Month: June 2025

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 12, 2025

I just heard the news: Brian Wilson, Beach Boys Co-Founder, Dies at 82. His musical genius was obvious to anyone who has heard even just one of his compositions or complex arrangements. Here is just one example. Although I must say that some of the song lyrics that Wilson wrote were not edifying and sometimes promoted loose morals (for example: “I Get Around”), his musicianship was spectacular. Goodbye, Brian. Or should I say: Hushabye. – JWR — June 12, 1792: British explorer Captain George Vancouver landed on the site of what is now Vancouver, British Columbia. — On June 12, …


Beyond Band Aids, by K.G.

Author’s Introductory Note: I am not a licensed medical professional, I am simply recounting an event that happened to me, research I have done on the subject and how it made me think differently about my own preparations. I hope you find this article interesting and informative, but please also do your own research. Recently, I experienced my own personal Schumeresque event. I was competing in a sport I have done all my life when I felt something snap in the back of my heel. It happened as I took a hard step and I immediately knew something was wrong. …


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 ongoing anti-ICE protests and riots. Southern California Gamefish Carrying Parasites Most freshwater game fish in Southern California carry invasive parasites capable of infecting humans, …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 11, 2025

June 11, 1797: Spanish Mission San José was founded by Franciscan Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen at the Ohlone Village of Oroysom in Alta California  (now Fremont, California) — And on June 11, 1947, WW II sugar rationing finally ended in the US. (It began May 28, 1942.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 119 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 …


Success and Loss: Hit Twice by the Same Hurricane – Part 2, by PrepperDoc

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Resolution and Improvement Plan Finally, the clouds lifted, more sun arrived, and our power problems dissipated. From that point, we did fine waiting for the utility power to be returned. Eventually it was returned. But I had learned an important lesson: I started hunting for a better charger! Much later, I learned there was a chance that my gasoline “inverter generator” could provide steady enough power to pass for “utility power” and directly power my 48V inverter/charger systems with far more power — but that hasn’t been figured out (yet). What I …


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. — A quite informative video:  Off-Grid Internet + Emergency Comms? Starlink Mini Might Be The Piece Of Tech You’ve Been Missing. JWR’s Comments: For storage, I’d recommend using a big milsurp 20mm ammo can with an RF gasket retrofit, for some EMP/solar flare Faraday cage protection.  I’m hopeful that the promised next generation …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Rulers have no authority from God to do mischief…As soon as the prince sets himself up above the law, he loses the king in the tyrant. He does to all intents and purpose unking himself…and in such cases has no more right to be obeyed than any inferior officer who acts beyond his commission.” – Jonathan Mayhew (1720-1766), ‘A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers’, January 30, 1750


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 10, 2025

On June 10, 1190, during the Third Crusade, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa drowned while crossing the Saleph River (modern Turkey), while leading an army to Jerusalem. — On June 10, 1967, the Six-Day War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 119 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 …


Success and Loss: Hit Twice by the Same Hurricane – Part 1, by PrepperDoc

Intro Note:  In the interest of operational security, some details are missing or slightly altered, without obscuring the learning points we experienced. The Hurricane’s First Approach Our family is very familiar with southeastern USA hurricanes from living in a “hurricane state” for many years. Somewhat inland, we generally have high winds but not significant structural damage. Usually, there are many, many trees/limbs down, causing havoc with roads and power systems. As usual, the US Weather Service and the news media hyped Hurricane Helene to the max, threatening the usual utter destruction. We have learned to look at the National Weather …


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, news about a recent swarm of earthquakes near Stanley, Idaho.  (See the Idaho  section. The photo above was taken by Avalanche Lily, just outside of Stanley.) Idaho Stanley earthquake swarm brings more than 100 quakes, and it’s not over. o  o  o Small plane crashes …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 9, 2025

On June 9, 1732, a royal charter for Georgia was granted to British military officer and philanthropist James Oglethorpe. — Today is the birthday of Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat (1824–1883). He is best known for the percussion cap revolver that bears his name. This clever revolver design has a cylinder that rotates around a 20-gauge shotgun barrel. — On June 9, 1940 Norway surrendered to the invading German army, during World War II. The citizenry was then quickly disarmed by the Nazis, so resistance was limited. (The invaders had access to the Norwegian police gun registration lists.) To limit reprisals …


Liberty Gold Water Test Kit, by Thomas Christianson

Testing for lead, free chlorine, total alkalinity, MPS, iron, nitrite, pH, bromine, fluoride, total chlorine, hardness, cyanuric acid, copper, nitrate, QUAT/QAC, carbonate and coliform/e. Coli bacteria, the Liberty Gold Standard Complete Water Test Kit gives a pretty good overview of the quality of a water source using a simple testing process. Costing $27.99 at the time of this writing at the Liberty Gold Standard website, the kit contains 140 test strips and three bacteria culture kits.


Recipe of the Week: Cinnamon French Toast

The following recipe for Grandma’s Cinnamon French Toast is from SurvivalBlog reader Ellen H. She says:  “For some variety, you can substitute the cinnamon with allspice, or nutmeg,  or cardamom, or some pumpkin pie spice.” Ingredients An unsliced loaf of bread. I use white bread or brioche, and slice it about 1″ thick.  Pre-sliced sandwich bread is too thin for proper French Toast! 5 large eggs. Heavy cream.  (Whole milk will also suffice, but cream is best.) Cinnamon, to taste. Sugar, to taste. Vanilla, to taste. Maple syrup, for topping. Directions Slice the bread. Slice into 3/4- to 1-inch slices. …