Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Let me now reassure you, your money is safe with us and if you want some, or all of it back, then you are perfectly entitled to it. Whilst you may have to wait a little longer than usual to receive it, you will get it." – Adam Applegarth, Chief Officer, Northern Rock Bank, (The fifth largest mortgage lender in England), September 14, 2007

Note from JWR:

The bidding is already up to $350 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for a scarce pre-1899 antique Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant rifle (7.62x54R) from my personal collection. This rifle was rebarreled by Valmet during WWII, and is in excellent condition. It comes with a replica bayonet, original sling, and original muzzle cap. Since the receiver for this rifle was made in 1898, it can be mailed directly to the winning bidder’s doorstep, with no FFL paperwork! The auction ends on October 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.

One Important Implication of the Weaker U.S. Dollar

The US Dollar recently posted new lows against most currencies. Most notably it now takes $1.39 to a buy a Euro, $2 to buy a British Pound and the Canadian Dollar is at 97.16–nearing parity with the US Dollar! This weakness in the once-almighty dollar may help boost US exports, but overall the weak dollar is bad news for Americans. Most importantly for those interested in preparedness, it is making some key imported items prohibitively expensive. This includes optics from Germany, water filters from England, and spare gun parts from Austria and elsewhere.

Since the Federal Reserve has opted for a slightly less painful way out of the current credit crisis–by lowering interest rates–I expect the slide in the dollar to continue. So I most strongly recommend that if you have been delaying buying any critical preparedness items that are imported, quit dawdling. Most notably, buy spare parts and accessories for all of your imported gear.For example, if you own a British Berkefeld water filter, now is the time that you should stock up on spare filter elements. If you own any imported guns–Steyr AUGs, FN-FALs, HKs, Glocks, SIGs, Berettas, Galils, and so forth–lay in your supplies of extra magazines and spare parts, now. And if you want to buy a Kahles, IOR, Schmidt & Bender, or other brand of imported scope, you had better buy it soon, because within a couple of years it will probably be unaffordable!

Letter Re: Comments on Polar Pure and Hawaii as a Retreat Locale

Aloha Jim & Memsahib,
Per your advice in an earlier blog posting, I rushed in an order for 16 bottles of Polar Pure water purification crystals from the folks at Ready Made Resources. I placed the order on August 26th and received my shipment on September 14th. The entire shipment of 16 bottles (enough for our family of three for quite a while plus something extra for barter and/or charity) arrived via Uncle Sam’s snail mail in what I thought was a surprisingly short time. (I had been expecting something like 6 to 8 weeks from Tennessee to the islands.) The shipment was sturdily packed, the documentation was clear and accurate ad the price was quite reasonable – approximately $205, including shipping. That tells me these folks care about their customers; and they’ll definitely be seeing more of this customer in the future. Again, thanks for the head’s up on the Polar Pure. Though we’ve been pretty lucky this hurricane season in the Pacific, we’re technically not out of the woods until December 1st. I’ve lived through two hurricanes and a number of tropical storms during my nearly forty years here, not to mention the occasional odd water main breaks (some of the mains on Oahu are 50 + years old and fracture on a regular basis) and the odd winter flood, or sewage spill which can result in water outages lasting for hours – sometimes days. With a good supply of water purification crystals along with our backpack water filters and stored bottled water, we should be in reasonably good short-term shape on that score. I’m still working on possible solutions to our long-tern storage problem – we live in a three bedroom, two bath townhouse. However, it’s ground floor with a yard, so food grade plastic barrels for catchments are a possibility. Next up is a replenishing run to the Big Box store(s) to restock our canned goods shelves. We make it a point to store what we eat and eat what we store. That way there are no last minute surprises with family or neighbors being confronted with unfamiliar foods they may not like, or might, say, be allergic to.

As an aside, I read your earlier evaluation of Hawaii as a retreat/relocation area and, much as I hate to say it, I have to agree with you. If things should get severely Schumeresque, this is not the place you want to be caught. Beside all the items covered in your evaluation, there is the day-to-day cost-of-living to just carry on a normal life, here (about 35-40% more, on average than on the mainland). For example, I just picked up a hundred rounds of mil surplus .223 [Remington] 55 grain ammo for my AR, in Honolulu, and it ran me just about $43.50, including tax. Since private individuals without an FFL are forbidden by law from shipping ammo to Hawaii you are pretty much at the mercy of the local dealers and what they see fit to charge. There only two or three firearms dealers, per se, here on Oahu .

