Notes from JWR:

Today we welcome our newest advertiser, BulletProofME.com, one of the nation’s premier dealers of body armor, helmets, and related protective gear. As an introductory special, they are offering free ground shipping to SurvivalBlog readers, and a one month special–for SurvivalBlog readers only: a $500 special price for full mil-spec Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) vests. That is 32% off their regular price, and below wholesale. They tell me that this pricing is only possible because of military contact overrun. Frequent blog posters “SF in Hawaii” and “Mr. Sierra” are both satisfied BulletProofMe.com customers, and they’ve given permission to mentioned as such. …


Letter Re: Who Can Supply Sturdy Headsets for FRS Transceivers?

Mr. Rawles; I am having problems finding reliable headsets for Family Radio Service (FRS) radios. Do you know anyone I can ship mine to and have something made that will last and work? I got Radio Shack models and the headsets do not last a year of steady use. I got one model you cannot get headsets for anymore. The headsets cost $25 each and having to continuing purchase them is getting ridiculous. Even with Radio Shack warranties, if the SHTF you cannot run to them to get replacements. I am willing to pay for quality headsets to last in …


Letter Re: Dragonskin Body Armor Versus IBA

Dear Jim, Dragonskin Armor, from all non-PR reports, isn’t nearly as good as its designers would like us to believe. (Also see: this article, as well as this one.) Dragonskin is claimed to meet Level IV standards, but has only been certified by the NIJ to Level III. And that’s only one model of several–others are not certified at all. They are being sued by the USAF over this fraudulent claim. After several delays refusing to provide test samples to the Army, the Army purchased some and sent them to an independent lab. [The manufacturer] Pinnacle claims these tests were …


Letter from FerFAL in Argentina Re: Greenspan, Gold, and the Safe Store of Value

Dear James, Regarding the letter “Letter Re: Greenspan, Gold, and the Safe Store of Value” I can assure you that gold is just as valuable before, during and after a crisis. Gold has always been valuable, its safe to say that it always will be, it’s our alma mater currency, since the beginnings of mankind. Unless you are stranded on an island, or in a plane wreck in the middle of the Andes, gold is always a cherished form of currency, and no one is going to trade you an ounce of gold for a piece of bread. Generally speaking …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From Chris Hedges: What if our mercenaries turn on us?   o o o Matt Playne e-mailed me to mention PeakOilChat.com, a non-profit site dedicated to real time, web based IRC (Internet Relay Chat) discussion on the impact of the peak in world oil production, consequences, economics, depletion scenarios, permaculture, survival, self sufficiency and more. It is not a forum.    o o o India developing an e-bomb



Letter Re: Firearms Questions from a Distaff Newbie

Mr. Rawles: I have been reading your blog and enjoy it very much. I have been stocking up and working at independence, but I am sadly lacking in the area of protection. I have been taught my whole life that guns are bad, evil, dangerous. I can barely bring myself to touch one. I shot a boyfriend’s handgun once many, many years ago but I really could barely stand holding it. I’ve never even let my children have toy guns or pretend to shoot people. My youngest son (8 years old) has been given a real rifle and a box …


Letter Re: 2nd Annual Bug-Out Drill at Tiger Valley in Texas

James, I started reading SurvivalBlog this year after a friend told me to check out the site and it has been a great resource. I had a couple of thing that might be of interest to everyone. First is the 2nd annual Bug-out drill at Tiger Valley in Texas. Tiger Valley will host its second annual Bug Out Drill, September 29, 2007. We will run the same distance as last year, 15 miles, but the physical challenges will be tougher. For those who didn’t attend the last event, the idea for this was spawned from reading the survival forum. I, …


Letter Re: “The Rift” by Walter J. Williams

Jim, I’ve scanned the [poll results for] favorite Survival Book entries and haven’t seen one of mine (unless I’ve missed it). It’s “The Rift” by Walter J. Williams: an edge-of-your seat novel based on the New Madrid earthquake of 1811 occurring again in our time. I highly recommend it to your readers and have enjoyed learning from them of other works that I wasn’t familiar with. Regards, – AdkNoah


Odds ‘n Sods:

James in Pennsylvania found a link to the Tearfund International Learning Zone (TILZ) that has some interesting publications. His comment: ” Take a look at the technology section of Footsteps 21. Lots of practical information.:   o o o The PC crowd finds survivalists too “negative”    o o o Half of China on flood alert as rainstorms plague millions


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs." – Theodore Roosevelt


Letter Re: Solar Power, Wind Power, 4WD Electric Vehicle, Wood Fired Brick Ovens

James, I am new to SurvivalBlog but I thought that I would share my experience and thoughts with everyone. I have a totally off the grid ranch that is powered by wind and solar. We have more electricity than we can use with a 40 kilowatt (KW) battery bank, 2 KW of photovoltaics and 1.4 KW of wind power. First I highly recommend a hybrid system, solar and wind. Usually when the sun isn’t shinning, the wind is blowing, especially when a storm is blowing in. My batteries are usually full by 1100 hours in the summer and 1200 hours …


Letter Re: From Russia With Love

It is quite strange heading for the letter to the site like yours, isn’t it? But it is really so. My name is Andrei, I am Russian living in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia. I do have a lot of fun reading your great site. Of course, circumstances in Moscow, Russia and Moscow, Idaho, differ significantly, but there is a lot of the same stuff we must take care of if we are going to survive, be it in Western hemisphere or not. Surprisingly, actually there are no local web sites like yours while your site is a great source …


Letter Re: Analysis of Poll Data: List Your Top Five Survival Fiction Books and Top Five Survival Movies

Jim: I was bored, so I compiled the “raw data” that you recently provided in SurvivalBlog: TOP 3 SURVIVAL BOOKS (# of votes) Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse by JWR (10) Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (6) Lucifer’s Hammer by Niven & Pournelle (5) HONORABLE MENTIONS (3 votes) Lights Out by David Crawford Earth Abides by George Stewart Malevil by Robert Merle Wolf and Iron by Gordon Dickson Tunnel in the Sky by Robert Heinlein TOP 3 SURVIVAL MOVIES Red Dawn (6) Panic In Year Zero (5) The Postman (4) HONORABLE MENTIONS (3 votes) Threads The Road Warrior Testament Regards, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

JLM sent us the link to this Washington Post article: Switching To Biofuels Could Cost Lots of Green   o o o MWR flagged this article: Drought now covering more than one-third of the continental USA.    o o o CountryTek e-mailed us with a reference to a piece about a method discovered by MIT researchers for the wireless transmission of electrical power via materials resonance. His comment: “So far, they’ve been able to power a 60 watt bulb from about seven feet away. This non-technical article doesn’t talk about transmission efficiency, but the implications are huge.”