Month: November 2024

Thoughts on Retreats: History and Land – Part 5, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This is the last part of a multi-part article series on retreats written by a Christian farmer who is praying and searching for a wife. Please prayerfully consider all of the topics that he discusses. (Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) Solutions: The Journey for Possible Future Retreat Owners It would be nice if there were other easy solutions out there. But for a family man the road of hard work done intelligently will often yield good results over many years. There are some who claim that you cannot save to afford land without a …


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:

“Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 22, 2024

On November 22, 1898, construction began on the Simplon tunnel through the Alps, linking Italy and Switzerland; it became the world’s longest railroad tunnel. Pictured above it the tunnel’s south entrance. — Today is the birthday of Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington, a well-known designer of military gun parts and accessories. — Today is remembered as the birthday of the late Eugene M. Stoner. (Born 1922, died April 24, 1997.) He was the designer of the AR-7, AR-10, AR-15, AR-180, the Stoner 63, and several other firearms. — Today we present a guest article, from a reader. It was not intended to …


Thoughts on Retreats: History and Land – Part 4, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This is part of a multi-part article series on retreats written by a Christian farmer who is praying and searching for a wife. Please prayerfully consider all of the topics that he discusses. — Economics of Land in the 21st Century Arable land is no longer free nor available at reduced cost. As you learned in Part 2, over a hundred million acres of land in our country were sold for some sweat, initiative, and a small filing fee during the main Homestead years from the 1860s to the 1930s. Even earlier, land was available for 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 look at declining natural gas prices. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: Spot gold was at $2,684.50 USD per Troy ounce at mid-day on Thursday. JWR’s Comment: We might see $2,750 gold in the next few days if international tensions over the Ukraine escalation continue. o  o  o Banks Covered Gold & Silver Shorts …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 21, 2024

On this day in 164 BC, during the Maccabean Revolt, the forces of Judas Maccabeus recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the Second Temple. This event is now commemorated as the Jewish festival Hanukkah, also celebrated by many Messianics. — On November 21, 1916, Britannic, the sister ship to the Titanic, sank in the Aegean Sea, killing 30 people. — Today we present a guest article, from a reader. It was not intended to be part of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog …


Thoughts on Retreats: History and Land – Part 3, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This is part of a multi-part article series on retreats written by a Christian farmer who is praying and searching for a wife. Please prayerfully consider all of the topics that he discusses. — Economics for Farmers The first lesson that I’d like to address in this installment is that our family is very conservative, economically. We chose to avoid all debt. Yes, it is a choice for most people. Debt is no longer passed down intergenerationally as it was previously in American history. As Christians, we are taught to avoid debt. In Proverbs, we are warned: …


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, some more saber-rattling, in Ukraine. Biden Okays Ukrainian Missile Strikes Inside Russia Several SurvivalBlog readers mentioned this troubling news: Ukraine: US to let Kyiv strike deep inside Russia …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 20, 2024

On November 20, 1953, Scott Crossfield, piloting the Douglas Skyrocket, was the first man to break Mach 2 (1,300 MPH). — In 284, Roman general Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor by the armies of the east and west after the death of Carinus at the Battle of the Margus. — On November 20, 1914, the US State Department began requiring photographs for passports. — November 20, 1942: The 2,451 kilometer-long Alaska Highway (“AlCan”) from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Fairbanks, Alaska, first opened to military traffic. — We are pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, Angel Studios. They produce faith-based movies …


Thoughts on Retreats: History and Land – Part 2, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This is part of a multi-part article series on retreats written by a Christian farmer who is praying and searching for a wife. Please prayerfully consider all of the topics that he discusses. — The Land: Your Base of Operations Our farm can support the core food needs of hundreds of people. Farm productivity has been increasing much faster than the population. Over the space of two centuries, the number of people who are living on farms has decreased from almost universal to around two percent. Since the number of people who now live on farms is …


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. — Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono Claims SCOTUS Created Ability to Own Guns in 2008. o  o  o Reader G.C. in Southern California wrote: “I really like reading your quotes of the day.  But one thing bugs me.  I’ve seen you quote hymns but I’ve never seen you quote a modern praise chorus.  Why …