Month: April 2006

From David In Israel: On Passive Solar Water Heating

James After Passover the weather in Israel always turns hot and clear. Perfect weather to save money. American hot water heating is always on and is always wasting electricity or gas. Passive solar is cheap and simple plus it can be supplemented with electrical on cold days. It is law that every home have a passive solar water heater so I get to see the design on every house, being in the West Bank I also see that the Arab homes and mansions will always have at least one dud shemesh (sun water heater) If a commercial model is too …


Letter From Michael Z. Williamson Re: Countdown to Collapse

Jim: In response to Rosy the Bull, I have to say I’m not so pessimistic. I heard similar dire warnings about how the US economy would collapse at $3 a gallon gas, and it didn’t happen. A great many countries in Europe and Asia, with smaller economies than ours, are paying over $6 a gallon now, which as a percentage of per capita income is five to ten times what we’re paying. As to the comments on nuclear attacks, those are inaccurate. Depleted Uranium is barely radioactive, and its danger is as a colloidal heavy metal toxin. The dangerous radionuclides …


Three Letters Re: Folding Fighting/Utility Knife Recommendations?

Jim, Good to see your using the CRKT knives. They are very affordable. I also like the 12 series tantos. Thery have a good portable size. I followed the link that you provided. I hope you didn’t pay the $48.00 price though, I sell that same knife on eBay for $34.99. Go to ‘Knife Brigade’ if you are interested. I can normally beat the prices of most of the other vendors. I’m just happy to get $10-to$15 dollars over what I pay per knife (guess I wont be getting rich). Best Regards – Jason P.S. Remember–Monday May 1st is ‘American …


Letter Re: Brushy Hillsides: Better to Leave As-Is for Erosion/Landslide Control

Hello, I’ve been reading your superb site for some time and have learned a lot. There’s lots of interesting and helpful stuff. As a family, we are about to leave the shores of ‘Airstrip One’ [England] and have purchased a few acres of Greek island to return to our smallholding roots. Our patch, in common with most places in the Med, is in an earthquake zone and we own a hilltop and steep slope. The area is also prone to brush fires in the summer. My query is, should we cut back the vegetation on the slope for fire suppression …


Letter Re: Folding Fighting/Utility Knife Recommendations?

Hello, We have a copy of your novel “Patriots” published by Huntington House; and even had the 8.5 x 11 [self-published] precursor to the book. I’d like to ask you a question. Do you know of any tactical/SERE knife evaluation forums out there. I’d like to obtain the best folder out there for my son. I have an old Al Mar SERE, but am curious if anyone has compared the various folders such as Al Mar, Masters of Defense, Benchmade etc. Keep up the great work, James! – R.S. in Ohio JWR Replies: I am by no means a knife …


Letter Re: Springfield Armory XD Series Polymer Frame Pistols are the Ars Nova

Dear Jim, I love the site and have learned much. As soon as I can scrape together some extra money, I will be joining the Ten Cent Challenge. “Some Guy” wrote about the lack of availability of spare parts for the XD series pistols and the lack of certified armorers. One is true, the other is patently false. Springfield has indeed been less than forthcoming with spare parts. Most of this seems to be just a lack of manufacturing capacity. If I remember correctly, they can barely get enough parts to make the pistols, let alone keep extras around. Why …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Yikes! Copper is at $7,000 per ton!    o o o The folks at Safecastle mentioned that they give substantial discounts (generally 10-20%)to Survivalblog readers –for everything listed in their eBay store . All you have to do is mention SurvivalBlog when you e-mail your requests for quotes. Some of Safecastle’s highest volume product lines are Maxpedition, Mountain House, JetBoil, and Katadyn. BTW, it is better if you e-mail Safecastle at jcrefuge@safecastle.net rather than using the eBay message system.    o o o Take the time out to read Dr. Peter Hammond’s great piece about Switzerland. This is something you …



Note From JWR:

Yesterday I took a “speed hike” day with #1 Son and and #3 Son here at the Rawles Ranch,. (I’m trying to lose a few pounds and get in shape for a four day course that the Memsahib and I plan to attend at Front Sight, later this year.) While on the hike, we got our best view ever of the beavers on our neighbor’s pond. They are cute, but destructive critters. They have been busy for the past two years. Their dam has raised the pond’s level by a couple of feet, and this has increased the pond’s surface …


Letter Re: Ponds, Aquaculture, and Pond Predators

Hello James, In the event of a TEOTWAWKI scenario, as discussed previously on your blog, food and water will become critical in supply. My query is to seek out knowledge from within your following on newly constructed ponds as a water and food source. Here are my questions: 1). What type of fish replenish the most rapidly while offering a genuine nutrition? 2). What types of fish are compatible or necessary to keep a full circle eco-system continuing? 3). How many fish can you support per cubic yard of water? 4). Should food be introduced into the water until the …


Letter Re: Peak Oil, Hyperinflation, and Economic Collapse

Hey James, Hope you and your family are well. I have read many books on the coming economic collapse and Peak Oil, your opinion and also your readers comments on SurvivalBlog. For quite a bit of it, I agree. However, I doubt we’ll see a true TEOTWAWKI because of a lack of oil or even a complete collapse as some are predicting. One thing people are forgetting is the HUGE (1.5 Trillion barrels or so) of oil deposited in oil shale in the Western United States. At $35 per barrel of oil, it becomes profitable to start producing oil and …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The much-publicized Iranian oil bourse, conducting trades in Euros, opens for business next week. o o o SurvivalBlog reader R.B.S. (who kindly sends us several links every day) spotted this interesting site: The U.S. Gas “Temperature” Map. As you can see, Wyoming has some of the lowest prices–proving yet again that the Free State Wyoming folks made a good choice for their locale. o o o An interesting thread on the pros and cons on the various commercial versus military camouflage fabric patterns is underway over at The FAL Files. o o o This Generator Site has some great links …



Note from JWR:

Today we welcome Captain Dave’s, our 24th advertiser. They have some great products at very competitive prices. Also be sure to check out their extensive free survival FAQs, and copious links. We need 40+ advertisers to make a go of this, so please contact anyone you know that might be an appropriate advertiser and ask them to consider getting an ad. You can tell them that our ad space rates are very low, especially compared to magazine advertising. A small ad is still just $55 per month! And BTW, whenever you contact any of our advertisers, please let them know …


Peace of Mind in Turbulent Times–I’m Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

When I meet new folks, they typically ask what I do for a living. I mention SurvivalBlog and then the topic of survivalism inevitably comes up. A few ask: “How can you sleep at night, worrying about all of that?” My reply is: ” I sleep very well, know ing that I have done my best to ensure the nourishment, health, and safety of my family. I would only lose sleep if I went to bed knowing that I was under-prepared.” I am tempted ask them in turn (but being diplomatic in polite society, I generally refrain): “How can you …