After the election - are you changing your preps?

[Thomas Johnson]

I don´t think it really matters much who is at them helm. At this point the debt is too high and it would take decades to turn it around. Ron Paul ftw

[chrisdfw]

I don´t think it really matters much who is at them helm. At this point the debt is too high and it would take decades to turn it around. Ron Paul ftw

Or as I like to say... we're beyond politics... now the math dominates

[FrugalFannie]

All very true. I feel like I need to speed up my preps with O at the helm but I guess realistically it doesn't matter. I hear the clock ticking.

[NWPilgrim]

Was wondering if you got his book?  If so how was it?

Yes I bought the $7 eBook version.  I browsed through it and it is very complete.  He gives plans for building the cabin he did for $2,000.  Talks about finding suitable cheap property, sewage/toilet systems and hot to build them, solar power and generators and how to install them and batteries banks and meters.  He really covers practically every aspect of what he has learned in 15 yrs on his homestead.  He even discusses ideas of how to start your own low cost business and run it. I am traveling for business right now so no time to read it yet, but it is the top of my reading list when I get on the plane home.  So far, I highly recommend it, and I may buy the paperback version as well.

[GTO_Monkey]

price of ammo has gone up considerably in the last 2 weeks.
1000 rounds .223 was $350ish and now is $400 and above .. saw $450 at the local gun show

So am buying reload supplies which havent gone up yet.. Powders still about $20/lb  Primers about $30/1000   bullets are going up looking ot get more


good luck
GTO monkey

[NWPilgrim]

When I got home from my business trip and we were chatting about the economy my wife asked me if I had considered starting a hemp farm in my home state of Washington.  I about fell over but got to thinking that might be a great idea.  Hemp used to be grown in the US on plantations just like any other crop.  Very useful for oil and fiber.  Never heard mention in old time stories about it being smoked back then.  It will probably be a highly profitable cash crop, easy to grow, and kind of renegade.

I chuckle about our "retirement plan" now, but if things get as bad as I believe they will I am likely to do many things I never imagined.  My wife wants to call it Obama Acres.  I was thinking The Happy Place. 

[Thomas Johnson]

Hemp is actually quite useful! As you mention it can be used for rope, oils and chicken feed. Go for it:-)

[Cedar]

Hemp is actually quite useful! As you mention it can be used for rope, oils and chicken feed. Go for it:-)

I did an article awhile back on industrial hemp. And I also have hulled hemp seed in my fridge right now from Bob's Red Mill. I love it. It tastes like pine nuts.

PAPER PRODUCTS: Cardboard, filter paper, fine specialty paper, newsprint, packaging paper, stationary

BUILDING PRODUCTS: Concrete blocks (I picked up a piece of concrete made from hemp. It was VERY light and very tough), fiber board, fiberglass substitute (Henry Ford made and ran a whole car from hemp, the 'fiberglass' he hit with a sledgehammer in cold weather and it didn't even mar.), insulation material, mortar, and stucco. Hempcrete is easier to work than traditional lime mixes and acts as an insulator and moisture regulator. It lacks the brittleness of cement and consequently does not need expansion joints The building material also is self-insulating; resistant to rotting, rodents and insects; and fireproof, waterproof and weather resistant.

OIL: Personal Hygiene: bath gels, cosmetics, shampoo, soaps.

OTHER OIL: Industrial oils, food products, cooking oil

TEXTILES: Apparel (I have a dress made from hemp and it is so soft, needs no ironing, its mildew resistant which is why hemp is also great for shower curtains, and the longer you use the material, the softer it gets)(also they had a 25 year old t-shirt there, but looked brand new, though the writing was faded from usage), canvas, carpets, denim (the 1st denim jeans were made from hemp fiber), handbags, socks, shoes, work clothing.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS: Agri-fibre composites, brake/clutch linings, caulking, nets, rope, tarps, twine

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS: Coatings, fuel oils, lubricants, and oil based paints, printer inks, putty's, solvents, varnishes.

FOODS: Food supplements, granola, margarine, coffee, protein rich flour, salad oil, seed cakes. (I had some bread, which sort of tasted like Russian rye? And some granola snack stuff.
Both were good. Sorry didn't try the coffee)

Some FACTS about INDUSTRIAL hemp:
#1 producer of biomass per acre in the world
     
If grown for the production of biomass fuels, can provide all of our gas, oil and coal needs and end dependency on fossil fuels. Biomass fuels offer a clean alternative to fossil fuels.
     
Has a heating value of 8,000 BTU/lb with virtually no residual sulfur or ash during combustion.
     
One acre will produce as much pulp for paper each year as 4.1 acres of trees will over a 20-year period.

 Using hemp paper could replace 40-70% of all tree pulp used for corrugated boxes, computer paper and paper bags.
 
The hemp papermaking process requires no dioxin-producing chlorine bleach and uses 75-85% less sulfur-based acid.
 
Produces the strongest, most durable soft-fiber on earth. Until the 1820's up to 80% of all textiles and fabrics for clothing, canvas, and linens were made from hemp
 
Is more stronger, more durable, warmer and more absorbent than cotton, best of all, it can be grown more places than cotton.
 
An acre of land will produce 2-3 times more fiber as cotton, about 1,000 pounds per acre.
 
Hemp seed has an oil content of 34%, more than any other seed. Second only to whale oil in quality.
 
Once hemp seeds have been harvested of oil, the remaining seed cake is second only to Soya bean for protein content and is an excellent source of nutrition for either farm animals or humans.
 
