Month: November 2009

Letter Re: Experience with a Shallow Well Hand Pump

Mr. Rawles, I consider myself adequately prepared for whatever events that may happen in regards to a break down of society. I live out in the country and have never been one to rely on local government or social infrastructure for immediate needs. I’ve had too many occasions where I have had to fend for myself because of a tornado, snowstorm, flood or other event that causes disruption in services. I have a good supply of storage food from canning, dehydrating and past hunting seasons to last for a while. I’ve got all the hand tools necessary to keep going …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Preparedness in a Diverse Community

I just met this past weekend with a group of ” preparedness folk.” They are on a farm about 30 miles from here. I have become interested in the subject after reading One Second After (a New York Times best seller, highly recommended!) and some writings by James Wesley, Rawles. I was surprised at who they were and the mindset I encountered. A few observations: 1) The root idea is that whether or not some disaster hits, we are far too dependent on a very fragile and tenuous energy and distribution grid. Raising your own chickens, goats, vegetables, rabbits, turkeys, …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Reader D.P.D. mentioned: Signs of a H1N1 mutation? Something is up in Ukraine: “Viral pneumonia…” Los Angeles County Free H1N1 Vaccination Clinics Overwhelmed Swine flu prompts hundreds of schools to close US Emergency Declaration Increases Concern. “…the CDC has reported a low reactor isolate, indicating the virus is evolving away from the vaccine.” ‘National emergency’ for H1N1 no cause for alarm, experts say. Oh, that makes me feel so much better. Fight Erupts in Line at Nevada Swine Flu Clinic CDC: 19 Children in US Died of Swine Flu Last Week WHO Emergency Response Team to Ukraine US: 10 Million …


Economics and Investing:

Jeff E. suggested this: Wilbur Ross Sees ‘Huge’ Commercial Real Estate Crash “FarmerGreen” mentioned: Harvard’s Bet on Interest Rate Rise Cost $500 Million to Exit. Even the best and brightest at Harvard lost a billion to get out of a derivatives contract that went south. Bruiser spotted this: California to Begin Holding More of Your Paycheck. Bruiser’s comment: “The lesson here is that if one needs a loan, just go out and take it from everyone who has a job. Like Commifornia is doing.” [JWR Adds: My favorite quote from the article: “The state is closing part of this year’s …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Brian B. mentioned a new Internet service called GunPal opened last week which allows for the online payment of all transactions, including firearms-related commerce. (PayPal is notoriously anti-gun.) Hopefully this new service will prosper and provide a valuable resource for those requiring freedom of choice. It was founded by a group of pro-gun gents–mostly from CalGuns–and their roster of advisory board members includes fellow pro-gun blogger Oleg Volk. We should help grow GunPal — effectively voting with our dollars. It took just five minutes for me to set up a GunPal account, and I’ve already added it as an …



Note from JWR:

I’m pleased to report that another retreat listed on SurvivalRealty.com property has just sold. (The “Turn-key” retreat near Sandpoint, Idaho.) Be sure to check out the many new SurvivalRealty.com listings, including properties in Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Also, be advised that the seller of a unique underground home in Colorado has re-listed the property, at a reduced price. We are very pleased that our “spin-off” web site has been so successful in connecting retreat property buyers and sellers. If you have a property for sale that has retreat potential, then please consider advertising it on SurvivalRealty. …


Letter Re: Retreat Security: I Am Your Worst Nightmare

I was thinking about the “I Am Your Worst Nightmare” post as I worked in my vegetable garden, preparing it for Spring. I wonder how long it would be until the Looters evolved their strategy to the next levels, as follows: Looter+1: Don’t kill everyone, leave some alive to loot again later. Looter+2: Plan to scare, rather than kill, your victims, so that they can continue farming and provide for your needs later. Dead victims can’t work. Looter+3: Claim a territory and collect “protection” money/goods from the people in your territory. Tell them that in return for only taking one-third …


Letter Re: Comments of Storing Coffee and Grinding Whole Wheat Flour

Jim: Buryl misses the point to storing coffee. Freeze dried blocks of ground coffee wrapped in aluminum foil pouches and vacuum packed is my preferred method, but I also store instant coffee crystals. I recommend not getting addicted to coffee. I can take it or leave it. But it is a wonderful trade/barter item. Especially after six months or a year or more have gone by after the SHTF and there is no coffee to be found anywhere, a stash of coffee will be good as gold with its purchasing power. Storing jerked meats and especially honey as barter items …


Economics and Investing:

Chris in West Virginia was the first of several readers that mentioned Glenn Beck’s recent explanation of inflation, interest rates, and the history of destroyed currencies. It was a basic primer for the sheeple. I just wish he had taken a couple of minutes to explain the money multiplier effect of fractional reserve banking. Ehh! Probably too complicated for many television viewers to grasp. The latest from Dr. Housing Bubble: Option ARMs Enter the Eye of the Hurricane: The $189 Billion Recast Problem Targeted Directly at the California Housing Market. Of $189 Billion in Securitized Option ARMs $109 Billion in …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Tree house man lives off the land. I think he needs to spend less time in the hammock, and more time cutting firewood for the coming winter!    o o o Other news from England: Bullets used by British soldiers ‘too small to defeat Taliban’. Not only is 5.56 too small, but the entire Enfield L85 (aka SA80) bullpup development and procurement program has been a foul-up from day one. I suppose that it is time to break out some L1A1s from their war reserve arsenal. That is, assuming they still have a few hundred thousand of them… There may …