Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 1, 2020

September is Kilted to Kick Cancer Month.  September is also National Preparedness Month. — Today Is a Book Bomb Day! Our fellow preparedness and self-sufficiency blogger Patrice Lewis (of the  great Rural Revolution blog) is branching out into writing Christian romance novels. Her first one, titled The Amish Newcomer is being released today. If you know anyone who enjoys reading wholesome romances, then please encourage them to buy a copy. Or buy a couple of copies for gifts. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …




Intelligence Gathering at Protests, by J.D.

Over the last few weeks, as protests and riots have continued, I decided to stop blindly accepting the media’s reporting and to get out and see what was actually going on at the rampant protests. Let me start by saying that I don’t advocate everyone doing this…I’m a trained professional with over 20 years of investigations experience. I do want to share the interesting findings and make a few recommendations to everyone, though. The narrative being presented was that these protests were not centrally organized and that they were grass-roots protests just springing up in response to social issues. My …




August 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. This column by Steven Cochran is courtesy of Gainesville Coins What Did Gold Do in August? August was a volatile month for gold. Early in the month, gold extended a series of new all-time record highs that began on July 24th, when spot gold closed at $1,901.30 an ounce. Gold closed above $2,000 for the first time on August 4th, at $2,019.40. Prices hit the current …




SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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 the recent record-breaking real estate sales in The American Redoubt and in other rural regions. Region-Wide Initiative to expand Idaho into Oregon could be on November ballot o  o  o Intense competition drives a surge in offers on unseen homes. This atricle …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 31, 2020

On August 31, 1954: Hurricane Carol makes landfall on Long Island and Connecticut, taking nearly 70 lives and resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damage. — Some good news:  More Costco stores are now displaying my latest book. (The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide.) I was able to buy some at the Reno, Nevada Costco, on Saturday, for just $14.99 each. But the bad news is that many Costco stores have reduced the size of their book sections, they’ve shifted to mainly selling children’s books, and they have moved their few remaining book tables to the periphery of their …




Kershaw Knives Fringe, by Pat Cascio

Kershaw Knives, never ceases to amaze me, with the number of new and exciting knives they come out with each year, and what is even more amazing, are the prices on these knives – very affordable, to say the least. I like Kershaw products, they are right here in my “adopted” home state of Oregon. Actually, I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois – but I’ve lived most of my life in Oregon – it is my selected home state, even with the messed-up Liberal politics they have, it’s still a great state to live in. We have it …




Recipe of the Week: Planked Steak

The following recipe for Planked Steak 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 many bonus items included in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This special 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021. The 14th Edition sold out quickly, so place a reminder in your calendar, if you want one. Ingredients 1 steak, 2 inches …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 commodities price forecasts for 2021. (See the Commodities section.) Economy & Finance: At Zero Hedge: American Airlines Warns Admin: Keep Bailing Us Out Or At Least 19,000 More Jobs Are Gone o  o  o Reader Joe B. sent this telling news, also at Zero Hedge: Pelosi Calls Republicans ‘Domestic …







Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 30, 2020

August 30th is the birthday of the late Joachim Rønneberg, a hero of the Norwegian resistance during World War II. He was born in 1919. His exploits earned him the War Cross With Sword, Norway’s highest military honor. In April 2013, Rønneberg was presented with a Union Jack during a ceremony at the Special Operations Executive (SOE) monument in London to mark 70 years since the successful Gunnerside heavy water plant sabotage mission. Rønneberg died in 2018, just one year short of his 100th birthday. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog …




Versatile Photovoltaic Power – Part 2, by Tractorguy

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Refrigeration Refrigeration will likely be one of the biggest loads on your solar power system, if not the biggest. I went back and forth for a long time on the propane vs. DC electrical discussion to run refrigeration. I finally came down on the side of DC refrigeration for two reasons: 1. The rugged terrain around my Buglout Location (BOL) would make it extremely difficult for a truck to deliver a tank and refill it; and 2. The availability of bottled gas after a grid-down or TEOTWAWKI situation would be pretty much …







The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But …