Year: 2008

Letter Re: Should I Get a Bigger Property and a Bigger Mortgage?

JWR, I currently live in a crowded subdivision in a moderately nice house that is worth $240,000. We owe approximately $120,000 on it, and have $120,000 in equity. Based on much of what I read here, we were looking for a house with some land, and recently found one for $370,000 (it’s only 2.5 acres, but that’s much more than we have now). If we buy it we will owe $370,000 -120,000 = $250,000). I currently make around $120,000 per year, in a job in the medical field that should not be too hard hit by financial crises. So what …


Letter Re: Substantially Higher Food Prices at Warehouse Stores

Hi Jim, Yesterday I made my monthly or thereabouts pilgrimage to Costco to buy bulk items for our pantry and other needs. I immediately noticed that prices had gone up on just about everything. The 40 pound bags of Kirkland brand dog food (re-labeled Iams brand) had gone up from $19.90 to $23.64 which is about a 16% increase in price. The 25 pound bags of Indian long grain rice went for $20.00 to $24.00 – a 20% increase and other items here and there had gone up a dollar or two or three. While Costco continues to be a …


Letter Re: Observations on Empty Store Shelves in Louisiana

Mr. Rawles, I am an over the road truck driver and happen to be in Louisiana today. I have been to several stores in the southern part of the state and took note of what was in short supply. The shelves in the camping section were empty, they were out of water, generators, gas cans, coolers and frozen dinners. The frozen dinner thing I didn’t get, I figured they’d be short on canned or boxed food. Just stuff I noticed and thought I’d share. God Bless and I’ve been praying for your wife.- Vincent from Portland JWR Replies: Part of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader I.T.N. wrote me to ask: “I noticed that [the base metal value of] a nickel is [down to] now 4.9 cents. (due to a sharp decline in nickel as of late) Do you think this is temporary, or should I begin to spend the milk jugs full of nickels I acquired.” I expect that spot price of nickel will rebound in coming months, as the US Dollar resumes its decline. With more rapid inflation looking likely, I expect that a US five cent piece will have a base metal value of 10 cents (twice its face value) within two …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“…we have the phenomenon called inflation which is the appearance of rising prices. I emphasis the word ‘appearance’ because in reality prices are not rising at all. What we’re seeing is that the value of the dollar is going down, that’s the real side of the equation. If we had real money based on gold or silver or anything tangible that couldn’t just be created out of thin air, it could be based on microphones, that they couldn’t just create with the stroke of a pen, you would see then that prices would remain stable over a long period of …


Notes from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $550. The auction for a mixed lot that includes: Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans, (donated by Ready Made Resources–a $320 value), a NukAlert radiation detector, (donated by KI4U–a $160 value), a Wilson Tactical COP tool, (donated by Choate Machine and Tool Company, a $140 value), a DVD of 480 E-books on Alternative Energy (donated by WK Books–a $25 value). The auction ends on September 15, 2008. Please e-mail us your bid. Today’s posts include an article cross-posted with permission from the new Everyday …


Letter Re: The EMP Threat May Be Worse Than We Had Thought

Mr Rawles, Your readers may benefit from the following current links regarding the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threat: Full report of the EMP Commission to the House Armed Services Committee (July 10, 2008) This link has a concise summary of key points from the above report: I also recommend an interview with the Chairman of the EMP Commission. The interview includes the following statements that are very important: Asked just how many Americans would die if Iran were to launch the EMP attack it appears to be preparing, Graham gave a chilling reply: “You have to go back into the 1800s …


Range Report: Advantage Arms .22 Conversion Kit for the Glock, by Everyday Prepper

To start off let me say I’m in no way affiliated Advantage Arms or Glock. I don’t get paid to advertise or test their products and I definitely don’t get paid to write reviews. I took the Glock out today with the Advantage Arms conversion kit installed. I wasn’t exactly skeptical of the kit after reading about it online but I was expecting to have some sort of break in period. I opened the kit up and out fell an orange piece of paper that instructed me to put some oil on the parts in the picture. I grabbed the …


