Letter Re: Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI

James Wesley: In reference to CentOre’s recent article, “Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI”, one method not mentioned which works very well (speaking from experience) is to kill a non-edible animal like a prairie dog and hang it over a bank. After a couple of days maggots begin to fall off of the decaying carcass and the fish learn to come to that bank to get a free meal. Then using yo-yo fishing lines you bait whatever hooks you use with scraps and pretty much I’ve never gone without a pan full of fish a day to eat. The other method is …


Three Letters Re: Self-Defense Advice

Dear Jim, Tae Kwon Do is a perfectly adequate martial art, and very accessible. However, it is so popular it has morphed into several markets. Make sure the school you are attending teaches fighting and self-defense. If they say they are “non-competitive,” then they are a glorified exercise program, not a martial art. Also, while all sparring is good, there’s sparring intended for learning to compete, and sparring intended for learning to disable attackers. Stress to the instructor you want to learn self defense and have no interest in competing in tournaments. If they are unwilling to accept that, they’re …


Economics and Investing:

Michael I. recommended this great article: The Long, Long Depression. Michael’s comment: “This is by a National Review writer who predicts a two decade depression.  He discusses similarities with the 1873 depression.” Reality check: Mt. Washington Parking Space Assessed At Nearly $300,000 Verizon reverses on $2 fee for one-time payments Chinese financial bubble update: China eclipses US as top IPO venue. Four Risky Places To Swipe Your Debit Card Items from The Economatrix: You Thought 2011 Was Tough? NASDAQ Wraps Up 2011 In The Red (But then we read: Gold’s 10 percent gain in 2011 extends run to 11th year.) …


Odds ‘n Sods:

L.A. arson wave grows to about 40 fires; most since 1992 riots. (It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do a web search on the phrase “delayed action firebomb design”, so I predict that this will spawn copycats, even if the pyromaniac is arrested.)    o o o From January 2nd to January 15th, Safecastle is offering the maximum allowed discount on all Mountain House can varieties: 25% off.     o o o Two interesting recent posts over at John Robb’s Global Guerillas site: Modern Darknets and The Digital Roll-Out of Resilient Communities    o o o B.B. mentioned a …



Notes from JWR:

An updated edition of the SurvivalBlog Archive CD-ROM, covering every blog post from 2005 to 2011 should be available for sale within two weeks. As a bonus, the CD-ROM will include PDF and MS-Word (.doc), and HTML copies of my book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”, which normally sells for $28, in hard copy. The archive CD-ROM will sell for $14.95. I will post another announcement when the CD-ROM has been fully tested and is ready for ordering. Thanks for your patience. — Today we present another product review by SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio


Pat’s Product Review: Springfield Armory 5.25 XDm

Today I’m reviewing the new Springfield Armory XDm 5.25 9mm Competition handgun. I carried a Springfield Armory XD .40 S&W handgun for close to two years, and I found the gun utterly reliable and very accurate. The only drawback was that it was an early-production XD, and the finish wasn’t very durable and tended to easily rust if you didn’t pay attention and kept the gun clean and with some kind of preservative on the metal parts. The XDs made today have a very durable “Melonite” finish on the metal parts, and it really holds up extremely well.   The …


Letter Re: NOAA’s Improved Solar Storm Prediction Web Site

JWR, NOAA has updated their web site with an easier to read solar storm prediction description. I’m not sure when they changed this, but I’ve found it helpful. It breaks down into, ‘Geomagnetic, Solar Radiation, and Radio Blackout’ categories.  Instead of just giving an X# or M#, they now have scale of 1-5 (minor through extreme), with a real world description of impact  on communications and power systems.  The descriptive scales are outlined in the “NOAA Scales Activity” For me, this is much clearer and easier than trying to figure out than some M# or X# impact. I thought that others …


Letter Re: Self-Defense Advice

Mr. Rawles, I have eight children, the oldest of whom is 15 years old, and the youngest, 6. I would love to do an at-home self defense course with all of them, but especially the teen girls. Do you have a recommendation for an internet course that isn’t cheesy or a scam? – A Happy Homemaking Prepper in California JWR Replies: You cannot learn how to fight someone by reading a book or watching a video. You need to physically practice, to develop muscle memory. I’d recommend a year of Tae Kwon Do to learn kicks and punches, followed by …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this bit of confirmation my predictions: Urban Institute: Foreclosure backlog to ‘take decades to complete’ Mortgage Aid Programs Still Have Trouble Helping Homeowners In Distress Foreclosure Free Ride:  Three Years, No Payments Items from The Economatrix: US Mint Says Has Enough Gold, Silver Eagles Coins A Look At Economic Developments Around The Globe Asian Stocks Advance On US Optimism Consumer Comfort In US Receded Last Week


Odds ‘n Sods:

Stephen M. sent this: A One-Horse Town Down to Two People    o o o My “Taking the Gap” interview on Radio Free Redoubt is now available as an archived podcast.    o o o The publicized drug shortages expand to old standbys like Tetracycline. (Thanks to Damon S. for the link.)    o o o I heard about a company in Florida called Rainwater Warehouse that markets American-made rainwater harvesting equipment such as downspout diverters and rain barrels.    o o o Vince W. wrote to note that Dave Canterbury has been doing a series of YouTube videos called …



Notes from JWR:

The stats are in, showing the tremendous growth of SurvivalBlog ‘s readership in the past six years: Unique visits in December, 2005: 42,482 Unique visits in December, 2006: 107,089 Unique visits in December, 2007: 218,931 Unique visits in December, 2008: 507,176 Unique visits in December, 2009: 837,727 Unique visits in December, 2010: 1,101,755 Unique visits in December, 2011: 1,336,959 We have had consistent growth of around 30% per year! While I expect our web stats to start to plateau, 37 million unique visits have been logged, and we have readers in 190 countries. The blog is also ranked in Alexa’s …


Wildcrafting Healing, by Peggy S.

When TEOTWAWKI comes, there isn’t going to be a CVS or Walgreen’s pharmacy open and stocked for very long afterward. So, what to do when you get a nasty cut, burn or some other infection? First, as common sense tells us, wash it off with soap and water or use some stashed vodka to kill any possible germs or even the old time remedy of kerosene. The kerosene was also an old time remedy to keep fleas off your dogs, just pour a thin line of it down their backs like you do with modern flea drops. Just remember to …


Letter Re: The Importance of Foot Care

Hello James: I stumbled across some excellent advice for foot care.  The advice targeted diabetics.  Diabetics need to be especially mindful of their feet are more susceptible to circulation difficulties.  Foot problems can rapidly escalate.  This advice is also very sound advice for after the Schumer hits the fan.  It is likely that we will all be putting more miles of pounding on our feet. – Joe H.