Month: January 2010

Letter Re: The Disaster Field Bakery

Jim: I am not sure bread is a food that is best prepared after a TEOTWAWKI situation. I consider it a luxury item. In a survival situation it all boils down to decisions. I am not saying charity should not happen but we need to get the biggest bang for our supplies. Bannock, cornbread, biscuits and tortillas take less effort and energy to produce and travel better than bread. We also need to consider OPSEC, since baking bread has to have a bigger signature than the baking of other breads. – Curtis


Economics and Investing:

Top U.K. Economist Dumas: Euro Will Collapse. (Thanks to GG for the link.) Also from GG comes some grim news from Forbes: The Global Debt Bomb: “If 2008 was the year of the subprime meltdown, 2010 will be the year entire nations start going broke.” Trent flagged this: Why Americans should care about the debt crisis in Greece Items from The Economatrix: Identifying Sure Signs of the Final Economic Plunge Banks Pull Another $1 Billion from Small Business Lending One Million Americans Give Up on Job Searches Chevron to Shrink Refining Business Ship Engine Maker Warstila to Lay Off 1,500 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bill S. mentioned this article from a Dallas newspaper: Stockpiling food, water in case of emergency is smart, not paranoid    o o o Nanci wrote to tell me that Dolly Freed, the author of the recently re-released book Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money, has launched her own blog, also called Possum Living.    o o o Sri sent me a link to an interesting older article at Bill St. Clair’s site by Mike Vanderboegh that predates my launch of SurvivalBlog in 2005: What Good Can a Handgun Do Against an …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“In the Middle Ages, the average human life expectancy did not reach into the teen years, not only because of the extremely high perinatal mortality that heavily skewed the data, but also because Europeans (and much of the world during this time) lived in an unhealthy milieu of filth, poor hygiene, and nearly non-existent sanitation. Superstition and ignorance, along with pestilential diseases and vermin infestation, were rampant. Epidemic and endemic diseases such as the bubonic plague, typhus, variola (smallpox), and the White Death of tuberculosis (consumption) took a heavy toll on the population, both young and old.” – Miguel A. …


A Brief Critique of the Movie “The Road”

Introductory Note: I recently wrote this critique for British newspaper. For the benefit of my readers in the US, I’m posting it to my blog. – JWR The recently released movie The Road, based on the same-titled novel by award-winning writer Cormac McCarthy illustrated some classic blunders in bushcraft and tactical movement. Doubtless, many of these gaffes were intentional–I suspect for the sake of drama, or to provide enough light for the night scenes. Here is a short list: 1.) Following main arterial roads.  In a post-collapse environment, major roads will become linear ambush zones.  To avoid trouble, “The Man” …


Letter Re: Marksmanship Training

Sir: My name is Kent, I’m an 11 year veteran of the Active Army and National Guard, and I’m currently serving my third overseas tour, in Iraq. I have been in the Infantry for the entire time in the military, and I’ve taken it upon myself to seek outside training where available. I have been reading your blog off and on for the past year. One of the things that firearms proponents and enthusiast fail to mention a lot of is alternate shooting positions. Something I learned in Sniper school (even though I did not pass the course) is that …


Eight Letters Re: Earthquake Aftermath in Haiti

Dear Jim, Thank you for the blog. It has helped my family and I to be more prepared than we had ever imagined. I found this Fox News article and thought you might be interested. There are a few things here that have been discussed at length in SurvivalBlog and in your books, but it is good to look at them [actually coming to pass] in real world situations. These include: 1) The police chief can get less than half of his force out. That is probably because they are trying to fend for themselves. 2) They are asking “what …


Three Letters Re: The Disaster Field Bakery

James, In reference to the article on SurvivalBlog.com – The Disaster Field Bakery, by JIR, here is a free downloadable PDF copy of the Manual for Army Bakers from 1917 from Google. It contains over a hundred pages of old fashioned “how to” baking wisdom in a reliable military format. It’s contains detailed instruction on bread baking, including yeast and yeast recipes, and bread ingredients and recipes. The manual also includes a description of the equipment used by a field bakery company. This would be a good manual for a church, charity, or large group who have wheat stored and …


Economics and Investing:

Flavio sent us this: Foreclosures Up 14% in December. Flavio’s comment: “I can tell you as a real estate broker for the past seven years that things are getting worse, not better. I began to notice years ago that the media is usually about 4 – 6 months behind in reporting what myself and associates are experiencing in the now. So judging by the how quiet the phones have become, and how quiet they remain the last couple months, I would say the ‘second leg down’ has already begun. It is no longer a matter of if anymore. I give …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Luddite Jean recommended the Aquagear water filter, available in the U.K. She commented “I have used these, and have drunk some very dodgy-looking creek water with no ill-effects after being filtered through this bottle. Best of all, it’s instantaneous. It’s not meant for large-scale water purification, but as a back up, and for G.O.O.D. situations, it will save carrying potable water. I have one per family member at the moment, and will be buying extra the next time I see them at show prices.”    o o o Also from Luddite Jean comes this from The Daily Mail, Wife went …



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, …


The Disaster Field Bakery, by JIR

I can’t agree with you more on the subject of charity. Watching people starve is not in the cards for me if I can help it. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, you won’t be able to help very much, but for a lesser catastrophe, most of your readers could really help a lot of people by working with local authorities or church groups to feed people until help can arrive. Water is an even more urgent need, but I would like to describe my own preparations for setting up a field bakery and soup kitchen. Maybe I can help inspire others …


Letter Re: Suggestions on LED Flashlights

Mr. Rawles, Just a suggestion about something you and your readers might be interested in. I’m not affiliated with the vendor in any way, just a very satisfied customer. 4Sevens‘ 2-AA Quark light is good for 30 days continuous on low, and a couple of hours at 200 lumens. These are by far the best LED lights on the market at this time. I hang around the flashlight-nerd subculture, and have 4Sevens lights in all my survival packs. Obviously, you can recharge LSD AA lights with solar chargers, and they’ll run off of regular AA and lithium AA batteries too. …


Letter Re: An “Energy-Independent” Village in Germany

Mr. Rawles: As an engineer interested in long term sustainability I was most interested in the item from Troy H. mentioning Juhnde, Germany. I took a look at their web site and ran the numbers to look at whether such an installation is commercially viable. The capital costs listed were EU 5,400,000 or about USD $7,900,000 at present exchange rates; It’s not clear when the overall system was constructed but the hot water pipeline system was built around 2005. Apparently, and I will have to look into this further, all of the capital costs were from public funds. This translates …