achieving adventure

What is the meaning of the 4th of July to People Today? Today, the 4th of July is all about Summer, BBQ, Beer, Parades, and Fireworks We […]

What is the meaning of the 4th of July to People Today?

Today, the 4th of July is all about Summer, BBQ, Beer, Parades, and Fireworks

We have let our family gatherings and cookouts get in the way of our Independence Day knowledge.

What Independence Day is all about, as taught by our schools.

A Revolution was declared against the British and On July 4th, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Then there was a celebration where the Liberty Bell was cracked from getting hit so hard

What is the Declaration of Independence (DOI)?

The Declaration of Independence is a document signed by our local governing body. It was done so to explain to the British King that we were tired of the British government overstepping its bounds and consistently overtaxing the people.

The first rough draft was written in the Green Dragon Tavern over a mug of ale.  This was the same Tavern that people got drunk at before the Boston Tea Party.

Who Were The Men / Signers of the Declaration of Independence Really?

You can get a list of names anywhere, but that doesn’t actually teach you anything.  The men that signed the Declaration of Independence were revolters.  Today, they would not be considered stand up people.  To the British crown, they were felons and traitors.

What else were they? Men of power and courage that had enough of the tyranny and because of this fact, they needed to rally people to their cause, so… they signed the DOI.

The Revolutionary War, The War for Independence

War was declared on Great Britain in April of 1775. At first there was an impressive turnout for the war but once people realized how long it was taking, the people volunteering started to diminish.

4th of July 2017 from Ken Jensen

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

The ride of Paul Revere occurred on April 18th 1775.  His purpose was part of a planned early warning system, where they would send one person by land and Two by sea to reach the north church steeple and light a lantern.

Instead, Paul was caught off-guard and decided to Ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams and stopped at houses on his way to Lexington

There he was joined by rider William Dawes and they continued on to Concord where there was hidden ammunition for the continental army.

They were joined by Samuel Prescott and intercepted by a British battalion, and all three were arrested.

The Drafting of the Revolutionary War

Late 1776, The colonies began cash incentives since the volunteer rate was so low.  It dropped even more, where in 1778 they had to start drafting.

Many Americans (15-20%) were Crown Loyalists, fought as red coats because they saw the revolters as treasonous.

Native Americans in the War

Native Americans fought on both sides.  In Peace of Paris Treaty, the Crown Natives lost their land.  The others made out better initially, but ultimately lost theirs as well.

The entire reason why they fought with the Brits was because they wanted to save their land.

War has Ended

In 1781, war was unofficially over.

Changing Earth Podcast Episode 6 Questions Is Aquaponics a Viable system? Aquaponics is an extremely valid system. What is an aquaponics system? Aquaponics is the marriage […]

Changing Earth Podcast Episode 6 Questions

Is Aquaponics a Viable system?

Aquaponics is an extremely valid system.

What is an aquaponics system?

Aquaponics is the marriage of hydroponics and Aquaculture.

Hydroponics is cultivating plant life in a bath of nutrient rich water solution, instead of soil, for large scale production in a smaller area.

Aquaculture is a design to grow fish or aquatic life like shellfish, crawfish, snails, or ……….. to help meet the popular fish demand with little impact on the overall aquatic population.

Introducing Aquaponics

Aquaponics is a marriage of aquaculture and hydroponics.

Uses fish to provide the nutrient content for plant life.

It gets rid of agrochemicals from typical farming:

Problems like the delta of the Mississippi where a wetland is turning into an uninhabitable area

TPP 132: Aquaponics Interview on Changing Earth Podcast from Ken Jensen

What materials are required for building an aquaponics system?

Typical Aquaponic system components:

Rearing tank:

Tanks for raising and feeding fish.

Large barrel or a stock tank, glass fish tank

Settling basin

Catches uneaten food and detached biofilms, settles out particles

Biofilter

Where nitrification bacteria can grow and convert ammonia into nitrates

Bucket of pebbles or other high surface area media

Not absolutely necessary though with a good grow bed

Hydroponics subsystem

Where plants grow

Grow bed

Flood table

Frame it above the fish tank

Half barrels

Bath tubs even!

Sump

Lowest basin where water gravity flows. It is then pumped back up to the rearing tanks

Water Pump

Mag Drive Pump

Submersible fountain pump

Pump from fish tank to grow bed

Air Pump

Get an aquarium air pump to oxygenate the water

Bell Siphon

30 bucks on amazon, or you can make one from pvc components.

Raised pipe in a bigger pipe

Bigger pipe has holes drilled in it

Medium pipe in top with an air lock on top making it float

Drain from grow bed to fish tank

Different applications to grow plant life (this could be considered as the Hydroponics Tank):

Deep-Water Raft Aquaponics

Plants float in Styrofoam rafts in a deep basin

Recirculating Aquaponics or Closed-Loop Aquaponics

Solid media: (Gravel or clay) in a container.  Container is flooded with the aquaculture water.

Best for beginners because:

Easier to learn

Less parts, so it is cheaper

Media bed mechanically filters (solids), performs mineralization (breaks down solids), and biofiltration (attachment of bacteria).

Reciprocating Aquaponics, Flood-and-Drain Aquaponics, Ebb-and-Flow Aquaponics

Flood and Drain is simplest

Easy to build

Small

Best for a 1:1 ratio (grow bed to fish tank)

Easier maintenance

Same media but it is flooded and drained using siphon drains.

Vertical Tower Aquaponics

Uses vertical towers that are trickle fed from the top

Nutrient Film Aquaponics

Sloped bed of 1.1 to 1.4

Related Blog Posts: What to Do for Memorial Day, Visiting a Memorial Cemetery The Meaning About US Veteran’s Memorial Day, Honor, The Date, and The Story […]

About Gary Collins:

Gary spent 20 years in Military Intelligence and as a Special Agent for the U.S. State Dept, U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services and the FDA.

After leaving the US Gov., He decided to pursue his passions and started a company promoting the primal, paleo and self reliant lifestyle.

He’s an author of 4 books on both Health and Fitness and off-grid living.  His latest one details his off the grid project he has been working on for the last three and a half years in NE Washington State.

Why Should I Live Off-Grid?

We discuss how one person decides to create an off-grid home, and many of the troubles that he ran into.  We discuss Gary’s new book, “Going off the Grid.”

Gary had done construction and remodels, so he wasn’t new to the concept of building a home.  This helped him out.

Why a Book about Off-Grid Living?

Because he wanted to help others simplify his life, he decided to write his book about his project and the many lessons he learned along the way.

What Are the Main Challenges of Building an Off-Grid Home?

In the podcast, Gary tells us about many of his obstacles along the way, such as dealing with contractors, the time it takes to build something off-grid, going through the maze of the local permitting network, and even security issues he ran into quickly.

TPP 131: Off Grid with Gary Collins from Ken Jensen

What are Some Lessons to Learn from Your Off-Grid Project?

Solar is really expensive, and was probably one of the most difficult pieces to the puzzle of an off-grid home.  

Digging a well for the home was more expensive than the land itself!!!

The best advice for someone considering an off-grid project is to be patient! Be practical with the needs and timeline a build like this will take.

Be practical with the amount you will have to downsize as well.  Consider downsizing in an RV as a test of how you will be in a small, off-grid home.  Use this as an opportunity to visit the areas that you would want to build your home in.

If you can handle travel trailers, you can probably handle living in an off-grid home.

What is a Helpful Resource for Building an Off-Grid Homestead?

Backwoods home magazine was one of the biggest helps for Gary during his build.  The magazine has been changing their label to Self Reliance Magazine at http://self-reliance.com/

Free Resources for Building an Off-Grid Home

Free Off-Grid Resource #1:

Gary and I discussed that we will provide a way for people to win a free copy of his book. The book is both hard-copy and electronic.  Click the photo below for a chance to win a free PDF version of Gary’s Book, “Going Off The Grid” or go to http://theprepperpodcast.com/freeoffgrid.

Free Off-Grid Resource #2:

Go to Gary’s website where you can download two different resources for living off-grid: www.primalpowermethod.com/offgridresources

Where to Buy Gary’s Book, “Going Off The Grid”:

(Buy Directly from Gary)

(Buy from Amazon)

About Gary Collins: Gary spent 20 years in Military Intelligence and as a Special Agent for the U.S. State Dept, U.S. Dept of Health & Human […]

There are times in small unit warfare that infiltration tactics are needed. 

Infiltration is used when

you want to execute movement undetected

you want to move into and through enemy territory

you want to occupy an area

you want to position your group into the enemy’s rear area

to give an attack advantage.

Infiltration forces are lightly equipped and stealthy.

This allows them to slip through the front line for strategic attacks

Infiltration can NOT defeat the defense by itself, so it must be used as a supplement to another maneuver.

Modern infiltration tactics are heavily influenced by 3 main sources:

French Infiltration Tactics

Laffargue Infiltration Tactics

Hutier Infiltration Tactics

French Infiltration Tactics

1915

The Theory

the first wave of infantry penetrate as far as possible

follow-up waves then attack strong points. 

This was partially adopted in battle, but German counterattacks were difficult to reinforce or hold against.

Laffargue Infiltration Tactics

Captain Laffargue

French captain

Injured in battle of 1915

Proposed a better idea

The Theory

A small infantry unit with mobile firepower to deal with machine guns.

Penetrate gaps and weak points with heavy fire

Strong points would be temporarily neutralized by fire or smoke.

Then new waves would encircle and attack each one.

Hunter Infiltration Tactics

German General Oskar von Hutier

In 1918 used Laffargue’s insights to supplement his tactics

The Theory

First, a brief and violent artillery attack of the enemy front lines (suppress the positions)

Then, the artillery would be shifted to the enemy’s rear to disrupt

lines of communication

artillery

logistics

and command/control nodes

meant to

provide confusion

weaken counterattacks

weaken concentrated fires

weaken the ability to fill gaps/penetrations.

Then light infantry would

Evade and bypass fortified positions

identify gaps in the front line

be followed by more heavily armed units.

Then heavy units would attack the strong points and yet other forces would enter gaps shortly after to further attack the strong points, which would quicken the collapse of the entire front.

In 1918, this was successful against the British and French

TPP 130: Tactical Maneuver: Infiltration Tactics from Ken Jensen

Reasons to use Infiltration Tactics

Direct attack from lightly defended positions

To flank or rear attack strongly defended positions

Disrupt enemy operations

Reconnaissance or surveillance

If you are wanting to succeed at this, you must be a force that:

Has trained together

Established command and control

Is small for stealth

Is large enough to get out of trouble

Infiltration Lanes

We will stick with a single lane of infiltration since, in a defense position, you probably will only have a small force.

Rally Points

Rally Point is an easily identifiable object where the force can assemble or reorganize if dispersed

Rally points should be defensible as well as away from normal routes of movement.

Initial Rally Point

Assemble for initial instructions, behind friendly lines

En Route Rally Point

There are times in small unit warfare that infiltration tactics are needed.  Infiltration is used when you want to execute movement undetected you want to move […]

Christmas is an extremely important time of year! During Christmas, people have good will to others, and they tend to enjoy giving to others.  It doesn’t […]