Investment in silver and gold has always been a favorite for millions. Of course the preference isn’t baseless at all. Investment in precious metals like gold, silver and platinum is considered to be a convenient way of accumulating significant amounts of real wealth, which can help you to get rid of debt. So, obviously silver and gold investment is pretty much essential when financial well being is the ultimate goal. Invest according to the market condition: Perfect timing is the key factor of every investment decision. Before you decide to invest, you need to read the market condition...

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You spend all season hoeing, planting seeds, and keeping weeds out of your garden. You finally see your peas start to grow and your tomatoes start to climb -- and then your dog goes running through your rows and tramples it all to the ground. All your hard work is lost. Or maybe your dog's more of a muncher than a runner. Instead, he prefers to belly up to the salad bar that is your garden and to enjoy all-day grazing on your budding crops. While you certainly love your dog, you also love having healthy and delicious food that you grew yourself. Here are a few tips for how you can keep your...

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A timber retaining wall is an excellent addition to any garden. If you are looking to add beauty and personality to your outside area then this is a fantastic way of doing so. There are many possibilities a retaining wall offers. You can use this to mark out a space for a vegetable patch, a play area for your children, somewhere to relax, or for a flower bed. The options at your disposal are vast, yet all offer the same quality; they bring more excitement, style and better utilization of space. Not only this, but timber soars in comparison to other options such as concrete or stone. Timber is...

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There are many reasons for foraging for plants: from an extra food source to just being more aware of your environment. However, you should always make sure that you correctly identify all plants before eating them. Here are a few examples of plants that you can forage for in the United States: 1. Agarita - Scientific name: Mahoniatrifoliolata.This bush is an evergreen shrub that stands out due to its red berries. Common in the Southwest, the leaves are very sharp and pointy, much like a holly plant, and can make harvesting the berries difficult. However the berries are high in Vitamin C....

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I recently received an email from a Casting and Development Producer, reaching out to me in hopes that I might be or know of the person(s) for whom she is looking.  She is currently in the process of casting a documentary series about which she seems very excited.  I am passing this info along: Casting Call: Do you and your family need a change? Something that will put family time back to the top of the priority list. The makers of GOLD RUSH are looking for a family in need of a new challenge. If you want more family time round the table and less in front of the tv; if...

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by Matt M. Through the years, I have seen many trends in outdoor cookware, from aluminum, non stick coatings, titanium, and various shapes and sizes to fit many needs. Having tried quite a few of the various offerings on backpacking trips, in back country base camps, and in every day life, I consistently come back to one material. Stainless Steel. Unlike aluminum, it does not impart a flavor to high acid foods, like tomato based pasta sauce. It can be scrubbed clean with a handful of sand, unlike non-stick coatings which would be ruined. It is economically priced, unlike...

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As with the book reviews, we return this week from our little break to take a look at the Doomer Fiction film "Children of Men" (2006) Blu-ray (DVD version). Set in a dystopian future that is now only 14 years distant, this film places the viewer in a world not terribly unlike the one we awake to every day -- except that no child has been born to the human race anywhere on Earth in a span of nearly two miserable decades. Needless to say, things do not look well for us as a species. It appears as though humankind may soon near an ignominious extinction. In this world, things are...

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Previous articles in this series by author Allen Currie: The Importance of Planning - Part 1 The Importance of Planning - Part 2 The Importance of Planning - Part 3 The Importance of Planning - Part 4 A few years into my planning efforts, I finally realized that all my work was theoretical. True, I had lived on a dirt poor farm, AND during the dirty 30’s, so I knew some of the problems and solutions I was dealing with. More so than most people alive today. Still, I knew that theoretical planning was very prone to mistakes. I decided to move out to my camp, and immediately began...

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We return to our Monday afternoon book reviews this week by delving into the non-fiction title "Survive and Thrive: 100 Tips for Obtaining Food After the Stores Close" by C. Jeff Oakes (Kindle edition). This book is a follow-up to the author's earlier work "Survive and Thrive After the Collapse of the Dollar," and is meant to expand upon the central idea of that work: that it is possible for one to do rather well for themselves, even in a collapse scenario. Few aspects of survival rival the importance of the basic human need to obtain quality food, so it is only fitting that the second...

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I recently had the opportunity to try some of Augason Farm's Chocolate Morning Moo's Low Fat Milk Alternative, and thought I would share my impressions. This is, of course, a whey-based milk alternative, but be advised that it does contain both dairy and soy, in case there are concerns about allergies or intolerances. Also, pictured to the left is the Everyday Size can with two standard 8-oz drinking glasses for size/scale referencing. And, as you can see in the photo below, once opened the actual product really doesn't look (or smell, by the way) any different than standard dry...

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(Click graphic to access sale) Price good on all in-stock items online only. No back-orders allowed at sale price. Offer good until 5/15/2013. All discounted products are already marked down, no coupon code required.

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Image courtesy of http://www.vincenzo.gr/periv/tilastika/3.html From spreading diseases to chewing through equipment, there are no two ways about it - rats are a pest. If you live on a rural homestead, an infestation of rats or mice can do some serious damage to your crops and livestock. As soon as you begin to notice signs of some furry co-residents, you should take action to prevent the problem from getting worse. Fortunately, there are several easy, affordable and environmentally friendly ways of removing rats and mice from the area. Here are some of the best. Tidy up Before anything...

