Notes from JWR:

Congratulations to R.C. in Florida, the high bidder in the benefit auction that ended yesterday, for six items including a Katadyn Pocket water filter Today we are starting a new auction. This one is for a scarce original 1980s-vintage Heckler und Koch 19mm Emergency Flare Launcher (EFL) aka “Notsignalgerät“ from my personal collection. It comes with three magazines and 28 scarce original German 19mm flares–10 red, 10 white, and 8 green. Together, this package is worth approximately $400. Note: Despite its fairly high muzzle velocity and the fact that it is magazine fed, this flare launcher in not classified as …


Four Letters Re: Extended Care of the Chronically Ill in TEOTWAWKI

Jim, One more suggestion (maybe it has been made already and I missed it) is that everybody should get up to date on their tetanus shots right now. If things get difficult, it would not be hard to imagine getting cut/puncture wounds in all sorts of ways, from all sorts of things in all sorts of circumstances. And these shots are good for 10 years, so you’re covered for a while. – Mike in Seattle   Jim, Pfizer announced that they will no longer make Exubera, the inhaled insulin powder due to massive marketing failures. Its a good product but …


Three Letter Re: Fire Suppression and Firefighting at Retreats

Jim, A few hours after I wrote the most recent Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update (Fri 12-14-07) I was awakened at 2 a.m. Friday morning with a page out to respond as a member of our local volunteer fire department to a fully involved structure fire with multiple occupants trapped. Like I stated in my update it takes us 15 to 30 minutes to arrive on scene as we respond from our homes to the station then on to the scene. As far as I can estimate there were emergency personnel on scene in about 14 minutes and we …


Odds ‘n Sods:

U.S. Housing Crash Deepens in 2008 After Record Drop    o o o The new quasi-survivalist movie “I Am Legend“s opened with a bang: a whopping $29.6 million one day box office take in 3,606 theaters. Hey, maybe another producer in Hollywood will take note that movies with survival themes sell lots of tickets, and they will buy my “Pulling Through” script.    o o o SF In Hawaii sent us this suggestion: Siano Solar-Powered Bug Zapper Lanterns. SF’s comment: “This is how I plan on feeding my chickens…”    o o o Cathy Buckle included the following in one …



Note from JWR:

The SurvivalBlog benefit auction, ends at midnight, tonight. The high bid is at $285. This auction is for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value) 4.) an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), 5.) an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), …


The Survivalist’s Coffee Cup, by Matt M.

In the novel “Patriots”, one of the characters scrounges a packet of Sanka from an MRE and complains that the coffee has run out. In the Civil War, Southerners used chicory as a substitute, which (to say the least) is an acquired taste. These unfortunate uses of ersatz coffees can be avoided, if the prudent survivalist plans ahead and learns the relevant skills now. Beans Coffee is harvested from the fruit of the coffee tree, and the fruit discarded. Its inner green seed is the bean itself, which is then roasted, ground, and sold in your local market. This is …


Letter Re: Livestock for the Self-Sufficient Retreat

Mr. Rawles; My husband has gotten me into reading SurvivalBlog and I have been trying to keep current and read some of the posts. I have some points I would like to add. I had a subscription to a publication called The Animal Finders Guide and it has listings for exotic and heirloom animals. Along with this it has some very good articles on the care and management of animals I think most of your readers would benefit from, especially if they are leaning towards yaks, camels or even less known breeds of standard livestock. On the breeds for horses …


Letter Re: A “Christmas Challenge” from a SurvivalBlog Reader

Hello SurvivalBlog Readers, In reflecting on the past year I can honestly say that I have enjoyed reading the SurvivalBlog every day. While I do not always agree with everything said, this blog will make one seriously think about all their survival preparations. It is my opinion that if the readers of this blog prepare to the best of our individual ability we will be among those who, after the SHTF event, and those events that follow the initial event, we will be among those who will return our nation to its Constitutional greatness in the society of nations. I …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A new medical study suggests a link between the use of cholesterol-lowering “statin” drugs, like Zocor (simvastatin) and Lipitor (atorvastatin) and higher risk of brain hemorrhage in patients who have had a recent stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA–commonly called a “mini-stroke” or “warning stroke.”) But the researchers opine that the benefits of the statin drugs outweigh their risks. Bah! In my opinion, the statin drugs are grossly over-prescribed, most often to allow people to continue to eat greaseburgers. Granted, there are some people that are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol, but the solution to high cholesterol for the vast …



Note from JWR:

The SurvivalBlog benefit auction ends tomorrow, Saturday December 15th. The high bid is now at $275. This auction is for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value) 4.) an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), 5.) an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 …


Letter Re: Communications in Times of Crisis

James, Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer! Nor am I a communications specialist. Nor am I an electrical engineer. All of the values cited in the following letter are estimates, and anyone is invited to refute or embellish, or add corrected information to these meanderings. I am by no means an expert on the subject, but, I do have some background in amateur radio and have been involved in communications since I built my first “comm” system at the age of 14 for myself and my buddies, and throughout the years, including time spent in the US Army Signal Corps …


Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

This week, after a personal experience with a house fire in a rental property I own, I want to cover how to secure your retreat from fire when your not living on site. Although the fire department was on scene and had the fire out within 10 minutes of the 911 call (the property was inside city limits) you can expect a 15 to 30 minute response time to your unoccupied retreat (in good weather), and that is if you have an automatic notification system or if a passerby sees the smoke and flames, and pray the fire is not …