Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader T.L. asked where he can get Castile Soap via mail order. It is available from Survival Enterprises. They sell the same Dr. Bronner’s Brand soap that I’ve carried on my backpacking trips since the 1970s. (Castile soap is ideal for backpacking, because a little bottle goes a long way!) The microscopic type “ABC-1-2-3” labels make interesting reading. (Odd doctrine, but hey, the gent has the freedom to put whatever he wants on his bottles and packages.) BTW, I heard that Survival Enterprises also still have a good supply of a few remaining varieties canned long term storage foods.   …



Notes from JWR:

Wow! I just looked at our stats and I see that we logged 71.78 GB of bandwidth for March! The previous record for a month was 53 GB. And as a gauge of long term growth, our traffic in March of 2006 was only 20.5 GB. More than a 355% increase in just a year! The “visits” counts were equally impressive, with 146,548 visits in March of ’07 versus 61,641 in March of ’06. Many thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a huge success. Please keep spreading the word by telling your friends and co-workers about SurvivalBlog. Just wearing a SurvivalBlog …


Top Ten Suggestions for Stocking Up, by Mr. Yankee

Continuing the theme of being part of the solution and not part of the problem when crisis strikes, consider that the time to stock up is before a shortage occurs. We may disagree on the reason why, but it seems obvious that we are living at the tail end of a historic period of plenty. Whether you feel that the price hikes we are seeing are due to peak oil, developing nations gobbling up natural resources, or active war zones sucking in all available oil and ammunition, you can not deny that prices (especially for fuel and metals) have increased …


Letter Re: A Source for Unusual Technical Books

Mr. Rawles, Charles R. mentioned the book “Caveman Chemistry” by Kevin M Dunn. It is available from the Lindsay Publications “Technical Book” catalog. The catalog is filled with how-to books of every kind – many reprints of long out of print books. I can recommend the fine folks at Lindsay Publications as I have several of their books and have several more on my “to order” list. I’ve been satisfied with every one. Check them out on line at www.lindsaybks.com and order a catalog. Other than being a happy customer I am not affiliated with Lindsay Publications. While on the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From WorldNetDaily: “The most extensive study of the effects of nuclear detonations in four major U.S. cities paints a grim picture of millions of deaths, overwhelmed hospitals and loss of command-and-control capability by government.”   o o o SurvivalBlog readers in Pennsylvania should be aware that there has been a draconian firearms registration bill introduced in he state legislature. If this is a concern, please contact your legislators!    o o o Kurt mentioned this nifty web site about big game hunting with air rifles.



Notes from JWR:

We have finished the judging for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The first prize winner is: E.C.W., MD, for her article: “Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor’s Perspective” (posted on February 24th.) She will receive a four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate that is worth up to $1,600. Congratulations! Second prize goes to J.D., for his article “Fish Farming for Survival Protein“. J.D. will receive an autographed copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. Honorable Mention prizes go to Mike McD for “Selecting a Retreat Location in Australia“, and to CMC for “Blue …


Seven Letters Re: Advice on Magazine Duplexing Systems

Dear Jim, Some other things to consider with multiple magazines attached together: The AR-15 was designed with a 20 round magazine, which was increased to 30. The magazine catch can chip, break, wear or jam with too much weight. If one magazine is inverted (“jungle clipped”), the bottom, then one is going to get the feed lips dinged up or full of dirt, as well as preventing one from taking a good prone position. Having a spare magazine in hand or readily accessible on the gear is just as fast a change as those overpriced and clunky gadgets. As to …


Letter Re: Survival Kits and Salt Storage

Sir: I came to the survivalist mindset by the strangest of all possible paths – a literary one. I would probably be considered more of a “self-reliantist” than a survivalist, but I see that as a fine point. I’ve always been the sort of guy who has wanted to know how to make things from scratch, and I’ve learned a lot in my planning efforts. I’ve been slowly compiling an encyclopedia of important skills and knowledge that is now in excess of 1000 pages and includes things from the most primitive tasks to the light-industrial. I thought I might offer …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael Z. Williamson sent this: Jakarta Floods Linked to Illegal Construction. Mike notes: “Something to watch out for in a collapsing or collapsed society is failure of drainage and other infrastructure. Floods are messy and spread diseases.   o o o RBS sent this story of a local government running roughshod: Brooksville, Florida proposes to foreclose homes and seize cars over less than $20 in parking tickets.    o o o Rourke (the moderator of the Yahoo Jericho Discussion Group) pointed us to a web page that shows how to convert a typical drill motor into a hand crank generator. …



Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $425 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!


Four Letters Re: Advice on Camouflage Clothing

Mr. R Nice article. I’ll agree that the new ACU is terrible, and that MultiCam is pretty good. Problem is it’s currently limited, hence mucho expensive I’ll second how effective ASAT [pattern camouflage] is. Years back we went backpacking up in Bandelier [National Monument], which is a mixed environment with evergreens, deciduous trees, brush and grass, amidst rocky canyons. My son walked out into a field in bright daylight and sat down with an ASAT big-bandana over his head and shoulders. Gone! Even with some light wind moving brush he stayed gone. We did this a few more times as …


Letter Re: Swords and Bows for that Dreaded Multigenerational Scenario

Mr. Rawles: I would like to add to the article “Swords and Bows for that Dreaded Multigenerational Scenario” [that appeared in SurvivalBlog back in September of 2006, with lots of follow-up letters in the following week.] I have been a closet survivalist for some time now and thought it prudent to learn several old world skills. Metalworking was one of the skills I put a high value on and for good reason, knives, spears, swords, and arrowheads are all important if in a “multigenerational” situation. Also knife making is a fun (and maybe even profitable) hobby. The comment on leaf …