Cash back on fuel purchase, Animal Care Library, More

Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com

In This Issue:

1. Vendio offers free multi-channel storefront
2. Civilian Investigators save cities money-potential for you
3. Free animal care PDF library
4. Avoiding Craigslist scams
5. Cash back on your fuel purchases
6. Is your phone being tapped? How to find out.

I am optimistic about the future because it’s clear the federal government’s days as an ever-expanding bubble are numbered…the Fed, however, could artificially prolong and expand the bubble and because desperate governments are historically prone to extremism.
--Lee Bellinger

Farmer’s Market Adventure

Despite being billed as one of America’s most dangerous cities, we ventured out this weekend to the Flint Farmer’s Market. It was a beautiful day and we were greeted by vendors selling home made food items, vegetables, live plants, and handcrafted jewelry.

Survival Heirlooms, owned by the McCarthy’s, were offering heirloom seeds which can be purchased both wholesale and retail. They offered samples of homemade bread made from seed stock they sell – yummy! Learn more or place an order via their site at: SurvivalHeirlooms.com

Jennifer Barnes of Upper Crust Candles was there. She’s teamed up with the talented Chef Douglas St. Souver of Artisans in Culinary, a wonder of art created entirely from food. Chef Souver is a Food Network Challenge Champion and is the host of ‘thefoodinsider.com.’ A good example of locally made food ‘art.’
View his site at: Click Here for ArtisanCulinary

Although early in the season, we found a nice selection of locally grown hot house grown vegetables. Still somewhat pricy, we filled a bag with a nice variety (we threw in some home made fudge too). There were several vendors selling fresh fish and locally raised meat. The fish was very reasonable, the meat was a bit costly but the home made sausages smelled wonderful and brought back memories of the West Side Market in Cleveland, OH that I used to visit. The West Side Market still gets my top vote as being the best local market in the midwest.

The greater Cleveland area always offered the best independently owned, ethnic restaurants in my opinion. The Tic-Toc Tavern on Cleveland’s near west side had the best ribs and Gus, its owner was featured in Playboy Magazine a couple of times. Whenever I visted the west side, I always made a stop at the now defunct, Smiling Dog Saloon, where I made friends with one of its frequent entertainers, Herbie Hancock. The Poor Man likes his jazz!

It’s always a good idea to support your local farmers and merchants. The food quality is healthier and it’s a nice way to give your local economy a boost. With spring finally here, it’s time for the Poor Man to get cracking on his spring planting!

Prune broken branches before the spring growing season starts.

Poor Man’s ‘Betty Shocker’ – Compendium of useful stuff

Mesa civilian investigators save money, create rapport with public
Arizona city explores a cheaper way to report, respond and investigate crime while lowering their cost. This innovation could be a job opportunity for you while serving your community. Read the article and if interested, approach your local police department and/or city hall. Grants are available to cities who implement such programs and the training isn’t lengthy or very difficult.
More: http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2010/07/19/20100719mesa-civilian-police-investigators0717.html#ixzz1LVXWPiIr

Home improvement & DIY resources
HGTV’s The Fix. www.hometips.com.


Find a whole bunch of animal care reports here…chickens, goats, deer, etc. - free!
http://www.feeddealer.com/publications/LOL_PMI/Better_Animals/Better_Animals_Archive.htm


Get Cash Back on fuel fill ups
During a conversation about fuel prices it’s been suggested Americans are being conditioned over time to accept higher prices. Analysts are saying prices will come down 50 cents a gallon, still significantly higher than last year.

Here’s a credit card that gives rewards now and offers cash rebates on gas…The Discover Open Road card (2% back, up to $250 per billing cycle). Find this & other cards at: www.PumpandSave.com

A duck egg can be used for anything a chicken egg would, but take size differences into account for recipes. Aside from being larger, they have thicker whites & larger yokes & have higher protein content.

Avoid Craigslist Scams

I posted some items on Craigslist for a friend of mine and we were both amazed at the scam artists flew from the woodwork; scams I thought had faded away. In particular, the old “let me have my agent bring a bank check over, it’s for $500 more than your price but if you cash it, I’ll let you have the half of that.”

If you get such an offer, delete immediately. Here are a few more tips:

>Deal locally and if they want to meet, choose a neutral ground if possible, not your home.
>Take cash only, no checks, period!

>If possible, check out your buyer first by looking them up in the white pages of the phone directory. If they are listed, that’s a good sign they are genuine.

>Do not wire money or email credit card numbers - almost always a sure sign of a scam.

Do not put smoke alarms in laundry rooms, kitchens or garages…fumes and steam will cause them to go off.

Vendio offers multi-channel storefronts to sell from - free
Vendio is a multi-channel automation platform that allows you to sell on both eBay and Amazon from one central inventory controlled space. For the past few months, Vendio has been making an incredible offer of a Free Vendio Store when you sign up for any of Vendio’s services. A Vendio Store is a full-featured e-commerce website. It comes with a shopping cart built in and is set up so users can find you in Google searches.

As part of the deal, Vendio has committed to the store always being free. Once you sign up there are no set-up fees, no hosting charges and no listing or selling fees – here is a list some of what you’ll receive with the free Vendio store.
Sell products from your own free online store and pay no hosting fees, listing fees, or transaction fees!

