Day: November 5, 2010

Notes from JWR:

Das Ende der Welt, wie wir sie kennen! I’m pleased to report that my nonfiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” will soon be published in German by publisher Kopp Verlag. There are now nine foreign publishing contracts in place, for editions of the book in eight languages. Please be patient, as some of these editions may take more than a year to reach production. — Today we present two more entries for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course …


Built-in Obsolescence, by Margaret G.

I’ve had a very frustrating three weeks. My laptop crashed and as I couldn’t get back the files, it had to go to the computer doctor. I know that I’m not alone and that this has happened to many people but it doesn’t mean that I have to like it. What really made me irritable though was that it is only three or four years old. I was told that three years is “old” for a computer. Pardon me? Fortunately the computer doctor was able to recover my files, but I’ve had to buy a new laptop. It’s not hard …


Prepping for the Big One, by Jim Y.

There are obvious reasons for prepping, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, fires, civil unrest, financial collapse, or just the event of an intruder into your home. Prepping is just basic insurance and just like insurance you hope you never have to use it but, need it in case of a severe raining day. I’ve found that most people will not listen to you when you tell them they should prep, they usually look at you like your some insane person who listens to every conspiracy theory that comes by. These same people in an event will be over at your house.  “Oh …


Letter Re: Our Experience with a Chimney Fire

Mr. Rawles, Recent posts about chimney fires mention the value of having ones chimney cleaned at least once per year. Most volunteer fire companies do chimney cleaning for a nominal donation. It gives the homeowners a chance to get their chimney cleaned and make a donation towards their community’s fire service, it helps the fire company by making one more house less likely to have a chimney fire, and it benefits both parties by getting folks to interact with and perhaps join their local volunteer fire department. Best, – RMV


Letter Re: Forecasting the Weather in a Grid-Down Situation

Old Farmer wrote an excellent piece. As he noted, each area is different and has its own patterns. I have spent decades as a pilot and have learned to read the weather fairly well. A couple of tips the Farmer left out: 1. If you place your left shoulder into the wind (or the direction from which the clouds are moving) you are facing into an area of low pressure. This is useful in locating the source of bad weather. For example, if your weather generally moves in from the west and you have a wind coming in from the …


Economics and Investing:

This article by Jeff Nielson is a must read!: Quantitative Easing is Economic Suicide. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate G.G.sfor the link.) The latest from our favorite Switzerdudes over at The Daily Bell: How Western Powers May Have Blown It Here is Sheepdog to rout those grievous wolves: Ron Paul Will Chair the Monetary Policy Subcommittee. Items from The Economatrix: Dow Hits Two-Year High as Fed Details Stimulus. How can investors think that stock gains will out-pace double digit inflation? What idiocy. The Fed’s Big Gamble: Here’s What Could Go Wrong US Quantitative Easing is Fracturing The Global Economy US …


Inflation Watch:

The Federal Reserve Stirs Poltergeist of Hyperinflation, Weimar Collapse Asset Inflation/Deflation: The Fed’s QE2 Versus $15 Trillion in Losses Fast Rising Food Prices Feed Inflation Fears Reader “Skyrat” notes: “Just today I purchased a Famotidine (an antacid OTC medication) refill, 20 milligrams, sixty tablets for $4.00 at Wal-Mart. This replaces the (now empty) bottle I purchased 20 August 2010, for $4.00. The kicker? The new bottle held only ninety tablets. Rising cost of living, anyone?” Corn, food and potential sticker shock Freakanomics: A Dunkin’ Donuts Store Exhibits Penny Sanity. JWR’s Comment: I believe this trend will continue until a zero …


Odds ‘n Sods:

US Coal to Gasoline Plant Will be the Largest in the World. The $64 question is: What will be the real EROEI ratio for this production process? If it is not any better that that for corn ethanol, then we may be witnessing little more that political grandstanding.    o o o Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish Department: ACORN Files for Bankruptcy. (A hat tip to Ross H. for the link.)    o o o AmEx (American Expatriate) forwarded this: FEMA’s data collection and analysis of national preparedness information stalled    o o o The folks at Internet Grocer (aka …