« Five Letters Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Notes from JWR:
Hooray! The
Best of the Blog, Volume 1 is now orderable! Thanks
for your patience, folks. This volume covers the first six months
of SurvivalBlog posts, from August, 2005 to January, 2006. This
period included some of the
most important SurvivalBlog posts that spell out all
of the crucial steps for family preparedness. Also included in this
volume is The SurvivalBlog
Glossary. In all,
a whopping 295
pages of
useful, no-nonsense "how-to" information. Fully indexed! Wire-o bound.
(Lays flat for easy reference.) To make it easy to find what you
need, the book is organized
by subject area,
rather than chronologically. Available
as a print-on-demand book from
Cafe Press. (The same folks that publish Rawles
on Retreats and Relocation.) Someday the power grid may be down,
but you can still have all the crucial SurvivalBlog material at your
fingertips! Order
your copy today!
Here is the Table
of Contents for The Best of the Blog, Volume 1:
| Introduction |
7 |
| Part 1: The “Worst Case” and the Survival Mindset |
9 |
| Part 2: Retreat Logistics: Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids |
25 |
| Part 3: Gardening and Livestock |
49 |
| Part 4: Retreat Security and Self Defense |
71 |
| Part 5: Retreat Locales |
105 |
| Part 6: Communications and Monitoring |
111 |
| Part 7: Food Storage and Cooking |
121 |
| Part 8: Fuel Storage |
133 |
| Part 9: Vehicles |
143 |
| Part 10: G.O.O.D. and Bug Out Considerations |
153 |
| Part 11: First Aid, Medical, Sanitation, and Physical Fitness |
163 |
| Part 12: Recent Experiences and Emerging Threats |
187 |
| Part 13: Self-Sufficiency and Home-Based Businesses |
197 |
| Part 14: Investing, Economics, and Barter |
215 |
| Part 15: Gleanings from the Odds ‘n Sods |
235 |
| Appendix A: Sources, Suppliers, and Consultants |
239 |
| Appendix B: References |
241 |
| Appendix C: The SurvivalBlog Glossary |
243 |
| Index |
281 |
Now back to what you were expecting to see in SurvivalBlog today...
The large volume
of letters that I've received (about half of which are posted below)
illustrate
that
I must
have
stepped
on some
toes
when
I
bad-mouthed
.223
Remington
as
a defense
rifle cartridge. My apologies if I offended anyone's sensibilities.
(My comment ""I consider an AR-15 equipped with a Beta magazine
as the ultimate defense weapon for a retreat under attack by a human
wave of palsied, midget, and/or wheelchair-bound looters" was
meant to be humorous.) All kidding aside, I
stand by my statement that .223 is not a sure man-stopper especially
at long
range.
In contrast,
.308
Winchester/7.62mm
NATO is
a well-proven stopper, from zero meters to out beyond 400.
As a survivalist, I strive for versatility in all aspects of
my planning,
and .308 clearly provides greater versatility than .223. Nuff said.
« Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Five Letters Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO
James,
I'd like to make a few points regarding the .223 cartridge. I am not
as enthusiastic about it as Stephen D. seems to be, but I think it's
good for more than defense against, "a human wave of palsied,
midget, and/or wheelchair-bound looters." The .223/5.56 produces
its nasty wounds through fragmentation, rather than tumbling. Any spitzer
projectile, including the .308, is going to tumble when it hits a dense
medium like water or human flesh. A bullet will generally flip around
180 degrees and continue it's travel through the body backwards (for
a body that's pointed on one end and
blunt on the other, blunt end first is the most stable configuration).
Simply getting a .223 bullet to do a 180 doesn't increase it's wounding
potential much, since it flips over rather quickly and then makes the
same size hole going backwards as it did going forward. Fragmentation,
on the other hand, is what causes truly devastating wounds. While fragmentation
is rather inconsistent, it is not random. There are a lot of variables
that determine whether or not a .223 round is going to fragment (including
bullet construction, what part of the body it hits, etc.), but by far
the most important one is velocity.
The cutoff seems to be around 2500-2700 feet per second. Faster than
2700 fps, fragmentation is practically certain, below 2500 fps, you
have a .22 caliber ice pick. So anyone who wants to inflict serious
wounds with their .223 rifle needs to ensure that the bullet arrives
with sufficient velocity.
There are the big things that affect the velocity of the bullet when
it hits the target: barrel length, bullet weight, and range. To give
an idea of how the first three can interact, consider this example.
A
55 grain M193 bullet (the old U.S. military standard issue round) fired
from a 20-inch barrel will stay above 2700 feet per second out to almost
200 meters. On the other hand, a 62 grain M855 bullet (the current
U.S. standard issue) fired from a 11.5-inch barrel will drop below
2700 fps in less than fifteen meters! Many of the recent 'failure to
stop' incidents reported from Iraq and Afghanistan (and
even as far back as Somalia) involve soldiers firing the M855 bullet
through M4 carbines with 14.5 inch barrels. This combination will only
produce fragmentation out to about 50 meters or so. Beyond that, the
odds of doing the target a lethal injury go way down. Soldiers with
longer barreled weapons (like the 20-inch barrel of the M16 rifle and
18-inch barrel of the M249 SAW) tend not to have as many problems.
The other big obstacle to fragmentation is cover. This is perhaps the
.223 round's greatest weakness, it's inability to penetrate barriers.
The little 55 grain round just doesn't have the mass to punch through
even fairly light cover and retain enough velocity to fragment. So,
anyone who wants to employ the .223 round for personal defense should
keep these factors in mind: Use a fairly long barrel. 20-inches is
best, but it means you give up some of the handiness that's an advantage
of a .223 rifle in the first place. 16-inches (the longest easily available
to civilians in the U.S.) is a good compromise. Use a fairly light
bullet. A 55-grain bullet like the old M193 round is probably best.
Lighter
'varmint' bullets
are available, but though they will fragment readily, they may not
have sufficient penetration to reach the vitals. They may also break
apart
in flight if fired through a gun with a fast twist (1 in 7 or 1 in
9) designed to stabilize the heavier 62 grain round. Don't rely on
a .223 for extreme ranges. A 16-inch barrel with a 55 grain bullet
will stay above 2700fps (fast enough to fragment) out to about 150
meters. Beyond that, lethality is going to drop off quite a bit.
Don't shoot through stuff. If an opponent is behind cover, a heavier
caliber is going to be necessary to dig them out.
So how does the .223 stack up as a defensive round? In a true SHTF situation, not all that well. It's perfectly possible to use 55 grain
bullets and a longer barrel to get pretty good performance from a .223
rifle. The limited effective range is a disadvantage, but just how
big of a disadvantage depends on the terrain to be defended. In wooded
or urban areas, long shots are rare and the extra reach of a
round like the .308 may not be necessary. The really serious
disadvantage is the inability to penetrate cover. Potential
opponents probably aren't going to charge across and open field to
be mowed
down. Having a rifle that can penetrate through a substantial tree
or the bodywork of a car and still have enough punch left to inflict
a lethal wound is a big advantage.
On the other hand, if the Schumer has not yet hit the fan, the .223
is a much more appealing choice. In a situation where authorities will
be investigating claims of self defense, a truly long range rifle
isn't necessary. If a target is beyond the effective range of a .223
rifle, it is going to be very difficult to justify using deadly force.
Similarly, for those of us who live in urban areas, the .223's anemic
penetration is actually an advantage. A .308 round has enormous penetrating
power, particularly through wood frame construction. Fire
it in self defense and miss and it could pass through every house on
the block before coming to a rest. A .223 allows the greater effectiveness
of a rifle while decreasing the damage an errant round
might do.
If you can only have one rifle, a .308 is probably the best all-around
choice. However, if you are worried about home defense right now, rather
than just in case of TEOTWAWKI, a .223 rifle is very appealing. If
funds allow, it might be useful to get a rifle in each caliber. To
avoid
the need to learn two completely different rifles, the best
option may be to purchase the same design in both calibers. Several
weapon systems [allowing commonality of training] are available for
both rounds, including the AR-10/AR-15 and the HK91/HK93.
Most of the technical information given above comes from www.ammo-oracle.com.
For those who are interested in the subject, this site has an extremely
thorough discussion of the ballistics and
wounding potential of the .223 round. - Chris
James:
I would have to agree with Stephen on the 5.56 ammo. If you
are shooting either the m193 55gr. or the SS109 62gr. as long as
the bullet
velocity
is maintained above 2700fps then there is dramatic fragmentation.
This is due to the military cannelure, when the bullet enters flesh
it starts
to yaw (tumble) once the bullet reaches 90 degrees the jacket comes
apart causing massive wound injuries. This is only true of military
style ammo, not plinking ammo or wolf. I feel that the 5.56 is more
effective then 308 at 200 yards or less, but after 200 yards I would
only recommend the 308. I do not expect you to believe just me so
go to www.ammo-oracle.com or there is a link on www.ar-15.com also.
Another
thing we must all take into consideration that the supply of surplus
308 is getting scarce and no major military is using it in mass quantities
(that I am aware of) 5.56 is here to stay for a while and is readily
available. In the event of a NATO or military invasion of US soil
it is what the troops will be carrying so it would be nice to know
that
the enemies ammo can be used in our guns. Just a little food for
thought. Great blog - Brian in Wyoming
Jim,
I thought you, and the readers might find this
link interesting The same site offers a daily e-mail with all their
stories. Some good stuff as to the internal workings of government
and the defense industry.
Also, as far as cartridges go, while you may think the .223 a bit anemic,
I think it's ideal for CQB, provided you are wearing ear protection,
and your adversary is not. However, one thing that constantly seems
to get overlooked in all firearm technology (especially when it comes
to the .223 vs anything debate) are some of the newer bullet technologies
out there.
Specifically frangible ammunition offers some advantages over your
standard military ball ammo. For the most part, humans are relatively
thin. I'm sure even the largest of people are no more than 1-2 feet
thick. Which means, any bullet striking the body has to do whatever
it is that it does in that distance. While I am in total agreement
that M193's fragmentation capability is arbitrary and not something
to count on, explosive varmint bullets (like the Hornady VMAX and
AMAX), and frangible bullets are more likely to increase the lethal
effects of these "mouse gun" cartridges.
One thing that the .308 has in it's favor these days is availability.
There is still a substantial amount of "on the shelf" stock
in .308 as well as surplus 7.62mm. As opposed to .223 which seems to
be in incredibly short supply. The other day my friend stopped by,
he was on his way to the range, and was only able to find 2 boxes of
.223 and for $10 each! I gave him 100 rounds
with the agreement that they were to be replaced with 100 rounds of
.308 ammo, and on the way back from the range he dropped off 5 boxes
of American Eagle .308. Once again, it really pays to be prepared!
Sincerely, - Drew
Dear Jim:
I second your opinion on the .308. Besides the ability to stop an attacker
much faster and more consistently, another big factor is that the
.308 has the huge advantage of penetrating much more cover than the
.223.
Tactically, most often after the first few rounds, all will be hit,
behind cover, or moving to it. Do you want to keep their heads down
with a.223, or shoot through that tree or wall they are hiding behind?
Sometimes you just have to lug the weight, if you want the right tool
for the job. Half measures don't cut it. The .223s are great for small
game, training, youngsters and petite folks, but if you have the upper
body
strength carry a .308, then do so. And if
you don't, then hit the gym!
Also you can modify .308s to make them more balanced, ergonomic and
easier to handle:
-- retrofit more ergonomic pistol grips, e.g., ergogrips.net, or file
down your grips to get a better grip angle
--cover grip surfaces with 3M Safety Walk grip tape (the stuff used
on steps to prevent slipping - in the paint department at Home Depot)
-- shorten the barrel (the weight at the end of the barrel is harder
to hold up) and lose the bipod
-- take off the buttstock pad to shorten the buttstock and bring the
weapon in closer
-- put a mag in a SpecOps
buttstock mag holder to balance out muzzle-heaviness
-- add a vertical foregrip, etc., etc.
Any other suggestions to make heavier .308s more ergonomic? Regards,
- OSOM
Dear Jim,
As any readers of mine know, I'm a tremendous fan of the AR-15 platform.
However, it would not be my first choice of a survival weapon.
For survival over a long period, one should not be shooting large amounts of
ammo. One should be in a secure position, preferably with neighbors for backup,
and hunting occasional game, fighting occasional intruders. If things are bad
enough you need a military type weapon, you've picked the wrong location in which
to survive. (Assuming you're not in a retreat community where such weapons are
a good choice, with good logistical support, in addition to
basic weapons.) However, it could be a very good choice for getting
to a retreat.
I've tried the Beta C-Mag, and I concur with the US Army: Unacceptable
Mean Time Between Failures (UMTBF). I've had it double feed, jam with both feed
mechanisms at the bottom of the tower, and if you slam or drop it loaded on concrete,
it
will break. It's adequate when pre-lubed, pre-loaded and ready to go for one
time use before cleaning and re-lubing. That limits its utility. Add in the price
tag, and there are better accessories to get.
For a long term survival rifle, a bolt action rifle chambered in 7.62x54R, .30-06,
.308, or 8x57 Mauser is my recommendation. Easy to get ammo for, reliable,
and
if you
have to reload with improvised propellant, bolt actions will fire it. (A self
loader will not.)
I do recommend the AR-15 for bugout scenarios, based on the fact that parts are
readily available, the ammo is the most common in the US, and doctrine for bugging
out is to make holes in mobs--wounded or dead is the same, the military term
being "Mission kill." Someone not able to attack you is an effective
kill for the duration of the engagement.
While I don't think the 62 gr round was a wise change, I recently spoke to a
Navy medic who is on a second tour in Iraq. His feedback was that any good hit
with an M16 or M4 was almost always an effective hit. Most of the "I hit
him three times center mass and he didn't stop" stories are because soldiers
didn't hit. Stress can do funny things to one's shooting. (Witness Peter Hathaway
Capstick's ["live rounds on the ground"] story of a hunter who cycled
every round from the magazine [of a bolt action rifle] and ejected them, without
pulling
the
trigger,
and swore he'd
hit
the
elephant
four
times.)
The military uses small caliber almost universally across the world, because
militaries win wars through logistics and resupply--running out of ammo is always
bad, so a larger volume of ammo is more militarily effective than a smaller volume
of heavier ammo. A prepared individual in a retreat is only going to have what
is on hand, and must make it count. One good rifle that will work out
to 500
yards is the better choice. Obviously, funds permitting, you can do
as
I have--compromise and have both.:) - Michael
Z. Williamson
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Five Letters Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO »
Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts
JWR,
In reference to MQB's letter about box-wine inserts. While I have only
had the misfortune of drinking box wine on several occasions (It
is best described as a "wake up in jail" drunk) I do really
like the uses mentioned. I would also like to add that using baking
soda in place of Clorox [plain liquid hypochlorite bleach] for washing
out the bags may work better, and impart less of a taste to any future
contents.
I
have
been using
straight baking soda for cleaning out my hydration bladders (platypus
brand) for several years and have found this to be superior to using
bleach, soap, or just about anything else. For a little bit of extra
cleansing action, hydrogen peroxide can be added and with a little
bit of scrubbing will make things good as new.
I have also used the pony kegs (they are a 5L mini-keg) for storing
water for trips and the like. They are made of aluminum and are quite
durable. It takes some effort to get the top bung plug out, but you
can find new bungs as well as kegs at many brew shops. Usually I add
just a little nugget of dry ice as I'm sealing them up to give a little
bit of positive pressure, I've even added quite a bit of dry ice and
had lovely club soda, a real treat on hot desert days. Best of luck.
- AVL
JWR Replies: Show extreme caution when putting dry
ice in any sealed container. Use just a tiny bit,
otherwise the result can be a
dangerous explosion.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts »
Odds 'n Sods:
Matt in Texas sent the link for this Acres USA article in PDF format
on the Prehn method for spring development: Milking
Water from the Hills
o o o
Frequent content contributor M.P. sent us this one: The
Case Of The Vanishing Bees--Beekeepers In 22 States Report Insects
Disappearing In Huge Numbers
o o o
"Going, going..." Rob at $49
MURS Radios tells us that his supplies of the used MURS
radios that he has been selling at $49 each is dwindling fast.
He reports: "I expect only another few weeks of availability at the
current rate of sales. Once they are gone, that's it.
I do have a small supply of Kenwood
TK-260G, 5 watts, 8 channel VHF portables (currently programmed
on business itinerant frequencies) for $79 that includes the radio,
antenna, good used battery, belt clip,
and drop in charger."
« Notes from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Survivalists are cursed with enough intelligence and awareness
to deny them the blissful ignorance under which most others live their
lives." - Rourke
« Letter Re: The Pending Federal "Assault Weapons" Ban (H.R. 1022) |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Notes from JWR:
The high bid is now at $300 in
the current SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a brand new Schecter "Warthog" Electric
Guitar. This is an awesome guitar from Schecter's Tempest
series is decorated in a military aviation motif. It was kindly donated
by Schecter Guitar Research. (Where there are some SurvivalBlog fans.)
This guitar has a $729 retail value. Please tell
any of your friends that are guitarists about this auction, which ends
March 15th. Just e-mail me your
bid. Thanks!
We are seeking additional overseas
correspondents and/or Profiles for
SurvivalBlog, particularly in countries with high crime rates,
countries with religious persecution, and/or countries with recent
insurgencies
or economic
troubles such as: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia,
Brazil, China, Columbia, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Haiti, India
(preferably someone living in or near the Kashmir), Indonesia, Iraq,
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique,
New Caledonia, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Somalia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
Our readers would benefit from your "lessons learned" and
even just hearing about your day-to-day experiences. (How you
survived hyperinflation, how you've avoided kidnapping, your countermeasures
for street crime, et cetera.) I'd also appreciate hearing from anyone
that has recently lived in a high crime inner-city area in the United
States.
The pay for your writing: zero. (Well, perhaps the
occasional free book or sample merchandise.) The rewards: tremendous. You'll
know that you are helping many thousands of people gain valuable knowledge
and motivation to be able to survive, if and when the First World starts
to resemble the Third World. Don't worry about your spelling or grammar.
We'd like your input, even if English is not your first language. I'll
handle the editing. Thanks!
« Letter Re: Stocking up on Horse Tack |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: The Pending Federal "Assault Weapons" Ban (H.R. 1022)
Jim,
Have you read through this
bill?
The way things seem to be going/looking, is that 4-shot/capacity turnbolts will
be all that'll be "allowed". Yes; I am scared.
Any thoughts/comments/advice/assurances?- Ben L.
JWR Replies: The H.R. 1022 bill scares me, too. Paragraph
(L)
is the nasty catch-all. That paragraph leaves the determination
of what constitutes an "Assault Weapons" up to the arbitrary
whim of the Attorney General (AG)--a political appointee. (Remember
Janet Reno?) The real weasel phrase in paragraph (L) is
"...and a firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable
for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable
for use in a sporting event." That phrase is the "back door" that
they leave open for banning M1As and
virtually any other model that the AG deems
sufficiently ugly or "evil" looking. The NRA warns
us that this law would also "begin
backdoor registration of guns, by requiring private sales of banned
guns, frames,
receivers
and parts
to be conducted through licensed dealers." In case this law ever
morphs into a more draconian
mandatory registration or confiscation law,
I recommend that all American "black gun" gun owners look
seriously
at
buying
a few "sporting" semi-auto
such as a Valmet Hunter, Galil Hadar, HK SL6
(or 660), SL7 (or 770). Also consider FN-49s, which have a fixed 10
round magazine and no
pistol grip. Ditto for M1
Garands, which use a 8 round en bloc clip.
You should also show foresight and look beyond this
particular piece of pending legislation. In the event of eventual "worst
case" legislation--e.g. universal
registration or confiscation of all
modern
firearms--you
should
hedge your bets by
buying a few pre-1899 cartridge guns. (Such as those sold by The
Pre-1899 Specialist.)
The only saving graces of the proposed ban are
that it only affects new manufacture and
importation. That
still leaves a lot of existing ("grandfathered")
guns and full capacity magazines.
If it passes, I predict that this law's effect will be much like the 1986
machinegun freeze.
And
you've
seen what has happened
to the prices of Class 3 guns. The law of supply and demand
is inescapable. Prices went up a lot during the 1994-to-2004
Federal ban. This time, prices will surely skyrocket even more, since this is a much wider-reaching law. My advice: Stock up, especially
on magazines. Buy at least a dozen for each of your guns. Buy hundreds,
if you can afford them. Again, based on the experience of the 1994-2004
ban and the 1986 Federal machinegun "freeze", I expect
magazine prices to at least triple.
If you can, buy lots of extras, even for models that you don't own,
to
use for barter.
Buy a mix of mostly
commonplace
magazines (like HK91, FAL,
and AR,
and M14),
and a few exotic ones (like Glock
33 round, Galil, SIG,
Valmet, et cetera.)
There may come a day when practically no amount of cash will
buy you a pre-ban semi-auto or detachable magazine, but trades will
still be considered.
Prices are still reasonable, because the full implications of this
pending legislation have not yet registered with average American
gun owner. For example, the last that I heard,
TAPCO was still
selling alloy 20 round HK91 magazines
(that also fit CETMEs)
at 50 pieces for
$50.
I think that in a couple of years such prices will seem like a
dream. BTW,
be sure to buy only factory original or original military contract
magazines.
Avoid all
of the
after-market junk.
The only other suggestion that I can make is: call, e-mail,
and FAX your congressman frequently about this bill or any similar
legislation. H.R. 1022 is blatantly
unconstitutional legislation,
plain and simple. And the only two
assurances that I can make are: 1.) Regardless of whether or not this
bill passes, the guns and magazines that
you
buy in the
next
six
months
will
likely
gain
much
more value
than any money you put in the bank, and 2.) You can trust in God's
providence.
« Letter Re: Leatherworking as a Post-TEOTWAWKI Occupation |Main| Letter Re: The Pending Federal "Assault Weapons" Ban (H.R. 1022) »
Letter Re: Stocking up on Horse Tack
Jim,
If there were an EMP event, what would be the primary mode of transportation:
shank's mare; the bicycle; horses? Likely all three would rate pretty
high on the list of most likely. Accordingly, are most prepared? I
would anticipate most have the necessary footwear. A bicycle would
be viable for personal and logistics transport...if one has an appropriate
unit and the maintenance supplies...in fact, this would be a practical
way to move young children from one location to another as they already
have their bikes.
But what about the eventual and likely need for horse transportation?
While it may be and is very impracticable for urbanites to keep horses
for post-EMP days, it is very practical for urbanites (and others)
to keep and maintain a complete component of necessary equestrian tack:
a saddle that fits; quality bridle and reins; halters; saddle blankets;
feed sacks; leads; gun scabbards; saddlebags; etc. See, being lucky
enough to 'acquire' a horse would be quite possible; however, 'acquiring'
the tack/gear to outfit a mount is another story altogether. Better
prepared than wondering one day why you weren't. Anyway, just a notion.
Keep up the great work from your undisclosed venue. - Matt, Somewhere
South of Kentucky & North of Alabama
JWR Replies: You are right that horses will be
very important, post-Crunch. So buying horse tack is a great idea,
Matt! You can also consider those
purchases part of your "just
in case"
Peak
Oil
insurance
and just one more "tangible" investment. Just be sure to
keep that leather
well
oiled, inspected often, and away from moisture and vermin. (Mice
and rats do love to chew, and chew, and chew.) OBTW, one alternative
is
purchasing
the biothane
nylon tack that
is
now
favored
by
some "endurance"
riders. Regardless of what tack you select, think ahead in terms
of
maintaining your tack. Buy extra hardware, rolls of different
widths of nylon webbing (in olive green and brown, of course) sheet
leather, leather working
tools, a sewing awl, spools of heavy nylon thread, Barge Cement,
Shoo Goo, et cetera. Those are all available
from
Tandy Leather
Company. I have found that slightly used tools can often be found
at garage sales, flea markets, and via eBay,
from people that flirted with the hobby,
but
gave it up when they discovered that it was too much like work.
BTW, those tools and supplies could form the basis for a second "post-Crunch"
source
of
income
or barter.
Also BTW, I predict
that post-TEOTWAWKI there
will suddenly be lots people that want to carry handguns daily, but
that will be short on holsters. (Just ask
the average American gun collector if he has a practical holster
for each of
his handguns.)
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Stocking up on Horse Tack »
Letter Re: Leatherworking as a Post-TEOTWAWKI Occupation
Dear Jim,
Basic leatherworking [suggested in the recent poll on potential TEOTWAWKI home
businesses] is fairly easy, if time consuming. Shears, a punch and strong
thread are all that's needed. Fine work or more elaborate items than pouches,
belts, hats and such take practice, but the leather can frequently be salvaged
from mistakes and reused.
I think the most important aspect of the skill for a TEOTWAWKI environment
would be skinning, curing and tanning. Brain, urine, vegetable and oak tanning
are time consuming (Everything about leather is), but books exist and functional
(as opposed to pretty) leather isn't too hard to produce. It's worth practicing
once or twice now.
Also don't forget that dried rawhide, or leather boiled for a few seconds.
(Oil isn't necessary. Water is preferred) is hard enough to armor against
cutting edges and some blunt impacts. -
Michael
Z. Williamson
JWR Adds: Most SurvivalBlog readers will recognize the name Michael
Z. Williamson (since he frequently sends us e-mails), and many of you
have probably read some of his books. (He is a well-known science fiction
and military
fiction writer.) But you may not have heard that he is also a part-time sword
and knife maker.
He is a co-owner of a custom edged weapon biz called, appropriately enough Sharp
Pointy Things. He has also considerable experience doing historical reenacting.
So when Mike mentions the utility of boiled leather for armor, he speaks
from first hand experience! And for any of you thinking about about buying
any sharp pointy things to prepare for that dreaded multi-generational TEOTWAWKI
("MGTEOTWAWKI") scenario, then Mike is the man to see.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Leatherworking as a Post-TEOTWAWKI Occupation »
Odds 'n Sods:
Simon M. mentioned that following Mossberg's
lead, the newly-minted "we're
conservatives, honest!" management at Smith & Wesson has
jumped on the "survival kit" band wagon. They now offer "Disaster
Ready" kit packaging for four variants of their Glock-like Sigma Series
9mm and .40 S& W pistols. Simon says: "I see that the kit is
missing a good knife and a holster. I hope there is a good flint in
the Pocket Survival Pack. Now if they did one of
these
[kits]
based on there M&P15 (AR-15) that would
be a bit better." As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, S&W
already offers a survival kit tailored for the Montana/Alaska/Canada
"bear country" market including
one
of
their whompin'
huge .500 revolvers.
o o o
I'm often asked for gunsmith recommendations. One that I can recommend
highly is Rich Saunders, who operates CGW
in Gardnerville, Nevada.
He is an awesome FAL/L1A1 gunsmith
that
has
branched
out into other
gunsmithing work, including AKs. Rich has done five FAL-type rifle
builds for me in the past four years. (Three L1A1s, an L2 heavy barrel,
and
a
custom
inch magazine compatible "Para".)
He does amazing work. All five of these rifles were absolutely gorgeous
guns that function flawlessly.
Rich
also
does
custom
coatings on firearms, and now sells knives and field gear. Highly recommended!
o o o
Bob B. mentioned this
book review of The Dangerous Book for Boys. Sounds like
my childhood!
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have
removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people
that
these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to
be violated but with his wrath?" - Thomas Jefferson, Works 8:404;
P.P.N.S. p. 141.
« Poll Results: Best Occupations for Both Before and After TEOTWAWKI |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
The high bid is now at
$250 in the current SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a brand new Schecter "Warthog" Electric
Guitar. This is an awesome guitar from Schecter's Tempest series
is decorated in a military aviation motif. It was kindly donated by Schecter
Guitar Research. (Where there are some SurvivalBlog fans.) This guitar has a
$729 retail value.
Please tell any of your friends that are guitarists about this auction, which
ends March 15th. Just e-mail me
your bid. Thanks!
« Four Letters Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns? |Main| Note from JWR: »
Poll Results: Best Occupations for Both Before and After TEOTWAWKI
In no particular order, the following are the first batch of responses
to my poll question on the best occupations or home businesses for
both before and after TEOTWAWKI:
Locksmith/Home security systems installer/repairman
--
Beekeeping
Small scale vegetable gardening.
Growing
herbs (medicinal)
--
1) Electricity:
a. Recharge batteries for folks, rebuild the bad batteries, and lots
of folks don’t know squat about electricity for lighting, etc.
Got several methods: Solar, miscellaneous generators powered by hand,
animal, wind and even the old one lung gas engine with that darn heavy
flywheel.
b. Also use the above for communications when there aren’t cell
phones or twisted pair communications. HF, VHF, UHF and Wi-Fi.
c. Also for Wi-Fi between homes and towns if computers survive.
2) Maintain RVs and trailers with their associated systems:
furnaces, lighting, water, pumps, et al.
3) Make more Stills like the one I have and produce nerve tonic and
fuel.
4) Medical: Apply those smelly herbs I find, grow and use. Not to mention
sewing up the occasional cut and tear, set the odd bone and generally
try to avoid surgery (Ha!) Let’s not even talk about handling
boils, although that will be around too.
5) Sorta medical: Collect, cure the Knick-Knick and sell tobacco.
6) Use my HF radios to send mail to and from families far away.
7) Make leather cups for pumps when there isn’t any molded rubber
around.
--
Growing and maintaining quality heritage based [heirloom /non-hybrid]
produce for a local farmers market but also a "seed saver" program
to provide quality heritage seeds for sale or barter for future gardens.
--
Almost anything in the medical field: EMT,
Nurse, doctor
Stay at home parent
Teacher/tutor
Translator - post TEOTWAWKI, there won't be handy computer programs
to help out, and there are a lot of non-English speakers in any suburb,
let alone anything larger
Tailoring/Alterations
Chef/cook
--
1. Mechanic / bodywork man. People tend to hold onto cars and equipment
much longer during hard times, and fix up their existing vehicles instead
of buying new.
2. Handyman - Same basic idea as above. Also lots of work installing
insulation, wood stoves, energy-efficient appliances, security improvements
and of course repairing damage from natural disasters.
3. Musician - The guy who can play the guitar always seems to do okay
anywhere where people suffer. Whether it's in a prison, a starving
country torn up by civil war, or just a campfire with a bunch of tired
cowboys,
people want to be able to relax and forget about the real world for
a while.
--
Clothes and shoe manufacturing/repair
--
Dentistry/Oral Surgery
--
Make/sell small DC generators,
and use them for charging batteries for cash/barter), as
shown at The Epicenter.com
--
Health care (physician, nursing) is always good.
--
Farmer or Rancher (self-sufficient and rural)
Mechanic (keeping stuff running)
Any sort of health care provider - Doctor/Nurse/Paramedic/EMT (*the
only down-side is you may get wrapped up treating endless victims though)
Veterinarian
--
Farrier/blacksmith
--
Leatherwork. "It is a booming business for skilled leather workers
right now; people will pay ridiculously high prices for custom
made goods.
Being able to build and mend saddles, shoes, bags, belts, and all
manner of useful items is not only a handy skill to have, but there's
decent
money in it. Right now, it's more of a luxury to most people to have
leather goods custom made for them, since there are many other options
on the market for our everyday needs. But once the supply of cheap
garbage from China is cut off, and our technology is thrown back
a couple hundred years, leather will return to its place as an
essential
material. And knowing how to work with leather will be a prized skill.
As well as having the proper tools to do it."
--
Chicken raising/breeding
Bee-keeping
--
Mechanic - "An automobile or aircraft mechanic (and perhaps some
other similar crafts) has developed the skills to repair a number
of existing
devices in addition to the devices they were specifically trained
on, i.e. generator/appliance repair or gunsmithing."
--
Electrician
Blacksmith
Mechanic
--
Farm equipment repairman
Armorer
Welder
--
1. Survival skills trainer/practitioner (firearms instructor, gunsmith,
hunter/trapper, adventure guide, blacksmith, carpenter (if with manual
tools), plumber, cooper, potter, candle maker, stonemason/bricklayer,
etc.). Skills that you can use or have value in trade, and that do
not depend upon electricity are definitely the most valuable of all
occupations. Having an array of these skills is the very best.
2. Physician (especially general practice, surgeon, or OB-GYN)
3. Farmer/rancher
4. EMT, RN,
midwife
5. Survival supplies dealer
6. Engineer (mechanical, electrical, civil, metallurgical/materials)
- if practically oriented and skilled outside of the computer, and not management.
7. Electrician (power generation & distribution, communication
8. Army, Marine, or SpecOps military officer below rank of General
(for both hard skills and leadership)
9. Engine repair / mechanic / machinist
10. Teacher
11. Lawyer (just kidding!)
--
Nurseryman with perennial food plants- berries, fruits, herbs,
rhubarb, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, etc.
--
Solar power technology business
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Poll Results: Best Occupations for Both Before and After TEOTWAWKI »
Four Letters Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns?
James:
I
would like to add a comment on the viability of the "same
caliber pistol and rifle" concept. The .357 Magnum offers an interesting
choice for a survival rifle.
