Letter Re: A Practical Tip on Using Roof Catchment Rainwater

Mr. Rawles-

I sincerely appreciate your site and all of your efforts. In researching rain water collection recently, I came across a manual on rain water harvesting published by the Texas Water Development Board. While some of the data is Texas-specific, I found the overall information and descriptions of various harvesting systems to be extremely helpful. I suspect some of your readers may as well.

In addition, I have received notice from the good folks at Safecastle that their next Mountain House [long term storage food] sale will take place between May 23 and June 5 and will include a 25% discount for [Safecastle Royal] members. I have done business with Safecastle in the past, and was quite pleased. Please note, I will not receive anything for making this sale known, so I have nothing to gain. Respectfully, – Hunkajunk

Letter Re: “Patriots” Book Sighting in Downtown Chicago

Just an update on your book from here behind enemy lines in Chicago.

I ride the “EL” [elevated railway] to work each day and on Monday saw a man reading your novel “Patriots” . I asked where he purchased it, expecting the answer to be Amazon, and was stunned when he said that he picked it up at Borders on State Street in downtown Chicago. I wandered over to the store at lunchtime and, lo and behold, there were two copies in the the new “Mystery and Thrillers” section right next to Ian Rankin’s latest book. There were plenty of copies of Rankin’s book but only two of yours remaining. I asked the clerk if there were any more copies available and she said that they had five that morning. Only two left. Wow! Unfortunately, they were asking $14.95 for the book. I have a new Kindle Reader (I love this thing) so I’m planning on buying the Kindle version of “Patriots” this time.

I bought my first copy of “Patriots” about four or five years ago (I got an autographed copy to boot) from a used book dealer on Amazon and have purchased that latest two editions. I can’t wait for your [two planned] sequels. You’ve developed into a terrific writer. I once read a review that described “Patriots” as a “how-to manual disguised as a thriller.”

My thoughts are with your wife and yourself during her difficult health situation and I hope that all things work out well for your family. Semper Paratus – Bill L.

Economics and Investing:

Greg C. mentioned some commentary by Howard Rich: The United Fiefdoms of America. “For the first time ever, federal aid – not property, sales or income tax – is the top revenue source for state budgets, the paper reported.”

GG flagged this by Karl Denninger: Nothing Suggests We’re Anywhere Near the Bottom

CJB suggested this article: Social security to run out of money…

And, in a disturbing echo, GG suggested this: Medicare already in the red

Items from The Economatrix:

Social Security and Medicare Worsens (since yesterday’s article) “The trust funds — which exist in paper form in a filing cabinet in Parkersburg, West Virginia — are bonds that are backed by the government’s “full faith and credit” but not by any actual assets. That money has been spent over the years to fund other parts of government. To redeem the trust fund bonds, the government would have to borrow in public debt markets or raise taxes.”

Oil Hits $60 on Global Recovery Hopes

April Foreclosures Rise 32% More than 342,000 people received at least one foreclosure notice.

Gasoline Prices Jump in California and US

Breathing Easier After Bank Stress Tests? You Shouldn’t Here are a couple of quotes from the article: “Largely unnoticed in last week’s government report on the condition of the nation’s biggest banks was the disclosure that five of them, topped by Bank of America, could lose $99 billion from the kinds of exotic bets that sank the global economy.” and, “The banks’ financial reports to regulators for the quarter ending March 31 also tell a potentially ominous story about their holdings of derivatives, instruments whose value is tied to an underlying asset, such as a pool of subprime mortgages. Seventeen of the 19 largest banks reported that, in the event of an economic catastrophe, they face combined derivatives losses exceeding $568 billion.”

Is Anyone Minding the Store at the Fed

Treasury Wants More Oversight of Derivatives

UBS Suggests Gold Could Go to $2,500

Credit Card Companies Piling on Fees, Raising Rates Ahead of New Federal Rules

Dollar Rally Will End, Rogers Says; May Short Stocks

Stocks Drop More than 2% on Economy Worries

Home Prices Drop Most on Record Per Quarter Dropped 14%

Soda Tax Weighed to Pay for Healthcare

Trade Deficit Widens in March to $27.6 Billion

Citi: $45 Billion Goes to Loans

Odds ‘n Sods:

Any of our readers living in Norway (and Norwegian ex-pats) will want to bookmark this blog: Ingen fare…Undergangen er skremmende nær!

