Discipline: The Most Critical Piece of Your Emergency Preparations By J.D.

There is a wonderful meme making the rounds on the Internet that applies to our emergency preparations. It states: “He who lives without discipline dies without honor.” Some claim it to either be a quote attributed to Odin, a pagan god of the Germans and Norse, or an ancient Icelandic proverb. Similarly, if you read survivalist literature long enough, you will come across this idea: “software is more important than hardware.” I have no idea if these quotes are attributable to anyone, but I believe these ideas hold the key to becoming truly survivable in any situation. It’s Not Enough- …




Letter: Question About Storing Carbohydrates When You Can’t Eat Them

Hugh, I have been following the blog for quite a while. I even have the 2014 CD archive. My question is, I have been storing up rice and beans like a squirrel getting ready for winter. The problem is these are all dense carbohydrate loaded foods. It turns out most of the medications my doctors prescribe are to negate the effects of these types of food. With high blood pressure and high A1C numbers, what’s a fellow to do? I certainly understand that in a crisis I will need that quick energy, but it seems counterproductive to plan on consuming …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 Bitcoin recovery expert David Veksler. (See the Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: First up, over at Sharps Pixley: Lawrie Williams: Russia May Now be World’s No. 2 Gold Miner Cryptos (David Veksler): One of my regular consulting clients in the American Redoubt recently told me a …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow.” – James Madison




Preparedness Notes for Thursday – February 15, 2018

February 15th: I’d like to wish Mike Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) a Happy Birthday! o o o Archive Update: The 2005-2017 waterproof blog Archive USB sticks started shipping yesterday. The response has been overwhelming so it will take a few days to work through the backlog of orders. Also, just a reminder: We pulled the entire process, except for credit card processing, in-house this year. When you make an order, be sure to use a valid e-mail address so the system can send you updates on your order. When your order has been completed, we will destroy the information …




One of the World’s Most Useful Skills, by S.V.

My father impressed upon me a useful skill that has saved my life on more than one occasion. Whether it be traveling on dangerous highways in the saddle of a motorcycle or watching for a gun in the hands of a suspect, constant and consistent situational awareness is a critical survival skill. When the grid shudders to a stop or money becomes more useful as toilet paper than currency, our exercise of practical situational awareness will mean the difference between life and death on a daily basis. This is why we should take actionable steps to continually hone this perishable …




Letter: Asking for Preparedness Advice

Hi there! I heard JWR on InfoWars speaking on investing. This evening, my husband and I looked up your website and found the investment area and read your wisdom. We really already knew what to do, but I find myself overwhelmed and then get distracted. Your advice was to get prepared for a crisis first with beans, bullets, and Band-Aids! I love that. So now we’ll get going back in that direction. We have 13 children. And that’s not a joke. We were wondering if your readers could please point me in a direction that would give me a simple …




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and families in the Florida shooting. National Debt is Unsustainable A top intelligence official, Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, is warning that the U.S.’s national debt isn’t just unsustainable, but it puts national security at risk. This warning comes after Trump signed a two-year budget deal that basically wasn’t a budget. Instead, it boosted domestic and military spending by $300 million …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Mars had been a colony for a long time and it was filled with the best scientists and technologists humanity had to offer. We were ready to govern ourselves and start a new nation of our own, but everything we built, or mined, or made, was still the property of old mother Earth.” – Solomon Epstein, from the television series The Expanse. (Based on the novels of James S.A. Corey)




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – February 14, 2018

February 14 is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lucas (born 1928, died June 5, 2008). During the Iwo Jima campaign, this 17-year-old won the Medal of Honor for unhesitatingly hurling himself over his comrades upon one grenade and for pulling another one under himself. One of the grenades exploded, and Lucas absorbed the entire blasting force of it with his own body. PFC Lucas was the youngest Marine ever to receive the Medal of Honor. (He was just 13 when he forged his mother’s signature to enlist.) o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry …




Selecting a Portable Handheld Two-Way Radio, by R.

Recently I purchased a good two-way HT (slang for a hand-held Ham radio), and I thought I would share my thinking process behind picking it. General Points Here are a few general points. (Later I will get into the specific details.) Conditions and Reasons May Differ First off, I want to say that these are the conditions and reasons I used to make my choice. Yours may be different. I have a Ham radio license. This means I can operate within a wider frequency range than those frequencies covered by an off-the-shelf radio (FRS/GMRS). If you just don’t want to …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 becoming rare wristwatch pickers. Precious Metals: Hedge Funds Sell Gold, Silver As Turmoil Hits Equity Markets o  o  o Gary Tanashian: Silver In Position To Lead Gold Stocks: Record $23 Billion Flees World’s Largest ETF   Cryptos: Bitcoin Daily Chart Alert – Price Recovery Continues …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on garden hose repairs. (See the Gear section.) Books: Principles of Protection: U. S. Handbook of NBC Weapon Fundamentals and Shelter Engineering Design Standards o o o How to Build the Perfect Off-Grid Home. Sadly, this very useful book went out of print when Paladin Press recently closed its doors. I recommend grabbing a copy while they are still available at reasonable prices. Movies: I’m sure that most SurvivalBlog readers have heard the phrase “Jews In The Attic.”  …