Year: 2006

Letter Re: Link Correction –The Ultra Light Bug-Out-Bag By “Springmtnd”

Jim: Sorry about an error in my previous e-mail. After the article went out a friend told me that he couldn’t find the pack plans on thru-hiker.com. I was mistaken about where I had seen them. Gossamergear who the makes the GVP4 pack also posts plans for the pack on their web site. See the link. http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/myog.html Ray Jardine also sells a pack kit for $49.95 on his site. http://www.ray-way.com/php/order-form.php Ah, I found it!  See: http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html. Check out the Lab 2300. The first two [designs] seem unnecessarily complicated. I would take a close look at the last one. My pack …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader Warhawke mentioned that he recently downloaded an excellent book called “The Farmer at War” about the terrorist war in Rhodesia in the 1970s and how the farmers responded. Not a lot of detailed information but well worth the read.  See:  http://www.rhodesia.nl/farmeratwar.html    o o o In yesterday’s issue of the Defense Tech blog (http://www.defensetech.org/) our buddy Noah has a snippet and a photo about the U.S. military’s new facial armor. It looks a bit reminiscent of Star Wars storm troopers.    o o o Yahoo News reports: “Firewood in Vogue As Oil Prices Rise.” See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060205/ap_on_re_us/fashionable_firewood    o …



Changing The Retreat Locale Paradigm: Cellular Phones and Two-Way Satellite Internet Systems

Whenever I talk with my consulting clients, the topic of retreat locales almost inevitably comes up. When describing their criteria for a new retreat property they almost always say something to the effect of: “The property has to have an existing phone line or one nearby, so that we can have Internet service.”  But these days, I’m now quick to point out:  “That shouldn’t be an issue.”  Why? Because things have changed. Lots of Asians, Europeans, and Americans now have no traditional “land line” phone service at all. They utilize the steadily expanding network of cellular phone towers. Even more crucially, …


David in Israel on Fire Starting

James: Here is a dry topic that most people have no skill in they just rely on the old Indian fire trick (liquid fuel on wet wood) which is wasteful, dangerous, and teaches you nothing. My school of thought is as follows: Carry two major tools: 2 or more – butane/flint lighters 1 – Longer life flammable (such as Hexamine fuel tablets or bars and/or a 15 minute road flare) The butane lighter can be quickly dried and burns for many minutes about as well as hundreds of strike anywhere matches in a match safe. The flint over electrical ignition …


Letter Re: HK USP .45 ACPs and the Belgian Malinois Dog Breed

Mr. Rawles I’ve just finished reading the back blog and thank you for creating such a great resource! I haven’t read “Patriots” yet but it is coming on inter-library loan since it is out of print. After reading your thoughts on the .45 ACP I was wondering why I’ve never seen the HK USP mentioned. I own one and really like it quite a bit. It shoots straight and is soft in the hand. Plus it has the rail mount for weapons lights and comes in either stainless or the hard black. I keep mine in a Bianchi holster which …


Letter Re: Liquid Fuel Lanterns

Have a good supply of replacement generators (vaporization tube) gaskets and pump cups. In my experience leather is the best because it rots less than rubber. In my opinion Pellgunoil (intended for air gun lubrication) is the best oil for anywhere on your lamp. I personally have run kerosene for several years in my Coleman dual fuel (unleaded gasoline/Coleman fuel)  lanterns, use this info at your own risk light is not as bright as the generator jet is optimized for gasoline/white-gas/Coleman fuel. Everclear/ethanol is good for cleaning out gunked generators, they can often be rebuilt. Coleman used to make a …


Letter Re: Recommendation on Wind Generators Versus Other Power Sources?

Hi Jim, I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is considering purchasing a wind turbine to generate electricity for his house. He has a constant breeze at his hilltop location. I told him I didn’t think it would be a good idea because they require a lot of maintenance. Any input would be appreciated. Blessings, – Find 1 JWR Replies: I only recommend wind generators for locales that are both windy and cloudy, and/or that have minimal solar exposure. The cost per watt is so low for photovoltaic (PV) panels these days that they make …


Two More Letters Re: How to Buy Silver?

James: Regarding your reply to Jerry T., who was interested in purchasing junk silver… For those of us who can’t afford (or don’t wish to purchase) $1,000 bags, there is an alternative: eBay. Search for “silver dime roll” (or a similar search phrase for other denominations) and you’ll find tons of them for sale. To simplify the bidding process, use eSnipe (www.esnipe.com). The usual caveats of buying on eBay apply: always check the seller’s feedbacks [number and ratio of positives], and things that sound to good to be true usually are, etc. However, I’ve done a number of silver transactions …



Offshore Retreat Area Analysis: The Bay Islands of Honduras

I recently did some research about some offshore retreat locales on behalf of a client, who ultimately decided not to opt for an expatriate lifestyle. She has kindly consented to letting me to post my research notes to the blog. Hopefully a few of you might benefit from this data and analysis. Over the next few days I will be posting this information in several parts. Today, I’m presenting the first increment:, which is my research on the Bay Islands of Honduras. The Bay Islands, called La Bahia in Spanish, are located about 30 miles off the eastern coast of …


Letter Re: Lister Low RPM Engines Still Made in India!

Mr. Rawles: I stumbled across a very cool generation option for very long-term power generation: the Listeroid [“Lister”] generator. Its based on a design that has been in production since about 1930 and as such is dirt simple. Its about as uncomplicated as a diesel engine can be. They run at very low RPM (650-800, no I didn’t forget a zero), are built to be field-serviceable, and have massive flywheels to keep them running smoothly. They’re extremely low-tech and all the bugs have been worked out dozens of years ago. The original Lister company no longer makes them, but various …


Two Letter Re: How to Buy Silver?

Dear Jim, I really enjoy your Blog. On Friday the 3rd of February you wrote: “I recommend that you first buy one $1,000 face value bag of circulated (“junk”) pre-1965 dimes or quarters for each family member as your designated “barter” silver.” How do you go about acquiring the junk silver? My local coin store guy just talks about grading…I can’t seem to get him on a silver to trade concept. Do any of your advertisers deal in that type of silver? Can you recommend any other types of trade goods? Beads and sea shells are probably out even when …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was alerted to a useful forum on survival topics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SurvivingTheDayAfter/. Lawrence Rayburn, who moderates the forum, custom builds 20 to 60 foot triangular towers and single to multi-tier Savonius windmills for pumping water and generating electricity. These are installed at survival retreats, farms, ranches, and other remote facilities. BTW, it was Lawrence who coined the term GLAZIS–for global socialists.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader “OSOM” recommends the article War Scenarios and Predictions by William Lind – a very insightful military commentator. See: http://www.lewrockwell.com/lind/lind87.html    o o o I’d like to welcome our newest advertiser, Safe Solutions. (See: http://www.SafeSolutions.net.) …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"This course is dedicated to the idiotic proposition that you can be taught the fundamentals of Organic chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Qualitative analysis, Quantitative analysis, Physical chemistry, and Biochemistry all in one semester. The odds against any of you passing this course would be staggering to contemplate if there were any time for contemplation. However, there is not. Get out your notebooks." – Max Shulman in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis