Year: 2010

Letter Re: Observations on Hardened Architecture and Life in German Village

Hello James, I recently stayed with a friend in a little German village northeast of Frankfurt . My friend is restoring his family’s 350+ year old Tudor-style home. I was amazed at the ballistic mass involved. The old walls are 6-8” (15-20cm) thick timber and clay/loam brick, covered in plaster/cement. As part of the restoration, they are adding an additional 6” (15cm) of timber reinforcement on the inside and filling it with 6” of lighter loam bricks for insulation. This results in a total thickness of at least 12” (30 cm) of solid wood and brick. Compare that to our …


Economics and Investing:

A reader asked me clarify what was meant by “exiting the market.” It’s important to know the difference between exiting the stock market and taking distributions from their tax-deferred retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k) accounts, and so forth.) It is possible in most cases to exit the stock market without taking distributions from those accounts. They can simply change (“re-allocate”) the investments inside those accounts. For example, an employee might re-allocate her 401(k) at work from a stock mutual fund into a money market fund. This is not a taxable event, as long as the money remains in the 401(k) plan. …


Inflation Watch:

The National Inflation Association recently posted this article: Decoupling Now, Currency Crisis Soon Reader J.D.G. notes: “The County Landfill had a punch card system that equated to $3.83 per load for household trash. If you went every week, it would cost you approximately $200 a year. The County did away with the punch cards at the end of the fiscal year with about six months notice. All the folks who bought extra punch cards to “lock in” the price rightfully howled. The new fee is $7.00 per load, an 82% increase. Going every week will now cost you $364 per …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Brian H. suggested a Scientific American interactive web page: “How Much is Left?”    o o o I’ve previously mentioned the JBM Ballistic calculators in the blog. But now there is a new Backup Ballistic Calculator –a circular slide rule–created by Todd Hodnett of Accuracy 1st. These will soon be available from LaRue Tactical. They are taking pre-orders now, and expect to starting shipping them in mid-September.    o o o Reader Travis B. recommended the blog Laptop and Rifle. Travis gave quick summary of the blog’s content: A guy that used to work for Google (a smart guy) buys …



Notes from JWR:

Today is the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. So it is probably apropos for us all to re-read this first-hand account and commentary: Thoughts On Disaster Survival. OBTW, August, 2010 also marks the fifth anniversary of SurvivalBlog. Thanks for making it the most popular blog on family preparedness! Please continue to spread the word. — Today we present another entry for Round 30 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 …


Home Design Choices for the Prepper, by S.L.S.

When purchasing or building a home, there are no shortages of choices that must be made. From type of home and features needed to financial matters, literally hundreds of choices must be made. Though some decisions may not have a direct impact on your prepping (the color of the countertop will not matter in a SHTF scenario) many will have a direct impact on the sustainability of your home, your financial well being and thus, your ability to prep. This article’s purpose to introduce the new homeowner-to-be some of these choices and to give you some background on each so …


Letter Re: EMP Attack and Solar Storms: A Guide

Sir: Mr. Hayden presented an outstanding, almost-verbatim review of the commission reports. After having read in the last few months both of the reports, I sought to find as much corroboration of them as I could find. My motive for doing further research was pretty elementary and is simply stated: “This is a government commission, right? Since when have I believed the contents of a government commission?” (I am a former and long-time employee, now retired, of a technology-heavy government agency, and so I am naturally skeptical when I read any government report.) That research has led me into some …


Economics and Investing:

Frequent content contributor Jeff B. sent this: US Said Preparing New Laws to Seize Americans’ Retirement Accounts. As I’ve written before: Governments at all levels will be desperate for revenue, throughout this currently unfolding depression. Expect them to find new and creative ways to pry into your wallet. Stock markets face a ‘bloodbath’, warns SocGen strategist Albert Edwards. (Thanks to Jon M. for sending that link.) Reader S.M. sent: What the Double Dip Recession Will Look Like This was inevitable: ‘Jingle Mail’: Developers Are Giving Up On Properties. (A hat tip to David W. for the link.) The BHO Administration’s …


Inflation Watch:

The Old Farmer wrote: “I’ve been buying a Whopper Jr. and a small bag of French fries from the Dollar Menu at Burger King for about two years now on my way home from an extra-long shift that I do off farm. It’s been $2.12 for so long I kept dimes and pennies in my change holder. This week the dollar menu was gone. The same meal was now $2.43. That’s a ‘whopping’ increase, without getting out the calculator, that is about 15 percent.” Tony on Colorado mentioned: “You may be interested in taking a look at the web site …


Odds ‘n Sods:

KAF sent us this: Are Free-Range Eggs Safer?    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson was the first to send me this very bad news: The Government’s New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS. I suspect that this case will be appealed to the Supreme Court. If they then affirm this decision, we can conclude that we are on the path to the Surveillance State. I wonder… Perhaps some hackers will start putting GPS trackers on government agency vehicle, so that the public can track them in real time. After all, turnabout is fair …



Two Letters Re: Food for Long-Term Survival

Hi Jim, Sheila’s article [“Food for Long-Term Survival”] contains a lot of good information, but seems to me to take the safety consideration of canning low acidic foods a little lightly. I’ve been canning for more than 30 years and even if you follow all of the rules, you occasionally get a bad jar of food. Low acid food, which include most vegetables, and all meats must be either pressure canned, or have their pH lowered (made more acid) below 4.6 by adding an acid like vinegar or citric acid. I’ve had good luck using a boiling water bath with …


Notes from JWR:

Several readers sent this important item: Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with ‘force of 100m bombs’. There is a dissenting voice, from Australia. But regardless, have you got you Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids squared away? If not, then it is high time to do so. It is also important to buy a few galvanized trash cans with tight-fitting lids, to provide Faraday Cage protection for all your radios and other electronic gear that are not in day-to-day use! — Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …


Food for Long-Term Survival, by Sheila C.

Many food strategies have been discussed in preparation for a TEOTWAWKI scenario: beans, rice, MREs, coupon-based purchases and heirloom vegetable seeds, just to name a few. However, there are certain limitations to a food-storage-only strategy. MREs, for instance, are quite expensive and only provide one meal at a time. They would be great for an emergency G.O.O.D. situation, but not long-term sustainable when you are packing everything you have in the world on your back. And beans and rice are wonderful staple foods, but what do you do when you run out of them… or worst case scenario happens and …