Odds ‘n Sods:

“BeePrepared” wrote us to recommend the Hippo Roller as a method to transport large amounts of water without a vehicle.

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Cheryl (our Economic Editor) sent us this raft of news and commentary. The first item should not come as a surprise to you, since I’ve been warning about the derivatives threat for years: Bailout Secret: To Prevent $68 Trillion Derivatives Collapse — Financial TEOTWAWKI: LIBOR TED Spread Flashes Trouble. (“I don’t want to name names, … but there is a silent bank run going on. There are no lines in the street, but it is a run nevertheless. It is large investment funds and corporations quietly pulling their money from some of the best banks in the country.”) — Credit Markets Hit By Cat 5 Financial Hurricane — Greenspan Calls For Action On Financial Crisis — The Real Reason Behind The Rush (The Fed is close to illiquidity) — This “Greater Depression” Could Last A Decade — Markets Face Major Crash If Bailout Fails — Economists Against The Paulson Plan — Wachovia Explores Sale With Wells Fargo, Banco Santender & Citi

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Eric sent this from The Telegraph: Bailout failure ‘will cause US crash’

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Jack B. sent us this news story from Nanny State Britannia: Residents could be hit with £5,000 rubbish collection fine for leaving bin out. It is high time to take the hint and Take The Gap!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Bureaucracy is the epoxy that greases the wheels of progress." – James H. Boren, political science professor at Northeastern State University

Letter Re: Advice on Fuel Drums and Fuel Transfer Pumps?

Jim:
Do you have any idea where I can get a 50 gallon fuel drum with a manual pump like the one that your previous writer discussed? – SF in Hawaii

JWR Replies: You should first consult your local fire code, for capacity limits. This is generally not a problem outside of city limits, but laws vary widely. Needless to say, you should store any fuel cans or drums in a detached storage shed that is away from your house, not in an attached garage!

In North America, the fuel drums that the reader mentioned are usually made in 55 gallon capacity. Your local fuel distributor should have new ones, or you can scrounge used clean ones locally if you post a query on Craig’s List. The fuel-rated pumps are often D-handle design, like these. Again, used ones are less expensive.

Or, of course you could also use a 12 VDC electric fuel transfer pump, like the ones that I make. (OBTW, every family should keep one of these pumps handy.)

Unless you are certain that you will be using the fuel within a few weeks, be sure to se stabilizer, such as Pri-G.

It is best to buy winter-formulated gas, and rotate it annually. (Also in winter.) This is because winter gas has extra butane added, o aid cold weather starting. This formulation extends the storage life of gasoline.

Drums that are 20 gallons or smaller can be moved with a standard dolly and lifted off a pickup tailgate by two men. But moving anything larger requires special handling equipment, and is a back ache waiting to happen. Filling (or re-filling) a large drum that is kept at home can best be accomplished discreetly by using your vehicle’s fuel tank and a 12 VDC fuel transfer pump. Just make several trips over the period of a week, and it won’t be noticeable.

Buy the materials for camouflaging your fuel drum(s) in advance. I generally recommend scrounging an appliance box (such as a small refrigerator box) so that the drum won’t be noticed by visiting workmen or meter readers. Or you could build a false wall at the end of a long shed. One other alternative is to use a “hide in plain sight” (HIPS) approach. This might be to re-paint the drum white, with herbicide markings. This won’t look too out of place for drum up to 30 gallon capacity stored in the corner of a gardening shed. You can also leave a full two-gallon lawnmower gas can in the same shed, as “bait” for burglars, to distract their attention. Re-painting a fuel drum is a fun and creative family stencil cutting and painting project.

Letter Re: Impressions of Medical Corps Training

Dear Mr. Rawles:
Thanks for a wonderful book and blog site. They are very, very helpful. I also wanted to thank you for a posting I saw last spring on your web site about the Medical Corps class led by Chuck Fenwick, called Field Medicine in a Hostile Environment. Because of that posting, I took Chuck’s course in Ohio in May and found it to be invaluable. I couldn’t believe all the techniques and information imparted in such a short period of time. Although not on the curriculum, when I asked if he’d show us how to give injections, he added that to the curriculum. Chuck is extremely knowledgeable and you know he’s experienced it all. His workshop was life-changing for me and the 40 + attendees. I feel like I’m ready to be of assistance to anyone who may experience injuries of almost any sort. I can imagine nothing worse than seeing a loved one hurt and not know what to do to help them. Now I’ve got peace of mind in that area thanks to you and Chuck.

