Comments

Episode-563- Listener Calls 12-03-10 — 45 Comments

  1. @Tim,

    Dang I was so close, thanks for that will change the show notes to reflect this better tool. I like that this one has a suitcase nuke too. It really shows how over hyped the threat is.

  2. Following the conversation about paying an extra amount on your mortgage every month, you can also realize up to 7 years reduction in mortgage term by paying every two weeks, or bi-monthly (pay period dependent). You can do a quick search on the web for how this works. NOTE: Some banks will charge a fee to apply payments more than once a month. So, consult your bank terms first. Bi-weekly pay +$50 could really get you to the end of the rainbow much quicker. Check it out.

  3. mortgage (n.) Look up mortgage at Dictionary.com
    late 14c., from O.Fr. morgage (13c.), mort gaige, lit. “dead pledge” (replaced in modern Fr. by hypothèque), from mort “dead” + gage “pledge;” so called because the deal dies either when the debt is paid or when payment fails. O.Fr. mort is from V.L. *mortus “dead,” from L. mortuus, pp. of mori “to die” (see mortal). The verb is first attested late 15c.

  4. jack,

    could you point out a good marine battery like one that you would use for a backup battery?

  5. Jack while you was talking about the rossi single shot i clicked their site and was looking at the combo and was looking at this one Model S202244YBS | 20 Ga/22LR /44 Mag. exactly what you was talking about

  6. Jack, You said propane cylinders are perfectly safe. I like to keep four full at all times. I fill mine at U-Haul too. They won’t let me fill more than two 5 gallon cylinders and carry them home in my van. They said it was illegal. Is this unsafe, an anti-terrorist measure, or just another stupid California regulation?

  7. @Kathy you already know the answer to that, if you have any doubt I can fill as many as I want here in Texas so what does that tell you?

  8. About batteries. I am a doctor and use a pager. Recently my pager has been requiring batteries every few weeks instead of every few months, so I checked samples from my supply of new AAA batteries with a Radio Shack battery tester. I found that three of three Energizer batteries with expiration date 03/16 and three of three Duracell with expiration date 03/14 read ? to replace on the tester, not good which would be expected for new batteries. It was a hot, humid summer, does that affect battery life? They are stored in a kitchen area closet in Maine.

    I sent this comment to Energizer, but Duracell requires a phone call…

  9. @Peggy,

    Hot and humid is the enemy of battery storage. Cool and dry are its friends. Just like food storage. Enough humidity can actually “wick” power from a battery. The effect is tiny, very tiny but over time well you get the idea.

  10. Jack,
    Isn’t Gamma radiation a big concern for two weeks following the Blast of a nuke. At that point wouldn’t Bug in (and under) be a better option?

  11. Question about oils in the kitchen: from listening to you I gather you do the following:

    * general use – olive
    * deep fry – peanut

    My question is, what do you use for a basic baking oil, when doing cakes or whatnot? Seems like olive & peanut would impart some flavor I might not want. Do you prefer soybean over Canola, or is there still another decent option? Thanks for the tips

  12. Jack,
    On the H&R handi-rifle, I hope you’re wrong about .22 and centerfire on the H&R. We bought my little girl a combo kit with .22, .410 and it works. I am planning to add a .444 or .35 Whelen or .45/70 for “Muzzleloading” Yes, in Mississippi, a “primitive weapon” includes Handi Rifles, as long as it is over 35 cal!
    Thanks,
    Norm

  13. @Norm as a shooter of the H&R NEF Handi for about a decade I hate to tell you I am not wrong. It seems H&R has made some combos on the sporter frame that will take a special 410 barrel but that will be all the flexibility you get.

    Sporters are built on an SS1 Frame, only rifles built on an SB2 frame are eligible for the accessory program for other rifle barrels.

    SB1 Shotgun receivers can get additional shotgun barrels but not rifle barrels due to pressure considerations.

    The 410 Shotgun barrels that come with the SS1 Frame are specially built to deal with the offset firing pin. The 410 also has low enough pressures to work with the far weaker SS1 frame. Sorry don’t shoot me I am just the messenger here.

    You may want to join the NEF H&R Email list, lots of really great guys and very dedicated to these little guns.

    http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/nef-singleshot/?tab=s

  14. Jack,

    Great perspective on eating the way our ancestors did. I absolutely agree that eating the freshest, most natural meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds is the key to optimal health. I’d also second your suggestion to use olive oil or lard. Other options include ghee, coconut oil, and palm oil.

    In addition to getting heart-healthy omega 3s from fish oil, the listener with health concerns may also want to consider hemp as an alternative to flax. It’s possible to buy hemp seeds and hemp oil, both of which have a nice omega profile.

