Month: January 2020

Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 3, 2020

On this day, in 1521, Martin Luther – the father of the reformation and founder of Protestantism – was officially excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 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, …


Daily Habits for Happiness, by EBL

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My Dad has had a full and rewarding life. He was: An Eagle Scout, Camp Counselor for six years starting at age 14, a lifetime National Ski Patrolman, also starting at age 14, started eight successful small businesses in 30 years, holder of four US patents, member of the National Speakers Association, authored and published 15 books that sold in 22 countries… I could go on. But I think you will agree after reading what follows, he is a real “Value Added” kind of guy! I recently wrote to my Dad and asked him to write down the best ‘Daily …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the heavy truck market, as an economic indicator. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: A fascinating piece by Lyn Alden, over at Gold-Eagle: Gold Price Forecast: A Weaker Dollar Is The Easiest Path To $2,000 Gold o  o  o Gold Price Forecast: Gold To Rise On Fed …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight. If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of …



A Cowgirl’s Night Out, by Avalanche Lily

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On a moonless night, a few nights ago, I was concerned about the safety of our newborn calf, so I decided to camp out with our cows and horses.  In doing so, I learned a few things about both livestock behavior and my night vision. To begin, this past Friday morning, I went out to feed the animals and saw that my Matriarch cow had not shown up.  I called and called and called her.  I heard her mooing at a low volume.  I went looking for her and found her on the edge of the woods next to the …


Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

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Each year, I only post one reminder, encouraging voluntary Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions, and this is it. Hopefully, some readers appreciate the fact that SurvivalBlog is one of the last of the daily “Old School” blogs without any of these annoyances and intrusions: Annoying pop-up ads Opt-in pop-ups to generate e-mail lists E-mail list spamming Auto-playing media Paid placement pseudo-articles Instant surveys “Are you sure you want to leave?” messages Animated graphics or animated/blinking ads “Top 10” slideshows Cheesy stock photography “Members-only” exclusives Keyword stuffing Sporadic posting SurvivalBlog is not sporadic. I’ve only missed two days of posting in nearly …


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 “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the announced issue of Tikka T3x Arctic rifles, in Canada. Canadian Rangers to Get Tikka T3x Arctic Rifles An interesting video from Bloke on the Range (a British ex-pat who …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Antifa posers with fantasies of a Civil War II need to worry more. ATF says more than half of all rifles sold were scary semiauto carbines. Combine these so-called “assault rifles” with the current Big Thing for traditional bolt action rifles: shooting very small targets at very long distances, and with more powerful ammo. Then explain to the campus commandos they do this as a hobby, for fun.” – Ol’ Remus, in his Yer Ol’ Woodpile Report blog.


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 1, 2020

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A notable birthday: John Cantius Garand was born  January 1, 1888 in St. Rémi, Quebec. John Garand designed one of America’s best known battle rifles, the M1 Garand. General Patton praised Garand’s design, writing to Chief of Ordnance Lt. Gen. Levin H. Campbell, Jr., (January 26, 1945): “The M1 rifle is the most deadly rifle in the world.” Garand died on February 16, 1974. — Archive USB Update For those who have asked, here is an update on our upcoming release of the SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 archive waterproof USB sticks. To summarize: The archive now includes all SurvivalBlog posts and comments …


2020: A Year of Perfect Hindsight

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As we begin the year 2020, I’d like to reflect on what I’ve seen and experienced, since I was born in 1960. In my novel Patriots, a couple of my characters used the now-cliched phrase: “Hindsight is 20/20.” But I must say that in many ways that it truly is. With the benefit of some hindsight, I have formulated a few observations for 2020 — a year of 20/20 hindsight: Technology When I was growing up, computers were enormous lumbering beasts that were primarily batch-programmed with Hollerith punched cards. I had the advantage of attending Livermore High School, where those …


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. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on snow gear. (See the Gear & Grub section.) Books: Snow Travel: Skills for Climbing, Hiking, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Foolish liberals who are trying to read the Second Amendment out of the Constitution by claiming it’s not an individual right or that it’s too much of a public safety hazard, don’t see the danger in the big picture. They’re courting disaster by encouraging others to use the same means to eliminate portions of the Constitution they don’t like.” – Alan Dershowitz