Notes from JWR:

The special sale on the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course is now in full swing. The sale runs just three weeks, so don’t delay. Order your copy today! — Today we present the first entry for Round 29 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 …




How to Get Your Spouse to Become Preparedness Minded, by Keith I.

The most difficult situation to encounter when preparing for survival is getting your spouse on board with you. By using some of my techniques hopefully you will get your spouse to understand that you are truly in touch with reality. Until your spouse is 100% percent committed to survival you will always feel an anchor weighing you down psychologically and financially. The psychological toll is simple- Every time you do something out of the norm, that spouse will sometimes question your sanity and if you are not a psychologically stable person, you may begin to question your own sanity. The …




Three Letters Re: The Un-Secret Garden–Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Grow my Garden

Mr. Rawles, Jason’s good ideas the other day with his “five C’s” for garden safety brought to mind the old-timers who grew up during the Depression. By the time I was growing up, life was comfortable for them. But many of them, elderly by now, would grow large gardens as they always had, producing more food than they could possibly use even after they canned and preserved enough for winter, gave quantities to neighbors, friends, and relatives, and fed some of the excess to livestock. A couple of my relatives even had multiple gardens — one close by the house, …




Economics and Investing:

Reader H.H. recommended a speech by economist Marc Faber, titled Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall, where he talks about what will be the next entity like AIG to fall. At minute 54, he says to buy a house in the middle of nowhere” to avoid the various forms of social unrest he believes is coming. He also recommends, of course, that you buy physical gold as a hedge against inflation. It sounds like he’s now in accord with economist and investing guru Barton Biggs, who has also recommended buying retreat property: “Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of …




Odds ‘n Sods:

Michelle sent us this: Global Cold Wave May Be Looming — This Time, the Science Is Good    o o o Reader RBS suggested some commentary by sci-fi veteran Robert Silverberg that puts all of the Peak Oil punditry in proper perspective: Reflections: The Death of Gallium    o o o I was troubled to see that the erroneous e-mail titled “Wasp Spray…important information” is still circulating, after more than two years. What is described therein is a good way to get sued for every penny that you have, for blinding some goblin. As I’ve mentioned many times in SurvivalBlog, …