Month: April 2010

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 …



Notes from JWR:

We are praying for the folks in the tornado-ravaged portions of Mississippi. OBTW, one the readers’ letters posted today is a first-hand account of traversing the aftermath. — Because of some manufacturing difficulties, one of the prizes for the First Place winner of the writing contest has been changed. Instead of a A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit, the folks at Safecastle.com are substituting a 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator. (A $275 value.) We greatly appreciate the generous support of all of the companies that provide writing contest prizes! — Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing …


Constructing a Permanent Underground Cache, by JIR

If you are concerned about hiding a large amount of goods from looters, neighbors or other busybodies, remember that no indoor hiding place is likely to survive a determined search. If your home is the only place you have food and provisions, you may be forced to fight against very long odds to try to keep it. If you are forced to abandon your home in the middle of the night or burned out by looters, you might appreciate having a store of food and other gear in a safe, undetectable location where you can recover it. You might want …


Letter Re: Lessons from the Yazoo City Tornado

Dear Editor: I have been reading your blog for a while but until Saturday, I never saw how a disaster could unhinge some people so quickly and what lack of preparedness can do to some people. I went to deliver a chainsaw, some gas and water to a relative in Yazoo City and what is usually a 45 minute drive took over 2 hours. Land lines and cell towers were down, and if you had a phone with a certain carrier, the service was very spotty. The traffic was bad and the roads into the town were blocked and we …


Letter Re: Standardizing with DeWalt 18 VDC Power Tools

James, I have ten of the DeWalt 18 VDC power tools and four of the batteries. This is an excellent product line that has proven much better than some of the older 12 volt and corded tools that they replaced. The impact driver, circular saw, and reciprocating saw have already proven to be very useful. These are excellent survival tools because you can get a lot of work done with them and a good set of 3 or 4 batteries without needing [120 VAC utility] power. DeWalt sells almost all of their 18 VDC power tools as “tool only” kits …


Economics and Investing:

A preview of Things to Come, for the U.S. of A?: Iceland reports record 34 percent inflation Portuguese Five-Year CDS at Record High, Spread Wider. Can you spell D-E-F-A-U-L-T, boys and girls? (Our thanks to Brad F. for the link.) RBS sent this: Forget 10% Unemployment, The Real Job Loss Pain Number is 54% Amy R. sent this: U.S. Food Inflation Spiraling Out of Control Courtesy of frequent content contributor Jeff B.: 10 Cities Facing a Double Whammy of Default Risks Thanks to Mark G. for flagging this: The Housing Crash Has Just Started; Get set for falling prices again. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Life in the Big City: Multiple Pedestrians Ignore Dying New York Hero. No comment necessary! Draw your own conclusions about where you choose to live.    o o o Anyone interested in getting ready for a post Peak Oil world should check out Transition US Social Network. Much like the excellent LATOC Forums (which I’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog many times), there is some lively discussion there. They even had a big discussion about the legitimacy and motives of Survivalists, early last year.    o o o K.S. suggested this article: Crisis, Martial Law, and Black Market Operation – which in …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times?” – Matthew 16:1-3 (KJV)


Notes from JWR:

Baen Books will soon release the new science fiction anthology “Citizens” edited by John Ringo. All of the authors are not only veteran sci-fi writers, but also military veterans. They include Jerry Pournelle, Keith Laumer, Arthur C. Clarke, David Drake, Joe Haldeman and Robert Heinlein, along with several newer writers, including Survivalblog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson. — 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 …


How to Get Free (or at Least Inexpensive) Fruit Trees, by Jason E.

Anyone following my blog might get the sense that I’m independently wealthy due to all the fruit and nut trees that I’ve planted this year alone. Any person making that assumption would be wrong, I’m simply very cheap. Doing a rough estimate, I’ve come to the conclusion that over 60 perennial fruit and nut trees, vines and bushes have cost me somewhere just south of $250. When you look at a big name nursery catalog and do the math, I’ve avoided costs of close to $1000. In the spirit of teaching and helping us, as Americans and people, I’d like …