Letter Re: Barter, Post-TEOTWAWKI: The Micro Store

James, I thought Barter, Post-TEOTWAWKI: The Micro Store by A.A.A.[posted on December 22, 2011 that was recently awarded First Place in the blog’s writing contest] was a great article. I loved it and I was very appreciative. I’ve spent a little time thinking of the same thing and have a couple of notes to add:   Regarding coffee, it might be a good idea to buy a supply of black tea which is cheaper, still has caffeine-like effect, and can be sold by the packet.   On tobacco, instead of cigarette cases, I think it could be more economical to …


Letter Re: Your Lawn and OPSEC

The Schumer has  hit the fan, you’ve made it safely to your retreat, everyone is inside, bedded down for the night, prayers are said in thanksgiving, and you all go to sleep.  In the morning, as you look out the window, you realize your OPSEC is printed all over the lawn.  A series of neat lines trampled across the tall, un-mown grass tells any observer about how many people are inside, and where they went to when they were out. We take lawns for granted.  My forested mountain retreat came with a very unusual volunteer lawn, one that taught me …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: Under Twist, The Fed Has Purchased 91% Of All Gross Issuance In Long-Dated US Treasurys Sicily Pitchfork Movement in Revolt – Western Media Blackout Hunkering down, or just a lifestyle change? Jim Cameron family “intend to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and acquiring property to operate as a working farm. (Thanks to N.V.T. for the link.) And from B.B. a link to another Zero Hedge piece: Greece Warns It Will Soon Be In “Condition Of Absolute Poverty” Items from The Economatrix: Silver and the Shift To Measuring Wealth in Ounces Instead of Dollars Hiring Surges in January; …


Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. was the first of several readers to send this: The great Asian gold theft crisis    o o o I heard about some American-made Boost Regulators that are useful off the grid. These can produce 14 volts with just 9 volts input.    o o o Linda U. suggested this article: Three Oregon mushroom pickers rescued after 6 days lost. JWR’s Comment: It is indeed a miracle that they survived. Consider: Poor prior planning. (This was a case of PPPPP.) Pitiful clothing and equipment. No signaling capability. No map and compass. No GPS. And if the temperatures had been …



Note from JWR:

A reminder about our new IPV4 (“dotted quad”) address: 95.143.193.148. When we migrated to our new primary server in Sweden, we adopted this new dotted quad address. Please make a hardcopy note of it, and update your bookmarks. This is important!


Book Release! Armageddon Medicine Now Available

SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor, Dr. Cynthia Koelker, has released her much-anticipated nonfiction book: Armageddon Medicine. This massive tome is 589 pages long–about the same size as Carla Emery Encyclopedia of Country Living. I authored the book’s Foreword. For now, the pre-publication edition of Armageddon Medicine is only available at ArmageddonMedicine.net, but it will soon be available through all the major book outlets. If you’d like copy of the pre-publication edition, SurvivalBlog readers all qualify for a 5% discount, with coupon code SB-DC-05. You may have already read Dr. Koelker’s first book, 101 Ways to Save Money on Health Care. So that you’ll …


El Fin del Mundo – And Then Came The Spanish Edition

Newly released by Editorial Paidotribo Publishing, of Barcelona, Spain: Cómo Sobrevivir al Fin del Mundo tal Como lo Conocemos. This the Spanish edition of my international bestseller “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times”. The English edition is now in its 11th printing. The German edition and Bulgarian edition are already in print, to be followed by Portuguese, French, Russian, and Korean translations, now in development. The price for the Spanish edition is a hefty € 29, (about $38 USD), so I recommend it only for your family …


400 Chernobyls: Solar Flares, EMP, and Nuclear Armageddon, by Matthew Stein, P.E.

There are nearly 450 nuclear reactors in the world, with hundreds more either under construction or in the planning stages. There are 104 of these reactors in the USA and 195 in Europe. Imagine what havoc it would wreak on our civilization and the planet’s ecosystems if we were to suddenly witness not just one or two nuclear melt-downs but 400 or more! How likely is it that our world might experience an event that could ultimately cause hundreds of reactors to fail and melt down at approximately the same time?  I venture to say that, unless we take significant …


Letter Re: Melting Lead for the Meltdown

James, I wasn’t going to say anything about some of the lead info on your site, but this last one warning of perspiration making lead explode was too much.   Yes, molten lead is very hot and it holds many many calories.  It will burn skin like crazy.  But for water to be a problem it has to go under the surface and do it quickly.  If it can make it under the surface before it turns to steam then when it does turn to steam it does so with some violence.  This can push lead out of the pot.  But …


Bowel Issues – Part 2, by Dr. Bob

Mechanical bowel problems   Mechanical bowel problems can include gallstones, bezoars, malrotation, ileus, foreign bodies, food impaction, stool impaction, tumors both cancerous and benign, and intussusception.  Then there is the mechanical problem we can actually do something about in a TEOTWAWKI environment:  constipation.  First, we will review the list and talk a little bit about prevention and conservative treatments of the list above; then we can spend some time reviewing the prevention, treatment, and management of constipation.  We will also talk a little about constipation’s frequent sidekick:  hemorrhoids.  Fun topics, to be sure, but a little knowledge in these areas may …


Recipe Of The Week:

Pumpkin Soup, by Mrs. R.L.B. Pumpkins store very well, which makes this a great recipe to have on hand. I have made this with a variety of pumpkins and other winter squash, including butternut squash, but I have also used some pretty odd looking varieties of squash out of curiosity at the store. (If it kind of looks like a pumpkin, it will probably work. ) This soup has always come out great despite my experimentation.  When you plant your pumpkins, consider planting a variety so that you have a better chance of growing and storing successfully.   Two tricks to better storage of pumpkins are: 1) to let …


Economics and Investing:

Tax Doomsday Is Coming for Amazon Why The Bernanke Effect Has Catastrophic Long-Term Consequences Items from The Economatrix: California To Run Of Out Cash In One Month:  Controller Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners Why Hasn’t The Day Of Financial Armageddon Occurred Yet? Europe’s “Great Deleveraging” Has Only Just Began Silver:  $50 Here We Come


Odds ‘n Sods:

I heard that Ready Made Resources will have a booth at the upcoming Dallas, Texas Self Reliance Expo on February 10th and 11th.They tell me that they will have Mountain House foods available by the case–over $30,000 worth of inventory at the show available for you to take home immediately. They will also have with them: Country Living grain mills Goal Zero solar power products, Katadyn,  and Ultimate Survival kits, as well as many others. Anyone who desires absolute privacy  can purchase there at the show without any records. (So bring plenty of cash!)    o o o Preview of …