Month: June 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 …


Medical Notes from Nicaraguan Villages, by COEMT

Here are some insights that I gained from a recent week-long medical mission trip to Nicaragua. We treated hundreds of men, women, and children living in remote villages for general medical complaints.  I envision these conditions as being similar to what many of us would see in TEOTWAWKI. Living conditions: Mostly, the men in these villages are subsistence farmers, picking coffee beans, or something similar.  The women stay at home and take care of the children, grandparents, and animals – chickens and pigs.  Their average income is very low, in the 10’s of dollars per month. Their houses are really shacks …


Letter Re: Survival Tips from the May 20, 2013 Oklahoma Tornado

Hello JWR,  I have a possible solution to TornadoDoc’s generator noise problem! Go to the auto parts store and buy a generic car muffler. The cheapest one you can find. Then purchase a length of flexible muffler pipe and clamps, as well as two couplers. One is for the muffler to pipe, the other for muffler to generator. Depending on how mechanically adept you are, you may be able to do this yourself. Remove the muffler/spark arrestor from your genset. Weld the coupler over the hole, then put it back on. When you use the auto muffler it will make …


Economics and Investing:

Analyst: We Are Seeing A Farm Bubble In The Corn Belt. (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.) G.G. flagged this: California on the Brink: Pension Crisis About to Get Worse H.L. sent: Venezuela Launches Electronic Rationing Card Items from The Economatrix: Jobs Disaster Continues, But Congress Debates Increasing Immigration? Three Reasons The Jobs Numbers Were Bleh Unemployment Problem Is Bigger Than NYC & LA Combined


Odds ‘n Sods:

Geoff S. sent this article on large-scale greenhouse farming: Farm flourishes on Alaska tundra. (Of course to be able to afford all of those greenhouses, it helps to live where strawberries sell for $6 to $9 per pound.)    o o o I noticed that Ready Made Resources has added some very effective smoke grenades to their product line. Don’t confuse these with the small, commonly-available pyrotechnic toys. In contrast, these ones really crank out voluminous smoke!    o o o This was interesting: Know Where to Run to: The Five Best Countries With No Extradition    o o o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“You either get out of the system or you make a major contribution of your wealth to the d*mn OTC derivative manufacturers and distributors. This broken banking system is still hiding their huge losses thanks to the political sell out by the gatekeepers of international accounting, the FASB. They have lost their souls to evil.” – Jim Sinclair


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 …