Day: November 9, 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 $795, 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 Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum …


A Rookie on the Range, by Lew B.

Greetings fellow SurvivalBloggers.  Any of you who read my piece “How I Woke Up” may recall that I started my awareness and prepping in August of 2009.  Today I wanted to touch on my limited knowledge of firearms, and what I’ve done to start firming up that area.  Up until six years ago, I had never owned or fired any kind of weapon other than slingshots and pellet rifles as a child.  I dabbled in archery as a young adult, but wasn’t the guy splitting arrows on the bulls-eye.  But then something happened six years ago that changed that.  I …


Letter Re: State Defense Forces

Sir: I have been meaning for some time to write a short article about State Defense Forces. These forces are an excellent way to train and learn. I have served seven years in my state guard. There are federal laws that allow a state to maintain a state guard or state defense force. These are forces available to the governor of the state when the national guard is on duty somewhere else, or if the emergency is a huge one the state defense force can actually be activated on paid mandatory duty. If a state wants to have such a …


Letter Re: Post Disaster Wi-Fi Commo Networks

James: What M.B. is describing in his letter “Post Disaster Wi-Fi Commo Networks” is ideally served by a mesh network. I’d suggest starting at the Open Mesh web site. Click the Support link for tutorials and frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you want to link up a neighborhood this can work fairly well. Mounting the radios outside helps considerably and will often be required as the 2.4 GHz signal doesn’t penetrate obstructions very well. Existing wireless routers, old 2.4 GHz cordless phones, etc may interfere. If radio links are more than a few hundred feet apart you’ll need to get …


Two Letters Re: My Deuce and a Half – The Ultimate TEOTWAWKI Bug Out Vehicle

Dear James, It is heartening to see enthusiasts for the military M35 series of trucks, but I must take issue with some of the comments made by Tom E. in his recent post. My Background: I have been working in the automotive industry for over 35 years as a consulting design and testing engineer for both civilian and military builders. Specifically, I worked for AM General in the 1980s on the M998 HMMWV problems, the M35A3 proposal, and the FMTV proposal (the LMTV version was the replacement for the M35, the contract was won by Stewart and Stevenson) and currently own …


Economics and Investing

A Daily Bell interview: Rick Rule on Scarce Commodities, the High Price of Gold and the Sale of Global Resources Several readers sent this: Zoellick seeks gold standard debate Quantifying What QE 2 Means for Future Inflation and Gold and Silver Prices  JBG sent this from a Wall Street Journal blog: Number of the Week: $10.2 Trillion in Global Borrowing Items from The Economatrix: Fed’s Trillions Purchase of Bonds is a Fraud Caught In A Lie: Bernanke Promised Congress the Federal Reserve Would Not Monetize the Debt But Now That is Exactly What is Happening Currency Wars, Debase, Debt Default …


Odds ‘n Sods

Tom M. sent us this: Alaska attack: A shot too late. The article begins: “Even as Scott Oberlitner squeezed the trigger on the .375-caliber H&H Magnum rifle and sent a massive slug flying toward the hulk of the charging Afognak Island grizzly bear, he sensed it was too late.”    o o o Deborah B. recommended and audio clip of a prescient speech by Congressman Ron Paul: “Dangerous times ahead”    o o o Garnet found a humorous article about an alligator attack.