Month: October 2010

Odds ‘n Sods:

Jason in Central New York mentioned this PDF from the NRC : High-Impact, Low-Frequency Event Risk to the North American Bulk Power System (regarding the risks posed by Cyber or Physical Coordinated Attacks, Pandemics, and Geomagnetic Disturbance / Electro-magnetic Pulse.    o o o The folks at J&G Sales in Arizona noted in their latest e-newsletter: “Starting the end of January no ammo dealers including J&G Sales may continue to ship handgun ammo to individuals that live in California. This is a new law, now passed and signed by Governor Arnold [Schwarzenegger] called AB962. All handgun ammo sales in California …



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 …


A Rude Awakening, by Ruth E. in Hawaii

Power outages are quite common here in Hawaii. It seems like a couple of times a month, the lights flicker, get dim, and then go out. Sometimes they stay out for an hour or longer. We recently had a blackout on one whole side of our island, which truly woke me up to the possibilities of an endless blackout (worse-case scenario). Usually I come out of an anxiety session unscathed, but since I currently belong to an emergency preparedness group, I have been reading tons about the many scenarios that could happen to our island home including tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding, …


Letter Re: A Closer Look at Bank Closures–Failed Banks Without Buyers

James Wesley, You recently posted this article: Seven banks closed in Fla., Ga., Ill., Kan. Remember something we’ve been trying to focus on? Watch closely for banks for which the FDIC cannot find a buyer. Read closely… in that article there were a couple banks that were only partially purchased by other banks. The FDIC held on to some of the liabilities of some of the banks. The real zinger is the First Arizona Savings bank – completely shut down, no buyer, no more bank. The FDIC is sending checks to those customers (hope you didn’t have more than $250,000 …


Two Letters Re: The Tire Shop Option for Nitrogen Packing Food Storage Buckets

JWR, Concerning the article titled “The Tire Shop Option for Nitrogen Packing Food Storage Buckets”. My dear friend said that I should let everyone know that a much easier way to use nitrogen for your buckets is to pick it up at your local welding supply. You could then do 1,000 (who really knows how many) or more buckets in the privacy of your own home. – Steph in Colorado Jim, I’ve been packing buckets and other containers for years without the use of dry nitrogen, but I’m pretty sure the contents are actually nitrogen packed. If we look at …


Economics and Investing:

City drowning in rubbish: 10,000 TONS of waste pile up on streets of Marseilles in chilling echo of British ‘winter of discontent’ Items from The Economatrix: Pension Age Increases to Get Far Worse Default or Hyperinflation: The US’s Only Two Options (The Mogambo Guru) In 15 of Last 25 Months, The Treasury Needed to Borrow Money for Social Security Benefits Gold Advances as Dollar’s Decline Spurs Demand for Alternative Investments Soc Gen’s Albert Edwards: The US Public is About to Revolt


Odds ‘n Sods:

David W. sent this interesting link: 10 Awesomely Bad Uses for Dead or Discarded Tech    o o o Pistols and nickels stolen from home. (Thanks to Scotty in Florida for the link.)    o o o G.M. flagged this: The Super La Nina and the Coming Winter.    o o o Think your laptop is tough? This one’s built to survive a war.    o o o Tsunami Kills at Least 113 in Indonesia; Scores Missing



Notes from JWR:

I’m happy to report that “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” will soon be published in Portuguese by Sextante Publishing of Brazil. There are now eight foreign publishing contracts in place, for editions in seven languages. — 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 …


Medical Asset Evaluation, by Dr. C. in Flyover Country

The evaluation of “Medical Assets” depends greatly upon the evaluator and the mission. For the purpose of this discussion, I consider people, places and things collectively and individually as “assets”. This discussion is meant for a group of non-medical personnel who need to assess whether a person, place, or thing will further their short and long term goals (mission). But how do you make that assessment or know when it has been done properly? Base assumptions: 1) The group has little to no medical knowledge. 2) The needs include general medicine, surgical procedures, veterinary medicine, and dentistry. 3) The most …


Letter Re: Our Experience with a Chimney Fire

Dear James, I have been a Survival Blog reader and Ten Cent Challenge subscriber for about a year or so. Thanks for all you do. The advice I read in SurvivalBlog from a rural firefighter — to keep on hand a 10 pound bag of baking soda to throw on the fire in case of a chimney fire — just came in handy! My husband and I were just enjoying our first fire of the year in our brick masonry fireplace. We have our chimney cleaned about every three years. I was upstairs and my husband called out “we’re having …


Letter Re: The Tire Shop Option for Nitrogen Packing Food Storage Buckets

Sir: For those interested in preserving food in bulk containers in larger numbers in a quick easy fashion. Most of your up to date tire shops now offer nitrogen gas instead of air for your tires. The biggest advantage of this over normal pressurized air is that the nitrogen machine removes all the water from the system. No water, no water vapor, less change in air pressure while you drive your car. The shop can give you lots of reasons why you want nitrogen, but mostly, its just dry. For a comparison, watch a tech hook up an air nozzle …


Three Letters Re: Enriched White Rice: A Perfect Long-Term Food Item

Jim, the letter about the value of storing enriched white rice was good, but I think a little more emphasis needs to be put on stocking up on lots and lots of spices to “liven up” the rice. I buy a couple pounds of dried or powdered spices a week–cumin, cayenne, garlic, dried onion, red pepper, fennel seed, cajun seasoning, anything with a strong flavor that can really “amplify” meals–and label them, date them and seal them up in quart-size mason jars. The danger of food fatigue/appetite fatigue is real–there’s plenty of research out there showing that some people (especially …


Economics and Investing:

Kelli C suggested: 99 Weeks: When Unemployment Benefits Run Out Jay B. flagged some “Scary New Wage Data” from Tax.com B.B. sent this: Dollar at Risk of Becoming ‘Toxic Waste’: Charts Also from B.B.: Treasury Shields Citigroup as Deletions Undercut Disclosure Puru speaks: The US Dollar is doomed. (Thanks to Brett G. for the link.)