This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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What can happen if you park under an overpass during a tornado.
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Here is a new Sharp Pointy Things instructional video from SurvivalBlog’s Editor-at-Large, Mike Williamson: Short Swords.
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
“I decided to not write in detail about the tornado emergency that we had. Suffice it to say there were 10 documented tornadoes that whipped through Tennessee (EF0 – EF4) in 24 hours. Our small town was flooded and people are still working through the cleanup, and many lost their homes. It’s been heavy on my heart. Thankfully, my farm, which is up on a hill, was untouched. I never lost power. My well water, upstream from town, was good, while the town was on a boil water notice. I feel very fortunate.
Spring is the busiest time of year, and the most beautiful. Spring grass for the cows means their milk production increases. Calves are born. The gardens are prepped and planted. The days are longer and the sun brighter. This is my third Spring at the farm, my third gardening season, my fourth calf born on the farm. I am downsizing my dairy cow herd by one or two, to make sure I have adequate pasture. Time to get cows “bred back” again for future calves. One is visiting a bull for the summer, and the others scheduled for A.I. The new flock of chicks are growing fast and secured in the large hen house. There is so much work to do that the days fly by and I always feel like I didn’t get anything done. Keeping an “organic” farm has its challenges. I waited a couple of months to get my hands on some good, local, organic compost to top my garden beds with. The 32″ tall beds were filled with my own (unfinished) compost first, then topped with a finished compost. Only 4 of the 8 beds are assembled, and only 3 planted. Weed control and pasture management, without the use of fertilizers and chemicals, is a lot of work, and it’s mostly manual. In the Spring, I always “feel like” it’s all too much to manage and want to give up, but each year I try to develop methods that will work in the long run so that I’m not always shoveling against the tide. And I’m learning to lower my expectations. LOL. I have a couple of neighbor kids helping me. The boy works outside and the girl helps me inside. It’s a perfect match for what I need right now. They are sweet, respectful, and hard-working.”
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Reader Paul B. sent this useful link: Tornado Shelter Map.
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Tornadoes: Tips to Stay Safe Before, During and After.
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Reader D.S.V. suggested this article: Colossal X-class solar flare suggests return of sunspot group that fueled May’s epic auroras (video).
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Texas daily power demand sets record for May consumption.
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R.H. sent this caveat:
“I’m an avid fisherman so this article really caught my eye. Plus I live 20 minutes from Muskegon, so these poles were produced in my back yard. I found one on eBay that’s still being bid on. I may bid also.
Now for the dark side. I was a haz mat tech for a large fire department for 15 of my 29 years there. During that time we received a lot of helpful tools from the Fed Gov. One time we received a large chest of beryllium tools. It was comprised of wrenches, spanners, and an assortment of other goodies for stopping leaks on train cars and tankers in a flammable environment. These tools were beautiful and more than that non sparking. They were used infrequently but we trained with them fairly regularly.
After a few years a new guy transferred in who was EOD in the military. When we broke out the beryllium tools to start training with them he about crapped his pants. His comment was, why aren’t you wearing gloves while touching them. We looked at him questioningly. His next statement was, if those tools were made of lead would you wear gloves. We all nodded.
He said Beryllium is 100 times more toxic than lead. He said if you were to get a beryllium sliver it would be very bad.
We checked our books and sure enough beryllium is super bad.
Now, going back to the fishing rods. I thought I would still like one, but just be aware with the opening and closing you could get micro abrasion dust particles that could be toxic. I would wear gloves when handling.”
Tom Christianson replies:
“Regarding the comment from reader R.H. regarding beryllium, although beryllium itself is a hazardous material, when alloyed with copper the resulting metal is safe to handle without gloves. As a result, the Safety Data Sheet for beryllium copper indicates that ‘Under normal handling and use, exposure to solid forms of this material present few health hazards.'”
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Joe Biden Signs FAA Reauthorization Bill, Marking a Game-Changer for Private Aircraft Privacy.
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Reader R.W. spotted this: House Democrats Vote Unanimously to Give Illegal Aliens Representation in Congress and the Electoral College.
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This new zero-day cybersecurity threat aimed at critical infrastructure.
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Americans are fleeing blue cities — and their suburbs. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)
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Thermal / red dot combo on display at Modern Day Marine.
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