Month: February 2006

Letter Re: Alternate Short Term Sources for Drinking Water

Jim: Seeing the following got me thinking: “JWR’s Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Sierra is typical of most suburban survivalists in that he is tied to a Big City job. I recommend that he store at least 100 gallons of water” Have you mentioned the need for people to flush their hot water heaters twice a year? This minimizes the mineral buildup and provides a fine source of drinkable water. Putting some chlorine in the toilet tanks does the same thing. This kills bacteria and upon cleaning twice a year, provides more drinkable water. I have seen systems where people have strung together 55 …


Letter Re: Barns, Barn Designs, and Fire

Hello James, I have had the heart rending experience of watching my neighbor’s barn burn to the ground a few days ago. His livestock fleeing out of it, in desperation… I don’t think they all made it. This brings up many topics of discussion. In moving to the country, it is easy to use an old building like it was designed to handle new demands, (i.e.- specifically power consumption, hot temp equipment storage, etc…). Somewhere in your archives the topic of fire protection came to mind. I hate to admit, but it did not sink in like it did seeing …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Army Aviator recommends upgrading the plugs on pump action shotguns with fluorescent ones. He notes: “I did this on all of my shotguns and I like the idea. I’ve never actually shot a tube empty but a couple of times it was comforting to roll the weapon and not see fluorescent yellow.”    o o o Take the opportunity to read (and copy) the Hirsch Report on Peak Oil before it disappears again.  See: http://www.energybulletin.net/12772.html    o o o Another entry for the “ingenious, but stupid” file, on some storm drain denizens: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060204-9999-7m4encamp.html    o o o As previously …



Note From JWR:

Our new ClustrMap web hit tracker is now working. See: http://clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=https://survivalblog.com&type=small&clusters=yes&map=world.  Please tell your friends that live overseas about SurvivalBlog, and you can watch them pop up on the map, a day or two later.


Letter Re: Numismatic Coins and a Gold Confiscation Redux?

Dear Jim: I just finished reading an article from the Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA) group which quotes a Treasury Department official as saying “The U.S. Government has the authority to prohibit the private possession of gold and silver coin and bullion by U.S. citizens during wartime and declared emergencies…” I have also learned that the USG also considers “junk” pre-’64 silver coins to be bullion and therefore subject to confiscation when the situation arises. In talking with our good friends at Swiss America it appears that, currently, only coins minted before 1933 and having a numismatic grade of MS64 or …


Letter Re: Do You Know Where Your Gardening Seed Comes From?

James: That was a good article from your wife. I would love it if you post this link and let folks consider ordering from Fedco. I have no affiliation with them at all, other than admiring a company that puts righteousness ahead of making money.   See: http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/monsanto.htm – L.H.


Excerpts from Seven Reader Letters Re: Sources for Canned Hams

…The Army Aviator might want to track down Plumrose ham. I’ve bought the cans at Sam’s Club in 3 packs, and at CVS in singles. No refrigeration needed, but they are only one pound cans. They are not an American product, they are an import from Denmark… The DAK brand Danish canned hams are…   …at Walmart on occasion. I also like supporting our friends in Denmark… …PLUMROSE makes a 3 pound ham in a sealed metal can… …I buy mine at SAM’s Club, WalMart, and Publix….SAM’s have them in a 3 pack, and I usually get 2 or 3 [of  …



Letter Re: Making a Living in The Country

James, Going back to the subject of, “Well now I live in the middle of nowhere, how do I make a living?” The middle of nowhere is surrounded by farms, small towns and older townsfolk. What does this mean? Antiques! Old store signs, auto parts signs, gas pumps, oil can racks and tools will bring in a nice price from eBay or other auction houses. Just think of the estate sales or farm sales! Generations of old furniture and other household goods! Yes it’s sad to watch our farms and farmers die off (I’ve read that the average age of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The mainstream media pundits keep saying that “inflation remains low”, yet Uncle Sugar’s own statistics show that the aggregate supply of U.S. dollars in circulation (both printed and electronic) grew from $2.5 trillion in 2000 to $4.5 trillion by the end of 2005. So is it any wonder that price of gold and gasoline have nearly doubled?  One might conclude that we are not so much seeing commodities going up in value as we are seeing the dollar going down in value. I recommend that you protect yourself from the mass price inflation to come. There could even a full …



From The Memsahib: Do You Know Where Your Gardening Seed Comes From?

This is the time of year when all those inspiring colorful seed catalogs are arriving. I have been spending too much time dreaming of my Spring garden and comparing the offerings of all the different catalogs. That was until the latest issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal (March/April ’06) arrived. There, I read the article by Jerri Cook on page 60 entitled “Do You Know Where Your Seed Come From?” According to this article, just six companies: Dupont, Mitsuri, Monsanto, Syngents, Aventis, and Dow control 98 percent of the world’s seeds. Monsanto holds over eleven thousand U.S. seed patents. …


Letter Re: Defensive Shotguns on a Budget

James: Jake at The Armory brings up a good point to expand on, regarding the feeding of a Mossberg pump shotgun with a Sidewinder detachable magazine. [His premise was correct that] you don’t have a mag tube to feed anymore. So, if you don’t have a spare detachable magazine, you throw in a new round through the ejection port. From a Sidesaddle this is very fast with practice. It’s fastest to load the shells in the Sidesaddle with the rim (primer end) up. Keep the weapon at the shoulder, grab the shell, go over the top of the receiver and …


Letter From The Army Aviator on Various Topics

James: To catch up on several topics… On Satellite Internet: As you all probably know from previous letters, I do both motor home living and the ranch, out in the country without common city amenities. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve been using Direcway satellite for the internet and TV at both locations. I put in a real T-1 at work back in 1996 and honestly, other than the fact that uploads do take a little longer through the satellite, I don’t see any obvious difference at home via satellite. Perhaps it’s the fact that I have a …