Family Earthquake Preparedness: Are You Ready?

The recent strong earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska underscores the importance of family earthquake readiness. Thankfully, we live in a country with modern building standards. This is not in the case of many Third World nations, where unreinforced masonry construction is the norm. In the Third World, folks tend to be very stingy with reinforcing bar (“rebar”). So its seems that every time there is a large earthquake in those regions, there are building collapses, with large loss of life. By far, the safest houses for earthquakes are of wood frame construction. This is because such structures can flex and sway, …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

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:

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”. It seems that a Skynet rising isn’t too far fetched anymore. We’re only talking chess here, but it is a short leap from chess to world domination given the right conditions. New Jersey Magazine Ban Law ANJRPC Releases Guide To Comply With NJ Magazine Ban By December 10 JWR’s Comment: If any New Jersey SurvivalBlog readers have any 11+ round magazines that they are considering turning in for destruction, PLEASE DON’T!  Instead, …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker: and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. …




Preparedness Notes for Friday – December 07, 2018

On a December morning in 1941, America was caught sleeping. Then there was that September morning, in 2001. Let’s pray that nothing like those days ever happens again. – JWR o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 80 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 the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …




Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 4, by M.C.

If things go very wrong, such as in an EOTWAWKI or SHTF scenario, you may find yourself without access to doctors and hospitals and may have to take care of yourself and your family. This is why we are looking at common weeds that can be used as food and medicine. You may want to print this and save it for such a time, when things are stressful and you may not remember the information here. Warning: Never eat a wild plant unless you are 100 percent positive of its identification. Get yourself a good field guide, like Edible Wild …




Alaska Earthquake After Action Report, by S.J.

Alaska had a bit of excitement last Friday when a 7.0 earthquake struck. Although it wasn’t a massive quake per se, it was very close to Alaska’s main population center, Anchorage. I had a few observations to pass along: People behaved themselves well. Granted, the aftermath of the quake wasn’t too extreme, but overall people were on their best behavior. I think this shows that you can usually expect better than normal behavior from people in situations where the disaster is perceived as something that will be solved shortly. My preparations gave me great peace of mind, in addition to …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news 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 Colt New Service revolvers. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)   Precious Metals: Silver was flat this week, but gold took a jump, following the bad news on Wall Street. o  o  o Gold: Silver: The Markets: What’s Next For 2019 o  o  o The …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday – December 06, 2018

On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending the institution of slavery. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A …




Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 3, by M.C.

We are taking a look at common weeds that can be used as food and medicine. If things go very wrong, such as in an EOTWAWKI or SHTF scenario, you may find yourself without access to doctors and hospitals and may have to take care of yourself and your family. You may want to print this and save it for such a time, when things are stressful and you may not remember the information here. Warning: Never eat a wild plant unless you are 100 percent positive of its identification. Get yourself a good field guide, like Edible Wild Plants …




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”. A universal ID proposal is here – proposed by private industry. Registering Firearms Reader B.B. sent in this article on the latest gun confiscation scheme in Colorado. Since the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the state has seen a steady march towards anti-gun positions. Despite the fact that it used to be a fairly pro-gun state, the politics are dominated by the urban areas. Now boulder has passed a law that restricts …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“No way that any astronaut worth his salt volunteered for the space program to become a hero. You don’t select astronauts who want fame and fortune. You select them because they’re the best test pilots in the world, they know it, and it’s a personal challenge for them. And the astronauts of today are exactly the same. ” – Astronaut Alan B. Shepard of Freedom 7 (Project Mercury) and Apollo 14 fame. His experience at the first American in space is described in Tom Wolfe’s bestselling book, The Right Stuff.  




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – December 05, 2018

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. Just before two o’clock in the morning on July 6, 1964, hordes of Viet Cong attacked the camp. He was shot in the stomach, but Donlon stuffed a handkerchief into the wound, cinched up his belt, and kept fighting. He was wounded three more times, but he continued fighting–manning a …