Letter Re: More Backup Generator Advice

Hi Jim,. Hurricane season is just around the corner here in Florida and I am getting ready to buy a backup generator for my home. To be better informed, I have gone back and re-read all the past survivalblog entries on generators, so I am pretty much up to speed on it. My last step is to decide what size generator to buy. One additional piece of information that would be helpful to me, and probably others, is to have an idea of how much wattage it takes to run each of the various typical appliances in a home ranging …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Army Aviator spotted this one for us: The Sun’s next 11-year cycle could be 50 percent stronger. See: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-03-06T204858Z_01_N06327000_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPACE-SUN.xml&rpc=22   o o o This page is very nicely done:  An on-line survival quiz: http://www.spicolisbarleybin.com/games/survival.swf   o o o Walter Jefferies at NoNAIS.org found an article in which the FDA admitted that the measures already in place are enough to protect against BSE. See: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/bsefaq.html



Letter Re: Source for the Full Text of the Web Novel “Lights Out”

Jim,
In your Saturday Blog of March 4th. you responded to a reader asking where to obtain David Crawford’s two fine stories. Your answer for “The Bug-Out” was okay, but your response for “Lights Out” of Frugal Squirrel’s site was not really a good one. Frugal has only about a quarter of David’s story available. The place to go is: a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.giltweasel.com/stuff/LightsOut-Current.pdf”>http://www.giltweasel.com/stuff/LightsOut-Current.pdf This will get a full 600 odd page page PDF. document with the full story plus a title page, table of contents, prolog and epilogue.





Getting a Spouse “On Board” with Preparedness

James Wesley Rawles; I wanted to respond to the letter about how to get your spouse involved in preparedness. For several years I have been working as a preparedness consultant for individuals, families and groups who have an interest in preparing for disasters. I guide each group through a series of exercises to help them decide how prepared they want, choose and can afford to be. I like to start with a discussion to see if everyone is on the same page. Sometimes there are reluctant participants. I note that one usually learns to craw before they walk and walk …


Letter from Michael Z. Williamson Re: Body Armor, Ancient MREs, and Federally Exempt Handguns

Mr Rawles: Thanks for your review of The Weapon. I get a lot of feedback on it, regarding the risks of attack and terrorism. I’m glad to see people thinking about the subject more. Currently, I’m gearing up to do a nonfiction work about medics in combat in the current conflict. If any of the SurvivalBlog readers are or know anyone who is, do please have them contact me. I’ve got approval from the various branches public affairs, and I’m Guard myself. I’ll be treating the subject and troops as they deserve to be, and not looking to misquote for …



Note From JWR:

Note from JWR: We were hoping to provide searchable archives and RSS feeds. However, because of difficulties in getting our revised blog template (created in Blogger) to display properly in some versions of Internet Explorer, we have temporarily switched back to the old blog format (using Dreamweaver.)   Firefox and Netscape worked fine, but the glitches in I.E. thusfar elude us.  Once we get the bugs worked out, we will switch back to Blogger or perhaps another piece of blogging software. Today we feature another entry in Round 3 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best …


Making a Living in a Rural Environment, by JD

  If there were one factor that prevents people from living at their retreat more than any other, I would guess it to be employment. This isn’t surprising, as the very qualities that make a particular locale ideal for a retreat — rural, small population, away from major cities — also make it far less likely to find employment there. What little employment is available is often snapped up by locals who have been around far longer than any Johnny-come-lately carpetbaggers (and rightly so!) When my family moved to our tiny town from our fairly large city, I knew from …


Letter Re: Why “Invest” In Gold or Silver?

Jim: I came across some links that may help “clarify” why Gold/Silver for some readers. Keep up the good work! http://www.bambooweb.com/articles/h/y/Hyperinflation.html http://www.kitco.com/ind/Wiegand/feb142006.html http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_03/waltzek091003.html http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/ConfederateInflation.asp


Letter Re: Alternative to Creosote for Preserving Wood?

Hello Mr. Rawles, Had a question that you might be able to answer. Looking to do some preserving of wood that will be stuck in the ground. I used to work for a telephone pole repair company. We used a very plastic Creosote and Tar paper ( keeps dirt from soaking up the creosote ). I have been trying to figure out a way to create an alternative to creosote. The best I can think of is used motor oil and soap ( gas and soap being napalm ) this seemed logical to me. Wondered if you had any thought. …


The Recent “Opening” of the 6 Meter Band

Jim: The first two weeks of February were spectacular for us hams working the 6 meter band. From my home in Northern California, I worked all western states using only 10 watts on an Icom IC-560.  No power amplifier was needed. One QSO [two way conversation] that I did lasted for 30 minutes to a gentleman right outside of  Tombstone Arizona on 52.525 Mhz FM [mode]. What was so unusual about this, is that is was not in SSB mode. The QSO was nearly as good as a local 2 meter simplex contact. The gentleman was using an Alinco FM-only …