Letter Re: Advice on a Mini Photovoltaic Battery Charging System

Hi Mr. Rawles, I had a question about the article titled Letter Re: For Want of a Battery. In it you said to connect the Northern Tool & Equipment Solar-Powered Trickle Charger — 5 Watt Item # 339973, with this battery pack . How does the panel connect to the battery pack? And does your recommended Accupower AccuManager 20 Battery Charger (a battery charger for AA, AAA, C, D, and 9 volt rechargeable batteries connect to the 12 volt battery pack via the cigarette lighter plug? Also, could you please tell me how many AA batteries you could charge from …


Odds ‘n Sods:

John T. mentioned that political maverick H. Ross Perot has launched a new web site. It is a convenient all-in-one place to access charts showing our national economic predicament.    o o o Reader “PJ” said that he found an interesting Wikipedia page on refrigeration not requiring Freon: The Einstein Refrigerator.    o o o Rudy R. notes that the government of Mexico has decided to freeze prices on 150 foods until December 31st. “Companies agreed to hold prices steady for cooking oil, tortillas, flour, tomato sauce, canned soups and tuna, beans, chili sauces and other staples of the Mexican …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There are two kinds of discontent in this world: the discontent that works, and the discontent that wrings it’s hands. The first gets what it wants, and the second loses what it has. There’s no cure for the first but success; and there’s no cure at all for the second.” – Gordon Graham (as quoted in Elbert Hubbard’s “Scrap Book“, 1923)


Letter Re: A Recent Fire Evacuation Experience

James: Last weekend my town was threatened by a pretty big fire. Dozens of homes burned, thousands of citizens were evacuated. My neighborhood was among those ordered to flee the advancing flames. (Drama!) My family was prepared to leave ahead of time and evacuated safely in large part because of the advice and encouragement I have found at SurvivalBlog. Thank you. I did learn a few things. Theory flies out the window when panic is in the air. What is organized and prepared ahead of time actually works, what is thrown together at the last minute tends to fall apart. …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing Bulk Grain at Above Optimum Temperatures

Mr. Rawles, First, I’d like to thank you for your blog. It’s well worth the 10 Cent Challenge [voluntary subscription]! My question is about grain storage. We live on the outskirts of a big city and recently bought an old trailer on 25 acres in the country. It’s a three hour drive from where we are now and we can’t live there full time because of my husband’s job. I moved half of my bulk storage buckets (about 10) up there and during the winter it was fine but now it’s hot (in the 90’s) and humid during the day. …


Letter Re: Packing The Vehicle G.O.O.D. Bag

Mr. Rawles I’d just like to present an alternate thought to one of the statements made in the most recent piece written about G.O.O.D. bags: “Try to avoid foods that are high in sodium. You will have to drink more water.” Salt is not the enemy! Especially in hot climates. If you are traveling on foot you will be depleting a lot of your body’s salt. Low sodium levels in the body can, in a surprisingly short time, lead to muscle cramps at the least and seizures and death in the more severe losses. Salt also provides an osmotic gradient …


Letter Re: Update on Storage Food Shortages

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers: As you may know Mountain House has curtailed all shipment of their freeze dried foods in cans throughout the U.S. until at least October of this year. I repeat, the supply from Mountain House has been cut and I fully believe that when their food in #10 cans is available again, it will be at much higher prices. We still have a large supply of Mountain House Freeze Dried foods in our warehouse. It appears that we have one of the largest remaining supplies in the country as some of our biggest competitors are referring their customers …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric sent us this “signs of the times” article: More and More Moving to Escape Gas Price Burden. Meanwhile, the British press reports: Gas and electricity bills to rise 40 Percent, experts warn. (A hat tip to Jack B. for that link.)    o o o From a South African newspaper comes more troubling news from Zimbabwe. Here is a quote: “We are not going to give up our country because of a mere ‘X.’ [on a ballot]. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?” Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said yesterday while campaigning for reelection, in warning that he …



Notes from JWR:

The high bid in the new SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is at $350. This auction is for two cases (12 cans) of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans donated by Ready Made Resources, valued at $260, a course certificate for a four-day Bushcraft & Survival Course valued at $550, 25 pounds of green (un-roasted) Colombian Supremo coffee courtesy of www.cmebrew.com valued at $88.75, and a set of 1,600 U.S. Military Manuals, Government Manuals, and Civil Defense Manuals, Firearm Manuals on two CD-ROM disks, valued at $20. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments. The following is another article …


Packing The Vehicle G.O.O.D. Bag, by Ryan S.

This is a brief outline for preparing a vehicle-borne Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.). bag or Bug Out Bag (B.O.B.). We are all hopefully suitably prepared at our homes or retreats, but what if you find yourself away from your retreat WTSHTF? Recent events and some blog readers have mentioned the importance of having a G.O.O.D. bag in your vehicle. The floods in the midwest as well as the wildland fires in my neck of the woods, speak to this necessity. what ever the situation you are facing you should be able to get back home or at least remove …


Letter Re: Numerous New Economic Crash Warnings

Hi Jim, Within the last couple of days I have noticed that multiple economic and financial institutions have started to issue global financial crash alerts. For instance: – Morgan Stanley warns of a ‘catastrophic event’. The point of maximum stress could occur in coming months if the European Central Bank (ECB) starts to raise rates and the Fed backs away from expected tightening. The rates differential “could trigger a ‘catastrophic’ event”. – The Global Europe Anticipation (LEAP/E2020) team is now convinced that this period will consist for the whole world in a major plunge into the heart of the phase …


Letter Re: Gasoline Prices in the UK–a Preview of Upcoming Prices in the US?

Mr Rawles, First, I will be taking the 10 Cent Challenge starting this week, as I get far more than 10-cents worth of information per day from this wonderful blog. Second, I saw this article on the BBC web site. Fuel £1.99 a litre as tanks dry That’s right, for stations that haven’t run dry yet (1970s America all over again?), gas is selling for the equivalent of $14.76 per US gallon. Time to start thinking about what the US would look like at $15 a gallon. Yours, – DLF


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bill N. wrote me to ask: “Did someone read your novel? Check out the charging system powered by a bicycle.”    o o o A reminder that Wiggy’s is having a 20 percent off sale until the end of July. They have great products at great prices, and they are American-made. Here at the ranch, we have five Wiggy’s FTRSS sleeping bag sets and four of their Lamilite ground pads that we use very regularly. They have received far above average use since 1993, so we can attest to how sturdy and well-made they are.    o o o More …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the republic destroyed." …