The Simple Things, by The Watchman

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So you think you have this prepping thing pretty much down pat by now? Or are you new to this world of prepping? You have your water filters, generators, fuel, guns, ammo, food stores, medical supplies, a bug out vehicle, and heating elements. You have researched, taken courses, practiced drills and you have completed a mock bug out. If you said “yes” to any of this small list, you are already off to a good start. But sometimes we overlook the simple things we need in order to get by day to day. List of Essential Things One of the …


Letter: Flying Commercial Airlines With a Weapon

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JWR, Hugh, and SurvivalBlog Readers, As an avid proponent and practitioner of concealed carry, I responded with mixed emotions when my wife informed me that her latest business trip would require us to travel to one of the most progressive-liberal enclaves in the state of Florida: South Beach, Miami, second home of the Kardashians. Unable to procure a last-minute and long-term kennel to board our dogs for an extended road trip, flying was the only choice. The airline provided by her company for our trip: the NRA-bashing Delta Airlines. Unable to remember the last time I was without my concealed …


Preparing for Chaos, Theory and Application- Part 2, by DF

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In part 1 of this two-part article, I wrote about the theory behind the reason for preparing for chaos and provided and overview of the laws of supply and demand. Then, I moved from theory into practical matters. I began with alternative feed for chickens, as chickens are a means for sustaining us when the SHTF and our transportation system is not delivering feed, chicks, or supplies to our stores. We have looked at crabapples and how to provide them with various insects. Now, let’s look at sunflowers to use as chicken feed. Sunflowers/Sunflower Seeds One of my neighbors grew …


Preparing for Chaos, Theory and Application- Part 1, by DF

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Many people view the possibility of economic/societal disruption and collapse as science fiction, suitable as entertainment in dystopian novels or movies. I view it as actual science, not fiction and am preparing for the ensuing chaos and necessities to get past it. Well-proven theories in the areas of nonlinear systems and economics can help us partially understand what can happen, how we can prepare and respond, and even what is not possible to predict. My first section on “theory” is quite abstract. It looks at some of the basic principles of chaos theory to describe the mechanisms of economic/societal collapse. …


Recipe of the Week: Waldorf Salad, by L.H.

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This “old-fashioned” salad (my recipe card for it is circa 1979) has seemingly fallen out of favor, and I don’t know why. It’s yummy and unique, and fairly simple to throw together. It will be perfect alongside your next grilled chicken dinner. Ingredients: 3 apples (your favorite variety), peeled, trimmed, and cubed into bite-sizes 3 stalks celery, diced 1/2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped 2 tsp. lemon juice 1/2 c. mayonnaise 2 tsp. sugar dash of salt


Creating Your Own Secure Messages – Part 2, by DaytonPrepper1

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Yesterday we talked about how to create and use a One Time Pad. Today we will talk about another way of encoding messages. I am sure I am not creating anything new with this method, but I have not seen it before nor do I have a name for it. My working name is Word Grid Substitution. Description of the Method The heart of this method is a 25,000 word grid. The current word grid is 10×2500. I take the message to be encoded and search for the first word from a random spot in the list. When the word …


Creating Your Own Secure Messages– Part 1, by DaytonPrepper1

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I am an experienced programmer with a lot of time spent in Excel everyday for my paying job. East Sierra Sage’s article on Cipher Security got me thinking again about One Time Pads and other secure message techniques. I really enjoy automating things with Excel’s powerful formulas and macros. So I set off to create a tool for a One Time Pad spreadsheet that would create the One Time Pads and also encode and decode the messages being sent. How to Use a One Time Pad (OTP) You will need a Shift Chart and an OTP Chart as the basic …


The Four Things I Missed Most In Urban Survival Mode, by J.C.

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Did you ever picture putting all your survival know-how to the test in an urban environment, in a giant city? Did you think about all the piles of rubble you’d have to work around to “put rubber to the road”? Mexico City Earthquake, September 19th, 2017 I know I didn’t, until I found myself in Mexico City on September 19th of last year, that is. This was the day a 7.2 earthquake shook Central Mexico, toppled buildings, and killed nearly 400 people. This also happened to be the anniversary, to the day, of the hugely destructive 1985 Guerrero Earthquake that …


Letter: A Good Word About One of SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Sponsors

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Mr. Rawles, Recently I was pleased to hear that I had won second place in round 75 of your writing contest for my Inevitable American Gun Ban article. As part of that prize, Emergency Essentials promised to provide a 3 day deluxe emergency kit. Thought grateful for the prize, I didn’t really want the kit because I have multiples of every item in that kit already. What to do? Hesitantly, I contacted them and asked if I might order something else from the website and pay the cost difference between the items I chose and the 3 day kit. I …


Letter: HF 3002: Welcome to The People’s Republic of Minnesota

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Hugh, They Never Stop. And they never will. The latest bid to punish the innocent for arms abuse by the guilty— but really to make sure that no sheep-dogs remains protectively collared when the left later disposes of the sheep—is arising in MN. And it’s a doozy: HF 3022 is now in the Legislature. Permit required to own a gun Permit required to buy a gun Permit required to sell a gun Local law enforcement gets to deny all types of gun permits Local law enforcement gets to deny permits to carry Personal medical information must be shared with law …


Birth- Part 2, by A.E.

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According to the CDC, about 11,000 babies are born in the U.S. every day. If anyone in your family or group is of childbearing age, you might want to think about preparing for an out-of-hospital birth. Most people have never witnessed a “natural” or med-free birth. Therefore, they have no idea what natural birth looks like or how to prepare for it. In Part 1, I spoke about the importance of the mother’s psyche in childbirth and also about the sphincter law that applies to childbirth. We began the topic of Preparing for Birth with suggestion for books, such as …


Birth- Part 1, by A.E.

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Typically, when we think about a survival situation, like TEOTWAWKI or SHTF, our minds race to food storage, defense, clean water, growing gardens, and raising livestock; often times, we forget other necessities, like good medical care and childbirth. According to the CDC, about 11,000 babies are born in the U.S. every day. If anyone in your family or group is of childbearing age, you might want to think about preparing for an out-of-hospital birth. Most people have never witnessed a “natural” or med-free birth. Therefore, they have no idea what natural birth looks like or how to prepare for it. …



Stoic Virtues, by A Modern Stoic

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Stoic justice at its heart is about fairness and the golden rule. Other virtues remain, which I will grab onto because a virtuous life is one to pursue for real happiness. Seneca on the Good, the Honorable, and Virtue “Your letter roamed, over several little problems, but finally dwelt upon this alone, asking for explanation: “How do we acquire a knowledge of that which is good and that which is honourable?” In the opinion of other schools, these two qualities are distinct; among our followers, however, they are merely divided. This is what I mean: Some believe the Good to …


How to Prepare When You’re The Only One- Part 3, by Patriotman

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I’m a man in his mid 20s trying to prepare for when SHTF to care for 21 family members and guide another 21, none of which are really contributing in any significant way. I’m also part of a fireteam group, but they are not walking the walk on preparations either. My girlfriend is supportive, but I feel generally alone in my preparations. I’ve outlined the problems I have in each group– family and fireteam– in Part 1 of this article series. In Part 2, I went over how I am resolving these problems and my specific plans as well as …