Letter Re: Digital-Analog Cell Phones for Rural Areas

Dear Jim,   I have some cell phone details to your readers. I used to work in the cell phone business as a repair tech. Phones made before 2003 are not legal for activation in the USA. Some people continue to use old legacy hardware on the network, grandfathered in, but once that phone dies, they have to upgrade, under law, to an Enhanced 911 compliant/compatible device. That’s straight from the FCC, no ifs, ands, ors or buts. That means the Bag Phone, and even the StarTac aren’t legal. This is not to say that you can’t work around this …


Economics and Investing:

Countrywide’s Errors Could Cost Bank of America Billions How Bad Could Ireland Get? Iceland Offers Some Clues    Goldseek posted some commentary from Darryl Robert Schoon: Betting In The Endgame Items from The Economatrix: The Horrible Truth Starts To Dawn On Europe’s Leaders   Bullets In The Back: How Boomers & Retirees Will Become Bailout Bailout, Stimulus and Currency War Casualties   Economy Sees Growth, But Unemployment Stays High   Korean Conflict, European Worries Weigh On Stocks  


Odds ‘n Sods:

Kia Introduces Soul Flex at Brazilian Motor Show. It will burn 100% ethanol, 100% gasoline, or any mixture in between. I hope this model also gets marketed in the United States. It should sell strongly in the Corn Belt states. OBTW, an ethanol-burning variant of the Kia Sportage is also planned.    o o o States’ rights battles rage in Old Dominion. Here is a brief quote: “Del. John O’Bannon, R-Henrico, filed a bill at the request of his constituents that would create a “Don’t Tread on Me” license plate. And Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, filed a bill that would …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I began to suspect that Daddy had been right all along: the only hope I had of changing the world was to change myself first.  I thought of the many times that he and I had delivered fresh-picked farm produce to one of our elderly relatives. On such occasions he never failed to remind me that if we hadn’t worked so hard to grow it, we wouldn’t be able to give it to those who needed help. For the past few years, I’d been sneering at the simplemindedness of his philosophy of self-reliance, but now it was making sense to …


Notes from JWR:

The war drums are beating on the Korean peninsula. There’s nothing like war news to deflect public attention from the economy. Oh, and speaking of Korea, read this piece by Shane Connor: When an Ill Wind Blows From Afar! (Like from Iran or North Korea!) — Today we present a lengthy entry 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 …


Using the Grain You Have Stored, by Naomi M.

Grain is a foundational item in food storage, because it is a cheap source of fair-to-good quality calories, and because it has good long-term storage life.  This article will discuss nutritional considerations, health aspects, and specific uses for each grain.             What do we want out of food?  We want energy (calories), building materials (protein and fats & oils), and health-supplying nutrients (vitamins and minerals).  How much grain should we store to supply these needs, or, conversely, how long will our grain storage sustain our life? Calories                        Most sources recommend that a basic year’s supply for one person is …


Letter Re: Digital-Analog Cell Phones for Rural Areas

James, Thanks for the invaluable resource – knowledge – as provided by SurvivalBlog.  I was wanting to get some feedback on long range phones, particularly the Motorola M800 Bag Phone.  From what I can gather, this phone is dual digital and analog and it is described as used “for workers in the Oil and Gas, Agriculture and Forestry industries. Now you can stay connected in the field, on rural or urban highways, when traveling, at the cottage or even camping”.  I travel into Appalachia in Eastern Tennessee and Southeast Kentucky and also have a houseboat (on a mooring line, so …


Letter Re: Adapting Traditional Medical Care to the Austere Environment

Mr. Rawles, I enjoyed the referenced article, and wanted to piggyback a point about triage in combat. Combat medicine is different than a mass casualty incident in a non combat scenario. Good medicine may be bad tactics. In combat, treat those in the yellow category (such as having a finger shot off) first- to get more guns back into the fight. Otherwise you may all die, and that’s bad juju. Don’t waste time on an expectant casualty (i.e. a gunshot wound to the head with brain matter showing). Move instead to the casualty with extremity bleeding where they may be …


Economics and Investing:

Roberta X provided a link to the USA National Gas Price Heat Map. You will note that some divisions in price ranges follow state lines. These are created by differences in state gas taxes, rather than production and transportation costs. California is mostly mapped in red and Wyoming is mostly green because of what goes on inside state capitols rather than what goes on in oil fields and refineries. And it is no coincidence that the states with the big, pretentious, and intrusive governments are in the midst of budget crises. (California, for example is nearing default.) These same states …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Although the “No Code” Technician license is often suggested for novice ham radio operators in the U.S., it is important to go ahead and learn Morse Code. It takes very little power to enable good communication over long distances. There are many propagation situations where voice is unintelligible, but Morse can still get through. The folks at Code Quick have one of the best teaching methods. They’ve had great success in teaching most folks in just two weeks.    o o o R.F.J. sent this gem: IKEA Hack: MALM with Storage Boxspring. This is great way to create a hidden …



Notes from JWR:

I’m scheduled for a two hour interview with call-in questions from listeners tomorrow (Wednesday, November 24, 2010) on EMPact Radio. Please feel free to call if you have any preparedness questions that would be of interest to the majority of listeners. If you miss hearing the show, it will be available as a downloadable podcast. — Today we present another entry 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 …


Constructing an Aboveground “Root Cellar” in Florida, By R.R.L.

First , to tell you a little about myself.  I was a prepper in anticipation of Y2K, had the property, cabin, most of the works and of course nothing happened. (my family thought I was nuts) We all went back to our living.  Unfortunately sold our property, because of an illness.   I never thought of continuing on for future problems.  I was awakened by talking with my brother earlier this year when he told me about SurvivalBlog.  So needless to say I am a prepper once again, but this time my whole family is.  I am preparing my parents home …


Three Letters Re: Off The Grid Cooking

James,   Chino’s article on “Off Grid Cooking” is an excellent article, however what I have found that cuts cooking time way down especially cooking dried beans is using a small pressure cooker. I have used my cooker many times to cook dried beans or even a roast with good results in a matter of about an hour or less of cooking time.  I even tried it over an open campfire with the same results, although that did smoke up the bottom of the pressure cooker.  In the same context I have cooked dried beans in my Dutch Oven by …


Two Letters Re: As Simple as Changing a Tire

Dear James, It seems that life can test you in many different ways on how prepared you are for the unexpected.  I recently experienced an unexpected  flat tire while out purchasing some ammo.  The tire went flat just as I was getting onto the freeway, fortunately there was an exit close by which I took and ended up stopping at a nearby convenience store.  When I looked to see if I had all the tools for putting on my spare I did not see my jack as it was hidden behind a plastic panel.  I went into the convenience store …