The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 12, Issue 20
Hey folks, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. We have a new college graduate in the house. Our son Michael graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors, with a double major in Computer Science and Media Arts and Game Design and minor in Math. He’s already started graduate school, with plans to get his Master’s and potentially moving on to his Doctorate as well. We’re immensely proud of his accomplishments thus far and can’t wait to see what’s next for him.
On a related side note, if you or someone you know might need website development or similar work (contract or actual employment opportunities), please give me a shout.
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This was shared with me on Instagram a bit ago and I thought it was worth mentioning here. If you have a family member, such as a parent, for whom you are the primary emergency contact, pay attention.
Emergencies tend to occur when they are the least convenient. Let’s say you’re out of town on vacation when your elderly mother is rushed to the hospital with a severe heart attack. All of your carefully curated notes on her current medications, medical directives, and more are all sitting in a file folder at home. And you have no way to access them quickly, as nobody else is at home.
You can mitigate this risk by keeping the truly important info saved on your phone or perhaps in a file saved to the cloud. You’ll want to make sure it’s secure, of course. But if you need to access the data, you don’t want to rely on someone back home being able to find it on your desk and relay it all to you.
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We’ve wrapped up the last of the edits for Backwoods Survival Guide 34. That issue will come out in July. Our writers are already working on their articles for Backwoods 35 and soon we’ll start planning Backwoods 36. I have a couple of special issues in mind as well, if we can get the publisher to give us the green light on them. Fingers crossed.
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I have a limited number of copies of Countdown to Preparedness (2nd edition) available directly from me. That means you'll have yours well before the book releases in July. These can be signed, of course. Cost is $25 each, which includes shipping in the US. Drop me a message if you want one.
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“Don’t believe everything you think.”
I stumbled on this phrase today. I wish I could tell you who posted it, but FB refreshed the page and it was gone. It’s actually a pretty profound statement.
The first thing that came to mind was how meaningful this phrase might be to those who suffer from constant intrusive and negative thoughts. Don’t believe everything you think, and realize you’re probably not the awful person you keep telling yourself you are.
What are some other ways you might interpret this phrase?
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For those of you familiar with the Outdoor Boys YouTube channel, Luke posted his last video today. If you've not followed that channel, you'd be hard-pressed to find one that's more wholesome and genuine.
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For those in or near southern Wisconsin, we’re doing the first annual Walworth County Preparedness Expo. It’ll be Saturday, May 31st, 9AM-1PM. You’ll find us at Gateway Technical College, 400 Co Trunk H, Elkhorn, Wisconsin. We have about 15 vendors lined up as well as several classes that will be running on topics like water filtration, survival kits, and preparedness. All of the vendors and the class schedule are listed here.
I’ll have back issues of Backwoods Survival Guide to give away to attendees as well as a small basket of prepper goodies as a raffle prize. If you stop in, be sure to say hi!
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I had a couple of reviews go live at GearJunkie recently. The UTX-85 was my first Microtech, and it definitely won’t be my last. I also really liked the Transit Bag from Woods Monkey.
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For our hike this past weekend, we did just a short loop through Springs Park in Delavan, Wisconsin. Between our son’s graduation, moving him back home, and other commitments, we just didn’t have time to go on a longer walk. Here’s one of the photos my wife took.
Survival Tip – Taking a Hit
Most people would probably agree that self-defense classes are a great way to learn some basic skills. But there’s something else far more important that you’ll learn taking these sorts of classes. You’ll find out what it’s like to get hit. For many people, that’s never happened before. Or if it has, the last scuffle was maybe back in middle school.
Going through the motions at half-speed or less is a good way to get the technique and movement down. But having it applied to you at full speed is something else entirely. Getting hit hurts, no question about it. So does having a joint lock applied as well as numerous other techniques.
But it’s important to know what it’s like on the receiving end. Not only will you have a better understanding of how these various strikes and locks work, you’ll be able to better control your own reaction. The first time you get struck in the face, you’ll probably freeze up from the shock and surprise. But over time as you practice and spar with others, you’ll be able to improve your reaction speed, so that getting hit maybe happens less often.
Backwoods Survival Guide Magazine
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for Backwoods Survival Guide magazine. Here is the cover for the current issue available in stores right now.
You can find Backwoods Survival Guide just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:
Walmart
Publix
Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS
Tractor Supply
Fleet Farm
Barnes & Noble
Subscriptions are available here.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.
Congrats to your son on graduating 🙌