Two Letters Re: A Bank Run Reality Check

Dear Mr. Rawles,

While the quantity of FRN currency and coins on hand at a bank branch certainly makes or breaks one’s ability to withdraw one’s funds in a “run” situation, the overriding factor of which most depositors are completely unaware is that only checking accounts are “demand” accounts, meaning that you have a legal and immediate right to all of your money when you demand it. If you read the account disclosure fine print for your certificate of deposit (CD) or savings account, you will find that the bank is under no obligation to return your money when you ask for it, but only within the number of days specified in the account agreement (contract).

In practice a good bank will make every effort to return your funds when you request them, but in the case of a bank run or other situation that leaves them short of cash or even actual funds, the provision buys them with the time to acquire what they need to repay you from another bank or ultimately from the Federal Reserve.

So if you are concerned about being able to get your money out of the bank in a pinch, you need to keep it in a checking account. In that case even if your bank lacks the cash to honor your check you at least have the alternative of trying to cash it somewhere else. Above all, stay vigilant: Better to be a month too early than a day too late. Cheers, – Kevin W.

 

James,
One of the best plans is to have money stored at your home, retreat, vehicle. Understandably not everyone is in a position to do this but something is better than nothing. I would recommend 100 of each of the bills. 100 x $1 ($100) 100 x $5 ($500) 100 x $10 ($1,000) 1000 x $20 ($2,000) plus $200 in coins. This creates a total of $3,800. This may seem a significant amount however WSHTF this frees up valuable time to get on the highways, escape the city and head to wherever it is you have planned. You won’t have to try and get money from the bank or have to worry about paying increased gas prices along the way and it may help bribe your way through a road block. Just think what it is going to be like with millions of people across the country/world trying to get access to their money. The banks will simply close up and ration the amount you can have, if any at all.   – L.H.

Letter Re: Storing Spare Vehicle CPUs for EMP Preparedness

Mr. Rawles,  
I recently have been going through the PCM/ECM/ECU vehicle engine/transmission control module nightmare. And it is a nightmare. Dealers typically won’t warrantee or allow return/refund on the vehicle computers unless they perform the diagnostics first. That’s a couple hundred bucks right there, before you get to buying the computer – which in my case for a 10 year old truck was $480, before sales tax. Then you have the labor to install it. Oh, and only the dealer can program it.  

So I started snooping around on Google.  Using the search terms “remanufactured PCM” and “remanufactured ECM” I found dozens of links to companies which sell preprogrammed vehicle computers [from wrecking yards] for all makes and models. And they are “plug and play”.  Meaning that a reasonably able person could put one in themselves.   And the prices seem to run about $150, rather than $500 or more.   All the caveats posted by earlier contributors about multiple computers on a vehicle, and other factors, still apply.   I only wanted to point out that there are other sources besides the dealers.  And their return policies, warrantees, and delivery beat the pants off the dealers to boot!   As always, caveat emptor – perform your own due diligence- YMMV.  – The Homesick Idahoan (Still behind enemy lines)

Letter Re: Forever Preps – Preparations You Can Buy Once, and Have Forever

JWR,
Thanks and God Bless for your wonderful blog. You do mankind a great good every day your site is up and passing information to the masses. Please keep it coming.

I find it a rare and surprising occurrence when my real world work experience and professional knowledge actually prove some use to the on-going threads found at SurvivalBlog. Since I’m a career Maitre’ de in fine dining restaurants, it really isn’t surprising; I seriously doubt anyone will be worried about wine vintages or the proper service of escargot after TSHTF. However I was pleasantly surprised after I read Andrew D.’s post on Forever Preps. I found his info extremely helpful, since I quickly added a few amendments to my master prep list, with many valuable links.

I must disagree with Andrew on his candle substitute option, the paraffin oil cartridges. I have chosen, purchased, and used dozens of varieties of paraffin oil cartridges, and the lamps that burn them, throughout my 25 year career and in my experience they would be next to useless in a survival situation. They work well for what they are, which is a simple light source used to provide ambiance. They give virtually no use-able light and generate very, very, little heat. Mainly, because they are not meant to do so and they cannot be opened or adjusted, since the tiny wick is part of the sealed self contained unit. I once had to purchase small penlights for my entire waitstaff due to the ineffectiveness of these items with dim room lights, much less total darkness. These units are inexpensive, well sized and store well, but unless you can rig an alternate adjustable wick, which I don’t recommend, or transfer the oil to a proper lamp or lantern, I can’t see recommending this over candles or larger containers of oil. You don’t need the extra bother. However, I still trust candles as the ultimate back-up lighting. I live in the deep south and have also had candles melt to nothing in storage, so I tried a trick from a local candy vendor. This guy makes and sells Roman candy, i.e. taffy, from a horse drawn carriage even during the hottest summer days. To keep the candy from sticking and mal-forming when it’s soft from the heat, he would roll a stick in several layers of over-sized waxed paper and simply twist the ends. I tried this and it works well for tall candles and tapers. However the larger and detailed candles may mal-form a bit upon hardening and lose details. Plastic wrap will also work, however it may stick to the re-hardened candle a bit. Thanks. – W.N.

