A Surgeon’s Advice to Preppers, by Swampfox, M.D.

As a reformed Christian and novice “prepper”, I am so glad to have found your blog and all the informative material that it contains.  With your help, I am becoming prepared for the hard times that I believe are imminent. I am a general surgeon practicing in the southeast.  Your writings have caused me to think a lot about the logistical vulnerabilities that exist in our health care system and how drastically surgery would change if/when Schumer hits the fan.   The Coming Instrument Shortages Many instruments and most of the supplies that we use for routine operations are disposable. …


Letter Re: Storing Dry Hypochlorite Bleach

Dear Mr. Rawles – Regarding the recent post on “Forever Preps”…. “Forever Prep #3: “Dry” Bleach This has often been covered by various sources on SurvivalBlog, but so-called “dry” bleach (pure Calcium Hypochlorite) lasts forever. If you go a little crazy and buy two 25 pound boxes of it from a big box store, you can make a solution that can purify about 4 million gallons of water! And, by the way, this Forever Prep is also very cheap (about $45-$50 for 25 pounds) and takes almost no storage space. You must store dry bleach extremely securely if you have …



Economics and Investing:

State Worker Retirements Soar Across the Country Gonzalo Lira: The Dollar, and The Next Ten Days. “The next ten days will be key: Will the dollar spike up? Become the safe haven of everyone fleeing from the world’s troubles? Or will the dollar nosedive, the first big step down in its death spiral?” James Turk – The Dollar Collapse Will Shock the World G.G. suggested this piece by Michael Pento: It’s Taps For the Still Weakening Dollar Items from The Economatrix: February Retail Sales Rise In Most Categories   Oil Jumps Above $102   Bernanke Sees 200,000 Hit to Jobs …


Inflation Watch:

C.D.V. sent us a link to an interesting “heat” chart: Feeling the Heat: Global Inflation Britons face soaring food prices as supermarkets boost margins and blame inflation, analysts warn. File Under “Humor Department”: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the U.S. central bank is ready to respond as necessary to a surge in global commodity prices caused in part by unrest in the Middle East, though he said inflation expectations remain low.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Keeley suggested: Sixty-One Uses of Baking Soda. Stock up!    o o o Reader Gert J. wrote to suggest that anyone who comes from a family with a history of heart disease and that lives outside of city limits should buy an automated external defibrillator (AED) and carry it in their car whenever traveling. Gert’s comment: “Given the high mortality rate for sudden heart attacks, these are are more important to buy than a life insurance policy.”    o o o More chaos in Libya: Video of Bloody Battle to Hold Brega. There is a steep learning curve for this …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. These two articles show two substantially different perspectives on post-TEOTWAWKI hunting. 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 …


Hunting for Food, by Jim W.

For many reasons hunting as a sport has diminished over the past thirty years in the United States.  Video games, the everyday rat race, lack of interest in the outdoors, and life in general have taken the front seat to a sport that not only brings family and friends together but instills in people a true appreciation of nature.  I consider myself part of a very small but lucky percentage of people.  Growing up I had great role models in my family, from both a religious and moral view, as well as an outdoor perspective.  My grandfather was a game …


Hunting When SHTF: Why Your Plan Isn’t Going to Work, by Conover

I have worked as an ungulate habitat biologist in a western state for a number of years now, and I think it’s given me a rare perspective.  There is a large hole in the plan of the casual survivalist that I want to talk about.  It lies in the animals you will be hunting when the Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF).             Ungulates are the large hoofed mammals that roam our continent. In the continental U.S. these include: Bison White Tailed Deer Mule Deer Pronghorn Antelope Elk Bighorn Sheep Mountain Goats Obviously for someone with limited ammo, which is all of …


Letter Re: Some Observations From a Texas Winter Storm

Jim, In late January-early February of 2011 Texas got hammered two weeks in a row by serious cold temperatures and dangerous ice. The cold was so severe that many power plants went offline and we had rolling blackouts that lasted up to 45 minutes in some places (not at the Super Bowl however!) Over 50 power plants in Texas shut down at some point because they could not take the record cold temps on Feb. 2. While my home seemed to have missed the rolling blackouts, the place where I work had to go to emergency generator power for a …


Economics and Investing:

Commentary from Barry Eichengreen in the Wall Street Journal: Why the Dollar’s Reign is Near an End. (Thanks to Jeff E. for the link.) Also from Jeff: Muni Default Estimate: $100 Billion. A site that maps gasoline prices, by county, has been mentioned here before: Gas Buddy. So much for the “recovery”: February planned layoffs highest in 11 months: Challenger Items from The Economatrix: Can you feel the artificial stimulus trickling down? US Auto Sales Jump 20% In February. (Perhaps people are out shopping for more fuel-efficient cars.) Oil Prices Jump On Middle East, Bernanke Comments   Manufacturing Growing at …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Italy gets over-run: More Than 140,000 People Flee Libya. Where will you be, when America’s cities are disgorged? Avoid living along refugee lines of drift!    o o o Because of some recent supply difficulties with Yoder’s, CampingSurvival.com has recently switched to Keystone brand canned beef, chicken, and turkey meat and broth.    o o o They’d better include some Kevlar: Bam! Pow! Superhero Groups Clash in an Epic Battle of Good vs. Good. (Kudos to F.G. for the link.)    o o o Reader R.P.B. sent this link: Rural Survival.    o o o Daniel H. mentioned that Pastor …



Notes from JWR:

There are several new properties listed at our spin-off web site: SurvivalRealty.com. My #1 Son has enjoyed great success in connecting buyers with sellers of rural and truly remote properties, both on-grid and off-grid. Ads there are still just $30 per month, and there is no commission charged to either the seller or buyer! — 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 …