Making A Tincture From Wild Lettuce

Most videos or articles stating that a plant has medicinal uses don't describe how to use it. This video discusses the medicinal uses of wild lettuce--which is as a remedy to help with insomnia, pain, and anxiety--but then goes on to describe how to make a tincture that you can take as a medicine as well as some rough dosing guidelines. 

VIDEO: "The White Sap of this Common Backyard Plant Relieves Pain and Reduces Anxiety Naturally"--Legacy Wilderness Academy (13 min.)

Prepper News

 Just some articles and reviews related to prepping that I've come across recently:

• "Blue Collar Prepping: The Pacific Bay Portable Water Pump". A review of a small rechargeable electric pump intended for refilling a hydration bladder from a water bottle or canteen. Per the review, "[t]he hoses support standard quick-detach mounts used by Sawyer, Katadyn, etc." I assume that it could be connected to a filter to pump water through the filter, but the review does not discuss this.
• "SABRE Pepper Spray - One Of The Best For Self Defense"--Modern Survival Blog. Some information about SABRE's products and the differences between the stream, fog/mist, and gel dispensers, effective range, number of shots, etc.
• "Best Keychain Flashlight Ever!"--Modern Survival Blog. And that flashlight, according to the author, is the Olight i3e EOS. I have one as well and can also attest that it is a great little flashlight. It is bright for its size. It uses a single AAA battery making it small enough to comfortably carry in your pocket attached to your key ring. It is my EDC flashlight and because it is on my key ring, it truly is EDC. 
• "Colt King Cobra Target Revolver .357 Magnum - Review"--Ammo Land. This is a target revolver in that it has a high visibility front sight and an adjustable rear site, but it only has a 4.25-inch barrel rather than the longer 6-inch you would expect with a target revolver. That brings it down into a more manageable size for carrying on the hip all day long. I know that revolvers are not considered suitable as a combat pistol (and, for that reason, no longer considered suitable for a police duty weapon) but I have long felt that the .357 Magnum brings a certain versatility to the table for the prepper/survivalist because of the wide variety of loads it can shoot: everything from light birdshot rounds suitable for killing pests, light power loads for small game or practice, and up to very capable defensive rounds or rounds capable of taking medium game. 
• "Get the FN 5.7 Firearms You’ve Been Waiting For"--Ammo Land. If you are interested in picking up an FN Five-seveN pistol or PS90 carbine, FN is running a rebate ($125 and $175, respectively) through October 31, 2023.
• "Foraging for Berries - Survival Food"--Alpha Survivalist. An article focusing on foraging for blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and strawberries. 

Pooch Stew

Years ago, my oldest brother gifted me a copy of Ragnar Benson's book, Eating Cheap. My particular copy was published by Paladin Press, and the copyright is 1982. Like many of Benson's other books, it is not a very long book, coming in at 114 pages.

       While you can find collections of Benson's books online as free PDF downloads (see, e.g., here), I've yet to come across a copy of this particular book. I suspect it is because the book didn't approach food from a post-Apocalypse perspective, but is directed more at the person or family that has fallen on hard times and financially struggling, and so did not garner the commercial success or interest of his other books. In any event, paperback copies are available on the used market, although probably for a lot more than someone that is struggling to feed their family could afford.

       The book is an overview of the philosophy and techniques of eating on a limited budget, discussing such topics as gleaning, cheap meat sources, scrounging (including dumpster diving), raising a garden, a discussion of wild and "semi-wild" game, and, probably the most valuable portion of the book in my opinion, a discussion of DIY butchering of large game. He ends the books with some of his favorite recipes, including some for wild and "semi-wild" game.

       The philosophy section of the book really boils down to two principles: (1) beggars can't be choosers, and (2) you may need to expand your definition of what constitutes "food." For instance, it may take swallowing your pride and putting aside your dignity to ask a farmer if you can glean his fields, or to crawl in a dumpster to gather the food that is being thrown out by a grocery store or restaurant. Your definition of food may have to grow to include the friendly squirrels that chatter at you from the tree in your front lawn or other furry or feathered denizens of your neighborhood.

        Somewhat ironically, given the current COVID-19 panic pandemic and the theory it originated in a Chinese "wet" market, Benson uses India and China as examples of picky eaters versus those willing to make the best of their resources. He points out for instance the constant threat of hunger stalking India, but the significant and widespread religious rules limiting what types of food can be consumed. He then contrasts this with "the Chinese [who] eat anything and everything as long as it is clean and nutritious."

       Benson next touches lightly on food storage, mostly to illustrate the point that, like the ants in the Aesop's fable of the ants and the grasshopper, we need to set aside food in times of surplus so that we have it available in times of shortage.

       He then moves on to the issue of nutrition. He points out that Americans consume far more calories than we need:

As a general rule, male humans require about sixteen calories per day per pound of body weight to stay in good health. Females need about fourteen calories. Alone with this, humans must also consume a basic package of required proteins, vitamins, and minerals. These minimum daily requirements have pretty well been defined by scientific research. ...

