Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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Dan sent us this: Daily Wolf Attacks Are Pushing A Northern California Community to the Breaking Point.
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Pete in California wrote, regarding the recent article on POTS telephones:
“Remember too, that early telephones used much lower voltages than later equipment; 3VDC, to be exact. Those big, wooden wall phones had a compartment incorporated in them to house two large 1.5VDC batteries to allow users to talk to the central office operator. Ring voltage was provided by that crank on the side, which generated 90VAC at 30Hz. Remember those “Cox” gas planes you played with as a kid? Remember those big cylindrical batteries you started them with? Remember that they said “Telephone Battery” on them? That’s why. They were telephone batteries! To this day, the voltage used to talk between two phones is known as “talk battery.” Also to this day, the power used for POTS lines is actual battery power from the Central Office (CO). That’s why the old copper landline phones still worked sometimes for days after power failed. Modern POTS phones will work fine on 24VDC, which can be powered by two car batteries wired in series.
Preppers may also find “sound-powered phones” used aboard Navy and Coast Guard vessels to be of interest. These generate their own power when you speak into them, and are good for a few hundred feet. Connect two of them together, and you’re talking!”
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My eldest son, Jonathan Rawles, recently provided an interesting interview on the Doomer Optimism podcast: Building Resilience in Modern Society with Dr. Chris Ellis and Jonathan Rawles.
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This piece at Forbes Vetted is over-simplified, but still useful: Stay Prepared With The 6 Best Emergency Food Supplies Of 2025.
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H.L. spotted this: Secret Service Busts Massive Network Used in Swatting Attacks Against Marjorie Taylor Greene, Other Republicans.
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The pendulum swings: Google Admits Political Censorship on YouTube, Promises to Embrace Free Speech.
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Reader N.C. wrote:
“Like many, I’ve been exceeding my normal media dose in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination. I found this video to be well worth listening to and possibly of interest to SurvivalBlog readers.
In the aftermath, one conclusion I’ve come to is that I ought to not change anything. I’m already on a sustainable path towards preparedness. I’ve made good and substantial initial steps and I’m building on them in a way that balances my priorities with family, time, and money. Rather than making me feel good it’s actually been a source of stress and I imagine I’m not the only reader who feels that way.
I’m trying to remind myself that like exercise, slow and steady wins the race. We never act like it’s the day before the balloon goes up. If we knew we would go max out credit cards (pretend value) for supplies (real value) because the game of pretend would be over. But that’s not how this works. The game of pretend will most likely be there tomorrow. A good job will yield you more real value over time if you slowly build the real value things you have. The trick is balance. So to those like me, who are doing the things Nick suggests and feeling it’s not enough. Keep the faith, keep the pace. Stay on the steady path. And pray for me while I pray for you.”
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An interesting thread over at Reddit: Recommendations for Ranching Towns.
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Mike in Alaska wrote this, after seeing an old “Burgers 5 for $6.99” photo in SurvivalBlog:
“Once upon a time in the past there once was a kingdom where the money of the realm was made to be silver coin. I was a young lad of just 16 years old back then, and I had finally procured a “real” job washing dishes by had at a local restaurant. During the week I went to school learning to become a successful citizen of the kingdom; but after school for a few hours I was able to work making real money, that is, silver coins. Saturdays were a special day because I was allowed (with a work permit) to wash dishes, sweep & mop floors, and other menial tasks for a full shift of 8 hours and on some days when people didn’t show up for work maybe even 10 hours.. Not to worry, because on those days when I was allowed to work a full shift I would get a free paid lunch equal to the $0.70 per hour minimum wage I was making …. and back then, with the coin of the realm being a silver coin, that 70 cents would buy me a Triple Decker Burger, French Fries, and a Coke … and no tax on the food!! Now that was fine dining to my constantly hungry young body …
But then as in all eras, criminals killed the King of the realm and took the silver out of the coin of the realm, and soon the cost of the lunch went up, and up, and up; which is to say the money fell in value because now the usurpers began to print money as if there was no end to it … but the wages didn’t follow.
End of story, and the fall of the realm. You see, the silver didn’t just give a solid foundation to the coin of the realm; it also enforced Godly principles and honesty to a government and a people who wouldn’t just spend money as if there was no end to it.”
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Lastly, some interesting history, by way of the BBC: The builder who photographed distant galaxies.
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