Day: September 26, 2011

A Disconnect in Spot Precious Metals Prices and The Real World

I’m sure that most of you noticed that gold and silver took deep dips on Thursday and Friday. (Spot silver declined nearly 20%–almost $9 per ounce!) Then an odd thing happened last weekend: I attended a gun show deep in the American Redoubt. I was happy to see that there were four coin dealers that had rented tables there. I had brought some cash with me, hoping to buy some more silver. I also brought a few fractional gold coins to swap for silver, or perhaps even platinum. (Since spot platinum is presently priced below gold!) But my more realistic …


Guest Article: To Build a Fire, by Bob A.

Okay, I admit it, I’m a Prepper.  The first time I read the Boy Scout Motto “Be Prepared”, I was hooked.  “Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, “Why, for any old thing.” said Baden-Powell.  My real awakening with the Boy Scout Handbook was my first introduction to fire.  Learning to make a basic campfire, a cook fire, bonfire and camp-fire television were the first tastes of what would prepare me for the future. I camped, earned merit badges and worked my way to First Class and Patrol leader all the while putting an end …


TB Review for TEOTW, by Dr. Bob

OB?  Not bad if you need one.  CB?  Good times on the road.  PB?  Quite tasty–with or without J.  BB?  Good training gun for kids to start with.  TB?  No thanks.  Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  The disease is poorly understood in the US due to rare infections until the last 20 years or so, TB went nuts here and peaked in 1992.  New York City was in some areas more than three times the national average for infections per 100,000 population.  There were many reasons listed for this spike, but the two biggest were immigration and AIDS. …



Letter Re: Some Low Power DC Lighting Solutions

Hi Jim, I’ve been chasing some practical technologies that have proved useful to me. I hope that you find them useful as well.   As you know, power usage in an off-grid environment is a purse to be tightly controlled. After all, when you make your own, you cautiously guard it’s use.   I‘ve been using LED strings from Inirgee.com for the past number of years at the off grid ranch and have been well pleased.    I’ve used the warm white and the cool white and learned I like warm white inside and cool white outside.   Recently I …


Three Letters Re: Small Scale Alternative Energy in Suburbia

Mr. Rawles: In a recent SurvivalBlog post, Alan W. wrote: “It has a 400w inverter with a modified sine wave output. During Hurricane Irene the only thing that I could get it to power was a standard lamp with an incandescent light bulb! It wouldn’t run tools or electronics.” I believe he is drawing the wrong conclusion from this experience. Instead of blaming the (admittedly inferior) “modified sine wave” inverter, he should have blamed himself for not testing his equipment before the emergency struck. I own a number of inexpensive inverters with “modified sine wave” ranging from 175 watt to …


Economics and Investing:

Pierre M. sent this: Bank of America is Becoming a “Counterparty Risk” Like Bear and Lehman Over at Fierce Finance: Banks downgraded, but is too-big-to-fail really over? G.G. sent a link to a noteworthy news article dated September 19th that I had missed: Israel Has Dumped 46 Percent of Its U.S. Treasury Bills; Russia 95 Percent Also from G.G.: Virginia regulators closed another bank, bringing the nationwide tally of bank failures to 72 for the year. Items from The Economatrix: Oil Falls Below $80 On Demand Concerns Global Leaders Struggle to Calm Recession Fears Signs of China Slowdown Add to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

John R. spotted this: Hay The Latest Target For Thieves As Prices Skyrocket    o o o P.L. recommended an informative firearms article by Grant Cunningham: Lubrication 101    o o o Allie in Montana mentioned an amazing truly “minimalist” Kydex holster: The Zacchaeus Concealment Holster, made by Dale Fricke Holsters. It is particularly useful for those that like “Mexican Carry”, but that don’t want a gun to slip too deep down their pants. (That can be embarrassing, not to mention unsafe!) Having the triggerguard fully enclosed is particularly important for pistols that lack a thumb safety lever (and with …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Between the hand wringing over Greece and the Eurozone, the Palestinian-related hair-pulling at the UN, the stock market cra**ing the bed, and NASA running around yelling that the sky is falling, the only way you can tell the front page of CNN.com from SurvivalBlog right now is by the graphics and color schemes.” – Tamara, at the View From The Porch blog