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Renewable energy is taking the world by storm. More and more there are wind and solar farms popping up as well as new technology that allows us to harness energy from biomass and even landfill gasses. Therefore, as the world makes this shift and discovers energy where it was not previously being derived from, the big question is how we store our renewable energy. This is a relevant question for both large-scale energy grids and providers and small communities or households with their own renewable energy sources. The reality is that currently renewable energy sources feed into the system...

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By Matt M. This story follows up on my previous entry in the non-fiction writing contest... I hear the alarm going off next to my head. I open my eyes, seems later than usual with so much sunlight creeping over the horizon, then I remember that it is spring and the mornings are brighter, no longer starting my work day in the dark. Within minutes, the sound of a computer booting-up lets me know that we still have electricity; it will not be a grid down morning, at least so far. Water is soon boiling and, as I measure out the last few scoops of dark roast coffee into the lexan...

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Women and children first Everybody remembers the kind captain in Titanic, drowning in his own guilt when he realizes he has compromised safety regulations for fame, and his decision to go down with the ship. Before meeting his demise, he first makes sure the women and children make it off the ship. Surely this is the proper thing to do in such situations – women and children first... right? Research suggests otherwise. To be fair, the survivors of the Titanic were mostly women and children, so its captain seems to have favored the women and children during the ship's evacuation. But most...

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The following piece is one in a series of very dense writings, concerning how the world may soon change if we were to enter into a solar minimum -- which the author believes may be imminent and has been on my list of concerns as well.  In truth, I think that it will be useful information, even for those who don't necessarily believe in the idea of a impending solar minimum.  The idea of the economy of the family and household and how, in a simpler world, it will all revolve around the ability to produce your own food and skills to allow you to thrive could very easily apply to...

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Improvements don’t just stop inside the home. Upgrading the looks and utility of your outdoor spaces is also important, especially during the spring and summer months as you make more use of your garden. Make those seasonal BBQs and garden parties even more enjoyable by improving your garden with a decked area. For a small cost, wooden garden decking can add a smarter and more stylish appearance to the exterior of any property and allow you to make the most of the space you have outside the home. Whether you are planning to use the area to house a new furniture set or want to create a safe...

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Previous articles in this series by author Allen Currie: The Importance of Planning - Part 1 The Importance of Planning - Part 2 The Importance of Planning - Part 3 In my previous articles on this subject, I mentioned the five years of research and planning that had gone into the project of bugging-out. To plan, one needs as much data as possible to determine what exactly one is planning for. It does not help to plan for a Tsunami when it is a drought that breaks your back. You are never going to be totally correct, but you must pick things that will serve you well in a variety of...

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This is just a heads up to let everyone know that the normal Monday afternoon book review and Tuesday afternoon film review will not appear this week. Finishing up the work for my most recent Master's degree class and life in general seems to have caught up with me, and the more recent books I've been reading have been longer than others. Both of these regular article series' will resume next week. Thanks!

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The following piece is one in a series of very dense writings, concerning how the world may soon change if we were to enter into a solar minimum -- which the author believes may be imminent and has been on my list of concerns as well.  In truth, I think that it will be useful information, even for those who don't necessarily believe in the idea of a impending solar minimum.  The idea of the economy of the family and household and how, in a simpler world, it will all revolve around the ability to produce your own food and skills to allow you to thrive could very easily apply to...

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The following piece is one in a series of very dense writings, concerning how the world may soon change if we were to enter into a solar minimum -- which the author believes may be imminent and has been on my list of concerns as well.  In truth, I think that it will be useful information, even for those who don't necessarily believe in the idea of a impending solar minimum.  The idea of the economy of the family and household and how, in a simpler world, it will all revolve around the ability to produce your own food and skills to allow you to thrive could very easily apply to...

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When preparing for potential disasters, families often don’t think to prepare supplies or make a plan for their four-legged family members. Sadly, this often results in pet owners having to leave their beloved dogs, cats, etc. behind. Tragically, roughly 600,000 pets were killed or left without a home as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Let’s keep this from happening and see if we can help folks learn how to prepare their pets, along with the rest of the family. The following article is the product of the State of Georgia's Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), but the information can be applied...

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The following piece is one in a series of very dense writings, concerning how the world may soon change if we were to enter into a solar minimum -- which the author believes may be imminent and has been on my list of concerns as well.  In truth, I think that it will be useful information, even for those who don't necessarily believe in the idea of a impending solar minimum.  The idea of the economy of the family and household and how, in a simpler world, it will all revolve around the ability to produce your own food and skills to allow you to thrive could very easily apply to...

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Natural and man-made disasters are one of the greatest enemies of people. The recovery of the community depends on how far the damages had been, and how well-prepared the people are to deal with these disasters. One of the best ways to deal with these disasters is to keep themselves from starving by making a food storage plan for their family. What to do One way to make your storage plan is to divide it into short-term and long-term subdivisions. First, make a list different grocery store goods such as cheese, butter, cereal, and other canned and frozen foods that won’t cost too...

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The following piece is one in a series of very dense writings, concerning how the world may soon change if we were to enter into a solar minimum -- which the author believes may be imminent and has been on my list of concerns as well.  In truth, I think that it will be useful information, even for those who don't necessarily believe in the idea of a impending solar minimum.  The idea of the economy of the family and household and how, in a simpler world, it will all revolve around the ability to produce your own food and skills to allow you to thrive could very easily apply to...

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