Letter: Advice on Learning Morse Code

Dear Editor, I have noted that the main characters in your novel Survivors use continuous wave (CW) Morse Code on occasion to stay in contact, around the globe. As a relatively new ham radio operator I am fascinated by CW Morse and have been trying to learn it for a couple years without a lot of success. Any words of wisdom or proven “best method” to learn CW especially for the over-50 age group? – J.S. HJL Replies: There are a variety of inexpensive Morse code instruction tutor apps that will run on your smartphone or personal computer. While there …


Letter Re: Fitness for Success When the SHTF

HJL & JWR,I am writing to give a brief comment on whether crunches or sit-ups, are important or relevant to the back.  The spine is a series of over 50 joints.  Those joints are “capsular-synovial” joints.  (just like your knee, hip, and shoulder, just smaller)  To say that a  crunch, or sit-up is good or bad is way too generic… to the point that it is irrelevant.  It is popular, often repeated, but not correct as it relates to its benefit, or detriment to the spine.  Most joint pain is intra-capsular (within the joint).  It is often a result of …


Economics and Investing:

Avalanche Lily (Mrs. Rawles) recommended a  great piece by economist/commentator Ann Barnhardt:  The Mark of The Beast Explained: MV = PQ, With Totalitarian Control of V(elocity) o o o G.G. flagged this:  Food Stamp Users Near Record High Despite Low Unemployment Rate o o o Fresh recession will cause eurozone collapse, warns Swiss bank o o o By way of Paul Caron’s TaxProf blog, we read: The IRS is using a system that was hacked to protect victims of a hack—and it was just hacked Items from Professor Preponomics: US News A Conversation with My Neighbor “Sam”(Mises)  Bank of America …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Virginia Governor Signs Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill, Concealed Carriers Rejoice o o o Commander Zero, the Editor of the Notes From The Bunker blog, mentioned this fascinating little collection of photos, with brief descriptions: In Heinlein’s Bomb Shelter. o o o Finally, some progress on Servergate: Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton email server.  I hope that a jury puts Hitlery in prison, where she belongs.  o o o Golly! I just saw that $32 will now buy you a tiny 128 GB memory stick that is USB 3.0 compatible. That is some serious Secret Agent …



Notes for Friday – March 04, 2016

March 4, 1678 was the birthday of Venetian Baroque violin virtuoso and composer Antonio Vivaldi, best known for Le Quattro Stagioini (The Four Seasons). (He died in 1741.) o o o The good folks at Always Empowered have announced that they are now offering a special 10% discount for SurvivalBlog readers. Just enter the discount code “prepared” at checkout.  They also now offer a clever new transportable 500-watt wind power generator called the “Tactical Turbine.”  Anyone living in a windy but cloudy region (or planning an expedition or a bugout to such a locale) should check out those turbines.. o …


Bees and Lavender: The Perfect Symbiotic Relationship Yielding Health and Healing, by K.T.

Many survivalists have found their bit of land, and it is deeply inspiring to read online the various journeys of men and women turning those plots into small Edens, into havens of self-sufficiency, or even into comely places to make a final stand. But for those of us who will not be planning to bug-out, or who aren’t lucky enough to have an extended guerrilla skillset, it is wise, I think, to find activities or projects that are multi-faceted in their rewards. I would like to suggest that anyone who can, consider the pairing up of two simple elements whose …


Letter Re: Low-Carb Paleo and Primal for Preppers

Dear Editor, Regarding the article “Low-Carb Paleo and Primal for Preppers, By T.Z.”, there are a few points of this article that should be clarified. The low-carb diet can be used to great effect, however you need to be aware that you can overdue it and cause yourself harm. Symptoms of harmful ketosis are thirstiness, feeling tired, peeing a lot, feeling sick to your stomach, belly pain, throwing up, dry or flushed skin, trouble breathing, confusion, and fruity smelling breath.  The main benefit of the ketosis diet is the lack of hunger your body feels when on the diet, making …


Letter Re: Solar Power Subsidies

HJL, The author of the article on Solar titled Cost Of Defecting From The Grid is a mistaken. It only affects people who are on the grid. It is an economic subsidy problem and should not affect prepping directly. What was happening is that the utilities were forced to buy solar energy at retail, whether they wanted it or not. If you were charged (for example) $0.15/kWh, the utility would have to pay you the same if your meter ran backward. This caused too many people to install solar systems not because they were worried about the grid going down …


Economics and Investing:

Over at The Deviant Investor: Silver Prices in Five Years? o o o CBC reports: Canada sells off most of its gold reserves. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Understanding the Federal Reserve’s Shell Game (Mises)How the US Government and the HSBC Teamed Up to Hide the Truth from a Pennsylvania Couple (Liberty Blitzkrieg via Zero Hedge) Warning: Commentary following article may contain foul language and/or inappropriate avatar images. International News UK Exposed to Steel Deluge as US Clamps Down on Chinese Imports (The Telegraph) ECB Ready with New Stimulus: Bank …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The new face of the patriot movement is a Kansas-raised teenager. (Thanks to loyal content contributor RBS for the link.) o o o J.B.G. was the first of several blog readers to send this: Hard to find bread in shortage-stricken Venezuela  (JWR’s Comment: Why must the inevitable folly of socialist centrally-planned economies be repeated over and over?) o o o Tam, over at the always entertaining and informative View From The Porch blog mentioned the clever new “Get Off Me” Tool #4 from FLC Knives. It provides a covert method of carrying a small penetrating weapon that is probably not …



Notes for Thursday – March 03, 2016

Today is remembered by sci-fi fans as the birthday of James Doohan. He played Chief Engineer Montgomery (“Scotty”) Scott in the Star Trek television series and films. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.  He was born in 1920 and died on July 20, 2005 in Redmond, Washington. This is also the birthday of bluegrass and folk guitar legend Doc Watson. (He was born in 1923 and passed away in 2012.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: …


An Apolitical Discussion of Politics in the U.S. Today, by W.B.

I would like to start out by saying that most of the people who visit sites like SurvivalBlog know deep in their hearts that something bad is happening or is about to happen. What that is no one is quite sure, but there are so many different things in play that we are deeply concerned. Many things we cannot control because of Nature’s Forces or other Nations’ Forces. The one thing we can control is our Nation’s forces. Can we turn this country around? I don’t know, but I cannot sit around and just get prepared without trying to correct …


Letter Re: Fitness for Success When the SHTF

Sir, I agree with most of what J.P.M. has said about fitness. But I think doing large numbers of sit ups are bad for the spine. Listen to what this guy says in this video. – Mr. Sport JWR Replies: HJL and I agree that “crunches” rather than “sits ups” are the more appropriate exercise for most people of all ages. Not only are they inherently less damaging, but they also tend to be better for your back and can target the abdominal muscles more effectively. (That is, depending on how you position your hands and feet during crunches.)