Year: 2022

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2.  This concludes the article) Cold Weather Considerations Colder weather introduces its own unique problems to mobile sleep planning. Besides being really uncomfortable and preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep, it’s possible to get hypothermia in wet or windy conditions in temperatures as high as 60°F, which can result in death. The most obvious solution is to start a fire to keep you warm, but you’ll want to make sure you structure the fire to burn as long as possible so you can get a good night’s sleep. Some options for long-burning fires are: A …


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. Law Mandates Kill Switches In All New Cars MSN reported this troubling news: Law Will Install Kill Switches In All New Cars. Here is a quote: “According to an article written by former U.S. …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 21, 2022

On this day in 1780, during the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold met with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British in return for the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. The plot was foiled and Arnold, a former American hero, became synonymous with the word “traitor”. It’s too bad the current crop of politicians are not held accountable for their treasonous acts. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for …


To Sleep, Perchance to Dream – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) Another platform option to consider are hammocks – I’m not talking about those huge macrame things people have in their backyards, but real camping hammocks from companies like Eagles Nest Outfitters, Hummingbird, Lawson, Dutchware and Warbonnet Outdoors. I may be a bit biased since I transitioned from a ground-dweller to hammocks for backpacking a few years ago, but they can be incredibly comfortable and easy to set up and take down. Depending on how your room is configured you may be able to attach some heavy-duty screw eyes to wall studs and hang multiple hammocks up …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — UPS Further Clamps Down on Firearms Shipments. Here is an excerpt from the article: “The United Parcel Service (UPS) has followed up its decision to enforce the new Biden administration rule on gun parts a month before it took effect with a new, restrictive firearms shipping policy that could prove troublesome to gunmakers and gun …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 20, 2022

On this day in 1519, Magellan left Europe on his voyage of discovery. On September 20, 1995, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to drop the national 55 MPH speed limit. This allowed the states to again decide their own speed limits, without fear of losing Federal highway funding. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 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 …


To Sleep, Perchance to Dream – Part 1, by J.M.

Ahh, waking up fresh and well-rested in the morning to the soft musical chime of your alarm clock, with the beautiful rays of morning sunshine nudging you to start your day after a restful night’s sleep. Okay, so I may be leaning a bit into the fantasy world, but the reality is that sleeping (and waking up, hopefully) are things that everyone reading this has in common. The other thing that pretty much everyone shares is that we all have problems sleeping occasionally – tossing and turning, getting up at oh-dark-thirty and feeling like we’re walking around in a coma …


The American Redoubt Movement is Libeled, Yet Again

This week, in lieu of my regular weekly column about the American Redoubt region, I’m posting my reaction to recent libelous statements that unfairly smeared the American Redoubt political migration movement. The popular liberal pundit Seth Abramson (with 950,000+ followers) recently tweeted this on Twitter: “If a civil war starts in the U.S. in the next 5 years, it’ll start in Idaho and be started by the American Redoubters—armed fascists whose leaders have close ties to Trump and who are already openly threatening government officials. I advise Googling “American Redoubt” ASAP.”  Abramson continued in a long string of Twitter “PS” …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We know that the idea of perfect socialism is an oxymoron. Pursuing utopia throughout the last century has already caused untold human suffering. That’s why the clear goal of a free society must be understood and sought or the vision of the authoritarians will face little resistance and will easily fill the void. There are precise goals we should work for, even under today’s difficult circumstances. We must legalize freedom to the maximum extent possible: 1. Complete police protection is impossible; therefore we must preserve the right to own weapons in self-defense. 2. In order to maintain economic protection against …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 19, 2022

Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in 1928 (Steamboat Willy at the Colony Theater in New Your City.) On September 19th, 1778, the Continental Congress passed the first budget of the United States. While the budget may have passed, the states responded poorly to the call for taxes to fund the government, and the government resorted to printing paper money to cover debts. In effect, the first budget was a failure, due in large part to the states not responding to the demands of Congress and the depreciation of fiat paper money. Are we talking about 1778 or 2014 here? …


Review: John Deere 110 Lawn and Garden Tractor, by Thomas Christianson

The gasoline-powered internal combustion engine is a wonderful invention. It takes the substantial amount of energy stored up in fossil fuels, and makes it conveniently available for the tasks of daily life. Gasoline engines have probably done more to ease the labors of rural living than any other single invention of the last 200 years. It is possible that I may live to see the day when gasoline-powered equipment is no longer in common use. If that day comes, it will almost certainly not be due to powerful elites looking out for the best interests of the common man. Instead, …


Recipe of the Week: Killer Keeper Meatloaf

The following meatloaf recipe is from reader John M. John says: “Most everybody loves meatloaf. This recipe gets even better the next few days. Ingredients and Directions Use a 9 x 12 Pyrex dish or two bread loaf pans. I layer them with aluminum foil, which makes it easy to remove and makes transfer to the fridge a breeze. Use 2 to 2-1/2 pounds lean burger (you can also  use a combo of ground pork if you want) 6 oz of Mrs Cubbison’s stuffing mix (1/2 box) instead of stove top either will work. In a large mixing bowl mix …


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 demand for Queen Elizabeth gold and silver coins. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: QTR: Gold And Silver Are Disappearing From Vaults Worldwide. And here is another perspective:  London Silver Inventories Continue To Plummet As Metal Exits LBMA Vaults. o  o  o Queen Elizabeth’s Death Puts Squeeze …