Day: October 25, 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 …


Enriched White Rice: A Perfect Long-Term Food Item, By M.R.

Having a back stock of emergency food is a great idea, but not many are able to set aside as much food as they would like to have. It’s expensive, consumes a good amount of personal storage space, and rotating stock can become difficult to manage over time. However, those who don’t have large budgets, big closets, or the time needed for food rotation schedules can still build an emergency food supply which meets their needs. But, first, we need to have the right mindset when it comes to the idea of building an emergency supply of food. During a …


Letter Re: Advice on Constructing a Hidden Basement Room

Greetings Jim, I am finally closing on my house next week and have been putting together a plan (on paper) for turning the back half of my basement into a secret room accessible via a hidden staircase from one of the main-floor bedrooms. The basement is currently accessible only via a door in the floor of a utility room on the back side of the house and I plan to build a closet over the door to conceal it. However, making another hole in the floor to add a staircase leading to the basement will require far more skill than …


Letter Re: Cleanliness–Maximize Your Productivity and Protect Your Investment

Letter Re: Cleanliness–Maximize Your Productivity and Protect Your Investment James, Please remind your readers that there are two bars of soap that you should always keep a good supply stocked: The first is Lava hand soap. Lava bar soap will lather up even in cold salt water – so then there are no excuses that you can’t “clean up”. The second bar of soap is Fels-Naptha laundry soap. Fels-Naptha bar soap is so very important because it will lift urushiol from the skin when you get into a poison patch and keeps it suspended long enough to wash it from …


Letter Re: The Northern Philippines as a Retreat Locale

I have been reading your bug out articles for awhile now and I think that there are things missing in the discussion of disaster preparedness in the US. Based on several other “end of the world” scenarios that have played out in the past 60 years or so, there are situations that really have not been discussed. I have listed several disasters that happened and how they played out. 1. The Iraq war. For the Iraqi people it was the end of the world as they knew it. I witnessed this personally and have been in the war zone here …


Economics and Investing:

R.F.J. sent a piece about the far-reaching effects of China’s embargo of rare earths: You Don’t Bring a Praseodymium Knife to a Gunfight Sue C. forwarded this: Fed’s Fisher: Policy Makers Must Be Aware of Dollar Impact B.B. suggested this piece by Bob Chapman: We See Totally Surreal Markets Thanks to Susan O. for this one: 75 Ways That The Government And The Financial Elite Will Be Sucking Even More of the Life Blood Out of the American People in 2011


Inflation Watch:

Wiedemer: Inflation on the Way Despite Deflation Fears Carlos in the U.P. wrote: “I noted with interest that the Wal-Mart I shop at had cleared the shelves of “Great Value” brand coffee in 39 oz cans for about 2 weeks. Today the new can appeared, with the following differences: 1.) Can is now 33.9 oz, down from 39 oz. Also conspicuously missing is the conversion of 2lb, 7oz therefore no comparison in pounds is easily made. 2.) Price for this smaller can is up from $9.88 to $10.48, by my rustic math an approximate 20% increase! 3.) Contents of can …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I just heard that Jerry Ahern’s anticipated new novel “Written in Time” is now shipping to bookstores. This new sci-fi novel is about time travel, and of course the protagonist is very well-armed. (Jerry Ahern will be remembered as the author of the umpteen-volume adventure novel series “The Survivalist” from the 1980s and 1990s.)    o o o Perennial content contributor F.G. sent us this: Hiker killed by Mountain Goat in Washington State National Park    o o o Republican congressional candidate says violent overthrow of government is ‘on the table’    o o o F.G. sent a link to …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“A return to the principles of a gold standard that constrain government spending and retain the value of money will in turn enable the return to the more enduring values of humanity. In the meantime, the writing is on the wall for all to see. Be careful because it could fall at any time.” – Peter Souleles, in Sydney Australia’s ABC Bullion Blog: Buy Gold Young Man