Year: 2024

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 13, 2024

In a November 13, 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, Benjamin Franklin wrote: “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” — Continental Army Brigadier General Richard Montgomery took Montreal, Canada without opposition on this day in 1775. Ironically, shortly after this Montgomery was killed while fighting the British in Quebec, and the British retook the territory. — Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was born in Scotland on November 13th, 1850. — We are running a Week-Long Veteran’s Day Sale at Elk Creek Company. The …


Lessons From Hurricane Helene – Part 2, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 1.) Back to the Friday morning of the storm: The rain stopped here around 10 A.M.. According to our rain gauge, we received 5.6” overnight. As I walked our property, I found a tangle of trees had fallen with a very large white oak knocking over a decent-sized pine, and that in turn landed on one of our chicken coops. A sycamore had fallen from our side of the property line and damaged a section of our neighbor’s pasture fence, the top of a white oak had broken out and blocked one of our internal roads, a …


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. — Via SurvivalBlog reader C.B., we’ve just heard of the passing of Dr. Richard Cash, on October 22nd. He was the driving force in popularizing modern Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORSes). His work has surely saved countless lives, particularly in the Third World.  Dr. Cash was 83 years old. Our condolences to his family. …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 12, 2024

On November 12, 1926, the first recorded aerial bombing on US soil took place in Williamson County, Illinois, during a feud between rival bootleg liquor gangs, the Sheltons and the Birgers. Pictured is bootlegger Charlie Birger, in prison before his execution. — 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 …


Lessons From Hurricane Helene – Part 1, by A.F.

The following recounts some Hurricane Helene lessons learned from Western South Carolina. Our power went off for the final time around 5:30 on Friday morning. It had blinked on and off twice earlier in the night, but I didn’t pay the warnings any attention. In the end, we were without power for nine days and only tonight as I’m writing this, 26 days post-storm did we get our regular Internet service back. I am fully aware that these are First World problems and compared to so many, Helene took it easy on us. Beyond ensuring that our vehicles were fueled, …


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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. The emphasis of this week’s column will be on some American Redoubt election results. Region-Wide In the left-leaning Inlander: Election results 2024: Who won, and which races are too close to call in the Inland Northwest. o  o  o Two Oregon counties reject measures to dial back …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Insurgents do not just use asymmetric tactics; they do so in the context of asymmetric strategies. The insurgent’s most fundamental objective is simply to thwart the counterinsurgent’s objectives. We may think of this as “monkey wrench power.” Throwing a monkey wrench is a form of sabotage. The purpose of sabotage is to interfere with a competitor’s goals and interests and to create disorder. Disorder is the strategic friend of the insurgent and the foe of the regime. Insurgent movements often do not aim for decisive victory, but rather to prevent the counterinsurgent from achieving victory. They seek to be winning, …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 11, 2024

November 11th is of course Veteran’s Day. If you value your freedom, then thank a veteran. — This is the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr. (born 1885, died December 21, 1945.) — We’ve started a Week-Long Veteran’s Day Sale at Elk Creek Company. The prices of all of our in-stock military-issue rifles (and sporters) and our military-issue revolvers have been deeply reduced. Place your order before Monday, November 18th. — Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson.


Cleveland Kydex Axe Sheath, by Thomas Christianson

I have a Cleveland Kydex Axe Sheath for my Fiskars X27 Super Splitting Axe. The sheath does an excellent job of protecting the blade from damage. It also protects surrounding objects from being damaged by the blade. The sheath is tough, has stood up well to a year of hard use, stays on the blade well, and is easy to slide on or off. The primary advantage of a Kydex sheath over leather is that Kydex does not attract and hold moisture as leather is often prone to do. It is also more wear and weather-resistant than leather. Cleveland Kydex …


Recipe of the Week: Granny M.’s Granola Bars

The following recipe for Homemade Granola Bars is from SurvivalBlog reader “Granny M.” This recipe makes a more chewy-style granola bar. Ingredients 4 ½ cups rolled oats 1 cup whole wheat flour (you can use regular white flour.) 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla ½ tsp salt ½ cup butter 2/3 to 3/4 cup of honey ¼ cup brown sugar Optional Additions: Chocolate chips (1 cup) and miniature marshmallows (1 cup), or Chocolate chips (1/2 cup) and peanut butter chips (1/2 cup), or Craisins, coconut, chopped almonds (to taste), or Cinnamon and raisins — I  suggest no more than 1/2 tsp …



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man’s rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man’s self-defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law. But a …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 10, 2024

On November 10, 1885, German engineer Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the world’s first motorcycle, Der Reitwagen. — November 10th is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps. — And November 10th is the anniversary of the sinking of the Great Lakes ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald, in 1975. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 115 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 …


Are You Prepared? For What?, by Mrs. Alaska

Throughout the country, kind people volunteer their time and talents to help others harmed by natural or personal disasters. However, we can only help others if we are first prepared to take care of ourselves and our families. The following are real situations that have happened to us, or people that we or our friends and relatives know. What would you do in this or an analogous situation where you live? Perhaps these questions could prompt useful and interesting discussions among family or other groups. In ice-fog conditions, your car goes off the road and down into a ditch where …