits or flatbread once in a while, but cannot make a habit of it.  I make lots of soups, chili’s, stir fries, roasts; meat, potato/rice vegetable meals, of which, I will now be sharing those recipes with you in the coming weeks.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

14

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”.  Today,  we focus on where your power comes from, all mapped. Pictured is Grand Coulee Dam, in central Washington. It is America’s largest hydroelectric dam. Annually, it produces 20.2 Terawatt-Hours of electricity!

In Maps: Where Your Power Comes From

Peter sent us this fascinating article: Mapped: Every Power Plant in the United States. Do you know where your power comes from? I’d estimate that 95% of today’s Americans have no clue about where and how their local grid power is generated. (But, of course, most SurvivalBlog readers are much better informed.) If you take a look at those maps, you can clearly see one of the reasons why I recommend the American Redoubt region: Very abundant hydroelectric power.

The Yellow Vests Get it Right

Also from Peter, there was this, at Straight Line Logic: The Yellow Vests Get it Right, by Robert Gore.  The article begins:

“The mainstream media has degenerated irreparably. Here’s a reliable rule of thumb: if it’s important it’s not covered; if it’s covered it’s not important. Stories in the American mainstream press about Yellow Vest protests have been few. One aspect of the protests, transcendently important, has received scant coverage.

The Yellow Vest protestors have called for a coordinated run on French banks. Whether they realize it or not, they’re playing with nuclear warheads that could annihilate not just the French, but Europe’s and the entire world’s financial system. Because inextricably linked to the ends of contemporary governments―how much they can screw up the lives of those who must live under them—is the question of means―how do they fund their misrule? The short answer is taxes and debt.

More About Dakota Alerts

Over at American Partisan, “NC Scout” posted some confirmation on my long-standing advice: Force Multipliers: The Dakota Alert Motion Detector for Patrols and Rural Security.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel.

Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.

And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.

And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.

And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David.

And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city.

So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him.” – 1 Chronicles 11:1-9 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – February 1, 2019

February 1st is the anniversary of the secession of Texas from the United States in 1861. A State Convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28th, 1861 and on February 1st, by a vote of 166-8, adopted an Ordinance of Secession from the United States. It’s important to note that not all Texans favored this act and the state Governor, Sam Houston, while being loyal to the union, refused offers from President Lincoln to keep him in office and was subsequently deposed as governor.

We also remember February 1st, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.

—

Today we are both announcing the most recent writing contest prize winners, and posting a guest article by Kit Perez.

Round 80 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

Round 80 of SurvivalBlog’s Non-Fiction Writing Contest has ended and the editors have picked the winners. If you are one of the top three winners, please make sure that you e-mail us your USPS and your UPS/FedEx addresses. Any article submitted, but not published in the December 2018-January 2019 timeframe have been automatically rolled over to Round 81 of the Contest. Our congratulations to the writing contest winners!

First Prize:

First Prize was awarded to K.B., M.D., for Medical Action Sheets (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, & Part 4) which was posted December 26-29, 2018.  She will received the following prizes:

  1. A $3000 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:

Second Prize was awarded to R.M., for A Deep Well Pump Jack: Vital Part of Water System, which was posted on January 6, 2019.  He will received the following prizes:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. 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,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  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:

Third Prize was awarded to Michelle Cooper, for Raising Chickens for Meat Part 1 and Part 2, which was posted on January 19 and 20, 2019.  She will received the following prizes:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  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.
Honorable Mention Prizes:

Five Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon gift cards) have been awarded for the following articles:

—

Since 2005, our very generous prize donors have awarded more than $670,000 worth of prizes for this ongoing bi-monthly contest. You too can win, but only if you take the time to write about what you know. Please share your knowledge!

Round 81 ends on March 28th, 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. – JWR

 

Guest Article: Maps and Pins Won’t Save You, Part 1, by Kit Perez

9

Editor’s Introductory Note:  This article on Intelligence first appeared at the excellent American Partisan web site, and is re-posted with permission.  Part 2 will be posted on Saturday, February 2, 2019.

I recommend American Partisan as “must reading.” Consider bookmarking it.

—

Part I: Understanding Your AO

There’s a disconnect among many in the prepper community between information and intelligence. In recent years, a disturbing notion has become fashionable; namely, that in order to effectively operate in your area — whether it be due to a societal meltdown of some type or a natural disaster — you need a big map, some brightly colored pins, and a whole bunch of data. Unfortunately, it’s not actually that way, and a lot of people are deluded into thinking it is. Perhaps even more important is understanding that sometimes it’s a lot more simple than that.

This series will look at some of the things that are widely believed in the various prepper, patriot, and other communities about intelligence, terminology, and capability — when these things are even addressed at all. We’re going to talk real world scenarios, real facts, and real situational awareness. Today we’ll talk about your Area of Operations (AO).

