Year: 2008

Notes from JWR:

I was saddened to hear that Chuck Karwan passed away last week, following open heart surgery. He was an exemplary American, a USMA West Point graduate (1969) that served in Vietnam and elsewhere (1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), and the 5th and 10th Special Forces Groups), and was a noted writer on knives and military firearms. He will be missed, especially by his friends in Oregon. The SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends tonight (Monday, September 15th) at midnight, eastern time. The high bid is now at $580. The auction for a mixed lot that includes: Two cases of …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Water Conservation WTSHTF

Jim: Here are some random thoughts that I’d like to share on water conservation, for when the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF): Latex or nitrile gloves – Minimizes the use of water for cleaning up after a dirty chore. The nitrile gloves sold by Costco seem to be the strongest and do not oxidize like latex. [JWR Adds: The cost of nitrile gloves bought in bulk is so low, that they are well worth using. They are particularly important to use when handling dyes, paint, strong acids (such as during battery maintenance), strong bases (such as when making soap or …


Letter Re: Advice on Gauging the Safety of Individual American Banks

James: Howdy, I haven’t been able to write or e-mail much these last few months as I have just moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Montana. Having just completed this relocation, and unfortunately not having been able to complete my prep for the move as well as I would have liked, I was wondering if you had any info on banks here? I am living about 70 miles west of Missoula, Montana. Thanks in advance. – Warhawke JWR Replies: Well, congratulations on your move and cue the Merle Haggard music! I don’t know much specifically about the state-chartered banks up in …


Letter Re: Recommended Preparedness Focus for a Dentist in Kansas?

Dear Sir, It was James Howard Kunstler who alerted me to the problems that has caught so many other people unawares in early 2002. Alas, although we’re light years ahead of our fellow citizens in terms of preparedness, we’re many parsecs behind the majority of your readers! We do have about six months of food on hand (which keeps growing each day), plus containers for water storage and filters for water purification. We have some basic medical supplies. Our “battery” has been augmented including the storage of several hundreds (although not thousands yet) of rounds of ammunition. Soon, I’ll have …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Craig R. Smith of Swiss America asks: Will government bailouts spell end of dollar? (A hat tip to Jack in Texas for the link)    o o o TheOtherRyan over at TSLRF (one of the eight-or-so blogs that I read frequently) posted a succinct and commonsense list: 10 commandments for buying gold and silver    o o o One of my “Secret Squirrel” contributors mentioned that because the price of 128 MB and 256 MB USB memory sticks (aka “jump drives” or “USB thumb drives”) has dropped to less than $2 each, readers that want to contribute any articles or …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“…we have yet to see a genuine effort by our national security leaders to engage the public to frankly and openly inform them on where we face major threats, how best the community should better protect itself and improve risk reduction measures. In fact the reverse is true: a range of government reports relating to Australia’s ability to respond to large-scale emergencies have been embargoed on the grounds that to share that information with the public would only serve to frighten people.” – Australian Strategic Policy Institute Strategic Insights Newsletter # 39 – Taking a punch: Building a more resilient …


Notes from JWR:

Our prayers go out for the citizens of Texas. Hurricane Ike made landfall with quite a wallop. More than four million people are expected to be without utility power for days or perhaps weeks. Thankfully, it has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but as of this writing it is still doing damage as it makes its way through Texas. It is gratifying to see how much the SurvivalBlog readership has grown, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, and Indonesia. Welcome aboard! BTW, we are actively looking for correspondent in Australia and Indonesia, to keep us up to date on …


Letter Re: Generating Photovoltaic Power When Grid Power is Available

Jim: I agree completely with your comment that [photovoltaic] solar systems should not be grid-tied to run the meter backward [to isolate the photovoltaic system from potentially devastating coupled electromagnetic pulse (EMP).] When the grid is available to home or retreat, I believe it is worth connecting. It is the easiest way to deal with barns, 220 volt tools and wells, but some thought to solar wiring can go a long way. Many custom homes and retreats were built with home-run wiring before the price of wire jumped so high. A number of these homes and retreats can be solar-controlled …


Letter Re: A Resource on Make-It-Yourself Backpacking Gear

Hello, I came across this web site and thought I’d send you the link to a page at Backpacking.net: Make Your Own Gear! I can’t even sew my shirt buttons back on, but maybe it would be of use to other readers. [JWR Adds: Don’t miss the individual plans in the left hand bar.] By the way, I gave your novel a good review on Amazon.com. Most everybody did. But I included a motivational quote in it that really means a lot to me. I heard it from an Amway tape many years ago: “I will do today what others …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader “Cyberiot” mentioned that readers with concerns about pandemic flu may be interested in a new and growing online storybook sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Pandemic Influenza Storybook: Personal Recollections from Survivors, Families, and Friends” includes first-person accounts of the 1918 and 1957 flu pandemics. Readers are encouraged to contribute their own recollections. Speaking of flu pandemics, earlier this year, New Scientist magazine published a detailed analysis of how a 1918-scale influenza pandemic would affect the US economy.    o o o I’ve heard from a reader that he plans to attend the ASPO …



Notes from JWR:

Note from JWR: I was saddened to hear that Chuck Karwan passed away last week, following open heart surgery. He was an exemplary American, a USMA West Point graduate (1969) that served in Vietnam and elsewhere (1st Calvary Division (Airmobile), 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), and the 5th and 10th Special Forces Groups), and was a noted writer on knives and military firearms. He will be missed, especially by his friends in Oregon. The SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends tonight (September 15th) at midnight, eastern time. The high bid is now at $580. The auction for a mixed lot that includes: Two …


Note from JWR:

A SurvivalBlog reader in northwestern Alabama wrote me to mention that he witnessed the local price of gasoline jump $.70 per gallon overnight (to $5.35 per gallon.) This presumably, was in anticipation of a disruption in supply because of Hurricane Ike. It bears mentioning that many SurvivalBlog readers wisely have at-home underground gas and diesel tanks. Among other benefits, these allows them to ride out the ravages of occasional price spikes like this one, in which even wholesale gasoline jumped to over $5 per gallon! It is starting to look pretty C.C.R.-ish out there. (As the song goes: “Hope you …


The Lehman Brothers Debacle Illustrates the Extent of the Global Credit Collapse

You probably saw yesterday’s headline in The Wall Street Journal: Lehman Races to Find a Buyer. Well, well. The once mighty Lehman Brothers Holdings firm had a market capitalization of $47 Billion last year. But when I last looked, it was down to a paltry $2.58 billion. The company is now definitely on the ropes. It is likely that the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) is going to grow even larger. There will probably be an announcement made this weekend of a “private” takeover of Lehman–possibly including an overseas “white knight”–but down in the fine print we will learn that …


Letter Re: A SurvivalBlog Reader Prepares for Hurricane Ike

Dear Mr. Editor: Just a quick note to tell you how people that read your blog are preparing for Ike. Thanks for all the great information. I live near Houston in the suburbs, about 60 miles north of Galveston. Most of the stores are open and have plenty of water, drinks, bread, tuna and other canned foods. The stores have done a much better job this time of keeping needed items in stock than they did when Katrina was headed this way a couple years ago. The gas is going fast, and many stations are closed. I filled both my …