Two Letters Re: Self-Storage Spaces as Caches

Two Letters Re: Self-Storage Spaces as Caches Mr. Rawles: I have written before about Self Storage Facilities back in October, 2009. I am still a resident manager of a small self storage facility. I agree with Ryan in British Columbia about using self storage caches for your preps. Recommendation on locks: the round lock or disc lock is about the best defense you can purchase for your self storage unit. They cannot be cut with the more common bolt cutters and usually take an electric disc grinder to cut them off. A hint as to the keys for this type …


Five Letters Re: Four Great Preparedness Myths

Jim, I enjoyed the letter by Dan B. on preparedness myths. I couldn’t agree more with his opinions and in particular with Myth #1 “You can defend yourself against the horde” I have no combat experience but I am a student of Sun Tzu’s military treatise “The Art of War” The principals and logic therein demonstrate that a wise prepper will be as prepared as possible to defend oneself but will use all means available of avoiding the direct conflict with so vast a number of enemies (other than surrender of course) One would employ deception, concealment, positioning etc. I …


Economics and Investing:

Several readers recommended an excellent “must see” video that was produced by the National Inflation Association, titled: The Meltup By way of the No Money No Worries blog, we found this Four Big Banks Score Perfect 61-Day Run. Something is rotten in Denmark on Wall Street. (Thanks to Geoff in Texas for the tip.) Blood in the Streets! Bank Bailout Protesters Storm Ireland’s Parliament. (Thanks to Kathryn D. for the link.) Danny B. flagged this: 401(k)/IRA Nationalization Quietly Moves Forward Gary E. sent this: US faces one of biggest budget crunches in world – IMF Items from The Economatrix: Government …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Brian B. reccommednded listing to the Shrugging Out podcast. (The podcast’s name is derived from the libertarian novel “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand.)    o o o Reader RBS suggested this article: Montana FWPD Wolf Management Fiasco    o o o The Ammo Shortage Continues. (Thanks to Brian B. for the link.)    o o o S.A. liked a video at the Better Homes and Gardens web site: Fire Safe Garden.



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 …


Fit to Survive (Part One): The Importance of Being Strong

I have been an athlete all my life in one form or another.  I hear many survival and preparedness enthusiasts’ talk about fitness, health, and well being (being in sound physical condition) but I have yet to see a thorough guide to becoming “fit” for a survival scenario.  I have heard Crossfit mentioned a few times on this web site and while I agree that Crossfit is a decent program to get someone “fit” it is not the end all solution to everyone’s needs.  Crossfit is merely a re-hashing of things that have been around for a very, very long …


Letter Re: Quality Deer Management

I just found your blog and want to thank you and all the like minded individuals who post to it. I have never thought of myself as a “survivor” or as most on here seem to prefer, “prepper”. I just always thought of myself as a collector of knowledge much to my wife’s annoyance. I can’t help it, I just like to learn different things. For one of the most recent “hobbies” I’ve been researching and learning about Quality Deer Management (QDM). I don’t know if this has been brought up before now, I’m still going through the archives, but …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. recommended this over at Alphaville: In fiat money we do not trust. “Monetise. Monetise. Monetise. Inflation. Inflation. Inflation.” Chad S. sent this: Millions of jobs that were cut won’t likely return. Darin W. was the first of several readers to send this link: Another Gold Dispensing ATM G.G. sent this: US faces same problems as Greece, says Bank of England Also from G.G.: Roubini: “The US Economy is Unsustainable” From The Wall Street Journal, Four more banks closed on Friday, now 72 for the year. And in case you missed the news last Friday: Bank closures cost $7.3 BILLION …


Odds ‘n Sods:

L.J. in England sent this: Curse of the caterpillars: Residents trapped indoors as insect invasion brings asthma and allergies. Excerpt: “There’s something blowing on the breeze in West Street. And it’s not pleasant. Residents are keeping their windows and doors tightly closed, and gardens are no-go areas. Some householders even need to don full-body protective clothing – complete with breathing masks – to venture outside.It’s all because the road is under siege from an invasion of caterpillars little more than an inch long. But what the brown tail moth caterpillar lacks in size, it makes up for in its covering …



Notes from JWR:

There is some interesting commentary by David Von Drehle in the recent Time magazine article titled Gold Fated. BTW, the article briefly quotes yours truly. — 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 …


Four Great Preparedness Myths, by Dan B.

I subscribe to the RSS feeds of a number of blogs about survival, including Rawles’ (top of the line!), and I subscribe to numerous firearms-related blogs and message boards. I also periodically meet people who are interested in survival issues in my non-electronic life. All preppers are trying to prepare for a particular situation, and their preparations reflect their beliefs about what that situation will be like. Unfortunately, many of those beliefs are false, and those false beliefs seem to be brought about by four myths, which I thought I would describe. The strange thing about these myths is that …


Three Letters Re: Some Tips and Tricks on Raising Meat Rabbits

Christine W. wrote a very nice article about raising rabbits for meat. As a rabbit raiser myself, I’d like to add a few suggestions: I have never had problems using straw in nest boxes, but prefer to use hay, or better yet, long dry grass. The does like to arrange their nests, and they get a good snack as well. You can add more bedding material if a doe gets piggy and eats all the bedding. I used to raise fryers commercially, and rigged up a great way to stack cages but eliminate the expensive trays that are time consuming …


Economics and Investing:

The latest Friday Follies–Four More US Banks Bite the Dust: Midwest Bank & Trust Company, Elmwood Park, Illinois; Southwest Community Bank, Springfield, Missouri; New Liberty Bank, Plymouth, Michigan; Satilla Community Bank, St. Marys, Georgia. Banks seized a record 92,000 homes last month. (Thank to Brian B. for the link.) Axel Merk explains what is behind the gold and global credit market shakeup: Europe’s Bazooka Clive Maund has some interesting observations on the gold and silver markets. Reader “T556” liked this commentary by Dave DeGraw: High Frequency Financial Terrorism, Wall Street Bankster’s Maintain Death Grip on United States Items from The …