What is Your Area?

Terms like “area of operations” and “area of influence” are often improperly defined, offering people a twisted and even overambitious view of what their own capability is. Your area of operations is not your state. If you live in Washington, it’s not the I-5 corridor or the “Northern Cascade region.” If you’re in Florida, it’s not the panhandle, and if you’re in New York City it’s not your borough. In fact, if you live in an urban area, it’s not your city at all, and may not even be as large as your neighborhood. Understanding what your actual AO is and how it fits into a bigger area is critical to understanding what you and your group are capable of affecting.

Continue reading“Guest Article: Maps and Pins Won’t Save You, Part 1, by Kit Perez”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

6

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’s focus is on filling in your gun collection gaps. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold, Silver Investors: Strap In; It’s Going To Be A Bumpy Ride – LBMA 2019 Price Forecast

o o o

From chartist Hub Moolman: A Major Silver Breakout Ahead?

Economy & Finance:

UK consumers shun credit cards as Brexit looms. Here is a quote:

“The boom in consumer borrowing across Britain has cooled to the slowest annual growth rate in four years, according to official figures, as households rein in their spending. The Bank of England said annual consumer credit growth slowed to 6.6% in December, continuing a trend for weaker levels of household borrowing on credit cards, personal loans and car finance deals.
In a reflection of the slowdown in consumer spending over the key festive shopping period, the amount borrowed last month dipped to £700m, below the average £1bn per month for the previous six months. The Bank said credit card borrowing was particularly weak, with only £100m put on plastic last month compared with an average of about £300m per month since July…”

o o o

At Sovereign Man: Mexico is Starting to Look Like Venezuela. (Thanks to reader A.A. for the link.)

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I do love a good tree. There it stands so strong and sturdy, and yet so beautiful, a very type of the best sort of man. How proudly it lifts its bare head to the winter storms, and with what a full heart it rejoices when the spring has come again! How grand its voice is, too, when it talks with the wind: a thousand aeolian harps cannot equal the beauty of the sighing of a great tree in leaf. All day it points to the sunshine and all night to the stars, and thus passionless, and yet full of life, it endures through the centuries, come storm, come shine, drawing its sustenance from the cool bosom of its mother earth, and as the slow years roll by, learning the great mysteries of growth and of decay. And so on and on through generations, outliving individuals, customs, dynasties — all save the landscape it adorns and human nature — till the appointed day when the wind wins the long battle and rejoices over a reclaimed space, or decay puts the last stroke to his fungus-fingered work. Ah, one should always think twice before one cuts down a tree!” – H. Rider Haggard, Allan Quatermain

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – January 31, 2019

2

On January 31, 1606, Guy Fawkes was executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot against parliament and King James.

Also on this day in 1872, American author Pearl Zane Grey was born. He was best know for his popular adventure western novels, including Riders of the Purple Sage, which was his best-selling book.

o  o  o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 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 Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. 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,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  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 80 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry! Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

My Mobile Alternative Energy Experiences, by Captain Steve

22

All of us who think about what we’d do if the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) spend a lot of time exploring options. What will I do if this thing or that happens? Will I bug out or hunker down? What should I buy and place in my long term storage? I expect that like me, most who are unwilling to just sit back and hope for the best have taken plenty of steps to protect and prepare themselves for many eventualities.

Over the countless hours I’ve spent researching and planning, I’ve tried to assess and make note of where I’m lacking in my preparations. That list seems endless and often, overwhelming. But I continue to tackle those shortfalls one at a time. One area where I’ve noticed a lack of first-hand information has to do with plans for alternative energy (AE), its many and varied uses, and affordable ways and means to incorporate AE into our planning. Sure, there are plenty of reliable companies out there who are willing to take lots of your hard earned money in exchange for equipment you may, or may not, need. But what about the average family though, those of us who watch every dollar we spend? What can we do?

A Jack of All Trades

I’ve always been a hands-on guy willing to tackle just about any job. Years ago, long before “prepping” became a household term, I started researching solar power, wind power, energy storage, and how to make the best use of that power. Today, a wealth of information is readily available with Internet access and networking capabilities. You can search for just about anything with search engines like Start Page or Duck Duck Go. And I’d encourage you to research alternative energy options.

For the past 38 years, I’ve made use of 12 volt DC refrigeration, 12 volt to 120 volt inverters, energy efficient lighting, deep cycle batteries, efficient insulation, and other ways to conserve for a full-time, off-grid, low energy lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle that adapts itself to any number of SHTF scenarios. I’ve done just about every bit of the work myself; the research, purchasing, installation, and maintenance of all my equipment. You name it, I think I’ve tried it.

Continue reading“My Mobile Alternative Energy Experiences, by Captain Steve”