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More about Pakistan, the Taliban, and The Bomb: Experts predict Pakistan’s collapse. Speaking of Pakistan, here is a prime example of lack of planning and lack of the survivalist mindset: Pakistan’s ‘displaced deluge’. Do your best to never be a “refugee ” It is just one short step away from “casualty statistic.” (Thanks to Ben M. for the second link.)

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Tamara mentioned that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is continuing their Free Membership promotional campaign.

Note from JWR:

Just three days left to bid! The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. is now at $1,100. This auction is for a large mixed lot, which includes:

1.) A Three-Color Desert Camo Interceptor OTV (Outer Tactical Vest) size XL only, and a spare Woodland camouflage outer shell, kindly donated by BulletProofME.com. These items have a combined retail value of $960!

2.) A vehicle detection system, which includes: one MURS Alert Probe Sensor (MAPS) with 50 foot probe cable and one MURS Alert Hand Held (M538-HT) transceiver. The MAPS unit’s probe can be covertly installed under the surface of a driveway or road to detect vehicular traffic and a voice alert is sent to the hand held transceiver when a detection occurs. Donated by MURS Radio. Retails for $303

3.) Two cases of Yoder’s Canned Bacon, courtesy of CampingSurvival.com. (12 cans per case.) A $276 retail value.

4.) A NukAlert compact radiation detector donated by at KI4U.com (a $160 retail value). 

5.) Three Garden Security Collections, and two Garden Bean Collections, donated by SeedForSecurity.com. With included free shipping to any US postal address, this is a $100+ retail value.

6.) Two America Stone knife sharpeners (with belt pouches), donated by the manufacturer. (A $60 retail value.)

Thus, this auction has a combined value in excess of $1,800. This auction ends on May15th. Please e-mail us your bid. Your bid will be for the entire mixed lot.

Letter Re: That Post Die-Off Fragrance

I have read many [preparedness-oriented] web pages and other scenarios of the impending collapse as they see it. A common theme in most of them is there will be a sudden and short lived phase of total chaos. In your novel “Patriots” I remember the couple who took to a storm drain while the blood ran in the streets overhead.

So let’s say we are unfortunate enough that this really does happen, and at least half the people on the planet get wiped out in short order. Meanwhile, the other half can do nothing more than fight, run, and hunker down. And those survivors of the great collapse are all very careful about cooking odors, no perfumes, plain soap only, etc. The survivors are just dang busy setting up their means to survive, because its a new, tough world. But just weeks earlier, it was a much more sanitized world. In my 30 years as a Paramedic I was called out many times to check out “that foul odor” coming from somebody’s house or apartment.

I can’t even begin to imagine what its going to smell like with about three billion fresh corpses scattered around rotting without a single funeral home open for business. I can tell you its probably not going to smell too good! Heaven help us who are down wind of a major city!

Sure, in time the problem will fade away. But let’s face facts, most people don’t have any real exposure to the possible stench “The Big Die Off” will conjure up. So, what are some recommendations to get through “The Big Stink” while you are trying to survive the post social chaos event? Vicks Vapo-Rub under the Nose? I can tell you from first hand experience that it offers only minimal relief. I became quite good at putting on a Fire Fighters Self Contained Breathing Pack. Some of our Tactical Team Medics who went to New Orleans in the days following Hurricane Katrina can tell you a little about how its going to smell. Most of them ordered new uniforms after their deployment, since the old uniforms had taken on a new fragrance. – EM Joe

Letter Re: Food Storage–Will People Ever Learn?

Hello Jim,
Of [your oft-mention triad a of] Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, I want to share some thoughts about the “Beans” category

I read that a lot of folks prepping for the future. That’s great, we all should. The day after Hurricane Ike, I saw people in huge lines to get into grocery stores, hours of waiting. The day after! They did not even have one day worth of food in their homes.

