Preparedness Notes for Monday – September 04, 2017

September 4, 1862 is the fateful day that General Lee invaded the North with 50,000 troops. Historians will banter back and forth about the real reasons for the civil war, but we will probably never fully understand. It is my personal belief that General Lee was gambling on a quick offensive because the South did not have the resources for a prolonged war. Whatever the case was, President Abraham Lincoln trampled the Constitution and created the foundation for the “Big Brother” government we have today.

Skeleton Optics, by Pat Cascio

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The Skeleton Optics sun glasses just might be the best sun glasses of its kind. They are sold by US Tactical Supply, and what a product they are! US Tactical Supply is the premiere provider of quality tactical accessories, serving military, law enforcement, first responders, and the public. Your mission matters.

US Tactical Supply

I’m not going to pretend I understand all the technical specs on the Skeleton Optics sun glasses, but I’ll lay out the specs as best I can in this article. Regular readers will know that the nice folks at US Tactical Supply in Albany, OR simply carry the best of the best for their customers and take no short cuts. They try to stock and sell as many products as they can that are made in the USA. Of course, in a global economy, this isn’t always possible. However, in my humble opinion, US Tactical Supply still carries the best products they can find for their customers. Excuse my grammar, but “They don’t sell no junk!”.

Skeleton Optics SCOUT Sample

US Tactical Supply recently sent me an e-mail with one of their brand new products— Skeleton Optics. I’ve never heard of them, but they’ve been around more than a year. And they have some serious endorsements by some well-known people. US Tactical Supply arranged for me to test the SCOUT version of the Skeleton Optics, and to be sure they have several different models and styles of eye wear, for men and women!

I’ve been a writer for 25 years now, and I’ve seen and heard all the hype on various products. A lot of it is hype, put out by the company’s marketing/PR division. However, when I was told by Kevin at US Tactical Supply just how great this eye wear was, I honestly had some doubts about what he was saying.

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Recipe of the Week: Brunswick Stew, by R.R.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (2 1/2 to 3 lb) Chicken, cut up
  • 2 qts water
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cups cubed cooked ham
  • 3 potatoes, diced
  • 2 (16 oz) cans tomatoes, cut up
  • 1 (10 oz) package frozen lima beans, partially thawed.
  • 1 (10 oz) package frozen whole kernel corn, partially thawed
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

  1. In a slow cooking pot, combine chicken with water, onion, ham, and potatoes.
  2. Cook covered on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is done.
  3. Lift chicken out of pot and remove meat from bones.
  4. Return chicken meat to pot and add tomatoes, beans, corn, salt, seasoned salt, sugar, and pepper.
  5. Turn control to high, cover and cook for 1 hour.

Makes 8 servings.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Review of MVT Combat Rifle Skills Class, by T.B.

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JWR & HJL,

Below is my review of the MVT Combat Rifle Skills that was held at MVT Romney. As with the Defensive Concealed Handgun class that I attended in early 2017, I was greatly encouraged and motivated by the class. Again, thank you both for what you do!

Past Experience

I attended the Defensive Concealed Handgun class at MVT Romney in 2017. I greatly benefited from the well thought-out, deliberate, and detailed training I received at that class. One of the attendees of that class had attended the Combat Rifle Skills that had been held earlier in 2017. He was quite enthusiastic in his evaluation of the training he received. I determined then and there to figure out a way to take the Combat Rifle Skills class in 2017. I was encouraged as it was taught by the same instructor (Scott David) who taught the Defensive Concealed Handgun class. The training I received there was exceptional.

The Course

I had little experience with a battle rifle, other than occasional trips to the range to punch holes in paper targets.  I appreciated the “layered” instructional approach. They. begin with the fundamentals, subsequent skills are built upon those previously covered and practiced. Scott started Day One with a thorough safety brief. He then gave us a detailed lecture of how the AR platform functions. This included a history of the weapon and a complete field disassembly and reassembly of his AR-15. He clearly explained how the AR functions, how each part works, how to clean it, and how to reassemble it.

Continue reading“Review of MVT Combat Rifle Skills Class, by T.B.”