He acknowledges that selecting a diet that has the right balance can be difficult and, for that reason, recommends taking daily vitamins, and suggests a diet heavy on rice and lentils or beans. To this, you can round this out with fruits, vegetables and meat scrounged from various sources. But, he warns:

Keep in mind that while much of the protein you will require can come from pulses like pinto beans, garbanzos, or peas, some amino acids will still be missing. That's why the early settlers cooked beans with salt pork and why pea soup is better for you with a chunk of meat cooked in with it.

       His next major subject is gleaning. Gleaning is the collection of food after a harvest. Historically, gleaners would follow the harvesters collecting what fell to the ground or was discarded. Gleaning was an activity protected by the Law of Moses, but today will get you in trouble for trespassing if you don't get permission first. I doubt that most farmers would allow it--at least, not without charging you for "picking your own"--due to either greed or liability concerns if, for some reason, you were to injure yourself while on their property.

      In any event, Benson's initial point as to gleaning is that you need to realize that no one area produces the panoply of fruits and vegetables we find at the grocery store. There may be a few crops that grow very well in your area and a handful or two of other varieties that grow okay. Much of it will depend on climate. For instance, in my area of Idaho, corn (aka maize), onions, wheat, sugar beet, hops and fruit trees such as cherry and apple do very well. Other areas of Idaho, as you might guess, are major producers of potatoes. There are also vineyards not too distant from Boise. From my own gardening efforts, I know that tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and raspberries grow well in this area. (Although corn is widely grown in this area, even in fields less than half a mile from where I live, I have never had any success in growing it myself). Thus, it pays to know what crops are grown in your area so you know what can be found, and to know what is not available so you don't waste time trying to track down something that is unobtainable.

       His next point is that any produce harvested with mechanical harvesters will likely have plenty of gleanings left over, but this may not be the case if they use manual labor to pick the harvest. Couple a narrow harvest window and the cost of running the harvesters, and it is unlikely that farmers will bother with going over old ground to get the produce missed in the first pass or produce that has fallen to the ground. In this regard, he notes examples of cabbage and tomatoes that he was able to glean simply because it wasn't picked at the initial harvest, and the farmer was more than glad to have it carted off by someone just so the fields would be cleared for the next scheduled planting. He relates: "A good workable rule is that perishable produce or crops requiring additional processing or packing can be gleaned. Feed grains or products that essentially go from the farmer to the consumer ... must be purchased."

       In my mind, this plays into the consideration of whether it would be worth the effort to try and glean. If you live near a potato farm, that would probably be a good source for gleaning because there will be a lot of potatoes that are too small or get cut up in the machinery and drop through to the ground. The growers may also discard potatoes that are perfectly edible, but grew in odd shapes. I know about the potatoes because I walked through newly harvested fields when I was a kid and picked up the potatoes that had fallen from the harvester machines. I suspect that other root crops would be good sources of gleanings. Grain would probably be less productive because of the relative efficiency of the combine harvesters, unless there was simply small areas and corners that the combine missed while turning around, or small piles of grain that have dumped from the combine while offloading to a truck.

       Continuing with Benson's writing, however, in addition to knowing the crops you also need to know when they are harvested in your area. The idea is that you need to swoop in after the farmer completes his harvest, but before the food spoils (or the farmer plows it all under to plant another crop). Although he suggests several sources of information, the easiest will probably be your local extension office, farm organizations, or even food processing plants and/or granaries. Benson warns, however, that these dates are not fixed and may vary from year to year. So you need to know not just the general dates, but the specific times for the current year.

      Next is obtaining permission from the farmer. As Benson relates, this may not be as straightforward as it seems because you need to ask the farmer that owns the crop, and this may or may not be the person that owns the land. Small farmers likely lease their property to a larger farming outfit. The person in the field may be a custom farmer, and not the owner of the crop, someone from the seed or fertilizer company checking on the status of their crop, a ditch rider, etc. And large "family" farms are often owned by family trusts, limited liability companies and other interconnected business entities. But, once you get to the farmer that actually owns the crop, Benson suggests that you always ask if you can pay for collecting the gleanings. He contends that most farmers won't accept payment, but it is the offer that is expected. Also, make your request as specific as possible:

Ask if you might pick up the cull potatoes after they run the digger through, pick up apples under the trees, buy some of the pumpkins left after harvest, pick the beans again after the field hands are through, and so on. As I said before, all of this requires a good working knowledge of the agricultural picture in your area.

Although not technically gleaning, you may also try to find people in your church or community that will let people pick the excess from fruit trees or berry bushes. For instance, I was in a congregation where lived an older couple that had a large patch of raspberries--far more than they could ever pick or use--who would invite members to come and pick and take home the berries. Every few years or so, our cherry tree will go crazy and produce far more than we can use, and we certainly invite people to come get what they can while they can.

      Benson next moves on to discuss cheap sources of meat. Frankly, this section seems oriented toward two strategies: finding farmers or ranchers that are willing to sell defective (e.g., the runt of a pig herd) or injured animals, but this requires timing or luck; or to go to a slaughter house or processing plant to purchase unwanted bits and parts, such, as he specifically mentions, chicken hearts, livers, gizzards, backs, or the diaphragm from cattle. He specifically advises that you tell them that the items are being purchased for consumption by a dog or cat as there are very specific regulations concerning how products for human consumption must be handled. Similarly, if you are near a fish packing plant, he suggests that you might be able to pick up "culled" fish for cheap.

      Scavenging or scrounging is the collecting of food from the other end of the food-production and sale cycle--gathering the food that has been discarded. Due to health and safety laws on food freshness, as well as simple appeal to customers, grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, and so forth, discard a surprisingly large amount of food. For instance, one source I consulted indicated that "[s]upermarkets throw away 43 billion pounds of food every year." Much of this is edible, but is discarded because it has passed its "sell by" date, is stale (but still edible), or simply not wanted because of some cosmetic defect or damaged packaging.

     For instance, when I was a missionary in Japan, we took advantage of the fact that the Japanese had no interest in buying or eating the heels of a loaf of bread. Many bakeries would slice off the heels and put them aside to give to people to feed to their dogs. We would go around to a few of these bakeries once a week to collect this free bread and use for our cooking or sandwiches.

      In another example, I was working in an office building that had a small cafe which sold various gourmet meat and veggy sandwiches that the owner would put together each morning. Any that were left at the end of the day were simply thrown out. A co-worker was going to check to see if the owner of the cafe would be willing to donate the unused sandwiches to the local homeless shelter, but I don't know what ever came of that.

      Scrounging is not as easy as it once was. For one thing, again because of potential tort liability, stores have taken measures to keep people from crawling into dumpsters. Thus, the dumpster may be located behind fences and/or locked so you can't get into them. In addition, both stores and organizations assisting the homeless or poor have wised up to some of this waste, and so food banks or homeless shelters may collect some of this food. Nevertheless, if you go in at the right time, you may be able to get some of this food free or at a greatly reduced cost.

     In any event, as Benson points out, you need to be aware of the timing of when food items will be discarded and when the garbage truck arrives. He notes that "[m]ost successful supermarket scroungers work their routes late in the evening till early morning," but cautions that it is easy for good items to be buried by other waste during the day, and so, if possible, it may be worth checking a dumpster "often" during the day.

      As far as restaurants go, Benson recommends fast-food restaurants and high-end restaurants over middle-of-the-road restaurants. Having done my stint working in fast food when I was younger, the reasoning for such places seems straightforward. The hamburger chain I worked for, in order to make sure that the food was "fast" would cook patties and other items ahead of time. Generally we would ramp up before an expected busy time or rush, and cook through the rush, and then slow down as the rush ended. However, the chain had a strict policy how long the patties could be kept before being made into sandwiches. I don't remember the time now, but I believe it was 15 or 20 minutes. After that, it was discarded. So, if you mistimed a rush or overestimated the volume of customers, you could end up with a fair amount discarded. And, of course, if an order were messed up some way ("I wanted only ketchup on my burger!"), the products were discarded.

     Obviously, the fancy restaurant is not going to operate in the same fashion (at least, I would hope not). Rather, as Benson suggests, these are going to mostly be left overs from a meal that was not wholly consumed, or because of a mess up in an order.

     The best source, according to Benson, are the waste from in-flight meals served by airlines. However, I doubt that this is a viable option anymore. For one thing, in-flight meals are not as prevalent now as when Benson wrote his book. Second, because of increased security around airports, I doubt that you could get close to key dumpsters.

     Benson's next topic is foraging. He focuses on a few edibles in particular--cattails, acorns, walnuts, and dandelion greens--and then focuses on a few less common items. One of the latter is asparagus, which caught my attention because when I was a little kid, my family actually would go along roads and ditch banks collecting asparagus. At that time and place, it was basically a weed as far as most of the locals were concerned.

     From there, Benson goes on to discuss gardening. Frankly, even as Benson admits, there are a lot of books and sources out there on home gardening, and he didn't have room to discuss it in great detail. He gives his recommendations as to the best crops for some of the different climate zones, some general tips, and finishes off discussing berry bushes and fruit trees.

    Now we get to what I consider the meat of the book, if you pardon the pun: wild and semi-wild game. "Let's face it," Benson writes, "culture and aesthetics have to be put aside, if you are going to eat for next to nothing." And so we have to consider non-traditional American foods, even if that includes "critters that look fluffy and cute to you now." His primary suggestion for collecting cats and dogs is the local pounds, but I doubt that is a worthwhile source since modern animal shelters seem to charge quite high "adoption fees" to cover the costs of having the animal neutered or spayed, as well as the vaccinations. It would be cheaper on a pound-for-pound basis to buy beef at a quality butcher's market. As an alternative, Benson suggests making use of newspaper ads listing free pets in need of a home. But, he cautions, "[b]e double-damn sure you don't give addresses or telephone numbers where you can be found" in case the former owner decides to check up on how "Fluffy" is doing. Again, this may be harder to do now where, instead of newspaper ads, we use Craig's List and, at the least, exchange email addresses. Thus, the most viable approach would appear to be trapping stray or wild animals, whether cats, dogs, squirrels, rats, pigeons, blackbirds, possums, raccoons, nutria, muskrats, and so on.

