Notes from JWR:

Please say a prayer for the folks affected by the “worst case scenario” oil spill on the Gulf Coast. OBTW, if George Bush were still in office, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the use of a Plowshare device, to stop this spill. I don’t think Barack Obama would have the nerve. — Today we present another entry for Round 28 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 …


Note from JWR:

The following is the second half of a draft chapter from my latest novel, tentatively titled “Veterans”, now in development. (Part I was posted on April 30th.) It is a sequel to “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”. Unlike most novel sequels, the storyline will be contemporaneous with the first novel. This sequel novel is scheduled to be released by the Atria Books Division of Simon & Schuster in early 2011. Thanks for your patience. I’d appreciate your feedback.


Novel Sample (Draft) Chapter From “Veterans” (Part II)

Just before they stepped out of the Mercedes, Ian straightened his borrowed silk tie.  Blanca whispered: “Bring your video camera. My papa will want to see pic-tu-ers.” After the maid ushered them in, they met Blanca’s father on the screened patio.  Haltingly, Ian made a formal introduction in Spanish. He did this fairly well, since he had practiced it with Consuela, but he was obviously nervous. After shaking hands, Aurturo Araneta asked: “So, Lieutenant Doyle, My daughter tells me you are a pilot of F-16 fighting planes.” “That’s right, sir. Pointing to the rucksack on his shoulder, he said:  “I …


Two Letters Re: Preparedness Digital Archives

Hi Jim, On Friday, Angus suggested downloading the different sections (Body Armor, Sanitation, etc) of SurvivalBlog for keeping on a USB drive. May I suggest that people download by the month instead of [by the topical] section. This way, when JWR has archived a months’ worth of articles, you can easily update your archives on your USB by downloading the most recent month, rather than updating every different section. I love the Blog! – Ryan in BC, Canada   James, When I make a backup of SurvivalBlog, I use the following command: wget –recursive –no-clobber –page-requisites –html-extension –convert-links –restrict-file-names=windows –domains …


Economics and Investing:

Steve H. recommended this article: Era of paper assets may be winding down Reader S.K.F. recommended: While the Greece Fire Spreads, a Trade War Begins A.C.L. mentioned some frightening charts published by The Chicago Tribune: A Tsunami of Red Ink. JWR Adds: I can remember back in 1977, writing fervent letters to my congressman, urging him to help keep the National Debt under $1 Trillion. Now the debt is 20 times that! BTW, that congressman who ignored my letters was Fortney “Pete” Stark, (Democrat) of California. He is still is Washington D.C. (a 37- year incumbent!) And Stark is still …


Odds ‘n Sods:

If you do web searches, you’ll find that there are some very inexpensive retreat properties available, like this parcel 6o miles out of Rawlins, Wyoming. But of course remember: Land is often inexpensive for a reason, such as when the access is poor, power lines are distant, the climate is severe and water wells–if available at all–must be drilled very deep. That one in Wyoming looks like it might qualify as “all of the above”, on those detractors. For some more realistic retreat-worthy parcels in more hospitable climes, see our spin-off web site: SurvivalRealty.com    o o o During the …



Note from JWR:

The following is the first half of a draft chapter from my latest novel (tentatively titled “Veterans”), now in development. It is a sequel to “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”. Unlike most novel sequels, the storyline will be contemporaneous with the first novel, but set in diverse locales. Only a few of the characters in “Patriots” are featured in the sequel. This sequel novel is scheduled to be released by the Atria Books Division of Simon & Schuster in early 2011. I picked a flashback chapter to post as a sample, since it doesn’t include any …


Novel Sample (Draft) Chapter From “Veterans” (Part I)

Chapter 24:  Down In Hondo “We are steadily asked about the age at which to teach young people to shoot. The answer to this obviously depends upon the particular individual; not only his physical maturity but his desire. Apart from these considerations, however, I think it important to understand that it is the duty of the father to teach the son to shoot. Before the young man leaves home, there are certain things he should know and certain skills he should acquire, apart from any state-sponsored activity. Certainly the youngster should be taught to swim, strongly and safely, at distance. …


Showering with Just One Gallon of Water, by The Survival Nurse

In a TEOTWAWKI situation hygiene is going to become very important. As an E.R. Nurse I see hygiene problems everyday. I can’t begin to describe the things that I have seen… and I probably have post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result. Do you know that homeless alcoholics care very little about their personal hygiene?? A few years ago I learned a nice lesson on personal hygiene that I wanted to pass on. It may not be a new idea to some but I think it would be very useful to a lot of people who haven’t considered hygiene/showering post-SHTF.  Ten …


Letter Re: Preparedness Digital Archives

Sir, Digital Archives and Your One and Only Mortal Life articletoday. Unable to sleep last night, I took my new 4 Gig USB [“memory stick”] drive and downloaded your entire site. It was nice to read how wise I’d been the day after! It is far easier to permanently protect a USB drive than all computers. Figure that if any of my computers are fried, there will be one available somewhere that isn’t! I still print out the more salient pieces on your site for nighttime reading, though… I already have a monumental JWR library! I’ve been a “prepper” since …


Economics and Investing:

Roubini says Euro’s days may be numbered. (Thanks to GG for the link.) Chad S. spotted this: Canada considers eliminating the penny. Kevin sent us this: States Bristle as Investors Make Wagers on Defaults Also from Kevin: In ‘Chair City,’ Budget Cuts are ‘Amputating’ Municipal Services Items from The Economatrix: Meat Prices May Spike this Summer (Stock up your chest freezer now, and lay in a supply of canned meat! Since grain prices are remaining high, meat will probably be very expensive for the next few years. It is a good thing that we mainly eat elk and venison, here …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Lisa sent this: Food Prices Rocket in North Korea. Lisa’s comment: “The article says the prices change by the hour.” Can another famine be coming to North Korea?    o o o Reader John G. passed along two URLs for government surplus auctions: GovDeals.com and GovSales.gov. John notes: “I have seen more items listed lately. I guess the states are trying to recoup their deficits.”    o o o From Nanny State California: Santa Clara County: Supervisors ban toys with fast-food meals    o o o Survivalblog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson flagged this piece: Making a Wooden Bicycle. …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 28 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.), and D.) A 500 round case …