Year: 2009

Three Letters Re: Storing Food in Commercial Storage Spaces?

Mr. Rawles, I have a small follow up question/suggestion to your response regarding commercial storage spaces. In my area, I have a solid 4-to-6 hour drive in good conditions to get to my safety location from my greater metropolitan area home. After having to do this drive last year with the chaos of an incoming Hurricane, I decided to take advantage of your “Doug Carlton” suggestion from your novel “Patriots”. I decided to rent a small storage unit (5’x5′) at what I considered the half way point between my city and my objective location. I pay $20 per month to …


Letter Re: Should I Rent, or Should I Buy Property?

Sir; I have a question that I think would be of interest to a lot of your Blog readers: “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It“. I really enjoyed the book. It helped coalesce all of the concepts I learned in “Patriots”, [the now out-of-print] SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog Volume 1, and “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”. One of your central precepts is that one should move to a “lightly populated rural area.” Okay. With some work, I can find and buy a suitable piece of property and/or house. But you repeatedly point …


Letter Re: Wood Stove Selection, Operation, and Safety

James Wesley, We have heated our current home with a wood stove and a pellet stove for ten years now. I disagree with one aspect of the recent article on your web site. Our wood stove in the basement is set up to burn coal as well as wood. Where we live in Colorado there are a large number of dead trees — from pine beetles — that we can and do burn for free. However, with pine wood even the best stove will not hold the coals overnight. Hence the ability to use coal is a godsend. When the …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Steven H. wrote to mention: VP Biden puts on his Captain Obvious cape and declares “This is a depression”. Of course, Joe Biden has developed quite a track record for the inability to keep his mouth shut–most notably when he revealed the “secret” nuclear blast bunker beneath the VP’s Residence. Ralph N. suggested this piece over at Volokh about how the FedGov conceals some of its debt: Treasury Inc.: The Shadow National Debt. (It is hidden under a TARP, dontcha know…) Commentary from analyst Niall Ferguson: The Dollar Is Dying a Slow Death. From the Housing Storm blog: Strategic …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. sent us this: In trying times, hunters go after deer to put food on the table    o o o Reader Scott C. reminded me of a preparedness list that has been circulating for several years that deserves a link: The 100 Things That Run Out First in an Emergency.    o o o W..W. sent us a link to a news story on the long tradition of privately-owned firearms in Switzerland.



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 …


Wood Stove Selection, Operation, and Safety, by Kevin K.

Heating with wood has been a “necessary” tradition for thousands of years, but with the advent of the industrial revolution, and the advancement in methods of heating homes and buildings, heating with wood became less and less popular.  During the 1970s Energy Crises, there was interest in seeking “alternative” energy sources, and people started to rediscover the benefits of heating with wood. In the early 1990s, gas stoves and inserts took the place of traditional wood burning.  People were just too busy to deal with the time and energy required with wood.  In the last few years however, wood has …


Letter Re: Preparedness for Families that Move Frequently

Mr. Rawles, Just finished reading your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It. I finished it in one long sitting, and have plans to go over it again with highlighter and pen and paper to take more detailed notes. Great work! As a member of the Armed Forces, I face a difficult dilemma in that I understand and can clearly see the need to prepare/plan ahead, but my family and I feel hamstrung by our relatively transient lifestyle. I’ve been in the service for just over four years, and in that time I have …


Letter Re: Storing Food in Commercial Storage Spaces?

Hi Jim, What do you think of storing food at commercial storage sites until you can get the your retreat? Do you think these sites will be targeted and vandalized when TSHTF? We will be moving north as soon as our house sells. I was wondering if we should move preps to a storage site closer to where we will be moving? I hope you and your family are able to find comfort in your memories of the Memsahib. Thanks, – Kimberly JWR Replies: In most of North America, commercial “U-Stor” storage spaces with roll-up doors are not a good …


Economics and Investing:

New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg: U.S. could be on path to a ‘banana republic’ situation. (Thanks to Tom B. for the link.) Reader MP sent this piece in Business Week: What happens if the dollar crashes? MP also sent this from The Motley Fool: The recession’s second wave, subtitled “Green shoots? Sure, but there is actually little evidence of a solid recovery” GG flagged this: FDIC bank fund in the red until 2012. Tom R. suggested this piece: Intractability of Financial Derivatives Items from The Economatrix: Weiss: Bernanke Gone Berserk! Bank Reserves Explode! “Martin here with the most shocking new …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jane L. sent this: River walkers discover weapons cache. There rae two lessons to be learned from this: 1.) Be very careful where and how you cache your guns, and 2.) Be sure to list the serial numbers of your guns, and leave that documentation well-hidden in the home of a relative or a well-trusted friend.    o o o Jonathan sent this one about over-reliance on technology: GPS Causing Truckers to Crash Into Bridges. Jonathan’s comment: “As you have said many times, you have to know how to use your tools or you’ll get in trouble. It also …



Twenty-Two Reasons Why this Recession is Different and Why it Will Endure

I find it surprising that I’m now getting inquiries from readers, asking if “we’ve reached bottom” in the current economic recession, and asking if the time has come to start buying stocks or residential real estate. It seems that the talking heads of mainstream media are using some sort of voodoo. How can anyone think that we’ve hit bottom, and an economic recovery is in progress? To dispel the myths from the CNBC Cheering Section, please consider the following. (And note that I’ve provided references for each assertion, just so you know that I’m not talking out of my camouflage …


Two Letters Re: Preparations for Eyesight & Hearing

Jim, I thought that I would respond to Jake G.’s letter on “Preparations for Eyesight & Hearing”. I feel I can offer a little insight (no pun intended) on eyesight and Lasik. I had Lasik a little less than two years ago. I had just turned 43 and, after 22 years of wearing glasses or contact lenses, I was ready to make the jump. I didn’t take it lightly, as having any procedure contains some degree of risk, but having surgery on arguably the most important of your five senses is scary. I had been in love with the idea …