Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 22, 2025

On November 22, 1574, the uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands off Chile were discovered by Spanish sailor Juan Fernández. Later, they were famously the home of marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk, who inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe. — On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. — Today is the birthday of Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington, a well-known designer of military gun parts and acccessories. most notably the Buffington rifle rear sight. — Today is remembered as the birthday of the late Eugene M. Stoner. (Born 1922, died April 24, 1997.) He was the designer of the AR-7, …




Zoning Laws, HOAs, and CC&Rs as Criteria for Choosing Your Retreat Locale

JWR’s Introductory Note: The following is an update and expansion to a very early post that I made in SurvivalBlog back in August, 2005. It is part of a series of SurvivalBlog 20th Anniversary update re-posts, in recognition of the fact that the majority of readers did not join us until recent years. — “Homeowners Associations [HOAs] are the classic definition of a tyranny. HOAs are a level of government, with the power to tax, legislate, judge, and punish its citizens.” – Michael Reardon I’d like to expand on my Criteria for Choosing Your Retreat Locale. You will gain several …




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:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall …