Month: February 2020

Thoughts About Gold, by Todd from Florida

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This is going to be a different type of article. Different in that this gedankenexperiment will undoubtedly provoke many readers who will want to disagree with me- and that is fine!  In fact, that is sort of what I am wanting. I am looking for others to explain to me what I am missing, and therefore make me a more informed, prepared, and hopefully secure individual. This article you are reading is going to be about gold. Specifically, how I just cannot agree with all the hype (my word choice perhaps not the best) and advertisements you hear on the …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 7, 2020

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February 7th, 1867, is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder (died February 10, 1957). SurvivalBlog highly recommends the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as well as her biography. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This …


Beyond Cooper’s Four Rules by L.K.R.

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Most people know the four rules of firearm safety popularized by Colonel Jeff Cooper: 1.) All guns are always loaded. This one has a double meaning – (1) always check an “unloaded” firearm yourself and (2) once you’ve checked, still follow all the other rules as though it was loaded. 2.) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. This doesn’t mean you’re willing to destroy the wall of your home – just that it’s not catastrophic like pointing at a family member. 3.) Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target. …


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 prices of pre-1899 cartridge guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Gold, silver up as the bulls stabilize markets o  o  o H.L. sent us this: How Effective Is Gold As a Hedge? History Has an Empirical Answer Economy & Finance: 2019 US Productivity Rises Most In …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 6, 2020

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Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6th, 1911. — An update on the SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive waterproof USB stick mailings: Free replacements for the first 68 sticks (which had a glitch that made them not compatible on some operating systems) have now all been mailed out. Any of you folks that got sticks in that category can simply keep the first one as our gift, to over-write and use for utility purposes. I’m pleased to report that mailings of subsequent orders are continuing apace. Remember: “…allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery” from the day that you placed your …


Lifeboats Versus Yachts, by Survivormann99

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Most readers of this fine blog are well beyond the preparedness novice level. People in this more advanced category often forget their mindset, questions, and concerns when they first became involved in the field of preparedness. This is the case whether the prepping neophyte is preparing for a few days of inconvenience resulting from an ice storm, or a long-term survival ordeal as a result of a massive attack on the national power grid. It is also the case that most articles submitted to web sites across the internet are intended for those readers who are far ahead in their …


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 Second Amendment erosion in Virginia. An Excellent Medical Lecture on the Wuhan Coronavirus Reader M.M. sent a link to a lecture that removes a lot of conjecture: NCH Healthcare System …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 5, 2020

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On Feb. 5, 1869, the largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger“, is found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.  It weighed a whopping 97.14 kilograms. — The flu still has me in its grip.  (Pardon the pun.) So today I’m omitting my usual Recommendations of the Week. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking …


Post-Exposure Prevention (PEP) Protocol, by JJ in MI

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Everyone already knows about the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak so I’ll skip an overview of what it is and why it’s dangerous. No doubt you’re also aware of the CDC’s recommended preventative measures of hand hygiene and avoiding close contact with those who may be infected. You may have also acquired items such as masks, goggles, or gloves (if you didn’t have enough already) as additional preventative measures, and those can help limit exposure when used properly, but they do not provide 100% protection either. You may also have considered social distancing, or even self-quarantine, but that’s not always possible – …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“If we refuse to forgive, we have stepped into dangerous waters. First, refusing to forgive is to put ourselves in the place of God, as though vengeance were our prerogative, not his. Second, unforgiveness says God’s wrath is insufficient. For the unbeliever, we are saying that an eternity in hell is not enough; they need our slap in the face or cold shoulder to “even the scales” of justice. For the believer, we are saying that Christ’s humiliation and death are not enough. In other words, we shake our fists at God and say, “Your standards may have been satisfied, …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 4, 2020

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On this day in 1789, George Washington became the first and only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. This was repeated on this same day in 1792. Because of the way the early American voting procedure worked, the electors cast two votes with no distinction for president or vice president. Washington was chosen by all of the electors and is considered to have been unanimously elected. Of the others on the ballots, Adams had the most votes and thus became the vice president. — I’m now on Day Seven of my flu travail. Since I still haven’t …