Year: 2020

Rocket Water Heater – Part 2, by St. Funogas

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) The Finished Project Since there is a lot of information on building rocket stoves on SurvivalBlog and elsewhere, I have not described any construction details on the stove itself. The following photo shows what my working rocket water heater (RWH) looks like, with an explanation of the number and letter annotations. This small building was later covered with bat and board siding, with a small door covering the on/off switch and thermometers. Here are all of the key bits and pieces: 1. Inflow and outflow water temperature thermometers. (Thread these into the …


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 housing market in 2020. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Economy & Finance: “Party Like It’s 1998”: A Quarter Of $3.2 Trillion In BBB-Rated Bonds May Be Junk o  o  o At Zero Hedge: Mauldin: A Crisis Has Already Begun… We Just Don’t Know It Yet Here is an …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 9, 2020

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On this day in 1776, writer Thomas Paine published his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries. — 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 …


Rocket Water Heater – Part 1, by St. Funogas

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Have you ever considered the things you’d miss most in a TEOTWAWKI situation? I think a nice hot shower has to be pretty high on my list. It is right up there with coffee. So, once I got my nearly-off-grid little cabin built, I set out to build a prototype rocket water heater. There are a hundred and one different ways to make a rocket water heater (RWH). But as an introduction, I’ll show you how I built mine. I’ll also mention a few things that I wish I had done differently, just to give you some ideas on how …


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 phone surveillance. US Colleges Using Phone Surveillance of Students Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted this: US Colleges Turning Students’ Phones Into Surveillance Devices, Tracking Locations of Hundreds of Thousands. …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 8, 2020

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On this day, in 1835, the U.S. National Debt reached zero for the first and only time. Please note that the accompanying photo is dated. Distressingly, I must report that about 13 trillion dollars have been added, since then. Here is the current running National Debt tally.  Yes, it now begins with “$23”. — January 8th, 1931 was the birthday of the late Algis Budrys (he died on June 9th, 2008). He was the Lithuanian-American science fiction author who wrote the classic survivalist novel Some Will Not Die. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 86 …


My One Month TEOTWAWKI Road Test – Part 2, by Maui Dan

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(Continued for Part 1. This concludes the article.) I was consistent with daily hikes using them for recon practice, making maps, taking notes of locations and observing any nearby people. Judging who I thought may be friends or foes. I did take note of two males in their 20’s who appeared fairly intoxicated early in the afternoon. I hiked for the benefits of physical exercise and enjoyed the quite beauty of the land. There were several memorable hikes. The day time temperatures were now in the upper 80’s. I wore Timberline hiking boots and stripped down to shorts. Finally found …


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 emphasis is on earthquake preparedness. (See the Books, Movies, Instructional Videos & Vlogs, and Gear & Grub sections.) …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 7, 2020

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January 7th, 1963 was the birthday of Senator Rand Paul. — This is also the birthday of Cresson Kearny (born 1914, died December 18, 2003) — 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, two, or three day course …


My One Month TEOTWAWKI Road Test – Part 1, by Maui Dan

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Backround: I’m a country boy who grew up in the farm land of Western Pennsylvania. I lived in the Amish region, observing their off-grid way of life. I was taught to take care of our animals, and that they would take care of us. Nearly everyone learned to hunt and had a knowledge of basic outdoor skills. I was a Boy Scout and learned “Be prepared.” I was a multi sport athlete in high school and  college where I made life-long friends. I have a career in physical therapy spanning 38 years, and achieved a 4th degree black belt. I’ve …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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 trespassing laws. (See the Idaho section.) Region-Wide Quietly booming in the Inland Northwest: Three sleeper successes here rank high on Inc. magazine’s fastest growing list. o o o Inland Northwest tourism growth likely to remain steady in 2020 o o o The …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“This is what decline is like. People on this side of the great divide like to think the end will be dramatic collapse or tanks in the streets, but that’s unlikely. Instead, it will be fits and starts down the uneven stairs of cultural decline. Trump is one of those steps with a long tread. The next few steps will have high risers and short treads. At some point, elections just stop happening either due to lack of interest or the inability of the political class to stage these made for television dramas.” “At some point, a crisis will come …