Letter Re: COMSEC, Bitcoin, and Ironkey Thumb Drives

James, I took notice of the malware warning in your blog regarding  Bitcoin and some of the suggestions to thwart it. I’d like to throw my 2 cents in and suggest your readers check out  ironkey.com Ironkey makes a thumb drive that is like no other device on the market. I just bought one and I love it. I will describe what it does and why your readers may want to consider getting one as part of their COMSEC arsenal. I purchased the 16 GB model and the cost including delivery was $228. Yes, that is expensive, but wait until …


Letter Re: Gluten Free Food Storage

Letter Re: Gluten Free Food Storage Hi JWR,   I just got done packing away a bunch of pasta this afternoon, and looked at the latest SurvivalBlog posts and read the Gluten Free Food Storage article by Cassandra.  Funny thing is, I was long-term packing gluten free rice pasta in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers.  I couldn’t find what I wanted anywhere else, so I did it myself.  Maybe what I just learned this past hour will help someone else wanting to pack away some pasta.  Here’s what I used: Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice Pasta (Fusilli, Penne, and Spaghetti)  We used to eat …


Economics and Investing:

Reader J.H.B. suggested: Its Weight in Gold: The Real Prices of Things by Charles Vollum Trading Of Over The Counter [FOREX] Gold And Silver To Be Illegal Beginning July 15 Record Corn Harvests Can’t Meet World Demand. (Thanks to Steven M. for the link.) Kevin S. recommended this: Unlocking the Mayor Badge of Meaninglessness “The Toon” sent us this: Are We Running Out of Silver? Items from The Economatrix: Greek Crisis Could Send World Markets Into Turmoil Greece Nears Point of No Return In a Currency Tug-of-War, the U.S. Dollar Loses MERS Does Not Have The Right to Foreclose on …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader V.T. sent this: African Village Uses Tech to Fight Off Rape Cult. Hmmm… Weapons, communications, intelligence, and community-based self defense. Sound familiar? And they did it all this on a shoestring budget.    o o o Bobbi M. forwarded: How Superbugs Will Affect Our Health Care Costs    o o o The deadline for the Ready Made Resources Preparedness Video Contest is July 26th. Instructional (nonfiction) videos on any topic related to family preparedness are sought. The prizes are a brand new Rock Rivers Arms (RRA) Elite Comp M4 (AR-15 series compatible ) complete Barreled Upper Receiver and a …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo , and …


Gluten Free Food Storage, by Cassandra R.

Everyone knows that storing wheat is a good idea.  However, those with various forms of gluten intolerance, and also others who benefit from gluten free diets currently, simply cannot go back to consuming gluten post-SHTF.  The effect could be devastating in the resulting society.  If you have unlimited monetary resources, then prepping for storage of gluten free foods is not a problem, anyone can go to the store and purchase plenty of those expensive mixes they sell at the store.  But what if you don’t?  Or, worse yet, what if you run out of those expensive mixes in a long-term …


Letter Re: Got Worms?

James: One thing that I’ve uncovered in my research is that while composting worms are fine if you simply want compost.  However, the red wrigglers commonly used for composting are not effective as a worm for your garden [beds].  Their primary problem is that they prefer the top 2 or 3 inches of soil.  As a result your soil is not fully aerated. After a lot of searching I found a supplier that provided a mix of three worms types, each with different characteristics so that garden soil is serviced top to bottom.  We mixed several yards of mulch into …


Economics and Investing:

Six minute of must-watch video with Dylan Ratigan: Jim Rogers warns: Get prepared! Just I warned you, the 46 cash-strapped States are finding creative ways to raise revenue: Downloads and drugs taxed under new Rhode Island budget plan. (Thanks to John E. for the link.) Fake Bars: “Federal investigators say tungsten filled gold bars and lead filled silver bars have started to circulate in the U.S.”  (Thanks to C.A. in Oregon for the link.) A recent essay by Michael Pollaro: US government’s fiscal state worsens, DC politicians fiddle   Items from The Economatrix: “Greece on the Edge of a Precipice” …


Odds ‘n Sods:

David N. recommended this: DIY Chlorine Generator for Water Purification    o o o For Washington state residents, John B. sent a link to this blog: Washington State Gun Lawyer.    o o o Pierre M. suggested this at The Genius Files: Guide: Protect Your Security Online and Mobile Phones. And, on a related note: Ten Effective Privacy Tricks To Secure Your Web Browsing    o o o Courtesy of Steven M.: 10 Most Secure Locations on the Planet.    o o o Chad S. sent a headline from Nanny State California: San Francisco Considers Ban on Goldfish as Pets …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo , and …


Got Worms?, by Girl Raised in the South (GRITS)

I felt a sting of envy while admiring a neighbor’s tomato and pepper plants. They were lush and heavy with fruit, bursting out of their containers, while the straggly things in my garden struggled to produce an occasional ping pong ball for our salads. Our neighbor, Bud, mentioned that he had added castings from his aunt’s worm farm, and he figured that must be how come his plants were doing so well. We have our share of earthworms in our home dirt, and knew they were beneficial, but had never seen the value of  concentrated worm poop demonstrated so clearly. …


Letter Re: Vacuum Tube Radios for Preppers

Jim: A lot of us got the radio bug from a Hallicrafters S-38 series or a Zenith Trans-Oceanic. I have both and still enjoy them, but when I need to tease out an obscure signal my old National HRO usually beats about any other radio in the shack (new or old) hands down. The S-38 is a good choice since outside of the band-switching arrangement it has the guts of an All-American Five radio. This makes it a lot more repairable, most of the components are “generic”, i.e. tubes, capacitors, IF transformers, et cetera. The only downside to a [transformerless] …


Letter Re: Charity and Food Storage Rotation

JWR, As I was reading the letter about the Vancouver riots, the part about the homeless man reminded me of one of the ways I rotate the food in my bug out bag (BOB). I know that a lots of people don’t like to give money to beggars, because they don’t want them to just buy booze. I also know that many people don’t use the food in their BOB (I’ve personally seen some rather old, funky smelling granola bars). Yes, I know you can use them when you go camping or hiking for practice, or just have MREs or …