The reason I’m writing today is because I’ve noticed he’s bringing his class to Texas, just outside the Austin area, in December. This may be the last time this course may be offered if TSHTF soon, and I think that if many Texans knew about the class, they’d be forever grateful. There are a lot of us down here in this great state who feel that readiness for the schumer is very important. I recommend this class to anyone and everyone. No one can afford not to have these skills.

Thanks again, Mr. Rawles, for letting your readers know about this life-changing and life-enhancing workshop. Blessings, – Mary C

Letter Re: Saving Your Life and Saving Your Relationships–Don’t Drive Your Loved Ones Away

Memsahib,
You are “spot on” with your comments regarding “Saving Your Life and Saving Your Relationships–Don’t Drive Your Loved Ones Away.”

We are in our early sixties, married for 20+ years, and retired for several years. I’m the “captain,” and handle our finances (with the Admiral’s advice and consent…).

That said, the fact is we see the World differently. I am for the most part externally oriented. The Admiral is mostly internally oriented with regard to our home and events, but she indulges me to a certain degree as I wander around studying the situations and circumstances. Often these situations and events seem pretty remote from our lives, from her perspective. Figuratively speaking, her version of a threat is someone one banging on the front door. My version of a threat is someone casing the neighborhood.

A few years ago I earnestly began my study of American economics and culture, and came to some pretty unpleasant assessments. In fact, it was pretty grim. When I began sharing this information with the Admiral I was disappointed with her less-than-enthusiastic responses. I learned (pretty quickly) that she just didn’t want to hear this stuff and it dumbfounded me how she could “ignore” such vital information! We chose to discuss our difference in perspectives and agreed to honor one another’s position(s). I was certainly able to continue my observation and assessment efforts, as long as I didn’t go overboard and begin cutting gun ports in the walls. (My little joke.) She indicated that she is interested in what I learn, but she just wasn’t emotionally equipped to handle the rather constant barrage of data that I was laying on her.

Recognizing these differences we’ve come to a comfortable understanding. She knows a lot more about what I think and why, and she’s helped keep me from going too far around the bend. I feel we’re pulling our wagon together; and sharing Life’s load and challenges. Married Life is not about doing it all your way, and compromises are often necessary. (I know something about that too – but that’s another story.)

To wrap this up, what I learned is to identify what information you want to convey, distill it, and find an appropriate time to transmit the information (probably not at bedtime or during cocktails with friends!). What the Admiral was recoiling to was the constant bombardment of stuff she basically didn’t want to hear to begin with.

One more comparison. During many years in the military I was often tasked to brief flag officers. These folks don’t usually time or inclination for all the detailed information and data behind an analysis (that’s why it’s called is a briefing ). Generals (…and my Admiral) expect their personnel to have reviewed all the information available and arrive at an assessment in often competing situations. And it requires a lot of work to determine what needs to be said if you only have three or thirty minutes before the General.

There are times and situations where a bombardment of information is appropriate; but there are more occasions when a carefully chosen information shot will work better.
Thanks for a well done and very informational web site. Best, – Captain

Odds ‘n Sods:

Some Treehuggers concede that we may be right, after all, even if we do use Excessive and Gratuitous Acronym Diversions (EGADs).

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From our Economic Editor, starting with the most disturbing news: Bloomberg Analyst Marc Faber: $700 Billion Bailout Could Balloon To $5 Trillion — WaMu Is Gone, But Trouble Spots Remain (The banks to watch: Wachovia, Comerica, Marshall & Ilsley) — Wachovia, Citi In Merger Talks — Stocks Rebound On Renewed Bailout Hopes — The US Banking Collapse Was A Controlled Demolition Let’s Play Wall Street Bailout (Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio rants well) — They Want Mama To Make It All Better

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Even the oh-so conservative Wall Street Journal is starting to take on an alarmist tone: Few Good Scenarios in View as Crisis Spreads. Buckle up!

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Kevin A. recommended some commetary by Jim Willie, over at The Silver Bear Cafe: Corruption, Whispers & Receivership

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." – Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 (KJV)

Two Letters Re: Advice for City Folks on a Budget?

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I am writing to ask for your advice and for your charity, and also because I think this subject may be of interest to many of your readers. I discovered your web site a week ago and have found it to be both very informative and also very alarming! It was major wake-up call for me.

In my opinion, I am not at all prepared for the upheavals that are already underway and that lie ahead of us.

I would very much like to change that situation, but it all (considered as a whole) seems so overwhelming. I don’t know what to do, where to start and how to go about it. Also, I don’t feel that I have the same resources and freedom as some of your other readers.

