The Psychology of TEOTWAWKI, by J.P.C.

Many are preparing with physical items for “The End”. This aspect is extremely important, but what good will it do you if you are mentally weak? In survival situations research has shown that on average the mental willingness to live equals roughly 50% of your survival chance. This is based upon the individual, whether already mentally weak or strong, the type of situation, and the duration of the situation that the individual is in. Some people are very wise, strong, prepared, or a combination of all, but will not make it passed the initial phase of a catastrophe due to …


Two Letters Re: First Aid Kits Are Not Enough

Sir, I very much appreciated reading the recent article about an adventure in wound care during a blizzard. It was chilling! Hope your wife has made a complete recovery! In my many defensive firearms classes with John Farnam, he has held forth the many virtues of the Israeli Battle Dressing (IBD) and its fantastic ability to control hemorrhaging. Had your wife severed an artery, the IBD may have been to only thing that would have saved her, at least would have been the best solution. The IBD has the ability to quickly apply a lot of preferential pressure on a …


Letter Re: Post-TEOTWAWKI and Off-the-Grid Entertainment

Dear James,   Thank you for the excellent work you do for those that listen and hear your guidance.  I’ve been an avid reader for many years and moved my family from urban Michigan to a full-time retreat property in the woods of North Idaho largely on recommendations here on SurvivalBlog.   Reed’s article on pastimes really should include the card game of cribbage. Any game, like chess, which has survived pretty much intact for many hundreds of years must have something good doing for it!   Adding cribbage is as simple as investing in a quality board and taking a few minutes to learn …


Economics and Investing:

Forecaster predicts the next crisis Bob Chapman: A Nation Exclusively Run For Corporate Interests. (Thanks to John R. for the link.) G.G. sent this: Egypt and the growing problem of global inflation. John also mentioned a guest post over at Zero Hedge: The Road to Madness Is Paved With $100 Bills Your Cheat Sheet to the 11 Countries Which Could Follow Egypt’s Lead Huge Winter Storm Threatens Wheat, Cattle Items from The Economatrix: Nine Signs that the Price of Oil is About to Soar Beyond $100 a Barrel   Less Than a 3% Drop in Asset Values Could Wipe Out …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael H. sent a link to some useful New Madrid Seismic Zone graphics.    o o o Norman in England sent: 10 Things That The Egypt Riots Can Teach Us About What Happens When Society Breaks Down    o o o Tim R. suggested this photo essay: Protest spreads in the Middle East    o o o J.B.G. sent this: Bill would require all South Dakota citizens to buy a gun. It appears the legislator’s intent is to illustrate that the government can’t force anyone to buy any product–even health insurance.    o o o Tamara K. (of the View …



SurvivalBlog Writing Contest — Round 32 Winners

We’ve completed the judging for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest! First prize goes to J.E. for: Preparing for the Aftermath–Lessons from the 1930s, which was posted on December 24, 2010. J.E. will receive: 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 …


Building a Dry and Warm Temporary Shelter With No Tools, by Richard B.

Building a Dry and Warm Temporary Shelter With No Tools, by Richard B. If you ever find yourself in the wilderness without any hope of finding rescue in a day or more, you don’t have any camping equipment, fire starting tools  and no way of knitting a 0 degree sleeping bag before nightfall, you may need to build a shelter.  The only other alternative in cold weather is to sleep during the day and stay awake all night with a fire or continually move to stay warm.  In this type of situation, you may be there for multiple days, and …


Post-TEOTWAWKI and Off-the-Grid Entertainment, by Reed C.

As a newcomer to the “prepper” lifestyle, I’ve been devouring the wonderful information I can find on SurvivalBlog.   These articles have prompted some deep and serious thinking from both me and my wife.  But one day, as I was reading about food handling and storage and how to survive after the crunch, I began to consider what it would be like to spend many long months locked up in a safe-house somewhere with two young children.  I remembered the Diary of Anne Frank, and how much they suffered from boredom while locked up in the attic of their safe house…and …


Letter Re: Earthships: Sustainable Living for TEOTWAWKI

Dear James Rawles,      We have lived in a Earthship for 12 years.  It is an excellent way of life and very fulfilling to be able to build your own house.  But living in the the dry desert southwest does not provide enough [captured rain or snow-melt] water to grow enough food to survive.  We need a well to provide water.  It is run by solar panels and a jack pump.  But in the summer monsoons or with the winter clouds we have to use a generator, for both pumping water and enough power to run the house. In times …


Two Letters Re: First Aid Kits Are Not Enough

James,   The letter “First Aid Kits Are not Enough” is a great example of the need for all of us to lay in a large supply of real first aid equipment! The place I would recommend everyone start is the Israeli Battle Dressing (known as the “Emergency Bandage” here in the U.S., and as “IBDs” in military and police circles). They generally go for $5-6 on the net, and can be had cheaper in quantity. I know I can’t go to any drug store and secure first aid materials that will do what it does for $5!   IBDs are manufactured …


Avalanche Lily’s Bedside Book Pile

Here are the current top-most items on my perpetual bedside pile: I finished reading The Rancher Takes a Wife. (That I described in a previous column.) What a great book! The last part of the story told of some extreme difficulties that Pan (Rich’s friend and business partner) and his wife went through up at the Home Ranch 200 miles from the nearest town. It was a true test of strength and stamina. I won’t tell any more, so as not to give the story away. I highly recommend folks reading these books. I still have to read Richmond Hobson’s …


Economics and Investing:

Authoritarian governments start stockpiling food to fight public anger Nearly 11 Percent of US Houses Empty (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Bank of America dealt another foreclosure blow in Nevada Items from The Economatrix: Energy Stocks Push Indexes Higher   Oil Prices Rise on Egypt Unrest, Brent Tops $100   Consumer Spending Up 0.7% In December   Egypt’s Economy Hurt as Travelers Avoid The Unrest   World Stocks Fall on Egypt Turmoil   Gold Premiums Highest Since 2004; China Stock Up


Odds ‘n Sods:

Detroit Police Department Shooting Video Released. Note that the perp dives head first over the counter to get an advantageous shooting angle. Watching that, something tells me that he might have been high on cocaine or some other illicit drug.    o o o Reader Larry L. mentioned Sail Mail.  Cruisers all over the world send and receive e-mail wirelessly by using a Pactor modem on their SSB ham radios.  It is slow does not allow graphics, but it works!    o o o R.M. let us know that there is an iPhone app that will let you receive rapid …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Jimmy Carter will go down in American history as `the president who lost Iran,’ which during his term went from being a major strategic ally of the United States to being the revolutionary Islamic republic. Barack Obama will be remembered as the president who `lost’ Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, and during whose tenure America’s alliances in the Middle East crumbled.”- Aluf Benn in the daily Haaretz.