See that last item about Vendio Applications? Well one of Vendio’s newest applications is a built-in utility that will list all of the products in your Vendio Store on Facebook.
http://www.vendio.com/

Get a web presence without a site
Websites can be expensive to host and maintain, not everyone wants take such a project on, especially if budgets are tight. Aside from Twitter, LinkedIn and face book, there are other avenues you can use to create a web presence without the expense or a lot of time.

To build an online presence consider such free blog hosting sites as: blogger.com. Wordpress.com or Tumblr.com

>Place a free business card listing at: DooID.com

>Networking site for entrepreneurs-free basic listing at: Manta.com

>Online site for handmade and vintage goods - Etsy.com

You might also consider a low-cost basic storefront site on eBay or Overstock.com

Protect brain cells by skipping fast food. British researchers found diets containing high fructose corn syrup, saturated fats are associated with memory loss in as little as nine days!

How to know if your phone is being tapped…

A few years ago when cordless phones started to become popular, it was pretty easy for anyone to buy a scanner from Radio Shack and sit in a car near your home and eavesdrop on your conversation.

Listening devices have become more sophisticated in that police and other busybodies can use parabolic devices to listen from a distance…or they can tap a telephone pole connection. If you believe you are the target of eavesdropping, here are some signs to look for:

*Strange sounds coming from the phone (static, squealing or scratching noise, volume changes or other odd sounds).
*Interference on your home or car radio.

*A phone repairman shows up - even though you didn’t call one.

*Friends or associates suddenly know things you didn’t tell them.

Search for transmitters by removing the battery, hearing or speaking component from phones. Remove or disable GPS from your cell phone. Use an air siren, like the kind boaters use, to blast the speaking piece every so often. Here are some additional useful resources to use:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/telephone-tapping-devices-how-to-tap-a-telephone.html

Resource for tools which can detect if your phone is being tapped…
http://eyespysupply.com/super-tap-buster---telephone-tap-detector.html
http://www.advanced-intelligence.com/telephone.html


The Nanny State Updates

Obama's Anti-Energy Policies Are Bankrupting America
Randall Stilley has witnessed firsthand the Obama administration's job-killing agenda. As the president and chief executive of Seahawk Drilling, he had to lay off 632 employees before filing for bankruptcy -- a direct result of President Barack Obama's anti-energy policies.

Stilley's company owned and operated 20 shallow-water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The lack of energy production -- a consequence of Obama's drilling moratorium and subsequent "permitorium" -- led to Seahawk’s demise. Now he's speaking out, sharing Seahawk's story in a new video from Heritage and the Institute for Energy Research. (Click to watch.)
http://www.youtube.com/heritagefoundation?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell


>A six-year-old boy from WI has been charged with first-degree sexual assault for “playing doctor” with a 5-year-old girl. Prosecutors state that it’s all about ‘making sure he gets the help he needs.’ Good thing the PM isn’t six anymore!

>Heard on the street…If bin Laden’s death spurs the US to exit the war in Afghanistan, the result would boost confidence in the US dollar and send commodity prices south. Sugar, cotton and silver prices have already gone down, will oil be next?

Plan being circulated by White House to tax you on the number of miles you drive!
A vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax could be tracked by installing electronic equipment on each car to determine how many miles were driven; payment could take place electronically at filling stations. Read the bill:
http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/flooraction/Jan2011/draftdot.pdf


Need to fix driveway cracks after a tough winter? Wait for a warm day. Most sealants fail when temps are below 50 or if it rains before they set. Always a quality sealant such as Quikrete.


How the fed violates the Constitution-the parting thought

The power to declare war is vested with Congress, but that body has forsaken that responsibility. In fact, we’ve not had an official declaration of war since the second world war. Presidents have gotten away with dozens of unofficial wars ever since all in violation of the Constitution.

Politicians at every level ranging from Congress and the office of the President to state and local officials have been violating the Bill of Rights and Constitution for decades.

Much of this got its start with the ‘the general welfare’ clause which Congress has taken to mean they have the power to do whatever they want; often supported by judges who seem ignorant of the law.

No, our Constitution is not some flexible document meant to be molded to left wing politics.

Jefferson and James Madison vehemently warned against the potential for unbridled power in a central government. That’s why we supposedly have checks and balances. The feds routinely trample states rights and people’s rights in direct violation of several amendments, but especially the 9th Amendment.

The enumeration of the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

James Madison promoted this view (against the ‘general welfare’ clause and its mis-use by Congress and the courts)…

If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers, they may take into their own hands the education of children establishing in like manner schools throughout the United States, they may assume the provision for the poor, they may undertake the regulation of all roads; in short, everything, from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police, would be thrown under the power of Congress.

Clearly, Congress has overstepped its Constitutional boundaries with the welfare system, our federal highway system and now with the mandatory health care system. Are these not impeachable offenses? Is it any wonder this nation is bankrupt?

How optimistic are you as to how much longer the government spending bubble will last? They seem to artificially prolong and expand spending but as we history tells us, desperate governments are prone to extremism. Is your financial lifeboat ready?

Yours for cautious confusion, the Poor Man

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