“In addition to some of the obvious reasons why you don’t want to cut yourself when operating a saw, blood on a bare tool steel blade can cause serious and near-immediate rusting, and good tools deserve better treatment than that. “ – H. J. Halterman, Along the Way, August 2009
Sorry about the delay, but here are the result’s of last month’s poll. Today, I’m starting a new poll: What are your favorite movies with survival themes? Please e-mail me a list of your top five picks. Thanks! I’ll post the results sometime early in November.
Here are the results of our recent poll. Thety are listed in no particular order, but each book listed below received at least two votes. Those that are marked with an asterisk are suitable for teenagers. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank* Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle One Second After by William R. Forstchen (An EMP scenario.) Earth Abides by George Stewart* Dies the Fire series by S.M. Stirling The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shafer and Annie Barrows The Survivalist series (Most recommended just the first 10 books) by Jerry Ahern The …
James Wesley, A Zenith Trans-Oceanic (T-O) is hard to beat, especially if you could snag a [rare] R-520 militarized version. This has a spare tube rack, uses no wax paper capacitors, is fungi proof, et cetera. The T-O definitely the world’s greatest portable radio (this side of the AN/GRR-6!) the G & H 500s and the 600 series as well as the R-520 all used the 1L6 converter tube which has become expensive and just about un-obtainable. You can clip a pin out of a 1R5 as a substitute but shortwave performance usually conks out around 7-8 MC. The earlier …
GG was the first of more than a dozen readers to mention this article by Robert Fisk (an outspokenly leftist journal list, so take it with a grain of salt.): The demise of the dollar; In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading. Given the import of the preceding (if it is true), is it any wonder that the USDI is tanking, and the future and spot prices of precious metals are going through the roof? You’ve had plenty …
Reader JM3 found a “kicked up” MRE cooking video. o o o I heard that Ready Made Resources is having a sale on REC Solar SCM-220 220 watt photovoltaic panels. These panels, made in Norway, are excellent quality, and you can’t beat the price–especially when you consider the normal cost of shipping, which is free. o o o Reader “OSOM” recommended some concealed carry wisdom from Massad Ayoob: 10 Commandments of Concealed Carry. o o o Thanks to Tom W. for finding this item: Criminalizing Everyone
“Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence he is just using his memory” – Leonardo da Vinci
There is a new regulation that apparently I must address: per FTC File No. P034520, I state for the record: I accept cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of my advertisers have solicited me or paid me to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews or endorsements. Okay, with that done, I can press of with blogging here in the land that we once called free…
Once you realize the importance of being prepared for coming hard times, you may ask yourself, “How can I possibly prepare for any scenario? This is an insurmountable undertaking.” The more you ponder this, the more the reality of this seems to be confirmed. Let not your heart be troubled. As with almost any endeavor, the road to success begins with the first step and continues one step at a time. Consistent, prioritized, careful preparation over a period of time, preparation built around what your personal situation (budget, job, family, medical needs, etc.) will allow, can get you in a …
Jim, First of all I am glad your newest book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” is selling very well. It is a great book and I think just about everyone could benefit from reading it and having a copy on the shelf to reference. Anyway my question is about firearms spare parts. I have stashed a good amount of cash to purchase spare parts for my essential firearms and am not sure what to get. Thanks to a previous post here I have a a list for the AR platform. I am however …
28 Pregnant Women Dead from Swine Flu Army’s First Swine Flu Death is Soldier in South Carolina Many Swine Flu Deaths Linked with Second Infection US Military to Get Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccinations Soon Mexico Braces for Second Wave of Swine Flu
From the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Three Westside Shadow Inventory Homes. Santa Monica, Culver City, and Rancho Park. Banks will not Hold Inventory Forever. John S. sent this: Bailout cop: Treasury set ‘unrealistic expectations’ Barofsky, reviewing the first big bailouts to 9 firms, concludes that the government was too rosy to the public about the banks’ health. (Read: They fibbed.) Tom B. thought this might be of interest: Baker Hughes: US Oil, Gas Rig Count Up 7 To 1,024 This Week Damon mentioned: Is world economy still in deep woods? (The IMF announced that it plans to sell 8% of …
John McC. mentioned an interesting (albeit slow-loading) environmental threat map site. o o o I heard from a reader in Wyoming about some newly-manufactured herdsman-style trailers equipped with wood stoves. They look like a good option for extended camping situations, or a way to house extra families that show up at your retreat at the 11th Hour. o o o Damon pointed us to a Washington Times editorial: The coming war with Iran. o o o India floods leave 2.5 million homeless, 250 dead. (My thanks to Eric C. for the link )
“The fact of the matter was that Venice was utterly demoralized. It was so long since she had been obliged to make a serious military effort that she had lost the will that makes such efforts possible. Peace, the pursuit of pleasure, the love of luxury, the whole spirit of dolce far niente (softness for nothing) has sapped her strength. She was old and tired; she was also spoilt.” – John Julius Norwich’s description of once mighty Venice’s surrender to Napoleon
Mr. Rawles, My family and I are facing some challenges in our pursuit to become prepared. First off, a little background on our situation. I’m a 12-year Air Force veteran currently stationed in Montana. My wife also works full-time. We have about $60,000 in debt between credit cards and two auto loans. We have no problems paying our bills and our credit is excellent. It’s just that we don’t have a ton of extra money to begin our grand survival scheme. We’ve talked about all the different routes about living debt free and also purchasing the right vehicles, retreat and …