Year: 2007

Three Letters Re: The Importance of Making Your BOV Less Visible

Mr. Rawles, For those of us whose BOV is their primary POV, even using flat one-color paint would draw unnecessary attention. Even if your vehicle needs a “normal” (not flat) paint job, my recommendation would be that you keep your choices of colors dull, and earthy. Charcoals, browns and dark tans are good colors to use, generally popular and available, yet are much harder for they eye to detect than other colors. In daylight and low-light conditions, these colors blend with every background. Even at night, a moving, flat black vehicle will stand out more than a moving dark gray/dark …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to SJC for sending this: Virulent form of cold virus spreads in U.S.. The general trend is for mutation into less virulent forms, but sometimes a “sport” shows up.    o o o Hawaiian K. sent us this: The Prophet of Climate Change: James Lovelock–One of the most eminent scientists of our time says that global warming is irreversible — and that more than 6 billion people will perish by the end of the century    o o o Michael Panzner, writing in his Financial Armageddon blog, posted an article about how troubled Fannie Mae has changed how it …



Notes from JWR:

The high bid is now at $210 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value) 4.) an autographed copy of my novel“Patriots” (a $23 retail value), 5.) an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), and 6.) a SurvivalBlog Logo Contractor/Operator …


Letter Re: Show Caution When Dispensing Charity

Jim, I read the letter posted about showing caution when dispensing charity. I like the “give ’til it hurts” philosophy from “Patriots” a lot. I have had some training on handling displaced refugees/evacuees/displaced persons which I hope could benefit some readers. I would strongly suggest dividing charity into two distinct areas; charity to neighbors (fixed location) and charity to refugees (mobile). The main purpose of giving aid to refugees is to enable them to keep moving along. Give them water and (if you can spare it) food that they can prepare later when they stop for the night and anything …


Letter Re: New-Found Respect for .223 as a Potential Man Stopper

Jim: When you stop an think about the thickness of the human chest as compared to a large well-muscled deer they are about the same. This is what my family and our friend have done with the same .223 rifle this year: – Buck 150 yards one shot one kill. Dropped on the spot, dead. – Doe 125 yards one shot one kill. Walked five feet and dropped dead. – Doe 220 yards one shot one kill. Dropped on the spot, dead. – Doe 275 yards one shot one kill. Dropped on the spot, dead. – Buck 400 yards one …


Letter Re: Recommended Spare Parts for Firearms

Sir: I am interested in acquiring a good stock of spare parts for my firearms but am not sure where to start. For my AR-15 I got a spare parts kit which covers all the likely culprits for failure (I know it well enough to be sure of that). Eventually I will get an extra bolt carrier group for it. However I do not know enough about the parts that tend to fail for other firearms in my collection. The other firearms I am concerned with are: Springfield Mil Spec .45 [Colt M1911 clone] , Mossberg 500 12 gauge, Ruger …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to our friend L.C. who alerted us to this news story: Manteca homes up for auction. Manteca (which fittingly means “lard” in Spanish) is a small town at the far eastern fringe of commuting distance to the San Francisco Bay Area–a full two hour drive from San Francisco when there is no traffic. Similar auctions have taken place recently in Los Banos and Tracy, California. Most of the homeowners in these neighborhoods have eaten their slice of Humble Pie quietly, but others have protested. L.C.’s comment: “One recent auction raised howls of protest from some of the owners that …



Note from JWR:

Congratulations to CDR, the high bidder in the benefit auction that ended yesterday, for four items including a Baygen Freeplay Summit AM/FM/Shortwave digitally-tuned radio, and a Baygen Sherpa hand crank flashlight. These were kindly donated by Ready Made Resources. Today we are starting a new SurvivalBlog benefit mixed auction lot. This one is for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the …


Letter Re: Freeze Dried Versus Dehydrated Foods for Storage

Shalom Jim: I’ve been researching freeze-dried and dehydrated food as a long-term strategy. I would like to put up at least a years worth for a family of four. Yes, I know that you pretty much grow your own food, but I’ve got a couple of questions if you don’t mind. 1.) Are you storing up any freeze dried, or dehydrated, or not? 2.) If so, are you storing both or more of one or the other? Shabbat shalom, – Dr. Sidney Zweibel JWR Replies: Because of their lower cost, here at the ranch we store nearly all bulk grains/legumes/honey …


Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

Today we are featuring Northwest Arkansas. One of our readers Jaina B. highly recommended our newest SurvivalBlog Realtor, Jeff Allen. Congratulations Jeff! Some of his listings may soon be featured on SurvivalRealty.com. The following is a review of the area written by Mr. Allen: Welcome to Northwest Arkansas! The market in Northwest Arkansas is surviving the downturn very well. Land prices in rural areas are holding very steady on the very few sales that are taking place. The housing market has been overbuilt and we have 8-10 months of inventory to work through before things can look more “optimistic.” I …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mint Fears Losses From Penny Meltdown: Cindy Skrzycki    o o o Gresham’s Law in action: Proposal to ban U.S. coins in Toronto shot down    o o o Next Monday (November 19th) has been declared National Ammo Buycott Day, 2007.    o o o Speaking of ammo, Todd Savage (who kindly volunteers to be the retreat evaluator for SurvivalRealty.com) notes: “I went by the new Cabela’s store in Post Falls, Idaho today while waiting to meet a SurvivalBlog real estate client for a week of retreat property shopping and I noticed that they were selling 1,000 round cases of …



Note from JWR:

Today is the last day of bidding in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for four items: a Baygen Freeplay Summit AM/FM/Shortwave digitally-tuned radio, and a Baygen Sherpa hand crank flashlight. These were kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, one of our most loyal advertisers. Also included in the auction lot is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. These four items have a combined value of more than $350. As of this posting, the high bid is still at $400. The auction …