Day: February 15, 2010

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 27 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 Home Foundry, Metal Casting – Part 1, by Dan in Oklahoma

I set out to learn how to sand cast aluminum and set up a metal working shop at my home more than two years ago. Let me start by saying that sand casting can not be learned overnight and although books are helpful, especially the David Gingery Book 1 “The Charcoal Foundry”, there is no substitute for hands on experience. You have to get out there and try, try, try. To get started in aluminum casting it is critical to first come up with the casting sand. This was really difficult where I live, the sand must be very fine …


Letter Re: Your Post-TEOTWAWKI Diaper Insurance

Sir: A quick note about cloth diapers: Many stores (Wal-Mart and its French-owned counterpart at least) have flannel sheets on sale right now with twin sets running between $6.24 and $10. Woolrich is one brand and they seem to be of decent quality. That is a lot of fabric for little money. I picked up a half dozen sets. They provide warm bedding, but large pieces of fabric, often in dark or natural colors could have many uses. I will set aside at least 2 sets of the chocolate brown ones to make more cloth diapers for the baby we …


Letter Re: Some Real Life Battery Data

Jim, I have been following with interest over the last several days this thread on batteries and feel I have some information to share. To begin with, the only solution to a long term lead-acid battery bank is to make your own cells. Lead has a perpetual shelf life and oxidizes very little over time if protected. Contrary to the confusion established by the battery manufacturer cartels, both plates begin as simply pure lead (Pb). It is only after the initial charge is applied that the positive plate changes chemically due to the sulfur ion action. While home made cells …


Economics and Investing:

Marc Faber Predicts: Debt Interest Will Lead to Default, Then War. Thanks to Brett G. for the link. From GG: The Debt Contretemps Everybody’s Ignoring Several readers mentioned this: Collapse of the euro is ‘inevitable’: Bailing out the Greek economy futile, says French banking chief. In the short term this could push the US Dollar up, and gold down. The soon-to-be-released Generation Zero documentary looks like is destined to be a success. I noticed that Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Dish is giving it some coverage. From J.T.: Greek FinMin unveils tax reform, wage policy GG sent a link to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“River Chief” was the first of several readers to send us the link to this article in The Guardian: Americans stock up to be ready for end of the world    o o o Sale ends tomorrow! JRH Enterprises is running a sale on new Third Generation AN/PVS-14 night vision weapons sight/monoculars–now with a five year warranty–for $2,995. I bought one of these from JRH last summer, and I love it. I have it mounted on a “flat top” AR, just behind an Aimpoint Comp 3 electronic red dot scope (with a 2 MOA adjustable brightness dot). With a flip …