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 HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of …


Better Barter Preparedness, by Dan H.

I’ve heard a lot of suggestions about bartering.  Some of them are good ideas, while others might be dangerous.  Bartering is just trading, either goods for goods, goods for services, or services for services. First of all, we need to ask why we are bartering at all.  If we need to barter, it is probably because we need (or just want) something we don’t have, and someone else needs or wants something that we have.  If something isn’t exchanged by both parties, then it’s essentially a begging or charity situation. It is best to put yourself in a position where …


Product Review: Triple Eight Professional S.O.L. Knife, by Michael Z. Williamson

This tiny knife is a very durable piece of hardware. Construction is of steel, with a hard phosphate or oxide finish. The pivot is adjustable with a spanner wrench, very smooth and has slick bushings. The lock is of the rotating handle design, with strong pins to hold the blade rigid when open. The handles swing easily open or closed, and remain in place in the hand without slipping. The finish survived being dropped on a tile floor unmarked. The handle did open a fraction—the detent is fairly light. As can be seen from the photos of the knife, it’s …


Economics and Investing:

GG sent this: Pray For Inflation — It’s Our Only Hope. [JWR’s Comment: Well, its the government’s only hope. For the Citizenry, mass inflation will be wealth destruction. As I’ve noted before, inflation is essentially a hidden from of taxation.] Reader CZD sent this item: The Dow at 11,000 is Misleading. (CZD warns that he expects there will be multiple dips. I concur. This “recession” is far from over. I stand by my assertion, that we are actually in the early stages of of depression.) Items from The Economatrix: The Dow’s Up But Trades are Scarce, Worrying Bulls Jim Sinclair: …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson keyed in on this article: BOB, America’s Biggest Sodium Sulfur Battery, Powers a Texas Town    o o o Titus suggested this population density map as a good starting point for looking for retreat locales.    o o o H.A.H. suggested this WorldNetDaily article: County to feds: They’re our roads! Supervisors vote to reopen routes hit by BLM closure    o o o Randy F. liked this piece, by my hero Walter E. Williams: Parting Company.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Even as a youngster, though, I could not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presented danger, the solution was ignorance. To me, it always seemed that the solution had to be wisdom. You did not refuse to look at danger, rather you learned how to handle it safely.” – Isaac Asimov,”The Caves of Steel“, p. viii


Note from JWR:

I just heard from my editor at the Plume Division of Penguin Books that another publisher has purchased the rights to produce a Bulgarian language edition of my non-fiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. As Alice said: “It just gets curiouser and curiouser. “ — 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 …


Thoughts on the Bug Out Bag, by Tugboat

When I think on the “Bug out Bag” I am not thinking of a basic survival kit. The survival kit is designed to be small, portable, and with you whenever you venture out into the woods. The bug out bag is a larger version of the same but designed for a totally different scenario. When you know you are going to be on your own for an undetermined amount of time. First off it will be larger than a survival kit; usually a small backpack or duffle will suffice to carry all you will need for an extended stay away …


Implications of the U.S. National Debt — The Upright Spike

It is noteworthy that the Federal Debt chart has again turned sharply upward, to nearly an upright spike, rising to 90%+ of GDP. This level of Federal indebtedness had only one precedent: the massive spending that was needed to finance World War II. The current massive over-spending on the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) can’t go on indefinitely. At some point, the piper must be paid. In the long term, gross overspending will have some major implications for U.S. Treasury paper, and inevitably for the U.S. Dollar as a currency unit. I should mention that in 1945 (the peak of …


Letter Re: Lessons from The Irish Potato Famine

James Wesley: I’ve been researching family history in Ireland during the 1845 famine and found this interesting online book that describes the food riots, workhouses, rampant death and illness, and other aspects of life during an intense social upheaval. It may be enlightening: The Famine in Dungarvan: The Poor Law, Famine and Aftermath in Dungarvan Union Thanks, – Chris M.


Letter Re: Sustainable Rural Cabins

Jim; In the article, “Sustainable Rural Cabins”, under the headline, “Designing the Outer Periphery”, the author wrote, “Evergreen windbreaks should be planted to block winter winds”. That works fine if the evergreens, (or other trees), you plant and the way you group them is consistent with the way the same trees occur naturally in the area. For example, if white pines grow naturally in the woods around where you are establishing your homestead, then you can plant more white pines and they won’t be noticed. But if you plant, for example, blue spruce where none normally occur, you can see …


Economics and Investing:

Kevin S. recommended this from the Global Guerillas Journal: What Makes a Home Valuable? CBO chief says debt ‘unsustainable’. (Out thanks to reader S.M. for the link.) GG and Chad S. both flagged this: Gold hits record high for British investors; The price of gold has risen to an all-time high in sterling and euro terms. Also from GG comes this video clip: Meredith Whitney: Housing Will Fall Again S.M. sent this: Is the World’s Second Biggest Economy On the Ropes? Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Trade Mixed After Alcoa Results Fall Short February Trade Deficit Increases to $39.7 Billion …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Lee C. sent this: In California, Louder Calls to Prepare for Quakes    o o o Reader RBS mentioned a 2008 news story that was recently highlighted in The Survival Spot Blog. This illustrates how even fairly large communities can “disappear”, with terrain masking and some rudimentary camouflage: Lost middle-class tribe’s ‘secret’ eco-village in Wales spotted in aerial photograph taken by plane.    o o o The WRSA says: 19 April 2010: Bring Your Sidearms and Longarms To The Banks of the Potomac    o o o From Brian B.: Cap and Trade: A License Required for Your Home.



Notes from JWR:

I just heard that Jerry Pournelle’s next Chaos Manor Reviews column includes a brief review of my latest non-fiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. Most SurvivalBlog readers will of course recognize Jerry Pournelle as a co-author of the now-classic survivalist novel Lucifer’s Hammer, a columnist for Survive magazine, and a key contributor to Mel Tappan‘s P.S. Letter. So I daresay that Pournelle’s review means more to me than all of the other extant book reviews, combined! — Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The …