Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 30, 2019

B-Day! Today, September 30th, 2019, is “B Day”: Baofeng Day. The U.S. sales ban on multi-band Baofeng UV-5R handie-talkies takes effect at midnight tonight. As of October 1st, 2019, it will be illegal to advertise or sell them. But they will still be legal to operate. Only licensed amateurs can operate on their ham bands. However, unlicensed folks can operate with them on their FRS, and MURS bands, if set to low power. Stock up! I recommend getting at least a six pack, ASAP! If those cases of six radios are sold out, then look for other UV-5R variants from …




Springfield Armory XD-S Mod.2, by Pat Cascio

Compact and sub-compact handguns are all the rage the past couple of years, and we have them in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP these days. In a sub-compact, I believe it is best to stick with one in 9mm, because you get one or two more rounds in some of the magazines, and it is controllable – more so than the .40 S&W and the .45 ACP. If you can’t control your firearm for follow-up shots, what good is it? I received my Springfield Armory XD-S Mod.2 several months, before they were released to the public, and have enjoyed …




Recipe of the Week: L.M.’s Sweet Potato Soup

Reader L.M. kindly sent us her Sweet Potato Soup recipe, one of her fall favorites. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 1 cup roughly chopped carrots 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (can be reduced for low-salt diets) 1 teaspoon black pepper (or less, to taste) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, to taste) 7 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons salted butter Toppings 1 cup …




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 SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in Japanese swords. (See the Tangibles Investing section. Precious Metals: Niels Christensen: Gold’s summer rally is just the start – UBS o  o  o About 30 Killed in Landslide at Chad Gold Mine Economy & Finance: At Zero Hedge: The Collapse In Germany …