Odds ‘n Sods:

One of our neighbors–and where we live, the term “neighbor” means anyone in a 10 mile radius–mentioned that she recently obtained 20 dozen Mason-type canning jars offered gratis on Freecycle. The boxes of canning jars almost entirely filled up the back of her SUV. In my experience, Freecycle and Craig’s List should be watched diligently by preparedness-minded families. The tighter your budget, the more crucial these resources are! And, BTW, if you benefit from Freecycle, be sure to return the favor, by offering the things that you no longer need.    o o o Bob G. mentioned an informative piece …



Note from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,050. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes: A.) 15 brand new 30 round M16/M4/AR-15 magazines from JWR‘s personal collection. These include four scarce and desirable brand new HK steel “Maritime Finish” magazines, and 11 new USGI alloy magazines made by Center Industries. (Note that most of these were made during the 1994-2004 Federal ban, so most of them have restriction markings, but those became null and void after the ban sunsetted.) Even if you don’t own an AR-15, these magazines are great to keep on …


Getting Your Loved Ones on Board with Preparedness

Roughly 10% of the e-mails that I receive from SurvivalBlog readers come from people that mention they have a relative that refuses to get prepared. This is usually because they refuse to believe that anything could ever go wrong beyond a localized and short-term natural disaster. (“Order and commerce will certainly be restored within a week!”) This is what I call the Pollyanna syndrome. How someone could have witnessed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina so well-documented on television, yet still maintain a “Polly” attitude astounds me. Convincing Pollys to to get prepared can be frustrating, especially when they stop listening …


Letter Re: Some Disaster Preparedness Information for Asthmatics

Dear JWR I am fairly new to prepping but as a lifelong asthma patient I quickly realized that I cannot depend solely on my current nebulizer WTSHTF. This is because it plugs into a wall and does not have any other alternative way to work when the grid goes down. When I did some research, however, I found a beautiful thing. There are now handheld nebulizers that have both AC and and DC car adapter abilities as well as a rechargeable [gel cell] battery. They cost around $200 or slightly more but I can tell you that this is a …


Letter Re: Combat Conditioning Fitness Training

Mr. Rawles, Papa Papa made mention of getting in shape before the need to bug out: Here is a link to a good workout that I found online. I have been using it and it is an intense workout that requires very little of my time. The information is available for free. The workout also goes by the name Combat Conditioning. Sounds appropriate. Matt Furey sells a comparable course for over $100. I hope your readers find this useful. Thank you for your help. I am praying for the Memsahib and you. – Konrad M.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Derek C. sent us the link to the full text of the recently mentioned nuclear and biological terrorism threat report, in PDF.    o o o Mike Williamson mentioned Survival Straps. Mike’s comment: “I came across these in another forum. Someone skilled at braiding could make their own, or can support an American small business by buying one of these. We each have a bracelet made in this fashion, that are stylish and useful. Parachute cord is always a useful thing to have on hand.” JWR Adds: Paracord can also be unbraided into individual nylon threads, with even more uses …



Notes from JWR:

My sincere thanks to a “Secret Squirrel” reader that has very charitably sent cash every week for the past couple of months, with notes indicating that the money was for The Memsahib’s medical bills. You are too kind! My plan is to “pay it forward”, once my wife is well, and we have recovered financially. God Bless you! Today we present another entry for Round 20 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: The writer of the best contributed article will be awarded two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is …


The Practice Load-Up, by Papa Papa

For most of us who don’t live at a retreat [year-round] our plan is to G.O.O.D. When the time comes we plan to load up our bug-out vehicles and head to our own “Shibes Meadow” as the family in the movie Panic in Year Zero did. At least that’s the plan. But how well have you considered this plan? In other words, have you done a practice “load-up”? Some of the characters in Mr. Rawles’ novel, “Patriots“, had to implement their bug-out plans and pack their vehicles for the trip to the Gray’s retreat. In that packing process they discovered …


Letter Re: Advice on an Inexpensive Solar Battery Charger?

Hi Mr. Rawles: In your comments to the family living in Trinidad & Tobago, you wrote: “As your budget allows, buy a small solar charger for your AA and AAA NiMH batteries.” Do you have personal experience with any of these solar chargers? Can you recommend any? Many thanks, – Larry T. JWR Replies: Depending on your budget, solutions can run from “micro”, to “mini”, to “maxi.” These inexpensive solar chargers sold by Ready Made Resources (one of our long-time advertisers) work fine as a “micro” solution., but be advised that they are not waterproof. I recommend setting these up …


Letter Re: SurvivalBlog is a Money Saver

Mr Rawles: For some time I was a lurker, reading SurvivalBlog on a more or less regular basis. Eventually I decided I needed to pay for what I was getting. I became a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber. Yesterday, you saved me more than the cost of my subscription with just one tip: I ordered a Foodsaver V2830 and paid just $59.99, postage paid. These originally sold for $169.99. I had wanted one for a long time and put off purchasing it because of the expense. Many thanks! And to the rest of the lurkers out there, it’s time to pay …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Vanya O. wrote to ask: “When do you expect that the MOAB will end?”. I expect the MOAB to drag on for several more years–and possibly a full decade–reaching absurd proportions. States, counties, and cities, and pension funds may eventually be bailed out by Uncle Sugar. That last stage of the MOAB may very well culminate with a direct bailout of individual subprime mortgage holders. Yes, it will be your tax dollars at work: Paying off the mortgages held by your NINJA neighbor, who for the past few years has been living in a house that he could never …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"So here we are in a country with more wheat and corn and more money in the bank than any other nation, more cotton, more everything in the world – there’s not a product that you can name that we haven’t got more of than any other country had on the face of the earth – and yet we’ve got people starving. We’ll hold the distinction of being the only nation in the history of the world that ever went to the poorhouse in an automobile." – Will Rogers, in a live radio broadcast, October 18, 1931


Note from JWR:

For today’s blog, I had originally posted a lengthy entry on herbal medicine for Round 20 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. But I removed it just two hours after posting when I was alerted by two readers that the article’s author had included some extensive plagiarism. Plagiarized articles cannot be accepted!