Year: 2023

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 5, 2023

On July 5th, 1859, Captain N.C. Brooks discovered the Midway Islands in the central Pacific Ocean and claimed the territory for the United States. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 107 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 can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), …


A Power Outage Experience – Part 2, by Big D.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes teh article.) DURING THE POWER OUTAGE Fortunately, my cell phone service remained on during the entire event. That allowed me to directly access the internet from my phone or connect the phone to my computer and smarty TV for outside access. After the first day the electric company updated the “outages” page on their web site and showed the extensive outages that they were dealing with. The system had both “grid” issues of downed power poles and system components as well as individual properties and businesses who had service lines damaged or disconnected on …


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. — First up today, SurvivalBlog reader C.B. sent this news: Michigan House passes bill making wrong pronouns a felony, fineable up to $10,000. JWR’s Comments:  Apparently, the only tests that this law demands are A.)  Repetition of the “offense”, and B.) Whether or not the feelings of the recipient of the pronoun were …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 4, 2023

Today, July 4th, Americans go through the motions of celebrating the remnants of our once preciously cherished liberty. Let us do our best to regain that liberty, for the sake of our posterity. And please, folks, let’s refer to this holiday properly as Independence Day. It isn’t just the “Fourth of July.” July 4th is also the birthday of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and of General Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) Oh, and be careful those fireworks! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: …


A Recent Power Outage Experience – Part 1, by Big D.

INTRODUCTION I am writing this within a few days after a power outage on June 18, 2023, so that I will remember the details. I am a 74-year-old and somewhat handicapped grandpa who lives alone in the country. I still get around okay but a lot of physical effort wears me out rather quickly. Sometimes I think that I still have the physical capabilities of the athlete that I was as a younger man. Mentally, yes. Physically, not so much! I was awakened just after midnight on Sunday morning by the sounds of a storm with very high winds buffeting …


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, a follow-up report on the Great Falls, Montana gun shop raid. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Idaho set to add 248 bills into law on July 1st. o  o  o Community calls for justice following police killing of 22-year-old man. o  o  o Boise Police …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should. Happy Fourth of July.” – Ronald Reagan, 1981


Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 3, 2023

On July 3, 1890, the Idaho Territory became the 43rd state in the Union. July 3rd is also the birthday of both musician Aaron Tippin and actor Tom Cruise. — Today’s feature article is a review written by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. He has been in ill health, so please keep him in your prayers. — We are in great need of articles to round out Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that …


Springfield Armory Saint 9mm Carbine, by Pat Cascio

It seems like it was a lifetime ago, when I shot a Colt 9mm submachinegun, I do remember how much fun it was. I was determined to get the civilian-legal semiauto version, someday.  Well, at long last, that someday finally rolled around, in the guise of the new Springfield Armory Saint Victor 9mm AR. Springfield Armory always seems to have their finger on the pulse of what consumers want. However, at times they are overwhelmed with demand for many of their products. Such is the case with their brand-new 9mm AR-style pistol carbine that recently came on the scene. I …


Recipe of the Week: Easy Soft Cheeses

The following recipe for Easy Cheeses is from SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska. Soft cheeses can be easy. Below is a beginner’s recipe that requires only milk, salt, and vinegar (or lemon juice).  Without additional herbs, the result will be very bland, like Indian paneer, or Italian ricotta, or Mexican cojillo. But once you have made this easy cheese, you may feel emboldened to branch out. One gallon of milk (or dried milk plus water to equal one gallon)  (I have done this with non fat milk and it works, but is blander). 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice (or some …


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 look at base metals prices signaling a recession. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: First up, from Matthew Piepenburg: Solid Gold In a Broken World. o  o  o Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: The apocalyptic 8000-tonne gold miscalculation. o  o  o Something for the chartists out there, at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Forecast – …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 2, 2023

On July 2nd, 2002 American adventurer Steve Fossett became the first balloonist to circumnavigate the world alone. And in 2005 he completed the first nonstop solo global flight in an airplane. And on July 2nd, 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. — We are still seeking entries for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $825,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer …


The Long View of a Brewing Conservative Backlash

America has been on the path of self-destruction for four generations. Since the end of the Second World War, feminized socialists have gradually gained sociopolitical control of the United States.  The left-wing radicals of the 1960s and 1970s are now in their senior years and they hold the reins of power in our society.  Those hippies who said:  “Never trust anyone over 30” and who complained about “The Man”, now are The Man. They control academia, the mass media, both major political parties, urban law enforcement, labor unions, most Fortune 1,000 corporate Boards of Directors, and some mainline church hierarchies. …