Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


My View on Self Defense for Women, by Sheri W.

I wish that all women had some self-defense training.  But, most don’t, even among preppers.  Worse yet, most women I know are too embarrassed to learn anything about fighting.  They don’t know where to learn or maybe don’t want to appear foolish.  And the misinformation out there about how a woman should defend herself is often worse than useless – it’s actually harmful.  Most men teach what works for men and often, those techniques don’t work very well for women.  This article is intended for those women who have little or no experience with self-defense.  I won’t kid you, reading …


Two Letters Re: Preserving a Digital Library

James, I work for a large, three-letter computer manufacturer with a penchant for Blue. Joe Ax’s comments about the problems with maintaining a digital library are right on the money. When I worked in our Storage Division (hard disks, tapes, etc.), this issue came up during a talk on medical systems’ storage needs. There is a requirement for medical records to be maintained 100 years, and yet no computer data storage system has been designed to do this. So what is the ‘solution’?  It seems that doctor’s offices are cajoled/required/encouraged to upgrade their office systems on average of about every …


Pantry Paratus Photo Contest Continues

A reminder: Pantry Paratus is excited to celebrate our second year on as an e-store.  We are looking to expand our digital marketing appeal with real pictures; so in order to do that we are hosting our first annual 2013 photo contest to celebrate all the harvest of this season’s bounty.  All the official rules are here, but the basics are these: -all photos must be original work and submitted to photocontest@pantryparatus.com between Friday, September 6th and Friday, September 20th. -there are two categories: “Canning” and “Food Preservation.”  The first one is easy to define, but the second one can …


Economics and Investing:

Gold Is Not A Safe Haven? Tell That To People In Indonesia U.S. on ‘unsustainable’ budget course: CBO Fed Says: No Taper. [JWR’s Comment: At this point, tapering from the artificial liquidity of “QE To Infinity” would spike interest rates, send the bond market into a tailspin, cause a derivatives tremor (if not a full tsunami), and crash the real estate market. Ben Bernanke has firmly backed himself into a corner. Ben will wean himself of QE about as quickly as your local crackhead will wean himself from his addiction.] Don’t say you weren’t warned: Mulligan Mint Files For [Chapter …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ay, ay, ay Acapulco: Desperate thousands try to escape cut-off Acapulco    o o o Reader James W. suggested this: How to Meet Mutual Assistance Group Members    o o o Reader Pierre M. sent: The NSA’s secret org chart. Marc presents a fine conceptual chart, but of course what it lacks is the corresponding physical structure, showing the Field Stations around the globe and the relationship between the NSA and its tasked military counterparts such as the Air Force Security Command (AFSC), the Naval Security Group (NSG), and the U.S. Army’s Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM.)    o o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There was another thing that the camels carried, and that was various forms of currency. The currency problem was an important one. Through that admirable institution, the Chinese Post Office, I had been able to transfer the bulk of our capital from Peking to points west by simply paying in a cheque at the Peking branch and then drawing the dollars at Lanchow and Sining. But the Mexican silver dollar which they use in China is a big coin, and the country through which we were to pass had a lawless reputation; a suitcase heavy with silver could not be …


Notes from JWR:

I’ve just sent the completed manuscript of my nonfiction book “Tools For Survival” to Penguin Books for editing. This is the first time that I’ve written a book with accompanying photographs. (Skillfully created by my #2 Son.) The Foreword was written by our Backcountry Editor, Mat Stein. The book should be released in June of 2014. Now I can jump back into writing my novel “Liberators,” for E.P. Dutton. That manuscript–part of the “Patriots” series–is due in March, and the book should be released in October of 2014. (Deo volente.) — Today is Chilean Independence Day. On this day in …


Prioritized Prepping, by Z.T.

I, like so many people across the country, can’t walk out of my local sporting goods store without buying the limit of ammunition. Now, before you judge me, realize that most places limit you to small boxes of ammunition, and usually one two per caliber. Is it being prudent or just being obsessed? While the firearm and ammo situation is very much a media-hyped thing,  I have even talked about things you must buy every time you are out, like my article on Things Commonly Overlooked.  But what about those items that you pick up, look at the price tag, but pass …


Letter Re: Prepping for Winter

Hi! Thanks for all you do.  In my quest to do one thing to prepare for the coming uncertainties each day, I thought I would take a moment to remind you and all readers that this coming weekend is the Equinox, the time that I update my car kit to prepare for the coming winter.  Besides my day to day car kit, I’ll add extra warm coats, hats, gloves, boots and scarves to the trunk.  Additionally, a few ponchos and garbage bags.  Here in one of the nanny states in the northeast US, there aren’t many places I go that …


Letter Re: Advice on Firearms Caching

James, In “Letter Re: Advice on Firearms Caching”, Mark J. wrote “Should I simply use a Hot Hands hand warmer inside the mylar bag and then another one inside the PVC tube? I should not have to worry about moisture if it is vacuum sealed? right? “ Well, no–regardless of the chemicals in the heater. Putting any temporary heat source in a sealed container may actually cause corrosion or water damage that wouldn’t have happened before. This is why: Heating air does not remove moisture from a confined environment; it simply increases the air’s ability to absorb moisture from other …


Economics and Investing:

Investment Banker Alpert: ‘Massive Deflationary Forces’ Lurks Money Versus Currency – Australian Comedian Michael Connell’s View 25 Fast Facts About The Federal Reserve Reader “Subman762” wrote to warn: “There have been some fake Chinese silver plated copies of Northwest Territorial Mint’s Stagecoach silver bar circulating on eBay. The corner radii are a little off and the fakes come in plastic holders that open,while the genuine ones are sealed. I was unfortunate enough to buy some of them and they are very convincing. A scratch test quickly revealed their plated nature and the acid test produced mixed results, due to some …


Odds ‘n Sods:

K.T. sent: Media mongers new fear campaign over ‘bump fire’ stocks. (FWIW, I bought a short stack of SlideFire AR and AK stocks, just in case further production is banned, but their possession is grandfathered. )    o o o Reader Joe G. recommended this holster maker in New Hampshire: Mitch Rosen    o o o The Red State Ranger recommended: The Don’t Own Stuff You Can’t Fix Plan for Life


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The concept of ‘necessity’ is almost always dangerous and insidious in political matters. Asking whether vanilla is necessary for a specific cupcake recipe is very different from asking whether guns or tobacco or beer or soda or cocaine is ‘necessary’ for a person’s life. People place different values on different things, and it is supremely arrogant and insulting for a person to look at a particular product and think that he can decide for the rest of humanity whether it is ‘necessary’ to own. It is true that certain guns are not ‘necessary’ for human beings, in the sense that …