Month: September 2007

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 12 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 12 ends on September 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.


Converting Diesel Vehicles to Run on Waste Vegetable Oil, by Polar Bear

When Rudolph Diesel invented his internal combustion engine, he used refined peanut oil as fuel. The reasoning behind it was that farmers could essentially grow their own fuel for their tractors. Diesel cars have been widely manufactured and used all over Europe, but never really caught on in the United States. Diesel pickup trucks and Big Rigs are common in the US, and are renowned for their torque and towing abilities. These rigs run on “Dinodiesel”-typical diesel fuel refined from petroleum. You may have heard of the term “Biodiesel.” Biodiesel is a type of diesel fuel made by taking vegetable …


Letter Re: Doing Versus Studying–Wherever You Live

I agree 100% with Fanderal in his recent article on “Doing Versus Studying”. I grew up helping with gardening and canning as a boy in southern Indiana. There is a tremendous difference between having helped (“Hold the bucket, son.”) and picking up the knife and beginning the slaughter of a 300 pound hog. I have spent the last 20 years raising my family in suburbia and have very fond memories of growing up in the country. Memories are not a substitute for practical hands on experience. The Millennium bug got me thinking about “What If” while the 9/11 events were …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Walt suggested this from the New York Times: Virus Suspected as Cause of U.S. Honeybee Deaths. The article begins: “New research suggests a virus may be causing the puzzling collapse of honey-bee colonies across the U.S. that has hurt commercial beekeepers and farmers who rely on these bees to pollinate crops. A team of scientists said it has found a strong association between a pathogen known as Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, or IAPV, and the deaths of billions of honey- bees in the U.S. The identification of the virus may even suggest a way to fixing the problem: breeding bees …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man There are only four things certain since Social Progress began. That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire, And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire; And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins, As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will bum, The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 12 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 12 ends on September 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.


The Refrigerator Box Method for Easy Survival Gardening, by Dixie

Let’s say that TEOTWAWKI comes, and you are ready! You have your sealed can full of heirloom seeds, and you’re going to start a garden right away. Well, if you haven’t been gardening and practicing the skills necessary and learning how to deal with your climate and soil, you may have difficulty producing the food your family needs. It is really imperative that you begin now to grow the things you’ll need in a crunch. You don’t have to grow as much as you would conceivably need when grocery stores are not an option, but the skills for each particular …


Letter Re: Suburban Survival

Hi Jim and Family, I truly enjoy reading your survival blog and learn from it daily and weekly. However I believe you are skipping over a topic that would benefit your readers….most of your readers. I would think that most of your readers who check out and read your site on a daily basis do not have a remote retreat in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, or Wyoming. Most of your readers I’m sure live like me in American Suburbs, trapped and looking for a way to get out but in the mean time prepping for what we all know is …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From The Independent (by way of SHTF Daily): Jeremy Warner’s Outlook: Fed in danger of overreacting to crisis    o o o A friend in Afghanistan mentioned Afterworld–an unusual computer animated quasi-survivalist Internet video series.    o o o Jason in North Idaho recommended the Rocky Mountain Moggers (Unimog) page



Note from JWR:

If you value what you read in SurvivalBlog, then please become a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber. The subscriptions are entirely voluntary, but greatly appreciated. They help pay the bills here, including our bandwidth costs, which have increased steadily as the worldwide blog readership has grown. Since we started the blog in August of Aught Five we’ve changed our web hosting contract from silver, to gold, to platinum plans, and we typically get billed an extra $68 a month for additional bandwidth–above and beyond what we are allowed with the platinum plan. The next jump in plans is to the “Webmaster …


Bad News on the FOREX: The US Dollar Teeters on the Brink

We note with alarm that the US Dollar Index is hovering around 79.96. This is the first time that it has dipped below the critical support level of 80. If the USD index closes below 80 for three trading days in row, beware! The Chartist Gnome tells me that the likely support level is 76. Just as I warned you, folks: Lower interest rates–instituted as a stopgap for the current liquidity panic–are to the detriment of the value of the US Dollar on the FOREX. If the Ben Bernanke and his band of fools on the Federal Reserve Board of …


Letter Re: Advice on CONEX Storage, and Preventing Damage to Stored Items

I really enjoy your site and books and regularly recommend your work to a number of friends. Due to a job transfer I will be moving from my retreat to a large metropolitan area. I purchased a [Continental Express] shipping container (CONEX) to store some of my preparation items I will not need or be able to transport/store. Do you or your readers have any experience storing saddles/tack, wood items in a CONEX? Bulk food packed in 5 gallon buckets? How about soft goods (clothing, blankets etc.) in steel 55 gal drums placed inside the container? My main concern is …


Letter Re: Some Tests of Ultra High Velocity .22 Long Rifle Ammo

Jim, In April of 2007, I tested the three hottest “hypervelocity” .22 Long Rifle rounds. Because of the easy storage, accuracy and effects of .22 ammunition at ranges out to 150 yards (not to mention the fun of shooting a customized [Ruger] 10/22), I’ve had a second love affair with the round, since being a child. It’s the ultimate Survivalist round. These tests compared Aguila Supermaximum, CCI Stinger and the full 40-grain CCI Velocitor. These tests were conducted at 100 meters, using a Ruger 10/22, customized with a 20″ Butler Creek bull barrel on a floating Butler Creek lightweight bull …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael H. forwarded a link to some sobering analysis of the US credit market implosion and its global reach: The Predicted Financial Storm Has Arrived.    o o o Frequent contributor Stephen in Iraq pointed out this article: Danger: Steep drop ahead–Even if the credit crunch passes without a major catastrophe, the prices of stocks, bonds and real estate have a long way to fall.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader “Rightcoast” recommends the new anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction titled Wastelands, from Night Shade Books, January 2008). It is available for pre-order. The authors include M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, and …