Note from JWR:

There are just eleven days left in Round 2 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best contest entry will win a four day course certificate at Front Sight. (An up to $2,000 value!)  The deadline for entries for Round 2 is the last day of January, 2006. I also have some good news: Thanks to the generosity of Naish Piazza (the founder and director of Front Sight), we will be extending the writing contest for at least one more round! Round 3 will begin February 1st and end on the last day of March. We’ve already …


Letter Re: Surplus Ultra-Cold Medical Storage Freezers

I have been watching the U.S. Government surplus auctions for ultra-cold medical storage freezers. This one (“KELVINATOR, MDL: UC50RFMS, LAB REFRIGERATOR”) recently sold for just three hundred bucks. See: http://cgi.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=743367&convertTo=USD Not a bad price at all. I hope that it went to some frugal individual who will be using it for long-term storage in the event of TEOTWAWKI! I’ve become hopelessly addicted to the govliquidation.com site. Keep up the good work. A 10 Cent Challenge check is headed your way. – T.K.


Eric Roseman’s Commentary on the Inverted Yield Curve

The following are some excerpts from some commentary by Eric Roseman that was included in a recent issue of  The Sovereign Society’s Offshore A-Letter: When the rate of return for short term investments exceeds that of long term investments (the yield curve “inverts”), it is generally a sign of bad economic times ahead. Over the last two years, investors have barely kept pace with inflation in benchmark intermediate term US Treasury bonds. After enjoying a massive rally since 2000, bond yields hit a 40 year low in 2003 at 3.3%. Despite thirteen Federal Reserve rate hikes since June 2004, bond …


Odds ‘n Sods:

There is some very useful information on battlefield survival skills at this static web site: http://www.survivethewar.com.  Much of this info is applicable for preparedness-minded folks like you and me. Take a look.   o o o Gary North quoted sage economist John Templeton as stating that when the housing bubble pops, real estate house prices might decline as much as 90%.  Dr. North is less pessimistic. My personal view is that as the housing bubble collapses, “Helicopter Ben” Bernanke will be simultaneously cranking up the printing presses. The net effect will be that your house won’t go down significantly in dollar …


Jim’s Quote of the Day

"On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." – Thomas Jefferson



Letter Re: Getting Your Group to Buy In: The $20 Medical Kit, By EMT J.N.

Mr. Rawles, I enjoy reading your blog. It is full of useful information. I have a couple of suggestions to add to the 1-13-06 letter by EMT J.N.  Alacer (the makers of “Emer’gen-C”) has an prepackaged instant electrolyte mix available. Just mix with water and drink. ‘Electromix‘ is available at most health food store. It costs about 35 cents per packet. I also would not want to be without aloe vera for burns. Small tubes or bottles are not that much, but it is amazing stuff!! Some Aloe vera products have colorings and such in them; the ones without are …


Letter Re: Arming Your Untrained Neighbors

Dear Jim: Straightblast brings up an excellent point about the many pitfalls of loaning weapons to untrained neighbors, after a crisis has hit, and thus potentially arming bad guys. He wrote:”Frankly, it scares me. I look at it this way…if the neighbor has no guns (right now), and no gun skills…and the bad guys come to visit…what are the odds that he / she will prevail against them? I think close to zero.”  It scares me too! But I beg to differ that the chances for your neighbor are “close to zero.” Remember your average gang or criminal has not …


Letter Re: Suppressors and .22 LR Conversion Kits for Rifles and Pistols

The Colt version for the 1911, chopped to Detonics length, on an alloy frame, recoils just as much as full size and with 9mm, saving you 10c a shot. An alloy compact 9mm 1911 variant recoils just as much as a full size and weight .45 ACP. This is great for training, saving you 10 cents a shot. A .223 AR-15, “wearing” an 8″ long, 12 ounce sound suppressor is every bit as “tame” sounding as the Ciener .22 LR unit without the suppressor. [Shooting .22 LR in training] saves you nearly 20 cents a shot, and permits practice at …


Letter Re: Success in Treating Flu with Sambucol

Sir: I thought I would let you also know that Sambucol works incredibly well. My youngest daughter started feeling bad last Wednesday night. It was the situation where she remarked that she felt a bit more tired than usual. Her physical activity is very good, and swim team practice was a bit more rigorous than usual because of an upcoming swim meet that was scheduled for Saturday. When she woke up Thursday morning she was running a fever and listless. Wednesday night I had talked to a friend who had used Sambucol and it helped his case of the flu. …


Letter Re: Some Points About Pistol and Rifle Magazines and Their Springs

Jim: I’m glad that one of your readers wrote in to advise against stretching magazine springs. I can also add that when a replacement of any weakened (shortened) coil spring is not available, there is an alternative: Find a rod to use as a mandrel within the spring, and tap with a hammer to slightly flatten the coils against the rod as you work your way around. This will lengthen the spring, without creating the kind of strength-impairing deformations that stretching will cause. – Mr. Bravo


Note from JWR:

Please take the time to visit the web sites for all of our advertisers. They sell high quality products and services that are particularly suited for folks that are interested in preparedness, at competitive prices. These advertisers showed enough faith in SurvivalBlog to purchase advertisements, so please take the time to look at what they have to offer. Also, keep in mind that their product offerings do change, so be sure to re-visit their sites regularly to see what is new, and any special sale pricing. Thanks!


Letter Re: My Wife Ignores My Preparedness Goals

I can not seem to get my wife focused on what needs to be done [for preparedness] and accomplished. I think that she, at some level, believes that change is in the wind but for some reason she doesn’t see the need for a timely accomplishment of tasks. – “Indiana Jones” The Memsahib Replies: Your wife no doubt has seem the signs of decay: the ever increasing bureaucracy taking away our freedoms, the moral debasement of the culture, and no doubt you have been pointing out to her the signs of economic chaos. Yes, she can intellectually agree with you …


Letter Re: The Real Shelf Life of Prescription Medications

Hi Jim, You may already know about this, but if not, I think you and your readers will find it useful. The following link http://www.mercola.com/2001/feb/7/drug_expiration.htm tells of a study the U.S. Air Force requested 15 plus years ago to determine the shelf life of it’s inventory of medicine. The USAF was concerned about having to dump and restock millions of dollars worth of pharmaceuticals. The upshot is, the study proved most medicines are still good way beyond their printed expiration date. This was good news for one of my sons, who requires a daily prescription for his condition. I have …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The mainstream media is finally starting to pick up on the Iran nuclear threat. I’ve often said that this decade of the “Aughts” will end up looking a lot like the 1970s. The parallels have already been evident: the rising price of oil, rising commodity prices, unstable stock and currency markets, mass inflation, rising precious metals prices, and a protracted counterinsurgency campaign overseas that is causing friction with european governments. And now, heightened tensions with Iran. (Do you remember the Iran hostage crisis in the late 1970s?) Consider this FFTAGFFR, folks!   o  o  o The price of silver just …