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.
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Version 1.0 of Elon Musk’s AI-generated Grokipedia has gone live. At first glance, it appears to be a far less biased alternative to Wikipedia. The mainstream/statist Le Monde of France had this report: ‘With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it. JWR’s Comments: Without a doubt, all AIs inherit the biases of their programmers. Based on what I’ve seen thusfar, Grokipedia appears to lean mildly Constitutionalist, anti-statist, and quasi-libertarian. It also seems somewhat pro-corporatist and pro-Republican. We’ll see how long those leanings persist. With 885,279 articles (as of November 9th, 2025) there already seems to be a bit of intentional obfuscation. I assume there was a calculated path taken to avoid controversy, in the choices of the topics that are covered and those that are not. For example, when I last checked, there was a glaring lack of a Grokipedia entry on the short-lived Department of Government Efficiency. And there was an article on National Debt of Pakistan, but not one on National Debt of the United States. Interesting. – JWR
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Farmers’ Almanac announces final publication after 208-year run.
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SurvivalBlog Editor-At-Large Mike Williamson spotted this news: Hunter found alive in California national forest 20 days after he disappeared.
Mike’s Comments:
Luckily, God was looking out for him. He did lots of things wrong:
- No travel partner.
- No concrete route/itinerary shared with others.
- Insufficient communication methods (needed a shortwave, or at least a CB with extra antenna, not just a phone).
- Needed better emergency shelter supplies and some backup signaling method such as flares, reflectors.
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
“Lots of farm drama, but that wasn’t where my mind was as I worked through each situation with the livestock. There were/are several areas of concern that I have pondered, as anxiety over events heightened. The first was the government shutdown and its impact on many things, which surprisingly has not affected me at all other than emotionally. It’s how people, in general, are behaving that is concerning. The second was news that a large terrorist group called for attacks on American soil coming from within the country. The third was chaos abroad either due to wars, drug running, Christians being murdered, hurricanes, and even recent elections here where NYC city elected a Communist/Islamic mayor, etc. I thought: Wow, a perfect storm: food riots, terrorist attacks, and wars. Things could get out of control quickly… everything, everywhere, all at once. But, that’s the plan, right? I had to turn it all off for my sanity’s sake.
There have been a couple of extended family medical emergencies that are being treated, but we are all praying for God’s mercy. My heart and mind are heavy in that regard.
Our small town, as well as the surrounding small towns, have numerous individuals, food banks, and churches reaching out to feed anyone in need with all kinds of ways to contribute, in person or anonymously. In rural America, most people grow food as a matter of course. I don’t think anyone will go hungry here in the short term. And, it’s deer hunting season. One deer processor volunteered deer meat for families in need. We are not going to experience looting and theft here. It would take a long emergency for that to occur, and it would be coming from people who travelled here from the big cities. That is not happening currently.
I reviewed preps, and being well stocked, with security in place, other than praying for the Lord’s protection, what could I do? Thankfully, over time, I have developed a network of like minded neighbors and we have reached out to one another and discussed mutual aid. I have one neighbor in particular with whom I barter quite extensively. And we have fun trading this and that.
In farm news, I still have 1, possibly 2, cows who are not confirmed bred back yet (heavy sigh). I started in May with getting cows bred. I had to have one of my cow’s horns “tipped” because she decided to start using them and had slashed up a couple of heifers, and even came after me. The “herd dynamics” are now equalized. I put the 2-month-old calf out to pasture with the 5-month-old. The calves have their own pasture, shelter, water, and hay/feed bunk. I am feeding both of them fresh milk right from my main milk cow every day. Their purpose is beef next Fall, if all goes well. The freezers are not quite exhausted of beef and pork yet, but we will run out prior to the next butcher dates. The beef and pork that I raised has been feeding four families for a year. That is so cool! Thankfully, the meat birds will be ready to butcher in the next couple of weeks.
I planted the garlic and so far, the brassicas are doing well, but we get a hard freeze in a few short days – I should cover or mulch them. One of my barn cats had a litter of kittens before her spay date. One was a runt and developmentally disabled. I took it to the vet to see what could be done, and nothing could. The vet asked if they could adopt her, and give her special care. What a sweet ending for this precious little kitten who tried so very hard to be like its siblings. The grass has dried up and the cows are all eating hay now. The barns are clean and ready for winter, along with the hen house; and my neighbor, using his flatbed trailer, will bring a large order of straw to me for animal bedding.
All of the farm animals have suitable shelter. I use straw for cows, calves, barn cats, and livestock guardian dogs, but not chickens. I bed the hen house and nesting boxes with pine chips because it is very absorbent and easily cleaned up, whereas hay and straw get damp and heavy during the winter. There is still a lot of firewood stacked in a section of both barns. I feel (knock on wood, LOL) ready for winter. The winter preparations are demanding, and time-consuming, but must be done in advance. Due to La Niña, there’s no telling what kind of winter we will have here. This week, we are expecting temperatures in the low 20s at night.
One of these days, I’ll do a write-up of my first full gardening year using raised beds. What worked, what didn’t, what crops grew, what crops failed, and what I need to change. I’m already planning for next Spring and am in the middle of a seed inventory.
I realize, every single day, that it is by the grace of God that this farm exists. I am very thankful. Stay safe and busy y’all.”
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The Algorithm That Rigged the Census: How One Bureaucrat Stole the House and Billions in Funding.
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The Great Physician Exodus: How Bureaucracy, Burnout, and Bean Counters Are Driving Doctors Away. JWR’s Comments: I have a nephew who is a doctor. He is still in his 30s. A few years ago, fresh out of his residencies, he intentionally set up a new private practice in Internal Medicine, limiting it to only cash-paying patients. Payment is expected at the time of each patient visit. If he had accommodated Medicare and other insurance-paid patients, then he would have had to hire a full-time Accounts Payable bookkeeper. He decided that the insurance billing simply wasn’t worth the stress and aggravation. He just has one secretary who handles reception, appointments, and billings. An added benefit is that by keeping his patient roster small, he really gets to know the full medical history of each of his patients, so he can provide them the best possible care. His approach is something akin to the Private Healthcare providers in England, who work fully separate from the National Health Service (NHS.)
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And lastly, a video just for fun: Crazy Star Wars Fight in a Shopping Mall.
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