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Episode-1589- Listener Calls and Expert Council Answers 6-5-15

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Join Me Today as I Answer Your eMails

Today on The Survival Podcast I take your calls to 866-65-THINK

Today on The Survival Podcast I take your calls on plants, tactical lights, CAC, house construction, investing, military surplus, permaculture, livestock and more.

In this episode the expert council is in force. We have eight council members. We are continuing with our new program I have started and a new way questions will be handled for the council. Tune in today to learn more about that.

Remember to be on a show like this one just pick up your phone and call 866-65-THINK. The best way to improve your chances of being on the air is ask your question or make your point up front, then provide details.

Also please do your best to call from a quiet area with a good connection and speak up so you can be well heard.

While I can’t put all calls on the air but I do my best to get as many of them on as I can.

Join Me Today As I Respond to Your Calls and Discuss…

  • Nick Ferguson on grafting domestic grapes onto wild grape vines
  • Bryan black on tactical lights and paring them with firearms
  • Jacks thoughts on designing a house from scratch
  • Gary Collins on Emotional, Spiritual and Mental health
  • Tim Glance on the M67 Immersion Heater
  • Geoff Lawton on Jute Mallow
  • Listener Karim on Walking to Freedom
  • Ben Falk on some of his larger scale work
  • John Pugliano on how saving vs. spending economics
  • Paul Wheaton updates us on developments in Montana
  • Steven Harris on CAC needs and tax deductible donations/equipment
  • Jack on “sick” Autumn Olives
  • Keith Snow on Cast Iron Cookware
  • Erica on calorie dense crops in small scale
  • Jack on quail and permaculture follow up content in general
  • Michael Jordan on wasps
  • Jack on trades and how devaluing them has done huge harm

Resources for today’s show…

Additional Links

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Comments

Episode-1589- Listener Calls and Expert Council Answers 6-5-15 — 82 Comments

  1. Is this the first (very nearly) 3 hour show?

    The new expert council format is awesome.

    BTW when is the 7 years show? I feel like its soon?

    Man, I can remember what I was doing when I listened to the 6 years show, that cannot be nearly a year. Tick tock….

    • It looks, from the Archives, that his first show was June 1, 2008 (12 mins 41 secs), wow.

    • I came on to say the same thing. My eyes bugged out of my head when I saw a 3 hour show. I won’t have time to listen to it in the next few days, but I’ll get to it soon enough.

      • Yep this is why we are cutting council and calls in half! I just wanted to make sure we had a team of council members I could count on for the content every week first. I think we have the core of that team now, I am NOT done building yet. BTW.

  2. My vote in this “Democracy”: to stick to the traditional Friday, Friday, Friday show–Jack answers calls. Expert Council Thursdays.

  3. I’m frankly shocked that you manage to produce a show in six hours. That’s FAST for how high quality the shows are. Speaks to how dialed in your systems for producing must be. It’s not unusual for audio or video production to require an hour for every finished minute of content.

    • Welcome to the expert council!
      I was blown away with the clarity of your response. Jack’s guests and experts always bring good information to the table, but often take a winding path. Yours was clear, to the point, and thorough. I’m looking forward to hearing more from you in the future 🙂

  5. Love the new format. The council is a who’s who of greatness.
    In regards to the wasps, Go to the YouTube video titled: How to take down wasp nest with soap and water

    btw The show is long on purpose. He explains

  8. The new format is awesome, and although I think that the tradition of Friday, Friday, Friday is good; having the Expert Council Show on Friday and Jack on Thursday would give the Expert Panel an extra day to get their responses sent in. With all that said, I would vote to move Friday, Friday, Friday to Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.

  10. When Jack mentioned making the bedrooms (and bathroom) larger, I thought of the Tiny House movement before he mentioned it–

    I remember one of the proponents saying “one of the cheapest things you can add to a house is more square footage.”

    • Do you mean Opponents rather than proponents?

      On the Tiny House subject, I’m of a mind that they’re only worthwhile if fully owner-built. If you’re contracting it out you’re probably better off building a full size home.

