Product Review: Timbuk2 Backpacks

I can’t speak highly enough about Timbuk2 and their products. I received one asa gift in 2003. Since then, I’ve carried it all over the world including a war zone, on business, to conventions, while driving. I’ve stuffed it to the point where I needed a knee to apply enough pressure to close it. It’s been dragged, carried, tossed, shoved, buried under luggage and cargo, through airport security hundreds of times, and there’s not a loose seam or worn zipper anywhere. It seems to be as indestructible as textiles get. While this style is no longer available, it’s demonstrative of …


Letter Re: Motorcycles and Motorcycling Skills

Dear Jim, The roads are getting worse, gas prices are high, and the taxes keep going up. Something has to give. So far road maintenance seems to be one of the breaking points. I have witnessed roads evaporate. I have witnessed them get consumed in vegetation. I have traveled in the Sierras in places where the 4WD was getting stuck and knew an off road or dual sport motorcycle would cross these places easily. I can’t help but think while I’ve learned to shoot rifles and purify water and stitch wounds, shouldn’t I put at least as much effort into …


Economics and Investing:

And so, inexorably, the The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) grows: Obama Officially Begins Push For New Bailout of the States. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) D.D. sent this: “Housing Still Sluggish”—Harvard study uses the “D” word to describe the real estate market From the ever-cheery Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: AXA fears ‘fatal flaw’ will destroy eurozone. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Y.K. suggested a recent audio podcast interview of Gerald Celente by Lew Rockwell. Brett G. flagged this: Volcker Warns: We Are Running Out Of Time Items from The Economatrix: EU Chief Warns “Democracy Could Disappear” in Greece, Spain …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Here is a link to the Milo Nordyke interview on CNN that I previously mentioned. Nordyke is a proponent of peaceful uses of nuclear bombs–including the possibility of using nukes to seal off deep sea oil leaks.    o o o J.M. in Michigan sent me a link to some videos about “off grid” projects. Go to Vimeo.com and in their search box enter: emas. This takes you to about 10 pages of videos on topics like High Pressure Hand Pumps, Rain Water Harvesting, Water Storage Cisterns, Ferro Cement Tanks for Water Storage, Using the Sun to Heat Homes, Latrines, …



Notes from JWR:

Just four days left! The special sale price for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course will be discontinued on June 21st. So order yours, soon! — 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 …


Colloquium (CQ) Groups–Part Three–The Big Picture, by H.B. in North Central Idaho

The first part of this series described the foundation for success in starting a community preparedness group.  Part Two describes the lessons we have learned.  If you haven’t read these please do so now before proceeding. I hope the two previous articles have encouraged you to start your own CQ.  Let’s now assume you are at the same point we are.  Where do we go from here?  If we follow the rules we focus on excellence, but let’s do so in an organized manner. 1) Individual Preparedness (IP) 2) Family or Group Preparedness (F-GP) 3) Community Preparedness (CommP) 4) Regional …


Letter Re: The Disappearing Suburban Basement–Questions and Answers

Dear Jim: There has been such a great response to the article I wrote about using the basement in my home as a survival retreat, and I want to thank everybody for taking the time to read both parts—and to respond with some great questions. I wanted to take a moment and address a few of the questions, and perhaps give a little deeper insight into the arrangements, processes, and the solutions I have found to each of the various questions. First, and most importantly, I would like to stress that I’m not claiming this to be the ideal solution. …


Economics and Investing:

Evan D. suggested this: The Death of Las Vegas. Niall Ferguson: Debt Has Taken Down Empires Before, There Is No Reason Why It Won’t Happen Again. (Thanks to Eric J. for the link to the lecture. JWR Adds: Don’t miss his discussion of “The Metrics of Doom”, starting about 28 minutes into the video. Europe Troubles Are About to Start: Wilbur Ross (Thanks to Brian B. for the link.) Kevin A. sent this incredible article: State Wants to Borrow From Pension Fund, to Pay the Fund. The article begins: “Gov. David A. Patterson and legislative leaders have tentatively agreed to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

All that I’ve been hearing from SurvivalBlog readers thusfar about the National Geographic documentary Electronic Armageddon has been positive. It is about the effects of a High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) on the US. Check your local listings for repeat showings! For further research on this topic, I highly recommend the EMPact America web pages.    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this free NAS on-line book: Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A Workshop Report    o o o RS.R. noted this: Green Gadgets: Nokia Unveils New Bike-Powered Phone Chargers



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 …


Self Defense Against Knives, by Keith W.

With all the preparations people make for TEOTWAWKI, one skill that I’ve noticed that a lot of people lack is personal self defense in close quarters combat (CQC). I’m not talking about their collection of weapons only here, but rather their overall sense of what self defense really means and what it really requires. People have a in inherent duality to their nature. In normal times, nearly all humans have an aversion to killing each other. However, in a survival situation (even just a perceived survival situation) people can be exceedingly vicious if they think they have to be. This …


Letter Re: Check Prices When Buying Storage Foods!

Mr. Rawles: I had a shock when I went to the supermarket the other day. I had gotten into a habit of buying beans and lentils in the little one pound clear plastic bags. I had also bought a lot of white rice in two pound bags, just one [bag] at a time. That was convenient, but I wasn’t paying attention to the price tags. When I went to stock up, I found that the difference in price [per ounce] just between the 1 pound bags and the 10 pounds sack was huge. They charge like three times as much …


Letter Re: A Suburban Bug-In Problem (Or Maybe a Resource)

Since the 1950s many homes have had them. Since the 1970s many building codes have required them. What? A sump pump. Yeah, that thing in the hole in the corner of the basement that kind of hums every once in a while. You don’t think about it much do you? But it keeps your basement floor dry. If the electric goes out, for any reason, for very long, you may have a big problem. I have seen over a foot of water in a 30×25 foot basement after just a mild spring rain. They make “battery back up” auxiliary pumps, …