Year: 2025

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 3, 2025

On December 3, 1568, Sir Thomas Herriot introduced potatoes to England from Colombia. — December 3, 1944: The Greek Civil War broke out in a newly-liberated Greece, between communists and royalists. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping …


Practical Preparedness Suggestions – Part 2, by R.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) 5. Self Defense This segment references reading, training and situational awareness that will be difficult for some people. Use what you can. Learn how to profile people and your surroundings. It happens in many forms, constantly. There are predators who don’t care about how nice you are. (Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”) They will take advantage of the graces and courtesies that we usually employ to soften or de-escalate a problem. Learn what and how those predators think. Trust me, you …


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. — At Euro News: Poland is launching a new military training programme. How will citizens respond to it? Here is a quote: “Poland has unveiled a new programme of universal and voluntary military training. The so-called “wGotowości” (mReadiness) programme was announced by Chief of General Staff Gen Wieslaw Kukuła, Deputy Prime Minister and …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 2, 2025

On December 2, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian army occupied Belgrade, Serbia. — December 2, 1950: The “I, Robot” collection of sci-fi short stories by Isaac Asimov was published by Gnome Press. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the first entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — …


Practical Preparedness Suggestions – Part 1, by R.J.

This article is a compilation of practical preparedness tips, insights, and lessons learned. It starts with what I call inner resources, or mindset and moves toward the hard, practical items. I offer a rather broad field of experience, including military/industrial electrical work, Christian hospitality in organized retreat settings, hospice/end of life care, and some alternative power experience. I’ll close the article with a Christian exhortation as we head into this Christmas season. Mindset You can break the preparedness mindset down into: homesteading, military, social, domestic categories, etc; or synthesize it into one grand holistic prepster/survivalist perspective. Just don’t flunk the …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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. A brief television news video from Central Oregon: Oldest flying B-25 bomber takes to the sky after full Madras restoration. (The screen capture above is courtesy of Central Oregon Daily News.) Redoubt Links Never-Ending Herd Of Thousands Of Pronghorn Take Over Snowy Road In Wyoming. ‘Merry Snitchmas’: Idaho Saloon Promises Free Beer to Citizens Willing to Help ICE Catch Illegals. Video from a California urbanite: I Went to …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“I feel a moral obligation: If I have a firearm, whatever it is chambered in, I have to have like a pallet of [ammunition for] it. Because I’m a very reflective End Times guy.” and: “These are not rights granted by government. These are rights protected by government… you’re born with these rights and our job is to protect them.” – Tucker Carlson, at a November, 2025 informal range session with Shawn Ryan.


Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 1, 2025

On December 1, 1925, the Peace Treaties of Locarno were signed between Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy. — On December 1, 1966, the Radio time signal WWV was moved from Greenbelt, Maryland to Boulder, Colorado. — Today’s feature article is by SurvivalBog staff member Tom Christianson. — We now need entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 121

We’ve announced the winners of Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 120 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to  The Chemical Engineer, for Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge. See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8. It was posted October 20-27, 2025. He will …


Silky KatanaBoy Professional 700, by Thomas Christianson

Chainsaws are wonderful tools for wood cutting. But chainsaws are not perfect. Chainsaws are heavy. Chainsaws are noisy. Chainsaws require supplies of fuel and bar oil. These limitations can be problematic during field use. The Silky KatanaBoy Professional 700 presents an outstanding manual alternative to chainsaws for cutting trees and branches up to 14 inches in diameter. The saw is light and compact, weighing just four pounds and folding to a length of 33 inches. It creates so little noise that hearing protection is not required. It requires no supplies except the muscles of its user. And it uses those …


Recipe of the Week:

The following simple recipe for Onion Soup Gratinee is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is just one of the dozens of bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available to order in January of 2026. Ingredients 3 Onlons 3 tablespoons butter or butter substitute 3 pints beef stock 3 tablespoons grated cheese Pepper and salt 1/8 clove garlic (if desired) 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 1/4 loaf of French bread Directions Slice onions and put them into a stew-pan with …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 30, 2025

On November 30, 1016, King of Denmark Cnut the Great [Canute] claimed the English throne after the death of Edmund Ironside. — Satirical novelist Jonathan Swift was born on November 30th, 1667. — 1782 Britain signs agreement recognizing US independence. — Today’s feature piece is by SurvivalBlog Senior Editor James Wesley, Rawles (JWR). — We need entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 begins soon, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word …