Day: September 30, 2009

Notes from JWR:

Today is “Book Bomb” Day for my new book, “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times”. My goal for the Book Bomb is a surge of orders is that will drive the book’s Amazon sales rank into the top 50, overall. (When I last checked, it was at #160.) Many thanks for waiting to order until today!! — My scheduled guest appearance on the Laura Ingraham talk radio show has been postponed to Monday, October 5th. Sorry about the late notice. — Today we present the final entry …


C&R FFL, Milsurp Firearms and Your Survival Battery, by The Alchemist

The C&R FFL, Milsurp Firearms, and Your Survival Battery, by The Alchemist The survival battery is a key issue for any prepper, as one of the biggest short-term concerns in a SHTF scenario is security. Stored supplies and learned skills are all for naught if you can’t protect the supplies from theft or survive to put those skills to use. While I would love for everyone to have a chance for a top of the line Main Battle Rifle (MBR), they do not run cheap, nor is the ammunition cheap these days. While modern rifles have undoubted advantages, there are …


Letter Re: Amateur Radio for the Rest of Us

Mr. Rawles, Thank you for including the recent article on amateur radio in SurvivalBlog. I have been an amateur radio operator for about 35 years and have been playing with radios for over 40 years. I am amazed with the depth of knowledge of the readers on your blog. In many of the topics covered, I know very little. I have one criticism of amateur radio operators concerning “emcon” or emergency communications. Many hams like to participate in the organized drills with their local Emergency Government officials. This is a big mistake in a SHTF scenario. Think of yourselves, your …



Economics and Investing:

Reader GG spotted this sobering piece: Corpse of a Thousand Houses. More foreclosures will soon be flooding the market, further depressing the housing market. This is the negative feedback loop (aka “death spiral”) that I’ve been warning about since late 2006. From El Jefe Jeff E.: US large-loan bank losses triple to $53 billion; Regulators say US lenders expected to lose $53 billion in 2009 on loans larger than $20M. Jeff’s comment: “53 Billion is a lot to lose, and they were ‘surprised’ by the losses….I wonder what else is lurking that will cause these banks more surprises.” Also from …


Odds ‘n Sods:

M. found a TED Talk about a very low tech wind generator built by a farmer in Malawi.    o o o The Other Jim R. mentioned this item in a Memphis newspaper: ATF tells Tennessee that a federal gun law trumps the state’s. JWR’s comment: The new laws in Tennessee and Montana are bound to see court challenges. In my estimation, the Feds are in for a first class spanking when this eventually hits the appeals court level. There is no way that the ATF’s bureaucratic proclamation will pass muster, in light of the Lopez decision. The language of …


#1 Son’s Quote of the Day:

“If you are serious about preparedness, then it is time to get out of your armchair and start training and preparing. It will take time. It will take some sweat. It will take money. But once you’ve prepared, you can sleep well, knowing that you’ve done your best to protect and provide for your family, regardless of what the future brings. Don’t get stuck in the rut of simply studying preparedness. Unless the shelves in your pantry and garage are filling with supplies, and unless you are growing muscles and calluses, you are not preparing.” – James Wesley, Rawles, “How …