Year: 2017

Economics and Investing:

It is notable that spot gold is now at around $1,187 per Troy ounce, while platinum is down around $978. This nearly $200 price disparity means that you can buy slabbed (PCGS graded) platinum U.S. Mint Liberty bullion coins for less than equivalent weight gold U.S. Mint Liberty bullion coins that are loose (ungraded). In my estimation, that makes platinum a screaming “Buy!”, especially with President Trump’s tax cuts just around the corner. (Those cuts should encourage an economic revival, which will likely mean a return to the historic norm of platinum selling for more than gold.) – JWR o …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books: The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, by Dave Ramsey The Lose Your Belly Diet: Change Your Gut, Change Your Life, by Travis Stork Movies: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (Now also available with Amazon Prime.) 97% Owned (Documentary on the global debt-based monetary system. Note that although the producers of this film obviously have a leftist bias, the information included about how modern “money” is created is correct. Amazon Prime members can watch it free.) Television: Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl (Now available with Amazon Prime.) 1916: The Irish Rebellion. (Now …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Pat Cascio informs us that the “news” announcer cited the wrong state yesterday. Washington is the state in trouble with the anti-second amendment onslaught after the elections. o o o 10 fire types for outdoor survival – G.P. o o o All of the talk about “Universal Background Checks” seems to overlook two key points: First, private party sales of USED guns in INTRASTATE commerce is completely outside of Federal Jurisdiction, under the Commerce Clause (which controls INTERSTATE commerce.) Second, a universal background check would presumably stop someone from legally handing out (gifting or selling) guns from their personal collection …



Notes for Tuesday – January 10, 2017

January 10th, 1776 is the day that North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin issued a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to raise an armed force to combat the “rebels”. This ultimately led to Colonel Donald McLeod leading the men on an assault on the Patriots that ended with fifty of his men dead and 880 captured. The Patriots lost only two of their number. Also on this day in 1976 the song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall was the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog …


Thriving With Airedales, by Food Guy and Treat Girl

The article “Surviving An Airedale” was a good start. The writer has begun a journey we started almost seven years ago, and the advice on raising a puppy is pretty good; we’d not argue with it. Crate training is very important, as is all training for these strong-willed and very bright dogs. We bought our Airedales in part due to JWR’s recommendation. The breed being hypo-allergenic was also a major consideration. The dogs are an ideal compromise in size for a couple whose childhood dogs were Great Danes and miniature Poodles, respectively. We considered standard Poodles as well, but the …


Letter Re: Jumper Cable Gauge

Hugh, The Prep Your Ride recommends 4-Gauge jumper cables, but I say 2 Gauge is the minimum, and the lower the better. The power is Current Squared over Resistance, so your 800 Amps / 14 V at your end might end up under 6V, under 300A at the car you are trying to jump. It is going over 10-20 feet so even what seems a trivial resistance causes lots of power loss even if the cables don’t heat up. At least a half dozen times, with one car racing the engine and the other failing to turn over, I swapped …



Economics and Investing:

After some profit-taking after flirting with the $1,000 USD mark, the value of Bitcoins has dropped to around $894 USD. It’s not shabby, for those who invested in Bitcoins when 1BTC cost less than $20. o o o The U.S. Empire Would Have Collapsed Decades Ago If It Didn’t Abandon The Gold Standard o o o Here’s a unique sign of inflation o o o Gold And Silver Price Forecast: This Week’s Price Action Being Crucial To Trend o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Who’s attacking the Drudge Report? – DSV o o o Be careful about who you choose to repair your computer: The FBI Is Apparently Paying Geek Squad Members To Dig Around In Computers For Evidence Of Criminal Activity – C.F. o o o Reader H.L. sent the link for Comcast outage map which is pretty interesting. There are a number of services monitored if you navigate to the home page. o o o NM Hunting Guide, Client Wounded on Mexico border. – W.C. o o o Pat Cascio, SurvivalBlog’s Senior Product Review Editor, has informed us that Oregon’s Attorney General, …




Springfield Armory XD(m) OSP, by Pat Cascio

My, how times change! It wasn’t all that long ago that a red dot sight was rather huge when mounted on a rifle, and no one even gave any thought to a red dot sight on a handgun. I still remember the first (sorta) red dot sight I ever owned. It was on a shotgun back in the 1970s. It wasn’t quite a red dot sight, but it appeared to project a red/orange dot in the air. It was quite the thing back in the day. Over the years, I’ve tried all manner of red dot sights on rifles, shotguns, …


Recipe of the Week: Chinese Pepper Steak, by G.C.

Ingredients: 1 to 1 1/2 lbs round steak 2 Tbsp oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 cup fresh or canned bean sprouts, drained 1 cup canned tomatoes, cut up 2 green peppers, seeded and cut into strips 1 Tbsp cold water 4 green onions, sliced Directions: Slice steak into narrow strips. In skillet or slow-cooking pot with a browning unit, brown steak in oil. Combine with garlic, salte, pepper, soy sauce, and sugar in slow cooking pot. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Turn control to …


Two Letters Re: The Common Discussion

HJL, I would like to add one statement to this discussion. The door going in and out of the USA swings both ways. Is it a matter of my way or the highway? In a word, no. However, I am begging for any liberal of any stripe to please tell me where it is so much better to live on this planet, and once stated, why are you not there? I am a firm believer in voting with your feet. I and many others have done it, and so can anyone else. Quit your complaining. – C.N. o o o …