Month: July 2021

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.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 16, 2021

July 16th is the anniversary of the first successful atomic bomb test in Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1945. This portentous event heralded the advent of the age of nuclear weapons. Plans for the creation of a uranium bomb by the Allies were established as early as 1939. In 1940 the federal government granted a total of $6,000 for research, but in early 1942, with the United States at war, the limits on spending were removed. The total cost was in excess of $2 billion. Germany was also feared to be working on a bomb as was Japan, though neither of …


One Little Slip, by Kevin R. Berg

All it took was one little slip while hiking to change my plans. (This article describes how a simple accident has changed my prep plans) I have amassed plenty of supplies to cover “B., B, & B.” and was in the phase to bring the family up to speed with the knowledge they will need for possible future events. Because of my slip I will have to rethink many options and outright cancel some. First, the accident: It was hot in Reno the first part of June, we were visiting my brother and we decided to take our recreational vehicle …


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 continuing inflation. (See the Inflation Watch section.) Precious Metals: Forecast: What’s Next For Gold Is Always About The US Dollar. o  o  o Sharp declines in treasury yields equal higher gold pricing. Economy & Finance: Forbes reports: Senate Democrats Unveil $3.5 Trillion Spending Deal. JWR’s Comment:  If they ramrod …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 15, 2021

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 …


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 the latest from the irrepressible Engish inventor and YouTube star, Colin Furze. Digging a Secret Tunnel Over at my friend Commander Zero’s Notes From The Bunker blog, his commentary and …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 14, 2021

July 14th is the birthday of Colonel Einar A. Malmstrom. He was born in 1907 and died August 21, 1954 near Great Falls, Montana, in the crash of a T-33 jet. He was a decorated Air Force pilot, a Luft Stalag POW survivor, and test pilot. Malmstrom AFB was one of the settings for my novel Founders. (The base was named in his honor.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest We recently heard from one of the prize donor sponsors of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest that because of a change in ownership, they will discontinue providing a prize, starting August 1st.  …


My Tennessee Journey, by SaraSue

I left Idaho for a few reasons and recently purchased my Tennessee homestead. I don’t know why or how Tennessee became so popular for “American refugees” fleeing the big cities. People are coming from all over the country, mostly from highly populated “blue states”, unlike myself. There’s a lot to like about Tennessee including a strong Second Amendment along with a Church on practically every street (solidly in the “Bible belt”), as well as a longer growing season than Idaho. My reasons were that family was moving there and I wanted to be close to my grandchildren. At one time, …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Reader Don in Oregon wrote to mention:  “Water fire extinguishers are handy to have around. Suitable only for Class A fires, but easily rechargeable (water and compressed air). Best used in short spurts, with your thumb over the nozzle to make a fan spray.” o  o  o From SurvivalBlog reader “The War Wagon”, a lengthy and quite useful comment …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 13, 2021

On this day in 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance structuring settlement of the Northwest Territory and creating a policy for the addition of new states to the nation. The members of Congress knew that if their new confederation were to survive intact, it had to resolve the states’ competing claims to western territory. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, …


For the Love of Bread, by Autumn D.

I grew up in the kitchen, with both parents very capable in the kitchen and spending time with my dad in the restaurant he worked in for much of my life. Though my mom did not “love” me doing my own thing in “her” kitchen, she was always happy with me helping, which taught me a lot. Once I had my own kitchen, I would experiment with many a variety of dishes for breakfast (homemade waffles and apple turnovers), lunch (homemade vegetable sushi), dinner (eggplant, parmesan, and chili), and dessert (homemade cheesecake and cookies). Though I felt comfortable with all …