Day: April 5, 2012

Notes from JWR:

I still need the current e-mail addresses for nine of the 24 Honorable Mention prize winners in the most-recently-ended round of the SurvivalBlog nonfiction writing contest. Please let me know via e-mail ASAP, so that I can have all of the $30 Amazon.com gift certificates sent out, electronically, in one batch. Thanks! — Today we present another entry for Round 40 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 …


Four Seasons of Gardening Lessons, by Mrs. B. in the Midwest

Although I had a front-row financial services seat for the market collapse in 2008, it wasn’t until fall 2010 that I was stuck by an awakening that “something wicked this way comes.” With a master’s degree in Medieval Literature (it’s not as useless as it sounds, really) two things I have studied are the ravages of war and famine over the centuries, both of which desperately scare me as the mother of two young children. I have paid particular attention to the many SurvivalBlog entries on gardening, one of my few practical skills. Most are either submitted by seasoned vegetable …


Letter Re: Military Surplus G.O.O.D. Vehicles

Jim: I loved your book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It. I was surprised when I read the G.O.O.D. vehicles section that you didn’t really mention old military vehicles as G.O.O.D vehicles. I was curious of your stand on this as I’m sure other readers are too. I recently purchased a 1-1/4 ton 1968 Kaiser Jeep M715 that had been converted to run on both gas and propane. It really isn’t a very complicated vehicle to work on the wiring is very basic. I believe this is a good retreat rig as the maintenance is …


Economics and Investing:

Remember when I compared Quantitative Easing debt monetization to crack cocaine addiction? It appears that Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke have moved up to the level of co-dependency and are only one step away from collapsing on an uncovered mattress on the floor of a squalid roach-infested apartment. Read this: Wall Street Journal: Fed Buying 61 Percent of US Debt. The next thing you know, Tim and Ben will be passing the glass pipe and singing a duet: “Its easy come, easy go, little high, little low…” This should make you feel cheery when you write your check payable to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

One man’s view on safe places for TEOTWAWKI: 10 Places to Ride Out the Apocalypse    o o o Reader H.D.C. wrote complain that he’s had two Tilia Foodsaver vacuum packers “die” in the past four years, after fairly frequent use. He mentioned that they both now produce hardly any suction. Apparently, this is a fairly common complaint. He asked for a recommendation of something similar, but more sturdy. This should do the job. BTW, the VacUpack can use the same rolls of plastic bag material made for the Foodsaver.    o o o File under: OPSEC Failures: The ultimate …