Get your entries in soon for Round 4 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best contest entry will win a four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. The deadline for entries for Round 4 is May 31, 2006.
You may have read in recent years that both Microsoft’s president Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway (founded and still led by Warren Buffet) acquired large hoards of physical silver when silver prices neared their low ebb in the late 1990s first few years of this decade. Bill Gates purchased at least $10 million worth, with his “personal investment money.” Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway bought 129.7 million ounces. According to published accounts, the latter bought their silver at $4.40 per ounce, in 1997. The recent news on Wall Street is that Berkshire Hathaway has quietly sold off their silver position in the …
James: A site to be mentioned when it comes to slow speed diesels and the like is www.utterpower.com. I agree with the site linked – getting one of these small diesel engines is the hardest part in the process. Both the lister types and the small horizontal diesels (made in mainland China) appear on eBay.com from anywhere from $375 to $2000. Shipping is also a bit of a bear due to the high weights; [since] lots of cast iron is used on these. – Rick L.
Jim: In response to the question about generator sizing, obviously it depends on how much you want to run. This also determines how much fuel you will burn. I don’t have the money for a 15KW whole house generator so I did things on the cheap. Hopefully my “system” will help with some ideas or trigger your own I have a 5KW “portable” gas model. Nothing fancy, fixed RPM, with a 5 gallon top tank. After several hurricane related power outages, I live on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, I have developed a good system for me. My house is …
Jim, A few weeks back, you covered the issue of pennies being more costly to produce than they are worth. Here is my Quixotic take on the issue: Based on historical precedent, currency/coinage reform is overdue. The half-cent was discontinued in 1857, when it was worth ten cents in today’s inflation adjusted dollars! Source: Historical Statistics of the United States. (USGPO, 1975), Statistical Abstracts of the United States. That means that the smallest monetary unit at the time was worth $0.20 in today’s value. And a $100 bill (gold certificate) in 1863 had a value equal to nearly $2,000. A …
Fuel Bank Offers “Locked In” Price for Gasoline. Meanwhile, Forbes reports,Venezuela Tacks on a New Oil Tax o o o Ken Timmerman reports: Iran prepares al Qiyamah (“Judgment Day”) Terrorist Vengeance Attack Plan o o o Zimbabwe: A Nation of Millionaires–Where $10 USD buys over $1 million in Zimbabwean toilet paper. o o o SurvivalBlog reader “John Z.” mentioned a recent CNN segment about a survival school that’s offered in Virginia. After watching this clip, his conclusion was that Buckshot could offer a better much course that would include survival skills such traps, snares, and skinning game. o o o …
“To my mind it is wholly irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. How feeble is the mindset to accept defenselessness. How unnatural. How cheap. How cowardly. How pathetic.” – Ted Nugent