Monday June 2 2008
Notes from JWR:

I got the following note from a reporter named Alison, at one of the big "Three Letter Acronym" television networks: "I"m a reporter a looking to do a story about how some people are becoming "survivalists" as our energy prices skyrocket. I am looking to profile someone, or a family, in the New York region, preferably in the New York Metro area, including the tri-state region. If they wish to remain anonymous, we can also call them different names and not give away where they live." If any SurvivalBlog readers are interested, send me an e-mail, and I will forward your e-mail to her.

The following is the first article sent to us for Round 17 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day "gray" transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 17 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

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A Citizen's Band (CB) Radio Installation Primer, by C.G.

Citizen Band (CB) radio requires no FCC license to operate so it is a good choice for local communication. If cell phones fail to work for whatever reason, it may be the best method for remote communication since its range is better than FRS and GMRS. When I installed my first CB in a vehicle, I was happy just to get it in and be able to transmit to my buddy who lived the next block over. I’ve matured since then and my tolerance for white noise is less than what it used to be. I’ve learned over the years how to properly set up a radio system and I’m normally left with a CB that has few problems. So, I’m writing this to help those of you that use Citizen's Band radio in your vehicles, but may be plagued with noise, weak signals, or are just generally unhappy with your radios performance. At worst, this article should give you a jumpstart in your quest for a 1:1 standing wave ratio.

The basic components of a radio system are simple: power, radio, antenna feed line, and antenna. If all function properly, the radio shouldn’t give you any problems. But for vehicle use, with all those wires and working parts, problems do arise. I’ll talk about each of the above mentioned components and other aspects of radio communication you may need to know for a proper set up. Please keep in mind, these pages are not entirely comprehensive about CB installation or uses and may not answer all your questions… it’s written based upon my experiences in radio communication and quite frankly, I haven’t experienced it all, yet. But with that said, here goes:

Antenna
The two most important things to consider when mounting an antenna are grounding and positioning; when both of these things are considered and handled properly, you should receive a decent Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) reading (more about that, later). The best way to ground an antenna is to drill holes for the mounting bracket into a metal portion of your vehicle. If you’re concerned about resale value and don’t want to drill, look into mobile mounting units that require no drilling from a supplier like HRO (Ham Radio Outlet); they sell units for doors, trunks, rain channels, etc.
An antenna mounted in the middle of a metal roof will get the best signal because it is surrounded by a reflective surface. However, you may have a problem grounding the antenna without causing a leaking problem in your roof (but that would of course mean you won’t be asked to drive that often so it has its upside). You should mount the antenna where you will get the best SWR without sacrificing clearance or risking damage to the antenna or mount… or getting while driving in a rainstorm. I recommend a pickup bed immediately behind the cab, a lower quarter panel, or the lid of a trunk. If you mount your antenna in any of these locations, you should get be able to clear the roof line of your vehicle by about 6” to 1’ with a 36” antenna and transmit decently.

Two other things to consider are antenna quality and length. First, quality. Simply put, the two best brands of antenna on the market are Firestick and K40; I would recommend both of these two brands for a mobile unit. Second, the length of your antenna is a matter of preference quite honestly, although I will admit that longer antennas generally transmit and receive better. The reason it is more a matter of preference than performance is clearance. A 6-foot antenna mounted on a roof is going to have some clearance issues with your garage, trees, etc.; but if you choose to mount your antenna on a bumper, then a 6-foot model would probably be fine. I use a three foot antenna on my pickup and can transmit about five miles on the regular 40 CB channels. Just another issue to keep in mind when you purchase your setup.

Feed line
The Feed line is the length of coaxial ("coax") cable from the radio to the antenna. There are subtle differences in coax Feed line based upon insulation, grade of cable, etc. Generally speaking, the better the Feed line, the better it will transmit your signal, so buy quality coaxial cable. When buying the necessary mounting supplies, you need to make sure it is all matched for impedance. Almost all CB radios will have a 50 ohm impedance jack for the antenna input and most coax sold for CB radios is as well--but it doesn’t hurt to ask before you buy.

Much has been said about the length of the Feed line for a CB radio. Some people say that 18’ is the proper length, some people say 17’ is the proper length. To be honest, impedance match is the most important thing. But I cut my coax to 17’4” staying in practice with radio theory that the Feed line should be a factor of the wavelength that you will transmit on (I won’t bore you with the calculation with MHz and inches). 17’4” is probably much more than you will need, but will allow for an antenna choke if you need it. Be sure to buy Feed line that already has PL259 connectors already installed if you’re not familiar with the installation process. But FYI, it’s not difficult to learn if you’re familiar with soldering; any radio technician at Ham radio Outlet (HRO) can explain the process.

Radio and Installation
First, let me bash on the handheld units a bit. CB transmission is essentially line of sight transmission and anything that blocks the line of sight is going to weaken the signal. A handheld CB is for use outside of a vehicle… using it inside a vehicle you get minimal transmission distance because the signal bounces off the metal components of the vehicle, and even with a soft top jeep, the signal still needs to pass through a barrier and as a result it’s weakened. So if you’re using a handheld and wonder why you can’t hear much, there’s the reason. I will admit that I have a portable unit, a Midland 75-820, that is a handheld unit with a separate magnetic base antenna for use while in a vehicle. It’s performance is adequate but not optimal. Frankly, the Midland setup has two major problems, 1) engine noise which can be caused by the rotation of the alternator feeding back through the electrical system (a problem more prevalent on older vehicles but still present on many today) because the ground for everything is through the cigarette lighter… and 2) the limited volume the unit puts out with such a small speaker (an operator in a loud truck or topless jeep may have problems using this CB when driving on the highway). I use this unit only as a backup unit or in a second vehicle that doesn’t have a hard wired setup.

I currently use a Cobra 18WXST II. It is a reasonably priced unit from a quality manufacturer. Regardless of what you buy, most quality units will have an internal noise filter, scanning feature, and NOAA weather bands, but be sure to buy the unit best suited for your needs. If you’re interested in SSB transmitting or extended range, you may want to get a better unit; I recommend the Cobra 148GTL. [JWR Adds: That is also one of my favorite models. Its proven design remained essentially unchanged for many years, making it readily adaptable for out-of-band transmission by licensed ham radio operators that can transmit in the 10 Meter band (which is adjacent to Citizens Band.)]

Now, it sounds as though it should be common sense but be sure to mount the unit where it will be easy to use and not an obstruction while using the vehicle (the dash board is probably a bad choice as is the foot well near the pedals). I recommend bolting the unit to the center console or using a RAM mount somewhere on the transmission hump.

Cleanliness of installation should be considered too. Do you want coax cable on the floor of your back seat or run under the carpet? Do you want to run the wires out an existing hole in the chassis or drill a new one? I normally run the power line through the dash and directly to the battery; this eliminates some noise you can receive when tapping into an existing hot [12 VDC energized] line or fuse (more on that later). Be sure to use a fuse for your radio before hooking it up or you may soon be buying a new radio. The coaxial cable I normally run under the carpet or floor mats to the rear of the cabin and drill a small hole (if necessary) near the mount.

SWR
Now that the system is set up, lets learn how to optimize its transmission capability. The first thing we need to address is SWR. Essentially, a SWR meter measures how well your equipment will transmit and receive on the specific frequency you intend to use. If you have everything grounded properly, your equipment is impedance matched, and you have a decent antenna mounted in the correct location, the SWR should be ok. An SWR reading of 1:1 is optimal but a reading of 1.5:1 is excellent, a reading of 2:1 is considered good (actually great for most applications), but anything higher than 3:1, well, you pretty much wasted your time with the installation. Getting the best SWR on your specific rig is a matter of trial and error… in my experience, you can’t go wrong if you ground everything well and place the antenna on top of a metal roof or mount it where at least a portion of the antenna clears the roof line.

An SWR meter can be purchased at any Radio Shack or electronic supply house. Most come complete with directions and are pretty easy to use, even for a novice. If you’re unhappy with the SWR you get from your setup initially, don’t worry, you can improve it by tuning your antenna. All antennas are tunable, but some are tuned easier than others. Some need to be cut and some need to be bent to retard the oscillation on the part past the bend. The K40, for example, is one of the easier ones; it has a small whip that sticks out the top on the antenna and is moved up and down using a supplied Allen key; by adjusting the length of the whip, you can receive a better SWR reading.

Noise Elimination
Even if you are happy with the SWR you get on your system, you may still have problems with noise (one doesn’t necessarily effect the other) so lets learn how to eliminate that noise.
Most radios come with an internal noise filter… a button or toggle switch on the face of the radio that eliminates much of the squelch noise from the radio output. The problem with this feature is that it also makes distant transmissions difficult to hear. If you want to (or need to) address the problem further, know that noise on a CB unit (while the engine is running) is normally caused by two things… 1) noise coming through the hotline of the radio or 2) noise being picked up by the antenna.
(Note: You need to remember, a CB picks up 27 MHz radio waves and an engine or other vibrations can cause interference and distortion of those radio waves. Power windows or seats can cause feedback… that’s normally caused by the electrical motor. An older engine can create oscillation heard on a CB… chances are it’s the points spinning in the distributor. So noise isn’t necessarily just an electrical hotline problem… you need to eliminate both possibilities mentioned above.)

