Year: 2018

Letter: Surviving California’s Fires

28

Hugh, I live in a house that has a commanding view of a very large canyon in Southern California. Last Thursday night at 11:20 p.m., I received a mandatory evacuation order on my cell phone and on my TV. I could see the sky lit brightly to the east of the canyon, but I judged the fire to be approaching slowly enough that I had time to gather things. I turned on my sprinkler system and tried to give my property a good soaking so as to increase the chances of avoiding destruction. It was a “hybrid bug out.” I …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

1

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 exotic ammo. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)   Precious Metals: David Morgan: Market Has “Given Up” On Silver, So What’s Next? o  o  o Pound Falls 2.5% Against Gold As UK Government In Turmoil Over Brexit o  o  o Silver Price, The SPX And …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Having over 40% of all the money in the market being managed by computers gives a huge boost to returns during a bull market. But when the selling starts, computers don’t think. Their algorithms will automatically sell and flash crashes will abound. Once fear replaces greed, the wave of computer selling will overwhelm those trying to actively manage their portfolios. Then the record level of margin debt will result in margin calls and a further wave of selling. The clueless 401k investor will see their retirement savings sliced by 40% in the blink of an eye. It’s not a matter …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday – November 15, 2018

On this day, Charles Dickens published the final installment of A Tale of Two Cities in Dickens’ circular. 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 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 one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate …


Making The Hard Decisions Somewhat Easier- Part 2, by Old Bobbert

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Okay, we are at the second example in our consideration of making hard decisions whether to go or not go in a crisis situation. I am using scenarios to illustrate the decision processes. This time we will be looking at bugging out from a large, suburban, bedroom-type community. Scenario 2: Family From Suburban Community You will have the same sort of general circumstances that were prevalent in our first example above, except with these two differences. First, you still have three kids, but they are all teens and all boys. Their ages are seventeen, fifteen, and fourteen. The second difference …


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”. Amazon Echo is at the center of a Murder trial as evidence now. Modern Nomads A growing segment of America is redefining what a nomadic lifestyle is. CBS news recently ran a new special on this. Upwards of one million Americans are now embracing a modern nomadic lifestyle where the home and property has been sold or rented out and the family now lives and travels in an RV. The article referenced …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The corollary, from the first position, is, that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.’ The prohibition is general. No clause in the Constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give to congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretense by a state legislature. But if in any blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both.” – William Rawle, in his textbook A View of the The …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – November 14, 2018

On November 14th, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano erupted in Colombia, killing over 20,000 as nearby towns are buried in mud, ice and lava. Scientist studying the volcano believed an eruption was imminent and had recommended an evacuation of the area which was largely ignored, resulting in the high number of casualties. 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 Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The …


Making The Hard Decisions Somewhat Easier- Part 1, by Old Bobbert

5

Being fully aware of the contest rules concerning fiction, this essay topic has required an ample supply of assumed acceptable standards and examples for one simple over-riding truth– world wide, there is a single commonality factor about everyone who has been forced by circumstances to actually put into real-time practice their go/no go decision. That common event generally fits into a very limited non-nationwide problem. We have experienced some very serious terrible events in some areas of the country but not a nationwide anything. The recent calamity of the flooding of the Texas coast did not affect other areas in …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

4

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 Chinese Debt Bubble. (See the Global Economy & Finance section.   Precious Metals: Gold/Silver Ratio Hits 25-Year High; Silver Underperforms. “Comex December silver on Tuesday bottomed at $13.92, the contract’s weakest level since 2016.” JWR’s Comment:  This sounds like a genuine dip point …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

1

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on Replacing Broken Tool Handles. (See the Instructional Videos section.) Books: Winter in the Wilderness: A Field Guide to Primitive Survival Skills o  o  o The Glorious Adventure: Through the Mediterranean in the Wake of Odysseus. Halliburton’s classic travel book. “‘The Glorious Adventure’ was Halliburton’s second book, and details how he set out to follow in the path of Ulysses, as described in the Odyssey. The resultant book does not have a dull page. It details how Halliburton roamed …




Going Ghost: Planning for a Low Profile Mobile Lifestyle

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A number of my friends and consulting clients have begun talking about making contingency plans to drop entirely off the grid. One of them calls it “going ghost.” His goal: Being ready for a time of repression that would require him to drop off the radar–to essentially become mobile and invisible to authorities. He said that he wanted to have two options: 1.) In CONUS, being ready and ablrice to blend in and travel by road fairly anonymously, and 2.) being ready and able to travel internationally (OCONUS). This whole concept of “going ghost” would be daunting for most of …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on Shield Arms, In Montana.   Idaho I just noticed that Quest Aircraft Company in Sandpoint, Idaho has several job openings. These include a Junior Electrical Engineer, a machinist, a Junior Assembler, and a Customer Care Representative. o o o Boise: Stabbing suspect was released from prison four months ago o o o 25-year-old Lewiston man dies from …