In a revolver, the .357 is certainly powerful enough to be considered
a defense caliber by most folks. The 16" barreled Winchester or
Marlin lever action rifles can push out a 180 grain slug at close to
2000 fps with handloads, making it usable on deer out to 150 yards
or so.
Loading up light .38 special loads makes this rifle capable of taking
small game without destroying all the meat.
The .357 is easy to load with tools like the Lee hand loader, and runs
just fine on cast bullets. Depending on the load, you can get over
1,000 rounds of 38 Special out of a pound of powder, and store everything
you need to cast and load in a 50 cal ammo can.
Depending on your needs and whether you think you'll be spending a
long time away from civilization, having an easy-to-sustain weapon
for game getting and home defense could make sense.
A 10-shot lever action is certainly not a substitute for a
modern battle rifle, but it's easy to shoot and not intimidating to women and young
shooters.
Just my $.02 - J.N.
Mr R
Interesting post on pistol cartridges in carbines. Since becoming a
regular reader, I've taken up reloading. I have a couple observations
about handgun & long gun combo as a novice.
The concept makes sense to me, from the versatility standpoint. When
I started looking at what we had and what we might get, I settled on
the .38 Special /.357 magnum revolver plus Marlin 1894 carbine combo.
We already had revolvers for those cartridges. The ease of reloading
and obtaining components for those calibers was attractive. The Marlin
carbine is robust, easy to carry and shoot, respectably accurate up
to 100 yards ( even for my middle-aged eyes, with iron peep sights)
.... and Corbon manufactures a "heavy" 200 gr round designed
for light game. Various powder and bullet combos coming out of the
Marlin's 18" barrel make it a pretty decent round. As a reloading
novice, I noticed that Alliant 2400 worked well for both .357 hot n'
heavy rounds, as well as for intermediate 7.62 x 39 mm rounds. Again,
some commonality in supplies drew us.
As you note, a good bolt gun, or good semi-auto intermediate-cartridge
gun ( AR-15, SKS ) is surely going beat a "handgun" round,
but we felt that those needs could be addressed later, and they were.
We
got bolt guns ( CZ 527 ) that launch the 7.62 x 39mm round,
enhancing the ability to use that round, and conversion uppers (Olympic
Arms
) that will allow the .223 / 5.56 NATO ARs to fire the same 7.62 x
39 cartridge.
Following the "path of simplification and versatility" works
well for us You are on the money again, particularly as regards 9mm
/ .40 S&W "long guns" Their price, versus a Marlin 94
carbine is pretty much a dead-heat. If I can effectively load .38 Special
/.357 Mag, anyone can. Light loads ( .38 Special) are are great for
2" revolvers,
and the heavyweights ( .357 ) work well in medium and large frame revolvers
and the Marlin. We can all handle their recoil.
Novice observation: We looked at accuracy/reliability/cost for our
bolt guns, and settled on the CZ, and Savage. The Savage line (Model
110 series) has " package guns" with low-cost scopes already
aboard and bore-sighted, and they are acceptably accurate. We got very
nice
Bushnell 3200 Elites in both regular and Firefly reticles at www.DigitalFoto.com.
(The best prices we could find, believe me) and they are as accurate
as will be needed. Their 110-line has both 30.06 and .308 packages,
covering the cartridges I assume most folks will have or are planning
on.
Your emphasis in [your novel] "Patriots" on
self-illuminating (tritium) sights and scopes is one that readers
should have burned into their
consciousness and purchasing plans. Batteries die. Replacement batteries
may not be available, and they have to be installed, maybe under stress.
Why bother [when you can get tritium lit scopes that don't
need batteries]?
In a pinch, the small ( 1.5" ) red light sticks ( try Botach Tactical
) can be carefully affixed to barrels, giving low-light capability--better
than none. Luminescent paint can be applied to rear and front sights.
Anything trumps nothing. I'm currently re-reading "Patriots".
Thanks for the info. Best Regards, - MurrDoc
Jim:
Great subject. Anyone that desires cartridge commonality out
to check out the Beretta Storm Series. Now certainly weapon choice
is
one of
personal preference and typically based on purpose, familiarity and
geographical location. If one is looking for a true defensive weapon
with some crossover potential for sporting than I believe you out
to at least give the Beretta
CX4 Storm series a serious look. Not only
does
the carbine, CX4, come in three different cambers (.45, .40 and 9mm),
Beretta has a matching cambered handgun. Additionally, the
magazines are cross
platform compatible. Yes, the .45 ACP magazine used in the
CX4 carbine will also fit
the Beretta's
Cougar 8045 handgun. Other positives on the CX4 would
be its lightweight, easy to mount accessories, easily converted to
accommodate a right or left handed shooter, easy to break for cleaning,
easy for a non-armorer to remove and replace defective components.
Some negatives would be trajectory, range and limited steel site adjustment
capability. Semper Fi, - Richard N.
Sir:
The recent “One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns” letter
got me rethinking the ideal of caliber commonality. Not handgun and
rifle in the same caliber – but the ideal of only one rifle caliber
for everything. In a perfect world, this would be the most efficient
use of money and time and gear redundancy. One would own one rifle
caliber and one platform, say, several M1As and a boatload of .308.
But this paradigm is predicated on the assumption of unlimited amounts
of inexpensive ammo, to feed the requirements of ongoing practice and
training. Four years ago, this made perfect sense. Back then, I bought
many cases of the Portuguese .308 milsurp at $150 a case. At that price,
I could keep five cases around, and burn through a case a year for
practice and training. But now, with .308 milsurp pushing a surreal
$500/case – and
worse, the prospect of the supply literally drying up – I’ve
had to shift gears. I can no longer shoot much .308. Now, I’ve
reverted to “hoard” mode in that caliber. [Even] .223 has
been following a similar price trajectory.
As a result, I’ve been motivated to diversify rifle calibers,
somewhat against my “caliber commonality” philosophy. For
example, the AK-47 isn’t my favored platform, although I have
one – but cases of 7.62x39 can be had easily for $160. So I bought
five cases of that, and am looking to buy a second AK-47.
In the years ahead of perpetual wars and hence perpetual military-caliber
ammo shortages, I think we need to be flexible, even at the cost of
losing commonality, and accruing redundant ammo stockpiles. It’s
important to have ammo, not just for a rainy day, but for the ongoing
duties of practice and training. - Don in Philadelphia
JWR Replies: The current ammo shortages and the recent
hefty price increases do indeed put a new spin in preparedness planning.
If a large
quantity of inexpensive non-corrosive ammunition
in a caliber like 8x57 Mauser, 7.5 Swiss, 7.62x54R, or 7.62x39 become
available, then folks should
seriously
consider stocking up (to the tune of several thousand rounds
all at once, preferably all from the same lot), and then buying one
or two guns in that caliber. These would preferably be either pre-1899
Federally exempt antiques (such as those sold by The
Pre-1899 Specialist), or via in-state private party sales (sans
paper trail). These rifles and their corresponding ammo
would be
designated for use as "secondary/training" arms. Watch for upcoming
sales at the
major surplus ammo dealers
such as
AIM
Surplus,
Cheaper
Than Dirt, Dan's
Ammo, J&G
Sales, Midway,
Ammunitionstore.com, Natchez
Shooter Supply,
and The
Sportsman's Guide.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Four Letters Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns? »
Odds 'n Sods:
Ralph H. pointed us to this article: Cheap
solar power poised to undercut oil and gas by half
o o o
Mike in Seattle recommended this "must read" piece at The
Market Oracle: US
Housing Market Crash to result in the Second Great Depression
o o o
SurvivalBlog reader Doc Holladay notes: "A possible relocation area is the
vicinity of the Big South Fork National Recreation Area in Kentucky/Tennessee.
This is about as isolated as it gets east of the Big Muddy."
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting
of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat
world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there
is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not
and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under
God, then we will be a nation gone under." - Ronald Wilson Reagan, speaking
at a prayer breakfast.
« Letter Re: Who Needs a Hummer H1? |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
Wednesday will be
the last day of my February special "support our troops" sale on
copies of the new expanded 33 chapter edition my novel "Patriots" .
If you place an order directly with me during February, and
you have us mail it to an APO or FPO address,
then the price is just $12 per copy, plus $3 postage. (That is $10.99
off of the cover price--right near my cost.) I now offer a
couple of additional payment options for book orders: both AlertPay and GearPay.
(I prefer AlertPay or GearPay because
they don't share PayPal's anti-gun political agenda.) In
my experience, AlertPay has a frustratingly labyrinthine account set-up
procedure, but GearPay seems much quicker and easier to set up.
Our AlertPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our GearPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our PayPal address is: rawles@earthlink.net
« Letter Re: U.S. Dollar Collapse? I Think We are Getting Close |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Who Needs a Hummer H1?
Jim,
I was browsing around by way of "Steyr Puch" (long story)
and came upon the following URLs. My oh my, I thought; "I won't
need an H1 Hummer after this." (The topmost link has some 4x4
prices at around $10,000+).
Okay, they're gasoline/electronic ignition, but look at those those
prices [versus $30,000 for a commercial HMMWV H1]. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Steyr+Puch&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.eurotruck-importers.com/pinzgauer.htm
http://www.staufferclassics.com/pinzgauer.html
Regards, - Ben L.
JWR Replies: Even though getting spare parts for
European military surplus trucks can be a problem here in the States,
I'm a big believer in Pinzgauers and
Unimogs. At the
current surplus vehicle prices, you can practically afford to get a
second vehicle
with some body damage to cannibalize for spare parts.
« Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards |Main| Letter Re: Who Needs a Hummer H1? »
Letter Re: U.S. Dollar Collapse? I Think We are Getting Close
Sir:
Over this past weekend, I began re-reading "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse" .
I hadn't touched it since mid-2000. Wow! page 10 includes:..."just
before the Crunch...unofficial debt topped 19 trillion dollars..." a
president that didn't let trifles life ledger sheets and statistics
get in his way...the real
deficit
was growing..."a
full scale default on US Treasuries appears imminent..."
Then I look at Internet financial and economic news feeds [and see]
Fleet Street (London's Wall Street) recommending that their client
firms get out of the US Dollar (USD),
China, UAE, Russia and others moving out of
the
USD. Many estimates of the debt are running at $40+ trillion,
if you count off table and un-funded "liabilities".
A graph of the $USD index since 2003, shows a 30+% drop (no joke!).
Pundits like Kudlow crowing that the economy has never been better,
even claiming
the "dollar
is strong!"
In my opinion, we are close to a USD collapse! I'm not blowing smoke
at you, as I think its hard to call tops or pick times of events and
really no one can, but we are close, if not there!!!
- Wardoctor
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: U.S. Dollar Collapse? I Think We are Getting Close »
Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards
Jim,
I've heard many, many people bash our 'just in time' distribution model. but,
I've never heard of even a single military official from any other country
brag or boast of the same assertions. Our 'just in time' delivery of goods
is one of the most survivable, re-configurable and defend-able supply chains
ever in the history of mankind. It can grow to surge resources into a disaster
area, it can shrink to conserve fuel, it presents fast moving small targets
of no individual strategic significance, it can bypass destroyed cities,
it can use improvised warehouses, it can cluster around railway junctions
or sea ports, it can support the military and civilian infrastructures concurrently.
In short it is a very, very hard nut for a foreign enemy to crack.
In my opinion, many Survival/Preparedness people who disparage 'just in time'
delivery, dislike it for the underlying perception that it depends on a group
of un-elected, publicly unaccountable people managing the system and is driven
by corporate profits. And these people have throughout history, worked to keep
the rich, rich and not so much worried about the plight of the common man,
especially during hard times. I agree with this and would add that a wartime
nationalization would replace the corporate management with less experienced
military people, and that these people would be focused on keeping the military
supplied, and again not so much worried about the plight of the common man.
I believe our 'just in time' supply system and infrastructure was fostered
by our post-WWII and cold war governments to safeguard the American way of
life, even in the presence of multiple massive disasters. It will do well,
and America will survive. But the system we have is not going to guarantee
anything to individual Americans. I urge everyone to prepare your families
accordingly.
Regards, - Mark
JWR Replies: I wish that I could share your optimism.
I would only have a warm fuzzy feeling about our wonderfully resilient
and fast-reacting JIT supply system
if
we had both the
benefits of that resilience/quick reaction and a
deep
inventory
at
key
points in the pipeline. But unfortunately, in most industries, consumer
sales, and especially in the medical field, the supply chain is perilously lean.
These supply chains are not prepared for major disasters that will
degrade transportation systems. If the trucks simply can't
get through,
then the world's best organized supply system cannot compensate
for lack of
supply where
it is needed. What is required are deeper inventories much closer to where
they are actually needed.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards »
Odds 'n Sods:
I just had a phone conversation with my brother. He mentioned that
a power surge in the local utility lines caused $220 in damage to
his washing machine. It seems that microcircuits are ubiquitous in
household
electronics
and
appliances.
Its not just your computer, televisions, radios, and and stereo that
are at risk. Your automatic bread maker, your washing machine, and
perhaps
even
your dishwasher use vulnerable microcircuits. His advice: Spend $100
and
buy a few high quality surge-arresting power strips.
Even better would be
the
Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) variety
that
automatically trip in the event
of a
brown-out. (Although most of these are much more expensive.) Someday
you will be glad that you invested in extra protection for your home
electronics.
o o o
S.F. in Hawaii notes: "Rotary cultivators are finally back in
stock at Lehman's.
A must if you don't have a tractor. Get them while they are in stock."
o o o
There is a free service in Australia called IPS
Flare Alert that provides free e-mail notifications of
any X-ray solar flare event larger than C8 in intensity.
I recommend that all SurvivalBlog readers subscribe to this service,
whether or not you are a shortwave listener or ham radio operator.
BTW, keeping track of solar flare activity is also fun for those
of us that enjoy watching far northern (or
southern)
latitude
auroras.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled
by tyrants." - William Penn
« Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor's Perspective, by E.C.W., MD |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
Today we present another article
submitted for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog
non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction
article will win a valuable four day "gray" transferable Front
Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is
a copy of my "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by
Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending
out a few complimentary copies of my novel "Patriots" as "honorable
mention" awards. If you want a chance to win the contest,
start writing and e-mail us your
article. Round 9 will end on March 31st. Remember that the articles
that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have
an advantage in the judging.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Note from JWR: »
Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor's Perspective, by E.C.W., MD
Arguably the most important factor in wound healing is the potential
for infection. Ever since Semmelweis and Lister demonstrated that strict hand
washing made a tremendous difference in reducing the incidence of postoperative
infections and puerperal fever after childbirth, health care workers
have tried to refine methods for decreasing bacterial contamination
of wounds in an effort to avoid infection. Thus we have some practitioners
who still soak wounds in betadine solutions lengthily even though more
modern research has shown that this kills viable tissue and makes wounds
less amenable to suturing. For the concerned individual who must deal
with a wound outside the emergency room or clinic setting, for whatever
reason, I have some reasonable advice on avoiding infection that is
not widely taught, even in some health care settings. (The following
applies to wounds that an experienced parent could evaluate and immediately
know that a band-aid alone would not be appropriate.)
Bleeding is Nature's way of cleaning a wound, but a little goes a long
way. Remember that as long as the wound is "down-stream" from
the heart (pump), bleeding will be under pressure. So don't forget
to elevate a bleeding extremity above the level of the heart to get
control of bleeding. This may be accomplished in some novel ways in
the field, and may require improvisation. To elevate a leg or foot,
for example, you might need to place the patient on the ground and
prop the leg on an ice chest or stump. Scalp wounds especially bleed
profusely and may be frightening to the uninitiated: Use multiple layers
of absorbable material---sterile gauze or a clean towel (or the cleanest
cloth you have available)--- and hold direct pressure until bleeding
ceases or is at least reduced to a slow ooze. A patient who is taking
aspirin will have a prolonged bleeding time, so you will have to hold
pressure for a longer period of time.
Plain soap and tap water have been shown to be just as good for washing
the wound as an antiseptic soap and sterile water. It turns out that
some of the antiseptic solutions available kill so much good tissue
that they are not preferable to regular soap. I would recommend a liquid
soap, to avoid the bacterial culture waiting to launch itself from
the bar on the counter, but would avoid the "antibacterial soap" (with
triclosan) widely available that has been shown to increase bacterial
resistance. In a perfect world I would prefer Hibiclens, but would
certainly use a "no-tears" baby shampoo (neutral solution)
or even diluted Dawn. One could apply it to a clean washcloth wet from
the tap and use it to gently scrub the wound.
The sterile water solutions that are available bottled are fine, as
long as they have not been opened previously, since they are contaminated
when opened, but non-sterile bottled water is not preferable to tap
water. Studies have shown that tap water is sufficient for cleansing
of most wounds. I would not use this for an open fracture, although
you would certainly not be dealing with one in the field or at home
if you had the option of doing otherwise. Of course, freshly boiled
water would be more reliable than non-sterile bottled water or water
that you have previously drawn up in a clean milk jug, but better to
wash a soiled wound immediately if you have clean water available than
to take the time to boil and then cool water, leaving a heavily contaminated
wound to stay in its dirty state. One could always re-rinse the
wound with sterilized water. The length of time that the cleanser is
in contact with the wound and the degree of flushing that takes place
will determine the number of bacterial contaminants remaining and thus
have a significant effect on wound infection rates, so spend several
minutes on this step. Of course the examiner/caregiver should scrupulously
wash his own hands and any instruments used to probe the wound beforehand.
Thoroughly cleaning the wound will usually result in resumption of
bleeding: When finished, pressure can again be applied as before.
A foreign body remaining in the wound can be a focus of infection and
prevent healing in a wound that has been well cleaned and closed, so
it is imperative that care is taken to rid the wound of any and all
particles that may be present. This is why a relatively clean knife
wound can be simply washed prior to closure but a contaminated wound
or one sustained through layers of clothing must be explored and scrubbed.
It may take a long time, and I have done just that in the ER, picking
out particles of wood dust or grit of various types. This is why I
sometimes prevail on the surgeon to take a patient to the operating
room to debride a wound under anesthesia. A large syringe or squirt
bottle can be used to administer a stream of water into the wound under
a little pressure in order to thoroughly clean and dislodge particulate
matter. Chainsaw wounds may require debridement of the margins with
a scalpel to remove seared tissue in addition to removal of particles
and clothing fibers, as searing prevents the wound edges from closing
together in healing.
In the hospital or clinic setting, I use a sterile scrub brush for
contaminated wounds. If I were in a wilderness setting and had the
option of boiling or sterilizing equipment such as a scrub brush or
tweezers, I would certainly do so, but in any case removing all foreign
material from the wound is necessary. (Cleaning instruments with alcohol
and/or soap and water would be better that nothing.) Blood clotted
in the wound must also be removed by scrubbing, as dried blood serves
as a "foreign body" in this setting. After thorough cleansing
with soap and water, if a wound is to be sutured, betadine (if available)
could be swabbed on the skin in pinwheel fashion, from the skin at
the wound edges out to two or three inches away from the wound.
Anesthesia is certainly desirable prior to any painful manipulation
or procedure, and if it is possible should be mercifully administered
prior to any vigorous cleaning. Even the most stoic among us can appreciate
pain relief, even if it is only temporary. So a vial of Lidocaine (1%
or 2% ) and a syringe to administer it may be part of your wilderness
medical kit. If the Lidocaine (xylocaine) has epinephrine mixed in,
it will help a lot to keep the wound from bleeding as you try to sew
it, but you must not use epinephrine in a wound on an extremity such
as a finger or toe, as it could result in necrosis (tissue death).
On the face or scalp epinephrine is a welcome additive, since these
wounds tend to bleed so freely that you can scarcely see what you are
sewing without it.
Adjuncts in keeping the bleeding slowed while you are attempting wound closure
are elevating the wound above the level of the heart (always recommended) and
limited tourniquet banding with a wide strip. (In the ER I might use a blood
pressure cuff pumped up to the point where it stops the bleeding). This should
be very temporary in order to maintain a bloodless field for closure only. Carefully
and slowly infiltrating the margins of a wound with a few milliliters of an anesthetic
solution, a learned technique, will result in control of bleeding and pain (for
closure). Then you must give the anesthetic a few minutes to be absorbed before
commencing your repair. Whether you use anesthetic or not it would be wise to
administer pain medicine of some kind, either orally or by injection, since the
wound will throb even after the repair is done.
Wound closure is a key factor in healing and infection rate as well. Wounds left
open will be infected to some extent. The six-hour rule for closure is followed
for minor wounds; that is, if care is sought within those limits the wound can
be cleaned and sutured with impunity. This follows from studies that showed infection
rates increasing after that time-frame, and of course there is leeway for wounds
that were clean a priori. But for large wounds or cosmetic disasters the rules
are frequently bent. Field studies from Vietnam proved that delayed closure of
wounds (up to several days old) could be performed with good results if the wound
margins were "revised" (old tissue cut out with a scalpel) and the
new margins sewn together. And surgeons will usually close facial wounds up to
or even over twelve hours old even without revising the margins.
Closure may involve suturing (sewing), or may be as simple as using Dermabond
(super glue), steri-strips or staples made for this purpose. In the ER I tailor
the method to suit the patient and the situation, but you might not have that
option in the wilderness or homebound setting. If you do, or if you can reach
qualified medical help within a suitable time-frame, I wholeheartedly advise
you to do so. But if that is not possible, even duct tape may be preferable to
non-closure.
One must be careful to hold the wound margins together tightly to apply Dermabond,
as any solution that makes its way into the wound may itself prevent healing,
and with Dermabond the trick is to keep one's fingers from being glued to the
wound as you wait the few seconds for it to dry. I do not advise Dermabond for
a wound that has a tendency to continue bleeding the minute pressure is removed,
nor in a wound that is deep or under stress. It works well on some facial lacerations,
but really I trust steri-strips to do the job and they could easily be part of
a medical kit. Dermabond is expensive but really comes into its own when trying
to repair a wound in a very small child who could be expected to try to remove
strips. Dermabond should be left on the skin to dissolve on its own, which will
occur in several days, usually too soon for larger wounds or wounds of the lower
extremities.
If applying steri-strips or tape, wound margins should be closely approximated
prior to the application of any binding material. If I were reduced to using
duct tape, I would tear several inches off the roll (use for another purpose),
so that what I used on the wound would not have been in contact with a dirty
surface. Then I would tear or cut three or four inches off and cut that into
1/8 to 1/4 inch strips, taking care to keep my hands from touching the part of
the tape that will be over the wound. Pressing the wound edges together with
one hand, or having a helper hold them together by pushing from each side, I
would apply the strips of tape, starting on one side and pulling firmly to apply
some tension before allowing it to adhere to the other side of the wound. I would
space these strips 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart to allow the wound to breathe and then
cover my work of art with sterile gauze secured by tape or an ace wrap (or cotton
bandage) to keep it from being re-contaminated.
I would not worry about small defects or ragged edges unless I could easily trim
this and have plenty of loose skin to work with. Individuals who are sensitive
to adhesives may develop blisters where the steri-strip or tape is located, but
this is usually just a local reaction and does not cause systemic allergic symptoms.
In someone known to be unable to tolerate them sutures or staples should be used
for larger wounds requiring closure.
Suturing is a technique that is learned, and should be practiced prior to use,
which is not to say that any accomplished seamstress couldn't master it. Many
wounds will be greatly benefited by needle and thread. However, to reinforce
the importance of asepsis in wound care, I should again point out that a wound
should not be sutured by an untrained individual in a non-sterile environment
if there is an alternative. If there is not, then any asepsis that can be accomplished
by boiling or autoclaving (pressure-cooking) would be of benefit, and extreme
care should be taken not to further contaminate the wound while attempting to
close it in the best possible way. There are manuals or courses that teach sewing
technique available for the motivated person, and that is outside the scope of
this short essay. What is obvious to medically trained personnel---microbial
contamination and how to avoid it--- is the major impediment for the "lay-person".
Sterile drapes and sterile gloves are a bonus. But most medical staff would agree
that primary closure is better than a large wound left open in most cases. In
our current political-legal climate one could be prosecuted for "practicing
medicine without a license" if it appeared that extraordinary measures were
undertaken by the layman who had other options, so be sure that you are doing
it from necessity and not just for fun. :-) In a TEOTWAWKI setting, you will
probably wish that you had at least studied the technique (and had obtained the
proper equipment and had practiced on some animal skin).
Some wounds are by definition contaminated or infected and are better left unclosed.
These include puncture wounds, stab wounds (=deeper than they are wide) that
are not bleeding profusely, and animal or human bites. These should be cleaned
and scrubbed as above, taking even more care to flush them out if possible, and
bleeding controlled with pressure only if at all possible. If not, then one or
two sutures or steri-strips can be strategically placed, in this case being careful
to only draw the wound edges together enough to control the bleeding and not
to closely approximate them, as you want the wound to be able to drain easily.
These are the wounds for which an ER doctor would probably give antibiotic
prophylaxis, with an older drug such as doxycycline or trimethoprim-sulfa or
a
cephalosporin like cephalexin (Keflex). Crush wounds of the extremities also
should not be sutured, even if they look awful, but should be cleaned as much
as possible given the level of contamination and then bandaged. Because they
can be expected to swell so much, primary closure of crush wounds could be detrimental.
Keeping the bandaged extremity above the level of the heart will help to prevent
pooling of blood and swelling and therefore reduce the proclivity for infection.
This holds true as long as inflammation is present. Elevation is important in
pain control as well, and the patient may need to be reminded of this when the
wound starts to throb. Propping an arm or leg on a pillow will be a very useful
adjunct to any analgesia you have available, as is an ice pack applied over or
adjacent to the bandage. Ice will definitely help to slow swelling in the first
24 hours and can be used to alleviate pain even longer than that if it seems
to help that particular patient.
In a Katrina-type setting, where it could be days before a medical professional
would be consulted, it might be good to know that sutures of the face (and scalp)
should be removed in four to five days, lest the sutures themselves cause scarring.
An uninfected facial wound should be healed in that time. Steri-strips can be
left off at that time if they are employed on the face. For wounds of the upper
extremities leaving sutures in for 7-10 days is advisable, depending on the extent
of the wound, and for the lower extremities up to 2 weeks. If steri-strips have
been used (or tape) the strips may need to be re-applied during that time period.
Keeping the wound clean and dry is the goal, but if sutures are used to close
the wound it can be washed daily with soap and water after the first 24 hours.
If a wound becomes obviously infected, with purulent (yellow or green) discharge
and swelling and redness, it will have to be opened up at least partially and
allowed to drain to prevent septicemia.
Tetanus prophylaxis should also be addressed. Puncture wounds and deep, heavily
contaminated wounds are considered "tetanus-prone" wounds, and I can
testify that tetanus does exist and it is not pretty. It could easily be deadly
in this setting, although I have seen a young victim recover after six weeks
on the ventilator. The vaccine for tetanus has been used for several decades
and is considered very safe if one is not allergic to any components, so I would
advise you to keep your vaccination status for tetanus up-to-date. It is considered
up-to-date if it has been given within the last ten years, unless the wound is
very large and very heavily contaminated (think a tractor accident in a muddy
barnyard), in which case I would be more conservative and say within five years.
If tetanus toxoid is not available and the patient has had the primary series
in the past but is not up-to-date, a booster should be given as soon as it becomes
possible.
I will close with the most valuable advice: The best way to avoid wound infection
is to avoid the wound in the first place. Be careful. Make your children wear
their shoes outside of the house. Lacerations from stepping on broken glass and
puncture wounds from thorns or tacks in the feet are fairly common in the ER
and are usually preventable. Acting "macho" or being a daredevil is
one thing when emergency care is a short distance away, but stupid when there
is none available. A dull knife will slip and cut you when you put more force
on it instead of taking the time to sharpen it. Accidents will happen to even
the most cautious, but they will be proportionately less than to the heedless
or reckless.
With the hope that this will not be needed in the future, but that if it is it
will prove to be useful. - E.C.W., M.D.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor's Perspective, by E.C.W., MD »
Odds 'n Sods:
Wow! Have you noticed the spot prices of silver
and gold in
the past few days? If you think that you've "missed the boat"
on precious metals, you are wrong. I still predict that spot silver
is heading past $40 per ounce in the next few years. I've said it many
times, but it bears repeating: Diversify your investments into
precious metals, especially silver.
o o o
An alternative for those of you that live in gun-grabbing Nanny States:
.50
Caliber Air Rifles. BTW, these might be a nice addition to every survival
gun battery, since they will allow folks to hunt very
quietly,
after TSHTF.
(Of course check your state hunting regulations first.)
o o o
Safecastle is in the midst of a big product-giveaway promotion that
is highlighting the deep Safecastle Royal buyer's club member discounts
on the wide variety of products they carry. Everything is always discounted
and
ships free
for members, but have a look at the
current list of FREE products that are available with
a qualifying purchase. Tell them you saw it on SurvivalBlog
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is
just;
That his justice cannot sleep forever." - Thomas Jefferson
« Letter Re: Propane Shortage and Rationing in the Frigid U.S. Northeast |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
The high bid is now at $150 in
the current SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a brand new Schecter "Warthog" Electric
Guitar. This is an awesome guitar decorated in a military
aviation theme, from Schecter's Tempest series. It has a
$729 retail value. Please tell any of your friends that are
guitarists about this auction. The auction ends March 15th. Just e-mail me
your bid. Thanks!
« Letter Re: A SurvivalBlog Reader's Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Propane Shortage and Rationing in the Frigid U.S. Northeast
Mr. Rawles,
I have enjoyed your site for years. I was compelled to write when I
saw a situation in Maine this week that ties the two current threads
on your site together (Just in time delivery and propane as a fuel
source). In the State of Maine we have had a stark reminder of the
inelasticity of the energy (propane) supply chain. As a result of
a Canadian railroad union strike and weather that impacted the the
normal shipping schedule, we have had a mini propane crisis requiring
the governor to get involved, have the US Coast Guard to expedite
the flow of tankers into Portsmouth New Hampshire and dealers to
ration deliveries. This is significant because these adverse effects
began
occurring
six days after the strike by railroad workers in
Canada began. It is not hard to imagine several non-SHTF different
scenarios where
the propane would simply run out.
It isn't a direct problem in our household, but as we have seen in
other places, a problem for some people can quickly become a problem
for all the people (at least the unprepared ones).
Here is a link to the article in The Bangor Daily News: Rationing
eases lack of propane Please keep up the good
work. I visit your site every day. - LL in the Northeast
« Letter Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO |Main| Letter Re: Propane Shortage and Rationing in the Frigid U.S. Northeast »
Letter Re: A SurvivalBlog Reader's Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii
Mr. Rawles,
I took the two day defensive handgun course [at Front
Sight] 2-1/2
years ago, and I agree on the value of the experience. Prior to that
class, my pistol range time was just punching paper. Now its presentation,
safety rules review, malfunction clearing, etc.
I
had
never considered malfunction clearing! In all my reading of the gun
magazines, I had never come across the topic. Maybe
it's not sexy enough to sell magazines.
I also appreciate your review of [the television series] "Jericho." I
had the same impression, though your experienced eye caught more. I
guess
if
they
showed the reality of it, it wouldn't have made it past five episodes.
- Brian
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: A SurvivalBlog Reader's Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii »
Letter Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO
Dear Mr. Rawles:
I know you're busy and I don't expect you have time to chat about old ground
but I did have some observations on guns that you might consider.
While the AR-15 in
.223 cal. is not a bear killer nor a long-range sniper weapon, it seems to
have been completely dismissed in "Patriots" (which
I greatly enjoyed and profited from) and in the writings on the Blog. However,
there are two cartridges that make this little gun lethal: the [55 grain] M193
Round/Q3131 Round
and the 68
gr. Black Hills Match Hollow Point. The M193/Q3131 round has a bullet that
upsets and fragments drastically on fibrous targets and delivers all of its
hydrostatic shock to that target. All that is required is a velocity that is
easily sustained by my Bushmaster 16" barreled rifle out to 140 yards.
After that, it is more of the conventional ice pick. The Black Hills HP round
is on the FBI's lethality list of the top 5 or 6 killer .223 rounds. The range
requirements for its expansion and lethality may be greater than that of the
M193 since it relies on expansion rather than fragmentation.
While I have and love my .308s, the .223 Bushmaster 16" barreled rifle
has some real advantages in weight, maneuverability and firepower and I feel
should not be discounted unless one lives on the prairie. In wooded or urban
areas, the little rifles offer excellent mid-range accuracy, lethality (with
the proper bullet) and can be tricked up with a scope and 100 round [Beta]
C-MAG to make it decidedly unhealthy downrange.
The M193 [ammunition] is not currently in issue in Iraq, I believe, but was
an early round for the M16. The later, current .223 cartridges do not give
the same lethality and were adopted for reasons other than maximization of
lethality. Even later, longer, heavier bullets in .223 are used for sniping,
etc., but none in issue currently can compare in lethality to the M193 and
the hollow points offered on the market today.
As you have time, you can review the data on AR15.com which
supports my comments.
