Please keep spreading the word about SurvivalBlog. Just one line added to your e-mail “.sig” could enlighten lots of potential SurvivalBlog readers. (Pretty please?) Today, I’m leading off with two pieces of shameless web aggregation. (I pride myself on presenting mostly original content for this blog, but at times there are items that I find on the web that are worth mentioning…)
As reported at NewsMax.com, the Bush Administration had just issued a Guide to Pandemic Preparedness. See: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/5/215956.shtml It is interesting that they mentioned both self-quarantine and home schooling. What radicals! They musta been reading SurvivalBlog or sumthen’… OBTW, why do I get the feeling that if John Kerry had been elected that the message on this topic wouldn’t be quite the same?
Two recent developments overseas may not bode well for the dollar. This first is that Iran has announced that in March (of ’06) it will open a new international oil bourse that will have all transactions denominated in Euros. (See: http://www.energybulletin.net/7707.html ) The second is that China has announced that it intends to shift its currency reserves away from the U.S. dollar for “a more balanced portfolio.” (Read: Anything but dollars!) See: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f39fa8e4-7e25-11da-8ef9-0000779e2340.htm
Hello Sir, I found the following article discussing the changing demographics of the western world fascinating. I’m sure you will too. Not to give anything away, but the author points to the declining birth rates of western civilizations and contrasts them with the burgeoning growth of Islam, both in Islamic and western countries. See: http://www.newcriterion.com/archives/24/01/its-the-demography/ – Bings in Iraq JWR Replies: Bings found a genuine “must read” article. Some real food fro thought and grounds for further research (FFTAGFFR) there!
Hi Jim, At the ranch last Saturday, our cousin who is a mechanic got under the hood and fixed the old ranch truck. He took it for a spin and came back and said that he would have to park it because it got a flat tire. He would have to take the tire to town and get it fixed but wouldn’t be able to do it until Tuesday because of the holiday on Monday. I asked my husband “Why can’t he fix it himself? People didn’t have to take tires to a shop to get them fixed in the …
The follow-up letter from Mosby and the addition from JWR both list some of the reasons I specifically excluded geodesic domes (twice) in my Dome Homes as Survival Retreats article. They are usually of conventional materials (wood, plywood) in non-conventional (non-square) angles and shapes; thus things like using regular shingles on the roof (more of the structure) which is full of angles is going to be difficult and likely cause problems (leaks). Also, a geodesic dome, which is made up of many flat geometric shapes coming together to approximate a dome, does not really offer the strength of a pure …
Mr. Rawles For the do it yourselfers, I have built several safe shelters (used until needed as storage) based on the sandbag construction to make small domes. A great link to the concept is http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm. The construction is quite simple (easy would be the wrong word because the dirt work is just that WORK, but we all need to drop a few fat pounds. I used as a cover outside the method called papercrete and a little heaver crete mixture (for fire proofing) on the inside with concrete support wire (the larger net like wire used to replace “re-bar” in …
The following tongue-in-cheek letter was posted on The Claire Files, in response to The Memsahib’s recent letter on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Dear Sir/Ma’am, I wish to report the demise of 43 (forty three) animals at position xxp2l. The conditions are as follows: 13 eggs (scrambled) 4 turkeys (1 stuffed and baked, 2 jerky, 1 frozen) 6 ducks (2 pressed with orange sauce, 4 processed for canning) 20 chickens (2 squashed by car, 18 processed for fried chicken/canning) The requisite forms are being forwarded in triplicate as required and 41 [bio]chips will follow. The last chip is presumed …
"And yes, the Homesteaders, including my grandparents who left behind almost nothing, and arrived in Montana with nothing but the clothes on their back, high hopes, faith in God and dreaming of the future." – Brian Schweitzer