Letter Re: Hurricane Sandy: An Outsider’s Perspective

JWR, I don’t live anywhere near the affected area from Sandy, but now that we’ve had some firsthand accounts, I wanted to throw in my $.02 as an observer from afar: When the storm hit, I defaulted to the main stream news channels and sites, which got old and repetitive quickly without being very informative.  To get a better feel for the local perspective, I resorted to my smart phone’s 5-0 police radio app.  By bouncing around and listening in on the various police, fire, and EMS dispatch feeds from Northeast counties and cities, I was able to get a …


Letter Re: Lessons From a Knife Attack

James, A local surveillance camera [in Albuquerque, New Mexico] caught this stabbing incident.  There are lots of lessons here, but I’d point out three: 1–the attack was quick, with no warning and no known reason, and 2–the victim fought back as best as he could, probably saving his life as the attacker was trying to stab him again and 3–“smoke shops” should be avoided. – Scott B.


Two Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

Hello, I am a native New Yorker who has lived in the city for more than 30 years. As much as I would like to live elsewhere safer, I still very much love the city and have to remain here because of work and my mother. The recent devastation left by Sandy wreaked havoc in the city. You can read about plenty of details on the hurricane from the news and other posts so I’m just going to keep this post short based on some of the problems encountered that were unique to an urban environment. In addition to the …


News From The American Redoubt:

Gun sales, concealed permits on rise in Wyoming before general election    o o o Wyoming’s wolf season is starting off slowly, but some zones have already closed, with the small quota numbers already reached. (FWIW, the standing joke in my region is that “wolf tags come 20 to a box.”)    o o o Mapping Migration: Who Moves To Idaho    o o o Sabotage in the Redoubt? Damage Reported At Sinclair Refinery Near Rawlins    o o o Man missing for a week came out of Idaho woods on his own


Economics and Investing:

Reader H.L. mentioned another good reason to keep plenty of greenback cash on hand, for emergencies: Sandy Price Gouging Probed: $7 Loaf of Bread, $10 Box of Matches. [JWR Adds: The truth is that in a free market there is no such thing as “gouging”–just willing sellers, willing buyers and a floating free market price. Large demand, short supply, and minimal opportunities to restock necessitate higher prices. The state Attorney General might just as well attempt to hand out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. But of course, be charitable in disasters.] At Fierce Finance: New York’s Financial district creaks …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Avalanche Lily and I recently watched a movie (via Netflix streaming) that we can recommend: Sarah’s Key. Yes, it is the umpteenth movie about the WWII Holocaust, but its particular value is that it shows how obediently the Vichy French authorities became collaborators of Nazi mass murder, and how indifferent the general populace was to the Jewish roundup and deportation. A good companion piece is the documentary The Eye of Vichy. Is there a Velodrome or Drancy in our future? God forbid. Be vigilant for our cherished liberty.    o o o Some quite troubling news from Canada: Mask Avengers: …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Our emphasis in times of economic dislocation is reflective of our general emphasis on the individual, on productivity and creativity and on elements of community and cooperation. If we have a bias, then, it will be toward growing food rather than just buying it; toward hunting and fishing; toward being able to build rather than buy housing; toward general competence that abides in the individual rather that to the familiar patterns of consumerism." – Karl Hess, Editor, A Common Sense Strategy for Survivalists, p. 5, 1981


Notes from JWR:

Our friend Patrice Lewis (of the very entertaining Rural Revolution blog) reminded me that November is National Novel Writing Month. And November will indeed be an intensive writing month for me as I wrap up writing the remaining key passages of Expatriates. In a lucid dream, I finally came up with a method by which the Indonesians could attempt an invasion of Australia. I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t give you any details. You’ll just have to wait until November of 2013 to find out… — This is the last day of the Ready Made Resources sale …


Pat’s Product Review: Cold Steel Hold Out I

Make no mistake, given my druthers, I’d rather pick a large knife over a smaller knife. Now, you can get by with a smaller knife, but a larger knife can do more chores than most smaller knives can. When it comes to survival, on the streets, in the wilderness or in a SHTF scenario, my choice would be a larger knife for my needs, especially on the mean streets in our country. My long-time friend, Lynn Thompson, who owns Cold Steel is a firm believer in big knives – either folders or fixed blade – and I can’t really find …


Letter Re: Gas Can Pack Boards and Cargo Shelves

Jim: All the recent news stories showing people in New Jersey on foot queuing up at gas stations with red gas cans in hand, reminded me: gas cans are heavy! Did anyone think to put a old fashioned Pack Board in with the rest of the supplies? You know the kind, the one with the lip at the bottom? It would hold a two full gas cans with much less strain than carrying them in your hands. Or, how about taking a small load of fire wood to your relatives’ house? Just a thought. – Dale K. JWR Replies: That is …


Letter Re: Laptop Becomes Oscilloscope and Waveform Generator

Jim: I’d like to tell the readers about an amazingly affordable electronics workbench tool that turns you laptop into an oscilloscope, and a lot more: Analog Discovery. This one card can replace $10,000 worth of other gear. The student version is just $99. See a quick summary of the specifications. I think that this is the Pico scope taken to the next level. This puts AM radio, FM radio, radar, sonar, ultrasound, spread-spectrum radio for secure communications, encryption tools for running secure comms over otherwise insecure channels, high-bandwidth servocontrol of machinery and countless other modern technologies in hands of the …


Three Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

James: Let me first say we are doing well compared to the rest of the folks here on Long Island , NY . I am no hard core prepper but believe strongly that the need is there. We are in Nassau County and are served by LIPA, the Long Island Power Authority. As I write there are about 300,000 people here without power. Some of the things I have witnessed are very sad indeed and we were blessed to have our power back within two days.   South of where we live along the water the houses have had their …


Three Letters Re: Forget Codes: Using Constructed Languages for Secure Communication

Jim: The article on constructed languages [by Snow Wolf] was fascinating. Just two concerns: An outsider might be able to crack your code based on repeated grammar. As was mentioned in the letter, “sentences follow the common subject-verb-object pattern”. This pattern is predictable and could help a very intelligent decoder. Also your activity can be observed after communication, helping one define terms. Both of these concerns can be mitigated with re-aligning, as mentioned in the letter. So take care not to overlook that step. Finally, if every tip in this article (such as re-aligning and custom grammar) were practiced, and …


Recipe of the Week:

Enola Gay‘s Survival Bars (aka Filled Oatmeal Cookies) My Survival Bars are “Filled Oatmeal Cookies”. They are wonderful “stored foods” cookies, full of fiber and packed with nutrients. They are our cookie of choice for a quick breakfast. They are great if you are out hunting or hiking. They require no fresh ingredients! They are also good! Our neighbor girl says they are the best cookies that I have ever made (and I make a lot of cookies!) I got the recipe from my dear friend “Lady Day”. Here is the recipe. 1 1/2 C. Shortening (or lard or butter) …


Economics and Investing:

The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever. (Thanks to R.D.F. for the link.) Over at The Motley Fool: Three Facts About the Economy That Should Freak You Out Hyperinflation Alert: QE Infinity Is The Only Thing Delaying A Complete Systemic Collapse But Now The Fed Is Out Of Short Dated Bonds Items from The Economatrix: Labor Department “Working Hard” To Ensure Jobs Report Released On Time Firings Highest Since 2010 As Ford To Dow Face Slump Russian Ship Missing With 700 Tons Of Gold Ore Real Fiscal Cliff–Currency And Bond Collapse Food Stamp Creation 75X Greater Than Job Creation Economists Say Jobs …