Prepared For Just Any Old Thing, by Louie in Ohio

 I guess that I have always been a “Prepper”. Fifty years ago I joined the Boy Scouts. Of course most  of us know the Scout Motto, Be Prepared. Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the scouting movement was once asked, “Prepared for what?”  His answer… “Just any old thing.” My Scoutmaster, Mr. Garrison, told us that we needed to keep our backpack packed and ready to go, that some evening he would send out the word and we must report ready for a camp out. There would be a time limit and we must get there under our own power …


Letter Re: Quick Tip to Stocking Up Via Amazon

Jim: I just discovered something today that I wanted to share.  I have zero time in life to spend stocking up.  Amazon.com has a “subscribe and save” feature that provides additional savings on over 24,000 items under the grocery category.  You can choose to subscribe (meaning set up regular deliveries) when adding to the Amazon shopping cart, or just make a one time purchase.  I did some comparison shopping and found the subscribe price for coffee (whole bean or ground) to be even better than Wal-Mart or any of the big box stores in my area.  Go to www.amazon.com and …


Economics and Investing:

The inevitable credit downgrades begin: Egan-Jones downgrades U.S. rating on QE3 move Greg C. sent: More Americans opting out of banking system Reader K.P. sent: Understand the Rules Before You Transport Precious Metals Overseas Hyperinflation Is Virtually Assured – John Williams. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Five Years Since The Great Financial Crisis:  “No Growth, No Deleveraging” Gerald Celente – Gold, Silver, & A Major October Surprise The Euro Crisis Is Not Over And Is About To Get Interesting


Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. flagged this Vauban homage: 15 Star-Shaped Forts From Around the World    o o o James K. suggested this: Bulletproof vehicles get lighter, stronger    o o o F.G. mentioned this furniture for gun geeks: Mosin Nagant Rifle Crate Coffee Table    o o o Giving preparedness a bad name: Kissimmee man stole trailer, planned doomsday bunker, police say. (Thanks to John McC. for the link.)    o o o Assaulted: A pro-gun documentary using Kickstarter financing.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and …


Notes from JWR:

Thanks for waiting to order your copy of my upcoming novel Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse. Please continue to wait until its release date (September 25th)–which is also our planned Book Bomb Day–to order. By delaying most of the orders until the 25th we are hoping to propel the book into Amazon’s Top 20. Thanks! — Today we present another two entries 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 Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This …


Do it Yourself Timber Harvesting, by SMJ

Wood is one of the most readily available materials for homestead construction projects and is also an important fuel source for many of us. I’ve always loved forests and trees, so I drew on my experiences growing up in Alaska and my work in the timber industry in Western Washington to write this post.  If you are lucky enough to own your own forest, I highly recommend the book A Landowner’s Guide to Managing Your Woods by Hansen/Seversen/Waterman.  This book will give you an excellent overview on how to keep your forest healthy and profitable, as well as giving you …


Prepping is Investing, by Michael W.

Preppers get painted is crazy doomsday people, sitting around waiting for the world to end, disappointed when it doesn’t.  I think National Geographic has done a disservice to prepping with their show.  The people on the show explain “what” they are preparing for.  To many, their reasons are crazy.  To me, some of the reasons are crazy.  I think it’s important to make it clear that it’s not about a specific event or cause.  It’s about planning for the future and protecting yourself.  Does it really matter if an EMP, financial collapse, or natural disaster disrupts your basic necessities?  What it comes …


Letter Re: Learning About Food Safety

Jim, That was a nice submission by Tom T., but with a couple of items that aren’t completely wrong but aren’t entirely correct – or that can at least be interpreted incorrectly.  First,  he said, “The last way to prevent food borne illness is to cook the food to the proper temp.  Cooking to proper temperatures eliminates the threat of these harmful pathogens… Reheating to 165 degrees ensures that the bacteria are killed and the food has become safe to eat.”  Cooking food may eliminate bacteria but it doesn’t destroy all bacterial toxins (the stuff that  actually makes you sick). …


Letter Re: Secure Signals for a Survivalist

Hi Jim, While reading the article “Secure Signals for a Survivalist,” by Fred J., I keyed on his reference to the lightening-up the good old USGI angle head flashlight.   As far as lightening-up one of these, I think I have most people beat. My first upgrade for mine was in replacing the old-fashioned incandescent bulb with an LED bulb upgrade. They’re pretty common now, as the Army issue flashlight uses a standard flashlight bulb. That made the flashlight produce literally ten times as much light.   The second upgrade was created by sheer luck. In an infant rocker we …


Economics and Investing:

Here comes more monetization: Fed Undertakes QE3 With $40 Billion Monthly MBS Purchases. JWR’s Comment: Oh great, Mortgage Backed Securities derivatives. Your tax dollars at work, buying up dodgy debt. Reader G.A.H. was the first of several readers to mention an interesting parallel to the opening chapter of my first novel, Patriots: Germany Says ‘Great Uncertainty’ About US Debt. Here is the proverbial “life imitates art” quote: “German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble questioned on Tuesday how the United States could deal with its high levels of government debt after November’s presidential election. In private, German officials often express concern about …


Odds ‘n Sods:

News from Korea: New Swine Flu Virus Shows Lethal Signs. (A hat tip to Tim P. for the link.)    o o o H.L. suggested this at The Daily Crux: How to grow an inconspicuous garden… no matter where you live    o o o Ready Made Resources is having a special on genuine full mil-spec AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ night vision scopes. For a limited time they are offering these “grade A” scopes with a free Picatinny rail weapons mount, free shutter eyepiece and free shipping. As usual, these include aa head mount and carry case . These have a …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If you want to be safe in life, move to places that the government can’t be bothered to provide you help in. These places tend to be clean, safe, prosperous, healthy and sane. At least until the government finds out that evil monoculturalists are trying to live this way without them. They insist that areas like this undergo improvamentation as soon as they can afford to get to them.” – Texas Arcane


Notes from JWR:

September 13th is the birthday of Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the fledgling nation of South Sudan. Kiir was born in 1951. Please pray for President Kiir and for the people of South Sudan. — Today we present another two entries 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 Brand, 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 …


Learning About Food Safety, by Tom T.

I have heard many preppers talk of the massive food supply that they have.  Some have months supply.  While others have a year plus of food.  All of this food will do no good if it isn’t prepared safely.  I have been in the food industry for twenty plus years.  In that time we have all seen the news of the mass explosion of food borne illnesses.  We have seen the recalls of thousands of pounds of beef and the closure of several chains of restaurants.  In a SHTF scenario I doubt we will be living in the best of …