Month: November 2023

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 12, 2023

On November 12, 1970, the Bhola cyclone struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing hundreds of thousands of people in the densely populated Ganges–Brahmaputra delta; it was perhaps the deadliest tropical cyclone in recorded history and one of the greatest natural disasters. — Today is the birthday of USMC Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph “Dan” Daly (born 1873, died April 27, 1937). He was one of only nineteen men (including seven Marines) to twice receive the Medal of Honor. — November 12th, 1950 was the birthday of Corporal John Alan Coey (died 19 July 1975). He was the first American volunteer killed …


Homesteading – A Cautionary Tale – Part 3, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Why I will continue to homestead It’s really fun to watch videos of the perfect “permaculture” setup.  It’s quite another to implement it.  Sitting down and thinking it all through is a great idea, even drawing up plans – which will require you to know the lay of your land, the slopes, the direction the wind comes from, where the morning sun comes up, what shadows are thrown during the day, the climate and growing zone, etc.  But, what if you have no idea what you’re doing? When I started out, I …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: What If The National Electrical Code For Male and Female Connectors Was “Updated” To Become Gender Fluid? Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.  


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 11, 2023

At 5:00 a.m. on this day in 1918, the Allied powers and Germany signed an armistice document in the railway carriage of Ferdinand Foch, the commander of the Allied armies, and six hours later World War I came to an end. Ever since then, November 11th has been celebrated as Armistice Day — later called Veteran’s Day. — This is also the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr..  (Born 1885, died December 21, 1945). — On November 11, 1880, Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, who was the most famous of the bushrangers (bandits of the Australian outback), was hanged in …


Homesteading – A Cautionary Tale – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1.) The urgent drives out the merely important on a homestead Maintenance is of critical importance.  If you do not maintain the fencing, for example, you may find yourself chasing animals down a country road.  That seems to happen often around these here parts.  Someone’s horses or cows are always out.  Dogs abound.  I have a neighbor who brings their pregnant cows to the adjacent acreage to calve.  I only had to track my neighbors down once to let them know a cow was out.  The cow was peacefully grazing in the graveyard nearby!  They have since …


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:

“The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee.”  – Deuteronomy 28:43-45 (KJV) 


Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 10, 2023

On this day in 1871, according to his journal, explorer Henry Stanley greeted David Livingstone, the fellow explorer in search of the source of the Nile River, with the famous words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” — November 10th is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps. — November 10th is also the birthday of the late Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov, born in 1919, died December 23, 2013. He didn’t design a lot of different guns, but one of his few designs was the prototype for what turned out to be the world’s most widely produced …


Homesteading – A Cautionary Tale – Part 1, by SaraSue

Living The Dream First off, why do I homestead?  My passion is to provide a safe haven for my large family away from the world’s chaos.  A place where food can be grown, the air is clean and fresh, no noise or people pollution, no homeless encampments, and precious little crime.  A safe, productive, hideaway.  Realizing that nowhere is completely safe, we know that some places are better than others.  Just look around.  If you live in the country, you might have a million-dollar view from the porch of a humble home.  I do.  I can scarcely take it in.  …


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, another look at “Shrinkflation”. (See the Inflation/Deflation Watch: section.) Precious Metals: Metals on the Move: Silver breakout signals next run to $50. o  o  o Gold prices may need clear signal of Fed cuts to break $2000, industrial silver demand set to rise – Heraeus. Economy & Finance: SurvivalBlog reader K.B. sent this: Why Banks …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 9, 2023

On November 9th, 1799, the Coup of 18–19 Brumaire began in Paris, marking Napoleon‘s rise to power and the end of the French Revolution. — After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on November 9, 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. — Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids has announced a 40% discount on all orders over $75, through the end of 2023.  This discount is only being offered …


Mobility Without Petroleum or Electricity, by C.H.

Introduction This article will focus on the bicycle as a transportation solution in a situation where the electrical grid has failed, and petroleum products are either completely unavailable or in extremely limited supply. Given those parameters, I will not be discussing E-Bikes. I also have no experience with them. I bought a hybrid bicycle in early 2005 due to a fuel spike that was killing my budget. With further deployments and changes in employment the bicycle was set aside and gather dust in the garage. My semi-serious foray into cycling only begins a couple years ago when I pulled the …


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 a Euthanasia in Canada. Canadian Death Cult SurvivalBlog’s Tom Christianson suggested this City Journal article: Canadian Death Cult: America’s northern neighbor has euthanized tens of thousands …