Then I read lots of info and blogs about people getting their emergency supply of food stored. There is a place for the MREs, beef jerky and all the dehydrated food in cans. It is a very important part of food storage and preparation. I personally don’t want to live on it, and quite frankly I can’t afford it. I am a strong believer in the “store what you eat” concept. My family and I have a supply of red and white wheat, but we eat some fresh made wheat bread every week. Therefore it gets rotated. We are using it.

Does someone really want to wake up one day after the SHTF scenario, open a bucket of wheat and ask, “now what”? The food that you store should be a part of your regular diet. About five years ago we started home canning. This almost forgotten art. It is a wonderful way to store food you actually want to eat. Stews, soups, meats, chicken, chili, spaghetti sauce with meat can all be canned in glass jars by any average joe. And for a lot less money than the freeze dried emergency foods. And it will be rotated regularly because it’s good and therefore you will eat it.

I hope people don’t have a false sense of security because they have a bunch of boxed-up dehydrated food under their bed [that they have never used]. Store what you eat, eat what you store, and continue to stock up! – T.

Letter Re: Ideas for Home-Based Businesses?

Mr Rawles,
I am brand new to this mindset so I hope the that my questions are not redundant. I am a self-employed construction worker in Idaho. I would really like to start prepping and stockpiling. Do you have any suggestions as to a home based business that might prove fruitful? I appreciate your time. – Micah

JWR Replies: I have posted several lists and commentary on suggested home-based business ideas. Just search through the “Self Employment and Home-Based Businesses” posting category, starting at the bottom,a nd work you way up.

In today’s economy, especially with the prospect of an influenza pandemic, I think that mail order businesses are probably the best possibilities to pursue. Anything related to home security should sell well, even in a full-on Depression. Ditto for DVDs.

Economics and Investing:

White House forecasts higher budget deficit: ” …a $1.75 trillion deficit, or 12.3 percent of GDP.”

Skip sent me this: Is America About to Go Broke?

WSJ Video: Dow 4,000 Still in the Cards (Thanks to Chris for the link.)

From Greg: Commodities – Shortages stir coffee and sugar prices

From Tom S.: Where are Argentina’s coins?

Items from The Economatrix:

US Red Ink Rises Even Higher, $1.8 Trillion The Federal government will have to borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends

Chinese Deflation Picks Up Speed

Local UK Governments Lose 2.5 Billion Income

Enjoy The “Rally”…Sucker Punch Coming

Stiglitz: Green Shoots? Don’t Speak Too Soon

GM Shares Drop to Lowest Since Great Depression

US Banks Brace for Credit Card Write-Offs “Experts predict that millions of Americans will not be able to pay off their debts, leaving a gaping hole at ailing banks still trying to recover from the housing bust.”

Fed Dread: The New York Fed is the most powerful financial institution you’ve never heard of. Look who’s running it.

Despite Signs to the Contrary, Real Estate Will Get Worse

Odds ‘n Sods:

Cheryl sent this: How Gardening Became Fashionable Again

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Also courtesy of Cheryl: USA Today Poll: 96% Affirm 2nd Amendment

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Now that I’ve successfully met my manuscript deadline with Penguin Books, I can come up for air. For the first time in many weeks, I’ll have the time for some quasi-recreational reading. I’m about to begin 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century. (Yes, I’ll post a review.)

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Mike Williamson (our Editor at Large) mentioned that Survivalblog advertiser Shelf Reliance now has a “monthly budget plan”–set up payments with them, and they’ll deliver the goods on your schedule. This is a great way for people with limited financial resources to build up their emergency food supplies without having to save up a
bunch of money all at once. Set up a plan, make payments, get the foodstuffs you want, delivered.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“All over the world, interest rates have been cut and budgets padded. France’s deficit is running at 8% of GDP. England is running a deficit of more than 12% of GDP. And the U.S. is mobilizing as if it had been attacked by Martians. On the credit side, the feds have cut rates more than ever before, for a monetary boost equivalent to 18% of GDP, according to Grant. As to spending, $13 trillion has been pledged…an amount equivalent to a full year’s annual output of the United States of America. This response is three times more (adjusted to today’s dollars) than the U.S. spent to fight WWII. It is 12 times more (relative to GDP) than the total committed to fight the Great Depression.” – Bill Bonner, The Daily Reckoning. May 4, 2009