Year: 2022

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 30, 2022

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 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 …


Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) On any frame with forks there are also two options for the orientation of how the bands are attached to the forks – Through The Forks (TTF) or Over The Top (OTT). TTF means that the bands come around the sides of the forks, and the ammo passes through the forks roughly centered on the bands. OTT means the bands come over the top of the forks, and the ammo comes out roughly centered on a line across the tops of the forks. Here’s a picture that illustrates the two layouts (TTF on top, OTT on …


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. — Governor Holcomb signs Indiana’s Constitutional Carry bill into law. The new law goes into effect on July 1st, 2022. o  o  o At Spaceweather.com: GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2-CLASS) “A moderately strong G2-class geomagnetic storms are possible on March 31st when a CME is expected to hit Earth’s magnetic field. During such storms, naked-eye auroras can descend into the …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 29, 2022

Today would have been the 103rd birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. He passed away on June 29, 2021, at age 102. The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki: “He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered. On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese …


Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 1, by J.M.

One of the hallmarks of good preparedness is leveraging lessons of the past to help us prepare for the future. However, as we age we tend to discard a lot of the simpler things we learned earlier in life in favor of more advanced (and typically more complex and expensive) approaches. Weapons are a great example of this – if you’re somewhere in the realm of a ‘seasoned citizen’ there’s a good chance you made and used a slingshot (‘catapult’ or ‘katty’ for those of you in the UK) from a tree branch and inner tube sometime in your youth, …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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, an update on the Gabby Petito case..   (See the Wyoming section.) Idaho Mayor And AP Stringer Give Sandpoint A Black Eye. o  o  o Idaho Governor Signs Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban Bill. o  o  o Idaho school board group joins 21 states severing ties with …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 28, 2022

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s. The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the …


Altus Stealth 28 HTBT Earbuds, by Thomas Christianson

I was recently able to test a pre-production prototype of the soon-to-be-released hearing protection Altus Stealth 28 HTBT Earbuds. The earbuds are scheduled to be released in April, 2022. They offer an attractive form factor that is well designed to provide superior comfort and ease of use. The electronics in the prototype unit that I tested were okay, but could be improved upon. Altus promises better performance in production versions of the unit. The Backstory In December of 2021, SurvivalBlog posted my review of the Axil GS Extreme Earbuds. I found them to be excellent earbuds, but a bit pricey, …


Recipe of the Week: Debra’s Chickpea and Vegetable Curry

The following recipe for Chickpea and Vegetable Curry was sent to us by Debra from Missouri.  She writes: “I hope this encourages you to expand your recipe repertoire. Adding new spices and recipes can go a long way to avoiding boredom at mealtime when you are eating from the [storage food] larder.” Ingredients Chickpeas – either a 15 oz can drain and rinsed, or a heaping one half cup of dried beans soaked overnight and cooked for approximately 1 hour (in unsalted water) if you don’t like or don’t have chickpeas you can use an equal amount of any other …


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 rising commodities prices. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: First up, at MoneyWeek: These precious metals are dirt cheap – buy now. o  o  o Will Russia Backstop The Ruble With Gold? o  o  o Over at Organic Prepper: We’ve Officially Run Out of Silver. Economy & Finance: Recession …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 27, 2022

March 27th is the birthday of the late Robert W. Ford (born 1923, died 20 September 2013). He was an amazing man who had a remarkable life. His book, Wind Between The Worlds (an account of experiences in Tibet, captivity by the communist Chinese, and his fight against brainwashing), is highly recommended. It is available for free download. — Today’s feature article is a product review written by JWR.


Review: The Siege Belt

As the Senior Editor of SurvivalBlog, I don’t have the opportunity to write many product reviews. Most of that fun is reserved for our two Field Gear Editors. But I recently received a sample of a new product that captivated me, so I decided to conduct the review test, myself. It is called The Siege Belt.  It is a new product that is made by the same folks who manufacture the sturdy Siege Stoves. (You probably recall their name, as one of our advertisers.) Proviso: I’m not an attorney. Do not consider any of the following as legal advice.  Consult …