Year: 2012

Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent this link, that bears repeating: The U.S. Debt Visualized Don’t Get Audited! The IRS’s Dirty Dozen Red Flags (Kiplinger) RBS flagged this: Lawmaker targets coinage costs with bills backing steel. [JWR’s Comment: It is interesting how the congresscritters are trying to make debasing our coins look patriotic.] $140 Silver, Figures Don’t Lie Items from The Economatrix: The Art Of Extortion Now At The IMF You Won’t Believe Who Owes U.S. Billions Fed Is Running Out Of Tools To Boost Economic Growth


Odds ‘n Sods:

The inevitable end result of several years of drought in Texas and high feed prices, nationwide: National Cattle Herd Drops to 1958 Low    o o o Troy H. sent a link to a fascinating TED Talks series lecture on Thorium salts power reactors.    o o o Vic at Safecastle mentioned that they’ve launched a new 7-month “Foodbundle” variant, for about $1,800.    o o o Reader Lee M. suggested this: How to get alerts of an emergency



Note From JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 39 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


Your Multipurpose Garden Tractor, by K.C. in Delaware

[Editor’s Note: A short draft edition of this article was previously posted in a discussion forum]. I am a very new prepper, but feel that I am making some decent advances in my prepping goals. Although my preps may be much smaller then most, I still think I am doing better then most of the general population, and have budgeted for weekly and monthly improvements to my preps. While reading this and other survival based blogs and forums (not so much here, but other places get real out of hand), I’ve noticed that the conversation or topic tends to lean …


A Combat Gear Primer by Andrew A.

What is combat gear, and why do you need it? Well, your combat gear is simply your gear that you wear from day to day, in a combat situation, or more aptly for us, a TEOTWAWKI situation. I am a young prepper living in the central Carolinas. I have been collecting military gear, such as uniforms, helmets, vests, and such for over 8 years. Over those 8 years, I’ve seen what the average soldier wears through combat in Iraq and what a Delta operator might wear in Afghanistan. However, please keep in mind that as preppers, most of us have …


Bowel Issues – Part 1, by Dr. Bob

TEOTWAWKI IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), is a poorly understood grouping of two separate diseases:  Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD).  Unlike other bowel diseases, both of these conditions have characteristics both in their presentation and pathology that make diagnosis fairly routine.  Both will be reviewed here with recommendations for ongoing management and treatment options in a post-collapse environment. Ulcerative Colitis patients have recurrent episodes of inflammation of the mucosal layer of the colon.  There are different subtypes of UC based on the location of the inflammation.  Ulcerative Proctitis affects the rectum, or lowest portion of the colon.  If …


Recipe of the Week

Dale in Tennessee’s Bean Stretcher A favorite of mine as tested among our group and deemed worthy after being served at a church pot luck. I came up with this after pondering a few days on how to mix some of the random stored food we keep on hand in our pantry. We have enjoyed the various canned Bush’s Grillin Beans for the robust flavor and stock them by the case on our shelves but I wanted a way to make a meal out of them instead of having just a side dish. Solution: Black bean fiesta grillin beans as …


Letter Re: Food Storage in Two Liter Bottles

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have found storing food in 2-Litre soda bottles (an idea I first read about on SurvivalBlog) a convenient and cost effective element of my long-term food storage plan. I have used both oxygen absorbers and dry-ice in the bottles and have found if packed properly the oxygen absorbers create a vacuum pack, shrinking the bottle down around the food; and using dry-ice, if a bit is left in the bottle before sealing, creates positive pressure, the condition the bottle is designed for.  Assuming that the dry-ice method is used properly and there is no risk of …


Economics and Investing:

The latest from Willem Weytjens: Silver: Epic Reversal. I’m not a chartist believer, but this is captivating. Items from The Economatrix: Are Soros, IMF, & World Bank Trying To Scare The Living Daylights Out Of Us? Fed Says Benchmark Rate To Stay Low Until 2014. [JWR’s Comment: Higher interest rates would torpedo the ability to service the U.S. National Debt. Bernanke has his hands tied. And they will stay tied until the international community changes interest rates for him.] Housing Data Points To Slowdown In Sales Crude Price Rises On Iran Threat To Stop Oil Sales Bernanke Says Fed Pondering …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I just heard that Kent Lomont passed away on Saturday, after a long battle with bone cancer. This is a great loss to the shooting community. Kent was very well known in the Class 3 world. I can remember being inspired by Kent’s many articles about the AutoMag pistol, back in the early 1980s. Kent spent many of his youthful summers shooting and handloading with Elmer Keith at his ranch near Salmon, Idaho. It has been noted: “In the seventh grade, when most adolescents acquired and traded baseball cards, Kent obtained an exclusive franchise to manufacture Harvey Jugular jacketed handgun …



Note From JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 39 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


Low Maintenance Gardening, by Northern Girl

I have been an avid gardener for many years, and most if what I have learned of has been through trial and error. Luckily, most of my errors have been corrected and when those errors did occur, it wasn’t a matter of eat or starve. I now know what plants will grow in Zone 3, and have learned that just because a seed company claims certain things will grow, it doesn’t always mean that they will. Learning from your mistakes now, can save you valuable time and energy when it counts. For example, I will never again try to grow …


Prepping, in Its Infancy, by E.B. in Florida

I was trying to come up with way to write down all of things that I have been going through lately as a concerned husband, son, uncle, and brother.  A little background on me: I am turning 36 tomorrow.  When I was 24 I joined the U.S. Army.  I was fooling around in college (still) without a good source of income.  My three year relationship was coming to an abrupt end as my girlfriend was graduating college and moving into the next phase of her life (kudos to her making the tough decision to do what was best for her, …