Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 7, 2022

On this day in 1775 in London, Benjamin Franklin published “An Imaginary Speech” in defense of American courage. The speech was intended to counter an unnamed officer’s comments to Parliament that the British need not fear the colonial rebels, because “Americans are unequal to the People of this Country [Britain] in Devotion to Women, and in courage and worse than all, they are religious.” Franklin’s response included his usual wit and acuity. February 7th, 1867, is also the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder (died February 10, 1957). SurvivalBlog highly recommends the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as well as her biography. …




Springfield Armory XDm Elite 9mm, by Pat Cascio

META: Another new acronym. It drives me crazy with acronyms for so many things. Acronyms help save time when communicating with someone. That is, if they are schooled in the terminology with certain things. The military and police find that important. However, META is a new one to me. It doesn’t refer to the new name for the Facebook company or The Metaverse. Rather, it stands for Match Enhanced Trigger Assembly, and it refers to the trigger on the Springfield Armory XDm Elite 9mm pistol. The acronym from Springfield pretty much explains it all. They claim that this trigger is …




Recipe of the Week:  Winter Trail Mix

The following recipe for a winter trail mix is from reader McKenzie: Ingredients 1 cup Dried Cranberries or Raisins 1 cup chocolate chips (regular Toll House or white) 1 cup Pistachios, dry roasted (Don’t get salted ones, if on a low-salt diet.) 1 cup (or more) Granola, store-bought or homemade 1-1/2 cups almonds (candied, roasted, or raw — to suit your taste) 2 cups M&Ms (Optional, for you chocaholics) Directions Just mix it and bag it. This is a great high-calorie mix for X-C skiing, or snoeshoeing.  If you find you like this and do a lot of winter sports, …




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 potential impact of a Russia-Ukraine war on precious metals and commodities. Precious Metals: How will the U.S. respond if Russia invades Ukraine? Implications for gold, oil, and stocks. JWR’s Comment: Retired USMC Colonel Harold Kempfer has a good grasp of both strategy and tactics. His assessment is correct. …