Month: January 2012

Odds ‘n Sods:

Roman sent me a link to a fascinating blog piece the summarizes an academic paper titled Baffles and Bastions, published in the Journal of Archaeological Research. Some food for those for those of us designing defensive architecture. Note that masonry baffles also stop (or deflect) bullets.    o o o F.J. sent this one: Back in the DPRK. This article includes an interesting observation on the high cost of fuel, and families doubling up in homes that have traditional charcoal stoves. Hmmmmm…    o o o Inside A $1.5 Million Cave House. (Thanks to Judy T. for the link.)    …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Nor was this the only form of lawless extravagance which owed its origin to the plague. Men who cooly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honour was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it …


Notes from JWR:

I decided not to “black out” my blog today, but you can be assured that that I’m 100% opposed to SOPA. That horrible legislation was the impetus for setting up our server in Sweden. (Which, BTW, is still undergoing configuration and test.) Please both call and e-mail your congresscritters and urge them to stop SOPA and PIPA!!! — Today we present another two entries for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This …


The Year I Accidentally Grew Wheat, by Gonzo In Virginia

I’d like to share a recent adventure in practical survival skills that I stumbled upon by accident. Luckily for me this was not a disaster that forced this, but instead the natural friction that occurs between man and wife. In the course of a year I grew a crop of wheat, harvested, processed, and made a loaf of bread. The adventure was that I did not start out to do any of those things! In the course of this learning experience I found out that things “everyone knows” are not, in fact, easy to find out. The adventure started innocently …


Keeping Chickens in a Backyard Flock, by Nightshade

In a SHTF scenario, already having a small flock of laying chickens will be of great benefit for everyone from an urban backyard to a rural, backwoods bunker setting. They are easy to care for, provide eggs and eventually, can grace your stewpot once they have stopped laying. Given the opportunity, they are also resourceful, and will scavenge for insects, grubs, and their favorite greenery. Be warned, they absolutely adore strawberries and kale, and will eat it right out of your garden! A laying hen reaches maturity and begins laying eggs at around 4-6 months of age. She will lay …


Letter Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Dear Mr. Rawles, I just finished your novel novel “Survivors”. It was a good book and it spells out a lot of things that might happen. I have been an avid reader of your books and materials for some time. I would like to point out that Alaska is a better survivor island than many of the other Western States. First: Alaska does rely on products being imported but it has the capacity to manufacture its own fuel. Presently we have three refineries within our state but they concentrate on the manufacture of Aviation Gas because it has the highest …


Letter Re: Buffalo Bore Ammunition–Thinking Outside The Box

James, I’d like to offer a quick bit of follow up on Pat Cascio’s review of Buffalo Bore ammo. I’m a big fan of their ammo, and have quite a bit of experience with it. I recently ordered and tested some of the .45 Auto Rim +P 225 grain hard cast wad cutters, as well as the 200 grain version in .44 Special. I shot the Auto Rim in a 325 Airlight 2.5″ Smith & Wesson, as well as a Model 22 4″. This is stout ammo, pushing the big flat point bullet at over 1100 fps. I have to …


Economics and Investing:

Chris D. recommended this YouTube mini-documentary: Confiscation and Inflation Reader Kevin K. liked this piece: The $U.S. Dollar Centric Derivatives Complex: Progenitor of Parasitic, Ponzi Price-Fixing Twenty Two Signs Pointing to a Devastating Global Recession   All You Need to Know About Iran, $200 Oil, and $6.00 Gas Prices Items from The Economatrix: The Worst Economic Recovery Since The Great Depression Nearly 1 Million Workers Vanish Under Obama Home Seizures May Jump 25% this Year as US Foreclosures Resume Apocalypse How?  Dire 2012 Forecasts Pessimistic Prognosticators


Odds ‘n Sods:

Tom H. sent this: Free EMS nationwide radio scanner feeds, via Internet streaming.    o o o Clarke M. mentioned that there are some great resources for homeschoolers available at Donna Young’s web site.    o o o The 10 Worst States to Retire In: They’re Frosty and Costly    o o o With some angst, an Elle magazine writer asks: Should I Buy a Gun? (The journalist recently moved to Montana. So instead of having doubts about being unarmed, does this mean she is having Redoubts?)    o o o And just for fun, a little South of the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Free wood is puppy dogs and sunsets! Free wood is money in the bank, fuel for the furnace, and landscaping all in one! It’s miraculous in its absence of liquidity. Ever seen a lawyer come and steal half your firewood? Had a politician skim 10% of the top of the cord? Had it vanish in a hard drive crash? I think not. Free wood is peace and joy…” – The Adaptive Curmudgeon blog


Notes from JWR:

In reviewing SurvivalBlog’s web statistics for last month, I see that our traffic was a whopping 1,929.92 Gigabytes in December, 2011. That is huge number for a blog that presents mostly text. (We post very few graphics.) We also logged 334,239 unique visits per week. That is about the same number of unique visits we received per month, back in 2008. Our bandwidth has quadrupled in less than three years! Thanks for spreading the word about SurvivalBlog to your family, co-workers, church congregants, and friends. I also appreciate that so many of you have added links to SurvivalBlog in your …


Night Vision Gear for Those on a Tight Budget, by Robert C.

Prepping on a budget is quite important to my family as I am sure it is to many avid readers of this fine blog.  I have purchased the book, “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times” and am following it to the best of my ability and financial means. However one aspect that is woefully lacking is my nighttime surveillance capability.  Sure I have strong LED flashlights with rechargeable batteries, solar panels ready to recharge those batteries at a moments notice, and enough batteries to last a lifetime.  …


Individual Movement in Escape and Evasion Situations, by A.E.

What follows is a collection of tips, tricks and strategies that I have personally tested/evaluated and passed on to students within my capacity as a survival and tracking instructor working with responsible civilians, military and law enforcement. Some of this has been around for years, some of it is very recent wisdom, most of it is just common sense. This is not an exhaustive study in any way, but rather a useful primer designed to inspire creative solutions while adhering to time worn tactical truisms. Note also, we are not covering SERE, as survival and resistance are truly separate topics. …


Letter Re: A Gardening Zone Mapping Tool

Sir,   I am interested in moving to the American Redoubt. As an avid gardener, I am looking for the most promising areas in terms of zone and eco-climate. While trying to find a detailed agricultural plant zone map of the United States, I stumbled upon this site: PlantMaps.com  When I checking a listing for a property, I can enter the zip code and the site provides significant climate information about that specific location including precipitation levels per month, drought index, average temps as well as a wealth of area maps.  It is easy to discern the effect of elevation …


Economics and Investing:

Peter Schiff: U.S. is In Worse Shape Than Europe An interesting podcast: Preparing for the Coming Dollar Meltdown with Gold, Silver, Agriculture, and Energy Huge Financial Bombs Just Got Dropped All Over Europe Items from The Economatrix: Market Resiliency Shines Through French Rating Cut Oil Prices Below $99 On New Europe Debt Concerns Europe’s $39 Trillion Pension Risk Grows as Economy Falters Economic Collapse — Why It Won’t Be Stopped