Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 8, 2025

On December 8th, 1864, James Clerk Maxwell‘s paper “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” was first read by the Royal Society in London. (It was published by the Royal Society in 1865.)

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December 8th, 1880: 5,000 armed Boers gathered in Paardekraal, South Africa.

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Today also marks the birthday of Eli Whitney, (1765–1825) the inventor of the labor-saving cotton gin, several firearms, and dozens of other mechanical devices. He was the first to demonstrate the advantages of fully interchangeable parts in firearms manufacture.

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Today’s feature is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

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We need more entries for the nonfiction writing contest.  Send ’em in!

Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starters, by Thomas Christianson

Each Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starter (SAF stick) is kind of like a giant match which is 5.75 inches long, 1.13 inches wide, and 0.25 inches thick. The shaft of a SAF stick seems to be made out of some sort of pressed wood that is impregnated with a waxy substance. When the match-like head of a SAF stick is struck on the striking strip on the box, it ignites the SAF stick which then burns for approximately 12 minutes. In the process, the SAF stick creates enough heat to effectively ignite most types of kindling.

[JWR Adds: The SAF sticks are somewhat similar in size to the famous locofoco matches of the 1800s.]

The only significant drawback of SAF sticks that I discovered during my testing is that they are easily blown out when first struck in windy conditions.

A box of 48 SAF sticks cost $14.73 at walmart.com at the time of this writing. That comes out to just under $0.31 each. SAF sticks are “Assembled in USA”.Continue reading“Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starters, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following simple recipe for Sago, Rice, or Barley Soup is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is just one of the dozens of bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available to order in January of 2026.

Ingredients
  • 1 quart brown or white stock, cleared or not cleared
  • 2 tablespoons sago, rice, or barley
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Soak sago one-half hour in enough stock or water to cover it.
  2. After that, bring the remainder of the stock to a simmering-point.
  3. Add soaked sago and simmer in a closed saucepan for one-half hour, or until sago is soft. Season and serve.
NOTES

Rice may be substituted for sago. If barley is used it should be soaked overnight.

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  An Aurora Borealis display photographed on December 5, 2025 by Vince Medina of North Pole, Alaska. (Posted with permission.)

The thumbnails below are click-expandable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“I think part of preparedness is always being quite cognizant of just how tenuous our lives can be. We know that there is a future where we’re huddled around a campfire of burning 2×4s where the tornado took the house, where we look in the fridge and theres nothing but a box of baking soda and ketchup, where we spend hours a day looking for a job as we watch our bank accounts dwindle, where we feel unsafe, insecure, and hopeless. That’s why we prepare…to mitigate those events, to reduce our fragility, to increase our resilience. And when you’re aware of what the bad side of life could look like, it tends to make you more aware and grateful for the good side that you’re experiencing.” – Commander Zero, from his Notes From The Bunker blog

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — December 7, 2025

On this day in 1941 — also a Sunday — Japanese bombers launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, precipitating the entry of the United States into World War II.

On the same day, Adolf Hitler issued his Night and Fog (“Nacht und Nebel”) Decree, a secret order for the arrest and execution of “persons endangering German security.”

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On December 7, 1972, American astronaut Eugene Andrew Cernan commanded the last crewed flight to the Moon, effectively ending the Apollo program.

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On Dec. 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

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Today’s feature article is by JWR.

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We need entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

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

JWR’s Introductory Note: This is an update to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in June, 2008. It includes an adenda from my first wife Linda (“The Memsahib”), who passed away in 2009. It is part of a series of SurvivalBlog 20th Anniversary update re-posts, in recognition of the fact that the majority of readers did not join us until recent years.

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I often stress that a key to survival is not what you have, but rather what you know. (See my Precepts of Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy web page.) In part, I wrote:

Skills Beat Gadgets and Practicality Beats Style. The modern world is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those only come with study, training, and practice. Any armchair survivalist can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an M4gery Carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality.

To expand on those precepts, consider the following:

Balanced logistics are important for everyone, but absolutely crucial for someone that is on a tight budget. If you have a three-year food supply, then a quantity miscalculation for one particular food item will likely be just an inconvenience. But if you only have a three-month supply, then a miscalculation can be a serious hazard. Be logical, systematic, and dispassionate in your preparations. You need to develop some detailed lists, starting with my “List of Lists” spreadsheet. Be realistic and scale your retreat logistics purchasing program to your budget. Avoid going into debt to “get prepared.” A friend of mine who was a Physician’s Assistant went way overboard in 1998 and 1999, stocking up for Y2K. The massive credit card debt that he racked up eventually contributed to a prolonged mental depression and his eventual suicide. May he rest in peace.

Choose your retreat location wisely. If you can’t afford 40 acres, then be sure to pick the right 5 acres or 10 acres. Finding a property that adjoins public land, and/or property with like-minded neighbors, can make a huge difference. The smaller your land-buying budget, the longer your search should be, to get the most for your money.

