Day: February 18, 2012

Note From JWR:

Today we present another entry 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 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 C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 …


.22 Handguns and Other Options For Self Defense, by R.F.D.

No one, myself included, would recommend a .22 caliber handgun as the ideal defensive weapon. For that matter, I wouldn’t recommend any handgun at all as the ideal defensive weapon. We carry handguns because most of us find it a tad inconvenient to carry a tactical shotgun, or main battle rifle as we go about our daily lives, and most folks tend to get a little upset when you get on the bus with one. If I knew a fight was coming my way, my preference would be a crew-served weapon, preferably with the ‘crew’ in tow. So, a handgun, …


A Haphazard Approach to Vehicle Outfitting and Risk Mitigation, by W.A.

My new Nissan 4WD Frontier is pretty well equipped…and conspicuous. Maybe it’s the 102” steel CB radio antenna whip that tipped the balance. Yeah, they make smaller ones, but for my first foray into CB, I wanted the best money could buy…my money anyway. And it turns out that you spend more money to go smaller and the reduction in size can challenge the optimized reception with respect to the wavelength of the transmission signal(i.e. in many respects, bigger is still better). Were it not for that tall waving wand in the sky, perhaps the addition of the two sets …


Letter Re: Natural Gas “Drip” Condensate

JWR, I noticed your description of “drip” as an alternative fuel in your novel “Survivors”. Many years ago I was on a task force in Farmington, New Mexico to catch and convict “drip thieves”. I was then a Special Texas Ranger and worked along with New Mexico Highway Patrol, local law enforcement officials and the then Tenneco Oil Company Security investigators. Theft of drip was very big then, as probably now due to the high cost of gasoline. I will share with you some of what we learned from the experts, the actual thieves we caught. First of all it …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. sent us this: The Upside of Government Default Reader G.P. sent this from The Slog: A timetable for Greek Default? Courtesy of Michael W.: Dollar Gets No Respect Despite Economic Gains. JWR’s Comment: Genuine money is made of silver or gold. And honest paper money substitutes are redeemable on demand for silver or gold coinage. Anything else is trash. Thus, all of the world’s fiat paper currencies are trash. Some of them are just trashier than others. I would characterize the U.S. Federal Reserve Note as like an aging, gap-toothed syphilitic harlot that is dressed in shabby green dress …


Odds ‘n Sods:

This company near Denver, Colorado might be of interest: RainyDayRootCellars.com. They make pre-cast concrete shelters that are multipurpose: root cellars, storm shelters, nuclear blast/fallout shelters, and storage vaults. OBTW, if you are wondering how to make a detached underground shelter disappear… just pile part of your supply of firewood over the hatch.    o o o Please note that my novel “Survivors” is not just available from Amazon.com. It is also available from Barnes & Noble, and several other Internet vendors. There is also a network of local independent bookstores, coordinated by IndieBound.com. Give the other guys some business, too! …