Year: 2012

Letter Re: Lessons Learned From My Elders

James: As a five year old I lived with my grandparents in a small isolated village in the foothills of the Austrian Alps.  This was about 1953 until 1958.  Rural life had its own rhythm which now seemed more akin to the 19th century.  Small family fields were plowed with the milk cow which was also used to bring in the hay and the harvest.  Everything planted had a use.  Each tree on these small family farms bore fruits or nuts.  Ornamentals were for the well to do- perhaps the village doctor who had a more secure source of income.  …


Economics and Investing:

R.B.S. recommended this article: A trip back to 1964 proves Silver creates wealth. (BTW, this has a nice correlation with the current opportunity to acquire nickels at face value.) Linda U. sent: World on track for record food prices ‘within a year’ due to US drought 13 States Now Considering Gold and Silver as Money. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.) Where Does Money Come From? The Giant Federal Reserve Scam Americans Do Not Understand Items from The Economatrix: Deutsche Bank Issues A Terrible Warning on the Health of the Global Financial System Unemployment Rates Rise in Half of US …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader George S. mentioned: “Galt’s Gulch” city planned in Honduras    o o o Here is one early review of Founders. OBTW, speaking of reviews, two of the most critical reviews of Founders posted at Amazon’s site appear to be from people that have never read the book. There was even one reviewer who falsely implied that I am a racist. To set him straight, I posted this link.    o o o Reader H.L. suggested this piece: Germany’s Wind Power Chaos Should Be A Warning To Everyone    o o o Bill J. came across an article on the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The issue is not the National Debt in terms of trillions of dollars.  The issue is actually the National Debt in terms of thousands of abortions; it’s the National Debt in terms of thousands of unwanted pregnancies; it’s the National Debt in terms of the epidemic of AIDS; it’s the National Debt in terms of moral promiscuity; the National Debt in terms of the destruction of family life – That’s the issue!” – Pastor Alistair Begg


Notes from JWR:

Today is release day and “Book Bomb” Day for my latest book, Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse. In anticipation of strong sales, my publisher (the Atria division of Simon & Schuster) has already printed 44,000 copies of Founders. You can now order it as a hardback book or as an unabridged audio book, or as a Kindle e-book. A Nook Book version is also available. Here is an update on the novel’s Amazon rankings, which I will update during the day. (Overall rank, of 4 million+ listed titles, as well as its rank among Action & Adventure titles.) …


Let’s Talk About Calories Per Dollar, by Mississippi Girl

With the current economic climate and the recent drought, there is a lot of concern about an impending increase in food prices.  As I browse through homesteading blogs and review comments from recent news articles, more and more people that have not been a part of the “prepper  movement” in the past are now starting to open their eyes and see a need to increase their food stores.  When you first begin to build your pantry, it is helpful to think about the purpose of food storage:  The true goal of storing food is to be able to provide enough …


Tatume Squash For Your Survival Garden, by John D.

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When most people think of post collapse survival, one of the major topics that first comes to mind is food.  The internet is full of articles and forums dedicated to canning, hunting, gathering, and of course, gardening.  What I don’t often find, are articles specifically dedicated to a particular item of food to be grown in a garden, explaining perhaps why it would be a beneficial plant to start growing now.  For me and my own gardening, I have gone from complete and utter newbie, to successful builder of soil and harvester of many delicious edibles.  Through out this period …


News From The American Redoubt:

Keeping track of trends in The American Redoubt, it appears that both Idaho and Montana will follow Wyoming’s lead and will enact Constitutional Carry (unrestricted concealed carry) in the next sessions of their legislatures.    o o o Guns galore draw enthusiasts to tactical expo. (And here is a link to their web site. I predict that it will be a much larger event, next time.)    o o o Teton County hunters quick to grab wolf tags. And in other hunting news, the top prize for a Stating The Obvious headline goes to: Wounded grizzly bear in Eastern Idaho …


Economics and Investing:

p>Deustche Bank: Western Economies Are Screwed, And Investors Face A ‘Disturbing Paradox. The article begins: “In a new report entitled Gold: Adjusting For Zero, Deutsche Bank analysts Daniel Brebner and Xiao Fu paint an incredibly dark picture of the bind the global economy is in right now. Brebner and Xiao are pretty frank about how levered up the financial system is at the moment, and they warn that the next shock will be totally involuntary and unexpected.” John Mauldin: QE Infinity: Unintended Consequences Those pesky derivatives again: Deriving the True Size of U.S. Megabanks Is Far From Simple Items from …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Lyme Disease Hits Big in Australia. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted this: Pre-Peeled, Re-Wrapped Bananas Are the Most Wasteful Sign of the Apocalypse Yet    o o o File under Emerging Threats: Police: Serial burglars used Facebook to find victims. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.)    o o o Some great commentary by Enola Gay in the Paratus Familia blog about living in wildfire country: Identifying Hazards    o o o The folks at Directive 21 are now offering Mountain House freeze dried foods packaged in …



Note from JWR:

Please wait until tomorrow (Tuesday, September 25th)–which is also our planned Book Bomb day– to order your copies of Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse. Thanks! Note to book dealers: For ordering case lots of the new hardback (20 copies per case, 23 lb. shipping weight per case), contact Simon & Schuster’s wholesale order desk.


My Once in a Lifetime Accident: SUV vs. Puma Concolor

I try not to bore my readers with the minutiae of our day-to-day life here at the Rawles Ranch. It is largely a fairly mundane annual rhythm of planting, harvesting, calving and lambing, wood cutting, huckleberry picking, hay hauling, and so forth. But I recently had driving mishap that was noteworthy: I was driving our SUV and hit a mountain lion, in broad daylight. I must first mention that deer collisions are all too common here in The Unnamed Western State (TUWS), and that elk or big horn sheep collisions are quite a bit less frequent. Even more rare are …


Pat’s Product Review: The 180 Stove

If many of you are like me, and are from the old Army school, you know all about canteen cup cooking. The old-style canteen cup had a locking “L” handle, that made it perfectly suitable for heating water in your canteen cup, as well as heating meals, or even cooking in that little cup. Today’s canteen cup that the US military issues has dual folding wire handles, that are not conducive to placing it on a fire – the handles are too close to the heat source. Sometimes “newer-er” doesn’t equate to “better” in my book. When you have something …


Letter Re: Stockpiling U.S. Nickels Versus Clad Quarters

James Wesley: I read with interest your article on saving nickels. My question to you is why are nickels better than quarters?  Is it not easier to store a larger sum of funds in the same physical space with quarters than nickels?  If they do devalue the [printed] US Dollar by a factor of 10, then a nickel will [effectively] be worth 50 cents but a quarter will be worth $2.50.    Regards, – Richard F. JWR Replies: As a hedge against a zero (or two) being dropped from the paper Dollar, nickels (the U.S. five cent piece) and clad quarters …