Preparedness Notes for Saturday — February 22, 2020

On this day in 1943, Sophie Scholl was executed by beheading for organizing the White Rose group–a student resistance to the Hitler regime.  She had been convicted of high treason, after having been found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich (LMU) with her brother, Hans. She was 21 years old. (Pictured: White Rose group leaders: Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst.) Also on this day in 1732, George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the second son from the second marriage of a colonial plantation owner. An initially loyal British subject, Washington eventually led the Continental …




Rule 1 for Survival: Fitness – Part 2, by John H.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) You are the expert on your body, and it is within your ability to train it effectively. Just like with anything, there are a million exercises you can do. Don’t worry! Here are some simple tips that will be helpful. Strength train 2 – 3 times per week. I like to include strength training on my cardio days, but with a break in-between. Mix it up. You can do back exercises on Day 1, shoulder and arm exercises on Day 2, and a combination on Day 3. Also, you can and should …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

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:

“Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife. A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts. A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 21, 2020

February 21st is the birthday of Group Captain Douglas Bader (born 1910, died 5 September 1982). He was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during the Second World War. He lost his legs in a pre-war flying accident, but that didn’t stop him from re-entering the RAF when war broke out. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable, and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. Bader was eventually shot down and became a POW in Germany. Since the Luftwaffe ran its own POW camps, he became a celebrity with his captors. The Germans …




Rule 1 for Survival: Fitness – Part 1, by John H.

Introduction Rule #1 rule of any survival situation is physical fitness. True fitness provides you the ability to respond to any situation without failing. Based on our age, health situation, and more, physical fitness is different for each of us. It is not a win-lose situation. You do not have to choose between being either an extreme athlete or a couch potato. Everybody’s journey is different. However, the most important thing is that you always continue to work towards your goal, one step at a time. Any improvement is worth it. A Bit About Me In this post, we will …




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 the recent Rock Island gun auction. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Gold, silver prices see safe-haven demand on global economic worries. o  o  o Gold nears 7-year peak on virus economic impact; palladium hits record. A little snippet: “Elsewhere, palladium scaled a record high of $2,841.54 an …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 20, 2020

This is the birthday of novelist and screenwriter Richard Matheson (1926–2013). He wrote many sci-fi television scripts. His novella I Am Legend later was adapted into three different movies over the course of five decades, and his story Bid Time Return became the charming movie Somewhere In Time. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of 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 …




Prepping at the Dollar Store, by Ani

Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, I received two very similar articles from readers in two states, in the same month. But because they have different perspectives, I’ve decided to post both of them. (The other one was posted yesterday.) — With a lot of attention being paid in the past few weeks to the spread of the novel coronavirus in China and the potential but still unknown ramifications for both the health and economy of other countries. preparedness has been getting some attention. While many of us who have been avidly following the news on this virus are experienced preppers, there are …




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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 some more coronavirus news. How Long Do Coronaviruses Survive on Surfaces? Reader A.D. sent us this from MedicalNewsToday: Coronaviruses: How long can they survive on surfaces? Here is a key …







Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 19, 2020

Avalanche Lily recently had her Mac laptop fail unexpectedly. The motherboard is history. So she is now experiencing connectivity withdrawal symptoms. This hardware failure came at a bad time for us, because I had just recently bought eleven guns for the Elk Creek Company inventory, so our cash is tight. So, to quickly generate some cash to buy her a new laptop, I’ve just put 20 long guns and 10 handguns ON SALE. They are discounted between 15% and 25% each. I’m hoping that at least three or four of those will sell. This special sale will end on Friday evening. …




A Dollar Store Prepping Expedition, by T. Lee

Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, I received two very similar articles about dollar store shopping from writers in two states in the same week. But because they have different perspectives, I’ve decided to post both of them. The other one will be posted tomorrow. — I’m here visiting our oldest son in New York City, always an eye opening experience. After church, several of his friends have asked how to get started on building an everyday carry (EDC) bag after seeing our day bags. However, after seeing their respective apartments, we decided to start more basic (understanding we are teaching a few …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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 N95 face masks. (See the Gear and Grub section.) Books: The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide, …