If you are coming to Hawaii and you’re single, it would be best to have a really good paying job lined up in advance; if you’re married and not already financially comfortable, you will both be working…guaranteed! Even with my military contractor’s salary, my wife’s pay plus cost-of-living allowance (she’s Civil Service), and my son’s post-high school entry into the work force, we ain’t exactly “livin’ large”. A two bedroom townhouse can easily set you back $300,000 or more; median price for a three bedroom two bath single family home is over $625,000, depending which island you settle upon. And, if you’re hoping to find any sort of decent sized land suitable for a survival retreat/farm, you’d best be well-heeled, indeed. It’s just one of the reasons the Admiral and I (my wife is ex-Navy and my son says she can be as tough as Bull Halsey when she wants to, hence ”the Admiral”) are planning a move to the mainland mountain-west after retirement.

I really enjoy the blog, Jim. It’s a regular part of my daily regimen; and, I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned in the year or so I’ve been frequenting the site. It’s been well worth my 10 Cent Challenge subscription. Keep up the good work. – Gandalf, in Hawaii

Odds ‘n Sods:

Goldman’s “Global Alpha” Hedge Fund reportedly suffers a 22.7% Loss in One Month  

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Alphie sent us this link: Ron Paul gets a rare chance to spotlight his views–GOP maverick: yes on gold standard, no on empire-building

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Reader “StealthNeighbor” suggested this article from Stratfor: The Biofuel Backlash

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RBS flagged this one: FEMA hijacks Midwest broadcast signals with mistaken presidential alert

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Always be the best, my boy, the bravest,
and hold your head up high above the others.
Never disgrace the generation of your fathers.
– Hippolochus, to Glaucus, in Homer’s Iliad VI, (Fagle’s translation, p.202)

Note from JWR:

Congrats to John T. in California, the high bidder in the auction for the Hydro Photon UV Light SteriPen Water Sterilization System with solar charger and pre-filter. It was kindly donated by Safecastle, one of our most loyal advertisers.

Today we begin a new SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for a scarce pre-1899 antique Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant rifle from my personal collection. This rifle was rebarreled by Valmet during WWII, and is in excellent condition. It comes with a replica bayonet, original sling, and original muzzle cap. Since the receiver for this rifle was made in 1898, it can be mailed directly to the winning bidder’s doorstep, with no FFL paperwork! The bidding starts at $200. The auction ends on October 15th.. Just e-mail us your bid.

Letter Re: Surviving Major Changes in the Political Landscape

Jim,
I’m a believer in being prepared for the worst. However, how do I (we) survive 4+ years of an extreme left wing political take over of our system? Right now it looks like Hillary or Obama will win the Presidential elections in ’08. With either of those two in and a left wing house and senate, I have to believe that we’re doomed. You have to know that firearms will probably be banned similar to Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. Are you going to give up your means of defense? When times get tough and food gets scarce, the government will ban “hoarding” and place stiff penalties on the same.
I view the coming elections with dread. I don’t like having a target on my white male, conservative, Christian back. But, that’s how it will be.
Sorry for such a gloomy note. Regards, Tom E.

JWR Replies: You have good reason for your gloominess. Quite frankly, I share it.

One of the great things that I have always loved about the United States is that if a state’s laws (taxes, gun laws, homeschooling laws, or whatever) get too oppressive, you can always “vote with your feet” and move to another state that has preserved more individual liberty. This is exactly what I did when I left California in 1990. I am a fourth-generation member of a pioneer California family that had arrived via covered wagon in the 1850s. But my wife and I decided that the political battle in California was lost. It is impossible to fight a demographic tidal shift. When the liberal do-gooders and their legions of welfare recipients that make up their voting bloc begin to out number the decent, hard-working conservative “bedrock culture”, there comes a day that you realize that no matter how many well-reasoned letters your write to the newspapers and the state capitol, the battle is lost. So I packed up my family and didn’t look back. From what I’ve heard, this process continued and is ongoing. Some of the best and brightest are wisely still bailing out of California in considerable numbers. OBTW, the latest outrage I heard was that the City of San Francisco has instituted socialist universal health care for every resident of the city, all to be funded magically by tax dollars. Papa Fidel would be proud of his understudies. The Liberal Nanny Staters that rule California have totally lost touch with reality.

But you have raised an issue that involves the Federal government. There is no escaping Federal law, short of leaving the country altogether, which I generally do not advocate. Let’s face it, America is called “The Land of the Free” for good reason. Nearly all of the alternatives are not very appealing. yes, the prospect of a liberal Democrat president working with a liberal Democrat-controlled house and Senate is a nightmare for those of us that love our liberty. I expect that the First, second, Fourth, and Tenth Amendments will get tarnished if not outright trashed in the event of four to eight years of “enlightened” Nanny State government. All that we can hope and pray for is that there will be legislative gridlock in congress, with little erosion of our liberty during those years. And hopefully that will only last four years, a and the political pendulum will swing back the other direction. Pray hard.

