Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 24, 2025

On January 14, 1984, Apple Computer Inc. unveiled the Macintosh personal computer in a Super Bowl television ad directed by Ridley Scott. — January 24th is the birthday of René Barjavel (born 1911, died November 24, 1985). This prescient French science fiction author wrote several books with survivalist themes, including Ravage, which was titled Ashes, Ashes in its English translation. — Today is also the birthday of Tamara K., the editor of the long-running View From The Porch blog. — Sales of the new 2005-2024 SurvivalBlog waterproof archive sticks have been very brisk. There are now less than 60 left …




Preparing For The Post-Apocalyptic Economy – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1.) Service with a smile Besides hard goods for barter, I have several “services” that I can provide. The key to being able to provide these services is to have the required tools and supplies on hand. Although I have several types of saws, I know that many people still have a rusty hand saw hanging up in their garage. Perhaps it was their grandfather’s but it has not been used since the cordless tool craze started. Those saws may need cleaning (rust taken off), sharpening, and perhaps even teeth resetting. Cleaning up the rust means sandpaper …




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 recent spike in propane prices (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: The Next Phase Of Gold’s Bull Market Has Just Begun. JWR’s Comments:  2024 was a great year for gold investors. Spot gold posted a gain of 27.2% in US dollar terms, 37.1% in Swiss Franc (CHF) terms, and 35.6% in …