Month: April 2020

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 30, 2020

6

Today is the 82nd birthday of sci-fi novelist Larry Niven (Laurence van Cott Niven, born April 30, 1938). Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. April 30th is also the birthday of Ed Yourdon, who was born in 1944. — I just heard that EMP Shield (one of our affiliate advertisers) has started a 15% off sale, that will last just 36 hours. If you’ve been considering placing an order, then this is your chance. Get your order in soon! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


Reaching Out to Others May Save Our Lives, by Ani

112

Whenever I’d get upset about not understanding why someone was doing what they were doing or thought the way they did, a friend always used to remind me that “not everyone thinks like you do”. That adage sounds simple on the surface but I’ve realized that it is a profound truth and of critical importance to us preppers. At the time that I’m writing this we are immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic. I watched this coming, from the earliest days when the first reports of some strange new Coronavirus associated with the market in Wuhan was briefly noted online. That …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

40

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 protective mask legalities. 45 Volcanoes Erupting Worldwide I found this linked by way of the McAlvany Intelligence Advisor: There Are Currently 45 Ongoing Eruptions With Eruptive Activity From 52 Volcanoes …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 29, 2020

4

Iyar 5th in the Jewish calendar (which in 2020 falls on April 29th) is Yom Ha’atzmaut — Israel Independence Day. This is also the birthday of actor Daniel Day-Lewis (born 1957), often remembered for his starring roles in Last of the Mohicians and in Lincoln. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The 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 …


Converting Your Pedal Bike into an E-Bike, by Mark F.

33

What are your long-term transportation plans for when SHTF? That’s right – long after the diesel and gasoline tanks run dry, how do you plan to get around in a sustained grid-down situation? Walking can only get you so far, and that saddle horse will burn through feed and water, putting an additional strain on your resources. We’ve all been there, and I know the unsettling feeling of not having a solid answer to this need for a reliable, sustainable, low-resource means of TEOTWAWKI transportation. It’s tempting to just write the whole issue off and accept the limitations of staying …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

14

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 roots and bluegrass music. (See the Music section.) Books: This recently topped the New York …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“A cook she certainly was, in the very bone and centre of her soul. Not a….turkey….in the barn-yard but looked grave when they saw her approaching, and seemed evidently to be reflecting on their latter end; and certain it was that she was always meditating on trussing, stuffing and roasting, to a degree that was calculated to inspire terror in any reflecting fowl living.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe



Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), by Pudge

56

What are standard (or standing) operating procedures (SOPs), and why should you have them? According to the U.S. Army, a SOP is “a clearly written set of instructions for methods detailing procedures for carrying out a routine or recurring task or study.” Now what does this really mean and how can I actually apply this to both my daily life and also high stress situations? First, a quick background so that you can understand why this topic is so important to me. I’m an active duty Army Special Forces officer (O-3) with extensive experience around the world. I make my …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

38

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on real estate sales reports and projections for the Redoubt region. Idaho Idaho Governor Gets Flak From Own Party on Virus Decisions. An excerpt: “Little last week extended his stay-at-home order for Idaho’s 1.75 million residents to the end of the April, further …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 27, 2020

1

On this day in 1789, the crew of the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific. This famous incident has inspired many novels, plays, and movies. — A reminder: My mail order antique gun business — Elk Creek Company — is on Pandemic Hiatus until May 4th.  I’ve taken this opportunity to re-stock heavily. This now includes some replica guns in obsolete (not factory produced) calibers such as .44 S&W Russian and .45-90 Winchester that qualify as No-FFL “antiques”, in most states. Take a look at our store …


ETS Magazines, by Pat Cascio

9

I’ve said it thousands of times, that when it comes down to firearm magazines, its just hard to beat those that come shipped from the factory with the firearm. Many aftermarket magazines just aren’t up to the quality we would like to have in our guns. You know something isn’t quite right, when the aftermarket mags don’t come in any packaging, and there are no markings on the mags as to what company made them. I won’t mention any particular magazines – aftermarket brands – that are still in business, but there are some big name companies out there, that …


Recipe of the Week: Savory Chicken

1

The following recipe is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the bonus items in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021. Ingredients 1/4 cup butter or butter substitute or other fat 1 tablespoon chopped onlon 1 chopped carrot 1 slice turnip 1/4 cup flour 1 cup water 1-1/2 cup …