Year: 2024

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — February 17, 2024

On February 17th, 1864, the Confederate submarine Hunley became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship when it successfully attacked the USS Housatonic in the waters off Charleston, South Carolina. The submarine was named after its chief financial backer, Horace L. Hunley. The wreckage of H.L. Hunley  (pictured) was discovered in 1995, and raised on August 8, 2000.  The remains of the crew were buried on April 17, 2004 at Charlestons’ Magnolia Cemetery, following a ceremony parade attended by tens of thousands. February 17th, 1844 was the birthday of Aaron Montgomery Ward, founder of the mail-order business Montgomery Ward. …


Lessons Learned from the Alabama Ice Storm, by H.J.

Some Recent History In June 2022, we sold our house and moved to a 38-foot long 5th wheel camper. After the Christmas 2022 cold snap, my wife gave me the riot act. We had to be out of the camper by December 2023. We found a house; we liked and bought it. It is not the ideal prepping spot, but it is a town to live in. In September 2023, we started moving into the house. We were surprised how much stuff we had in the camper. For reference, we also had three storage units full of stuff. To date, …


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:

“When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face. They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened. In …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 16, 2024

On February 16, 1959, after defeating the forces of dictator General Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba and transformed the island country into the Western Hemisphere’s first communist state.  This began five decades of repression, economic stagnation, and largely self-imposed poverty for the island nation.  In the photo above, Castro is pictured in 1978. He died on November 25, 2016, a decade after handing power to his brother Raul. February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy …


A Water System Adventure – Part 2, by E.R.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) I used 30 amp Anderson Power Pole connectors with 12 AWG (American Wire Gauge) stranded ‘zip cord’ for the connections. I did this so that replacing any potentially failed components would be quick and easy. Do however note that 12 AWG wire, while versatile, is considered slightly large for a pump that might use only 8 amps, intermittently. The inlet of the Shurflo RV pump was connected from the outlet of the storage tote using a fitting which adapted the IBC outlet to a garden hose thread. The outlet of the RV …


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, a further examination of Mainland China’s economic trouble. (See the Mainland China Economy Update section.) Precious Metals: Online Auction Features Hoard of 1,700 Morgan Silver Dollars from Single-Owner Collection. o  o  o Silver Demand Expected to Hit Second-Highest Level on Record in 2024. o  o  o At Gold-Eagle.com: Central Bank Gold Buying in 2023 Topped …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 15, 2024

On February 15th, 1898, an explosion in Havana harbor sank the battleship USS Maine, killing 260 American seamen and precipitating the Spanish-American War, which originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. — February 15th 1809: Birthday of Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of a mechanical reaper. — Gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull  was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away peacefully at home on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm …


A Water System Adventure – Part 1, by E.R.

Many folks might take water for granted as being a mundane issue, although readers of this blog might be the exception. No matter, please read on. Our adventure began when the municipality decided that they no longer wanted us as a customer. “To really know something, one must go directly to people with immediate experience of the situation. You can’t really know by talking with someone who has only read about it.” – “The Great Taking”, by David Rogers Webb, p xxi. I am not a professional writer. Instead, I am a strong-minded individualist who insisted on paying my own …


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 migrating billionaires and the potential threat of AI. Where The Richest Americans Live Over at Forbes: Mapping Billionaire Wealth: Where The Richest Americans Live Now …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 14, 2024

On February 14, 1946, the first general-purpose high-speed electronic digital computer, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was demonstrated to the public by its creators, J. Presper Eckert, Jr., and John W. Mauchly. — February 14, 1942 was the birthday of the late economist, theologian, and prepper Dr. Gary North. — February 14, 2018, amid scandals and corruption allegations, South African President Jacob Zuma resigned and was later replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …


My Solar-Powered Ham Shack Setup, by BMB

There are many things we need to prepare for before the ball drops, (SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, or whatever term you want to use) like water, food, shelter, bullets, medical supplies, aetc. But another item I feel is very important is communication with my family group. This article is about how I got into amateur radio, how I setup my basic solar-powered ham radio shack, and how I stay in practice with my equipment in my shack. I had been interested in Amateur Radio (a.k.a. “ham” radio) since I was a little boy, more than 50 years ago. I will soon be …