Category: Survival Mindset

What is Considered of Value in the Poorest Nations, by SF in Hawaii

I have a book called Material World by Peter Menzel in which average families from around the world put everything they own on their lawn and you get to see what they own and how they live. While I purchased the book as a way to demonstrate to my kids ‘just how good they have it’ there are also some lessons for us survivalists. I went through the poorest nations where per capita income was usually far less than $1,000 USD per year (and in the case of Mali, Africa, $251 per year). What I noticed was a pattern in …


Four Letters Re: Solar-Powered Versus Self-Winding Watches

James, If in the market for a solar powered watch, I think that the Casio G-shock “tough solar” is much more durable than the Citizen Eco-drive watch. While G-shocks are readily available in the US, it is important to note that the Japanese domestic market G-shocks are generally superior to the ones they export. Yes, the Japanese save the best stuff for themselves. Higuchi.com is a reliable source for Japanese watches. Regards, – MP   Jim, After all the discussion about the benefits of automatic watches, I have to say several things. I have a lovely Swiss top-brand automatic watch …


The Danger of the Armchair Commando Mindset

I’ve stated much of the following before, but it bears repeating: Don’t make the mistake of slipping into the “Armchair Commando” mindset. It is what my friend Keith in North Idaho calls the”Tommy Tactical” mindset. You know the type: your overweight friend with the big gun collection, but hardly any stored food. He is the same guy that will spend hours debating the finer points of exterior ballistics or starlight scopes, but that hasn’t even taken the time to zero all of his guns. He is too busy collecting guns, talking Schumer, and reading Soldier of Fantasy magazine. Armchair Commandos …


The Great Disconnect, by “IRVM”

The recent SurvivalBlog letters regarding wolves illustrate something that has interested me for a while. This is a phenomenon that might be called “The Great Disconnect”. “The Great Disconnect” is defined as the increasing number of people who lack the ability to distinguish between reality and their own beliefs. These are people who reject out of hand anything that conflicts with their internal world-view, no matter how out of touch with reality that view may actually be. I have no idea what percentage of the population falls into the ‘disconnected’ category, but judging from what I see on the Internet, …


Letter Re: James Kunstler at Midwest Renewable Energy Fair

Jim, As a regular reader of Survival Blog, I thought others might like a “field trip” report from the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s (MREA) Energy Fair held this past weekend. This is an annual event hosted in central Wisconsin and it has had a growing number of attendees; last year’s fair drew over 10,000 and this year it was expected to draw ~17,000 people over its three days. In my mingling, I encountered people who had traveled from as far as New mexico, southern Oklahoma, Kansas, and many from Wisconsin and bordering states. The fair is a collection of vendors, …


Letter Re: David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

Hello James, David in Israel has done a great job sparking original thought in certain topics of discussion. I really like his log home ideas. I have one problem with it is: Today’s generation! I don’t think very many of us could muster up enough fortitude let alone man power to fell trees, drag to the site, de-bark and notch them, lift them into place and head from there, (without modern technology, equipment, and power). I grant him that he was talking about a smaller shelter which would be more feasible. His comments have made me think about creating a …


Letter Re: Why Christianity? and Recommendations on the Great Lakes

Mr. Rawles, I just finished your novel (“Patriots”), after a marathon reading session that consumed my entire weekend. It was marvelous. I loved every aspect of the book except all of the religious references aimed towards Christians. Can a man of your obvious intelligence really believe that “being a good Christian” elevates someone morally to a higher level than perhaps a Muslim, Jew (yes you showed respect in the book for [a Jewish character’s] beliefs, but…), or myself a fence riding atheist? I want so much to believe in god, but it appears that god has abandoned this world. Secondly, …


Two Letters Re: David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

James: G’day, just a quick comment on David’s well reasoned article. Ragnar Benson has a good set of plans and quite well written instructions on building an “A” frame cabin, from scratch, along with a list of kit you will need to make it easier contained in the book ‘Living Off the Land in City and Country’. We used it as the basis for our ‘holiday cabin’ (that’s what we tell our friends/relatives) and it seems to work quite well even after five years of weathering the varied Australian seasons. It is a bit more involved than a simple lean …


David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

One of the most frightening aspects of attempting survival especially in North America is surviving the survivalists. These pseudo-survivors dutifully stock up arms and ammunition at great personal expense but fail to do any other planning expecting to presumably live off of the spoils of the MZBs (mutant zombie bikers) who they eliminate. A physical therapist once gave me a bit of wisdom about his trade and people in general; “every back problem looks like a surgical fix to a surgeon and chiropractic care is the sure cure to a chiropractor”. (Clearly the good doctors do not do not fall …


The U.S. in 1906 Versus 2006

I generally ignore most of those ubiquitous thrice forwarded pieces of Internet trivia and humor, but I thought that the following one was worthy and would be of particular interest to SurvivalBlog readers in the U.S.: The year is 1906. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906 : The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New …


Letter Re: Are Your Neighbors Prepared? by Doc

Mr. Rawles: One point to note with Doc’s observations as a home repairman. I had my hot water heater short last week. If a repairman had come to my home, he would have walked past my garden and wood pile, had to go down the stairs past one ammo cache and rifle, 12 cases of Mason jars, around bags of old clothes waiting to be used for quilts, past various toolboxes, a chest freezer, lanterns, a grain mill and workbench, et cetera. But, instead, I went to the hardware store, bought a thermostat, and made the repair myself. I would …


The Ultimate Preparedness Community, by George L.

In Boston T. Party’s excellent novel, Molon Labe, the central character, James Wayne Preston, writes an inspiring letter on page 45 to his father outlining the issues he sees requiring separation to build a common community of free people in Wyoming. A better plan doesn’t require moving to one state for a political revolt. For those who are not Christian, please bear with me for a moment. You will quickly identify many of these organizational principles as essential for all group dynamics of individualists freely associating with each other to achieve specific goals. God’s plan of true Church organization does …


Are Your Neighbors Prepared? by Doc

I am more comfortable with neighbors who have food stored, means to prepare it, and who know how to grow food, as well as arms to protect themselves, first aid supplies, tools, and the many other things it takes to survive an emergency. Unfortunately, that is a very rare situation. I have a unique and privileged take on the problem, since I have been in more than a thousand homes. This is because, at various points in my life, I have been an apartment repairman, handyman, finish carpenter, electrician, cable TV repairman, as well as a volunteer for a non-profit …


Letter From Buckshot Re: Buckshot’s Survival Attitude Versus the “Commando” Survival Attitude

Since Everyone is talking about it here goes… David in Israel hit it perfect with his last letter. Thank you! The whole purpose of the article was to open people eyes to the fact that is a whole lot more to survival then fancy firearms. I thought people would enjoy reading about the little things it takes to survive for one year. Even in the outstanding book “Patriots” how many firefights were there? Not a whole lot. My point was if it was just me in the wilderness I would be carrying .22 Buckmark and a 30-30. Because I have …


Letter Re: Nando Parrado on Survival

Sir: Did anybody read Piers Paul Read’s book “Alive“, or see the movie? In 1972 a small airliner with 46 people crashed in the Andes Mountains between Chile and Argentina. The 16 who survived both the crash and a later avalanche ate the bodies of the dead. Nando’s sister died after 10 days in his arms. Eventually Nando and his friend Roberto Canessa hiked out 10 days through unbelievably treacherous terrain, and after 72 days the group was rescued. It is an incredible book, I’ve read it several times. Nando finally wrote his own book, “Miracle in the Andes“. It …