If you have a particular area of expertise in any SA related to survival, please share it. Your fellow SurvivalBloggers would greatly appreciate reading short pieces on everything from Apiaries to Zener Diodes. It doesn’t have to be lengthy, and you don’t have to be an expert writer. (I’ll clean up any typos.) Many Thanks! – JWR.
As a survivalist, you should plan for every contingency. Part of this planning is identifying alternate fuels for after TEOTWAWKI. If possible, it is best to pick a retreat location with multiple fuel sources. In a recent blog post I mentioned coal seams . Natural gas wells are another possibility. Noted economist and newsletter writer Dr. Gary North advocates finding a retreat property with an existing natural gas well. Gary is one of the few folks in the country that doesn’t have to worry about running out of fuel for his generators. He has several, all natural gas powered. Important …
Natural gas comes from two different types of wells. “Wet” natural gas is generally a by-product of oil fields. (Oil wells often alternately produce natural gas and oil.) This is often called “casinghead gas” or “associated gas.” In contrast to wet natural gas, “Dry” natural gas generally comes from dedicated gas wells. Both wet and dry natural gas wells produce a light oil or hydrocarbon condensate that is commonly called “drip oil” or in slang simply “drip.” (Technically, the term drip refers only to the tank (or other vessel) that is used to collect condensed drip oil and other contaminants …
Behind virtually every restaurant in America, you will find three dumpsters: One for trash, one for flattened cardboard boxes, and one for used cooking oil. (The latter is actually more of rectangular tank on wheels than it is a dumpster.) It is not widely known, but virtually all diesel cars and trucks can run on cooking oil–new or used. This is commonly called “biodiesel” or “greasel.” In essence, all that you need to do is filter the liquid cooking oil through some cloth (typically a couple of thicknesses of cheese cloth) to get rid of the particulate crud, and voila! …
It is common knowledge that all diesel cars, trucks, and tractors can run on home No. 2 heating oil, just as well as they do on diesel fuel. The only differences between the two is that there is a different federal standard on the amount of ash is allowable in home heating oil, and that a dye is added to prevent folks from circumventing the Federal road tax. In actuality, however, the only difference in most batches is the dye, since heating oil and diesel fuel both come from the very same cracking plants, running the same process. This is …
I read yesterday that Trijicon was just awarded a big military contract for their tritium-lit tactical day/night scopes. Congrats to them! They make a great product. I’m glad to see that the U.S. military has finally come to the realization that every front-line soldier deserves an ACOG scope atop his RBC device. (The Brits figured this out 25+ years ago, during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.) The news of the big contract award may have a potential impact on you. The award means that the folks at Trijicon will probably be running two shifts for the next six years fill …
Jim: The SurvivalBlog is looking better and better all the time. I think that you are getting really good information out there. I’m not sure about J.M.’s letter about the Penske trucks. But it’s worth considering. I still think the GMC 2500 HD is the way to go. OBTW, they interviewed the CEO from www.autotrader.com last night on TV. He said they now have one million SUVs listed on their web site. I guess that your axiom is correct: Buy when everyone else is anxious to sell, and you’ll get the best price. Diesel is very expensive now. It is …
Sir – I think your novel Patriots is great, not only as a good read, but as a survivalist manual!! Your website is the BEST! Please keep it up and running, as we hoi polloi need the info. This isn’t a criticism, as I think up-to-date info and tech is important; but, when TEOTWAWKI happens, many systems are going down and won’t be resurrected – so an emphasis on more primitive things might be more practical. My suggestion would be to balance the modern with the older, tried-but-true, technologies. Hate to be a Neo-Neanderthal, but there it is. Keep up …
"On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use." – Epictetus