A few simple tests can isolate the source of the noise.
1. Hook the radio up to the battery directly or better yet, a separate battery not hooked into the truck’s electrical system. This will bypass and eliminate any noise caused by the alternator or firing of the cylinders. If you still get noise, it’s coming in through the antenna.
2. Disconnect the Feed line from the antenna or the Feed line from the radio. This will eliminate any noise being received on the antenna. If you still get the noise, it’s coming from the power/ground lines.
I’ve had both types of problems (both on the same rig once)… so here are the fixes I used to eliminate most (not all) of the noise.

Antenna Noise
To eliminate noise caused by the antenna receiving unwanted signals, put in an “antenna choke.” Disclaimer time: I have an idea why this fix works but I’m not sure and I haven’t gotten a straight answer from anyone on the matter… so do me a favor and don’t ask because all I can tell you is that it does work to eliminate noise coming in through the antenna. Take about 6 feet of the Feed line and wrap it into 6 or 8 loops (kind of like wrapping up an electrical cord or piece of rope but about the diameter of a coffee can) then tape the loops together.
If an antenna choke doesn’t successfully eliminate all noise, there are other methods to try. Try changing the location of your antenna to a spot on the vehicle where it is shielded from the engine. Radio waves are line of sight reception and sometimes simply hiding the antenna from the constant oscillation of the engine can do the trick. Another method is to try using shorter or longer lengths of coax… but that is an expensive exercise in trial and error… try the other methods first.

Hot Wire Noise
First off, try attaching the hot wire(s) for the radio directly to the battery of the vehicle. Much of the noise picked up through the hot wire comes from the alternator feeding current into the system.
This method should work, but if not, try installing an external noise filter onto the hot wire and ground wire of your CB. They are small cylinders (about the size of a bicycle handle) and can be picked up at Radio Shack or other electronics stores. Simply attach the hot wire(s) from the radio to the red wire of the filter, then the red wire on the other side of the filter to a power source. Attach the ground wire from the radio to the black wire on the filter, then the black wire on the other side of the filter to a chassis ground.

These techniques should help you set up a radio properly, even if you run into difficulties. It may take some time and trouble shooting on your part but you’ll be left with minimal noise and decent reception/transmission capabilities. The cost shouldn’t be too bad either. It all can be done for under $150 with new equipment. But if your budget allows, spend more [for the best equipment available].

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Letter Re: An Inexpensive Source for Bulk Silica Gel Desiccant

Hi, James
There is always a need for desiccants for various uses, be it food storage, caching, or other projects. Most who need such things already have a favorite supplier, but I'll make another recommendation for the sake of saving a few bucks. Any local grocer, pet supply dealer or Big Box store carries silica-gel cat litter in amounts from 3 to 30 pounds: Tidy Cats Crystals is one such product, though there are many. A rounded tablespoon place in a square of mesh fabric purchased in a craft/hobby department (where it can be bought by the yard--think about the bird seed packets at weddings) and securely tied [or sewn shut] will work well when placed in the desired container; depending on the need, they can also be spooned directly into the bottom of the vessel. Note that I'm suggesting the clear-blue "Crystals-only" type which are pure silica; one doesn't want the silicate-clay "Blend" which is also offered.

Being silicate, they have the potential for re-use by oven drying. Compared to the cost of individual commercial [silica gel] packets, this is a bargain. Regards, - Billfour

JWR Replies: That is a great suggestion. Just beware of any desiccant that has any additives, dyes, or scents. A perfumed desiccant would be fine for tool storage, but potentially a disaster for food storage.

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Letter Re: Can I Burn Home Heating Oil or Kerosene in a Diesel Engine?

Hello Jim,
This is in response to the gentleman's question about using kerosene in diesel engines. Yes, it can be done. I had two 55 gallon drums of kerosene that were reaching the end of their storage life. I also have an old Mercedes diesel car and ran the kerosene with some added lubrication in the vehicle and it worked very well. You are correct that kerosene doesn't have the same lubrication values of diesel but that is solved by simply adding vegetable oil or biodiesel to to the fuel. I used a 10-to-1 ratio as recommended by another poster on the blog. As far as kerosene burning hotter, it has fewer BTUs per gallon than diesel so I doubt this is a problem.

This discussion brings up another advantage of diesel engines and it's a big one. That is the variety of fuels they can run on including kerosene, home heating oil and vegetable oil-new and used. Some people over at Mercedesshop.com have even used automatic transmission fluid and lightweight motor oil in their cars as well. I would only do that for a short period of time and if I were truly desperate. Several caveats apply here also. Used vegetable oil must be filtered very well or you will have serious problems. To run 100% vegetable oil ("straight vegetable oil") in cars it must have a two-tank system that heats the oil first and flushes the fuel lines with diesel when shut off or the oil will solidify in the fuel lines the car won't restart. However I would not hesitate to use 50% diesel/kerosene with 50% new vegetable oil in warm weather. All this gives you have several options if you need them. Scenario 1: There is a major fuel shortage with low supplies and long lines at the pump. With a diesel engine you can simply go to the kerosene pump and fill your cans up while everybody else waits in line. Scenario 2: You are evacuating from a [Hurricane] Katrina-like situation and begin to run low on fuel. Simply go to any grocery store and pick up several gallons of vegetable oil and dump it in. Then go to the auto parts store and grab a few quarts of ATF and motor oil and dump it in if your really low.

Again some of this I would not do unless I was truly hard pressed, but desperate times call for thinking outside the box. FYI, the drums of kerosene mentioned above are nine years old and were not stabilized (I didn't know any better at the time. However, it was in very good condition and ran well in my car. I hope that this helps someone. - Jeff in Ohio

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Odds 'n Sods:

Kirk flagged this Business Week piece: Bad Omens for Banks?--News from KeyCorp suggests U.S. banks' loan losses may worsen. Is the credit crisis hitting a second, even scarier phase? The global credit crisis is worsening. Take steps to protect yourself.

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Thanks to Dave S. for sending this: US rail network facing congestion 'calamity'

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My recent mention of health concerns about synthetic sweeteners (such as Nutrasweet and Splenda) prompted readers Chris D., Kim, and EMW to all remind me to mention the herbal sweetener, Stevia rebaudiana. It is a safe, natural sweetener derived from a plant that is native to Paraguay. Following enactment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), Stevia can be sold legally in the United States only as a "dietary supplement." Ironically, even though ounce-for-ounce Stevia extracts can be up to 300 times more sweet than sugar, they cannot be sold as "sweeteners." OBTW, reader Rick C. mentioned that "Splenda is not aspartame-based [like Nutrasweet]. It consists of sucralose and maltodextrin." But I should add that Splenda has its own set of health concerns.

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Frequent news tip contributor RBS sent us this: George Soros: 'We face the most serious recession of our lifetime'

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"Regardless of the size or quality of defensive forces, the defender usually extracts large costs from the attacker in time, resources, and casualties." - Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) MCWP 3-35.3

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Sunday June 1 2008
Note from JWR:

The judging was difficult because we had so many great entries. But after much deliberation we decided that the first place winner of Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest is KLK for her article "How To Prepare for Radiation Emergencies". She has won two valuable four day "gray" transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!)

Second place goes to B.H. for his article "Safe Food Handling". He will receive a copy of my "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing

Three Honorable Mention prizes go to NC Bluedog for "Homestead Fuel Storage and Rotation", JLG in Texas for "Technology After TEOTWAWKI"., and to Gospel Guy for "Lacto-Fermentation--Enlisting Trillions of Microscopic Allies in Your Fight for Survival." They each get their choice of autographed copies of either my books "Rawles on Retreats and Relocation" or "SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog"

Note to the prize winners: E-mail me and let me know the snail mail address where you'd like you prizes sent. Congratulations to the talented prize-winning writers!

Round 17 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest is now open. Round 17 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

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Letter Re: An Importer's Insights on the Canned Tuna Market

Hi James
I am in the import food business and one of the products that I sell is canned tuna. I know that a lot of survivalists have canned tuna in their larder and thought I might be able to provide some useful information. There are four species of tuna that are sold in cans; skipjack, tongol, yellowfin and albacore. Skipjack is the cheapest and Albacore the most expensive.

