Wood Stove Selection, Operation, and Safety, by Kevin K.

Heating with wood has been a “necessary” tradition for thousands of years, but with the advent of the industrial revolution, and the advancement in methods of heating homes and buildings, heating with wood became less and less popular.  During the 1970s Energy Crises, there was interest in seeking “alternative” energy sources, and people started to rediscover the benefits of heating with wood. In the early 1990s, gas stoves and inserts took the place of traditional wood burning.  People were just too busy to deal with the time and energy required with wood.  In the last few years however, wood has …


Letter Re: Preparedness for Families that Move Frequently

Mr. Rawles, Just finished reading your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It. I finished it in one long sitting, and have plans to go over it again with highlighter and pen and paper to take more detailed notes. Great work! As a member of the Armed Forces, I face a difficult dilemma in that I understand and can clearly see the need to prepare/plan ahead, but my family and I feel hamstrung by our relatively transient lifestyle. I’ve been in the service for just over four years, and in that time I have …


Letter Re: Storing Food in Commercial Storage Spaces?

Hi Jim, What do you think of storing food at commercial storage sites until you can get the your retreat? Do you think these sites will be targeted and vandalized when TSHTF? We will be moving north as soon as our house sells. I was wondering if we should move preps to a storage site closer to where we will be moving? I hope you and your family are able to find comfort in your memories of the Memsahib. Thanks, – Kimberly JWR Replies: In most of North America, commercial “U-Stor” storage spaces with roll-up doors are not a good …


Economics and Investing:

New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg: U.S. could be on path to a ‘banana republic’ situation. (Thanks to Tom B. for the link.) Reader MP sent this piece in Business Week: What happens if the dollar crashes? MP also sent this from The Motley Fool: The recession’s second wave, subtitled “Green shoots? Sure, but there is actually little evidence of a solid recovery” GG flagged this: FDIC bank fund in the red until 2012. Tom R. suggested this piece: Intractability of Financial Derivatives Items from The Economatrix: Weiss: Bernanke Gone Berserk! Bank Reserves Explode! “Martin here with the most shocking new …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jane L. sent this: River walkers discover weapons cache. There rae two lessons to be learned from this: 1.) Be very careful where and how you cache your guns, and 2.) Be sure to list the serial numbers of your guns, and leave that documentation well-hidden in the home of a relative or a well-trusted friend.    o o o Jonathan sent this one about over-reliance on technology: GPS Causing Truckers to Crash Into Bridges. Jonathan’s comment: “As you have said many times, you have to know how to use your tools or you’ll get in trouble. It also …



Twenty-Two Reasons Why this Recession is Different and Why it Will Endure

I find it surprising that I’m now getting inquiries from readers, asking if “we’ve reached bottom” in the current economic recession, and asking if the time has come to start buying stocks or residential real estate. It seems that the talking heads of mainstream media are using some sort of voodoo. How can anyone think that we’ve hit bottom, and an economic recovery is in progress? To dispel the myths from the CNBC Cheering Section, please consider the following. (And note that I’ve provided references for each assertion, just so you know that I’m not talking out of my camouflage …


Two Letters Re: Preparations for Eyesight & Hearing

Jim, I thought that I would respond to Jake G.’s letter on “Preparations for Eyesight & Hearing”. I feel I can offer a little insight (no pun intended) on eyesight and Lasik. I had Lasik a little less than two years ago. I had just turned 43 and, after 22 years of wearing glasses or contact lenses, I was ready to make the jump. I didn’t take it lightly, as having any procedure contains some degree of risk, but having surgery on arguably the most important of your five senses is scary. I had been in love with the idea …


Letter Re: Gear That is Hidden in Plain Sight

James, I have built a series of Hidden in Plain Sight (HIPS) bird house caches that can conceal a Seahorse Waterproof Case. These cases are similar to a Pelican brand case. The Seahorse company has cases developed for pistols, so I have built a birdhouse. It is a 4-place birdhouse.Two of the spaces are real bird houses, but the other two are dummies, with the top on hinges. The Seahorse case fits nicely inside. My thoughts on this were, for instance, say an intruder breaks into your home in suburbia, your space is compromised, you have enough time and thought …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Reader Sheila A. mentioned n informative piece on flu immunizations, from The Atlantic: Does the Vaccine Matter? Swine Flu Claims 11 More Children NY Judge Halts Flu Vaccine Mandate for Health Workers Children Should Not Be Given Common Pain Killer After Vaccine Swine Flu Taking Toll on Hospital Health Workers UK: Swine Flu Death Toll Passes 100, 2 Pregnant Women Die CDC: Production of Swine Flu Vaccine Lagging More than Half of Americans to Refuse Swine Flu Vax UK: Top Insurer Tells Doctors Not to Give Swine Flu


Economics and Investing:

Karen H. kindly sent us the following items: Bank of America Posts Third-Quarter Loss on Defaults. “The idea that the financial crisis is over is a fantasy and it looks like the numbers bear that out,” GE Profit Falls 45% as Revenue Trails Estimated Buyers Suing Trump in Miami Condo Glut as Values Return to 1989 “There’s no recession in the real estate litigation community,” Focus growing on keeping the jobless in their homes. A Perfect storm’s brewing to cool petroleum demand. Items from The Economatrix: Workers Still on Job, But Making Half as Much Delaying Foreclosure Can Lead to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Mark K. sent a link to an interesting chart that shows the sources of state revenue. This could have a bearing on your choice of retreat locales. (As I’ve previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, folks that want to truly “live off the land” need to consider property tax and sales tax rates carefully.)    o o o Chris mentioned this tidbit: Lone Star Energy: Why Texas Will Resist the Call for a Unified Grid.    o o o Reader HH sent this article: The Case For Withdrawing Nickels. It adds credence to my advice on stockpiling US five cent pieces …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Anyone who clings to the historically untrue — and thoroughly immoral — doctrine that “violence never solves anything” I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 25 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. 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.) and C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.) Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing …


Prepping for the Worst Case: Becoming a Refugee, by Dr. L.D.

I am unable to make my home self-sustaining.  So, unfortunately, my family will probably become refugees in a true SHTF scenario.  My focus presently is in becoming desirable refugees rather than shunned refugees.  The key is minimizing any negative impact (extra logistics of all sorts) and maximizing any positive impact (filling in weak spots) to someone that is geographically fortuitous.  I was challenged to figure out how a small family could best become a wanted commodity when food is tight and security isn’t. I determined the key for us was that everything carried needed to be dense in value. Density …