Year: 2012

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader V.H. wrote: “I couldn’t help but notice that the Propper [brand] A-TACs camouflage pattern uses soft edges and colors that are very similar to the rebels’ camo used on the planet Endor, from [the second-produced film in the] Star Wars [movie series]. Is this one of those “life imitates art” situations, or vice versa? As I recall, the German Army experimented with soft-edged patterns during WWII, and some of those were quite effective.    o o o A clever new product that I first heard about nearly a year ago will soon be available to the public: The Survival …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It is difficult to tell what will happen. I happen to believe that eventually we will have a systemic crisis and everything will collapse. But the question is really between here and then. Will everything collapse with Dow Jones 20,000 or 50,000 or 10 million? Mr. Bernanke is a money printer and, believe me, if Mr. Romney wins the election the next Fed chairman will also be a money printer. And so it will go on. The Europeans will print money. The Chinese will print money. Everybody will print money and the purchasing power of paper money will go down. …


Notes from JWR:

Arrrgh! Today, September 19th, be ye Talk Like a Pirate Day, me buckos! Sorry, but that’s all the Pirate Parley that you’ll get from me. But if you can’t get enough of it, you can automagically translate any of the past or present SurvivalBlog posts into Pirate Talk, using this web page. For example, here is our Retreat Areas Static Page, in Piratese. — Now just six days to release of my third novel, Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse. Please wait until its release date (September 25th)–which is also our planned Book Bomb day– to place your order. …


Make Your Own Retort Style Charcoal, by Dan in Alabama

I make charcoal to sell at the local farmers market. I’m a farmer and prepper. I use two steel drums, retort method, which produces high quality charcoal. Charcoal has many uses. It used for cooking and heat without flames, water filtration, making pyrotechnics and has some medicinal uses. This is hot, hard work but simple to do. With a little imagination all components can be changed or modified as long as age-old principles are followed. I prefer using red oak. It comes out naturally pitted so there is no need for enhancements for water filtration. Concept: Small pieces of quality hardwood …


The Kamajors of Sierra Leone: A Model for Survival, by CYA

Those that are concerned with TEOTWAWKI scenarios, as we are, can find great benefit in looking to history for meaningful lessons on what to expect and how to plan and prepare. In many of these circles we often here of and reference the heroic exploits of bands of citizen warriors throughout history. Rogers Rangers, the Minute Men of New England, The Green Mountain Boys of Vermont and other Revolutionary War militia, The guerilla fighting Comanche and Cheyenne warriors of North America,  and of course the various books, movies and television shows that constitute our survivalist-militia paradigm. I wish to add …


Letter Re: Amish Bent, Dent & Expired Stores

Dear JWR; When visiting relatives in Ohio Amish country, we always stop by two or three Amish “bent & dent” stores.  These stores purchase truckloads of goods that have just expired, are about to expire or are in some other way slightly flawed at very, very, very low prices, and sell them at very, very low prices.  Some examples:  Starbucks coffee in sealed, non-expired bags for $2.50 (used to be 75 cents, the owners have been raising the prices over time), normally $12.50 at the grocer.  Swiss Toblerone chocolate bars, normally $4 for 50 cents.  Feminine hygiene products at 20% of the …


Economics and Investing:

100 million credit card accounts are gone since 2008 – Credit card balances decline by 22 percent since their 2008 peak. R.C. sent this: Nevada man dies with $200 in bank, $7M in gold hidden inside home. I thought Nevada was the Silver State… But of course $7 million in silver would be too bulky. R.B.S. pointed me to a fairly well-balanced British documentary: The Great Euro Crash – 2012. (If you jump 25 minutes forward, you’ll see described the sneaky role that derivatives played in this debacle.) Items from The Economatrix: America Is Facing A Lost Generation:  Jim Rogers …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader C.B. suggested this product for anyone who considers their iPhone indispensable: AQUA TEK S for iPhone 4/4: A rugged case that provides extra battery life and water resistance.    o o o The Western Pit: Homestead Vehicle Lift (for underbody work)    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson has some commentary at his publisher’s web site about firearms realism, Hollywood, and “loopholes”: Getting Guns Right    o o o F.G. sent this from Nanny Looney State Britannia: Mentally ill to be allowed to become MPs, serve on juries and be company directors. JWR’s Comment: This …



Notes from JWR:

September 18th is Independence Day in Chile. On this day in 1810, Chile declared independence from España. — Today we present another two entries for Round 42 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 …


Surviving on Reptiles and Amphibians in a Worst Case Scenario, by Misphat

“Do you think you could survive on your own in the Everglades if you had to?” The question rang in my mind as I thought about the implications, logistics and hardship that would be involved. I’m an ecologist specializing in Reptiles and Amphibians – which basically means I spend a ton of time up to my waist in swamp water, catching snakes, alligators and other creeping things all the while being assailed by endless hoards of mosquitoes and deer flies. One tends to learn a few things under these conditions, about these animals and about survival where they live. Now …


Why Prepping is a Good Thing, by P. S. in Virginia

Based on some of the latest articles I have read, I wonder if there is a misunderstanding of prepping or the Preppers themselves. Everyone has their own reasons for prepping, what they consider prepping, prepping for or at what level they can prepare. Not everyone can afford prepping to the levels of others, not everyone has the skill sets as others or can go out and find that perfect piece of property to call their retreat or bug out location (BOL.) For the grannies who buy a few supplies or have found a like-minded social group of preppers where they …


Letter Re: Thrive Foods Available From COSTCO

Mr. Rawles, I just discovered emergency storage food is sold at Costco.com. They have a sale going on right now that bears mentioning in your blog. A year’s supply package of THRIVE food from Shelf Reliance for $1,199.99 including shipping and tax-free. No additional cost for existing Costco members. Non-members can also purchase this but must pay a small surcharge. They quote shipping as 5 to 7 days.  This is the best deal on emergency storage food I’ve found after quite a long search and was the first deal that prompted me to pull the trigger and stock up. Thanks …


News From The American Redoubt:

How crowded is the American Redoubt? To put things in perspective: Delaware measures 2,489 square miles and has about 910,000 residents. Meanwhile, Connecticut is 4,845 square miles and has about 3.5 million residents. But consider Idaho’s two largest counties: Idaho County, Idaho is 8,503 square miles and has 16,267 residents, and Owyhee County, Idaho is 7,696 square miles and has 11,526 residents. Then there is Phillips County, Montana, with 5,212 square miles and 4,253 residents. And how about Sweetwater County, Wyoming? 10,491 square miles (think of it as more than two Connecticuts or three and a half Delawares) yet is …


Economics and Investing:

Does anyone really believe this Pollyanna pie-in-the-sky nonsense now coming from the mainstream media? With QE3, We All Win — Poor and Rich Alike. What balderdash! Let’s face facts, folks: The Federal Reserve has backed itself into a corner. They can’t do anything that will trigger higher interest rates. So the only arrow left in their quiver is monetization (“quantitative easing” is the gentler, sugar-coated name.) Their brilliant plan is to re-inflate the housing bubble by buying up $40 billion per month, indefinitely, in mortgage derivatives using make-believe money. This pure fiat “money” is coming from their Sunshine Pump. I …