Day: July 15, 2009

Notes from JWR:

For the next two weeks, starting today (Wednesday July 15), Ready Made Resources is having a special 25% off sale on case lots of Mountain House Freeze dried foods in #10 cans, with free shipping to the Continental United States. Please don’t miss out on this sale, as they don’t happen very often. Stock up! — 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.) …


Medical Insurance for Prepared American Families, by Pat C.

The American healthcare system is collapsing and it will continue to do so no matter what comes out of the current debates in Washington. As a result, healthcare in the United States will continue to rise in cost. Worse, healthcare will become difficult to obtain; specialty care is already scarce in some areas and many rural counties do not have even one doctor who will accept Medicare patients. There are many reasons for these developments that are too complicated to outline here but it’s important to be aware of these trends because they will affect your ability to obtain care …


Letter Re: The Utility of Horses and Horse Theft Prevention in Hard Times

Hi Jim, I read your blog every day as I am preparing my family for the likely collapse. Thanks for the info.We are looking for the ideal spot for our retreat and have found many possible places all in the Pacific Northwest (wooded, very private and off of main roads, creeks, etc.) Here is our dilemma: We have four horses and want to grow our own hay to feed them. How does one find a property that is remote and hidden but still with enough flat, fertile land to grow hay (5-10 acres per horse!)? Our horses are all small …


Letter Re: Wringers for Hand Washing Clothes

JWR: For those who are planning to wash clothes in case of power outage or loss of delivered water I have two suggestions. First is the wringer to get excess water out of washed clothes. Use an industrial mop wringer, such as the kind available through Lowe’s stores. It is made of heavy duty industrial plastic, and, of course, is dual use. Wring out your mops or your clothes. It is less expensive than a traditional roller type wringer. Second, for washing clothes in small batches you might consider a foot moved (adapted to hand crank on rollers) drum cement …


Economics and Investing:

My friend “X” in Japan pointed out an article that I overlooked last month: Confiscated US Bonds Were Headed For Swiss Free Port. OBTW, living near a “free port” (as described in the article) might have its advantages in a protracted economic depression. Commerce will slow globally, but port zones will probably continue to have profitable opportunities. Several SurvivalBloggers sent this: June budget gap $94.32 billion, record for June Eight readers mentioned this Wall Street Journal article: The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think; The average length of unemployment is higher than it’s been since government began tracking the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Kevin A. sent a link to page with an amazing wealth of links: Magazines (and Websites) About Homesteading and Self-Sufficiency    o o o Reader PD sent this: Fall in World 2009 Food Production    o o o F.G. sent us this: Powerful Ideas: Military Develops ‘Cybug’ Spies    o o o Bobbi was the latest reader to mention the reader-generated Cool Tools web site. I’ve linked to it before in the blog, but so many of their recent articles tie in to SurvivalBlog topics that it bears mentioning again. For example, the current Cool Tools review of the recent …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember those who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a person but the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances – to choose one’s own way. ” – Victor Frankl