Thinking About Weapons, by Jon W.

“Just think–it may be a new experience.”  For many of us “just thinking” may indeed be a new experience if it means making TEOTWAWKI survival choices purposefully and rationally,  We need to apply that quote and really think before deciding what and how much to buy as part of our survival plan. This is especially true when it comes to choosing firearms because they are our primary survival weapons. Calm and logical thought processes are vital to selecting tools key to surviving in an “end of the world as we know it” scenario.  But the advice many give about selecting firearms seems …


Letter Re: U.S. Air Force Final Phase Out of BDU Uniforms

Jim, Woodland pattern battle dress uniforms (BDUs) were phased out by the Army years ago, but the U.S. Air Force has allowed their personnel to wear them longer, even as they transitioned to other camo pattern uniforms.  Final BDU phase out for the Air Force is reported to be November 1st, 2011, so the availability of this used gear will continue to taper off, even in base thrift stores.  Note that with two forms of identification, most Americans can access a base to visit a thrift store.  Military base thrift stores are usually operated as private, charitable organizations and have limited …


Economics and Investing:

Chris Martenson: The Economy Is on The Ropes and Going Down–We are down to the wire in terms of time to prepare Miek F. flagged this bit of Agenda 21-style nuttery: Gas Tax Should Yield to Mile Fee as Cars Evolve: James M. Whitty Items from The Economatrix: Tightening The Noose:  France Bans Cash Sales of Silver & Gold Over $600 Wall-Street Protestors:  Over-educated, Under-employed, Angry Geithner Plan For Europe Last Chance For Catastrophe Consumer Confidence Remains Weak In September Stocks Rise For Third Day On Optimism About Europe


Odds ‘n Sods:

Once again, the American Redoubt shines, as a safe place to live: Firearm-related crimes interactive map.    o o o S.D. sent: Meet the Zetros: Apocalypse-Ready Motorhome    o o o Reader C.K. wrote to mention an illuminating article about the Red Dawn remake controversy: Libertas Sees the ‘Uncensored’ Version of MGM’s New Red Dawn    o o o G.G. was the first of several readers to send this: As Federal Crime List Grows, Threshold of Guilt Declines    o o o The Federal Reserve Plans to Identify “Key Bloggers” and Monitor Billions of Conversations. So not only does the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Waking up at the start of the end of the world, But it’s feeling just like every other morning before, Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it’s gone, The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour And I started staring at the passengers who’re waving goodbye Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time? I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well I guess we’re gonna find out Let’s see how far we’ve come Let’s see how far we’ve come Well I believe …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 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.) …


The Ice Walking Survival Stick, by Carmen G.

As we start to age, we have to compensate for arthritic knee joints, arthritis, and the inability to balance oneself on level ground, never mind walking on a wooded trail.  When finding myself in the situation of not being able to work as a Building Inspector, I decided to do something about it.  My problem was not being able to walk on uneven or ice-covered ground in order to inspect construction sites.  Those sites were the equivalent of an Appalachian trail minus the view in my mind.  My solution was to use a broken rake handle and insert a Philips …


Vision Preps for Disasters, by Josh D. in Georgia

As anyone who makes preparations for the survival of themselves and their family knows the number of things you have to take into account when planning is truly vast and can be overwhelming at times. Food storage, reusable resources, home defense, and do-it-yourself medical care are just a few of the things that must be researched, prepared, and enacted to ensure that you are safe and ready for whatever may come. The number of articles giving advice and urging action are equally numerous throughout dozens of blogs, web sites and books. Within all of this however I have seen almost …


Letter Re: The Google Earth Threat to Retreats

Dear SurvivalBloggers: So you think that your residence, bug out location, or retreat are going to be easy to hide? See this news article: Police: Burglar used Google Maps to case upscale suburban homes Think operational security (OPSEC)! I’ve noticed in my neighborhood who had “photo roofs”, who ran a generator during the recent Hurricane Irene, and who has “interesting” bulk food boxes put out for recycling.  Now I’m not going to be part of the Golden Horde. I’ll be dead of a stroke if TEOTWAWKI happens. (Never been right before in my predictions.) But if I see this stuff, …


Economics and Investing:

Commodities Are Down, But Far From Out Tulare County [California] walnut farmers fight theft. (Thanks to Sean B. for the link.) Kevin S. sent: A new supply risk index for chemical elements or element groups which are of economic value Items from The Economatrix: Silver Soars 26% In 26 Hours Denninger:  I Hope You Have Taken the Last Couple of Years to Prepare 10 Million More Mortgages Set to Default, Expert Says Global Financial Meltdown:  Investors Dump Nearly Everything Amidst Worldwide Market Crash Oil Wavers on Weak Home Sales


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bob G. mentioned: Flower Pot Fridge. This incredibly simple “old school” evaporative refrigeration technology could be a life saver for diabetics, to keep insulin refrigerated in the event of a grid power failure.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (our Editor at Large) pointed me to this: Things I Learned From My Patients. Mike describes it: “Emergency Room stories of interesting, frightening, horrific, educational, creepy and even disgusting things.  Very educational.  Language safe, but certainly some very adult references.” This web page is not for children!    o o o James C. noted that a classic Army training film …



Notes from JWR:

We’ve just added several new items to the SurvivalBlog Amazon Store, including Dakota Alert passive intrusion detection systems, a Grundig Yachtboy shortwave radio, and some more optics including light amplification (Starlight) and thermal night vision gear. For anyone not familiar with our store, here is how it works: If you click on one of our Amazon links and then either search or “click through” to order ANY product from Amazon.com (not just the ones listed in our catalog), then we will earn a modest sales commission. Please shop with our our paid advertisers first. (See the ads in the right …


Building a Fire in a Post-Collapse World, by Entropy

Recently (based on a suggestion by a SurvivalBlog reader) I began a Meetup Group for Emergency Preparedness.  One of the Meetup events that I’m soon to host is entitled “To Build a Fire”.  Hosting this Meetup which I originally conceived as simply a fire building class has forced me to think logically about tactical fire building in a WTSHTF scenario where you are forced to build a fire for survival purposes.  I’ve synthesized these ideas into this article. By “tactical” what I mean is “low observability” because technically no true definition of tactical perfectly fits this discussion.  However people should …


Survival Philosophy 101: The Caveman Survival Index, by Andrew M.

I still remember the first day in my Philosophy of Religion class back in the good ol’ college days.  My professor started the class with the question, “what is philosophy?”  Of course, being the smart-aleck that I still am today, I eagerly raised my hand and responded, “Philosophy is where you think really hard about something, and when you’re done, you know less than when you started.” I got a few laughs (and some angry looks from the philosophy majors), but I was only half joking.  There is some truth to that statement.   What it really means is that, until …