Notes from JWR:

Happy birthday to Jerry Pournelle (born 1933.) He, along with Larry Niven authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. He was also a contributing editor to Mel Tappan‘s P.S. Letter. Jerry is also noteworthy for writing a blog long before they were even called blogs. — Today we present another entry for Round 48 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 …




Car-Mageddon: Getting Home in a Disaster, by Becky M.

I live in southern California, which means at any moment one of many earthquake faults could decide to slip, a fire could break out, the economy could finally bottom out, an EMP cleverly directed toward Hollywood would finally fix the bad movie plight, or…you get the point.  We all have to live with the annoying little feeling that at any moment TEOTWAWKI could begin.  Lots of preppers will spend thousands of dollars to adequately prepare their house or bugout location, which is awesome.  Some plan to hunker down and ride out the problem in the comfort of their own home, …




Letter Re: Coping with Obstructive Sleep Apnea When There is No Grid Power

Mr. Rawles – I have been living with a CPAP for many years now, and am one of the persons for whom it has worked very well. I also know how bad things can be after not having my CPAP for three days when an airline lost it. After three days I was almost totally non-functional and was ready to lay out the $2,000 out of my own pocket to get a replacement machine. Fortunately my machine was found by the airline. More recently I had 3 nights in 2 months where power outages deprived me of the use of …




Economics and Investing:

Special Note: For any SurvivalBlog readers with pending orders (already paid, but order not received) with Mulligan Mint (a former advertiser : Please e-mail me and let me know: Your name, your order number, the number of ounces ordered, your e-mail address, and the date that you placed your order. I will then do my best to get them to ship you order. (Mulligan Mint claims that they are presently shipping orders.) Matt H. sent this: U.S. gasoline consumption takes a nosedive. G.G. suggested: Pandemic of pension woes is plaguing the nation Items from The Economatrix: Paul Craig Roberts:  Hiding …




Odds ‘n Sods:

Todd M. suggested reading this troubling MIT Technology Review article on SCADA systems vulnerability: Hacking Industrial Systems Turns Out to Be Easy: New research from Black Hat shows it’s possible to trick water and energy infrastructure to cause physical damage—and securing these systems remains painfully slow. Meanwhile, G.G. suggested that we read: Chinese Hacking Team Caught Taking Over Decoy Water Plant. Oh, and coincidentally, my friend Bob G. just called and recommended this novel, based on a credible terrorist scenario: Gridlock.    o o o Some folks have put together a combined Calendar of Prepper, Survivalist and Self-Reliance Shows. I …