Month: July 2008

Odds ‘n Sods:

Cheryl N. sent us a link to an article over at Stan Deyo’s web site that indicates that the freeze-dried storage food shortage is now even more severe than was previously reported: Mountain House Out of #10 Cans Through 2009. Most Mountain House dealers have sold completely out, and a are refusing to take back orders for # 10 cans. Meanwhile, Walton Feed has temporarily suspended taking new Internet orders, presumably so they can catch up on their order backlog. OBTW, the folks at Ready Made Resources tell me that they still have a few #10 cans of Mountain House …



Letter Re: Advice on Motorcycles

Good Morning: What’s your opinion about motorcycles for personal transportation in the tough times ahead? Obviously much better on gas but I wonder if I would be more vulnerable to public disturbances? I live in a very rural area but have to commute into the city for my job. Would you spend the money to get one or would that money be better spent on eliminating debt? Thanks in advance for your thoughts. – Dave P. in South Carolina JWR Replies: In a “slow slide” situation where the power grid stays up (“Grid Up”) and law and order are maintained, …


Letter Re: Advice on Photovoltaic Power Systems

Greetings! I’m a long time reader, first time writer. I have been interested in “off-grid” photovoltaic power systems as a way to generate power should the grid go down. I’m pretty well versed on electricity and concepts, but what name brands would you recommend for the main components (panels, charge controller, batteries and inverter)? Though I have heard of things like Trace, Xantrex, gel battery and pure sine wave, my practical knowledge is limited. I apologize if this has been covered before – point me in the right direction and I’ll check the archives. Also, have you ever heard of …


Letter Re: The Importance of Pistol Holster Selection

I ‘lurk’ a lot and by doing so, learn a bunch but a discussion came up in another environment and made me think and I wanted some feedback so here goes… In responding to someone who planned on getting a hand gun as a part of their survival planning and was seeking advice I said this: This topic however hits home as I’ve been in training over 20 years and am still a certified ‘pistol’ instructor. I spent a lot of time doing law enforcement, corrections officer and even civilian hand gun / shotgun training. With that said, getting a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SF in Hawaii sent this: Top 25 things vanishing from America: #1 — The family farm    o o o SF in Hawaii also found this interesting product with a novel design: The WASP Knife. I haven’t had the chance to try one of these, so I’ll reserve judgment. The concept certainly seems novel. Note that if you use a compressed air knife in a self-defense situation in which your opponent meets his maker, and if you subsequently meet his heirs in court, then you can expect to have your motives questioned.    o o o Kevin A. sent us …



Letter Re: Pre-Assembling Charity Food Packets for Storage

JWR – I am putting together food stores, and collecting food grade buckets for bulk storage (local store lets them go for 60 cents each), but I had a question come across as I was planning this out. Based on my own sense of charity, as well as your comments, I thought about a self-contained package that could be handed out, some rice, wheat, dried veggies and more, all sealed with a gamma lid using your dry ice method. Not only would this be good to avoid having multiple bulk cans open at once, but also as I said if …


Letter Re: Satellite Images and Your G.O.O.D. Route

Hi James, While they are still available, now might be a good time to use one of the satellite image sites (like Google Earth) to download and print out detailed satellite images of planned bug-out routes. Having those images with you during a bug-out strikes me as a great way save time and energy by knowing exactly where important survival-related features are located. For example, my own route includes a stretch of rather barren territory with no lakes or streams shown on the topo map, but the satellite images show ponds and small reservoirs too small for inclusion by the …


Letter Re: Springfield Armory XD Pistol Accessories

James- I wanted to thank you for the great web site! It’s fantastic! I was on the Springfield Armory web site yesterday, and noticed that they are having a 20% off sale on all accessories, including XD magazines, through July 31st. I picked up four more, and thought I’d pass the info along. Keep up the great work, and I pray for a healthy recovery for your wife. – Kristopher in Afghanistan JWR Replies: Thanks for your prayers for The Memsahib. We are now hopeful that she will make a complete recovery. I am enthusiastic about the XD pistols. Now …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was recently doing a web search on “Asymmetric Warfare” and I came across this interesting article (in PDF) from Military Review magazine in 2001: America’s Frontier wars: Lessons for Asymmetric Conflicts.    o o o Reader Michael H. suggested this article from Bob Chapman’s The International Forecaster: The Formula For Hyperstagflation    o o o Trent H. sent us a link to an article summarizing a recent speech by Congressman Ron Paul: “Some Big Events Are About To Occur”    o o o Pyotr in the Czech Republic wrote me to mention that he was researching custom-built intrusion detection …



Letter Re: Rampant Inflation in Steel Products

Hey Jim, I used to make my living as a construction electrician and had several big steel Greenlee brand tool boxes with my tools. There is usually one in the back of my truck all the time. Price of gun safes has continued to rise, so I took one of my boxes and cut out a plywood rack for my guns, then filled in around the rack with polyurethane foam. After it was set and cured, I painted the urethane foam flat black. The fit and finish on my Greenlee tool box/gun safe is good enough to protect my weapons, …


Letter Re: A Reminder to Readers About Botulism

I think that the author of “Letter Re: A Reminder to Readers About Botulism” [posted on July 18th] is a little mistaken about the deadliness of “even a single small whiff of Botulinum toxin.” The video in the link he provided is a discussion of the effects of weaponized botulism toxin. In the video, it’s stated that botulism doesn’t make a very good open-air weapon, although it may have potential as a weapon in enclosed areas or by infecting food. According to the Botulism Handbook for Epidemiologists, Clinicians, and Laboratory Workers: …botulism can be picked up by (a) eating contaminated …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to Eric B. for potting this: Study shows fuel cell cars still 15 years away at best    o o o SF in Hawaii forwarded this video link: Jim Rogers Speaks the Truth about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac    o o o Wolf sent us this: Merrill Drops After $4.65 Billion Second-Quarter Loss, the same day that Cheryl sent us this: Citigroup posts $2.5B loss, but beats expectations. It seems neither the brokers nor the banksters are faring well in this credit-starved environment.    o o o JT flagged this one from The Daily Telegraph: Africa’s Oil Boom …