Category: G. O. O. D.

Four Letters Re: Building Your Kits for Survival

James, I read with great interest the piece by Jeff M. on building kits. I was kind of taken aback by his statement “I just won’t be one of those guys who carries a purse”. I guess in these days I need to understand what a purse is because I am a professional person who goes to meeting all over the state in a suit and tie and I always have what my family calls my purse with me. I carry an old trusted backpack that contains my laptop, but also carries all of my immediate survival needs (knife, first …


Letter Re: Tsunami Evacuation, Kauai Style

Howzit J.R., I’m a newbie groupie to your site, now on a daily basis. I’m going through the archives, year by year, and am compiling useful info for my situation. I’ve realized that at some point, due to the number of visitors to your site, [voluntary] membership dues may be necessary, just to support the technical requirements of having it. No problemo. I’ve never seen anything like the SurvivalBlog site, so my dues are in-bound. I’ve seen previous posts about the tsunami warning in Hawai‘i, but not from a local resident perspective. I’ll give you mine. I live on Kaua‘i, …


It is All About the Means of Production, by Mark. B.

From the beginning of time, ownership and control of quality farm land and raw materials have been closely associated with wealth creation and prosperity. What can you grow or raise? What resources and commodities do you own and control? How much metal, stone, glass, and wood do you own? Do you have the means, knowledge, tools and skills to produce valuable items from this land and these raw materials? As America was settled, the pioneers knew very well the fundamentals of non-electric, independence away from the city and just how critical natural resources were to survival. If a parcel did …


Make it Modular and Make it Out!, by Ranger Squirrel

One of the skills that has served me best in life is my tendency to make everything modular.  I think I learned it in the Army, but regardless of where I picked it up, it has saved my rear end at home, at work, in emergencies, and even in my hobbies.  Let’s pick on Average Joe for a second.  Average Joe is exactly that.  He likes a beer now and again, listens to classic rock and some country, and works in a job that just barely pays the bills.  He has a commute of about 50 miles round-trip every day …


Letter Re: A G.O.O.D. Memorial Day Weekend Test

Dear Jim, Greetings and thank you, to you and all your wonderful contributors of the past. As most of us live in the ‘City’ or suburb of the ‘City’, there is a feeling of when TEOTWAWKI occurs, we will grab our G.O.O.D. bag get in our vehicle and head out to our personal retreat, hidden from the Golden Horde. One quick question – when will the TEOTWAWKI occur? What date? What time? And how will we know it has occurred? As I have read most of the writings from the beginning until now, I seem to have missed that date, …


Letter Re: Experiencing the Recent Hawaiian Tsunami Evacuation Alert

Jim, I had the recent somewhat surreal experience of going through the Hawaiian costal evacuation during the most recent tsunami alert. It was a near-miss natural disaster scenario that unfolded in slow motion because of the distance from the Chilean earthquake and the presence of tsunami alert sensors and monitoring officials. There are a few observations that I’d like to share. I managed to stay ahead of the Golden Horde phenomena by a few hours and it was interesting to just acknowledge some of the predictable elements: most people were not alerted to the risk of the tsunami until 0600 …


Long Term Situational Awareness Can Give You The Edge, by Todd S.

I’ve been fortunate to live in the same general area for my entire adult life, the Rocky Mountains of Utah. I am very familiar with the area made more so by various employments, a variety of interests all centered around the outdoors and twenty years of being a Scout Master. Being familiar with my surroundings for a long period of time increases my knowledge base of useful things to know, information unique to my immediate surroundings.      I have always been curious and a great observer, of both people and things.  Some years ago my brother mentioned something to me …


Letter Re: Disturbed by the After Armageddon Docudrama

Dear Mr. Rawles, I fully enjoy your site and have been reading it daily for some time now.Only yesterday did I follow the link to the You Tube video, After Armageddon. And only yesterday did the question dawn on me: Following any disaster, what percentage of survivors would be forced to leave their homes? In twenty years of practicing preparedness, I’ve never given the question any thought! Sure, I am well prepared and sited in a very rural area flush with abundant water, fish and game, mature hardwoods and other natural resources. I’ve a modest farm with large gardens, we …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on The Golden Horde

One of the SurvivalBlog concepts that has fascinated (and haunted) me since learning of it has been the concept of the Golden Horde: the exodus of the unprepared-but-entitled softies, fleeing the cities in search of food, water and shelter after a SHTF scenario. I say “haunted” because – out of necessity – my retreat lies in the middle of a triangle formed by three medium-size cities, so I’ve long suspected that I would be in prime Golden Horde country. In order to understand what such an exodus might actually look like, I decided to make some assumptions about travel behavior …


Five Letters Re: The Art of Humping a Pack

Hello Mr. Rawles, Blake’s recent post on the fine art of “humping a pack” is much appreciated. I’m a bit of a backpacker, but have never been subjected to the rigors of “forced humping” for Uncle Sam. I’ve found that I rapidly become an unhappy camper when my pack weight exceeds 45 pounds. Thanks go to Blake for his service to our Country! The magic (but painful) blister remedy to which he referred is Tincture of Benzoin (sometimes abbreviated Tr. Benzoin). This mixture of specific tree resins in alcohol, and it’s cousin, Compound Tincture of Benzoin, are used in health …


The Art of Humping a Pack, by Blake in Arkansas

Walking with a loaded pack on your back is what the United States Marine Corps Infantryman refers to as “humping”.  And while it may not take a lot of brains to put a loaded pack on and walk, it has definitely become an art, science, or skill that is constantly honed by infantrymen of all types. With eight years as a Marine Corps Infantryman I have learned quite a lot about the art of humping myself.  There are several factors that come into play before you strap on your pack and take your first step. PHYSICAL FITNESS:  What is your …


Letter Re: Survival Tips for the Business Traveler

The recent SurvivalBlog piece titled “Survival Tips for the Business Traveler”, by F. Russell was well written with lots of good information. I also travel on business and didn’t see anything I disagreed with but I would add a couple of items if you care to link my comments to the article. 1) No matter how well you plan, if you travel much over the road you are going to be places where the fuel in your tank is not enough to get you home. Be that because of the distance you are from “home” or that traffic congestion or …


Incremental Preparedness: The Good, Better, Best Approach, by Jeff B.

For many, the idea of preparedness seems like an impossible undertaking. The amount of equipment and supplies needed is staggering. When I first came to the realization that I was under prepared, the gap between what I had and where I needed to be was too much for my public servant’s paycheck to bear. I would spend a lot of time discussing preparedness with a group that I would go shooting with, and all of these meetings would always gravitate to “which weapon do you plan for X meters?” or “how many rounds do you think I need for X …


Getting Prepared: From the Homestead to Living Off the Land

Introduction I currently do not fall in the category of the less than 1% of the population that can afford the real possibility of a “retreat” on 40+ acres, based on a Rawlesian criteria. However, I do have a solid brick house on 1.5 acres in a rural area on the southern plains. For the immediate future this will have to serve as my permanent abode. I have always had an interest in outdoor survival skills, and have lived, vacationed, and worked for extended periods of time in isolated outdoor camps while working “in the bush” with limited modern comforts. These …


Survival Tips for the Business Traveler, by F. Russell

I’m both a family man and a business traveler. When I’m on the road, my primary mission is to do the best job I can and get home again. In the event of an emergency, that mission immediately reduces down to get home as fast as I can.  Most families have emergency plans that assume that the family or group will be together. But what happens if one or more of the group can’t be there? When you’re on the road, your primary mission in any catastrophic emergency is to get home to your family and support system. You can’t …