Day: October 14, 2010

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 31 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 …


Learning Traditional Skills, by R.I.P.

1

There is only one sure thing about plans: at some point they have a good chance of failing. Not necessarily because the plans were faulty, but because it is nearly impossible to plan for everything. The universe has a way of ensuring that we get to experience the widest range of possibilities. So what if, after all your preparing, storing food, water, fuel, fortress etc., etc, what if you suddenly do not have access to all of that? We don’t have to go through all the ways that this might happen, I’ll let your imagination work on that. So, could …


Letter Re: A Source for Free Firewood

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to express a word of caution about wooden pallets. The company I work for throws away many pallets each week and I had the same thought about using them as a free supplement for my wood burning stove. I am a biochemist so before burning any pallets the scientist in me needed to know more about what chemicals I might be exposing to my family. What I have learned is that many pallets, especially those used in international shipments are treated with a fungicide/pesticide called 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBE). This chemical can cause irritation of the skin, mucus …


Letter Re: The Really Poor Man’s Guide to Arms and Ammo

Mr Rawles, First off, I must say that I enjoyed your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. My perspective on firearms comes from an Infantry (though National Guard) mindset. I hope after a little editing this is worth posting for the Really Poor Man. My friends and I are in our mid- to late-20s, with incomes between $12 and $14 an hour. One has 3 kids and a wife, another has bills (car note payments) and all of us try to find time and have money for limited recreation. When dealing especially with …


Economics and Investing:

Loyal content contributor Susan H. sent us this: More Bad News: 10 Things You Should Know About The Latest Economic Numbers Paul Craig Roberts: America’s Third World Economy. (Thanks to Siggy for the link.) K.T. sent this: Seven Cities About to Sink. Courtesy of KAF: Fed Undaunted by Uncertain Prospects for Money Printing Also from KAF: China Currency Reserves May Hit $2.5 Trillion, Stoking Tensions. Sue C. highlighted this piece of commentary: Three Weeks That Will Rock Wall Street. Items from The Economatrix: Gold, Get It While You Can US Consumer Debt Deleveraging = Commercial Real Estate Market Collapse No …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bob G. spotted this: Ammo Long Term Storage Tips    o o o K.T. mentioned a web site that houses some rare photos of Assorted Black Ops Toys.[ JWR’s Comment: Some of the conclusions drawn in the captions ramble off into incoherent UFOlogy, so I ignored them. Still, it is a great collection of photos. It is fun seeing photos of the fruition of some of the codeword programs that I had heretofore only read about in text descriptions. Shrouded even deeper in secrecy, of course, are the compartmentalized intelligence products derived from some of these platforms. Those may not …