Month: August 2010

Economics and Investing:

The Worrying Numbers Behind Underwater Homeowners. A bit of good housing news came in a recent report issued by real estate analytics firm CoreLogic: The number of mortgaged residential properties with negative equity declined slightly to 11.2 million by the end of the first quarter this year, down from 11.3 million at the end of 2009. The bad news: Those 11.2 million loans are 24% of all U.S. mortgages. Add the 2.3 million borrowers who are close to slipping underwater (those with less than 5% equity), and the numbers rise to 13.5 million — 28% of mortgages. B.B. sent this …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Chuck G. spotted this: Using your RV to survive in an earthquake or other natural disaster. This might have some utility for a short-term disaster, but it would be suicidal in something long term. Without propane, your RV will turn into a refrigerator in the winter. Without gas, you will lose mobility, possibly when you are in an inopportune locale. And given the limited room for food storage, once that is consumed, you are likely to end up part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.    o o o A federal judge ends Idaho, Montana wolf hunt. …



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 …


Fire, The Flame of Life, by T.S.K.

One of the basic requirements for survival in any situation for any sustained amount of time is fire.  Fire and the ability to make and maintain it can be the difference between life and death.  Having the proper materials and possessing the skills required to use them is something that needs to be practiced and learned before you are depending on them for your life. Why Fire is Important Depending on the situation fire serves many purposes.   In a short term survival situation (several hours to several days), fire provides both a physical and mental benefit.  Physically fire provides heat.  …


Letter Re: Preparing With Your Spouse

Dear Editor: I know helping a spouse to become preparedness minded is a common topic in your blog, but I thought I would give my two-cents worth. My wife and I are devout Christians with four children. We both believe that the scriptures are clear in defining roles for husbands and wives. We believe that husbands’ primary responsibilities are to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Wives’ primary responsibilities are the nurture of their children. Husbands and wives should work as equal partners in these roles. Occasionally certain situations require some adaptation of these roles. We …


Two Letters Re: Pellet Rifle Hunting

Two Letters Re: Pellet Rifle Hunting Mr. Rawles, I wanted to add the following comments to D.M.’s post about argues. I completely agree with the findings D.M. had on air-gunning. I am a big fan of air-gunning and Crossman rifles are on my short list of quality, easy to use guns that won’t cost an arm and a leg. May I recommend a few more airguns worth considering. My personal favorites are the Chinese made QB-57, and the Crossman 1377C. The QB57 is a bull-pup side lever springer with a break down design available as a .177 or .22. The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

RFJ sent this useful KK Cool Tools link: Coleman Lantern Hanger    o o o Conor sent this article link: Roundup: A week of hacker news from Black Hat and Defcon    o o o Frequent content contributor KAF sent us this: Should Videotaping the Police Really Be a Crime? Perhaps I ought to issue complimentary press credentials to all readers, who will then all become Associate Editors. Controversy resolved.    o o o Also from KAF: Nature’s Light Show from Solar Storm


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The protection guaranteed by the amendments is much broader in scope. The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone-the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized …


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 …


Pellet Rifle Hunting, by D.M.

Due to financial circumstances I found myself living out of the back of my pick-up for several months on public lands in South West mostly BLM and NF mostly. Just before setting out I sold most of my belongings in a yard sale that netted me just over $800 dollars. This money would have to be rationed wisely over the summer, most went for fuel. Don’t think I did not look for work anywhere I could, what I found was it was depleting my resources with no results. I finally moved onto public lands with the idea of hunting, fishing and gold panning (which …


Letter From David in Israel Re: Solar Storms

James There was a bit of excitement when we flew the Earth through this last coronal mass ejection (CME) it might be useful for people to understand how the 1859 event was set up to cause such a powerful hit as well as its effects on Earth. The 1859 Carrington [CME] Event was a very rare perfect storm in space where sci-fi type examples are probably the best language to illustrate what happened. The sun is a big bubbling liquid death star, it can spew and splash at times with great power. Since we orbit the sun and it has …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“Millerized” sent this: Russia to halt wheat export. And reader L.L. sent this: Why Russia’s Heatwave Means Higher U.S. Food Prices. I predict this will start a chain reaction, around the globe. Other nations are sure to follow suit with export restrictions, and futures prices will soar. We can expect food riots in the future. There is also some likely inflation in other grain prices, as cattle feed is shifted slightly, to compensate. Get your wheat orders in with a trustworthy vendor pronto, before the inevitable prices increases hit the retail level! Wheat prices could double again, before December. Jim …


Odds ‘n Sods:

John H. mentioned an interactive election results map from 2008 that was designed to show political differences, but with its population density slider it also makes a great tool for visualizing potential retreat locales. You can zoom in on each state. It is fascinating to fiddle with this!    o o o RFJ sent this: Navy Flier Dieter Dengler’s Great Escape During The Vietnam War. OBTW, I highly recommend Dengler’s book Escape From Laos.    o o o Brute mentioned this Gizmodo article: Inside AT&T’s National Disaster Recovery Batcave: Who AT&T Calls When the Death Star Explodes    o o …