Day: April 9, 2012

Notes from JWR:

La fin du monde tel que nous le connaissons! I just heard that Penguin Books has signed two more foreign rights contracts for my best selling book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: French language rights (to be published by Editions Altipresse) and Lithuanian language rights (to be published by Media Incognito.) There are now 12 foreign publishing contracts in place to produce the book in 11 different languages. I’m also pleased to report that the book is still in Amazon’s top 250 titles (overall), even though it has been out since September of …


Pat’s Product Review: Windham Weaponry M4 Clone

I hear from SurvivalBlog readers daily. I enjoy hearing from you all, and many of you want me to do test and evaluation on “Whatever” firearms, knives or other survival gear. I wish I could test everything you all want me to test, but it is impossible for a number of reasons. First of all is the expense involved, and secondly, the time involved in doing a round of test and evaluation – there’s not enough hours in the day. I constantly get SurvivalBlog readers asking me to test various AR-15 style rifles on the market. Honestly, there are so …


Sneaky Places to Store More Stuff, by Jessica Hooley

You’re a prepper and you’ve got tons of “stuff”. Food storage, fuel, first aid kits, bug out bags, the list seems to go on and on. And regardless of a prepper’s dream of unlimited storage space, there never seems to be enough room. At least not for me. Most living accommodations make storage the final priority; putting style above all else. Regardless of your living situation, I’m here to tell you there is more space! We’ve just got to get a little sneaky and creative. Just as a disclaimer: Some of this stuff might sound crazy. But aren’t you used …


Seeking Input – Drafting My Next Novel: “Expatriates”

I am now writing the first draft my follow-on novel in the “Patriots-Survivors-Founders” series, under the working title “Expatriates.” Tentatively, this novel will be set primarily in three locales: A.) Darwin, Australia, B.) Tavares, Florida, and C.) Borongan, Samar Island, Philippines. There will also be some mention of Bella Coola, British Columbia. If any SurvivalBlog readers have lived in or near any of those locales , I’d appreciate your input, via e-mail. I’d also appreciate hearing from anyone with experience and seismic oilfield exploration. OBTW, my novel “Founders” should be released in October 2012, in hardback, as an audiobook, and …


Letter Re: Risk of Corruption Rankings–Redoubt States are Unfairly Slammed

James Wesley: Did you see this article: Study ranks Wyoming’s corruption risk as high, and this map? How is it that states like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming could be so corrupt? That doesn’t seem possible, and it contradicts all my prior research about The American Redoubt. What is you take on this? Thanks, – Kevin L. JWR Replies: The study that they cited was on a perceived potential for corruption (a hypothetically calculated “risk of corruption”). The ratings were skewed, because they were in part based upon the willingness of state governments to report to the Federal government.  Some states …


Letter Re: Canada’s Upcoming Body Armor Bans

Dear James: The body armor ban in Alberta, Canada comes into effect June 15th, 2012.    To summarize, unless you are using Body Armor in your exempted profession, e.g., police, security, etc., etc., you have to get approval to buy, or own Body Armor.  FAQs see:  Body Armour Control Fortunately, there is an exemption for “an individual who has been issued a valid licence under the Firearms Act (Canada)”, and – contrary to the FAQ page above – my reading of the actual law indicates that this exemption for Firearms License holders is not restricted to the scope of your profession.   …


Recipe of the Week:

Lin H. wrote: “Don’t buy spaghetti sauce in jars or cans since it is easy, thrifty and adaptable to make your own. You know what’s going into it, you can do many different meals with the one basic homemade recipe, and the ingredients are easily kept in your home (and preparedness ) pantry.”   Lin H.’s Easy Red Spaghetti Sauce   1-2 tbs. olive oil (optional, depending on your meat choice) 1/2 lb. meat (ground beef or pork or venison, bulk sausage, diced smoked sausage, cut bacon, Vienna sausage dices, cut pepperoni slices, diced canned ham; the possibilities are wonderfully …


Economics and Investing:

Tom. H. sent this bit of CNBC punditry: Silver: Poor Man’s Gold Turning to Fool’s Gold? [JWR’s Comment: It is actually U.S. Dollar-denominated investments that are for fools. The Dollar is doomed. Silver and gold are merely a couple of the best hedges on that inevitability.] Don’t Call Them ‘Extreme Couponers’: Meet the Coupon Enthusiasts Over at Seeking Alpha: A Run On Guns Is Making Investors Happy G.G. sent this: Obama’s Budget: ‘Interest Payments Will Exceed Defense Budget’ in 2019. [JWR’s Comment: Or much sooner, if interest rates jump.] B.B. sent this: World food prices rise further, raising fears of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Count your blessings, all you pampered middle class First Worlders, after you watch this five-minute slice of life: The Dentist of Jaipur. By the way, don’t miss how they seem to be re-using a syringe (that made me shudder) and the same pink “anesthetic” liquid is later used as an antiseptic. <Sarcasm On:> Well, hey, “anesthetic” and “antiseptic” sort of sound the same, so they should work the same, right? <Sarcasm Off.> (Thanks to K.T. for sending us the link.) o o o Carolina Readiness Supply is having their 2nd Annual Preparedness Seminar May 4th and 5th in Black Mountain, …