Year: 2021

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking… People need to be blinded by knowledge—we are made to follow leaders who can gather people together because the advantages of being in groups trump the disadvantages of being alone. It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. Those who have followed the assertive idiot rather than the introspective wise person have passed us some …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 1, 2021

I was saddened to hear of the death of G. Gordon Liddy. (Pictured, circa 1964 sans his trademark moustache, of his later years.) He passed away on March 30th, at age 90.  When he interviewed me on his radio show, it was obvious that he’d read my novel Patriots. He had a sharp mind and a keen wit. He will be missed. Yesterday, I happened to catch a National Pravda Radio (NPR) news item about his death. It was written in a critical and trivializing tone.  For example, the commentator mentioned Liddy’s syndicated radio show (but not its tremendous popularity), …


Writing Contest Winners Announced: Round 93

We’ve completed the judging for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize winners are: First Prize: First prize is awarded to J.T. for Volume Vegetable Gardening. (Links: Part 1 and Part 2.) It was posted on March 16th and 17th.  He will receive: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate from …


Shaving Options, by Anonymous

After seeing bare grocery store shelves last year, have you thought about different ways to perform everyday tasks? Sure, we have stored food, paper towels, paper plates, paper gold (toilet paper), and countless other necessary items. However, have you considered the everyday task of shaving? A multi-bladed shaving cartridge is considered the norm, but what happens when that shelf is bare too? Whether it is every day, once a week, or once a month, eventually it is a necessary task that nearly all men perform. Having a few alternate shaving supplies stashed away when your first choice is unavailable, will …


Springing Into More Prepping — An Update, by 3AD Scout

The snow has melted and temperatures are more often than not above freezing. Spring is right around the corner. We have been preparing for or have started several projects here at the homestead. It was great to see our contractor show up this past week to start to finish our screened-in porch that was started last Fall. This space can be used as a summer kitchen if need be. But more importantly we have started putting fence posts into the ground for our pasture. We designed a stainless steel “box” that will be used for our outdoor pizza/bread oven. The …


March in Precious Metals, by Stephen 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 What Did Gold Do in March? While gold ended March with a third monthly loss in a row, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the beating it received in February. Once again, it was Treasury yields that dominated market sentiment for gold in March, at least for the first three weeks. After bond yields settled down, it was the dollar’s turn to depress precious metals (except …


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 a recent appeals court decision on open carry. 9th Circuit Court Says: No Right To Open Carry Several readers mentioned this news: 9th Circuit Court Rules Second Amendment Doesn’t Guarantee …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The mainstream of Western civilization is thus apparent, the desire to control and change others as the essence of true power. This lust for power, the pathology of all fallen men, is common to cultures all over the world. It is an expression of man’s original sin, his desire to be as God, knowing or determining for himself what constitutes good and evil.” – Rousas John “R.J.” Rushdoony, in The Death of Meaning, p. 92


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 31, 2021

March 31 is the birthday of the late economist Dr. Walter E. Williams, PhD., who was born in 1936. His book American Contempt for Liberty is highly recommended. — Just as I expected, orders have been brisk since I reactivated our “shopping cart” yesterday. at Elk Creek Company.  We received eight orders for a total of 12 guns by 3 PM on March 30th. This is your chance to add a few pre-1899 guns or replica percussion revolvers to your collection before the Senate votes on the “Universal Background Checks” bill. That draft law would criminalize transferring a modern (post-1898) …


RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 2, by R.W.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) — Scanner Models When radio systems were still purely analog, there were many manufacturers vying for your attention to buy their scanning receiver. With the costs of developing digital-capable receive technology and a dwindling user base, the market has collapsed to just two manufacturers of multimode (analog and digital_ scanning receivers: Uniden and Whistler. Uniden, having been one of the pioneers in consumer electronics developing dozens of models over the past 40 years, currently has twelve scanner models available while Whistler offers six. For those who might want to dip their toe …


Movie Reviews: Two for the Price of One, by Large Marge

I visit elderly shut-ins around Eugene, Oregon. Yesterday, one of our regulars got on her trailer-court facebook dealy-bobber to invite a bunch of geezers to her trailer for spectating at televisionprogramming on her new big-screen television set. We watched a couple ‘presentations’: a) RICHARD JEWELL directed by Mister Clint Eastwood hisownself, and b) SEASPIRACY financed by hollywood darling Leonardo DiCaprio. This semi-review is in two parts: a) is for the flicks, and b) is for the audience ‘participation’. And here we go… a) Anybody over the age of twenty-five probably remembers the terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympic Games in …


Avoiding Water Damage To Engines, by Michael Z. Williamson

I just blew up a car engine by driving through a puddle. Many of us remember our older vehicles tackling flood conditions.  My old 1983 station wagon and my full-size 1996 van drove through three feet of water, more than once. On many new vehicles, including the Chrysler minivans, Dodge Challenger, and the Minis, the intake tube for the air cleaner is actually down behind the fog lamp near the bottom of the air dam.  I drove through a puddle no more than 8″ deep, which threw up a bow wave, and the engine inhaled it.  Water doesn’t compress.  The block …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 30, 2021

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr..  Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Known for his quips and unaware of the injury to others at the scene, President Reagan walked into the hospital, despite his wound, and was heard telling his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” — I’m in transit back to the Rawles Ranch today, so I’ve reactivated the Elk Creek Company shopping cart. The hiatus is …


RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 1, by R.W.

Sir Franics Bacon is attributed with saying, “Knowledge is power.” And nothing could be more true than when it comes to prepping for emergencies and SHTF situations. When the forces of nature or the whims of men (or women) turn life upside down, we need to have a plan for reacting. If you’re reading this then you, more than anyone else, understands how true this is. For those who are unprepared it can literally mean the difference between life and death. Shortly after I began writing this article the people in Texas were put to the test with massive loss …