Day: April 2, 2026

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 …