Letter Re: Desert Stills Don’t Work

Can anyone prove that the long-touted “desert solar still” will maintain life in a emergency desert survival situation? I’m age 70 and tired of hearing the Bravo Sierra.  Prove it to me, please. Sorry , but with more than 35 years experience (15 years at the USN SERE-P.O.W. school in Warner Springs, California plus three years at the USN JEST school and since then 20 years in the business of survival training and digging earth,)  I must call foul on the desert still concept.  People should stop selling the idea. (The USAF has.)     I have tested the solar still idea since 1968 – …


News From The American Redoubt:

Nine Maps That Show Where Americans Commit Crime. (And, once again, The American Redoubt shines.) Note that the darker shade shown for Oregon is deceiving–that represents the crime that mainly occurs in western Oregon–not in the lightly-populated Redoubt half of the state. A similar situations exits in Washington, although the crime in the Tri-Cities region is anomalously high for the eastern half of the state.    o o o Bob in Virginia sent this fascinating map link: Half Of The United States Lives In These Counties. Hmmmm… Notice the big hole in the map, with nary any blue? That is …


Economics and Investing:

As I’ve long warned my readers, the days of the Penny and Nickel are numbered: SAVE II Act Would Prohibit “Non-Cost Effective” Coins and Currency. (Thanks to Rich R. for the link.) Reader B.B. sent: Americans warned bank ‘bail-ins’ coming James W. sent us this: The Death Of The Dollar – In Pictures Items from The Economatrix: Panama Declares Banking Holiday Home Prices Continue To Climb How Government Shutdown Would Hurt Main Street


Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent link contributor RBS sent this: 3D-Printed Semiautomatic Pistol Unveiled    o o o Hornet attacks kill dozens in China: Hundreds of people stung in Shaanxi province by swarms of giant insects believed to have multiplied over warm summer. (Thanks to F.J.R. for the link.)    o o o Christian Tragedy in the Muslim World. Let’s call it what it is: Genocide!    o o o Greg W. sent: A Gun Map That’s a Little Different    o o o A retired British Commando describes the use of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, in graphic detail. (Thanks to F.G. for the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“In winter, lying in bed, I thought of one thing until my head hurt:  there, on the shelves in the shops, there had been canned fish.  Why hadn’t I bought it?  Why had I bought only eleven jars of cod-liver oil, and not gone to the chemist’s a fifth time to get another three?  Why hadn’t I bought a few vitamin C and glucose tablets?  These ‘whys’ were terribly tormenting.  I thought of every uneaten bowl of soup, every crust of bread thrown away, every potato peeling, with as much remorse and despair as if I’d been the murderer of …


Note from JWR:

This is the last day to place an order and take advantages of the September Mountain House sales. For the month of September, five of our advertisers have been offering special sale prices on Mountain House foods in #10 cans. They are all offering deep discounts and most of them are offering free shipping: Camping Survival – Up to 54% off. Emergency Essentials – 40% to 50% off. Freeze Dry Guy – Meats are 40% off. Everything else (entrees, fruits, vegetables) is 25% off. Ready Made Resources – 45% to 70% off Safecastle – An average of 49% off, in …


Expatriates Release Day Tomorrow

You might as well call me “James Wesley, Wrong”, since a printing error at E.P. Dutton resulted in several thousand copies of the First Edition, First Printing of Expatriates having the hardcover spines (underneath the dust jacket) emblazoned: “John Wesley, Rawles.“ Here is how the correct dust jacket spine looks: And here is how the misprinted hardback spine (underneath the dust jacket) looks: This error wasn’t discovered until Friday night (September 27th), when our family friend “Enola Gay” (the editor of the outstanding Paratus Familia blog) happened to look under the dust jacket of the copy that I’d given her. …


Pat’s Product Review: CORE15 M4 Rifle

It appears, at least for the time being, that AR-15 style rifle manufacturers are starting to catch-up with demand. Not all makers are caught-up, but a few are – the companies that specialize in making AR-15 style rifles only, appear to be the ones catching-up with supply to meet demand. Although some ammo makers are making some progress in manufacturing more .223 Rem and 5.56mm ammo, the great ammo drought of 2013 is far from over. As I mentioned before, my inside sources – at ammo companies – not gun shop clerks, or Internet warriors – tell me that it will …


