Letter Re: Earthquake Retrofit an Old House

Hi Jim, Living in an area that’s earthquake prone and overdue for a large one, I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching ways to limit any damage that we might experience in our home.  In 1994 the Northridge earthquake and the resulting fires were the cause for the creation of a device that, I feel, is instrumental to possibly saving any home with a gas-line.  It’s commonly referred to as a Northridge valve.    Simply, it’s a seismic device that stops the flow of gas at the house meter should there be any seismic event over 5.2 on the …


Economics and Investing:

Charley S. pointed out this interesting essay: Don’t Blink! The Hazards of Confidence. And a related article, courtesy of Patrick S.: Can a monkey pick a hedge fund? Merkel wants ‘permanent’ supervision of Greece, warns of war. (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.) John S. flagged this: Yuan Gold Contracts a Step toward Reserve Currency ‘Unknown territory’ for Europe if summit fails: France. ( A hat tip to John R. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: FedEx Sees E-Commerce Driving Record Holiday Volume Just In Time For The Holidays: A Bad Economic Mood Gas Price Could Slide Another …


Odds ‘n Sods:

David N. in Tennessee mentioned: 154 free military medical course downloads.    o o o There is a lesson in OPSEC here: Five Criminals Who Got Caught Because of Facebook. If you must use social networking to promote a business, then avoid mentioning anything controversial. But the best choice is never sign up at all!    o o o “Apartment Dweller” sent this: First Google.Org-funded geothermal mapping report confirms vast coast-to-coast clean energy source    o o o The latest Orwellian news: Intelligent Street Lamps To Debut Friday. Does anyone honestly believe that the guys that deal drugs on street …




Survivors Sample Chapter Excerpt — Chapter 5: Hornet’s Nest

“The only purpose of a government is to protect a man’s rights, which means: To protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, an agent of man’s self defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper function s of a government are: The police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud from others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective laws. – John …


Letter Re: One Strategy for Bugout Bag Foods

Sir: I would like to follow up on my recent article, Some Thoughts of How to Live in Times of Hunger, with a few actionable implications that might make a difference to my fellow preppers. As always, I eagerly look forward to the contributions of the worldwide prepper community to add to or correct my conclusions.             If I ever have to bug-out on foot it will be under dangerous circumstances, and I will need to move quickly and cover at least several miles. This on-foot bugout is my truly worst-case scenario: minimum supplies, emergency escape. If I can plan …


Economics and Investing:

Commentary from George Maniere: Silver Waits to Begin Breakout G.G. sent this: Expect more QE from the Bank of England Also from G.G.: US States are Facing Total Debt of Over $4 Trillion. Get ready for higher taxes and creative “fees”. And from B.B.: Rustling costs ranchers millions in poor economy Erik B. mentioned that Glenn Beck has been trumpeting the derivatives time bomb. (Much like I have, since the early days of SurvivalBlog.) Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Mixed On Stronger Earnings, Europe Reports Help for Underwater Homeowners Unveiled Merrill Lynch Warns of Another US Debt Downgrade Wal-Mart Offers …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Salina Journal News: Preppers a diverse group. (Thanks to Jeff H. for the link.)    o o o Is nothing sacred? Thieves steal 2-ton bell from St. Mary’s garden    o o o Jeff R. spotted this: Ancient South American volcano Mount Uturucu blowing up like a balloon.    o o o Some good news from Canada: Conservative Party introduce bill to abolish long gun registry    o o o My recent interview on Frank Wuco’s show is now available as an archived podcast. My interview begins about 11 minutes into the hour, but please don’t miss the moving tribute …



Notes from JWR:

It’s nice to see that we’ve zoomed past the threshold of 35 million unique visits. We are now averaging more than 271,000 unique visits per week. Please keep spreading the word about SurvivalBlog. Thanks! — 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 …


Earthquake Retrofit an Old House, by Greg E.

2011 was a year of deadly and devastating tornados, and an earthquake that shook the east coast.  One of the largest tornados hit a suburb in my county in the Birmingham Alabama area. We are also only one state over from the New Madrid earthquake zone that starts in the Memphis area.  After taking several closer looks at the foundation and basement of our 50 year old house, I realized we were living with a false sense of security. After researching online, I learned that in certain large events, mainly earthquake, but also from high winds, if the house gets …


Three Letters Re: A Single Mom’s Desire to Relocate

Dear Mr. Rawles, I love your blog and visit it daily. You recently recommended a lady consider North Dakota (in Letter Re: A Single Mom’s Desire to Relocate), saying “You might also consider the Oil Patch of North Dakota, which is presently booming and has a considerable surplus of bachelors.” My wife and I have been considering going there only because we’ve been out of work for quite some time and things are looking bleak. Researching the area we found at least one negative: there is some significant concern that a highly toxic material called Erionite has been used as …


Economics and Investing:

Some recent data on the income decline in America illustrates that we are indeed in the early stages of an economic depression. There is an ocean of red ink that needs to dry out. And that might take two or three decades, folks. Diana was the first of several readers to mention this: Vatican urges economic reforms, condemns collective greed Mark L. pointed me to a new piece by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard that has some positive comments on investing in America. Yes, Things are so fouled up in European financial circles that they even make the U.S. look relatively safe and …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A recently-released map showing gang presence in the United States adds further credence to the American Redoubt concept. (Thanks to Karl K. for the link.)    o o o C.J. Chivers, one of the few mainstream newspapermen that really understands small arms had some great commentary on modified and re-purposed guns in the hands of guerillas: Afghan Gun Locker: Battlefield Ingenuity, and a Weapon’s Longevity    o o o F.J. suggested this over at LifeHacker: How to Make an Improvised Backpack    o o o $1 Billion of your tax dollars at work: Libya’s liberation: interim ruler unveils more radical …