Note from JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 39 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


Key Questions For and About Your Children, by M.D.M.

Preparedness is a lifestyle and a state-of-mind. You never know what disaster or emergency will befall you, it could be something you cannot possibly prepare for, for me and my family the times we have had to use our bug-out-bags were not related to national emergencies, but to family and local emergencies. I’m not saying not to prepare, I’m saying to prepare in ways you may not have ever thought to do, and these tips I have learned over the years could help someone else. These are not so much extrinsic items for survival, but intrinsic necessities. When you have …


A Christian’s Call to Prepare, by J.P.

In 1919, the Spanish flu killed around 75 million people in a single year (Knobler, pp. 60–61). In 1931, the China floods killed over two million people (NOVA). In 1945, America dropped two atomic bombs that killed around 200,000 people (Radiation Effects Research Foundation). In 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit Haiti and killed 316,000 people (USGS). In the past century alone, 29 countries have had to deal with hyperinflation, causing severe economic depression, during which millions died from starvation, disease and looting. These events go to show that disaster has always been an unavoidable aspect of …


Letter Re: Salt Storage Advice

Sir, How would you recommend that I store the many salt blocks I have been stocking up on  (cattle type – various kinds of salt and mineral blocks)?   I was out in the shop today and did a brief walk through and noticed a bunch of moisture (water/liquid) developing around the blocks. Some of them are noticeably deteriorating. A few are on card board, others are stacked on back of a parked trailer. Am I setting myself up for disaster? Will these salt blocks eventually corrode the metals nearby? Where is the best place to store them?    I have a …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Bill V. suggested this: Measuring the yield famine in food. And here is a related article: How the Fed Hurts Retirees.. G.G. found this over at New Scientist: Metal detector knows how much cash is in your wallet Items from The Economatrix: Bernanke’s Words Drive Wall Street Up 1% Doug Casey:  It’s A Dead-Man-Walking Economy America awash in cheap credit and monetization: Rasmussen Consumer Index Reaches Highest Level Since 2008 Gold’s Getting Ready To Go Extreme Bernanke:  Job Market Weak Despite Gains Gold Rises 1.5% On Renewed US Easing Hopes Odds ‘n Sods:


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. mentioned that the clever folks over at Instructables have a lot of new article topics that are relevant to preparedness, including: Palletized Water Storage, Raised Garden Bed, Gravity Powered Water Filter, How to Clean a Fish, Altoids Tin Candle, and many more.    o o o Linda U. suggested this: Butchers making comeback    o o o Kevin S. mentioned this handy tool: Wire Bending Jig    o o o Bram recommended this piece by Charles Hugh Smith: Welcome to the United States of Orwell, Part 1: Our One Last Chance to Preserve the Bill of Rights    o …



Note from JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 39 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


My Gardening Journey, by Mr. Black Thumb Turned Green

Planting a garden is a sure way to find out about yourself.  Are you impatient and reckless?  Are you detail-oriented and methodical?  If you haven’t figured it out yet, you will when you till up some soil.  Three years ago at this time, I hadn’t ever planted a garden.  The last time I was even in a garden was when I was 10 years old at my grandma’s house many seasons ago.  I found out that year that I didn’t like gardening as my experience with it was mostly weeding.  Sure, I got to eat some carrots or turnips out …


Pickup Truck Campers as Bug Out Vehicles, by Wade on the Road

A few years ago, I found myself widowed after 36 years of marriage.   Seven months later, I buried my mother after she lost a long battle with colon cancer.   I was only 59 but my kids were gone and suddenly I had no family nearby and no one dependent on me.  It took a few months to mentally adjust, but during that time I began thinking about re-engaging my life and setting new goals….sort of a bucket list if you will.  Two of the things that were on that list were traveling around our country and retiring early if possible.  …


Letter Re: Renewing Your Google Street View Opt-Out

Jim: Regarding the post of the guy in California that Google can take a photo from the public street, and see his electric meter and objects in his open windows: the problem is not so much Google as his choice to live so close to a public road that anyone could do this.  I used Street View to “sorta” see my gate, and that is all you can see–just a gate. Google Map’s satellite photos show far more detail about the layout of my “spread”, though the detail is fairly fuzzy. – Andy G.


Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent the link to this at The Hill: House liberal budget has trillions more taxes, stimulus than Obama plan A whole raft of new articles over at one of my favorite investing news sites, ETF Daily: Does The SPDR Gold Trust Really Hold Physical Gold, Or Is It A Scam?   Physical Gold & Silver Dividends Offer Investors The Best of Both Worlds   Can Ben Bernanke Break The U.S. Dollar Rally? Why It Matters To The Markets…   Real Estate: The Housing Market’s Biggest Hurdle   Why The Natural Gas Act Is Just Another Washington Boondoggle?   Why …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jim W. mentioned a new 12 gauge shotgun, from Turkey. Unfortunately, because they made it look so much like an AR, and hence cosmetically “non-sporting,” I suspect that it will be reclassified as a “Destructive Device”, and slapped with a $200 transfer tax. After all, they have the precedent of the Korean Daewoo USAS-12. That was done retroactively, because some uneducated bureaucrats don’t understand Latin phrases like “ex post facto.” (See: Clause 3 of Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution.) And, given the arbitrary and capricious nature of bureaucrats, don’t be surprised if they also implement an …



Pat’s Product Review: Skinner Rifle Sights

Many, many years ago, when I started wearing reading glasses, I found that I wasn’t seeing the sights on some of my handguns and rifles as clearly as I would have liked. With age, comes reading glasses for many of us – just a fact of life! Now, while I could see the sights on my rifles – without reading glasses – the sights were a bit fuzzy! With my reading glasses on, the sights were sharp, but the target was blurred. Grrrr!   I did find though, that rifles with peep sights were much easier to get a good …