Year: 2012

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 …


Notes from JWR:

Several readers have written to ask me if I plan to stock up on more ammunition and magazines, now that the gun grabbers have further cemented their hold on Washington D.C. My answer: No. I already have lots of ammunition and magazines. But I might buy a hundred Guy Fawkes masks, just to be ready for November 5th, 2013. — 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. …


Prepping Across Three States, by Kris S.

Many years ago, my two childhood friends and I began to prep for TEOTWAWKI.  At first, we just began buying whatever was recommended by certain web sites, throwing our equipment into a box and then telling the others about what we have.  Doing this allowed us to collect many things, however we were not sure what was really practical since we never used the items.  We decided to change this about five years ago when we got serious about what we are doing and decided to take a camping trip.  The camping trip would include about a one mile hike …


Letter Re: Learn to Hunt Through Outreach Programs

JWR: SurvivalBlog articles have thoroughly covered just about every conceivable angle to the concepts and theories to preparing for TEOTWAWKI situations, from theory to specific skills covering everything from farming to firearms procurement, security, food preparation and storage, water sanitation, just to name a few.  I spent some time contemplating whether or not I personally had anything of value to add, and came across a few articles from the perspective of women who were doing their best to prepare despite numerous setbacks.  They might be divorcees, raising children by themselves, with limited financial means, for example. Or perhaps they had …


Economics and Investing:

Reader R.B.S. sent some more proof that if you cannot touch it, then you probably don’t truly own it: Stock certificates feared damaged by Sandy (Doom and Doomer?) Marc Faber & Jim Rogers: Obama Is A Disaster, The Stock Market Should Have Fallen 50%, And You Should Buy Yourself A Machine Gun. I Need To Buy A Tank… It’s Going To Be More Inflation, More Money Printing, More Debt, More Spending… Federal Reserve Report: 100% Chance of Recession B.B. sent: When Infinite Inflation Isn’t Enough James C. suggested this: UK facing middle-class brain drain as professionals seek better lives abroad …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“To better serve you…” Baltimore buses to tape driver, passenger conversations. (Just one more reason to avoid the eastern metroplexes. Vote with your feet, folks.)    o o o Reader J.B.G. sent: Homeowners From Staten Island To Jersey Shore Have Stern Warnings For Looters. Meanwhile, we read: Fear of looting grips NYC as new storm threatens    o o o Some news from England by way of Ol’ Remus: Shooting champ is facing jail over huge cache of ammunition. As a comparison to hoplophobic England, here in The Un-named Western State (TUWS), an accumulation of 40,000 rounds is just considered …



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 …


Armed To The Teeth: Essential Survival Contingency, by Michael S.

There are many varying opinions on what makes a prepper prepared. After listening to my contemporaries for some time, and giving their opinions due credence, I always find myself arriving at the same conclusion. I know that food, water and shelter are staples for not only prepping, but also normal everyday life. I understand the importance of self-reliance and sustainability. Topics like alternative energy sources, shelves stocked with supplies, ponds teaming with fish, underground hideouts, rainwater collection, and so on all make clear sense to me. I’ve found that the term SHTF seems to be frequently taken out of context …


Letter Re: Durable Paper For Printing Maps and Crucial Documents

Jim, Some time ago, I sent you an e-mail about durable printer paper. Since then, the HP LaserJet Tough Paper that I then recommended has been discontinued. I found this out when I tried to order some more, and this forced me to do some research. I found a replacement for the Tough Paper (in fact, I suspect Graytex may be the original supplier of Tough Paper as well as iGage Weatherproof Paper), and a few more options. So here’s a summary of what I found: There are some good “paper” products for printing documents that need to survive exposure …


Letter Re: A Veterinarian’s Perspective on Prepper Medicine

Dear Jim, I am board certified in family medicine. I believe D.A. gave sound advice, but  I would suggest staying away from clindamycin as about 20 percent of people who take it get C. Diff. collitis. I have several patients who have been successful in purchasing medications through AlldayChemist.com. Typically, at 75 to 90 percent savings of the U.S. price. Keep up the good work. – J.W.


Three Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

James Wesley, By now you probably know that the mountains of West Virginia got snow generated by Superstorm Sandy so our local disaster looks somewhat different than other areas.  In our case we got better than 3 feet of very heavy wet snow dumped on us in short order.  Trees came down over a couple of day period in numbers great enough to make walking outside hazardous. One of the local farm families I know had to cut their way to the barn to care for the live stock and then cut their way back home.  Over a week later …