Odds ‘n Sods:

There is an interesting new forum called Every Day Carry Central. It is essentially a forum for gear junkies with a focus on personal protection, security, preparedness and self defense related gear. They post opinions and gear reviews from people who really know what they are talking about. It is free to register on it and there are no annual membership fees, unless you want access to the buy/sell/trade forum. For an initial membership drive, on November 24th they are doing a giveaway drawing for more than $200 worth of gear just for registering on the site. If the winner …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 31 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 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 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm …


Retreating: A Minority Perspective, by Alex B.

There are all the “normal” things a person who has decided that a TSHTF or even a TEOTWAWKI event is possible in the near future thinks about, and then there is the fact that  some of us are ethnic minorities and our current plans may be to retreat to areas that are overwhelmingly Americans of European descent.  The reality is that many of these areas are also the best suited to survive a TSHTF event or the (hopefully) unlikely TEOTWAWKI.  Thus the quandary: retreat to areas that are highly ethnically diverse, but less prepared, or retreat to areas that are …


My Deuce and a Half–The Ultimate TEOTWAWKI Bug Out Vehicle, by Tom E.

I have been an avid follower of SurvivalBlog for several years now and you and I want to thank JWR and my fellow readers for helping me to get prepared.  I am not nearly where I want to be yet, but thanks to your books and your blog, I am leaps and bounds better prepared than I was even two years ago. I am writing this article to help others discover what took me some time and research to figure out – what would be the ideal kind of vehicle in a TEOTWAWKI bug out situation?  You’re ready.  You have …


David In Israel on Secure Personal Computers

The recent article: “Built-in Obsolescence, by Margaret G.” prompted me to comment on personal computers. I am a die-hard anti-Windows guy. The troubles caused by the easy subversion of your own computer by bad people combined with terrible permissions allowing user space programs to affect and jump to your whole network makes it a no-go operating system for people wanting reasonable network security unless you are a computer scientist working for the NSA or other governmental agency with a contract which allows you to review and customize the actual source code. While most windows boxes die a slow slide to …


Letter Re: Built-in Obsolescence

JWR; This week I bought at a charity resale shop some silk and Merino wool sweaters, as recommended by a contributor. I also bought a La Crueset pan for a buck, blankets and a backpacking frame. Every single piece of my quality camping equipment came from garage sales. Americans buy a lot of stuff and just don’t use it and dump it at garage sales or charity resale shops. Debt-addled Americans so over-bought clothes that they are so cheap at resale shops and garage sales (as low as 25-to-50 cents apiece) that you could buy a lifetime of outfits for …


Economics and Investing:

Thanks to B.B. for this link: Dollar at Risk of Crashing, Triggering Inflation G.G. spotted this recent post over at Zero Hedge: David Stockman Says The Fed is Injecting High Grade Monetary Heroin into the Financial System Susan H. flagged this: Citi: Central Banks Are Going to Start Dumping Dollars in the Coming Weeks Doubts grow over wisdom of Ben Bernanke ‘super-put’. The last line in the article is chilling: “If they start to act on this suspicion, they could push rates higher instead of lower, and overwhelm the Bernanke stimulus. That would precipitate an ugly chain of events for …


Odds ‘n Sods:

NASA is Building a ‘Solar Shield’ to Protect Power Grids from Space Weather. (Thanks to J.V.M. for the link.)    o o o Via Reason magazine: “Researchers at Purdue University have updated their popular Impact Earth! online calculating tool. If you’ve a morbid interest in just how big an asteroid it would take to end civilization (and who doesn’t?), click on over and type in size, density, angle of impact data to find out.”    o o o Brian spotted this over at the SHTFPlan blog: Homeland Security To “Regionalize” Emergency Supplies Over Next 90 Days    o o o …



Notes from JWR:

Friday’s closing prices for spot gold and spot silver might seem astounding, but just wait a few months. You will probably wish that you had bought more silver at today’s prices. — Today we present two more entries for Round 31 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 military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried …


The First Aid Kit as a Multi-Layered Medical Resource, by Hambone

SurvivalBlog has gone to some lengths to provide first rate information on a wide variety of subjects – including first aid kits.  I strongly encourage everyone to receive professional training  and to own at least one (or more) quality first aid manuals.  In my experience. many first aid kits seem to have been built with either a limited vision or a lack of foresight regarding their use in a disaster situation.  Worse, some contain items that if misused or improperly used can further injure/permanently cripple/kill the ‘patient’.  Hence my emphasis on professional training – it is easily as good an …


A Legal, Low-Cost, Readily-Available Painkiller, by Kitchen Maven

You’re stacking wood when a log suddenly twists, and the pile comes tumbling down on you, leaving your legs covered with cuts and bruises. You walk into the kitchen, and see your toddler, who has climbed the counter to grab something in an upper cabinet, start to topple over. You lunge forward to grab her, and your body provides her with a soft landing spot as you crash over the kitchen chair and wind up on your face on the floor. Accidents happen, and they hurt. Many posts have discussed pharmaceutical painkillers, but most people have limited access to them, …


Letter Re: Post Disaster Wi-Fi Commo Networks

Sir: One thing not mentioned in the survival groups web sites is the use of ad-hoc wireless wireless fidelity (wi-fi) networks. When me and several others put together a group plan, we came up with the idea of using wi-fi as a short range method of communication, information sharing and news distribution. We found several Wikipedia pages devoted to getting maximum range from a wi-fi router. Many of these methods can cover entire small towns. Enabling the password encryption features built into these devices can while far from perfect provide a super secure text and voice communication service when used …


Letter Re: Developing Your Healthcare Networking List

Mr. Rawles, I am a long time reader who enjoys how thought provoking your blog can be. But have a disagreement with a recent post by Josh S. I am a Emergency Medicine Physician, practicing in the Northeast US. Josh S.’s article is true in the detail of developing your medical network — it is quite easy to call up a friend or relative for some quick medical advice or help. And, furthermore, I appreciate this — I did get into medicine to help people, and I would much rather help friends and family than a vast majority of drug-seeking …