Preparedness Notes — August 4, 2026

This Week in History: On  August 4, 1873, while protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the US 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (pictured), clashed for the first time with the Sioux Indian tribe near the Tongue River, killing one man on each side. — August 6, 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved. It was described by Voltaire as “in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” Emperor Francis II renounced his title of Holy Roman Emperor, becoming instead the first Emperor of Austria. — August 4, 1900: An allied expeditionary force, made up of …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a satellite image of Europe at night. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable. — If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a wide horizontal format (to match our blog template) then please send it in as an e-mail attachment, and I will consider posting it as a Graphic of the Week, or as a Top Note photo. I can of course credit you by name — or pen name —  if …


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. Economics & Investing Links of Interest NYT: Larry Ellison Bet It All on the A.I. Boom. Will He Be the Face of the A.I. Bubble? Bond yields at 19-year high send Warsh credibility warning. At Whatfinger: America’s Quiet Civil War: High-Tax Slave States vs. Free Market Freedom States. To file under “Socialist Stupidity”: Commerce Department quietly announces 7 new equity stakes in private companies. Silicon Valley’s 24-Year-Old AI “Prophet” Just Lost a Fortune – The Hype Finally …


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: China’s robot warrior dogs. Robot Dogs are Training \With Soldiers in China Whatfinger.com reports:  Robot dogs are no longer experimental in China. They’re training with actual soldiers, right now: …


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. — SurvivalBlog reader C.B. forwarded this news link: American Red Cross declares national blood crisis as type O supply drops to dangerous levels. Here is an excerpt: “The Red Cross is now limiting distributions of type O blood to hospitals, as the nation’s largest single provider of blood products now has less than …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week 

REDOUBT NEWS LINKS This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. In Spokane: ‘When the sun rises, we are going to be in shock’: Thousands evacuated in north Spokane as wildfire crosses river into city. Some other coverage: Apocalyptic Inferno in Spokane: Fast-Moving Wildfire Forces Mass Evacuations as Homes Burn and Hospital is Emptied (Videos). Idaho In-N-Out gunman died by gunshot wound after killing 3, wounding 7, Twin Falls police say. An armed citizen made the …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Your Little Toe Does Have A Purpose It Makes Sure That All Of Your Furniture is Kept In Its Proper Place 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.



Preparedness Notes — July 28, 2026 

This Week in History: On July 28, 1851, the first-ever photograph of a total solar eclipse was captured on a daguerreotype by Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski at the Royal Observatory in Königsberg, Prussia. — On or about July 28, 1586, English astronomer and mathematician Thomas Harriot introduced potatoes to England on his return from Roanoke Island, in modern-day North Carolina. (The date is disputed.) — July 29, 238: The Roman Senate and Praetorian Guard proclaimed 13-year-old Gordian III as Emperor. He was the youngest-ever emperor of a united Rome. — July 29, 1609: Samuel de Champlain shot and killed two …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Maggie’s Buttery Rice is from SurvivalBlog reader S.D.. Ingredients 1/8 to 1/3 cup chopped onion (depending on your taste) 3 tbsp (1/2 of a stick) butter 1 c rice 14.5 oz chicken broth Directions Saute onion in butter until clear. Add dry rice and saute for about a minute. Add chicken broth and bring pan to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is cooked. SERVING Serve this hot. STORAGE This stores refrigerated for just 48 hours. After that, any leftovers go to the chicken flock. — Do you have a well-tested recipe that …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic (courtesy of Reddit) is a road map of Canada, posted by “Rosemarry_40”. Note the vast wilderness areas that are entirely roadless. Also note that the only sizable road grid with right-angle junctions can be seen in the agricultural region of Alberta. By the way, I found the comments to the original Reddit post quite informative. – JWR (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable. — If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a …


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. Economics & Investing Links of Interest The resumption of hostilities with Iran boosted crude oil prices to above $100 per barrel and triggered a rebound in precious metals prices last week. Take note that the silver-to-gold price ratio shot up to 70-to-1. So this is a good juncture for ratio trading out of gold and into physical silver, to better balance your portfolio. For most middle-class investors I now recommend a precious metals portfolio of 8% gold, …


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, the billionaire private jet flight tracker. A Billionaire Jet Flight Tracker to Warn of Possible Disasters Jerome wrote to mention this at Business Insider: I vibe-coded a billionaire …


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. — A video from NotaRubicon: Abbree AR-8118 GMRS Radio Review.  JWR’s Comment:  I suggest that readers buy several of them, before they get import banned or re-designed to be band-locked, by FCC diktat. o  o  o A fantastic CMP Announcement:  M14 rifles will be released for civilian sale! (Presumably with the full auto …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

REDOUBT NEWS LINKS This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. National Park Service won’t kill grizzly that fatally attacked Glacier hiker. JWR’s Comment:  The classic liberal “He was just misunderstood” felony legal defense now seems to be applied to bears. Hundreds evacuate from fires burning on the Warm Springs reservation. In Idaho: Eagle goes back to the drawing board for shooting ordinance. Kootenai County data breach exposes residents’ sensitive information. International fugitive wanted was captured in …