Month: November 2011

Two Letters Re: Uses of Thermoses and Hot Water Bottles

Sir: Stanley no longer sells replacement gaskets for their older thermoses, but a large industrial O-ring will suffice. Find a hardware store with a large selection of O-rings and you’re good to go. In fact you can often find old Stanleys very cheaply at thrift stores or garage sales simply because they no longer have a good seal. – DB in Oregon   James, Just a quick note with some info that might help. One liter liter/quart Lexan Nalgene bottles (an presumably other brands, though I haven’t tried them) make great Hot Water Bottles when filled with boiling water and …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s G.G. flagged this: Yes, There Will Be a Student Loan Bailout M.A. sent this from over at SHTFPlan: They’re Trying to Fool You Into Believing That Inflation Is Not a Problem S.B. recommended this by Charles Hugh Smith: Democracy Is Tolerated Until It Threatens Global Markets. Yishai sent this: Hoard Peanut Butter as Prices Soar: Four Stocks to Benefit Items from The Economatrix: Central Banks Top Up Gold Reserves 19 Facts About the Deindustrialization of America that Will Make You Weep Unemployment and Crime


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Thomas S. sent the link to this fascinating piece: The 20 Cheapest Zip Codes In America.    o o o I usually file public statements by Dianne Feinstein under Vapid Transit, but this one must go under Hegelian Dialectic: Feinstein Uses ‘Fast and Furious’ to Make Case for National Gun Registration. (First, the Federal government creates a problem, then they re-assign blame, for their ultimate goal–bigger government.) And BTW, the “94,000 guns” figure is both specious and laughable. They ran traces only on the guns that they thought might have come from the U.S. There were hardly any traces …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Let’s do some quick math. If you add up the value of every stock on the planet, the entire market capitalization would be about $36 trillion. If you do the same process for bonds, you’d get a market capitalization of roughly $72 trillion. The notional value of the derivative market is roughly $1.4 quadrillion.” – Graham Summers, The One Market The Fed Doesn’t Want You To Know About


Notes from JWR:

Do you have any favorite quotes that relate to preparedness, traditional skills, economics, or individual liberty? If so, then please e-mail properly attributed quotes to us and they will likely be featured as Quotes of the Day. (We’ve now archived more than 2,200 quotes.) Thanks! — 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 …


Prepping For Death, by J.D.A.

Preparing for death is probably not the usual topic discussed on this board, but a recent illness in my family has put this issue squarely in my face.   It is my hope that all reading this blog will live many more years and will leave this earth either via the Rapture or natural causes at a ripe old age. That being said, death is something we have to consider in our plans.  I approach this topic from two angles: 1) losing a loved one in a non-Schumer situation, 2) losing a loved one in a Schumeresque situation.  I hope to …


The Dexia Bank Collapse Underscores the Fragility of the Global Credit Market and Derivatives

A major bank failure in Europe that began in September didn’t get much press coverage here in the United States. But is bears special mention, because it underscores the fragility of the global credit market and credit default swap derivatives. A victim of the ongoing Greek Tragedy, the Franco-Belgian Dexia Bank failed last month. It had to be bailed out by $6 billion from France and Belgium, and Luxembourg. Inevitably, those bailouts are backed by the “full faith and credit” of their respective governments. Read: French, Belgian, and Luxembourgian taxpayers. Dexia was formed in 1996 when the Belgian Crédit Communal …



Letter Re: Uses of Thermoses and Hot Water Bottles

Hi Jim, I have been a long time user of the Nissan & Stanley line of stainless steel thermoses, water bottles and coffee mugs and have a couple of things to add to BigSky’s article.  One pertains to TSA’s interest in them and the other is about over-the-fire uses.   I have carried the Nissan stainless steel coffee mug (16 oz.) everywhere for years, including airports.  Last Christmas there was a “threat alert” pertaining to bomb making material being carried in stainless steel thermoses.  Ever since then I have been pulled out of line for further inspection by the TSA because …


Economics and Investing:

Day of reckoning for shadow inventory and distressed properties – 40 percent of properties in foreclosure have not made a payment in two years or more. Bill Fleckenstein interviewed about gold and the European credit debacle. (Thanks to J. McC. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Trucks, SUVs Power Strong Auto Sales in October No Major Fed Moves Expected Despite Europe Fears Factory Activity Slows as Economy Stays Sluggish Bill Whittle has some biting commentary on the “rich” and “poor” in America.


Odds ‘n Sods:

p>By way of Tam’s blog: World population hits 7 billion. Overpopulation always leads to war over scarce resources.    o o o Gee, how many rights does this violate, all at once? Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, … FCC cracks down on religious broadcasters: If a church broadcasts the word of God on TV without closed captions, it risks incurring the wrath of the FCC    o o o Ian R. sent a news headline that came in the wake of some east coast power failures: Long Lines Form for Gas. Ian’s comment: “The Golden Horde …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Regulators here and in Europe have no idea — repeat, no idea — of the full extent of the derivatives exposure that could be triggered by an “official” Greek default, or by the failure of a major French bank. And if the people in charge have no clue as to the fallout from what may be trillions of dollars in side bets waiting to be triggered in a catastrophic cascade, they’re basically flying blind.” – Matt Miller, in a Washington Post editorial on derivatives titled: Europe’s debt crisis and the danger we can’t see


Notes from JWR:

We are pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, Pantry Paratus. Even though they had been our advertising waiting list for many moons, our staff didn’t get the chance to meet the owners of Pantry Paratus until the recent Denver Preparedness Expo. They have a friendly sales team, excellent customer service, and a great line of preparedness products with an emphasis on food preservation–including vacuum sealers, dehydrators, and home canners. They also offer bulk wheat, peas and lentils grown in The Palouse Hills. Be sure to visit their web site and their blog. — Today we present another entry for Round …


Uses of Thermoses and Hot Water Bottles, by BigSky

I have long believed that quality hot water bottles and steel vacuum thermos bottles and are very valuable survival tools. They are a wonderful intersection of high and low tech that can serve in a number of helpful roles. THERMOSES Fireless Cooking (retained-heat cooking) – I have cooked in WIDE-mouth thermoses many hundreds of times since the 1970s. There are a couple of other articles on this sight covering that fuel-saving application. I would amend the recommendation given re: Aladdin Stanley vacuum bottles, and I will cover that below. Using WIDE-mouth thermoses for “fireless cooking” is one very useful role …


Two Letters Re: A Different Perspective on Packing a Bugout Bag

James, I have to take issue with the last post concerning the contents of a persons B.O.B. The writers experience of humping large loads up mountains under fire notwithstanding, I have to say that the majority of bags and packs being prepared today aren’t for natural disasters,even though they certainly would suffice for that situation.   I live in a Hurricane Zone and survived Katrina, although without having to relocate. And I agree with the writer that I didn’t know of anyone starving to death .I also have read the latest figures showing FEMA is broke and aid to impacted …