Month: June 2006


Letter Re: James Kunstler at Midwest Renewable Energy Fair

Jim, As a regular reader of Survival Blog, I thought others might like a “field trip” report from the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s (MREA) Energy Fair held this past weekend. This is an annual event hosted in central Wisconsin and it has had a growing number of attendees; last year’s fair drew over 10,000 and this year it was expected to draw ~17,000 people over its three days. In my mingling, I encountered people who had traveled from as far as New mexico, southern Oklahoma, Kansas, and many from Wisconsin and bordering states. The fair is a collection of vendors, …


Letter Re: Self-Winding Watch Recommendation

James, I’ve been living with a Seiko 5 military style mechanical movement (self winding) action watch for about 6 months now. I and am convinced they are one of the better deals going right now in a quality, metal, watch that will never need batteries. Overstock.com currently has these for under $100. They’re very hard to find here in the U.S.A., and tend to sell out rapidly. The only negative item I can list about these watches is that they need to be worn daily, as the the self-winding power “reserve” won’t last beyond 24 hours without wrist movement. I …


Two Letters Re: Shocking Facts About Wolves, by Steven UP

Jim- Unlike anyone else that has written, including Steven UP, I have lived in Western Montana my entire life, save a few travels around to world. I also grew up hunting and fishing here (we were, well, poor when I was a kid. I think I was eleven before I ever ate a beef steak. I thought red meat came form the woods in Fall!) As to the primary concern of wolves over-running farm in a SHTF scenario, that will be the least of your worries. As to the idea that elk and deer populations are being decimated by wolf …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader Jim K. suggests stocking up on this mondo tire sealant.    o o o Ready Made Resources, (our biggest advertiser) is brokering the sale of a very hard to find upgraded P-10 self-contained NBC shelter. He is selling it on behalf of an acquaintance. When sold new, these shelters sell for $100,000 with all of the options included in this one, such as the 1,000 gallon water tank and Level 4 protective entry door. (Cutting torch and .308 bullet proof!) These very rarely come up for sale in used condition, so don’t miss this chance to buy one …




Three Letters Re: Recommendations on Hardening a Garage Door?

Hello James, In reading D.A.B.’s query about hardening a Fiber Board Overhead garage door, several thoughts come to mind. All have additional questions that need to be asked. It sounds like his main concern is for the attack of his door with power tools, namely… Chainsaw. I’ll get to that in a few minutes. How many people don’t lock the [connecting] door between their home and their garage when at home or away? When you go to get your vehicle serviced, go to work, shopping, parked in your driveway,….where is your overhead door transmitter??? A quick break of the glass, …


Three Letters Re: Recommended Guns for Left-Handed Shooters?

Jim: Some of us just ignore our left-eye dominance and train to work with it instead of training out of it. 😉 I don’t have much trouble with mine. Kit @ Forevervain.com   Hi Jim, I am cursed with being a Left Eye Dominant, Right Handed shooter. To further confuse things, I shoot pistols Right Handed and rifles Left Handed. After getting back into the gentlemanly sport of firearms in 1999 and doing much research, I looked for guns with ejection paths that did not scare me. I found that although Benelli has Left Handed models available, their Right Handed …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ready for a North Korean EMP Attack?    o o o Jason in North Idaho mentioned S-Meter.com: Some Great Ham Radio Info and Forums    o o o Is silver becoming more rare than gold?    o o o Lots of SurvivalBlog readers patronize Northern Tool & Equipment, one of our biggest affiliate advertisers. The great news is that for our readers in the UK, we just signed an affiliate agreement with Great stuff. Check them out. If you place an order, we get a little piece of the action. Thanks. o o o Mr. Bravo mentioned A fascinating piece …



Note From The Memsahib:

We couldn’t resist picking up some sheep for the ranch from a local family that will soon be moving across the country. They had way too many animals to take with them and were willing to deal. It is a small flock of Jacob sheep. This breed is usually considered more of a “fiber” breed rather than a meat breed because of their smaller size. But, we like them for meat because of their lean carcass. Also their smaller size makes them a lot easier for me to handle by myself. They are white sheep with black spots (“piebald”), and …


Note From JWR:

I recently stumbled into an amazing cache of books from an estate, at a bargain price. These are all our kind of books: preparedness, self-sufficiency, homesteading, gardening, canning, shooting, retreat architecture, livestock, recipes, carpentry. metal working, outdoor survival, NBC protection, fire and burglary protection, offshore relocation, and a few “hard money” investing books. I’ve just added these 50+ books to my mail order catalog, all at very reasonable prices. They are first come, first served. Please let me know via e-mail which ones that you want me to set aside for you. OBTW, I pay for the postage and tracking …


Letter Re: Guns for Unobtrusive Backpack Stowage

James: I am a long time fan of the products from Kel-Tec in Florida. They offer stuff that is affordable, practical and strong. They have gained well deserved notoriety from their credit-card sized .32 and .380 pistols and their folding .223 rifles, but this is not the only compact rifle they offer. Their best backpack offering is the Sub-2000, a folding pistol-caliber rifle that, when collapsed, is only 16.5″ long. It is available in 9mm or .40 S&W, and you choose which type of pistol magazines it feeds from when you buy it (Glock, Beretta, SIG, S&W). Mine is a …


Letter Re: Positive Feedback on Safecastle

Hello Jim! I hope things are great for you and your family. I just thought that I would take the time to provide you with another bit of positive support regarding one of your sponsors. Vic at Safecastle, LLC is a great person. In May, I made a large purchase from him. At the time of ordering, I received an excellent discount for being a survivalblog reader. In addition, Vic also took the time to answer each of my emails very quickly and provided me with an expected date of delivery. Sure enough, it turned out that Vic was “dead …