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Two Letters Re: Some Woodstove Experience

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James:
I’d like to suggest to Yvonne with the woodstove that she could mount a half inch thick [steel] plate to the top of her stove to get more cooking area.  The plate could hang out past the edges of the stove to give her more cooking area.  She could bolt or weld it on.  It sounded like she was tight on money, so this would be a cheap and easy fix. – Tim X.

Dear Mr. Rawles,
Tom in Juneau is correct. Tulikivi soapstone heaters from Finland are the cat’s meow. They are the gold standard for contra-flow masonry heaters and I am sure worth every penny. But, for many readers of this blog their price tag is just not within their grasp. So, I would like to suggest that there is more than one way to skin that cat.

I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in owning a safe, clean-burning, and efficient wood energy appliance, or anyone interested in learning to build the latter as a meaningful profession, to do an internet search for " brick masonry heaters ", " Russian bell heaters ", " grundofen ", " kachelofen ", " Finnish contra-flow ", or " " Russian stoves ". I’m sure I left a few out, but the point is, there are many designs, plans, and workshops available for building, heaters, cook tops, bake ovens or any combination of these. Finding the proper hardware, however,…

Three Letters Re: The Earthquake in Japan and its Aftermath

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Dear James,  
I just wanted to alert you to the possible impact of what is actually happening at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.  The grid has gone down, and it appears that the emergency diesel generators have failed.  There is apparently no off-site or on-site AC power.  This is very similar to the scenario that I outlined in my article posted last September in SurvivalBlog (except for the precipitating event for my article described an EMP event).  We have a potential disaster worse than Chernobyl in the making.   In fact, even the mainstream media is now taking note.  Here is a blog article from today on Forbes that describes the possible catastrophe in the making.   I hope that this will inspire some of the people who said "that could never happen" to sit up and take notice.  I hope that more people will "wake up" and start to prepare for what really COULD happen here.    Thanks again for all that you do.   Sincerely – B.Z.

James,
I just finished watching an NHK World video of the tsunami wave rolling across farmland in Sendai, Japan.

A few things jumped out at me as I looked at the smaller details:

Several cars can be seen stopping on the roadways, turning around and trying to flee in the opposite direction when the drivers see that the wave has engulfed the road in front of them.  In one case, a driver can be seen…

Herbal Medicine for Preppers, by Chris S.

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Being able to take care of our own medical conditions is very important. Sometimes we can’t get to a doctor, can’t afford it or perhaps there will be a breakdown and there are no doctors available. I’ve found it invaluable to know what to do on my own when out on backpacking trips and an injury or sickness shows up.

In cases like this having a good knowledge of herbal medicine and having a few things on hand can mean the difference between agony and wellness or even life and death. I’ve used herbal medicine for over 20 years for livestock and pets as well as friends and family members. Having children around has provided plenty of opportunity for using herbs whether it’s a scrape that’s bleeding or accidentally eating something poisonous from the cupboard, not to mention a few colds, headaches, bruises and broken bones.

Living on a farm with livestock has also been an education. In the years I have used herbs I have never had to call in the veterinarian, everything encountered has been treatable with herbs and there have been many notable successes to prove the effectiveness.

This is a basic overview of the herbs and formulas I use regularly. It’s not intended to be a complete course in herbal medicine. I do not have all the answers, I just have a small amount of experience that may help someone someday. These are basics, I have used…

Turning Japanese

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As I tool around the interweb looking for information about the aftermath of the earthquake/tsunami/Godzilla attack in Japan I keep seeing posts urging people to pray for the people in Japan. Pray to whom? The same god that sent the earthquake and tsunami? Thank you sir, may I have another?

The Japanese are a completely different culture from ours. Their mainstreamed interest in tentacle porn, dressing 40-year-old moms in sailor/schoolgirl outfits, and institutionalized xenophobia and sexism pretty much underscore that. But everyone pretty much agrees that, by and large, the national character of the Japanese, at least as it is portrayed to us Westerners, is that they are, above all, conformists. Part of the hive. “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down” as they like to say.

Will we see the classic post-disaster looting and violence that happens when a disaster strikes elsewhere in the world? I doubt it. Oh, sure…there’ll be some action here and there but by and large I’d imagine that its going to be a rather orderly and professional relief effort. Although the pictures of the damage are compelling, Im more interested in pictures and stories detailing the rescues and relief operations. These people have been expecting this sort of thing for quite some time, Im curious to see how their national preparedness pays off.

Then theres the little matter of that nuclear reactor that may or may not be melting down. Bad luck to get nuked…

Preparing for Earthquakes and Tsunamis

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The Market Ticker – On The Japanese Quake and Tsunami

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It’s been a couple of days now since the event.

Current counts are 900 dead. But there are a huge number of people missing, and many of them are likely buried in either the rather-light rubble (not much collapsed, thanks to Japanese engineering) or Tsunami (against which there is no defense – other than not being there.)  If tens of thousands of people are not dead, most as a result of the Tsunami, I will be shocked.

Japan, of course, is no stranger to earthquakes.  Located in a geological subduction zone they’re frequent.  But this is the strongest one on record in Japan, and something like the 4th strongest earthquake ever recorded.

