Day: July 24, 2011

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries 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 …


Maximizing and Extending Your Tomato Harvest, by Andrew A.

I’ve always wondered why some people tend to plant all of their garden at one time. It never made sense to me. Why have 30 pounds of tomatoes come in at once, only to can it all? Sure, canning is great (in fact we just put away 14 quarts of peaches today), but fresh is better than canned, 100% of the time. And yes, I understand home canning is so you have food to eat in the winter. But why not get fresh for as long as you can? But just hold on, we’ll get back to that later on. …


How to Survive the Cities During TEOTWAWKI, by Lara W.

Get out of the cities. Most would agree this is a key rule of survival during the end of the world as we know it.  After all, millions of people reside in cities around the globe. Supply store shelves can become bare in mere minutes, water can become rapidly contaminated by overwhelmed sewage systems, and riots can outnumber and overtake law enforcement. The urban environment also renders certain wilderness survival tactics unsafe, such as cooking over a fire. Cities are vulnerable to uncontrollable fires. They make prime nuclear targets. Disease spreads among city dwellers at an astounding rate. There are …


Oral Rehydration Solutions Revisited, by Dr. Bob

The following is the “Simple Solution” –  Home made Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) Recipe Preparing 1 (one) Liter solution using Salt, Sugar and Water at home. Mix an oral rehydration solution using the following recipe. Ingredients: Six (6) level teaspoons of Sugar Half (1/2) level teaspoon of Salt One Liter of clean drinking or boiled water and then cooled – 5 cupfuls (each cup is about 200 ml.) Preparation Method: Stir the mixture until the salt and sugar dissolve. Oral rehydration will make the difference between life and death with many serious diarrheal illnesses.  Please make sure you have this formula somewhere …


Letter Re: The Versatile Closet Door Shoe Rack

Jim: I just wanted to drop an alternate product use suggestion. In my gun closet I have a mesh over-the-door shoe organizer that mount to the doors by hooks. When I swing the door open to get to the gun safe I have loaded magazines in easy to grab and recognizable rows in the shoe holder. I also keep other small parts like extra scopes, bipods, and other detachable items in the compartments.  It is four pockets across and six down, for 24 total pockets. Each pocket will easily hold two loaded AK magazines or three AR magazines.  This gives …


Letter Re: New Survivalist Movie “Phase 7”

Mr. Rawles, I am writing to tell you about an amazing movie I just saw titled Phase 7. I saw it at our local AMC theater and realized it was only doing limited showings in limited cities. My interest peaked, I watched the trailer and saw that it was an apocalyptic genre movie about surviving a viral outbreak. I gathered up the wife and headed out. I was amazed to see a low budget film that was all about survival! The main character is a thirty-something city boy slacker who has a pregnant wife. As things begin to unravel, his …


Two Letters Re: Dairy Goats 201 – Birthing Kids

James: This is my first time writing to SurvivalBlog. We have been raising goats and sheep for five years. Country Lady’s comments in Dairy Goats 201 – Birthing Kids are pretty much on the money. We have had to pull stuck twins, bottle feed when one of our ewes’ had 1/2 of her bag go dry(she had twins) and have lost sheep to pneumonia and a goat to bloating. We raise our sheep and goats for meat on the table. My wife read every book about sheep and goats that she could. It was a good information source, But in …


Economics and Investing:

Gold to Rise on $14.3 Trillion U.S. Debt Limit Increase Bob G. spotted this: Europe’s Contagion Effect: Prepare for a Global Economic Collapse Ron’s Paul’s speech on the Federal Debt Ceiling John T. sent this: How to make sense of the gold-to-silver ratio Chris D. recommended: The Symbolic Nature Of Money Dr. Gary North’s comments on debt-based money and its alternatives. Items from The Economatrix: Gold Could Hit $1,700 By the End of the Year:  Analyst Fitch Reiterates Warning on U.S. Credit Rating Iran Opens Oil Bourse — Harbinger of Trouble for New York And London? Economy’s Spring Slump Could …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Geoff S. sent: Farm Thieves Target Grapes, and Even Bees    o o o A final reminder that the deadline for the Ready Made Resources Preparedness Video Contest is July 26th. Instructional (nonfiction) videos on any topic related to family preparedness are sought. The prizes are a brand new Rock Rivers Arms (RRA) Elite Comp M4 (AR-15 series compatible ) complete Barreled Upper Receiver and a Trijicon Reflex sight with a combined retail value of more than $1,400. Please keep your privacy in mind when you create your videos. (Don’t mention any surnames or towns). You may post up to …