Day: October 21, 2011

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 37 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.) …


Homestead Food Production by Mary A.

Greetings, fellow preppers!  In this article we share our experiences of the past two years to help you see the complexities of growing your family’s food.   In the long run, food production is crucial to survival.  It takes both knowledge and hands-on experience to successfully manage livestock and grow fruits and vegetables.  Currently  three of us live on our homestead full time with a possibility of about 20 folks ranging from infants to senior citizens if TEOTWAWKI occurs.  Fall is a good season to make plans and prepare for next year’ s growing season.  I think this basic information will …


Letter Re: The Importance of Rural Retreat Light Discipline

Jim: I’m writing to comment on something in your nonfiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”: On page 206 you state: “Without proper blackout precautions, your house will be a ‘come loot me’ beacon that can be seen for miles at night.”I can’t stress light discipline enough. Here’s an example: About fifteen years ago my parents went to dinner at The Cougar Inn on Lake Wenatchee [in eastern Washington]. It was a dark night and on the way back from dinner they looked across the lake and saw a faint green flashing light …


Two Letters Re: Choosing the Right Footwear

Captain Rawles, I just read Desert Rat’s piece on footgear, and would like to put up a bit of advice and a recommendation on the subject.  Bates, while they put out excellent footwear, primarily makes footwear for institutional environments.  This is to say Police, EMS, Corrections, Hospital staff, etc.  Many of the officers I worked with in Corrections wore Bates on board our facility, and the footwear served them quite well in all conditions.  However, the footwear did not serve as well in the field, when we had need to be out in the boonies.  From my own experience, I …


Economics and Investing:

Andrew K. sent us this: The Most Important Decision Bernanke Will Ever Make Over at ETF Daily: History Says Silver Could Become The Next 10-Bagger Investment; Here’s Why Largest Rare Earths Producer Halts Output. Eric N. sent a link to an interview with mainstream investment guru (and prepper) Robert Kiyosaki Items from The Economatrix: Budget Cuts Claim Hundreds of Thousands of City, County Jobs This is No Normal Recession:  Are We Ready for $100 Oil? Gold Signals The End Gold and Economic Decline Alternative Misery Index Drives Gold Demand


Odds ‘n Sods:

An interesting piece on the EPA running roughshod over an Idaho family.    o o o F.G. flagged this over at The Daily Mail: Brains over 55 work quite well    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommended the Newseum web site, where you can see scrollovers of a large number of American newspapers.    o o o Über-absurd: The Glock 9mm Beta CMAG. I suppose the greatest practicality these will have is in giving Nancy Pelosi a fit of apoplexy when she learns of their existence. Oh, and then there’s the very rare chance that …