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 noteworthy bear market prediction of veteran market advisor Milton Berg. (See the Stocks section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Reset To $10,000/oz Coming “By January 1, 2018” – Rickards

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Cartel Sold 9% of Remaining Gold Supply for 2017 in One Minute

 

Stocks (Milton Berg):

Video: Milton Berg predicts a “30-year bear market” after perhaps a further 3% to 7% run-up: From Stocks to Bonds, the Bear-Market Signals Are Multiplying. JWR Suggests: Get out of the equities markets early, folks. Do not attempt to time the top!

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Next, at The Hollywood Reporter: Movie Theater Chain Stocks Collapse During Dismal Summer

Commodities:

On to this from Nick Cunningham: Looming Gas Shortage: “Imports Can’t Make Up For This”

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Post-Harvey:  Gasoline Shortages Loom On East Coast As Colonial Pipeline Shuts Down

Forex:

File Under: “I Told You So”: USDCHF keeps declining – Analysis – 29-08-2017

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Poor August NFP Data ignites USD sell off
Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – September 03, 2017

On September 3, 1752, Great Britain and it’s colonies, including the future United States of America officially adopted the Gregorian calendar, and it immediately became September the 14th.

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President Trump has called for today, September 3, 2017 to be a day of prayer for those who have been affected by hurricane Harvey and for the healing of our country and the world. It’s been a while since a president has actually called for a day of prayer.

Earthquake and Power Out Experience in the Philippines- Part 2, by S.B.

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A Good Neighbor

We charged the neighbor’s cell phones. So at that point, they let us run the generator all night! The generator ran from 6pm to 6am and then ran out of gas. It used 25 liters of gasoline. So here that equates to about $20 a day for gas. If it runs for a month, it will be expensive; $20 times 30 equals $600 per month. Ouch! At this point I tried to shut generator off before it ran out of gas. I was afraid the voltage will vary a lot when it does last couple revolutions before it stops.

Intermittent Power

The power was “on” sometimes intermittently. At first it was on for four hours and then off. One night it was on all night. Sunday it was on all day and cut off at 7:30pm. There was no schedule. For several days, it was on at night. Because of never knowing when it will stop, I always keep a flashlight in my pocket. I have lots of headlamps and flashlights that use AAA batteries.

Actually, once I used all of my charged AAA batteries I had to use a AA flashlight with a strap to hold it as a headlamp. The strap is made for this purpose.

I would recommend having at least double the number of rechargeable batteries that you are using in your devices. Flashlights with triple A batteries could use up a set of batteries before your backup set is recharged! So for high use AAA battery applications, you need three sets of batteries for each device!

Continue reading“Earthquake and Power Out Experience in the Philippines- Part 2, by S.B.”

Letter: Thank You from Texas

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HJL,

Thank you SurvivalBlog for all that you do.The things I have learned from this blog the last few years has been very helpful with helping me and my family make it through the Harvey Disaster down here in Houston.Even though my preps are not at the level I would like them to be at , the things we did have (God, clean drinking water,food,personal protection and fuel) were enough to give me and my family comfort that we would of make it through. I’m very thankful that my home was high and dry and we received no damage to our home.

I’m also thankful I was able to help some my friends and family get through the devastation by sharing some of our family preps and a lot of sweat equity to help start restoring their homes and their lives. Going through this storm has really opened the eyes of me ,my wife and two sons of what it takes to truly live a prepared life. We have already begin to reevaluate our situation now and what we need to do in the future to become more self sufficient and prepared for times like this and or a major SHTF situation. More importantly this has stirred our hearts knowing that the most important prep is for us to draw closer to God and seek his divine guidance in our lives. God Bless and strengthen all those that have went through this disaster. – B.W.

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”. I found the paper pot planter an intriguing product today. Given the size of our current garden, this may be the labor saving device I want.

Wildfire fighters Wanted

Cody (from Wranglerstar) has put out a call for redcard firefighters that are willing to deploy on short notice for a period of up to two weeks. The crews are shorthanded and those that would normally deploy with him are otherwise tied up. If you are qualified and ready for immediate deployment, shoot him an email!.

