Month: December 2017

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“But let it not be said that we did nothing. Let not those who love the power of the welfare/warfare state label the dissenters of authoritarianism as unpatriotic or uncaring. Patriotism is more closely linked to dissent than it is to conformity and a blind desire for safety and security. Understanding the magnificent rewards of a free society makes us unbashful in its promotion, fully realizing that maximum wealth is created and the greatest chance for peace comes from a society respectful of individual liberty.’ Former Congressman Dr. Ron Paul



The Survival Community’s Dirty Little Secrets

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It’s no secret that the survival community has seen some hard times in recent months. During the last few years of the Obama administration, he was seen by many as the best firearms salesman ever. NICS background checks set record after record, especially after the anti-gun measures called for by the Democratic party. A Cycle of Slump and Recovery After President Trump’s election, the firearms industry suffered from a terrible slump in sales, as many felt a bit of relief from the doomsday predictions and the resulting oversupply of weapons on the market. The survival community as a whole tracked …


Letter: California’s December Wildfires

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Hello Hugh, As I write this, the Thomas Fire is still ravaging Ventura County, California. Three lessons need to be taken away: Gather your own intel, Be ready to go if it gets close, even if the threat seems remote; and, Live miles away from brushy or forested areas at risk of fire. This gives people more time to evacuate with more of their possessions, or at least have better comfort about the fire. The more information that is available allows people to make better decisions in real time, rather than wait until the water is so high they need …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. My blood is boiling today over the jury verdict in the Arizona shooting. Another incident of the thin blue line abuse. Skynet Reader H.L. sent in this article on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to design and build more AI. Apparently, the child AI that results is better at performing the designated test tasks than other AI. Some seem to be okay with this development and others not so much. …



Preparedness Notes for Saturday – December 09, 2017

December 9th, 1914 is the birthday of Maximo Guillermo “Max” Manus. He was one of the few Norwegians who had the testicular fortitude to put his life on the line, fighting the Nazi occupiers. (There surely would have been more active resistance fighters, but fearing widespread reprisal executions by the Germans, King H7 asked the civilian populace to stand down.) Max Manus passed away in 1996. I would have liked to have met him. His exploits are fairly accurately shown in the movie Max Manus: Man of War. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round …


Don’t Be Prey, by L.H.

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Nobody wants to be prey when things go wrong. I don’t have a cabin in the woods stocked with ammo and dried food with a well out back. I don’t have a pickup and trailer loaded with extra fuel waiting for the great escape. Where I Live I live in a city of a million. Here, we have street people living under bridges and dope shops on every other city block. (It’s legal here.) It’s also freezing cold in the Rockies and dry. All in all, it’s not the perfect place to weather TEOTWAWKI. But it’s what we have. The …


The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. The socialist utopia of Venezuela makes the news again over the black market from prescription drugs due to shortages. California Fires Wildfires raging across Southern California have shut down major commuter arteries, suspended movie filming, wiped out more than $3 billion of market value and are threatening some of the sates lucrative crops in addition to destroying homes. Ventura County, home to a third of California’s Avocado has seen tens of thousands …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord.” – Amos 2:9-11 (KJV)



Mid-Scale Grain Gardening in Alaska- Part 4, By Alaskan Gardeners

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My wife and I have developed a mid-scale grain garden and have shared much of the crop operations earlier in this article series. We are in the middle of disclosing modifications to the Rodale Thresher as part of our Threshing and Winnowing operation. Let’s continue. Threshing and Winnowing (continued) Exit Modifications To Avoid Lost Grain I used ½” galvanized hardware cloth for the exit screen as shown in Figure 10. Most of the grain lost from the thresher is via sweeping out seed along with threshing debris. Counter this by installing finished 1” X 1” boards across the screen to …


Letter: Battery Comparison and Cost

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Hugh, Has there ever been a cost basis study comparing rechargeable batteries versus changeable taking into account original cost of batteries and charger, cost of purchased electricity at today’s average rate, or if solar charged the cost of that equipment. As my rechargeable batteries lose life and I see changeable batteries going for cheap, I am beginning to wonder if loading up on the cheap expendables isn’t cheaper in the long run. – R.T. HJL’s Comment: I’m sure there have been cost studies, but I am not aware of any. However, you can do a basic comparison on costs yourself. …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on derivatives counterparty risk. Precious Metals: We’ll start with this from Andrew Hecht at Seeking Alpha: Precious Metals in the Final Month of 2017 o  o  o David Morgan: What drives the Silver Price — Supply or Demand? o  o  o Reader R.B. wrote to mention …