    And this brings us to the most valuable part of the book (at least to me because of my relative inexperience): the section on butchering or dressing game. I'm going to skip over the section on birds and small game to go to larger game or, perhaps, a a heifer or calf that you have purchased.  Benson writes:

     Through the years, I have developed a speedy method of butchering the meat into practical cuts. The result is not quite the same as you would find in a butcher shop, but our motives are different. The commercial butcher wants to hide the largest bone in the smallest amount of meat. I want to bone out the meat in the quickest, easiest manner possible and save as much room in my freezer as I can.

      To help a bit, we have included a diagram that corresponds with the eight steps that follow:

1.  Using any wood saw--even a dull one--cut the carcass down the middle of the backbone into two halves.

2.  Cut off the two front leg shanks at the last joint.

3.  Cut the front hams off, taking as much meat with them off the rib cage as you can manage.

4.  Saw the neck off where it joins the back bone.

5.  Starting at the top, saw down through the ribs. Depending on the size, the cuts start one-to-four inches from the back bone. The ribs may be cut into sections and broken in half again with an ax if necessary.

6.  Remove the small pickle-shaped piece of meat lying next to the backbone under the ribs. This is the filet mignon.

7.  Cut the loin strips out in two sections. The loins are the strips of muscle that protect the back bone.

8.  Saw through the rear shank, separating the rear hams.

      After that, if you want to, you can use a fillet knife to bone out the large chunks that make up the top rounds or hams.

     All game must be chilled quickly after the animal is slaughtered. In summer it must be sawed into chunks, boned if need be, and frozen immediately. In winter it is wise to leave the halved carcass "on the rail" overnight in a cold garage or shed. The cool meat cuts easier and won't overwork the freezer. 

     If the weather promises to be in the 40s for a week, I will age beef. Aged goat and sheep meat doesn't taste very good, in my opinion.

    Small game must also be chilled. ...

He goes on to note that hogs are generally handled differently, primarily because the meat is better if cured (i.e., soaked in salt brine for a time) and smoked. He explains:

      Curing and smoking pork is much easier and better if the skin is left on the animal. The hair has to be removed form the hog hide first by scalding. When we scalded hogs, we used a fifty-five gallon steel barrel full of water that we heated with an open fire using an old tire for fuel. Four of us stood on benches set around a barrel and dipped the hog down in the the boiling water till we could scrape the hair off with a minimum of effort using a piece of 16-gauge tin.

      Then we hung the critter in the great, old Chinese elm in the barn lot and scraped the whole thing clean. After that we gutted it, halved it and sawed the animal into pieces just like any other Benson butcher job.

      Benson concludes his book by offering a suggested $5/week (at the prices of that time) meal plan using only store bought items. Needless to say, it is heavy on pulses and grains. Then he moves into favorite recipes for various foods, including, but not limited to, rice, wheat, corn casserole, pea soup, dandelion greens, and various wild and semi-wild game. And because one of these served as the title to this post, here is his recipe for "pooch stew":

1  pound dog meat
1  large eggplant (zucchini may be substituted)
1  green pepper
1/2 pound mushrooms
1  medium onion
2  12-ounce cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup cooking oil or bear lard
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons meat tenderizer
1  clove garlic
salt and pepper
1  fresh lemon

      Bone and cut meat, removing any tendon or gristle. Sprinkle with tenderizer and let stand several hours. Brown in oil or lard, add finely chopped garlic, cover with tomato sauce and simmer several hours.

      About one hour before you think the meat will be done, chop onions and peppers, brown in some more lard till onions are translucent and add to meat mixture. Add mushrooms which have been cut in half. Brown the eggplant (zucchini) which has been cut into one-inch cubes. Garnish with sliced lemon. Simmer gently till eggplant pierces easily with a fork. Do not overcook--you don't want the eggplant to turn to mush. A little red wine in the sauce makes a nice addition if you have some. 

      Serve with boiled potatoes, boiled white, brown, or wild rice, noodles, or boiled wheat. Serves four people.

Bon appétit!

A Quick Run Around the Web (11/15/2019)

"Using the M1 Carbine for Self-Defense [M1 Carbine Series Part 3]"--Lucky Gunner Ammo (12 min.). Some thoughts on why you might want to use the M1 Carbine over another rifle, and some tips on how to make it a little better at the role (without destroying the collector's value of the gun)

• "Active Killer Response Options for Armed Citizens"--Active Response Training. The author notes that with more and more people carrying weapons, it will become more likely for more than one armed player be in motion in the wake of a shooting. The key point:

When someone starts killing people and you whip your pistol out to engage, there are likely to be other armed people in the crowd.  Have you thought about how those folks will perceive your actions?  Will they mistake you for the killer?  The cops are coming quickly as well.  Have you considered that they might shoot you by mistake?

• "HOME BUILD A RETRO AR"--American Handgunner. Remember when the AR was a light-weight, handy rifle? No, me either. But it apparently was once so.
• "Essential Components of AR-15 Barrel Installation"--The Captain's Journal. 
• "Colt King Cobra Revolver Review"--Guns & Ammo. This is Colt's 3-inch barrel version. The author writes: "The 9½-­pound double-­action (DA) trigger is, to me, the best DA trigger out there. The pull is very smooth and breaks crisply without a hint of creep or grit."
• "Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 686 Raises the Bar Again"--Guns America. A revolver built for competition shooting.
• "The .45 Colt: A Wheelgun Classic"--Gun Digest. A look at some of the modern offerings in this venerable cartridge. Note, however, that the powerful hunting or defensive loads may be too hot for even modern reproductions of old SAA and Remington revolvers.

