Letter Re: How to Make Homemade Dog Food

Captain Rawles, I wanted to add my two cents to the award-winning December, 2011 SurvivalBlog post How to Make Homemade Dog Food. This post was great to educate people on the fact that it wasn’t that long ago that dog food wasn’t purchased at the store and that the store bought “dog food” really isn’t that great for “man’s best friend”. I learned this after getting my third dog. The other two did great on store bought dog food, and in fact, my Lab lived for almost 15 years on the cheapest dog food from Wally World. When I bought …


Economics and Investing:

It is coming soon, folks! Obama: Let’s Save Money by Making Coins with Cheaper Metals G.G. flagged this: On the Dole: A fifth of all Americans Moody’s Cuts European Sovereigns Feds shut down Amish farm for selling fresh milk. (Thanks to Michael W. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Tail Events, Isolation, New Normal Oil Falls Toward $100 Ahead of US Supply Data Greece Faces Further Obstacles in Bailout Deal US Market Shakes Off Greek Worries and Advances


Odds ‘n Sods:

Kevin S. suggested this: What Most Gun Nuts Get Wrong    o o o File under “Emerging Threats”: Medieval Weapon at Center of Beating Case. This adds new meaning to the expression “Getting medieval” on someone.    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Pat Cascio flagged this: Pentagon May Oust Troops Involuntarily to Meet Reductions in Budget Plan.    o o o Reader E.B. sent this news from Canada: Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge    o o o For those of you that are trapped in cubicles and reading SurvivalBlog on your lunch hour, this video clip is guaranteed …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


Canning Protein, by Taressa

Home food preservation is an important part of my food storage program.  I decided that if it can be sold in a can in the store, then I should be able to put it up myself, in jars.  I buy dry goods such as rice, pasta, potato flakes and dry beans and use a canner to store them in large #10 cans, as well as vacuum sealing with the “FoodSaver” jar lid port.  I’ve also hit a few sales after the holidays to buy a supply of candy to vacuum seal in jars for a time when a little comfort …


Survival Gardening: A Cautionary Tale, by Cindy M.

I am writing this to encourage you to do with gardening and food preparation what we are encouraged to do with all of our prepping, practice, practice practice, your life depends on knowing that your plan will work!  I don’t know if this will even qualify as a survival article but if nothing else maybe it will help some, like me, who need that little kick in the pants to start practicing our survival plans.  Maybe some of our mistakes, outlined in this article, will help you avoid them and experience a more successful first year of gardening than we …


Letter Re: A Do-It-Yourself Freestanding Shelf Cold Frame

JWR: A key to survival will be having a handy way to start seedlings any time of the year, or perhaps to even have a micro-greenhouse for Winter vegetables.  A cold frame is great for this and you can make one for yourself very easily  My wife and I have been starting a lot of seeds recently and I thought I would pass on a simple homemade cold frame idea I had.  This cold frame requires no tools and only about an hour to assemble.  If you buy the materials, you can purchase everything for about $100.   I started …


Letter Re: Ammunition Manufacturers in The American Redoubt

James,  I am trying to facilitate my move to the American Redoubt area and am planning some income sources. I make knives, holsters, and pouches for other accessories but I am looking to expand what I can offer to help support my family when we move. My question is for you as well as anyone else you know in that area. I am an avid reloader and was wondering what the ammo options are like in the American Redoubt region. I’m curious about local places that offer a decent selection at a good price. From a few years of experience …


Economics and Investing:

K.P. sent this infographic article: All The World’s Gold Peak Everything — Why Everything Costs More. (Thanks to Michael W. for the link.) Diana sent us this: Warren Buffett Trashes Gold, But What About Silver? Items from The Economatrix: Greek Death Spiral Accelerates Trade Deficit Widens To $48.8 Billion In December S&P Lowers Ratings On 34 Italian Banks Gold Drops As Greece Delay Lifts Dollar


Odds ‘n Sods:

M.P. mentioned that the last free version of Ham Radio Deluxe, used for communicating with various digital modes, is available here.    o o o California’s mobile hospitals are losing funding and time. (Thanks to Sean B. for sending the link.)    o o o Security Slackers Risk Internet Blackout on March 8.    o o o Joe M. sent this one: Daylong traffic jam on Interstate 10 leads to motorist horror stories. [JWR’s Comment: If just fixing some potholes caused this, then what will the major freeways look like when the Schumer hits the fan?]    o o o …



Pat’s Product Review: North American Arms .22 LR Mini-Revolver and Guardian .32 Autopistol

I’m not a fan of “mouse calibers” for self-defense! However, I’m a firm believer in having some sort of back-up piece to my main gun. I still remember when I saw my first North American Arms (NAA) Mini .22 LR revolver. I want to say it was in the mid 1970s, and I was at my favorite gun shop in a southwestern suburb of Chicago. I was good friends with the fellow who worked there, and he always wore a baseball cap. He took his baseball cap off, and revealed he was carrying, in a pocket, sewn into the brim …


Bowel Issues – Part 3, by Dr. Bob

IBS and TEOTWAWKI Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), is a difficult and tricky topic to cover.  First, let’s get some of the politics out of the way and then some pretty interesting facts about IBS to start with, then we will move on to some helpful management tips.  The actual definition of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is this:  a gastrointestinal syndrome characterized by chronic abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of any organic cause.  Obviously, if there is no way to actually test for a disease, then there is a wide interpretation of who has it and why they …


Letter Re: A Simple Way to Encrypt Your E-mail Using Apple Mail and GPG

Dear SurvivalBloggers: There are a number of ways to encrypt or read encrypted email.  This one is about the easiest to get installed and running on your Macintosh computer, that I’ve run across. It uses the native Apple Mail program, and adds a OpenPGP Encryption and Signature option. All you have to do is install the program from the dmg file, and enter a password.  There’s a GUI key interface for importing existing keys into it. Of course not all emails need encryption, but that OPSEC sensitive email you need to send to loved ones or group members is a …