    I believe that eating based on how we evolved is key. Agriculture (i.e., mass consumption of grains) only appeared 6,000-10,000 years ago, while humans have existed for between 150,000 and 200,000 years. What did we eat for the majority of our history, before agriculture showed up? What we hunted or scavenged (MEAT) and what we gathered (vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds).

    I’ve been reading Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint, and I think it’s an excellent source of information for anyone who is interested in eating the way we evolved to eat.

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com

    The only thing I’ve struggled with is squaring “primal” or “paleo” eating with storing food, since it’s healthiest to eat fresh meats and produce. I’d love to hear your thoughts sometime.

  15. Jack I was just looking at the H&R Ultra Hunter. I think you have just sold me. I want one in 25-06 and oddly enough 30-30 sounds interesting. I have read they have great triggers.

  16. @ Jack, Well that is a bummer! Don’t worry, I’ll try not to kill the messenger, and start cruising the gun shows for beat up (cheap) SB2 models!

  17. @Jack Your show notes: “Get Long on Silver Now – This guy totally agrees with my analysis on silver…” led me to the following video link at the bottom of his article: http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1011PSIENDVD/EPSILC19/PR
    I think it’s almost an hour-long vid, and it ends up being one of those “pay to subscribe to my newsletter” ads in the end, but it explains plainly where we seem to headed (re: dollar collapse), and things really sunk-in and (more of) a sense of urgency came over me when I watched it. It’s not a ‘buy gold from me’ ad, but I wouldn’t spam my friends with it as a ‘wake-up’ message due to it being an advert. To be honest, I’m almost curious enough to pay the $50 to try his subscrip & get the ‘free’ reports. :-/

  18. @Mike, Stansberry puts out some good info but I consider everything they sell to be a complete rip off. I saw that video a week ago and think Porter is making some pretty big leaps in it. Trying to scare you into buying. That said some of it is quite valid.

  19. Agree with your advice on paying extra money per month on the mortgage. I’d love to do that, however we’re not in the house we want to be in the rest of our lives, and we’re way underwater, so I don’t see the point in my situation unfortunately. 🙁

    WRT the caller in Henderson, NV doing the sheet mulch… he’s going to have to do a helluva lot of work on that soil. It is piss poor, almost no organics, full of rocks, very alkaline, etc. Even if he gets the soil better, it’s also regularly over 110 degrees in the summer and of course bone dry. The municipal water is shitty – very hard – and VERY expensive (Lake Meade is going dry), and you can only water on certain days. My best advice to him would be to get the hell out of there and move somewhere that has a prayer of being somewhat self-sustainable.

  20. Oh also wanted to repeat the question outburst402 had above… anybody have good suggestions for marine batteries to use for a solar system? Thanks

  21. Ok, there are some misconceptions here on batteries. I work in R&D for one of the top 5 battery makers in the US and have seen the ridiculous amount of testing that goes into batteries.

    First off, Jack, you asked whether the expiration date on batteries getting longer was real or just what people want to see…well, it’s real. I won’t go into detail, but it breaks down to more advanced materials and better quality control. Typically we do discharge and storing at higher temperature to simulate time (i.e. 120F storing for 60 days is like storing them at room temperature for a year).

    Your off the shelf battery tester is crap. All it does is a crude voltage tester and most batteries hold a relatively constant voltage until their almost toast.

    Heat: HUGE effect on battery life. Keep them cold, but not in the freezer (it’s a salt/electrolyte issue).

    Humidity: This is really dependent on the battery. Something like a zinc air battery (most hearing aid batteries) are effected by humidity, but most of your alkaline batteries are completely sealed and thus are not effected by humidity.

    Finally, pick your battery type based on the application:
    Heavy duty batteries for things need to last a long time but don’t require high specific energy (i.e. TV remote or garage door opener)
    Lithium for things that require high specific energy (i.e. flashlights, cameras with flash, etc)
    Alkaline for everything in between

    Can you put a lithium battery in a garage door opener, yea, but do you really NEED to, no.

    Hope this helps.

    BTW…for those who want to find out how much money you will save by paying extra each month on your mortgage, here’s a free amortization calculator: http://www.hsh.com/calc-amort.html

    Finally, I’m sorry Jack, but I have to disagree with your statement that we should go back to how our ancestors ate because that was the best way. Although I think that we eat WAY too few vegetables, too much processed foods, too much sugar and other simple carbs, and way too much meat, our ancestors average lifespan was half to a third of what the current lifespan is at. The only people who had longer lifespans were the ruling elite, main due to their diet.

    While it’s true that much of the difference is due to modern medicine (those terrible drugs you seem to frequently lambaste, we were so better off treating ourselves with twigs and berries), but much of the difference is due to our modern diet.

