Notes From JWR:

The high bidder in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a copy “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course was Jay S., with a bid of $160. Thanks, Jay! The course was kindly donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Today we’ve started a new blog benefit auction. This one is a for a fully tested and recently professionally calibrated U.S. government surplus Civil Defense CD V-717 fallout survey meter with remote sensing capability. The meter was donated by Ready Made Resources (one of our first and most loyal advertisers). These calibrated meters normally retail for $250 to $290 each. The opening …




Letter Re: Swords and Bows for that Dreaded Multigenerational Scenario

Dear Jim, Bows are a great asset to survival, but I’m going to differ from some of the other posters. First of all, compound bows require substantial technology to maintain. While fine, accurate hunting weapons, they are not your first choice for survival. Laminated recurves are very efficient and very durable, but are fairly tough to make. They’re reasonably priced, however, and a good investment for the kit. Bowstrings for this can be made from dacron dental floss or heavy nylon thread, the kind used for sewing leather, which should be in your kit anyway. Instructions are available in numerous …




Letter Re: The Importance of Identifying Blood Types

Jim: In a previous career I used to do blood work with a microscope. The most common error even among lab tech’s with experience is false rouleaux, that is, clumping caused by manhandling the blood, mistaken as true rouleaux. Even squeezing the finger to get a drop of blood can cause this. Putting the slide on the blood too hard can do this. Washing with saline if not perfect in osmolarity will cause other artifacts. While I am in full agreement with the McGyver school of expediency, the previously mentioned idea IMHO, is not something that can be done by …




Odds ‘n Sods:

U.S. home foreclosures are surging. The ARM twisting is just beginning.    o o o Bruce from Best Prices Storable Foods mentioned this chilling article on his web site (originally from WorldNetDaily): Al Qaeda may have preposition several nukes in the United States.    o o o Pope Benedict XVI came under a hail of criticism from the Islamic world Friday for comments he made earlier in the week regarding the Prophet Mohammed and the Muslim faith, provoking street protests in some cities.