Month: August 2011

Notes from JWR:

I just heard from my editor at Penguin Books that they’ve started an additional printing of my nonfiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. This 12th press run will be another 28,000 copies, bringing the total to 175,000 copies of the U.S. edition in print. When I last checked, it was still ranked around #750 overall, and #80 among reference books, on Amazon. That is not bad for a book that has been in print for two years. Thanks for spreading the word and making the book one of Penguin’s bestsellers. I am …


Experiences of a Novice Gardener, by J.B.

I don’t remember how I stumbled on SurvivalBlog.com.  I had a sense that things were going very wrong and I guess it was just a matter of clicking links that led me to this site.  I found a treasure trove of information on prepping, and a world of like-minded folks who shared my sense that something wicked this way comes.  SurvivalBlog helped me get organized in my thinking, and introduced me to prepping concepts I was unfamiliar with.  I have invested a lot of time and money preparing for WTSHTF.  One area I am weak in, however, is experience.  I …


Four Letters Re: Hurricane Irene Lessons Learned

Mr. Rawles, I am in northwest N.J. I wasn’t affected as badly by the hurricane as others were, but I did learn a few lessons about my preparedness. 1. Inspect your gear on a regular basis. I live on a dead-end street, and the road goes over a country stream, which flows underneath through a 2-foot culvert with a paved berm built over the top of it. Yesterday, that country stream became a 40-foot wide river about 10 inches deep and flowing rapidly over the road surface. To get across that, I got out my waders — and discovered that …


Letter Re: Converting Body Motion and Heat Into Electricity

Jim: The piece that you linked to was simply copied from GizMag. (They did so with credit, as if that makes it okay.) It looks like volumatrixgroup.com is one of those sites that uses stolen blog posts to get hits for ads. The technology itself is a scam under a thin veneer of science. Their “20W” figure is about three orders of magnitude too high, for one thing. That figure describes all of the energy losses in walking, including the energy losses inside muscles and joints and the energy that goes into warming the surface under the shoe. The part that …


Economics and Investing:

The Next Banking Crisis Starts Here The latest Calvin and Hobbes cartoon (August 30, 2011) sums up the prevailing attitude in modern-day America. (Thanks to P.D.K. for the link.) Chuck from The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor pointed me to a special report series, where CNBC belatedly wakes up about the bull market in gold. Items from The Economatrix: Irene Likely to Lead to Higher Insurance Premiums Euro Bailouts in Doubt as “Hysteria” Sweeps Germany Three Years After Lehman, a New Debt Crisis Looms Fear Sets In, Panic Begins, Ruin Perceived, Prepare for Gold $2100


Odds ‘n Sods:

Real Wrath of God Stuff: From Waterbury to Wilmington, Vermonters shocked by Irene’s destruction. Meanwhile, we read about the wisdom of stocking up and owning a water filter: Airlifts take food, water to cut-off Vermont towns. (Thanks to T.E.M. for the links.)    o o o The second person killed by bears this summer at Yellowstone Park: Michigan man killed by grizzly in Yellowstone. Somebody ought to remind folks that it is again legal to carry a gun in a National Park, as long as you are in accordance with state law. (That is, in a state where open carry …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 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 Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) …


My Home Energy Backup System, by David L.

Introduction My home energy backup system was originally conceived to make a little bit of power for a very long time.  Rather than backing up the whole house with a generator for a relatively short power outage of just a few hours or days, I wanted a system that would function in an extended power “grid down” scenario.  I was working from the self declared principle that when the grid is down at night, a single light bulb makes a huge difference in how you feel.  In addition, I wanted to preserve critical refrigeration and freezer functions indefinitely. So why …


Letter Re: Home Heating in the American Redoubt States

Sir; I enjoy your site and have learned a lot from you and others of a similar mindset.  I enjoy the fact that the info you present is from the perspective  of  a Christian.  I have been looking at land in Wyoming and while there is some very affordable land I have to wonder how anyone is going to heat their abode when “cheap oil” is gone.  I cannot find land that is in my budget that has any trees. I have spent most of my life in the southern US and some time in Central America and I cannot …


Letter Re: Indeed, Inflation is With Us

Mr. Rawles: When making a quick run to the grocery store to take advantage of some sales, I was amazed at the rise in some of the prices.  The same can of salmon that I purchased for $1.00 in preparation for Y2K was on sale for $2.69 – a “savings” of 90 cents from the normal retail price.  The same bag of sugar that I purchased for about $1.29-1.59 was $4.69.  So, I went out on the Internet to see what has gone on.  Here are several charts I found on MongaBay.com that show the alarming rises in the price …


Economics and Investing:

Over at Forex Crunch: Dark Clouds Over European Banks Euro bail-out in doubt as ‘hysteria’ sweeps Germany. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.) B.B. suggested this article: German minister warns of seven-year global recession David H. sent this: Commentary Lays Bare the Problems of Qualitative Easing…and The Banks K.A.F. liked a piece by Ron Paul, over at the Fox News site: Bernanke Is Out of Options to Save Economy G.G. sent this: More people having to delay retirement: The number of Britons forced to delay retirement into their late 60s and beyond has doubled over the past year as the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

K.A.F. flagged this: Copper Thieves Leave I-95 In Palm Beach Co. In The Dark    o o o F.G. sent this: Yes, we’re the cops. Yes, we’re breaking the law. And yes, we don’t care.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) wrote to mention that he will be a member of several discussion panels or a solo lecturer at the upcoming Labor Day Weekend DragonCon, in Atlanta. Several of these panels should be of interest, such as: “Year Two” (You’ve survived the first year of the “apocalypse”. Now what?) and “Beans, Bullets, Band Aids: Bring …



Note from JWR:

I was glad to see that Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm before it hit a major metropolitan region. I trust that SurvivalBlog readers in the region were well-prepared. Please share your knowledge and your larder with your less prudent neighbors. Then perhaps next time they won’t be caught flat-footed. (There are plenty of pictures of empty store shelves in New England now circulating . When will the Sheeple ever learn?)