Year: 2016

Letter Re: Easy Fire Starting Article

Hugh, I found the recommended easy fire starter posted a couple of weeks ago to be very interesting. That recommendation involved rolling 2-inch wide newspaper and soaking it in bees wax obtained from a toilet seal ring. My first attempt produced a marginal flame. I realized that I needed more wax absorption. On my second attempt, I used rolled up paper towel. This gave better but still just not adequate results. From the sight of the rolled up paper towel I came up with a better idea– tampons! As a 66 year old widower, I sucked it up and hid …


Economics and Investing:

Buy Silver…As It May Replace Gold As Money In India o o o Video: Gold & Silver Investors: Will We See Windfall Profit Taxes Or Confiscation? Mike Maloney o o o Finding Risk in All the Wrong Places as Trump Era Begins (Bear in mind that this is from a fairly liberal news outlet.) o o o Forget Robots—People Skills Are the Future of American Jobs o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

This property in Panama’s prepper expat country deserves special mention: Turn Key Prepper Paradise Ranch. (It is one of more than 250 listings over at SurvivalRealty.com.) o o o Keep Shooting has just received a shipment of authentic USGI TCOP Tents for $229.95. These tents are what replaced the old two-man shelter half and are really fantastic tents. o o o Concealed gun permits surge over 15 million, fight on for more – B.B. o o o Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Google Home Record What You Say.What Happens to Your Data? I pray we, as a humanity, will use these …



Notes for Wednesday – December 07, 2016

On a Sunday morning, 75 years ago, America was caught sleeping. Then there was that September morning, in 2001. Let’s pray that nothing like those days ever happens again. – JWR o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, …


Neophyte Survival Observations and Lessons from Hurricane Matthew- Part 2, by S.G. in Florida

The extended power outages in Florida after Matthew were due to downed power lines, mostly by wind-fallen trees. Hospitals and other essential services were given priority for power restoration. People who lived near these essential services were more likely to get power restored first. Your proximity to key services might be a good factor to consider when purchasing a home in a suburb or city. After Hurricane Matthew, the city water was cut for an extended period due to the roots of fallen trees damaging city water lines. The two cases of bottled water we had bought for drinking would …


Letter Re: Keeping Preps Cool Naturally In Hot Climates With No Basements And High Water Tables

Even in very hot climates, below ground soil temperatures can be cooler than an air-conditioned house or garage. When you have a house on a slab, and dug root cellars are impossible because of high water table levels, you can still “build up” by putting in an earth berm and storing preps under it. If you have enough land, you can make the berm part of decorative landscaping, or use it to increase privacy and reduce noise from the road. Even on smaller plots, you may be able to use an earth temperature moderating technique that is more common in …


Economics and Investing:

The biggest gold heist of all time o o o Amazon introduces next major job killer to face Americans – DSV (I’m not sure this is a “job killer” any more than ATMs were, but it will interesting to see how this plays out.) o o o Time Magazine Promotes Illegal Nonsense: Don’t Pay Taxes (If You Didn’t Vote for Trump) o o o A Dire Warning From An Insider o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

Reader C.J. writes in: “I just watched “Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America” (I read the book several years ago and of course the book is better). Although I am of Scots-Irish descent, it would at least be interesting for those that are not of Scots-Irish descent. The Scots history of independence from England and why they ended up in Ireland and ultimately America is ingrained in so much of traditional American culture. Religious freedom, hard working, self-reliant, “give me freedom or give me death” types. o o o Recommended by Pat Cascio, SurvivalBlog’s Senior Product Review Editor: Museums, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Lloyd’s of London warns of devastating $2.6 trillion solar storm – RBS o o o How To Grow A Lemon Tree From Seed No Matter Where You Live – DSV o o o My Unhappy Life as a Climate Heretic – P.M. (Note: May require an account/login to view) o o o Reader M.P. writes in: “Tom’s Hardware just published an article about an attempt by the Canadian government to impose the “Snooper Charter” style of government surveillance on Canadian ISPs, VPN service providers, etc. Time for Canadians to speak up and fight Bill C-51! We in the US need …



Notes for Tuesday – December 06, 2016

On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending the institution of slavery. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution. o o o Don’t forget, Ready Made Resources has a very limited supply of Knight Vision AN/PVS-30 Night Vision Weapon available. These have seen action in the Gulf but are “like new” …


Neophyte Survival Observations and Lessons from Hurricane Matthew- Part1, by S.G. in Florida

Our family of three lives in a suburban area of Florida that was greatly impacted by Hurricane Matthew. While our home survived without damage, we were left without power for approximately a week and without city water for around three days. This article summarizes some observations and lessons, after reflecting on this experience. Hurricane Matthew took a very unusual track in the Caribbean, threading the needle between the mountains of Cuba and Haiti to maintain its strength. After this move, Matthew took a very unusual jog to the West, threatening Florida with a severe Category 4 storm. Once Matthew made …


Letter Re: Dakota Access Pipeline Update

HJL, We went to Bismarck this weekend and had chance to get a bit more information. In talking to one of the “protesters”, he is paid $1500 per week with legal and medical costs covered. In addition, he receives a bonus each time he is arrested. Their encampment receives supplies and propane for free with multiple deliveries each week. He looks on it as a job, and this is not his first protest. In other news, we are expecting a killer cold front this week and the state of North Dakota has plans in place to shelter and feed the …