Letter Re: Air Wells, Fog Fences, and Dew Ponds–Harvesting Atmospheric Water

Sir I am providing a link to a web page on “Air Wells”–the history of harvesting  atmospheric water, in the form of water vapor, dew ,and fog.  I know this was done in ancient times, and when I was in Europe I went on several tours of old castles, etc.  At one of these sites I saw a odd building on the grounds, and asked what that was used for.  It was used to collect water from the dew in the mornings, there was a cistern inside, and the water dripped from the tile walls and collected in the cistern.  …


Letter Re: Staple Food Storage by the Numbers

Mr. Rawles, The recent article, “Staple Food Storage by the Numbers by Paul B.,” offers good insight into how to calculate for food storage and what foods offer more versus others.  Following his idea, I went to Self magazine’s mentioned web site nutritiondata.self.com to see about other foods I had been planning on storing.  When I looked into the kidney beans information provided by Paul, I noticed that the nutrition data provided in his article was based upon raw red kidney beans.  The problem with uncooked beans is not only the difficulty in eating them, but they are potentially toxic when consumed if …


Economics and Investing:

Roman sent the link to this great piece:  Storing Your Value–Old-School Wealth G.G. flagged this: EUROPAC: We Have Entered The First Of Four Phases That Will Destroy Fiat Money Some Context: How Bad is it in Italy?   The U.S. Dollar Has the Upper Hand Here. [JWR’s Comment: The U.S. Dollar’s relative strength versus the Euro is transitory. In the long run, our debt (as a percentage of GDP) will become all too obvious, and U.S. Treasury debt instruments will be propelled to double-digits yields in order to attract investors. That will be a precursor to an extended period of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

My buddy Pete in Switzerland mentioned a new marketing angle for oral rehydration solutions: Warrior Wound Care.    o o o Clearly, it is not safe to live near the Mexican border! SWAT teams dispatched as gun battle unfolds near Escobares.    o o o Kevin S. sent this: The Darknet Project: netroots activists dream of global mesh network    o o o The left-of center Mother Jones magazine recently posted this: Map: The Nuclear Bombs in Your Backyard. This map helps to confirm that the portions of The American Redoubt that are upwind (West) of Montana’s missile fields are …



Note from JWR:

Notes from JWRs Today marks Armistice Day/Veteran’s Day/Poppy Day/Remembrance Day, observed in many western nations. If you meet a veteran, thank him for his service. — Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready …


Burning Coal in a Cookstove, by S.G. in New Hampshire

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While remodeling our kitchen several years ago we purchased an antique coal/wood kitchen stove.  This stove was a replacement for a wood-only cook stove that had seen better days. With the economy crumbling and living in New Hampshire where winters can be long and harsh we thought it would be a good idea to have an alternative to our all-electric kitchen.  Power outages are relatively common here as well. Several years ago we lost our power for 8 days due to an ice storm. We have lived in our current home for 33 years. It is a log home several …


Letter Re: Lists of Practical Skills

JWR – I cannot thank you enough for all you do. Thanks to your “List of Lists” and articles I am well on my way…. above the 80% so to speak.  As everyone is, I am limited by finances. So while I pursue the items I need I also wanted to pursue skills. That is the most important anyway. So I was searching the site for a list of practical skills. Skills many times can be practiced without money or with existing gear.  Is there a list of skills on the site? And if not, then what articles would you …


Letter Re: Nationwide EAS Test Failure

Mr Rawles: I had to send along the link to the news article about the failure of the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) with the observation that I would have bet this wasn’t going to work.   I say that as a retired Air Force avionics technician whose job was maintaining and flying as a crew member on the EC-135A, C, G, H, and L model Airborne Command Post Aircraft.  As well as in an advisory capacity for five years when the job was passed over to the Navy E6B in 1998.  Even on our best days with everyone doing …


Economics and Investing:

Josh flagged this: 100% Chance of Crisis, Worse Than 2008: Jim Rogers M.C. highlighted this headline: The Fall of the Eurozone? Merkel Calls for “New Europe” C.D.V. alerted us to this: Alabama County Votes for Biggest Muni Bankruptcy on Record ($3.14 billion!) M.E.W. sent this piece by “Recovering Venture Capitalist” Bill Freeza: Will Western Civilization Rediscover The Moral Foundations Of Sound Money? Items from The Economatrix: These Five Charts Clearly Show Just How Major — And Depressing — The Current Unemployment Situation Really Is Employers Post Most Job Openings in Three Years Retirement Crisis Closes in On Baby Boomers Progress …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was recently chided by a fellow blogger, for encouraging people to relocate to a lightly-populated region in the western United States. He mischaracterized my retreat locale recommendations by referring to me as “…some novelist living in Idaho who has completely discounted every state east of the Mississippi as unfit for survival.”  For the record, I have never called the eastern states “unfit for survival”, but I have concluded that one’s statistical chances of surviving a grid-down collapse will be better in regions where the population density is low. I did not include any eastern states in my rankings of …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) …


Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers, by Paul B.

Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers, by Paul B. The most basic survival task that every person can do is to begin an emergency food pantry or stockpile or whatever term one wishes to use.  The problem I have always had is in not knowing the quantities of staple foods to store.  I know there are food storage calculators on-line that will give total amounts for various items but they don’t explain how to use those items on a day-to-day basis.  Part of the reason why this is all so problematic for me is that I never really knew that …


Letter Re: An Accountant Sums Up The Greek Debt Quandary

Jim, et al:  I recently read an enlightening ABC Australia news article: Greek Crisis – Migrants getting the blame.  Surprise surprise – the social experiment of open borders and monetary union is not working so well in Greece !   Greece has a population of 11million apparently and there are 1 million illegal immigrants and free loaders. Combine this with a retirement age of 45 there is little wonder the country is in the poo.    Being an accountant, I did a few quick calculations.  Assuming that the population was spread evenly to an average death age of 80 (which …