Letter Re: Some Practical Experience with WVO Conversions for Diesels

JWR, Some waste vegetable oil (WVO) information for you: My 2001 Excursion 4WD runs on WVO, and I’m presently in the process of converting my recently acquired 1996 Ford F250. For my first conversion, the Excursion, I bought a conversion kit from a company and I recommend that all first timers on straight vegetable oil (SVO) start with a kit from a reputable company. I’m building my second conversion kit on my own and I expect it to cost around $800 for all the conversion parts except for the second tank for the WVO. (I picked up a L-shaped 105 …


Letter Re: Advice on Finding a Retreat

Mr. Rawles Regarding GvO’s letter that was posted on Thursday: I think that “finding a retreat” is not as important as finding people to work with, and while time may be getting short, I still believe the answer is primarily about people, not places. GvO obviously has skills that would be useful even before the Schumeresque season arrives. So, I can tell you what worked for us. We found an online group that was devoted to Homesteading, after a year or so when the group decided to have a Meet-N-Greet, we went, and met the founders, and some of the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Tom from Atlanta wrote to ask me about the recent drop in oil and precious metals, and the simultaneous rally in the US Dollar. He asked: “Does this mean the credit crisis is over, and that commodities will tank?” My answer: Not even close. Just take a look at the US Dollar Index chart. Print out that chart, slap a ruler on it, and draw a trend line. Now ask yourself: At the macro level, is there anything that has changed that will make the USD substantially stronger in the next few years? NO! So we can conclude that the …




Letter Re: Finding a Family Oriented Survival Retreat

We are a devoted Christian family located in N.E. Oklahoma who are looking to encourage, help, and possibly connect with other families that are like minded. My wife and I have been preparing since we have been together (1999). We now have three young children, and are very family oriented. We homeschool and even home church. Despite the fact that some ‘hard core’ survivalists cringe at the thought of caring for little ones, we love children and consider them a blessing, and we believe that it is an honorable duty to be able to provide for and protect them. Besides …


Letter Re: GPS Receivers with a Back Road Mode

Jim, In answer to the recent inquiry: I can’t speak for other manufacturers, but Garmin’s Mapsource software has a setting for the road types along routes. I took my family on a camping trip a few weeks ago and we were on a single-lane dirt road for several miles between paved roads. We saw a group of wild turkeys cross the road and numerous deer bounding away as we passed. Since this trip, I found the setting in Mapsource that the software uses to determine road types. Click the “Edit” menu and select “Preferences” and in the resulting dialog, select …


Odds ‘n Sods:

John T. spotted this thought-provoking piece by Chris Sullins posted over at Of Two Minds: The Self-Selected Remnant    o o o David in Israel recommends the Pyromid Folding Grille. David notes: “I got mine at an outdoor gear shop closing sale. I was surprised by the high list price for a grille but that was before I used it. Made of stainless steel the infrared energy from the coals is all aimed upwards toward the food, after many seasons of use the once mirror shiny grille is a dull gold color where it was heated but there is no …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The harsh reality is that Starbucks is a microcosm of scores of enterprises that have come to comprise the core of the U.S. Bubble economy. The economic viability of so many businesses and even industries will be in jeopardy in the unfolding credit and financial landscape. The stock market is still in the early stage of discounting the unfolding credit and economic bust. And I’ll reiterate that we expect the unfolding economic adjustment to be of such a magnitude as to be classified as an economic depression.” – Doug Noland, The Prudent Bear


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 18 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: The writer of the best contributed article in the next 60 days will be awarded two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value! Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing Round 18 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing …


A Practical Guide to the Recon Patrol, by TMC

Okay, the stuff has hit the fan, you have made it to your retreat, and you are geared up, stocked up and ready to survive. Inner security has been established, with LP/OPs located at likely avenues of approach. You at some point will start to wonder what else is out there, how far away it is, and what it means for your group. You might want to start implementing the recon patrol. While I could write what may very well be a small manual on the subject, I will just put out the basics that will point you in the …


Letter Re: Advice on Finding a Retreat

Hello Mr Rawles; Back around 1996, I downloaded (and paid for) a copy of your novel “Triple Ought” [an early shareware draft “Patriots”]; I and others around me, learned from it and enjoyed it immensely. I now have an autographed copy of “Patriots“, and have read it more than once. A little background; We lived on a ‘farm’ retreat in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (“U.P.“) with two other families from the Summer of ’99 (read: Y2K) to the Spring of 2002 and experienced first-hand the trials and joys of such an existence. We survived on the very basics; we raised our …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader KAF suggested this piece over at Pajamas Media: Ask Dr. Helen: Preparing for Disaster — Prudent or Paranoid? It sounds like she might have been reading SurvivalBlog.    o o o Steve N. flagged this article: Iran threatens to shut Gulf shipping lanes    o o o Eric sent us this piece on the significance of “local” produce: Supermarket Chains Narrow Their Sights    o o o A reader e-mailed me to ask: “Do you know of any GPS that has a “Scenery mode” or other mode that chooses back roads instead of major roads and highways, so I …



Notes from JWR:

There was recently an interesting write up of SurvivalBlog in the Scripps Metropulse newspaper. Somehow, they came to the conclusion that I live in Georgia. But I can assure them that I indeed live “somewhere west of the Rockies.” Today we present another entry for Round 18 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: The writer of the best contributed article in the next 60 days will be awarded two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value! Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint …