Month: April 2011

Watch The US Dollar Index — A Dollar Panic May Be Ahead

I’m often asked about my mentions of the US Dollar Index in SurvivalBlog, and about the Dollar Index ticker link at my Investing Recommendations page. This foreign exchange (FOREX) market index is often mentioned by its shorthand names (“USDX”, “DX”, or less commonly, “USDI”). It measures the value of the U.S. Dollar (USD) relative to several of our country’s major trading partners. Although the mix has changed over the years, presently the index gauges the value of the U.S. Dollar versus six currencies: the Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona and the Swiss Franc. The USDX was …


Letter Re: Inexpensive Mailorder Eyeglasses

JWR, On a note to the mailorder glasses thread, for all of SurvivalBlog readers that are active duty military, reserve military, federal and local law enforcement, fire, EMS and those holding military retiree credentials, there is a couple other sites that I strongly recommend for buying very high quality eye wear for very discounted prices. The first site is USStandardIssue.com. They are the official site for Oakley military and government sales. They have a spin-off site: ESSeyepro.com. Both of these sites do make prescription sunglasses and Oakley makes regular prescription sunglasses. The ESS site also makes goggles (said to stop …


Four Letters Re: Survival Preparation in Small Spaces

Mr. Rawles: I really enjoyed L.N.’s small spaces article and her suggestion to get a mason jar vacuum sealer is right on the money.  Another suggestion your readers may want to consider is a non-power way to vacuum seal.  The Actron CP7830 Hand Vacuum Pump can also be used to create the vacuum using the FoodSaver Wide-Mouth Jar Sealer.  Total purchase for both items is less than half of the powered food sealers.  When the grid goes down, you will still be able to seal your jars and get a arm workout at the same time Thanks, – Jen G. …


Letter Re: 33 Ways to Encourage Atlas to Shrug

Mr. Rawles, Thank you sir for “33 Ways to Encourage Atlas to Shrug” article. I, too, was born in 1960. It’s nice to know that you’re a young man. I moved to “the Redoubt” nine and a half years ago, and have no regrets, other than the fact that my state’s Workman’s Compensation rates are some of the highest in the nation. As a building contractor, I have had to pay upwards of  65% for the privilege of wearing out my knees and back, working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. At the end of the year my …


Letter Re: Underscoring the Absurdity of Gun Control Laws

James,   I read your recent “Quote of the Day” by Sam Cohen, and it got me thinking. The quote was: “The philosophy of gun control: Teenagers are roaring through town at 90 MPH, where the speed limit is 25. Your solution is to lower the speed limit to 20.” – Sam Cohen, inventor of the Neutron Bomb Cohen has the basics down, but he failed to capture just how far into the realm of the ridiculous the regulators have gone. A more complete analogy would be as follows: The philosophy of gun control: Teenagers are roaring through town at …


Economics and Investing:

Jonathan H. suggested a piece over at Slate: The Great Global Freakout of 2011 Imagining the worst-case scenario if the United States even comes close to defaulting on its debt. Loyal content contributor B.B. sent an article by James West of The Midas Letter: $5,000 Gold and $300 Silver are Credible Numbers Bob Chapman of The International Forecaster outlined the current short squeeze in the silver market in a radio interview with Alex Jones. To summarize Chapman’s remarks: Gold is going to break out here and is going to go to $1,600, $1,650, silver is another situation, the unusual situation …


Odds ‘n Sods:

K.T. sent this YouTube video: The Lost Art of Cut Shells. JWR’s Comment: Don’t attempt to feed cut shells in a pump or a semi-auto from a gun’s magazine–instead, drop them into the chamber, one shot at a time. (Otherwise, you can expect some horrendous jams.)    o o o Cheryl N. sent this: From Stockpiling To Living Off The Grid, More Colorado Residents Preparing For Disasters    o o o Tam, over at the View From The Porch blog mentioned this bit of whimsy: The Silver Bullet. Also by way of Tam comes an article guaranteed to make your …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 34 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 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo , and …


Survival Preparation in Small Spaces: How to Grow and Store in the Space You Have, by L.N. in Texas

I live in the country and so I am used to gardening, canning, saving and preparing.  However, when I talk to many people who live in the city and live either with minimal land and perhaps apartments, they do not seem prepared or not as prepared as they could be.  When I ask if they store or grow any food, they just sort of look at me.  When I tell them they should either grow some food or store food not only in case of natural disaster, but even due to inflation and rising prices, the looks become bewildered.  They’ll …


My Kids are Preppers Too!, by The Non-Nurse

The lessons of my essay are simply this: talk with your kids, include them in your preps, and listen to them. My foray into prepping began in 2008, courtesy of my then 10-year-old son. My astute older child noticed how stressed mom and dad were with the rising costs, lowered wages, and cut hours that we were experiencing thanks to the newly developed recession. My son asked if he could put in a garden, a novel idea for my core family unit. He felt the need to help contribute to the family in some way. I must inject a little …


Letter Re: Joining Your Local Volunteer Fire Department

Mr. Rawles, Thank you for all you do. I cherish my daily visits to SurvivalBlog. The recent letter titled “Living in a Small Town – An Australian Perspective” by Margaret G. inspired me to write you. We moved from a large city to place just outside a small town a year ago. We are just now being accepted as part of the community. I agree very much with Margaret G.! Another thing I can add is joining the local Volunteer Fire Department. Through the dept and a lot of hard work we find ourselves a part of the community. Because …


Two Letters Re: Confronting Those Who Plan to Rob Others, Post-Collapse

JWR: I read with interest the recent letter that included this: “I  fully realize what a hungry man will do to feed his family and have even been told by a law enforcement officer that he don’t need to store food. He said that he could take it for his family so they don’t starve. I know he has a large arsenal and I get his drift.” This fallacious and frankly un-Christian belief that the writer encountered is not unique.  I was discussing the need to obtain an emergency food supply with a couple of  lads who work at the …


Letter Re: Storing Uncooked Country Hams

Dear Editor: I recommend Gatton Farms, Fathers’ Country Hams.   These are the best hams I have ever tasted.  If you have never had one, you are missing out , it is not like any other ham in the world. The hams that store are the Uncooked variety. I would inquire of them about storage temp and humidity requirements as well as aging out time.  The mold continues to grow on the exterior on the rind as part of the aging process and may have to be arrested at some point before it detracts from the meat quality. Additionally you …


Economics and Investing:

Robert R. wrote to recommend an interview with Bob Chapman of The International Forecaster wherein he lays out “details on where gold and silver is going and explains the shorts by the big banks, market crashes and dollar defaults, and warns to buy plenty of freeze dried foods, battle rifles, thousands of rounds of ammo, and plenty of spare magazines.” Price of gold means panning supplies and metal detectors are flying off shelves. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.) C.D.V. was the first of several readers to send a link to an article that was also featured on The Drudge …