In today’s uneven real estate market, don’t overlook the possibility of finding a foreclosed (“bank-owned”) farm or ranch at a below-market price. Watch the foreclosure listings in your intended retreat region closely. Two websites that I recommend for finding foreclosed properties are ForeclosureRadar.com and Zillow.com. (At the latter, type in the word “foreclosure” as a keyword under the “More” tab.  By the way, the other keyword that I like to use at Zillow is “gravity” to find properties with gravity-fed spring water.)

Pinching Pennies

Buy used instead of new. It goes without saying that your purchasing dollars will go farther if you concentrate on quality used tools, guns, and vehicles. Remember that preparedness is not a beauty contest. There are no “Style” points awarded. So owning gear with some dings and scratches is not an issue. Just be sure to inspect used items very carefully. In the case of buying a used vehicle, it is worthwhile to run a check on the vehicle’s history through a service like Carfax.com. This will reveal if the vehicle might have been repaired after a major collision or a flood. Also, hire a qualified mechanic to do some checks before you buy a used rig. That will be money well spent!

Clip coupons, watch and wait for seasonal sales, shop at thrift stores, go to garage sales and flea markets, attend weekend farm and estate auctions, and learn to watch CraigsList and Freecycle like a hawk. The only thing better that finding inexpensive used items is having thing given to you. This is a common occurrence with Freecycle. For example, it is not unusual to have someone give you several dozen Mason-type canning jars. Just be sure to return the favor, in the spirit of Freecycle.

Strike a balance between quality and quantity. I’m a big believer in the old adage: “Better is the enemy of good enough.” Why buy a $425 Chris Reeve folding knife when a used $40 CRKT or Cold Steel brand pocketknife will provide 100% of the functionality and 95% of the quality of a custom knife? Buying at 1/10th the price means that you will have money available for other important logistics and training.

Take advantage of free or low-cost training. Project Appleseed, for example, offers shooting training at near their cost. I’ve discussed other such training opportunities at length previously in SurvivalBlog. In my Precepts page, I noted:

Tools Without Training Are Almost Useless. Owning a gun doesn’t make someone a “shooter” any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer. With proper training and practice, you will be miles ahead of the average citizen. Get advanced medical training. Get the best firearms training that you can afford. Learn about amateur radio from your local affiliated ARRL club. Practice raising a vegetable garden each summer. Some skills are only perfected over a period of years.

Learn to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials. Do you really need cable television? Eating out? Magazine or movie streaming subscriptions? Snacks from the vending machine?  Use the cash generated to buy the really important things, like storage food.

When you don’t have cash, then apply sweat equity. Do you need a pasture fence or garden fence at your retreat property? Don’t hire someone and “have it done”. Build it yourself. Not only will you save money, but you will also learn valuable skills. You might even lose some of that flab around your midsection, in the process. Also consider that people are often willing to barter their excess tangibles in trade for your skills and time. Do you have an elderly neighbor with a big gun collection? Then offer to paint his house in trade for a couple of guns or a few of those heavy ammo cans that he won’t live long enough to shoot? In my Precepts page, I wrote:

Invest Your Sweat Equity. Even if some of you have a millionaire’s budget, you need to learn how to do things for yourself, and be willing to get your hands dirty. In a societal collapse, the division of labor will be reduced tremendously. Odds are that the only “skilled craftsmen” available to build a shed, mend a fence, shuck corn, repair an engine, or pitch manure will be you.and your family. A byproduct of sweat equity is muscle tone and proper body weight. Hiring someone to deliver three cords of firewood is a far cry from felling, cutting, hauling, splitting, and stacking it yourself.

People often assume that because my blog, nonfiction books, and novels are widely read that I am wealthy. But I actually have a very modest income. The only reason that our retreat is so well stocked is that I have been systematically stocking up for 45 years. I am not a “yuppie survivalist” as at least one fellow blogger claimed. I gave up my Big City salaried job 20 years ago, to concentrate on living self-sufficiently. Part of this was a conscious decision to raise our children in a more wholesome environment. One major drawback is that the Rawles Ranch is in such a remote area that we don’t get into town very often.

The Memsahib Added: The good thing about living so remotely is there are no shopping opportunities. Even if I had the urge to indulge in some retail therapy, I’d have to drive more than two hours to do it. The next best thing you can do is cancel your magazine subscriptions. If you analyze the contents of most magazines you will realize that they are designed to make you dissatisfied with your clothes, your home decor, garden, electronics, and autos because they aren’t the latest, greatest, and most fashionable. I also highly recommend selling or Freecycling your television, for the very same reason. A couple of exceptions to our no-magazine rule are Backwoods Home,  and Home Power. [JWR Adds this update: The latter is now defunct, but there are great archives still available. It was published from October 1987 to November 2018.] Both publications are heavy on practical skills and light on advertising.

In closing, do the best you can with what you have. Be truly frugal. I grew up in a family that still remembered both our pioneer history and the more recent lessons of the Great Depression. One of our family mottos is: “Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.” I thank my late mother for passing that wisdom along to my generation, and I did the same, to my children. – JWR

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

The Good News: Venezuelan President Maduro Now Has An American Advisor on Controlling Inflation.