One other cartridge that I feel has been overlooked is the 7.62 x 54 Russian
rimmed round. Dirt cheap and sold by the sealed can, this round is the equal
to the .30/06 military and is perfectly paired with the Finnish M39 bolt action
rifle that sells, like new, for about $300. The Finns converted the Mosin Nagant
and made an excellent little military rifle complete with top quality barrels.
Thanks for your good work, Best Regards, - Stephen D.
JWR Replies: I don't consider the 100 round Beta C-MAGs very
practical. In my experience they are heavy, cumbersome, and quite noisy. (When
loaded, they rattle when you walk, as the cartridges slide forward
and back. That is a tactical no-no.) They might have some utility
for fixed-site defense, but if you are manning a fixed site retreat,
then you probably should be using a rifle chambered in something
more powerful than a .223. I consider an
AR-15 equipped with a Beta magazine as the ultimate defense
weapon for
a retreat under attack
by a human wave
of palsied,
midget, and/or wheelchair-bound looters.
I must politely disagree with you regarding .223/5.56. Granted, the
55 grain .223 can have some spectacular "tumbling" wound
effects, but not consistently so. As often than not, especially
when a bullet does not strike bone, it can have the "ice pick" effect. In
essence, .223 puts Bad Guys in hospitals, but .308 puts Bad Guys in
graves. If I ever hear shooting nearby and have my choice
of grabbing either an AR-15 or FAL,
then I'll grab the FAL. Yes, a .223 platform does have some
advantages, particularly as a weapon for a shooter that weighs under
100 pounds. It is also ideal to carry for LRRPs
or long distance E&E.
(In a survivalist context: walking several hundred miles to a retreat,
as a few of the characters did in my novel "Patriots" .)
I greatly appreciate your mention of the 7.62 x 54R Russian cartridge.
It is one of the most overlooked and bargain basement options available
in the current market. Both the ammo itself and the Mosin-Nagant rifles
that shoot it are quite reasonably priced. Ballistically, this cartridge
is roughly comparable to .30-06. It is noteworthy that this is the
same cartridge that is used in the Russian Dragunov sniper rifles,
so it is obviously capable of great long range accuracy. The
other nice plus is that it is fairly easy to find a Federally exempt
pre-1899 production Mosin Nagant. Like you, my favorite rifles
in this category are the M39s. In particular, I prefer the antique
Russian Mosin receivers that were re-arsenalized into Model 1939s for
the Finnish army. (Mosinnagant.net has a
great web page with some details on this model.) These are very
sturdy, reliable shooters that can
be bought across state lines with no stinkin' FFL paperwork! (BTW,
I describe how to distinguish the year of manufacture of these receivers
in my
FAQ on pre-1899 guns.) To do so, you need to disassemble
the rifle and examine its receiver tang markings.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO »
Odds 'n Sods:
Two different readers mentioned this short essay by Peter Schiff
on U.S. indebtedness and the encroaching foreign ownership of U.S.
corporations: Selling
Our Cows To Buy Milk
o o o
"J Eagle" mentioned that MSN Money has a current article
listing property
tax rates by state. This is an important data point to consider
when choosing a state for a retreat or for retirement.
o o o
Our correspondent in Brazil recommends the survival novel "Wolf
and Iron" by Gordon Dickson. Used
copies are often available dirt cheap on Amazon.com.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Four things come not back - the spoken word, the sped
arrow, times past, the neglected opportunity." - Omar ibn al Halif
« Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
One of our family's favorite activities
when we take trips into town is counting eagles. It isn't unusual for
us to see as many as six
Bald
Eagles on each drive to town--usually for church and home school
meetings. And right here at the Rawles
Ranch, we regularly see two or three Bald Eagles a day, cruising
down The Unnamed River. When I'm out doing chores and I see one flying
over, I take off my hat and reflect for a moment. I guess I'm just
overly patriotic. I do thank God for all our blessings. And living
in a place like this is one of them.
« Letter Re: The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts
Dear Jim,
For the 'Survival Minded/Preparedness Bent' all the things we use daily
should be reconsidered for alternative uses. For my part, I drink wine,
the good stuff mind you. It comes in a box! Interesting thing about
it is that each box that is consumed leaves behind another useful tool
for any 'rainy day' event.
The bladder in the box that holds the wine is about 15"x15".
It is quite durable and contains a very efficient valve. The valve
is self sealing and easily removed from the bladder itself. When the
wine is gone, I remove the [box insert mylar] bladder from the box
and the valve from the bladder. The bladder and valves are rinsed
out with
hot water
and
then an adequate amount of Clorox is poured into the bladder which
is then topped off with water and the valve replaced. After an appropriate
amount of time has passed, the valve is removed and the bladder rinsed.
Ultimately, the bladder is allowed to dry in the sun (it takes a while).
The uses for the bladder are numerous:
1) The dried out bladder will collapse to fist size with the valve
attached, i.e. easily transportable in a day pack.
2) The bladder will hold a considerable quantity of liquid that is
easily dispensed and stored.
3) The bladder will easily double as a camping pillow.
4) Or as a flotation device to 'swim' a heavy pack across a deep stream;
or as a flotation bag for person or property.
5) If one thought about it ahead of time, the bladder could be filled
with a predetermined amount of Clorox (bleach) and then filled with
pond/stream water as needed, allowed to sit, and there you go, potable
water.
The gist is this: common household post-consumer waste is or can be
a treasure trove if we as individuals 'think out of the box' and apply
our minds to the potential future needs and uses ahead! - MQB, Somewhere
South of Kentucky & North of Alabama
« Letter Re: The Salt Lake City Trolley Square Mall Shootings and "Gun Free" Zones |Main| Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts »
Letter Re: The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes
Dear Jim:
Clearly the CBS TV show Jericho is limited by confines of being an
early prime time network show (nothing graphic like on HBO), a for-profit
venture (thus requiring advertisers who willing to buy time and be
associated with the show), budgetary constraints of a filming a new
show, and of course the politically correct pressures of Hollywood.
This is very much the antithesis of the 1983 "The Day After" which
was conceptualized, financed and produced by ABC, specifically by the
Motion Picture Department President http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After who was impressed with the anti-nuclear power movie "The China
Syndrome", and obviously sent out to make this an issue oriented
movie (or agenda oriented) without concern as to profit, IMHO. I seem
to recall that during the original airing of "The Day After" there
were no commercials (I was in high school at the time). It should be
noted that "The Day After" did have a profound impact. As
for myself, it steeled my resolve to learn more about survivalism (probably
the opposite of the intent of the producer). It should be also noted
(citing the Wikipedia link above again) that when President Reagan
signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the director [of
The
Day After] got a telegram from the Reagan administration that said,
'Don't think your movie didn't have any part of this, because it did." That
is pretty powerful. Some also refer the movie "Red Dawn" this
way, as having had an actual impact on the cold war, by serving to
convince Russia that an invasion of the US simply would never hold
against resistance (I should note that movie made Mexico an invading
enemy of the US, remember?).
Taking into account how a program can create images and impressions,
to allies and enemies both, this is the basis of my real issues with
Jericho. Although the "mythology" of the plot, as the producers
refer to it, is still largely unknown (probably also best laid out
in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_tv)
it clearly involves a coordinated nuclear strike to about a dozen US
cities (the show is
deliberately unclear – adding to the sense of drama of Jericho
being cut off) which appears to be terrorist in nature, with the inference
that in NY people were apprehended in a truck with a bomb before it
went off, but this remains uncertain. These strikes are not military,
they are at population centers. I therefore note, with the apparent
exception of Washington DC, US military bases and installations, as
well as non-DC Federal facilities, State, County, and local governments
remain intact – just faced with the [power] grid down, transportation
down, and fallout problems. I am not saying that isn’t massive,
but to some extent, I think some American resilience is not being credited
here, especially with the rest of the World apparently intact.
Although I think this show has been great in waking people up to the
new reality that there could very well be a very limited nuclear exchange
(such as being terrorist based), I was disappointed and alarmed as
to where the show left off most recently "8 weeks" after
the bombs went off. I think that many of the accusations about the
show painting too rosy a picture are true. Jericho is shown to have
at least
one water tower, and be a city (has a mayor) of some 5,000 people.
It is important to note, that once the power went out, even with rationing,
that water tower is probably going to run dry within a week. This leaves
serious problems as to water, sanitation, and hygiene for so many people.
Would it really take until a Chinese generator was air dropped before
they got any sort of power going again? The constraints of time and
show only allow little blips of the factual realities, and in between
all the interpersonal drama which holds most of the audience I’m
sure. Still, the lasting impression is one that a small rural town
would be helpless, when in fact, I think, such as place would be the
least helpless. The pathetic defensive force that Jericho mustered
is a good example of this. I find this to be the product of writers
who have never spent any time in a Midwestern rural town, nor hunted,
nor ever owned a gun. Having lived in a Wisconsin town of less than
1,500, I can assure you that long before 8 weeks past the bombs, a
militia group, run through the volunteer fire dept and Village Hall
most likely, would have had the town secured defensively. I can think
of a single deer hunting group that was 17 guys, and they were highly
organized, with radios for their hunting drives, and would have easily
convinced the Ravenwood Group in Jericho that the fight was not worth
it. Also, in the pilot episode, we saw a gun store in town. At the
beginning of episode 2, people were openly carrying shotguns in front
of City Hall. Did the writers get flack about that and back off?
Another issue that remains open is the ICBM launch
in the evening which preceded the EMP attack.
We don’t know yet who those missiles
were targeted against, and I am somewhat worried about where they are
going with this. This was a moment of great excitement for me, because
I thought it was payback, that this show was going to show that a nuclear
attack on the US would have a nuclear response. The post-911 world
makes this more difficult, because such an attack may be not officially
carried out by a government you can just target in retaliation. It
is too early to really comment intelligently on this in the saga, but
to be honest it very
much
worries me. Because the image Hollywood creates does matter,
this is dangerous place alternate reality PC logic
stuff. Freedom of speech, yeah I know, but you can’t yell “Fire” in
a cinema, right? How about CNN covering the riots in LA after the police
trials with Rodney King, reporting there were no cops on the scene.
How about them showing part of the video over and over, the beating,
without framing the context that he was high on drugs and had attacked
the police. Is that merely reporting the news, or is that creating
news by spin doctoring and fanning the fires, which bring up the issue
of intent. That would have made an interesting lawsuit, if someone
had the guts to bring it, rights vs. responsibility.
Overall I’m all for Jericho. It is a great show to watch and
debate. So much drama between all the characters. Great cast of actors,
and also of different age groups. Something for everyone! Tune
in if you have not, and give it a chance. The Hawkins character is
really
cool, the closest thing to being a survivalist, even though he’s
some sort of secret government agent or something. My only worry is
that this show does more damage than good with some sort of backwards
to reality politically correct “mythology”. Let’s
face it, there are a limited number of people who can and would nuke
US cities and kill innocent civilians as portrayed. I hope the writers/producers
are willing to be realistic about that or they may do more harm than
good, the good being to encourage people to prepare, the harm being
to encourage evil enemies of the US that such damage could be done,
and with minimum reprisal. - Rourke (Moderator
of the Jericho
Discussion Group)
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes »
Letter Re: The Salt Lake City Trolley Square Mall Shootings and "Gun Free" Zones
James,
I’m a concealed carry handgun instructor for the state of Kansas.
I haven’t come across any articles or news reports that made mention of
whether or not the shopping mall had posted “no concealed carry” signs.
Have you heard anything? I would like to know as I can use this incident in my
classes. - Rick
JWR Replies: According to several published new stories,
including
this one, there were indeed signs at
some of the Trolley Square Mall's entrances emblazoned, "No
Guns." So we can surmise that ostensibly "gun
free zones" such
as public schools, public buildings and shopping malls with "No
Guns"
signs are not safe places for the citizenry.
Clearly, mass murderers prefer them, because they assume
that
they
will
only face unarmed victims.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: The Salt Lake City Trolley Square Mall Shootings and "Gun Free" Zones »
Odds 'n Sods:
S.F. in Hawaii found a web page about a
very interesting "castle" monolithic dome home. S.F.'s
comments: "Nice view from the roof. And the little holes for
a rifle?. Good commanding view and a bulletproof/fireproof concrete
home, to
boot "
o o o
Thanks to Ben L. for sending this news story: More from inflation-ravaged
Zimbabwe: Mugabe
Throws Lavish Birthday Party as Zimbabwe's Infrastructure Crumbles. My
comment: Clearly, times were much better back when the city now dubbed "Gweru" was
called
"Gwelo."
Remember Rhodesia!
o o o
Homeland Security analyst Stephen Flynn: U.S.
not prepared for the next 'big one'
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust
it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every
one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the national government
be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal
relations; the State government with the civil rights, law, police,
and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties
with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward direct the interests
within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from
the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it
ends in the administration of every man's farm by himself; by placing
under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be
done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man
in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing
and concentrating all cares and powers into one body. " - Thomas Jefferson,
Works, 6:543; P.P.N.S., p. 125
« Advantages of Owning a Small Sawmill for Homestead and Retreat Building, by Tennessee Hillbilly |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
Today we present another article submitted
for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog
non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction
article will win a valuable four day "gray" transferable Front
Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is
a copy of my "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by
Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending
out a few complimentary copies of my novel "Patriots" as "honorable
mention" awards. If you want a chance to win the contest,
start writing and e-mail us your
article. Round 9 will end on March 31st. Remember that the articles
that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have
an advantage in the judging.
« Letter Re: Another Use for Diatomaceous Earth: Curing Bowel Infestations |Main| Note from JWR: »
Advantages of Owning a Small Sawmill for Homestead and Retreat Building, by Tennessee Hillbilly
There are many ways to be prepared for whatever the future may hold
and no feasible way to be prepared for every scenario. While “Beans,
Bullets and Band-Aids” should be given the top priority, there
are many situations where a small band saw mill fits the bill.
In the current situation, it’s a cheap source of lumber for building
projects. On a homestead/retreat there is always a need for lumber.
Having selected a remote area for security reasons, by default, places
an individual a long way from any supplies, but usually an abundance
of trees are available. There have been many times when I needed just
a few boards to complete a project. It’s simple to place a log
on the mill and saw the boards to the dimension needed. It saves a
40 mile round trip to the lumber yard. It’s free and best of
all the tax man hasn’t yet figured a way to tax it! The mills
are relatively simple and inexpensive to operate. Even my wife enjoys
running the saw. Of course, it becomes my job to load and turn the
logs and pull and stack the lumber and slabs when she operates the
mill. Once people find out you have a mill, it seems like they all
have three or four logs just lying around that they are glad to give
you if you will just haul them off. Just keeping my eyes open around
these 200 acres provides all the logs I need from diseased or storm
damaged trees. These are trees that would otherwise decay in the woods.
Everywhere I go, I see trees that need to be salvaged that would make
good lumber. One day I will run completely off the road while looking
at a load of logs on a passing truck. At our house, this is referred
to as “Log Envy”
People will often barter with you to saw their logs. Usually this is
in the form of you, the mill owner and operator, taking a portion of
the lumber from the logs they bring to you. This amount ranges up to
50 percent. Be sure to report the fair value of this lumber on your
income taxes. It seems as though most people appreciate getting anything
free and will gladly leave some of the lumber with you in exchange
for turning their log, that otherwise would most likely have rotted,
into something they can use. In the future this ability to barter could
really save the day.
The mill has saved more than enough to pay its own way and continues
to be used regularly. The cost delivered, was abut $8,000.
I set it up as a stationary mill and built a shed over it. (There is
no bought lumber in that shed!) I recently sawed 6,000 board feet of
pine on less than 10 gallons of gasoline. Certainly at some time in
the future, gasoline could become hard to obtain, but most likely a
few gallons would be available, even though the cost may go up significantly.
Even if fuel cost $20 a gallon, the fuel cost for an 8 foot 2x4 would
only be $0.20. I typically have enough stabilized fuel stored to saw
many tens of thousands of board feet of lumber. Logs could be harvested
and with a little manpower maneuvered to the mill by hand if it had
to be done. A wheeled carriage could be constructed to make this fairly
simple. However, a tractor with pallet forks on the front of the loader
makes the job much easier and uses a surprisingly small amount of fuel.
Certainly a horse or other draft animal would be a worthwhile addition
in a fuel shortage. Another advantage now, but especially during a
fuel shortage, is the ever abundant supply of slabs that make excellent
firewood.
The set up I have has the ability to saw logs up to 24 feet in length
and a diameter larger than I care to handle. There are considerably
more board feet of lumber in a large diameter log, but small logs are
much easier and safer to handle. Many types of log scales are available
to measure to small end of a log and provide some prediction of the
number of board feet of lumber in the log. They typically look like
a complicated yard stick, but anyone can learn to use one in a matter
of minutes. A board foot is a measure of lumber that contains 144 cubic
inches of wood. That would be 12 inches square and one inch thick.
A 1 X 4 three feet long would be one board foot. A typical band mill
will often saw 50 to 75% more than scale while sawing small logs due
to the thin blade as compared to a commercial mill. I have regularly
sawn 500 board feet in a day in addition to the regular chores that
are required to be done around the farm.
The bands (blades) do become dull and sometimes break. Currently
they can be replaced for about $20 or sharpened for about $7. If I’m
careful to clean the dirt off the logs and don’t hit an ingrown
object (nail, fence staple, etc.), up to a thousand board feet can
be sawed
with one blade. I typically keep 30 blades on hand. In a push, they
could be sharpened by hand, but I have no intention of doing this when
I can get it done right for $7. I’m sure that in a crunch I could
find several uses for the blades as they are dulled. Although I haven’t
tried it, I see no reason why a slow but workably bow saw could not
be made from them. It would only cut when being pushed instead of cutting
both directions.
Green (freshly sawn) lumber cannot be used in many projects without
proper drying, most often in a kiln. The lumber will shrink and cause
many problems in furniture and indoor woodwork. There are ways around
this for the woodworkers, but that is beyond the scope of this article.
However there are many applications where a little shrinkage, warping
or bowing doesn’t cause any real problem. Barns, hay sheds, equipment
sheds, an outhouse when the water stops magically filling the white
porcelain bowl, deer blinds for the present time which can do double
duty as listening/observation post when things become less secure,
work shops and many other projects. Many houses were built in rural
areas years ago with green lumber. They usually are not particularly
level or square, but they are still standing and serviceable long after
those who built them are gone.
In a situation where the economy has broken down, there are definite
advantages. Lumber yards, if they still exist, would have very limited
supplies for very exorbitant prices. In any kind of grid failure or
fuel and transportation crunch, the big commercial mills would shut
down. Some lumber could be scavenged from abandoned houses and buildings.
But I doubt people would take kindly to others helping themselves to
their structures even if they were not using them. Most modern construction
makes use of a considerable amount of paneled products such as sheet
rock, oriented strand board and plywood that is very difficult to disassemble
and maintain the integrity of the products. Having a few thousand feet
of "stickered" lumber in the dry could be like money in
your pocket at a very critical time. The investment required to store
this lumber
is very small. With a few select people joining us at the retreat in
a bad situation, we can accommodate them in our house for a time. If
the situation drags on for a long period of time, we have the capacity
to construct semi-permanent or permanent dwellings at different strategic
locations around the farm at very little to no cost.
A sawmill opens many opportunities in an uncertain future. When it’s
all said and done, an opportunity is all we can really expect out of
life.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Advantages of Owning a Small Sawmill for Homestead and Retreat Building, by Tennessee Hillbilly »
Letter Re: Another Use for Diatomaceous Earth: Curing Bowel Infestations
Jim:
Food grade diatomaceous earth (DE)--not the
swimming pool grade-will flush your system of parasites. In addition,
the scientific literature states DE is shown
to remove methyl mercury, virus and more.
I "accidentally" cured myself of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) while
using
it,
just
in
case I had worms. I had been feeding it to my cattle (works great!) and decided
to
take
some myself. No more IBS?
I am no doctor; however, the first thing I would do for ulcers/IBS/Crohns/divertic
ailments, would be to dose myself with DE, as I now suspect that microscopic
uglies
are involved in all bowel disorders
due to my results.
"Dirt" cheap from your farm and ranch store (used for a long time to
worm
sheep/goats/cattle), or in large bags from Internet vendors. As its name suggests-microscopic
diatom fossils
cut the worms and
their eggs to shreds, or make eggs unable to attach to walls of intestines (will
not hurt earthworms).
DE is also great around house for bugs and will kill fire ants-just
scoop out and mix it in the ant mound. Expect to pay about a dollar
a pound for a ten pound bag.
Mix in water as spray for fruit trees-avoid breathing dust and eye contact.
Use on pets for lice/fleas/mites-put in pet food-1 tablespoon for seven days
for dogs under 35 pounds-2 for dogs over to kill internal parasites. An Internet
search will show all about it.
Humans: Mix 1 heaping tablespoon per day in water or juice-can take more and
more often depending upon ailment.
I think everyone should be on this as an assist during viral outbreaks, [since
it is] harmless to humans and animals. Thanks, - Martin P.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Another Use for Diatomaceous Earth: Curing Bowel Infestations »
Odds 'n Sods:
Jason in North Idaho pointed out this article: Mogadishu's
fathers turn to the gun -- again. Jason's comment: "It looks as
if the Africans know that the only way to guarantee one's safety is to
take the responsibility into their own hands--and I notice that the
elitists want to change that."
o o o
We could see this one coming from the now Democrat-controlled congress:
H.R.
1022: To reauthorize the assault weapons ban. Note that unlike
its predecessor, this law would include a total import ban on 11+ round magazines,
regardless of
year
of manufacture.
If this legislation troubles you, then please contact your congresscritters,
early and often.
o o o
S.H.. recommended this
site with a round-up of European bird flu news stories.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"It is certain that free societies will have no easy time of
it in a future dark age. The rapid return of universal penury will
be accompanied by violence and cruelties of a kind now forgotten. The
force of law will be scant or nil, either because of collapse of machinery
of state, or because of difficulties in communication and transport.
It will be possible only to delegate authority to local powers who
will maintain it by force alone. - Roberto Vacca, The Coming Dark Age
« Letter Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns? |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
Based on a query from blog reader Mike F.,
I'm starting a new SurvivalBlog reader poll: What are the
best businesses for individuals that will have
utility
both
before and
after any major disaster or other disruption of society? Home-based, self-employment
businesses are preferred, but perhaps there are other categories that I haven't
considered.
Please make
your recommendations via e-mail and I will
post them later this week. Thanks!
« Letter Re: Resource Scarcity in the Near Future |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns?
Jim,
In trying to standardize equipment for a retreat, what do you think
of .40 S&W in handguns (already own) and the various [semi-auto]
carbines that can be purchased that shoot that [same] round .(Like
Ruger [Kel-Tec, and Marlin.] )? I know
they (.40 S&W)
are slower than the .223 or .308, but still effective. I know the smaller
magazine capacities (like 10 rounds) might be an issue.
The major "plus" would be a complete compatibility of ammunition
for all the guns so that you only have to worry about stocking and
carrying one type (except for the .22 [rimfire]s which don't count
for [self defense] planning purposes.) Is this a good idea or bad one?
(Assume
that we
also get one larger caliber gun (.30-30 / .308 / .30-06)
for hunting deer, etc., in a bolt or lever action.)
I haven't seen this [concept mentioned] in your web site, so please
forgive me if it is posted somewhere. Thanks, - Mike in "Seattle"
JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning this idea, because
I often hear it suggested by my consulting clients. The only problem
is that "one common caliber"
sounds like a great idea, but it just doesn't work in today's
world--at least not for primary
defensive firearms. Let me explain my reasoning, starting
with a little historical background:
Much of the recurring "cartridge commonality" thinking stems
from America's pioneer Old West experience. In the late 1800s
it was
popular
to carry a Winchester lever action .44-40 rifle or carbine, and a Colt
or S&W
revolver chambered in the same cartridge. This is just what my great
grandfather
Robert Henry Rawles did. He came out west by covered wagon
in 1857, at age 12. From the late 1870s until his death in 1911, he
habitually carried
a
Colt Single Action Army (SAA), and when on horseback or while hunting
he supplemented the revolver
with a Winchester Model 1873
rifle. Both guns were chambered in .44-40. (Which
at the time was often called ".44 Winchester Center Fire",
or more commonly just "Winchester .44") One of his cousins
did
essentially
the
same thing, but instead carried a Smith & Wesson .44-40 Top Break
revolver and a fairly uncommon but highly sought-after Colt pump action
.44-40
rifle.
Doing so indeed had a big advantage in cartridge commonality.
But that was back in the
days
of blackpowder
cartridges, that all had high-arcing trajectories.
Today,
if you were carrying
a carbine chambered in a pistol caliber, and your
opponents had
a detachable magazine 7.62x39 or
.308 battle rifle--with high velocity and flat trajectory--then you'd
be badly outmatched.
Typical pistol chamberings (such as 9mm Parabellum and .40 S&W)
are not sure
and quick man stoppers at two to seven yards (typical combat pistol
shooting distance), and they are absolutely pitiful stoppers at 200
or 300 yards. They just don't have the requisite "oomph" at
long range to penetrate and put Mr. Badguy out of the fight. Furthermore,
at long range they have a "rainbow" trajectory, which
is difficult to compensate for under the stress of combat. For your
primary defensive rifle, you are much better off with a flat-shooting
high velocity cartridge like .308 Winchester. There is some utility
in owning a pistol caliber carbine, but in my opinion that is limited
to small game hunting, pest shooting, and training youngsters. But
do not
make
the
mistake
of thinking
that
they are fully adequate for self-defense.
The only two possible "one cartridge for carbine and pistol" compromises
that I can envision
might be either:
1.) Selecting a quite powerful handgun cartridge cartridge like .44
Magnum, .45 Colt, or perhaps a .45 Winchester Magnum. As political
pundit
(and gun enthusiast)
Kim
du
Toit so aptly
put it: "To
put it in perspective, a 250 gr. bullet in .44 Remington Magnum arrives
with 775
ft.- lbs.
of energy;
[but] the
260 gr. bullet
in .45 Win Mag arrives with 1,300 ft.- lbs. Ouch." In my opinion,
both of these cartridges are slightly over-powered for
a combat handgun, but still underpowered and not flat shooting enough
for use in a carbine or long range self defense. Because .44 Magnum
is a traditional rimmed cartridge, nearly all of the carbines that
are
available (such as those from Marlin,
Puma, Winchester, ) are lever actions with tubular magazines. Ruger
does
make a
semi-auto .44 Magnum carbine ( a complete re-design of their .44
carbine from the 1960s) and a lever action (the
Model 96/.44), but
unfortunately both use a fairly fragile four
round rotary
magazine. (Hardly
suitable for self defense.) For handguns there are a
lot of great .44 Magnum revolvers made (including the S&W Model 629)
, and of
course the .44
Desert Eagle pistol. But given its clunky ergonomics, I consider
the Desert Eagle strictly a choice for advanced shooters. (It would
take a lot of training to learn how to shoot fast and accurately.)
The .45 Winchester
Magnum is a rimless cartridge, which makes it compatible with
a wider range of magazine designs. Three years ago, I read that Collectors
Firearms, was doing .45 Winchester Magnum conversions for M1 Carbines.
But unfortunately their web site no longer mentions those, so I suspect
that they are out of production. (Perhaps they still have a few pieces
of old inventory.) But I'm sure that some enterprising individual will
soon come up with
one
on an
AR-15 platform.
Nor would I be
surprised if either
Ruger and Marlin expand their
semi-auto carbine offerings to do likewise.(Carbines in .45 Winchester
Magnum would be a good
market niche.) Pistol options for .45 Winchester
Magnum include the Wildey and the LAR Grizzly,
but given the heavy recoil of the cartridge, I presume that even more
training would be required than for mastering the Desert Eagle.
As for .45 Colt, I don't consider it a serious self defense cartridge
for two reasons: First, nearly all of the factory loads are extra
mild, for liability reasons--since ammo makers fear that they might be
loaded in an early iron-framed Colt SAA. Second, the exposed rim width
of. .45 Colt
is
considerably
smaller than the .44 Magnum. In my experience it is not unusual for
a fired piece
of brass to slip past the revolver's extractor "star" on the ejection
stroke and get jammed underneath. This would be a Very Bad Thing(tm)
to have happen in
the middle
of a gunfight.
or,
2.) Buying both a pistol and a registered ("Class 3")
submachinegun chambered for the same cartridge, preferably .45 ACP.
By substituting a submachinegun (SMG)
for the carbine, three shot burst capability and 30 round magazine
capacity could make up for a pistol
cartridge's
lack
of power
at moderate ranges. (Although
the practical accuracy of a three shot burst from a SMG at more than
100 yards is dubious.) And of course you would have to weigh the risk/reward
ratio
of making
yourself "high profile" by getting a registered Class
3 SMG.
(Fingerprinting, $200 Federal transfer tax, background check, and the
consent of your local sheriff or chief of police.) Other possibilities
with the same magazine capacity (but a lower social profile)
might
be semi-auto SMG clones. These include the HK USC
semi-auto
carbine
in .45
ACP (the
semi-auto variant of HK's UMP SMG), the Rock
River Arms or Olympic
Arms AR-15s chambered in .45 ACP, or the semi-auto versions
of the venerable Thompson SMG. But with any of these guns,
you are still limited to the relatively low power and rainbow long
range trajectory of .45 ACP.
The two preceding approaches might work
if you live in a heavily wooded eastern state (or perhaps a western
rainforest
such
as Washington's
Olympic Peninsula), and all of your anticipated combat shooting
will be at less than 120 yards. But I don't think
that if I were in that circumstance that I would be willing to put
my life on the
line,
all for the sake
of being able to say that I had achieved absolute one cartridge
commonality nirvana. And as for anyone living in open country--like
in the Plains states and most of
the
western
states--limiting oneself to only a pistol cartridge--even the whomping
.454 Casull--would be absurd.
One other consideration is that even if you were to get a pistol
and a semi-auto carbine chambered in the same cartridge, odds are that
their magazines would not be interchangeable. Hence, if you needed
to
"Rob Peter to pay Paul", then you would have to unload one
type of magazine and reload it into another magazine. This
doesn't sound like much fun to do
in a hurry, when the air is thick with lead.
All of the preceding discussion of "maybe this" and "maybe that"
marginal one-cartridge solutions bring us to the bottom line: In
my estimation, the best that you can hope
for
in
terms
of
maximizing
cartridge
commonality
yet still
be
able
to "reach
out and touch someone" is to have
all of your handguns chambered in one cartridge, and all
of your rifles chambered in another. For example, here
at the Rawles
Ranch, nearly
all of our handguns are.45 ACPs, and nearly all of our rifles--both
bolt bolt actions and semi-autos--are .308s. (We do have a couple of
.30-06
rifles, but only because we are in elk and moose country.)
« Letter Re: U.S. Civil War Era Hardtack Recipes From North and South |Main| Letter Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns? »
Letter Re: Resource Scarcity in the Near Future
Jim,
Here is an excerpt from an article I read in “Fast Company” that
provides some insight to the “Coming Collapse” The full
version can be found here http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/113/open_fast50-essay.html: “Water
provides a typical example: By 2030, more than one in three human beings
will not have enough to drink, or will run the risk
of dying
by drinking what they've got. Today, the prospect of such scarcity
is causing countries to mine so-called fossil water from deep aquifers
that were formed millions of years ago. Parts of India are pumping
water at twice the recharge rate, causing water tables to fall between
one and three meters per year. However, there is not much of an alternative:
If India gave up groundwater mining, its grain production would likely
fall by 25%, leaving it incapable of feeding itself. Nobody knows precisely
how long this can continue, but the answer will be measured in decades,
not centuries. Its little wonder that the World Bank says freshwater
scarcity may well become one of the major factors limiting development
in the years ahead.
Resource scarcity is going to be a front-page business issue as well,
affecting industries from transportation to electronics. According
to estimates by the International Institute for Environment and Development,
at today's levels of production, there may be only another 28 years'
worth of copper in the ground, another 21 years' worth of lead, a 17-year
supply of silver, and 37 years' worth of tin. We will certainly get
better at extracting, recycling, efficiently using, and finding replacements
for these materials, but it is likely that basic industrial inputs
will come under increasing pressure in the decades to come. A shortage
of industrial-grade silicon, for instance, has recently spooked both
the solar-cell industry and Silicon Valley. Moore's Law never assumed
we would run out of sand.
Worse, the most worrisome trends are interrelated and self-compounding.
Consider population growth and energy use: Over the past half-century,
the consumption of energy worldwide has grown more than 400%, far outstripping
overall population growth. The reason is simple: As people move up
the economic ladder, they use more "discretionary energy" on
everything from heated floors to trips to Vegas. Improving energy efficiency
does not begin to address this gap--lighting your home with compact
fluorescent bulbs will not make much of a difference if you (or your
neighbors) move into a higher-wattage McMansion every year.
Apply this insight at a global scale, and things quickly become alarming.
