Year: 2009

Three Letters Re: Seeking Advice on Safe Food Storage, and Recommended Sources

Jim: For anyone in Northeastern Ohio, look into taking advantage of the resources in and around Amish country. Lehman’s Hardware in Kidron, Ohio is an excellent place to find non-electric household and farm equipment. They do sell some bulk grains to be used with their wide variety of grain mills, but I would also suggest looking at Swiss Village Bulk Foods in Sugarcreek, Ohio. They run sales weekly, and there are often coupons and additional discounts offered in local newspapers. There are many other similar resources in the area, but these two stores are the largest, and the ones I …


Three Letters Re: The Fabric of Our Lives

James: Thanks to Jeanan for raising a very important but easily overlooked point. It’s amazing how we take for granted having drawers full of clothes! Curiously, though, I do know folks who know how to spin thread and weave cloth. Some of the ladies in a Dark Age re-enactment group that I’m a member of perform demonstrations of these very skills. I have seen them work with raw wool, spin thread, and demonstrate weaving on period looms. Granted that the Dark Ages are a little too primitive (no spinning wheels, for example) but it does point to a partial solution, …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

WHO Confirms D225G In Norway And Ukraine Sharp Rise In England’s Swine Flu Deaths 1918 RBD D225G In Lung Cases In Ukraine and Norway UK: Surge In Pediatric Swine Flu Cases May Cause Bed Shortage All Fatal Ukraine Cases Have RBD D225G RBD Change D225G in Ukraine Lungs Raises Concerns Swine Flu Kills Six Adults In New Jersey Radical Measures Can’t Stop Swine Flu D225G Lung Tropism Driving H1N1 False Negatives?


Economics and Investing:

More than a dozen readers mentioned this London Telegraph article: Société Générale tells clients how to prepare for ‘global collapse’. Gee, folks must be catching on… Beepaw sent this: Bloomberg news: U.S. Housing Recovery Delayed to 2010 as Market Wanes. BeePaw’s comment: “It is remarkable that the [same] pundits who failed to see the crisis at all are now able to pinpoint its recovery. I don’t believe the markets will recover in 2010. Or 2011. Or 2012.” Peter D, suggested the latest installment of some speculative fiction from John Galt: “I Have Been to the Fields of Gettysburg” (The Day …


Odds ‘n Sods:

My old friend Fred the Valmet-meister has been helping me for the last few months in restoring several “All-American Five” 1940s vintage AM and Shortwave table radios. These have included a RCA, a Crosley, a Motorola and two Pilot brand radios. Fred has installed all new replacement capacitors, checked the tubes, cleaned the tuners, and realigned the radios. The end result has been EMP-proof dual band radios that can operate on both AC and DC power. As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, these are ideal for anyone that has an alternative power system where they have a 110-to-120 volt VDC battery …



Notes from JWR:

The special 33% off sale on the “Rawles Gets You Ready” family preparedness course will only run through the 30th of this month. This is the first time that the course has been on sale in almost a year. Don’t miss out! — Today we present another entry for Round 25 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two …


The Fabric of Our Lives by Jeanan

We don’t often think much of the clothes we wear. Oh, we think of what color they are, whether or not our purse matches our shoes, does this make me look fat, blending in with our surroundings or not, but not the actual fabric. We lost our “fur” a long time ago, and we always seem to have items like jackets, sweaters, undies and socks in abundance. We now argue over the benefits of the latest innovations in fabric, whether it will wick moisture or not, how waterproof it is, but we never seem to worry about where we are …


Letter Re: Converting Precious Metals ETFs to Physical Metals

Dear Jim, You mentioned that someone with a Gold IRA might want to take the [warehoused gold] out and hold it in physical form after they turn 59-1/2 and are able to withdraw it without penalty. I see the merit in that, but I am a tax accountant and want to warn you about the tax implications. When you take money out of an IRA, it is taxed as ordinary income, even if you escape the penalty. You can very well get shoved into higher tax brackets than you’d otherwise ever pay. Because, as you know, so much of the …


Two Letters Re: Oral Rehydration Solutions

Dear Sir, I was perusing your blog for the first time and saw the post about dehydration due to diarrhea. I have five sisters and one brother (yeah mom!) so my mother is quite the home medic. My eldest sister had been prescribed a very strong antibiotic for a common infection she had. After she took the course of the antibiotic, she also began having severe chronic diarrhea (we’re talking months here). She began going to a specialist after her regular doctor couldn’t diagnose her. My mother, conscious of her medical history, realized the antibiotic she had taken for her …


Economics and Investing:

From regular content contributor GG: Barron’s: Collapse in Treasury note yields suggests economic distress Chad sent us this: More fixed-rate home loans going into foreclosure Also from Chad: Latest bank fee is for paying credit cards off on time. Items from The Economatrix: Gary North: Gov’t Debt Default: How (Not If) Will It Happen The Critical Unraveling Of US Society What Has Government Done To The Dollar Commercial Real Estate Reality Check John Galta: American Hangover (Day the Dollar Died, Part II) Americans Save More But Earn Less As Rates Fall Central Bankers Blowing Bubbles In Global Stock Markets Financial …


Odds ‘n Sods:

On a recent trip in foul weather, we were reminded how useful it is to have several whitewater rafting “dry bags.” These heavy-duty rubberized nylon bags have a virtually watertight seal, and have become ubiquitous with the paddling crowd. Ours were purchased back in the early 1990s, and were made by Northwest River Supply (NRS). This is back in the days when nearly all of the NRS products were made by hand in Moscow, Idaho. And this was when their “Bill’s Bag” was available in green. (Now, the only choice is “shoot me ” red!) There are now umpteen dry …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb." – Psalm 19:7-10


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 25 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) and C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.) Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing …


Saving Money and Ammunition in Small Arms Training, by Jeff T.

Several factors have resulted higher prices and in shortages of ammunition. These include higher commodity prices, recent political developments with many people buying to prepare for uncertain availability as well as demand from the military for the ongoing war on terrorists. This storm of demand has resulted in very real shortages of many common calibers. Although the situation is easing in some ways it doesn’t require an above average IQ to realize this condition could reverse and quickly get much worse. Developing skill in marksmanship and gun handling is not difficult but does require some training and regular practice. These …