I also have the feeling that many, perhaps most, of your readers may be in exactly the same situation as me:

I am a 50 year old average guy with a wife and two young children to support. I work in a medium sized metropolitan area and live in an average house in the suburbs, about 10 miles out of town, on a 1/5th acre lot. My kids go to public school, my wife works part-time and I work full-time. We depend on the income from my job to support the family. It is not the kind of job that allows me to just uproot myself and live out in the sticks. My wife and I make just enough to pay the bills and set aside a little bit for my 401(k) [retirement savings account]and my kids’ college education. We do not own any real estate aside from our home. We have about $50,000 in savings, $90,000 in home equity and about $190,000 in my 401(k) .

In my opinion, we are not prepared at all for any sort of natural, economic, social or political upheaval or disaster:
– We don’t own a ranch or farm or remote property of any kind.
– We don’t own gold or silver.
– We don’t own any weapons and don’t know how to use them.
– We don’t have any food or emergency supplies stored up.
– Our house is not “hardened” or “secure”.
– We don’t have a generator, etc.
– We are not EMTs and don’t know how to grow crops or butcher a hog.
– We don’t have a G.O.O.D. plan or vehicle or provisions.

In short, we are probably just like most of the other average families in the USA (and perhaps like most of your readers) except for our awareness of the problems that may be coming and our desire to be prepared.

My wife and I both believe in being “prepared” but my idea and hers are different. My wife things that the problems we are facing are temporary, so she would like to be prepared too, but she doesn’t want to rock the boat or uproot our family to do it. I am alarmed and would like to be very well prepared, but I don’t want to wreck my marriage and family in the process.

Mr. Rawles, please tell us what we can do given the situation I’ve described. What specific steps should we take and in what order? What would you do if you were me in my shoes?

I know you get a lot of letters, but I sure hope you answer this one on your web site. For my sake, for my family’s sake and for the sake of what may be hundreds or thousands of people just like me that read your web site and want to do something but don’t know what to do, how to do it, where to start and what’s most important to do first, second, third etc.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration. – Mike H.

 

Hello Jim,
I’ve been reading your blog off and on for several months, but I’ve yet to see anything substantial for us poorer citizens. When it comes to TEOTWAWKI, then it’s all well and good if you were wealthy enough to be able to afford a nice out-of-the-way location to save yourself, but what of us who are stuck in an apartment in the city, like Denver? Or worse, people in metropolises like Chicago and New York? Where could millions of people all possibly go to get away from it all? All we can do is to arm ourselves to the teeth and wait it out? We’d like to get out of the city too, but we aren’t able to buy property, which is why we’re stuck in apartments, rather than homes. I’m afraid that if such a disaster should come our way, then we will be on our own. Even if we have a network of people, they are often driving distances that are impractical in a time of extreme crisis. Do you have any suggestions for those of us with extremely limited incomes? I’ve searched your site, but if you did have something, I may have missed it.
Thanks, – Ken R.

JWR Replies: I realize that buying a rural retreat is not within the means of most SurvivalBlog readers. There have been quite a few articles on both urban survival and budget conscious survival, and they are available in the archives, all of course free of charge. OBTW, a brief description of how to search the archives can be found here. Here are a few SurvivalBlog letters and articles that I found in just a few minutes of searches, using “urban” and “budget” in my search phrases. (There are many more available.):

Budget Preparedness–Survival Isn’t About Stuff, It is About Skills

Letter Re: Hunkering Down in an Urban Apartment in a Worst Case Societal Collapse

Letter Re: An Urban/Suburban “Stay Put” Survival Strategy

Ten Things That Will Get You Killed While Bugging In, by Paul C.

Letter Re: Advice on a Budget Water Filter

Selecting a Rifle for a Budget-Constrained Prepper

Letter Re: Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget (Also see: Follow-up letter from J.F., and Follow-up letter from R.L.)

Letter Re: Advice for a Canadian with a “Just One Gun” Budget

Letter Re: Will Peasant Farmers Fare Better than the Rich in TEOTWAWKI?

SurvivalBlog is intended for people from all walks of life. One point of clarification: My own income is quite modest. In fact, if I still lived in a high cost region, then I wouldn’t be able to afford a mortgage payment on a three bedroom house. It is only because I’ve been preparing very gradually and systematically for 30 years that I now have a squared-away retreat here in The Unnamed Western State. And it is only by God’s grace that I have a wife that is agreeable to living in the boonies, and that I’m able to work from home.