• Related: "The .45 Colt — From Cowboy to Action to Self-Defense"--K-Var Blog.

• Related: "Personal Defense 45 Colt Loads: Some Are Sedate, Others Sizzle"--Gun Tests.

• "Slings and Carrying Straps"--Chuck Hawks.

       The rifle may be slung over either shoulder either muzzle up or muzzle down. When hunting in the rain it is handy to sling the rifle muzzle down over the off shoulder. This keeps the weapon as dry as possible, particularly the inside of the barrel. Another advantage of this barrel down position is that the rifle may be brought up to shooting position quickly.

      To do this the right handed shooter should carry the rifle slung barrel down over his or her left shoulder with the left hand (under the sling), grasping the forearm of the rifle. To bring the rifle to shooting position the rifleman need only to lift his left arm straight out ahead of him and rotate his wrist counter-clockwise 180 degrees. The rifle will be right side up and ready to snug into the shooter's shoulder. (If you are left handed, substitute "right" for "left.")

• "Handgun Speed vs. Accuracy: What's the Right Balance?"--Shooting Illustrated. According to the author, the right balance will depend on how much time, resources, and money you can put into training and practice.
• No surprise here: "An Ancestral Genome of The Plague Has Been Traced Back to Russia"--Science Alert. "The precursor, the researchers say, came from Russia, specifically a town called Laishevo in the historical Volga region, based on the evidence of a sample known as LAI009."
• "The HoloSun HE403R-GD “Gold Dot” Review: Worthy of a Gold Star?"--The New Rifleman. The answer is a "yes." Writes the author:

      The Gold Dot concept is just as valid as red, or green dots… I appreciated the dot outdoors as it was bright and obvious against foliage. It may be weaker against white backdrops and bright weapon lights, but I was unable to wash it out until danger close distances to the target. Like any reticle/color choice, it has its ups and downs.

      I give this optic a recommendation for shooters looking for a solid red dot sight. 

• For you martial arts buffs: "Keeping Skills Sharp"--Recoil Magazine. The article is a brief introduction to Pekiti Tirsia Kali (PTK), a bladed weapon martial art from the Bacolod region of the Philippines. From the article:

At a fundamental level, PTK puts much of its initial focus on controlling distance and proximity, essential elements in a blade-focused system. This is accomplished through training footwork and body angling drills. Dictating proximity, or your position in relation to your opponent is seen as essential in controlling your opponent’s ability to attack and defend. Controlling distance is essential to accuracy, especially when wielding weapons of various lengths. The focus of many PTK weapon-based drills is to increase speed, power, timing, and accuracy. These attributes — among others — are considered essential to making a technique work in a defensive situation.

I think the basics of all melee combat arts is controlling distance, proximity and tempo.

• "A Potential Man-Made Disaster (part 3)"--Blue Collar Prepping. Thoughts on prepping for a civil war. Two key points that the author makes is situational awareness and being prepared to move. Sparks31 and others have written extensively about monitoring local radio traffic to gain local situational awareness, and since I know next to nothing about radio, I would refer you to those sources for more information. Unfortunately, Sparks31 opens and shuts down blogs and websites with regularity, so its hard to keep track of where to find him. However, you can download a copy of his book, Commo, here (large PDF). 
• "Emergency Radio Communication for when the SHTF!"--Alpha Survivalist. An overview.

• Related: "How to Build a Homemade Radio That Really Works"--Boys Life.

• Related: "Which are the Best Long Range Two Way Radios?"--Alpha Survivalist.

• "Costco Powdered Eggs review"--Commander Zero. Bottom line: "I find them to be acceptable, and certainly a better alternative to no eggs."
• "David Grasty’s School of Bushcraft and Survival"--The Mountaineer. A look at an up and coming wilderness survival/foraging expert.
• "Criminals and the Guns They Carry"--Buckeye Firearms Association. This is a 2012 article from Greg Ellifritz taking a look at the types of weapons carried by criminals based on weapons seized by the police department for which he works. As you would expect, the vast majority were handguns. Interestingly, 28% were unloaded; 10% were could not function, and another 20% had limited functionality because they had frequent malfunctions, were missing magazines, or other problems. 
• "We are not going to die from climate change"--Behind the Black. From the article:

      Tony Heller today published this quite thorough review of the failed climate predictions by global warming scientists/activists, while also providing a great summary of the real state of our climate.

     You can disagree or question him on one point or another, but the overall data once again illustrates the uncertainty that surrounds climate science. We really do not know what is going on, and any predictions that claim we do are hogwash.

"CHINA Accuses the CIA of DESTROYING ASIAN MASCULINITY"--Black Pigeon Speaks (12 min.). Effeminate male pop stars apparently a thing in Eastern Asia (Korea, Japan and China). In China, they are termed "Fresh Little Meat," which itself is suggestive. While the Chinese government (and even everyday Japanese) may blame the CIA, it seems that it is a natural result of the r/K cycle. 

