Year: 2021

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 26, 2021

The Battle of Glorieta Pass began on March 26, 1862.  This outcome of this battle ensured that the west stayed with the Union, and denied the Confederacy the gold and silver from the western states. The Confederates were stopped by a very mis-nicknamed unit ( “The Pet Lambs”) – the 1st Colorado Volunteers (official 1st Colorado Infantry) made up of hard rock miners (predominantly Cornish or Welsh), Irish track layers, mountain men, and some mountain cowboys. — I just heard about a very remote retreat property for sale, over at SurvivalRealty.com: It is 140 miles up the Stikine River from Wrangell, Alaska, …


Tool Maintenance, by Richard T.

I’m now 73 years old and can’t remember ever not having tools. In my mother’s diary she wrote about little projects I made before I even started kindergarten at the age of four. Some of the tools that I have today were my father’s. These include a hammer and some tinsnips. They outlasted him and those and others will outlast me, if they are maintained properly. This is where most of us fall short, me especially when it comes to tools for tasks that I’m not particularly passionate about. Outdoor yard projects fall into that category. For a tool to …


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 how urban outmigration has created a rural land rush. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Poland Wants More Gold: “The ‘Most Reserve’ Of Reserve Currencies” o  o  o COMEX “Delivery” Update Economy & Finance: Roughly 4 in 5 Manhattan Office Workers Will Not Return Full-Time, Survey Says o  …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend on God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 25, 2021

National Medal of Honor day is officially observed on March 25th of each year. This is the birthday of English film director David Lean. He was born in Croydon, England in 1908. He died in 1991. He is best known for his films Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago. On March 25, 1944 RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a jump from a burning Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet over Germany without a parachute. His fall was broken by pine trees and soft snow, and he suffered only a sprained leg. He died on …


Post-Collapse Barter: The Value of Silver – Part 2, By Dr. Derek King

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) So let us postulate (while we still have time, sanity, and electricity) what that sack of coins might be worth as time crawls on. The topic of bartering safely, back-room banking, armed protection and hiding places are beyond the scope of this paper and will be saved for another time and venue. Let’s just speculate as to what a 1960 quarter and a plain 1-ounce 99.9% silver “round” will be worth on a chronological time-line, shall we?! Remember that silver is measured in Troy ounces (12 to a pound) and that this …


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 examine Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). License Plate Readers are Becoming Ubiquitous Over at EndGadget: Anyone with a camera and $5 can now have a license plate reader. The article begins: “Automatic license …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 24, 2021

March 24th is the birthday of Dr. Art Robinson, who was born in 1942. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 93 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, 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 onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s …


Post-Collapse Barter: The Value of Silver – Part 1, by Dr. Derek King

You, as an avid reader of SurvivalBlog posts, know a few things for sure: 1. That the spot prices for physical gold and silver metals have been tremendously manipulated and suppressed for decades. 2. That if a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) from our sun (similar to the Carrington Event in August of 1859) strikes our country and our planet, that ALL of the semi-conductor circuits, electrical transformers, and vehicles dependent upon those parts will instantly become inoperable. And 3. That the Dominion Voting machines would not be used in the next elections. If an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) struck the …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 23, 2021

Today is the birthday of acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. He directed 30 films. His samurai films (many starring Toshiro Mifune) such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, and Ran are considered legendary in the cinema world. And today is the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death speech. It was delivered to the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, on March 23, 1775. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …


AAR: Winter Storm Uri, by Rocket J. Squirrel

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following is the third After-Action Report (AAR) that we’ve posted in SurvivalBlog about the recent severe winter weather in Texas. Anyone who lives in a temperate region should read these AARs closely, and learn from their experiences. Make adjustments to your home/retreat’s backup power system, water system, heating sources, and insulation. If nothing else, these AARs illustrate that you need to now how to repair copper, PVC, and PEX pipe, and keep the requisite tools and repair pie and fittings on hand. — I live in a suburb south of downtown Houston, Texas. We woke up …


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. — M. in The Redoubt wrote to ask: JWR,  Do you think the benefits of owning a [registered] suppressor (flash signature and sound reduction) outweigh the increased exposure of being on the ATF registry?   JWR Replies: In the present-day political climate, I would advise against it.  The high profile outweighs the potential benefits.  If you want to shoot quietly, …