Regardless of your income level, start with a list of lists. Tailor your procurement plan based on your personal circumstances and to match what you see as the most likely chain of events. Just be systematic, and set your priorities carefully. The smaller your budget, then the more important this is.

In answer to the question on 401(k) accounts: Many 401(k) accounts can be rolled over into IRAs. If that is the case, then I recommend doing a rollover into a Gold IRA, available through Swiss America Trading Company. I have had a gold coin IRA since 1998. Once established, these accounts are measured in an “ounce” value with a “Beginning Cost Basis” noted for when your dollars were first converted into U.S. Gold Eagles. In my case, most of the one ounce Gold Eagle bullion coins they put in storage for me cost $315 each (IIRC, this was when spot gold was $298 per ounce). Gold has nearly tripled since then. The coins are physically stored by Goldstar Trust, a bonded vault company in Texas. The annual storage and administration fee is now $90 per year, but in my opinion that is a small price to pay for knowing that when I eventually cash out my IRA it will be in tangible form, rather than an investment vehicle denominated in dollars. I have no way of knowing how much the US Dollar will depreciate in the next 15 years, but it is pretty safe to say that gold will still have the same–or nearly the same–buying power that it does today. I strongly recommend that if you have an IRA or 401(k) account that you conduct a fund rollover into a Gold IRA.

Letter Re: Questions on Short Term Survival in an Urban Office Building

Dear Mr. Rawles,
First off, I just want to say that I really appreciate what you’re doing with your blog site. I’ve learned so many useful things and feel that I am beginning to have a basic understanding of how to prepare for and live in and a survival situation.

Second, I’d like to give you a quick bit of background about myself so you can hopefully help me with my dilemma/question…

I am a young adult working on the 9th floor of a large building in Manhattan [on Long Island, New York City, New York]. I do not own a car and so I use public transportation, typically the subway. My apartment is about a 30 minute walk from work. In my apt I have started building up my survival gear, food, Bug Out Bag, etc…But I realize that I spend most of my days not in my apt but in my office, working. So I’ve decided to start planning my office survival gear because if Manhattan was ever attacked with some form of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, and I’m still alive, I don’t believe there would be time for me to get back to my apt before being affected (as subways, buses, and foot traffic will be clogged and slow). I figure my best bet for survival would be to hunker down for the first 48-to-72 hours in my building probably the library.

What are your thoughts/advice on staying in the building??
Also what kind of survival gear can I bring to work that would be discreet but really help me in my first 48 hours of survival?

This is what I have so far, which my employer has provided in a fanny pack for everyone:

[Mylar] bags of water. (We also have water coolers)
flashlight and batteries
goggles
emergency blanket
small first aid kit
mask
whistle

Any advice would be appreciated and thank you for your time. Regards, – Flora in New York City

 

JWR Replies: Hunkering down in an urban environment can be difficult. We’ve addressed that before in SurvivalBlog.

Your office or cubicle probably has a locking desk, file cabinet, and/or a credenza. Typically, with the high turn-over rate in most corporations, keys for furniture gets lost. Ask your facilities department to either re-key your locks, or have them cut new keys for them, based of their manufacturer’s code numbers. (Typically stamped in small digits next to the lock key way.) With this semi-secure storage space available, there is no reason why you cannot gradually build up a substantial supply of food, and have a place store items such as a flashlight, sleeping bag, foam mattress pad, and so forth. Even the interior of modular cubicle walls have a remarkable amount of space for items up to two inches thick. (One advantage of being an over-worked technical writer for many years was that it gave me a lot of late night hours to explore such possibilities. You would not believe what I stored inside my cubicle walls!)

Keep in mind that in a blackout, your building will be quite cold, at least for half of each year So be sure to store an insulated pad, down jacket, a pile cap, and gloves in your office.

Buy a USGI protective mask (preferably an M40 or a recent USAF MCU series) and at least four spare filter canisters, from a reliable vendor such as JRH Enterprises. Since these only filter the available air, they are not nearly as capable as a compressed air system like firefighters typically use. The latter will operate even in oxygen-deprived environments, but a mask will at least increase your chance of getting out of a high-rise building alive, in the event of a fire. One trick, BTW, is attaching two filters simultaneously (on both sides of the mask), to increase the available air flow during heavy exertion.

Find out where any extra bottled water for your building is stored. There, or near there, is the logical place to find your “hunker down” room.

