Year: 2012

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Mark H. suggested and an interesting web site for digital mode ham radio (such as PSK31) mapping worldwide. He also sent a video link of an operator making trans-Atlantic contact with less than half a watt, ERP.    o o o After a hiatus, Granny Miller’s blog is back up an running. Great stuff.    o o o The Survival Doctor: What to Do for Pneumonia    o o o File Under: COMSEC Comedy: Taliban accidentally CCs everybody on its mailing list. “Moxxu gazma! Use blind carbon copy, you idiot!”    o o o Michael W. sent this article: …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not …


Notes from JWR:

Safecastle is continuing its extended series of Repel The Chaos sales offers. The offers for Week 12 are particularly attractive, with bonuses including Mountain House Essentials Buckets and even Nuk-Alerts. — Today we present another two entries 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, …


How Necessity Became the Mother of Invention, by Sandra W.

I’ve always been a “glass is half full…when life hands you lemons you make lemonade…” kind of person.  So despite a divided nation after this recent election, geopolitical unrest, and our nation on the brink of financial collapse, I still see the silver lining.  My husband and I purchased a small 900 square foot home, because it was all we could afford.  It was near the height of the housing bubble so we bought high.  We then spent the next four years, remodeling the one bathroom the tiny kitchen and living room to suit our needs.  After investing tens of …


The Folly of Hubris — A Cautionary Tale, by Mrs. S.

How do you balance the secrecy needed when prepping with letting your friends and relatives know that you are a prepper and encouraging them to become one too? Because when SHTF, you want your loved ones to be safe too. Wouldn’t it be wrong to prep in secret and not afford your favorite people the opportunity to prep like you? I know it is not wise to advertise to non-preppers that you are a prepper. But I did it anyway. I just wanted to start a conversation about prepping with my best friend. I was excited about prepping and I …


Economics and Investing:

Mac Slavo: There Is A Financial Disaster Coming; Are You Ready For An Absolute Credit Freeze? Credit And Derivatives Are Decreasing At An Alarming Rate!! Market Crash Inevitable? FHA Nears Need for Taxpayer Funds (More Bailouts!) Items from The Economatrix: Food Stamp Aid To Be Reduced In Ohio Economy Stinks For Many, But Crushing For Millenials Economist:  EU Recession Worsening What Is Money When The System Collapses?


Odds ‘n Sods:

A possible preview of the United States in a few years, when the wolf population peaks: Woman with axe versus wolf.    o o o Kevin S. pointed me to an article about mandated car safety features that I missed when it was posted last summer: A Modern Take on ‘Planned Obsolescence’    o o o Karl G. sent a video of a rotary wood chopper. Clever, but watch where you put your hands! (I don’t think that this would ever be OSHA approved!)    o o o The editor of GuerillAmerica has posted two interesting articles: Intelligence Preparation of …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows. We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest. We have given the hand [to] the Egyptians, [and to] the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. Our fathers have sinned, [and are] not; and we have borne their iniquities. Servants have ruled over us: [there is] none that doth deliver [us] out …


Notes from JWR:

November 16th is the birthday of Michael D. Echanis (born 1950, died September 1978), a former United States Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Battalion enlisted man. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with “V” device as a LRRP trooper in the Vietnam War. He was born and raised in eastern Oregon. Echanis was killed in Nicaragua in a plane crash along with colleague Charles Sanders and members of the Nicaraguan armed forces. (This was while Somoza was still president.) There was conjecture that the plane was destroyed in mid-flight by a Sandinista time bomb or barometric …


Digging a Root Cellar/Storm Cellar, by Marlene in Indiana

We decided that our family needed a root cellar for maintaining root crops, cold storage and for more extensive water storage, here is our story. Hopefully, others can learn from us and not make the same mistakes. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to the yard and sized up the area we wanted, and marked our spot. Our property borders Federal land that occasionally has people lingering around, we have even caught people in our other shelters on the back of our property, so I wanted to keep this one as close to the house as possible. When we purchased …


Letter Re: Anticipated Refugees Flows in a Grid Down Collapse

Mr. Rawles,   I’m currently trying to do a cogent analysis of the lower 48 and where my optimum safety location/region might be. I’ve read your articles on the great redoubt, rankings and ratings etc… I can respect your criteria and agree with most of it. The question that I’m pondering however, is that in a serious SHTF scenario, how will mass migrations occur. The “head for the hills” mentality will motivate millions to escape die off zones desperately seeking life’s basics. I agree that in a scenario of seriously “grid down”, a great many Americans will die. In contrast …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Tim R. suggested this by Matt Phillips of Quartz: One chart that tells the story of US debt from 1790 to 2011 G.G. flagged this: Silver price to ‘increase 400 percent in three years’ Marc Faber: ‘The Great Reset Is Coming!’ The “Sell Off” Has Already Begun Which Could Soon Turning Into Panic Selling Everything Is Lining Up For A Huge Future For Farmland Items from The Economatrix: Stocks At 4-Month Lows As Fiscal Cliff Looms The Fiscal Cliff Is A Mole Hill Compared To The TAG Program Expiry Silver’s Outperformance Over Gold To Be Staggering In The Long …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I heard about a new blog that might be of interest: Tactical Tales.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommended this instructional video: Racking a Slide Like a Lady    o o o After a three year wait while MGM nearly went though a full-on bankruptcy and laughably the villains were digitally changed from China to North Korea (just for the sake of boot-licking political correctness), the re-make of Red Dawn will finally be coming to theaters on November 21st.    o o o K.T. mentioned a snow track system for 4WD trucks that is …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered. ” – President Lyndon Baines Johnson (Ironically, Johnson was the principal architect of the flawed and failed Great Society programs.)


Notes from JWR:

Today we present also 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 …