Month: February 2025

Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 28, 2025

Today is the birthday of William Ewart Fairbairn  (28 February 1885 – 20 June 1960).  He was a British soldier and police officer. He developed hand-to-hand combat methods for the Shanghai Police during the interwar period, as well as for the Allied special forces during World War II. He created his own fighting system known as Defendu. Notably, this included innovative pistol shooting techniques and the development of the famed Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife (pictured.) — Some sad news: Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, wife found dead in Santa Fe home. Those in the prepper community will of course remember Hackman best …


The Wit and Wisdom of Ol’ Remus

The legendary blogger and social commentator “Ol’ Remus” of the Yer Ol’ Woodpile Report passed away in July, 2020.  His wife had passed away just a few weeks earlier. Now that nearly five years have elapsed, I think that it is high time to post a proper acknowledgment and requiem. This is especially for the benefit of SurvivalBlog’s newcomers, who may not have heard of him. “Ol’ Remus” was of course a nom de plume.  Among other things, he was preparedness-minded.  On that topic, he had these terse and oft-quoted words: “Stay away from crowds.”  With operational security (OPSEC) in …


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, some interesting news of a planned Fort Knox audit. America needs to return to genuine money! Precious Metals: We’ve been promised an audit of the Fort Knox gold depository by the DOGE Boys and Senator Rand Paul. JWR’s Comments:  I suggest that they bring a drill motor to check the cores of several gold ingots …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 27, 2025

February 27, 1919: the first public performance of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” symphony. — On February 27th, 1900: Felix Hoffman patented acetylsalicylic acid, better known as aspirin. — And on February 27th, 1902 Harry ‘Breaker’ Harbord Morant was executed in Pretoria. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 117 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 …


How Much Water? – Part 2, by R.E.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Back to First Principles What would be really useful would be a series of lights which would reflect how full the tank was, and if in addition to that, an audible alarm for high water-level. Perhaps I could build something like this using basic off-the-shelf electronic components and my rather rudimentary knowledge? Like most reading this, I am no engineer, and no electrician. My only personal asset seems to be that, I like to tinker with stuff. So, I dug out the multimeter and an old breadboard and began to experiment. To …


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 the best states to live in, for raising a family. Conservative States Dominate List of Best Places for Families Reader D.S.V. suggested this WND article: …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 26, 2025

On February 26, 1797, the Bank of England issued the first £1 note. — Feb 26, 1993: A truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 117 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 …


How Much Water? – Part 1, by R.E.

Over the past several years we have experienced significant disruptions to our normal routines of life. In the big cities, the heavy hand of government. The ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ turned into years with numerous stay home orders, social distancing, lockdowns of churches, face mask ‘requirements’ and ‘vaccination’ mandates. Vaccine passports, at one point it was said were required for travel between provinces and crossing the Canada-US border. Police were pulling people over on the roadways to check whether or not your reason to be out and about was considered ‘essential’. It all culminated in million-person waves of …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our 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. — Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned some “less lethal” solid aluminum projectiles for paintball guns. He notes: “They are also available less expensively on Amazon, but this way you support a smaller business.” o  o  o Mike Williamson also mentioned: “The UK has demanded access to the Apple Cloud, and Apple has …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 25, 2025

February 25, 1814: Australia’s first currency – the “holey dollar” introduced, made of Spanish ‘pieces of eight’  (8 Reales) with the centers stamped out and overstamped with a date and “NEW SOUTH WALES”, for the colony of New South Wales. — Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We are in need of entries for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 117 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. …


Granberg G-1012XT 12-Volt Chain Grinder, by Thomas Christianson

The ability to effectively sharpen a chain is one of the most basic foundations for productive chainsaw use. Cutting with a well-sharpened chain is a joy. Trying to cut with a dull chain is a frustrating and soul-rending ordeal. In Greek mythology, a man named Sisyphus was punished in the afterlife for his wickedness. He was eternally compelled to roll a large bolder up a steep hill. Every time he neared the top of the hill, the bolder would slip away and roll back down to the bottom of the hill. His punishment was the frustration of being forever engaged …


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. Today, a news story that described the use of thermal imaging.  (See the Idaho section.) Idaho Thermal imaging drone helps police locate suspect hiding in darkness by riverbank. o  o  o The future of the death penalty hangs in the balance in Idaho. o  o  o …