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”. The U.S. – Canadian Border may now present a danger to the U.S. due to Canada’s political actions.
Solar Minimum
As we enter into what may be one of the lowest solar minimums of the space age, there is yet another problem that crops up. According to this article sent in by reader R.T., there is an atmospheric cooling that takes place during solar minimums. As the atmosphere loses heat it literally shrinks, decreasing it’s radius. This shrinkage decreases the aerodynamic drag on satellites in low-earth orbit which is good for their lifetimes. Sadly, it also delays the decay of space junk, resulting in more clutter in orbit. This, in turn, can be really bad for low-earth orbit satellites and things like the international space station.
The Nomadic Lifestyle
From reader DDD:
With the discussion of Nomadism yesterday your readers might enjoy this series on YouTube. It’s the one I like the best because her videos are done so professionally. Not boring! And if the cost of living where one lives is becoming burdensome, RVing may be a viable alternative because it can be done so cheap. She explains everything eventually. But the above will give you an immediate clue as to whether you want to stay around and listen. For many, limiting the financial burden in life has been the impetus toward the lifestyle. Many have stayed. I’m in the research stage of my journey.
Emergency Indoor Heating
Reader T.J. wrote in asking for advice on emergency heating sources. Although originally from a south eastern state where they don’t need the heat that often, they do occasionally have people freeze to death. There are a number of posts on SurvivalBlog that deal with this issue like this one and this one. Both of these have great discussion in the comments. What are your current recommendations for him?
Why the ATF Cannot Rule on Bumpstocks
Reader G.P. sent in this video that explores the concept of the ATF ruling on bumpstocks. The author explains that the ATF is really overstepping its boundaries in this issue because a stock is merely a gun accessory or part and not an actual firearm. The claim is that the ATF has no jurisdiction to regulate them nor does the Second Amendment apply to it. The arguments given are valid arguments and confirm that the ATF is merely a tool used by politicians to further their own agendas. This is definitely a mismanaged alphabet organization that needs to be abolished.
Lab Organs Go Rogue
Showing some of the dangers of genetically engineering human cells, researchers have reported that lab-grown kidneys went rogue and developed brain and muscle cells. The experiment was intended to grow organs from a patients own stem cells to help fight kidney disease. However, the researchers are finding that these lab-grown organs may not mimic what they actually find in people. The researchers do believe that they can block most of the rogue cells from growing and plan to continue the research. This is sounding suspiciously like that 2005 movie “The Island”.
The U.S. – Canadian Border
The U.S. – Canadian border is the longest undefended border in the world. It has retained this status because these two countries have so many ideals in common that there has often been talk of merging the two countries. However, that status may not be for long. The Canadians have welcomed radical Islamists, ex-ISIS fighters and the Muslim Brotherhood with open arms. With their numbers continuing to grow in the country, Canada has even reached out to the community to invite them into all levels of the government. This article sent in by reader D.S. suggests that Canada may now be seen as an entry point for terrorist attacks against the U.S.
Freezoxee
Anyone looking for a conservative alternative to Facebook, Twitter and the other ultraliberal corporate-dominated and statist social media sites now have viable alternative. It is: Freezoxee.com. I did visit GAB.ai and Bitchute a few times. But I was repelled by how so many strident neo-nazis and other antisemites had begun do dominate the debate there. One thing that I really like about Freezoxee is that they are outspokenly anti-totalitarian–and they correctly include Nazism in their short list of totalitarians. Please help Freezoxee grow! – JWR
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Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
For emergency indoor heating, I use a ventless propane heater. I have used both DynaGlow and Mr. Heater successfully. I am currently living in an rv, in MN. I like my Mr. Heater Big Buddy, which has substantially more heating capacity than needed for an rv. It requires no electricity, so if the electricity fails, I am enthusiastically invited to bring myself and a laundry basket of items that need to stay unfrozen, into my son’s house along with my heater. Hanging blankets on tension rods across hallways creates a smaller indoor area to heat and the Big Buddy does that well. Have a collection of 3 bbq propane tanks that you can swap out at almost any gas station or convenience store. Bigger 100 gallon LP tanks are good too, but harder to haul around and find places that can refill them (most stores have a service that collects the empty ones, takes them off-site to refill, then returns full ones to the store). If you have a home that already has a bulk LP tank in the yard, the easiest thing to do is get a gas stub out installed in a main room in the house so you can run the heater directly from the bulk tank.
Another FB replacement that I like is MeWe. Check it out. Their privacy statement and mission says it all.
Isn’t MeWe the Chinese app that monitors EVERYTHING people do?
No.
