Odds ‘n Sods:

10 Days and Two Candy Bars: Stranded student survives 10 days in her Toyota Corolla. This underscores the profound need to carry survival gear and water when traveling. (Thanks to Ian in Virginia for the link.)    o o o Congratulations to Mac Slavo of the SHTF Plan blog, now listed as #1 in popularity by the Survival Top 50 survey site! Congratulations are also due to The Survival Podcast, the top-ranked site in Survival Top 50’s ongoing Reader’s Choice Awards. (Note: You have to scroll way down to the bottom of the Reader’s Choice web page to see The …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 38 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 $275 …


Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, by Rick H.

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. “When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come …


Letter Re: Greenhouse Heating

Dear Jim, I was very interested to read about the heated greenhouse in this article. I wondered if people have also tried insulating a greenhouse and designing it to maximize solar gain? I’ve seen a design used in the Himalayas which allows them to grow vegetables throughout the year despite -25C conditions, designed by the charity GERES. I uses a UV-resistant polythene sloping roof facing south, high-mass insulated walls to store the sun’s heat and keep it in, some internal walls painted black and others white to help the solar gain, and finally a manually controller ventilation hatch – though …


Two Letters Re: Barter, Post-TEOTWAWKI: The Micro Store

James, Thank you so much for your blog site. I’ve been a reader for nearly five years and have learned so much.   Regarding the post of items to have to implement a micro store when and if there is a TEOTWAWKI event, he was well thought out and quite thorough.   It will be wise for us all to not only be as prepared as we can be for ourselves, but to think about being prepared for those around us.   If we all prepare this way, there will be a lot of duplication. However, as you have said …


Economics and Investing:

Larry W. recommended a piece by Ryan Jordan, titled Silver And Survivalism. Eric Sprott: I Think That This Next Decade Will Be The Decade For Silver Prices. A report from California’s Central Valley by Victor Davis Hanson: A Vandalized Valley Items from The Economatrix: Euro Collapse Crisis Sledgehammer Pounds Into Stock Market Santa Rally We Are Witnessing An Historic Bottom In Gold Most Americans Still Have No Idea How Bad The US Economy Is US Asks Banks to Keep More Cash at Hand


Odds ‘n Sods:

How many times must we shout it, folks? OPSEC, OPSEC, OPSEC! Man’s life savings stolen after daughter leads friends to it. (A hat tip to F.G. for the link.)    o o o Kevin A. wrote to mention that he liked a five minute TED video: He Went Broke, Then Found Himself. Kevin says: “Interesting information that may spark interest in the SurvivalBlog community. He earned a Ph.D. But with no practical skills, he thought he was useless. So he started a farm — and stumbled upon a revelation.”    o o o M.E.W. sent a link to an interesting …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” – Matthew 1:23 (KJV)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 38 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 $275 …


Greenhouse Heating, by Inda Woods

We now have indoor plumbing and a Wal-Mart, along with the millions of acres of wooded wonderland. Some of our forests are so dense and vast that even the DNR officers have become lost. We are alive with moose, wolf, cougar and black bear, to name a few. My husband and I are in our mid 50s and bought our 40 acres of forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 20 years ago. Can you believe it; we paid only $13,000 for our woods and small cabin? Back then, no one in his or her right mind wanted to live in this …


Letter Re: How I Survived an Attempted Murder

Hi James, In reference to A.’s recent article “How I Survived an Attempted Murder”, we lived in Guayaquil, Ecuador in the early 1990s. I taught at the American School in Guayaquil called The International Academy. We bought an Isuzu Trooper and drove over 20,000 miles during our stay there. We visited many areas on the frontier with Columbia and Peru that were described to us a bandit country, often drove out into the mountains to distant villages that seemed to have hardly had any contact with Europeans or Americans. Several times drove all the way east of Quito over the backbone …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. suggested this from James Turk: More Deficits, More Debt Also from G.G.: Are Guns & Ammo The New Gold? Why More Americans Than Ever Before Are Arming Themselves Zero Hedge: Did The Fed Quietly Bail Out A Bank On Tuesday? Items from The Economatrix: The Top 100 Statistics About the Collapse of The Economy That Every American Voter Should Should Know The Harsh Reality is that The EU Has Already Failed If Europe Is Cured, Why Are Central Banks Preparing For Its Collapse? Economy Shedding Debt But Shackled By Pessimism 2012 Economic Outlook:  Countdown To The End Oil Prices …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Adam W. sent us a piece about a very expensive lesson in OPSEC: On December 9, 2011, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a residential burglary. A list of the stolen property includes: 7,000 – 1 ounce 2011 American Silver Eagles Coins in plastic sleeves 12 – [$1,000 face value] bags of 1920-1963 Silver Coins at 5, 10, and 25 cents 15 – South Africa Krugerrands, 20 – 10 pound bars of silver, 20 – 5 pound bars of silver, 30 – American Gold Eagles with Canadian Maple Leaves 10 ounce and 6 ounce bars …