Day: June 13, 2013

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 47 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …


Seventeen and Prepping, by Michael on the East Coast

Greetings, my fellow SurvivalBlog readers! My name is Michael, and I am seventeen years old. I live somewhere on the East Coast of the United States of America with my mother and father. To the rest of the world, I appear a normal teenage boy: Glued to my iPad, where I read SurvivalBlog each night before bed, obsessed with both new and old music, and always quoting music lyrics, movies and television shows with my friends. Yet what both the majority my friends and society do not know is for the last year I have been preparing for The End …


Letter Re: Some Experience With Potatoes

Good Morning Captain Rawles, How would you like your potatoes this morning? We have finished digging our potatoes and stored them. We usually plant a Lasota Red type of potato. We purchase them in 50 pound sacks at the local feed store. “Planting potatoes” are different from the potatoes you buy in the store to eat. Potatoes from the store are treated with some kind of food grade additive to prevent them from sprouting for a while. If you plant these, there will usually be very few that come up. However, if you have had them for a while and …


Letter Re: Preparedness for Hazardous Chemical Spills

Dear Sir, I work as an firefighter/EMT and Hazardous Materials Tech in the Greater Louisville, Kentucky region. I would like to provide your readership with two examples of ‘stabilized’ emergencies going wrong in the last year in the Louisville area alone. Both could have been catastrophic had it not been for quick thinking and pure dumb luck. The first incident began in late October of last year when 11 cars of a 57-car Paducah and Louisville line (a CSX owned company) derailed in the southwest corner of Jefferson County, very near Fort Knox. The cars that derailed were carrying Butadiene …


Letter Re: Mad Max Modifications: Improvised Armor for Vehicular Platforms

James, Just a note on the penetrating power of the 5.56 NATO M855 ball round on various materials.  Much ink has been wasted noting the presence of a steel or tungsten “penetrator” being manufactured inside the M855 round. It weighs about 3 grains.  It is insignificant so far as getting the bullet inside a car unless you open the door first.  True, any load in the 5.56 will make impressive wounds or even penetrate 1/4” or even 3/8” mild steel plate…as long as there absolutely nothing in the way before it arrives on target.  Put a 1/8th inch tick sheet …


Economics and Investing:

Why Supply and Demand Doesn’t Matter for U.S. Oil Greg Hunter: We’re a Long Way from the 1970’s. (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.) The Crunch In Emerging Markets May Cause The Fed To Delay Tightening. JWR’s Comment: Yes, and your local crack head will give you lots of excuses why he has delayed “tapering” his habit, too. It is obvious that our government is now absolutely addicted to creating free money. And the fact that they are foolishly creating Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) derivatives in this process is reinflating the bi-coastal housing bubble. This will all end quite …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader L.G.F. suggested: Free Readiness Resources. (It is loaded with links to hundreds of useful web sites.)    o o o An amazing tale: Nigerian cook survives 2 days under sea in shipwreck air bubble. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o o The incredible survivalist holiday of Arizona senator who took his children to deserted island with NO food or water    o o o Now That It Looks Like Immigration Reform Is Going To Pass, You Should Know What’s Actually In The Bill    o o o Is This the REAL Reason for the Government Spying …