Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 5, 2020

On June 5, 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe published the first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in The National Era. She was the sister of firebrand abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher.

A reminder:  The SurvivalRealty Berkey Water Filter Giveaway will end with a drawing on Sunday, June 7th. So get your entries in, soon.  Note that there are ways to qualify for multiple chances to win this great stainless steel water filter.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First 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 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 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.
  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  5. 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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 89 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.




2 Comments

  1. A comment about ‘Harriet Beecher Stowe’s’ smile, and maybe, Mona Lisa’s smile: … This ‘modern’ smile is on the Internet. I saw the photograph at PetaPixel site. = ~A Rare Photo of Someone Smiling in the 19th Century~ [Copy of the photograph at the site.]

    From the article:
    “Portrait photos from over a century ago rarely show subjects smiling, but this 19th century photo is an exception, and it’s been going viral online for that reason.

    The photo is found in the National Anthropological Archives maintained by the Smithsonian Institution. The 14.5×6.5-inch photo was captured in 1894, and it shows a Native American girl named O-o-dee of the Kiowa people in the Oklahoma Territory.

    It’s believed that the photo was captured by a photographer named George W. Bretz who ran a photo studio in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. An album of Bretz’s photos, which includes this smiling portrait, was sold at auction in 2019 for $43,750.

    As the photo is making the rounds on the Web, people have been commenting on how “modern” and “relatable” the smiling makes the picture look.”

  2. Railway Spike Strip Build

    Twenty 5 1/2” x 5/8”x 5/8” railway spikes were easily hammered into twenty 3/4” holes in 2 rows, spaced approximately 5” apart in a 1”x 5” wide, and 7 foot long section of composite decking. A 2” x 6” pine board could also be used. Construction time for the prototype was no more than 30 minutes. Set up for mass production, construction time could be reduced to no more than 15 minutes as 3 boards could be drilled at the same time, and the tips do not need to be sharpened. Time for this example includes sharpening the tips on a grinder, but no time was used to measure.

    The result is 4” long spikes that are sharp enough, and strong enough to puncture any automotive or heavy truck tire, and deflate it quickly, and light enough to be quickly moved out of the way if not anchored. I need not test it as I have repaired many flat tires when working as a mechanic in my youth. Perhaps a M35, or Deuce and a Half could roll over these, but I doubt it. And who would want to try it with tires that now cost $650.00 each new. Other than a run flat tire, I do not believe there is a tire made that is tough enough. Difficultly rating, one banana. Patent pending….

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