Year: 2011

Odds ‘n Sods:

Were the Bavarian Erdstallen dug by 6th Century preppers? Experts Baffled By Mysterious Underground Chambers. (Thanks to Lamont for the link.)    o o o James C. mentioned a new tiny and tough USB drive. Too bad that they are so expensive. (I think that I’ll wait about a year until they are available less expensively.)    o o o Loyal content contributor K.A.F. mentioned that an Idaho real estate has posted a wealth of web links and phone numbers for those who are considering relocation to northern Idaho.    o o o Several readers mentioned this: DHS Video Characterizes …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support; but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold.” – 2nd Lt. Clifton B. Cates, 96th Co. US Marine Corps, 19 July 1918, 10:45 a.m., from records of the U.S. 2d Division. (Clifton Cates was awarded the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, …


Notes from JWR:

Last call! A final reminder that the deadline for the Ready Made Resources Preparedness Video Contest is midnight, eastern time on July 26th. Instructional (nonfiction) videos on any topic related to family preparedness are sought. The prizes are a brand new Rock Rivers Arms (RRA) Elite Comp M4 (AR-15 series compatible ) complete Barreled Upper Receiver and a Trijicon Reflex sight with a combined retail value of more than $1,400. Please keep your privacy in mind when you create your videos. (Don’t mention any surnames or towns). You may post up to three videos to YouTube for consideration in the …


COMSEC: One Time Pad Generation, by B.R.

While re-reading the ‘Radio Ranch’ chapter in JWR’s novel “Patriots“, I started thinking about the Book Code method versus a One-Time Pad. I went through the books on my shelf, and noticed the lack of duplicate books; the number of ‘common’ books; and how many of my books I figured would be in the Uncle Sam’s cracked book repository. At that point I thought I’d be SOL when trying to setup a secure method of communication. Being an ex-Army Infantry turned computer geek and prepper, I figured it would be much easier to write some code to generate pages of …


Physical Fitness for TEOTWAWKI Preparedness, by The BYU Kid

There’s one thing that’s guaranteed in any SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation, and that’s the age old adage that only the strong survive. But how do we get to that point? How can we improve our strength with things that will actually be adaptable to a survival situation? I would like to lay out a few selected exercises that have direct carryovers to very important skills and suggest a program for you (not my own) and offer a couple workouts that you can incorporate into your current routine. First, let’s talk about what’s not necessary: any routine found in a bodybuilding …


TEOTWAWKI Vitamin and Mineral Recommendations, By Dr. Bob

Vitamins and minerals are a multi-billion dollar business currently in the US.  Our food is plentiful and fortified, and the use of these pills are generally completely unnecessary.  Medically, the recommendation for vitamins and supplements–from multiple sources–is as follows:  There are no vitamins or supplements needed for typical adults eating a balanced diet with regular sun exposure or consumption of fortified dairy products.  That being said, WTSHTF there will be obvious changes to our typical fattened-calf diets.  Plan accordingly, but there is very little that some people will do, stretching the valuable resources of the rest of us.  Depending on …


Letter Re: Simple Prepping for the Suburban Home

Dear Editor: Keep-it-Simple Suburbanite made a common error in thinking that home canning butter is a good idea. Canning butter at home is not a good idea. Botulism toxin cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted and it can be present in canned butter. I’m guessing that Keep-it-Simple heated the butter and either water-bathed it or simply sealed the hot jars without processing. Heat shocks botulism spores (which are normally harmless) into producing the toxin. To prevent that, botulism needs the much higher temperature of pressure canning to be killed. Even then, fat molecules in foods such as butter and cheese …


Letter Re: Maximizing and Extending Your Tomato Harvest

Good Morning Mr. Rawles, This is not necessarily directed toward the propagation and extending of tomato harvests, but geared more toward making your tomatoes better. I have found that amending the soil (pouring a quarter to a half a cup in the hole before planting) of powdered milk has a profound effect on the growth of tomatoes. The tomatoes will grow a little shorter, significantly more stout, and have a darker green color. They even produced about the same number of flowers and tomatoes. I am sad to say that I could not do a taste test between the fruit …


Economics and Investing:

Chris D. suggested this: Fed’s $16 Trillion Dollar Secret Slush Fund Props Up Our Way Of Life. The enormity of this secret bailout is staggering. The math on this is pretty simple: If you double the money supply, what can you expect to happen to the purchasing power of the currency? Hmmmm? Get ready for inflation and higher gold prices.The National Inflation Association (NIA) reports:” Currently, the U.S. ‘officially’ has 261 Million ounces of gold. If U.S. money-$13.5 Trillion in M3- were backed by “U.S. gold”, there would be over $51,724 Dollars for every one ounce of gold.” (So, after …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Sale ends tonight! Ready Made Resources is running a two-day special 25% off sale on Mountain House canned long term storage foods on July 25th and 26th. They are offering free shipping on case lots, any multiples of six cans of the same variety per case. And, if your order at least one full case of the same Mountain House item in #10 cans, you can add a Katadyn pocket water filter for just $279 ($40 off.) Don’t miss out!    o o o Report: China building electromagnetic pulse weapons for use against U.S. carriers    o o o Reader …



Notes from JWR:

I heard that Ready Made Resources is running a two-day special 25% off sale on Mountain House canned long term storage foods on July 25th and 26th. They are offering free shipping on case lots, any multiples of six cans of the same variety per case. And, if your order at least one full case of the same Mountain House item in #10 cans, you can add aKatadyn pocket water filter for just $279 ($40 off.) Don’t miss out! — Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: …


SHTF Electricity Basics, by M.N.

Most of us are accustomed to having safe, easy, instant access to electricity. After a disaster electrical power is low on the hierarchy of needs.  On the other hand, avoiding electricity may become a priority.  Damp clothes and wet, lacerated skin make us much more vulnerable to electrocution.  By definition, improvised or post disaster grid power won’t be as safe as we’re used to today.   After a disaster, electricity becomes an elemental threat that can kill you dead if you miscalculate. If you’re lucky enough to be able to prepare a bastion with solar and generator power, do a good …


Pat’s Product Review: SIG Sauer 1911 TACOPS

It’s no secret that my all-time favorite handgun is the M1911 in .45 ACP. I can often be found carrying some type of 1911 on my hip, when I’m not carrying a Glock of some sort – or another handgun that I’m doing a Test and Evaluation. However, given my druthers, when the chips are down, I’ll reach for a good ol’ 1911 stoked with some .45 ACP ammo. The gun under review here is the SIG-Sauer 1911 TACOPS in .45 ACP. A couple of years ago, I wrote a review about a similar gun from SIG, and it was …


Letter Re: Testing a Breath of Life Emergency Mask

Hi James, I recently attended a close quarters battle (CQB) training course with a company here in the United States. After the course, I was very kindly ‘gifted’ a ‘Breath of Life’ emergency mask. I was very grateful for this gesture, and curious as to this product. Luckily, as a volunteer fire fighter, I got the chance to try this mask’ effectiveness during one of our training sessions, which can be seen here. I must say, I was incredibly impressed with this product, and as a long time reader of your excellent site, feel it maybe of interest to your …