Letter Re: Currently Available QRP Radio Kits

James, I’d like to discuss a couple of low power (“QRP”) ham radio transmitters. The first kit is a 10 Watt 75M SSB transceiver appropriately named The Survivor. For the modest sum of $140 you get all the parts required to build a practical rig with a digital frequency readout capable of making voice contacts at night out to a range of 200 to 300 miles using simple (low to the ground) wire antennas in NVIS mode. Another ham radio operator provided some additional tips and advice on building this kit on his blog. The second kit is a crystal-controlled …


Letter Re: Recommending Todd Savage of Survival Retreat Consulting

Hello Mr. Rawles, Just a note of thanks to you and your site for leading me to Todd Savage at Survival Retreat Consulting (SRC.) I read your novel Patriots and that gave me the incentive I needed to pursue a retreat for my family.  I researched the means available to obtain my retreat and that included SRC’s ad on your SurvivalBlog.com site.  I was impressed with Todd’s well thought out process and the advantage that his own experience in making the journey with his own family brought to the process.  With your recommendation as a tail wind, I hired Todd and …


Letter Re: Basic Mechanics Skill and Knowing Vehicular Limitations

Jim, If I might add my two cents to Albert’s comments on Basic Mechanics Skill and Knowing Vehicular Limitations:  I was also inconvenienced with lug nuts being over-torqued. I bent the factory lug wrench in the process.   My dear spouse would have never been able to loosen one, much less five lug nuts. So I vowed to never again be put in that position again.  I made the assumption that the tire store torqued the lug nuts to factory specifications. They went far beyond that number. Apparently, many do.   My solution was far less high tech, EMP proof, and far less expensive: a 24-Inch …


Letter Re: House Window Blackout Materials

James, I heard you in your recent interview on the SGT Report podcast talking about [the need for] interior blackout material [to stop light from escaping windows when the power grid is down.]    What is the name of the material and tape and where can I purchase it? Thanks, Paul Z. JWR Replies: You will find the information you need in these archived discussions in SurvivalBlog. Also see this theatrical supply company, and specifically this blackout fabric and this blackout tape.


Recipe of the Week:

Mr. Anon’s Southwestern Corn Pudding   Ingredients:   1 14-oz can cream-style corn 1 14-oz can whole kernel corn or niblets, drained 1 to 3 4-oz can(s) diced green chilies, to taste  (or sub 1 can diced jalapeños for one of chilies for more spice, or sub lightly sauteed fresh diced peppers if available, to taste) 6 large eggs 1-1/2 cups soft fresh cheese (ricotta or quark) 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 lb to 1 lb diced or shredded pepper-jack cheese, depending on your taste and calorie requirement (or sub medium cheddar cheese for part of pepper-jack cheese.  Using all …


Economics and Investing:

File under: Omens, Bad: NYSE Margin Debt Is Rising Once Again. (Thanks to Bob in Manassas, Virginia for the link.) Peer-to-Peer Economy Thrives as Activists Vacate the System Items from The Economatrix: Wal-Mart Nails The “Consumer Recovery” Coffin Shut CFTC Concludes Long-Running Silver Manipulation Investigation, Finds Nothing Wrong New Homes Sales Climb 8%


Odds ‘n Sods:

Dallas County Now Has Its Very Own Bulletproof, “Mine-Protected” Military SUV. JWR Adds: An anonymous reader in Oregon wrote: “Yesterday I was driving by the Clackamas (Oregon) County Shops and Motor-pool and saw one of these MRAPs, identical to the one pictured in the article. Same paint too. It was sitting in the “repair or modify” area next to the road department trucks and sheriff’s department boat, across the street from the sheriff car storage area. I doubt it’ll stay tan for long.”    o o o Jeff Ayers of Booklist posted this announcement and mini revew of Expatriates: “Rawles’ …