Month: February 2011

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 33 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP …


Our Experiences with Raising Meat Chickens, by Pat O.

Our family has raised about two dozen laying hens each year for several years, and we felt pretty confident in our poultry capabilities.  Learning more about meat breeds of poultry, we felt it was a good time to try our hand raising some of these birds to evaluate their value and quality.  Cornish cross chicks are well known for their rapid, almost freakish growth rates, so we found a large, reputable source online and ordered 50 of their male chicks.  We had to wait almost a month for the male chicks, because of availability – everyone seems to want the …


Letter Re: Question on Canned Food Alphanumeric Date Codes

Hi, I’ve noticed Sam’s Club is carrying large (#10 size) cans of chicken and other foods. I looked for expiration dates and could not find any. There was a series of numbers. I’ve heard those numbers reveal the dates. Could you tell me how to read or decipher them? Thanks, – Laura C. JWR Replies: This has been mentioned before in the blog, but is bears repeating. It’s important to have a Julian Calendar (since some packers use Julian dates) and a hard copy of this chart showing how to decipher date of pack codes from various canners and packers. …


Letter Re: Suburban Preps on Long Island, New York

Hi All, I’d like to contribute some details on my preparations in a region where tricky geography, difficult society, and extremely difficult legal issues can make planning difficult. As for tricky geography, Long Island is essentially a 100-mile long 23-mile wide (at its very widest) ‘no outlet’ roadway prison stuffed with nearly 8 million people. Take a peek at the Wikipedia page about the island to get the idea. We are east of New York City with its 50 million people in the immediate 35 mile radius. When things get Schumeresque – there is very little most residents will be …


Economics and Investing:

Fake Silver Coins/Bars/Ingots ARE on the market in U.S.! This includes some useful videos with tests for fakes. (Thanks to Nic for the link.) Reader “Firecracker” notes: Paul Krugman (Nobel prize-winning Princeton economist) recently spoke to students at The University of Oklahoma.  The local paper had a very short article about his speech. The last line in the article sums it up pretty well: “We’re eating our seed corn,” he said. “We are very far from being over the financial crisis.” Items from The Economatrix: Royal Canadian Mint Now Saying It’s Difficult Securing Silver   War, Martial Law, And The …


Inflation Watch:

Middle East Mirrors Great Inflation Revolutions Since 1200 A.D. (Thanks to Mark G. for the link.) Bobbi, South Dakota notes: “Six weeks ago, I could buy canned Progresso brand soup (ready to eat) for $1 per can. Yesterday it was $2.29. Gasoline (10% ethanol) was $3.06 four days ago. It is now $3.36. The “Cheap” white bread was regularly on sale for $.79 for a 24 ounce loaf. Now it is $.99 (as a “Hot Buy”) for a 16 ounce loaf. Navel oranges are still $.78/lb, but those in the latest batch are very small and even slightly green. Cucumbers …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. sent this: Census: Near-record level of US counties dying. JWR Adds: Of course some of the mentioned “dying” counties in the northern plains states that are de-populating might actually make good retreat locales. Low population density has its advantages!    o o o Randy F. sent a link showing that CBS News is finally catching on: Gunrunning scandal uncovered at the ATF. (But of course they don’t tell the whole sordid story.) Here is a bit of background on why the BATFE conspirators felt they needed to boost their “traced to U.S. gun shows” numbers: WikiLeaks exposes true origins …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Our obligation to promote the public good extends as much to the opposing every exertion of arbitrary power that is injurious to the state as it does to the submitting to good and wholesome laws. No man, therefore, can be a good member of the community that is not as zealous to oppose tyranny, as he is ready to obey magistracy.” Reverend Samuel West (1730-1807) Colonial Preacher and Patriot


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 33 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP …


Experience in an Ice Storm, by C.V.Z.

During the winter of 2007 Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado had a major winter event in the form of a blizzard and a wide ranging ice storm. Saturday morning came and no weather, by that afternoon, Eastern Colorado and Western, Kansas was in a full blizzard and ice storm. Within hours the ice was over 3 inches thick on power lines and was popping power poles in every direction. Then the wind picked up and we went black and quiet. The storm took down cell towers, radio towers, internet towers, emergency communication towers. The small rural communities were shut down. …


Two Letters Re: A Bank Run Reality Check

Dear Mr. Rawles, While the quantity of FRN currency and coins on hand at a bank branch certainly makes or breaks one’s ability to withdraw one’s funds in a “run” situation, the overriding factor of which most depositors are completely unaware is that only checking accounts are “demand” accounts, meaning that you have a legal and immediate right to all of your money when you demand it. If you read the account disclosure fine print for your certificate of deposit (CD) or savings account, you will find that the bank is under no obligation to return your money when you …


Letter Re: Storing Spare Vehicle CPUs for EMP Preparedness

Mr. Rawles,   I recently have been going through the PCM/ECM/ECU vehicle engine/transmission control module nightmare. And it is a nightmare. Dealers typically won’t warrantee or allow return/refund on the vehicle computers unless they perform the diagnostics first. That’s a couple hundred bucks right there, before you get to buying the computer – which in my case for a 10 year old truck was $480, before sales tax. Then you have the labor to install it. Oh, and only the dealer can program it.   So I started snooping around on Google.  Using the search terms “remanufactured PCM” and “remanufactured …


Letter Re: Forever Preps – Preparations You Can Buy Once, and Have Forever

JWR, Thanks and God Bless for your wonderful blog. You do mankind a great good every day your site is up and passing information to the masses. Please keep it coming. I find it a rare and surprising occurrence when my real world work experience and professional knowledge actually prove some use to the on-going threads found at SurvivalBlog. Since I’m a career Maitre’ de in fine dining restaurants, it really isn’t surprising; I seriously doubt anyone will be worried about wine vintages or the proper service of escargot after TSHTF. However I was pleasantly surprised after I read Andrew …


SurvivalBlog Receives the Stylish Blogger Award

I was tickled to see that SurvivalBlog was named as a recipient of a Stylish Blogger award by Judy of the Consent of the Governed blog. This is a great exercise in fun and mutual back-scratching. Of course, as with any of these blog awards, there are rules. The “rules” that come along with this award designation are (1) I must divulge seven things about myself, and then (2) pay the Stylish Blogger Award forward to fifteen other blogs. So here are seven things about me… 1.) I’m so secretive about the location of the Rawles Ranch that many of …


Economics and Investing:

A new age of uncertainty: Why Arab turmoil could mean an orgy of bloodletting and rocketing oil prices rather than a Utopian world order. (A hat tip to J.B.G. for the link.) K.A.F.send us a story about “voting with their feet”: Irish Remedy for Hard Times: Leaving U.S. crop boom not enough to rebuild thin supplies. (Thanks to Nick F. for the link.) Natural Gas: A Cure for America’s Crazy Oil Addiction Items from The Economatrix: Regulators Close Small Illinois Bank; Makes 23 in 2011   State and Local Budget Cuts are Slowing US Economy   Oil Prices Spike to …