Letter Re: Once a Prepper, Always a Prepper

Mr. Rawles, The following describes my background and how it shaped me. My Parents’ Influences My parents were from the south (Eastern Tennessee) They were also children of the Great Depression, their families were farmers and it was normal to prepare for winter or hard times. Both my parents could can food, especially vegetables and fruit. My father was an avid hunter and trapper. I learned from a young age from my parents, never take anything for granted, prepare for good and bad times. My Childhood My parents moved to Ohio for work, where I was born. I spent my …


Economics and Investing:

Alex C. sent us this: Gold Jumps to Record Above $1,100 On U.S. Interest-Rate Outlook Get Ready for 14 Percent Unemployment. (Thanks to Bobbi-Sue for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Gold Jumps to Record Above $1,100 On U.S. Interest-Rate Outlook Productivity Surge Signals Job Growth to Follow Productivity Gains May Be Bad News for Job Seekers Stocks Jump as Jobs, Productivity Data Improves Mood October Sales Offer Relief to Merchants Congress Set to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit Initial Jobless Claims Fall More than Expected Jobless Rate Surpasses 10%, First Since 1983 Wholesale Inventories Fall, Sales Grow in September


Odds ‘n Sods:

Important Safety Tip: Don’t sleep in bear’s den. Bear kills militants in Kashmir.    o o o Don T. suggested this: Farmers growing electricity along with their crops    o o o The spin-meisters are at it again! Here is an update on the Jordanian-American terrorist gunman at Fort Hood, Texas: Now they’ve stopped calling it “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” since he had never been deployed to Iraq! Well, perhaps “Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder”? Or, since Major Hasan was a psychiatrist with the US Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, perhaps his case should be labeled: “The Stress of Studying Post-Traumatic …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I am being unfairly accused. Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges.” – Mayor Sheila Dixon, in her blog on January 10, 2009. (Her trial on a dozen theft, corruption, perjury and bribery charges is scheduled to begin on November, 9, 2009. Two others implicated have already pled guilty, and are cooperating with prosecutors in Dixon’s case. Dixon is a member of the controversial Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.


Letter Re: Preps and Minimizing My Debts Paid Off When Unemployed

Dear Mr. Rawles, With all the bad news reported every day and your personal heartbreaks I hope I can reassure you about our future just a little by sharing my story with you. I started reading your blog three years ago, during the good times. I’m a 23 year-old man from the liberal north east, some college under my belt, married, and willing to dig in and work to secure my family’s future. I had a good job with a subsidiary of a major european telecom, I worked every hour of overtime I could and pushed myself to excel at …


Letter Re: Book Recommendation: “Possum Living”

Dear James Wesley, In October 1978, with a seventh-grade education, 19-year-old Dolly Freed published a book called Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money, about the five years she and her father lived off the land on a half-acre lot outside of Philadelphia. The two of them lived in a renovated gas station bought “free and clear” in foreclosure for $6,100; they raised rabbits for slaughter in their basement and obtained the rest of their food by growing it in their garden and fishing in local creeks; neither chose to hold a job …


Two Letters Re: How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer

Jim: Car batteries are designed for one thing and one thing only – delivering a bunch of power for a very short period of time. Said time is measured in seconds, not minutes, hours, or days. I have been living “Off the Grid” for fifteen years, and can assure your readers that vehicle batteries can only handle 3-5 complete discharges before they are useless, i.e., after but a few discharges they cannot be recharged and expected to hold said charge. Ergo, they are the wrong choice for any task where discharge exceeds the constant charging input into the battery. They …


Economics and Investing:

Regular contributor GG flagged this piece from Zero Hedge: Fannie Mae Seriously Delinquent Rate Hockeysticks to 4.45% From 1.57% In Prior Year M.M. in Utah suggested this piece by Eric Sprott and David Franklin in Markets at a Glance: Dead Government Walking Karen H. sent this: Profit ‘Not Satanic,” Barclays Says Also from Karen H.: ADP says U.S. Companies Cut an Estimated 203,000 Jobs in October Items from The Economatrix: Gold Extends Record High on India Purchase US Service Industry Expands Less than Forecast Rogers Says Roubini is Wrong US Home Price Slide to Continue to Mid-2010 [JWR’s Comment: Gee, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Rourke suggested this article: What Survivalists Have Right    o o o Reader Jim S. suggested this mainly humorous piece: 12 places to go if the world goes to h***    o o o Bob B. found an essay titled: Why Bother? (To Prepare) Bob says: “It underscores the fact that preparing significantly alters your mindset, which might turn out to be the most valuable preparation of all.”    o o o “Straycat” sent us this: Water rationing for Venezuela’s capital city. Have you bought a Berkey or Katadyn filter for your family yet?



The Reliability of the Gas Tube-Driven AR-15/M16/M4 Design is Again Questioned

Several readers wrote to mention these articles: How Reliable is the M16 Rifle? and, a follow-up: The M16 Argument Heats Up, Again. This is sure to raise a ruckus with some of the SurvivalBlog readers that are owners of AR-15s, registered (Class 3) M16s, M4geries, and even AR-10s. Before you send me a fusillade of angry letters, please note that most of the failures mentioned in the After-Action Report (AAR) were with M16s and M4s that had been used in very high volume of fully automatic fire–something that they were not designed to do. (After all these are individual weapons–not …


Letter Re: A West Texas Retreat Locale

I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers consider the land here in the desert of West Texas for rural remote retreats that are affordable and located away from the major city targets. The desert acts as a sandy, hot, dry, moat around such retreats…and will attrite gangs of marauders roving out of the ruined cities. Land out here around Balmorhea, Texas is cheap by your standards: $300 an acre average. The San Solomon spring brings in 26 million gallons of fresh water daily to the one mile square irrigation/fishing lake two miles east of Balmorhea. Balmorhea is about two miles south of …


Letter Re: Retreat Construction, Afghan Style

James- One of the most notable features of the architecture here in Afghanistan are the adobe-walled compounds called qalats. Looking at them, especially from the air, it seems to me they would be an excellent style of construction for those with the time (and money) to build their own home retreat. See this photo. As you can see in the picture (which shows attached qalats for three or more families), a qalat can be almost a miniature castle, complete with a tower or towers. The walls are thick adobe, requiring demolitions or tank cannons to breach. (If you’ve got enemies …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Reader Karl B. sent this new item that he spotted on a news wire, dated 29 October: Unidentified virus kills 30 in western Ukraine. Since I was unable to find a link to the English translation of the piece (originally from a Kiev television outlet), I’ve decided to post it in full: [Presenter] An unknown deadly virus has taken lives of over 30 people in western Ukraine. The preliminary diagnosis is viral pneumonia. The results of analyses are to be made public early next week. According to the latest statistics, some 12 people died in Ternopil Region, 11 in Lviv …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson pointed us to some commentary by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal that sheds some light on attitudes about the current recession: We’re Governed by Callous Children. GG flagged this: Junk bond revival stokes credit bubble fears GG also sent us this troubling piece, from England: More quantitative easing is on the way – and that’s a good thing. The UK government considers debt monetization a good thing? Watch out! Items from The Economatrix: Oil Hovers Near $78 on Positive US Economic News World Markets Fall as US Recovery Doubts Linger Three …