MeWe – The Next-Gen Social Network
Brilliant features with no BS. No Ads. No Spyware. MeWe is the Next-Gen Social Network.
https://mewe.com
I left MeWe. Boring. Too few users. That was a while ago.
Yep … FB is still the 800lb gorilla. But I convince me a small cadre of friends and family to setup an account, and that’s really all I care to share with. FB is fake news and very invasive – you are for sale on FB.
One thing I have noticed is … after sharing or commenting on something – I don’t see an ad for it the next day. That is the big difference between FB and MeWe.
https://libertyrush.com/home Social media for liberty-minded people. It’s new and growing.
RE: The Island.
This stinker was a modern, big budget remake (read: rip off) of a 70s morula called “Parts: The Clonus Horror.” Top billing went to Peter Graves, for pitty sake!
Best viewed on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Canada has radically changed under Prime Minister Trudeau since 2015. He increased immigration to 300,000 always from Islamic non-white countries and receives illegals aliens from the US at 15,000 a year. Canada is no longer the friend of the US. It is becoming a Marxist Islamic country the US should start worrying about.
Canada IS worse off under Trudeau than under Harper, there is no doubt. Back a few years ago, however, we could have said the same things about Obama… whose promoters then came north to ensure the fascist left shift of Canadian politics. But instead of pointing fingers, I would suggest that y’all have plenty of the same kind of problems in the US with states like California and your own hard left politicians. Let’s not make this about Canada vs the US … we have plenty of Canadians that feel exactly the way you do about it. While we’d love to join you in the redoubt, that option is not open to us… instead we take inspiration from the like minded people to our south. And, let’s all hope there will be a changing of the guard in Ottawa next year. In the meantime, be vigilant.
MEWE is not the Chinese app. I have it and its a great platform.
re:
those hilarious mohammedans and their zany hijinks
According to the story, the canucks have a lot of different versions of islamers. Well. Over in fUSA, they have many of those folks plus ‘nation of islamers’. This sounds like fun.
“Can’t we all just get along!” Nope. A good story needs conflict and striving to rise above. Drama.
[gets popcorn, settles in for entertainment]
I owned a company for several years that sold and serviced heating systems. Prior to that I worked as a volunteer and later as paid staff in EMS.
My recommendation to all my customers is that they have at least two heating systems one of which doesn’t need electricity. Propane, wood, oil, and coal are all viable alternatives.
I strongly recommend a vented heating system. If the system does not have a vent through the wall or the roof I personally will not use it inside.
A non-vented heater is fine in a well ventilated area. The small and tighter an area is the more dangerous these heaters are. The combustion of the non-vented heater consumes the O2 in the room. As the percentage of O2 diminishes incomplete combustion increases and instead of giving off CO2 the heater starts giving off more and more CO. Lower O2 and increased CO are not conducive to life.
This is not just conjecture. Let me tell you about just one ambulance run that I was on. I arrived on scene one winter morning to find the sleeping quarters closed up as tight as he could make them. There was soot all over the ceiling and walls. The non vented heater was off, out of fuel, and had been so for long enough for the room to chill. The patient was in rigorous mortis. I stayed until the police arrived to take charge of the body.
If that ambulance service receives only one of those calls per winter it is a very good year. These are typically people that use these systems all year as their primary heat source and are very comfortable with their operation. As the weather cools they close one window after another to keep the heat in. Eventually they close up too much. Once in a while they are reached in time, but not often and certainly not every year.
If you insist on using a non-vented heater inside make sure to leave a window open or other ventilation.
Good information. We’ve been heating with a non vented propane wall heater for years but we also run our vented central heating unit at the same time. Besides bringing fresh air in the house (because the central air pulls outside air in to the house via a vent which extends in to our open air attic) the central unit also helps to keep excess moisture build up on our windows to a minimum on cold days.
On Nomadic Living: This fella, Bob Wells, has a fantastic site and covers lots of info on solar power, and nomadic living.. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAj7O3LCDbkIR54hAn6Zz7A.
If you are talking about men heading for appalachia to use as a mountain base, then yes, it is formidable terrain. But, if you are counting on the men in appalachia, then you will be disappointed by the amount of drug use and how it has decimated the population.
Agree that Bob Wells is worth a visit. It’s slow paced and Praxis is found by paying attention not by purposeful instruction but it’s good. Wells’ interviews with other RV’ers (I use the term RV loosely as many have camper trucks or even self moded SUVs and minivans) is very good. You get an idea of what you might be able to tolerate and how minimalist you’re willing to go. I’ve been looking at going mobile for a while now. I would not poor a bunch of money into it, especially as to selection of vehicle etc, without first going on the cheap and upgrading as you discover what suites you. This is the biggest lesson from the interviews; they did not start where they are now. They learned and upgraded/modified as they went.