Serenity

German and American researchers are wanting to use hormone treatments to make Germans less hostile to Muslim immigrants. No one knows exactly how they intend to accomplish this and the study is just in the “proof of concept” stage. Apparently the female hormone fosters a nurturing and bonding between mother and child. The hope is that they can also use this to foster the same type of bonding between the host country and the immigrants. I guess they haven’t watched the movie Serenity yet. Reavers, here we come! Thanks to reader T.J. for the link.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – September 02, 2017

September 2, 1969 is the day that the first automatic teller machine (ATM) made its first public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. While being as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail, they have introduced a whole new set of issues. Consumers are faced with scams, skimmers, and robbers, and even fake ATMs have been discovered.

Earthquake and Power Out Experience in the Philippines- Part 1, by S.B.

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This was my experience with a mild earthquake and a power outage in the Philippines. Amazingly nothing was damaged by the quake. I expected some things to tip over. Latest reports say it was a 6.5 quake. The epicenter was about 15 miles away. It was stronger than other quakes I have experienced here in the past eight years. Also, immediately after the main quake, there was a long slow side to side rocking motion for several seconds. I never felt that before. We also had 10 or more aftershocks. A local man who is about 50 said it was the strongest quake he has ever felt in town.

Generator and Fuel

Generator and Fuel Status Upon Event

At the time, I had two 5-gallon containers of gas and half a tank in my generator. I needed to get one empty 5-gallon can filled, but I had not done it. I expected that two cans should last three or four days. My generator started easily. I was lucky because I had not started it in more than a month.

Generator Fuel Status Now

I now have four new gasoline cans with modified caps. So now, I could run 2.5 days for the full 24 hours or 7.5 days of only eight hours a day.

Water

Water Status Upon Event

For water we have a 1000 liters (250 gallons) in our main water tank. This is part of our water system. City water does not run in the morning. So, if you want to have water in the morning you need to store it at night. That is what this tank is for. I also have three plastic 50-gallon drums cleaned but not filled. Next time I will have filled them. I have voltage regulators for everything! Voltages fluctuate a lot in the Philippines. Every hardware store and department store sells them. I ran the generator and the AC until about 10 PM. In the past, the neighbor had complained about the noise.

Continue reading“Earthquake and Power Out Experience in the Philippines- Part 1, by S.B.”

The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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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 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!  This week’s focus is on Hurricane Irma preps.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,

Summer has come to an end for us here at the Rawles Ranch. The children started back to homeschooling on Monday. Obviously, this takes up the bulk of our time in a day. This year our children are variously studying Biology, Chemistry, Algebra and lower maths, American History and Documents, American Literature, Current Events and writing position essays, Latin, Hebrew, Shakespeare, Reading through the Bible/Christian History/Literature/Apologetics/ Discernment/Eschatology, Philosophy, Spelling, Cursive, Review of English Grammar, World Geography: drawing, labeling, memorizing, and piano. Several of these subjects we do all together as a family and the other subjects they study by themselves.

Continue reading“The Editors’ Preps for the Week”

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”. Hurricane Harvey continues to remind us of why we prep. We need to evaluate our preps in light of stories we hear.

Gas prices

The Colonial pipeline was shutdown due to issues caused by hurricane Harvey. The pipeline supplies nearly 40% of gasoline in the south with a capacity of 57.5 million gallons of gasoline per day. The company has stated that they expect the pipeline to be back up and running on Sunday. This is an example of how fragile our transportation system actually is. We all know how dependent we are on the trucking industry. If the trucks quit rolling, people starve. What happens when the pipeline is damaged and it takes months to repair? What if the backup/competing pipelines are damaged? Thanks to reader W.W. for the link.

Reality TV

Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large, sent in this article on the backstory of the failed “Eden” reality survivor show. The shows intention was to create a Utopian paradise isolated from the world. As it turns out, they failed on both accounts. Eden wasn’t so isolated with cast members sneaking out at night, quitting the show then returning and eventually even making demands for modern amenities. It wasn’t a paradise either as there was much strife between participants. (It is “reality” TV, you know. Where would that be if there wasn’t drama.) Half of the cast quit and some even came near starving to death. It certainly stands as an example of the clash between the romantic side of survival and the harsh reality of actually surviving.

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