Year: 2011

Letter Re: Bugging Out Via Boat

Jim, In reference to the article about using boats to bug out I have a few thoughts. The writer was very thorough about his facts and accurate as far as it goes.However, I have a few thoughts. As a former Officer of the U S Merchant Marine (12 years, ending as a 1st Mate, Unlimited Tonnage, Motor and Steam, Any Waters) I have had experience in most marine environments. The biggest drawbacks to using a boat as a primary means of escaping are visibility, fuel consumption, and low speed. The writer covered a lot of this and this reply is …


Letter Re: Finding Work in Your Intended New Locale

Mr. Rawles,   Two major websites not mentioned in your article were LinkedIn and USAJOBS.  LinkedIn is an online HR site somewhat similar to Facebook in that it allows “connections” to be made between users. One major difference: You cannot “connect” with someone who you haven’t either worked with or personally know- the website actually blocks attempts to make “mass connections”.  LinkedIn is an HR manager’s dream, as it not only focuses on a person’s career and qualifications, but also provides an all-in-one-stop shop for potential employees.  Many HR reps I know now either refuse to consider candidates who do not have a …


Economics and Investing:

Jeff Harding warns: The Economy is Sliding Into a Stagflationary Spiral Some talking hipster robot apocalypse, by way of Club Orlov: “What will a post-collapse society look like?” and How can we prepare for the collapse? Rigged-Market Theory Scores a Perfect Quarter: Jonathan Weil. (Kudos to Kevin S. for the link.) Sig mentioned: Three Reasons to Believe in $100 Oil Items from The Economatrix: Silver and Disasters Double-digit Inflation Has Arrived US Builders See Little to Like in Housing Market


Odds ‘n Sods:

R.F. suggested an article over at Slate: The Century of Disasters Meltdowns. Floods. Tornadoes. Oil spills. Grid crashes. Why more and more things seem to be going wrong, and what we can do about it.    o o o Greg C. sent this: Iran to Build Missile Base in Venezuela Missiles Could Hit American Cities; Venezuelan Missile Crisis Looms    o o o Tony D. found a repository of Boy Scouts manuals, for scout masters. (Some rights are reserved, under a Creative Commons license.)    o o o Do you have defensible space around your home? Fire crews gave everything …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 34 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 …


Bugging Out Via Boat, by The Odd Questioner

Let’s look into the near future, when the Schumer has just hit the fan, or is just about to. You have no doubts that things are going to go heinously wrong, and not get better. Now what? The roads are likely jammed, even the rarely-used rural ones. Maybe rains have rendered the dirt roads impassable. You might be able to make it to your sanctuary/bug-out location/palace/bunker, but it will take more gasoline than you have to get there. So – do you give up and resign yourself to be a walking refugee? Not necessarily. What about that big fishing rig …


Two Letters Re: The Disappearing Road Quandary

James Wesley, I’d like to turn the author of the article and others on to Calumet Industries. I’ve purchased the “PSP” from them in the past and had a good transaction. I was purchasing them for a slightly different reason – as bridging planks. The PSP is heavier gauge steel dating back to WWII and are a lot stronger than the more modern temporary road bedding. I cut off the connection tabs along the side and welded on some tubing lengthwise on the sides to further strengthen the planks. These are now strong enough to construct a short bridge to …


Economics and Investing:

Does this sound familiar?: Treasury to tap pensions to help fund government. It is notable that the mass media is presently full of headlines about a banking official arrested for rape. But who is going to bring Tim Geithner to justice for raping millions of taxpayers? (On a similar note, SurvivalBlog reader R.E.T. wrote to mention: “If a private company did this, it would rightly be called theft and the CEO would go to jail.” The Daily Bell interview: David Morgan on the Global Economy, Inflation, Recession and Where Silver Is Headed. File Under “Sweet Irony”: No, it’s not a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I’m scheduled to be the guest on a podcast with Doc and DEMCAD tonight (Tuesday, May 17, 2011) at 6 p.m. Pacific / 9 p.m. Eastern time. I don’t do many podcast interviews, but I always make the time to talk to my friend Reggie. BTW, one of my previous interviews with him is archived on YouTube.    o o o Hundreds of herbal remedies now outlawed across Europe. (A hat tip to Marilyn R. for the link.)    o o o Loyal content contributor K.A.F. sent this: New Yorkers under 30 plan to flee city, says new poll; cite …



Note from JWR:

We are now just inches away from logging 30 million unique visits to SurvivalBlog. I have an autographed copy of my book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” set aside as a thank-you gift for any blogger with a Alexa traffic rank of 15,000, or less in the U.S. who mentions SurvivalBlog’s 30 million unique visit milestone celebration in their blog, with a link. (Just e-mail me a link to your blog post, and your mailing address.)


Finding Work in Your Intended New Locale

A key goal for many preppers is moving to a lightly-populated region that they deem safe. Except for retirees, the ability to relocate to another state often comes down to the practicalities of finding a job. I hear this all the time from SurvivalBlog readers and my consulting clients. In the American Redoubt region, jobs tend to be lower paying than those on the east or west coasts. Many jobs are related to forestry, mining, and agriculture. Some jobs–especially in the timber industry–are seasonal. Some of the most stable jobs tend to be in healthcare, in city and county government, …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Smith & Wesson Model 329PD

I know a lot of SurvivalBlog readers are fans of .44 Magnum revolvers – when I did my article on the S&W 329 Night Guard, I heard from quite a few of you. What we’re looking at today is the S&W 329PD – the PD stands for Personal Defense. The 329 PD is a super light-weight .44 Magnum / .44 Special revolver that weighs in at a mere 25.1 ounces. That’s not much weight in a gun that will shoot the powerful .44 Magnum round. S&W makes the 329PD with Scandium Alloy for the frame, and Titanium alloy for the …


Letter Re: The Disappearing Road Quandary

Mr. Rawles: I own a pretty densely-wooded 40 [acre property] in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) [of Michigan]. The land on 2.5 sides of ours belongs to a timber company, and the land across the road belongs to the state. We live in a typical “stick built” house. It was built in the 1980s, with lots of big windows and two double-glazed sliding [glass] doors. We are four miles out of a town (about 2,000 population) but our house is only 60 feet from a somewhat heavily traveled county road. So our house is what you would probably call a tactical …