Month: October 2023

Choose Your Friends Wisely, by Hollyberry

Now, more than ever, it is important to have a good network of friends and family you can rely on in a time of crisis. That crisis may be a health issue that only affects your immediate family and friends or a natural or man-made disaster that is encompassing a large portion of the community. The saying goes that you can pick your nose or pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. Our own immediate family members are over 500 miles away and elderly, and have some minor health issues. They would do their best to support us …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 the Odds ‘n …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions: How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood. We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 27, 2023

On October 27, 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an island country lying within the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, achieved its independence. — October 27th, 1858 was the birthday of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. (He died January 6, 1919.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 109 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 …


How To Find a Trustworthy Doctor – Part 2, by C.A.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Rule #3: Find a doctor who practices moral not just ethical medicine. By ethical medicine, I mean what is socially acceptable from your community, insurance companies, and government. Moral medicine is based on a sense of righteousness and wrong. For example, if a doctor wants prenatal genetic testing to check for disorders in your unborn child, that usually is “code” for I want to kill your baby if it is a Down Syndrome person. Today, over 90% of Down Syndrome babies are “ethically” aborted in the United States. Or how about a …


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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we examine the recent rise in the value of Bitcoin, in Dollar terms. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: Over at Gold-Eagle.com: What Happens to Gold When Bonds Are No Longer a Safe Haven? o  o  o A Kitco video: Preparing for the next recession with gold and silver. Economy & Finance: From …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 26, 2023

The sci-fi movie The Terminator was released in the United States on October 26, 1984. It was hugely successful. It made actor Arnold Schwarzenegger a star and established director James Cameron as a bankable filmmaker. This is the birthday of Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868) was an American gunsmith. He is best known for inventing and giving his name to the very compact Deringer pistol. Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bears his …


How To Find a Trustworthy Doctor – Part 1, by C.A.J.

I’ll begin with a quote: “The first step is to give up the illusion that the primary purpose of modern medical research is to improve Americans’ health most effectively and efficiently. In our opinion, the primary purpose of commercially funded clinical research is to maximize financial return on investment, not health.” – John Abramson, M.D., Harvard Medical School The last few years have been revealing to many people about the world in which we live. For those of us who study (not just read) the Scriptures as well as others, the world appears to be in a spiritual as well …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, we look at tactical evasion tactics. How to Evade a Professional Military (Tracking, Countertracking) Reader C.B. suggested a new video from Garand Thumb: How to Evade A Professional …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 25, 2023

40 years ago today, the U.S. military, under President Ronald Reagan, invaded the tiny island country of Grenada. — On this day in 1415, the English army, led by Henry V, scored a decisive victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years’ War, paving the way for further English conquests and successes. — This is the birthday of explorer and pilot Admiral Richard Byrd (1888–1957). His autobiography titled Alone is a must-read. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round …


12 Basic Actions To Make It Through the First 12 Weeks of TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Heat We have a super-efficient wood stove in our basement that can heat our entire cabin. We can vent heat into various parts of the house. We have two propane fireplaces that do not use any electricity. I put all these in when we built the cabin as our electricity as always spotty and my belief is that electricity is going to be a problem in almost every society fail scenario. I have a wood lot and prepare enough wood to stay warm all winter. I have several chain saws and can …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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. — Remote Work Can Thrive in Remote Places.  JWR’s Comment: It is interesting seeing that article posted at a website where the stock answers to nearly every question are either: “More government”, or “We should create a [taxpayer-funded] program to…” o  o  o Over at WND: Tesla won’t start after driving in rain, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe-straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment toward us.” – Ron Paul