I can’t recommend any specific survival strategies or tactics, other than keeping a low profile, and scrupulously obeying all of the new laws and directives that will surely issue forth from the bowels of Washington, D.C. if the Democrats take control. You’ve probably noticed that the prices of many commodities have dramatically increased in the past year. Large diameter PVC pipe may very well be the next commodity to rise in price, due to scarcity.

Again, pray hard for God’s guidance, providence and protection.

Letter Re: Counting the Potential EMP Attack Casualties

Dear Jim:
Your site is excellent. It is on my list of daily reading. Your book is also excellent. I’ve also taken the 10 Cent Challenge.

Under scenarios you mention minimal deaths in an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack. You posit the EMP would disable flight controls. Published information indicates that 3,624 domestic commercial flights were airborne during the attacks on 9/11/01. If that number is relatively accurate and it is multiplied by 267 (average) passengers per plane (not including flight crews) you get 967,608.

If a number of these aircraft are in/near terminal control areas (cities), wouldn’t their ensuing impacts add to the death toll?

Newark Airport sits next to the New Jersey Turnpike and when the wind is out of the north the approach takes flights over the 12 lanes of a very busy highway. Any aircraft losing control and landing/crashing short of the runway would create a massive disaster. There are also rail yards and refineries nearby.

Using a base number of 967,608 and adding ground losses appear to produce a significant number of casualties in your scenario. Are these observations realistic? – JH

JWR Replies: When I referred to “minimal” casualties with high altitude EMP-tailored bombs, I meant that in comparison to ground bursts in cities, which could cause many millions of deaths.

Regarding your 967,608 figure, that would only be accurate if there were multiple devices detonated simultaneously at very high altitude and there were overlapping coast to coast “footprints” of EMP. The potential line-of-sight range of EMP–and coincident “coupling” through linear metal objects–has been previously discussed in SurvivalBlog.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If pointing an empty gun at your opponent makes him duck, you may live for an extra two seconds-and who knows? You may find another gun, the bad guy may give up, or the Ammo Fairy may drop you a magazine." – Clint Smith, director of Thunder Ranch

Note from JWR:

The high bid is now at $300 in the last day of bidding in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a new-in-the-box Hydro Photon UV Light SteriPen Water Sterilization System with solar charger and pre-filter, kindly donated by Safecastle, one of our most loyal advertisers. This very popular water sterilizer product package normally sells for $225, plus postage. See the details on the SteriPen and solar charger here. As a bonus for this auction, I’m also including three autographed books: Rawles on Retreats and Relocation, SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog – Volume 1 and my novel: “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. (Together, these books have a retail value of $82, and hence the full auction lot has a combined value of $307.) The auction ends at midnight EST, tonight. Just e-mail us your bid.

Letter Re: Advice on Compact Solar-Powered Refrigerators for Insulin

Jim,
I read, with great interest, your reply to Ron in Alabama about solar powered refrigeration and wanted to let some of the other diabetics out there know about a product I discovered through an Internet search and currently use when camping, fishing, hunting, traveling, etc. It is called the Frio Cooling Wallet. It works great and I keep two in my Bug-Out Bag. While it isn’t designed for the long-term, it sure is a life saver for 1-5 day trips or in case of a bug-out. They are not cheap, but then nothing about diabetes is. – Bassnbear in Florida

Two Letters Re: Advice on Chainsaws

James:
Probably the best [chain]saws on the market are Stihl and Husqvarna. Unfortunately, as noted previously, they use a lot of plastic in the construction of them today.

One design feature you need to look at very carefully is the handle bar and how it is mounted to the saw. I own an 046 Magnum Stihl, which is supposed to be one of Stihl’s upper end, “pro” model saws. The handle bar wraps around to the right side and mounts with two self tapping screws into the gas tank. Any blow to the top of the handlebar results in shearing out these two screws and a ruined gas tank…..more than a hundred dollar repair. This has happened twice with this saw.

The odd thing is, several of the 030 series, a supposed “lesser” quality saw, have a handle bar design that fully wraps the saw and mounts down under it, which is far superior to the gas tank mount. My advise is take note of this design flaw and buy your saw accordingly.

