Philosophizing with a Hammer

The best way to keep eggs fresh is to keep them in the chickens. This is one of the benefits of having your own backyard flock, along with pest control and entertainment.  One of the problems...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2020/11/preserving-eggs-with-limewater.html

The properties desirable in a handle for a striking tool are: 1. Hardness. (Don’t want the handle deforming inside the eye or getting too many dents where we grip it.) 2. Modulus of rupt...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2017/06/suitable-woods-for-axe-handles.html

There was a young bull elephant in Zimbabwe named Buddy, who had been fed when he was little. He grew up to be the African equivalent of a nuisance bear in Yellowstone Park. He began chasing car...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-it-is-like-to-shoot-elephant.html

The Last Witches: There are many biblical passages dealing with witchcraft, such as Exodus 22:18 (“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”). In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII ordered the Inqui...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-last-witches-there-are-many.html

Squirrels empty our birdfeeder every day. And they eat every peach on every tree, every summer. They don't eat the whole peaches, they just take one bite out of each of them. They do the sam...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-squirrel-jihad.html

By some estimates, more than 300,000 previously law-abiding Connecticut citizens who believe the Bill of Rights applies to them are now felons. They've refused to comply with the state's new g...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2014/02/civil-disobedience-in-connecticut.html

Today was a day made for hypothermia, just above freezing and raining fairly hard. A foot of slushy snow on the ground. Since the paradox of fire is that the more you need one the more difficult ...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2014/01/today-was-day-made-for-hypothermia-just.html

For much of human history, the safest things to drink had alcohol in them. "Hard" cider was very popular in England, and early emigrants from there brought apple seeds to New England. Grai...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2013/11/on-making-cider.html

Starting from seven o'clock and proceeding clockwise: A military axe from a surplus store, made by Hults Bruk and marked with the Swedish three crowns. It's about a 2 1/2 pound head on a t...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2013/03/favorite-axes.html

Every axe needs a sheath. Duct tape and paracord aren't as classy as leather, but they're almost free. You're less likely to lose them in the leaves or snow, and won't feel as badly if you d...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2013/03/duct-tape-axe-sheath.html

I've written before about military surplus rain capes (also known as zelts, zeltbahns, plasch-palatkas, palatkas, cloak-tents and shelter-halves) being my favorite foul weather gear. CENTUR...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-favorite-rain-gear.html

John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, AKA "Mad Jack", 1906-1996 Mad Jack was a British officer who carried a longbow and a Claymore sword into battle. Not the Highland Rebellion of 1745, Wo...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2013/02/great-moments-in-real-man-history-mad.html

Before the days of C-rations and MRE's, the soldiers of many countries were issued 'bread bags', also known as 'ration bags'. The primary source of calories for fighting men is no longer hearty ...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/12/gear-that-works-military-bread-bags.html

It’s fun to forage wild edibles, especially when the catching is even better than the eating. With crayfish even little kids can do the hunter-gatherer thing. They're an under-utilized food so...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/08/crayfish-crawfish-little-lake-lobsters.html

After years of experimenting, rain capes have become my favorite rain gear, and specifically military surplus rain capes, because they're rugged and versatile. They haven't caught on in the ...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/08/gear-that-works-rain-capes.html

Official list of words that Homeland Security monitors on social media (Facebook, Twitter, news article comments, etc.): DOMESTIC SECURITY Assassination Attack Domestic security Drill Exerc...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/05/big-brother-is-watching.html

I've given up on butane lighters, from disposables to the very expensive Brunton Helios. They've let me down too many times. These are what I've settled on, clockwise from the top: "Stormproof...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/04/favorite-fire-starters.html

Irena Sendler (née Krzyżanowska, AKA Irena Sendlerowa, Nom de guerre Jolanta), 1910 – 2008, was a member of the Polish underground during WWII. She worked for Warsaw's municipal departm...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/04/irena-sendler.html

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory prepared this report for the Department of Homeland Security. Here are the key points: "Despite hundreds of above-ground nuclear tests and data gather...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/03/key-response-planning-factors-for.html

"Plata o plomo" ("silver or lead"), is an expression meaning bribery or violence. Mexico's cartels have coalesced around the two most powerful, the Sinaloa and the Los Zetas, who tend to operate ...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/02/mexicos-drug-cartels.html

‎"Big Tim" Sullivan, 1862-1913, was a New York state senator who controlled virtually all jobs and vice in lower Manhattan. He was born to Irish immigrant parents. His father, a Union Civil...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/02/biography-of-day-tim-sullivan.html

Nikola Tesla, 1856 – 1943, was a complicated genius whose work, among other things, made possible our commercial AC electrical supply system, wireless communication, radar, remote controls, ...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/01/biography-of-day-nikola-tesla.html

This information was condensed from a report by 'Stratfor Global Intelligence'. Corn, rice, wheat and soybeans are the world's most important food staples. Corn and soybean exports are domina...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-imports-food-and-who-exports-it.html

"Sending God's Peace, Love and Forgiveness to open the hearts. Remember healing begins from within...when there is forgiveness, love moves in, when there is love, peace fills you ♥ Be open to r...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/01/actual-emails-from-crazy-stepsister.html

At one of Mors Kochanski's wilderness skills courses some years ago, I made an improvised pack frame from three sticks. Such a frame is an ancient concept that was re-invented by Mors' friend an...

http://oblio13.blogspot.com/2012/01/improvised-pack-frames.html