Day: November 9, 2012

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 43 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 $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any …


Visits to a LDS Cannery, by Mrs. R.L.B.

This is a little like a “how I spent my summer vacation” story, as I spent mine learning how to can the #10 cans of dried food at a local Latter Day Saints (Mormon) cannery.  The canneries are also referred to as Home Storage Centers.  I have to say up front, I have heard that different canneries may differ in policy regarding non-Mormons using their facilities, but I had the most wonderful experience in Reno with the good people of their cannery.  God bless them for welcoming me with open arms.    Let me explain briefly the “summer vacation” comment.  My …


Three Letters Re: Durable Paper For Printing Maps and Crucial Documents

JWR- Never mind the high tech paper that is bound to help increase a corporations quarterly profit margin and deplete your limited prepping budget…. Here is my input.   Tyvek used to make  various sized mailing envelopes and has replaced the old tan manila envelopes in many cases will work as a waterproof paper.  Granted you might need to use a sharpie or other permanent ink pen, but you can get these Tyvek’s  free of charge or close to it in many cases…If the outside of the envelope contains printing of some kind, turn it inside out and cut the paper …


Letter Re: Armed To The Teeth: Essential Survival Contingency

James, Unfortunately, I have to take issue with the recent article Armed To The Teeth: Essential Survival Contingency. [ In it, Michael S. puts undue weight on firearms.]  I would argue that this is a foolish and dangerously short-sighted view of preparedness.  Michael references his military experience as justification for this view without mentioning that an entire army stood behind him with a sophisticated logistics machine to provide resupply on a regular basis.  Of course bullets matter more than beans over short durations when you know more supplies are coming soon.  You can’t count on that in TEOTWAWKI.   Don’t get …


Two Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

Sir: I am an 18 year old guy in a family of 8 in a suburban home 10 miles from the nearest city in central New Jersey.   We knew it was coming a week in advance. So did just about everyone in the tri-state area. There was no hiding the fact. Even with a looming election, Hurricane Sandy got “saturation media coverage”. Terms like “superstorm” , “catastrophic”, and “unprecedented” were being used in almost every Hurricane Sandy story. This storm was supposed to bring catastrophic damage to New Jersey and New York, with moderate rain, high winds, and an …


Economics and Investing:

Simon Black concludes that the 2012 Election doesn’t matter: I apologize for what you’re about to read. (Thanks to Steven F. for the link.) A nation in the pangs of deleveraging – The long-term trend of a declining dollar and a collapsing middle class.   Items from The Economatrix: Wall Street Drops For Second Day On Fiscal Worries US “Fiscal Cliff” Biggest Risk For Canada, G20 Admit Economic Ignorance Job Openings In US Decreased By 100,000 In September Employers Post Fewest Job Ads In Five Months Compared To Other Countries, US Job Market Looks Pretty Good


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Greg G. sent a link to a video of a hour-long lecture by James Howard Kunstler about his book The Long Emergency.    o o o Some refreshing honesty in advertising: Cullman Mobile Home Liquidation in Alabama.    o o o If you own a Kindle reader (or have Kindle software for your laptop), then you might as well load it up with lots of free classic books. Check out the Catalog of Project Gutenberg E-Books (MOBI Edition) There are thousands of free tiles. All of them that are in “MOBI” format can be read with an Kindle-compatible. And …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I have a self-imposed rule that I tend to follow – when raiding the stash, always replace what you took with two of the same thing. My reasoning is that if I allow myself to run out of something in my normal daily life, it’s because I have either overlooked it, or misjudged how much of it I would need or how long the amount I had on hand would last – and if I did it once, there’s a good chance that I’d do it again and run out of it in a ‘situation’, so I take it as …