Letter Re: The Perpetual Light

JWR: Thank you for all you do. I recently found SurvivalBlog, and have enjoyed it immensely!   I live close to Wiggy’s [in Grand Junction, Colorado]so when I read about their Amazing Perpetual Light on SurvivalBlog, I thought I would give it a try. This morning, I purchased three of their 4”x6” mini size. They only weigh 10.84 grams, 10.85 grams, and 12.15 grams each (for comparison, about the same weight as the combined weight of 3 or 4 pre-1982 copper pennies). I let them charge in the sun (it is actually mostly cloudy, and hailing) for 30 minutes, and …


Letter Re: A Different View of Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Mr. Rawles, G.T. has some very good points regarding the feasibility of Alaska as a retreat locale.  Granted, the pros and cons of Alaska are almost as varied as such classic arguments as 9mm versus .45, and if I were there when TSHTF, I would probably beat feet for the American Redoubt as quickly as I could.  However, there are a couple areas of interest that his article did not touch on that may be relevant to the topic. First is the feasibility of gardening.  It is true that for most of the state the summer is very short, as …


Economics and Investing:

Marc Faber: Where to Hide Your Gold Did German Gold Bailout Europe?   Europe’s QE3 Will Boost Gold and Silver Prices   Items from The Economatrix: Consumer Prices in US Rose in February As Gas Prices Rise, No Relief in Sight at the Pumps Gasoline Pushes Up US Inflation, Dents Confidence S&P Within 10% of Record High


Odds ‘n Sods:

Drug-resistant “white plague” lurks among rich and poor. (Thanks to Michael W. for the link.)    o o o Jim W. recommended this thread over at ARF: Street robberies and you.    o o o Wood you believe it? The tent you pitch in the trees designed to help survivors of natural disasters. (Thanks to Kevin S. for the link.)    o o o I spotted this over at The Drudge Report: No Kugel for you! Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s homeless-gift ban    o o o Dumb & Dumber Faster & Furiouser: Gun-tracking operation caught top suspect, then let him go




A Different View of Alaska as a Retreat Locale, by G.T.

SurvivalBlog’s Editor James Wesley Rawles (JWR), lays out his arguments against choosing Alaska as a Retreat Locale in this static web page. While I fully agree with him that Alaska is probably not a viable retreat destination for most people, for a variety of reasons it is precisely the area that my family has selected. We have a particular advantage here in that I’m a second generation backwoodsman and prospector, and I and my three sons have been prospecting in Alaska for 16 years, so we understand the various regions of Alaska and their strengths and weaknesses from a survival …


Preppers Afloat, by Captain Cathar

Thank you for creating your wonderful SurvivalBlog site; it is a much-needed voice of sanity in a world of foolishness and denial. We value your site for the shared experiences of your contributors and the working knowledge that many have volunteered. I hope we can also contribute in some small way, but maybe from a different perspective. My wife and I have been full time live aboard boaters in the northeast for the last 20 years or so. The core tenants of prepping have always been near and dear to us – not just because we have a special interest …


Five Letters Re: The FBI’s Cookie Caper and the VPN Imperative

JWR: Can you let your readers know what the names, identifying characteristics, and other information is that we can use to check and see if we have the FBI installed cookies on our machines? Thanks, – J.V. Web Forensics Expert Mr. X. Replies: First let me explain how to look for cookies.  The easiest way IMHO (there is more than one way to skin a cat, my favorite method involves using high-pressure air…) because it is easy and anybody can do it with little or no chance of [accidentally] nuking their own machine: In Internet Explorer, go into the File …


Economics and Investing:

Cadet D. sent this: The Four Biggest Downside Risks To The Global Economy: Nouriel Roubini CBO: Exploding debt under Obama policies. The article begins: “The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that President Barack Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than double the shortfall in CBO’s own fiscal baseline — even after taking credit for reduced war costs. G.G. suggested this, over at Jesse’s Café Américain: Episodes of Hyperinflation from Diocletian to Bernanke – How It Might Unfold Today The U.S. Economy Is Running On Borrowed Money and On Borrowed Time …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Linda U. sent this news link from Wyoming: Fear & reloading: More people are buying guns amid worries about Obama’s re-election and predictions of the world’s impending doom.    o o o Mary F. liked this piece, which she described as “Prepping as performance art”: Building a Better Apocalypse    o o o Ulysses Press (one of my publishers) sent me an update on the printing history for “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”. I was amazed to see that there are now 122,000 copies in print: Nov. 2011 –    20,000 copies Apr. 2011 –    24,000 copies …



Important Message From JWR: The FBI’s Cookie Caper and the VPN Imperative

It has come to my attention that from August of 2011 to November of 2011, the FBI secretly redirected the web traffic of more than 10% of SurvivalBlog’s US visitors through CJIS, their sprawling data center situated on 900 acres, 10 miles from Clarksburg, West Virginia. There, the Feebees surreptitiously collected the IP addresses of my site visitors. In all, 4,906 of 35,494 selected connections ended up going to or through the FBI servers. (Note that this happened several months before we moved our primary server to Sweden.) Furthermore, we discovered that the FBI attached a long-lived cookie that allowed …


Mike Williamson’s Product Review: ATI AK Strikeforce Stock

I like the AK platform, but I’ve never liked the standard military issue stock.  I’m too tall, and the shape of it means I can’t get my head low enough for a good sight picture, so I have to scrunch and contort to shoot. ATI sent me their AK-47 Strikeforce Stock Package to try.  I’ve heard criticism of their products over the years, but, while I’ve made some of my own regarding functional details, I’ve never had a problem with their workmanship or reliability. The instructions are clear, and you should pay attention to them.  The lower handguard, for example, …


Rabies – Coming Your Way? by Dr. Cynthia J. Koelker

Rabies – a legitimate concern or fear-mongering?  As I watch my pet Golden Retriever “Doodles” cautiously sniff at the curb sewer, I believe the threat is real.  A family of raccoons lives in the sewer pipes, and just a few months ago a local dog died of raccoon rabies.  Could my children be next? Ohio is on the frontier of raccoon rabies, but despite yearly aerial and ground baiting programs for oral rabies vaccination, the uniformly lethal infection is moving westward.  Bat rabies, the other common threat, is distributed more evenly across the United States.  (If you’re wondering about your …