I have been selling tuna for about 20 years and over the last two years, have seen the raw material prices double. Normally, prices go up and then back down, as the catch decreases and then increases. However, since there are really no controls on the amount of tuna that are caught, I have been concerned about over fishing, especially with skipjack as it is the every day item that supermarkets sell as chunk light tuna. Given that the frozen fish price has increased from about $1,000 per metric ton to just under $2,000 per metric ton, I think that we may
have hit the point where demand will outpace a diminishing supply. I expect retail prices to continue increasing.

When I was at a Costco [warehouse store] a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that they are still selling 6 ounce albacore for around $1.00 per can. This is a very good price and I don't expect it to
last for long.

The other thing that has been happening is that many of our overseas suppliers are having trouble getting empty cans. We have had many shipments of fruits and vegetables delayed because the packers have the raw material, but no cans to pack the product in. I know that there have been increases in tinplate costs, but do not know why some of our suppliers are unable to get cans. It could be that they don't want to pay the higher prices.

Given the decline of the [purchasing power of the] dollar, increases in freight rates, as well as inflation in other countries, I see many food prices continuing to climb indefinitely. All the best, - Kurt P.

JWR Replies: Thanks for the update. SurvivalBlog readers should plan accordingly. If you haven't done so already, buy a three year supply of canned tuna for your family, post haste!

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Letter Re: Physical Gold Versus Electronic Gold

Mr Rawles,
The letter from the gent who recommends investing in synthetic gold startled me. Prior to the Great Depression my family was very wealthy. My great-great grandfather, was an assemblyman from New York State who [had] moved to the backwoods of Pennsylvania and built what was at one time the largest tannery on the east coast. The family also owned a large hotel, at least two other tanneries, a general store and a gristmill. When his son took over the reins of the family wealth he invested the bulk of it in silver stock. When the stock market crashed the family was plunged into stark poverty. My great grandfather had to build a home for his family out of the packing crates that the produce for the store was shipped in. Stock [or shares] of any kind are dangerous if that is where the bulk of a person's wealth is invested.

Make your readers aware of how dangerous the financial situation is at this time and to steer clear of investing in anything that you cannot hold in your hands, or eat or walk on or wear. Thank you. - DM from the Mountains of Northwest Pennsylvania

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Letter Re: A Combustion Temperature Reference

Hello James:
I came across these ignition temperatures in a reference book and thought they might be of use to others,. This may be useful for whatever folks may be doing with flammable materials or fuels at their retreat or at home. All ignition temperatures noted are in Fahrenheit:

Cut Newspaper 446 degrees
Cut filter paper 450 degrees
Straw and sawdust 450 to 500 degrees
Gasoline 536 to 800 degrees depending on octane rating
Kerosene 480 degrees
Natural Gas 1,000 to 1,200 degrees
Propane 871 degrees
Butane 806 degrees
Paints and Lacquers (the flammable part isn't the pigment, although the metallic chromate pigments are flammable) 475 to 1,000 degrees
Amyl Acetate 715 degrees
Acetone 1,000 degrees
Linseed Oil 650 degrees
Mineral Spirits 473 degrees
Turpentine 464 degrees
Alcohols 750 to 900 degrees
Petroleum Naptha 475 degrees
Magnesium 1,204 degrees, but if material is finely ground then as low as 900 degrees

Regards, - Mikael

JWR Adds this Strong Proviso: Reader Jim. H. in Colorado has pointed out that the full potential fire hazards of stored materials should not be evaluated according to the preceding chart. The chart was based on direct contact of a solid material with a heat source. The true measurement of the volatility of a stored material is its "flash point", which in most cases is considerably lower than the figures noted. It is explained at this Wikipedia page. Essentially, Mikael's chart was correct. Any of those material that are heated to those temperatures will combust (without the presence of any flame). However, the essential definition is: "The flash point of a material is the point at which the material will give off gasses that, when mixed with oxygen, can support combustion if exposed to an outside heat source."

Also note that combustible gasses, dusts, and vapors (such as gasoline vapors) can sometimes travel long distances and still be combustible or explosive. Over the years, SurvivalBlog has stressed safety, particularly with stored fuels. I've written this a dozen times, but this bears repeating: Stored liquid fuels should never be stored in a typical attached garage. Most suburban garages also have a natural gas-fired or propane-fired hot water heater with a continuous pilot flame. That is a very dangerous combination of a vapor source and vapor ignition. Read: Kaboom!

Also beware of any processing operation that produces combustible dust, such as grain milling or even metal grinding. There have been countless news stories over the years about grain mill explosions. As I illustrated my novel "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse", ounce-for-ounce, fuel-air mixtures can be some of the most potent explosives imaginable.

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Odds 'n Sods:

Bill from Ohio sent this: Hunger Prompting Desperate Acts

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Reader David D. mentioned this article by Ellen Brown: The Secret Bailout of JP Morgan. One is naturally led to ask: Cui bono?

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Elisha R. mentioned a handy state of Texas PDF on rainwater catchment

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CDR sent us this link: China quake survivors scavenge amid the ruins--They search for scrap metal to sell so they can buy food for their families

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"JP Morgan has assets of $1.6 trillion and equity of $126 billion. They seem reasonably well-capitalized at 7.6%. We just hope that there's no problems in their almost $92 trillion derivative exposure that is more than 50 times their assets and, more importantly, greater than 700 times their equity. We hope them to be well-matched, but if they are even the tiniest bit wrong, their equity could be wiped out as their equity represents just 0.13% of their gross derivative exposure." - Steven Romick, writing in Agora Financial's Rude Awakening e-newsletter, May, 2008

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Saturday May 31 2008
Letter Re: Physical Gold Versus Electronic Gold

Dear Mr. Rawles:
You are clearly (and presciently) on the record as recommending the purchase of precious metals, ahead of the current inflationary cycle. Congratulations on that excellent macro call. But I believe you also recommend holding the physical commodity rather than synthetic ownership through an exchange traded fund/note. This makes less sense to me.

As an economic hedge against fiat currency deflation, synthetic gold has lower transaction costs since you don’t have to pay for the transport of the gold, the retail broker markup, or the non-gold coinage aspects of value that are embedded into Krugerrand, Maple Leaf, and American Eagle. Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) like the iShares Comex Trust typically charge a modest expense ratio of 0.4% per year to pay for storage and other fund costs, and gold ETFs are backed dollar-for-dollar by physical gold. Synthetic gold can be instantaneously bought and sold, and easily transferred into different currencies or across borders, with a few keystrokes.

Synthetic gold is also safer. If you own physical gold, you have to guard against theft and other loss. You could insure against this risk, but then the cost of insurance (which is quite high for precious metals) will be a material drag on your returns. I suppose one could argue that synthetic gold is exposed to extraordinarily unlikely events such as a nuclear exchange with a resulting EMP that wipes the digital record of your ownership—although I am not even sure that is correct because of redundant, multi-location data backup—but if that is the principal risk you’re trying to guard against, relocation to the Australian outback would seem more sensible (i.e., you have bigger worries than inflation).

It is true that physical gold, in a SHTF situation, would have value as an instrument of barter, whereas synthetic gold would not. However as an instrument of barter, physical gold has tremendous limitations. First, the instrument is not easily divisible, and if you were trying to barter with 1 ounce coins, it could be a bit like trying to buy things with a $100 bill and nobody being able to make change. Second, in a SHTF situation, because your barter counterparty would likely have problems establishing authenticity and weight, you would be charged a discount to value by him/her. In a nutshell, if physical gold’s bartering qualities are what attract you, I would propose that owning other commodities like coffee, cartridges, salt, etc. would be more effective.

My own view is that physical gold combines the worst of all worlds, given the risks that a reasonably prudent (but less than apocalyptic) survivalist should be considering. I’m curious about your view. - DC

JWR Replies: In precious metals investing, there is a continuum of risk that ranges from negligible risk to maximum risk. To my way of thinking, the "near end" of this continuum starts with the gold in your teeth and it terminates with highly leveraged futures contracts at the far end. Electronic gold is somewhere in between, and probably closer to the "safe" end, in normal times. However, since much of my thinking is geared toward some unpleasant "what ifs", I err on the side of caution. I realize that I'm foregoing the convenience of electronic gold, but being a survivalist dinosaur, I want my metals in hand, if at all possible.

As a preparedness-minded individual, I am relatively risk adverse, and I suspect that the majority of SurvivalBlog readers share my outlook. I recommend buying physical silver, stored very well hidden at home. See the SurvivalBlog archives for some recommendations on wall caches and other secret hiding places.

There are indeed limitations of physical gold in barter as you mentioned (and as I illustrated in the "For An Ounce of Gold" chapter of my novel "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse"). Recognizing that, my approach has been to encourage my readers to buy and hold a core holding of silver coins, for barter. Pre-1965 mint date US circulated 90% silver coins are widely recognized and have small unit values that makes them ideal for barter transactions.

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Letter Re: Can I Burn Home Heating Oil or Kerosene in a Diesel Engine?