      • Fully owner built? Oh those are usually the 150 sf sheds on wheels that take 5 – 7 years to complete IF they get completed.

        If tiny houses are viable then they should be perfect for the production building model. Factories build 2600 sf 5 bedroom mobile homes right now in 14-20 days! These are the decked out “red neck mansion versions”.

        We are talking jetted tubs, 2×6 walls, high end cabinets, tile floors, etc. Then in 2 days total they are packed up, shipped, site prepped, installed, hooked up to gas/water/power and done.

        There are not shitty trailers man. For instance this company “Solitaire”, if you are in one of their homes you’d never know it was a mobile. http://www.solitairehomes.com/

        They are really built as well as any site built home. They are even energy star rated and you would kill yourself to figure out how to make one cost more than say 120K with every option and improvement you could imagine. That is for the best and biggest you can get what per sf? 46 bucks!

        The really nice stuff is going to run about 90,000 for the 5 bed model. That puts a price on it at say 35 dollars per SF. THINK ABOUT THIS.

        These particular homes have only two weaknesses. One is the perceived “trailer home” issue, which harms their real estate value, though they hold MUCH BETTER in value, http://www.solitairehomes.com/pricing-and-value.aspx

        The real actual weakness is that they are not fully foundation attached, this makes them less able to deal with tornadoes and very severe storms but most site built houses today are not that much better.

        It would seem that if you can build a 2600 sf home for 110K in 15 days in a factory with better construction then most site built homes (2x6s, plywood vs. presswood sub floors, etc.) that you should be able to hammer out mobile 150-200 sf stuff in 3-4 days and do it for about 7-15K and do it like clockwork.

        For fuck sake we build cars with computers in them that can park themselves and sell those for under 20K.

        • I’m actually looking to build a ~200 sf ‘shed’ [on a foundation of some sort, still contemplating options], complete with attached greenhouse [and enclosed outdoor winter kitchen], Northern Awning/porch [and covered outdoor summer kitchen] and Japanese style bathing room for a family of one couple and up to 2 children.

          As for the viability of production building models, of course they’re viable but right now it isn’t there. Not because high quality Tiny Houses couldn’t be rolling off an assembly line but because as of right now they aren’t [and if they actually are, at a mass-produced price-point, I have yet to see it.] Part of this is probably related to the demand and economies of scale.

          Then there’s also the benefit of having a custom floorplan designed by the owner, and that’s something one will never get from a manufactured home [and seems particularly critical to someone who’s going to be living in a very limited total amount of space.]

        • Consider you take a simple 20×20 tough shed possibly one with a second floor, have it spray foamed, then wall it in. Well that will be a hell of a lot faster, cheaper and higher quality than a self build.

        • Oh and on this, “Then there’s also the benefit of having a custom floorplan designed by the owner, and that’s something one will never get from a manufactured home [and seems particularly critical to someone who’s going to be living in a very limited total amount of space.”

          Actually that is incorrect there is likely no more flexible floor plan than offered by a manufactured home. In the end they will put the walls, plumbing, etc anywhere you want and for far less than any site built builder. The only thing not easily changed in the outside dimensions.

          There are a lot of assumptions used to justify ridiculous costs and long build times on tiny homes. The problem is they are assumptions and most assumptions tend to be wrong.

      • It was a proponent.

        I don’t remember for certain, but they were either defending against complaints about the cost of a tiny house, or actually criticizing larger houses (which runs smack against Jack’s comments re:marketability).

    • @James
      I disagree. While it may be “cheap” to add extra square footage at the beginning you’ll pay for it for the entirety of the lifetime of the house in added costs. It’s just like any other inappropriately sized systems. What does the system need to do? And what is the appropriate scale for it? Some systems do not work at a smaller scale, others don’t work on a larger scale. A house is no different.

      More sqft = more area to heat/cool/clean/paint/maintain. More sqft also means more place to put crap you probably don’t need, which most people from what I can see have accumulation issues (I know we do).

