Notes for Thursday – October 20, 2016

October 20th is the 58th birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He normally lives in the American Redoubt, but it has been reported that he’s presently attending his father, who is in ailing health, in the Northeast. On his ranch in the Redoubt is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road. This is also the birthday of “fast and fancy” shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was …


Letter Re: Charcoal for Disaster Cooking?

Mr. Rawles, I am now reading your book “How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It“ for the third time. I am wondering why you did not mention the use of charcoal barbecues for cooking. I envision using a small one [such as a hibachi] for small meals, and a larger one for larger meals. Charcoal is storable. I am wondering if one can get a barbecue going by starting with wood, building up a hot base, then adding charcoal? (That’s for when you run out of starter fluid.) Has anybody done this? Love the book. …


Economics and Investing:

Martin Armstrong: Nonperforming Loans in European Banks 10x that of U.S. Banks o o o Understanding Deutsche Bank’s $47 Trillion Derivatives Book .  (SurvivalBlog readers have been warned about derivatives counterparty risks for a  full decade.  When the global OTC derivatives implosion finally occurs, it will be traumatic and have far-reaching effects, possibly toppling entire nations states. o o o I missed seeing this article when it was published last month:  Britain’s May meets Goldman, Amazon, IBM to discuss post-Brexit investment o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The editors of the Middle East Forum note: Hungary has become “the first government to open an office specifically to address the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Europe.” o o o Reader W.C. suggested this Link:  CIA Prepping for Possible Cyber Strike Against Russia – NBC News.  W.C. asks:  “How can it be covert if they are telling everyone?” o o o Mike E. sent a link to this at Front Page Mag:  The Hijrah Into Europe. o o o DIY submachineguns are popping up across the West Bank. (Kudos to Tim J. for the link.) o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“As I write this, the New York Times has a couple of stories about a rumor about the rumors of rumors of Trump being rude to a woman on their front page. Nothing about the Wikileaks stuff. The [Washington] Post has the same made up story about Trump and a story about how vexed the Clinton camp is over their e-mails being released.The official newspaper of the Imperial Capital cannot be bothered to cover the biggest scandal since Watergate. It’s as if it never happened. This is just another aspect of the tsunami of bull***t that is the major media …


Notes for Wednesday – October 19, 2016

October 19th is the birthday of three notables– the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), investor Jim Rogers (born 1942), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand and the nonfiction book The Long Emergency. A fictionalized portrayal of Zus Bielski is seen in the movie Defiance. This dramatic movie was loosely based on the excellent book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec. o o o October 19th also marks the anniversary of Operation Gatling–the famous  “Green Leader” raid in which Rhodesia attacked …


Training for Truly Defensive Driving, by K.W.

After a long day of work, where you had plenty of motivation to get your rear in gear and start working on your projects, you hop in the car for the drive home. As you grab 5th gear, good choice on driving a manual, and look over your left shoulder to merge on the highway as a truck 200 yards in front of you just dropped a huge pile of tree branches in your lane. You look ahead as you are merging and see that pile of branches! What do you do? Time is quickly going by, and so is …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books: The Simplicity Primer, by Patrice Lewis ZeroGov:Limited Government, Unicorns and Other Mythological Creatures, by Bill Buppert  Movies: My Friend Flicka  (not the more recent remake) Music: The Best of Mary McCaslin John Hartford: Life Love & Music 5 Essential Albums 1966-1969 Podcasts: Self Reliant School EP016 Interview With JoAnn Moser – Mason Jar Nation Pantry Paratus: Chaya’s Guide to Grease: Frying Food the Right (& Nourishing) Way Instructional Videos: Some newbies might benefit from this:  How to clean fish How To Clean Your Woodstove Chimney Gear: USB Reading Lamp with 10 LED Lights and Flexible Gooseneck FLIR Scout TK …


Economics and Investing:

Mark O’Byrne: Gold In GBP Up 43% YTD – Massive Twin Deficits To Impact UK Assets o o o I found this over at The Daily Reckoning: The End of the Great Experiment. o o o Hubert Moolman: Silver Price Forecast: Higher Silver Prices For Many Years To Come o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.s


Odds ‘n Sods:

This great video shows a “stealth” camper van project with some potential for preppers: How to convert a Van in to an Off-Grid Camper in 17 Days! Used Transit Vans and Combi-Vans (as well as similar large vans–which you probably recognize from out on the highway, and on American Pickers) are starting to become affordable here in the States.  Most preppers would of course want to have more battery capacity, more propane capacity, and some hidden compartments. A little Velcro behind paneling and molding works wonders, for those. (Don’t miss opportunities like that.)  Oh, and don’t forget to wear eye …



Notes for Tuesday – October 18, 2016

October 18, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June, 1714.)  He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled …


News From The American Redoubt:

Elbow Room Matters! Consider the  following:  Idaho County, Idaho measures 8,503 square miles (22,020 km2), but it has a population of just 16,267.  Thus, it is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey (which measures 8,722 square miles and has 9 million residents), but it is larger than Connecticut and Delaware, combined. (They measure 5,543 and 2,488 squares miles, respectively.)  And ponder the geography and demographics of Sweetwater County, Wyoming:  It measures 10,426 square miles (larger than the state of Maryland, which is 9,707 square miles) and has a population of just 45,267.  Maryland has a population of just over …


Economics and Investing:

Compare the disparate results in these two YouTube videos: Mining The Banks For Silver:  Is It Worth It? and Coin Roll Hunting Walkers, Franklins, & Kennedys. Obviously, you have to find a bank in a small town that has not yet been harvested by Coin Roll Hunters. For someone who is retired or disabled, or for anyone who travels by road regularly, this could be fairly profitable. o o o How Not To Manage A Currency o o o So much silver! (Coin roll hunting.) And one result that was even better: Are You Kidding Me?  There are still lots …