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 the specifics of the battle, because the Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in the Korean War, and it was feared publicity about the air battle would draw the Soviets further into the conflict.”

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On the 4th of April 1291, the siege of Acre began.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

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 called to me to be different.  I had always said that I would never fly. But, oh boy, I changed my mind.  One evening, I went out drinking with some of the men from the Engineering Department where I was working.  One of them said that there was an airplane for sale at a small local airport and suggested that the three of us should go look at it, and perhaps buy it.

>We did so the next day, but I said in my wisdom:  “Well, we should all take flying lessons.”  Steve had logged a few hours in a plane. But Ed and I had none.  Long story short, we did not buy the plane, and they did not take lessons.  However, I did, and I got hooked on flying.  Wow, did I get hooked.  I treasure my Pilot Flight Record and Log Book. The first entry was October 18, 1970.  It was at a small one-runway airport.  I finally did solo, and I became so interested in flying and aviation in America, that I subscribed to a couple pf private pilot and airplane magazines.  I learned about Control Towers, Air Traffic Control Centers, and a lot about weather.  Weather is the biggest problem for small planes, and bad weather gets inexperienced pilots killed. To this day, the weather science that I had to study in ground school still helps me understand weather reports and news about severe weather events.
Continue reading“Looking Back at My Flight Training Adventures (Circa 1970), by H.L.”

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 ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I slaughtered and butchered another yearling ram, just a few days before our Passover (Pasach) dinner.

I helped an ailing neighbor select and purchase a used SUV, because his 23-year-old one was falling to pieces. This necessitated making day-long trips down to Coeur d’Alene, on two successive days.  Those trips set me back on my writing and editing schedule. But it also gave me the opportunity to buy some more light fixtures for our shop. But installing most of those will have to wait, since Lily has a fencing project planned. I also have a few more deadfallen trees to cut up.

I mailed out five Elk Creek Company orders this week.  Surprisingly, four of those orders were paid in silver. I also mailed out another 14 SurvivalBlog Old School (S.O.S.) newsletter envelopes, to new subscribers. As new subscribers, they each got both the March, 2026 issue, as well as the two previous issues from 2024 and 2025.

I finished up the waterproof AC outlet mounting and wiring on a replacement post near our bullpen. I constructed a demi-roof atop the post using scrap lumber and a scrap piece of roofing tin, just to make the outlet even more weatherproof.

It is really starting to feel like Spring here at the Rawles Ranch. Our pastures are starting to green up. The treefrogs are peeping in the evenings. And our little lambs are running around, kicking up their heels.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

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; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord‘s passover.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord‘s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.” – Exodus 12:1-27 (KJV) 

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.

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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.

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A personal request from JWR:  I’ve been having difficulty finding a U.S. Army surplus GP Small tent with original poles — and hopefully with a liner and vestibule(s).  If you live anywhere in the American Redoubt region and have one available at a reasonable price, then please let me know via e-mail. (See our Contact page.) I’m willing to drive to come pick it up. I’ll bring cash (or silver) and a few autographed books. Thanks! – JWR

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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).
  2. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  4. Heaven’s Harvest is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

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. Some time later, while in a Big-5 Sporting Goods store, I picked up a backpack. When I moved the contents of the cardboard box into the backpack, I had officially become a Prepper. But I had not yet heard the term.

Over the years, I added items to the backpack. Then, when I was at a gun show, I picked up a copy of Patriots by James Wesley, Rawles. I thumbed through it and then put it down. The seller said: “If you don’t have the money, you can have that book for free. I came to this show to get that book out to people. That is how important I think it is.” I bought the book.

I took the book home that weekend and could not put it down. I was spellbound. It laid out the future of America. I read that book several times over the coming months.

I had a 500-gallon propane tank set at my house in the hills of Napa County, California, but it had no regulator. When I went around to propane dealers to get a regulator, they gave me a hard time. Laws, rules and regulations. I was stumped.Continue reading“My Prepping Journey, by Big John”

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 lot of under-employed Eastern European men started doing a lot of digging. What had been very rare coins became a lot more common. Four decades later, ancient coin prices have still not recovered.

Because new hoards are still being found, I do not recommend investing in ancient coins. If anything, I expect further price declines, with the advent of lower-cost and more compact ground-penetrating radars, improved metal detectors, and even the use of AI to predict likely hoard locations.

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

(Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“In the coming era of manned space exploration by the private sector, market forces will spur development and yield new, low-cost space technologies. If the history of private aviation is any guide, private development efforts will be safer, too.” – Burt Rutan

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.

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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.