James:
Your article today about diesel vehicles still providing long term cost savings was quite interesting. The question I have, and perhaps [shared by] some of your readers is this: is home heating oil and kerosene acceptable fuel for a diesel engine? - Thanks, - Jim G.

JWR Replies: Home heating oil burns fine in any diesel engine, but in may countries it is not legal to do so in a vehicle that is driven on public roads. This is a "road tax" issue. Aside for a red dye additive, the formulation of home heating oil is almost identical to the diesel that was made before the recent advent of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD). The only significant difference between the two is the Federal standard on ash content.

Kerosene is a different matter. Kerosene has insufficient lubricity to be used just by itself in a diesel engine. I have also read that it burns hotter than diesel, so it might harm injectors. However, this is largely a non-issue in all but exceptional circumstances, since kerosene typically sells for as as much as one dollar more per gallon than diesel. But in an an emergency, it is presumably safe to mix as much as 20% kerosene with your diesel and not cause excessive engine wear. And, BTW, the aforementioned road tax is also an issue for kerosene.

To explain the road tax: In the US, Canada, the UK, and several other countries it is not legal to use dyed (untaxed) fuel in a vehicle that is driven on public roads. Of course if you are using the fuel in a generator set, or in an off-road vehicle such as a tractor, you can't be accused of cheating on the road tax. The two types of diesel fuel are distinguished by the dye additive. In the US, there is no dye added to road-taxed diesel. Enforcement of these statutes varies widely, but the fines can be substantial, so stay legal.

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Odds 'n Sods:

From reader RBS: Buffett sees "long, deep" U.S. recession

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Mike W. sent us a link to a piece written by one of my heroes, Dr. Walter E. Williams: False prophets of doom--Environmentalists would prefer that we forget these predictions

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I was doing some web surfing, and a stumbled into a great collection of photos of Swiss bunkers.

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While the Novovirus threat is subsiding with warmer weather, Rourke sent us an article about a new threat, a bacteria called C-diff: Gut superbug causing more illnesses, deaths

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"Unfortunately, solving our economic problems is not a simple matter of passing a law to reestablish gold or any other commodity as money. It was not the politicians, but rather the electorate that demanded the abandonment of the gold standard and the establishment of a credit-money standard. In a nation run by majority rule, unless you can convince individuals to abandon the use of government as a sword of theft, gold or any other commodity will never last as the basis for money. A gold standard is not the cause of a stable economy, it is the result of a stable economy; it is not the solution to our problem, but will be one of the consequences when a solution is found. We had a gold standard in the U.S. for over 150 years, yet it didn't prevent our current economic debacle. Establish it again, and it will be abandoned again. In fact, it may be established again just as a sly trick to restore confidence in the value of currency, since backing the dollar with gold would make people think that our problems were solved. But the problems will not be solved, not until the use of government as a method of plunder is stopped." - John Pugsley, The Alpha Strategy

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Friday May 30 2008
Note from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. is now at $650. This big auction is for any of you that are gun enthusiasts. It includes 17 items: A four day "gray" transferable Front Sight course certificate, which was kindly donated by Naish Piazza of Front Sight (worth up to $2,000), a $200 gift certificate from Choate Machine and Tool Company (the makers of excellent fiberglass stocks, folding stocks, and shotgun magazine extensions), $450+ worth of full capacity magazines from my personal collection including five scarce original Ruger-made 20 round Mini-14 magazines and five scarce 20 round Beretta M92 magazines, and an autographed copy of the book "Boston's Gun Bible." The total value of this 17 item auction lot is $2,700! (See the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction page for details on exactly what is included.) Note: Because this auction includes full capacity magazines, no bids will be accepted from outside of the US or from a resident of any state with magazine restrictions. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments. The auction ends on June 15th.

The following article is the final entry for Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day "gray" transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 17 of the writing contest begins on June 1st, so get busy!

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Some Preparations that You Might Have Overlooked, by Tim G.

Some of the things I will mention might have been covered before, but it never hurts to mention them again. Some readers might have missed them.

I can tell you from experience that people will tease you about your preparations, but when something happens they will come calling. My own brother borrowed my new-in-box chainsaw and my [12 VDC] jump starting [battery pack] to light up the area so that he could saw in hours of darkness. I told him to keep the jump pack charged. Several months later I got the chainsaw and jump pack back. The saw will not start and the battery is dead in the jump pack. I just held my tongue. They are only possessions. But it goes to show how stuff loaned out gets treated.

I did have a real cool setup until about six years ago when a water leak turned into a [household] mold. When the mold showed up we were told to immediately evacuate. We left with just the clothes on our backs. The second company yanked everything in the house out leaving just a shell. This took several months. We had been told it would only take two weeks. In meantime insurance company didn’t pay anyone. So a second company took all our stuff. When it was returned, we found that many items had been pilfered. After six years, our lawyer finally told us to settle but this never covered all our losses. Now we have several judgments against us. God has watched over us. We had a roof over our head and food on our plate. I'm telling this story to show how you never know what can happen.

We had a year supply of mt house food from nitro-pak, a great company. Second company took it to their warehouse where not environment controlled heat up to a 100 degrees F and cool down to 10 degrees F.

I had a three-way generator [carburetor] set up. This is a little more expensive, but it gives you options. The carburetor can use propane or natural gas or gasoline. I had it set for propane. I had a 500-gallon tank put in the back yard and a line run tom genset. With this setup, you can store more fuel, and not worry too much about it going bad. It also was hooked to the main power. If needed I could throw a switch. That was for down the power line safety for anyone working on the power lines. My main concern was for the well pump. You can’t live without water.

Some things that might have been over looked are hats to wear when going to bed in the winter. If you’ve seen the older movie about Scrooge, the hat he was wearing when he went to bed wasn’t for looks. It was for keeping warm and preventing body heat loss. Remember that you lose more heat from your head than other places on your body. In the winter, when our power has gone out we do a thing I call tenting. It is where you either pull covers over your head or leave a small hole to replace air and keep in your body heat when you exhale. You can make something to go over the end of the bed if the power failure lasts longer than a few hours.

Save old bottles, there is always a use for them. Pump bottles are good if you can buy stuff in bulk, like hand sanitizer or wash. Make sure you clean the bottles out and let them dry before using. Two liter bottles can have many uses. You can cut them up and make panels to nail down and maybe make a small greenhouse. Ideas are only limited to the imagination.

You can buy hand warmers at WalMart or Sam's Club. These can come in real handy. We had a real bad ice storm and we went to my wife’s parents house because they had a fireplace. We took our dogs and some sleeping bags that were rated at 30 degrees F, plus several blankets. We were less than 10 feet from fireplace and it was cold . Most of the heat went up chimney. I opened a hand warmer, shook it and in a few minutes it was warm. I place between my knees and went right to sleep. My wife didn’t want one and was miserable all night. Guess who was also made miserable? Yep, misery loves company. She shook me awake about every hour and told me, “I’m cold get more wood on the fire.” She had both dogs with her. The hand warmers don’t have a flame or odor and are very safe to use. Depending on what brand you get, they last from 6 to 12 hours.

Condoms. I could say enough said, but they are also multipurpose. They can be put over a gun barrel to protect it. They can hold liquids as a last resort, and just about anything that you can think of.
Stuff for foods like salt and pepper. Your body needs salt, and pepper will be hard to get. Plus any other spices you might like or need. Eating the same old food everyday gets old real quickly.

Bug nets or mosquito nets. They are not just for outside use, but inside to cover your bed at night. If power is off, most likely the windows will be open to cool off the house in the summer. Bugs have a nasty way of getting in. You can inexpensively get soft netting from eBay. Some are ready-made to cover beds. At Lowe's hardware, in their door screen section, you can buy rolls of screening and make your own inside or outside net. Get the smallest mesh possible like "No-see-um" netting.

Now that things are starting to get back to normal in our lives, we are replacing everything. If you are about broke, or on a tight budget, here are some ideas. Since I can’t afford the Mountain House foods and they [presently] are not available [in #10 cans] anyway, I buy [wet-packed canned foods in the large Number 10 cans (one gallon) at the grocery store. They are date stamped and most last almost two years. I can buy most at less than four dollars a can.

Get canned meats like beef stew and corned beef hash, canned ham, Spam etc. As of today, those are dated to expire in 2011.

Stuff like powdered Gatorade or the single serve tea packs are good. Gatorade has sugar. The tea uses Splenda. Get Splenda at Sam's Club if possible because they are cheaper there compared to the grocery store prices. [JWR Adds: I have some serious concerns about Splenda and most other synthetic sugar substitutes. See the recent SurvivalBlog letter on diabetes, for details]

Other things that might be missed are razor blades and aftershave. I don’t want to shave without them. Remember that preventative care is better than acute health care(if its available.) You will need other toiletries too.

