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”. Today features a couple of disturbing articles that make one realize just how vulnerable everyone is. Cyber hacking/security is on one end of the spectrum and Skynet on the other end.

Terminators and Skynet

Reader G.P. sent in this article profiling the U.S. army’s desire to have A.I. robots on the battle field. Over the next few years, the Pentagon is poised to spend almost $1 billion for a range of robots designed to compliment combat troops. Currently the tasks relegated to these robots would be routine task such as carrying equipment or sniffing out chemicals and bombs or possibly even complex reconnaissance. However, the problem lies in the superior speed at which machines can make decisions compared to humans. While militaries are currently avoiding having the A.I. make kill decisions, somebody somewhere is eventually going to do it forcing all other militaries to follow suit. There is no possible way to program ethics into A.I. and we will eventually end up with some form of Terminator.

Homeschooling

Parents who are concerned over the state’s inability to keep their kids safe at a public school setting are pulling their children out and starting to homeschool them. According to this article sent in by H.L. public school settings are consuming much more of a child’s time than it did for generations. To those of us who understand the power of controlling a population by controlling their children, it comes as no surprise. What may surprise some people who think that their children need the “socialization” of a public school setting is just how much impact this has on them. Children’s suicidal tendencies appear to be the strongest during the school year and some believe the setting is causing serious psychological damage. Mass schooling even impacts how much time a child has for a job. It’s an interesting article.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“When I was a young fellow I was knocked down plenty. I wanted to stay down, but I couldn’t. I had to collect the two dollars for winning or go hungry. I had to get up. I was one of those hungry fighters. You could have hit me on the chin with a sledgehammer for five dollars. When you haven’t eaten for two days you’ll understand.” – Jack Dempsey

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – May 23, 2018

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May 23 is the birthday of George Lars Kellgren (born 1943 in Borås, Sweden), the founder and chief engineer of Kel-Tec. According to LeftistAgendaPedia: He designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB in Sweden. He moved to the US in 1979 and his original US designs were for Intratec and Grendel brand firearms. He founded Kel-Tec in 1991.

This is also the day on which, in 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by police near Gibbsland, Louisiana.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 76 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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 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 76 ends on May 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 Prepper’s Guide to Benadryl, by ARNJR

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Disclaimer: This article is written for entertainment purposes only. We are not licensed health care professionals, and we have no interest, financial or otherwise, in any company that manufactures or sells any pharmaceuticals. Information contained in this article should only be used as a springboard for doing further research on the efficacy of the ideas presented herein. Usage of any drug, even if it is available over the counter without a prescription, should only be done under a physician’s care. Information and thoughts presented herein are for when our society has completely collapsed and the medical supplies necessary for sustaining our families and loved ones are difficult or impossible to obtain.

Readers of this article will say we sound like snake oil salesmen of yesteryear or those guys on infomercials telling you about the dozens of handy uses for their product, which usually has only one or maybe two practical purposes. However, diphenhydramine, commonly known by its Benadryl trade name, is definitely not a one-trick pony. At least one physician-prepper feels this little pink pill is the most important drug to carry in an emergency kit. While pain relievers from your first aid kit may be used more frequently, Benadryl is one over-the-counter drug that can actually save a life. Anyone can have an allergic reaction to anything at any time. Tylenol can’t help. Benadryl can.

Gather ‘Round – Allergies, Colds, and More

“Gather ‘round, people!” Let’s first begin with the reasons why you want to have a plentiful supply of diphenhydramine or Benadryl, this amazing little wonder drug, in your medicine chest. It’s been around for over seventy years, since it first came into commercial use in 1946. Most of us are quite familiar with the tiny neon pink pill that is mainly used for treating allergies and the common cold. However, Benadryl is also the most commonly used antihistamine for treating acute allergic reactions in emergency rooms around the country. It is used in addition to epinephrine for treating anaphylaxis.

That’s Not All – Sleep Aid

“And that’s not all!” Diphenhydramine is also widely sold as a sleep aid, though usually for a bit more money. Vicks’ ZzzQuil is nothing more than 50 mg of diphenhydramine. Tylenol PM is acetaminophen plus 25 mg of diphenhydramine. Advil PM contains ibuprofen plus 25-38 mg of diphenhydramine. All of these are sold at a phenomenal markup. Save yourself a chunk of change and store straight Tylenol and straight Advil. When you are in pain and need a little extra help falling asleep, then combine them with Benadryl.

Continue reading“A Prepper’s Guide to Benadryl, by ARNJR”

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 Knipex Lever Action Mini Bolt Cutters (See the Gear section.)

Books:

Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

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I just noticed that Amazon.com now has the standard trade paperback edition my book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times on sale for just $6.47!  (And there is free postage for Amazon Prime members.)

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High-Yield Vegetable Gardening: Grow More of What You Want in the Space You Have

 

Movies:

Nuclear Survival Films (2018) – A collection of historical films focusing on survival following a nuclear attack.

