Year: 2010

Beer Brewing Basics, by Doctus

“Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”” – Benjamin Franklin, 1779 letter to André Morellet Beer has been a coveted drink from time immemorial.  It has witnessed the rise and fall of many great nations.  It has been the start of relationships and the ruin of marriages.  It is full of memories and yet causes selective amnesia.  Beer is ingrained in us and in a certain sense is a part of …


Letter Re: Retreating: A Minority Perspective

Mr. Rawles,   Please add my comments regarding Lt. Vernon Baker. I have owned a small ranch about half way between St. Maries and Potlatch, Idaho for the last decade. Lt. Baker was highly respected in St. Maries, and throughout the rest of Benewah County, Idaho. This last summer the whole town came together to raise funds to pay all the expenses for his widow and a companion to attend Lt. Baker’s internment at Arlington National Cemetery. The folks in town were proud to do it.   I don’t know where Alex B. is geographically so I can’t speak to …


Economics and Investing:

Market pundit Robert Wiedemer recently had the nerve to call gold “the biggest, baddest bubble of them all.” What myopia. He’s looking up at gold’s position only because his vantage point is from the veritable crater formed by the collapsing U.S. Dollar. Gold is simply rising to its natural level, amid a bevy of fiat currencies that are in a frantic race to the bottom. The precious metals are nowhere near the end of the current bull market. China Says Fed Easing May Flood World With `Hot Money’ Fed Will ‘Self Destruct,’ Policy ‘Deeply Flawed’: Ron Paul Sullivan: The Coming …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader M.B. recommended a classic book that is available on-line: Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 by Corréard and Savigny. M.B. notes: “This is a fascinating true story about a group of people who were placed in what today could be referred to as “The End of the World as They Knew It.”. The book is in the public domain. Such lessons from the past are relevant to those today in a preparedness mindset.”    o o o B.B. flagged this: Americans on Food Stamps Reach New High    o o o Reader Karl W. suggested a source …


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 …


Being Prepared – How Hurricane Andrew Saved My Life, by Richard in Miami, Florida

I am by nature a positive person. On the other hand, I fully recognize that we live in a very dangerous world. Ignoring the reality will not make you safe – that would only be an illusion of safety. I sincerely believe that far too many of us live in a fantasy world shaped by what we see on television, and reinforced by our very limited exposure to the world outside our immediate communities. Also, many of us are so caught up in the daily rat race that we don’t stop to think about much else. To me, being prepared …


Letter Re: From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When

James Wesley: Scott’s article was a good one but he neglected to mention that if you have 10,000 pounds of fuel (or most other chemicals) that all State Homeland Security Agencies require a Tier II filing to report this large quantity of material. This reporting form lets the state, local fire marshal and local emergency management coordinator know that you have that much fuel on your place. It’s nice if you have a fire (for instance) that the firefighters know where all the dangerous stuff is and usually someone on scene has a PDA with all this info on board, …


Letter Re: Retreating: A Minority Perspective

Hello Jim, Blessings to you and your family. Here are my comments regarding the article Retreating: A Minority Perspective, by Alex B. The Aryan Nations group has been forced out of North Idaho.  Not only did they lose the lawsuit that took away their “compound”.  The new owners allowed local fire department to train on site when the buildings were torched. Their leader, Richard Butler, died a few years later and the rest of the bugs left for parts unknown. This small group was good at making themselves look bigger by holding an annual camp-out at the compound and marching …


Economics and Investing:

Ay, Carumba!: California borrows $40 million a day to pay unemployment benefits. No doubt, higher payroll taxes will be coming soon for Californians. Obama returns fire after China slams Fed’s move. [JWR’s comment: The Obama Administration’s position on the Quantitative Easing monetization scheme is like a teenager claiming that he can pay his VISA Card balance with his MasterCard.] I guess you’ve all seen the recent jump in the spot price of silver. FWIW, I’ve been touting silver since February 2001, just before it bottomed. I’m standing by my prediction of $50+ silver. I’ll grant that I was early when …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader John E. mentioned a video of a stealthy-quiet solar powered battery powered log splitter, and from the same inventor: a Suzuki motorcycle converted to a diesel yanmar type engine.    o o o The Growing Threat of Food Insecurity in America    o o o Reader M.G. recommend two books: Nature’s Garden and The Forager’s Harvest, both by naturalist Sam Thayer. Here is M.G.’s description: These books provide amazing, in depth, first hand accounts of how to identify, harvest, and prepare different wild foods.  I have a dozen other wild food books, but these two are by far the best.  …



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 …