Month: September 2015

Notes for Wednesday – September 30, 2015

On this day in 1787, the Columbia left Boston harbor to began the first ever around-the-world trip by an American-flagged vessel. o o o Today, we present the final entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), 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 …


Base Layers and Their Differences – Part 2, by A.S.

If you recall from the first installment of this article which was posted early this month, I discussed the start of base layering principle which I am sure most people are very familiar with–especially those who read this blog. I also brought up the types of material used such as Polypropylene, Merino wool and the new fibre Tencel. In this installment I want to break down some information on the other layers involved and give my thoughts from long time use of garment materials that work in longevity. Goretex jackets are great for hikers and for those who take trips …


Letter Re: One Source of Emergency Fuel for Diesel Engines

Mr. Rawles, I really enjoyed your Christian-themed survivalist books and always wondered what my family and I would do under similar circumstances. Now I’m a little too old to be doing any of that;. But I thought I’d pass on something to you for for your future books and for the SurvivalBlog readership. I worked for more than 45 years in the electric utility industry in substation construction and maintenance. When our large transformer oil trucks were finished work at the end of the day, we’d always dump the left-over transformer insulating oil into our diesel truck’s “saddle tanks” and …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning by Nancy Pearcey Last of the Mountain Men by Harold Peterson Movies The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013). This bittersweet comedy supposedly set in Montana, but was filmed mostly in western Canada and made by a French director in cooperation with Australian and Canadian production companies. The Pianist


Economics and Investing:

Reader S.J. asked about an update on the Bullion Direct debacle that was first publicized back in June. There is a good summary on the bankruptcy here. Needless to say, this bankruptcy–which involved $25 million in physical gold purchases that were never made on behalf of customers–illustrates just how foolish it is to entrust your precious metals with any institution. Keep them well-hidden at home, folks! o o o Switzerland probes banks over precious metals price fixing o o o Over at Zero Hedge: TheWorst Part Is Central Bankers Know Exactly What They Are Doing Items from The Economics Team: …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Peter S. suggested watching Mark Steyn’s September 26 speech in at the Danish Parliament building in Copenhagen: The Danish Muhammad Cartoon Crisis in Retrospect (Video.) By the way, some of Steyn’s remarks tie in to the theme of my upcoming novel, which is titled Land of Promise. o o o Over at Zero Hedge: TheWorst Part Is Central Bankers Know Exactly What They Are Doing o o o G.G. flagged this: Intense Solar Flare Unleashed from Unruly Sunspot. (This was the big M7 solar flare seen just before and after the recent Blood Moon.) o o o Sotomayor:‘Do as …



Notes for Tuesday – September 29, 2015

September 29, 1881 was the birthday of Ludwig von Mises. (He died on October 10, 1973.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), 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, DRD Tactical is …


A SHTF Guide to Mass Casualty Incidents, by W.G. Curry, NRP, TP-C

I’ve written this article with a hypothetical situation interspersed between some factual text: Your eyelids peel apart and allow dust to fall onto your eyes as you force them open and shut while rubbing them with filthy fists in an effort to washout some of the debris. The ringing noise is loud in your ears. “I wish it would stop,” you declare to yourself. A terrible ache forms in the depth of your skull. You ache all over. “What happened, where am I,” you ask? As your blurry vision begins to brighten and sharpen, you can see ash in the …


Letter: Buying Land Inside a National Forest

Hugh and Jim, I have been reading SurvivalBlog for several years now. I’m retiring next year and am currently looking for our retirement “farm”. I never refer to it as my survival retreat. I have seen several properties for sale, apparently, inside national forests. Some have even been working farms. We have several national forests here in Michigan and many people live and apparently own land inside of these forests. My questions are: What are the ramifications of owning land within a National Forest? Do I own the trees on the land, do I own the ponds, streams, etc.? What …


News From The American Redoubt:

From The East Oregonian: LaGrande man pushing for secession to Idaho. Does that map look vaguely familiar? o o o John Jacob Schmidt of Radio Free Redoubt wrote to mention that “Sparks-31” will be conducting oneof his last comms classes, in November, and in occupied territory – western Washington State. Great training! Sign up while there are still slots! o o o Officerpays for Idaho man’s fuel, gets snubbed trying to get paid back.Update: Ontario Police Chief Mark Alexander says the officer has been reimbursed by the motorist. He says a check for $60 had been mailed but was sent …


Economics and Investing:

Simon Black at Sovereign Man: The global financial system is now resting on a margin of 1.3% o o o Chart of the Day: Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index. o o o MarcFaber Warns Americans of Economic Collapse o o o Reader D.S.V. recommended this piece: Taxing Churches Would Marry Church And State Items from The Economics Team: The Next U.S. Recession Will Surprise Investors Give Your Grocery Shopping List an Extreme Makeover Glencore in Freefall as Analysts See Tougher Restructuring Glencore shares are getting obliterated and analysts say shareholders could lose everything


Odds ‘n Sods:

What do the words “Self-Sufficiency” mean to you? Well, according to one leftist think tank in the People’s Republic of Colorado, the words “Self-Sufficiency” now apparently mean: establishing guidelines for obtaining welfare handouts, tax credits, government grants, an increased “minimum wage”, “affordable (read: taxpayer subsidized) housing”, “economic justice”, and other assorted socialist claptrap. Their calculated annual “Self-Sufficiency wage” is a whopping $68,182 per year in Denver. That would be considered rock star uber wealthiness, to 98% of the world’s population. But in Denver, it apparently means just getting by. In classic Orwellian Newspeak, what used to be called “Dependency” isnow …



Notes for Monday – September 28, 2015

The current sale on Mountain House long term storage canned foods at Safecastle ends on Wednesday, September 30, 2015. Despite the recent rush of orders, they are offering 35% to 38% discounts. And, unlike many other Mountain House sellers, Safecastle actually keeps most varieties in stock and ready for immediate delivery. (Many of these other sellers are now building a multi-month backorder list. As of September 24, the Mountain House factory was reportedly 95% sold out of their canned foods due to the recent high demand.) o o o Today we present another product review.