Bottles of Stihl [two cycle gasoline mixing] oil for mixing (the 2.5 gallon mix size) cost a bit over $9 for a 6 pack a my local dealer. A case of 48 bottles runs 52 bucks. Thai is a savings of 20 bucks over the individual 6 pack size. – Andy in East Tennessee

 

Jim:
I’ve had Homelites, McCullochs, several Stihls, currently down to one – an old Stihl 320AV, all-metal saw. I don’t know if other saws have this same issue, but I know the older mid-size Stihls do – chain size. My 320 came in either .325 inch chain pitch or 3/8 inch (.375″). The clutch drum has the chain drive sprocket on it, and a drum for one size won’t work for the other. Well, it will, for a while, then it’s toast.
It came with a 16″ bar, for which I have three chains, plus a 20″ bar and three chains for it, all in .325″ and spare clutch drums in both .325 and .375. I also have a chain breaker and peener tool, so I can take a 20″ chain and make it fit the 16″ bar. FYI, you can buy chain in bulk to make your own, but always securely peen the rivets. Never use a spring clip master link on a chainsaw. Buy lots of extra link pins and side plates for this. Make sure all the chains you buy are the right size.

When you buy a new chain, break it in by cutting gently with it for 5-10 minutes, then hand sharpen it with the right size round file to put a real good sharp edge on the cutting teeth. From the factory most chains aren’t as sharp as they could be. Easiest way to do it is in a vise, not on the bar. Don’t forget a flat file to adjust the depth guides. Clean the chain in a fire safe evaporating solvent using an old toothbrush, let it dry completely, and soak it in oil. I store my spare chains in wide mouth plastic jars immersed in oil, jars noticeably different; it’s a pain, and maybe more, to drive 30 miles to harvest some wood only to find you have a 20″ bar but only 16″ spare chains. The 70-90 weight hypoid lubricant – for auto differentials – works well for auto lubricators on saws. Soak chains in something thinner, though. If you change your own auto engine oil, filter that, stir in some graphite or molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and use it for soaking chains. [JWR Adds: As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, it is not recommended that used engine oil be used , since it has been documented to be carcinogenic.]

Redundancy is good; I’d rather have two saws with 20″ bars than one big one with a 36″ bar, even if one of the saws is a cheapie.

Motorcycle shops are good sources of 2 stroke oil in quarts. Synthetic oil is good, stay away from castor oils, which burn gummy [and smoky] and require more maintenance. Best is the 6 or 12 packs of small bottles from lawn equipment dealers; each bottle is sized to mix with 1 gallon of gas, and if one bottle leaks it doesn’t affect the other 47 in the case. Warehouse clubs sometimes have this in quantity.

I can’t stress this enough: chainsaw safety. Learn how to use your saw safely, never, never, never break the safety rules, never cut alone, quit when you’re tired, never cut “in a hole,” plan all your cuts ahead of time, maintain secure footing. Chainsaw accidents are never minor. Develop the mindset that if you lose your footing you toss the saw away from you, so no one ever stands in front of you or close to you while cutting; saws are cheap, legs aren’t. You can cut through Kevlar safety chaps, by the way. If you’re cutting from top down you can throw the saw away from you; cutting “in a hole” means you have branches above and below the saw so you can’t toss it. Wood moves when it’s cut, sometimes springing up, sometimes rolling. Rarely do people understand just how much a few feet of 12″ diameter green oak weighs, or the energy in a trapped branch. It’s not at all hard to die in the woods from a chainsaw accident.

Spare parts are a must. I have two spare electronic ignition modules and coils for mine, EMP-protected in a steel ammo can, along with two sets of gaskets, seals, air filters, two pistons (one standard size, one .010″ oversize, both with two sets of rings), extra bearings, spark plugs, and an assortment of specialty bolts for specific points on the saw. You’d be surprised how many places on chainsaws that standard metric bolts won’t work because of [the small] head size [of those used on chainsaws]. Procure and toss in any specialty tools you might need to work on your model saw. For example, my Stihl requires extra-long metric Torx drivers.

I never take the chainsaw out without also taking a one-man buck saw, some shallow and steep hardwood wedges and a 4 pound [sledge] hammer. Once I misjudged which way a tree was balanced and wound up disassembling the saw, leaving the bar with the chain on it pinched in the cut. Came back the next day with another saw to drop the tree and retrieve my bar and chain. Since then I’ve gotten away with cutting an unbalanced tree from the wrong side by using the wedges to keep the cut open behind the bar.
Take the time to learn how to use your saw safely and efficiently. – Homer

JWR Adds: Kevlar safety chaps are available from Northern Tool & Equipment (Search on item # 181931.) Along with gloves, goggles, earmuffs and a safety helmet, I consider chaps a must. I agree with Homer’s recommendation on carrying a sledge hammer and wedges when felling. Don’t use metal wedges. Just one brief touch of the moving chain would mean a badly dulled chain at the very least, and perhaps a fire or trip to the hospital. For felling, use only hardwood wedges or the new plastic wedges available at saw shops.