      A kitchen can definitely be too big as well, but most people probably don’t have that problem. Insidious and I were talking about these sorts of things just the other day. Houses with 1000 sqft bedrooms and nonsense like that. How long does it take you to walk from point a to point b? How much time is wasted in your zone 0 as Ben Falk labels it. Ben Falk is quite the knowledgeable guy on this subject and it makes you appreciate when somebody can show you the immense value in a subject you couldn’t care for before (architecture).

  11. Re: emailing Steven Harris:

    I’ve done this once, and got a helpful reply within 10 minutes. My follow-up questions were answered immediately.
    As I see it, Steven Harris is doing a freakin’ bang-up job to help this community.

  12. Another vote here for option A… unless, of course, you get pushback from council members that would prefer Friday.

    So glad to hear Geoff today. Pretty soon you’re going to have to change the name from Expert Panel to Super Power Friends..

  13. My vote:
    Expert panel on Friday
    Call in on Thursday
    Here’s why: You work really hard to inform us and you put in a lot of hours and research to answer our questions. I think you need a bit more time for your family and yourself.

  14. B.

    get a chill friday brother. you’ve earned it. i like expert council on fridays 😀

  15. Great show, taking it in bits. I look forward to the feedback shows on Friday. Hope you keep it that way.

    On the plant that dies in one location, and it’s replacement dying too, you might consider ley lines. There are maps of the main ones, but I believe there may be a smaller network as well. I once had a large rabbitry. My barn was 24 x60. There was one cage, just ONE cage where whatever I put there got sick and died. I couldn’t understand that. The cages all around it were fine. Then I had the thought of crossing ley lines. I dowsed it and sure enough the rids crossed,. I never used that cage again, and all was well. I think there may be a smaller network of the magnetics like a mesh, that’s about a foot wide of which we’re not aware unless we hit one. This might be a good topic for a show. Thanks, Jack.

  16. Is Wednesday an option for the new show? It seems kind of cool to stick it in the middle of the week, with a ‘standard show’ on Tuesdays and Thursdays surrounded by Questions and Answers shows.

  18. What a great show. New listener speaking, but I like option B, expert council on Friday Friday Friday. A great format to listen (again) over the weekend. Don’t underestimate the value to the show, as well as yourself, of building in this minibreak each week to relax, think and look ahead. Thanks for the chance to vote, and safe travel to you.

  19. Thanks for the advice on saving my autumn olives! I ordered both Garrett Juice and Superthrive as I think we will use both in other areas as well.

    We went out and pulled the wood chips away from the trunk…yep, they were right up next to it. There was also a tag from when we planted it that I neglected to cut off. It was pretty tight around the trunk but we were able to cut it off.

    A stupid mistake but hopefully we can still save them. The branches are still bendy so there is life there yet.

    Thanks again!
    Melissa

  21. I like the fact that you often give us something deeper to think about on the Friday shows over the weekend. Often, it leads to some great feedback Monday shows.

  23. Jack, to your request for format feedback re this episode:
    Thursday: Listener Emails
    Friday: Expert Council Calls
    (Friday is rapidly becoming my favorite day to listen – almost more so than the Anarchy Series)…Keep doing what you do man. You’ve literally changed my life.

  24. The new format is fantastic, love the expert panel. Fridays for the expert panel would be fantastic! Have fun on vacation! ?

  25. Expert Council on Friday Please….it gives us the most time to get a response produced and done for you on Friday. A fair amount of the time there is a pretty good amount of double checking that goes into an expert council answer. Its not all just off the top of my head, I double check and re-verify many things before I bring them to the show.

    Steve

    • Oooh, good point. I was originally thinking Expert Council on Thursday, and call in on Friday. I like the occasional (end of show/end of week) big picture inspirational rants before the weekend. If Jack wanted the latitude to follow up on a topic for listener call in Friday from Thursday’s show he could, but Steve makes a good point above.

      • Thanks Robert. Most of the time I know the exact answer but I want to go and put some hard numbers to something, and that requires me to do some research and of course, my own calculations. I think hard numbers really give people a great grasp and feel for what I’m talking about and are the icing on top of the cake for the answer provided.