The Bad News: The Advisor is Joe Biden

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” – Galatians 6:1-10 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 6, 2025

On December 6, 1884, an aluminum capstone was set atop the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.. (In the 1880s, aluminum was still rare and considered precious.) At 555 feet, this made it the tallest man-made structure in the world, overtaking Cologne Cathedral.

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December 6, 1534: Quito, Ecuador, was founded by Spanish colonists on the ruins of an Incan city.

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And on December 6, 1917, the French munitions cargo ship SS Mont Blanc collided with Norwegian SS Imo in the harbor of Halifax, Canada. The resulting explosion killed at least 1,700 and injured more than 9,000 people. This event has been gauged as the world’s largest pre-atomic explosion.

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Today’s feature article is a re-post from our friend and fellow American Redoubt resident Brandon Smith. He is the editor of the free Alt-Market.us website and the by-subscription newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch. Both publications are well worth reading.

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We need some entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

 

 

America’s Poison Melting Pot and the Luxury of Tolerance, by Brandon Smith

Modern western culture is an absolute anomaly in the history of human civilization. If one studies the principles and doctrines of nearly every other society and empire around the world, you will not find one that allows mass immigration of foreigners with contrary ideologies. You will not find one that allows foreigners to migrate without strict assimilation and loyalty.

From the Arab states, to China, South Korea, and Japan (until recently), to India and beyond, every culture maintains a sense of cultural supremacy. There is an absolute expectation that newcomers will adapt to political policies, belief systems, social norms, etc. Most of the world for thousands of years has operated in this way. Only the modern west deviates and only the west is chastised as “xenophobic” for establishing barriers to foreign influence.

The US, in particular, has been typecast as a “global melting pot”, even though the vast majority of immigration up until the last half of the 20th century was from other western nations with similar beliefs and traditions. The melting pot theory was largely promoted and glorified by socialist elites in the early 1900s and was not a value of the common American.Continue reading“America’s Poison Melting Pot and the Luxury of Tolerance, by Brandon Smith”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

Along with our dog, Lily and I took a three-mile ski/hike up into the adjoining National Forest two days ago. This was the first time this year that there was enough snow to ski on.  We saw a couple of sets of quite distinctive wolf tracks in the snow. The paw prints made our large dog’s prints look tiny, by comparison. Needless to say, we both pack pistols whenever we are any distance from our ranch house.  (Typically, that is our Glock Model 30 .45 ACP pistols, with 13-round Glock Model 21 magazines.)

This past week, I had a “Holy Grail” piece come in from an estate sale purchase, for the Elk Creek Company inventory.  It is a very rare pre-1899 production example of a Model 1898 8×57 Mauser sporting rifle. This rifle was crafted by Tiroler Waffenfabrik Peterlongo, a renowned Innsbruck, Austria gunmaker from 1826 through 1898. This is the first time in more than 40 years in the antique gun business that I’ve ever been able to get a very early  Model 1898 rifle in captivity. Less than 1/10th of 1% of Model 1898 Mausers are pre-production Federally-exempt antiques, and of those, just a handful were originally made as sporting rifles.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.

Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” – Zephaniah 3:1-9 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 5, 2025

On December 5th, 771, Charlemagne became the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman. Geneticists have estimated that the majority of modern Europeans and Americans of European descent are distantly related to Charlemagne, who fathered 18 children.

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And on December 5th, 1964, the first Medal of Honor awarded to a serviceman for action in Vietnam was presented to Captain Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York. Captain Donlon and his Special Forces team were manning Camp Nam Dong, a mountain outpost near the borders of Laos and North Vietnam.

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Today’s feature piece is a brief history lesson from Senior Editor James Wesley, Rawles, (JWR).

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We now need entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

America’s Future Can Be Seen in Spain’s Past

My goal in the essay is to use a well-known historical precedent to illustrate the U.S. Federal government’s untenable indebtedness predicament.

Spain, 1500-1590

GranadaIn 1500, the New World had just recently been discovered, and Spain had just recently forced the Moorish invaders from the Iberian Peninsula. Expanding their army, expanding their navy, and the lengthy campaign to kick out the Moors had been expensive for the Spanish crown. They also needed to maintain a large army to keep the Islamic North Africans from returning. There were also the expenses of building and supplying a large fleet of ships, in the hopes of bringing back treasure and warding off pirates. And they also needed to arm and equip an army to subdue the various native tribes in the Americas.

When they began seizing territory from largely Stone Age tribesmen in the Americas, the Spanish luckily had the advantages of Spanish steel, matchlock muskets, cannons, and (unwittingly) deadly European microbes on their side. The latter included Swine flu, Smallpox, chickenpox, bubonic plague, measles, typhus, influenza, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and malaria. These germs killed far more native warriors than the Spanish soldiers and sailors ever did.Continue reading“America’s Future Can Be Seen in Spain’s Past”