Month: June 2011

Letter Re: Too Late for Precious Metals Investing?

Mr. Rawles: Is it too late to invest in precious metals? Do you still recommend Northwest Territorial Mint? In Christ, – Karen F. JWR Replies: No, it is not too late to invest, but you should watch the market carefully and buy during price dips. Yes, Northwest Territorial Mint is trustworthy.  But I’ve heard that they can develop a backlog of several weeks when the precious metals market is in a particularly frantic period.  Summers are typically slow for the precious metals market, so it is a good time to buy, both in terms of price and no worries about …


Three Letters Re: On Surviving Hot Climates and Relocation

James: This is in response to Deep South Charlie’s comments about the heat in the South. I live in the Deep South, and yes, it is hot, but there are ways to cope. It’s been over 100° F. every day for over a month now, and there has been no rain until recently. But I am not going anywhere. This is my home, and I love it. I believe that the benefits of living in the South far outweigh the drawbacks. First off, there are ways to deal with the heat. People have done it for thousands of years. In …


Economics and Investing:

Several readers sent this piece, highlighted at The Drudge Report: China ratings house says US defaulting: report. “In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting”. It is beginning, folks: German Rating Agency Feri Downgrades US Government Bonds: AAA to AA! George C. suggested this commentary from Doug Casey: Our Economic Future: From Best to Worst Case Sterling and Euro Fall on Economic Concerns – Gold Rises to Record £950.81 British Pounds an Ounce B.B. sent this: US Is Nearing Even Worse Financial Crisis: Jim Rogers Some other recent quotes from Jim Rogers: “Bernanke Is A Disaster” Who Will …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Some Trivia: “The longest recorded unassisted flight by a chicken was 301-1/2 feet.” This leads me to ask: How would one “assist”? Perhaps JATO?    o o o More than a dozen readers have sent me this link: China Wants to Construct a 50 Square Mile Self-Sustaining City South of Boise, Idaho. Although the piece is a bit over-blown, the loss of our sovereignty is nonetheless a scary prospect.    o o o Facebook Knows Your Face: Are Users Too Blasé About New Facial Recognition Feature?    o o o The Radio Free Redoubt podcasts are continuing, on Sundays. The …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 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 …


Beyond Outdoor Survival, by Sarah M.

As a homeschooler, I enjoy reading books about survival techniques. I have to admit that I have never been in trapped in the jungle, stuck on Mount Everest, or lost in the desert (sometimes we homeschoolers do tend to get a little rambunctious and we wish we could just get lost for one day, just to test our knowledge). Nevertheless, I do know of many stories I could tell. But, that’s not why I am writing. I am writing to help homeschoolers (or other people who have some time on their hands) realize that they have an opportunity to prepare …


Letter Re: Gardening in Plain Sight

Dear JWR: A few years ago I started food plots for wild game on my ranch.   Since then, I have noticed that the game have returned in greater numbers. The reason is the variety of plants from the seeds sown. One of the plants in this mix is the turnip.  The seed mix allows there to be food from spring to winter, with the turnips being the last food consumed. I find deer, elk and bears eating them first thing in the spring.  I got an idea from this last year. If turnips grow this well in the wild with …


Two Letters Re: Home Security, Inflation Hedge, and Liquidity, All in One

JWR,   I have read with great interest articles posted on your blog.  Scott’s article was a good read but left me scratching my head.  I am no math whiz but dropping an extra two tons onto a residential second floor seems a little unsafe.  I know Scott did not mention the overall room dimensions or joist sizing, or extra precautions he took, but overall I thought a residential floor is generally rated to a safe load of 40 pounds per square foot.  For a 10’x12′ room that would be 4,800 pounds. A box of pennies is 3.25 inches tall, 4 inches wide, and …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large, Michael Z. Williamson sent this: A Few Charts That Show Why Quantitative Easing Was A Miserable Failure That dreaded “D.” word is spoken again: Bullard sees debt default as big global risk. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) A bit late to jumping on the band wagon: Traders Are Dumping Stocks and Buying Gold and Silver Reader Pierre M. suggested this: President Obama’s phony accounting on the auto industry bailout Bill J. sent this: Senators seek crackdown on “Bitcoin” currency. (JWR’s Comment: I’m not surprised to see Senator Schumer’s name mentioned…) Items from The Economatrix: Low …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Weeds increasingly immune to herbicides. (Merci to Pierre M. for the link.)    o o o Kevin S. flagged this: How Healthy is Rabbit Meat?    o o o Alex H. sent: Voice of America operator plans “sunset” for shortwave radio broadcasts    o o o Seed for Security has announced a new bonus gift offer. For a limited time, everyone placing an order over $45 will receive a three page Seed Saving Guide full of practical step-by-step instructions. It has sections with details on gathering seed from Corn, Beans and Peas, Winter Squash, Pumpkins, Spinach, Tomatoes, Dill, Beets, Cabbage, …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 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 …


Home Security, Inflation Hedge, and Liquidity, All in One, by Scott in Wisconsin

I’ve been prepping for about five years now, and I thought I’d share a little “trick” I discovered, to cover three very important prepping problems, all at once. We all want a more secure home, of course.  If the SHTF, we may well need to hunker down and be self-sufficient for a while.  But no matter how much stuff we’ve put aside, it’s meaningless if we can’t hang on to it.  So home security is very important. We also want a hedge against inflation, which seems sure to come.  The way the Fed is printing money, and the government is …


Letter Re: On Surviving Hot Climates and Relocation

Mr. Rawles, Thank you for your service to our country.  In the deep south we are presently in the mist of a drought with high heat and humidity. As two-year preppers, my brother and I grow a few acres of vegetables and field corn for livestock that consist of chickens, hogs, milk goats and rabbits. A milk cow is in the planning. My brother is 71 and I am 68 and we were raised on the farm. I left for the air-conditioned work-force many years ago but still spend several hrs a week at manual labor. At my age I am …