        Thursday afternoon has just become my TSP Q&A answer time each week.

        Steve

  28. Jack! I made it.. After 28 hours in my car 😛 (dont ask). But after passing through DFW area, I agree… It is a metromess… How can it have less people and more land than Chicago and still be so bad?

  30. I’m with the Expert Council Friday crowd.

    Yeah, “Thursday Thursday Thursday Monster Calls!” may not have the same ring.

    But it’s not like there will be fewer calls for Jack per week.

    Take the easy day before the weekend.

    Since I’ve started listening, you’ve taken at least one or two vacations you’ve described as (not an exact quote) “Dorothy has put up with all this, she deserves some time with her husband.”

    And she does. Even if there’s 100K of us, well, she’s got dibs.

  31. I like “Friday, friday, friday!” call in show. However as it has been pointed out a Friday Expert Council show would be easier to do. Everyone should have an easy friday.

  32. The value of blue collar:

    My girlfriend was trying to explain the value of collage to our foster child (who can get free collage). She is a school teacher working for a private kindergarten and I am a construction worker. She’s did 4 years in collage I have no education after high school. She told her that she should go to collage so she doesn’t have to do all the hard work like I do out in the weather. She told her that’s why she went to collage so she doesn’t have to do all the hard work either. (She works all year round no summer break… I make a dollar more an hour.)

    That is the mentality that your talking about. Go to collage for 4 years so you don’t have to put boots on.

    • Like Jack says, DO NOT confuse school with learning. There is a favorite quote from the movie Good Will Hunting where he bitches out some know it all and basically says, “.. you’ll figure out that you dropped $150 Grand on a degree you could of gotten at the public library for $1.50 in late fees.” If you’d like to see this great scene, its HERE. If you are not patient, go to the 2 minute mark and start watching. Pretty great stuff. http://medgar-evers-college.blogspot.com/2012/07/great-movie-scenes-good-will-hunting.html

      Steve

      • “I gotta number.. How do you like them apples!” I’ve seen the movie.. Great scene.

    • made me laugh..

      ‘Most of us enter the investment business for the same sanity-destroying reasons a woman becomes a prostitute: It avoids the menace of hard work, is a group activity that requires little in the way of intelligence, and is a practical means of making money for those with no special talent for anything else.’
      – Richard Ney, The Wall Street Jungle

  33. I vote normal Friday on Friday.

    I also would like to someday see a full show on home building. Like you said it would take at least 1 full show to go into depth. I think this would make a good show.

  35. Wasps are my number 1 cabbage fly caterpillar killers. They are not very aggressive so long as their nest is not near. If the nest in the garden, it has to go.

    • Our wasps at this point completely ignore us. They’re everywhere and building little nests for the year under our awnings (luckily in plain site). We leave them be.

      I did get stung last year in the ankle by either a wasp or a hornet but I think i scared the daylights out of it because it was on the ground and i didn’t see it.

  36. On the format question. What I like is the Friday show as is, and so the expert counsel show Thursday…

    What I think probably makes the most sense, is the call in show Thursday, and the experts Friday, so a) they get a little extra time to get back to you, b) you can just toss some recordings together for your Friday show and call it a day (and Weekend!), and c) so I can continue to get used to change! 🙂

  38. Just thought i would leave my thoughts here on the support brigade and renewing topic you had on this show. I have listened to well over 3/4 of the podcasts. I really enjoy the topics of freedom, liberty, guns and prepping. Having said that if the show keeps going the way it is i will not be renewing my membership when it runs out. The podcast has taken a big jump into farming and gardening that i do not like. I understand your reasons for doing so and respect if that is were you want the podcast to go then that is were it will go. But it holds little to no interest for me and i feel does very little to help people survive. Improve there life in normal times, sure, but not survive a real SHTF or natural disaster type of event. Just ones mans opinion.

    • If you have listened to 3/4th of the shows, well then you know full well your comment isn’t even close to accurate.