• r-psychology at work: "Abortionist Testifies: ‘No Question’ Babies Being Born Alive To Harvest Organs"--The Daily Wire.
• More more r-psychology: "We teach boys that marriage doesn’t work"--Fabius Maximus. 

       In fact our time is shaped by Girls’ Game: romance the man, stage the party-of-her-life, marry, have kids, divorce when they are in school – then get community property, child support, and independence. The husband provides support during those first few difficult years raising the children, then is dumped. She then gets the children she wants without the bother of having a husband. It is the logical strategy for women raised to value their independence above all else.

* * *

      One result of Girls’ Game: in 2005/06 less 60% of US adolescents (11, 13, and 15 years old) lived with both birth parents (per the OCED Family Database), the lowest level in the OCED. Today probably even fewer do.

• Related: "Women embrace higher values, destroying their families"--Fabius Maximus. Some more analysis of how "girl power" and no-fault divorce is destroying the family unit.

• Related: "America’s families are broken. Dreams won’t build new ones."--Fabius Maximus. A discussion of how the old order, derogatorily termed "the patriarchy" was required to lure men into the chains of "the rat race" required to support an industrial civilization, and how the destruction of that old order is also disincentivizing men from entering the "rat race." Quoting from Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind: “Of necessity, therefore, it was understood to be the woman’s job to get and hold the man by her charms and wiles because, by nature, nothing else would induce him to give up his freedom in favor of the heavy duties of family. But women no longer wish to do this, and they, with justice, consider it unfair according to the principles governing us. …"

It will come crashing down. In Isaiah 4:1 we read: "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach." Although this passage is generally cited as an example of how many men will be killed in the wars and disasters preceding the Second Coming, women have historically refused to marry down (i.e., marry someone of a lower social class) even in periods when there is a shortage of men due to war such as post-Civil War America. So, to me, this passage indicates that the social stigma of not marrying will be greater than the stigma of marrying down. (Unless this is an example of the Pareto Principle--80% of the women chasing 20% of the men--in which case, you can ignore the previous sentence).

• "In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace"--Pew Research. 

In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.

Even worse among Millennials. 

• Vox Day notes the "the Boomer cluelessness that simply can't grasp the significance of a rise in tuition from 500/semester to 15,000/semester when wages have not risen."
• Another consequence of the swine fever epidemic in China: "China lifts ban on US poultry"--DW.

      US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer welcomed the lifting of the "unwarranted" ban.

      "China is an important export market for America’s poultry farmers, and we estimate they will now be able to export more than $1 billion (€0.9 billion), worth of poultry and poultry products each year to China," he said.

• "American Blunder: Throwing Open Our Markets To China"--Pat Buchanan. 

      Among the epochal blunders America has committed since the end of the Cold War, three stand out.

      The first was our disastrous plunge into the Middle East to create regimes oriented to the West. The second was the expansion of NATO to the front porch of Russia, driving the largest nation on earth, and one of its most formidable nuclear powers, into the arms of China.

     The third was to throw open America’s markets to Chinese goods on favorable terms, which led to the enrichment and empowerment of a regime whose long-term threat to U.S. interests and values is as great as was that of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It started under George H. W. Bush who had close ties with China. Of course, Biden and his son, Hunter, also have close ties with China.

• "The CIA falsely believed it was 'invincible' in China — here's how its spies were reportedly discovered and killed in one of the biggest blows to the agency"--Business Insider. The article blames a poorly written internet based communications systems used to communicate with new spies that apparently, when cracked, allowed access to a broader array of CIA communications. I, however, wonder how much of it was the result of Hillary Clinton's "private" email server.
• "ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATE OF THE STATES REPORT"--American Partisan. As we have come to expect, underfunded pensions are the Sword of Damocles hanging over the most liberal states. The author writes: "I don’t foresee public sector pensions being trimmed until the taxpayer looks like a Holocaust victim.  Expect a lot of internal migration and possibly emigration."
• "Is The British Empire Largely Misunderstood?"--American Conservative. Excerpt:

Black notes that “empire was in part supported and defended on the grounds that it provided opportunities for the advance of civilization.” Britain, which was “more liberal, culturally, economically, socially, and politically, than the other major European powers,” was central to ending the slave trade and slavery. British imperialism promised, and to varying degrees secured, rule of law, participatory government, and individual freedoms to many around the world. Imperialism also has a frequent tendency to protect ethnic minorities more than nation-states, because it de facto requires buy-in from everyone, while purist nationalist regimes (e.g. Turkey, Yugoslavia, Burma, Sudan) are often the ones engaged in ethnic cleansing.

• "America Is Running Out of White Children to Solve the Problems of Nonwhite Children"--Steve Sailor at The Unz Review. Liberals want to reintroduce busing to re-integrate schools (and boost test scores), but the problem is that the percentage of school kids that are white has sharply declined over the past two decades.
• "Aquinas on usury"--Vox Popoli. Money quote (pardon the pun): "To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality which is contrary to justice."
• They don't build 'em like this anymore: "NASA's Voyager 2 probe sends back its first discoveries from interstellar space 42 years after blasting off from Earth – providing 'valuable clues about the structure of the Solar System'"--Daily Mail. From the article:

      Researchers from various US institutions confirmed that Voyager 2's journey had taken it into the 'space between the stars' by noting a 'definitive jump' in the density of plasma — charged particles and gas — found around the probe.