Every time you go to store pick up a few items. Getting two cans of soup here and extra toilet paper there adds up tremendously. All these items can be used to trade with. Buy in bulk when you can. At Sam's Club get the big bags of disposable razors. If people come knocking you can give them one, or trade. Sometimes acts of kindness go a long way to settle down people with an intent on harm or who are belligerent.

Don’t forget some forms of entertainment, like books for reading. The most important book is the Bible. Trust in the Lord, He will see us through. - Tim G.

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Lady Liberty Liberty Has a Hollow Core

The best known symbol of the United States is the Statue of Liberty. It was a gift from the people of France, with a framework designed by Gustave Eiffel. (Yes, the same gent that designed the Eiffel Tower.) Eiffel's Liberty statue armature design was clever, and made the statue an amazingly lightweight for a structure that towers 151 feet tall. Rather than a traditional solid masonry statue, Lady Liberty is built on a hollow framework to which copper sheets are attached. I have recently come to realize that the Statue of Liberty is a fitting symbol for the United States in this new century. We are now a hollow nation.

In the past 30 years our manufacturing infrastructure has been gutted. Countless industries have moved their manufacturing offshore. Political commentator Patrick J. Buchanan summed it up well in a 2003 article for The American Conservative:

"Across America the story is the same: steel and lumber mills going into bankruptcy; textile plants moving to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and the Far East; auto plants closing and opening overseas; American mines being sealed and farms vanishing. Seven hundred thousand textile workers—many of them minorities and single women—have lost their jobs since NAFTA passed in 1993."

The following are a few random observations that illustrate just how hollow our nation has become::

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of the "Steelers" football team now produces precious little steel. Steel production went into steep decline in the 1970s and has never recovered. The big Pittsburgh steel companies can't compete with foreign steel, some of which is state-subsidized. Sadly, the decline that starting in the 1970s has continued. The state of Pennsylvania lost another 202,000 manufacturing jobs from 2001 to 2007.

Ironically, many inventions that either originated in the US, or that were co-developed here are no longer produced in significant numbers, or even produced at all. These include the sewing machine and the television.

With each passing year, imported automobiles have gained market share in the US. The recent spike in fuel prices will make small imported cars even more popular.

The loss of American manufacturing and simultaneous increase in imports has led to some absurdities. Just try to find a pair of American-made tennis shoes in sizes for children. It seems that 95% of the tennis shoes are made in mainland China, and the rest are made in other Asian countries like Malaysia.

One of our advertisers, Wiggy's, is one the last remaining handful of sleeping bag manufacturers that has a factory in the US. Nearly all of their competitors have switched to having bags with their label made offshore.

Even trucks and heavy equipment are getting foreign competition. A decade ago, seeing a foreign-made heavy truck was a rarity. But now, it is not unusual to see A truck made by Volvo. I'm also starting to notice more Asian-built excavators, even here in the "Buy American" heartland.

America is also suffering from a loss of technological leadership. This has led to the so-called "Geek Gap". In another decade, China and India will no longer be dependent on US innovation. They will be the technological leaders.

Our dependence on imported oil has only worsened since the 1970s. If an OPEC oil embargo were to happen today, it would be devastating.

Roads, bridges, and tunnels in poor repair. Freeways designed in the 1950s and 1906s are now insufficient for current traffic flows, causing traffic delays that hinder economic efficiency.

Six decades ago, we helped win the Second World War because of our manufacturing strength. Given the decline in US manufacturing, I doubt that we could duplicate that feat. The erosion of the US defense manufacturing base is troubling. If supplies of foreign-made components were to be disrupted, we would be hard pressed to build many high technology weapons systems. I wrote about this trend when I was on the staff of Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, our reliance on imported parts--particularly microcircuits and LEDs--has increased considerably. I'm talking not just about competitiveness. I'm talking about physical survival as a nation. If we have to fight a protracted major war--something similar to the Second World War--we might just lack supplies of the requisite little "fiddly bits". Too many of them are imported.

Ditto for raw materials. In the 1970s and 1980s, the US Department of Defense (DOD) created a $6.5 billion strategic stockpile program, which set aside "440,000 troy ounces of platinum, 8,500 tons of chromium, 129,000 tons of natural rubber, 47 million pounds of cobalt and more than 5 million carats of diamonds." But since the end of the Cold war, there have been calls to sell the stockpile off as "obsolete" since it would be a great "cost saving measure". Some claim that all that is needed is to set aside $24 million worth of iridium, tantalum and quartz crystal. What madness. Without tech strategic reserve there is no way that we could fight a major war that involved the disruption of shipping and air transport. There is no way, whatsoever.

Clearly, something has to change if the US is going to remain competitive in manufacturing and retain its ability to fight a protracted war. I'm not calling for government-mandated protectionism. I'm just suggesting that the "Buy American" ethic needs to be renewed. Look at labels before you make a purchase. Buy American when when you can. And if a particular item is not domestically made, then buy used items instead of new. (Typically, the older items are American made, but in any case you at least won't be sending more cash offshore.)

In many ways, The United States is entering an era that is analogous to what happened to Spain, in the waning days of their empire. Like the US is today, they were essentially a naval power. They got involved in some overseas adventures that in the long run were not profitable, using lots of borrowed money. When their credit ran out, they were forced to scale back drastically. Spain was eventually relegated to the status of a third rate power. But I should mention that in their case, their timing was particularly bad. Spain was starved of credit just as the industrial revolution was getting underway. So they essentially "missed the boat" on industrialization.

In summary, we are indeed now a hollow nation. As individuals with an interest in preparedness, we need to recognize that. At the personal level, we need to mitigate the risks that the dependence on imports has created. We should stock up, and do our best to Buy American, as we do so. We also need to recognize the macro level economic instability that the trade deficit and dependence on foreign financing have created. Be ready for a deep, long recession or even a depression. A sharp economic decline is very likely coming, and coming soon.

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Odds 'n Sods:

Reader RBS found us this: Five Foods That Are Cheaper to Grow

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RBS also found this in a Hawaiian newspaper: Gasoline thieves cutting fuel lines

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Red Cross warns of food riots over soaring prices. (A hat tip to Bill in Ohio.)

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"I Told You So" Department: Washington Mutual - One of the Nations Largest Banks Having Trouble. (We mentioned potential margin call problems at WaMu, back on March 16th.) There are bank runs coming.

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"Cowboy" found this article that ties in with the recent letter on Treet brand canned meat: Sales of Spam rise as consumers trim food costs

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"Man is not free unless government is limited...
As government expands, liberty contracts." - Ronald Reagan

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Thursday May 29 2008
Note from JWR:

The following is another article for Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day "gray" transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 16 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

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Considerations for Raising Chickens After TEOTWAWKI, by Gospel Guy

Successfully raising chickens after TEOTWAWKI has a few important differences from raising chickens during normal conditions in the developed world. Changes in the availability of feed, day old chicks, and increased pressure from predators and thieves are the most likely factors to precipitate failure for many people who think they understand chickens, but are not prepared for these challenges. This article addresses the adjustments that must be made to successfully raise chickens after TEOTWAWKI.

Sustained reproduction of the flock should be the primary focus of the survivalist who wishes to ensure a supply of eggs and meat into the future. In order to maintain reproduction the flock must have a nutrient rich high protein diet. Under current conditions in the developed world obtaining an adequate diet for your flock is as simple as a visit to a trusted feed mill. However the survivalist needs a different solution as prepared chicken feed does not store well. Commercial feed goes rancid quickly, often in as little as two months, particularly if the feed contains extruded soy beans.
The best choice in storage feed for chickens is feed grade whole yellow corn or sorghum, whole oats, wheat and Azomite, a mineral supplement. Azomite is a highly regarded natural mineral product which is economical and suitable for use in livestock feed, as a soil amendment and a tonic for humans. The survivalist who is committed to the long-term survival of his poultry should store a one or two year supply of feed and seed to plant future crops of grain. Seed corn does not store well and germination rates decline rapidly. Annual rotation of the open-pollinated seed corn is strongly recommended. Some farmers in living in primitive and very remote areas of the third world store a two year supply of seed corn. Each year they plant their oldest stock of seed corn and replace the seed they planted when they harvest the new crop. This is a sound technique which encourages the trait of longer seed viability and at the same time ensures a reserve of seed in the event of a crop failure.

In order to economically meet the protein requirements of the flock’s diet, allow them to free range, use portable pasture pens or feed insects to the birds. The biggest problem with allowing chickens to roam free is the high, often devastating losses to theft and predators. It would be possible to feed soybeans for the protein and fat values they offer. However soybeans must be roasted or otherwise cooked before use as feed to deactivate growth inhibiting substances in the soybean. This additional step is labor intensive and therefore the use of soybeans is not recommended. Raising insects for your flock can be done easily with either earth worms or fly larva otherwise know as maggots. There are ample resources detailing earthworm production available elsewhere and so we will not examine this subject in depth here, in the attached supplement are directions for a controversial technique for producing fly larva under difficult conditions. Under normal or favorable conditions allowing chickens to scratch through compost, a manure pile or deep bedding will supply the protein needs of the chicken.

