Year: 2008

Letter Re: Selecting and Storing Bargain Barter Items

As Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram) from the television show Green Acres would say, “Have I got a deal for you!” In the spirit of Mr. Haney, I’ve come up with some good barter items. To make the list, the items have to be fairly light, extremely useful, practical, and cheap to buy, now! The items have to fit, and be able to be stored in six gallon plastic pails with a water proof seal. The items also must be available in large quantities now, to get the most for my money and be easily accessible now, at a low cost …


Letter Re: Pre-Paying Utility Companies in Anticipation of Worsening Banking Disruptions?

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Rawles, Thank you for your excellent blog. My husband and I are benefiting tremendously from the hard work you have put in to this valuable resource. My question: With banking integrity a growing uncertainty, would it be prudent to devote our rather limited capital to build up a credit balance with our utility providers (water, electric and natural gas) in anticipation of possible interruptions in bank transactions? We do have modest contingency back-up systems for all three supplies but as long as the grid holds up we will use the utilities. Sincerely, – Mrs. T. from …


Letter Re: Life Imitates Art–Moscow, Idaho Style

Dear Mr. Rawles, When the President announced the first $700 Billion bailout I had the pleasure of being in Chicago at a business conference. The next day I flew home into Moscow/Pullman regional airport and couldn’t help but think about the first chapter of “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. The timing was a little ironic. Thank you for all the work you do. Regards, – The Hellion of Troy



Odds ‘n Sods:

KAF sent us this: World’s First Nuclear Bunker Turned Zero-Star Hotel Opens in Switzerland    o o o In a recent e-mail, SF in Hawaii mentioned: “I do not think that the bank rating agencies will adjust their ratings fast enough to tell when you should get your money out of a bank. Instead, watch the bank’s stock price.” That is good advice.    o o o Whenever someone wants to advertise a book on SurvivalBlog, I insist on reading it before I accept the ad. Most recently, this gave me the opportunity to read Jerry Robinson’s new book “Surviving …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul…. Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me …


Notes from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $770. The auction for a large mixed lot that includes: A Special Mixed Vegetable Case-Six #10 Dehydrated Food Cans (Retail Price $105.95) This special Mixed Vegetable Case contains six #10 (96-ounce) cans–one can of each of the following: Mixed Vegetable Blend, Green Beans, Sweet Garden Peas, Mixed Peppers, Potato Dices, and Sweet Potatoes and a EZ-Towels 10 Pack Combo (10 bags of 50 towels. Retail value: $99.95). These items were donated by Jan at Healthy Harvest Foods. An assortment of world class loose leaf teas, and a box of …


Prepping: A Labor of Love, by Sparky

My preparedness journey began when my mother in law was dying, and we had to get out of the house for a while. At a flea market, on the bottom shelf, was a book titled “Making the Best of Basics”. The cover caught my attention, and before we went home that night, I had read and re-read the book. I am a union electrician, subject to layoffs, and my husband is a self-employed painter. The idea that I needed to prepare came easy for me. I thought I had done well, always buying extra for the pantry. But water? Oops. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Mongoose” in the UK and Mark S. both sent us this: Iceland and the UK square off in a strange new financial Cold War    o o o Numerous budget shortfalls around the nation: States That Can’t Pay for Themselves.    o o o Katya sent us these links for your weekend reading displeasure: Iceland Teeters On Edge Of Economic Collapse; Banking Woes Spread Across Europe — Councils fear for Icelandic cash — Banking on gold.. And then Cheryl (our Economic Editor) sent all these: Wall Street Ends Worst Week Ever With Wild Trading — Dow’s Worst Week Comes …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“University of Maryland economist Herman E. Daly points out that the current crisis is really one of the “overgrowth of financial assets relative to growth of real wealth.” Daly believes that “financial assets have grown by a large multiple of the real economy” and that “paper exchanging for paper is now 20 times greater than exchanges of paper for real commodities.” Exploding debt liens have simply outgrown the wealth. The problem, in other words, cannot be bailed out. Historically, debt that cannot be redeemed has been repealed by inflation. The same inflation that wipes out debt will wipe out savings.” …


Letter Re: Everyday Carry Pocketknife Recommendation?

Mr. Rawles: I’ve seen your recommendations on guns for survival situations, but what do recommend for “Everyday Carry” kinda pocket knives? And what do you carry personally? Thanks, – H.Y. JWR Replies: My general preference is for “low-end” stainless steel folding knives with a positive lock, and with tanto-style tips. In my experience tantos are less prone to getting broken tips. For versatility, I also tend toward knives that are serrated in the back half of the blade. (Commonly called “50/50” or “half-serrated”.) My everyday carry knife is an extra large (5″ blade) Cold Steel 29 XTH Voyager. On occasions …


How to Buy in Quantity When on a Tight Budget, by Robert in Arizona

Let me start out, with the simple fact that we all need to prepare. And with that in mind, you must have asked yourself a million times, how can I achieve my goals for survival and food preparedness for my family on a very low or tight budget? Well the answer is simpler than you think! Think thrifty. Yes, thrift stores and Mom and Pop outlets are a true blessing in disguise. All of the things you might want to buy for home canning, food prep, food storage, Camping, Cooking, Clothes, Boots, Sleeping bags, etc. can be found right under …


Letter Re: Buying Just One Gun?

Good Morning: In response to the gentleman who wants to own just one gun: Obviously, his mindset is biased against gun ownership. Nothing wrong with that, to each his own. But, I would suggest that he really needs to get his mind squared away before even considering buying anything. Once the bias is corrected, and he has made the decision that he really needs a firearm…..then have him go to his local gun store where they have a range, rent a 38 revolver, a box of shells, some ear plugs and muffs and have at it. I wouldn’t recommend starting …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Norman in England mentioned one consequence of the global credit collapse, as reported by The Financial Post: Grain shipments stalled in credit drought (“There’s all kinds of stuff stacked up on docks right now…”)    o o o Bill N. sent us the link to this “must see” video from a DEFCON hackers’ convention: No Tech Hacking    o o o James B. sent us this “signs of the times” news story: National Debt Clock runs out of digits. Speaking of digits, several times in the last six months, I’ve mentioned the Federal Reserve cartels’ web page where they post …