Day: October 22, 2013

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $8,455 worth of 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.) …


Organic Gardening, by Delroy

Growing up in the desert southwest Grandma V always had some kind of a garden. Whether it was squash, beans, and corn in the summer, or lettuce and cabbage in the winter, there was something growing in the rocky soil. She also had a remarkable collection of aloes growing in old coffee cans around her little cottage on the ranch. It was a good time of learning from a gentle soul without feeling like being schooled. Fast forward twenty years and I’m married, living on a postage stamp size city lot and anxious to get off the industrial food merry-go-around; …


Letter Re: Transistor Radio Repair

Jim, I was impressed by this guy’s threads on basic, old, transistor radio “revival”.  His simple, well illustrated threads at Instructables are written for the novice radio tinkerer.  First, instructions for a GE P780B.  (I have one of these, they’re built like tanks and are worth seeking out.) Second, an American made, Zenith portable. The Zeniths from the 1950s to 1970s are very well made and have audio and DX qualities that place modern portables to shame. Regards, – F.G. JWR Replies: I also recommend the G.E. transistor radios. The technology was improved slightly with the SupeRadio series, which was …


News From The American Redoubt:

Not too late to register! Nampa, Idaho Appleseed October 26-27, 2013. (BTW, you’ve got to love a state where television stations list events like that, at their web site. Somehow, I don’t think that would be likely for a television station in New Jersey.)    o o o Wyoming apparently got a bad “homophobic” rap, in the much-publicized death of Matthew Shepard. In The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard, the author documents how Shepard’s death was at the hands of another man with whom he’d had sexual relations, and was about retribution in an …


Economics and Investing:

S. recommended: Imperial Understretch and the Fall of Great Powers G.G. suggested: U.S. debt jumps a record $328 billion in a single day — tops $17 trillion for first time   Items from The Economatrix: The US Cannot Avoid A Soft Default Even If A Hard Default Is Avoided: Debt Ceiling Already Breached And US Treasury Operating In Emergency Mode While US Is Paying $415 Billion In Annual Interest Expenses. Nothing Left To Financially Lose: Biggest Drop In Confidence Since Lehman Brothers And Why Some Are Unmoved By Government Shutdown. Government shutdown took $24 billion bite out of economy


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader F.B. suggested a useful aggregation site: The Liberty Mill.    o o o F.J. mentioned this useful info: Solar Camping on Steroids    o o o Antigua starts program to sell citizenship    o o o From G.G.: Researchers uncover holes that open power stations to hacking