Year: 2020

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 18, 2020

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June 18th is birthday of Pastor Douglas Wilson. Born in 1953, he is the pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho and a prodigious author of books and articles on Reformed theology. — I had to delete a product suggestion from yesterday’s Recommendations of the Week column, post facto.  The link was to an Internet vendor that sells DAK canned hams, in pairs.  When I created that link about six days ago, they were priced at $8.50 per pair. But as of Wednesday, they had jumped to $37 per pair. So it seems that my warning of an imminent price …


Home Security for WTSHTF – Part 1, by T.Z.

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It is well-known that some people prioritize their own self-interest over others’ lives. People commit crimes of varying severity every day. When people become more desperate, crimes tend to become more frequent and severe. This is especially true in home invasions, when the invaders are often willing to hurt the occupants to get what they are looking for. This article will describe how to defend your home by utilizing a proactive approach, rather than trying to catch up to the attacker’s intent and capabilities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s response, there has been mass unemployment around my …


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 spread of COVID in food processing plant workers. SFPD Stops Responding to Non-Criminal Calls Over at NBC: San Francisco Police Won’t Respond to Non-Criminal Calls. The article begins: “San …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 17, 2020

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Today is the birthday of musician Red Foley (born, 1910, died September 19, 1968). His patriotic song Smoke on the Water topped the music charts for 13 weeks in late 1944 and early 1945, and charted for 24 weeks. This song, which describes the doom of tyrants, would be considered quite politically incorrect these days. June 17th is also the birthday of novelist John Ross, who was born in 1957. He is best known as the author of the novel Unintended Consequences. And June 17th is the birthday of Libertarian economist Harry Browne. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present …


Prepper Project Suggestions, by R.H.

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I have compiled a list of possible projects that can be accomplished by people of average skill with the usual tools and supplies. This list is just to get you thinking about what you might need and what you could use in the event of an emergency. Luckily, we currently have the Internet to easily find plans for these projects. Print the plans now and start a “to-do” list. The Internet is great but also have some how-to books on hand. The time is upon us. Water In keeping with preparation priorities, let’s first discuss water projects. One of the …


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 we feature a video on Krag Rifles. (See the Instructional Videos & Vlogs section.) Books: NOLS Wilderness Medicine (NOLS …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 16, 2020

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On June 16, 1980 the movie The Blues Brothers debuted in Chicago. It was very successful in its theatrical release, and has had a cult-like following as a home video. — I just heard that the folks who run Naturally Cozy (one of our long-time writing contest sponsors) is re-launching their Privy Paper business. They sell massive rolls of TP, stacked in 5 gallon plastic buckets.  This is a brilliant idea that saves a tremendous amount of storage space. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …


Strategies for Buying Rural Land

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Over the years, I’ve heard from many of my readers who yearn to live in the hinterboonies. But they often say that they feel “stuck”, living where they are.  One of the biggest impediments seems to be the cost of land, in their desired locale. Let’s face it: If you buy land in an area with a fairly mild climate, plentiful water, and fertile top soil, then odds are that it will have a fairly high “per acre” price. There is plenty of affordable desert scrub land on the market, for as little at $1,000 per acre. But good land …


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 a couple of street racing incidents.  (See the Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington sections.) Idaho On Radio Free Redoubt: North Idaho Armed and Peaceful Deterrent o  o  o Family confirms remains found on Chad Daybell’s property belong to JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Rural areas around the world have been largely spared, at least for now. The North American hinterlands, according to health professionals, benefit from less crowding and unwanted human contact. Living in dispersion may not save you from contagion, but being away from people, driving around in your own car, and having neighbors you know, does have its advantages in times like these. Even the urban cognoscenti have figured this out—much as their Renaissance predecessors did during typhus and bubonic plague outbreaks, wealthy New Yorkers today are retreating to their country homes where they struggle with the locals over depleted supplies …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 15, 2020

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On July 15th, 1888, the Bandai Volcano erupted on the Japanese island of Honshu killing hundreds and burying many nearby villages in ash. While Honshu is in an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, this eruption was surprising. The volcano had erupted only four times in the 1,000 years prior and none had been particularly deadly. However, this eruption was different. The rumblings started just after 7 a.m. Within 30 minutes there was an explosion on the north side of the mountain and over the next two hours there were dozens of explosions giving villagers very little time to …


Kershaw Launch 8, by Pat Cascio

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Growing up in Chicago, many in my neighborhood carried Italian stiletto folding knives, except they didn’t work. Oh sure, it had that button that you’d push, but it didn’t work…it was there for looks only, but those knives looked mean. Only problem was, they were pure junk, I never owned one that even had an edge on it – and odds were good if you dropped it or threw it, it would break. But still, a lot of us kids owned them. I will admit to being involved in a couple knife “incidents” that ended just as quickly as they …


Recipe of the Week: Baked Bean Soup

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The following baked bean soup 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 3 slices bacon 2 cups baked beans 4 cups cold water 1 tablespoon flour 1 tablespoon butter or butter substitute Salt Pepper Paprika Directions …