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Refusenik. This is a 2008 documentary on the dogged persistence of Russian Jewish dissidents seeking the right to emigrate, following the death of Josef Stalin. (Available on DVD. Or available for free streaming, for Amazon Prime members.)

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The case for harm from catastrophic global warming is growing weaker as more is learned about the Earth’s climate system, and about the poor predictive power of computer climate models. The Earth has supported abundant life many times in the geological past when there were much higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is quite likely that future generations will benefit from the enrichment of Earth’s atmosphere with more carbon dioxide.” – Dr. Arthur “Art” B. Robinson

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – May 22, 2018

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May 22, 1859 is the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Doyle was born in Scotland and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where he met Dr. Joseph Bell, a teacher with extraordinary deductive reasoning power. Bell partly inspired Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes years later.

After medical school, Doyle moved to London, where his slow medical practice left him ample free time to write. His first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, was published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887. Starting in 1891, a series of Holmes stories appeared in The Strand magazine. Holmes enabled Doyle to leave his medical practice in 1891 and devote himself to writing, but the author soon grew weary of his creation. In The Final Problem, he killed off both Holmes and his nemesis, Dr. Moriarty, only to resuscitate Holmes later due to popular demand. In 1902, Doyle was knighted for his work with a field hospital in South Africa. In addition to dozens of Sherlock Holmes stories and several novels, Doyle wrote history, pursued whaling, and engaged in many adventures and athletic endeavors. He died in 1930.

Brace Yourself: A Game Changer for American Shooters

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Ever since late 2012, gun enthusiasts have been talking about getting arm braces for their pistols. Those of us who live south of the Canadian border have been deprived of shoulder-stocked pistols since 1934. So there was a tremendous pent-up demand for such a configuration. And, of course, they were a boon to disabled shooters. The clever devices were first developed by SB Tactical for AR pistols, and later popularized by SIG USA. Arm braces were later adapted to mount on AK pistols, HK9x family pistols, Uzi pistols, the SIG MCX/MPX, and many more.

One key advantage of arm braces is that they make entire categories of pistols that had previously been fairly impractical into something quite practical. Here, I’m talking about nearly all of the oversize and muzzle-heavy pistols with magazine wells forward of the triggerguard. These include the Sites Spectre, Feather, and the KG-9/KG-99/Tec-9/DC-9 families of pistols. Similarly, many oversize pistols with magazines in the pistol grip also often greatly benefit from the addition of an arm brace. These include the semi-auto Ingram M10 and M11 series pistols, semi-auto Uzi (including Mini and Micro) as well as the Wilkinson Terry pistol.

Although there was some legal confusion for a few years, the popularity of arm braces is now stronger then ever. I’ll start with a brief traverse about the legalities:

 

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SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the Idaho primary election returns.

Region-Wide:

This article is a decade old, but quite informative: Where to Go to See Old Growth Forest in the Inland Northwest

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11 Stunning Places To Visit In The Inland Northwest

Idaho

Last week’s Idaho primary election returns were mostly positive. But I’ll start with the sad headline at Vox: Brad Little, the establishment pick, wins the Republican primary in Idaho’s governor’s race. The nomination for one of Idaho’s two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, was in a seven-way race. That went to “mainstream” Republican Russ Fulcher. (Many Redoubters had been hoping for a more conservative candidate.)

The better news is that many solid liberty-loving Republicans won in the primary. These include Heather Scott and Vito Barbieri. Also, the Republican dominance in Idaho politics seems more solid than ever. In most cases the Democrats are going through the motions of selecting candidates, but they have little chance of winning.  Thankfully, most Idahoans can see through the Democrat rhetoric, and want nothing of their Big Government/Nanny State plans.

The other good news is that Bonner County Idaho voters voted against proceeding with the proposed establishment of the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness area. That was a wise a wise decision, but don’t be surprised if the The Powers That Be over-ride the clear will of the electorate. At this point, what is needed is a corresponding vote by the residents of Montana on the east side of the proposed wilderness. Hopefully, that will make it abundantly clear that the whole scheme is a bad idea.

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Pocatello: Second mountain lion spotted on ISU campus in one week

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

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”. Sweden is getting in on the preparedness movement again.

Sweden and Preparedness

As Sweden gets more nervous at the thought of Russian aggression in the region, they government has begun sending out an emergency preparedness guide to all of its 4.8 million people. The document called “Om krisen eller kriget kommer” (If crisis or war comes) explains how people can secure basic needs such as food, water and heat, what warning signals mean, where to find bomb shelters and how to contribute to Sweden’s “total defense”. These are very similar to the pamphlets that Sweden distributed in 1943. They continued to update it until the early 1960s. Thanks to reader KAA for the link.

Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs

Reader DSV sent in these articles on eggs being a part of a healthy diet. The first is a Reuters article profiling a study that showed an egg a day is tied to lower risk of heart disease. My how times have changed. It wasn’t too long ago the food industry was decrying eggs as bad for your diet and especially bad for your cholesterol. Now there is evidence that, in moderation, they are actually good for your cholesterol. I see this as a good thing. Several of our egg customers have moved and we’ve been unable to replace them. As a result, eggs are very abundant here. We no longer freeze dry them because we already have nearly 100 quarts of eggs prepared this way. We often have breakfast for dinner and keep a supply of hard boiled eggs in the fridge as snacks. I’m literally running out of ideas on how to use them.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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There were few men in the West who could whip Earp in a rough-and tumble fight 30 years ago, and I suspect that he could give a tough youngster a hard tussle right now, even if he is 61 years of age.

In all probability had Morris been known as a peaceable citizen, he would have had his money returned when he asked for it, as Wyatt never cared much for money; but being known as a man with a reputation as a gunfighter, his only chance to get his money back lay in his ability to “do” Earp, and that was a job he did not care to tackle.

I have known Wyatt Earp since early in the ’70s, and have seen him tried out under circumstances that made the test of manhood supreme. He landed in Wichita, Kansas, in 1872, being then about 26 years old, and weighing in the neighborhood of 160 pounds, all of it muscle. He stood 6 feet in height, with light blue eyes, and a complexion bordering on the blonde. He was born at Monmouth, Illinois, of a clean strain of American breeding, and served in an Iowa regiment the last three years of the Civil War, although he was only a boy at the time. He always arrayed himself on the side of law and order, and on a great many occasions, at the risk of his life, rendered valuable service in upholding the majesty of the law in those communities in which he lived. In the spring of 1876 he was appointed Assistant City Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, which was then the largest shipping point in the North for the immense herds of Texas cattle that were annually driven from Texas to the northern markets. Wyatt’s reputation for courage and coolness was well known to many of the citizens of Dodge City—in fact it was his reputation that secured for him the appointment of Assistant City Marshal.

He was not very long on the force before one of the alderman of the city, presuming somewhat on the authority his position gave him over a police officer, ordered Wyatt one night to perform some official act that did not look exactly right to him, and Wyatt refused point blank to obey the order. The alderman, regarded as something of a scrapper himself, walked up to Wyatt and attempted to tear his official shield from his vest front where it was pinned. When that alderman woke up he was a greatly changed man. Wyatt knocked him down as soon as he laid his hands on him, and then reached down and picked him up with one hand and slammed a few hooks and upper-cuts into his face, dragged his limp form over to the city calaboose, and chucked it in one of the cells, just the same as he would any other disturber of the peace. The alderman’s friends tried to get him out on bail during the night, but Wyatt gave it out that it was the calaboose for the alderman until the police court opened up for business at nine o’clock the following morning, and it was. Wyatt was never bothered any more while he lived in Dodge City by aldermen.” – William Barclay “Bat” Masterson, in “My Friend Wyatt Earp”

Colt Combat Elite Enhanced 1911, by Pat Cascio

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It used to be that Colt 1911 handguns were pretty much the only 1911 game in town, but many people thought they were out of business the past few years. Today we’re looking at the enhanced Combat Elite Enhanced 1911 .45 ACP handgun.

Colt 1911 Handguns

For the longest time, if you wanted a 1911 pistol you had to take a look at the Colt 1911 line of handguns. For the most part, they were the 1911 to own. However, today, there are more companies manufacturing 1911s than I can list. Most companies are producing some high-end 1911s while some are producing bare bone basic 1911s. Of these 1911s, most are very well made handguns, and the sky is the limit. This is true as well about how much leaves your checking account because of prices on 1911s. In my humble opinion, Colt has recently fallen by the wayside, when it comes to 1911s. They are no longer the leader in producing 1911s, not even close. Some companies just refuse to step into the 21st century with the marketing, manufacturing, and improving of their products. Colt is guilty of all three!

Owned More Colt 1911 Than Any Other Brand

Over the years, I’ve probably owned more Colt 1911s than any other brand. Especially when I was a snot-nosed kid, I was always on the look out for the newest or “best” 1911 that Colt made. Unfortunately, even back then, in the late 1960s and even into the early 1980s, Colt just didn’t have a huge selection of 1911s to pick from. However, it never deterred me.

Back in 1989, I was the chief of police in a small western Oregon town, and one of the handguns I often carried was a brand-new Colt 1911 Commander that was all stainless steel. Unfortunately, when I received this gun brand-new in the box, it wouldn’t even feed full metal jacket ammo. It took quite a bit of work on my part to tune this gun to not only feed FMJ but JHP ammo as well. That’s not a good thing in a brand-new handgun from the leader (at the time) in 1911s.

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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 House Hacking. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Will Silver Hit Triple Digits? Kootenay Silver CEO Weighs In

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I’m a proponent of physical metals rather than buying mining stocks, but I still found this piece at Seeking Alpha captivating: Gold Miners: Approaching A Hard Bottom

 

Stocks:

US stocks may be done outperforming the world

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Next, at The Street: Never Buy Stocks Based on Unusual Call Activity: Doug Kass Insider

 

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