The final key to producing fertile eggs that will result in acceptable hatching rates is adequate vitamins. In most cases the best solution is to use portable grazing pens to allow the birds to eat all the grass and weeds they can. Two of the more common designs are wood framed “Salatin Pens” and portable hoop houses. The portable hoop house offers the advantages of easier access to the interior and welded construction with a light weight steel frame. A 10’ x 15’ hoop house is an easy to manage size. It is also helpful to soak or germinate grain before feeding in order to increase the vitamin content of the grain. It is best to feed the germinated seed while the sprouts are the same length as the seed.

Once your flock is eating a nutritious diet keep your eyes open for a hen exhibiting interest in nesting. It is best to have several experienced hens or female turkeys for hatching eggs. There is a learning curve both for the survivalist and the hen. The hen must have a safe place at a comfortable temperature with food and water available at all times and which is inaccessible to the other hens. Other hens will chase the setting hen off the nest to lay their eggs there unless they are denied access. There are several advantages to using a turkey for hatching eggs. In the first place the turkey can sit on more eggs than a hen can. Secondly a turkey can defend her nest and chicks far more aggressively than a chicken. A hen turkey will often give a beating to a curious dog or any other intruder that she sees as threat to her chicks. Also a hen turkey will not allow any other hen to peck or bully her chicks the way many non-dominate hens will, she is the biggest bird in the flock and demands respect for her chicks. As a result the mortality rate of hen turkey raised chicks is often lower than when raised by a hen. One consideration with a hen turkey is that she walks and runs faster and further than a hen will. In order to reduce stress and avoid over exertion of the new chicks it is advisable to use a hoop house or other pen to restrict the movement of the hen turkey and her chicks.
Within 24 hours of hatching the chicks should be offered food and water. Be very careful to insure that the watering pan is chick safe and will not be likely to drown or trap chicks. The chicks will readily eat crumbs and scraps from your table along with freshly ground coarse cornmeal, Azomite and finely chopped liver if available. They should have small gravel and sand available for grit. As the chicks grow they will be able to handle cracked and then whole grains. Sorghum and wheat are smaller and easier to swallow than corn and oats.

In primitive conditions the pressure from predators is frequently greater than in more modern situations. It quickly becomes obvious that everyone likes to eat chickens and their eggs; that includes neighbors, dogs, coyotes, house cats, rats, possums, coon, snakes, hawks and skunks. The protection that portable grazing pens offer is the first line of defense against predators and thieves. Dogs that are bonded with chickens and other small livestock are very helpful but you must back them up with traps and a gun. One of the most effective traps for feral dogs, possum and skunk is a Connibear trap in front of a bucket with bait in the bottom. It is very important not to set any of the larger Connibear traps where a small child could get in the trap as the 220 and larger connibears may kill or seriously injure a child. It is advisable to have a gun handy when caring for the flock because it is virtually assured that sooner or later it will be necessary to terminate the depredations of a feral dog or other varmint.

In summary there are challenges involved in raising chickens under primitive conditions after TEOTWAWKI. However with a little foresight and planning chickens can be a productive source of high quality protein, even under difficult circumstances. Supplement: Insect protein for challenging conditions.

Harsh dry conditions may make the common sources of insect protein unavailable. A prolonged drought can almost completely eliminate available insect life and turn compost in to lifeless piles of bone dry organic matter. In many tropical and sub-tropical climates with a dry season and monsoon such events happen every year. The end of the dry season becomes a time of suffering as the water sources dry up. Insects disappear and egg production all but ceases at the time additional food is needed most. Children become malnourished, sicken and die, when an egg a day would have saved their lives.

Cultivating fly larva on animal carcasses is one controversial technique that produces an abundance of fly larva under the worst of drought conditions. Under no circumstances is the production of maggots from poultry carcasses or offal recommended due to the risk of disease and parasite transmission. To produce fly larva simply throw any healthy animals or animal parts you do not wish to eat in a barrel with a scavenger proof lid on it, feral dogs are ideal candidates. At times it may be necessary to add a few cups of water as needed to keep things from drying out. This process stinks but produces a steady stream of fly larva, which when fed to the hens are converted into an abundant supply of eggs.

It is important to not allow the chickens to eat the decomposing flesh from which you are producing the larva due to the risk of food poisoning or disease transmission. The simplest method for separating the flesh and larva is to install a grate a foot above the bottom of the barrel. The carcasses remain above the grate but the larva fall through into the bottom of the barrel. By cutting a couple openings large enough to provide access to the larva a very low maintenance scavenger proof self serve feeder is created.

Several advantages are realized by feeding the larva to the chickens rather than directly feeding the animal flesh. First, insects of all types are a natural food for chickens. Second, the risk of disease transmission is greatly reduced by preventing direct contact between the chickens and the animal parts. Third, larva are a very low cost source of protein. Even in the best of times the protein component of poultry feed is costly, during a severe drought it may be completely unavailable. Fourth, by attracting flies to lay their eggs in the feeder and feeding all resulting larva to the chickens the local fly population is reduced thereby reducing the risk of transmitting fly-borne diseases to humans. Fifth, raising fly larva for poultry feed is a traditional solution to the problem of finding sufficient protein for a flock of chickens under difficult conditions. Other methods of obtaining protein for the flock are preferable but under extreme famine conditions this is a valid solution.

About the Author:
"Gospel Guy" has gardened and cared for chickens since childhood, and has raised pastured poultry commercially. For the last three years he has raised chickens for his family’s use just outside a small town in the mountains of a Third World country where he is a Christian missionary of the reformed tradition. One of his favorite ways to relax is watching chickens forage and play. His planning for TEOWAWKI is geared toward preserving knowledge and culture through a multi-generational societal collapse in the tradition of the monasteries of the dark ages. If you appreciate the author’s work, please thank him by collecting and preserving books, art and music.

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Odds 'n Sods:

Paul from Kentucky sent this: Pioneers show Americans how to live "off-grid"

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John in Ohio flagged this: Diesels [Still] Equal Savings. The article didn't mention the price differential between road-taxed diesel and "off road " diesel. Currently, off-road (dyed) diesel sells for about 50 cents less per gallon than the road-taxed variety. That makes a big difference for those of us that store diesel for tractors and diesel generators.

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I spotted this article linked at Drudge: US home prices drop at sharpest rate in 20 years. I predict this downward spiral will continue for at least four years.

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SurvivalBlog reader "Tanker" noticed that the US Federal Reserve is continuing to increase the size of its now ongoing Term Auction Facility (TAF) liquidity-pumping frenzy. Check out the figure at the bottom of the "Non-borrowed" column! That is a lot of money created out of thin air. The global credit crunch is far from over.

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation then by deflation, the banks and the corporations will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." - Thomas Jefferson, from the debate on the recharter of the Bank Bill, (1809)

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Wednesday May 28 2008
America's Frontier Counties--One Man's "Frontier" is Another Man's Suburbia

In 1890, the US Census Bureau made its pronouncement that America's western "frontier" was closed.

One television program that the Memsahib really enjoys re-watching now and again is the PBS series Frontier House. That led to a discussion of when the frontier officially closed. While researching that, I stumbled into the National Center for Frontier Communities web site. They have a very loose "by consensus" definition of what defines a "frontier" county. This map shows the absurdity of their definition. I suspect that they made the definition loose, so that participants can qualify for government grants. If you look at the Year 2000 US Census data, it is a far better gauge of who actually lives in truly remote rural counties. For example, in California, only 2% of the population lives in frontier counties, but in Wyoming the figure is 73.9%.

The generally accepted threshold for "Frontier" population density is six or fewer people per square mile. But to this day, there is no official definition of what "frontier" means. By my definition, less than 100 counties in the Lower 48 States could still be considered truly "frontier."

So here are some of my subjective estimations of what constitutes a present-day frontier county:

When a tree falls down across the county road you don't even bother calling the county road department. You just get out your chainsaw.

You know the names of all of the neighbors in a five mile radius.

A shopping trip sometimes requires buying more than one tank of gasoline.

There won't be cellular service in your area for another 5 or 10 years, but nobody really wants it, for fear that it will attract yuppie land buyers.

Nearly every conversation includes the phrase "Get 'er done!", and nobody thinks that its a humorous reference.

The only factor that keeps you from having the lowest car insurance rate in the nation is the high number of deer collisions

Your friends' most closely guarded secrets are the locations of their favorite fishing holes and berry patches.

The nearest grocery store also sells fishing bait, propane, ammo, Ivermectin paste, and T-posts.

One out of every five vehicles that you pass on the highway is a quad ATV.

