Day: January 22, 2014

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $9,700+ 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.) …


Introducing SurvivalBlog’s New Managing Editor

I am pleased to announce that following the review of more than 50 resumes, we have selected Hugh J. Latimer (a pen name) as our new Managing Editor. I consider him a perfect fit for the position. He will be taking over many of the day-to-day operations at SurvivalBlog, including editing letters and articles, compiling column items, writing some feature articles, creating and updating advertisement graphics, and posting the blog. Meanwhile, I will continue to be actively involved as Senior Editor. To distinguish between our posts and comments, they will either begin or end with our initials (“JWR” or “HJL.”) …


Building a Backyard Water Treatment Plant, by J.S.M.

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Clean drinking water is critical to your survival, because without potable water you will die within a few days. I don’t intend to hammer away on this point, because everyone who visits this blog generally knows how important it is to have access to clean water, and this subject has been covered many times from many different angles. Many of us have several hundred gallons of water stored away in containers, some more portable than others. Some plan to rely solely on a Berkey water filtration system to filter surface water collected from ponds or rain catchment barrels. While the …


Letter Re: How To Use Your IRA /401k to Fund a Survival Retreat Property

Jim, I enjoyed the January 10 letter titled “How To Use Your IRA /401k to Fund a Survival Retreat Property“. I’d like to offer a few comments that your readers might find helpful. My bona fides: I am a tax attorney who has dealt with self-directed IRA’s in audits and in Tax Court. I have gotten my clients some very good results in those arenas. I deal primarily with real estate in IRA’s. The same rules that govern real estate would apply to other non-traditional investments via Self-Directed IRA’s (“SDIRA”). ROBS: The transaction that was described by “An Anonymous CPA” …


Letter Re: Glock 27 .40 S&W Pistol

I thought Pat did a great review on this little pistol. Very thorough and insightful. While looking for a backup and off-duty gun, I purchased a G27in 1999 and have carried it daily since then. I spent the extra money and got mine with Meprolite night sights, but as he notes,the plastic with white outline are excellent. Pat does make a great point about the Glock 26 9mm being easier to shoot, though I have found that I shoot the 27 just about as well as my department-issued G22. Another point in favor of the 9mm is that in today’s …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Big name search engines face rebellion. JWR Adds: I use and recommend both IXQuick and Privacy Abroad’s VPN tunnel. (But even with those, you should assume that you search history will be logged somewhere, somehow. For any searches on controversial or legal gray area topics, be sure to use a public library computer terminal!)    o o o Cheryl N. sent: When Revolution Comes, What Is Your Logistics Plan?    o o o Also from Cheryl: How This Family Of Four Lives ‘Off The Grid’ In The Middle Of The Desert    o o o Reader Scott L. mentioned a …