    • It is understandable that you might not like farming and gardening shows – some people just aren’t into it. If the value of the membership and all of it’s benefits isn’t worth the cash for you, then don’t renew. I’m sure Jack wouldn’t want you to spend your money on something you didn’t feel was worth it.

      But those shows do a lot for helping people survive because it’s about setting up self-sustaining food systems. Not to mention the possibility of providing revenue for your family – a farming episode inspired me to start a microgreens project in the hopes of easing the cash strains on us with a newborn coming soon.

      Living free means providing for your own needs and opting out of systems that we rely all on, and taking ownership in all ways we can. Each of these systems are like choke points – the more you are able to control, the more liberty you have in your life.

  39. One of the things that has recently helped me learn the value of trades is doing some of my own car repair. I wanted to learn to do some of it myself in order to stimulate my mind and get back to my roots (my grandfather was a mechanic). Now I understand why they charge the rates they do and find the labor charges entirely reasonable. I still think the parts prices are outrageous, but then they’re buying them local for today and I’m buying them online for delivery in 2-3 days. But yes, I totally values trades a lot more than I did a year ago before I started.

  40. My vote is Jack on Thur, and Council on Friday like it’s been thus far.

    So will there now be a pure feedback (i.e. not questions) for Jack on Mondays?

  41. Jack,

    Thanks for expanding my mind.

    I vote for the council show on Thursday. I like your show on Friday so I have weekend project inspiration.

  42. Here’s an anecdote regarding the last part discussing trades and how Millenials are taught to avoid them:
    When I was in high school, I was taking a course in Macroeconomics, and it was rather quite ridiculous, I clearly knew more going into the class than my teacher just from conversations at the dinner table with my father. One kid, who was not very gifted academically let’s say, found it very difficult and questioned why he had to learn this as all he wanted was to be an auto mechanic.
    The teacher told him “You can be so much more than that, you can be the manager of the whole dealership!”
    I couldn’t believe my ears, first off, no he can’t, and second off, that assumes the guy doing the work is somehow lesser than the guy who does the paperwork, and third off it assumes that the manager of a dealership needs to know macroeconomics. Basically, wrong 3 times over in 1 sentence.

  43. I don’t see an “official” poll area but my vote is experts on Thursday and Jack on Friday as it more or less has been on Friday. Something oddly comforting about hearing that “FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY.”

    I might request if there was any way to get the Friday show out first thing in the morning that would be hugely nice! I know it is lots of work and would require Jack to tape it on Thursday but if I could have one request that would be it. I often drive long miles and would like to hear “FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY” *on Friday* in the morning to start the day.

    I doubt that will happen, but just wishing.

  44. Great show!
    On the house issue: If you think this will be your final house, consider making it useable for someone with physical limitations so you are not possibly forced to move. When my mom lived with us the last 18 months of her life, suffering from emphysema, I saw how limited she could be. I would like to stay in my home until carried out in a box. So, after she passed away we made some changes. We have a 2 story house with 2 bedrooms and a bath on each floor. It was time to update the first floor bathroom, and we made the shower a walk in one with a shower head that slides up and down to various heights and can be hand held. We moved the laundry room from the basement to an enclosed breezeway area between the house and garage. Now, we can live as if this house is a rancher if need be.

  45. My vote is for the “Friday Friday Friday” show be Jack’s and expert council on Thursday.

  46. FWIW – I like the idea of the Friday show being split in two and having the expert council on Thursdays as well.
    That would make for a really nice format of:
    Monday – Listener Feedback
    Tuesday – Whatever Jack wants to teach
    Wednesday – Interview
    Thursday – Expert Council
    Friday – Listener Calls

  47. As far as the show, Jack, I say take your own advice…try the new format and see how it goes. You can always change it. 🙂

    As far at the comment about youtube you made, I’d like to add: If anyone likes a channel there are things they can do to support the channel besides with a monetary donation. (But, by all means, if you can afford it, send them a check)
    1st: Subscribe. Advertisers are looking for channels with a lot of subscribers to advertise to.
    2nd: Click the “thumbs up” / “like” button on their videos. It helps with their statistics/analytics and ultimately advertisers as well.
    3rd: Share the videos. Whether it’s on facebook, google +, twitter, this all will help drive eyeballs to the video, and if you haven’t gotten it by now, that’s what the advertisers want.
    4th: Comment in the comments below the video. Even if it’s just: ” I liked your video. Thanks for sharing.” This also helps with their statistics/analytics and encourages them to keep going, especially when so many other comments are complaints.
    It only takes a moment of your time and will go a long way in helping keep that channel you like there for you to continue to enjoy.

