Month: February 2010

Shelter During Turbulent Times, by Alex C., Engineer

In every TEOTWAWKI circumstance shelter is of paramount concern.  It’s actually a concern every day of our lives, but we seldom think about it – we take the roof over our head almost as a given right in country.  Our houses or “castles” as some states call them are so sacred many states allow us to use deadly force – no questions asked – if someone illegally violates our home’s hallowed ground.  For a survivalist, “prepper” or even casually concerned citizen preparing for some sort of unknown future disaster, water, food, guns/ammo, fuel, backpacks, etc. are all high on the …


Letter Re: Finding “Just a Little Piece of Land”

Sir: Do you know of any good web sites that list where you can buy just an acre or so of land in the woods, where people wouldn’t expect you to actually live? I live right on the Florida/Georgia state line so there’s plenty of land around. However, parcels are typically sold in 50 acres or 100 acre chunks. Or [with a lot] they expect you to turn it into a house with a mailbox and all that. I just want some woods. My goal is to excavate for an underground storage shed, with small sleeping quarters. I’ll then gradually …


Economics and Investing:

George Gordon (“GG”) sent this news item: Largest-ever federal payroll to hit 2.15 million Also from GG comes this link to a Seeking Alpha piece: U.S. Economy: Don’t Worry, Prosperity Is Just Around the Corner Yet another from GG: Rising FHA default rate foreshadows a crush of foreclosures Reader JDD spotted this over at The Daily Beast: The Dollar’s Scary Decline Also from JDD: Obama’s Budget Has One Small, Missing Piece…. For $6.3 Trillion Dollars Items from The Economatrix: US January Auto Sales Rise Unemployment Rises in Most Metro Areas Roubini Sees “Very Dismal and Poor” US Growth Ahead Bernanke …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I thought that the map at this web page: Electoral College Reform was fascinating. (But of course any such plan would be grossly unconstitutional–so I consider it nothing more than an intellectual exercise.) And ponder this set of graphics at the same web site: 50 States and 50 Metros. If nothing else, these maps illustrate just how lightly populated some of my recommended retreat locales are. (Thanks to Hal H. for the links.)    o o o The folks at Survival Bound just did a major expansion to their free manual collection. It was 5 gigabytes, but now it is …



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, …


Finding Community, by Jim Fry

Here at the farm we had the first of a series of free and open classes on disaster preparedness on February 1st. One of the things I intend to talk about at the upcoming meetings are various options for joining a community. When discussing disaster preparations, the first thing to decide is what you think is most likely to happen. If you think the world is a friendly place where snow means skiing and flowers always bloom, then a disaster is the electricity going out for a couple days if a tree happens to fall. You’ll need a case of …


Preparing Your Church Congregation, by JSX in Virginia

My preparedness background started as a youth.  My father took us camping often and had an amazing gun collection; I’ve been able to teach my kids what he taught me – great memories both then and now!  In the 1970s, my mom and step-dad bought a little 2-acre farm in the middle of nowhere.  We kept a dozen or so chickens, had a few garden spots (that seemed to grow and multiply with each new season), homemade soap, homemade root beer (an acquired taste!) a “sewing room”, a small orchard, solar heating, our own 250-gallon fuel tank, and a year …


Letter Re: The Rocket Stove, Refined

Several times in items I’ve sent out or in live presentations I’ve mentioned the “Rocket Stove,” a simple stove concept worked on over the last 20 years or so at the Aprovecho Research Center in Cottage Grove, Oregon (and elsewhere) by Larry Winiarski and others. The goal in refining this stove was to create a wood or charcoal – burning stove that would use the absolute minimum amount of widely available fuel to boil a given amount of water, thus minimizing fuel use and waste, and also smoke that could contribute to health issues for those tending, or in proximity …


Economics and Investing:

I warned you, folks! Coin Composition Change Included in Obama’s 2011 Budget. Have you socked away your nickels yet? Do so before they start making them out of stainless steel! Gresham’s Law is still in force. (Thanks to CRD for the link.) Matt B. mentioned that the Geography of Recession interactive map has been updated. This is looking grim! The Other Jim R. forwarded us a link to this Zero Hedge piece: Brace Yourself for the Coming Gold Shortage GG sent this: White House to paint grim fiscal picture Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) flagged this: Obama’s 2011 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From Chad S.: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens. JWR Adds: Stock up on heirloom varieties before gardening season. I’m sure that our advertisers that sell non-hybrid seeds would appreciate your patronage.    o o o S.F. in Hawaii mentioned that John C. Campbell’s Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina has expanded its course catalog. Some of the traditional skills taught there such as metalworking, spinning, and weaving would be important in the event of a societal collapse.    o o o Inadequate sanitation leads to disease in Haiti, just as predicted: Chaos eases as Haiti food lines focus on …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him has no need of any other faculty than the ape like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision.” – John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty”


Note from JWR:

Today we present the first entry for Round 27 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: 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 …


Running for Disaster Readiness, by A.R.

Proviso: The writer of this article and SurvivalBlog shall not be liable for any loss, damage, injury or death as a result of any actions that the reader may take after reading.  This article is for informational purposes only.  I write this because one of the core elements of being prepared includes maintaining an above average level of physical fitness.  Having been a swim and fitness coach for over ten years, as well as training for and completing two marathons, along with a number of other road races, I feel adequately prepared to try to motivate readers of this blog …


Letter Re: Matching and Meshing Personalities for Close Quarters Living

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have read your novel “Patriots” and found your web site. I have been going through your archives to see if anyone has touched on this subject but so far I’ve only found partial references to this topic. Although I have not made it through all the archives yet.In your book I noticed that the characters knew each other for years and had time to work out differing personality traits or not be included in the group. (BTW, it really saddened me when you killed off two of the characters.) I got to thinking about the types …