Day: August 14, 2025

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — Aug 14, 2025

90 years ago today, on August 14, 1935, in the depths of the Great Depression, the poorly-conceived and undeniably socialistic Social Security Act was signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). The first Social Security numbers were issued in 1936, and the first Social Security taxes were collected in January, 1937. The first benefits were doled out in 1940. The following is from the SSA website: “On January 31, 1940, the first monthly retirement check was issued to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, in the amount of $22.54. Miss Fuller, a Legal Secretary, had retired in November 1939. She …


FNIRSI GC-03 Radiation Detector: An Evaluation, by Mike in Alaska

Introduction This article is not a full review. It is just a cursory evaluation. Several weeks ago, I ordered a Multifunction Nuclear Radiation Detector from a eBay seller who imports these units from China. FNIRSI also sells several other electronic test equipment units, one of which I bought was the multi-function oscilloscope hoping that I could use it on the bench as well as for portable operations. Alas, I didn’t like the unit because the probe connections for the oscilloscope don’t fit well into the connector (BNC type) on the top of the case and because of that issue I …


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 end of traditional dial-up internet service. AOL Discontinuing Its Dial-Up Internet Service Several SurvivalBlog readers wrote to mention this news: End of an era: …