Letter Re: Strapping Hot Water Heaters for Earthquakes

Hi James, Regarding River’s advice about strapping a water heater: He is correct about the value of doing this, but I would advise anyone considering this task to do more than just nail a strip of plumbers tape around the water heater. As a 40 year native of Southern California (yes, I am looking to escape) I am better acquainted than I would care to be with earthquakes and what they do. I am also a general contractor. California’s requirements for bracing water heaters can be annoying, but they do exist for good reason. Anyone looking at bracing their water …


Federal and American Eagle .45 ACP Ammo Recall

There has been a safety recall announced on .45 Automatic ammo with the following brand names and product numbers: American Eagle® (AE45A, AE45N1, or AE45A250), Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal® (GM45B), Hi-Shok® (45C, 45D) and Federal® Personal Defense® (C45C, C45D). The recall applies only to the following Lots: 38X628 through 38X765 and 38T401 through 38T414. If you possess ammunition from any of these lots, or have questions concerning this warning, please contact Federal at 1-800-831-0850 or 1-800-322-2342 and ask for Product Service. Federal will provide replacement product and will cover the cost of returning the recalled ammo.


Economics and Investing:

Several readers sent this: IMF calls for dollar alternative. Non-Dollar SDR bonds could replace the US Dollar in some international trade. This may hasten the demise of the US Dollar. Fiscal Insanity: Here we are in the midst of a recession-cum-depression and the Federal government is swimming is a sea of red ink. They’ve amassed a National Debt that exceeds $45,500 for every man woman and child in the nation. But now Vice President Joe Biden is pushing for a $53 billion Federally-funded high speed rail system. Air Force Dad sent this: Fed’s Warsh Quits; Bernanke Adviser Questioned QE2 The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Some commentary from novelist Stephen Hunter: Why 33 rounds makes sense in a defensive weapon.    o o o Nicholas S. sent this news item from The Washington Post: In Pepco territory, blackouts mean more home generators, more noise complaints      o o o Ol’ Remus (one of the web’s most entertaining bloggers) recently had a link to Kellene Bishop’s article: Forever Foods and More.    o o o O’l Remus also mentioned: “The reservoir of bees is dwindling to the point where ratios are dangerously out of kilter, with the US reaching the “most extreme” imbalance. Pollinated crop …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry 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 Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP …


Protecting Your Firearms Investment, by Grey Knight

Survival is a mindset.  The most valuable item one can have is knowledge.  One area of preparedness that gets reams of attention is the firearm.  The debate over which type, caliber, and capacity is endless.  Some of this is based on opinion, while other on experience. Yet with all the hoopla about the importance of firearms and ammunition, you never see much about care and cleaning.  I’m not going to throw my hat in with the hundreds of “experts” on firearms out there in the preparedness community, but I do want to talk a little about the importance of protecting …


Letter Re: Using Tea Candles for Urban Low Light

I have learned WSHTF, that after dark, subdued lighting is mandatory. A complete conversion of a home into a cave is not my idea of living so my thought is to choose one often used room and black out the windows with black plastic, duct tape and heavy curtains. Hang a thick blanket in front of the room’s door and specify bright lights out before any one enters or leaves that room. The rest of the home would be dimly lit. With preferably one, no more then two at a time candle-like devices behind heavy lined curtains. The thinking behind …


Letter Re: The Golden Hours

JWR,   I’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for about a year and participated in this year’s Ten Cent Challenge. Just thought I’d throw in a quick comment about the recent post, The Golden Hours by Brad H. A much better way of tranferring fuel by siphon is to spend a couple bucks on a “jiggler” type siphon which allows the user to start a siphon without the risk of getting fuel or other noxious liquid into their mouth. [JWR Adds: A siphoning slurp can mean a trip to the Emergency Room, or worse!] At my place of work, we use these to defuel our …


Economics and Investing:

John R. recommended this editorial: Ben Bernanke and The Confidence Men Aaron A. suggested this televison news item: Economy keeps parts out of auto body shops. (It includes yet another sob SAAB story.) C.D.V. sent this: China’s Wheat Basket Faces Its Worst Drought In 200 Years Items from The Economatrix: Job Openings Fall for Second Straight Month   Business Travel Bounces Back as Economy Improves   AP Analysis:  Foreclosures Raise US Economic Stress   Treasurys Fall After Weak Auction of Three-Year Notes   Silver to Soar in 2011, Says Investment Guru  



Odds ‘n Sods:

R.F.J. mentioned this over at the Makezine web site: How-To: Ultralight camp pot from Heineken “keg” can    o o o I heard from Ulysses Press that my novel “Patriots” is about to surpass 100,000 copies sold. (This is not counting the 30,000+ copies sold of the older Huntington House Publishers edition.) It is now in its seventh printing, and still ranked around #600 of the more than three million titles sold on Amazon.com. (That ranking is unsusual for a novel that has been out for more than two years.) Meanwhile, my nonfiction book “How to Survive the End of …



Notes from JWR:

We’ve reached the milestone of 2,000 days of SurvivalBlog posts, with nary a pause. There are also now 2,000 archived Quotes of the Day. My sincere thanks to the many readers that have e-mailed me their favorite quotes. (And please keep them coming!) I hope that you enjoy them. I suppose that once I’ve posted around 3,000, I ought to publish a book of quotations. — Today we present another entry 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 …


Prepare and Practice Often, or Pay The Price, by J. in the Great White North

I want to relate a story that happened to me this past week that I think will be instructive for many SurvivalBlog readers. My journey into prepping started about a year ago, when my eyes were opened after reading a contrarian economist’s books about the fragile state of our economy, and the impending implications that will inevitably result if our world continues to operate on tomorrow’s dollar and with a Nanny-state mentality. The very same day I finished his latest book, I went to my local bookstore to find similar titles that could augment what I’d already read.  This is …