Odds ‘n Sods:

Mark A. suggested this article at the NRA’s web site: If you had to choose one gun—and only one gun—to get you through a disaster, what would it be?    o o o Michael Yon: Afghanistan: When the Moon Sets, Watch Out. (Thanks to S.O. for the link.)    o o o Pierre M. mentioned a leather Axe Sling, made in Vermont. “Unless you are a lumberjack, the only time it would be socially acceptable to walk around with an axe strapped to your back is if the streets were swarming with brain-hungry zombies. That being said, this does look …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them]. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease …


Notes from JWR:

I’d like to reiterate my apologies for not responding to all of the e-mails that I receive. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. The problem is that I now get about 300 e-mails per day. Granted, about half of these are spams or Nigerian scams with titles like: “PLEASE VIEW THE ATTACH MASSAGES OF YOUR LATE FUNS” or “You  Have Won 1million GBP Contact Dr. Jackson Ben For Claims.” But at least a hundred of each day’s e-mails are legitimate, and they often include detailed questions. I’m sorry to say that I simply don’t have time to answer …


Preserving The Harvest, by N.T.M. in Nevada

After you have spent the summer growing all of that fresh produce, it always seems like everything ripens all at the same time.  There are many ways that you can preserve those fruits and vegetables for the winter; canning, dehydrating, freezing, and root cellar.  I do not have a root cellar, so I rely completely on canning, freezing, and dehydrating.  To dehydrate your produce you will need a food dehydrator or you can simply use the sun and sundry them.  Some items such as apples, potatoes, pears, et cetera need to be pre-treated to prevent browning.  You have the choice …


Mental Preparation for Lethal Force, by Mark B.

When preparing for TEOTWAWKI, or any lesser natural or “man made” disaster, it can be mind numbing with all the list, needs, “to do’s”, training, purchases, and planning it really takes to become self sufficient. As you prepare it becomes very apparent how complicated modern life is and exactly how vulnerable our sophisticated society has become. Most Preppers actively research via the internet, routinely learn new self sufficiency skills, train, buy supplies, and are most likely to be ardent supporters of the 2nd Amendment. But there is one area of training that must be considered by Preppers and can be …


Letter Re: Surviving on Reptiles and Amphibians in a Worst Case Scenario

Sir: Concerning the article posted Thursday Sept. 20th, Surviving on Reptiles and Amphibians in a Worst Case Scenario by Misphat, something that that I felt needed clarifying in the article, was concerning what type of turtles.   To make sure that everyone knows that Misphat is talking only about water turtles, the red-ears, sliders, soft shell turtles and the snapping turtles, for only a small example.  The ones found in water or the ones sitting on the log and then sliding into the water when you get too close, there is no problem with eating them.  My concern is with …


Economics and Investing:

Jim W. sent: CITI: When Gold Hits $1790, Silver Will Go Bonkers G.G. flagged this: Tungsten-Filled 10 Oz Gold Bar Found In The Middle Of Manhattan’s Jewelry District Glenn Beck Uses Pies as an Illustration When Discussing Inflation and Tangible Hard Assets The latest from the LEAP think tank in France: GEAB N°67 is available! Global systemic crisis/October 2012 -The global economy sucked into a black hole and world geopolitics heated to white-hot: The seven key factors of an unprecedented double shock Items from The Economatrix: Jeff Berwick-0% Interest Rates Until The System Dies How QE3 Will Make The Wealthy …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The $150 Ammo Can PV Power Project.    o o o F.J. sent: Local Blackouts Reveal Global Risks. And in related news: Should You Worry About the Power Going Out Like in Revolution? This Congressman Thinks So.    o o o R.B.S. sent this: Cooking With A Cordless Power Drill    o o o ‘Fast and Furious’ report slams ‘disregard’ for public safety as DOJ officials quit



Notes from JWR:

There are now just five days to release (and “Book Bomb Day”) for Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse. Please wait until the release date–which is also our planned Book Bomb day–to order your copy. Not only will you get yours at a better price (probably around $11), you will also help boost the book’s sales rank–hopefully into Amazon’s Top 20 titles. Thanks for your patience. — Today we present another entry for Round 42 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops …


From Timber to Lumber: A Beginner’s Experience, by Sam D.

The recent article on Do it Yourself Timber Harvesting prompted me to share my experience starting a homestead on our 200+ acre tree farm in East Texas. Almost two years ago I settled on a site back in the woods next to a dry run-off creek bed for my home. Our farm has been in the family for well over a century, and the forest area I picked sat untouched for 60 years. One of my first investments was a 20” Stihl chain saw. Starting with little experience, about 10 chains, one sprocket and 2 replacement bars later I’m finally …


Letter Re: The Larger Questions

James: My wife and I have been “aware” that something isn’t right since the whole Y2K scare back in 1999.  Sadly at the time, we had no idea of what “prepping” was or the first thing to do about how we felt.  I think we might have had a dozen gallons of water on our shelves.  Pretty sad, but we really had no clue.  I’ve always had this nagging feeling that things were really getting worse all the time, but it wasn’t until I watched the “37 Things to Hoard” advertisement, that I finally decided I was going to find …


Letter Re: QE3–What Just Happened To Me?

Dear Editor: The monetization dubbed Quantitative Easing (QE) Round 3 (“QE3”) is very confusing, and there is a lot of mystery attached to the confusion. To fully understand what just happened to us I find it useful to frame the scenario in this why, and this maybe a better way to understand it for some. When I put currency somewhere(make a purchase or invest it) it is currency that I worked to obtain and represents an exchange of my labor for a specific amount of currency. This currency is representative (if I negotiate the salary correctly) of the value of …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this headline: 8,786,049: Yet Another Record for Americans Collecting Disability Also from G.G.: Moody’s: More California cities at risk of bankruptcy–Credit agency sees greater chance of municipal bankruptcies, bond defaults in California Paypal suspends domestic transactions in Argentina From reader B.B.: For Every $1 Added to the Economy, Obama Added More Than $3 in Debt Peter S. sent: FedEx says economy is stalling, cuts outlook Bond Wars: Chinese Advisor Calls For Japanese Bond Dump Items from The Economatrix: Ron Paul:  “Country Should Panic Over Fed’s Decision” QE3:  Helicopter Ben Bernanke Unleashes An All-out Attack On The US Dollar


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader V.H. wrote: “I couldn’t help but notice that the Propper [brand] A-TACs camouflage pattern uses soft edges and colors that are very similar to the rebels’ camo used on the planet Endor, from [the second-produced film in the] Star Wars [movie series]. Is this one of those “life imitates art” situations, or vice versa? As I recall, the German Army experimented with soft-edged patterns during WWII, and some of those were quite effective.    o o o A clever new product that I first heard about nearly a year ago will soon be available to the public: The Survival …