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Episode-1812- The Twelve Planks of Modern Survivalism – 8 Years Later — 19 Comments

  1. I am not seeing the plant of the week. Is this an oversight or a change in Tuesday activities? As for the program, I have shared planks with friends and family for the past few years. Debt is cancer being the most frequently discussed between us. Thanks for 8 years of useful and entertaining education!

    • You will now see POTW on Fridays and it has been that way for a few weeks.

  2. Congratulations on aniversity, great podcast great ideas.
    Question for Jack or anyone, anyone here ever break a rib or broke a few over the years, is theree sny protective clothing to protect ribs from work injuries, falls etc, something which can be worn without much discomfort?

    • Broken rib… been there. I found a carhartt canvas vest (about 1 size smaller than I normally buy) worked well for support, making normal movements more comfortable, especially when raising my arms over my head. Just keep it zipped up and tight, it works like a back-brace, but for the whole torso. I don’t know that it would offer much protection from an impact. If falls occur often, I’d look more at footwear with better traction and support or a cane. Other than that, head down to any sports medicine clinic, most have pharmacies with a number of braces, bandages, supports, orthopedics… this is exactly their profession. They will be able to hook you up with something.

      Current medical treatment for broken ribs however is not to use any wrappings or casts that would immobilize the area, as that can constrict breathing which carries risk of pneumonia and other respiratory ailments. While a wrapping can be more comfortable, if you sneeze with one on, it’s 10 times more painful. If they tell you to use a brace, it’s typically only for a few hours at a time, and you have to keep up on your breathing exercises (forcing yourself to breathe deep, but slowly). This is why I like the vest. When you’re not working on something that requires the support, just unzip it. Then you can zip it up again as needed.

      • Quick follow-up… I know it will come up… Use a comfrey poultice. Take comfrey leaves (the younger leaves, not the huge hairy ones), and chuck them into a blender with a bit of alcohol until you have a green goo… not sticky, but somewhat viscous. Soak that into new, clean sponges and pop them into the freezer. They shouldn’t freeze solid, but will be nice and cool. When they’re cold, place the sponge on the affected area and wrap it with a clean bandage. Keep it there for a couple hours at a time, at least once a day.

        You could also use a commercial salve (quicker if you don’t have comfrey growing). I don’t find that to be as effective, but it’s better than nothing.

  3. I have been following you for about two years now. I was almost debt free when I got married last July (owed about 7k on my car). I married a mortgage, Med bills, 5 kids and his truck payment…. My husband lost his job in November. We went from making 270k/yr to 50k/yr. because of your advice I had a several month pantry stocked. Since then I’ve still managed to feed all 7 of us and pay off 12k in debt. Take that cancer! SHTF here and we’re doing alright!

    • Your story makes me realize the value of what I do. Kemo the shit out of what is left and keep kicking ass.

  4. Hi Jack,
    I have been listening to you since you were at a convention in Denver. Just wondering if you have any advice on how I can get others to listen to your show. I love your show and all I learn from you.

    Life Member
    Julie

  5. Great podcast again. These shows get me inspired to start looking at real estate, but it feels like a fantasy. Our life is very much in town and we’ve been here close to 20 years. I have a small garden and that’s it. We’ve thought of a second home as a massive headache, mostly with the work of upkeep and protection and I can’t quite figure out how to make more property a blessing to our family when our primary home is a busy place. (We don’t have a dog or animals either, same reasons.) On our vacations we can go anywhere and usually camp or rent a vacation home (for a week! and we can change locations). I know in the older days people had vacation land or hunting land. I’m just not sure how to make it work. Ideally it would be a legacy property. I have heard of buying and renting out farmland but don’t understand how to do that. Plus, a 2nd place would have some debt unless we go quite cheap. I’d appreciate any more insight on how to get of the mindset and a can-do attitude to figure this out and be successful with it.