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The staff of SurvivalBlog wish the crew of NASA’s Artemis II godspeed and a safe flight to the Moon and back. – JWR

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Today is the birthday of Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (April 2, 1849 – February 8, 1902. He was a Russian military officer, engineer, and a co-designer of the Mosin–Nagant rifle.

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We now need entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

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

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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 and towing abilities. These rigs run on “Dinodiesel”-typical diesel fuel refined from petroleum. You may have heard of the term “Biodiesel.” Biodiesel is a type of diesel fuel made by taking vegetable oil and adding Lye and Methanol to remove the glycerines and convert the “esters” in to “methyl-esters.” Dinodiesel has a lower gel point in cold weather than biodiesel. Fuel stations around the country have only recently began carrying biodiesel.

Enough history and chemistry, this article is going to give you the basics of converting a standard pickup truck or car so it will run on Dinodiesel, Biodiesel, or Straight Vegetable Oil! As a motor fuel in a survival situation, or for daily use, Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) or Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) is hard to beat. It can be stored for years if a biocide stabilizer [such as Pri-D] is used, there is a potential fuel cache behind almost any restaurant, and while other folks are waiting in gas lines, you could easily check out at Costco and have them load a pallet of soybean oil in your truck!Continue reading“Converting Diesel Vehicles to Run on Waste Vegetable Oil, by Polar Bear”

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.

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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 Oracle Corporation employee for three years at the turn of the century. Even back then, I witnessed some horribly cutthroat hiring, firing, and offshoring practices by Oracle’s management. This was when the H-1B Visa rush was just starting in the Silicon Valley, and up The S.F. Peninsula. One of my fellow technical writers was sent on a trip to India to train his replacements. The senior manager tried to make his trip sound like some sort of reward junket trip, or a perk. But he was laid off three weeks after his return to the Redwood Shores headquarters. At that time, Oracle could hire three employees in India for the cost of one employee in California.  Fast-forward 25 years: In the ultimate turn of ignominious fate, many of those “low-cost” Indian employees are now being replaced by even lower-cost generative AI.

Announced Corporate Job Cuts in 2026

And over at NewsNation: Major employers that have announced job cuts in 2026.

Anthropic Accidentally Released Their Source Code

I found this X post linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site:  Anthropic accidentally leaked their entire source code yesterday. What happened next is one of the most insane stories in tech history.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Quite often, I’ll be sent a script for a movie. And I find that I like it, so I say I’ll do it. But then they rewrite it for me. They make it quirky. Odd. I find that rather annoying. I call it Walkenising.” – Christopher Walken

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.

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April 1, 1863: US Congress passed the first wartime conscription law, calling for the registration of all 20 to 45-year-old males.

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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.

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Today’s feature article is by SurvivalBlog Editor “Avalanche Lily”, the wife of JWR.

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A new Writing Contest prize! Heaven’s Harvest is now kindly providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value) as part of the First Prize package, starting with Round 124. This Georgia-based company offers a full line of long-term storage foods  (freeze-dried and dehydrated) as well as heirloom (non-hybrid, open-pollinated) seeds. Use the coupon code “SURVIVALBLOG” at checkout for a 10% discount on any order!  They offer free shipping for any  $99+ order sent to the U.S..  About their heirloom seed kits:

  • 39 Garden Staple Varieties
  • All seeds are Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Non-Hybrid, and Non-GMO.
  • Packed in UV-Resistant Mylar bags for the highest germination rates when stored for multiple years.

Take a look at the Heaven’s Harvest website!

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We are now seeking entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

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:

  1. 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),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
Second Prize Winner:

Second Prize goes to Hobbit Farmer for Beyond Organic: Biological Systems Gardening. It was posted March 19-23, 2026. (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.)

He will receive:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize Winner:

Third Prize goes to J.M., for Mobile Device Battery Management.  It was posted February 19-22, 2026. (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.) He will receive:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
Honorable Mention Prizes

The writers of the Round 123 Honorable Mention articles will each receive a transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun, or any knife or bayonet.  There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns in most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

There were six Honorable Mention prize-winning articles in Round 123. They are:

Get Busy Writing!

Round 124 begins today and runs for two months, so please get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. Thanks, – JWR

Keeping God’s Appointed Times, by Avalanche Lily

Today is Passover (“Pasach”). So this is an appropriate day to discuss The Appointed Times.

The Bible teaches that God has specific Appointed Times (מועדים — transliterated Moedim), which are to be kept in perpetuity (“throughout your generations“), by His People.  Failure to observe the Appointed Times offends God.Continue reading“Keeping God’s Appointed Times, by Avalanche Lily”