Avalanche Lily’s Bedside Book Pile

America has been “dumbed down” by 40 years of lamentable Least Common Denominator public schooling and mass media. Here is some evidence: Ezra Klein’s imbecilic punditry. I suggest reading the book: The Dumbest Generation. Here are the current top-most items on my perpetual bedside pile: I just finished Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. It was a great read, and quite thought provoking. One thing that struck me is society’s dependence on a handful of high technology specialists, rather than generalists with a broad set of skills and knowledge. People tend to specialize in just one particular field, …


Economics and Investing:

For the Horrible Irony Department: White House Warns Failure to Raise Debt Ceiling Would Mean Economic ‘Crisis’. (Thanks to Chad S. for the link.) John R. sent us this: Never Forget the Fed Caused the Economic Downturn      Also from John: Bernanke Only Adds Fuel to the Fire with Quantitative Easing   Albert Edwards: China is a “Freak Economy” and it Will Crash, and Take Down the Rest of the World. (Our thanks to Siggy for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Commodities Beat Financials Making Silver Top Pick   Credit Card Withdrawal-Banks Pull Plug on Consumer Revolving Debt …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Readers E.D.M. and Jonathan R. suggested Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre’s extraordinary photographs documenting the dramatic decline of a major American city: Detroit in Ruins. These scenes look like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie like The Book of Eli. I think that Detroit has had a few too many mayors like Louis Miriani, Coleman Young, and Kwame Kilpatrick. It is no wonder that Paul Verhoven chose Detroit for the locale in his movie Robocop.    o o o One week after the blizzard: The “Big Apple” Looks Like The “Big Dumpster”. So how would sanitation be in New York …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Ben Bernanke made a fatal error by launching QE2 too early, with an incoherent justification, by dribs and drabs for fine-tuning purposes. The QE card cannot easily be played a third time. If he now tries to print money on a nuclear scale to crush all resistance and hold down Treasury yields, he risks exhausting Chinese patience and invites the wrath the Tea Party Congress.” – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard


Notes from JWR:

The new year is a reminder to make tax deductible donations. One charity that I highly recommend is the Anchor of Hope Orphanage and Mission School in Zambia. This is the charity that my late wife (“The Memsahib”) designated for her Memorial Fund. This is a very deserving charity, so please give generously! Please mention the Linda Rawles Memorial Fund when you contact them. — Today we present another entry 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 …


No Matter Where You Live, The Most Important Thing Is, by E-Grandma

America, Australia, Europe or Antarctica. No Matter Where You Live, The Most Important Thing Is… Water?  Food?  Firearms?  A good Bug-out Location, or reliable vehicle to get to it?  There are probably as many answers to the important question of  what the most important thing to have in a survival situation as there are those who would call themselves Survivalists.  Go to any internet board which purports to be survivalist-related, and you will see many conversations telling the new and scared Survivalist- wannabe what they need to have in order to make it past the pole shift, the imminent crash …


Letter Re: Extreme Couponing

James, I read your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” and immediately began my prepping. I was watching a program on television last night about “Extreme Couponing”. I think this might be a great topic for those of us who are prepping but have limited financial resources.   The gist of the show was individuals took advantage of coupons, grocery store membership rewards and in-store sales all at the same time. One example on the show was a woman had over $1,000 worth of retail groceries and after coupons and other discounts offered …


Letter Re: The Queensland Floods

Jim, I’m almost 58 years old –  have lived in North Queensland (“Qld”) most of my life.  This is the worst flooding in Qld that I can remember – it is so widespread.  I have a house in Townsville, but have spent most of the last two years at my retreat area, 4.5 hours by car from here, and Townsville does not usually experience a lot of rain.  However, found myself in Townsville before Christmas, and the road then flooded over at Ingham, and was not able to drive to my retreat area to be with my daughter for Christmas …


Economics and Investing:

Greg C. sent this: Coins vs. Bags: Comparing Two Options in Physical Silver. Pre-1965 90% silver coins are not only a better buy, but they’ll have wider acceptance for barter in the U.S.. SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent an indicator of incipient higher fuel prices: Crude Oil Inventory Watch: U.S. Inventories Plunge as Demand Soars Siggy mentioned this over at the Calculated Risk blog: Unofficial Problem Bank List Dec 31, 2010 Items from The Economatrix: Treasury Prices Rebound After $29 Billion Bond Auction   Metals Gain As Investors Seek Protection 2011:  Baby Boomers Come Of Age:  16 …


Inflation Watch:

All Evidence Points To A Dramatic Increase In Food Prices Worldwide, Possible Shortages Reader Tom C. wrote to mention: “I just bought some K-1 kerosene. It was priced at $3.49 gallon, up form $3.09 only six weeks ago.” “Hyperinflation Will Drive Gold To Unthinkable Heights” Oil’s Surge In 2010 Paves Way for $4 Gasoline   News from India: Soaring metal prices ring death knell for 25p coins. Does this sound familiar?


Odds ‘n Sods:

Steve H. found a good article about grow light bulbs.    o o o Reader Tim R. suggested this: Top 10 Survival Downloads You Should Have    o o o I heard about a web site that has lots of free woodworking plans including shed plans.    o o o Thousands of birds fall from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The Year of the 1911: Gear up for it… Every gun magazine in the world is going to be running articles and photos about every kind of 1911 on the market past, present and future.  And that’s cool… but not everyone likes a 1911.  We call those people, ‘Wrong.’” – George D. Hill (Editor of the Mad Ogre Blog), writing about the 100th Anniversary of the John M. Browning’s Colt Model 1911’s adoption by the U.S. Army. (To be precise, it was adopted on March 29, 1911. We are planning a special family M1911 shooting event here at the ranch …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry 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 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 …


The Razor’s Edge, by Don V.

“The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.” – W. Somerset Maugham The United States and a majority of the world stand at the proverbial razor’s edge and as most preppers realize, the road to salvation will definitely be difficult.  The coming changes may happen tomorrow or ten years from now but the grand clock is in countdown mode.  Many experts like to focus on specific issues but it is the culmination of these separate issues that will create the ultimate crisis.  Evaluating each issue allows the …


Letter Re: Ballistic Protection From Compressed Earth Blocks

Jim: Some folks tested .50 BMG bullets on unprotected 18″-thick earth bag (Compressed Earth Block (CEB)) walls. See; “Bullet Resistance of Compressed Earth” located at the Earth Bag Building Blog. There is a YouTube video attached though. I thought this was pretty important, as this is the type of housing structure my husband and I are using. – Sky Watcher.