Month: October 2010

Odds ‘n Sods:

The Food Crisis of 2010. (Thanks to F.J. for the link.)    o o o Also from F.J.: Coleman Quad Lantern. [JWR Notes: I suspect that these are made in Mainland China, so buyer beware!)    o o o Dave B. mentioned another good reason to store extra fuel: Fuel imports into France surge as protests imperil transportation.    o o o SurvivalBlog’s correspondent David in Israel mentioned: “A good link for everyone is SpaceWeather.com. It is a good way to get your radio prop reports and also track flares which might damage satellites or power grids. There is a …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Didn’t seem to me that Owen Chantry was taking any chances, though. When he put his pants on in the morning he also put on his gun belt and his gun. Most men put their hat on first. He put on that gun belt ‘fore he drew on his boots. ‘You figurin’ on trouble?’ I asked him once. He threw me a hard look. ‘Boy,’ he said, ‘when a man comes at me shooting I figure he wants a fight. I surely wouldn’t want him to go away disappointed. I don’t want trouble or expect trouble, but I don’t want …


Note from JWR:

Today we present two entries 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 …


Tactical Training for the Modern Family, by Jeff F.

In discussions with other members of the preparedness world one thing becomes abundantly clear. Training is secondary to supplies and generally is handled exclusively by the head of the household. I have found that being a former Marine, and a gun enthusiast, as well as the director of my family’s survival plan that many conversations with others all end up at the same spot on the map. The question I pose to the other males leading the charge is, “what happens when the SHTF and you go down early by brick/bullet or from a tap on the shoulder from Murphy?” …


Retirement and Surviving TEOTWAWKI, by Pat M.

All over the Internet are articles on surviving really hard times that are expected.  I note with some humor that most of these articles are talking to about 28-46 years old age groups, at least under-50 somethings.   I have seen nothing directed to the under 26 year-old or much over the 50 year-old.  Considering that we have a problem with what has been termed as an aging society retiring, what about us folks that can no longer throw on a 70 lb pack and hike 20 miles into the wilderness, or no longer have a sufficient income to prepare a …


Letter Re: Updating JWR’s Economic Collapse Indicators List

James: On September 25, 2008, you posted some economic collapse indicators to watch for. I am interested to learn if you have any updates/changes/additions to these indicators. Thank you. – D. in Arizona. JWR Replies: I don’t have any significant changes to that list. Ominously, one of the last items on my list ,”The Treasury starts to extensively monetize debt” has recently been announced, under the euphemism “Quantitative Easing”. Speaking of which, several readers sent us this article from Forbes: magazine: QE2 actions will lower dollar and raise gold. That, dear readers, is massive monetization, by any other name! Be …


Economics and Investing:

John Williams Warns of “Severe and Violent Sell-Off in Stocks” (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Desperate for revenue: Local Property Taxes Soaring in New York. The Daily Bell editors ask: As Goes Iceland, so Goes the EU? N.I.M. flagged this item in the New York Times: Bernanke Weighs Risks of New Action. Any attempts are injecting new liquidity are futile. The U.S. Dollar will be wrecked by the Fed’s policies. My advice: Continue to buy silver on the dips! Items from The Economatrix: 24 Statistics About the US Economy Embarrassing to Admit Global Illusions Stemming From Money Printing Robo-Signing …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From B.B.: Science may have found silver bullet for the common cold.    o o o Reader K. sent us to a nice history of food as a weapon, over at the WRSA site.    o o o More bureaucracy: New Rules Coming for Payments Out of Health Savings Accounts. The article begins: “Under the new health care law, consumers using workplace pre-tax health savings accounts will soon need a doctor’s note to pay for Tylenol and an estimated 15,000 other over-the-counter drugs.”    o o o Popular Science asks: How Quickly Could a Single Supervirus Spread to Every Single …



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 Bug Out Bag Reality Check, by Stranger

I thought I would share some thoughts on my weekend bug out bag guerrilla camping trip. My purpose was to use my BOB in the manner in which I expected to have to use it in an emergency. My general plan has been to get away from people, camp with stealth, and wait for the dust to clear.  With this in mind I mostly want to put my gear through its paces and get my body used to the rigors of backpacking. I live in central Connecticut.  I am a man in my 40s and have a dropped foot in …


Letter Re: The Politically Correct Joy of Cooking

Jim, The lady who whose submission is in today’s blog referenced the book Joy of Cooking and you provided an Amazon link to the book. The praise for this book – and her quotes from the book – are without a doubt regarding earlier editions. Up until the 1980s or early 1990s The Joy of Cooking contained sections on food preservation, butchering rabbits and other game and a host of other “pioneer” kitchen skills. The current editions (and the last couple, for all I know) are severely dumbed-down with far less emphasis on these topics and more on things like …


Letter Re: Some Observations on Pre-1965 Coins Circulating in the U.S.

Hi Jim, I spent two years as a security technician for a major armored car company. The idea that banks have silver coins in their circulation is quite remote. Banks get most of their coins from a Federal Reserve coin center pre wrapped and counted. All silver coins, Mexican, Canadian and other coins are thoroughly separated. I have been in one of these Federal Reserve centers and believe me they literally had buckets full of foreign coins. Any silver coins found in a bank would have to come from some local citizen spending them in a local store. Returned to …


Letter Re: Suburban Survival Revisited

Good Afternoon, After reading the follow up post from Suburban 10 on his state of preparedness, I have just three comments to make: 1. Congratulations on getting to the level that you’re at now. Realizing that you are not at the level you need to be is half the battle. 2. Now that you have the red wheat berries and a grain mill it is time to take the next step and learn how to cook the wheat. It’s better to have practiced cooking your long term food storage items when you have had the luxury of time to experiment …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. mentioned a piece by Charles Hugh Smith: The Coming Collapse of the Real Estate Market Siggy sent: The Case for America’s Future by Gary North SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson notes that the oft-cited animated recession map was updated again last week. This is really looking grim. More FDIC Friday Follies: Three more banks bit the dust on Friday. This time the announcement was two banks in Missouri and one in Kansas. Items from The Economatrix: K.A.F. flagged this: US Cities Face Half a Trillion Dollars of Pension Deficits Dollar Keeps Falling As Investors Await Fed Action …