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 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Bill R. recommended the RadioReference.com. Here is Bill’s description of the site: “It is the only site that I’ve found that covers county 911 dispatch in my county in rural northwestern Tennessee. This is a good site to find out what’s going on at any time. There is a wealth of real time information here, as well as threads and discussions re: 911 comms, amateur radio, and all things radio.”    o o o The folks at Ready Made Resources have announced that they are having another free drawing for November. It will be for a Lifesaver 4000 water …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I find it simply fascinating how little is currently being written about the big bull market in gold. Where anything is written, it’s almost a warning that ‘gold is volatile,’ that ‘speculators are driving gold up,’ or that ‘the gold shorts are simply being squeezed.’ Never a word about the Fed creating new inflationary oceans of liquidity, never a word about the dollar losing its purchasing power, never a word about real money rising against all other asset classes. Silence reigns regarding what could be the most significant bull markets in recent history.” – Richard Russell


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 …


How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer, by Jeff M.

Throughout the last few centuries, mankind has been building and building up, combining raw materials and energy to create… stuff. This stuff is scattered all over urban population centers, and many of it can be used for basic life-sustaining purposes. I thought I’d write in and share some information I’ve gathered over the years in my work and in my hobbies, as it relates to sustaining life if you’re trapped in an urban area. I’m enumerating the primitive uses of some very basic components for those interested, this wasn’t meant as a guide for building any of this stuff, further …


Two Letters Re: Experience with a Shallow Well Hand Pump

Two Letters Re: Experience with a Shallow Well Hand Pump Mr. Editor: Jim W. in Indiana did a wonderful thing, he became utility independent for his water. Not to be critical but constructive, I didn’t see where he made any mention of drilling a small (1/8”) hole in his drop pipe down into the casing about five feet down, to allow for water to drain out of the top section of the pipe to avoid the water from freezing within it. One would think that Indiana might experience some below freezing temperatures. Without drilling the relief hole, one could experience …