Day: March 4, 2011

Notes from JWR:

Today (Friday, March 4th, 2011) is Book Bomb Day for the new book Surviving Off Off-Grid: Decolonizing the Industrial Mind. It was written by Michael Bunker, a Plain (Amish-associated) man that lives at a Christian Agrarian community in Texas. I haven’t yet read the book, but according to the reviews, he has a wealth of knowledge about living without electricity. (I heard about the book release event at the last minute, which places me at a disadvantage.) One reviewer described the author: “Michael Bunker is a colourful character. He’s like John Wayne, John Calvin, Grizzly Adams and Thomas Cromwell rolled …


Food Storage Options for Vegetarians and Vegans, by Amy B.

As I have started my basic food stash, I have noticed that many plans do not have any options for vegetarians or vegans. I have been vegetarian for over 23 years, and while, in a true long-term emergency I would have to eat meat, it would require me to start slow, as to not make myself ill. It’s pretty difficult to go from eating no animal products to eating meat overnight. My body would need time to get used to it and develop the enzymes I have lost over the years to digest the meat protein well. With this in …


A Surgeon’s Advice to Preppers, by Swampfox, M.D.

As a reformed Christian and novice “prepper”, I am so glad to have found your blog and all the informative material that it contains.  With your help, I am becoming prepared for the hard times that I believe are imminent. I am a general surgeon practicing in the southeast.  Your writings have caused me to think a lot about the logistical vulnerabilities that exist in our health care system and how drastically surgery would change if/when Schumer hits the fan.   The Coming Instrument Shortages Many instruments and most of the supplies that we use for routine operations are disposable. …


Letter Re: Storing Dry Hypochlorite Bleach

Dear Mr. Rawles – Regarding the recent post on “Forever Preps”…. “Forever Prep #3: “Dry” Bleach This has often been covered by various sources on SurvivalBlog, but so-called “dry” bleach (pure Calcium Hypochlorite) lasts forever. If you go a little crazy and buy two 25 pound boxes of it from a big box store, you can make a solution that can purify about 4 million gallons of water! And, by the way, this Forever Prep is also very cheap (about $45-$50 for 25 pounds) and takes almost no storage space. You must store dry bleach extremely securely if you have …



Economics and Investing:

State Worker Retirements Soar Across the Country Gonzalo Lira: The Dollar, and The Next Ten Days. “The next ten days will be key: Will the dollar spike up? Become the safe haven of everyone fleeing from the world’s troubles? Or will the dollar nosedive, the first big step down in its death spiral?” James Turk – The Dollar Collapse Will Shock the World G.G. suggested this piece by Michael Pento: It’s Taps For the Still Weakening Dollar Items from The Economatrix: February Retail Sales Rise In Most Categories   Oil Jumps Above $102   Bernanke Sees 200,000 Hit to Jobs …


Inflation Watch:

C.D.V. sent us a link to an interesting “heat” chart: Feeling the Heat: Global Inflation Britons face soaring food prices as supermarkets boost margins and blame inflation, analysts warn. File Under “Humor Department”: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the U.S. central bank is ready to respond as necessary to a surge in global commodity prices caused in part by unrest in the Middle East, though he said inflation expectations remain low.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Keeley suggested: Sixty-One Uses of Baking Soda. Stock up!    o o o Reader Gert J. wrote to suggest that anyone who comes from a family with a history of heart disease and that lives outside of city limits should buy an automated external defibrillator (AED) and carry it in their car whenever traveling. Gert’s comment: “Given the high mortality rate for sudden heart attacks, these are are more important to buy than a life insurance policy.”    o o o More chaos in Libya: Video of Bloody Battle to Hold Brega. There is a steep learning curve for this …