SurvivalBlog Receives the Stylish Blogger Award

I was tickled to see that SurvivalBlog was named as a recipient of a Stylish Blogger award by Judy of the Consent of the Governed blog.

This is a great exercise in fun and mutual back-scratching. Of course, as with any of these blog awards, there are rules. The “rules” that come along with this award designation are (1) I must divulge seven things about myself, and then (2) pay the Stylish Blogger Award forward to fifteen other blogs.

So here are seven things about me…

1.) I’m so secretive about the location of the Rawles Ranch that many of my friends don’t know where it is. Nor my literary agent. Nor my book editors. Nor the movie and television producers. They simply don’t have a “need to know” unless they come to visit. (And if you are wondering, no, I don’t make them wear blindfolds.)

2.) I have a mania for collecting and restoring 1930s to 1950s vintage All-American Five vacuum tube AM-Shortwave radios that can operate on both AC and DC.

3.) I no longer rent table space at gun shows. But I still prowl the aisles at shows as far away as the SAR show in southern Arizona.

4.) Our family has a morning Bible study six days a week. I have found that it is an edifying way to both educate my children Biblically, add to my own knowledge, solidify our relationships, and prepare ourselves for turbulent coming events.

5.) I watch the movies Big Trouble in Little China and Groundhog Day at least once a year.

6.) Many of the plot details and the dialogue in my novels come to me in dreams. When get to a point where I’m stuck in writing, I just suggest to myself that I dream it, that night.

7.) I cannot ice skate or roller skate. (Thankfully, that is rarely required as a survival skill.)

Here are my Stylish Blogger Award honorees (in no particular order):

Economics and Investing:

A new age of uncertainty: Why Arab turmoil could mean an orgy of bloodletting and rocketing oil prices rather than a Utopian world order. (A hat tip to J.B.G. for the link.)

K.A.F.send us a story about “voting with their feet”: Irish Remedy for Hard Times: Leaving

U.S. crop boom not enough to rebuild thin supplies. (Thanks to Nick F. for the link.)

Natural Gas: A Cure for America’s Crazy Oil Addiction

Items from The Economatrix:

Regulators Close Small Illinois Bank; Makes 23 in 2011  

State and Local Budget Cuts are Slowing US Economy  

Oil Prices Spike to $103 then Drop Back

Odds ‘n Sods:

Old snipers never die. They just get better equipment.

   o o o

Reader Joe V. notes: Info World (via Ask Woody) revealed that solid state flash drives are nearly impossible to erase.  Joe’s comment: “I guess that means ‘hammer time.'”

   o o o

Mark H. mentioned the Time Travel Cheat Sheet. (That information would of course also be useful for a total TEOTWAWKI.)

   o o o

Luke in Pennsylvania sent a link to the U.S. Army’s Preventative Maintenance magazine searchable database. Luke says: “It’s usefulness in supplying relevant information depends upon your choice of search terms. For example with the right words, I found articles on: M4 bolt lug shearing and M14 maintenance.

   o o o

Jonesey in Alberta, Canada alerted us to an article that underscores the need for rural retreat security: 5,000 pigeons stolen from Fraser Valley farms

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.

For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. ” – Jeremiah 21:8-10 (KJV)

Note from JWR:

I’m scheduled for a one hour interview with call-in questions from listeners tomorrow (Sunday, February 27th) with Michael Ruppert’s Lifeboat Hour radio show at 9 p.m. eastern time. Please feel free to call in to the show if you have any preparedness questions that would be of interest to the majority of listeners. If you miss hearing the show, it will be available post facto as a downloadable podcast.

Update: Kindle SurvivalBlog 2005-2010 Archives

The SurvivalBlog.com Archives 2005-2010 for Kindle has just been updated to be more user friendly.

