Month: July 2022

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 31, 2022

July 31 is the birthday of free-market economist Milton Friedman. (He was born 1912, and died November 16, 2006.) On July 31, 1958 the Anti-Chinese uprising began in Tibet. July 31st, 1921, was the birthday of Army Air Corps veteran David Thatcher, one of the Doolittle Raiders. Thatcher was the tail gunner in the rear of the Mitchell B-25 medium bomber christened the Ruptured Duck, the seventh of 16 planes. Returning from the raid, the bomber crashed into the sea from low fuel and the crewmen survived, in no small part to Thatcher’s heroic efforts. The five airmen washed ashore …


Basic Electronic Repair – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Repairing a device whose batteries have leaked isn’t difficult – you just have to be careful and take your time. I once cleaned up and repaired a $300 laser level that was thrown away at a construction site because the batteries leaked, and it’s proven incredibly useful over the years. Techniques for repairing other types of physical damage will obviously depend on the specific types of damage. Cracked or broken plastic cases or parts can be repaired with glue (I like to use JB Plastic Weld), hot melt glue, crazy glue, heat …


July 2022 in Precious Metals, by Steven 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 July? Gold had a worse than usual month in July. It started the month crashing by $42 from $1,807 per ounce to $1,765. As bad as that was, things got worse as the month went on, with spot gold closing at $1,696.40 on July 20th. The end of the month ended with a bang, thanks to the Fed. They raised interest …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: To share this, you can find it here: https://www.kapwing.com/videos/62e5c1a3c863cd00c0345acf Meme Text: If The Graduate Were Being Released Today: “Are You Listening?” “Yes, Sir, I Am.” “Magazines. Full-Capacity Magazines.”   Movie Clip Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dug-G9xVdVs News Link: https://www.nraila.org/articles/20220721/take-action-more-gun-control-in-us-house  


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 30, 2022

Today we remember the birthday of author Reginald Bretnor. He was born Alfred Reginald Kahn on July 30, 1911, in Vladivostok. He died on July 22, 1992 in Medford, Oregon. In addition to penning many witty science fiction novels and short stories in his characteristic style, he also wrote nonfiction articles for Mel Tappan’s P.S. Letter  — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 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 …


Basic Electronic Repair – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) Regarding spare parts – switches, relays, jacks, screws, battery holders and all of the other mechanical bits in electronics can be expensive to replace, and if you don’t have a decent stock you’ll almost always have to end up buying a replacement part (assuming you even can). I’ve found the best source of spare electronics parts are old discarded devices. All of my friends and family know that if they have an electronic device they’re going to dispose of that I’ll always take it. I’ve been given or found in the trash hundreds of devices over …


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:

“Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 29, 2022

July 29,1805 was the birthday of Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville. He died 16 April 1859. He is best known for his lengthy treatise: Democracy In America. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the final entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It will be posted in three parts. 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 …


Basic Electronic Repair – Part 1, by J.M.

In several previous articles on SurvivalBlog.com (‘Elements of a Security System‘, ‘Surviving With Electronics’ & ‘Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI’) I discussed various ways you can utilize technology like electronics to help you prepare and survive. However, the best technology in the world won’t do you any good if it isn’t working, and you probably won’t be able to go online and order a replacement after the grid goes down. The problem is that electronics are like magic to a lot of people, and the thought of opening a device up and repairing it isn’t something they’ve ever considered. Part of …


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 again look at Dollar-Euro parity. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: Alasdair Macleod: Gold and the Upcoming Recession. o  o  o Gold could see a relief rally if Fed raises rates by 75 basis points – Standard Chartered. o  o  o Zimbabwe goes for the gold — coin, that …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 28, 2022

On July 28, 1932, U.S. Army troops, using tanks, cavalry, and tear gas demolished and burned the shanty town set up near the U.S. Capitol by unemployed Bonus Army protestors. July 28th is also the anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, in 1914. This war irreparably changed geopolitics. Officially, the war lasted until November 11, 1918, as did our involvement. But American troops were still running around shooting Russians until 1920. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …


Expedient Reloading, by Brandon F.

My father grew up poor on a barren Wyoming homestead 8,200 feet above sea level. A World War 2 veteran and policeman, he and my mother were very frugal — not stingy or cheap but careful with what assets they had. My earliest memories of my father were of him teaching me to shoot and hunt cottontails with a Winchester Model 62 pump-action .22 rifle, which I still have. I was so young he had to hold the barrel steady as I could barely lift the rifle. He was not one to waste ammunition. Throughout my young pre-teen years, my …