This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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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An interesting vlog from Norwegian commentator Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen (pictured): We Will Not Comply.
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Over at The Organic Prepper: How Bob Griswold Used Ham Radio To Save a Man’s Life.
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Our Editor-at-Large Michael Z. Williamson found a site with some great cutaway views of guns. Two examples, that Mike recommends:
Mike says: “He also has a Mauser, and others. Step-by-step, with narration and animation.”
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Scott was the first of several readers to send this link to a quite troubling article at The Intercept: Truth Cops: Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation.
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
“I didn’t send an update last week because I’ve been working myself hard, managing a farm by myself. I have had major work going on with hired help: new roof, new house siding, a run-in shelter for calves, and a new chicken house. Not to mention the renovations I’ve been doing by myself inside the house.
I decided to expand the chicken flock and the little coops I bought at Tractor Supply just don’t cut it, and they’re falling apart after only a year – a waste of money, hard to keep clean. The new chicken house is 10’ x 12’ with lots of nesting boxes and roosting tree branches nailed in. We’ve had very chilly temps at night – in the 20s – much earlier than normal. Processing 21 gallons of milk every week has taken a lot of time, but I’ve got a freezer full of cheese and butter, and have enjoyed the amazing yogurt and fresh milk – best I’ve ever tasted in my life. Being able to supply my children and grandchildren with these healthy foods has been so fulfilling. The calf was weaned over a month ago, and my dear milk cow is finally, on the third attempt, “bred back”, so we should have a beef cow born on the farm next year. Her milk production has slowed down now that I’ve switched to only milking in the mornings, and I consider that a blessing – down to 14 gallons each week – much easier to process. I spend time every evening “gentling” the calf, who is bigger than me, once all the other chores are done and before the sun goes down. I’m looking forward to my 7th grandchild being born soon, here on the farm, with the help of midwives. Please pray with me for a safe birth, and healthy baby. Thank you.”
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Here is one to file under “Avoid Crowds”: At least 153 dead, dozens injured in Halloween stampede in Seoul, South Korea.
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Reader B.V. had this suggestion:
“I highly recommend military-style boots for those over 60. With great satisfaction, I wore my USA-made Red Wing (now Thorogood) outdoor work boots and Danner hiking boots for decades. I also visited air force flight lines around the world so my company provided a stipend at their boot vendor for “steel toe” shoes. I paid extra out of pocket for the only military-style boots offered by the vendor, the Chinese-made Bates GX-8 linked below.
Upon turning 60, these boots became my everyday boot. My foot, wrapped in medium weight Darn Tough socks, fit snugly and the ankle support is phenomenal. For us old guys, the zipper is a godsend but it is hard to find a USA-made zip-up boot. The boots also provide more heal cushion on concrete. If I’m going to be off the beaten path or on the hard tarmac, the Thorogood’s stay in the garage and the military boots are worn.”
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Tim J. suggested this, at American Partisan: The Northern Irish troubles — British Army — Northern Ireland — This Week| 1972.
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Karen B. sent this comment:
“I enjoyed Ellie O.’s piece on “Stretching Your Dollars”. Here are a few more ideas from a dedicated Yankee skinflint.
Clothing: shop the end-of-season sales in late spring and early fall. I’ve picked up hats, gloves, and sweaters very cheaply at Walmart in late May. They usually have a small tucked-away section for these sales. In June I got some well made all-leather gloves for $5, which should serve well as work gloves
Entertainment:
1. Libraries and senior centers often have a dedicated room for daily selling of used, donated books, DVDs, and CDs usually for one dollar or less. I recently picked up “Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening” for 50 cents. Also recently, I got a new, still sealed, DVD of “The Sound of Music” for $1. Frequent the library often to get the best selection.
2. Libraries often have a special annual sale in Fall or Spring where they sell a large stockpile of donated books, DVDs, and CDs. You can find specials like full book sets at these sales. Get there early!
3. Many libraries now loan out Hotspots that you can use in your home for a secure internet connection. This is a free service.
4. Check out the “Library of Things” if your library has this service (you needn’t go to only “your” local library, check out the offerings at other libraries too). Here’s a short list of the many items my local library lends out: board games, croquet set, crochet hook set, sewing machine, carbon monoxide meter, electric usage monitor, banjo, drum machine, bike pump, microscope, binoculars, snowshoes, and electronics tool kit. Amazing!
5. Lastly, don’t forget the library free, or reduced-price passes for local museums, historic places, and parks. Again, I have borrowed from libraries other then my “own” when searching for a good pass. For instance, if there’s a good museum in a far off town, your local library might not have a pass for it, but the town it’s located in often will. These can usually be reserved in advance on-line.
