Letter Re: Keeping Cell Phones Operational During Disasters

James: The article you linked to on “Nine ways to make your cell phone last the whole storm even if the power goes out” was interesting but missed a couple of key points: If you’re going to charge the phone from your laptop, only leave your laptop on as long as needed to charge the phone to about 80%, then shut it down again. Cell phone charging slows down as the battery gets closer to full, and it’s very inefficient to run the laptop while the phone is only gaining a small amount of charge. Test to see if you …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. sent: One More Thing to Worry About: Underfunded Public Pensions A provocative video “what if?”: The First 12 Hours of a US Dollar Collapse. (While their premise is sound, I must alert readers about a warning from Peter Schiff about the NIA.) B.B. mentioned: Euro-Zone Unemployment Strikes Record European Commission Single Supervisory Mechanism Items from The Economatrix: As Earnings Falter, Prospects For Q4 Grow Worse High-Level JPMorgan Executives Suddenly Dumping JPMorgan Stock En Masse Forget The Election And Get Ready For Another Year Of Slow Growth Economy In US Grows At 2%, More Than Forecast Spain’s Unemployment Reaches Record …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Andre D. mentioned that the Alone in The Wild documentary is now available on YouTube.    o o o Two bits of follow-up news on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy: Tempers Flare in N.J. City Where Thousands Stranded. (People out of food after just two days of isolation? (I told you so…) And yes, there is looting: Jersey City on total lockdown from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. after rash of store break-ins, officials say. (Note that the mayor of Jersey City is Jerramiah Healy, one of Mayor Bloomberg’s Cabal of Illegal Mayors.)    o o o A reminder that …



Notes from JWR:

I’ve had several questions from readers about the recently re-released Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course. To clarify: The course has not been changed, other than the delivery method. (It is now sold only via digital download.) The great news is that since there are longer any printing and mailing costs, it is now available for just a small fraction of what the hard copy binder edition sold for. — Today we present another entry for Round 43 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of …


Real Wrath of God Stuff: Hurricane Sandy’s Triple Whammy

I’m sure that most SurvivalBlog readers–except those who are without power–have by now seen the amazing photos and videos of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, aka “Frankenstorm.” All of these many images serve as stark reminders that it is the responsibility of individual families to prepare. Government agencies are incapable of providing assistance in a widespread disaster. (In radio interviews. I’m fond of saying that FEMA should more accurately thought of as an acronym for: “Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid.”) The hurricane brought with it a triple whammy: high winds, flooding, and power outages. The power outages–which extend 1,000 miles from …


What if TEOTWAWKI Arrives as a Slow Gradual Boil?, by LongJim

Sure we’ve watched  the  new television series Revolution, with their heroine and her post-SHTF world amazingly perfectly coifed hair-do. The series based loosely on an end of the world  scenario built around a “Sudden” abrupt change” a la the Dies the Fire novel series [by S.M. Stirling]. All power suddenly goes poof, and nothing electrical works, society collapses, and we’re all back to the age of bow and arrow, knives, and, weirdly deviating from the Dies The Fire premise, good old black powder front-stuffing rifles. Militias, which are all always portrayed by Hollywood, as evil, dictatorial, and brutally repressive, run …


Economics and Investing:

H.L. sent this bit of news from England that illustrates the Green crowd’s disconnect from reality: Street lights turned off in their thousands to meet carbon emission targets–Huge swathes of Britain are being plunged into darkness as more and more streetlights are switched off by councils and roads authorities. Economist Michael Pento Warns of Inevitable Financial Collapse: “The Real ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Is The Coming Currency And Bond Market Collapse.” Where Should Gold Be Based On Inflation? Items from The Economatrix: The One Headwind That Could Stymie The US Economy Recovery Schiff:  Think Gold’s Pricey?  Wait ‘Til It Hits $5,000 Will …


Odds ‘n Sods:

J.B.G. suggested: Nine ways to make your cell phone last the whole storm even if the power goes out    o o o I will be the keynote speaker at the Get Prepared Expo (via teleseminar) on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012. This is an expanded repeat of a very popular event. There will be 100 Exhibits and 70 Seminars You can save 20% by buying your admission passes in advance at GetPreparedEXPO.com ($8 for a one-day pass, or $15 for a weekend pass.) The expo will be held November 3 and 4, 2012 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“For thousands of years storing seeds has been an essential part of the survival preparations made by millions of prudent people fearing attack.  Seeds are hopes for future food and the defeat of famine, that lethal follower of disaster.  Among the most impressive sounds I ever heard were faint, distant, rattles of small stones heard on a quiet, black, freezing night in 1944.  An air raid was expected before dawn.  I was standing on one of the bare hills outside Kunming, China, trying to pinpoint the sources of lights that Japanese agents had used just before previous air raids to …


Notes from JWR:

October 30, 1735 is believed to be the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birth date as October 19th.) Adams died on July 4, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. They both died on the 50th anniversary of publication of the Declaration of Independence. — A reminder that the Ready Made Resources sale on Mountain House long term storage foods ends soon. They are offering 25% discounts and free shipping for Mountain House foods in #10 cans. The sale ends on November 5th, so order soon. — I’m sure that I’ll start to …


Letter Re: DIY Drones on the Homestead

Dear Editor: Although land, sea, and aerial [unmanned vehicles] are available, for the purpose of survival ‘hobbyist’ surveillance from an aerial vehicle is the best option.  A land or sea based homemade ‘drone’ would have to be large to navigate even moderate terrain or choppy water and the larger the vehicle is the more costly, dangerous and obvious it is.  Aerial ‘drones’ on the other hand can be much smaller and unobtrusive.   When we refer to drones, what we are really speaking of just a radio controlled vehicle with perhaps some fancy telemetry.   Aerial drones come in two basic flavors, …


Letter Re: A Wikipedia Offline Reader

James; Speaking of offline Wikipedia tools, there are a number of offline readers available for your laptop computer. I have found these: Aard Okawix WikiTaxi and BZreader None of these are great, but they are all free. – Regards, – Patrick W. JWR Replies: Thanks for sending those links. The 3.5 Gigabytes required to store LeftistAgendaPedia Wikipedia complete with graphics is a good reason to remember to buy a laptop with a larger hard disk drive, the next time that you need to replace yours.


News From The American Redoubt:

I noticed that Dale Fricke Holsters (up in Montana) has expanded their line. Since we store our guns loaded in our vault, we’ve put their great little Zacchaeus holsters on all of our Glock and XD pistols. (The Zacchaeus holster adds new meaning to the word minimalist!)    o o o The latest flying video from Ttabs is both beautiful and a geography lesson: Moses Coulee and the Ice Age Floods.    o o o Idaho was ranked #2 in the recent list of 10 Best States to Retire.    o o o Idaho Towns Welcome Firearms Despite Gun Control …


Economics and Investing:

Part I: The Road To Bullion Default, and Part II. R.C. sent: Thirteen American Cities Going Broke Reader Jim W. sent: Switzerland Prepares Army for Euro Zone Fallout Items from The Economatrix: The Next Stock Market Crash Will Be Bigger Than “Black Monday” Orders For US Capital Goods Stagnate As Spending Slumps 230 Hedge Funds Suddenly Cried Out In Terror And Were Suddenly Silenced John Williams:  Dollar Sell-off And Hyperinflation By 2014