As enormous, rapidly growing and developing countries such as China
and India seek to swell their middle classes in the coming decades,
their energy demands will increase geometrically, not linearly. China
intends to add at least 250 million citizens to its middle class, and
create a well-to-do society by 2020, with a per capita income for the
whole country that is five times the present one. In the meantime,
China continues to burn almost one-third of all the coal mined from
planet Earth to meet its annual needs, making Chinese cities among
the most polluted and China the world’s second-largest source
of CO2 emissions. And that's today: What happens when all those new
Chinese middle-class consumers decide to drive to work? Are they any
less entitled to the lifestyle model we've exported around the globe?”
Along with many other sources this confirms why ammunition has increased
10% across the board this year, and why silver is slowly, yet steadily
rising. Here in Southern California there are increasing incidents
of copper piping stolen from the rooftops of businesses. With fewer
resources, available crime and desperation will increase. It is just
a matter a time before our economy along with the rest of the world
collapses in on it’s self.
I have to mention as well that I received your book “Rawles
on Retreats and Relocation”. I have read it several times
and have found it to be a great resource. I plan to sell my house here
in Southern California and set up shop in one of your recommended retreat
states. I have a brother who is a crew chief for the A-10 Warthog and
a dynamite car mechanic. He plans to live near us when we find our
retreat. I am seeking to “exit” my government job and start
my own business.
I have lost my faith in my Government backing up LEOs,
such as the case with Border
Patrol Agents Ramos and Copean. - Mike F.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Resource Scarcity in the Near Future »
Letter Re: U.S. Civil War Era Hardtack Recipes From North and South
Sir,
These recipes are in addition to the letters on hard tack that you posted on
your site:
Union Army Hardtack Recipe
2 cups of flour
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon of Crisco or vegetable fat
6 pinches of salt
Mix the ingredients together into a stiff batter, knead several times, and spread
the dough out flat to a thickness of 1/2 inch on a non-greased cookie sheet.
Bake for one- half an hour at 400 degrees. Remove from oven, cut dough into 3-inch
squares, and punch four rows of holes, four holes per row into the dough. Turn
dough over, return to the oven and bake another one- half hour. Turn oven off
and leave the door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until cool. Remove
and enjoy!
Confederate Johnnie Cake Recipe
two cups of cornmeal
2/3 cup of milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Mix ingredients into a stiff batter and form eight biscuit-sized "dodgers".
Bake on a lightly greased sheet at 350 degrees for twenty to twenty five minutes
or until brown. Or spoon the batter into hot cooking oil in a frying pan over
a low flame. Remove the corn dodgers and let cool on a paper towel, spread
with a little butter or molasses, and you have a real southern treat! Two main
staples
of that cataclysm--and maybe the next as well. Regards, - J.K.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: U.S. Civil War Era Hardtack Recipes From North and South »
Odds 'n Sods:
Mike the Blacksmith flagged this piece: Study sees harmful hunt
for extra oil
o o o
Keith mentioned: A
draft UN treaty to tackle any future giant asteroids heading for
Earth is to be drawn up this year. Keith's comment: "An interesting
story, may be more likely to happen than Peak Oil or Sudden Climate Change,
at least this is not as complex." Meanwhile, NASA's JPL dropped
the impact risk of CA 19 (a one kilometer diameter asteroid due to approach
Earth in 2012) from Torino Scale 1 to Torino scale 0.
o o o
Rob at $49
MURS Radios is trying a novel barter "bidding" experiment:
He writes: "I have been reading all the references to bartering on
your
blog and
would like to try an experiment. I'm going to put a couple of pairs
of the
$49 MURS Radios aside and offer
them up to the bartering process. Readers can make an offer to trade
something they have in exchange for something I have. Offers will be
accepted on the basis of value and desirability. At the end,
I will report back on how well it worked out. I set up a
special we page with more details. Thanks! - Rob"
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Freedom is not synonymous with an easy life... There
are many difficult things about freedom: It does not give you safety,
it creates moral dilemmas for you; it requires self-discipline; it
imposes great responsibilities; but such is the nature of Man and in
such consists his glory and salvation." - Margaret Thatcher
« Two Letters Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
I have once again expanded and updated
The
SurvivalBlog Glossary. Please send me an e-mail if
you notice that I left out any noteworthy acronyms or terms. Thanks!
« Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards |Main| Note from JWR: »
Two Letters Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane
Hi Jim,
Regarding the thread on converting generators to propane, last
year I installed a tri-fuel conversion
kit on
my 7.5 KW generator,
that has a Honda engine. [Since the conversion] it works perfectly
and [the conversion kit] was very easy to install. If the [grid] power
goes out,
I
can switch
it to
the piped-in natural gas and if that goes out, I can either use propane
or gasoline.
I also got an inexpensive solar trickle charger and connected that
to the battery, so that the battery is always fully charged. Best Regards,
- Kurt
JWR Replies: I consider the small (5 watt) 12 VDC battery
trickle chargers that you mentioned a must for every retreat. We
have one
for each
of our vehicles here at the ranch.
Keeping one of these connected to your backup generator battery is
a great idea. They are available from Northern
Tool & Equipment
.
(One of our Affiliate
Advertisers.) At Northern Tool's web
site, search on Item # 339973.
Jim
Propane is a good long term fuel for home and engine use as long as
"the system" continues to work. How long will you be able to maintain
your power needs after the balloon goes up?
Things to think about, [are]:
What are the common failure parts in
you genset and
automobile?
What are your consumables, gas, oil, diesel, hoses, gaskets?
How long
can you practically extend oil changes and not damage your engines?
Can
you add a oil purifier to your engine?
Wood gasifiers are a proven and reliable source of fuel to run engines
for the long term. As long as there are trees and shrubs then you have
fuel.
The
GENGAS web page has charts and plans for a stratified down draft
gasifier that can run all manner of internal combustion engines including
diesels
cars and generators.
If you want to see the kind of engines that stand
the test of time go down to your local farm and see how many of the
old tractors are still running [that were made] from the 1940s to the
1960s.
I would be careful about spending money on conversions that will only
be useful while the [modern commercial] supply system is running.
One
other note: How safe is your fuel storage from fire and to incoming
[small arms]
fire?
Large
propane tanks can and have leveled city blocks when set on fire. In
some locales
underground
tanks are illegal so a block house away from your main structure would
be in order, and security for same must be reviewed.
Now think of your last power outage. How quiet was your neighborhood?
How far does the sound of your genset carry?
Remember that needs and wants are a long way apart. Skills are cheap
and you can accumulate lots of those and no one can take them from
you. Goods cost money and they can be taken or lost. The short of it
is: do not buy what you can learn to build or do without. In my humble
opinion the best way to survive is to organize like a Special Forces
team with overlapping skill sets. And never rule out mobility as strategically
v have any choice. Learn all you can about it. Good reference books
to have are the U.S. Army's FM 7-8
on infantry tactics and battle drills and the Ranger handbook. A
third "must have" is ST 31-91B US Army Special Forces medical
handbook. As the motto
[borrowed from the British SAS]
goes: "Who dares, wins".
Sorry for the rambling but I read your blog every day at 0400 and don't
get to write that often. so I start my day with a good cup of coffee
and good friends. God Bless and Semper Paratus, - Mike H.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane »
Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards
Jim,
Having both worked in a hospital and worked for hospitals for the last
18 years I must loudly concur with "Mike the MD in Missouri".
As a service specialist in an un-named Level 1 trauma center I had
access to almost every inch of the facility(s) including the warehouses
where we stored our unused equipment and all the patient care products.
Naturally I was able to assess the on hand stock versus the use and
replenish rates at a glance. I was always amazed at how little there
actually was for a hospital in a city of
150,000 people.
Let me assure everyone that Mike the MD is absolutely correct. This,
is due largely to the hospitals spiraling cost of doing
business. The paltry or sheer lack of adequate funding to healthcare
facilities has caused management to resort to Just in Time (JIT) inventories.
Lean stock management is a necessity for all but the largest big city
hospitals and even those are lean.
The small rural hospitals are, by far, the leanest and also will be
the hardest hit if there is a disruption in transportation. Anyone
remember the phrase "the sacrifice of the few for the benefit
of the many"?
This mentality applies to rural hospitals. The big inner city hospitals
will get resupplied (albeit perhaps scantly) first.
It is incumbent upon each and everyone of us to have the appropriate,
on hand, quantities of prescription medicines, symptomatic medications
(helpful for those manning a LP/OP), med supplies in the form of gauze
pads, bandages, tapes and wound closures including the "medical
grade super glue" style, cleaners, skin preps, splints, wraps, towels,
antiseptics, soaps and shampoos (un/minimally scented), tooth past
and brushes, gloves, sutures (if possible), ointments, tools (medical
and dental) of all sorts. Don't forget crutches, walkers, (if possible)
a wheelchair, feminine hygiene
products, et cetera. Diabetic folks need to stock up heavily on syringes
and needles. [JWR Adds: And they should absolutely
stock as much insulin and test materials as possible without
using them
beyond
their
expiration dates. Be sure to label and conscientiously rotate these
supplies on a first in, first out (FIFO)
basis.]
Thanks to Mike the MD for broaching this topic and thanks also Jim
for the platform to which the topic can be addressed. - Joe from Tennessee
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards »
Odds 'n Sods:
Readers Scott S. and Gokuryu both mentioned this article: Saudi-Based
Al Qaeda Group Calls for Attacks on Oil Facilities Worldwide to Cut
Off Flow to U.S.
o o o
"The Werewolf"--our correspondent in Brazil--sent us this
bit of emerging technology: Pinpointing
land mines with ultrasound beams.
o o o
RCP mentioned this article: Grocers
Prep For Pandemic Run On Food
« Notes from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know
how soon it will be too late." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
« Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Notes from JWR:
Notes from JWR: My only comment on the
recent tragedy in Salt Lake City (where Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian Muslim
refugee ran amok with a shotgun and a .38 wheelgun) is that if we had
a better armed citizenry, this madman would have been stopped much
more quickly.
(Probably long before he could have shot ten people.) I have
no doubt that the gun grabbers will try to capitalize on this sad event. But
they don't have an intellectual leg to stand on. Madmen will always
be
able to get hold of weapons, regardless of how many gun laws that the
Barbara Boxers and Hitlery Clintons of the world put on the books.
If Vermont-style concealed carry (with no permit required) were adopted
nationwide,
we would live
in a much safer country. An armed society is a polite society.
I spent most of yesterday afternoon out with our primary chainsaw
(a Stihl 029 with a 24" bar) cutting some firewood for next winter.
It was a good opportunity to brief our kids about chainsaw safety--especially
the
necessity of
wearing Kevlar
chainsaw chaps.
The widespread use of these chaps in recent years has greatly reduced
those messy trips to the Emergency
Room.
Speaking of cutting things off, I'm about to cut off the current debate
on climate change at SurvivalBlog, since there are obviously some
almost diametrically opposed views, and the debate is starting to
run in circles. Thanks
for your input, folks. The bottom line, in my estimation: Just be
ready, regardless of what happens vis-a-vis short
term weather patterns, or potential
long term
climate
change.
« Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change
Dear Jim and Family,
Wow, people sure are getting worked up and personal about climate change
aren't they? I agree that as survivalists we should do our best to
plan for reasonable emergencies. Cold weather gear in Central America?
Probably not. A larger cistern system than you think you need in the
desert or great plains? A good idea. Why? Climate change, whether caused
by man or not, makes for changing rainfall patterns. Maybe heavier
so your soil gets waterlogged and you get unexpected floods. In Hawaii
this may mean more hurricanes. Or maybe Hawaii turns into a desert
island with little rainfall and ends up collapsing like Easter Island
did. If the rain gets more brief and falls less often, aqueducts, which
keep your well full, could fail and you're suddenly out of water. Drought
has a very long history in North America in particular, topping several
advanced and complex civilizations: the Mayans, Hohokam, Mississippi
Mound Builders, and the Anasazi. In north america, climate can be accurately
mapped by tree ring growth and several other methods, and the region
has a tendency of a couple centuries of reliable weather, then a couple
decades of severe drought. We've had 150 years of reliable weather,
and I guess now we're going to have drought. The Mayan calendar maps
that to 265 year cycle of growth and destruction, which is purported
to end around 2012, which should be around 4 years into the Peak Oil
collapse.
A couple degree water temp difference means a huge difference in Cod
catch in the North Sea near Norway and Iceland. There are centuries
of records on those, if anyone is interested. A couple degrees can
mean glaciers grow or retreat, which they've been doing for millennia
before man began burning coal or oil. I think that the
IPCC report is inconclusive, but I'm a geologist and nobody asks
us about climate since our viewpoint is a lot longer than theirs and
our conclusions
don't make good headlines: "It's Interglacial.
Climate changes because its erratic until the next ice age begins." But
that's not as sexy as claiming the <s>sky is falling</s> world
is melting and everything will die. I'm pretty tired to explaining
this to ignorant masses who want to believe we're all going to melt
into the sea.
When all is said and done, climate change is something the governments
of the world have decided to accept as truth, regardless of whether
it
is or not. They are prepared to mandate "solutions" to "stop
warming", when their own vaunted report says that if we start
now with the most extreme measures (no CO2 emissions at all), it will
take 50 years to see any change.
As survivalists, we should be thinking about the political consequences
of that decision, such as banning the burning of firewood to cut CO2
emissions, outlawing internal combustion engines, perhaps even seizing
rural properties without active agriculture because the cost of transit
from this rural location makes it environmentally damaging under the
Kyoto protocols. Think about that. Are there alternatives to allow
your lifestyle to survive? Yes, but they'll be expensive and bid up
by demand. Electric cars actually cost around $40K, and are subsidized
by the government down to $22K. A mass release of electric cars to
the general public won't scale up for subsidies, so expect to pay that
$40K for
the first models. Instead of seeing the price drop, it will probably
rise with time as demand for the most efficient models and latest innovations
(and inflation) will bring it higher. As metals will cost more to make
thanks to the lack of fuels and restrictions on CO2 emissions, special
taxes are added on for a personal transport vehicle, and road taxes
and GPS tracking of mileage that gets very expensive. I can easily
see cars costing $70K (before inflation) by 2012. How many households
can afford that? I sure can't.
The IPCC report invites all sorts of oppression and we should fight
misuse and abuse of the data aggressively. They'll take your guns today
(UN says self-defense is illegal) so they can take your cars tomorrow
(personal vehicles release too much CO2, use precious fossil fuels/electricity),
then your furnace/fireplace (CO2), then your pantry. (Ration Cards).
You can see where that's going. Pretty soon you're living in Orwell's
1984. Letting government, and their politically motivated
scientists, tell me I can't burn wood, coal, or oil to heat my home
because it releases
CO2,
thus denying my right to survive the winter in a rural retreat, is
the same as a putting a gun to my head and telling me to obey and die.
I have real problems with that. Things like this convince me that the
UN is the enemy of the Free Man.
Even if the science behind the IPCC report is correct, the threat of
forcing First World countries to suffer like the 3rd World is too high
a cost, particularly when it means death for so many of us. Regardless
of effort applied, change will have to be endured over the next 50
years, so basically the rest of our lives. It is in our own best interests
not to abide by the Kyoto protocols and to adopt affordable alternative energy. Any changes we make must make economic sense and
the radicals
frothing at the mouth over the IPCC report want aggressive changes
made now, the kind that kill a lot of people. These are not people
we should be taking advice from.
So, think about rainfall totals, falling well levels, potential oppressive
laws, and how to deal with them all at your location while you try
and make a living under the radar with a modicum of both privacy and
comfort. Best, - InyoKern
Dear Jim,
I see that folk myths are becoming part of the Ad-hoc Working Group
(AWG) "science." Regarding: "Greenland!
Those who bought the stories they were told about it were sorely disappointed
when they arrived."
Repeating: there are currently Viking Era farms melting out of the
glaciers in Greenland, proving it was warmer then than currently. Greenland
was not a garden, but by the standards of the Norse it was quite viable.
The furthest north discoveries of artifacts are near 80 degrees north,
well above the ice line for centuries in between then and now. Greenland
was occupied for 450 years, by people who had boats as a standard.
Think of where the English word "Skipper" comes from, also "Starboard" and
many other nautical terms. If it had not been viable, they would have
left. The Inuit arrived around the year 1200, fully two centuries after the Europeans, and survived the climate change the other way--colder.
This is established fact.
"(freakish warmth in Greenland at some point is not a basis for
concluding that a world-wide trend was evident, as it wasn't) .
It's sad to see this myth persists."
As to there not being supporting evidence, here's a secondary source
linking to lots of others: See: http://www.john-daly.com/hockey/hockey.htm This
one smashes the notion that there was no Medieval Warm Period, with
evidence from the Antarctic,
Africa, North America, South America, Australia, the Pacific...all
supporting a period warmer than today, followed by the Little Ice Age,
and no measurable change in sea level.
The best quote from here is: As a prominent Finnish scientist remarked
about a historical military event in his country's distant history, "if
`anecdotal' ice is thick enough to carry a whole army, we can infer
the ice was both thick and durable as an objective conclusion based
on a documented historical fact."
To suggest that the Medieval Warm Period (MWP)
and Little Ice Age (LIA)
didn't exist is revisionism on par with Orwell's 1984. Any "scientist" claiming
so is a charlatan, plain and simple. Too many disciplines, from geology
to
geography to
botany to history to cartography all concur for them to be wrong on
such a scale.
~~~
The other point I shall address is:
"In another widely held misconception, the rise in sea levels
is not pegged to the weight of ice in the sea, but rather the melting
of land
ice and thermal expansion of the ocean."
This is an easy one (I had a physicist assist me, but my college math
and HVAC thermodynamics is well able to grasp it):
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Water/temp.html
The average temperature of the ocean surface waters is about 17 degrees
Celsius
90 % of the total volume of ocean is found below the thermocline in
the deep ocean. The deep ocean is not well mixed. The deep ocean is
made up of horizontal layers of equal density. Much of this deep ocean
water is between 0-3 degrees Celsius (32-37.5 degrees Fahrenheit)!
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean
its volume is over 1340 million cubic kilometers
Average Depth: 12200 feet (3720 m).
www.mos.org/oceans/planet/features.html
A Calorie or kilocalorie is the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of one kilogram of water one Celsius degree.
Although the metric unit of energy is the joule, heat is commonly also
measured in units called calories (there are about 4.19 joules in a
calorie)
Oceans volume: 1.34x1021 l
Oceans mass: 1.4x1021 kg
90% of the water is below the thermocline and can be ignored -
surface heating won't affect it.
Average surface water temperature: 17 C
Energy required to raise average surface water temperature to 22C
5x1.4x1020 KJ = 7x1021 KJ
Solar power input to the Earth is about 1050 W/m2 after counting the
amount reflected. Earth's cross-sectional area is 1.27x1014 m2, so
total solar power input is 1.33 x 1020 W
So 50 million seconds of solar output would do it.
Giving density at 17C as 1.024193346 kg/l
and at 22C as 1.020066461 kg/l
So our 10% surface water of 1.4x1021 kg has a volume of
1.36692940397x1020 l at 17C and 1.3724595931x1020 at 22C
which is a difference of about 5.5x1017 litres = 5.5x1014 m3
The surface area of the oceans is 3.61x1014 m
which give an approximate level rise of 1.5m or five feet, about 0.41%.
So, if the sun doubles in output for TWO YEARS, enough energy will
enter the system to raise the ocean level about 5 feet.
If we decreased the energy radiated from the Earth by 1% (a SIGNIFICANT
change for a system in equilibrium radiating on average as much as
it absorbs), and if all that extra energy went into the oceans, that
would raise the water temperature by 3C over 100 years, for less than
a 2 foot rise.
This disregards that the upper ocean is not a parallel-sided tank,
but slopes, that 30% of that energy would fall on dry land, and that
toward the poles much of it would be soaked up or deflected by atmosphere.
Also, in the last 3 billion years, the solar influx has INCREASED 40%
without catastrophe. http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/sol.html#solarconstant
This disregards additional cloud cover raising the albedo and reflecting
some of the incoming energy.
Atmospheric warming is irrelevant to sea level expansion (it can affect
surface ice), because the transfer rate from gaseous air to liquid
water is very low.
And yet, this is an idea that so-called scientists are endorsing? I
certainly hope not.
And there is certainly no consensus that warming is taking place to
the degree some argue:
http://muller.lbl.gov/TRessays/23-MedievalGlobalWarming.html
Supports global warming. Says he doesn't trust Mann's paper.
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba478/
http://www.nps.gov/archive/mora/ncrd/glaciers.htm some advance, some
retreat
http://www.nasa.gov/lb/vision/earth/environment/sea_ice.html Antarctic
ice may be increasing
There has historically been much more CO2 in our atmosphere than exists today.
For example, during the Jurassic Period (200 million years ago), average CO2
concentrations were about 1800 ppm or about 4.7 times higher than today. The
highest concentrations
of CO2 during all of the Paleozoic Era occurred during the Cambrian Period, nearly
7000 ppm -- about 18 times higher than today.
http://www.clearlight.com/~mhieb/WVFossils/Carboniferous_climate.html
The Carboniferous Period and the Ordovician Period were the only geological periods
during the Paleozoic Era when global temperatures were as low as they are today.
To the consternation of global warming proponents, the Late Ordovician Period
was also an Ice Age while at the same time CO2 concentrations then were nearly
12 times higher than today-- 4400 ppm. According to greenhouse theory, Earth
should have been exceedingly hot. Instead, global temperatures were no warmer
than today. Clearly, other factors besides atmospheric carbon influence earth
temperatures and global warming."
~~~
One can say that the scientists working for the energy companies are "biased," but
bias works both ways. One could also say that those getting paid higher wages
by the private sector are competent. Those who can, do, and all that.
Certainly we are facing climate change. Certainly it will affect life, cause
local disasters and shift society. But the planet, life and even the human race
have withstood much worse with much less knowledge. - Michael
Z. Williamson
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change »
Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog
On the Yahoo discussion
group survivalretreat, the other two moderators
and I recently posted a very boiled down and simple philosophy: “The
more who prepare, and the better they each prepare, the better off
we all are. We welcome people to join us as survivalists.” I
hope this is your attitude as a survivalist, and if you think about
it, wouldn’t this be an incredibly wise policy for any government
to take. It would make its citizenship stronger, less needy, and more
resilient to against any catastrophe or hard times. The best part is,
it’s free. This is merely information, advice, and encouragement
for people to ready themselves with some realistic advice as to how
to do so. Survivalblog.com, to a significant extent does this for all
of us through
the continued posting of and debate of ideas, for free. Advertisers
here make this financially possible, and offer the products and services
that allow you to expand and improve upon your preparations. I hope
you consider patronizing them first for this reason. I have.
Special thanks to James Rawles for the continuing level of quality
and fresh material on the site. Is there financial self-interest for
the advertisers? Of course there is. But don’t kid yourself about
them becoming rich off this. Survivalism is unfortunately a very small
market,
and thus we should all take special appreciation as to how this blog
site brings so many of us together internationally. I see that it is
now
been a year since I took the Ten
Cent Challenge , and is time for me
to renew. I encourage you to as well, as you are able.- Rourke
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog »
Odds 'n Sods:
Reader Alfie Omega recommended some
very sobering observations from Peak Oil guru James Howard Kunstler. Yes,
he's coming from a left-of center political perspective, and the
timing of Hubbert's Peak may be decades (or more) premature, but
this is still worth pondering.
o o os
Those RFID chips
just keep getting smaller and more numerous. Now Hitachi
has announced a nascent RFID dust.
o o o
JB in Tennessee spotted a disposable toothbrush with self-dispensing
toothpaste in the handle called Fresh
'n Go. JB notes: "It is advertised
as good for about two weeks use, but I find that I can stretch one
to 5-6 weeks. I have packed a handful in my family BOB,
as well as in individual camping and survival kits. They were available
initially
in a few drugstore chains, but now the only reliable source seems to
be direct from the manufacturer at $10 for [a package of] six units."
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"In a free society, government has the responsibility of
protecting us from others, but not from ourselves." - Dr. Walter
E. Williams
« A SurvivalBlog Reader's Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
The first piece today is from a SurvivalBlog
reader that took the Four Day Defensive Handgun course at Front
Sight, outside Pahrump, Nevada. (Just under 40 miles from Las Vegas.) The
Memsahib and I have taken the same course there, and
we can attest that the trainers
are excellent
and
that already
well-experienced shooters will return from the course at a much higher
plateau of skill and confidence with a firearm. There is no macho posturing,
no shouting, and no belittling of students at Front Sight. Just
very courteous instruction from some of the very best in the business.
I highly
recommend the training
at Front
Sight. Safety is stressed throughout. Near the end of Day Two of our
course when they transitioned to "hot range" conditions,
I felt no
apprehension at all having all of my classmates with holstered
loaded guns behind the firing line, because I knew that they had been
drilled
in
safe gun handling procedures.
Perhaps the thing that I appreciate the most about Front
Sight is the fact that they have a "train the
trainer"
approach. Thus, someone with a limited budget can attend Front Sight
and then go home and pass on those skills to their family members
and friends. Remember: A
true survivalist collects skills, not gadgets. Just
having a big defensive firearms battery does not make you well prepared.
In fact, by itself an assortment of guns can give you an unrealistic
sense of confidence. Get
the training.Your
life or the
life of a
loved one
may depend on it.
Special thanks go to Dr. Ignatius "Naish" Piazza, the founder
and director of Front Sight. He has very graciously provided us with
the four day "gray" transferable Front
Sight course certificates (worth up to $1,600 each) that we have
been awarding to the first place winners of the the SurvivalBlog
non-fiction writing contest. This is how "S.F." earned
his way to Front Sight.
« Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards |Main| Note from JWR: »
A SurvivalBlog Reader's Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii
I recently returned from a four day handgun course at Front
Sight,
courtesy of SurvivalBlog's writing contest. Upon arriving I made
a quick headcount
of the handgun class. ~50 students, 10 female and 40 male. Mostly
30 to 50 year olds but a few teenagers and 60 year olds as well.
The first
pleasant surprise was how safe and peaceful I felt in a location
where I was surrounded by absolute strangers all of whom had a gun
in plain
sight on a holster. I've never been around so many armed people and
never felt so comfortable either. Crime in such a situation was an
utter impossibility. This was man (and woman) in their natural state:
armed, and polite. No victims and no criminals here.
The class progressed from proper standing position, angles and presentation
from the holster to trigger control, malfunction clearing, tactical
situations and simulations (including night shooting), entering and
clearing a room and hostage situations. There was also a good deal
of class time where ethical, legal and tactical situations were discussed.
While there isn't space to delineate everything I've learned, here
are some highlights:
1) Keep it simple. I thought my tricked out Glock 19 was a great
idea but the first thing that they did was to take off the Jentra
plug and
Magwell. They told me that they would interfere with stripping out
the magazine in certain malfunctions. On the other hand my tritium
big dot XS sights did make rapid target acquisition much easier than
the standard sights. I think it gave me a fraction of a second advantage
over the other shooters. This may not seem like much but consider
what happens if someone shoots you a fraction of a second before
you can
shoot them. There is no second place in a gunfight.
2) Know your weapon. Just owning it isn't enough. Having Heirloom
seeds in my refrigerator doesn't make me a farmer and having a gun
collection didn't make me a skilled shooter. Practice did. I had 35
high-brass
malfunctions on Day 3. Was this due to underpowered ammo, a bad extractor
or "limp wristing" a ported gun? I'll find out shortly when my gunsmith
takes a look at it. Having your gun jam when a man is pointing an
AK-47
at you (even if it is a paper simulation) it quite disconcerting,
not having the automatic reflexes to clear the jam even, more so.
Also,
finding that your gun shoots 4 inches to the left at 10 yards makes
tactical shooting a bit unnerving. There are many survival situations
where you have the luxury of a few mistakes and correcting them in
the field. So what if it takes you 30 minutes to start a campfire
your first time with a flint and tinder. If it's not freezing it's
no big
deal. Next time you'll be faster. A gunfight is not the place to
learn your lessons. A school is.
3) Know how to clear malfunctions. You should be able to clear type
1, 2, and 3 malfunctions in under 3 seconds. If you don't know what
lock/strip/rack/rack/rack/insert mag/rack means, then you'd better
find out now.
4) Whereas basic hand to hand combat skills can give you a degree
of comfort in 1 on 1 unarmed encounters giving you a 'sphere of confidence'
[of only] 5 feet in every direction, being skilled with a handgun
can give you
a sense of confidence against an armed opponent or multiple opponents
out to 10 yards or better.
On the last day I was put 7 yards from a paper hostage target.
A hostage was in the center of the target and offset to the right
and left of the hostage's head were the silhouettes of two hostage
taker's
heads. Only a part of the hostage taker's head was visible. The instructors
then asked for the name of a loved one (I gave my wife) and wrote
the name on the hostage. The task was to put 5 controlled shots into
the
cranium (an area the size of an index card) of the the hostage takers
on both the right and left without hitting the hostage. Ten shots
later I breathed a sigh of relief. When I unrolled the target and
showed
my wife a few days later (I took the target with me) that the bad
guys were shot and her target was unharmed, I felt more proud than
if I
had handed her a diploma from Harvard University.
I'll be going back for their rifle and advanced handgun courses without
question. The instructors were very qualified and the entire experience
was both sobering and enjoyable. I'm very grateful to the staff at
Front Sight and
Jim Rawles for the opportunity to learn. I recommend their training
wholeheartedly. - SF in Hawaii
« Letter Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane |Main| A SurvivalBlog Reader's Four Days at Front Sight, by S.F. in Hawaii »
Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards
James:
This "just in time" thinking has transformed the medical
industry, especially hospitals. The "Central Supply" or stockpile
in hospitals has disappeared and in its place are vendors with same
day and next day shipping. This includes band-aids, medications, ventilators,
equipment etc. In the business setting it makes sense, but in the medical
setting it often falters on a day to day basis. In a crisis medical
event, surge capacity is limited to how fast the vendors can respond.
In a contained disaster, vendors can shift needed supplies to a hospital
in as little as several hours. But, in a local area
or larger disaster, when several hospitals are requiring materials,
vendors can and will
run dry. Recently we had an episode where we had to transfer
several patients due to lack of ventilators at our facility. We
requested more, but the the vendor had already sent them to another
hospital that was
in need, and this was only the typical flu/pneumonia season! Medications,
IV fluids,
surgical supply are all limited in supply at most hospitals. Add transportation
and trucking problems, and many hospitals with cease
to provide our current level of care. Pharmacies are in the
same boat,
antibiotics and even the OTC meds
will quickly run dry, as vendors try to cope with a surge in usage.
Thinking in terms of pandemic flu, this
will reach crisis levels very quickly, and will set off a domino effect
in local area, including rural hospitals and the big city hospitals,
affecting routine and critical care. Lesson to be learned, is to stock
up on medical supplies including any prescription meds you need, but
also antibiotics and symptomatic medications such as Tylenol, Aspirin,
Motrin, Imodium, but also on IV fluids, oxygen and other medical materials
that could save your life. Obviously, getting an EMT,
paramedic, RN,
or
doctor into your group will be priceless, and life saving, now and
into the future.
Another aside, what is the recommendations for your tool cache? Everyone
gives there opinion on weapons, and what foods to stock up on, but
what basic tools do you recommend to have on hand?
- Mike the MD in Missouri
JWR Replies: I will discuss tool selection in detail
in my upcoming non-fiction book: "Rawles on Guns and Other Tools
for Survival". I
hope to release it this coming summer.
« Two Letters Re: The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes |Main| Letter Re: Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards »
Letter Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane
Jim,
I believe I mentioned this to you before. There is a company in West
Virginia that makes the whole kit to convert just about any generator to propane,
even
tractors, with a phone call:
http://www.propane-generators.com/ -
Sid, Near Niagara Falls, New York
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane »
Two Letters Re: The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes
Hi Jim:
Hit the nail on the head didn't you? Jericho is nothing more than the
standard protagonist/antagonist Hollywood pipe dream of heroes coming
out of the woodwork to save the day.
I certainly hope no one is seriously considering this show as a realistic
depiction of life after "the pulse". Rather, I compare this
show to the "Dark Angel " series, i.e. for network TV, fairly
good science fiction with almost nothing based in fact. Actually, I
retract that statement. As far as depicting the scenario after an
EMP event; the "Dark Angel" series was quite a bit more realistic
than Jericho, if you ignore the mutants that were the basis for the
show. The "Dark Angel" series depicts a repressive and corrupt
socioeconomic system fostered and encouraged by the so-called "government" that
came into place after all "normal" government had failed.
Checkpoints, passes to enter and leave the city, national ID cards.
Sound familiar? These are realities that have and will occur if a major
catastrophe
strikes.
Back to Jericho: Nice mercenaries? Way too many Steven Segal movies.
Backing down a crew of heavily armed mercs with shotguns and 22 rifles?
I Don't
think so. One realistic part was the sniper shot by the only fellow
in Jericho who has a lick of sense, the double agent. I doubt
he makes it all the way thru the third season, if there is a third
season. The response to that scene was not so realistic!