The standard greeting for two months of each year for men, women, and children is: "Hi! Did you get your elk yet?"

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Letter Re: An Oil Extraction Press that Could Prove Useful at Retreats

Sir,
Though this PDF starts out explaining how to make "briquettes" for cooking fuel, it eventually shows a crude oil extraction press. This could be a handy tool for supplementing one's diet with vegetable and nut oils and also for making biodiesel (or for use in a Straight Vegetable Oil powered engine). Regards, - Hawaiian K.

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Letter Re: The Northwestern US as a Retreat Locale--the Downwind Issues

Hello;
We are on board with what is coming. Regarding location, my concern for the Idaho and Montana areas are the Yellowstone caldera - should it have a massive eruption and being downwind from the Seattle area should there be a nuke attack there. What are your thoughts, please? Thank you - John

JWR Replies: All of Idaho is upwind of Yellowstone except for during the most unusual weather conditions. Ditto for any parts of Montana where you would likely want to live. This is because anywhere that is east (downwind) of Yellowstone is also potentially downwind of the Montana missile fields. (Headquartered at Malmstrom Air Force Base near Great Falls, but dispersed across an area of several hundred square miles.).

As for your mention of the anticipated fallout from targets like Seattle and Bremerton, essentially the only portion of the continental US that is not downwind of a potential nuclear target is California's northern coast (from Mendocino County northward), and southwestern Oregon. And even people living there have to worry about residual fallout from nuclear strikes in Asia. The bottom line is that every family in the US should have a fallout shelter. And some families that live near anticipated nuclear targets need a combination fallout and blast shelter.

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"The reflection upon my situation and that of this army produces many an uneasy hour when all around me are wrapped in sleep. Few people know the predicament we are in." - General George Washington, January 14, 1776

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Tuesday May 27 2008
Letter Re: Advice on a Budget Water Filter

Mr. Rawles,
I just graduated from college this month and am still under the huge weight of college loans. I want to get prepared, but my budget (for now, at least), is very tight. You said that water should be the highest priority. I agree with the wisdom of that. I'd like to buy a [gravity ceramic] Big Berky [water] filter, but they are way too expensive. Even an Aqua Rain [filter] would be too much of an expense. Are there any lower cost alternatives for water filtration? Thank You, - R.T.D.

JWR Replies: The least expensive option is to make your own filter. In my experience, the much-touted field-expedient sand and clay filters are only effective for use as a pre-filter. Their output still has a brown-tinged pond water look to it, and since the filter media is so coarse, they do not remove all harmful bacteria. (So their output still has to be treated either chemically, or by boiling.) You can, however, buy Berky filter white ceramic filter elements by themselves from a number of vendors including Ready Made Resources and Lehman's. With these elements, you can build your own bargain basement "Berky Clone". This consists of a pair of food grade plastic buckets, stacked one above the other. The top bucket has one or more holes drilled in it, to accept the Berky spare filter elements. Each element by itself costs around $40 . To get decent volume production from your filter, I recommend that you buy at least two elements. (A set of four is best.)

Materials:

4 - Food Grade HDPE food storage buckets (three to six gallon capacity), with lids
1 to 4 - Big Berky White Ceramic Filter Elements

Construction:

Drill one to four 1/2-inch diameter holes near the bottom-center of the upper bucket. (The same number of holes as you have filter elements.) Space the holes at least two inches apart and no closer than 1-1/2 inches from the edge of the bucket perimeter.With clean hands (to avoid contaminating the filter pores), insert the filters in the holes, screwing down their nuts on the bottom of the upper bucket. The nuts are plastic, so do not over-tighten them. But they must be tight enough to compress the o-ring seal, or the seal may leak--and this would be a contaminating leaks. (The filters point upward into the upper bucket, to avoid damage and to allow them to be cleaned periodically.)

Using a jig saw, cut a 7-1/2-inch diameter hole in the center of the lid of the lower bucket.

A third bucket is used to carry water. The fourth bucket is used as a pre-filter. This has a piece of tightly-woven cloth that is wired or taped over the top. Since the cloth will be saturated and will drip over the edge the pre-filtering step is best done outdoors, or in a large laundry sink. If treating river, stream on pond water, be sure to use a pre-filter. Just using a couple of thickness of T-shirt material will greatly extend the useful life of your secondary filter element(s).

Use:

Set the bucket with the hole in the lid on a low, stable surface. Stack the bucket with the filter element(s) on top of it. Gently pour pre-filtered water into the upper bucket, until it is nearly full. Note: Be very careful not to spill any water down the exterior of the upper bucket, or you will contaminate the water in the bucket beneath. This is a slow filtering process, so be patient. Even with four filter elements, it will take a considerable time to filter six gallons.

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Letter Re: A Clash of World Views--Socialism Versus the Libertarian Ethic

Mr Rawles,
I have been a survival blog reader for over a year now, and my hat is off to you, sir. "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse", and the information presented on these pages have been extremely positive influences in my planning and preparations. While I have been, to this point, content to absorb the wealth of knowledge presented here, I was compelled by a recent post to submit this correspondence.

In [the letter posted on Sunday] titled "Clash of World Views”, David D. makes the claim that “We’ve had our grand experiment in deregulation and the magic of the market, and it’s now perfectly clear where it got us.” I would respectfully submit that a deregulated free market and personal responsibility are quite a bit removed from the causal factors in the current state of affairs, which is more correctly attributable to injections of “equality” and “safety nets” into what would be a self-regulating system, otherwise. Where equality is the goal, excellence is a casualty. When the incentive for achievement is removed, mediocrity and sloth are inevitable results. If excellence and success are not rewarded, but instead, the products of those efforts are forcibly redistributed by government intervention, we are enabling the parasitic existence of an exponentially growing number of non-contributing dependents. Gone, too, is the incentive to get off the dole. When receiving assistance from the charity of a neighbor, a reasonable man soon endeavors to better their condition in order to remove the requirement of outside help, and indeed, to pay back the favor in whatever way possible. When the system provides sustenance through the form of an anonymous check every month, the incentive to better one’s condition has been removed by the government “safety net”. Measures meant to protect equality and provide safety invariable hamstring the self-regulating nature of a free market, and we have, in this country, injected enough equality and safety into what started as a free market to strangle and pervert the “grand experiment” into a near unrecognizable form.

I am greatly disheartened at where we now find ourselves, so far from the intent of our founding fathers, when all men were created equal, but where they went from there was based on their own exertions, and not augmented by the social “entitlements” they were eligible for. Wise men began this endeavor in federal government with the intent to keep the entity small and out of most state affairs. With a staggering portion of the national budget now going towards entitlements, in effect, redistributing wealth, and with volumes of regulatory and mala prohibita nonsense, we are a far cry from a free market. We have long been sliding down the slippery slope into a socialist democracy where those supported by the efforts of better men have the electoral power to increase their claim to the fruits of the labor of others through votes, sympathy, and by invoking a twisted sense of social guilt. We have been legislated into chains, and each year, as our liberties are taken under the guise of stewardship, they grow heavier.

We need more people willing to take ownership of their own destiny, and fewer victims waiting for rescue. We need less regulation, more liberty, and the attendant greater personal responsibilities. Our founders meant to provide these conditions in perpetuity through the Constitution for these United States, and I truly believe that if we can undertake stripping back the perversions we have applied to their intent, this document from our past is the key to a successful future. I, for one, would welcome a world where “equality” refers to the interaction among men according to the Golden Rule, and the “safety nets” are provided by family, community, church, and charity, instead of through wasteful and overbearing government redistribution. Thanks for all you do, - D.

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Odds 'n Sods:

Jack B. recommended this piece by James Howard Kunstler: Wake Up, America. We're Driving Toward Disaster

o o o

A news headline that we've anticipated: As homes foreclose in U.S., squatters move in.

o o o

Naish Piazza's most recent weekly blog post includes a video clip that makes it clear just how incompetent and ignorant the liberal gun grabbers are. OBTW, Naish Piazza's very generous "Get a Gun" training and gear package offer will likely end soon, since it is being run at or near cost. Don't delay!

o o o

From an Athens, Greece newspaper: Hunger collides with oil prices. (Thanks to Jack in Texas for that link.)

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Jim's Quote of the Day:

"Every action is seen to fall into one of three main categories, guarding, hitting, or moving. Here, then, are the elements of combat, whether in war or pugilism." - Military Historian B. H. Liddell Hart

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Monday May 26 2008
Note from JWR:

The following is another article for Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day "gray" transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 16 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical "how to" skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

The author has gardened and preserved food since childhood. He has been using lacto-fermentation since 2001. For the last three years he has lived on the outskirts of a small town in the mountains of a Third World country where he is a Christian missionary in the reformed tradition. His planning for TEOTWAWKI is geared toward preserving knowledge and culture through a multi-generational societal collapse in the tradition of the monasteries of the Dark Ages. If you appreciate the author’s work, please join him in collecting and preserving books, art and music.

