Year: 2011

Economics and Investing:

K.A.F. sent this: Awful August, Get Set for September Over at Dr. Housing Bubble: Shadow Inventory Armageddon – Foreclosure timeline up to an average of 599 days with 798,000 mortgages having no payment made in over 1 year and no foreclosure process initiated. Shadow inventory grows to over 6,540,000 properties. Making privacy a crime: U.S. aims to track ‘untraceable’ prepaid cash cards. (Thanks to Steve M. for the link.) China’s sword of Damocles: “More Cow Bell!”. “More kowtow!” Forget Irene: The Drought in Texas Is the Catastrophe That Could Really Hurt. (Kudos to Chris M. for sending the link.) Items …


Odds ‘n Sods:

JRH Enterprises is running a Labor Day weekend sale on new 3rd Generation Pinnacle Autogated AN/PVS-14 night vision scopes for $2,695 for the standard model and their upgraded version with higher line pair specs now at just $2,995. I bought one of the latter from JRH several years ago, and I have been thrilled with its performance. Order yours, before the sale ends!    o o o Dan. M. sent this news article from Ohio: Cops Confiscate Lakewood Lady’s Arsenal; Motive Pending. JWR’s Comments: Since the guns were deemed “legal” we can conclude that the “Thompson sub-machine gun” was in …



Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: Belarus Hyperinflation Update: Food Runs Out As Friendly Foreigners Take Advantage Of The “Favorable” Exchange Rate Arb John R. sent this: Analysis: As debt maturities loom, U.S. needs to extend Also from John: Fearing An Even Worse Inflationary Depression Ahead (Bob Chapman) Reader Hal C. sent this link: John Williams of ShadowStats interviewed by Goldseek. He is predicting hyperinflation. B.B. suggested: Maple Leaf sets silver record: 2010 bullion sales rise 74% from 2009 Items from The Economatrix: After Bumpy August, Economy Shows Signs of Growth Retailers Report Solid Gains For August Carmakers Report Surprisingly Strong August Sales …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 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.) …


The Five Steps of OPSEC Assessment by Stone of Scone

Operational Security (OPSEC) which is the evaluation and control of any critical information that could be used against you by an adversary. The result of good OPSEC is the elimination or withholding of the most damaging information that your adversary has the ability to gather and understand how to use against you. OPSEC happens everyday. When you go on vacation and hold your mail and newspaper delivery, and use timers to turn your radio and lights on and off to make it appear that you are home, you are practicing good OPSEC. Here is a another example of OPSEC. A …


Letter Re: A Treasure-Hunting Prepper

Jim: I would like to address a few of the insightful comments to my original submission: A Treasure Hunting Prepper.   Mr. Fitzy in Pennsylvania is correct about his instruction on filling in holes when metal detecting. It is true that some parks can become closed due to irresponsible detectorists, but I would assume that it is common sense amongst those born with it to not leave holes! That, unfortunately, is not always the case. For instance, a local park that a metal detecting club my dad and I belonged to decided to make it against the rules to metal …


Five Letters Re: My Home Energy Backup System

Sir: As a solar power contractor/installer, I can tell you that David L.’s power plan is a solid one. One thing he left out was the 30% Federal Tax Credit (not just a deduction) offered against the cost of residential renewable energy systems, including of course solar. A synopsis of the Federal tax credit as well as all available state credits (some huge) is online at the Database of State Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). Also, Eco Business Links keeps an updated listing of the lowest available prices on solar panels, inverters, and both on and off grid systems.  230 Watt panels like David used …


Economics and Investing:

Reader J.B.G. recommended this by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: When debt levels turn cancerous Douglas C. mentioned that FDIC’s aggregated list of bank closures is available. At the web site, you can sort by date and by location. Troy H. sent this: Democratic Discontent, Black Swans, Constitutional Conventions, and Civil or Foreign Wars Items from The Economatrix: The American Working Man Slowly Fades Away Housing Time Bomb Goes Tick Tock Tick Tock Stocks Rise on Hopes for More Stimulus From Fed Oil Rises as East Coast Refining Resumes


Odds ‘n Sods:

Dixie mentioned some fascinating interactive maps that might have bearing on your relocation plans: Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census. Be sure to click on the tabs to see the various maps.    o o o For anyone that feels priced out of the market by the often-touted Country Living grain mill, there is a now a low-cost alternative on the American market that is made in India: the Wonder Junior Deluxe Grain Mill. These have a cast body and carbide burrs. There is a drill motor attachment available. They can even make peanut butter! At $216, they are half the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“So you never picked no peaches You never rode no boxcar train. Never worked out on the road gang Or slept out in the rain. But when you see a good man Have to struggle, sweat and strain And when a man can’t feed his children Don’t it make you stop and think? Are they gonna make us outlaws again? Is that what it’s comin’ to my friends? Why, I think I see why Pretty Boy Floyd done the things he did. Are they gonna make us outlaws again?” – Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again?, by James Talley


Notes from JWR:

I just heard from my editor at Penguin Books that they’ve started an additional printing of my nonfiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. This 12th press run will be another 28,000 copies, bringing the total to 175,000 copies of the U.S. edition in print. When I last checked, it was still ranked around #750 overall, and #80 among reference books, on Amazon. That is not bad for a book that has been in print for two years. Thanks for spreading the word and making the book one of Penguin’s bestsellers. I am …


Experiences of a Novice Gardener, by J.B.

I don’t remember how I stumbled on SurvivalBlog.com.  I had a sense that things were going very wrong and I guess it was just a matter of clicking links that led me to this site.  I found a treasure trove of information on prepping, and a world of like-minded folks who shared my sense that something wicked this way comes.  SurvivalBlog helped me get organized in my thinking, and introduced me to prepping concepts I was unfamiliar with.  I have invested a lot of time and money preparing for WTSHTF.  One area I am weak in, however, is experience.  I …


Four Letters Re: Hurricane Irene Lessons Learned

Mr. Rawles, I am in northwest N.J. I wasn’t affected as badly by the hurricane as others were, but I did learn a few lessons about my preparedness. 1. Inspect your gear on a regular basis. I live on a dead-end street, and the road goes over a country stream, which flows underneath through a 2-foot culvert with a paved berm built over the top of it. Yesterday, that country stream became a 40-foot wide river about 10 inches deep and flowing rapidly over the road surface. To get across that, I got out my waders — and discovered that …


Letter Re: Converting Body Motion and Heat Into Electricity

Jim: The piece that you linked to was simply copied from GizMag. (They did so with credit, as if that makes it okay.) It looks like volumatrixgroup.com is one of those sites that uses stolen blog posts to get hits for ads. The technology itself is a scam under a thin veneer of science. Their “20W” figure is about three orders of magnitude too high, for one thing. That figure describes all of the energy losses in walking, including the energy losses inside muscles and joints and the energy that goes into warming the surface under the shoe. The part that …