Month: January 2010

Letter Re: A Tale of a Concealed Encounter Carry in Texas

Jim: I was going home this evening at 5 pm right before dark and I was going fast. Right before Chappelhill on 290 a Hypo (Texas Dept of Public Safety Officer) pulled me over. I always have a smile on my face and act courteous with the cops. He came to my passenger window and asked for my license and insurance and said “your were going 77 in a 70” I gave him my handgun license and drivers license and said wow the wind was pushing me then, and then I truthfully told him that I had been on the …


Economics and Investing:

GG sent this: Double-Dip Risk Seen in ‘Stall Speed’ Recovery: Stephen Roach Darryl C. suggested this: Time for Fed to disprove PPT conspiracy theory; Commentary: Analyst charges that government is manipulating markets Items from The Economatrix: GM Sales Fall 33% in 2009, Ford Up in December Pending Home Sales Fall 16% in November Pump Prices On Pace to Top 2009 High By Weekend US Public Pensions Face $2 Trillion Deficit IMF: Commodity Prices to Rise in 2010 Stores to Post Modest December Sales Gains European Stocks Remain Lower After US Jobs Data US Job Cuts Shrink to Two-Year Low in …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Attention SurvivalBlog readers in California: I just got this from the NRA’s legislative arm: Right-to-Carry Bill Scheduled to be Heard Next Week! Please Contact the Members of the Assembly Public Safety Committee Today! Assembly Bill 357 is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on Tuesday, January 12. AB357, sponsored by Assembly Member Steve Knight Republican, District 36), would create a “shall issue” concealed handgun permit system in California. Under current law, an applicant must show cause as to why they should be issued a permit to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. AB357 would remove …



Note from JWR:

The new UK edition of my book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know it: Tactics, Techniques and Technologies for Uncertain Times” will be released today. It will be priced at just £7.19 postage paid. OBTW, since Amazon doesn’t automatically feed through reviews to the UK site, it would be great if you could re-post your reviews of the book on Amazon.co.uk so that this book reaches the widest possible readership. Many thanks! — Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint …


Preparing to Be Prepared, by A Patriotic Christian

Preparedness and survival are becoming increasingly popular discussions in these days of economic and political instability. Head to a diner in the morning and you’ll hear ol’ timers talking about their deer rifles they have with extra ammunition. Pass in a supermarket and you’ll hear middle aged housewives speaking of the class they are taking on home canning. Most people have the mental image of a worldwide doomsday when “survival” is brought up. That fact is that survival is simply that…survival. Whether your family is snowed in for a few days in a cabin, an earthquake ruptures water and power, …


Letter Re: Surviving Severe Winter Weather in Ireland

Good Afternoon Mr. Rawles, I thought you might like to know how the so called severe weather is treating us here in Ireland. We have had snow and ice on the ground for the past two and a half weeks. We live a couple of miles out of town and our local road resembles a skating rink, very easy to drive down the hill but not so easy to drive back up. But driving is not much of a problem as my wife is from the American Midwest and I spent five years living in the highest town in North …


Letter Re: The Upcoming “Book of Eli” Movie

Hi Jim, I received an email from Grace Hill Media regarding the upcoming movie “The Book of Eli.” From the looks of it, it’s your standard post-apocalyptic, TEOTWAWKI story, but there’s a twist that the main movie trailer doesn’t really address – the “book” is the last known Bible on earth. I learned this because there’s a Web site with clips from the movie and sermon notes as part of the movie’s marketing campaign. While I’m not really a supporter of turning the pulpit into a marketing tool for Hollywood films, the material might provide a starting point for Christian …


Economics and Investing:

Frequent content contributor GG spotted this piece over at Zero Hedge: The Fed Is Preparing Quantitative Easing 2.0, MBS-Only Edition El Jefe Jeff E. sent this: Pending Home Sales Tumbled in November Joan mentioned this at Zero Hedge: US Avoids Technical Default By Three Days Items from The Economatrix: Robert Rubin: All Hell Could Break Loose Because of Huge Government Debt Something Evil This Way Comes Mortgage Demand Near Six-Month Low as Rates Jump Private Sector Sheds 84,000 Jobs in December If The Fed Missed that Bubble, How Will it See a New One? ECB’s Stark: No Bailout for Greece …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Rob C. mentioned this item: Barton Biggs: 1 in 10 Chance of Anarchy in the U.S. That should get insurance actuaries quaking in their boots, and SurvivalBlog readers loading stripper clips!    o o o Reader Paul B. mentioned The Photographer’s Ephemeris. Paul’s description: “This is a free application that, although designed for photographers, would seem to have many uses for people hunting, fishing, or otherwise engaged in outdoor activities, [including the tactical variety.] Basically, you put in the date and your location and it pops up a google map showing you the direction of sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset, time for twilight (civil, …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 26 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.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, …


A Guide to Domestic Water Wells, by Olive

The recent post regarding the found well inspired me to write a note that I’ve been meaning to share. I work in the water well industry, specifically the troubleshooting of problem wells.  The thing that continues to surprise me is the wide range of beliefs and lack of solid information on well systems. I say systems because an owner/operator must view a well as a sum of parts, more than just a hole in the ground. The first issue I’ll address is testing. Most states and local health departments have settled on the coliform test as the only means to …


Four Letters Re: Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) for the Survivalist

JWR, I’ve just done First Responder training because the school I go to, a good one, won’t let me jump right into EMT training without taking First Responder first. A gold-digging measure? You decide! I think it may be, but it’s a good policy too. I urge your readers to take a First Responder, a.k.a. CPR + Advanced First Aid. My course was $300. A cheapie way to do this would be to go on Amazon and get the book, but I highly urge a course. I plan to do EMT-1 then EMT-P and don’t expect to get paid for …


Economics and Investing:

From GG: Personal Bankruptcy Filings Rising Fast Also from GG: Global Boom Builds for Epic Bust: Peter Boone and Simon Johnson Items from The Economatrix: BRIC to Rebuild New Economic World Order Banks to Blast Customers with New Bank, Check Fees US to Lose $400 Billion on Fannie, Freddie China’s 2010 Gold Rush Year-End Gold Charts 2010 Will Be Worse