    I appreciate the idea of prepping from most likely to least likely. I do not know how to prepare against medical disaster. We may need disability insurance, I’ve been cheap about it. I also wanted to ask you about HSA accounts and how people are coping with health insurance. Prevention helps a lot but unfortunate things happen.

    Lastly, from another show, where can I find comfrey plants? Was the other one mentioned lantanna?

  6. Hi Jack, you’ve really changed my persective on many issues. I’m looking forward to seeing how much food I can produce on my tiny urban property and to implement as many survival strategies in my life.

    I hope you don’t mind if I put my 2 cents into the 1812 commentary (if only I had pennies).

    The War of 1812 was a strange and very complicated war. The war was conceived by the out of touch, carried out by incompetents, and fought by reluctant and poorly trained militias. There was even moments of good planning and courage.

    President James Madison was convinced that conquering Canada would be simply a matter of marching. Britain was busy fighting France. Upper Canada (present day Ontario) seemed to be an easy target. The population was predominantly American. Large numbers of Americans emigrated to Upper Canada, after the War of Independence, because of the British offered lower taxes and free land. Surely, these former US residents would welcome American troops, as they were friends and kin.

    Upper Canada was defended by about 1,600 British regulars, However, the badly outnumbered British were in fact better prepared than the Americans knew. The 41st Regiment of British regulars had been reinforced by a number of militia units (although their loyalty and reliability was uncertain). The Provincial Marine controlled Lake Ontario. Much of the preparation was thanks to the foresight of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, administrator of Upper Canada. Brock had a thorough grasp of the challenges of the upcoming conflict and had been preparing for five years, reinforcing fortifications, training militia units and, perhaps most important, developing alliances with the First Nations.

    Attack on Detroit

    Brock was dissatisfied by the number of troops at his disposal, with only 1,600 regulars. He believed that a bold military stroke would galvanize the population and encourage the First Nations to come to his side. He therefore sent orders to the commanding officer of Fort St. Joseph on Lake Huron to capture a key American post at Michilimackinac Island on the 17th of July. The force of 46 British soldiers and 400 Aboriginal warriors captured the fort quickly and without bloodshed.

    Meanwhile, an American force under General William Hull had crossed from Detroit into Canada. The invading Americans were unnecessarily brutal to the American immigrants. At the time, the American Immigrants were unsure of their true identity and allegiance. But after the attack, they became very sure of who they were not. Hull assaulted a disparate group and left behind a cohesive, distinct Canadian community.

    Hull’s actions forced Brock to quickly march his men from the town of York to counter the invasion. When Brock arrived at the British fort at Amherstburg, Brock found that the American invasion force had already withdrawn to Detroit. At Detroit, Brock had his indian allies, led by Tecumseh, march in plain sight of Hull. Hull’s fear of the indians got the better of him and he surrendered Detroit without a shot.

    1812 continued with many battles and skirmishes. On October 13, 1812, as usual, Brock led the charge at the Battle of Queenston Heights. He was shot dead. With that, the British lost their best military leader.

    As winter set in, both sides were at a stalemate. The battles stopped. The only Americans in Canada were a few prisoners of war. But there was an anarchist twist. The farmers and merchants, on both sides of the border, continued to trade with each other, ignoring the wishes of the asshat politicians.

    Thanks for all you do.

  7. Damn I haven’t seen a picture of you in a while you’ve lost a ton of weight. Way to go man!!!

  8. The tenets on being financially sound and having an emergency fund hit home with me this time. My wife was diagnosed with cancer in February and has had a lobe of her lung removed and just started chemo this week. Her insurance has a $900 deductible and a $6000 max out of pocket. We will easily hit the out of pocket. I do not have 6k saved but wish I had done this. Most people have these high deductible plans now and I think it would be a good idea to have that out of pocket max as your minimum in an emergency fund. Her Neulasta injections are $7000 per shot. We are trusting in the Lord, Keto diet, and the chemo to fully heal her.

  9. Looking for the” Documentation for Any Disaster Need” you spoke about. I can’t find it in the show notes. Wonderful episode