I understand that the anticipated rush by the general populace to stock
up on "survival" supplies due to the influence of this show
never materialized. I imagine this is because the viewing audience
of Jericho either:
1] Feels they are already prepared and watch the show because it validates
their preparations or 2] Takes the show with a grain of salt. Pretty
cool situation drama, and beats the heck out of the That 70s Show reruns
or one of the other "pabulum" shows on network TV or 3] Simply
have their head in the sand! Their thought processes may be as follows: "This
can never happen, and , if it does, we can live like those folks on
Jericho."See how well they live?".And, "They
have power, food, water, even beer and a transistorized juke box that
still seems to work after a half a dozen megaton nukes go off all
over the US!"
Enjoy the show, take it for what it really is, and Lord help us if
the depicted scenario actually occurs. - Bob in GA
Mr. Rawles:
I appreciate your take on Jericho, but I see it a little
differently from an average person's perspective. Jericho is not going
to be an
accurate portrayal of how the US would react because the general public
could not handle it if it were. The show would be too violent, too
depressing and would never garner ratings, let alone be aired by politically
correct network. To make it an entertainment vehicle, it has to have
the very elements that make it more fantasy than reality (girls and
makeup, lack of arms, etc.). On the flip side, what makes this show
wonderful is that it actually has a large audience of ordinary folks
who may never have thought of survivalism or may never have thought
they could survive such a cataclysmic event. So yes, it is not accurate.
But if it gets people talking and moving towards preparedness, then
it's saving lives. That is heck of a lot more than you can say about
CSI
or American Idol. LOL. I speak from personal experience since up until
last fall, I was one of those 'sheeple' whose eyes were opened by the
show and the survival [Internet] groups I joined as a result. - Tarran
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Two Letters Re: The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes »
Odds 'n Sods:
Reader CM flagged this piece: Flu
pandemic could choke 'Net, force usage restrictions. CM's comments:
"I came across this article in LinuxWorld and thought it meshed very
well with your thoughts on lean supply systems. Everything's great when
the critical people continue to show up to work and system disruption
or damage can be limited. As the article states, no one can war game
out exactly what those critical people will actually do in a real Crunch."
o o o
David in Israel recommended this inspiring
story of survival, from World War II.
o o o
Mike F. sent this CNN news story: National
Guard troops
aid motorists stranded by winter storm. Mike's comment:
"Here is a great example of why we all need a survival kit in each
of our vehicles."
« Notes from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"'My country right or wrong' is like saying, 'My
mother drunk or sober.'" - G. K. Chesterton
« The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Notes from JWR:
Today is the first day of a new SurvivalBlog
benefit auction. This one is for a brand new Schecter "Warthog" Electric
Guitar! This is an awesome guitar,
in eye-catching stylized U.S. Air Force A-10 livery. It
has a $729 retail value.
It was kindly donated
by the fine folks at Schecter Guitar Research.) Please tell any
of your friends that are guitarists about this auction. The
auction
bidding starts at just
$50. Just e-mail me
your bid. Thanks!
Congratulations to Mike in Missouri, the high bidder in our most recently
ended benefit auction, for a pair of upgraded MURS hand-held radios.
« Letter Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane |Main| Notes from JWR: »
The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes
Airing of new episodes of the television series Jericho will
resume on February 21st here in the States. (After some sort
of "split season" break.) I've watched most of the episodes
via the Internet, since we don't own a television here at the Rawles
Ranch. Here is my "$.02 worth" evaluation of the
show, based on my own viewing and from comments that I've distilled
from Internet discussion boards: Jericho severely
stretches credulity for accurate portrayal of a post-nuclear America.
Apparently all of the female characters must have been secret
adherents of the Maybelline School of Survivalism and hence
stocked up heavily on cosmetics in anticipation of WWIII. Viewers deduced
this because none of the female characters show any signs of
running out of lipstick or mascara, or for that matter the requisite
time to apply them. And as for the men folk? Well, apparently
hardly anyone in the town of Jericho owned a decent .308 semi-auto
battle rifle, or if they did then they must be hiding them.
Now that the proverbial Schumer has
hit the oscillator and flown around copiously, nobody in Jericho feels
the need to go about their daily business armed. That seems
odd, since in a recent episode the town of Jericho was attacked by
a large groups of rogue
Blackwater-ish looking mercenaries bent on "requisitioning"" food
and fuel. If the show were less politically correct and a
bit more pragmatically honest, then they would portray the majority
of the adult citizenry--both male and female--armed at all times when
they are outside of their homes. It only stands to reason that they
would do so, both for their individual and collective defense. My other
problem with the show is that it trivializes the need for basic necessities
like food and water. For example, there they are on dead-level
Kansas terrain, yet they seem to have no problem obtaining
drinking water, without benefit of grid power. Perhaps the
script writers don't want to bore the audience with mundane things
like the struggle to obtain the bare necessities of life, or the fragility
of our technological infrastructure. I realize that the producers are
trying to appeal to a broad demographic, but the characters seem to
spend an inordinate amount of time discussing relationships.
Come on! America has just been nuked back
to 19th Century technology and population levels, yet
they seem oh-so concerned with who is dating who. Lastly, for
a town that has had no 18-wheelers arriving with milk, Nutter Butter
cookies, and Pop-Tarts for several weeks, the
citizenry seems remarkably well-fed and law abiding. Given
the fact that the average American home has less than a week's supply
of groceries on hand, I am dubious that Mr. Joe Sixpack would
just quietly starve at home. In actuality, there would be a lot of burglary
and siphoning going on. Lots of it. Oh well, perhaps
I'm too critical and cynical. It may not be very realistic, but at
least Jericho beats watching re-runs of situation comedies
or the umpteen different geographical flavors of CSI forensics shows.
OBTW, I should mention that airing of the new Jericho episodes
should reinvigorate the Jericho
Discussion Group, which is moderated by Rourke. (Who
you'll probably recognize as a frequent SurvivalBlog content contributor.)
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| The Jericho Television Series Returns With New Episodes »
Letter Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane
Hi Jim,
A friend just sent this note to me and I thought I should pass it on
to the SurvivalBlog readers:
I finished the generator conversion this weekend. I converted my generator
from gasoline to propane. I
had to order the big regulator (Garretson) from an online supplier.
These are a 'demand' [feed] regulator and will only deliver propane
if something is pulling on it. Once the engine is shut off, it quits
delivering
gas. I started by removing the gas tank and fittings, then
stripped the carb down, removing everything that had anything to do
with fuel delivery. I left the throttle and choke in place.
Using RTV/Silicone by Permatex, I plugged every hole and orifice in
the carb except the main fuel delivery tube. Ace Hardware provided
most of the brass fittings. The really tough fitting was the elbow
that goes into the bottom of the carb. I managed to find an elbow with
a heavy wall barb and just threaded the barb to match the threads in
the carb. Everything else was 'plug and play'.
Skagit Farm Supply was the source the tank regulator, 12 foot hose,
and fittings to adapt the hose to the Garretson regulator. I elected
to go with a tank regulator having about four times the flow capacity
of a barbeque grill regulator. I salvaged the propane tank fitting
from an old barbecue grill and modified it by drilling out the passages
and knocking out the check ball. This modification was done to assure
adequate gas flow in cold weather. I also took the needle valve apart
and cleaned it, then applied a liberal dose of Crystolube 111 lubricant
to the threads and "O" ring. Crystolube is an oxygen-safe
lubricant and is not affected by any petroleum product. I tightened
the gland nut down to the point that the needle valve has enough drag/resistance
so that it won't move from vibration when the genset
is running.
The 1/4 inch fuel line (regulator to carb) was sourced from a Shuck's
Auto Supply store and the fuel line clamps were salvaged from the original
gas tank. This really isn't critical, as there is no positive pressure
in this line.
I made the regulator bracket from a piece of 1/8" x 3/4" mild steel
strap and installed it with fasteners I salvaged from the gas tank
mounting.
Total cost of the conversion parts was in the neighborhood of $110
(perhaps a little less.)
So, how does it run? Perfectly. I should have removed the choke and
will the next time I have the carb off. The choke is unnecessary, as
the Garretson regulator has a 'prime' button it to give the carb a
shot of propane. The engine starts on the first pull and the mixture
was very easy to adjust.
[My generator set is a] 4000/4400 Watt genset with Subaru
Robin 9 h.p. engine. It should run about 12 hours on a 'grill size' tank of propane.
I will eventually be plumbing this into the house propane system so
I don't have to mess with the little tanks.
I am impressed with the little Subaru Robin engine. It is an overhead
cam / overhead valve engine and is beautifully made. It also runs at
less than half the noise level of the last genset I had. I would say
this engine is equal to or better than a same-sized Honda engine, and
having heard a Honda genset run, the Subaru is quieter. I would not
hesitate to do this again.
Hope this can be beneficial to you and your
readers. God Bless! - Steve, Still in Seattle
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane »
Odds 'n Sods:
A
scary video on binary explosives. I can now see why US and UK
transportation officials recently got so anxious about allowing any
cigarette lighters and any liquids aboard commercial airline flights.
o o o
For those of you considering a "blue water" or "brown water" bug
out, Bob at Ready
Made Resources mentioned that he has in stock just one high
capacity PUR-Katadyn Model
35 MROD-type
desalinator that has been freshly factory reconditioned. It produces 1.5 gallons
of fresh water per hour.
These are normally around $1,500 each.
Ready
Made Resources is selling this one for the bargain price of just $895
and it comes with four bottles of biocide, which are otherwise $35 each.
o o o
James K. tells us: "This
video [titled "Old Friends'"] over at YouTube.com has
been making the rounds, and I thought it would be of interest to
your
readers.
It depicts a semi-prepared family trying to hunker down, and survive
a pandemic of bird flu. Sadly, the video shows that half-way measures
only get half-way results. [JWR Adds: Warning. Graphic
violence!]
« Notes from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"There are only two things we should fight for. One is
the defense of our homes, and the other is the Bill of Rights." -
Major General Smedley Butler, US Marine Corps 1930
« Active Preparedness Planning: Identifying and Mitigating Threats, by Paul C. |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Notes from JWR:
Today is the last day in
the big "Container
load sale" at Survival Enterprises. Many of the storage
food items have sold out. This is your last chance to stock up at
these prices. (Their
prices
are less than half of retail!)
Today is also the last day of bidding in the SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a
pair of MURS band handheld transceivers, with extended range flex antennas.
The high bid is still at $175. These radios were kindly
donated by Rob at $49
MURS Radios.
And today we present another article submitted for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog
non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction
article will win a valuable four day "gray" transferable Front
Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize
is a copy of my "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated
by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be
sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel "Patriots" as "honorable
mention" awards. If you want a chance to win the contest,
start writing and e-mail us your
article. Round 9 will end on March 31st. Remember that the articles
that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will
have an advantage in the judging.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Active Preparedness Planning: Identifying and Mitigating Threats, by Paul C.
Here is my approach to actively preparing for disasters:
1. Identify potential threats.
2. Gather quantitative and qualitative information on impact.
3. Identify which threats are the most likely.
4. Identify critical needs for survival.
5. Estimate outage time that can be tolerated.
6. Compile resource requirements.
7. Identify alternatives.
1. Identify potential threats.
Threats will come from two main areas: man-made or natural. Man-made
threats include labor strikes, riots, fires, chemical spills, terrorism,
and
vandals. A labor strike might mean that garbage collection
or that public transportation stops. Urban riots have hit cities like
Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, and Cleveland in recent years. Wildfires
are the number one disaster threat in much of the south. Industrial areas
have large amounts of chemicals hauled in and out by the trainload, these
tracks run the length and width of the nation. Terrorism might have a
direct or in-direct impact upon you. Finally vandals might come upon
your second home and destroy it and its contents.
Natural threats are things like tornados, snow storm/blizzards, hurricanes,
floods, and earthquakes. These tend to be even more destructive than
man-made threats. Much of the center of the nation is covered in tornado
alley. Tornados do massive amounts of damage where they strike and little
can resist their forces. Snow storms and blizzards affect the northern
states and can stop all but the most determined from traveling. Hurricanes
are no stranger to those states on the Gulf of Mexico and along the southern
Atlantic coast. These huge storms are able to do massive damage to wide
areas and will often hit the public rescue and support infrastructure
just
as hard as the public. Flooding can happen nearly anywhere within the
United States where homes are built within flood zones. California is
famous for earthquakes but the central Mississippi valley is also a large
earthquake zone. Earthquakes are like hurricanes in that their damage
is widespread and can prevent public services from reaching the needy.
2. Gather quantitative and qualitative information on impact.
Quantitative information are those things that one can put a number
on. For each identified threat what is the likelihood of that threat
occurring
and just how bad that the affect likely be. How often does that threat
occur over time? Looking back over the history of your location can help
as well as looking at other areas similar to yours. Aircraft crash all
around the United States each year but if you live under the take-off
path of a busy airport in an area prone to bad flying conditions that
risk is greater than if you didn’t live there. An area might be
prone to flooding and you can normally pull the 100-year flood plan to
see if the particular plot of land that you’re living on falls
within that flood plain.
3. Identify which threats are the most likely.
Using your quantitative and qualitative assessment rank which threats
are most likely and which are least likely to occur in your area. Raw
numbers can not always provide the answer. Sometimes there is a gut feeling
or rough judgment that has to be made.
If you remember the Star Trek television program from the 1960s
Kirk and Spock went about solving the monster attack of the week differently.
Spock would use the facts, figures, and history available to him to make
a quantitative judgment … “Captain, there’s an 87%
chance that if I adjust the ships’ phasers …” where
on the other hand Kirk would make judgment calls … “Spock
just do it this way because it feels right”. Both characters work
their way toward the answer from different sides of the logic/gut feeling
equation.
Two people living side-by-side might be given the same data and come
up with different solutions to the same threats. They both ought to have
that threat on their list but their solutions aren’t right or wrong
because they don’t match. This is Captain Kirk’s judgment
call based on what feels right. Spock can’t analyze everything
to come to a 100% logical conclusion so some rough judgment needs to
be made if something is ever to get done toward a solution.
4. Identify critical needs for survival.
Again this seems simple enough but what is needed by some families might
not be needed by another. We all can agree on the basics like food, water,
shelter, and a method of defense but a family with an infant that is
bottle feeding is going to have different requirements than one with
adults,
as an example.
Look at you and your family and identify what is needed for their survival.
Special requirements like medicines have to be kept in supply. Water
might be available in your area but a massive chemical spill might render
it contaminated, do you have the ability to purify it with a filter?
Winter storms can be a killer in Minnesota and North Dakota or a nuisance
in Phoenix or San Antonio. Your requirements are going to differ both
based on the make up your family and your location.
5. Estimate outage time that can be tolerated.
For each of your critical needs how long can you do without them? Some
might call electrical power a critical need. If that electrical power
is required for a medical device that loss could be tolerated a whole
lot less than one who requires that same power for communication purposes.
Living without heat in Miami is easy as is without an air conditioner
in Duluth. If you have a clean running source of water close-by the loss
of city water utility service will be easier. What is the likelihood
of an outage of a given length of time occurring based on past experience
and history? The likelihood of electrical power going out during a hurricane
is high but based on experience does the power remain out for a day,
a few days, a week, or several weeks? [JWR Adds: For
those of you that live in a "four season climate", the acceptable
length of outages will also vary greatly, depending on the season--e.g.:
you'll
probably have a lower tolerance for a power failure in mid-winter.]
6. Compile resource requirements.
Now based on your focused threat assessment and your now identified needs
across the estimated outage time, make a list of items. Make sure that
you look for interdependencies. If grandpa needs his medicine for a three
week service outage you might need to refrigerate it meaning you’re
going to need a power source like solar power or a backup generator.
If you have a generator you’re going to need fuel, a fuel storage
area, fuel conditioner, a maintenance plan for the generator and possibly
more.
Having a bunch of firearms without the ammo, skills, and training in
tactics to use than is a half baked plan. Communications equipment requires
power, training in operation, and often a license. Start to gather your
items over time until you’ve completed your list. No one expects
to run out one weekend and run their credit up to the limit prepping.
A sustained effort over time will make better sense. Keep an eye out
for alternatives to paying full price like finding an item at a yard
sale, buying one used at an on-line auction, or pick one up during an
off season sale.
Gathering your supplies together for rapid use or deployment (see alternatives
below) helps keep things organized and accounted for. Location depending
you may need to store things inside and out for best life span of the
materials.
Once you’ve completed your list do a second analysis to see if
you want to lay in some more of one item or another possibly even for
barter or to help a needy neighbor. Often the material in your supplies
will have an expiration life span so keep a list of expiration dates
for future purchases. Routinely do a visual inspection of your gear and
supplies to ensure that things are rusting away quietly or that rodents
haven’t found your emergency food supplies.
7. Identify alternatives.
Sometimes staying put through a disaster doesn’t make sense or
is impossible. You can’t hold back the flood waters and it makes
sense to move to higher ground. Always have a plan “B” and
I would recommend that plan “C” be not too far off either.
There are people who don’t have the good sense to leave when it’s
time to leave. These people are held in place by emotion. A plan “B” would
give them an out and likely they’d come out better than doggedly
sticking with plan “A” as it fails.
Leaving the home is never easy. Hopefully you make the decision
to leave in time to save yourself but also before everyone else in the
area does
too or else you’ll find yourself stuck in traffic. Depending on
your location and the distance to safety from the disaster area you may
need anything from a good pair of boots and a backpack, to a well supplied
4x4 SUV, to a boat. Often you lessen the severity of a disaster with
each step you take from it. You might not make it to complete safety
but you can make it to survival. Bugging out to a work location or a
public area might work where bugging out of state might not. Good enough
sometimes works.
Having a plan “B” means that from time-to-time you’re
going to need to practice it. In the military that’s called a training
exercise and can involve anything from a sit down around a table and
looking over
plan “B” to a full-scale run through.[JWR Adds: One
crucial thing to test is your loading plan. You won't know what will
fit in your
vehicle(s) until you actually try it. I predict that most of you will
find that you grossly overestimated the available cargo volume versus
the volume of your "to go" pile. Based on this "test
load", you can much better evaluate the list of items that you need to
pre-position at your intended retreat.]
Conclusion
It’s been said that if you don’t focus on the target you’ll
miss it every time. This brief primer isn’t meant to cover all
aspects of disaster survival but it is meant to get you to start thinking
in a focused manner on your plans. Over time things change and both the
primary and secondary plans to be reviewed to ensure that they are current.
A key point becomes when to actually activate the plans and it’s
often better to error your judgment to the safety side rather than the
less safe side of a non-qualitative judgment. You can analyze yourself
into danger and sometimes the gut feeling is the one that you have to
listen to.- Paul C. in Southern California
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Active Preparedness Planning: Identifying and Mitigating Threats, by Paul C. »
Odds 'n Sods:
Frequent content contributor Michael
Z. Williamson found an
amazing web site, by way of an Internet discussion on asthma.
Mike notes: "It seems a bit extreme by modern standards, and
I hope I
never
have
a
need to
try the traditional cure."
o o o
By way of our friend Noah at the DefenseTech blog: British
SAS troops use a commercial gravy mix to darken their skin for
Middle East infiltrations.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient
mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random
searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in
our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America
was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient
societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long." - Congressman
Ron Paul, August 9, 2004
« State and Federal Lands--Poor Choices for Short Term Retreat Locales |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
Tomorrow is the last day
of bidding in the SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a
pair of MURS band handheld transceivers, with extended range flex
antennas. The high bid is still at $175.
These radios were kindly donated by Rob at $49
MURS Radios. Check out his products. What Rob sells are a
lot of radio for the money. I've heard nothing but rave reviews
from the SurvivalBlog readers that have bought these. As previously mentioned
in the blog, Kenwood 2 watt MURS handhelds have far better range than
FRS radios, they require no
license,
and
can
be
custom programmed
for, MURS, 2 Meter Band frequencies and/or weather warning (WX, receive
only) channels, and they are also compatible with alert message frequencies
for Dakota Alert intrusion detection systems. (A license is required
if using 2 Meter Band frequencies.) I strongly endorse these hand-helds!
If you don't already own a pair, look
into
getting
some.
« Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Missouri Ice Storm |Main| Note from JWR: »
State and Federal Lands--Poor Choices for Short Term Retreat Locales
I often have people ask me if state or Federally-managed forest land
or BLM land
would be a viable place to take temporary or long term shelter in the
event of of a societal collapse. There might be exceptions, but
my
blanket
assertion is no,
that is a bad idea for even a temporary
retreat locale. Here is my rationale:
Access: Access is a huge issue. Public lands are
intended for visits,
not residence.Odds are that if you make camp on state or Federal land,
men with badges and guns will arrive within a couple of weeks and forcibly
send you packing. In bad times, the local land owners will not want
any perceived "riff raff" residing in the nearby public lands.
The "we/they
paradigm" dictates that the locals will lump all newcomers
and assorted straphangers--good and bad--together into the
category of "undesirables." So assume that the locals will make
the call to report any new forest land interlopers. In extremis, they
might even take matters in their own hands.
There is also no guarantee that once
you get in to public lands that you
can
get
out. Many
roads
inside
forest
lands
are
not maintained in winter. Depending on the
latitude
and elevation,
this could mean getting truly "snowed in" for the winter.
And, depending on the depth of your larder and your available fuel
for heating,
you
might
not have
chances any better than the ill-fated Donner
Party. (But by the same token, if you have a lot of food
and fuel, then getting snowed it would be a good thing .
(Snow-blocked roads will insure your privacy.)
Shallow larder: It goes without saying that if your
family arrives with only what it can carry in a couple of vehicles,
then you won't have a long term food supply. One of the
greatest advantages of a fixed-site retreat is the "deep larder." A
deep larder can make up for a bad season of gardening, or a bad season
of hunting. But a shallow larder leaves no margin for error. I've
often said that the last category that you want to be in when the Schumer Hits
the Fan is "refugee." If you are traveling light,
then you are just one step away from homeless/unprovisioned/refugee
status.
Hunting pressure: In the event of a full scale economic
collapse or a major natural disaster, there will suddenly be a lot
of people
trying
to subsist
on wild game, year round.
The hunting pressure on the wild game flocks and herds will be tremendous.
I anticipate that in most states in CONUS--except
perhaps for parts of Idaho and Montana--the game will get both heavily
thinned and badly
spooked.
After just a few months it will probably be difficult to hunt with
any reliable chance of success. Furthermore, hunting on public
lands may
become
a dangerous proposition. It is not too difficult to envision that in
TEOTWAWKI,
someone that is really
desperate might see bagging you as
their opportunity to return to their camp with both meat and a nice
new rifle.
Security: This is the biggest risk. A cluster of
tents or vehicles is almost impossible to effectively defend against
attack by determined looters. It takes mass to stop
bullets. (I presume that if someone had the money that it would take
to buy
a
couple
of military
surplus APCs,
then they would also have the budget for a nice cozy retreat property.
Hence, anyone camping on public lands probably isn't
going to be in an up-armored conveyance.) Here is the basic problem:
Since you cannot legally build any structures or even fell any trees
on public land (except with a firewood cutting permit), you
will have no substantive ballistic protection. The alternative of camouflaging
yourself by hiking in to camp a remote
area might
have some merit. But then, away from your vehicles, your larder would
by necessity be even shallower. It is also difficult to avoid the smoke
from campfires
being
spotted
from
a long distance. Yes, you could "cold camp", but that would
be even less comfortable. If you try to go totally "low
profile"
out in public forest lands then you will fare no better than those
using
the "Batman
in the Boondocks" approach that
I previously
discussed (and dismissed) in
both SurvivalBlog and in my non-fiction book Rawles
on Retreats and Relocation.
All of the foregoing does totally not rule out some hardy soul
finding a way to make camping on public lands viable. With sufficient
planning
it could be
done in a truly remote area. Yes, you could conceivably cache a large
quantity of food, smokeless fuel (such as propane), tools,
tentage, and supplies. But to be ready for a "one
trip bugout" in a
WTSHTF situation,
this would only be practicable if you cached all of that gear well
in advance. And that brings up a while 'nother set
of
problems,
including
curious bears, persistent wood rats, and some serious legal issues.
(Caching any private property anywhere on public land, is to the best
of my knowledge
illegal and not advised!)
Nor does
the foregoing rule out buying a small parcel
of land that adjoins state forest land, BLM land,
or national forest land. This
a great way to have a "big backyard" both for hunting and
to provide a buffer from population.
For example, here at the Rawles
Ranch, we have contiguous public land
on two sides, giving us far more privacy, wood cutting, and hunting
opportunities
than we could otherwise afford. Here in The Unnamed Western State
(TUWS),
a one firewood cutting
permit from the forest service still costs just $5 per cord. (Actually,
you have to buy a minimum of a four cord permit, for $20. The maximum that the
forest service
will
sell is
a
10 cord
permit.)
The bottom line: Using state or national forest lands just isn't a viable alternative
for 99% of us. If you can't afford to buy a retreat of your own, then you should
team up with an existing retreat group, or form a new group, and pool your
resources. The only other decent alternatives that I can see are "bugging
in" (which has serious drawbacks in a full scale societal collapse),
or depending on the good
graces of some country cousins.
« Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog |Main| State and Federal Lands--Poor Choices for Short Term Retreat Locales »
Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Missouri Ice Storm
Mr. Rawles,
I live in Southwestern Missouri. Did you followed the ice storm that
buried the Midwest? We got hit pretty hard. We get hit hard every
four or five years. Which brings me to my point. I have never seen
so many unprepared people in all my life.
After day two of the ice storm power was out (for a month in a lot
of places like Springfield). There were no gas cans to be found at
any store. Batteries, disposable propane bottles, flashlights, milk,
and meat were missing from the shelves of every store. Even Wally World
[Wal-Mart] was bare. Kerosene shot up to as much as six dollars a
gallon just before the pumps went dry. And generators? Forget it. Blood
sucking
companies were trucking in generators in 18 wheelers then selling them
in parking lots for outrageously inflated prices.
I work part time at a nation wide auto parts store so I got to see
some ground level action. Folks were buying seven dollar flashlights
just for the two D cell batteries in them. I watched a guy buy a twenty
dollar torch kit just for the three dollar bottle of propane it came
with. I know we're not talking about TEOTWAWKI or WTSHTF.
We're just talking about a relatively short period of time without
any utilities
and day to day comforts.
It was business as usual at my place. We had plenty of food, warmth,
and lights.
I have several ceiling mounted light fixtures in my house with 12 volt/75
watt bulbs in them. Two batteries in the garage power them. I used
my fireplace for heat. I have Plenty of stored water. I keep lots of
those disposable propane bottles around for my lantern and cook stoves.
A gas stove and a gas hot water heater are a must. I would never own
a home with an electric kitchen. A few number 10 cans of bulk food,
a few MREs, and even some frozen meats and foods took care of our meals.
My scanner and my Wife's small palm sized TV kept us informed of the
weather and police activity in our area.
We never missed work, we never missed any meals, we never missed a
hot shower, and we never got cold. All because of a few simple things
I did years ago. What I did wasn't expensive, hard, or complicated.
Any one can do it.
[Odds are that] in another four or five years we will be hit by another
devastating ice storm. I hope that the folks around here have learned
something.
- Bob F. in Missouri
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Missouri Ice Storm »
Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog
Jim,
I'd just like to exhort readers to invest whatever modest sum
they can in helping to keep SurvivalBlog up and running--stepping up
to the Ten
Cent Challenge or whatever other means of providing support
they feel up to.
There's nothing else of this type and quality out there on the web,
and if folks think that anyone can live on the paltry ad fees you collect
for the site, then they are obviously not aware of the details.
It's to all of our benefit that you have given this your best shot--committing
your full attention to making sure your readers get the best advice
in survival available. I know well what it must take for you--I am,
in similar fashion, trying to keep Safecastle LLC moving forward. It's
a load and a half, and if you don't have a similarly dedicated and
understanding client/reader base to help you with your vision, then
ultimately, it can all disappear.
Yes, I'm an advertiser here. You could say I have my own reasons for
wanting SurvivalBlog to succeed. But that would be a bit too cynical.
My own view is that all of us with a mind to help others prepare are
on the same team. There's a lot of work to do out there, and none of
us can make a dent in it by ourselves.
Stay strong and on the path! - Vic at Safecastle
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog »
Odds 'n Sods:
I don't know how I overlooked it for so long, but I should have mentioned
that there is a great web resource on post-Peak Oil living at Life
After the Oil Crash (LATOC), hosted by California
attorney Matt Savinar. They also have their
own Forums, which are quite active. See: The
LATOC Forums.
o o o
Mike F. sent this article link: Mystery
Ailment Strikes U.S. Honeybees. Apiary expert "The Bee Man,
Jr." tells
SurvivalBlog: "The
CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) is a real and devastating threat
to our nation's food supply and economy. At this time, there are
few indicators what actually CCD is. We know the result of the infection.
There seems to be signs of fungal, bacterial and viral infections
found during dissection. As of this moment, the vector is unknown.
Most small Beekeepers are doing everything possible to save their
hives from using essential oils to massive doses of antibiotics."
He also mentioned: "The pollination of human food, Ethanol-based
fuels and animal feed (this includes wildlife feed) is in jeopardy.
The
only thing I can recommend at this time is to pray a "cure" is
found and stock up on a good supply of "raw" honey.
It'll keep for a long time!
o o o
"The Werewolf"--our correspondent in Brazil--sent us this link: RioBodyCount.com.br.
His comment: "It´s
sad, but the turmoil in Rio de Janeiro has become so ugly that an NGO created
a counter. The counter only shows the results of gun fights (bad guys,
good guys, policemen, children...) For those that don't speak Portuguese: "Fevereiro" =
February",
"Mortos" = Dead, and "Feridos" = Wounded.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"The monastic communities for survival will be located in high
places, because in dangerous times it is heights that are easiest to
defend. They enable the advance of hostile hordes to be seen from a
distance and prepared for; and they favor the traditional counter-
attacks that are helped by force of gravity -- the rolling down of
rocks and stones against assailants. Further, hilltops are naturally
protected against floods; they are also very likely to be left alone
by the large masses of people on the move, since migrant hordes are
inclined to go after easy prey rather than undertake an arduous siege
of doubtful outcome." - Roberto Vacca, The Coming Dark Age
« Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
I'm continuing my special "support
our troops:" sale on copies of the new expanded 33
chapter edition my novel "Patriots" through
the end of the month. If you place an order
directly with me, and you have us mail it to an APO or FPO address,
then the price is just $12 per copy, plus $3 postage. (That is $10.99
off of the cover price--right near my cost.) OBTW, speaking
of supporting our troops, be sure to visit the AnySoldier.com web
site, and "do your bit." As previously mentioned, some
young enlisted troops that are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan get no mail from
home, so anything that you can send them--even just a postcard--is
appreciated. I now offer a couple of additional payment options for
book orders: both AlertPay and GearPay.
(I prefer AlertPay or GearPay because
they don't share PayPal's anti-gun political agenda.) In
my experience, AlertPay has a frustratingly labyrinthine account
set-up procedure, but GearPay seems much quicker and easier to set
up.
Our AlertPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our GearPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our PayPal address is: rawles@earthlink.net
« Letter Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change |Main| Note from JWR: »
Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards
When I give lectures or do radio interviews, I'm often asked for proof
when I mention that we live in a "fragile society." Here
is one prime example: kanban.
The kanban or "just in time" inventory system was
developed in Japan, and became popular in America starting
in the
1970s. It is now ubiquitous in
nearly every industry. The concept is simple: Through close coordination
with subcontractors and piece part suppliers, a manufacturer
can
keep its parts
inventory small. (Kanban is a key element of "lean
manufacturing.") They only order batches of parts as needed ("just
in time"), sometimes
ordering as
frequently
as twice
a week.
Companies now hire Six
Sigma consultants and Kaizen gurus,
they buy sophisticated data processing systems, and they hire extra
purchasing administrators. But these expenses
actually
save
them
money at
the bottom line. I have a close friend, "B.A.", that has
worked as a lean process consultant, and he chimed in on a draft
of this article
that I sent him last weekend. (See his interspersed notes.) "Just
in time" inventory
systems have several advantages: Less warehouse space, less capital
tied up
in parts
inventory,
and
less
risk of parts
obsolescence.
B.A. Adds: Actually, in many cases, if the simplest [lean
process] methods are revealed through asking the "5 Whys" and
understanding optimum flow, the sophistication (including data processing
systems) can often be greatly reduced or eliminated; I think the
perception is that complexity is better is often a sales job from
folks selling the hardware and software!
The downside is that lean inventories leave companies
vulnerable to any disruption of supply. If transportation gets snarled,
or if
communications get disrupted, or a parts vendor has a strike or a
production problem,
then assembly lines grind to
halt. Just
one missing part means that no finished products go out the door.
In some industries, the complexity and length of the supply chain can
be staggering. Some manufacturers of complex products-such as automobiles--now
rely
on many dozens of parts vendors on several continents.
American businessmen have built very big, very complex, very vulnerable supply
chains.
The kanban concept has also been taken up by America's
retailers, most notably its grocery sellers. In the "old days"--say
20 years ago--grocery stores had well-stocked "back rooms",
with many extra cases of dry goods. But now in most stores the "back
room" has
been replaced with just a pallet break-down area. Merchandise comes
in from
distribution
centers, and it all goes immediately to the consumer shelves
out front. Thus, what you see on the grocery store shelf is
all that the store has on hand. What you see is what
you get. The bar code scanners at the checkout counters feed a complex
re-ordering
system.