Scout out your building thoroughly. It might be worthwhile getting to know someone on your building Facilities Department staff. Buy him lunch, and have a chat. Find out where the roof accesses are, and if they are kept locked. See if there are any back rooms, machinery rooms, or passageways that are not well known. These rooms are often kept locked. One little-known method if gaining access to such spaces is to climb up through a suspended (or “drop”) acoustic panel ceiling, go over a partition, and climb back down into the locked room. You might even keep a small folding ladder such as a QuikStep ladder handy for just this purpose. (Tres Batman.) For some ideas on discovering unused spaces in buildings, see the Web Urbanist site, and related “urban exploration” web sites and their forums. (Of course, all the usual legal disclaimers apply.)

Weapons that are legal to possess in New York City have been discussed previously in SurvivalBlog. If nothing else, you should keep a cane or stout full-size umbrella in your office at all times. BTW, it is also wise to carry either of these whenever you are on city sidewalks or on the subway. They will look quite innocuous, but with the right training will give you a great advantage in a brute force fighting situation. For training, start with the Gordon Oster DVD, and the book “Raising Cane” by Octavio Ramos. Then take a FMA cane fighting class. Those would all be money well spent!

Odds ‘n Sods:

Cheryl, our Economic Editor, sent us these: Congress Restarts Troubled Bailout Talks — Stocks Mostly Decline As Investors Remain Tense Over Bailout — WaMu Becomes Biggest Bank To Fail In US History — Wachovia In Huge Mortgage Mess — UK Banks May Get $180bn From US Bailout — Wachovia Shares Begin Dive After WaMu Death — JPMorgan Buys WaMu For A Mere $1.9 Billion (“To put the size of WaMu in context, its assets are equal to about two-thirds of the combined book value assets of all 747 failed thrifts that were sold off by the Resolution Trust Corp. – the former government body that handled the S&L crisis from 1989 through 1995.”) — Wall Street Should Be Looking For Bail, Not A Bailout — Risk Of Paulson Failing Has Markets Frozen In Fear — Money Market Conditions Deteriorate Further — Central Banks Take Action. — Withdrawals by customers ultimately sank WaMu . And here is one more from Jonathan Prynn, of England’s Evening Standard, courtesy of Dan S.: Stand by for Black Monday

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Et tu, WaMu? WaMu Failed, Seized By FDIC, Bought By JPMorgan.”The Army Aviator” notes: “That was a good call that Jim Sinclair made as to how it’s amazing that the largest bank failure (WaMu) [occurred on a Thursday] just when they are trying to get that bailout Schumer passed–instead of announcing it at the usual Friday after the market closings. Gosh, the crooks aren’t even good crooks. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.”

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Budget crunch: Palm Bay, Florida Police May Stop Responding To Some Crimes. (A hat tip to Eric for the link.)

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More about the gasoline shortage in the southeast: Tempers flare at pumps and Gas Shortage In the South Creates Panic, Long Lines

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Katya was the first of several readers that sent us this: Gold coin sales halted after retail rush

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." – Frederic Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy, 1872

Note from JWR:

Based on the tone of many recent e-mails, I can see that the anxiety level of SurvivalBlog readers has definitely gone up a notch. With headlines like these, it is no wonder.

Again, the present circumstances do not dictate doing anything drastic. Wait, watch, and above all be ready. This would be a good time to top off your storage food and fuel reserves. Don’t quit your day job!

From The Memsahib: Saving Your Life and Saving Your Relationships–Don’t Drive Your Loved Ones Away

We received the following sad letter from an anonymous SurvivalBlog reader that illustrates how women can be driven away by men that are insensitive to the emotional differences between men and women.

Hello Jim,
I especially enjoyed The Memsahib’s article directed towards single people needing to get out there and volunteer / network, and the article regarding balancing prepping with continuing to enjoy life. I think it’s a good idea to pay especially close attention to the articles she writes as I find that I’ve not had balance over the last few years as I’ve become more aware of the need to become self sufficient and the challenges that goal presents for a city slicker. I’ve managed to get caught up in scurrying around to prepare and cutting corners on all types of expenses (vacations, toys, fancy dinners, and even cable television) and I’ve managed to row myself right up “single creek” and lose a good fiance by forgetting to enjoy life in the here and now. Looking back, with a little balance, and teamwork things might have been different, but in my rush to prepare I lost track of everything else. That may sound extreme, but it’s easy to do with the current state of affairs. To many of us reading SurvivalBlog preparing is a means to a self-evident end and it inherently makes sense given the hard facts, but a touch of balance is also equally as important.

