Comments

Episode-556- Listener Feedback 11-22-10 — 26 Comments

  1. Glad you hit on masonry ovens/heaters.
    For VERY cold climates these things are the best heating system I think humanity has found. Beats woodstoves for efficiency of burn and ease of use and overall performance in heating a home. Can bake easily with it. It is a lot of work to build one (they need to be thousands of pounds to work well). They last forever. A downside is the need to still have a metal wood-based cooking surface which this doesn’t have.

  2. Wow is it’s getting easier and easier to be a suspect “terrorist” these days. If Bin Laden’s goal was to scare (terrorize) America then the TSA is a example of where you guys are at ..if that news story is true.

  3. For what it’s worth.
    On the subject of buckets, I looked I to it in the past couple of months.
    In my area the Lowes buckets are made by encore plastics. I contacted them and they said the lows buckets are food grade. It also says the same in their brochure, which is on their website. I believe it’s every color except black. The Home Depot buckets are made by Leaktite and they told me the buckets are Not food grade.
    They may have regional suppliers so it may vary from area to area. I have left the Lowes buckets outside and have had no breakdown but have with the Home Depot ones.
    I am on Long Island.
    Your milage may vary. This is not an offer to sell. Contents
    may settle during shipping. Animals may be rabid, proceed with caution. Yadda, Yadda, yadda.

  4. A little more detail on short sales, as I’m trying to buy one, and my realtor is very experienced with them. Also note, this knowledge applies to Texas. If a would-be seller has hardly any income at all or is making even partial payments, the bank is extremely unlikely to allow a short sale. The bank has to be almost certain you are unemployed and destined to foreclosure to allow it. Further, they can and often delay even responding to a short sale offer for 3-8 months. And a foreclosure can happen in around 6 months give or take a few. So the buyer is at risk of going to sign closing documents and have the house foreclosed upon the day before.

    Now other states may be different. Some states take up to 700 days to foreclose due to different state laws and regulations, and banks have different cost-benefit options.

    Further complications: Banks are rapidly changing short sale policies and procedures. It’s not the same as it was 6 months ago, and continues to change.

  5. I currently have two woodstoves to heat our home, but have fantasized for years about a masonry heater. Like the caller said, you really need to factor one into the design of a home – they don’t lend themselves to retrofit. Anyway, the following is the best resource I’ve found to learn about them, view pictures, etc. The really neat thing is how visually customizable they are – you purchase a stove kit and then build whatever sort or large, ceramic mass you like around it. You like southwest adobe style? No problem. Large slate with timbers? No problem. I know, second hand, of only one person in my area that uses one but based on what I’ve heard it does work very well and uses a small amount of wood compared to a wood stove, even a newer EPA-certified one.

  6. That TSA stuff is just a conspiracy theory, give up your liberty for safety from the terrorists with sidearms. We need to kill those damn towel heads for our freedom. 9/11 truth is terrorism. Go get your flu shot and report to your FEMA center immediately. Only GMO food allowed. All gardens, food storage, and survival gear makes you an enemy combatant. Google: S510. It’s in the Senate and soon Jack will be a terrorist for having a survivalist/homestead/gardening/cooking podcast.

  7. @TheNortherSurvivalist

    S510 is one of the worst bills to come in long time. The impact it will have on many small farms is awful if it passes.

    That said it has NOTHING to do with a back yard garden, NOTHING, never has and never will. I have read the entire bill, so I can say this with confidence.

    Next, DO NOT insult other members who post here by calling them names. You know I don’t allow that so your other comment was removed. You can say what you want about issues, don’t insult other community members though.

    Now public and elected officials you may insult to your hearts content.

  8. Greetings!
    Masonry heaters are the way to go if you’ve got the $$. There are many styles to choose from and they are beautiful. We’ve visited with the builders of masonry stoves (located in Amherst, WI) – their site is gimmeshelteronline.com and they know how to build masonry heaters, but they are pricey. The stove will be the centerpiece of your home as it will be more than likely quite large and heavy. We’ve also spent time with people who use these mansonry heaters (or stoves) and they are very happy with their decision to include them in their homes.

  9. Natural News (and other sources) claim it will regulate heirloom seeds and the FDA is Monsanto goons, and the BIG AGRA wants the small organic farms shut down and end people sharing natural foods and homemade foods.

  10. Jack- thanks for the quick response to my question re: packaging dry goods! I hear you on the HFCS-laden foods; since we do not indulge often and use them only as a treat I can’t rotate them through the pantry, ’cause it’s not everyday food.
    But when we see food on the cheap at Big Lots, we purchase as a hedge against later cost increases.
    In the event of a food shortage or hyperinflation we might be forced to limit ourselves to basics and sacrificing the extras that tend to make life more enjoyable…like Hawaiian Punch!
    Your answer confirmed what I feared- the shelf life is not significantly affected via repackaging. A sincere thanks for your input.

  11. Jack, I agree with you 100% on the Euro issue. I never liked the Euro, and I never will. I never liked the European Union, and I never will. I would love to see the European states reassert their sovereignty, and I would love to see the states that comprise the U.S. reassert their sovereignty. I’m sure I’ve run across a couple bloggers that have stated similar sentiments but I’m not sure who. I think the Daily Bell has similar sentiments.

