Preparedness Notes for Friday – December 29, 2017

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Today is the birthday of actor Jude Law (born 1972.) You will remember him from Enemy at The Gates and Sky Captain.

This is also the birthday of inventor Charles Goodyear (1800–1860.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 74 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. 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 transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

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, and
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 74 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.

Applying the Wisdom of Sun Tzu to Prepping, by B.P.

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Many regard Sun Tzu as the ultimate military strategist, at least in the way he described the more philosophical applications of combat strategy. Being more abstract in his direction than simply issuing commands like a common general, his focus was on developing a perspective rather than defining procedures. In this way, his wisdom and direction have remained contemporary and relevant, whereas battlefield applications come and go with advances in technology and expansion of the combat arena.

In studying the lessons of Sun Tzu, we find that much of his advice on strategy not only lends itself to the field of battle but often to most conflicts we face in life. It is not at all difficult to extrapolate his guidance into most of our interpersonal dealings and the rigors of getting through life and strife effectively. We can enforce this point simply by citing some of his quotes into some typical life scenarios thus.

Knowledge of Abilities

So many of his quotes stress the importance of knowledge of abilities to the success of effort.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

Continue reading“Applying the Wisdom of Sun Tzu to Prepping, by B.P.”

Letter: Tracking a Stolen Vehicle

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Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:

We live at the end of the road in Alaska then a mile by boat to the cabin. The community parks their vehicles there. Is their a technology device that I can attach to my vehicle to where I can track down the vehicle if it is stolen? This happens from time to time with the locals. I would like some app on a device so I can pay someone a visit if necessary. Since we live on an island for some reason it is not theft, but joy riding. That is retarded but I can try to change the law, but I refuse to be a victim. – P.F.

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Collectible Knives. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

Ira Epstein’s Precious Metals Video: Dec-27-2017. JWR’s Comment:  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a chartist, but I always find something of interest in Ira’s videos.

 

Stock Markets:

London stock market hits record high but bitcoin wobbles – as it happened

Charitable Giving

Since we are rapidly approaching New Year’s Eve, a lot of folks are thinking about charitable giving.  One fully tax-deductible charity that I have personally endorsed for more than seven years  is Anchor Of Hope Charities.  They support 110 rural schools in rural Zambia. Most of these are for orphans. They do a great service, and their overhead costs are negligible. One interesting aspect of their ministry is that they encourage the schools to plant large scale gardens and row crops, so that they can become self-sufficient.  That fits in nicely with the “teach a man to fish” philosophy. Please consider supporting this Godly ministry.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – December 28, 2017

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December 28, 1793 is the day that Thomas Paine was arrested in France for treason. The charges against him were never fully detailed, but he was tried in absentia on December 26 and convicted. Best known as the author of Common Sense, he moved to Paris to be part of the French revolution. Initially welcomed, the tide soon turned against him, because he was opposed to the death penalty and the French revolutionaries were sending hundreds to the guillotine.

Continue reading“Preparedness Notes for Thursday – December 28, 2017”

A Collection of Thoughts on Survival, by Sven

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There is a number of thoughts and observations I’ve had that seemed worth passing on to SurvivalBlog readers, but most of them weren’t long enough to merit full articles. Hopefully, everyone can find at least one thing here that they hadn’t considered yet.

Wool Blankets

Wool blankets are heavier than down or synthetic sleeping bags but are lifetimes more durable and fire resistant. You should have both wool blankets for when weight is not a concern and regular sleeping bags for fast, light trips.

Knives– Serrated or Not

Knives with serrations require special tools to sharpen. Consider using only knives without serrations while in the field so that you need only one stone.

Sharpening Stone

A sharpening stone is a must for your kit/BOB. Knives and axes that are in use will dull quickly, which can make them unusable in precision applications. So, you’ll need to stone to keep them sharp.

Continue reading“A Collection of Thoughts on Survival, by Sven”

Letter Re: Armed Teachers from a Christian Perspective

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Dear Mr. Latimer,

I became a prepper last year and a Christian the year before. I am currently working through various issues of my faith, and your website has worked very well for helping both preparedness planning and my faith. I’m in my junior year of college, pursuing a teaching license. I’d prefer to teach private school, but if God calls me to teach in a public school I’ll do it and hopefully do some good there. To be brief, my question is whether or not a Christian should, in good conscience, violate laws banning weapons for self defense in schools.

I know Romans 13 orders us to obey the laws of our nation, but does that apply when the laws violate the 2nd Amendment, which I would view as being the higher law of the land? I can understand this verse being applied to taxes and such, along with smaller things like speed limits and other matters, but should I apply it to defending myself and my students as well? Thank you very much and God bless. Merry Christmas! – E.B.

