Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 26, 2025

On January  26,1907, the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) Mk III rifle was officially introduced into British Military Service. It is the world’s second-oldest military rifle with still-issued variants. — Today is the anniversary of the 2016 shooting death of LaVoy Finicum, during the Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff. — And on January 26, 2019, the Chew Valley Hoard of 2,528 silver coins from the Norman conquest was found near Bath. It was the highest-value treasure find ever in England, valued at £4.3 mliion (USD $5.6 million). — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: America Is Now Fully Unburdened By What Has Been News Link: Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff spotted grocery shopping amid marriage trouble rumours. But her plastic bag grabs attention. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.  


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 25, 2025

On January 25, 1840, the American naval expedition led by Charles Wilkes was the first to identify Antarctica as a new continent. — On January 25, 1915: In New York, Alexander Graham Bell spoke to his assistant in San Francisco, making the first transcontinental telephone call. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Just a few days left! Today we present another entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 24, 2025

On January 14, 1984, Apple Computer Inc. unveiled the Macintosh personal computer in a Super Bowl television ad directed by Ridley Scott. — January 24th is the birthday of René Barjavel (born 1911, died November 24, 1985). This prescient French science fiction author wrote several books with survivalist themes, including Ravage, which was titled Ashes, Ashes in its English translation. — Today is also the birthday of Tamara K., the editor of the long-running View From The Porch blog. — Sales of the new 2005-2024 SurvivalBlog waterproof archive sticks have been very brisk. There are now less than 60 left …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the recent spike in propane prices (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: The Next Phase Of Gold’s Bull Market Has Just Begun. JWR’s Comments:  2024 was a great year for gold investors. Spot gold posted a gain of 27.2% in US dollar terms, 37.1% in Swiss Franc (CHF) terms, and 35.6% in …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 23, 2025

January 23, 1855 was the birthday of John Moses Browning. He was the brilliant designer of dozens of guns, including the Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), the Auto-5 shotgun (pictured with designer, above), and the venerable M2 .50 Caliber Browning Machinegun.  Variants of all four of these are still in production, more than a century later. Today is also the birthday of my #2 Grandson. His coincidental “Browning Birthday” has ensured that he will inherit a disproportionately large portion of my guns that are Browning designs. – JWR — Sales of the new 2005-2024 SurvivalBlog waterproof …


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, a further examination of Avian Influenza. Bird Flu: 20 Million Dead Chickens in US Reader C.B. sent this: Bird flu kills 20 million chickens in US, driving egg …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful.” – John Marshall Harlan, 1896


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 22, 2025

On January 22, 1506 the first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrived at the Vatican. They still quite competently guard it, in the 21st Century. — On January 22, 1944, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy. — Today is the birthday of the late Linda Rawles (“The Memsahib.”) — We are in great need of entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $935,000 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 …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

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. — Reader C.B. recommended this well-reasoned article by prolific gun and preparedness writer Duncan Long (pictured, in a self-portrait from his younger days):  Backpack Fever. JWR’s Comments: This article was written in 1989, but it is still quite relevant. I still hear the same fantasy “survival” plans espoused in e-mails from some of …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 21, 2025

In honor of the birthday of John Moses Browning (January 23rd, 1855), we have begun a 10-day sale at Elk Creek Company.  This January sale is always our biggest sale of the year. All of our gun and knife inventory has been deeply reduced until January 31st, 2025.  Don’t miss out on these Birthday Week sale prices! — On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine in Paris, following his conviction for “high treason” by the newly created French Parliament (Convention nationale), during the French Revolution. — January 21, 1525: The Swiss Anabaptist Movement began when …