Odds ‘n Sods:

I was saddened to see that the BOGO acronym has changed: It started out meaning “Buy one, give one”–a form of charitable giving–with the Bogo Light campaign. (Wherein someone buys a solar-powered flashlight and the manufacturer also provides one as charity to an African villager. This commendable program is still going on.) But I’ve noticed that BOGO has crept into the Internet marketing lexicon in a perverted form. The Madison Avenue advertisers have turned it into “Buy one, get one (free)”–nothing more than a 50% off sale.    o o o I just heard that Ready Made Resources is now …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. … The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. … We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we …


Note from JWR:

Today is set aside in the United States to honor our military veterans. For those of you are are veterans, thank you. And for those of you that have family members, friends, neighbors, church brethren, and co-workers that are veterans, I encourage you to make the effort to express your thanks and to welcome them home. Please give tangible support to those that are currently serving on overseas tours, and keep them in your prayers. I highly recommend the Any Soldier letter writing and gift-giving program.


Letter Re: Comments on FAL Rifle Gas Regulation

Mr. Rawles: These sage comments on FN FAL gas adjustment from my friend and colleague, John Krupa, Director of Training for DSA [an American maker of FN FAL clone rifles. The following is re-posted with the permission of DSA]: “Not knowing that one can control gas-flow on this weapon has led to countless customer-service calls to DSA, complaining that the rifle ‘doesn’t work.’ The following is laid out in great detail in the Owners’s Manual, of course, but we are happy to explain to each owner how the gas-regulator works and then walk them through correct gas-regulator adjustment. Invariably, when …


Letter Re: Two Book Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, I have just finished “Hard Times” by Studs Terkel, an oral history of the Great Depression, and recommend it to SurvivalBlog readers. It is a fascinating chronicle, a series of narratives from people who lived through it from all walks of life, and it really communicates a sense of what desperate times can be like. Most Americans have forgotten this and little is taught in schools. For example, there are several narratives that dealt with a farmers uprising in Northwestern Iowa. Apparently a local judge was too quick to bang the foreclosure gavel and a mob had his …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A hat tip to L.W., who sent us this: Banks’ Balance Sheets Will Hit The Fan In January.    o o o Helicopter Ben Speaks: Fed Chairman Says Economy Likely to Slow    o o o Reader MGB suggested the Measuring Worth web site. They have some very informative inflation and purchasing power calculators.    o o o Eric S. suggested this Newsmax article: Credit Card Debt a $915 Billion Disaster-in-Waiting for Banks



Note from JWR:

I just got word that a brand new free “In State Firearms Sales Board” is now up and running. It just went live a few hours ago. No charge, nada, zip. Photos are allowed. Again, at no charge. The concept of this site is to arrange private party firearms sales between residents of the same state. (This avoids running afoul of the Federal regulation that restrict interstate sales except through an FFL.) Since the sales will all be intrastate, they will be safely outside of Federal jurisdiction. Of course consult your state and local laws before posting or responding to …


Letter Re: Safety Tips on Hi-Lift Jacks

I’ve used my Hi -Lift jack for years. I concur with the writers’ comments. One extremely important part of using one of these safely was omitted. The rule while a vehicle is up off the ground is that you always place jack stands under the vehicle or you are placing your life in jeopardy. This goes for a Hi-Lift jack and any other jack. A short ‘it happened to me’: While making repairs on a very hot humid day, the asphalt didn’t hold the jack base (it sunk a little due to the heat), fortunately I completed said task quickly …


Letter Re: Curious About “Curio and Relic” Firearms Laws in the US

Hi Jim, I read from time to time “C&R eligible.” Can you please post a quick note on the SurvivalBlog that explains what that is referring to, as it relates to firearms. Blessings, – Mark B. JWR Replies: I often write about the full exemption in the Federal law for pre-1899 guns, but I haven’t given much attention in the blog to Curio and Relic (C&R) guns. A Type 03 Federal Firearms License (FFL) is issued by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) . It allows individual C&R collectors to purchase across state lines some specifically …


Two Letters Re: Living Off The Land

James: I just finished “Tree Crops” by J. Russell Smith which just became one of my favorite books. In it he briefly mentioned edible nuts from pine trees. I did a scroogle search and found a great place in Canada that sells these types of pines. My favorite so far is the Korean Pine. Everybody grows pines for blocking winter wind and for privacy so why not pick a breed that gives you food? They grow in areas as cold as Zone 1 so this would be great for a lot of the northern retreats. One last thought is that …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From Business Times Online, by way of SHTF Daily‘s posts: President Sarkozy warns of ‘economic war’ as dollar falls to new low    o o o Reader BDB suggested this article at FMNN: China Drain US Dollars- Telegraph, Bloomberg Confirms    o o o Bill W. sent us this link to a Wired News article: The End of Oil is Upon Us. We Must Move On – Quickly.    o o o Ben L. found this one: Never bring a taser to a gun fight



Note from JWR:

The high bid is still at $400 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for four items: a Baygen Freeplay Summit AM/FM/Shortwave digitally-tuned radio, and a Baygen Sherpa hand crank flashlight. These were kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, one of our most loyal advertisers. Also included in the auction lot is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. These four items have a combined value of more than $350. The auction ends on November 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.


Letter Re: Safety Tips on Hi-Lift Jacks

Jim: Please warn your readers of the potential dangers of using a Hi-Lift jack (a.k.a. farm jack [or Sheepherder’s jack]). I am a member of a local Jeep club and while we require each Jeep have one on outings, we don’t allow anyone to use theirs unless they’ve been trained in their use. People have been killed by these crude (but necessary) machines and many, many, many have been injured. A fellow in our club had his jaw broken and cheekbone fractured years ago when lowering his Jeep after doing a trailside repair. When raising a load do everything to …