Letter Re: Masonry Stoves / Brick Ovens

Jim I have been reading the SurvivalBlog for some time now and thought I would share some information about a retreat technology that I have not seen mentioned. I am referring to a brick oven for baking bread, pizza and a large variety of other foods. Brick ovens have been around for thousands of years, they were very common in Roman times. They are having a revival in the artisan baking community and can also be found in many authentic pizza restaurants. They do take a little work to construct, however it is very simple to operate (decidedly low tech) …


Letter Re: Surplus Interceptor Body Armor

James, Military surplus Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) is starting to show up on eBay from Iraq war veterans who had to purchase the military spec armor themselves before the military was able to issue the armor to every soldier. This week, I purchased a full set of the Interceptor body armor with the front and back small arms protective insert small arms protective insert (SAPI) rifle plates from an Army officer via eBay. This equipment is heavy (around 17 pounds) tactical armor that is bulky. It offers good protection and intimidation factors for post-TEOTWAWKI uses and is perfect for guard …


Letter Re: Wood Gasification

Mr. Rawles, In response to a recent readers posting (Re: Raising Goats for Self-Sufficiency by Wife of NH Jumbo) A reference was made to wanting to learn more about the wood gasification used by Europeans to run vehicles without oil imports during and after World War II. I have found a ton of information from Knowledge Publications. The books and videos while expensive can be priceless in the not too distant future. There is information and supplies for hydrogen, producer gas( wood or biomass gasification) methane digesters even refrigeration without electricity. They sell a small camp stove that produces and …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ex-Airport Worker Plots Massive Attack On New York’s JFK Airport   o o o A SurvivalBlog reader mentioned to me that he is selling his five acre off-grid retreat in a remote area of northwestern Colorado. The home there is a two story, 24′ x 32′, post and beam cape style. There is a spring on the property that puts out 300 gallons a day into a 110 gal cistern which is then pumped by a Honda high pressure water pump to a 300 gallon holding tank in the house. The water is pressurized through the home with an RV …



Letter Re: Water is Crucial for Survival

Mr. Rawles, Just received the updated version of your novel/manual “Patriots”. I love it. Just a short note about water usage some folks might find useful: My wife and I are pre-positioning our “stuff” at our new retreat home. Finally clearing out the storage sheds and the house we currently live in. Anyway, the water situation at the retreat is this. We have a well but because of no electricity we have no water. Electricity is being fixed this week and the well /pump issue soon to follow. When we would go down to the retreat to work we had …


Letter Re: Adaptive Agents and the Blue Ridge Mountains

Jim, I recently discovered your blog. It is excellent — very smart and very rational. Many thanks for the service you provide. One of the most important concepts I’ve come across in years is the concept of “adaptive agents” within complex adaptive systems. Here’s a definition from a useful web site: “An entity that, by sensing and acting upon its environment, tries to fulfill a set of goals in a complex, dynamic environment. Properties: (1) it can sense the environment through its sensors and act on the environment through its actuators; (2) it has an internal information processing and decision …


Letter Re: Misinformation on Plate Tectonics

Dear Jim and Family, Regarding the [recent Odds ‘n Sods] link to the article about the Aussie researcher [Australian Researcher warns about Mass Human Extinction from Global Environmental Collapse] As a geologist, I feel compelled to respond. There are lots of critical events to worry about, but shifting the crust around like a greased orange peel is not one of them. Be worried about the collapse of the Cantarell oilfield in Mexico. Be worried about an attack on Ras Tanura loading station in the Persian Gulf. Be worried about Iran building nukes, and giving them to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Economist Bill Fleckenstein’s commentary: A Fourth Turning Economic Winter is Coming   o o o Dwindling of Rare Metals Imperils Innovation    o o o You may recall that we recently mentioned DiBlasi folding motorbikes in SurvivalBlog. I just heard from Vic at SafeCastle that they have secured a dealership from the North American DiBlasi distributor–noteworthy because Safecastle is their first and only web-based dealership. Vic has listed the Di Blasi motorbike in his SafeCastle Royal Buyers Club. (Where members get 20% off, and free shipping.)



Note from JWR:

Today we present the first article for Round 11 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 11 runs for two months, ending on the last day of July. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for …


Ponies for Survival, by Jen’s Hens

Horses will be quite handy in a survival situation to be pack animals, to ride, to do farm work, and many other things. But horses eat enormous amounts of food and generally are not surefooted. So how are you going to have pack animals, riding animals, and farm workers? Well, ponies of course! Ponies are smaller than horses no taller then 14.2 hands high so they are easier to handle, they are more surefooted then horses, and eat a lot less than horses. (One hand equals four inches.) Horses (Especially Draft horses) require high quality feed, but ponies can easily …


Letter Re: Hurricane Preparedness, by MFA

Jim, Well written article especially for a “newbie” to hurricanes in Florida. However, I must take exception to the one item that MFA ignored: a standby generator! Life after a storm in Florida without a generator can best be described in two words: “absolute misery.” Without going into details, a generator will mean the difference between an Absolutely Miserable Time and a manageable Difficult Time. Personally we have a Honda 6500 [6.5 KW] electric start generator to use during the storm to provide power for lights, television Weather News and to keep the refrigerators and freezers running. After the storm, …


Letter Re: Firefighting Equipment for Rural Homes and Retreats, and Comments of Geothermal Heating

Hi Jim, I thought it prudent to add a bit to Mr. Savage’s fire fighting equipment article. It touches two topics worth mentioning. In the article, Mr. Savage recommends a fire truck, bladder, tank, etc… for firefighting. I have no problem with this unless it is winter. Trying to pump this much water on as “as need” basis in the event of a fire is obviously not going to work as well. Storing the water in a “non-potable” type container clearly marked, one could add the appropriate amount of RV antifreeze to the tank to keep from bursting your firefighting …