Letter Re: In Praise of Productive Dumpster Diving

JW,R:   Ever since I was a young’n, it has been hard for me to pass a dumpster or trash heap without investigating it.  I quickly learned that folks throw out a lot of good stuff, thinking it is worthless (someone said “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”); e.g. I’ve found appliances which only need a new electrical plug!  Nowadays, the same habit has greatly enhanced my prepping inventory, and best of all, it’s free, leaving more of my tight budget to buy store-bought items.  If you collect more things than you can use, the extras can be bartered, …


Economics and Investing:

Surprise, surprise: Fed aid in financial crisis went beyond U.S. banks to industry, foreign firms B.B. sent this from the Des Moines Register: Why farmland is skyrocketing. (I’ve been telling folks to invest in productive farm land, for many years. I told you so!) How muni bond bust could do big damage Foreclosure mess could threaten banks, report. (A tip of the hat to Kelly D. for the link.) Elitists Leading On An Odyssey Of Economic Ruin. (An excerpt from Bob Chapman’s weekly International Forecaster) Our thanks to frequent link contributor John R. I told you so: Spot silver hit …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBloggers will consider this well-trodden ground, but since it is a concise summary, so it might be a good link to forward to Pollyanna relatives: How To Prepare For The Coming Financial Apocalypse.    o o o V.L. flagged this: Hoarding more than just a little clutter. Unfortunately everyday preppers may get ensnared in new regulations designed to stop compulsive hoarders.    o o o OMG That’s OTT Department: SureFire “Quad-Stack” AR Rifle Magazines. The word “impractical” doesn’t begin to describe this product. Prone shooting? Forget it!    o o o Ghost Towns: Ciudad Juarez Residents Flee New Homes to …



Notes from JWR:

Just one week left! The Rawles Gets Your Ready Family Preparedness Course is only rarely offered at a discounted price. Until Monday December 13th, the publisher is running a special sale. Don’t miss out on the chance to get a copy for yourself, or to give one as a Christmas gift. — Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 …


Budget Survival: The Ins and Outs, by J. Lewis

Where to Begin First, take into account how many mouths you have to feed, what resources you currently have available and what resources will be available if SHTF in your current location.  Figure out a monthly budget that includes money coming in, bills going out, and what you have left over.  This will give you an idea of where you can trim the fat. (We will cover more on this later.)  Next, take an inventory of you already have that will be useful if SHTF, such as lighters, matches, wool clothing or blankets, canned food.  If you have camping gear, …


Letter Re: Confusion on Food Grade Buckets

Mr. Rawles: I’m befuddled. My husband says that the new orange 5-gallon buckets they sell at Home Depot are the same as “food grade” buckets, because they are made of the same plastic. But my sister says they aren’t food grade. Who is right? Thanking You in Advance, – Lena in Indiana JWR Replies: This has been discussed before in SurvivalBlog, but it comes up so often that it bears repeating: As I explain in the Rawles Gets Your Ready Family Preparedness Course, determining whether or not a plastic bucket is truly food grade can be a challenge. I’ve had …


Letter Re: Recommendation for the Surviving Disaster Television Series

James, I’m writing to recommend the Surviving Disaster series. It was a simulation of real life disaster situations produced by Spike. Hosted by former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley, each episode retells situations in a worst-case scenario and what viewers can do to survive them. There have been ten episodes aired to date. The series was not picked up for a second season. Spike TV has the entire season available online. I have found this show to be quite helpful should you ever be caught in any of those situations. Enjoy, – KJP


Letter Re: Cooking & Canning Beans and Meat

Letter Re: Cooking & Canning Beans and Meat Mr. Rawles, Thank you for all of your efforts to share such useful information that can be used in our daily lives and in the times ahead!   I would like to compliment Marie H. for sharing much useful information on pressure canning beans and meat. However, there is one bit of information that scares me big time: using a tongs to remove the pressure regulating weight to decrease the pressure quickly. Even the thought of doing this sends shivers down my spine.   As a multi-generational food producer and processor, with …


Economics and Investing:

America Bails Out A Thankless World  Here is an excerpt: “Turns out the Fed had over a dozen emergency programs operating beginning in 2007-08, one of them lending close to $9 trillion to Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and other troubled institutions, often at the comical interest rate of 1%.” John R. suggested this insightful piece by David at Deepcaster: Profit-Lessons from The Ongoing Europe/USA Crises Reader Davis sent flagged this: Mounting State Debts Stoke Fears of Looming Crisis Bob G. sent this item: The Patriotic and Moral Imperative for Owning Gold and Silver Items from The Economatrix: FDIC Takes Gloves …


Inflation Watch:

I got a bit of a shock when I dropped by my local coin shop, planning to buy some pre-1965 non-numismatic (“junk”) U.S. silver coins for Christmas gifts for Rawles family members. Their asking prices was 21.1 times face value! I was also surprised to see a few minty-looking 1964 proof quarters mixed in with the dealer’s tray of junk silver coins. He said that the spot price of bullion silver has galloped up so quickly that it has completely overshadowed any numismatic value for the 1964 proof Washington quarters. These are strange and exciting times for the coin bourse! …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Is there a SurvivalBlog reader who lives offshore that has some available server space? My goal is to set up both a public access mirror (or multiple mirrors) and a closed peer-to-peer set of torrent files of SurvivalBlog, to keep as a “worst case” situation back-up. These back-up files will be automatically be updated daily. Please e-mail me if you have some server space available in a country that is not reflexively obedient to the U.S. government. (Preferably somewhere like Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Andorra, Sealand, or Tonga.) Alternatively, is there a scripting guru out there that can create a script …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Anyone that has ever considered using lesser-known caves beneath public land (or private land–by ownership or permission) as fallout shelters might find this article of interest. The many challenges and special safety considerations have been previously discussed in a previous SurvivalBlog letter and in follow-up letters. The prizes for this round of the writing contest will 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 …


Surviving in Caves, by Caver X.

I got hooked on spelunking in the early 1990s in Tennessee. It was an adventure that would last for about 5 years and take me in several different caves including one that I went in between 35 to 40 times. There are basics to know when planning a cave trip and you need to have a good plan up front before starting out on your journey. I can’t say that I had them all right when I first started but I think my guardian angel kept me safe. Leave an Itinerary Make sure to get plenty of sleep the night …