Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader R.F.G. recommended an Instructables piece on rain water collection barrels. R.F.G.’s comment: “Sometimes all you need is a few pictures to make something ‘brain dead’ simple.”    o o o G. &K. suggested this news article from Kentucky: Growing number people growing their own groceries.    o o o Nancy Tappan very kindly sent me a review copy of her fledgling magazine, The New Pioneer. It is subtitled “The Complete Guide to Self-Reliant Living.” I am very impressed with the magazine. The articles are well-written and fit the back-to-the-land/prepper audience very well. The premier issue was a hefty 128 …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 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 between $500 and $600, 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 …


Thoughts on Beginning Preparedness, by B.J.H.

Preparing for the end of the world as we know it is an understandably daunting task, especially for a beginning prepper. The path to securing yourself and your family should ultimately end in a self-sufficient rural retreat, but there are many steps down that path. It is easy in the beginning stages of your preparation to feel discouraged by the shear size of the task in front of you. The amount of information to be taken in, the sudden awareness s of your vulnerable present condition, the list of tools you never knew you needed, and the anticipated financial and …


Letter Re: A Police Officer’s Comments on High Stress Reactions

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have enjoyed your books and SurvivalBlog for several years now. They have helped me prepare myself and my family for dark times we hope are not coming but look more and more certain each day. I wanted to attempt to share some of my knowledge with this community in hopes it can help prepare others. After 9-11 I made a career change and became a police officer in Northern California. I have been blessed to receive a lot of specialized training since become an officer. Some of this training has included: firearms instructor, defensive tactics instructor, …


Economics and Investing:

KAF sent this: Bernanke Says Extending Bush Tax Cuts Would Maintain Stimulus to Economy. Frequent content contributor B.B. sent this: Chinese Central Bank Outlines Plan To Ditch The Dollar As The Yuan’s Peg SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate G.G. spotted this: White House predicts record $1.47 trillion deficit Items from The Economatrix: Sales of Previously Occupied Homes Falls 5.1% These 72 Analysts Believe Gold Will Go Parabolic to Between $2,500 and $15,000 Per Ounce Infowars.com Poll: Majority Believe Road Warrior Depression Coming Nothing Was Sacred: The Theft of the American Dream Economic Meltdown: The Final Phase


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader S.A. came across a Tropical Plant Database. he described it as: “a well-laid out professional-looking web site that lists medicinal uses of herbs, shrubs, flowers, trees, etc. Easy to use and read including common plants such as mimosa, stevia, epazote, ageratum, artichoke, mango, nettles, passion flower, and so on.”    o o o Alpha Innovations has introduced several new products: the Single Finger Nuck (an inconspicuous looking keychain decoration that doubles as an impact weapon ), the Alpha Scraper, and the Saf-T-Wrench another impact tool that doubles as a wrench ). Also, until August 15ht, they are selling our …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.He that regardeth the day, regardeth [it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 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 between $500 and $600, 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 …


Situational Awareness, Instincts and “Wargaming”, by H. Hunter

The recent SurvivalBlog article on a home invasion robbery reminded me of a situation I experienced a couple of months back. I attribute my successful evasion of a possibly harmful or even deadly situation to my preparations, long before the fact. Part of my work involves the inspection of in-service bridges to ensure they are structurally sound. This is by far the most dangerous work that I do because many of these bridges are in bad neighborhoods and I am sometimes by myself. I have been in dangerous neighborhoods before and observed literal word of mouth travel up the block …


Letter Re: Criminal Gangs Gaining Military Expertise

James: Thank you for your great blog. I have learned a lot from it and it has been a motivator in getting friends to begin to prep. I just wanted to share this article with you: ‘Scary’ growth of gangs in war zones. It talks about Gangs in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. It specifically mentioned gang members being arrested recently that had military service and had brought back their manuals. If the stuff hits the fan we may not be faced with untrained, sideways shooting gangsters but with gang members who at least have some training and …


Economics and Investing:

Bobbi-Sue and G.G. both suggested this piece over at Seeking Alpha: The One Economic Chart That Really Matters Thanks to readers Brett G. and “Tanker” for this link: Bernanke: Further Easing Hinges on Jobs KAF flagged this: Central bank official suggests move away from dollar as benchmark Another news item from G.G.: Bank failure tally passes 100 for the year Items from The Economatrix: Leading Indicators Drop in June as Recovery Slows Mortgage Rates Hit New Record Low Elevated Jobless Claims Point to Weak Labor Market UPS Raises Outlook for Year Despite Mixed Economy


Odds ‘n Sods:

Several readers mentioned this: Report Blasts Military For Not Being Nuke-Proof.    o o o Tam over at the View From The Porch blog provided a link to an interesting news segment on Navy SEAL riverine training on the Pearl River in Mississippi. Tamara wryly notes: “We now know where NAVSPECWAR conducts the crucial ‘Sunglasses Selection Phase’ of training.”    o o o Seed For Security is offering a promotion that will run through the end of August, 2010. They will be enclosing one free pint of Rye grain and a free packet of Bloomsdale spinach seeds with every order …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"In the first place, it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws: its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any." – James Madison (Federalist No. 14, 30 November 1787)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 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 between $500 and $600, 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 …