Month: December 2009

Letter Re: Recommendation on Older Honda CT-90 and CT-110 Trail Motorcycles

Jim, I am an old prepper but new to blogging. Current economic and political events have awakened my smouldering interest in prepping. I was saving telephone books back in the in the 70’s for toilet paper and for bulletproofing. I had read some stuff by Howard J. Ruff and moved to the country dadada. He was a little early on his predictions but he was pushing gold, guns, and stocking up. I have long since sold my gold and bought silver, sold my little chicken farm and moved back to the city. The traffic got to be too bad to …


Three Letters Re: Best Military Manuals with Field Fortification Designs?

Dear James, In response to the person who asked about military manuals, most (at least US Army) are available online for free, from the following sources: GlobalSecurity.org The site has lots of military and world sitrep information updated constantly. The Federation of American Scientists has tons of military hardware systems information. The pictures are useful for recognizing and there is data on each system’s performance, purpose and use. Also, the US Army maintains the General Dennis J. Reimer Training and Doctrine Digital Library at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It used to be mostly open access, but I believe it’s changed to …


Letter From Mike Williamson Re: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword

Dear Jim, A solar calculator is a good tool to have, but old style slide rules never require any batteries, do all major math functions, and provide a visual aid for teaching logarithmic functions. It’s worth having, and learning to use, a couple of those, too. – Michael Z. Williamson – SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large


Letter Re: Buying a House in Australia?

Dear James: To follow up on a previous post, as information for US citizens looking to relocate to Australia, I offer a few very general suggestions. Although Australia is a large continent, most of the population is located on the eastern sea-board mostly because of the arid interior. House prices have not fallen dramatically during the GFC and houses in capital cities are dearer than those in regional centres. But even in capital cities, there can be great differences in house prices in the different suburbs. I suggest that in the first instance that anyone relocating, rents for a period …


Economics and Investing:

Carla alerted us to this article: Recent World Events Indicate Impending Market Chaos, by Giordano Bruno. F.G. and Matt C. were the first of several readers that flagged this apropos piece in The Wall Street Journal: Green Acres Is the Place to Be; The Recession Is Inspiring More Young Families and Singles to Head Back to the Country Thanks to GG for finding this: S&P says European companies face $1.5 trillion funding shortfall next year Items from The Economatrix: Geithner Slams Wall Street Bonuses, Says All Big Banks Could Have Failed A Deeper Look Behind The Jobless Numbers. Despite the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Jen suggested this article, which has some Get Out of Dodge Vehicle implications: I live in a van down by Duke University; How do I afford grad school without going into debt? A ’94 Econoline, bulk food and creative civil disobedience    o o o Safecastle (one of our most loyal advertisers) is offering a 2-for-1 special on long term storage dehydrated diced potatoes.    o o o F.G. flagged this one: Minnesota man arrested for trespassing on his own land    o o o Erik Prince, head of US security firm Blackwater, ‘was CIA operative’ (Thanks to Damon for …



Letter Re: Free Local EMS Training

Jim, I would like to let your readers know that there is an opportunity for them to get free medical training in there community, I have just done this and am working on going further. I joined a volunteer fire department (VFD). No, not everyone has to fight fires, in our department only 10% do. In my area we have a mandatory three hours per month that we have to be at the station and [respond to] any calls that come up. So out of this we all get free EMT training and they actually pay us to go do …


Letter Re: Buying a House in Australia?

Dear Mr Rawles, I pray that God may continue pouring His comfort, love and strength upon you and your family in these difficult times. My wife and I will finally settle down in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 after years of relocating internationally due to my work – we finally obtained the Australian resident permit! As a result of all the traveling, we have also had to leave all our savings in banks for all these years. We prefer living in a region to know it well before purchasing property, so we will probably purchase a house sometime in 2010-2011. As …


Letter Re: Best Military Manuals with Field Fortification Designs?

Jim – There is an absolute plethora of military manuals out there. I’m looking for a Listening Post/Observation Post (LP/OP) diagram such as you use in your novel “Patriots”. What manuals would you consider your “must read and own” manuals that would answer this question and others I that haven’t arrived yet? I’m a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber and enjoy your web site and books. Thank you and God Best You, – Brent I. in Louisiana JWR Replies: The basics describing and illustrating one-man and two-man fighting positions (suitable for LP/OPs) with overhead cover can be found in FM 7-8, …


Letter Re: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword

Many people preparing for the inevitable SHTF situation overlook the simple day to day needs of the children. It is easy to forget, especially being pre-occupied with food, water, ammunition and the like. I remember when I was in the army in the late 1980s, we were on a project in Honduras. We would make frequent health and welfare flights into the mountain villages to provide medical assistance and rendering aide were possible. One thing that amazed me was the educational system in the third world. Basically, if the child did not have a pencil and note book, they could …


Letter Re: The Fabric of Our Lives

Mr. Rawles, I am prompted to send along some information that I am hoping will be useful to your readers looking for instruction in spinning and weaving. The Handweaver’s Guild of America has an online list of local guilds as well as a list of Member Artists/Leaders, both of which are rich resources. There are some 454 guild, listed by state. Contacting a nearby guild is a great way to learn about local class opportunities in spinning and weaving. Most of these guilds also have member newsletters that will often list used equipment for sale by members at significant discounts …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Andre in the EU sent this from Radio Nederland: H1N1 Pandemic Continues. Maryland Reports First Drug Resistant H1N1 Cases Mutated Swine Flu In Baltimore, Maryland. The drug-resistant type… 442 Dead In Ukraine, Nearly Two Million Infected Tamiflu Resistance in Spain and US Georgia H1N1 Tamiflu-Resistance Crosses Tipping Point Transmission of Fit Tamiflu Resistant H1N1 in Maryland CDC: Swine Flu Continues to Decline in US. Worried about second wave after the first of the year.


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Andre in the EU sent this from Radio Nederland: H1N1 Pandemic Continues. Maryland Reports First Drug Resistant H1N1 Cases Mutated Swine Flu In Baltimore, Maryland. The drug-resistant type… 442 Dead In Ukraine, Nearly Two Million Infected Tamiflu Resistance in Spain and US Georgia H1N1 Tamiflu-Resistance Crosses Tipping Point Transmission of Fit Tamiflu Resistant H1N1 in Maryland CDC: Swine Flu Continues to Decline in US. Worried about second wave after the first of the year.


Economics and Investing:

Reader HPD mentioned this article: 24 States Borrow Money To Pay Unemployment Benefits. HPD’s comment: “Don’t worry. The Fed sees signs of recovery… Besides, Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi are on the scene to fix it. “ Another missive from Dr. Housing Bubble: Wall Street and Housing Neurosis: The Real Cost of California Homeownership. Extreme Foreclosures, Option ARMs, Renting Utility Costs, and Breaking the Financially Twisted Psychology. Noah C. spotted this: Heh, I Thought Dubai Was a Non-Event. Here is a quote: “Refusal to stand-still means there’s an immediate default, which means the [credit default swaps] go boom” Items from …