Low-Cost Knives for Long-Term Survival, by M.B.

The purchase of good-quality knives for long-term use can be a huge challenge for preppers. Buying a knife is a lot like hiring a lawyer: when you ask how much a good one will cost, the answer you get is often, “How much would you like to spend?” A good knife for general usage often starts at $80 to $100, and prices can quickly escalate into the hundreds of dollars. Knife aficionados on the online forums often speak of spending several hundred dollars for the “perfect” survival/tactical/combat knife from a famous custom maker. To collectors and to some users, this …


Letter Re: A New Malware Threat

SurvivalBlog readers: If you have a fairly recently manufactured computer, there is no reason to expose your computer to malware at all. Most computers are powerful enough to host a “virtual machine” (MM) – that is, a session that is completely isolated from the hosting computer and that does not make any permanent changes to your system without your express command. VMs can be modified, saved and discarded as you wish. If you are browsing the web using a VM and suspect that you have encountered a virus or malware, simply discard that session and start a new one. There …


Economics and Investing:

Jim Sinclair: The Implications of China Paying in Gold. (Thanks to K.T. for the link.) G.G. flagged this one: In apparent first, a public pension plan files for bankruptcy. Bram S. spotted this: Doug Casey on Taxes and Freedom Over at Dr. Housing Bubble: The crashing US housing metro areas – Atlanta home values crash by 17 percent in last year and Las Vegas continues to move lower. Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco continue to make post-bubble lows. Items from The Economatrix: Social Security Fund to Run Out in 2035, Trustees Say In an Apparent First, a Public Pension …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Lee M. sent an interesting article and video: Time Lapse Views of Earth from Space. Lee suggests: “Take a look at the night scenes of Earth. it will give you an idea of where the major population centers are located.”    o o o One final reminder that this weekend I will be a guest speaker (via teleconference) at the Get Prepared Expo, that is being held in Springfield, Missouri on April 28 & 29, 2012. The expo is being organized by USAPrepares.com, at the Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds. My teleseminar will begin at noon, Central time.    o o o …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 40 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 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 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any …


Sport Shooting for Preppers, by C.K.

I’m going to talk about an aspect of survival that may or may not have been covered already. I haven’t seen it so far in SurvivalBlog, and it only gets a passing nod in many books. An important aspect of just about everyone’s preps involves guns of some sort. You can see a lot of that in shows like “Doomsday Preppers.” I’d guess (because I haven’t seen every episode and I’m too lazy to do an exact count) that about 90% of the preppers featured on the show have or talk about having guns. Handguns, rifles, shotguns of a wide …


Letter Re: Weighing the Merits of Retreat Areas

JWR, I was hoping you could chime in for some feedback, as I think many of your readers are in a similar boat that my family is: Trying to balance professions and existing commitments against hunkering down for the coming storm.  Given the population density of some of the Midwest states… If you had to take relocating to a larger 60,000 population town in the American Redoubt (Idaho Falls, and the like) or living in the rural cornfields of the Midwest, and I correct you would advise locating to a medium sized American Redoubt city?  – Greg H. JWR Replies: …


Letter Re: A New Malware Threat

Hello, Mr Rawles: I saw the Odds ‘n Sods piece where Michael Z. Williamson’s forwarded an article on the warning about “thousands of PCs infected” to lose Internet access that refers people to www.dcwg.org. I read the article. Sorry, but I don’t trust going to such a site. It could easily be a government-based data collection site. It’s amazing how much information is passed along with simply browsing a web site. dcwg.org is registered to someone in Cupertino, California. I found that www.DNS-OK.us will give the same information about whether a system is infected or not. That site is registered …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this Reuters report: Bank of Japan likely to ease, may buy longer-dated government bonds Peter S. sent this: US home prices drop yet again Also from Peter: Greece economy to shrink another 5%   Items from The Economatrix: Outlay of $14 Trillion Hasn’t Solved Problem of Debt The Best Reason in the World to Buy Gold Unemployment Rate:  “Number Doesn’t Match Reality” German Tempers Boil Over Back-door Euro Rescues


Odds ‘n Sods:

James C. recommended a video by Mas Ayoob and Tom Gresham how to handle a police traffic stop when carrying a concealed weapon.    o o o Over at Philosophical Pilot: Connect the Dots    o o o Wonders Never Cease Department: “Cold Tracer” Glow Ammunition. (A hat tip to George S. for the link.)    o o o Mary F. suggested this: New Fashion Wrinkle: Stylishly Hiding the Gun    o o o Some reminders on our non-fiction writing contest rules: 1.) You can write on any topic related to preparedness or survival that you think would be of …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman’s club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 40 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 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 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any …


Basic Preparations for Urban Outskirts in Third World Countries, by Jorge Gato

The following observations are geared toward expats or even locals living in the Third World, although most would apply as well to residents of the First World. Here in México, there have been countless horror stories, albeit, most of them not life threatening and essentially not classifiable as DEFCON 1 situations. Both expats and locals have been the victims of countless assaults. An acquaintance on the street was recently told simply to hand over his money and music player. Another fellow, a philosopher, became inspired at midnight on a city street and only had his laptop to record his divine …


Letter Re: Retreat Locale Selection Mapping Tools

Jim, With some research, I’ve found a few mapping tools that are useful in selecting possible retreat locales: Free GIS tool (overlay and merge different map layers onto one map) Census mapping National Atlas. Crime, precipitation, etc. Very nice but you can’t merge data. An interesting Google Earth plug-in I’d also like to mention an ongoing forum discussion. Regards, – C.D.V.