Notes from JWR:

I will be the featured lecturer at the Get Prepared Expo (via teleseminar) on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012. This is an expanded repeat of a very popular event. There will be 100 Exhibits and 70 Seminars. You can save 20% by buying your admission passes in advance at GetPreparedEXPO.com ($8 for a one-day pass, or $15 for a weekend pass.) The expo will be held November 3 and 4, 2012 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, Missouri. — October 29th is the birthday of World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin (Born 1921, died January 22, 2003). His son, economist …




Pat’s Product Review: Crimson Trace MVF-515 Laser

I know that over the years, and in many articles, I clearly stated that when lasers for firearms first came on the market, they were mostly considered “toys” by most professionals, myself included. The lasers back in the day, were big and bulky, cost a lot of money, and the battery run-time was short. Additionally, there really wasn’t any way to holster a handgun with a large laser on it – no one made holsters to fit the cumbersome handgun lasers. So, for the most part, lasers didn’t catch-on, at least, not right away. They were a rich man’s toy. …




Letter Re: A Wikipedia Offline Reader

Hi James, I am a big fan of yours way over from Czech Republic. I want to thank you for all the so valuable information you share. You really changed my view, in fact you opened my eyes. Lately I was thinking about the offline Wikipedia and its importance in a prolonged grid-down scenario with no access to the internet. The text Wikipedia dumps are great and I started to think about how to get them in a Kindle-like reader. It seems someone did it already (WikiReader Pocket Wikipedia) and since I haven’t found it mentioned anywhere on your blog, …




Recipe of the Week:

Jan C.’s Buckwheat Shortcake This came from an early 1900s recipes book: Take three or four teacupfuls of nice sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in milk; if the milk is very sour, you must use soda in proportion with a little salt. Mix up a dough with buckwheat flour thicker than you would mix the same for griddle cakes, say quite stiff. Pour it into a buttered tin and put directly into the stove oven and bake for thirty minutes, or as you would a shortcake from common flour. It takes the place of the griddle cake, also …




Economics and Investing:

Is The World Abandoning The U.S. Economy? Phoenix Capital Research outlines why Spain is Totally 100% Beyond Saving G.G. flagged this: Over $60,000 in Welfare Spent Per Household in Poverty Items from The Economatrix: Marc Faber:  US Stocks Could Fall 20% Buffett:  “No Question” Global Economy is Slowing Connelly:  The Countdown to the Fiscal Cliff Has Begun Sales By US Mint Of Silver Outpace Gold Over Fifty-Fold




Odds ‘n Sods:

Joe K. sent: 9 Ways to Make Fire Without Matches–Videos that teach us other methods of creating fire    o o o Reader Pierre M. sent a link to some history that might be unfamiliar to some blog readers: .357: The First Magnum.    o o o The Wanenmacher Gun Show will beheld in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 10 & 11.  This is billed as the world’s largest gun show, with more than 4,100 tables–a whopping 5.7 linear miles of tables, if thery were all placed end-to-end. (Thanks to Tom B. for the reminder.)    o o o H.L. was the …