With the torrent of bad economic news being shouted from the headlines, many SurvivalBlog readers have consciously or subconsciously increased their state of readiness. I’m writing this as a reminder. Husbands, please be aware that your wives might be having difficulty dealing with your ratcheting-up of readiness. When you mention a news item, you will likely hear your wife saying “I don’t want to hear about this!”, or “I can’t handle hearing about that right now”, especially if she has other pressing concerns such as pregnancy, aged parents to care for, health issues, or stress at her work. If she is able to communicate this to you, then you need to respect her boundaries. Hopefully you are a united team and you can explain to her that you will continue to prepare but spare her all the incessant doom and gloom talk . Husbands who have blown the budget with survival gear in the past are going have a much more difficult time in this situation. Your wife might have difficulty trusting you. We know a husband who spent thousands of dollars (all their savings) on preps pre-Y2K without saying anything to his wife. If his wife had not been a Christian who believed divorce is never an option, the marriage would have been over.

For many years, Jim and I have had the “No Gloom and Doom Talk After 8 p.m.” rule. We all need a good night’s sleep, and having conversations about TEOTWAWKI close to bedtime can be troubling. This rule helps me sleep better because there is then plenty of time before bed to focus on our blessings.

If you want to better understand this psychology, then refer to these archived SurvivalBlog articles:

Letter Re: Help With a Non-Preparedness Minded Spouse

Ten Letters Re: Help With a Non-Preparedness Minded Spouse (follow-up e-mails)

Letter Re: My Wife Ignores My Preparedness Goals

Letter Re: Advice for an Unprepared Greenhorn

Hello Mr. Rawles!
I love your blog, and visit at least weekly, more often daily.
The current economic situation is sickening. I mean, actually making my stomach hurt, as I am not prepared. I just recently was hit on the head with the motivation to get prepared. The only problem with that is that I don’t even know where to start. Food? Weapons and Ammunition? Medical supplies? I am the patriarch of a family of 4. My wife and I, and our two children, both 10 and under. What I could use your advice on is just what I mentioned before, where does someone like me start. We have very little money, we live in the city, and we have no supplies except a Remington 870 Express [12 gauge shotgun] with a couple boxes of ammunition and food from the grocery store for a couple weeks and our camping supplies which amount to a couple days in the woods. I’m extremely worried that I simply won’t be able to help my family survive the coming collapse. I want to be prepared, and I’m motivated.
Thank you for any time you could donate with your advice! – MWS

JWR Replies: Start out by getting a good quality water filter such as the Katadyn VARIO currently on sale at Ready Made Resources and stocking up on canned foods.
If you don’t yet already have one, buy a spare riot “Police” length 20″ barrel with rifle-type iron sights for your Model 870, with “IC” (improved cylinder) choke, or better yet the “Rem Choke” removable choke tubes. These barrels are available with a durable finish to match your “Express” variant.

Buy at least 200 rounds of #4 buckshot, 25 rounds (five boxes of 5) of rifled slugs, and when you can budget for it, a case of #6 birdshot shells for bird hunting and small game hunting

Since your resources are limited, your greatest opportunity to increase your chances of survival will be teaming up with like-minded folks in your area. For some suggestions, see my static page on Finding Like-Minded People in Your Area.

Be sure to take advantage of low cost training through the American Red Cross, the Appleseed Program, and the WRSA.

Pray hard, study hard, and train hard.

Letter Re: Making Alternatives to Commercial Chemical Light Sticks

Hi Jim,
I just read your novel “Patriots” and studied the Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, and both are excellent. [In them,] you talk about chem lights (otherwise known as glow sticks) for in your car for changing tires, handy around campsites, and what not. The shelf life on these, as you mentioned, is very short (couple of months in a car [in a hot climate]) and they are not cheap (or maybe just I am cheap). I found this video on making an LED version of them that is reusable.

Seems to me like a good idea for recycling the older ones that are now dead. You can buy LED glow sticks as well which may be cheaper and easier from places like this. I have no affiliation with them and have never bought from them, but just wanted to show an example.
Thanks, – Rutger (Temporarily in Costa Rica)

JWR Replies: Perhaps the easiest method for creating a glowing wand was suggested by The Gun Plumber over at The FALFiles: “After the light stick is expended, cut the end off, dump the liquid and glass ampoule [and discard safely], then tape the plastic tube to your Mini MagLite flashlight to make an IR wand–the plastic tube is the IR filter! As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, there are some huge tactical advantages to using infrared light sticks if you own any Starlight-type (light amplification) night vision gear.