Day: January 28, 2011

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round 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 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady …


Alternative Energy Sources For Emergencies, by Smiledr

Being in preparedness mode opens your eyes to a number of factors, not just Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids. As a battalion coordinator for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s CERT program, I was asked to give a presentation on Alternative Energy sources for an emergency situation. My research into this was very enlightening, and I found a number of great ideas. This does not encompass everything available, but it is fairly thorough. So, why Alternative Energy? In an emergency, such as a major earthquake, there can be a loss of power, gas and water. If it is a short-term problem e.g. …


Increasing Preparedness Planning Through the Rules of Three by SAA Joe

After reading “Patriots” and then becoming a regular reader of SurvivalBlog I quickly realized the opportunities I had to improve my preparedness.  As someone who enjoyed the outdoors I always felt I had some of the skills and materials but realized the task to have the right preparations in the right quantities was going to be a challenge.  Where do I start?  This was especially compounded with the semi-urban apartment lifestyle I live, in the worst state west of the Mississippi, and one that is sure to be disrupted by some type of event – a major earthquake at the …


Letter Re: The Downward Trend for PV Panel Prices

Jim, I’ve had the impression for some time now that from all the so-called alternative energy sources, photovoltaic (PV) panels appeared to be the only one capable of really having an impact on traditional fossil fuels. Years ago the lowest prices you would see for solar panels were about $4 per watt. Not long ago a batch of new startups entered the marketplace producing thin-film solar cells, which could be manufactured with far fewer materials and some of these companies (Nanosolar) claimed their cell production cost less than $1 per watt, which was a symbolic price point that represented competitiveness …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Donald M. sent this: The Fed Won’t Be Able to Combat Inflation by Raising Fed Funds Rate In the latest Daily Bell: US Panel Blames Banks for ’08 Meltdown, but not Central Banks John Browne: The Great Debt Shift. Here is a quote: “Two of the world’s largest economies, the EU ($16 trillion) and the US ($14 trillion), have become the leading practitioners of private-to-public debt shifting. The US has assumed the debts of banks, insurers, mortgage holders, and even entire industrial sectors. The European Union has done the same for entire states. The resulting public debt levels are, …



Odds ‘n Sods:

K.Y. pointed me to the web page for a new european shotgun slug design that looks very promising: Hexolit 32. Bowhunters will notice a similarity to modern broadheads!    o o o J.M.B. mentioned this: Mock city rises at Marine base for urban training. It has 1,560 buildings!    o o o Reader F.G. spotted a piece that obviously must have been written before The Governator left office: Top 10 Reasons Not to Live in California. Gee, and the article doesn’t even mention my #1 reason: draconian gun laws that have disarmed the citizenry.    o o o Risk of …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths.’ He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation….” – Francis Scott Key, February 22, 1812