Note From JWR:

Today we present another entry 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 $275 …


Alternative Power in a TEOTWAWKI World, by Scott H.

I am currently working in the Alternative Energy industry after retiring from a 21-year career with the military.  As part of my Vocational rehabilitation, the military allowed me to choose my future career.  As a long time reader of SurvivalBlog and a Bible-believing Christian, I saw the importance of prepping.  This includes living off grid. Alternative energy seems to be emerging as a buyer beware market.  You can see many manufacturers prey on fear claiming that their systems can run your fridge, furnace, freezer and well pump during any grid down event. This is simply an impossibility, a typical house …


Letter Re: Handy Photovolatic Calculators

Jim, I’m a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer who has taken restoration carpentry as my second career.  I’ve been following you for a couple years now and very much appreciate what you’re doing. To those ends, I received a link to this article from Fine Homebuilding and thought it might be interesting and perhaps useful to fellow preppers.  Of particular interest to me was the interactive maps from NREL.  One can point their mouse to a particular point on the U.S. map (or to pre-selected points on the global map) and then load the location data into NREL’s PVWatts …


Letter Re: Celiac Disease: The Gluten-Free Prepping Challenge

We are a family of survivalists and almost all of us are gluten free, some out of necessity and some by choice.  Here are some thoughts and resources for gluten free food.   Later this year, there is a Gluten Free Expo convention in Sandy, Utah starting October 12.  If you can’t attend, check out the vendors page (there are many) to identify other resources for gluten free food.   Augason Farms has #10 cans of food that are certified gluten free, including oats.   It’s a great company and easy to talk to them on the phone.  If you want …


Economics and Investing:

Japan posts record trade deficit while real estate values go deep into the 1980s. US has decade long collapse in real estate values in spite of record low mortgage rates. The path of two lost decades in US real estate values is looking very similar to Japan. Ben in Nevada sent this: The price of cooking the books (Describes inflation statistics fraud in Argentina) In tough economy, people turning in rare, unique items in for cash G.G. flagged this: A new recession seems inevitable Items from The Economatrix: False Recovery 2.0:  It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like 2011 Jim …


Odds ‘n Sods:

T.S. recommended a video that may be a glimpse of TEOTWAWKI: Syria: the horror of Homs, a city at war    o o o G.G. flagged this: Toy Guns Becoming A Criminal Offense?    o o o Several readers sent this: Ice To See You: 30,000-Year-Old Flower Revived. (Perhaps Scrat had the right idea.)    o o o Fred K. wrote to mention: “Here is the link to the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy which is available for viewing on line for no cost. Obviously when the Internet goes down this will be of no value, but for now, …



The Mainstream Media’s Blatant Anti-Preparedness Bias

It seems that any time that there is a crime that involves someone who lives outside of city limits and that owns guns or that lives with any degree of self-sufficiency, then they are immediately branded as a “survivalist.” This label gets slapped on regardless of whether or not the perpetrator has had any training or inclinations toward survivalism. The outlaw Claude Dallas was a prime example. Dallas was an eccentric 19th Century anachronist rather than a survivalist. But the mainstream media uses the label “survivalist”, almost by default any time that a criminal flees into a National Forest, if …


Pat’s Product Review: The Stronghold Haywire Klamper

Don’t you just hate it when someone comes up with one of those “gee, why didn’t I think of that” inventions? I know I do! And, what is amazing is, the product under review here, the Stronghold Haywire Klamper, is also one of those “wow, is that simple” inventions.   Have you ever had a radiator hose break under the hood of your car? I know I have, on quite a few occasions over my 60+ years on this earth. Or, have you had a hose clamp let loose on you, and in your e-box, you have every size hose …


No More Thyroid Meds…Now What?, by Dr. Bob

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At the request of a reader via e-mail, we will review the topic of thyroid disease from a survival perspective.  Levothyroxine is the most frequent medication that we are consulted about at Surviving Healthy.  Thyroid supplementation is the one of the most frequent prescription medications currently prescribed here in the US.  There is a huge debate about which supplementation is better, why some fail Synthroid, why some only respond to Armour thyroid, among other debates.  Those are beyond my scope as a Family Practitioner, and this article will not add to the confusion of these issues, but will instead address …


Letter Re: Lexan for Bulletproof Windows

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Dear James, I have recently purchased raw land to build my retreat. Soon I will begin building a home, and wish to equip it with windows which can resist small arms fire. I can obtain Lexan in 1/2″ thickness, and my question is, will I need two pieces of glazing in each window, or three (or more)? I do not think it likely that I will be shot at with anything larger that .50 caliber. Your thoughts on the matter are most welcome. Thanks, – Zoomer JWR Replies: To begin, I must warn readers that acrylic Plexiglas and polycarbonate Lexan …


Letter Re: The SKS: A Battle Rifle on the Cheap

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Hello James, Just a short article for the financially stressed who want a battle rifle. Not all of us can shell out $1,500 to $2,500 for the latest battle rifle with $800 to $3,000 worth of optics on it. But there is hope for us. Here in the south, you can usually pick up a good used Norinco (read Chinese) SKS for $150. (But I’ve heard that they cost more, elsewhere.) I have one that I found that was in excellent condition. These are very reliable weapons with chromed chamber and bore. One with some surface rust may go for …


Economics and Investing:

Diana sent this little history lesson: When the $1 Note Was Silver-Backed Cable TV show ignites modern-day Alaska Gold Rush. Thanks to R.B.S. for the link. Loyal content contributor R.B.S. sent this: In tough economy, people turning in rare, unique items in for cash Items from The Economatrix: Pawn Stars:  Five Household Items With Hidden Value Iran Threatens To Extend Oil Embargo Analysts Warn Oil Could Pass $200 on Iran Tensions 8 Reasons Why the Greek Debt Deal May Not Stop a Chaotic Greek Debt Default


Odds ‘n Sods:

On Thursday, March 1, Matt Bracken’s first novel Enemies Foreign and Domestic will be put into Amazon Kindle’s free library, for a period of only four or five days. Mark your calendar, and tell your friends. BTW, I highly recommend Matt’s novels. His latest novel, Castigo Cay, is another page-turner.    o o o Diana was the first of several readers to send this news from The American Redoubt: Wyoming House advances doomsday bill. “State representatives on Friday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the …