Year: 2022

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 13, 2022

April 13, 1743 was the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. (He died on July 4, 1826 just a few hours before the death of John Adams. How patriotic of both of them to pass away on the Fourth of July.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 100 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 …


Solar-Battery Home Power – Part 2, by Jeff M.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) POWERING UP & MORE TO LEARN Don’t expect step-by-step instructions. I found all the needed information but chronological steps for start-up or shut-down are not readily available. However, there is plenty of online info where people figured out the best steps. I powered up my inverter with battery power first, then went through the entire menu. Go slow, though it’s pretty easy. A couple of battery voltage settings from the battery manufacturer were the only deviations. Then I turned the solar panel input on and waited for the screen to recognize battery …


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. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — We’ll start out today’s column with a caption for the photo, above. It is not a prop from the 1984 John Milius movie Red Dawn. Rather, it is a recent photo from Ukraine, where an immobilized Russian BMP-3 was tagged by a Ukrainian fighter — or perhaps a teen loyalist. Given the global nature of …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 12, 2022

We’ve received news that novelist Jack Higgins has passed away, at age 92. Here is an excerpt from his obituary: “Publisher HarperCollins announced Saturday that Higgins died at his home on the English Channel island of Jersey surrounded by his family. He reportedly was the author of more than 85 novels and was renowned as one of the greatest thriller writers of all time. Born Henry Patterson in Newcastle, England, in July 1929, Higgins served in the military before studying sociology at the London School of Economics. He became a teacher in the northern city of Leeds and a writer …


Solar-Battery Home Power – Part 1, by Jeff M.

So to begin with I must say that my move to a solar/battery system was rather supernatural. I had been pondering for a long time as to installing a generator for our home, or use the large portable I already own and can connect manually, or do nothing. I was constantly worrying about two things:  1. Where will I get fuel in a long term, serious societal event? 2. All generators make noise, most of them a lot, including mine. I was trapped in a vicious circle of worry, especially with events of the past six years. I truly believe …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoub

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on the arrival of Avian Influenza.  (See the Montana and Wyoming sections.) Region-Wide From Spectator World: Heading west to escape liberal tyranny: Remote work will geographically polarize the country even more. This refreshingly unbiased article begins: “As our nation navigates a ‘return to …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 11, 2022

Today is the birthday of Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery (11 April 1832 – 8 May 1907.) He was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also a designer and inventor of firearms including the Webley-Fosbery “automatic” revolver (pictured) and the Paradox Gun. April 11th is also the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan …


CRKT Tueto Knife, by Pat Cascio

One of the things I like about the cutlery and other products from CRKT (Columbia River Knife & Tool) is that they are always offering something a bit “different” or “unique” to put on the market. Many of their knives are a collaboration between CRKT and some very well-known custom knife makers. When they do this, you are getting the production version of a custom knife design, and it is near-custom when it is manufactured, at a fraction of the price of the custom model. I used to design and collect custom knives – most were fixed-blade, and I can …


Recipe of the Week: Chad’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

The following recipe is from reader Chad in Wisconsin. He modified a commercial recipe that he found online, to allow him to make his equivalent of Resse’s Peanut Butter Cups, from his storage foods cache.  Chad says: “This is the ultimate ‘comfort food’ for The Dark Days.” He also notes: “This recipe can be doubled, for double your yum!” Ingredients Base Layer: 1 cup butter, margarine, or storage ghee 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar 2 cups peanut butter or reconstituted peanut butter powder 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs Topping: ½ cup butter, margarine, or storage ghee 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips …


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 some stock market risks. (See the Equities section.) Precious Metals: Gold to test $1,950 as bullish sentiment drives prices. o  o  o Alasdair Macleod: The Commodity Currency Revolution. Economy & Finance: “Sounding The Alarm”: A $3 Trillion Problem Emerges As The Fed Prepares To Launch QT. o  o  o …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Here’s how to get started with the antipolitical politics of the Benedict Option. Secede culturally from the mainstream. Turn off the television. Put the smartphones away. Read books. Play games. Make music. Feast with your neighbors. It is not enough to avoid what is bad; you must also embrace what is good. Start a church, or a group within your church. Open a classical Christian school, or join and strengthen one that exists. Plant a garden, and participate in a local farmer’s market. Teach kids how to play music, and start a band. Join the volunteer fire department.” –  Rod …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 10, 2022

April 10, 1827 was the birthday of General Lew Wallace. He wrote books (author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ), sculpted, practiced law, painted, played the violin and made them as well. In the “Battle of Monocacy” he led a unit alongside 8,000 Union troops against 15,000 Confederates. He was second in command of the Lincoln conspiracy trial as well as principal in the trial of the Commander of Andersonville prison where prisoners had been starved to death. He was U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. And he served as the Territorial Governor of New Mexico. Willian Bonney (“Billy the Kid”) …


Why Do We Prepare?, by Todd X.

I am a prepper. As a child, I remember my grandmother’s stories of living with scarcity during the Great Depression and her life lessons about the necessity of being prepared. As a teenager, my father was a senior operations officer at the Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters. He believed he would have an early warning about any incoming nuclear attacks. Consequently, he devised a code phrase. If he called and said: “I have some bad news: Grandpa fell and broke his hip” then we were to grab our bug-out bags and quickly head to our well-stocked cabin in the woods …