If Mrs.
Jones
buys three
bottles
of pasta
sauce,
that could trigger a re-order. (Even the U.S. Military has
embraced some "lean" techniques in their maintenance and
logistics infrastructures, and saved taxpayers millions of dollars.) As
long as communications and transportation work smoothly, then
the entire system hums along like a Swiss watch.But what happens when
the transportation infrastructure
gets disrupted?
B.A. Adds: One of the 9 Wastes (I added one of my own
:-) is excess Transport. Ideally, a systemic approach to manufacturing
will
co-locate (in theory) to the point where no transportation, or even
movement is required, so transportation is one of the "nasties" that
effective lean thinking tends to eliminate; here are the 8 Wastes
(to which I would add "E" for Energy to the TIM WOODS acronym,
which now becomes TIMEWOODS :-)
Transport (excess)
Inventory (excess)
Motion
Energy
Waiting
Overproduction
Overprocessing
Defects
Skills, Savvy, Smarts (squandering the inherent genius in all people
involved)
One of the factors that has strongly encouraged lean inventories
is that many states levy an annual tax on business inventories of finished
good
or sometimes even semi-finished subassemblies. Also, under the Federal
tax law, businesses must "keep an inventory and use the accrual method
for purchases and sales of merchandise." As is the case with most other
government intervention
in the free market, this
is
another
"unintended
consequence." Businessmen hate paying a nickel more in tax than they
absolutely have to, so by keeping their inventory small, they avoid
the taxes. In some states like California, it is not unusual to see
annual "inventory
reduction" sales, timed for the month before before the annual inventory
tax is levied.
The big "lean machine" works great in normal times. But
in times of economic instability, or following a natural disaster,
the machine
can't cope. Panic buying can clean out supermarket shelves in a matter
of hours. And again, in most cases there is no longer a "back
room"
with extra inventory. The important lesson in all this is
to be prepared.
DO NOT count on being able to buy anything to provide
for your family on TEOTWAWKI Day +1. Stock up.
B.A. Adds: "Good points, although I'd emphasize
the caveat of stocking up (where it makes sense) on the
items that you know you will personally
use, and you have the space to store, and that won't
suffer
any significant
shelf-life deterioration, spoilage or nutritional loss (whole grain,
water, honey, et cetera.) Also, have some silver for barter currency,
[to trade for the items that you overlooked or that you didn't stock
in
sufficient
depth.]"
Also, while the sensitivity and stability of authentic lean
manufacturing and production (as is practiced ... or not in many
cases) is of some
concern, one emphasis that lean senseis make is flexibility
and responsiveness, so that, for example, mixed inventory models can
respond almost instantaneously
to changes in demand (and the intent is to hone the bidirectional speed
of communication so that the entire supply web is informed at a much
quicker rate to adjust).
The concerns you raise are valid. However, as in so many areas of life,
the optimum solutions are not either/or, but both/and. In the case
of dependence on technologies such as computer and telecommunication
networks, the initial concentration of processing power (mainframes)
has given way to vastly distributed, parallel and redundant systems
that are far more tolerant of disruptions than ever before.
« Letter From David in Israel Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option? |Main| Kanban: America's Ubiquitous "Just in Time" Inventory System--A Fragile House of Cards »
Letter Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change
Jim,
The subject of Global Warming is one that creates an intense reaction
in people who have a political investment in opposition to it. As
you can see by the letters my comment generated, it made the writers
so angry that it actually interfered with their ability to read!
We, as survivalists, need to be acutely aware of when this happens
to us, as the ability to react to any information coolly and logically
is a cultivated adaptation that will give us a leg-up in stressful
situations.
In reply to M.W.A., I should probably expand on something about CO2
that I only touched on for brevity's sake. Contrary to how it might
seem to us laymen, not all CO2 is the same, which is why I talked about
man-made CO2's "distinct isotopic signature". The Carbon
component of Carbon Dioxide is composed of three different isotopes
(C14, C13, C12) and man-made CO2 has an identifiable ratio of these
isotopes. Lest anyone think that the proofs of Global Warming are generated
only by climate scientists, these isotopic ratios are recorded by those
in many varied scientific disciplines (such as oceanographers and geochemists)
and the results consistently concur with the basic premise, that increasing
man-made CO2 levels parallel with increasing global temperatures. The
collection of data like this has long been a characteristic of science
and has nothing to do with attempts to control anyone or anything,
as implied by M.W.A. As to the semantics of "Global Warming deniers",
we're speaking of a very small group of dissenters, almost devoid of
scientists (let alone ones working in the sciences associated with
the earth's climate). Even the Bush administration, after repeatedly
rejecting (and attempting to suppress) the conclusions of the scientific
community, just this week said that they wholeheartedly embrace the
U.N.'s IPCC report (which concluded that Global Warming is man-made)
and called the evidence for Global Warming "unequivocal".
Anyone who clings to the notion that this is nothing more than a ruse
invented by environmentalists belongs to a tiny minority at this point.
By the way, if M.W.A. would like to provide proof for his assertions
about making "climate change denial" a crime, I'm sure we'd
all like to see it.
I'm not sure where Michael Z. Williamson is getting his quote of raising
ocean temperatures "a few degrees" as it isn't in my letter
(or any other letter on your site) but his claim that "the Antarctic
is growing" is incorrect. There was a temporary mitigation of
the trend of ice loss due to some unusual precipitation but the first
ever gravity survey (GRACE) of the entire ice sheet by NASA has detected
significant Antarctic ice mass loss. "The mistake of one scientist" which
he claims is insane to suggest was not connected to the "Medieval
Warming Period" as Mr. Williamson misread, but rather the assertions
of the growth of glaciers worldwide (I urge him and anyone else confused
about this to re-read what I said). As I said about the so-called "Viking
era", there may have been regional anomalies but this does not
result in a conclusion of world-wide warming at that time (indeed,
the evidence suggests nothing of the kind). The "records from
the timeframe involved" don't actually "document" anything
other than an attempt by the Vikings to expand settlements there. When
I was a kid in school (in the distant past), we were taught a bit about
Viking history, including their early use of propaganda. One of the
most self-evident proofs of this is the very name of their colony:
Greenland! Those who bought the stories they were told about it were
sorely disappointed when they arrived. Instead of the fertile farmlands
(capable of growing vineyards?) they had expected, they found a cold
wasteland that was anything but green, ultimately incapable of sustaining
the small (and initially, quite hardy) colony there. If there were
warm periods in the area (and there is little to suggest that there
were), they were freakish and short-lived. It would be foolish to assume
that selectively chosen Viking literature on the subject of Greenland
is a worthy substitute for accurate documents about conditions at that
time.
As I implied in my previous letter, anyone who chooses to disregard
the overwhelming conclusions by the scientific community is more than
welcome to do so. I have no doubt that one could find some fantastic
real estate buys along the Mississippi coast, for example, and if you
feel that Global Warming is nothing but a hoax, there's no reason why
you shouldn't take advantage of a buyer's market. I wouldn't even have
dipped my toe into this controversy save for seeing disinformation
presented as fact. Keep in mind that ExxonMobil has contributed a huge
amount of money to support the distribution of non-peer reviewed papers
critical of Global Warming science and the establishment of friendly "think
tanks". In my mind, it's one thing to argue the concept based
on it's economic effects but it's highly unethical to distort (or outright
lie about) about the science involved. As survivalists, it would seem
logical for us to pay very close attention to the potential catastrophic
events that could domino when the climatic "tipping point" arrives,
rather than be distracted by a corporation intent on buying "the
best lies money can buy" to increase it's short term profits.
However, (as I keep saying), that's your choice to make. To me, there's
not much difference in how I prepare to survive, Global Warming simply
increases the impetus for me to do so. Best Regards, - Hawaiian K.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change »
Letter From David in Israel Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?
James:
Anyone near any body of salt water should consider purchasing something
like the Navy/Coast Guard [approved] Manual Reverse Osmosis Desalinator
(MROD) They are sold on eBay and as far as I know are only made
by PUR.
They can provide drinkable water at sea for one to two people with
quite a bit of work but PUR also makes a larger bicycle pump
model. I have tested mine in both
the Med (not as salty as ocean) and the Salt Sea (the saltiest water
in the world). More salt just means more work.
A creative person might make a desalinator from a home reverse osmosis
filter system but I would highly suggest having at least one PUR hand
unit
as a backup.
The U.S. Navy/Coast Guard issue MROD-06-LS includes a great add-on
thigh strap and lever extensions not on the civilian models. - David
in Israel
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter From David in Israel Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option? »
Odds 'n Sods:
Another indicator of inflation ahead? SurvivalBlog reader Bill H.
notes: "A trend that I have not seen mentioned on your web site,
apart
from gold
and
silver
investment, is that [fine] "art" is going through the
roof. Most of us cannot afford to invest in art, myself included. However,
we
can still see the writing on the wall when the moderately wealthy are
flocking to acquire art at record prices. You don't have to buy thousands
of pounds of gold when you can pay $20 million for a painting that
will only appreciate. That's a fairly extreme example, but you get
the idea. Just today there was an
article on Yahoo about a London art auction bringing in record prices."
JWR Adds: This lends further credence to my investing
philosophy, which leans heavily toward tangibles. Of course,
I prefer more practical tangibles
like guns, ammo, productive farm land, and tools. You can't drop a deer
at 800 yards with a work of art by Paul
Cézanne, but you can with
a work of art by Paul
Dressel--although I'm sure that it would be more practical to spend
the same amount and get several pieces by Kelly
McMillan.
o o o
From the new Iraqi government: "Would
you mind sending all of that $4 Billion in cash?" Its
a good thing that al this money printing isn't inflationary.
o o o
Reader "RBS" mentioned a web site dedicated to ham radio
and RACES [Radio
Amateur Civil Emergency Service] news, and so forth: Emergency
Radio.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"The new Hillary Rodham Clinton, coldly calculated to
appear warm and spontaneous."- Rourke
« Letter Re: Advice on a 12 VDC Fuel Transfer Pump |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
The SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a
pair of MURS band handheld transceivers, with optional
extended range flex antennas ends on February 15th.
The high bid is currently at $175. These radios
were kindly donated by Rob at $49
MURS Radios. Check out his products. What Rob sells are a
lot of radio for the money.
« Letter Re: Smoke Damaged Firearms |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Advice on a 12 VDC Fuel Transfer Pump
Mr. James Wesley; Rawles:
I keep a lot of extra gas in five gallon jerry-cans around my new
farm/retreat wanna-be, for emergencies. (Stabilized with PRI-G,
of course.) Yeah, I know that siphoning--especially if you prime
it "by
mouth"--is
not safe. (Gag!) To make it easier and safer to
transfer gasoline into or
out of
vehicle
gas tanks, is there any transfer device that I can use use? Perhaps
something that would plug into my pickup truck's cigarette lighter
[12 volt DC power] jack? What can I buy that is cheap off-the-shelf,
or cheap to cobble together myself? Oh, and its also gotta be safe--I
don't want to accidentally create a fuel-air explosion. <VBG.> TIA,
- Lt. Dan
JWR Replies: Every well-equipped retreat should have
at least one "field expedient" 12 VDC fuel
transfer pump. These pump rigs are popular with dirt bike, ATV,
and snowmobile enthusiasts. They are very simple to construct. Here
are the materials that you will
need:
1 - Automobile or truck electric fuel pump. (The least expensive pumps
come from automobile wrecking yards.)
2 - 15 foot lengths of heavy rubber hose--approved for use as fuel
line--of the proper diameter for the fittings on the fuel pump.
2 - Stainless steel fuel line clamps. (Such as "Aero-Seal"
brand, or similar, that are tightened with a screwdriver.)
15 to 20 ft. - 16 AWG (or
heavier) gauge insulated two conductor wire. (This will be the power
cord for the pump.)
1 - "Cigarette
Lighter" type male plug, available from any Radio Shack
store. (Again, for the power cord for the pump.)
1 - Roll of black plastic electrician's tape or better yet, some
thermoplastic
"heat
shrink"
tubing.
1 - Scrap of 3/8" thick (or greater thickness) plywood, measuring
roughly 16" x 16". (To mount the fuel pump.)
The construction method should be self-evident, based on the materials
listed above. If you'd like, you can add an electrical switch to the
power cord for convenience, but make sure that you get a high
amperage switch that is rated
for DC,
and that you position the switch within a couple of feet of
the dashboard plug so
that the switch is inside
the cab
of
your
vehicle.
That way
there
is
far less
chance
of generating a spark inside of a gas vapor cloud.
If your vehicle uses an electric fuel pump, then I suggest that
you use an identical pump to that used in your vehicle
as
the basis
for your transfer pump project. That way you will have spares
on hand, in the event that your vehicle's fuel pump or any portions
of your fuel system's flexible fuel lines ever
fail.
OBTW, you can also add
and "in line" fuel filter to your fuel transfer pump rig. Again,
it is best to use a filter cartridge that is identical to that
used in your vehicle. (Always think in terms of: "Spares
and redundancy, spares and redundancy.")
One other optional nicety is a one foot square scrap of plywood,
to bolt the pump onto. This will keep the transfer pump out of the
mud or snow. It also provides a handy place to mount some large
hooks,
so that you will have a neat way to coil up the power cord and the
fuel transfer hoses, for storage. A 15 foot length of hose should be
able to reach any vehicle fuel tank, or even down into an underground
tank.
There are commercially made equivalents to this fuel pump
rig, but they cost more, and they won't provide you with a spare compatible
fuel pump--for
the event
that your vehicle's original pump goes Tango Uniform.
Important Provisos:
1.) All of the usual common sense precautions for handing
gasoline and gas cans apply: Use only DOT-approved
fuel containers, No sparks, No open flames, Don't turn on any radio
transmitters,
Beware
of static
electricity
build up, et
cetera. See this
Oregon State University web page for details on fuel handing safety.
2.) Some later model vehicles have "anti-siphoning" filler
necks on their gas tanks. Check for this before you head for
the boonies with an ATV trailer.
3.) Cover any exposed electrical connections with tape or heat shrink
tubing, to avoid sparks or shorting.
4.) Keep one eye on your vehicle's gas gauge and your other eye on
the can that you are filling (or pumping from). It is not just an expensive
waste
to spill gas on the ground. It is also toxic and a fire hazard!
By coincidence,
soon after I wrote the first draft of my reply, I got an e-mail forwarded
by Alfie Omega, a regular over at the outstanding Alpha
Rubicon web site. There, "Pike" has
plans for building a very similar fuel
transfer pump rig. (I guess that he had seen the same type that I
had seen.) A couple of nice touches with his with his design that
mine lacked are that
the
mounting
board
has
a carrying
handle
cut into it, and there are hooks mounted all the way around the perimeter
of the
board,
for
hose and power cord stowage. But a couple of detractors are that
his photos
show
and on-off switch mounted to the board (which as previously mentioned
could put it in proximity to gas vapors), and I saw some exposed
wiring terminals. If those terminals were touched by a metal object
could cause a spark.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Advice on a 12 VDC Fuel Transfer Pump »
Letter Re: Smoke Damaged Firearms
Greetings,
In January, our home burned down. The family made it out safely
thanks to our dog waking us up. The fire started outside and once it
entered the house it was engulfed in minutes.
My question is how to restore books, firearms, et cetera that have
been damaged by smoke and fire. Since getting burned out is a possibility
in survival
times this information could be quite handy. BTW Smoke eats the finish
on guns. My Mini-14 got eaten up pretty badly, but the CETME in the
rack next to it came out just fine. I guess
they used a different type of bluing. Thanks, - Chad
JWR Replies: Let me start by encouraging all SurvivalBlog
readers to carry both fire and theft insurance. A
house fire can be a very traumatic event, but they are even more so
if you are uninsured or underinsured. Note that many insurance policies
have specific limits on
firearms, often absurdly low
dollar figures unless you get
a separate "rider " to your policy, at additional cost. If
you aren't sure about your coverage, then pull out your policy and
read through it in detail. Second, I encourage all of you to get a
gun vault.
Not only will it deter 98%
of burglars, but it will also usually prevent the sort of damage that
Chad described. (Unless of course, the house burns to the ground, and
even then a "fireproof" vault may not save your guns.) I also
recommend taking a list of serial numbers and detailed descriptions of
each gun.
(OBTW, I have found that using 3"x5" index cards is convenient for
updates, since your collection will change
over time. Also take a few detailed photos of each gun. Store the
3"x5" index cards
and hard copy pictures annotated with each
gun's serial number in
a vault belonging to a relative or a trusted friend, and offer
to do likewise for them.
Now on to the repairing the damage: I've
seen lots of smoke and fire damaged guns at gun shows over the years,
and it is never a pretty sight. If a fire is intense enough to burn
the stock or grips off of a gun, then it is generally beyond salvageability.
This, among other things, is because springs lose their temper and
actions
can warp and bind. If
there is only smoke damage, then they can definitely be salvaged.
It is important to immediately 1.) Photograph each
gun
in detail
to
support your insurance claim. then 2.) Grease the gun from stem to
stern (and down he bore) with rust inhibitive grease (RIG).
This will protect any remaining finish from corrosion. Depending on
how your insurance agency handles
paying your claim, you
may end up salvaging your smoke-damaged guns yourself. I recommend
sending them off for bead blasting and an exotic coating such as NP3
or METACOL.
This
will leave them better than new, since they'll have a more durable
finish that their original bluing or parkerizing. There are now a wide
range
of exotic materials such as Teflon and Zylan are frequently used
as "after-market" gun
finishes. The
Robar Company uses a nickel/Teflon composite that they call NP3. My personal
favorite of the exotic finishes is called METACOL (METAl COLor),
which is offered in a wide variety of colors by Arizona
Response Systems Exotic
material finishes offer rust protection that is exceeded only by stainless
steel. They are quite durable. Parenthetically, for anyone
that that dislikes the highly reflective surface of stainless steel, it too
can be coated with
one
of the
exotic materials
such
as green Teflon, with a matte texture. If you have wood gun stocks
that have had their lacquer go "bubbly" or smoke darkened,
you can either
refinish
the stocks (which takes about 30 to 50 minutes each), or better
yet replace them with fiberglass or Kevlar-graphites
stocks
from a vendor like Choate, Brown
Precision, or H-S
Precision.
As for your books, check first with your insurance agent. If your
policy covers "full replacement cost", then it is probably
best to just buy
replacement copies of each book. This is fairly quick and easy, using
Amazon.com's "One Click" purchase option. If your policy
only covers part of the
loss, or if you have any rare, memento, or otherwise irreplaceable
books/albums, then consult with a restoration service such as Serv-Pro.
(They specialize in restoring books and artwork that have been smoke
and/or water damaged.) BTW Chad, if your loss included a copy or two
of any the books that I authored and the insurance company doesn't
cover replacing them, just let me know and I will send you complimentary
replacement
copies. May God bless you in the rebuilding process.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Letter Re: Smoke Damaged Firearms »
Odds 'n Sods:
Blog reader B.H. sent this snippet: "Last month I was at the NRA headquarters
in Virginia. I noticed a sign across the street for condos for sale
for
$260,000.
I made
a comment
on
how expensive that sounded when a NRA headquarters employee said that
he sold his condo in the same development for $465,000 just eight months
prior.
That's
a decline of 44% in one year. Ouch for the guy that bought at the
top of the bubble."
o o o
There are just 3 days left in the
big "Container
load sale" at Survival Enterprises. Looking at their running
inventories posted on the web page, I can see that many items have
sold out. Don't dawdle on this one, folks! All of the storage food
items are "first come - first served." The
prices are less than half of retail.
o o o
Apparently the outbreak in Britain of H5N1 Avian Flu was caused by
a turkey farm importing turkeys from their Hungarian factory
farm to their British factory farm:
« Notes from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the
innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not
on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless,
and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties
as the lawless will allow... For society does not control crime, ever,
by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected
behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals
to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding." -
Jeff Snyder
« Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Notes from JWR:
Our special thanks to the
folks at Safecastle (one of our most loyal advertisers) for expanding
their advertising on SurvivalBlog. They now have the exclusive "nailed
up" top position SurvivalBlog banner ad. Be sure to sign up for
their "Safecastle
Royal" buyer's club and give them your patronage. They have a
fantastic line of preparedness products!
Today we also welcome
our newest advertiser, Health
Treasures. They provide a great assortment of health and survival
products, including water test kits, aerobic oxygen, potassium iodide
(KI) anti-radiation (thyroid protection) tablets, health books, and
survival books. They also sell nutritional supplements such as coral
calcium, Klamath Lake blue green algae, aloe vera, and much more. When
you contact them, please mention that you saw their ad on SurvivalBlog.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change
JWR,
Both M.W.A. and Michael Williamson bring some sanity and reason to
the subject of climate change. Thanks for publishing their letters.
Weather/climate is probably the most complex system on earth. For anyone
to say they can tell with any kind of certainty what the climate on
earth was like millions of years ago is ridiculous and what is the
point. On a very basic level, the one universal truth about the weather/climate
is change, unending change. You could even make the case that change
is a universal physical law. The writers are correct to question the
motives of the climate change promoters. I believe most are socialists,
trying to get more control over our lives thru the politics of climate
change. As in the past, humans will have to adapt to any changes in
the weather/climate. Think about it, has the weather/climate ever been
unchanging, with or without man on the planet? Regards, - Keith
Jim:
I would suggest the www.iceagenow.com site for a balanced view of global
warming. However, I do believe we are heading for climatic upheaval
due to a cyclic pattern- go to www.thehorizonproject.com and order
their DVD for additional info. Many things seem to be converging. [You
can read] my two-cents worth at www.countdownto2070.com
Thank you, - Martin P.
JWR,
There is an awful lot of money being spent by Big Oil to contradict
the global warming research, and in particular their efforts to refute the
recent UN ICPP report. As I read the
21 page Summary for Policy Makers, the report really seemed to
want to avoid speculative consideration of methane feedback loops
or nonlinear warming effects,
i.e.:glaciers sliding into the ocean. My sense is that it was very
conservatively written. Any rise in ocean level has profound implications
for our
way of life and Peak Oil issues since refining in the US is mostly
at sea level. [Some ranting, snipped.] - Bruce F.
JWR Replies: The media hoopla over the UN report
has ignored mention that what has been released thusfar is just
a 21 page summary. The full 600+ page report won't be released
for several months. There is definitely a divergence of opinion within
the scientific
community on this issue. I think that
the
jury will
be
out for quite
some time. Draw your own conclusions. In my opinion, what we
should take away from all this debate is that
as well-prepared individuals, it is prudent to make preparations for
both short term weather changes, and if we can afford to do so, for
the possibility of
longer term climate change. (But again, the degree,
the direction, and even the cause of that potential change is still
a matter of conjecture and heated debate.) To illustrate my point,
let me digress: I had a
friend
named
Richard,
who
sadly
died
of
leukemia
at
age
45,
a couple of years
ago. He
was a
first class
eccentric,
but he had a sharp wit and was a lot of fun to be around. Richard
was a single man that traveled the world. He made his living as a computer
programmer
in
the States,
but he owned both a home on a small island in the Philippines and a
condominium in Thailand. (He only worked in the U.S. in alternating
six month contract stints to support his "travel habit".) As an adherent
of the
Art Bell/George Noory school of paranormal conjecture, Richard
was convinced that
severe climate
changes could
happen "any
time, and maybe even overnight" because of "pole shift." He was so
concerned that he
had all three of his homes stocked with arctic clothing. (N3B
extreme cold weather parkas, insulated boots, Wiggy's Ultima
Thule sleeping bags, the whole
works.)
Objectively, I think that Richard was over-prepared,
but in the back of my mind is a small but lingering doubt. What if
that ever
really happened?
What if Richard was right? I suppose that if I ever have a really big
budget (read: somebody in Hollywood ever sends me a big fat check for
my Pulling
Through screenplay), then I might buy a second retreat in
Central America, just in case. And I might even stock it with some
cold weather gear, in memory of Richard.
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change »
Odds 'n Sods:
As reported by The
Daily Reckoning: "The Central Bank of Zimbabwe announced
this week that henceforth inflation would be illegal. Anyone who raises
prices will be arrested." Do they honestly believe that they can
put the brakes on a 1,200% per annum inflation rate, by decree? The
Zimbabwean government is beyond corrupt, and beyond incompetent. Comrade
Mugabe
and his band of fools from the ZANU-PF must go!
o o o
RBS mentioned this news story at CNN.com: Vagrant:
"We killed for scrap metal, hid bodies in manholes." Human nature
hasn't changed. When times get really hard, you can expect a lot of people to
revert to savagery.
o o o
Oh, that beloved "lake effect": Oswego
County (New York) gets nearly 100 inches of snow in five days. (A
hat tip to J.M. for sending us the link.)
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"A man is finished when he makes pleasure, not duty, his main
object," - Cicero
« Letter Re: Questions on Multipurpose Home Shelters |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
Wow! Looking at our hit
map, I can see that the global readership of SurvivalBlog is
continuing to grow. We now have readers in about 80 countries, Thanks
for spreading the word!
« Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Questions on Multipurpose Home Shelters
Sir:
I live in Georgia and we have more than our share of tornados.
We usually go to the basement to my office during storms but I've decided
that even though it's underground on 3 sides, with only 3/4 plywood
and sheet rock between us and the garage doors that it is no longer
a viable option.
I've looked at FEMA plans
and I've scratched my head and come up with this idea but wanted to
kind of say it out loud to someone to see if
it sounds too crazy. The back part of the basement is almost completely
underground. I have built a french drain around the outside of the
basement due to some previous leakage problems and then decided to
build flower gardens on top of the drain lines. The gardens are about
4 foot wide, held in place by landscaping times and then filled with
6 tons of tops soil (a shovel full at a time) and now the basement
walls, to the roof are bermed in with dirt that just happens to go
as high as the top of the foundation. That's taken care of outside.
For inside I'm going to construct a 4x4 frame, anchored to the slab
and to the concrete walls, complete with crossing 4x4 in case the house
caves in on top of us. The big question was how to deal with high speed
flying projectiles (be they wood or bullet) and having looked at all
the home and garden stores, have found that 40 pound bags of top soil
at .97 a bag give a good solid footprint and stack almost as well as
the sandbags I used to have to fill in some other un-named wars and
countries. I figure, 4x4 frame, 3/4 inch plywood wall, bags of dirt
stacked crosswise on two sides with a protected opening area for the
door, followed by an additional outside 4x4 frame holding the dirt
bags (or is that someone in office, I get confused), in place between
the two walls. Since it will sit on a concrete slab the actual weigh
is not a concern. I see this as both a storm shelter and a safe room
(semi-safe anyway) with metal reinforced door with all the survival
supplies packed inside. We are not going to bug out but will stay home.
(Less than 20 miles from Atlanta, along I-20 but far enough off the
road
that stragglers shouldn't come to our area since there are much nicer
pickings between us and the main road.)
Anyway, that was a long winded way of asking if you think bags of top
soil would be effective projectile stoppers. The only thing I have
to test it with right now is 20 gauge shotshells with 00 buckshot and
some .38 cartridges. I traded off all my assault rifles and pistols
to help get out of debt, keeping only 15 .22 rifles, 4 .22 pistols,
a
dozen
CZ-52 Czech pistols and a couple of pump 20 gauge shotguns (wife does
not like and refused to fire 16 or 12 gauge) with many thousands of
rounds for each weapon.
Take care and keep coming up with the neat links and ideas you have.
I've read the ink off the pages of my copy of "Patriots",
so I'll be replacing that soon :) - Cliff
JWR Replies: Inch for inch, dry sand or gravel are at
least twice as effective bullet stoppers than
dry loam topsoil. And FWIW, I actually prefer gravel over sand, since
bags of gravel do not
have the "hourglass"
dribble effect that is seen when sandbags filled with dry sand get
hit by bullets. Yes, filling sandbags with gravel will be more laborious
than buying commercially pre-filled bags of
soil. But
I
recommend
that you order several hundred sandbags and a few cubic yards of "3/4
minus" gravel, for
upgrading your basement's ballistic protection. A bonus is that
gravel filled bags will also increase your basement shelter's radioactive
fallout shielding. The woven
polypropylene sandbags will last for decades if they aren't
left out in sunlight. Take
a few minutes to watch
this military training video: "Concealment does not Equal Cover."
As you can see from the video, standard wood frame houses get thoroughly ventilated by
modern high velocity rifle bullets, even from little .223 poodle shooters.
You do not want to be in an unprotected wood frame house
when the Schumer
hits the fan. One important safety note: If stacking
sand or gravel bags more than four feet high, it is essential that
they
be stabilized with
stout shoring or crisscrossed steel cables, to prevent wall collapses.
And if you plan to put up any overhead (ceiling) mass, be sure to consult
a qualified engineer!
Regarding your plans to use a steel door: Be sure to get the heaviest
gauge door that you can find and mount it a sturdy steel frame. Use
at least four heavy duty hinges, and three deadbolts on the
opposite side--top, middle, and bottom. I should also mention that
hollow steel
doors can be filled with gravel to increase their ballistic protection.
Anything heavier--like extra steel plate--requires an extra heavy duty
frame and massive hinges. (See my novel "Patriots" for
door bulletproofing details, including a handy formula for determining
the weight of
plate
steel.)
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Questions on Multipurpose Home Shelters »
Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change
Jim,
I have been reluctant to comment on the climate change hysteria, but
the recent letter by Hawaiian K was too much. There are several important
facts to remember on this topic: 1) We don’t have enough data
to determine whether we are in a long-term warming trend, or in a counter-cyclical
move in a long term cooling trend. Lot’s of people have ‘data’ but
no ‘facts’ have been established. Remember in the 1970’s
how the next ice age was right around the corner? 2) Even if we do
happen to be in a warming trend at the moment, there is no causal connection
between the activities of man, and the warming itself. Lots of circumstantial ‘evidence’,
but no causal connection. The earth is warming, and there is more CO2
in the air. Which causes which? Maybe there is a third factor, or fourth,
or a hundredth!!! There may be some kind of correlation between CO2
and atmospheric temperature, but that does not mean that one causes
the other. The environment is an extremely complex, dynamic system
and to think that there is a straight-forward, reasonably linear relationship
between the levels of one compound in the air and the overall temperature
of the entire atmosphere is simplistic in the extreme. Heck, these
guys can barely tell what the weather will be like next week, and we
are supposed to think that they can tell us what will happen in 100
years? 3) The entire environmentalist movement is about control, nothing
else. Environmentalism is a topic one group of people have used, repeatedly
and successfully, to get governments around the world to implement
social programs that sacrifice people in order to save bugs and weeds.
Obviously these programs are detrimental to individual freedoms. A
clue to the true intent of the ‘movement’ is contained
in the language they use. Even Hawaiian K called the rational, objective
scientists who have not bought in to the collective dogma of global
warming, ‘climate change deniers’. Clearly this language
is intended to imply that these guys are the same kind of whack jobs
as the ‘holocaust deniers’ and should be treated as such.
There have been stories recently about scientists who are losing their
jobs because they haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid, and even talk of
laws to make ‘climate change denial’ a crime! Clearly,
anyone who needs the force of law to protect their pet theory cannot
defend it against rigorous science in the open market. Will we soon
have a Global Warming Inquisition? The truth does not need a law to
defend it. And if you think this is just an American thing, you are
wrong. I spent a couple of weeks in Canada since the UN report came
out, and they are getting it bad up there! 24/7 coverage of how we
are all about to fry in our own juices while there is a negative 30
degree wind chill outside. (Just so everyone knows, I am an ‘Elvis
is dead denier’ and a ‘Loch Ness monster denier’ but
please try to keep it quiet.)
Obviously, survivalists want to plan for as many potential outcomes
as they can, and I am not discouraging anyone from taking the steps
that they think they need to take to protect their families. I would
just encourage people to examine the motives of climate change proponents
from the standpoint of the harm that the environmentalist movement
has caused, the individual rights they have denied, and the outcomes
that they have desired and produced in recent decades. - M.W.A..
Dear Jim,
The energy involved in raising the oceans "a
few degrees" to effect a sea-level increase would almost involve
the Sun going nova. I can calculate it if you like.
The Antarctic ice cap is growing, so there's no increase in water level
from there.
The current climate trends are available online and show a steadying
of the climate the last decade.
To suggest that the Medieval Warm Period is the mistake of one scientist
is insane. It's documented from ice core samples, and the fact that
Viking era farms in Greenland are melting out of the ice cap as we
speak. Not to mention the northern hunting grounds and other sites
the Norse used were, until quite recently, pack ice. Then there's all
those records from the timeframe involved, documenting the plants,
harvests, weather, etc.
That strikes me as more hand waving by the catastrophists. I had a
detailed debate with a student of this, an earnest young man in grad
school,
who pointed me to "one of the best papers on the subject." The
paper was full of "It seems to me"s and "I feel"s,
an admission that when satellite data was inconclusive, just because
it didn't contradict the assumptions made, it could be assumed the
assumptions were correct (the data didn't support the assumptions,
either), and a statement that any climate studies done before 1990
were "politically motivated" (Aren't they all?) and therefore
suspect.
