Year: 2017

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader T.P. sent in this snitch linkwith this comment from the official NYC web site: “You can make a complaint about businesses that sell toy or fake guns that are not brightly colored. It is illegal to sell or offer a toy or fake gun that looks like an actual gun, unless the toy is brightly colored. Fake guns that are black, silver, or camouflage-colored are prohibited.” Another reason to flee the insanity! o o o They Can See a ‘Stick of Butter from Space’ — The Billion Dollar Spy Agency You’ve Never Heard Of. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) …



Notes for Saturday – March 25, 2017

March 25th National Medal of Honor day is officially observed on March 25th of each year. On March 25, 1944, RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a jump from a Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet over Germany without a parachute. His fall was broken by pine trees and soft snow, and he suffered only a sprained leg. This is the birthday of English film director David Lean, (of Doctor Zhivago fame), born in Croydon, England in 1908. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 69 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes …


The Accidental Survivalist, by Athena

1

Allow me to first apologize for all of my ignorant assumptions about a survivalist lifestyle. I grew up in a life of prudence and subsistence, and I swore I’d never put myself in a position to have to homestead or subsist again. During the hot summer at the canning tables and fish smoking racks, I swore I’d grow up to live in cities with abundant grocery outlets, fancy cafes, and pastry shops on every corner near my cute little apartment. Never again would my life rotate around a harvest schedule or my weekends spent in hunting tents. But life is …


Letter: Border Update

Our family lives near the Texas border and must pass border patrol check points periodically when traveling the state. This gives us a front row seat to see what is happening along the southern border. We have noticed recent border patrol changes and wanted to give your readers an update. In the past few years, we have been through many different border patrol check points. For those not familiar with border patrol checkpoints, there are U.S. border stations immediately upon entering from Mexico. There are also border patrol stations located along the Texas border as you drive nearby the border. …


Economics and Investing:

Steve Saville: ‘Real’ Performance Comparison JWR’s Comment: As you can see from the chart, in the long term both the Dow Jones Index (which as an Exchange Traded Fund can be bought, as “DIA”) and gold had about the same return. Gold is a safer bet than any stock, since a stock can go to zero (like my mother’s shares of Pan-Am Airlines did), but gold will always have some value. Presently, silver and platinum are undervalued and are “buys”. o o o Russian Roulette, Central Banks, and Gold “Grab your ultra-reliable 357 magnum revolver and load the cylinder with …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I just noticed that SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson has greatly expanded his line of custom knives. Take a look! – JWR o o o Video: A Texting Guy Almost Runs Into A Wild Bear – W.A. JWR’s Comment: If news stations in Alaska sent out a helicopter for every sighting of a bear near a house, then the news broadcasts would seem very repetitive and they’d burn up a lot of fuel. This video serves as a reminder to maintain situational awareness. o o o Whatever Happened To .32 Caliber? The great thing about the new. 327 …



Notes for Friday – March 24, 2017

March 24th is the birthday of Dr. Art Robinson, who was born in 1942. Robinson is an American biochemist, conservative activist and politician and currently runs a laboratory known as the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine along with publishing the Robinson Self-Teaching Home School Curriculum. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 69 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 …


Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 4, by R.M.

You can buy a lance head and boot at Cotswoldsport to make your lance. Bamboo is a good staff to use, but other woods work. Your ability to control the lance can be influenced; it’s the weight. I don’t really know western gear. I was trained in the European tradition– German, Austrian, and English styles. So I use that kind of gear. Saddle, cinch, stirrups, bridle with snaffle and bit (eggbut/something soft on the mouth). Know your horse’s teeth. If they need to be floated, do it. All western bits look too hard on the mouth to me. You might …


SurvivalBlog Resources: Liquid Fuels Storage and Transfer

Introductory Note: The following is the first of a series of articles by JWR that will profile some of the thousands of archived SurvivalBlog articles, grouped topically. Storing and transferring liquid fuels is topic that often comes up in conversations with my consulting clients and in letters from SurvivalBlog readers. There seems to be a lack of knowledge or misinformed voodoo out there in the general public about liquid fuel shelf life, flammability, containers, and how to transfer fuel when the power grids are down. But those questions have all been “asked and answered” in SurvivalBlog, over the course of …


Letter Re: Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out

Howdy, I enjoyed reading Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 1, by R.M. and am looking forward to the remaining part(s). If you’re serious about such you might want to find, download, print, read, study, and learn the info in FM 3-05.213 (FM 31-27) Special Forces Use of Pack Animals My Dad was raised in West Texas in the 1920’s-40’s. This was long before rural electrification and other such luxuries. He cowboyed for his boyhood friend’s Dad for several years as a pre-teen and teenager. Dad and his friend, R.L., did it the …


Economics and Investing:

The Worst Retail Cataclysm Ever: Sears Warns It Is On The Verge Of Collapse As Payless Prepares To File For Bankruptcy – RBS HJL’s Comment: This is not the first time the Sears has been in trouble, but by all accounts, this may be the worst. With Sears being an anchor store in many malls across the U.S. This doesn’t bode well. o o o Americans Are Dying With an Average of $62K of Debt – B.B. HJL’s Comment: While most debt gets paid off with the deceased’s estate, what happens when the only estate is a residence that others, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I just noticed that there have been at least a dozen new retreat property listings added in the past week at my #1 Son’s spin-off web site, SurvivalRealty.com. They are in: Colorado, Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada, Montana, Kentucky, and Idaho. Be sure to check them out! – JWR o o o Israel plans mass evacuation if war erupts again JWR’s Comment: Important Safety Tip: Don’t live within mortar range of Bad Guys who have access to mortars! o o o Edward Snowden on Vault 7 NSA Spying tools, IOS, and Samsung at the CeBit in Hanover Germany tech conference. JWR’s Comment: …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I will not knowingly initiate force. I am a self owner. Let the record show that I did not consent to be governed. I did not consent to any constitution. I did not consent to any president. I did not consent to any law. I did not consent to the police. Nor any tax. Nor any prohibition of anything. Nor any regulation or licensing of any kind.” – MamaLiberty, Editrix of The Price Of Liberty blog.