Notes for Friday – October 31, 2014

October 31st is Reformation Day. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined …




Survival To Go, by JMD – Part 2

In my checked bag, when flying, I put a small zippered case that contains: A Gerber Folding Sheath Knife, which is a good trade-off between size/weight and capability. I’ve found that most people (LEOs in particular) tend to be a lot less suspicious of folding knives than fixed-blade ones. A Boker Plus Credit Card Knife. I put this in my pocket if I’m going out for an evening and I can’t bring my EDC kit, because it’s completely unobtrusive in a front pocket. It’s not necessarily the most robust knife in the world, but it’s the same size as a …




Letter: A Few Comments

Hello Hugh, I just wanted to pass on that the article you posted on Monday, the 27th, ER Doctor: What Scares Me Even More Than Ebola, made the rounds amongst the nurses, doctors, and some of the EMTs in the mid-sized hospital emergency room where I work, and every single person that read it was in total agreement that it was the most sound and well thought-out plan for dealing with wide spread pandemic infectious disease, whether Ebola or what ever the next wave might be. I have my doubts about it being taken to heart and applied nationally, but …




Economics and Investing:

US Homeownership Rate Drops To 1983 Levels: Here’s Why. – G.G. o o o Alan Greenspan: Gold Is A Good Place To Put Money These Days o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Obamacare Sends Health Premiums Skyrocketing By As Much As 78% – This is about spot on to what I have personally experienced in the private market as well. Does This Look Like A Housing Recovery To You? From This Day Forward, We Will Watch How The Stock Market Performs Without The Fed’s Monetary Heroin U.S. Economy Up 3.5% in 3rd Quarter, Capping Best 6 Months in Over …




Odds ‘n Sods:

By way of The Daily Sheeple comes an excellent video on How To Treat a Traumatic Gunshot Wound. – J.W. o o o Man had four beatings by PA State police in 11 hours, including one in the hospital while the already injured victim was still handcuffed to a gurney. Man charged with breaking a trooper’s fist with his face. – T.P. I’m going to have to put Pennsylvania in the same class as other places that I never want to go. o o o WND has an excellent video about the indoctrination of our children in public schools. Get …







Notes for Thursday – October 30, 2014

October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) He died on July 4, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding …




Survival To Go, by JMD – Part 1

Many of us have invested in learning the skills, stockpiling the tools and supplies, and hiding the caches necessary to survive in the event of a major disaster that impacts our local area, but the reality is that these types of events happen around the world on a daily basis. While skills are useful anywhere and anytime, the best stores and caches are useless if you’re hundreds or even thousands of miles away when a disaster strikes in your current location! While developing my survival strategy, I realized that I had a major gap– I travel a lot on business, …




Letter Re: Kids Can Earn Their Keep

Dear Hugh, I thought T.B. had some good ideas for kids involvement in almost any situation, but I wanted to bring up a point about feeding the animals. We are about two years into our new retreat now, and in the process we acquired farm animals. The first year we bought chickens; the second year we bought cattle. My experience with both has led me to believe it is not necessarily a good idea for children to be working with farm animals, as I had my own learning curve with them that has resulted in some injuries. I’ve owned two …




Economics and Investing:

The American Illusion of Prosperity o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Japan Finance Minister Will Consider Stimulus after Q3 GDP Data How Will The Stock Market React To The End Of Quantitative Easing Federal Reserve Plans Next Phase as End to Stimulus Program Is Expected- This is a pipe dream in my analysis Fireworks Fly As Peter Schiff Warns “An Economy That Lives By QE, Dies By QE”




Odds ‘n Sods:

Not strictly survival related, but it’s a testament to the condition of our society: TRENDING: More college students support post-birth abortion – P.M. o o o With all the recent dust-ups on militarized police, here is an interesting read: Are Cops Constitutional? – K.W. o o o A Library For Survival Knowledge. Browse at will, but there is also a torrent snapshot of it (14-Oct-2014). – R.F. o o o CDC Says Ebola Droplets Can Only Travel 3 Feet … But MIT Research Shows Sneezes Can Travel Up to 20 Feet – P.M. Don’t forget to watch the Myth Busters …




Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Choosing what you want to do, and when to do it, is an act of creation. In reality, serendipity accounts for one percent of the blessings we receive in life, work and love. The other 99 percent is due to our efforts. If you’re not actively involved in getting what you want, you don’t really want it.” – Peter McWilliams




Notes for Wednesday – October 29, 2014

October 29th is the birthday of Vermont Garrison, fighter pilot, an American who fought in three wars– WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died February 14, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho. This is also the birthday of World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin (born 1921, died January 22, 2003). o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A …




Kids Can Earn Their Keep, by T.B.

There are so many things to consider when making your plans for when we arrive at TEOTWAWKI that it seems overwhelming at times. One of my own concerns is being able to take care of my grandchildren. My wife and I have five grandchildren (soon to be six) that live close enough that we would be expecting them to join us in the event of an economic or societal collapse. Thinking about that possibility has motivated me to stock up on books, games, crafts, toys, and so forth in order to keep them entertained and maybe a little distracted while …




Letter Re: Question on Audiobook Formats for Liberators

Hello Jim, I purchased your latest novel Liberators last week and have just now received it. Forgive my lack of modern tech-no-media; however, the CD I ordered was the new MP3 format, which none of my older devices can play. Do you offer a traditional CD set? Dealing directly with Amazon is a pain sometimes, so I was hoping you might be able to advise me. Best Regards, – Steve G. JWR Replies: Sorry, but I don’t sell any CDs directly. You can listen to your existing MP3 CD with just about any laptop computer, or on newer car stereos. …