Year: 2022

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:

“The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 16, 2022

The Boston Tea Party anti-tax protest raid was on the night of December 16, 1773 at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. Frustrated colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This was the first significant publicized act of defiance to British rule in the American colonies. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 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 Young Man’s Preps – Part 1, by St. Leibowitz

The world is increasingly becoming a less comfortable place. You, as a teenage or young adult man reading this, have hopefully recognized this. You’d have to be oblivious not to. A lot of us are. This guide is meant to help give a high school to college-aged guy some ideas on how to increase his own personal preparedness. I have some small experience with this: I grew up in a moderately prepared family, and due to the intersection of theirs and my interests, I have what I think is a relatively realistic view of what is an attainable level 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 look at the unfolding decline in the residential and commercial real estate markets. (See the Tangibles Investing Section.) Precious Metals: Downside risks for gold and silver prices in 2023 – Natixis’ Dahdah. o  o  o Gold, Silver to Shine as Dollar Weakens in 2023 & Beyond. Economy & Finance: Both the …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 15, 2022

December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. (The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia.) We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 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. …


Staying Safe Around Big Trucks, by SwampFox

Chances are, if you are buying something from a store or ordering it online, a truck brought it to you. While rail and air freight play a role in our transportation system, they generally do not make deliveries for the final mile, or even the final 100 miles. That means there are a lot of trucks on the road, and a lot of truck drivers. In 2020, the Department of Labor estimated that there were over two million truck drivers on American roads. I am one of those truck drivers. I have worked in the industry for a few years, …


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 fusion power breakthrough. At Lawrence Livermore: U.S. to Announce Fusion Breakthrough H.L. sent this news from my hometown, Livermore, California: U.S. to announce fusion energy ‘breakthrough’. The article begins: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Power and those in control concede nothing … without a demand. They never have and never will… Each and every one of us must keep demanding, must keep fighting, must keep thundering, must keep plowing, must keep on keeping things struggling, must speak out and speak up until justice is served because where there is no justice there is no peace.” – Frederick Douglass


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 14, 2022

December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013.) Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name: Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg. — Today’s feature article is a guest piece written by SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska. Because it was first published in her blog, Alaska Bush Life, Off-Road, Off-Grid, it is not eligible for judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are in need of articles to post for Round 104 of the writing contest.  More than $775,000 worth …


Estimating Your Off-Grid Power Needs, by Mrs. Alaska

The European energy lobbying group 2000WATTS.org proposes that 2,000 watts is the amount of power that would be available to humans if each one of the 7.9 billion people on the planet had access to the same amount. Their concern is that our power resources are dwindling. Whether you agree or disagree with their assumptions, it is interesting to consider how much power our frequently used appliances require.  When I lived in a city, I never thought about this.  I just flipped switches and paid utility bills.  However, with so many parts of the country suffering power outages, I imagine …


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. — A video recommended by our Editor-At-Large, Michael Z. Williamson: The .22 LR “Pinball” Skull Shot Theory, Is It True? o  o  o The latest YouTube essay from Lauren Southern: Hunting Rifle Ban Announced in Canada. o  o  o Avalanche Lily spotted this: Why Do So Many Christians Deny The Deadly Intent Behind The Globalists’ …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 13, 2022

After spending nine months on the run, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003. During his 24 years in office, Saddam’s secret police, charged with protecting his power, terrorized the public, ignoring the human rights of the nation’s citizens. While many of his people faced poverty, he lived in incredible luxury, building more than 20 lavish palaces throughout the country. It was fitting that, in the end, he was hiding in nothing more than a hole in the ground covered by plywood. — December 13th is also the birthday of Sergeant Alvin York. — SurvivalBlog Writing …