Year: 2020

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — September 5, 2020

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On September 5, 1774, fed up with the meddling of the crown and being mostly independant-minded, our nation’s founding fathers met together in the First Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, laying the foundation of what would become the world’s greatest nation. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 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 any of their other models. …


Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) Bag Guns, by Joe H.

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Personal defense weapons (PDWs) or “bag guns” have seen a recent surge in popularity due to concerns over the COVID-19 quarantine and urban riots. This has come just at the availability of more attractive PDW options is expanding. For the sake of this discussion, a PDW will be defined as a compact detachable magazine-fed semiautomatic firearm that can be shouldered. Such weapons are desirable as they can be discreetly transported and have greater firepower than conventional handguns. PDWs have been used by military and security details for these reasons. They are also included in pilot survival kits. Security details employ …


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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“Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — September 4, 2020

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September 4, 1862 is the fateful day that General Lee invaded the North with 50,000 troops. Historians will banter back and forth about the real reasons for the civil war, but we will probably never fully understand. It is my personal belief that General Lee was gambling on a quick offensive because the South did not have the resources for a prolonged war. Whatever the case was, President Abraham Lincoln trampled the Constitution and created the foundation for the “Big Brother” government we have today. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog …


Ancient-Style Farming With The Three Sisters, by Murf

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Can Ancient Farming Techniques Help Prepare Us For The Future? Native North Americans traditionally grew three crops for most of their food needs. Affectionately these amazing three plants are referred to as the Three Sisters. In light of our current pandemic situation, ongoing social unrest, and whatever the planet next decides to throw at us, I personally believe that ancient native farming techniques can help us prepare for the future. It might be time for you and I to consider growing these food sources on any available land we have. Even if it might be late in the season. Some …


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 further examine the accelerating exodus from the big cities that is creating demand for suburban and rural real estate. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Where Will The World’s Next Giant Gold Discovery Be Made? o  o  o M.B. sent this news: Two gold nuggets worth $350,000 found in Australia …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I knew a very wise man so much of Sir Christopher’s sentiment, that he believed if a man were permitted to make all the ballads he need not care who should make the laws of a nation, and we find that most of the ancient legislators thought that they could not well reform the manners of any city without the help of a lyric, and sometimes of a dramatic poet.” – Andrew Fletcher


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 3, 2020

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On September 3, 1651 Battle of Worcester: Oliver Cromwell’s New Model army destroys English royalist force of mainly Scots in the last battle of English Civil War. — On September 3, 1752, Great Britain and it’s colonies, including the future United States of America officially adopted the Gregorian calendar, and it immediately became September the 14th. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 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 …


What if We Win?, by CPT F.T.

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When all is said and done, there is much more said than done. This will be the first of many quotes that I did not come up with and will not reference or footnote because I’m not trying to get a passing grade on an essay but am trying to communicate a few ideas that I think may be germane to our culture. With all the survival and instructional blogs (this one being the capstone by which all others are measured) and web sites pontificating and gesturing broadly about what to do when (fill in the blank with assorted and …


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 feature an article about a supreme court decision allowing government cameras hidden on private property without a warrant. A Cold and Snowy Winter Ahead? First up, at Fox News: Winter looks ‘cold …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Conservatism starts from a sentiment that all mature people can readily share: the sentiment that good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created. This is especially true of the good things that come to us as collective assets: peace, freedom, law, civility, public spirit, the security of property and family life, in all of which we depend on the cooperation of others while having no means singlehandedly to obtain it. In respect of such things, the work of destruction is quick, easy and exhilarating; the work of creation slow, laborious and dull. That is one of the lessons of …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 2, 2020

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The Paratus Holiday is approaching. It is always the Third Friday in September. This year, that is Friday, September 18th. — September 2, 1969 is the day that the first automatic teller machine (ATM) made its first public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. While being as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail, they have introduced a whole new set of issues. Consumers are faced with scams, skimmers, and robbers, and even fake ATMs have been discovered. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 of …


Stand Your Ground Against COVID-19, by Mark B.

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Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice, just information provide for educational purposes. What have you done to stop COVID-19 from sickening, permanently injuring, or killing your loved ones? This disease isn’t just like the flu, COVID-19 can leave the “recovered” with long-term debilitating physical, cognitive and psychiatric damage, sometimes even in people who only suffered mild symptoms. The current US toll from this disease is about 130,000 dead, with an 8% infection mortality rate. The elderly or those with common high-risk factors, like high blood pressure, diabetes, or a compromised immune system have suffered …


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 some crucial home security gear for intrusion detection, delaying entry, and documenting visitors to your propperty–both …