Survivability in any environment

Thinking of building custom AR type rifles.
If you had the choice, what would you want in a custome built gun?

Thinking of building custom AR type rifles.
If you had the choice, what would you want in a custome built gun?

Hey all, I just wanted to give you an update on the Jawbone ICON situation.

I am 110% satisfied with the service I have received on this situation. Here’s how it all played out. I started by sending an email to Jawbone support, and they responded the same day saying that they were willing to replace the item, I just needed to fax a copy of my receipt so they could confirm that it was still in warranty. I wasn’t able to find that in time, and the ticket they had created expired and was closed out.

I figured they were willing to replace the Jawbone from the manufacturer, so why not give Best Buy, where I bought the item, a shot. So receipt in hand, and broken Bluetooth headset in pocket I walked into the store. The lady behind the counter was unsure if this was an acceptable exchange opportunity, so called a manager over. After a couple minute discussions, of which I was not involved, the lady came back and said the exchange was approved.

Boom, deal done.

So, to businesses took the opportunity to turn a bad situation around and made the best out of it. Both places have earned my trust and repeat business.

So I have owned a couple of generations of the Jawbone Bluetooth headset over the last few years, and have found it to be a very useful tool. The hands free operation is awesome when driving, or working on something that ties your hands up. The Noise Assassin feature is the best I have found on the market. So in the field of Bluetooth headsets I would say it’s the best bang for your buck.

But on the other side of the coin, they rarely seem to last more than 6 months. I have bought the extended warranty on everyone I have owned, and had to use it multiple times. They seem to run into various problems, either with the speaker, microphone or battery life, but Best Buy has never had a problem replacing the product, so I am happy with that portion as well.

Here’s my latest adventure with I Jawbone –

Last night, I used the device on my way home from work and all was well. When I was done with the call I took it out of my ear and tossed it into the change tray of my car, where I left it over night. This morning when I picked it up it looked like this…

I am guessing this was due to the overnight cold in South Dakota, maybe it was cracked already, I’m just not sure. I have emailed Jawbone directly on this, to see what their response will be, and will update this post with that.

So in conclusion, It’s a great tool to have for every day carry (edc), but I wouldn’t count in it in a bad situation, I wouldn’t trust my life on

At this site we have made it our goal to look into all avenues of survival.  We have four basic pillars: environmental/physical, financial, medical and Spiritual. To date we have spent little time discussing certain of these issues, which is not due to a lack of concern but rather time. Today I will share what I have heard, and it is not easy.

That we, as a nation, are upon a great crossroads is now self-evident to all but the most hard-minded, ignorant citizens and that some would choose to lay aside the very fabric that has allowed such apathy is equally unknown to them.  Our callous disregard for all things of purport include the two mainstays which should never be silenced in a free society; religion and politics.  That we have been lead to believe these topics are social taboos is nothing short of damaging and dangerous.   I ask all who read to answer for themselves:  if God is real and just, and has asked certain things of us, and we have not lived up to them, then how is it so hard to fathom that He would visit our own designs upon us? If He knowing where we have been and seeing where we are and where we are going will not intervene, what then? To answer these questions one has to ask, Why would He or would He not intervene? As I discussed in an earlier post, everything that turns from off its foundations is destined for ruination.  So, too, we straddle the abyss. Where now are our supports, our stays that held in times long past, in times not so distant? Why, in a nation putting every remembrance of Him in so many more dark, dusty closets should we expect His help, His mercy?  That we, like our spiritual forbearers, Israel, have gone a whorring is undeniable, but whereas they went after other gods who are not gods, we have tried to claim there is no God, at least not one that really gives a crap. That, perhaps, we ourselves are gods… we are our own saviours, our own supports and strong places, no… we have a federal government for that… What then are we, if not indentured pawns wallowing in the filth of our lusts and greeds unaware of the night that rushes in?

That a night approaches wherein shall be found little light is increasingly worrysome. That we as a nation should come out the other side stronger and purer is not at all a certainty. Many nations have totally ceased to be after what we have done to ourselves, yet we remain. Is it that He is gracious and mighty to save or does He feed us more rope with which to hang ourselves like so many Judas’?  These are hard questions that need honest reflections from each and every one of us. Without them and the conviction which should follow you will be lost. No amount of food storage will save you then.