     This change was detected by Voyager 2's instruments and is evidence of the probe making its way 'from the hot, lower-density plasma characteristic of the solar wind to the cool, higher-density plasma of interstellar space,' they said.

      The observed increase is similar to the plasma density jump experienced by Voyager 1 when it previously crossed into interstellar space, the researchers added. 

      Among many things, the astronomers are particularly  looking to gain a better understanding of how the solar winds — the stream of charged particles coming out of the Sun — interact with the interstellar winds, which are formed from particles coming from other stars.

• "How To Use a Digital Multimeter"--Popular Mechanics. Some safety rules and instructions on 5 common tasks: (1) testing batteries, (2) testing electrical outlets, (3) testing a wall switch, (4) testing extension cords, and (5) reading temperature (if your meter has this feature: mine doesn't). My most common use is to perform simple continuity tests.
• Another project for you electronics enthusiasts: "Build the long range Laser Spy system"--Lucid Science. From the introduction:

We will be starting with an ultra basic proof of concept test system that will show you how the Laser Spy converts vibration into sound and how careful alignment of both the laser and receiver are required for optimal performance. Ironically, the most basic configuration may prove to be the most useful, and the $20 you spend in parts could create a system that works as well (or better) than some of the ones that are for sale on the internet for thousands of dollars. As you will find out, the key to spying with a laser beam is in the alignment and reception of the beam, not some magical black box full of fancy filters and optical components.

Video and Review of the Merkwater Casting Handlines

Video: "Merkwater Casting Handlines." 

See also the review at Jerking the Trigger. My son has ordered one of these, so I hope to have my own review (or his) soon.

Urban Foraging

A lot of people, when they hear or read the term "urban foraging," think of gathering wild plants from the urban environment. An example is this article from The Telegraph on "Urban foraging: what foods can you find growing in cities?" The author describes walking about with a foraging expert, writing:

Over the next two hours, just in the city centre, we find over 25 edible plants including bay leaves (“Just pick a branch and hang it in the kitchen and let it dry”), rowan and hawthorn berries, crab apples, beech nuts and wormwood – the fragrant plant that is used to flavour absinthe.

Other resources for this type of foraging are:

• The Institute for Culture and Ecology, which has articles on foraging in and around Seattle, Washington. 
• Falling Fruit, which has interactive maps of locations for foraging around the world. 
• First Ways, a blog on urban foraging.
• Urban Edibles, which is a database of forageables in the Portland, Oregon area.

(But I would also mention this article, which I've cited before, on how harmful foraging can be to the wild plants).

"Urban foraging" also includes scavenging food or other items from dumpsters or, as Freegan.info describes it: "Alternatively known as trash picking, gleaning, dumpster diving, scavenging, salvaging, or curb crawling, urban foraging is the act of recovering useable goods discarded by retailers, schools, homes, businesses, construction sites – really anywhere anyone is throwing away goods that shouldn’t end up in a landfill. Frequently recovered items include clothing, food, furniture, computers, appliances, books, videos, DVDs, office supplies, lumber, tools, toys, umbrellas – just about anything you can buy in a store." The latter site has tutorials and informative articles on how to safely and legally forage in the urban environment.

"Foraging Isn’t Actually That Cool"

The downside to foraging from Modern Farmer.

New York's Rat Information Portal

New York City offers a "Rat Information Portal" that links to maps showing relative numbers of rat infestations for different neighborhoods and sections of the city. An article about it at the Daily Mail.

Living Off the Land

Woodtrekker has a lengthy, but important article on how much food you would have to hunt/gather to actually live off the land. To sum up, living off the land is not realistic. There is a reason that you should store food and rely on agriculture.

He assumes that an active person would need 3,300 calaries per day (note: you can almost halve this if you are sedentary). Because few plants can provide enough calaries without making a person sick, most of these calaries would have to come from meat. He also produced a neat table to summarize how many animals you would have to kill and eat to meet your requirements:

		Meat
Type of Animal	oz of Meat/Animal	cal/oz of Meat	Total cal/Animal	Animals/Day
Squirrel	2.8	47	132	25 (16)
Rabbit	16.8	47	790	4 (3)
Salmon	96	60	5,760	0.57
Clams	0.25	40	10	320
Raccoon	160	72	11,520	0.29
Turkey	160	45	7,200	0.46
Deer	1,120	53	59,360	0.056 (0.05)
Black Bear	1,600	43	68,800	0.047

And for plants:

	Plants
Type of Plant	cal/oz of Plant Material	Pounds Per Day Needed
Cattail Root (Rhizome)	8	26.5
Parsnips	23	9
Blueberries	16	13
Lingonberries	5	41
Acorns (processed)	110	2
Burdock Root	20	10*

He goes on to discuss other considerations, including the "opportunity cost" of hunting/gathering, legal considerations, etc. Read the whole thing.

(H/t The Woodpile Report).