New features include:

  • Table of Contents
  • 700+ broken links fixed
  • Search Function (Tested thusfar on a Kindle 3 running v3.1 — not guaranteed to work with earlier Kindles)

Note: Those of you who have already purchased the Blog Archives ebook, send an e-mail to: kdp-support@amazon.com with this info:

“KDP Team, Please update this ebook on my account. [insert the e-mail address of your Amazon account here] ASIN: B004OL2XQ0”

If the Search Function still doesn’t work after you’ve updated to the new version then try the following:

  1. Update to the latest version of the system software on your Kindle.
  2. Wait for the Kindle to index the archive, which takes about one hour. (This is because the file is 21.2 MB.)

Anyone ordering the Archives for the first time (from February 25th onward) will get the improved version.

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OBTW, you don’t need a Kindle to use the mobile reader Archives. You can download one of Amazon’s free Kindle ebook readers.

Want to buy a Kindle? There are several versions available.

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Stay tuned for release of the HTML and PDF version on CD-ROM for PC and Mac laptops. After a brief glitch, it is back in Beta testing. Again, thanks for your patience.

We eventually plan to create another version for Sony, Nook, iPad and other readers in epub format. If any SurvivalBlog readers have personal experience and can recommend truly functional epub creator software, then we’d appreciate your advice. (Contact Sebastian Rawles via e-mail.)

Nearly-Expired Storage Foods: Take Them to the Food Bank, Not the Dump

As your storage foods–both wet-pack and dry-pack–near their expiry dates, I recommend that you consistently donate them to a food bank.

This approach has several advantages:

1.) You will be charitably helping the less fortunate.

2.) Food will not be going to waste.

3.) Your own larder will be stocked with fresher, more nutritionally- complete foods.

4.) You can take a tax deduction for your donation. (Be sure to get a signed receipt.)

If you are concerned about OPSEC when making donations, then drive 40+ miles to a food bank in a neighboring county.

Keep in mind that most food banks will not accept food that are out of date. So keep close track, and donate the foods at least six months before their marked expiry.

If for some reason you do lose track of an expiry date and have to discard foods, then I recommend that you save the containers. This has multiple “gains”:

1.) It provides you containers that you can re-use. As I’ve previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, steel cans have umpteen uses, even if you don’t own a can sealer.

2.) It reduces your OPSEC risk. (There will be no labeled cans for your trash collector to see.)

3.) Grains and vegetables can be composted. (Do not attempt to compost any meat food products.)If this is done gradually, some expired storage foods can also be used as livestock food supplements. But remember to rehydrate foods first (soaking them in water), and dole them out on small quantities to avoid any gastric distress.

Letter Re: Dairy Goats 101

Dear Editor:
I read your article on dairy goats, and would like to share some of our experience with dairy goats.  The article paints a two gallon a day picture, but it does not tell the whole story, and anyone reading it, I feel, should know there are drawbacks.  We had two goats for over a year and a half, and it was great, with five kids, and three of them under the age of four, we went through the full gallon a day that the two goats provided us.  it was a good experience, and the milk was fantastic, I couldn’t believe it, I liked it more than cow milk even. 

However, the two goats stripped every square inch of bark off all of our trees in the yard, as high as they could get.  They are voracious eaters, and quite a few of our orchard trees had to be cut down, as they peeled them almost overnight it seemed.  They destroyed trees and our one mulberry tree that we worked diligently to get growing.  They also pushed with their horns on two of our windows to the point of breaking, and replacing the windows was not cheap.  Also, we found out that the mountain laurel leaves are toxic to them, as our oldest daughter at the time was feeding them to the two goats we had.  We eventually left them to the local 4H, and have since taken on chickens, to go along with our bee hives that we have had for over three years now.  Also, they need milked at least once, preferably twice a day, and on the days where it was 10 degrees out, and a foot of snow, the wife seemed to think that it would be best if I were the one doing the milking.

Goats were good and bad, and I hope people can at least see that it’s not as simple as it appeared in the article I read.  I would get goats again, and definitely in a SHTF scenario would get them, but for now, until the SHTF I would stay away from them.  In total, the cost was no better than buying milk at the store, it came out about even.  However, knowing the quality of the milk we were getting made it worth doing. – Paris

Economics and Investing:

Reader F.G. sent the link to this entertaining video clip: Investing Ferraris Versus Gold.

FDIC: 884 ‘Problem’ Banks Remain Even as Profits Grow. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)

Reader Michael P. sent this from David Chapman: The End of the US Dollar?