Five Letters Re: Welding Oxygen Versus Medical Oxygen

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James: Just a quick note, never ever use oxygen under pressure near oil! Never use oil on the thread’s or fittings! The high pressure will cause the oil to detonate,similar to a diesel ignition! If you must,and probably should never need to, use a teflon tape seal!And if you have an acetylene bottle, let it stand for 24 hours as it may have been laid on it’s side before using it, separating the acetone from the gas. – Dean   Jim The letter in response to welding oxygen versus medical oxygen was interesting. Unfortunately [that readers} was wrong on one …


Letter Re: Firearms Battery Recommendations

Jim, In reference to the post on September 9th concerning the Mossberg Riotgun–as far as I know the only Mossberg available with the steel safety switch (as well as steel receiver, steel trigger guard, bayonet lug and heavier/thick walled barrel) is the Mossberg 590A1. For a few dollars more it is, IMHO a better choice. They can still be had for around $500–steel trigger assemblies et cetera are available for upgrading the plastic parts but they are pricey, and the trigger assembly has to be shipped to an FFL. Once [all of this is] done it may in fact be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Universal flu vaccine tests start in the UK    o o o We can now chalk up another $200 Billion in the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB). It’s now official: U.S. Seizes Fannie and Freddie. This confirms my suspicion that there is no such thing as “too big to bail out”, but the dictum of “too big to fail” is in full force. I predict that these bailouts will continue in both the public and private sectors, in a “widening gyre.” The bailouts won’t end until the US dollar is destroyed as a currency unit. Get out of any dollar-denominated …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The game of chicken that foreigners have been playing with their $[US Dollar] reserves will come to an end. Someone will flinch. The world’s banking system primarily uses Dollars for its reserves. The other currencies used as reserves, Yen, Pounds, Euros, etc. also use Dollars as reserves. Countries are using each other as reserves in a never ending circle of falsely created values. Think of it this way, it is like two people trying to hold each other up off the ground at the same time without either touching the ground. There is no backing or foundation to any currency …


Note from JWR:

The U.S. economy is showing clear signs of disintegration, as the global credit collapse continues to take its toll. The once bountiful Lake of Liquidity has dried up to now resemble the Owens Valley. Corporations are screaming for cash, banks are failing, the real estate market is in freefall, and hedge funds are desperately clinging to the edge of the abyss. The proposed “solution”–The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB)– keeps growing, with no end in sight. It is actually part of the problem rather than the solution. If you haven’t done so already, prepare yourself for a long term layoff, …


Letter Re: The Approach of Tropical Storm Hanna Was a Wake-Up Call

Sir, I used to think of myself as “Mr. Preparedness.” I read the blogs and often went shopping for preparedness supplies. Then tropical storm Hanna came to the Carolina coast and I realized just how ill prepared I really was. I didn’t even have my medicines in order. Also, I had no reserve of cash in small bills ready to go. Nothing was packed. It took some time to get all my things together. Had this been a real emergency, I would have been in trouble. Sir, you mentioned in a previous blog the importance of having that bag already …


Letter Re: Firearms Battery Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, Thanks for all of the informative posts at SurvivalBlog. Based on your recommendations, I’ve put together the following list of firearms (all I currently own is a 38 year old .22 rifle): Springfield XD .45 ACP ($568) — for concealed carry, self defense Mossberg Model 500 Special Purpose Mariner 12 gauge Shotgun 9 Shot ($423) — for home defense, hunting Remington Model 700 Varmint Tactical Rifle .308 Winchester, 22 in with Muzzle Brake, Bolt Action ($643) — for hunting, possible tactical/precision use in TEOTWAWKI scenarios Rock River Arms LAR-8 .308 Caliber Standard A2/A4 Rifle ($1,170) — for tactical …