Year: 2014

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. sent this link, ‘LighterBro’ Turns Common Bic Into Knife-Equipped Multi-Tool, a simple Ten buck tool that looks pretty neat, and reminds us that “one is none.” o o o From G.G.: Reviving a Life Saver, the Tourniquet Article quote: “Only 2 percent of soldiers with severe bleeding in those countries (Iraq and Afganistan) died compared with 7 percent in Vietnam in part because tourniquets were in widespread use and the injured were quickly transported to doctors. “ HJL Adds: Our own Medical Director in the local EMS has notified us that in the next round of protocol updates, we …



Notes from HJL:

January 23rd is the birthday of John Moses Browning, (born 1855) the brilliant designer of dozens of guns including the M1911 pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the venerable M2 .50 Caliber Machine gun. The latter is still in service in at least 95 countries. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still in service in 2075 or even 2100. — Pat Cascio has decided to cap his pen and retire from his position as SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor. His last reviews will be posted in April. Please don’t send him any more products for test and evaluation. — …


The Poorboy Version: Prepping When You’re on a Tight Budget, By N.S.

Awhile back my husband and I happened to both lose our jobs within a two-week period. (I was doing in-home care and the client decided to enter a Home. Meanwhile, the factory where my husband worked went bankrupt and closed its doors.) Due to some peculiarities of our situation (my work being part-time and his factory neglecting the paperwork) neither of us could get unemployment. So we had literally zero income for around six months of job search. We sold some things, the truck got repo’ed, etc… During this time we learned a lot about frugality, what true luxury is, …


Letter Re: LDS Buying Experience

I ordered 10 cases of hard red wheat in #10 cans from the LDS store online. The charge was authorized on the card, but the hold expired and the charge initially did not go through. I received a message telling me that item was back-ordered, I could cancel at any time,and that my card would be charged when the wheat was sent. The boxes came 5 months later, almost to the day. All was as advertised, and the card was charged at that time. The amount charged was $28/box, with no shipping added. I believe this is the best price …


Three Letters Re: SurvivalBlogs New Managing Editor

We have three responses to the introduction of our new Managing Editor today: Greetings, Mr Rawles, Wow – I just read the posting on your new hire and I’m absolutely blown away. What an outstanding set of qualifications! I’m glad to have submitted my resume, but clearly you have found a tremendous candidate with very high credentials. Congratulations and may this new working relationship bear much fruit in the years ahead. –J.M. J.F.J sends this response: >Please tell him that I said “WELCOME ABOARD!”. And just one more thing… with his impressive resume, can you also please tell him that …


Economics and Investing:

From J.B.G.: How to Survive the Coming Final Dollar ‘Bear Raid’ G.G. sends us this news article showing a Record 20% of Households on Food Stamps in 2013. G.G also sent this: Argentines Must File Tax Report On Web Purchases. Items from The Economatrix: Why Is Goldman Sachs Warning That The Stock Market Could Decline By 10 Percent Or More? Gold And Silver – There Are Reasons Greater Than Demand For Owning Them Max Keiser: Economics Of Human Extinction


Odds ‘n Sods:

Roger E. sent: Sea, Shipping Container Cabin, Shelter, Home. (This was mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, but it bears repeating since the page has been updated.) o o o We recently heard about some free homeschool curriculum resources, at HomeschoolCollection.com o o o A reader forwarded this little jewel: Apparently, there is Massive Non-Compliance on Rifle and Hi-Cap Mag Registration in CT. The Truth About Guns reports. “How is that there were 50,000 rifles registered versus less than 40,000 LCM’s [large capacity magazines] declared?Second, how do we reconcile 50,000 rifles against an official state analyst group suggesting over 370,000 rifles back …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“The Napoleonic Wars gave the French the word bistro as a reminder of the rude, conquering Russian officers who demanded quick service in French cafes. Bystro means quick in Russian. Russian, in turn, got sheramiz avat, meaning to beg. Hardly any Russian today knows it, but this word comes from the French phrase cher ami. The starving, freezing French soldiers, retreating in disarray after the defeat at Borodino, would knock at the doors of Russian farmhouses and implore the farmers for food, crying: cher ami!” – Cameron Sawyer


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 …