So, by the admission of a shoddily written article that's purported
by a student to be "one of the best," the field is less than
two decades old.
Now, how long have physicists and astronomers been trying to describe
the universe?
I'm certainly concerned about long term effects to the environment,
and storms can cause damage lasting weeks, trends damage lasting years...but
I'm about as worried about a catastrophic climate failure as I am about
aliens landing. It's a huge planet and system, and people are very
small. Let's not, religious or not, give ourselves too much credit
in the face of God's greatness. - Michael
Z. Williamson
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change »
Odds 'n Sods:
Flagged by HPF (one of our regular content contributors): Retired
CIA Energy Analyst's Latest Comments on Peak Oil
o o o
There are just 6 days left in the big "Container
load sale" at Survival Enterprises. Many items have
already sold out. Don't dawdle on this one, folks! All of the storage
food items are "first come - first served." The
prices are less than half of retail.
o o o
It is nice to see that silver
has come out of its doldrums and appears
to be back on its long term bull market trajectory. (At the Kitco
charts page, scroll down to the five year chart for "the big picture.")
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"Most people would rather die than think. In fact,
they do." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
« Letter Re: Firearm Chamber Adapters |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Note from JWR:
For those of you that have been waiting,
we just received another 10 copies of "The Encyclopedia of Country
Living" by the late Carla Emery. This book is a "must" for
the bookshelf of every well-prepared family. See my mail
order catalog for details.
« Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Firearm Chamber Adapters
Hi Jim,
I found an article in the latest issue of "The
Backwoodsman" magazine
that talked about using chamber adapters to employ different caliber
ammunition
in single shot, and over-and-under
[rifle/shotgun combination gun]s like the Savage 24V. Here's
the [MCA Sports] web site mentioned in the article that sells the
adapters: http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm
It seems like a neat idea to have the capability to convert a firearm
to shoot different types of ammo that might be scrounge during a long
term TEOTWAWKI . Do you think there is any merit in investing in chamber
adapters? Or would it be wiser to buy the different caliber firearms
instead? Best, - Ron
JWR Replies: Many thousands of chamber adapters were
made in the last century by the Marbles
company. If
I'm not mistaken,
MCA Sports in
Alaska now owns the tooling that was originally developed by Harry
Owen, who advertised
for many years in The American Rifleman magazine.
The variety of adapters that MCA Sports produces is amazing.
(Don't
miss the web page of the rifle and pistol cartridge adapters that
they make for
shotguns!)
I have been a proponent of using chamber adapters for
non-tactical use, in single shots, double guns, and bolt
action long guns, for many years. They are indeed a practical way
to use scrounged
ammunition for
target practice, pest shooting, or small game hunting. One advantage
is that they are generally quieter than shooting full power rifle
cartridges. Here at the Rawles
Ranch, we have four Harry Owen chamber
adapters
that I bought more than 20 years ago:
.30 Carbine adapter for .308 Winchester
.30 Carbine adapter for .30-06
.32 ACP adapter for .308 Winchester
.32 ACP adapter for .30-06
BTW, we don't even own any guns chambered in .30 U.S. Carbine
or .32 ACP, but we keep the adapters handy, just in case. These adapters
don't weigh much and they take
up very little space.
It is important to mention that the point of impact will
be different when using alternate cartridges. Do some target shooting
tests with each of your
guns. Following these tests, make note of the aiming offsets required.
One good way to keep track of this is to note the aiming offset
at 25, 50, and 100 yards on a business card and include it, along with
a small packet of silica gel,
in a
heavy duty zip lock
bag for
storing each
cartridge adapter. It is also a good
idea to carry a short length of dowel stock in the same bag, so that
you
can push
fired cases out the adapters, in the event that they get stuck. Luckily,
this doesn;'t happen very often.
I have found that one piece adapters (such as those
listed above) are particularly easy to use. However, the two piece
adapters (such as those used for shooting .22 Long Rifle in a .223
Remington)
are
much slower and more cumbersome to use. When I tried using one of these
with a Remington Model 7 bolt action in the field, I was always afraid
that I would drop the adapter's solid steel insert "plug" and lose
it in tall grass.
(The
steel plug is designed
to
transfer
energy
from
a center-fire rifle's firing pin to a rim-fire cartridge's priming
rim.)
Another very handy adapter is the now-discontinued Savage "Four-Tenner."
These are long one piece chamber adapters that allow .410 shotgun
shells to be used in a 12, 16, or 20 gauge shotguns. It is a clever
design that transfers the force from your shogun's extractor to its
own shell extractor. These Savage "Four-Tenner"
inserts can sometimes be found on eBay or on the various gun boards,
such as GunBroker.com.
(For
example, here is 12 gauge model that is currently being auctioned on
eBay. And here
is a 20 gauge model.)
It may take some patient Internet and gun show searching to find some
of the more obscure chamber adapters that are no longer produced. But
even the old Marbles brand adapters come up for sale often come
up for
sale
on eBay from time to time.
For example, there
is currently an eBay auction running for a .22 Hornet adapter for .223
Remington.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Firearm Chamber Adapters »
Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change
Jim,
With regards to the recent flurry of postings on Global Warming (I
prefer this term to the Frank Luntz, focus group tested "climate
change", which is designed to remove anxiety about the issue
and thereby stifle any action on it), I wanted to clear up some common
misunderstandings that have been intentionally spread around to confuse
folks.
I live very close to the laboratory on the slopes of Mauna Loa that
first discovered the Global Warming trend over 30 years ago. After
a long search for truth on the subject, I've come to understand that
climate scientists are dealing with problems of almost unimaginable
complexity and as a group, are exceedingly conservative with regards
to predictive claims. I doubt that many of us who are non-scientists
can really appreciate what must go through a climate scientist's mind
when he/she encounters ill-informed individuals spouting off commonly
repeated misnomers about the CO2 levels of volcanoes (for example),
as though the scientists had somehow forgotten to factor major natural
data in! The little reported fact of the matter is that volcanoes produce
about 110 million tons of CO2 per year, an amount that is naturally
absorbable by earth and ocean. Man-made CO2, which has been rising
steadily since the dawn of the industrial revolution, is contributed
to the atmosphere at a rate of 10 billion tons per year (and is identifiable
by it's distinct isotopic signature). In another widely held misconception,
the rise in sea levels is not pegged to the weight of ice in the sea,
but rather the melting of land ice and thermal expansion of the ocean
(anyone who has ever tried to top off a warm gas tank with cool gas
from an underground tank on a hot Summer's day will see how the latter
works). The so called "Viking era" (also incorrectly called "the
Medieval Warm Period") is a myth that continues to be perpetuated,
based on misreadings of historical regional temperatures when applied
global-scale (freakish warmth in Greenland at some point is not a basis
for concluding that a world-wide trend was evident, as it wasn't) .
As to the claim that glaciers are increasing in size rather than retreating,
I'm afraid that this misinformation is based on the poor typing of
a single scientist (botanist David Bellamy) who, when trying to type "55%",
slipped on the shift key and put the number "555" into his
calculations (such is the rigor of the Global Warming deniers)! According
to the definitive source on the subject (World Glacier Monitoring Service),
most of the world's glaciers are in retreat.
You and I, as survivalists, can opt to try to ignore what's happening
to this planet and hope that the effects of it don't end up having
a lethal effect on us or someone in our family. On the other hand,
we might want to become proactive in some way, just in case. Many people
would reflect on their geographic area and how it might cause them
problems, for example, shore areas that could suffer destruction from
rising ocean levels, coastal areas from increased hurricane activity,
tornado prone areas becoming dangerous year round (as we're seeing
this year). It just seems like common sense to me to consider a couple
of aspects of your home's architecture, it's overall strength and it's
ability to deflect heat. Given the weather trends we're beginning to
see, I would think that there would be a sudden renewed interest in
earth sheltered and underground homes. Vast areas of the American south
and midwest could well become a landscape filled with splintered plywood
and and empty cement pads if current trends continue. We're also likely
to see massive crop failures (this might cause some of us to dig out
our calculators to figure out the weight and cost of lifetime supplies
of wheat) and civil unrest on a nation-wide scale.
We, as survivalists, should all be very careful about being too reactionary
to claims concerning Global Warming, simply because they don't fit
neatly into our political philosophy. The climate scientists I've come
to know are deadly serious people disinclined to represent their subject
in any but the truest way possible. Personally, based on what they've
told me, I'm going to completely reevaluate the way that my house is
currently constructed with an eye to making it significantly stouter.
By way of example, I'm considering the utilization of the Line-X blast-proof
coating (mentioned downthread) as a way of attempting to make my home
more hurricane resistant. It's also possible, with proper water-proofing
and termite prevention, that conventional homes could be retrofitted
with earth berms. I've even heard of roof-sized nets designed to attached
to earth anchors, to hold the roof on a home in hurricane conditions
(which might be workable with enough advanced notice). Obviously, windows
and lightweight doors will require superlative coverings, complete
with heavy hardware that is solidly anchored. As to the potential rise
in temperature, one might use a system of earth covered "cool
tubes" to bring cool air though vents in one's floor, which could
rise to a "solar chimney" placed high in the house for an
effective passive ventilation (approaching natural air conditioning).
There are fantastic ceramic roofing paints available that utilize Space
Shuttle tile technology to keep a normally hot roof as cool as the
surrounding air, resulting in dramatically cooler interior temperatures!
Water could become a rarer resource, so a strongly-built catchment
tank might end up being worth it's weight in gold.
I'm sure that the creative minds of the survivalblog community are
capable of expanding on this theme with solutions that are designed
for their particular circumstance. Hopefully, they'll share them with
us so that a bank of solutions might be available that will help us
all learn from their individual experiences. Best Regards, - Hawaiian K.
James,
I've been a regular reader of your blog for a couple of months now
and I'd like to point out something regarding one of the global warming
letters you published on Sunday, February 4th. The letter says, "Nor
is a sea level rise likely--fill a glass with ice water, let it melt,
and the level will drop, because ice is less dense than water".
There are two potential sources for sea level rise, melting ice is
one of
them. The problem isn't ice that's already in (or floating on) the
water, like the Arctic ice pack, it's ice that's sitting above sea
level, such as various glaciers, and the Greenland and Antarctic ice
sheets. The other source of sea level rise is the expansion of the
seawater already in the oceans. Like most other materials, water expands
as it gets warmer. If the average ocean temperature rose by a
few degrees, sea levels would rise even if the amount of water in the
oceans remained the same. Thermal expansion is actually a bigger potential
contributor to sea level rise than all of the world's the
ice sheets and glaciers combined. - Chris
« Jim's Quote of the Day: |Main| Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change »
Odds 'n Sods:
"Kon Tiki" recommended this article from Tom Feeley's Information
Clearinghouse Blog: The
Great Dollar Crash of ‘07
o o o
From CometGold.com comes
this disturbing news story: Strange
Visitors at Barrett Firearms.
o o o
Our friend JB in Tennessee recommend this site: www.urbansurvival.com,
and its sister site, www.independencejournal.com (The former is heavy
on economics, while latter has more of emphasis on frugal living and
self-sufficiency.)
« Special Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day:
"The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. He is my
ally of the moment and I should presume nothing more." - Rourke
« Letter from Matt Bracken Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Special Note from JWR:
The folks that sell preparedness products
have reported a sales slump for the past several months, as Americans have
gone into "cocooning" mode
and curtailed their discretionary spending. (On everything, it seems, except big
screen televisions.) Consequently, that has meant that several of our advertisers
have scaled back their advertising
budgets.
We presently have room for several more advertisers, including a special "nailed
up" top of the ad stack position--that is, an ad that will stay fixed
above all of the scrolling ads. If
you contact any potential advertisers, please ask them to get
a SurvivalBlog banner ad. My advertising
rates are absurdly low, especially compared to magazine ads. The small
ads are just $55 per month. If
my ad revenues don't recover soon, I
will be forced to go back to a full-time job and I would therefore have
to sharply curtail or perhaps even shut down SurvivalBlog.
(My other sources of income--mostly from book sales and subscriptions--are
not enough to pay even our most essential monthly bills here at the
ranch.) We have just 79 loyal
Ten Cent
Challenge subscribers, representing the nearly
14,000 people that read SurvivalBlog every week. (Subscriptions are
entirely voluntary.) I want to specially thank you folks. You know who you
are. Thank
you very much!
« Two Letters Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats |Main| Special Note from JWR: »
Letter from Matt Bracken Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC
Hi Jim,
I read today's offering with great interest. There is no point in trying
to resolve the debate on boats vs. land retreats ("the army of
maneuver vs. the army of the fortress") as this is all a matter
of personal conjecture and preferences. However, I would suggest that
for those folks who live in a coastal area where if the balloon goes
up their home location may be untenable, and their highway escape as
well, a boat does provide at least a viable mid-term option.
Many areas of our Atlantic and Gulf coasts have most of the people
concentrated into a relatively small percent of the land, and vast
areas of bays, rivers and estuaries that are almost in virgin condition,
and unreachable except by water. There are literally thousands of miles
of such places where a person living on a sailboat or other craft could
stay off of the radar for months or even longer, while the emergency
situation ashore sorted itself out. At that point, the low-profile
boat survivalist could decide to return home, stay put, move to another
state, or even to cross an ocean.
A boat is not a panacea, and it's not for everyone, but given a choice
between "bugging in" in a potentially violent urban area,
or heading out into gridlocked highways, I know what I would choose
if I lived near the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts. (Most of the Pacific coast
presents a very different picture, due to its geography.)
A low-profile shoal draft houseboat (is there any other kind?) would
also work in many coastal and even inland areas, although of course the
oceans are off limits and fuel will eventually run out. A diesel powered
houseboat would work well with cached drums of fuel hidden in likely
areas. The idea with a houseboat is that they would rarely move, (burn
fuel), but that they have that option. Houseboats are also very easy
to camouflage, and can be located where fish would be available and also
small crop farming could be concealed, all while hiding well off of the
highway and road systems. - Matt
Bracken,
Northeast Florida
JWR Replies: Many thanks for your input. Until you
mentioned it, I hadn't seriously considered the "brown water" option
for boaters in delta or estuary regions. Perhaps painting a house boat
in a flat earth tone color might work--along with some judicious use
of
camouflage nets and burlap to cover any windows or chrome that might
reflect. Readers that do a little searching might find just the right
place to tie up, deep in a delta. Many
delta regions
have
extensive
state
and Federal park "wetlands" that are seldom traveled by anyone.
And you are correct in your assertion that a lot of that country can
only be
accessed by water. That would make someone relatively safe from bands
of looters.
BTW, there is one part of the Pacific coast that is intriguing: The
Sacramento River delta region. This delta is said to have more shoreline
than the entire California coastline. It is unfortunately downwind
from several nuclear targets (most notably the Concord Naval Weapons
Station),
but
in anything
other than a nuke scenario, the Sacramento delta region might
make a practical bug-out locale.
« Letter Re: Planned NAFTA Superhighway Corridors |Main| Letter from Matt Bracken Re: Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC »
Two Letters Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats
Jim,
I have parts of my home secured with a trip wire activated pepper spray device
called 'The Burglar
Bomb" a.k.a. AB-2000 by Revel Technology Inc. This device with contaminate
a 2,000 sq. ft. area when activated, and will most certainly repel all but
the most determined. Revel Tech also has a couple more advanced devices that
are infrared triggered.
I am not affiliated with the company other than being a satisfied customer.
I thought this might be a great non-lethal option for folks that have unattended
retreats or pre-positioned storage facilities to secure. Combined with the
stealth motion activated digital camera systems [such as those sold by Ready
Made Resources], an AB-2000 adds an additional layer of protection.
The company web site has testimonials from customers, as well as details of
what each model is capable of. As a side note, they have regularly advertised
in Shotgun News for as long as I can remember.
Check them out. - Cowboy255 in Maryland
Dear Jim
I just noticed your advice on Smokecloak. We were the Smokecloak dealers in
a number of countries for years, and have just launched FlashFog, our new
product that brings up a couple of notches the area denial capabilities of
these systems. FlashFog also includes a powerful strobe light that keeps
the eye in shock and makes the blinding effect much more powerful. FlashFog
also comes at a better price. We just launched FlashFog at the SHOT Show
in Orlando, with amazing comments from people who had seen us the year before
with Smokecloak
Here
is what some people are saying:about FlashFog. Regards, - Alfredo
Arias, Arias
Tech Ltd.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats »
Letter Re: Planned NAFTA Superhighway Corridors
James,
Your readers who are looking to evade "progress and mass population" need
to pay particular attention to the
proposed NAFTA [High Priority Corridor] super-highways. These linked pages
will cover all projected builds in all 50 states [see
details on the High Priority Corridor routes], many of which are planned
for "remote" areas favored by survival-minded folks. This is seriously
bad news. - Jay in Florida
« Jim's Quote of the Day |Main| Letter Re: Planned NAFTA Superhighway Corridors »
Odds 'n Sods:
Jason in North Idaho mentioned: Far-flung
exurbs hard hit by housing downturn
o o o
There are just 8 days left in the big "Container
load sale" at Survival Enterprises. I can see from their
availability chart that some items have sold out,
and that they are now running
low on
their remaining inventory of both the "Bacon
bits" (bacon
TVP) and the shortening powder in the #2-1/2 cans. One bit of unexpected good
news: The owner of Survival Enterprises just e-mailed me and mentioned:
"We
just
found
10 more
cases (we thought we were out) of Corn Starch in the #10 cans." Don't
miss out on tis sale, folks! All of the storage food items are "first
come - first served." The
prices are less than half of retail.
o o o
Tim P., Doug S., and Michael
Z. Williamson all suggested I put up a link to this article: U.S.
companies prepare for bird flu pandemic.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day
"Liberty is the prevention of control by others. This requires
self-control and, therefore, religious and spiritual influences; education,
knowledge, well-being." - Lord Acton [John Emerich Edward Dalberg
Acton] (1834-1902), First Baron Acton of Aldenham
« Two Letters Re: Electric Golf Carts as a Retreat ATV Option |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day »
Note from JWR:
The SurvivalBlog
benefit auction for a
pair of MURS band handheld transceivers, with optional extended range
flex antennas
ends on February 15th. The high bid is currently at $150.
These radios were kindly donated by Rob at $49
MURS Radios. Check out his products. What Rob sells are a
lot of radio for the money. I've heard nothing but rave reviews
from the SurvivalBlog readers that have bought these. As previously
mentioned in the blog, Kenwood 2 watt MURS handhelds have far better
range than FRS radios, they require no license, and
can be custom programmed for, MURS, 2 Meter Band frequencies (2 Meter
Band transmission is legal only for licensed individuals), and/or weather
warning (WX, receive only) channels,
and
they are also compatible
with alert message frequencies for Dakota
Alert intrusion detection
systems.
I strongly endorse these hand-helds! If you don't already own a pair,
look into buying some.
« Two Letters Re: Advice on Sawdust and Other Barn Waste as Fertilizers |Main| Note from JWR: »
Two Letters Re: Electric Golf Carts as a Retreat ATV Option
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I have a few points to add to the golf cart idea. first, It is feasible
[to convert an electric golf cart into a quasi-ATV.] I worked a
a mechanic at a golf course. Power is power. Most carts use four
6
volt batteries
[cabled] in series to make 24 volts. Second, some very necessary
tools and parts for the job, many feet of battery
cable, end fittings and a good swagger [--a cable terminal swaging
tool.]
Look for these at your nearest auto store. [JWR Adds: These
tools are also available at most marine supply stores. I cannot overemphasize
the importance of a solid terminal connection with high current DC
cables. Don't just borrow or rent a swaging tool. Buy your own so that
you will have it available when it is needed for periodic cable repairs
or replacements.] The arrangement of the batteries during high [current]
use kills the cables
within
weeks.
Have
spares
ready. Third, most electric carts use a rheostat as the input for how
fast you go. By finagling your "go pedal" and the rheostat,
you can go faster, however this is at the cost of your batteries and
the motor
- B.B
James:
I think that The
Bad Boy Buggy is what you are looking for in an off-road
four wheel drive electric buggy. - Russ
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re: Electric Golf Carts as a Retreat ATV Option »
Two Letters Re: Advice on Sawdust and Other Barn Waste as Fertilizers
Jim:
Something to very careful with when composting sawdust is to be
absolutely sure you do not have any sawdust from pressure treated wood.
There
is a myriad of nasty chemicals in this wood that will destroy your
compost heap. Sawdust should not be added directly to your garden because
it absorbs and holds moisture and other nutrients. Wood ashes are fine,
but only add 1 or 2% Phosphorus and 3 to 7% of potassium. Wood Ashes
have an alkaline effect on your soil. I put eggs shells and coffee
grounds and wood ashes directly into the garden all winter on top of
the snow so as it melts in the spring it helps incorporate into the
soil. Before I roto-till in April, any compost I have accumulated since
the previous April goes in and then I get a load of Cow /Horse manure
from a neighbor. Then I roto-till and let it set until mid to late
May when I plant. One last thing: Never add Chicken manure directly
to
the growing garden unless it has "matured" for about a month
or more. It is very high in nitrogen and tends to burn plants. - Carl
In Wisconsin.
Dear Jim and Family,
I have a comment on the sawdust in soil issue: Sawdust absorbs between
12 and 32 times as much nitrogen as soil which does not contain it.
The nitrogen helps it decay but the downside is that it makes the
soil infertile. If someone tries to sell you "topsoil" and
you can ID sawdust in it, you've just met an enemy who trying to
pull
a fast one on you,
and with TEOTWAWKI looming, it could doom your whole family. The only
solution to sawdust contamination in your soil is to dump a lot of
nitrogen into your soil and let it fallow a year or two to convert
all the sawdust into useful nutrients. Covering it in plastic sheeting
and doing ammonia gas injection isn't a bad idea, as that will speed
it along. Pay an expert for that. Its dangerous and explosive (Remember
The Mosquito Coast? That was an Ammonia gas explosion). Then
retest your soil with a kit from the farm supply store and wait for
your balance
to settle down. Then you can get back to building up the humic and
folic acid values again (planting and harvesting crops). It's very
irritating and I keep running into people who pull this particular
fast one on the unsuspecting. Don't let them dump that ac**p on your
land, and don't let them BS you
into thinking its "good fer ya
soil". It's not.
However, if the soil contains rice hulls, you've got a winner. Turns
out rice hulls decay very slowly and don't absorb nitrogen but do wonders
for your soil aeration, which lets roots breathe better and improves
your plant health and fertility. Rice hulls are a good thing. Really
good quality compost and potting soil has this. Perlite is much more
common (tiny white volcanic glass beads) and does a similar task through
not quite as well as rice hulls.
If your topsoil is full of clay, you'll need to add a lot more fertilizer
as clay absorbs it into its crystal structure ([under a microscope]
clay looks like a xylophone when it swells and shrinks depending on
water
content).
The
upshot
of that is the nutrients act on your soil and plants for years afterwards
so you can get your money's worth out of it. If you have too much clay
in your soil, till in gypsum as it causes an important chemical/structural
change. The clay reacts with gypsum and turns into small pellets which
allows better aeration, drainage, and nutrient absorption. Its important
to remember: Do not walk on wet clay soil. Make paths
with boards around the beds. Don't compact the soil or your plants
will die.
Its not too late to take a soils and horticulture or gardening class
at your local community college, or look into books like "Gardening
When It Counts", written by the greener side of the survival community.
One other important thing: if you use well water in volcanic areas,
test it for boron or borate. Boron kills plants. Kills them really
well. Its mostly harmless to humans, but to plants it's like their
kryptonite, even worse than salt. Apparently using borax soap powder
was a common prank for killing lawns in the 50's, though I'm not old
enough to verify that one.
If your soil does get contaminated for some reason,
you may need to either plant special crops to remove the toxins, or
use a special chemical
poison which destroys its fertility but kills everything (even nasty
nematodes and soil parasites), or flood the soil for a few weeks to
leach out the salts and then drain it off (method for removing sodium
salt, potassium salt, selenium or borates from soil). You'll have to
start from scratch with all but the plant method, rebuilding your soil
fertility from ground zero takes years, most of the time, unless you've
got a lot of chemical additives and a working tractor. If you want
to do that, consult an expert (I'm just educated, not practically employed
in that field), get a quote, and hire another expert to inspect the
work.
And if you get insect problems, use sulphur based insecticides. Unless
you're personally allergic to sulphur compounds they are the best bet
for your soil. Plants tolerate sulphur well, and for some its an essential
nutrient. It bonds to clay well and keeps out of the way after use
so its win-win, for all but the allergic people.
Soils maps are easy to get from the federal government, as well as
USGS, and most counties keep stocks of these maps though I've never
felt
the need to seek one out. I will when I someday buy a house so I know
what I'm dealing with. Most government soils maps were made in the
40's and usually detail potential uses, indicating fish farms for poorly
drained
clay soils and suggested crops for specific soil types known to be
naturally suited to them. Soil Survey Maps are a very good
tool for retreat property hunting.
Incidentally, for desert soils, with irrigation and
the right temperature range, will grow nearly anything. They are the
most fertile soil type. You
just have to avoid the borates and salt flats and washes (those aren't
soils, just alluvium).Sincerely, - InyoKern
« Jim's Quote of the Day |Main| Two Letters Re: Advice on Sawdust and Other Barn Waste as Fertilizers »
Odds 'n Sods:
Federal
budget explosion: $2.9 TRILLION! Gee,
you don't suppose that this will be inflationary or that it will
force higher taxes...
o o o
An interesting article ran in Disaster
Recovery Journal's 20th Anniversary
issue: No
Rain, No Power. Written by Ugandans, it describes how the recent
drought in Eastern Africa has created a systemic power crisis. Lack
of hydroelectric power has forced the Ugandan power utility resort
to lengthy
"load shedding"
power blackouts.
o o o
The folks at Safecastle wrote to remind me that they now have a Safecastle
Royal Buyers Club, with hundreds of high-quality
preparedness
products listed, and more going up every day. They offer free
shipping on
all items all the time. And members get at least 20% off the listed
prices
on
everything
in
the
store, even off special sale prices. Safecastle sells freeze dried
food, water storage and purification products, optics, communications,
and
security
products,
NukAlerts, Paratrooper folding bikes, knives, emergency response
kits, and much more. And of course,
they're well known for their prefabricated
vaults/shelters/safe rooms.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day
"The only proper purpose of a government is to protect
man’s rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence.
A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man’s
self defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those
who start the use of force. The only proper functions of a government
are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect
you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property
and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by
rational rules, according to objective law. But a government that initiates
the employment of force against men who had forced no one, the employment
of armed compulsion against unarmed victims, is a nightmare infernal
machine designed to annihilate morality: Such a government reverses
its only moral purpose and switches from the role of protector to the
role of man’s deadliest enemy, from the role of policeman to
the role of a criminal vested with the right to the wielding of violence
against victims deprived of the right of self-defense. Such a government
substitutes for morality the following rule of social conduct: you
may do whatever you please to your neighbor, provided your gang is
bigger than his." - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
« Letter Re: Advice on Using Oak Acorns as a Survival Food |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day »
Note from JWR:
There are just 10 days left in
the big "Container
load sale" at Survival Enterprises. Based on the running
inventories posted on the web page, many items have
sold out.Get your order in while there is still a good assortment of
these long term storage foods! The prices are less than
half of retail.
« Letter Re: The CDC's New "Five Categories" for Pandemic Severity |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Advice on Using Oak Acorns as a Survival Food
Hi:.
I live in Florida where there are a lot of oak trees with
a lot of acorns. Is there any way to prepare acorns so that humans
can eat them in a survival situation? Thanks. - Joe in Florida
The Memsahib Replies: Yes! The California Indians'
main staple was acorns. Along the creek where I played as a child,
there were many grinding holes in the rocks where the native California
women ground their acorns into flour. One anthropologist has speculated
that it was the acorn as a diet staple that made the development of
civilization in Europe possible. The tannins in acorns make them bitter,
make you feel sick, and can cause liver damage. So it is important
to leach out the tannins before eating acorns.
Here is the basic "how to" from the University
of Illinois Extension Solutions Series: Around the House:
"Acorns
are very high in tannins, which make them very bitter and
astringent when eaten raw. They need to be boiled or roasted, or
both
to make
them palatable. The sweetest nuts come from the white, burr, and
chestnut oaks. The black, pin, and red oak acorns are bitter.
To use: Collect the acorns in the fall, when ripe. Remove the shells
and caps. The shells will come off easier if you first slit them
with a
sharp knife. Boil the acorns whole for at least two hours, changing
the water each time it becomes light brown in color. This boiling
removes the bitterness and they become pleasantly sweet. You will
find, after
this boiling, that they are quite dark brown in color. Toast in a
350 degree F oven for another hour. They can then be eaten as they
are
or ground into flour."
Here is an article which includes some recipes for using
acorns, that ran in one of my favorite magazines, Backwoods Home:
"Harvesting the Wild: Acorns" by Jackie Clay
« Letter Re: CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Training |Main| Letter Re: Advice on Using Oak Acorns as a Survival Food »
Letter Re: The CDC's New "Five Categories" for Pandemic Severity
Mr. Rawles,
Given the unique nature of a flu pandemic, (or a "biological" attack),
how would one assemble their retreat group after possible outbreak in one's immediate
area, (within 50 miles) with confidence? The vehicle alone that
they travel in could be laden with contamination and the door handles become
a scary transmission device. Seeing is believing, invisible is invisible.
"To Group or not to Group?", that is the question. - The Wanderer
JWR Replies: There is no way to be certain to avoid
exposure if an influenza outbreak is in close proximity. But odds are
that the first outbreaks will be in distant regions. That will be the
time
to
act.
I've done consulting work for members of three different retreat
groups in recent months, and all three had essentially the
same concept of
operation: If there is news of an outbreak
of a rapidly spreading human-to-human ("H2H")
flu strain anywhere
on the planet, they plan to send out an alert (via e-mail/phone
tree), meet up, lock their gates, and hunker down. One group mentioned
a 24 hour deadline. The other two groups quoted 36 hours. Nobody will
be
allowed in after those deadlines. One of these retreat groups plans a
novel procedure for any group
members
that who get delayed and arrive after their deadline: They will be
forced to "quarantine
camp" on adjoining National Forest land for two weeks,
to establish whether or not
were
infected. With all seriousness, one of the group members that I interviewed
said, "If they start getting sick, we'll say say prayers
for
them--from
quite a
distance--and
then
we'll toss them some Sambucol and a shovel."
« Letter Re: My M1911 Loyalty Has Been Shaken--I Bought a Beretta |Main| Letter Re: The CDC's New "Five Categories" for Pandemic Severity »
Letter Re: CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Training
Jim-
I'm just finishing up the nine-lesson [Citizen
Corps] CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training. I highly recommend it. Besides
the very
good information
on dealing with a variety of
scenarios, I really like the heavy emphasis on taking care of yourself
and your family first. This gets constant reinforcement. So though
the training is intended to help you be useful as a first responder,
it is even more useful in helping you harden up your home, yourself
and your family members.
Of course it's also a very good way to invite your neighbors into a
local cohort group: instead of fending them off, you have a natural
reason for engaging them in getting into CERT, and therefore themselves
becoming more self-reliant as well. - Bob B.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Training »
Letter Re: My M1911 Loyalty Has Been Shaken--I Bought a Beretta
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I just finished "Patriots" and
enjoyed it very much. I have been reading SurvivalBlog for over a year
now. Today I went to my local
gun shop to trade off a Springfield 1911 Micro
Compact, which never worked worth
a hoot, even after a return
to the
factory. The Micro Compact is not the only 1911 I have ever owned,
I have several Colts, full size, Gold Cup, Government Model, et cetera.
I wanted something different, and I have always wanted a Beretta
M9,
ever
since seeing
the movie "Die Hard". So with a little
haggling I traded for a brand new Beretta M9 [9mm.] I then took the
new Beretta out to the range. Low and behold, out of the box, this
Beretta
shoots
better and more accurately than any 1911 I have ever owned or shot!
On top of that it holds 15 rounds. That [much ammunition in the magazine]
can buy you a lot of time to get to your rifle, in a jam. I know about
knock
down
power
and
all
the
benefits of both. But after years of 1911 loyalty, I have been shaken
down to my core. I know that
if I go out to the range tomorrow and plink some more, I am going to
wind up liking the Beretta more. I have a crisis on my hands, what
is a loyal 1911 man to do? - Dan in Oklahoma
JWR Replies: First, I wholeheartedly agree with your
assertion that a handgun is not a substitute for a rifle. It is just
a tool that buys you time--something
that allows you time to "fight your way back to your rifle." (An
old saying, popular with U.S. Army trainers.)
