Year: 2026

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 4, 2026

Today is the 101st birthday of famed Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams. It is great to see him still alive and kicking!  Williams was just recently awarded the Medal of Honor. The now-declassified story of his aerial combat over Korea against Soviet-piloted MiGs is fascinating reading. It is summarized in Wikipedia. Here is a brief excerpt from his biography: “The story of his battle with the Soviet MiGs led to Williams being debriefed at the time by admirals, the Secretary of Defense, and a few weeks later by newly inaugurated President Dwight D. Eisenhower. These authorities decided to cover up …


Looking Back at My Flight Training Adventures (Circa 1970), by H.L.

Editor’s Introductory Comments:  Most regular SurvivalBlog readers recognize the initials H.L.  She has been one of the blog’s most loyal and prolific volunteers, sending news and information links since around 2010. I am confident that she spritely lives to a three-digit age. But when she does pass away, I hope that her gravestone will be inscribed: “Always a Maverick.” – JWR At age 83 now. I have some very unusual memories of my early life.  I did not lead the conventional life of an American woman born in 1942.  Conventional is fine. However, there was something in my soul that …


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:

“And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 3, 2026

On April 3, 1910, the highest mountain in North America, Alaska’s Mount McKinley (aka Denali) was claimed to have been first climbed by four local men.  They climbed McKinley’s North Peak, not knowing that the South Peak is actually 850 feet higher. — This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the US Ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. — A …


My Prepping Journey, by Big John

My Prepping Journey began in 1967 when I moved to San Francisco. Spots on the radio urged us to prepare for an earthquake, The Big One. So one day while I was grocery shopping, I threw a flashlight in my cart and then put it in my trunk. On another trip I threw a cardboard box into my trunk. In the ensuing months, I added some bottles of water, a knife, some Power Bars, and cans of soup. I later learned that the heat of the trunk would destroy the soup, so I replaced it with beef jerky and peanuts. …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.  Today, a map showing where ancient Roman coins have been found. JWR’s Comments: I must mention that the price of most ancient Greek and Roman coins collapsed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as large hoards were dug up in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union. The demise of the Soviet Bloc opened up western markets. This was coupled with faltering economies that were transitioning to free market capitalism. The result was that a …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 2, 2026

On April 2, 1792 The Coinage Act passed, establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 Half-Eagle, $2.50 Quarter-Eagle gold coins, as well as the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half-dime. Although gold was removed from circulation by President Franklin Roosevelt, our silver coinage remained undebased until 1964. — April 2, 1968, Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.; it became a classic, setting the benchmark for modern sci-fi films. The film also gave one of the first cinematic warnings about artificial intelligence. — The staff of SurvivalBlog wish …


Converting Diesel Vehicles to Run on Waste Vegetable Oil, by Polar Bear

Editor’s Introductory Note:  This article was posted in SurvivalBlog in September, 2007. Given the recent spike in fuel prices, I thought that it would be apropos to re-post it. – JWR — When Rudolph Diesel invented his internal combustion engine, he used refined peanut oil as fuel. The reasoning behind it was that farmers could essentially grow their own fuel for their tractors. Diesel cars have been widely manufactured and used all over Europe, but never really caught on in the United States. Diesel pickup trucks and Big Rigs are common in the US, and are renowned for their torque …


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, Oracle’s big layoff. — Oracle Has Fired 30,000 Employees Oracle fired up to 30,000 people with a 6 a.m. email signed “Oracle Leadership”. JWR’s Comments: I was an …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 1, 2026

On April 1, 1515, the Portuguese fleet under Afonso de Albuquerque recaptured the Persian fortress of Hormuz and renamed it the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception. — April 1, 1863: US Congress passed the first wartime conscription law, calling for the registration of all 20 to 45-year-old males. — And on April 1, 1873, the British White Star steamship SS Atlantic sank off Nova Scotia, Canada, killing at least 535 people.  The same shipping company later owned the ill-fated RMS Titanic and RMS Britannic. — Today’s feature article is by SurvivalBlog Editor “Avalanche Lily”, the wife of JWR. …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 123

We’ve announced the winners of Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, which ended yesterday. 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 123 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to Lodge Pole, for Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals. It was posted Feburary 11-16, 2026. See: (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.)  He will receive as prizes: A …