So, we come to the main message of my post.  I was walking, not so long ago, on some old dirt road praying for my country, my countrymen, my family, my life…  God stopped me at my country and told me He would no longer hear my prayers for it.  My heart sank, my mind reeled and, though never having done so previously, I wanted to heap the gravel beneath my feet upon my head, rip my clothes and cry, “Agh, God!”  He said He was going to visit our inquities upon us.  I, almost feeling led to it, asked, “What if there are even ten righteous?” 

He replied, “Where there are ten righteous I will save them.  Yet I tell you the truth, there are whole cities in this country where there is not even one.”

Woe, woe I say to us, for He has lifted His hand.  The brakes and all bets are off.  Yet there is still hope if we as a nation will only turn back to Him, humble ourselves, and repent of our wickedness, He would heal our lands and draw near to us.  That is only if we turn back.  However if we hold back, if we sway, if we hesitate…  Listen, we are never going to be the same, so which way are we to have it?  For the good?  For the worst?  Terrible things await the people who turn away from Him.  

We are on the edge of a grave, dark night.  Dusk is about you, what will you do?

God save us!

Strider Washington 

I want to share a couple of things I have recently learned about a couple survival products.

First off, remember when you were a kid and you would borrow that magnifying glass out of the desk drawer and spend hours tormenting ants, or burning your name into wood? Well I had always thought that a magnifying glass would be a good tool to have in a B.O.B. so I have picked up a couple here and there for that reason. Well this spring, on a sunny day a group of us were working on alternative ways of starting fire and this was one of my solutions. Now I had heard somewhere that magnifying glasses are now made in a way that it’s harder to start a fire with them. So we played around for a while and were unable to even draw smoke from our tinder. I wrote it off as new glasses and went on with our project.

Well yesterday was a very sunny and warn South Dakota afternoon so I thought, what the heck why not try it again. So I pulled out some tinder, found a steady base in the sun and had flame within seconds.

So yes, you can still get fire from a magnifying glass, and very quickly, but I believe it really depends on the angle of the sun. So late fall, winter and early spring I think you would have a heck of a time getting anything going. I plan to test this more, but for now maybe take it as a word of caution.

Secondly, and on a totally different topic, slingshots… I have one on the workbench in my garage, just because it can be fun. Again I have always believed it would be a good alternative hunting weapon in an emergency situation, and they are legal in town, so bunnies beware. So what can I have against sling shots? Well over the winter my garage gets pretty cold. One day there was a cotton tail snacking on my hedges, and I didn’t appreciate that so I thought I might give him a little scare. Grabbed the old wrist rocket and found that the bands had turned into sticks. There was no, and I repeat NO stretch in the bands. The cold made this weapon completely useless.

So, again a word of caution, if this is one of the items in your list it may be a good idea to pack it in such a way that the cold will not affect the bands. Inside a coat, or pull the bands off and put them in a pocket, but that makes hunting pretty slow.

Maybe some of you have ideas on how to keep the cold from having such an effect on a slingshot.

God Bless

Is it a thing to be grasped?
A thing to be bought?
A thing to be fought for?
To live for?
To die for?
Is it truly free?
What is in a man that yearns to be free?
Why now do slaves pray for freedom while freemen heap chains upon their children?

What is freedom?
Where does it come from and how?
Is it a thing to be won?
To be lost?
To be had and then surrendered?
Is it worth our time or does time itself work against freedom?

Is freedom limited?
How free is freedom?
Can one do all one wishes in the name of freedom?
Or does freedom itself have a soul?
Does freedom come with you to a point and then say, “woe dude, if you’re going that way you’re on your own!”
Or is it totally free, “Yeah man snort that line, rob that bank, shoot those guards, sleep with your best friend’s girl and kill the evidence! Why not? Anything goes!”

What does freedom sound like?
A surfer?
A Hippie?
A Child?
A Founder? 
A Sinner?
A Saint?

