Month: August 2025

My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) AI WRITING While there are many brain developments, AI will be shortchanging our youngest single-digit aged youth on, they’ll also be robbed of learning many of the skills that are learned later in life as well. I’ve always enjoyed writing and creating things with pencil and paper since that poem I wrote about the Pilgrims in second grade that my teacher loved so much. It’s something I’ve continued to develop since then and even after all these years, I’m still learning. I don’t know what a dangling participle is and I can …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme generated by JWR. (Not an original concept, but with my own choice of photo, and layout): Meme Text: Did You Know That If You Hold A Squirrel Up To Your Ear… …You Can Hear What It Is Like To Be Attacked By A Squirrel? Video Link: Man Attacked By Squirrel Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included. …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 23, 2025

On August 23, 79, Mount Vesuvius began stirring on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, and went on to destroy Pompeii. (Note:  Some recent evidence suggests that the main eruption actually occurred after October 17, 79.) Above: Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum (c. 1821) by John Martin. — August 23rd is the anniversary of the declaration of the independent state of “Franklin” in Eastern Tennessee by the settlers there in 1784. Unfortunately, the Continental Congress rejected it, so the state of Franklin never became a reality. — In 1833, Britain abolished slavery in the colonies and …


My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) TRYING AN AI APP After my wow experience with my daughter showing me how her drawing app works, she showed me the ropes and I started doing some pictures myself. Since I have the artistic ability of a quadriplegic starfish, it was a lot of fun to be able to create some photos, paintings, and cartoon characters. I’ve been working on illustrating the events of my life the year I was nine years old. While it’s done nothing to develop the artistic portion of my brain, it’s physiologically too late for that, it’s been amusing. And …


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 Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.” – Psalm 93 (KJV)


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 22, 2025

On August 22, 1639, Madras (now Chennai), India, was founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers. — August 22, 1775: King of Great Britain and Ireland, George III, proclaimed the American colonies to be in open rebellion and ordered his officials to suppress it. — On this day in 1812, Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was the first European to rediscover the Nabataean city of Petra in modern-day Jordan. — Today is also the anniversary of the founding of the London Armoury Company, in 1851. It was founded by Robert …


My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I appreciated JWR’s comments in his August 19th article on artificial intelligence. I’ve also had a lot of thoughts on AI recently, which I’d like to share. JWR’s informative article addressed many of the societal changes and threats we’ll experience just as sure as the grass is green. At this point, my concerns are mostly on a personal level of how things will affect my grandchildren, and to a lesser extent, how they’ll affect my children and siblings. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? When people ask me to define what artificial intelligence is, I give them my country-bumpkin definition: Human intelligence …


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 physical precious metals shortages. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: I’ve been warning about this: Unprecedented Gold and Silver Deliveries Transforming COMEX Markets. JWR’s Comment: The physical metal shortage is even more dire at the LBMA. A short squeeze is approaching. o  o  o Gold is Signaling a Tectonic Shift in the …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 21, 2025

On August 21, 1689, during the Jacobite Uprising, the Battle of Dunkeld was fought in Scotland between supporters of King James VII of Scotland and troops of William of Orange. The illustration above was by Richard Simkin (1840-1926). It is titled: The Earl of Angus’ Regiment (The Cameronians) at the Defence of Dunkeld, 1689.  Simkin was an artist best known as an illustrator for the Army and Navy Gazette and the Boy’s Own Magazine.  He also produced some artwork for recruiting posters, under contract from the War Office. His heyday was from 1890 to 1905. Take note that if his …


An Everyday Pellet Gun, by Lodge Pole

Where I grew up, we called them pellet guns, not pellet rifles or air rifles. I am by no means a pellet gun expert. Nearly all of my experience is with a single-shot, break-action pellet gun. The knowledge and advice I offer in this article is solely based on my experience and familiarity of single-shot, break-action pellet guns. Depending on your age, physical build and desired purpose of use, pellet gun actions vary, though in application, the concept remains the same. There is an option for everyone. About twenty years ago, I was camping with a friend who had a …


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 some saber-rattling in Venezuela. Venezuela Mobilizing Millions in Its Militia Reported on Wednesday by the leftist Time: 4,000 Troops and 4,500,000 Militiamen: What to Know About …