    Shout out to Steve Harris: You may not be perfect, no one is. Please don’t let the ungrateful knuckleheads get you down. Keep up the good work.

  48. I found a less expensive source for the m67 heaters at murphyjunk.net only 129 shipping included. I have 2 headed my way!

  49. Thanks for putting together the thought on trade labor. I never quite put to words. I do air-conditioning and we make no more now than we did 15 years ago. The attitude from “educated” and wealthy people is on of being looked down on and I never did know why. Their own dirt offends them and without air in Texas they would probable have a stroke, and yet the tradesman is less than a class worthy if social graces. It’s funny because I do have a masters degree, but choose a life where time with family comes first over money and bosses who treat you like a scolded kindergarten child for being 5 minuets late.

    • My grandfather was really the last tradesman in our family. I recently fell victim to looking down on trades recently myself. What helped me recover was in doing some of my own car repair. I wanted to do it also as something to stimulate my mind as well as to save money. The last 2 jobs I looked at doing I said to myself… yeah I don’t want to get into that.

      I don’t have any problem with people making money off me. None at all. Mostly I want to be treated fairly and that’s something that’s been hard to find in an auto repair shop, so it was inspiration for me to buy some tools and learn.

      To be fair, at least for me, my middle class white collar income hasn’t increased much in the last 15 years either, as prices have continued to skyrocket, so I look to save money when I can.

  50. Jack,
    I vote to split the show into two parts, however, I have no opinion on which days to have either part. For those who still want to hear “Friday, Friday, Friday”, just say it at the beginning of the Thursday show.

    In my opinion, it seems like many episodes are getting longer; more than 2 hours. While it is great material, I would like to see the episodes shorter; 60 to 90 minutes maximum. That doesn’t mean less material. Just broken into maybe a Part A and a Part B for each episode or something like that, so you would not have the sponsors and Year that was the Episode twice. My reason for this is purely technological. I download your podcasts on my tablet and listen while I am driving, like many do. However, my tablet does not multi-task. So if I return home before the podcast is over and I need the tablet for other functions, I must close the player and therefore lose my place on the podcast in order to start it over and try to find where I left off. Shorter segments will allow me to complete the episode and close the player for that piece. I understand this may be petty and many may not have this issue. It is probably also a greater burden on you. This is just my humble request in order to listen without losing my place. Thanks for listening.

    I love your attitude and all of the content you provide, ESPECIALLY the gardening, Permaculture and business ideas. Self-sufficiency IS a survival topic. Take care. Roy

  51. In regard to updates on permaculture work done in the past, I found a great YouTube video from Andrew Millison, https://youtu.be/rvje_5IVjmo about High Desert Permaculture: 15 Years Later. I agree that I see a lot of videos by folks saying “I am just doing this for the first time” or something like that. It is great to get the 15 years later perspective. It is also great to get Jack’s perspective on keeping these guys ‘alive’ and continuing to shoot videos.

  52. I’d like to propose moving Calls for Jack to Wednessday, leaving Email Feedback on Monday and Expert Council on Friday.

    Creates a nice bookend arrangement with the standard shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  53. M67? In the Australian Army we used to call them a Choofer.

    For the noise they made when they didn’t ignite properly. Also remember the rattle of falling chimney sections when they occasionally launched on ignition…….

    • What I always found funny about the M67 designation is something else has it and not something you would want to associate with something you pour gasoline into inside a tent full of guys. The other M67 in the US Army is this, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M67_grenade

      I just think someone who gets to assign designations has a twisted sense of humor!

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