Month: July 2011

Notes from JWR:

Production will end temporarily on Monday, August 1st for the SurvivalBlog 5-Year Archive CD-ROM. (Since Lulu.com is leaving the CD-ROM production business.) The good news is that it has been reduced to just $14.95. We hope to have new production available from a different vendor within a couple of weeks, hopefully at the same price. Thanks for your patience. — 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 …


TEOTWAWKI Planning From the Perspective of a Former SF Operator, by SAV

When starting the process of preparation for TEOTWAWKI we must first plan for the most likely scenario that will cause the survival situation you are prepping for. When contemplating the TEOTWAWKI scenarios, one is confronted by a plethora of daunting challenges and theories from Magnetic pole reversal, getting hit by a rouge asteroid (don’t worry about this one Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis will save us) to solar flares knocking out technology, and the list continues.  My fear is that the end will not come from a major event but from a minor event that triggers a chain reaction of …


Choosing a MBR: The M1 Garand or the M14/M1A?, by Zorro

I am getting along in my years but, I recognize that I may need a high power Main Battle Rifle  (MBR) in the future if significant issues surrounding our standard of living within the US remain unresolved. So, what rifle should I choose Let me start by saying that a 5.56/.223 in a AR-15 or any other light caliber rifle does not qualify as a MBR with me. The 5.56/.223 55 grain round requires 2,800 fps at impact to produce a large wound cavity. When shot from a  20″ barreled  AR-15 the round is below that impact velocity at about …


Letter Re: Plan B–Call Them Your Hobbies

JWR: Some of us don’t always have a spouse that is 100% on board with prepping.  So I thought I’d send a list of some hobbies that help with prepping in a SHFT situation, and have a non-SHTF function too.  Most have worked out well for me, some my wife has become more avid than I, the remaining she tolerates. Flower Gardening – Allows for purchase of gardening tools, composting, development of good growing beds, fertilizer, books on growing and seeding, and pest control products. You will have to pay attention to vegetable safe products, but in SHTF you will …


Economics and Investing:

More Shrugging: Alabama coal mine owner Ronnie Bryant became so exasperated by over-regulation that he declared: I’m quitting.” (BTW, I just added this article link to my American Redoubt page.) Here’s a dip in spot silver, just like I mentioned. Buy on the dip days! Jeff B. sent this: Proposed road rules for farmers anger some. Note that this newspaper article comes from Montana, where in 2009 they enacted a gun law that amplifies the 10 Amendment. Predictably, Federal legislators want to deem purely intrastate commerce somehow interstate. That is utter nonsense. It is high time for the Supreme Court …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Prepping goes gourmet! Reader Steve O. was watching a Food Network cooking show and spotted this: Wheat Berry Salad.    o o o B.H. sent this: As Criminal Laws Proliferate, More Are Ensnared    o o o The first hint of real release date for the remake of Red Dawn came recently when it was announced that it would be released on September 8th in Denmark. Could that be the global release date? Things have been up in the air, ever since MGM transformed the villains in Red Dawn from Chinese to North Korean, after the film was already “in …



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 …


OPSEC When Traveling Abroad, by Picaro Actual

After reading Some Safety Advice for the U.S. Military (an Atlantic article linked from Odds ‘n Sods in the July 22, 2011 SurvivalBlog posts), I was compelled to finish part of something that I’ve written on for some time. While Jeffrey Goldberg’s piece specifically addresses military personnel and contractors, personal OPSEC is an absolute must for civilian travel abroad as well. On that note, I would also draw attention to Survival Blog reader O.P.’s SurvivalBlog article “Emergency Prep for Travelers” from June 27, 2011.  In brief, I’ve lived and worked outside the US for the past six years in several …


Bicycles for Bug Out Drayage, by Light Dragoon

There have been plenty of essays written on the art of “Bugging Out”, many of them concerning the various vehicles which the authors are fond of for every specific condition which one might face.  In particular, there are several good essays on the use of bicycles as “bug out” vehicles.  This note is going to be a bit different, for I’m not going to even consider the use of a bike as a mode of personal transportation, but rather as a “mule” for transporting one’s kit instead. There are plenty of bike options out there, and plenty of experts more …


Letter Re: Body Armor Bans in Australia and Canada

Dear James: There is a nasty trend to require a government permit to possess body armor.  This is very disturbing because the right to protect yourself is the most basic of human rights – the right to life.  It is  a slap in the face to deny law-abiding people protection that is [in itself] purely passive and harmless. Australia has “led the way” in telling citizens that they need state  permission to protect themselves – armor is illegal to import without permission, and illegal to own “without authorization” in several Australian states. Now this evil idea has caught on with …


Three Letters Re: COMSEC: One Time Pad Generation

Sir: I agree with the response posted, and your reply. While older versions of Perl used relatively poor pseudo-random number seeds, the original author’s use of a time (at runtime) index as a pseudo random number (PRN) generator seed is a reasonably “secure” method of generating a series of PRNs. That was the first thing I looked for in his code, and such a method would be secure given the caveats you suggest. (That is, it won’t be up against true high-power cryptanalysis). If applied with random letters instead of words as suggested, (like a “real” one time pad), it …


Letter Re: Physical Fitness for TEOTWAWKI Preparedness

James: After reading the BYU Kid’s excellent article on physical fitness for TEOTWAWKI, I had to respond.  I had to take exception to his statement that Crossfit wasn’t recommended because it’s “Metabolic conditioning is not conducive to the ultimate goal of being useful, functional and simple.” The heart of Crossfit is in fact functional fitness for Law Enforcement and our Military.  I’ve been involved in fitness all my life due to my chosen occupation as a police officer (now retired) and my current occupation as a protection specialist which is what most people refer to as a bodyguard.  I’ve been …


Economics and Investing:

Check Out This Industry Catalog and Price Sheet for FABRICATED Foreclosure Documents. (Thanks to Jeff B. for the link.) John R. recommended this: The Dollar, Gold And The Quality Of Money F.V. sent a link to some commentary by Stephen Hadley: Solve the Next Crisis Before it Happens. Slate asks: Are We Broke Yet? This article has a couple of great graphs. (A hat tip to Yishai for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: White House Veto Threat on Debt Sends Stocks Lower Deal Or No Deal?  US Downgrade Looking Likely White House Privately Telling Banks US Won’t Default Greek …


Odds ‘n Sods:

John K. mentioned a simple chart to aid in the practice of learning Morse code.    o o o Reader Henry M. recommended the new TNT cable television sci-fi drama, “Falling Skies“, starring Noah Wyle. Henry says: “It is actually pretty good viewing and has some common survival strategies in each episode.  It has not really hit it’s stride yet, but has great potential.  I would enthusiastically recommend the show, with the caveat that it will probably be Big Brother and not aliens that comes to take our kids away.”    o o o Swampfox, MD recommended a video from …