Day: September 7, 2009

Letter Re: Lessons from a Brief, Opportunistic Burglary

Dear Jim, I want to forward a story from my local electronics surplus dealer concerning his son and wife who live in a new upper-middle class subdivision just outside of Portland, Oregon. Last Friday, William (not his real name) went off to work as normal. Kids went off to school. Wife was home. She left the house at 11:15 for a quick errand. She got back about noon. Only 45 minutes. On her return, she noticed the front door unlocked. She did the correct thing and did not enter the house. She called the local police from inside her car …


Letter Re: Some Travel and Bug Out Gear Recommendations

Sir, First, as promised earlier I wanted to follow up and describe the kit I take with me on my trips. As I have mentioned in the past my job takes me overseas all the time, so for the past decade I have spent 80-90% of my time in third and second world countries. As a result the type of kit I take with me becomes important – it has to be packable and lightweight (especially now that the airlines are limiting you to 50 lbs. per bag versus the old 75 lbs. per bag). I have built up a …



Economics and Investing:

Sluggish growth in france leading to big trouble. (Thanks to DD for the link.) Larry T. sent this: Why Default on U.S. Treasuries is Likely, by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel. “Buried within the October 3, 2008 bailout bill was a provision permitting the Fed to pay interest on bank reserves. Within days, the Fed implemented this new power, essentially converting bank reserves into more government debt. Now, any seigniorage that government gains from creating bank reserves will completely vanish or be greatly reduced.” Items from The Economatrix: Five Weeks on the Brink: Reliving the ’08 Meltdown Brown to G-20: Economy at …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Cheryl mentioned: 13 Tips On Cutting The Family Budget    o o o I made the mistake of spending more than a half hour on the phone with this journalist who promised me that he was sympathetic to the preparedness movement, and would write a favorable article. Either he was disingenuous, or his editor thoroughly re-wrote the piece: The new survivalists: Oregon ‘preppers’ stockpile guns and food in fear of calamity. Oh well, at least they spelled my name correctly. Oh, and don’t miss the lengthy comments section. It shows how ultra-liberal Portland has become.    o o o Reader …