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 antique jewelry. (See the Tangibles Investing section.   Precious Metals: How Will The Rollback Of Dodd-Frank Affect Gold Price? o  o  o Risk Of Lower Lows In Gold Price Remains Prior To Spectacular Rally To Follow   Economy & Finance: Fed’s Kaplan: ‘We no …







Preparedness Notes for Sunday – November 25, 2018

November 25th is the birthday of economist and comedian Ben Stein. His unscripted monologue on economics from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most memorable scenes in American cinema. By the way, Stein spends part of each year at his second home in Sandpoint, Idaho, so he is an honorary Redoubter. I’ve heard that he plans to retire here. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 79 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 …




How to Build a Compact, Portable Range Barricade- Part 2, by I.S.

This article describes how to build a compact (folds up to a 4’x3’ travel size), portable (setup or takedown in a couple minutes) range barricade. This version uses hinges to make transporting and assembling it easy. In part 1, we walked through the approximate cost in terms of hours and financial commitment, the materials, and the first five steps of the project. Let’s continue our building project with the remaining steps. Step #6 As Step #6, attach hinges to plywood barricades as instructed in the following: On the plywood barricades, use the attached plans to locate and mark the hinge …




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”. Today’s question of the day is about AI and murder. Who do you charge when an AI robot commits murder? Emergency Suture Reader M.H. sent in this interesting tidbit of information: “Don’t have any 4-0 prolene or gut sutures handy? A temporary suture can be made of unflavored dental floss. Make sure you use an unopened roll as it is sterile.” Protests in France The French are not happy. Riot police ended …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday – November 24, 2018

November 24th marks the day that John Knox died, in 1572. (He was born in 1514.) AtheistAgendaPedia says: “Born near Haddington Scotland. He was influenced by George Wishart, who was burned for heresy in 1546, and the following year Knox became the spokesman for the Reformation in Scotland. After imprisonment and exile in England and the European continent, in 1559 he returned to Scotland, where he supervised the preparation of the constitution and liturgy of the Reformed Church.” o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 79 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 …




How to Build a Compact, Portable Range Barricade- Part 1, by I.S.

Training is paramount, and how you train determines how you will respond in situations. For many of us, the limit of our firearms training has been on a “square range” (i.e., shooting bench and paper targets down range). However, limiting your training to that artificial realm will set you up for failure when things go wrong. Effective training will teach you the fundamentals of shooting, movement, and communication. Learning how to effectively use and shoot from behind cover, in a variety of positions, is a critical part of this training. A range barricade is useful for this purpose. A Plan …




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”. As winter begins to set in, our thoughts turn towards heat. There is an article on a wood stove competition today that is very interesting. WD-40 Defense Reader T.J. sent in this video of a store clerk using the super secret WD-40 defense when he was threatened. This obviously occurs in some area where firearms are forbidden because the would-be robbers only have hand tools to threaten the clerk with and the …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:  I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and …




Preparedness Notes for Friday – November 23, 2018

On November 23rd, 1980, a 7.2-magnitude quake struck southern Italy killing more than 3,000 people. The casualty toll was probably so high because the tremor struck during Sunday night mass, as many residents sat in churches that crumbled in the quake. The quake was centered in Eboli, south of Naples. In nearby Balvano, children were preparing to receive their first communion at the 1,000-year-old Conza Della Comapgna church. The church was demolished and killed dozens of people, including 26 children. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 79 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. …




Cape Town, South Africa- TEOTWAWKI, by Greg

It was a sunny Friday afternoon with a still wind when the end of the world as we know it happened. No, there was no nuclear explosion overhead, no EMP, no invasion from Russia, and no alien landing. A Disaster in the Making Mother nature provided the scene for this disaster. Cape Town South Africa is a place of beauty and home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world– the cape floral kingdom. It’s known as a peaceful holiday town and popular venue for film stars and the rich and famous alike. Who would have suspected that …




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 the bearish stock market. (See the Stocks section.)   Precious Metals: This week was a short holiday week of trading on the Comex.  By the Tuesday close, spot gold was up 0.37%, while silver was essentially flat. o  o  o This Miner Switched From …