Day: August 4, 2010

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 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), D.) A 500 round case of …


Home Sweet Home on the Range–Bedroll Basics, by D.K.

When assembling your post-apocalyptic, biker zombie, total collapse of civilization kit (or just getting started in camping) one item you should consider as part of your kit is a classic bedroll. History A classic bedroll, not the stuff of Hollywood or television, but the kit of real working men is both comfortable and multipurpose.  They are not lightweight, small, or easy to backpack. Please allow me to share the road I took to get to my current bedroll.  I will try to describe the attributes of a good bedroll, suggest the minimum bits for a good durable bedroll, and provide …


Letter Re: Archiving Downloaded Instructional Videos

Jim, With all of the talk about the so-called Internet Kill Switch, and more and more people referencing online instructional videos, it might be time for people to start downloading these videos to their local computers. An easy way to do this is with the Firefox Fast Video Download plug-in. While watching an unlicensed video on YouTube and other sites, select the Tools menu, Fast video download, and then select the video you want to save. The videos may have the name of the video or a generic name like youtube_video. The extension may be .flv or .mp4, or there …


Letter Re: Solar Storms

Hi Jim, Your note of last night regarding the pending solar storm was the strongest prep wake up call I’ve had yet. Especially as I finished reading One Second After Been just last night! I’ve been up all night making sure things are in order the best I can. Now that I’ve done what I can, and still wound up on adrenaline, I spent some time digging through the Internet for more EMP information. I thought that this Huffington Post article really explains some of the real dangers quite well – such as how the transformers that are damaged by …


Two Letters Re: TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility

Sir, As a recent “convert” to Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy, I very much identify with the author of “TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility.” I did, however, take issue with his conclusion regarding his treatment of family members in a Schumeresque world. Having recently presented my “list of lists” to my wife, she made the comment to me that my quantities were off. As a future pastor (I am currently serving in the Navy and preparing to enter seminary) she made the point that if the SHTF we would undoubtedly be taking in strays from my congregation who did not …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. was the first of several readers that sent us this: Commodities – Wheat Soars; Rogers Sees ‘Much Higher’ Food Prices. Got your wheat yet? Stop dawdling! L.J. in England sent this: Food prices to soar 10% in time for the New Year. Reader J.C. sent this: Global Wheat Shortage Feared. “Boosters” spotted this: Is the End Game Hyperinflation or Debt Implosion? James Altucher: 7 Reasons Not to Send Your Kid to College. (A hat tip to L.L. for the link.) Allen E. forwarded a news item: A Run on Spanish Banks? K.A.F. sent this: World oil prices approach $82 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

K.A.F. sent an item for the “Surely, you jest” Department: EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust. Perhaps cattle could be tranquilized or trained to not raise dust. They should commission a study.    o o o This is His Grandfather’s Bug, But Now It’s Electric. (Thanks to Len for the link,)    o o o Reader Susan Z. sent this: Arizona Sheriff: ‘Our Own Government Has Become Our Enemy’    o o o F.G. sent this: Rabid dogs kill at least 78 people in Bali, Indonesia.    o o o K.A.F. sent the link to this web page: The …