Equipment for Urban Exploration

... and some of which may come in handy when scrounging after TEOTWAWKI. From Urban Explorers:

Rope	Depending on the type of outing, this is sometimes a necessity. Many people always carry at least one short (20-30ft) climbing rope/handline. If you have confidence in your upper body strength, you can fashion a simple climbing rope in a few minutes; the kind you remember from your old phys ed. days. Just tie a big half knot every foot or so. Alternatively, tie short loops at slightly shorter intervals, and use them as holds. A longer length of weight-bearing rope for use as a safety line is sometimes useful.
Duct Tape	I recommend a small roll in your sack, but don't worry about it for a simple trip. It's become kind of a joke, but people in the know don't laugh -- duct tape can do everything. It'll even work for shoe patches in a pinch.
Respirator	One which is rated for asbestos is what you're looking for. You can find them at Home Depot or similar hardware outlets for about $40. It's kind of cumbersome, but if you're going to spend a lot of time in steam tunnels you should have one. Unless, you're sure that there is no asbestos, which is unlikely in steam tunnels -- don't count on word of mouth or what you think asbestos "looks like" for this question. Find official documents.
Radios	Small handheld radios can be useful, especially in high-traffic areas requiring lookouts. Lapel mics and earpieces are good, as they are hands-free and inconspicuous. Remember that no radios travel very far through earth.
Hammer/small crowbar	A lot of those pesky manhole covers can be popped with just a hammer. Those which can't will usually succumb to a small crowbar (aka prybar). A hammer is slightly more versatile, and doesn't raise as much suspicion as a crowbar. The crowbar can be useful at disused sites for crusty old hatches and doors. Be careful -- getting caught with a crowbar, especially if you also have things like rope or walkie-talkies on you (or god forbid, lockpicks) can get you a quick trip to city lodgings. "Burglarious instruments."
Water	A water bottle is always a good idea, especially in steam tunnels. Tuck it into your ever-ready pack. A person can quickly get dehydrated when you're walking and crouching and crawling through 120 degree unventilated spaces. While you won't likely get into any real danger because of it, your endurance and enjoyment will suffer.
Maps/Blueprints/Etc.	Many tunnel explorers prefer not to have maps beforehand, as it heightens the sense of adventure. Others like to have an idea of where to go to see things that are out of the ordinary. In drains, don't ever head downstream in an unknown drain. Maps are often inaccurate (yes, even if they come straight from the sewer department) and nothing will ruin your day like getting swept over a waterfall.
Camera/Film	Or, a digital camera or video camera. Again, this is widely variable; some adventurers rarely leave the house without one, some just don't care that much. Keep your settings in mind and consider a beater.
Lighting rig	If you're doing lots of photo or video work, or just want a really good look at where you're going, consider a car battery-based light rig. Labor-intensive to truck around, but sometimes useful.
Head Light	When you are in the dark and you need both hands to get around, having a head light will be quite "handy." Get something like the Energizer Trail Finder 7 LED Head Light which is easy to pack to have ready when you need it.
Pen and Paper	Take notes and make maps. It makes the trip much more interesting, and it will help your recollection when you set up that fancy website about your exploits!
Plastic baggies	This is a must if you're draining, probably ignorable otherwise. A way to keep cameras, spare batteries, and anything else dry.

Grocery Store Lettuce versus Dandelions

An article at Essential Bread blog discussing the nutritional advantage of dandelion greens over lettuce.

Urban Foraging and Using Squirrels for Food

An article about a woman in Seattle that catches squirrels for food.

Melany Vorass is a 49-year-old college-educated woman living in a middle-class neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

And in the backyard of her quiet neighborhood home, she traps, drowns and butchers squirrels for her dinner table -- one of her family's principle sources of meat.

Ms Vorass is part of a growing crowd of city-dwellers who are 'foragers' -- living off of greens picked from public parks, fish caught from local streams and mushrooms plucked from nearby forests.

* * *

Ms Vorass believes commercial meat is unethical. Cows are raised on inhumane feedlots, butchered in inhumane ways and fed rations of unhealthy and environmentally-damaging antibiotics and feed, she says on her blog Essential Bread.

* * *

Her urban foraging isn't just limited to squirrels. In her backyard, she plants a garden every year and raises chickens and goats.

She picks also dandelion greens and other 'weeds' for salads and occasionally she and her husband catch trout in a local lake.

Ms Vorass began trapping squirrels as a way to get the pesty critters out of her backyard and away from her garden -- which they were terrorizing.

Her husband set up a metal 'Have-A-Heart' live trap and started releasing them in a nearby park.

But then an irate neighbor complained that the was just dumping their problems somewhere else.

About that time, Ms Vorass discovered a recipe for squirrel and instructions on how to skin the rodents in an old Joy of Cooking cookbook.

The classic American cooking was first published in the height of the Great Depression and for many years contained recipes for all manner of wild animals -- from rabbits to opossums.

* * * 

Squirrel is tougher and darker than rabbit and somewhat greasy.

It does not taste like chicken.

Squirrel is actually richer than beef in some ways -- higher in fat and cholesterol. However, it's dramatically lower in saturated fats and higher in polyunsaturated, so-called 'good' fats.

 (Link to Ms. Vorass' blog). The reference to the old Joy of Cooking having rural recipes is intriguing. That would be handy to try and track down.

Here is a link to a University of Washington site on urban foraging. At the bottom of the page are links to articles and other web-sites.