  22. @Matt good stuff until the end. Guess you didn’t hear the early episode where I totally busted the myth of shorter lifespans in the past.

  23. I do vaguely remember that episode. Will have to go back and listen it as everything that I’ve read claims that the average lifespan in pre-modern times was under 40, typically under 30.

  24. @Matt keep in mind when you add zeros to an average what happens. Also keep in mind what we read and what is real are often not the same. Medical science wants us to believe they have worked miracles.

    To be fair on some levels they have, some vaccines have saved untold lives, but others are pointless. Washing hands before child birth saved more lives than a lot of drugs have though.

    In any event from Paleo Indians up to a few centuries ago when people died due to food it was mostly for lack of it rather then what the ate.

  25. I do vaguely remember that episode and if I remember right you only went back to collonial times and you said something to the effect that if you remove infant mortality from the numbers, the life expectancy was 60? I could be wrong, I can’t find the episode (and I looked). Everything that I’ve read claims that the average lifespan in pre-modern times was under 40, typically under 30.

  26. oops, double post.

    I understand that if you include infant mortality your average is going to drop it to the floor, but you have to admit that adequate and proper food supply for the mother has a dramatic effect on infant mortality (I’m guessing our knowledge of fetal alcohol syndrome doesn’t hurt either).

  27. @Matt, I got the average age of death of 20 of the nations founders, Washington, Jefferson, Jay, etc. The number was……………..72

    The average age of death for white males today according to the CDC, 72.3

    So much for that.

  28. Unfortunately Jack, I think your choice of sampling is a “bit” skewed. You chose people who were considered the elite members of society of their time/place, thus their diet FAR EXCEEDED that of the common person. Like I said in my original post, the ruling elite and oft times those in high spiritual positions have had lifespans approaching that of THE AVERAGE AMERICAN for centuries.

    So if you can find more accurate numbers that take into account the general population I will would love to see them. Heck, you can even remove infant mortality and I will bet you an ounce of silver that the average lifespan will come out to less than 55.

  29. @Matt, but what did being rich get you at the time?

    More of the same food everyone ate.

    A dry home.

    Not much more. It didn’t buy crap for medical care. A doctor of the time would “bleed you” if you were sick and well that really doesn’t help any does it?

    Sorry the “elite” argument is nonsense. The “elite” of 1800 lived in a way we might only understand if the shit hits the fan in a big way. Today the poor person on food stamps gets a warmer/cooler home and better medical care than a rich man from 1780.

    So I ain’t giving McDonalds and Merk a lot of credit for making the average age of a male who makes it past childhood .3 years of life extension.

    Lots of things make the numbers justify. We can treat many cancers today. Yet two hundred years ago cancer was rare. We can treat heart disease today but 200 years ago heart disease wasn’t non existent but not real common either. Hospitals save the lives of car accident victims in large numbers but in 1800 there were no cars, hence no accidents. Our battlefield surgeons save the lives of many but our weapons are more deadly.

    Lots of things create the illusion that we live longer today. The reality is all we see today are the results of sanitation and to some degree vaccinations.

    Now medicine does save the lives of many people with birth defects that would have died in the past. While I think we should, in reality it will probably reduce our life expectancy in time.

  30. I always have Uhaul refill my propane tanks, but last month the guy said he couldn’t because the tank had expired. He told me that a propane tank is only good for 12 years (a date is stamped on the handle) and then it needs to be re-certified. He recommended that I do the “exchange thing” and make sure to get one with the most recent date. You can also take an old tank with the wrong valve and trade those in also.

  31. @Natalie, I was thinking the same thing when I read the first part of your post I see you have it sorted though, thanks for sharing.

  32. @Mike and Jack
    Thanks for your comments above about Stansberry investments, I was going to email Jack about it but you beat me to the punch. I saw his video earlier this week (deceptively long) and thought he was spot on with a lot of the financial thinking, other stuff seemed like a stretch. Correct me if I’m wrong but a lot of the scenarios he discussed reminded me about some of your predictions about where our economy was heading, especially his ideas about the double dip false recovery coincide with yours. Did we really have a double dip in the 1930s-40s???

    Some of his info seems a little dicey & it’s obviously a way to get people to buy his product. A lot of his “witnesses” seemed fake or could have been actors. I know you don’t like to give investment advice but his special reports seem very intriguing, do you think they’re worth the $50 price tag after watching the presentation? If you don’t want to answer that’s cool. What advice would you have for how to evaluate different financial advisors, especially internet based marketers like him?

  33. Jack Scarecrow……..that’s funny.

    Maybe a good idea to make yourself into a comic book character to educate young children about modern survivalist values.

