Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 30, 2025

On August 30, 1645, Dutch settlers and local Indians signed a peace treaty in New Amsterdam (New York). — August 30th is the birthday of the late Joachim Rønneberg, a hero of the Norwegian resistance during World War II. He was born in 1919. His exploits earned him the War Cross With Sword, Norway’s highest military honor.  Rønneberg died in 2018, just one year short of his 100th birthday. — Today’s feature piece is too short to be included in the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started …




Data Collection in Our Lives, by Anonymous in Ohio

With all of the recent discussion of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) threats in SurvivalBlog, I want to share a recent experience with what I assume was an A.I.-intervened technology. We were recently moving some of our supplies across state in a small cargo trailer to our cabin. We had unloaded the trailer and were returning home when I saw flashing lights in my mirror. I thinking to myself, I can’t be trailer lights, everything is rewired new, new tires, bearings, doors were locked. The State Trooper came up to the window and tells me that my plates on the trailer registration …




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 …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will …