Month: May 2010

Two Letters Re: The Skeptical Spouse

Mr Rawles, I have shared the experiences of many with skeptical spouses. My solution has been a very gradual (and low-key) process of preparing and building up a basic supply of items/food in combination with education and hints of what was going on around us (local crime issues, Hurricane Katrina experiences, etc.). Again, she wasn’t too happy with my weapon and ammo purchases, but accepted it grudgingly. She began warming to the issue of “being prepared” with some of the bad weather in 2008, when she realized that as new home owners, we now had to solve our own problems. …


Economics and Investing:

Several readers sent this news item to file under “I told you so”: Gold hits all-time high as investors seek haven Arnaud de Borchgrave: Stock Market Time Bomb? Reader Rich in Montana notes that recently “two minutes of honesty slipped out”, on the David Letterman Show: Hmmmm…. A Crack In The Dam? Bill Downey sent me his essay “Brother Can You Spare a Trillion?” Since SurvivalBlog is intentionally light on graphics (in deference to our readers that use mobile devices), I’m pointing you to the essay (with charts) which is already posted at the excellent Zero Hedge blog. The charts …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Jonathan H. suggested this article: The Failure of the Unfree Market. Jonathan’s comment: “Big changes are coming soon – the 72 year rule predicts the downfall of Social Security in 2012. It doesn’t necessarily mean a societal collapse, but definitely fundamental changes are coming, as you have been warning.”    o o o Arab World Grapples with Food Shortage. (A hat tip to Bob G. for the link.)    o o o The folks at Centerfire Antennas (one of our former advertisers) has an incentive deal for newly-licensed Hams. If you contact them with your new call sign that was …



Notes from JWR:

Reader Justin S. sent me this article that has some OPSEC implications for prepared families: Multi-level bunker found under East Austin home. Justin’s comment: “I thought this might interest you if you haven’t already seen it. The implications are obvious and interesting. Does the man get to retain his property or does he have his weapons and house confiscated for ‘building code violations?’” Learn from this, folks! — 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 …


Saving in the Hard Times, for the Harder Times, by Mrs. C.J. in San Diego

I am by no means a financial expert and have lived most of my life from paycheck to paycheck, so the first thing I thought of when I read “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”was “Wow, those guys must have been rich to buy all that stuff!” I was very overwhelmed and felt somewhat hopeless that I could ever have enough money to buy the things we needed to make it through TEOTWAWKI, especially now that the economy is worsening, and people have less and less money. So I set out to figure out what I would …


Letter Re: Managing Back and Joint Pain

Jim, I recently “took a bad turn” and re-experienced some back pain. My original injury was in 1979, when I was in the military. After three days I decided to see a chiropractor … like many men, I will see a Doctor only when I have one foot in the grave … (insert visual of wives nodding their heads here). This painful episode got me thinking about survival pain management. In a previous career, I was the Safety Manager at a poultry processing plant. One of my duties was to manage the in-house Clinic staffed with RNs and LPNs and …


Economics and Investing:

Les K. sent this: Federal Reserve opens credit line to Europe Breakfast with the FT: Nouriel Roubini. (Thanks to Mike O. for the link.) Kevin S. forwarded this: U.S. Debt Shock May Hit in 2018, Maybe as Soon as 2013: Moody’s. Fed Restarts Currency Swaps as EU Debt Crisis Flares. Read between the lines! Cui bono? Stocks Mostly Hold Gains After European Bailout SEC: Regulators Yet to Determine Cause of Plunge Items from The Economatrix: US Gold Coin Sales Surge as Investors Flee Risk Who’s on the Hook for the IMF’s Greek Bailout? Fears Intensify About Greek Crisis’ Impact on …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mountain lion confirmed in rural Greene County, Indiana (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson for spotting that article.)    o o o A word of warning to field foragers: Hemlock May Have Caused Tacoma Woman’s Death. (It is important to learn how to identify poison hemlock — not to be confused with the various hemlock trees.)    o o o K.L. in Alaska spotted this piece in a Prescott, Arizona newspaper about Cory Lundin: Local survival teacher gets Discovery Channel TV series    o o o You read about this first in SurvivalBlog: Could another Icelandic volcano …



Letter Re: The Basics of Starting to Prepare

Long term survival means you need a three part system. You need (1) Water, (2) Food, and (3) Security. most people only prep for two of the three or one of the three. I know too many “preppers” that say “all that I need is my AR-15 and a ton of ammo”, but the issue with that is obvious. you will have to turn into a bad guy and steal or kill for the other two. I also know guys who say ” will hoard a 90-day supply of food and water, and my neighbors will help me keep my …


Letter Re: Two Observations on Expected Post-TEOTWAWKI Behavior

James, I wanted to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed the preview to your new book. I am really looking forward to reading the entire book. I also wanted to pass on two “observations of life”, if you will, that I have made in the past few years. First, in a post conversation that I had with a person I had worked with at the time, this person was laughing about a pre-Y2K conversation he had with an elderly neighbor. This person lives in a fairly rural area and his single, elderly female neighbor was asking if he was …


Two Letters Re: The Skeptical Spouse

Hello Mr. Rawles, My wife wasn’t exactly skeptical, but her focus was defined by other requirements. Her family history showed her that keeping family close and healthy was a first priority. So her natural drive was in that direction. My re-entry into the world of prepping came from critiquing the television show Jericho. At first, I was embarrassed to let her know about my interest in the subject matter, and how I thought there were better ways to handle things in the plot. When we talked about it one night, I saw an interest in her eye, and the prepping …


Economics and Investing:

Why does this not give me a warm, fuzzy feeling? The Fed now owns Red Roof Inns. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson for spotting that article.) Food stamp tally nears 40 million, sets record. (Thanks to Brian B. for the link.) G.G. sent this: America has good reason to worry about Greece. Also from G.G.: EU close to €500 billion boost for rescue plan Reader Ralph N. ran across an article in The Wall Street Journal that confirms the warning that I made three years ago: Will Nickel-Free Nickels Make a Dime’s Worth of Difference? Plan …


Economics and Investing:

EMB mentioned: The Crisco Alternative    o o o Mark P. spotted this: Farmers Cope with Roundup-Resistant Weeds    o o o Tina W. alerted me to this article: Rodents pose new health threat in Zimbabwe’s towns. If our economy ever collapses, rats will be with us, in large numbers!    o o o The America I left – reactions of a retiring expat. (A hat tip to Brian B. for the link.)