Is freedom relative to a dancer? Let us look at this dancer for a moment. Let us see this dancer in two environments for the environment is the freedom. First, let us look into our minds eye and see this dancer upon an open hillside, picture the ‘Sound of Music’ perhaps.  Now on a warm sunny day this is a very beautiful scene, but what of the cold, wet, windy spring day or the snowy, frozen days of winter? Our dancer can no longer dance. The dance has ended in a bid to simply survive. Now let us look at this dancer in a second environment. Our dancer finds himself in an enclosed, temperature controlled building. The dance is on and cannot be stopped by the forces raging outside. Hot/cold, windy/close, dry/wet no longer matters to the dancer for he is in the freedom of structure. The four walls and roof do not contain nor trap him but rather free him to the dance forever. While we seem stuck in the former, our founders set up the latter. So what are the four walls and roof of freedom? The four walls are those of a moral people. The roof is the covering of God. Without these critical supports we may dance, and that right heartily for a season or maybe two, but eventually the winter comes and the dance ends.

All I truly know is this; if you wish to know the truth about freedom and just how free it is, ask the One who gave it to us!

Strider Washington

Ok, so you have a grip on your daily food supply, and it’s starting to feel like a habit. I would suggest you continue this trend until you have a solid 30 days supply built up. We will revisit food at a later time to start looking at longer term storage, and other options. There is one last thing I should mention on food storage before we go on though, and that is rotation. Since you are buying items you use you should be able to use them in a rotating fashion. That is, use your oldest can of creamed corn first. This way you won’t run into problems with you feed hitting its expiration date.

 Alright, so what’s next?

 Well this is more vital than even food, but requires a bit more work then food storage, and that’s water. Ask yourself what would happen if your supply of clean drinking water was no longer available. I person can die with 3 days with no water, and quicker of the conditions are right. A sad fact of today’s world is that even our tap water is so filled with chemicals that it’s no longer healthy to drink, but will do in a pinch.

A good rule of thumb is you will need one gallon of water per person to survive, as a bare minimum. 3 gallons a day will give you enough to basic hygiene and cooking needs. That’s per person, so in my house we have 5 people and a dog. At 3 gallons per person, plus 1 for the dog, that’s 16 gallons of water per day, or 48 gallons to go for 3 days without a water supply. It takes a lot of water to keep you going in times of need.

A 3 day supply is a good starting point, but more is better, and there are a few things to keep in mind when storing water.

 

1. The longer it sits, unmoved the more it will get that stale taste. This does not mean the water is bad, just that it’s sat for a long time. There are some ways to work around this.

    

   1. Move the water from container to another occasionally.

    

   2. Use the little flavor packets that people use these days. They are cheap and last a long time.

    

   3. Rotate your water supply.

    

 

2. You will need to make sure you use Food Grade storage containers. For drinking water I prefer to use containers that have never been used for anything else. Used are cheaper, but if they are not cleaned well, whatever is left will rot and cause real problems later.

These are some simple rules, and high level rules to keep in mind. I have found a great PDF file at www.redcross.org and will attach that here for you to download and study.

Food_and_Water-English.revised_7-09

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday 4/27/2010, is the kick off of our annual Kingswood rummage. If you’re from the 5 date region of the country you may have heard of it, or maybe have even been there. This has started to look more like a 3 ring circus then a rummage sale over the last several years. It covers several square miles of our fair city, and will attract an incredible amount of people. This year the festivities will last 5 days, so I ask you to pray for me that I will be able to maintain my sanity this week.

I have always loved the taste of food cooked in cast iron, love the look of a good seasoned skillet, and enjoy the idea that this is a tool that can be passed onto my kids, and their kids if it’s taken care of.

The cost of new cast iron can be a bit prohibitive, especially for those who might be thinking of just trying it out to see if they like it. For myself I have always really wanted to learn to cook with a dutch oven over any open fire. Buying used cast iron is perfectly acceptable as long as you have an idea of what to look for. There is a small list of things to totally walk away from if you see them.

Pit and chips in the metal are a warning.

If you see any of the above I would set the pan or pot down and walk away. A little surface rust isn’t a big deal, you can hit it will a little sand paper, or steel wool and then start the seasoning process over again.

One last thing to consider is price. Do a little shopping around town, and learn your prices. Because used, and well seasoned cast iron is often better then new, and more valuable in some people’s eyes. There will be sellers out there that know the value, and will sell close to, or above the cost of new. So know what you can guy new for locally.

Hope this helps.

God Bless