Month: June 2009

Letter Re: Breeding Guinea Pigs as a Protein Source?

Hi Jim; I remember reading a “review” from a survival-minded individual who raised some Guinea Pigs (cavies) as a test case for survival situations. It took some searching, but I found it on the excellent Alpha Rubicon Web site. While I was searching for it, I stumbled upon some other sources of information as well: An article on the pros and cons of cavies as a meat source, from the book “Microlivestock” And here’s an article (in PDF) on cavies for meat production. And an older article about Peruvian Guinea Pig meat production. I love this line: “Today, churches in …



Economics and Investing:

Jack B. sent a link to a brilliant little essay by “Innocent Bystander”, posted over at The Silver Bear Café, titled Economics. From Greg J.: US government seeks to rein in executive pay. Greg asks: “When will this stop? If the Benevolent State can declare both a minimum wage and a maximum salary, then what is to stop them from controlling all wages? This is madness! “Punishing” the rich will just push funds and eventually people and entire corporations offshore. As you’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog, wage and price controls have an ugly history. They’re indiscriminate. They’re ineffective. They’re anti-freedom. And …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A USCCA Video Tip of the Week: Carrying Extra Magazines.    o o o Reader T.M.N. sent a link to an article that gives new meaning to the term “efficiency apartment”: Man turns closet into living space. The space efficiency achieved is laudable, but that doesn’t leave much room for prep logistics. (FWIW, the food storage shelves for my family in JASBORR take up more cubic feet than his “apartment”.)    o o o Steve in Philly mentioned that a six-part Gunsite video on Tactical Carbine handling and marksmanship is now available on YouTube. (I’m dubious about its copyright status! …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day OnPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of $350. Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles …


Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland

I think as a boy my favorite stories were always about epic journeys or quests. I always saw myself as the lone hero; bravely making his way through a barren landscape overcoming impossible obstacles and having fantastic adventures along the way. As preppers I think many of us still believe that WTSHTF our trip to “Get out of Dodge” will be an adventure such as those we read in books. I’m afraid however; the reality will be much grimmer than we can imagine. I fear that it will be more like The Road by Cormac McCarthy or the recent novel …


Letter Re: Portable Oxygen Condensers

James, I recently installed an AuraGen system similar to the current listing on eBay (#330329068735) onto a customer’s Bug Out Vehicle (BOV), a 1986 Chevrolet Suburban 1 ton (modified with some parts that were originally incorporated in the M1008 CUCV). This customer also is afflicted with COPD and uses a 110 VAC Oxygen generator. The Auragen, being a military designed system is far more durable, far more rugged, and most importantly, far more versatile than an inverter placed into any vehicle electrical system. Being a mil-spec unit,.EMP is also not an issue as it meets the military requirements for such …


Letter Re: Growing Food on a City Lot

Sir: On my quarter-acre lot in California’s San Joaquin Valley, I have about 50 small fruit trees (citrus, apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and cherries) grape vines, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, squash, cantalopes, watermelons, tomatoes, eggplants, rhubarb, Armenian cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, basil, parsley, tarragon, and a kiwi vine. (And there is plenty of space left over for the house, garage, ornamental landscaping, and plain old lawn, although more of that lawn is going away next year, to be replaced with more fruit trees.) Now, I didn’t do it myself; I paid my gardener quite a bit of money to build …



Economics and Investing:

Ray T. sent this: US long-term interest rates hit high. We haven’t seen anything yet! To attract bond buyers in the future, I predict that Banana Republic level rates may be coming. I found this linked over at TSLRF: Bernanke Freaks Out About Obama’s Spending and Debt Plans. Don’t miss the accompanying Tech Ticker video commentary on the risk of debt monetization leading to hyperinflation. Items from The Economatrix: GOP Rep. Kirk Warns: China Is Investing Away From Dollar…Buying Gold And Oil Fed Lost $5.3 Billion on AIG, Bear Stearns in 1Q No More Federal Money Planned for GM, Chrysler …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Florida Guy mentioned an insightful essay that expands on Anthropologist Jack Weatherford’s book, Savages And Civilization: Who Will Survive?    o o o Crusher recommended a site with sets of plans and descriptions for a home-made ethanol still.    o o o FJ sent: Poor Man’s Guide to Rain Barrels    o o o A Nanny State update from Sodom By The Sea: San Francisco Makes it Illegal Not to Recycle



Letter Re: Breeding Guinea Pigs as a Protein Source?

Mr. Rawles, My husband and I are having a preparedness debate that we were hoping you could shed some light on. While he’s more of a conventional preparer (food, supplies, guns) I prefer to think of “things” that would help us survive if we were to ever run out of, or lose the conventional supplies. This distinct difference in preparation brings me to my story. Several months ago I was watching a special on, I believe National Geographic, where the camera crew followed an actor on his journey through the country of Peru. On his trip he went into the …


Letter Re: It Matters Not Whether We Face Inflation or Deflation–You Need to Protect Yourself

JWR, That was an excellent post by Gentleman Jim! His view of insurance is right on and should be reinforced. I’ve come to realize that the best way to conceptualize prepping is in terms of insurance. As Jim stated, just like every family needs home insurance, auto insurance, medical insurance, etc., you must also have survival insurance. In fact, this should be the most important insurance you carry. If you have a family, you owe it to your spouse and your children to ensure that they will be safe no matter what life throws at you. There are several good …