Year: 2011

Economics and Investing:

Reader J.B.G. sent this great video clip about silver market: Off-the-Grid Economic Indicators Speaking of silver, I noticed that spot silver dipped below $27.40 per ounce on Monday. Buy on these dip days! G.G. flagged this: An Ugly Side Effect of New 1099 Law: More Tax Evasion. The latest from The Daily Bell: ‘Super Stagflation’ End Game? To stop “Global Warming”, they say: Brits Ponder Fuel Rationing. (Thanks to Chris T. for the link.) Lisa L. sent a lesson in how not to do offshore banking in Panama: American Arrested in Mexico for Carrying 150 Gold Coins; Coins Seized. (And …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Kathy N. sent this: Postal Service Eyes Closing Thousands of Post Offices. (This could have an impact on our readers with small town retreats who run mail order businesses–or those who plan to.)    o o o Reader Jack C. sent this: Police suspended for failing to show up during storm. Jack asks: “If public safety employees won’t come to work during inclement weather, then how will they react during a TSHTF scenario?   I think we already know the answer to that question but this is interesting nonetheless.”    o o o K. L. wrote to note: “Ron Hood …



Notes from JWR:

The queue for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest is now full. There will be two entries posted each evening between now and January 31st. Any entries received this week will be posted and judged in Round 33, which begins on February 1st. — Today we present another two entries for Round 32 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 …


Incorporating Preparedness into Your Everyday Lifestyle, by Mike M.

My foray into prepping began over a decade ago after I became hopelessly lost in the Adirondack Mountains.  My birthday falls on October 24th and on this particular year, the day was uncharacteristically warm.  I felt the urge to take advantage of my good fortune by scouting out some new area for the upcoming deer season.  Telling no one of my intentions that day, I jumped into my four-door beater sedan that I fondly called “The Kevorkian” and resolved to boldly go where no man had gone before.  I went off the beaten path and drove the Kevorkian down some …


Formulating a Get Home Plan, by Doug in Virginia

There’s plenty of talk on this and other internet sites and blogs about get-home-bags.  What’s in yours? What’s in mine?  What should be in there, what should not.    All of it good information and some quite thought provoking.   I really don’t understand the folks that need fishing hooks and line in their get home bag (GHB), but then again everyone’s circumstances are different.   Just like “bugging out” implies a sense of urgency, to me getting home is just as urgent and I’m probably not going to stop and do any fishing.  I have no plans to “bug out” without a …


Letter Re: Low Cost EMP Protection for Electronic Gear

Jim, While working on my preps I found electrical specifications in the data sheet for the mylar-foil bags I was investigating for my food storage.  This reminded me that many computer components (e.g., motherboards, hard disk drives, and expansion cards) are packaged in mylar-foil bags for ESD protection.  I reasoned that since the ESD protection is provided by the conductive foil layer in the bag one should be able to use the same mylar-foil bags as Faraday cages to protect electronic devices and components from EMP. One of the perks of my engineering career at defense contractor is that I …


Letter Re: Minimizing Generator Noise

Hi Jim and readers, After reading C.J.’s piece mentioning the negative attention he got from generator noise. I recalled how we reduced that awful noise in Viet Nam. We built a sand bag wall up about four feet high making an enclosure large enough to work around the generator comfortably for servicing and over lapped the door with a sand bag return wall, This insured good noise discipline, and a better work environment. The enclosure also makes an good firing position. Modern generators are nowhere near as noisy as the old Army 1.5, 5, or 10 KW generators, but the …


Letter Re: Railroad Routes for G.O.O.D. Ways Out of Town

Jim,     Thanks for your help and support for all of us that are closet preppers working our daily grind but having this subject always in the back of our mind.  My job takes me to the west side of Washington state weekly and I live on the east side in a rural setting.  I know I am not alone with the thought of “how am I going to get home” if a sudden event happens.   As you have talked about, railroad lines are an option.  One can purchase a railroad atlas online that is helpful in thinking …


Economics and Investing:

End of Euro? … Ireland Prints Own Notes Fed Hides Major Accounting Change John R. kindly sent us a whole raft of items: The “Independent” Fed Admits The Truth (Karl Denninger) What Really Happened to 15 Million Jobs?   Which Of The Currencies Of The World Is Going To Crash First? (The Economic Collapse Blog)     Obama Said to Push Congress to Curb Debt, Boost Competitiveness Bonuses for bankers, bankruptcy for public services (Professor Richard D. Wolff) The Politics of Deflation (Vijay Boyapati)   What Every American Needs to Understand About the Economy (Richard Duncan) UN wants new global …


Odds ‘n Sods:

News from Nanny State Canada: Man faces jail after protecting home from masked firebomb attackers    o o o Ian R. sent this: Kroger storm watchers prepare 24/7. (Once again, private enterprise is often more effectively proactive than government agencies.)    o o o Jason M. suggested this network news clip from last year: Obituary for Col. Robert L. Howard, U.S. Army Special Forces.    o o o Eleventh Hour Supplies (one of our newest advertisers) is offering SurvivalBlog readers a 5% discount for their entire order on anything in their store. They provide free shipping to the continental U.S. …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge …


A Primer on Harvesting Iron-Rich Sustenance, by Dr. R.

Introduction My family has harvested food from our farmland for generations. I would love to say that since I was a child, I had gone into the fields with my father and grandfather and learned the ways of hunting and ethical harvesting of animals for food and resources, but unfortunately, I made very few decisions which I consider to be wise until I lived to be around 26 years of age. It was around that time that I formally accepted Christ in my heart, and around that time the seeds of becoming a true skeptic were planted. As a young …


Recognizing Societal Fragility and Making Substantive Preparations, by C.P.

I was raised in a small town outside the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois  A normal kid in the 1970s, I really didn’t care about anything except getting out of high school and moving on with my life.  I hated history class, geography was alien to me, and other than having to know the constitution in order to pass out of eighth grade, politics didn’t mean much to me, either.  I did, however, try to get my fellow classmates to vote in a mock presidential election in 1980.  My family didn’t discuss worldly events.  In essence, I had no clue.  After …