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Lacto-Fermentation--Enlisting Trillions of Microscopic Allies in Your Fight for Survival, by Gospel Guy

In a world with no power from the electrical grid how can perishable foods be stored? Drying and canning are common solutions but are not suitable for all foods. Canning in particular is troublesome due to its dependence on access to industrial supply chains for new lids or seals, the need for precise control of temperature and time, and its consumption of large amounts of energy. The easiest, cheapest and most overlooked method of food preservation is by lacto-fermentation which has the advantages of making the food more digestible and neither precise measurements nor exacting temperature controls are necessary. Lacto-fermentation is the intentional culture of lactic acid loving bacteria to preserve and flavor food. Lacto-fermentation is not an alcohol producing process. Rather it creates an acidic environment which is not favorable to the growth of spoilage causing organisms. Lacto-fermented foods contain large amounts of enzymes and beneficial bacterial, preserve temperature sensitive vitamins, and have a delightful tangy taste. Many people with digestive problems find that eating lacto-fermented foods frequently will provide relief. A further benefit of lacto-fermented vegetables is that when eaten on a regular basis they help to prevent diarrhea. Using lacto-fermentation yogurt, cheese, pickles, fermented vegetables and sauerkraut can all be made from materials readily available on the homestead. Foods produced by lacto-fermentation will keep for extended periods of time in a cave, root cellar, spring house, evaporative cooler or, if one is available, in the refrigerator.

The best way to begin enjoying the benefits of lacto-fermentation is by placing raw milk in a clean covered container and setting it in a warm place with a temperature in the upper 70’s or 80’s. Let the milk sit until it sours and then gets thick like yogurt, this will require from two to four days depending on the temperature and bacteria count in the milk. At this point several options present themselves:

1. Simply cool the clabbered milk and eat it with your morning oatmeal.
2. To make a very soft cream cheese similar to Neufchatel pour the clabbered milk into a cheesecloth-lined colander and drain the whey. Save the whey to use as starter for future batches of cheese, yogurt or lacto-fermented vegetables.
3. To make hard cheese heat the clabbered milk gently in a double boiler, near the chimney of the wood cook stove or other hot location until it separates into soft curds and whey. Once it begins to separate gently cut the curds into pieces using a clean knife without removing the curds from the whey. Then slowly raise the temperature until the curds and whey boil. The hotter and longer it is heated the harder the cheese will be. Pour the curds and whey into a cheese cloth-lined colander, basket or other container which will allow the whey to escape and when most of the whey has drained away salt the curds according to taste. Higher levels of salt promote better storage but many people prefer the flavor of lower salt cheeses. Set a clean rock on a plate on top of the curds wrapped in cheesecloth to compress the curds and force out the rest of the whey. The heavier the weight used to press the cheese the harder and dryer the cheese will be. The cheese can then be aged according your preference. Air drying in a screened, fly-proof, cool, breezy area to form a rind is recommended and should be followed by waxing and storage in a cool place. Variation in the technique outlined above will produce an endless variety of cheeses. The whey from the hard cheese making can be used in cooking and baking, to make drinks, or as animal feed. Chickens, pigs, dogs, and cats all love whey. Whey from hard cheese cannot be used as a starter because the beneficial bacteria were killed when the whey was heated.

Whey from the soft cheese can be used as a starter for any lacto-fermentation process. The advantage to using the whey as a starter for yogurt, cheese and lacto-fermented vegetables is that it often results in a much milder tasting and smelling product. The initial souring of the milk can occasionally result in strong odors and tastes that, while perfectly harmless, are offensive to the unaccustomed palate.

To make yogurt, place a small quantity of whey from the soft cheese into a clean jar. A couple tablespoons of whey are about right for a quart but precise measurement is not required. In the future when you have a particularly tasty batch of yogurt a small portion of that yogurt can be used as starter in place of the whey, this will increase your chances of getting another batch like the one you liked. Thoroughly mix the starter with enough raw milk to nearly fill the jar and place in a warm draft free location which is about body temperature. It is very important that the milk which you have cultured with the whey not be disturbed and that the temperature remains constant, otherwise it will separate into curds and whey. The yogurt will be ready to cool and eat in 4 to 8 hours depending on the conditions. The yogurt may be carefully checked to see if it has thickened but be careful not to disturb it too much. Cooling the yogurt before serving will reduce its tendency to separate into to curds and whey. Commercial yogurt often has products added to stabilize it and reduce separation. If the yogurt comes out with a strong flavor the most likely cause was keeping the yogurt warm for too long. Try making another batch and either reduce the temperature at which the yogurt is fermented or reduce amount of time the yogurt is kept warm. Strong flavored yogurt, if it was cause by high temp or overlong fermentation, can be used as starter for a new batch and the strong flavor will not be passed on to the new batch. However if the yogurt smells yeasty it is fine to eat or make cheese from it but it should not be used as starter unless the object is to make more yeasty yogurt

Traditionally cabbage is the vegetable most commonly preserved by lacto-fermentation. Today, however, most sauerkraut is preserved by pickling in vinegar rather than by lacto-fermentation. The flavor of pickled sauerkraut is far more acidic and harsh than that of sauerkraut produced by lacto-fermentation and has much lower levels of vitamins and enzymes. The following recipe presents a method of producing traditional sauerkraut which leaves the vitamins and enzymes intact.

The following materials are needed to make sauerkraut. If no whey is available double the salt; however not using whey increases the chances of spoilage.
1 medium Cabbage
4 tablespoons whey from soft cheese or yogurt
1 tablespoon Non-iodized salt such as Real Salt TM, sea salt, or canning salt
Thoroughly cleaned jars or crocks.

Shred the cabbage using a sharp knife or grater.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pound with a wooden masher or meat hammer until the cabbage releases juice. This usually requires 10 to 15 minutes of pounding depending on how much cabbage is being processed and who is doing it.

Pack the mixture TIGHTLY into the clean glass jars and mash it down until the juice covers it completely. In some cases it may be necessary to use a weight to hold the cabbage under the surface of the liquid. If there is not enough juice add additional whey. Cover the jars to keep out insects, mice and dust. Canning jars and lids work well but any jar or crock will do.

Store the sauerkraut at room temperature for several days and then move to a cool place. The sauerkraut will keep well for six months or longer and the flavor will improve with age. Many people like to add additional ingredients, such as caraway seed, shredded carrots, onions, chili peppers or what ever strikes their fancy. The same process, omitting the pounding, can be used with cucumbers, beets and turnips as well as many other vegetables in place of cabbage. In the event that the lacto-fermented vegetables spoil the odor will be so vile that nobody would be willing to taste them. Spoilage in lacto-fermented foods is very obvious unlike canned foods where the food can be fatally contaminated by botulism yet show no obvious sign of spoilage.

Lacto-fermentation as a method of food preparation and preservation is a useful addition to the skill set of anyone who wishes to preserve food safely and does not have access to the power grid and modern supply chains. Lacto-fermentation used in conjunction with drying, potting, salting and smoking allows the preservation of virtually any food produced on the homestead with out relying on outside inputs other than salt.

Reference:
Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary G. Ph.D. Nourishing Traditions, Washington, DC: NewTrends Publishing, 2001.

JWR Adds: Be sure to follow the necessary safety guidelines for lacto-fermentation. If you suspect that a batch has gone "off" then discard it. Anyone with a sensitive stomach should show great caution when considering adding fermented foods to their diet.

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Letter Re: Storing Treet Brand Canned Meat

Mr. Rawles,
First, I would like to say thank you for honoring our Lord in your work. Thanks also, for writing your novel "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse". It is excellent. I have been recommending it to all of those I love.

As I have been preparing for a while, I have been more often cooking my prep food and trying to adjust to that life style. I have been caching "Treet". It is a canned [spiced luncheon] meat that has a consistency similar to bologna. I have been storing Treet rather than Spam, because it is supposed to keep for about a year longer than Spam, and it is about 75 cents less expensive [per can].

The following is a delicious recipe that I came up with from my survival stores.

1-1/2 cup rice
1- Teaspoon of salt
A few shakes of garlic powder
A few shakes of onion powder
Some celery seed
Parsley flakes
Thyme
A dash of paprika since color affects our attitudes about food
One can of cubed Treet, sauteed
Soy Sauce to taste

Cook the rice to the desired consistency and then add the cubed Treet and soy sauce. Adjust salt and soy to your preferences. - Trevor T.

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Odds 'n Sods:

More than a dozen readers mentioned this prominent mainstream media mention: Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare. This was an Associated Press wire service article also ran in the Washington Post, on Fox.com, and in daily papers across the nation. It is no wonder that all of the long term storage food vendors are getting deluged with orders. Some of the Sheeple are awakening