@ProGunFred on Freezoxee, Totalitarians Not Welcome.
I signed up but don’t use Freezoxee.
“Suit Yourself” asked some valid questions – 1. how do you get verified (free) without doxxing yourself? 2. It also says you get automatic “verification” at any pro level and noted this negates the meaning of verification and it sounded like a cash grab.
I.e. I could theoretically pay and create a FAKE BUT VERIFIED Survivalblog account.
Dan Zoxee gave an annoying non-response and blocked him and deleted his account so he made a video. That resulted in Dan retaliating and slandering him as a troll on Twitter, and blocking Suit and his followers that just echoed the question. Suit continued researching and found Matt Braken was “the other half” so he reached out. There was some calm and discussion and things seemed to be patched up so Suit (in Austrailia) went to bed. Dan then woke him up at 5am with a nasty DM insisting he take down the first video and asking why the follow-up video wasn’t already there. Suit responded, but it escalated and Suit told Dan to forget it but detailed everything in a humerous (but vulgar, that’s his style) video. But he accurately quoted Dan and he needs to grow up. Note Suit didn’t violate anything I can find, but Dan just felt annoyed and overreacted like the most triggered SJW.
I don’t want to do much on any such platform. View Suit’s video and see who is more reasonable. Not who is nicer or has better decorum, who is more reasonable.
Also there’s lots of bandwidth and space. Who is financing FZ? Who owns it? If it is just going to disappear before 2019, why bother?
Is FZ secure? I looked at the underlying HTML and such and it looks like a cut-paste job. Who is programming it? Who is responsible for avoiding information leakage (Dan has NOT answered how to verify without self-doxxing, e.g. like a code you can put to show ownership like Let’s Encrypt uses, nor has confirmed or denied you can verify just by donating).
Beyond that, “nazi, commie, muslim, globalist” seems to be “whatever Dan doesn’t like”. The have a blob of unformatted “terms and conditions” (apparently they don’t know how to paste text and preserve paragraphs). They have no help and almost nothing in the FAQ.
So I have confidence neither in their ideals nor their competence to produce a secure website that does any kind of commerce.
I really wanted to like FreeZoxee, but right now I don’t trust Dan Zoxee who can’t seem to understand the essence of a simple question (Suit also asked if free has no limit on videos, why is the pro limited to 1TB for the yearly plan – no answer, please watch the video because Dan has less comprehensive than most call centers in Bangalore), is triggered by the least microaggression, makes silly demands and lacks patience and generally has a passive-aggressive tone.
Beyond that, I have no evidence he has any ability to secure the site or the customer data. Nor do I know who is funding this or is involved in programming. Basic OPSEC questions! And if I start asking, I’ll be blocked or banned like Suit.
Nor if I ever wanted to support it by going pro are there straight answers as to the advantages and limitations. No Help, the FAQs should be the FUnAnsweredQuestions.
I’ll wait and see what it is after it, or it’s main person, grows up.
Zoxee is a classic programmer/technical guy. Seen it dozens of times over the years. He is indeed awful at human interaction. I had similar problems when asking questions. They need a front man.
The ATF will rule on Bump Stocks creating an entirely new extra constitutional procedure by which Any Thing can be banned. This procedure will be used over and over again, as planned. Trump is a Red Flag ban by decree statist.
Re: Emergency heating
Agree with Lilia and Caribou.
A Mr Buddy heater, with an adapter to run off 20 lb (5 gal) tanks, works great for short-term use in an adequately ventilated space. Ideally you would never have the propane tank in a living space but it’s an emergency, right? These heaters have tip-over protection and carbon monoxide and low-oxygen shut offs but nevertheless be very careful. Handle propane carefully and prevent leaks. Avoid using overnight. It also will put a lot of moisture into the room.
For a lot more money (a few thou) you could install a vented propane heater (fan-less and requiring no electricity). https://www.amazon.com/Direct-Propane-Heater-built-thermostat/dp/B071JG6HDQ This would have to be on an outside wall with adequate clearances from windows. These burn a couple of gallons a day so ideally you would have a large (100g, 250, or 500g) tank outside. properly plumbed with buried propane line to the house. Remanufactured tanks are available for about half the price of new. Some counties don’t allow you to do gas piping yourself so you must hire a plumber.
RV Nomadic life style, There are several sites where nomadic RV’ers can find part-time employment. “Workers on Wheels” and Workamper” are but just 2 of several.
Best buy is after winter season in Florida/Gulf Coast. Many try it and find it not to their liking-too cramped/too hard to drive,prices are as low as you will find especially if you are experienced in driving/repairing larger vehicles. RVs are not particularly well built(most are parked40+ weeks a year) and won’t survive long term use.