Letter Re: Sailboats as Alternative Bugout Vehicles

Dear James: I found the question on using a sailboat as a bug out vehicle interesting, because I have been considering the same thing. However, there are some major things to consider. Piracy: • There are a few spots known for piracy today, but in reality there are many others where fishermen are not above piracy of opportunity, i.e. they are like my Viking ancestors: trade where the target is strong, raid where the target is weak. • Western style sailboats are magnets for pirates. They reek of wealth and comfort that the locals don’t have. Plus, they stand out …


Economics and Investing:

Commentary by Robert Samuelson at Real Clear Markets: Europe’s Debt Crisis Trumps Japan Tragedy Iowa farmland values shoot up 25% in one year. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.) Reader Greg C. flagged this: New Home Sales Dive to Record Low. (Slowest sales rate in nearly 50 years! LFG suggested this commentary by Ted Butler: Silver Review and Outlook. Ted and I both prefer silver over gold. Items from The Economatrix: End Game   Surviving A Societal Breakdown  Investors Flock To Japanese Stocks After Quake   Gold Just 1% Of Record Nominal High Of $1,444/Oz – Risk Of Dollar Crisis …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Sprouts: An ideal emergency preparedness food. (Thanks to G.P. for the link.)    o o o More about the politically-motivated attacks on Dr. Arthur Robinson’s family: “Lysenkoism” at OSU?    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommended this piece: Bad*ss of the Week: Hideaki Akaiwa. (Warning: This article includes some foul language)    o o o Jonathan sent a link to this map: 10-Mile and 50-Mile Nuclear Evacuation Zones. (Compare that map with the data in my Recommended Retreat Areas static page, and the maps in my book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”.)    o o …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady …


Pack Rats and Keeping the Water Running, by Sunflower of Kansas

Background:  You might say to yourself, I have no farm, I have no pump house, and I surely have no rats. My response to this is, “yet.” If and when the Sunflowers hit the fan (SHTF), you surely may have a rodent problem. Rodents can impact whatever integrity you may still have in regard to your utilities. That utility may be communications, electric, or as discussed in this article, water. This is a true account about my dealings and responses to confronting troubles with Pack Rats. The purpose is to provide a few tips, not to dictate any exact method …


Thrive to Survive: Premium Nutrition During High Stress, by B.W.

Wheat, cereal, and bread–the staff of life–is considered a cornerstone staple for human nutrition.  It played the lead role in the food pyramids we were taught in school.  But in truth, wheat is an inferior and “dirty” protein source.  And, the two people who know this best are allergists and athletes. Eighty percent of our immune system is in our gut.  And this makes sense, because humans have eaten a lot of foul, rancid, germ-ridden, nasty things over the course of our evolution.  And before nutrients are assimilated into our bodies, the intestines act as our first immunological line of …


Two Letters Re: Build Your Own Wood Gas Generating Stove

JWR,   Just a brief note in relation to the recent post regarding gasification. In researching the issue further, I found on Wikipedia’s wood gas generator article that producer gas should not be compressed beyond 15 psi due to liquefaction of some of the compounds and the possibility of severe carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the event of a leak. I like the idea of storing the gas for future use, but care and caution should be used. My suggestion would be to store the gas in an outdoor location far removed from people and animals to prevent health issues if the storage container …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Chad S. spotted this: Gas, food prices double whammy for rural families. Lorimer Wilson at the It’s All About Munknee blog recommended this piece: For the Last Time, Is Gold in a Bubble? Reader C.D.V. sent us this article evidencing Minnesota’s budget crises: Rosemount Decides To Stop Capturing Stray Cats Items from The Economatrix: North Carolina May Issue Gold Tender   Economic Disasters Which Threaten To Rip World Financial Markets To Shreds   Why Gold Is No Longer An Effective US Dollar Hedge New Homes Are Becoming A Bad Deal In Weak Markets   Oil Tops $105 Per Barrel …


Odds ‘n Sods:

K.A.F. was the first of several readers send this: Armed Beauty Queen Fatally Shoots Intruder in Florida Home Invasion. Don’t miss the bad OPSEC mentioned near the end of the article.    o o o Libya: UN air strikes aid rebels. JWR Notes: I still have a lot of “cui bono?” questions about this military adventure. Why are the French so heavily involved? What reconstructions deals were made, in order to create the coalition? Why was Germany so incensed that they withdrew their troops from NATO? Is Gaddafi’s gold reserve an issue? How about the Libyan Dinar? (Were there plans …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If you are a warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be “on” 24/7 for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself… ‘Baa.’ “- LTC David A. Grossman, “On Combat“, 2004


Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady …


Lessons in Survival: Family Innovation and Industry in the U.S. Great Depression by W.J.

I have always been fascinated with history and might have become a history teacher if there had been any possibility of making substantial money at it.  Growing up in the 1950s and ‘1960s in rural Texas the lessons of the U.S. “Great Depression” were still fresh in the memories of my family, so our frequent family get gatherings produced many stories from those days, some of which were “not so good old days”.  I want to relate some of this story for the benefit of those preparing for possible future, harder times: There was no money.  For a few years …


Making the Move: Retreat Bound, by L.P in The Ozarks

I’m writing this in an effort to encourage others who might be in the process of, or thinking about moving to a full time retreat. Our situation is not unique.   In the spring of 2008 we saw the writing on the wall (economic, political, and social trends) and we wanted out of the suburbs and into a full time retreat in the country side.  We are a family of four that includes two boys in their early teens. My wife and I had great jobs, we lived in a planned community that was 30 miles away from the big city …


Three Related Disasters (Part 2), by Joe Refugee From Tokyo

Days Two and Three I slept well the night of 11-3-11, which was good, because I hadn’t the two previous nights. A premonition, perhaps? Like the day after September 11th, there was an eerie feeling everywhere. The weather was nice, at least in Tokyo, but a cold front was coming in from the North, so the folks near the Tohoku coast were going to be suffering even more. It was obvious that the damage was off the charts, but the television downplayed the likely deaths, and a big question was whether the government had learned from its poor performance during …