JWR Replies: The nutritive value of ramen is marginal, so it should not be considered a primary storage food. But I can see the wisdom of having some on hand as a food storage supplement, especially in lean times when hunger pangs will be a distinct possibility. There are lots of interesting ramen recipe web sites on the Internet, like this one with 430 recipes. Coincidentally, instant ramen is nearing its 50th anniversary.

In my experience, ramen, like other bulk pasta, is particularly vulnerable to vermin. I strongly recommend storing it in 6 gallon food grade buckets with gasketed lids. If you are short on buckets, One alternative--albeit providing a shorter shelf life--is finding metal cabinets (such as military wall lockers) with tight-fitting doors. These will at least keep your pasta safe from mice and rats. (But not necessarily safe from insects.)

As I type this I have already seen .223 go over $240 per 1,000 and 7.62x39 is quickly approaching $200 per 1,000. Wal-Mart just raised prices last weekend on 12 gauge and .22 caliber. What was priced at $11.50 is now $13.50. Best Regards, - Robert D.

JWR Replies: The key question is: How much reinforced concrete? As I recently noted in the blog, reliable communication in a cluttered urban environment is "iffy" for the typical FRS and GMRS hand-held transceivers on the consumer market. My preference is for the MURS band hand-helds. Not only will you get better range, but you will also be operating in a less commonly used frequency band. This will give you marginally better communications security. (But with the oft-repeated proviso: no radio transmission should be considered 100% "secure.") I recommend the MURS Radios company (one of our advertisers) as a reputable source of transceivers. They also do custom frequency programming, and sell both accessories and MURS-compatible perimeter intrusion detection systems.

Philip N. flagged this: Depression survivors: 'We lived the hard way'

   o o o

Jack B. sent this: Lights are on, but banks increasingly closed: James Saft. And meanwhile, several readers mentioned this ominous prediction: Credit crunch may take out large US bank warns former IMF chief.

   o o o

Susan Z. sent this from the ever-cheery journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Dollar surge will not stop America feeling the effects of a global crunch

   o o o

Our friend John ("Commander Zero") up in Montana mentioned in his Notes from The Bunker blog an article about leaking FEMA fuel tanks. John's comment: "The fact that the tanks themselves are leaking isn't noteworthy to me. What is noteworthy is why those tanks are there in the first place. Years ago the girlfriend [now his wife] and I looked at buying one of these communications bunkers and it had originally been equipped with a 3,000 gallon fuel tank. The tank had been removed when the place was decommissioned but you could see the hole where it used to be. So, if a person were to get hold of this list of tanks that need attention you would also have, de facto, a list of hardened facilities and sites since no one was gonna dedicate a resource like fuel and storage to a facility that would crumble at the first bit overpressure."

I work on disease protection for the government. This involves responding to bird flu pandemics, terrorist attacks etc. Being an island at the bottom of the world with not many threats, it’s an easy job. But I do believe that there is lots of trouble coming in the future from climate change, increasing world populations in areas that cannot support any more people, Peak Oil, et cetera. So in my view, thinking people should prepare for trouble ahead and develop personal plans for survival.

The reason I have written in today is that from some of the posts that people have submitted to SurvivalBlog, many are planning just for total breakdown in society, everyone for themselves, point the guns out the door and survive at all costs. From my limited reading and understanding of such situations, total breakdown would only occur in extreme events like total nuclear war. For example, even in Germany during war time with the Russians advancing one direction, and the allies the other, it had a functioning society where you could buy goods and services and the government still functioned. Thus perhaps people should have several plans. One for total breakdown (like nuclear war), one for minor disruptions like financial meltdowns/depressions and another for global pandemics/biological warfare.

Hopefully we will only experience minor disruptions and we should have already planned ahead by growing as much of our own food as possible, reduced our mortgages, moved closer to work, kept food stocks, stored heating fuel etc. Being prepared for something to happen tomorrow will lessen people's reliance on the modern supermarket and the expected doubling of prices, shortages etc. In the event of a pandemic, then avoiding public places and other people is a very good idea, so food stocks will help and being able to work from home is a major advantage.

My point is that people need to plan for a number of scenarios, not just "let's retreat and point the guns". I personally will be trying to help my community survive any disruption, for the sake of my children, loved ones and country. Previous generations have faced bad times before and moved through them without losing their sense of community. My grandfather used to tell me about life during the Depression, where he used to hunt rabbits and other game to stretch the family budget and how they used to reuse things to save money. You could buy things, but you just didn’t have any money. But even during those hard times he said there was always a strong community spirit and they always helped out others who were less able to cope. We should all plan for being able to help others by being self reliant.

Lastly if people want to relocate to an area that is not targeted for nuclear war, has a modern economy, speaks English, and has less than half a million people in an area the size of Ireland, then move here to Tasmania. We even like Americans. - M. L.

   o o o

The Russians continue to claim publicly that they are "withdrawing" from Georgia. If so, then why is their armor still heading south? Perhaps they're planning to withdraw by way of Tibilisi.

   o o o

North Texas school district will let teachers carry guns. Why isn't this already the norm, across the nation? It makes sense to me. OBTW, Naish Piazza of Front Siight is offering free firearms training to the teachers and administrators from that school district. The Four Day Defensive Handgun Course mentioned is the same one that The Memsahib and I took, and the same course that is included with Front Sight's current "Guns and Gear " offer. Take advantage of it!

   o o o

Bob at Ready Made Resources mentioned that they have added Jaffrey's Fruit Presses to their product line. With harvest season in full swing here in the northern hemisphere, this is an important tool to own.

   o o o

Fay prompts tropical storm warning for South Florida. I trust that that SurvivalBlog readers in the southeastern US are far better prepared than most of their neighbors. You'll be in our prayers.