The whole seed contains about 25% protein, 30% carbs, 15% insoluble fiber, carotene, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, zinc, Vits E,C,B1,B2,B3 and B6, Hemp seed is one of the best sources of Fatty acids with a perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega6 Linolenic acid and Omega3 Linolenic Acid.
 
Has a short growing season of 90-110 days
 
Is very easy on the soil and returns 60% of the nutrients taken from the soil when dried in the field. The roots also help alleviate soil compaction
 
Is heat and drought tolerant.
 
Requires no herbicide, pesticide or fungicide

Ok.. sorry to sidetrack there

Cedar

[carbon]

Will continue to prep as planned but will move some things to the top such as:
-internet privacy-moving away from google based products and gmail in particular. setting myself up so i am not relying on these products and if I do use them to minimize my footprint.
-reconsider where we will be moving a few years from now. it seems more people prefer being on the dole than there ever was

that pretty much generalizes the adjustments we are making. i think privacy and self-reliance are important things people no longer care for. With the way things are going, these will be more important than ever.

[Morning Sunshine]

after 2 weeks of debate with myself, I have decided on 2 focuses (foci? focusi?)

one, the most important, is Spiritual Preparation.  I need to remind myself that the Lord Jesus is in charge.  That He can make all things right, and if I follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, I will be able to ride out anything.  And so I need to refocus my life to be able to better hear His promptings.  And, a hymn has been wandering through my head for the past 2 weeks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhES-xpWc8w  especially the last line: "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal"
so, to this end, I am putting my spiritual house in order, for "if God be for [me], who can be against?"

the other focus change is energy independence.  I am betting that with the re-election, he will continue his assault on the energy producers, and the cost to run my home will go up.

[NWPilgrim]

after 2 weeks of debate with myself, I have decided on 2 focuses (foci? focusi?)

one, the most important, is Spiritual Preparation.  I need to remind myself that the Lord Jesus is in charge.  That He can make all things right, and if I follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, I will be able to ride out anything.  And so I need to refocus my life to be able to better hear His promptings.  And, a hymn has been wandering through my head for the past 2 weeks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhES-xpWc8w  especially the last line: "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal"
so, to this end, I am putting my spiritual house in order, for "if God be for [me], who can be against?"

the other focus change is energy independence.  I am betting that with the re-election, he will continue his assault on the energy producers, and the cost to run my home will go up.
[/m]

Well said!

Although we prep for physical survival and prosperity, it doesn't matter one whit if our spiritual life is neglected.  Ultimately we will spend eternity in the hereafter according to our life choices, and our time on earth is relatively a blink.

We are also looking to longer term energy independence.  Some fo the podcasts of Steve Harris really got me to thinking.  Also that SimpleSolarCabin.com website.  It becomes mroe practical if we find ways to dramatically reduce our energy consumption and use the best power/fuel source for the job.  For instance, solar is great when used with battteries and low energy devices such as LED lighting, and small electronics (laptop instead of desktop computer).  But solar is not good for house heating, but wood or petroleum products are very good for heating.  I am looking into more energy options with propane, solar, and maybe even steam. 

Anyone know of a steam engine that will run a generator and can be multi-fuel fired?

[rikkrack]

In one of Harris's last podcasts he stated that steam engines are VERY inefficient. I had the same thought of a steam engine for off grid living, until he said that. Se we are looking at other options instead. You can get a wood gasification engine and do the same thing I believe.

[cptd]

Nope  no change.

Plain fact of the matter is that in terms of our financial posture, a Romney win would have changed nothing. As a mainstream republican he would have spent money just as ferociously as Obama, only instead of Obama phones we would have got defense spending that we need like we need a hole in our freaking heads.  Just look at the last mainstream republican we had - we got nothing but more government, more government, and wait! More government! And we didn't have a balanced budget.

Bush and Obama are hopeless failures and so are their respective congresses.

Both parties are pursuing fundamentally flawed ideologies that are way out of touch with the founding principles of this country and neither has the testicular/ovarian fortitude to make the tough decisions that are necessary to avoid a disaster.

This country has not been so polarized by ideological difference since Reconstruction. It's unhealthy. We're so polarized that the parties have essentially written off entire swaths of the country, like mine in rural Georgia where my disgusting congressman ran UNCONTESTED for the third time this cycle. That's right. His was the only name on the ballot.

How motivated to do a good job can you possibly be if you have absolutely no chance of losing your job, at all, ever, for any reason? And so there he sits, an institution unto himself. He calls himself a conservative, whatever that means these days, and he gets elected. He seldom votes. In three terms he has authored exactly 0 pieces of legislation, meaning that he has contributed nothing in the way of ideas or solutions. But he goes to a good Baptist church, decries gay marriage, and rails against anyone who suggests the Earth wasn't procured in a week exactly 6000 years ago, so I guess even though he's done squat to help contain the expansion of the federal government he's a good conservative because he believes in God.

Must be nice to have a job you can't lose.

This election meant nothing and to say that it either slowed or accelerated any coming crises is jibba-jabba.

[flippydidit]

Anyone know of a steam engine that will run a generator and can be multi-fuel fired?

Please don't attempt to run steam engines of any size without proper training.  Steam engine operators/engineers are a skilled and experienced trade.  There are a lot of things most people don't know about steam engines (such as the high pressures required or that steam and vapor pressures can change quickly or unexpectedly).  Once they find out that 1) they should be manned 24/7, and that 2) a malfunction or miscalculation can turn it into a freakin' bomb, they start looking at comparatively safer approaches to energy production.  That's not to say that it can't be done, or that they don't have a purpose, just that steam engines of any type must be taken very seriously.