Analysis: Oil prices could be game-changer for world economy

Paul Farrell: Market Crash 2011: It will hit by Christmas. (Thanks to Pat S. for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

If all else fails, bribe them: Saudi ruler offers $36 billion to stave off uprising amid warning oil price could double

Why I’m Buying Silver at $30  

Silver Train is a Comin’, are You on Board?  

Prepare to Give Up All Private Data for Any Gold Purchase Over $100

Odds ‘n Sods:

The latest trend: “Mob Robbery” of convenience stores.

   o o o

US Government. Software Creates ‘Fake People’ on Social Networks to Promote Propaganda

   o o o

A reader in Heidelberg, Germany wrote to ask me about where to get outdoor survival training and where he could meet fellow preppers. I recommended doing a web search for local “adventure sport” clubs, like this one near Mannheim, Germany. There, folks will surely get some good hands-on training, and very likely meet other people that are preparing for “Das Ende der Welt, wie wir sie kennen.”

   o o o

I stumbled across a “Mom and Pop” eBay store with an interesting inventory: The Survivalist Emporium

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F.G. flagged this piece about Nanny State Nord: Sweden mulls legality of the baseball bat.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The right of revolution is an inherent one. When people are oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they enjoy to relieve themselves of oppression, if they are strong enough, whether by withdrawal from it, or by overthrowing it and substituting a government more acceptable." – Ulysses S. Grant

Letter Re: Observations From a Canadian Farmer

Hi Jim: 
I have been reading SurvivalBlog.com for several months now and have found it very interesting.  I purchased a 640 acre farm in 1970 in the Little Clay belt in Northern Ontario and started from scratch.  I was 25, not married and knew no one in the area when moved from a large urban city, six hours drive away.  It was daunting and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way.  Since I used up all my cash I also had to work out to make ends meet. Here are some of my thoughts in no special order:

1.  Treat your neighbours well.  It will pay off big time.  I had a field plowed when I could not.  Hay cut etc, etc.  Of course I helped out when I could.

2. I read entries by your readers about having livestock.  Depending where you live–I had to feed six months of the year–you have to grow and make feed.  This takes equipment, knowledge of hay varieties, proper storage and manure handling, et cetera. A good book in this regard is Feeds and Feeding by Morrison. In this regard selection of animal type can be very important esp. for a small scale farm.  My choices would be: 

Beef: Highland Cattle.  This breed came from Scotland and is very tough and can stay out side year round as long as they have a good wind break.  The cows are very good mothers, very protective and in case of an animal attack all the cows will gather the calves together and circle them.  I worked with a chap in the mountains of British Columbia who had a small herd and he said they would eat almost any vegetation. 

Dairy: My choice would be a Jersey cow.  They are on the small side, gentle and give milk that has a high fat content.  This is good of course for butter and cheese. 

Sheep: I liked the breeds that did not have wool on their faces.  Much easier when it came time to shear. 

Chickens: My vote goes for Red Rocks.  While they don’t produce as well as egg-only breeds they are tough and I can keep them producing for three years.

3. Since I lived in a cold climate it is critical that once the weather turns cold to use the correct grade of diesel fuel.  In cold weather summer diesel will turn to jelly when it hit minus 30 C and colder.  If you have to start you tractor every day as I did you will need a block heater, a battery heater, thin engine oil and hydraulic fluid.  Also, make sure your injectors are in good condition and your glow plug works. 

4. Have a good dog.  I had wolves, bears, lynx and other critters around and the dog would let me know if something was poking around (people as well)

5. If you are going to purchase property make sure you ask if you own the mineral rights, any easements, water rights.

6. Have your water checked on a regular basis.  Also, have a test done to check trace minerals (esp. before you buy property) .  In the area where I lived there was a problem of natural occurring arsenic that caused the government to close many wells.   

The good news was that my jump from the big city went so well.  I learned many skills and made great friends and would not change the course of action I took.  While I was there I got married and the two girls had an education that most do not now have.  Also, I produced all my own meat, eggs, fruit and veggies.   If you are interested the Little Clay Belt is located 150 kilometers north of North Bay.  The main town (5,000 population) is  New Liskeard also known as Temisking Shores and is located at the top end of Lake Temisking on the Quebec border. 

I can get two cuttings of hay per season and close to 2,000 lbs of barley per acre.  Other farms in the area grow canola, oats, peas, wheat and some have tried out short season fodder corn. – P.H.