  34. It’s my understanding that propane bottles are not completely filled because its the gas that we use to burn not the liquid propane. The extra space in the bottle is where the gas is stored. The liquid propane produces the gas that comes out we use. If the bottle is completely filled all you get is liquid propane and it will not work properly.

  35. @Mike
    There’s a difference between filling up a propane tank to its max rating (20 pounds) and overfilling it (i.e. to the top). Filling a propane tank completely full of liquid is quite dangerous as any small temperature fluctuation from it’s filling temperature can cause it to explode. Think of it this way, gases are easily compressible but liquids aren’t.

  36. On the nuke question, one thing to keep in mind is the hight of the blast. An air burst will have a larger blast radius than a surface burst.

  37. Hey, just listened to this episode… I remember there always being like an 8 year shelf life for batteries. I could be wrong, but that’s what my memory recalls.

    Also, don’t lithium batteries have a longer shelf life / better performance? Are they a better deal or are they not? I buy them at the big box store because they are cheaper there. I use them for cold weather camping because they have more power at low temps.

    My two cents

  38. Countryroots:

    Batteries have whats called a self discharge. Meaning the chemical reaction that they use to power your device is slowly going on even when your not discharging your battery. The acceptable self discharge rate is anywhere from 0.5-3% per year. So a battery that claims to have a 10 year lifespan will have 90.4% of its capacity after 10 years assuming it had a 1% self discharge rate.

    Typically lithium batteries have lower self discharge rate than alkaline and thus have longer lifespan. The self discharge rate is VERY specific to the manufacturing process. For instance even within Energizer, their Advanced lithium have a 2% self discharge rate (80% capacity in 10 years) while their MUCH more expensive Ultimate lithium only have a 0.7% self discharge rate (90% capacity in 15 years). Alkalines typically have a 3% discharge rate (80% capacity in 7 years) You get what you pay for.

    Are they (lithium) a better deal?

    As far as $/capacity, no, they are quite a bit more expensive. Although this is VERY dependent on the rate of discharge…meaning are you putting it in a smoke detector (low drain rate) or a 3W LED flashlight (high drain rate).
    Example:

    4 pack of Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAA
    $20
    High rate: 1600 mWh
    = 320 mWh/$
    Low rate: 1800 mWh
    = 360 mWh/$

    4 pack of Energizer Alkaline AAA
    $3
    High rate: 400 mWh
    =532 mWh/$
    Low rate: 1400 mWh
    =1867 mWh/$

    Here’s the catch though…are they best for your preps? This depends on whether or not your are rotating your batteries out and using them. If you’re doing what many do…build it and forget it, then lithium is probably a better option as Alkaline have half the livespan of lithium.

    Here’s another catch…where are you storing your prep? If it’s in the trunk of your car where it gets hot during the summer then lithium is a terrible idea as they are VERY sensitive to temperature and their self discharge rates skyrocket!

    Hope this helps.

    Matt

  39. Matt:
    First, that’s quite a bit of info I didn’t know! Thanks for that.

    Second… if I am purchasing 12 pack of lithiums for $20 at Sams Club, it looks like they are not quite, but getting closer, cheaper than alkalines per your math. I do know that they perform much better for things like UV Water sterilizers (Steripen) for backpacking in the cold. Same goes for flashlights/headlamps. For me the biggest benefit is they weigh less.

    I also didn’t know about the high temperature effects… at what point does this start to become a noticeable problem?

    Is this true of all batteries and is this why grandma put the batteries in the bottom of the refrigerator?
    CRCJ

  40. CRCJ

    I just pulled the pricing numbers off a quick google search. They are most definitely high and don’t even consider the significant savings of buying large packs. The relative savings though holds true.

    Check out the pricing for alkalines at sams club…if you are using them for high discharge things, then they are only a better buy IF they are 1/4 or less the price of lithium batteries…I’m guessing they will be. You should be able to get a 40 pack for <$20. Try Rayovac batteries…just as good as duracel/energizer and a MUCH better buy typically. Stay away from the no name. Sometimes the no name batteries are made by the big brands, but sometimes not.

    You are correct, lithium batteries perform better than alkaline at cold temperatures.

    At 65 deg F, the self discharge rate is ~0.5% per year
    At 85 deg F, the self discharge rate increases to ~3.5% loss/year
    At 105 deg F, increased to 4-5%
    At 120 deg F, increased to 8-10%

    This trend also holds for alkaline, except alkaline starts out at a higher rate!
    65 deg F, 3-4
    85 deg F, 8-10%
    105 deg F, 20-25%
    120 deg F, 40-50%

    Moral of the story…keep your batteries cool.