Month: April 2012

Letter Re: Evacuating Quickly to Escape Wildfires

James, There is much conversation about the desirability of moving to a rural retreat location.  Much has been written on your site about moving to moving to the American Redoubt.  But how many people really consider the drastic changes in their lifestyle when moving out of the city to a rural location?  Consider one drastic change:  fire protection.  People living in cities with asphalt streets, fire hydrants, professionally staffed fire stations, and minimal response times may not understand the change to living in a rural area with fire protection offered by volunteer departments.  I have lived in rural areas for …


Recipe of the Week:

Notutopia’s Creamy Mushroom Soup From Storage Foods 1-1/2 cups dried mushrooms 2 cups hot beef bouillon, make it from powdered or cubed bouillon 4 cups milk, made from powdered milk 6 tbsp. flour, all purpose 1/2 cup dried onions 1/4 cup margarine, or powdered butter 1 tsp. kosher salt Parsley flakes for garnish Directions: Sauté mushrooms and onions in margarine in a heavy saucepan for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine bouillon, milk, salt, and flour. Blend until smooth. Add to sautéed mushrooms and onions. Cook over low heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Garnish with parsley. …


Economics and Investing:

Debasement and Debt Monetization are the last refuges of modern-day profligate spending governments: Geithner sees cash in coins’ metal. I’ve been warning about the composition change in nickels for three years. I hope that you have been methodically building your stack during this time. Once he composition changes, you will have to start sorting nickels. But for now, you can stack ammo cans or boxes full of rolls, painlessly. New in the Nerd World: Societal collapse as a marketing angle. (Thanks to PNG for the link.) Who Are the Nation’s Biggest Suckers? Lottery Players. (As the Late Memsahib was fond …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I’ve recently had two consulting clients in the southeastern U.S. who’ve each lost thousands of dollars worth of canned freeze-dried and dehydrated foods to rusted-through cans, after three years and five years of storage, respectively, of unattended storage. You can spare yourself the same heartbreak by using moisture-resistant can repacking kits from RepackBox.com. These cleverly-designed re-packing box kits are designed to tremendously extend the shelf life of storage food in sealed #10 steel cans. (The kits come complete with plastic bags, silica gel desiccant packets, cable ties, cardboard boxes, and even a marker and packing tape. And since each box …



SurvivalBlog Writing Contest – Round 39 Winners and New Prize Announcements for Round 40

We’ve chosen the winners for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. But first, I’d like to mention several new prizes that will be awarded starting with Round 40: A new prize will be added to the First Prize package: a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear. You may remember seeing them mentioned in SurvivalBlog as suppliers of a variety of U.S. military surplus gear, including full military specification ALICE packs, at great prices. Three new prizes will be added to to the Third Prize package: These include: a large handmade clothes …


Letter Re: A Practical Utilitarian’s Take on Firearms and Calibers

James, its time for like minded  people  to take off the blinders and use logic and intelligence in their planning. Firearms will play a major  part in survival of our people and nation. This role will be larger than anyone cares to  admit. Because of this reliance, our weapons will need to be the most dependable guns we can acquire.   My experience goes through 30+ years of gunsmithing, military service during the Reagan years, and contractor with a notorious private security firm in Iraq and Afghanistan. During these years, I have learned a lot about the serviceability of weapons …


Letter Re: Interim Retreat Caches

Jim: In How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, you missed mentioning one of the great uses of “bypassed areas” — that of an en route cache.  There is no question but that it would be plain stupid for any family to wait to leave the big cities and urban areas until the very last moment when TSHTF, urban riots have broken out, and the freeways have become one big parking lot full of shooting and looting.  But many families will want to hang on in the cities as long as possible because of employment, family …


Economics and Investing:

10 Reasons Why the Reign of the U.S. Dollar as the World Reserve Currency is About to End Is Inflation, a Stagnant Economy, and Lower Standard of Living in Our Future? Lee M. sent this: Student Loans on Rise — for Kindergarten After the riots, Spain swings the axe on spending. (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Recovery?  Housing Says It’s A Hoax Security Breach Hits US Card Processors, Banks A Cashless Society May Be Closer Than Most People Would Even Dare To Imagine Providence, Rhode Island Bankruptcy Seen As Unavoidable On Budget Gap


Odds ‘n Sods:

WorldNetDaily reports: War on U.S. Homeschoolers Escalates    o o o For those interested in South Sudan, see the documentary The Eyes and Ears of God. (Warning: This includes some scene of Sudanese atrocities.) Efforts to help arm and train the villagers of South Sudan against the depredations of the Janjaweed and the Khartoum government are still in their early stages. Please pray for South Sudan, an specifically that President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government will open the door to trainers from the United States.    o o o More about Britain’s he “self-inflicted” gas shortage: Ministers under pressure to bring …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the …