Month: August 2021

My Many Fast Failures – Part 2, by M.P.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) A couple of months ago another hen went broody, and I decided to take advantage of this to have her hatch a clutch of eggs all from these hens and rooster. Her first clutch was eight eggs. I moved her and the eggs into a temporary nest, made from a cardboard box, in the cage I had used before to separate her from the flock a bit and protect her eggs from the other hens who might try to lay in that box. She was not happy about the move and repeatedly …


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 jet fuel shortage. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: August could be a ‘terrific’ month for gold, says Jim Cramer. o  o  o Arkadiusz Sieroń: Allocation to Gold Is Set to Rise. How Will Prices Respond? Economy & Finance: Will the Delta Variant Wreck the Recovery? o  o  …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 5, 2021

August 5th is the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today, we begin Round 96 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: …


My Many Fast Failures – Part 1, by M.P.

I just learned the hard way the truth about not counting your chickens before they are hatched. This is but one of the many failures I have experienced over the past several years as I have been trying to climb the learning curve of several different self-sufficiency skills. I wanted to share my experiences with the other readers of SurvivalBlog in hopes—not so much that you can learn from my mistakes though if that happens, wonderful!—but as much as anything to encourage you to start now making your own mistakes and learning from them if you haven’t already. “Fail fast” …


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 software-defined radios (SDRs). A Primer on Software Defined Radios (SDRs) This video is a primer on inexpensive software-defined radios (SDRs): The Coolest Radio You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.  JWR’s Comment: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralysed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it. The Machine develops — but not on our lines. The …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 4, 2021

On August 4th, 1944, 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter in a small space in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps. — Two of my recent gun auctions at GunBroker.com ended very satisfactorily. But oddly, the third one got no bids. …


Money, Finances and Preparedness, by Mr. Zipph

As an executive with a multi-billion financial institution, I am a financial insider (boo, hiss). I also believe in preparedness. I believe that I have some insights into the money side of preparedness that you might want to consider. I will not delve too deeply into the fragile nature of the global financial system, but I will share my biggest concerns without going into detail: • The fractional reserve banking system allows your bank to create money out of thin air • The central banks of the world are creating unprecedented amounts of money out of thin air • Fiat …


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. We’ll start out today’s column with this:  Pompeo Says ‘Collapse From Within Is Possible’ In Dark Vision Of Nation’s Potential Future. (Thanks to Reader A.K. for the link.) o  o  o Avalanche Lily pointed me to a brief “must read” essay, over at NC Renegades: Bad Things Are Coming! Nothing Is Going To Stop It Now! o  o  o In …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 3, 2021

On August 3rd, 1914, Germany and France both declared war on each other, formally beginning the First World War. August 3rd, 1846 is the day that the Donner party found a note warning the emigrants that their expected route through the mountains ahead was nearly impassable. Hastings, an unscrupulous trail guide had created his own “short cut” route and wasn’t even at the planned meeting place at Fort Bridger, but had left word for the party to continue on. Hastings had claimed easy passage through the rugged Wasatch Mountains, but had left a note attached to a forked stick for …


The Blind Squirrel Report, by The Novice

It is said that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. I have some nutty discoveries to pass along. These discoveries do not merit 1,500 words individually. Collectively, they may deserve some attention. I have compiled them into a single article for your edification and entertainment. Fire Starting Cadillac Mink Oil Mink oil is a byproduct of the fur industry, obtained by rendering the insulating fatty layer found under the skin of minks. It is more resistant to rancidity than most other animal and vegetable oils. It is used as a skin moisturizer and in other …


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 Point Zero Energy portable solar power systems. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho One of my consulting clients recommended a backup/off-grid photovoltaic power system. Point Zero Energy in Weston, Idaho (a small town, near the southeast corner of the state) is currently working …