Month: August 2024

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 31, 2024

On August 31, 1889, the Second International Electrical Congress adoped the Joule as a unit of energy (after James Prescott Joule), the Watt as a unit of power (after James Watt) and the Quadrant as a unit of electrical inductance. (The Quadrant was later renamed the Henry.)  Pictured is Scottish engineer, chemist, and inventor James Watt. — On August 31, 1745 in the Jacobite Rising: Bonnie Prince Charlie reached Blair Castle, Scotland. — August 31, 1422, Henry VI became King of England at the age of 9 months. — August 31st, 1992 is the day that Randy Weaver surrendered to …


Carry Trade Trap: Why The Fed Has Waited So Long To Cut Rates, by Brandon Smith

Editor’s Introductory Note: This article was written by Alt-Market.us Editor Brandon Smith and originally published by the Birch Gold Group. It is reposted with permission. — In 2022 there was considerable debate among alternative economists what the Federal Reserve was likely to do in the face of rising stagflation. There were people who argued that the Fed would capitulate to stock market demands, stop raising interest rates and return to Quantitative Easing (QE). These analysts operated on the assumption that the central bank wants to save the US economy from substantial deflationary crisis and that they will happily print money …


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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 30, 2024

On August 30, 1146, European leaders outlawed the crossbow, with the stated intent of ending war for all time. (Pictured is a 16th-Century German Crossbow.)  Here is a quote from an article titled: The Crossbow – A Medieval Doomsday Device: “For much of the Middle Ages, the crossbow was considered to be one of the most destabilizing weapons in existence, not unlike today’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.” In the 12th Century, the crossbow was considered by many to be a weapon of mass destruction. Not only was it was remarkably accurate and deadly at vast distances, but shockingly, the …


Learning How To Be a Marksman – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) Precision shooting is the pursuit of the ability to hit small targets at long ranges with one shot. As hits count and misses do not, given the battlefield level of accuracy that most rifles and shooters are capable of, limiting our range to 300 yards is realistic and practical. Training at 400 yards and then shooting at 300 yards will make the shooter work harder and better ensure that they can hit the first time, every time at closer ranges. Do not let the enemy get closer than 300 yards. At 200 …


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 the continuing bull market in precious metals. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: FoxNews: Value of gold bar hits $1 million for first time ever.  (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.) o  o  o Gold Holds Above $2,500 as Powell Signals Rate Cuts Are Coming. o  o  o At …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 29, 2024

On August 29, 1831, Michael Faraday demonstrated the first electric transformer. — In 1862, the Second Battle of Bull Run in Virginia began. The same day marked the founding of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. — August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane.  The botched local and FEMA response in the storm’s aftermath turned millions of Americans into preppers. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 114 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists …


Learning How To Be a Marksman – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Understanding Ballistic Coefficients As a rule of thumb, projectiles with a ballistic coefficient (BC) of 0.400 or less and velocities of less than 2,750 fps (such as 77 grain .223 bullets out of 20″ AR barrel) will have a much more difficult time striking targets past 600 yards when compared to projectiles with greater ballistic coefficients and the same or higher velocities. The larger diameter projectiles with heavy for caliber bullets used in other cartridges beginning with 6mm ARC, or .243 Winchester can have higher ballistic coefficients and the same or greater velocities. Therefore they are …


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 some weather and climate news. It bears mention that several of today’s news links can be credited to the oft-mentioned Whatfinger.com news aggregation site. I recommend …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 28, 2024

On this day in 1884, the first known photograph of a tornado was taken by F.N. Robinson, near Howard, South Dakota. — August 28, 1833 is the anniversary of the abolishment of slavery throughout the British Empire. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 114 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 …


Learning How To Be a Marksman – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) The Killing Power of Firearms: More is Better The 20 gauge or 12 gauge shotgun and semi-auto handgun is a good combination for close-quarters combat or with home defense distances of 35 yards or less. If using Federal Flight Control buckshot, the maximum effective distance can be 50 yards. A modified to full choke can also extend the range of the shotgun. A shotgun loaded with buckshot shells can stop the fight instantaneously. If you hit somewhere in the torso, it would be lights out and they will drop like a sack of potatoes, dead before …


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. — A new video from John Lovell (of Warrior Poet Society fame): 11th Hour Checklist. JWR’s Comment:  John is a solid Christian who sounds more and more prepper-oriented, every time I hear him speak. o  o  o Counting the costs: We can now read the lawsuit against the Biden regime’s unfunded mandate on …