Everyone’s attention is focused on the nuclear power plants in Japan; the nation gets about 30% of its electricity from nuclear power.  Originally we were told that there was only one plant with a cooling problem; that has since expanded to most of the plants that were operating at the time.

A primer for those who are not familiar with nuclear power in general may be helpful.  The plants in question are "BWR" plants, or "Boiling Water Reactors."  Fuel comprising a mixture that contains Uranium-235 and/or Plutonium-239 are placed into rods with a zirconium cladding.  These are arranged inside a high-pressure container.  Hydraulically-controlled rods that contain material that absorbs neutrons are placed in the core as well.  The pressure vessel is filled with ordinary water.

Nuclear reactions rely on…

Michael Moore Manipulates Student Fools Who Buy His Self-Serving Socialist Message; Mooore Declares “War” and Calls for “Student Walkout”

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Several seriously misguided socialist fools sent me links to a Michael Moore video clip appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show. They thought the video was some kind of “proof” that public unions were being mistreated.

Please consider Michael Moore Reacts To Wisconsin Union Vote: “This Is War”

Michael Moore is enraged after the Wisconsin State Senate voted to strip public unions of the ability to collectively bargain. Speaking on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” Moore said “they think they can get away with this.”

Moore also calls for a “student walk-out” across the nation on Friday in response to the Wisconsin vote.

“This has to continue day after day and these governors have to step down,” Moore declared.

“The rich have committed these crimes and the people will demand your ass is in jail,” Michael Moore said with a pair of handcuffs on the set of Maddow’s show.

Moore also shocked the audience by telling the rich and bankers that “we have a right to your money!”

Self-Serving Claptrap

Please click on the above link to see the video.

The sad reality is Moore makes hundreds of millions with his self-serving political claptrap and students are all the worse off for it. Student loans and public unions drive up the cost of education.

Moreover, public unions drive up taxes and that is why parents of many of these kids are in serious economic trouble.

Finally, as noted in Paul Krugman, Stephen…

The Market Ticker – Time To Fight Back Wisconsin

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Oh, so the public unions want to threaten businesses?

In the event that you cannot support this effort to save collective bargaining, please be advised that the undersigned will publicly and formally boycott the goods and services provided by your company. However, if you join us, we will do everything in our power to publicly celebrate your partnership in the fight to preserve the right of public employees to be heard at the bargaining table. Wisconsins public employee unions serve to protect and promote equality and fairness in the workplace. We hope you will stand with us and publicly share that ideal.

It is then signed:

James L. Palmer, Executive Director
Wisconsin Professional Police Association

Mahlon Mitchell,President
Professional Fire Fighters

Jim Conway, President
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 311

John Matthews, Executive Director
Madison Teachers, Inc.

Keith Patt, Executive Director
Green Bay Education Association

Bob Richardson,  President
Dane County Deputy Sheriffs Association

Dan Frei, President
Madison Professional Police Officers Association

Ok.

No food for you at the grocery store, no gasoline, no haircuts, no lawyer services, no accounting services, no auto repair, nothing.

Boycott all public union members and refuse them service.

It’s time.  There are fewer of them then there are of us, and this sort of tactic works both ways.  If they can threaten boycotts then we should impose one on them.  Right now, today, forever, period.

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Earthquake Highlights Stupidity Of “Modern” Man

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Japan, whether they realize it or not, is reaping the rewards of rampant CONsumerism. Their supposed “best and brightest” built nuclear power plants, on the coast, in an area highly prone to earthquakes and tsunami.

There was a reason why Japanese homes were constructed of light lumber and paper. It won’t crush you when it gets shaken apart, plus it’s easily and cheaply repaired or rebuilt.

Ancient wisdom was lost on the “educated”, supposedly superior man of today, and now millions of people are paying the price for man’s arrogance.

Look around you. What will happen to the place where you live if something like an earthquake were to happen? Or any other large natural disaster?

My number one concern is hurricanes. I’ll take those over earthquake, because we can see them coming, and get out of the way. But right here on the Texas Gulf coast, we have another prime example of man’s arrogant stupidity. Just a few miles from the Gulf sits the South Texas Nuclear Project, a short distance from Houston, and right smack in the most hurricane prone (historically speaking) part of the coast.

Then we have a “bioterror” lab on Galveston freakin’ island. Pure genius. Because Galveston never gets hit by hurricanes.

Here in Corpus Christi, there are a bunch of oil refineries sitting right on the ship channel. The Houston area has ten times as many, also right on the water. Remember the gasoline shortages in…

japan quake

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JAPAN QUAKE

I don’t always jump on the bandwagon, rushing to comment on current events. The way I have it figured, if you’ve been paying attention and listening to my paranoia and fear mongering you are pretty insulated to all but the biggest events. That said, current events are getting more and more unsettling, bigger and bigger, and even turning Black Swans into the norm. All that follows is, again, my looking at the worse case scenario. I’m not guaranteeing it will happen, but it very well could. I’m not just throwing out thoughts here, doing my normal “what if?”. I’m saying that this looks like A Big Event ( not the biggest, but big enough ). I could be overreacting. I could be right. It is up to you to decide.

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When an earthquake hits Chile or Haiti, we can pretty much shrug our shoulders,…