Month: April 2018

Preparedness Notes for Friday – April 27, 2018

On this day in 1789, the crew of the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific. o o o We are still looking for entries into Round 76 of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest. If you have an idea about something you’ve been meaning to share with other preppers, now is an excellent time to write it up and send it in to us. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 76 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes …


The Simple Things, by The Watchman

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So you think you have this prepping thing pretty much down pat by now? Or are you new to this world of prepping? You have your water filters, generators, fuel, guns, ammo, food stores, medical supplies, a bug out vehicle, and heating elements. You have researched, taken courses, practiced drills and you have completed a mock bug out. If you said “yes” to any of this small list, you are already off to a good start. But sometimes we overlook the simple things we need in order to get by day to day. List of Essential Things One of the …


Letter: Flying Commercial Airlines With a Weapon

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JWR, Hugh, and SurvivalBlog Readers, As an avid proponent and practitioner of concealed carry, I responded with mixed emotions when my wife informed me that her latest business trip would require us to travel to one of the most progressive-liberal enclaves in the state of Florida: South Beach, Miami, second home of the Kardashians. Unable to procure a last-minute and long-term kennel to board our dogs for an extended road trip, flying was the only choice. The airline provided by her company for our trip: the NRA-bashing Delta Airlines. Unable to remember the last time I was without my concealed …


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 the possibility of a coming Euro collapse. (See the Forex section.)   Precious Metals: Gold Prices Unchanged Following Mixed Durable Goods Data   Global Economy: Japan will reach 2% inflation target and can begin reducing stimulus in five years, BOJ’s Kuroda says. JWR’s Comments: The …




A 21st Century Tangibles Investing Rationale

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I often have people ask me: “Why do you stress tangibles investing, Mr. Rawles?” In my estimation, tangibles always trump intangibles. I have three primary reasons why I distrust intangibles:: First: Nearly all intangible investments are denominated in fiat currencies. Because of this there is an underlying currency inflation, revaluation, or repudiation risk. Even when buying stock in the safest, most secure and impeccably-managed company it still has some risk when the investment is denominated in Dollars. Ditto for Dollar-denominated bonds. Ditto for redeemable life insurance policies and annuities. Ditto for business investments. Ditto for money market funds. Ditto for certificates …


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”. Big brother is watching you through your friendly spy. Guess who? The Outdoors Are Not Safe Penn State University administration has ruled that the outdoors are just too dangerous for their student body. Three clubs, the Outing Club (A wilderness camping club), the Nittany Grotto Caving Club and the Nittany Divers SCUBA Club have been determined to have too high a risk to allow students to participate in any planned outings. The …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – April 25, 2018

Today is the birthday of physicist, inventor, and entrepreneur Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937). He was known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission as well as for the development of Marconi’s law and a radio telegraph system. He is often considered the inventor of radio. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 76 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to …


Preparing for Chaos, Theory and Application- Part 2, by DF

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In part 1 of this two-part article, I wrote about the theory behind the reason for preparing for chaos and provided and overview of the laws of supply and demand. Then, I moved from theory into practical matters. I began with alternative feed for chickens, as chickens are a means for sustaining us when the SHTF and our transportation system is not delivering feed, chicks, or supplies to our stores. We have looked at crabapples and how to provide them with various insects. Now, let’s look at sunflowers to use as chicken feed. Sunflowers/Sunflower Seeds One of my neighbors grew …


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 Bitcoin Market Manipulation. (See the Cryptos section.)   Precious Metals: First up, at Zero Hedge: Russia Buys 300,000 Ounces Of Gold In March – Nears 2,000 Tons In Reserves o o o Silver Short Squeeze Unable to Ignite the Gold Sector…Yet o o o Michael …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on RTIC Coolers. Books: With my prematurely aging eyes, this has become my preferred printing size: Holy Bible: KJV Large Print Thumb Index Edition: Tan o  o  o Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington   Movies: A Noble Lie: Oklahoma City 1995. Available on DVD. Also available for free download for Amazon Prime members. o o o The Chronicles of Melanie. Available on DVD. Also available for free download for Amazon Prime members.



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – April 24, 2018

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April 24th is the birthday of Carolyn Cole(born 1961), a well-known staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times. For a few years in the late 1960s, the Cole family lived next door to JWR’s parents’ house in Livermore, California. That little girl with whom he played hide-and-seek would grow up to earn a Pulitzer Prize, two World Press Photo awards, and be named Photojournalist Of The Year. Congrats and Happy Birthday, Carolyn! This is also the day in 1915 of the Armenian Genocide, where Ottoman (Turkey) Muslims slaughtered 1.5 million of their Christian neighbors, intellectuals, and community leaders. The Ottoman …