Continue reading“Letter Re: Armed Teachers from a Christian Perspective”

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 “HJL”. Interesting that fears of a nuclear war is bringing to light the sad state of current fallout shelters.

Fallout Shelters

New York has begun removing the 1960s era fallout shelter signs strewn around the city. During the 1960s, at the height of the cold war, the signs were erected in places that had locations suitable for sheltering from nuclear fallout and had been stocked, at least somewhat, for a shortish stay as a refuge against nuclear disaster. The idea was if you were caught away from home, you only had to look for one of these signs to know you would be “safer”. Sadly, survivors would most likely find themselves rattling locked doors or breaking into laundry rooms or storage areas with no food or water stocks. Thanks to G.P. for the link.

North Korea

North Korea is working to build its first submarine capable of launching missiles. While one nuclear sub really isn’t worrisome to the U.S. and its allies, it continues the disturbing trend and the rapid pace that North Korea has of building their first-strike capability. The drums of war continue beating. This will obviously be used by the U.S. for another escalation in the verbal conflict.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – December 27, 2017

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On this day in 1979, in an attempt to stabilize the turbulent political situation in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union sent 75,000 troops to enforce the installation of Babrak Karmal as the new leader of the nation. The new government and the imposing Soviet presence, however, had little success in putting down anti-government rebels. Thus began nearly 10 years of an agonizing, destructive, and ultimately fruitless Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. Death by a thousand cuts.

Continue reading“Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – December 27, 2017”

Never Waste An Opportunity To Buy Good Stuff Inexpensively!, by Old Bobbert

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When there is an opportunity, we don’t waste it. We preppers are very good at nearly everything we do, once we finally start down the road to project completion and timely success. The few things we do poorly are generally the foundation for our poor public image. Some of these are our poor selections, among the millions of printed pages concerning “being prepared” to live through a disaster.

Our most glaring and dramatic procedural mistake is also the main reason non-preppers also fail at an alarmingly high percent of starts. Yes, we still have much in common with our non-prepper friends and family.

Not Shopping With Frugality

We do not shop in any manner that even remotely resembles frugality. And we love small, inexpensive gadgets that are promoted as the “be all and end all” trinket to make sleeping on a bed of gravel enjoyable. This is well known as a final, unnecessary deal beaker, in all seventeen dialects of spoken English, except in my house, of course.

Continue reading“Never Waste An Opportunity To Buy Good Stuff Inexpensively!, by Old Bobbert”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on the Exodus Cryptocurrency Wallet Tool. (See the Cryptocurrencies section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

Gold rises on dollar weakness, palladium hits 17-year peak JWR’s Comment: With platinum now at around $922 per Troy ounce and gold at around $1,283, it makes more sense than ever to parlay some of your physical gold holdings into physical platinum.  I prefer the 1/2-ounce and 1-ounce platinum Liberty (U.S. Mint) bullion coins, for their ease of recognition, for resale or barter.  Presently, platinum is so low that you might as well buy slabbed (PCGS or NGC encapsulated) Platinum Liberty coins. (In today’s market, those graded MS-66 to MS-68 aren’t selling for much more than the price of spot platinum, if you shop around.) In the long run, the current gold/platinum price inversion is bound to return to its historic norm. Platinum will then sell at a substantial premium above the price of gold, rather than at a discount. Buy low and sell high, folks.

Stock Markets:

Yahoo: Stock Market News For Dec 26, 2017

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on the movie The Ultimate Gift movie series.

 

Books:

The True Story of Fake News: How Mainstream Media Manipulates Millions (Mark Dice)

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100 Hikes In The Inland Northwest

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The Freedom Outlaw’s Handbook, by Claire Wolfe. (This is an update to her classic book: 101 Things To Do ‘Til The Revolution.  Now with 179 subjects.)

 

Movies:

Here is a movie that I can strongly recommend for your whole family:  The Ultimate Gift. Yes, it is a pro-Christian and pro-philanthropy message piece. And it is a bit sentimental.  But I wish that every entitled Millennial in the country could see it–because it would change them, for the better.  Oddly, the “movie stars” in the film (James Garner, Lee Meriwether, and Brian Dennehy) all played supporting roles. The lead roles were played by less well-known actors. They included: Drew Fuller, Abigail Breslin, Ali Hillis, and Bill Cobbs. But they all put in fine performances. The film was based on the novel The Ultimate Gift, by Jim Stovall. Not surprisingly, this movie had huge sales on DVD and inspired two sequels:  The Ultimate Life and The Ultimate Legacy.

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The Last Ridge: The 10th Mountain Division. (A good documentary, available on DVD, or free streaming to those with Amazon Prime.)

 

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week”