Day: November 13, 2010

Note from JWR:

Today we present another 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 $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 …


The Value and Practice of Journaling, by M.E.R.

One little-known technique which can be used to survive tough times, even TEOTWAWKI, is not necessarily an all-important or crucial one; but the optional activity might nevertheless prove to be invaluable to both ourselves and others.   It is also a great distraction from our problems of the day, helps combat boredom, and can serve as a stress management tool.   The technique?  Journaling!   Journaling is simply the act of writing personal thoughts in a diary.  Although seemingly simplistic, keeping a personal journal is often encouraged by spiritual mentors, health care professionals, and even some employers (truck drivers keep logs of …


Six Letters Re: Preppers as Foster Parents

JWR, My family and I signed up to be foster parents in Arizona and went through the initial home review, interview and application.  The social worker made some recommendations about adding a door to our loft.  I did not feel that her walk-through was invasive at all but we never made it to the official state inspection.  We had to enter a lot of data into the State’s foster care web site and that bothered me a little.  I have actually thought about logging back in to erase everything.  What we found was that as the economy was changing more and more …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent this: Dark Ages for a modern Middle Class – Modern day debt serfdom and rising prices not seen through the consumer price index. Coffee up 50 percent for the year. What Will Cause the Next Crisis? Jonathan C. sent: California: The Lindsay Lohan of States The Wall Street Journal reports: Ireland’s Fate Tied to Doomed Banks Steve K. sent a link to a very scary mortgage fraud deposition. Super-sized pensions, and a doomsday scenario. (Thanks to Ben G. for the link.) More FDIC Friday Follies: Three bank closures in Arizona and Georgia. Items from The Economatrix: Hiring Remains …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent content contributor F.G. sent us a priceless OK Go music video clip demonstrating effective camouflage. The Ghillie suit band members start to join in at 51 seconds into the video.    o o o Yorie sent this: Meet the Israeli Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle – AvantGuard    o o o Alan sent me a link to a Dmitry Orlov lecture at UC Berkeley.    o o o Steve K. liked this video: Why Can’t Chuck Get His Business Off the Ground?


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The Great Depression was caused by Federal Reserve expansion of the money supply in the 1920s that led to an unsustainable credit-driven boom. When the Federal Reserve belatedly tightened in 1928, it was too late to avoid financial collapse. According to Murray Rothbard, in his book America’s Great Depression, the artificial interference in the economy was a disaster prior to the depression, and government efforts to prop up the economy after the crash of 1929 only made things worse. Government intervention delayed the market’s adjustment and made the road to complete recovery more difficult. The parallels with today are uncanny.” …