Year: 2016

Letter: Copper 1-Ounce .999 Fine Rounds

JWR, One of the catalogs that I receive has been listing .999 copper rounds (1 1/2″ dia) for sale. All have designs cast into them, with some borrowing classic currency designs like the Morgan and Walking Liberty dollars, and others are more commemorative or political in nature. Are these worth purchasing as a medium of exchange along with the more widely known and accepted silver dollars and rounds? – T.S.G. JWR Replies: In my estimation those are just a sort of lame collector’s coin, with only marginal resale value. You would be paying up to 10 times the spot value …


Economics and Investing:

It’s the end of cash and all your purchases will now be tracked and stored. Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’ – DMS o o o James Rickards-Gold $10,000 to $50,000 per Ounce – G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News US Factory Data Signals Further Slowdown in Economic Growth (Reuters) Excerpt: “The Commerce Department said on Monday new orders for manufactured goods declined 1.7 percent as demand fell broadly, reversing January’s downwardly revised 1.2 percent increase. Orders have declined in 14 of the last 19 months. They were previously reported to have increased 1.6 percent in …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Venezuela Burning “Venezuela is immolating itself, right now– hyperinflation is rampant, shortages of food and every other necessity are now a normal and ongoing conditions, violent crime is everywhere, kidnapping for profit is skyrocketing, and there are more murders per-capita per-month in Caracas than anywhere else in the world.” – JFJ o o o DSV sent in this link to 10 Thrifty Garden Hacks to Save Cash and Make Life Easier o o o CIA’s Venture Capital Arm Is Funding Skin Care Products That Collect DNA – Beauty Secrets of the Spies – Sent in by P.M. o o o …



Notes for Saturday – April 09, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 64 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. …


Crises Preparation- Part 2, by B1

1

Home Security Your home should appear shabby, as if you are poor or struggling. (Think of a “redneck trailer park”; no offense is intended.) People living in urban areas will be at a much higher risk for criminal activity. If you look organized and secure, you will be a target for theft, looting, et cetera. You don’t want to directly or indirectly advertise your stockpile or your plan to anyone outside your trusted circle. When you’re doing your shopping for supplies, do it at night. Neighbors see more than you think. When you store (hide) your stockpile, do it in …


Letter Re: A Real Neat Prepper Trick

Hugh, My wife and I have been looking at ranch style houses right now, mostly to see the floor plans and what works and doesn’t. We came across one where the previous owner got an old slide top bar cooler. He removed the cooling system and put a system of copper tubing inside of it and then connected it to the water inlet to his home. Whenever a water spigot, shower, dishwasher were used in the house the water first flowed through the pipes in the old cooler. He used it to store his vegetables that he grew in the …


Economics and Investing:

Big Trouble Ahead For Copper Is Good For Silver o o o The Boomer Retirement Meme Is A Big Lie – Sent in by B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Charting the Automation Potential of US Jobs (Visual Capitalist) Excerpt: “In last week’s Chart of the Week, we noted that 1.3 million industrial robots would be installed between 2015 and 2018, and this would more than double the stock of active robots around the world.” Automation is Killing these Jobs (Fox News Business) Excerpt: “We all love technology. In most cases, it helps make life easier …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The nanny state strikes again: Education Texas School Bans Parents From Walking Children Onto and From School Property — and Principal Is ‘Threatening to Arrest’ Those Who Try – D.S. o o o While we are on the subject of Marxist Indoctrination/Re-education Facilities public schools: 10 Ridiculous Instances Of Zero Tolerance In Schools – Sent in by DSV. o o o If you travel by air, you may want to think twice about using these airports. Did you know that 297 U.S. airports do NOT screen employees before work on a daily basis…not even Muslim employees. Of course, I’m finding …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou …


Notes for Friday – April 08, 2016

April 8th is the birthday of the late Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia (born, 1919, died November 20, 2007). o o o Reader DSV sent in this fantastic news: BREAKING: Mississippi To Join “Constitutional Carry” Wave o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 64 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three …


Crises Preparation- Part 1, by B1

Editors Note: B1 has generously submitted a letter that he sent to his family and loved ones with suggestions for the coming crises. It is impossible to fully plan for the unknown. There is so much information to cover and so many variables and possibilities, that there is no way I can cover them all. For this same reason, this letter may also jump around a bit. Upon many requests and questions I have received over the past several years, and more so in the past couple months, I am writing this letter for your reference. I hope this will …


Letter Re: Backup Electric Power Design Considerations

HJL, I believe R.V. and Expat are referring to AC Coupled inverters. I’ve installed hundreds of offgrid solar systems from 300 to 30,000 watts and I have never used an AC coupled system for an offgrid install. Mainly because it requires more fancy equipment and customization. I don’t feel it gives my customers a good value; it is more complex and less durable. That’s not to say there are not scenarios where it may be the better choice, especially if you are grid tied and net metering. If your readers are interested in the technology, search for “AC Coupled Battery …


Economics and Investing:

Items from Mr. Econocobas: Obama Administration Pushes Banks to Make Home Loans to People with Weaker Credit – This is both stupid, and desperate…. Venezuela Orders Long Weekends to Stave Off Power Crisis U.S. Braces for Worst Earnings Season Since 2009 Crisis: Chart Items from Professor Preponomics: A Brief Commentary from Professor Preponomics Currency valuation is a topic of great interest among economists and is both simultaneously simple (within the framework of free market exchange) and complex (especially when economic engineering is involved). Included here are a selection of articles that make for interesting reading and some variation in points …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Meet the survivalists hoarding bee pollen and preparing for apocalypse – DMS o o o It’s not enough to promote the belittling of human life, now this: Walking Dead TV Series – Programming the Public for Martial Law – Sent in by T.P. o o o Reader G.P. sent in the link to this nifty device for storing your tools. Pretty great if your GOOD vehicle is a Jeep. Rampage Trail Can Locking Toolbox w Compartments o o o Either he never learns or this is intentional. Either way, chances are good we will see these two again and they …