Food: The monthly “magazine” with health articles and recipes, published by many chain grocery stores, often has good coupons inside. You will find the magazine somewhere in the storefront. Also, don’t forget the mark-down section for old produce.
Prep Item: If the internet goes down how will you know how to drive to where you’re going? Get free maps! Most town libraries or city hall carry a free town map. Also AAA storefronts carry free maps. If your are an AAA member you can order a broad selection of state and regional free maps through their website.
Yard Sales: Consult CraigsList to find the yard sales you want. Make a map, and hit 4 or 5 sales on the same day. My friends are too shy to bargain. But I found a great way to bargain. Spend time looking at an item you want and then ask how much it is. Look at the item a little longer. Then walk away. Come back 5 or 10 minutes later and ask if they can do better on the price. At large Flea Markets, I ask If they’ll take off (for example) $10 if I pay in cash. I serendipitously stumbled on both of these tactics and they work well for me. It’s become a fun game. Always use a nice voice!
Annual Church Rummage Sales: many of my local churches save donations all year for these sales which are usually held in November and early December. They have a great selection-everything you’d find in thrift stores- clothes, costume jewelry, kitchenware, and furniture. The prices are cheaper than thrift stores. I’ve found them a great place to get cheap men’s old wool sweaters (hard to find 100% wool in new sweaters). These can be felted in the washing machine and used in many crafts. Some crafters use the felted sweaters to make pocketbooks which can command high-end prices if you add fancy personal touches. Other uses for felted wool- patched together blankets or sleep mats, use as a “trivet” for hot pots, and coasters for drinks.”
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Reader C.B. suggested this Fox News video segment: Facebook has a tool to help delete personal contact information: Here’s how to use it.
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Rob W. wrote to suggest:
“Today’s blog about making kraut mention an airlock.
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Reader C.B. spotted this instructional video: How to Stop Garage Door Break-Ins | Number One Way Thieves Get Into the House!
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“Rocket” sent us this:
“I am presently building a diesel production facility for a company which distributes gasoline and diesel throughout the USA. Seeing the anomaly of the retail diesel price in the Houston area — 1.5 times the gasoline price — I asked a colleague from the customer organization about the situation. (My observation over the last few years is that gasoline and diesel prices are typical at parity with typically a small premium for diesel, not 50%.) The email exchange which took place on 27 October 2022 is given below edited to show the messages in chronological order. I did not ask permission to share so, as fans of Dragnet will remember, “The names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
Start of email exchange:
From: Rocket
To: X.
Last night on my drive home I was shocked to see diesel at $4.59 when gasoline was at $2.99. Then I saw the ZeroHedge news article this morning. Do you have any perspective on a possible cause? Unplanned refinery outages? It seems like usage should be down given the economic conditions.
Rocket
From: X.
To: R.
Interesting article and needs a little perspective.
Mansfield is a jobber, meaning they don’t make diesel, they buy in bulk and do wholesale and retail distribution. They are likely being squeezed by their suppliers. Valero and Shell have historically been their suppliers. Chevron and Exxon don’t sell to “independent” jobbers only to their own network.
However, Valero has also mentioned supply shortages, so that does jive with the industry chatter. There is also a robust harvest demand, trucking fuel demand is crazy, and the export market is basically any volume at any price is snapped up at the first offer. Makes it hard to build (rebuild) inventory.
Another factor is that when you refine oil into fuel you make both gasoline and diesel. There is a balance in how much of each you need so if the demand is for diesel it can get ugly for the refiner to have to make more gasoline that he doesn’t need/want. So when we have robust diesel demand we can get long gasoline in a hurry and that will add pressure to the price delta between the two fuels.
Hope that helped!
From: R.
To: X.
Thank you! I did not realize that trucking fuel demand is up. I expected it to be down given the problems truckers are experiencing with supply chains. That combined with your description of the export market being hot seems to explain why the inventories are down and retail price is up.
From: X.
To: R.
Trucking fuel demand is through the roof because of the logistics challenges to the supply chain. Stuff that typically would move by train or barge is having to get on a truck.
And that is about to get way worse as the stupid government screwed up the rail contracts and so we are back to the real possibility of a national rail strike in the next few months just in time to cement the severity of the looming recession.
And the Mississippi River is literally gone dry in the middle and river traffic is severely curtailed.
Going to get interesting.”
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And reader M.M. sent this note:
“In reference to the article on investing in guns, I would like to share my humble but experienced knowledge. I have been buying, collecting, shooting, selling and trading guns since 1978. The number one rule of investing is ‘never buy a gun that you do not want to keep.’ And a saying that a friend of mine had was: ‘I guess I am going to have to put mustard on that gun to eat it because I can’t sell it.’ Be careful what you buy as investments. I know of no modern black plastic or colored plastic guns that will gain in value, to any extent.”
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