  12. Jack, I agree with you that the TSA has gone too far in the types of searches that are being performed. However, just for everyone’s information the (liberal as hell) 9th circuit court ruled in 1997 that a passenger couldn’t attempt then quit an airport screening. This would “afford terrorists multiple opportunities to attempt to penetrate airport security by ‘electing not to fly’ on the cusp of detection until a vulnerable portal is found.” The court ruled passengers give up all rights to be free of warrantless searches once a “passenger places hand luggage on a conveyor belt for inspection” or “passes though a magnetometer.”

    The terrorist probing the security points does make some sense and I think you would find the same procedure at the boarder, military bases, ets.

    The case is United States v. Aukai, 04-10226
    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2007/08/court-says-trav/

    This case law is what give the TSA all it’s power.
    Like you, I believe that the new TSA procedures constitute an illegal search, however currently the courts disagree with us so we need a new case to get appealed to the Supremes.

  13. What if at a particular airport hundreds of people managed to get arrested, refused bail or plea bargain and demanded a jury of 12? Imagine how expensive that would be to the local court district. If we drive up their costs (remove profit) they will surrender.

  14. Saltines were one thing that I had in my extended pantry. While they tend to have a fairly long stated shelf life, I don’t think they are good that way. I had saltines that were near or just past their expiration date. They were stored in my basement, which is pretty stable temperature wise, it not the driest place there is. I left them in their store packaging. They were not bad enough to make you sick, but were not edible in today’s time of plenty. They had a musty taste to them. The individual sleeves were all intact, as was the box itself.

  15. @Greg, I don’t know if you will remember or are old enough to but Saltines used to come in a tin can. My grandmother used to buy the boxes after they discontinued the cans but had saved some cans and would put the crackers into the tin. They seemed to store better that way.

  16. I think your right Jack this TSA thing is going too far.Court house,s have had metal detectors for a while but that,s one thing this is just nuts.

  17. Masonry stoves are on many a homesteader’s wish list. Rob Roy’s Earthwood home is heated with a masonry stove constructed from concrete culverts. Read this old MEN article: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1995-04-01/Rob-Roys-Earthwood-Home.aspx

    Also of interest in this vein is a “rocket mass heater” http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp This kind of stove is a cousin to the classic European masonry stove, and it can typically be built for less.

  18. Jack, I think you’d find that very many people here in the UK and most other EU countries would be more than happy to see the EU dissolve. Over the years it has morphed into a totalitarian super-state, regulating every aspect of one’s life and business, not tolerating any dissent from either individual citizens or (formerly sovereign) states. It has been stripping away whatever still remained of our freedoms (after they’ve been gradually removed by our own governments).

    Of course the elites and eurocrats will fight tooth and nail to keep this monstrosity alive for as long as possible.

  19. Just a follow up on the AA/AAA battery charging.

    Another option would negate the need for an AC/DC inverter (while keeping the solar panel, charge controller, and battery/ies). Some battery chargers come with a DC cord, so if you attached a DC outlet to the battery (or batteries) you wouldn’t need to convert to AC, then back to DC. This should be more efficient.

  20. I just now listened to this episode and can’t believe Jack failed to mention using hotels for preppers without true BOLs yet. When Jack had his early episode on documentation, he suggested that if you don’t have a BOL, at the VERY least you can scope out hotels along your expected paths on your way out of Dodge.

    Pick a couple of hotels in each direction of the compass N/S/E/W and include the hotel info in your documentation package. Print off the info from their website with reservation numbers, directions, and amenities. This way you are not stressed wonder where you can go and you can make reservations ahead of the masses. Get the local front desk number and use it, not the national chain’s reservation desk.

    If that train wreck is causing ammonia gas to leak south, you can head north knowing you already have a hotel picked out and reserved.

    If a forest fire to the west is threatening your neighborhood, you already know the hotel to the east you are headed to until you can return.

    It’s not a long-term solution, but most of your probable disasters are local and short-term.

  21. I may have misunderstood the question Glenn had about shooting slugs through a shotgun with an adjustable choke. The answer addressed shooting slugs through a shotgun with interchangeable choke tubes. Glenn may have meant a shotgun with a permanent factory choke that can be adjusted from cylinder to improved to modified by rotating a dial on the end of the muzzle. I just bought a used 12 gauge Ted Williams model 200 shotgun with such a variable choke. I suppose I could shoot slugs with the choke in the cylinder position. But has anyone actually tried this and verified the gun does not explode?

  22. I have a couple of the pistol caliber conversion insets for 12 and 20 gauges and I think they have two uses, the first is training/teaching. Out of a 20 ga. 9mm has no recoil and forces the shooter to actually aim.
    The second is in in my .222-20ga over/under combo gun. The 9mm insert doesn’t hit exactly to point of aim but it’s close enough to hit pop cans at 10 yards.
    One important point is to experiment with exact positioning of the insert and mark it when you find where it hits closest to point of aim.
    I plan to get a 10″ .357 insert but haven’t gotten it done yet. The .357 would give huge ammo versatility.