It may
surprise you hear that I am not a
Model 1911 purist. My general advice is:
shoot whatever you are best at shooting. Only
hits count, so shoot with the tool that will give you more hits. For
most
shooters, that means choosing a Glock or
perhaps a Springfield Armory XD. Just
be sure to use enough gun to stop your opponent. I consider
the 9mm cartridge marginal, at best. The .40 S&W cartridge is a
bit more of a sure stopper (but still perhaps marginal), and the .45
ACP is about
the best
compromise cartridge
for use a combat autopistol. Keep in mind that NO semi-auto
pistol cartridge is going to stop an opponent rapidly unless
you get lucky and score a nervous system hit. (Namely, the ocular
window or spinal column.) Unlike when using a high power rifle, it
will take the effect of cumulative hits to
put Mr. Badguy out of action. So use a large caliber handgun loaded
with premium hollow point ammo (such as Golden Saber or HydraShok)
to start, so that you pile up the damage more quickly with successive
hits.)
My
only suggestion for you in particular would be to upgrade
your Beretta
to the
.40 S&W cartridge.
Factory-made slide/barrel/magazine conversion kits are available from CDNN
(see
this
link, for example) and a number of
other Internet vendors. Since they don't include a frame, no
FFL is
required to purchase these kits. Buy this conversion kit soon, before
you
invest too much in 9mm ammo and magazines.
One key proviso: You should line up a supply of Beretta factory made
Model 96G (.40 S&W) 10 or 11 round magazines before you
order a conversion kit. Parenthetically, I would consider 5 spare magazines
a bare minimum--but 10 or 12 spares should probably meet your comfort
level. After you've made the switch, I recommend greasing up your old
9mm top half and all of your 9mm magazines with R.I.G. Then
seal them up in double plastic bags with a little silica gel desiccant
inside the inner bag for good measure. Tuck them away in an ammo can--right
next to those cans full of 9mm ammo that you can now resign to the
category of ballistic wampum.
OBTW, I recommend that you consider having a set of Meprolight or
Trijicon tritium sights
installed on your new .40 top half. Lay in a supply of at least 1,200
&W if your Beretta will be your secondary handgun,
OBTW, if you you decide to leave you pistol "as is" (in 9mm)
then get yourself at least one of the scarce Beretta factory 20 round
spare
magazines. These were originally
made
for
the Model
93R,
but they also fit and function in the Model 92 or M9. These extra-high
capacity magazines are expensive ($90 to $100 each!) , but are ideal
for "bedside
table" use, and will hopefully compensate for the marginal ballistics
of 9mm. Beretta 93R 20 round magazines can often be found on Buddy
Hinton's boards. BTW, beware the aftermarket 20 rounders, that
are often of dubious quality and prone to jamming. All of the originals
will be stamped "PB".
« Jim's Quote of the Day |Main| Letter Re: My M1911 Loyalty Has Been Shaken--I Bought a Beretta »
Odds 'n Sods:
For those of you that have a fast Internet connection, watch SAR expert
Robert Nielsen's recent Google Tech Talk lecture video: Wilderness
Survival: Building and Using a Wilderness
Survival Kit. It will be one hour of your time, well-spent.
o
o o
Reader P.M. sent me flyer that mentioned the Earth-Box
gardening system. P.M. says that he has used
these for two years with great success. They can be put on wheeled
platform or casters, allowing them to be moved indoors at night when
frosts are expected.
o o o
Rourke (moderator
of the Jericho
Discussion Group) mentioned that airing of new episodes
of the vaguely survivalist television series Jericho will
resume on Feb 21st
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day
"People commit crimes because they are people—because they
are innately selfish and do not care how their behavior affects other
people, unless they have been raised to behave otherwise or unless
they fear the criminal justice system." - Thomas Sowell, Barbarians
Inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays, p. 21
« Electric Golf Carts as a Retreat ATV Option |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day »
Note from JWR:
I've been asked by several blog readers
about quantity pricing on autographed copies of the latest (expanded)
edition of my novel "Patriots".
Here you go:
1: $22, Book Rate postage paid in the United States
2: $20 each, Book Rate postage paid in the United States
3 to 5: $19 each, Book Rate postage paid in the United States
6 to 10: $16 each, Book Rate postage paid in the United States
11 to 25: $14 each, Book Rate postage paid in the United States
Full cases of 26 copies $325 (just $12.50 each), Book
Rate postage paid in the United States
Overseas orders: Add $9 for the first copy and $3 for
each additional copy, for Global Priority Mail postage (where available.)
If sending payment via US Postal Service money order (sorry, no checks),
please use this address:
Elk Creek Company
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845
On-line payment options:
Our AlertPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our GearPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our PayPal address is: rawles@earthlink.net
Most orders will be mailed by our order fulfillment partner, that
is in Montana. Regardless of the method of payment, please allow three
weeks
for delivery. Thanks!
« Letter Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats |Main| Note from JWR: »
Electric Golf Carts as a Retreat ATV Option
Jim,
A good friend put a lift kit on an electric golf cart. It will go anywhere
a 4-wheeler [all terrain vehicle (ATV)]
will go; it is drop dead silent; and will go about 24 mph without alterations.
I got to thinking:
Why
not retrofit
a
PV charging
cell on the golf cart's roof to trickle charge the batteries. An
engineer
buddy told me that it was very feasible to accomplish this with the
additional thought that a redundant solar charger at 'base' would increase
the time needed to maintain a full charge. I believe that such a unit
would be quite popular when the pumps don't work and the teller machines
are 'down for service'. - Matt, Somewhere South of KY
JWR Replies: Arrrrgh! You beat me to the punch on
an article that I had planned to post in SurvivalBlog. Here is my
input
on
the subject, in brief: Electric golf carts have limited range, but
are indeed very quiet. You should consider that most gas powered golf
carts are
much quieter than a comparable-size ATV. If you don't plan to go more
than a few miles, then get an electric cart. Lift
kits are indeed available for retrofit for three popular brands
of electric carts: Ez-Go, Club Car, and Yamaha. You can even get brush
guards and other ATV-esque accessories for golf carts. Photovoltaic
(PV) battery charging panels and charge controllers are available
for retrofitting
a golf cart, from Internet
vendors like Ready
Made Resources. (A charge controller is a must on
any system with more than just one small trickle charging panel. Otherwise
you will
overcharge and badly "cook" your batteries.) OBTW, there
are also PV panels that are factory original equipment on electric
carts
like
the Cruise
Car Sunray. (Here is another
page on the same cart.)
To make your cart-cum-ATV at least quasi-tactical, I'd recommend
that you paint your cart in a flat earth tone color.
(You can add a "flattener" to the mix of a normally glossy
or semi-gloss paint that you put though a paint spray gun.) You should
also keep the materials handy to spray
paint, or Bowflage
paint,
or camo
tape over
any chrome parts, if and when things get Schumeresque.
(Bowflage paint seems to be best for reducing IR signature.)
For both off-road flexibility --where you might encounter low overhanging
tree branches--
and
possible tactical use, you should make your canopy (with PV panels)
quickly detachable, with lock washers and wing nuts or similar
mounting hardware.
« Letter Re: Veterinary Antibiotics |Main| Electric Golf Carts as a Retreat ATV Option »
Letter Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats
Mr. Rawles:
I feel guilty about asking you this in an e-mail, since I should probably pay
for consulting time to have you answer the following: I have a vacation/retreat
house that is in another state, almost 600 miles from my home on the coast.
I agree with your advice (that you've repeated gosh how many times)
that someone should live at retreat year round. I tried
renting it to an acquaintance
that needed some "space" for a time following a divorce, but he
eventually moved on. Now my retreat is vacant. All of my friends and me--including
the two families that are our "bug out buddies" that will
help us man the retreat if times get wild and violent--all have corporate
jobs on the coast. So we can't live there. And because of the way the retreat
house is stocked, I can't rent it out to a stranger. And I can't have a modern
burglar
alarm
system, since the house is off grid and there are no telephone lines for miles.
What can I do to increase security so that nobody rips off all our survival
supplies? There is too much for us to bury, and besides, the water table
is quite high there, so underground caches are pretty much out of the question.
(Our well depth is just 12 feet!) Thanx, - R.T.U.
JWR Replies: I recommend that you: 1.) Get an insurance
policy for your retreat, to cover theft and fire. 2.) Install either
a Smokecloak
device (or something comparable, perhaps tripwire activated) in
each room with an exterior door, and 3.) Install several infrared security
cameras,
such
as those
sold
by Ready
Made Resources. Having photographic evidence is essential to eventually
apprehend burglars, and is also quite useful for substantiating insurance
claims. Ideally, there should be a hidden camera facing down the
length of your main approach road/driveway (so that you can catch
images of vehicle, driver, and most importantly their license plate
number), another camera with a view of the front door or other expected
point of entry, and possibly yet another with a view of the bathroom.
(Burglars tend to get nervous and use the bathroom.) OBTW, if you have
a gun vault for you weapons, optics, and electronics,
then be sure to bolt it securely to the floor, and if possible build
it into a hidden compartment or hidden room.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Advice on Security for Unattended Retreats »
Letter Re: Veterinary Antibiotics
Jim,
Thank you for responding to my e-mail. As a healthcare professional, many of
us are going to have to make some really hard decisions in more difficult
times when drugs will no longer be available. If it came down to having someone
die or administering an out of date tetracycline, I would be happy to try
the tetracycline out of date or not. Tough choices either way.
The reason I continue this discussion is due partly to an article I read in The
Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, March 28, 2000, page A-16. 'Many Drugs Prove
Potent Long Past Expiration Dates." {see: http://www.timestriponline.com/shelflife/drugexpiraton.htm] This article sites the findings of
the Food and Drug Administration when they tested out of date (up to 15 years)
military drug stockpile. The purpose was to see if the military could extend
the life of its inventory. The testing included tetracycline and aspirin "and
typically found batches effective for more than two years." The results
on over 100 drugs "showed that about 90% of them were safe and effective
far past their original expiration date." I am not in a position to obtain
the full report but it must have been great [to read]. - Russ
« Jim's Quote of the Day |Main| Letter Re: Veterinary Antibiotics »
Odds 'n Sods:
A new organization, dedicated to protecting the right to keep and
bear edged weapons: http://www.kniferights.org In
my opinion knife ownership should have it constitutional protection
recognized on an equal footing with gun ownership.
o
o o
USDA
Announces An "Opt Out" Procedure For NAIS
o o o
Montana and Maine move to reject the Federal Real ID requirements
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day
"It is an uphill struggle, but I wish that we could distinguish
more carefully between freedom and liberty. These conditions are not
the same, though they are certainly related. Freedom is the absence
of restraint - a physical circumstance. Liberty, on the other hand,
is a political situation denoting the lawful capability of the citizen
to defend himself and his near and dear without interference from the
state. Note that the Declaration of Independence forcibly and particularly
establishes the blessings of liberty upon ourselves and our posterity.
I like to carry a pocket copy of the Declaration, plus the Constitution,
in my travels. It is a good thing to have in hand when discussions
arise." - The Late Col. Jeff Cooper
« The CDC's New "Five Categories" for Pandemic Severity |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day »
Note from JWR:
I recently spent an afternoon with
The Memsahib at a COSTCO store. For our overseas readers: COSTCO is
an American membership "warehouse" type grocery store chain
that sells everything from canned hams to home computers. By the way,
COSTCO is not to be confused with the Chinese shipping company, COSCO,
although surely some COSCO goods end up in COSTCO stores. Just not
to the same extent that they do at Wal-Mart. (Or, as my brother calls
it:
"Great
Wal-of-China-Mart.") We were at COSTCO primarily to stock up the Rawles
Ranch on paper products, soap and cleaning supplies, and some staple
foods. The trip was reminiscent of the COSTCO tour that I took last
summer with publisher Jake Stafford, when we were developing the "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course. The premise of the course
is that more that 80% of what a family needs to stock up for emergencies
can be purchased in a single shopping trip to a "big box" store
such as COSTCO. The preparedness course stresses the shelf lives of
various products--so that you don't buy too much of anything and hence
not
be able to systematically use it before it reaches the end of its shelf
life.
Needless to say, a massive purchase (or a series of purchases) is not something
that I would recommend doing during a crisis. Do it now,
in normal times. That way you will have a full selection of products,
and you won't "hoarding", since the supply chain is still
humming along nicely. Everything that you buy today will be efficiently
re-stocked. So in effect, by buying your year's supply now,
you'll be one less person that rushes to the store at the
11th hour. Hence, instead of being part of the problem, you'll
be contributing to the solution. Also, be sure to buy plenty of extra
food to have available for charity. Again, that will make you part
of the solution.
« Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change |Main| Note from JWR: »
The CDC's New "Five Categories" for Pandemic Severity
Several SurvivalBlog readers mentioned an article that ran recently
in the New York Times: U.S.
Issues Guidelines in Case of Flu Pandemic. The article begins: "Cities
should close schools for up to three months in the event of a severe
flu outbreak, ball games and movies should be canceled and working
hours staggered so subways and buses are less crowded, the federal
government advised today in issuing new pandemic flu guidelines to
states and cities.
Health officials acknowledged that such measures would hugely disrupt public
life, but they argued that these measure would buy the time needed to produce
vaccines and would save lives because flu viruses attack in waves lasting about
two months.
“We have to be prepared for a Category 5 pandemic,” said Dr. Martin
Cetron, director of global migration and quarantine for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC], in releasing the guidelines. “It’s
not easy. The only thing that’s harder is facing the consequences. That
will be intolerable.”
In an innovation, the new guidelines are modeled on the five levels of hurricanes,
but ranked by lethality instead of wind speed. Category 1, which assumes 90,000
Americans would die, is equivalent to a bad year for seasonal flu, Glen Nowak,
a CDC spokesman, said. (About 36,000 Americans die of flu in an average year.)
Category 5, which assumes 1.8 million dead, is the equivalent of the 1918 Spanish
flu pandemic. (That flu killed about 2 percent of those infected; the H5N1
flu now circulating in Asia has killed more than 50 percent but is not easily
transmitted.)" [End quote.]
Given the lethality rate of H5N1,
I think that the CDC officials
are overly optimistic, almost to the point of being Pollyannas.
They have understated the pandemic threat considerably. As I mentioned
in my article Protecting
Your Family From an Influenza Pandemic, the current strain
of the H5N1 virus has a 58% lethality rate for humans. If
a new easily transmissible strain emerges, and that strain has the
same lethality, imagine this: It could infect 20% of the population,
and then kill 58% of those that are infected. In a nation of
300 million that equates to 34.8 million deaths. In fact,
the death rate could be even higher. Why? In the recent Asian
outbreaks, we have witnessed aggressive hospitalized
treatment for all of those
that were infected--complete
with 24-hour nursing, artificial ventilation, broad spectrum antibiotics
(for bacterial co-infections), oxygen therapy, I.V. fluids,
experimental anti-virals, the
whole works. But in a major pandemic there would not be enough
hospital beds for even small percentage of the flu patients. There
are roughly
947,000 staffed hospital beds in the U.S. (including prison hospitals)
and about 65% of standard beds and 85% in critical care unit beds are
filled on any given day. (Some
suggest that there is a bed shortage, even in the present day.)
And what about hospital ventilators? Forget it! In
the U.S. there are "about
105,000 ventilators, and even during a regular flu season, about 100,000
[of them] are in use."
So what is the bottom line? To be more realistic in assessing worst case situations,
the CDC needs to add at least a couple more category numbers (i.e.
Category 6 and Category 7.) In my estimation the CDC has publicly underestimated the
pandemic threat, to avoid widespread panic.
The latest news is that H5N1
has been found in farm poultry in England.
It is just a matter of time before it makes its way into U.S. poultry
flocks. But H5N1 is not in itself a big public health threat.
It is the potential mutated variety "HX" that
is the real threat. But for now, H5N1 has circled the globe and may
become
endemic.
Everywhere
that it
exists, there is the chance that a viable "H2H"
strain could emerge. When that happens, watch out!
Are you ready to self-quarantine your entire family to avoid exposure?
If not, then you'd better get on the phone to a food storage vendor
(there are several very reputable ones that are SurvivalBlog advertisers)
and order an honest six month supply of food for your family. Do it NOW,
because if you wait until after a flu outbreak, then it will
be too late. The supermarket shelves will swept bare in less than 24
hours, nationwide. Human nature dictates that this will happen.
That is what people always do in emergencies. We just haven't yet
seen it happen from coast to coast.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| The CDC's New "Five Categories" for Pandemic Severity »
Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change
Dear Jim,
In response to this: "(See the movie The Day After Tomorrow regarding
tipping points). Discoveries of animals flash frozen solid with fresh grass
their stomachs points to the possibility of a very fast onset to global climate
change." The Day After Tomorrow was roundly slammed by scientists
and went beyond ludicrous, and the "flash frozen" animals are a myth
that has never been documented. The recovered frozen mammoths have all been
highly putrefied.
At present, the evidence of warming is mixed, with glaciers in Europe, South
America and Antarctica all increasing [in size]. Even with
the current Northern Hemisphere warming trend (Which leveled out a decade ago),
we're still quite cooler than during the Viking Era, when summer temperatures
in Greenland could reach 80 degrees F. Nor is a sea level rise likely--fill
a glass with ice water, let it melt, and the level will drop, because ice is
less dense than water (one of water's unique properties that makes it so useful
as a basis for life). The Earth has sustained life from the Carboniferous,
with double the current CO2 level and 35% oxygen [JWR Adds: Reader B.F. mentioned that the figure is acutally only about 21% oxygen], to deep ice ages with glaciers
as far south as 30 degrees latitude.
That said, SF raises very good points about shifting weather patterns, all
of which are cyclic. Tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, ice storms are all
potential crop killers. Volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts have affected
the global environment (see The
Year Without A Summer) and are definitely things
to prepare for. The latter would be catastrophic, as the huge population of
Earth depends upon steady movement of harvested crops to keep people fed. (I
covered this as a military strategy in my novel "The
Weapon.")
Even in "normal" climate, I've seen snow flurries in San Antonio
in August, snow on Memorial Day in Chicago, and temperatures as low as 30 degrees
F in rural Ohio and Pennsylvania over July 4th weekend in quite modest hills
(Also T-shirt weather in January, but that's less of a threat). Breaking down
in those hills on a back country road means you might need a fire or warm clothing
at once.
I guesstimate that a local disaster (riot, tornado, earthquake) could last
days, a regional one (hurricane, major earthquake, political collapse) weeks,
and a global disaster (mega-volcano, large meteorite, infrastructure failure)
a year or more. Once we get into that, deaths from starvation are utterly certain
for those not prepared, until population reaches equilibrium with the available
food supply.
This reiterates that one's survival preparations should not be public knowledge.
Starving people have and will kill to feed themselves and their children. This
could be the ugliest of scenarios. - Michael
Z. Williamson
Dear Jim and Family,
This is in response to the post about climate change. I have a degree in geology,
though when I graduated there were no jobs. (Thanks, Bill!). There were some
good points raised, however I have to raise a flag over the "flash frozen
animals" thing: it's more of a myth than a fact. Yes a few mammoths
were found that way but the cause is only speculation. Far more likely they
got drowned by a small tsunami raised by a calving ice sheet. That whole
aspect of the movie showing superfreezing from the middle atmosphere is bunk. The
Day After Tomorrow wasn't a great film (unless you enjoy humor), however
one aspect of it was right: a flood of melted ice water (low salt content)
would either change or stop the Gulf Stream (shifting it South is most likely),
thus suddenly allowing Arctic storms into Europe. Temperatures would drop
considerably, which would actually provide much more habitat for fish but
ruin crops.
During the Little Ice
Age (see Wikipedia) from 1300-1850 AD, climate got very
erratic. Some years were too wet for crops. Some were too dry. Some years it
snowed in July. Some years the glaciers advanced several hundred yards. Other
years they retreated. We're between Ice Ages (and some geologists say that
the Pleistocene isn't over, this is just a minor retreat). For the scientifically
minded, the most recent warming began 20,000 years ago, and picked up a lot
around 8000 years ago, when things really started to melt. A lot of grass grew
and a lot of creatures died out, and the rest of them ran upon grassy plains
where our ancestors hunted them and made cave drawings and early agriculture,
Sumeria, Egypt, Greece. In the present its really dried out and all the grass
is gone. Lebanon has few trees but used to be covered in giant Cedars, which
grow well in wetter climates. Israel was also heavily treed and resembled Eastern
Arizona of today. Yes, rains and wind will probably change and after two years
of studying the Pleistocene (for the purposes of writing a novel about it)
... I don't know if it will get wet during the next ice age's arrival. I really
don't. It may dry out more and promote growth of desert. It will almost certainly
be bad for crops so agriculture is going to take a beating and food supply
will almost certainly be less. That's a real problem for a population of 6.5
billion, and not so great for a population of 2 billion either (if 4.5 billion
die from starvation).
One important piece of history to keep in mind: we survived the last ice age
with little more than stone tools and fire. We'll get through the next one
considerably better off. It's not like we'll forget iron working, and properly
made CD-ROMs (pressed, not burned) last for centuries. Consider how much useful
information will fit in a tiny space with a very basic computer to read them.
That's nothing to sneeze at. Imagine Wikipedia complete with engineering designs
and open source CAD software to help you develop it. Society won't fall very
far down the ladder if that's the case. That engineering knowledge will let
us continue to make firearms, steam engines, computers, electricity, food storage,
farming, genetic engineering, navigation, etc, without having to resort to
bows and arrows or wattle and daub houses. It's very unlikely to drop below
1950s technology, we'll just have to get by without cheap oil.
If climate change starts heading for return of the ice age, which is still
possible, the way to tell is rapid growth of glaciers in formerly dry northeastern
rockies. That's where the ice sheets began last time, according to best current
data. We think they began due to melting of the polar ice, which winds swept
up and deposited snow on these 19,000 foot elevation plateaus (currently dry).
The ice built up and flowed down slope, increasing reflected sunlight and eventually
cooling the globe. It's possible that while the ice caps remained wet (rather
than icy), the ice age was already beginning.
Keep in mind there are at least 34 identified feedback loops responsible for
Earth's climate, and that's without involving Divine Intervention. Eight of
these loops are based on orbit, volcanics, and magnetic field (plus solar storms),
all of which have a huge impact on climate. Based on the Milancovic cycle we're
about due to begin the next Ice Age, a point made in 1970 is that Global Cooling
would kill us all (sound familiar?). Warming is curious. Higher CO2 levels
are unprecedented. But the climate has been much warmer than
it is now and everything didn't die then, so I don't expect it will die now
either. Plants and animals will end up migrating to suitable habitat or dying
out. That's how it goes. And apparently there's quite a few new species trying
to come into being but they keep dying out due to human interference to "preserve" something
or other green nonsense. Best not to get worked up about it.
The tropics did not require cold weather gear, however ice was in tropical
environments, around subtropical plants because the ice moved faster than it
could melt during certain points of its advance stage. There's enough evidence
to support this quirky image: 70'F Florida type weather and plants next to
ice sheet a few dozen feet away. Yes, that's really weird, but there's evidence
to support this. The nice thing about ice ages is there's generally time to
get out of the way, same with volcanic eruptions. You get plenty of warning.
If things change, you can always built it yourself, or adapt otherwise. Everything
flows from the will to live and the fortitude to endure hardship to accomplish
that. Best, - InyoKern
James,
I'm tired of everyone playing the "fear" card in regards
to global climate change. Man's ability to adapt to different situations
and in fact thrive in them should not be underestimated. The fact that
man has lived in harsh northern environments has led to the development
of countless tools, technologies, and techniques that have benefited
all of mankind. In reference to the comments made by SF in Hawaii,
the frozen woolly mammoth couldn't put on a coat or jacket, we can.
Also I don’t know that an autopsy was ever actually performed
on that animal, I think everyone just assumed it froze to death but
as far as I know it might have died of an aneurysm! If ocean levels
ever rise fifteen feet I will personally go to SF's house and move
his belongings to higher ground. I do not believe there is enough water
on the planet to raise ocean levels anywhere close to fifteen feet.
At any rate it is downright foolish to try and take anything from the
movie "The Day After Tomorrow" other than entertainment,
and even the that was marginal. The climate will change, is changing,
and has always changed, the part mankind plays in all of this is miniscule
at best, and very likely totally insignificant. Whatever changes lie
ahead we will overcome them, that's why we are all here; to overcome
whatever hardships we may face. We will face these challenges with
strength, faith, truth, ingenuity, wisdom, justice, and communities
such as this on SurvivalBlog. If people want to do something for the
environment that's fine, but don’t be so foolish as to think
you are going to prevent global climate change. Reduce, reuse, and
recycle, these are good things no matter what your political stripe,
and buying quality instead of junk is always wise for the survivor.
- A. Friendly
« Jim's Quote of the Day |Main| Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change »
Odds 'n Sods:
Don't miss the recent economic analysis from ContraryInvestor.com
(by way of our friends at Gold-Eagle.com):
We're
Swimming In Liquidity, Aren't We? The charts say it all! We are
about to experience the inevitable outcome of the liquidity bubble.
Major market corrections are rarely fun. When market imbalances get
way out of proportion and then
markets do correct,
it can get ugly. (For example the deflationary Great Depression of
the 1930s, which followed the credit bubble of the 1920s.) Rawles
Mantra mode on: Be prepared. Diversify out of the dollar.
Get out of debt. Invest in tangibles.
o o o
There are just 12 days left in the big "Container
load sale" at Survival Enterprises. This is a tremendous opportunity,
so don't miss out. They are selling nitrogen packed canned storage foods
at prices are less
than half of retail.
o o o
I heard that the folks at Medical
Corps have scheduled just one hands-on Combat/Field
Medicine Course thusfar for 2007. It will be at the OSU Extension
Campus, in Belle Valley Ohio, April 20-21-22. Since there are no
other courses scheduled, this one is likely to fill up rapidly, so
get your reservation in early. They offer great training--including
advanced life saving topics that the American Red Cross doesn't teach--at
very reasonable cost.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Odds 'n Sods: »
Jim's Quote of the Day
"Politicians cannot be trusted with a monopoly of power
over other people’s lives. Thousands of years of history have
demonstrated this again and again and yet again." - Thomas Sowell,
Barbarians Inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays, p.
12
« Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day »
Note from JWR:
Today we present
the first article submitted for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog
non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction
article will win a valuable four day "gray" transferable Front
Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is
a copy of my "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by
Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending
out a few complimentary copies of my novel "Patriots" as "honorable
mention" awards. If you want a chance to win the contest,
start writing and e-mail us your
article. Round 9 will end on March 31st. Remember that the articles
that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have
an advantage in the judging.
« Letter Re: Advice on Sawdust and Other Barn Waste as Fertilizers |Main| Note from JWR: »
Blue Water Sailing as a Retreat Option?, by CMC
Coming from a Southern family and having hunted as a child and adult,
and having backpacked the Smokies, I would not want to depend on
a mountain
man scenario for survival during TEOTWAWKI.
I want to walk a bit further with this. Most particularly consideration
of a sailing vessel
and the ocean as a way of survival. I seriously question the
concept of mobility, particularly mobility at sea. I remember Sun
Tzu said something to the effect that "when the army of maneuver
meets the army of the fortress, the army of the fortress generally
looses." But I think that the mobility concept here may be an
exception to what Sun Tzu said. Having sailed since I was 9, and
my first offshore
passage with a friend of my dad's and his son when I was 10, I ve
been drawn to the ocean rather than the golf course. My first and
incidentally most survivable offshore capable boat
was an old converted
ships lifeboat, wooden hull, wooden masts, plow wire for standing
rigging and canvas and cotton for sails. Simple, basic, rough. The
preceding sentence is read in a few seconds and many can visualize
what's written there. But its a little more in depth than that.
The “in depth” goes something like this. With a wooden
hull and plow wire rigging and cotton sails a knowledgeable person
can take a vessel like that and maintain and/or repair her anywhere
in the world given a lot of [time and] luck. Taking
an axe to cut down a tree then a foot adze to rough out a plank,
the
a box
plane and a draw
knife to fine the plank up (bear in mind all of these tools you carry deep
sea
in something that is less than 40 feet on the waterline) and spike
it in to the hull to replace a defective plank. Then
the aforementioned plank is in the hull the same material that the
sails are from , raw cotton is used to caulk the plank periphery
to make the repair watertight. Then its paid or sealed with a
white lead and copper oxide and linseed oil mixture. Or use
the same tools on another tree carefully chosen to be a mast or bowsprit
or gaff or boom. Where of course all of this leads is to the
discipline nay more like way of life of wooden boat building and
seamanship,and being able to survive that way. Or survive any
way--whether on the ocean or a ranch or farm its no different. It
is the same way of life with each of their own peculiarities, for
many different paths of survival but all of them take time
and none are learned in a year or 18 months from a book.
My first and second boats were both wood, the second one was a 42 foot
John G. Alden design, cutter rigged and built in 1936, that I sailed
and lived aboard for 15 years. She was still going deep water and crossing
oceans over 50 years after she was constructed, and still is today.
I remember the first major re-fit I did taking the working sails off
and storing them in my parents basement, (I was a youngster then and
they were still alive and tolerant of an eccentric non-golfing kid)
and the second night of that, going to get the bare minimum (mainsail,
working jib, staysail, a genoa and storm trysail) at 10 PM because
I didn't like the feeling of insecurity--of not being able to
sail out of my slip, sail out of the marina, sail out of the harbor,
and the bay if necessary. My parents did not understand then .I'm not
sure I did completely either. I do much more clearly now.
An offshore vessel departure is something that does not involve just
slipping the lines and leaving the marina. It starts years before
that point in the preparation and continuing maintenance necessary
to prep a small (under 60 feet long) sailing vessel to cross oceans
and more importantly those who sail in her. I think its the same with
a survival retreat. With a boat, each hull material is a complete discipline
in itself. Each way of life (ocean, farm, ranch) is a discipline unto
itself with many interlocking parts. Wood hull with galvanized
plow wire or for that matter the same wire (1 x 7) that the utility
companies use to guy poles, and cotton, flax or canvas sails and manila
line for running rigging is a survivable vessel. More modern more easily
maintainable materials at least now: aluminum(my favorite
hull material hands down) , steel (my second choice)or fiberglass (my
least
favorite)
accompanied by stainless steel running rigging, dacron or carbon fiber
sails and sometimes masts are only maintainable with the society
and level of industrialization that we have now. I was
a navigator in modern
fiberglass boats years ago in Latin America. I tried to replace a
piece of 1 x 19 stainless standing rigging and its fittings on a sailing
vessel. If you want 1 x 7 or 7 x 7 [mild] steel or galvanized rigging,
no problem. However, stainless, dacron sails, synthetic line running
rigging, argon gas for aluminum welding and or the equipment to do
it with, then forget it. That pretty fiberglass (barrels of
oil for resin and glass fibre cloth) production boat is repairable
these days
on
the shores of the
industrialized countries, but in the third or fourth world
it won't happen. Post-TEOTWAWKI it won't happen, either. Post-TEOTWAWKI,
what the h**l are you gonna do with a refrigerator with a TV in the
door? Post-TEOTWAWKI you will find families who build boats out of
wood and galvanized steel and so forth and have been doing so for generations.
Primitive but effective .That pretty GPS chart
plotter you carry
and its backup--and
for that matter all of your onboard electronics and electrical may
be a victim of EMP.
The navigational gear may be a victim of the vulnerability of the GPS
satellite constellation going down due either to EMP (unlikely
to get them all in high orbit with one shot) or lack of ground correction
of satellite position due to orbital perturbations. Interesting concept.
How many carry paper charts. How many can do the old lunar distance
sights and calculations to determine with reasonable accuracy, the
correct time to determine one's longitude a.k.a. Joshua Slocum (remember
the EMP? WWV and WWVH probably along with CHU and a host of other
time stations are off the air either temporarily or maybe for good
along with,--depending on your luck quotient--most or all of your onboard
electronics, particularly in a wood or fiberglass
hull. And for that matter how many carry a sextant and the tables
(HO 214,
219, 229 or
249) to reduce the sun, moon and star sights you take or even better
yet found a 1920s-era copy of Nathaniel Bowditch's “The
American Practical Navigator” to learn the spherical trigonometry to reduce
the sights without tables?
This brings up another point: Carrying firearms is a sensitive
business because many , if not most foreign governments are
mildly nervous about this practice unless you
are a commercially documented
vessel, have a bonded stores area in the vessel where you can lock
up tobacco, spirits and firearms when in port. (The most likely time
the firearms are going to be needed is in harbor) and the customs agent
can come aboard and seal that locker. And in TEOTWAWKI there is
no guarantee that pratique procedures in a foreign country are going
to be followed. There is also always the possibility that at sea,
you well may be outgunned and at sailing vessel speeds (maybe 7 knots,
which is about 9 mph ) you can't run away. And there you cannot bug
out to a pre-cached position either.
When I was younger and had my Alden I lived alongshore in the Gulf
of Mexico. A group of us all live-aboards (in those days we were
rare and a close knit community) used to sand table what it would be
like if the balloon went up. The most likely scenario we envisioned
was a limited nuclear strike on the CONUS. Consider if one will being
alongshore in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and what it would take to
get “away” provided
one survived the first strike. And we lived the life (many of us
did with a minimum of 60 days dry stores aboard) and walked the walk,
always
prepped for sea (not an easy thing to do.) Figure say from Mobile,
Alabama to get out of the Gulf of Mexico basin where one would be deep
