Year: 2007

The Price of Home Security: You Can Pay a Little Now, or Pay Much More, Later

I’m often amazed to hear some of my relatively wealthy consulting clients tell me that they don’t own a home gun vault or safe room. I ask why not, and they make excuses like: “I’ve been too busy at my job to shop for one” or, “A gun vault is too heavy to move, and I seem to move every three years”, or “vaults are too expensive.” Yes, they are expensive but not nearly as expensive as having some of your key survival tools stolen. In essence, you can pay a little now, or pay much more, later. A burglary …


Letter Re: Total Burden of State Taxes

Mr. Rawles, I reviewed the article from MSN Money regarding property taxes by state, mentioned by “J Eagle”. I could not help to look at Alabama because that is my home state. Unfortunately, I am not there now. However, property tax is low in Alabama but they have a 5% personal income tax and sales tax is charged on everything one purchases. This includes big ticket items such as cars and tractors (at a reduced rate from normal sales tax) to basic necessities (food, clothing, guns and ammunition at the normal sales tax rate). They also charge the pharmacies a …


Letter Re: Lessons From an Unexpected Grid Down Weekend

Hi Jim, We just had a bout with Mother Nature and lost power which appeared at first to be for some time. I am happy to report that my “list” generated from this un-expected “grid-down” weekend was very very very short. I attribute this success and wonderful feeling to what I have gleaned from your publications, SurvivalBlog, and a few very good friends! We were without power for about 40 hours and really only had two “needs”. I was actually “disappointed” when the power came back on. J Oh, and we did not use the power generation until hour 38 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A warning from veteran economic analyst Harry Shultz, by way of BULL!, (Not Bull)   o o o Desert T . mentioned this New York Times article on honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).    o o o Today we welcome our newest banner advertiser, East Tennessee Sterilizer Service. This company sells state of the art reverse osmosis water purifiers, and has some very hard to find medical equipment at great prices. They even have a few ultra cold medical freezers, which are only rarely found on the surplus market. Give them a call at: (423) 295-4531.



Notes from JWR:

I was pleased to see the new Wikipedia page on Antique Guns. It includes digests on the laws concerning antque guns for the U.S, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Norway. And one of the authors kindly included links to a couple of my FAQs, as well as a link to a long-time SurvivalBlog advertiser: The Pre-1899 Specialist. I highly recommend that every well-prepared family’s firearms battery should include a few cartridge guns from the 1890s, chambered in calibers that are still factory produced. Why? If the Democrats ever control both the White House and Congress (which looks all too likely, …


Bear Country Basics, by “SNO” in Alaska

Many times when we think of survival skills, our minds turn to the most exotic and specialized of skills. When reading on Survivalblog about this writing assignment I fell victim to this same tendency. My initial idea was to write an article on the construction and operation of a fish wheel, commonly used here in my home state of Alaska, and a tool of great value in a survival/retreat situation. But the detail and complexity of such writing is more involved that practical for this forum. So rather than try and explain some intricate and complex device or skill, that …


Letter Re: Kanban: America’s Ubiquitous “Just in Time” Inventory System–A Fragile House of Cards

Dear Jim: Your web site is excellent. A few thoughts on Mark’s e-mail on JIT delivery.(Posted on February 25th.) (1) For 34 years my job has taken me over the interstate highway/parkway system in New Jersey and Metropolitan New York City. Any accident, no matter how minor, affects traffic flow in both directions; the actual “event” and the “rubber neckers” slowing down to watch from the opposite side. Under the best conditions, the Staten Island Expressway (I-278) slows to a crawl approaching the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. (2) The two major north/south routes in New Jersey are the New Jersey Turnpike …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I’ve added a few more Affiliate Advertisers, including 1-800 GET LENS and the bookseller Chapters.indigo.ca in Canada. These join our big list of established affiliates that includes Lehmans.com, US Cavalry Store, Nitro-Pak, and Northern Tool & Equipment. (Those four generate more revenue for SurvivalBlog than all of the other affiliates, combined!) Of course, please give our paid (scrolling banner) advertisers your business first. But if they don’t have the products you are looking for, then please next patronize our affiliate advertisers. When you place an order via the web links from our Affiliates Page, we get a little piece of …



Notes from JWR:

Hooray! The Best of the Blog, Volume 1 is now orderable! Thanks for your patience, folks. This volume covers the first six months of SurvivalBlog posts, from August, 2005 to January, 2006. This period included some of the most important SurvivalBlog posts that spell out all of the crucial steps for family preparedness. Also included in this volume is The SurvivalBlog Glossary. In all, a whopping 295 pages of useful, no-nonsense “how-to” information. Fully indexed! Wire-o bound. (Lays flat for easy reference.) To make it easy to find what you need, the book is organized by subject area, rather than …


Five Letters Re: An Opinion on .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO

James, I’d like to make a few points regarding the .223 cartridge. I am not as enthusiastic about it as Stephen D. seems to be, but I think it’s good for more than defense against, “a human wave of palsied, midget, and/or wheelchair-bound looters.” The .223/5.56 produces its nasty wounds through fragmentation, rather than tumbling. Any spitzer projectile, including the .308, is going to tumble when it hits a dense medium like water or human flesh. A bullet will generally flip around 180 degrees and continue it’s travel through the body backwards (for a body that’s pointed on one end …


Letter Re: Save Your Wine-in-a-Box Mylar Inserts

JWR, In reference to MQB’s letter about box-wine inserts. While I have only had the misfortune of drinking box wine on several occasions (It is best described as a “wake up in jail” drunk) I do really like the uses mentioned. I would also like to add that using baking soda in place of Clorox [plain liquid hypochlorite bleach] for washing out the bags may work better, and impart less of a taste to any future contents. I have been using straight baking soda for cleaning out my hydration bladders (platypus brand) for several years and have found this to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Matt in Texas sent the link for this Acres USA article in PDF format on the Prehn method for spring development: Milking Water from the Hills   o o o Frequent content contributor M.P. sent us this one: The Case Of The Vanishing Bees–Beekeepers In 22 States Report Insects Disappearing In Huge Numbers    o o o “Going, going…” Rob at $49 MURS Radios tells us that his supplies of the used MURS radios that he has been selling at $49 each is dwindling fast. He reports: “I expect only another few weeks of availability at the current rate of …