Day: April 28, 2010

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 28 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com. (A $275 value.), and D.) A 500 round case …


Digital Archives and Your One and Only Mortal Life, by Dakota Diamond

When you finally die and I know your not eager to, the world will certainly go on. You might be so lucky to have someone cry at your funeral. Regardless of how important you thought you were, your death will not be as special to the world or to yourself. You will be dead like the billions of animals and species before you.  After a week, maybe two, life here on planet earth will be the same as before you died. Most, if not all, will not miss you in the caring ways that you would want to believe. Like …


Letter Re: Lessons from the Yazoo City Tornado

Dear Mr. Rawles, I live in Albertville, Alabama.  We were hit by a tornado Saturday night. The things that I witnessed in Albertville were very similar to that of Yazoo City [which was recently described by another SurvivalBlog reader.] I would like to add to some things for you to consider: The tornado in our town stayed above the ground for a large part of the destruction.  This means that if you had trees close to your house, more than likely, you are going to have damage. Do not have trees too close or allow them to get too big.            …


Two Letters Re: Constructing a Permanent Underground Cache

I want to thank JIR for his article and the efforts he went through showing us how to construct and supply underground caches. I just wanted to suggest an alternative to the custom made containers by using a 300 gallon spherical below ground septic tank. They are made of watertight plastic with a o-ring sealed lid and weigh around 110 pounds. (See the Tank Depot web site.) The rough size of the tank is 54″ in diameter and 51 inches tall with a 20 inch manhole cover. You would also only dig 118 cubic feet for a 5 foot diameter …


Economics and Investing:

“Hambone” sent us a link to a must-read piece over at Seeking Alpha: Current U.S. Dollar Currency Controls Blaine sent an interesting article as follow-up to my link from Saturday: GM is using our tax dollars to repay our tax dollars to get more of our tax dollars at a reduced interest rate. A nice deal if you can get it. H.T. sent this: Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability. This U.S. Senate report begins: “The Congressional Oversight Panel’s February oversight report, “Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability,” expresses concern that a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric S. sent this bit of NOAA prognostication: Warming in America; Mass migrations, water wars, and insect plagues. How will climate change reshape the electoral map? Even without “abrupt” climate change, economic and demographic shifts dictate that times will likely be difficult, for decades to come.    o o o Gary and Marie K. were the first of several readers to send us this piece that originated from Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Prepping for the worst    o o o Ay, ay, ay: Two Illinois lawmakers ask governor to deploy National Guard to help quell gun violence in Chicago. (Hat tips to …