Letter Re: Sorting Canadian Pennies

Mr. Rawles, Regarding the letter “Sorting Canadian Pennies“, I wanted to correct some errors for those Canadian nickel collectors out there.  The nickel from 1922 onwards to 1982 was made from – you guessed it – nickel (99.9% Nickel to be exact; with the exception of some years in the 1940s and 1950s when they were made of a either copper-zinc alloy (tombac) or chrome plated steel.  This was because nickel was in short supply for the various war efforts. The Canadian nickel’s composition changed in 1982 to the cupronickel composition used presently in the US (75% copper, 25% zinc); …


Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Fitness Planning

Dear JWR: Well, hallelujah for Dr. Bob’s practical attitude toward fitness!  I’ve been working our homestead for almost 20 years, now, and I’ve been amazed at what the workout crowd can’t do, hurting because they had to shovel manure and those particular muscles weren’t on the look lovely list.  I’ve worked many a man into exhaustion, although I do pay when it’s time to try to buy a dress that fits – women aren’t supposed to have biceps.  For years I’ve wondered about spending big bucks to go to the gym when the push lawnmower and a few other practical …


Economics and Investing:

Top hedge fund manager: Decade of doom ahead. “Ray Dalio, founder of the largest hedge fund in the world (Bridgewater Associates), said the world debt is so large it will take 10 years to de-leverage it — and “there are no more tools in the tool kit” to postpone the inevitable reckoning.” JWR’s Comment: I think two decades might be more accurate. Ben S. sent this: Purdue expert: Cost to grow crops to surge in 2012 Fed’s Yellen: QE3 May Be Warranted. JWR’s Comment: Of course they’ll do it. Free money is more addictive than crack cocaine. Over at Fierce …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I heard about a web site with some useful data on Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants.    o o o F.G. sent this: Couple are forced to demolish their £300k four-bed home after it was invaded by Japanese knotweed    o o o News from the Oil Patch: America’s Boomtown: North Dakota housing crunch    o o o Sour Grapes Department: Is the US Declaration of Independence illegal?    o o o In SurvivalBlog we’ve been warning you about SCADA vulnerabilities since September, 2005. The mainstream media is finally catching on: U.S. fears science fiction-style sabotage in new wave of …



Notes from JWR:

They say that Internet posts and forwarded e-mails often take on lives of their own. This certainly rang true with me this morning, when a reader forwarded me a piece that began: “Due to the large number of jobs moving from California to Texas, Texas has compiled a “Californian to Texan” translation guide…” But that was a piece that was originally written by “Dan X.” and first posted in SurvivalBlog, back in January of 2011, as “The California – Wyoming Travel Dictionary”.  The part therein about “reintroduced wolves” doesn’t make any sense for Texas, but it does for Wyoming–which is …


TEOTWAWKI Fitness Planning by Dr. Bob

First, I must state that I am not a licensed physical therapist or personal trainer.  You may be expecting some type of disclaimer of “consult a physician before starting an exercise program” fame.  Nope.  The way I look at it is, I am that physician giving out helpful, free medical advice for prepping–so take it or leave it.  Much of this article references my life and personal experience, and for that you will either be impressed by the thoughtful, personal example; or you will be disgusted and bored by my shameless self-talk.  For this I am sorry; but I try very …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Bassett Machine M1A/M14 Scope Mounts

When I entered Basic Training at Fort Ord, California, in August 1969, we were issued M14 rifles. I was a wimpy 17-year old weighing 135 pounds. I found the M14 was extremely heavy for me to carry, but I learned to love that rifle, and I still do! The M14 fires the 7.62 NATO round – it’s akin to the civilian .308 Winchester round. It’s a great all around caliber for (most) big game hunting, as well as defending your home or retreat. When I left Basic Training, and went on to my Infantry school at Fort Lewis, Washington, I …


Letter Re: A Single Mom’s Desire to Relocate

Mr. Rawles: I am a Registered Nurse with some money saved up, and a two year old son.  I don’t know if I can do it all myself. I have had this impending feeling that I need to leave where I am on the East Coast. I feel God has put this restlessness in my heart for a reason. I find myself looking at rural land and farms to purchase practically every night. I feel as if something is coming and I need to get my son out of harm’s way. Basically I don’t know where to start or even …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned by Beginning Preppers

Hello Jim, We too are beginning preppers.  I wanted to add a few gotchas I encountered when storing food.  The first, which is minor, occurred when we bought snacks in bulk.  We are not big snackers, but we enjoy some dry-roasted peanuts while watching television, and some chips on the side with a sandwich.  When there were suddenly 9 lbs of peanuts or 6 bags of chips in the pantry, family members started eating snack foods excessively. But before I had to ration them, the behavior self-corrected.  Our diet has actually gotten better as we stock up, as most long-term …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s G.G. sent this: Monster Prediction From BofA: Another US Debt Downgrade Is Coming In Just A Few Weeks Bob G. mentioned a great Graphic of the European Debt Crisis Savings Experiment: Bagging the Best Deals on Groceries Items from The Economatrix: Berlin Experts Fear Euro Break-up From Bail-out Escalation EU Bank Failures Will Crash Wall Street US “Misery Index” Rises To Highest Since 1983 Merkel Takes Aim at Italy With Demand That Euro Members Live Within Means


Odds ‘n Sods:

Want to move way down south? I just heard about a farm near Chillan, Chile that is for sale.    o o o F.G. forwarded a link to a very interesting piece about JustiaGate: “Someone was incredibly busy in June 2008 working on an illegal front invisible to the public; searching and altering Supreme Court Cases published at Justia.com which cite the only case in American history – Minor v. Happersett (1875) – to directly construe Article 2 Section 1’s natural-born citizen clause in determining a citizenship issue as part of its holding and precedent.”    o o o Are …



Notes from JWR:

I just read a report and then heard it confirmed by a mutual friend that my friend Pat Jones, the proprietor of SAF Lithgow in Rathdrum, Idaho died tragically on Wednesday evening. Pat, who was born in Australia, was known as “SLR-5000” on the FALFiles. He was a well-respected gun (and gun parts) dealer and an expert on FAL rifles–both inch and metric. He will be sorely missed. My sincere condolences to his family. — 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 …


Help For Those Who Have Recently Awakened, by Mike H.

Many SurvivalBlog readers have been prepping for awhile and are comfortable with their plans.  However, the process can be overwhelming for people who have recently “woke up” or who are trying to convince loved ones who aren’t sold on the need or desirability of prepping. This shouldn’t be minimized or downplayed.  It can be very disturbing when you first realize you aren’t   self-sufficient.  It is easy to become overwhelmed with the scope, cost, and time necessary to prepare.  The concept of TEOTWAWKI can be troubling and concerning even to completely self-sufficient preppers.  Even the possibility of angry mobs trying to …