Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 2, 2023

John Randolph was born June 2, 1773, in Prince George County, Virginia. He died May 24, 1833. Randolph was an important proponent of the doctrine of states’ rights in opposition to a strong centralized government. According to Britannica.com: “A descendant of notable colonial families of Virginia as well as of the Indian princess Pocahontas, Randolph distinguished himself from a distant relative by assuming the title John Randolph of Roanoke, where he established his home in 1810. In 1799 Randolph was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and he served in that legislative body almost continuously until 1829. His political …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 106

We’ve completed the judging for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize-winning writers are: First Prize First Prize goes to G.F., for: Pest Control for Keeping a Bug-Free Home.  (Posted April 26-27, 2023.  See: Part 1 and Part 2.) He will receive the following 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 worth more than $2000. 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), Two cases …


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. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the impact of the pending Federal debt ceiling increase. Precious Metals: Why emerging markets are stocking up on gold. o  o  o At Gold-Eagle.com: Debt Ceiling Deal Keeps Dollar Locked in Devaluation Spiral. Economy & Finance: A video linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Dave Brat: Speaker McCarthy’s Debt Limit Deal …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 1, 2023

On June 1st, 1907, English aviation engineer and pilot Frank Whittle was born.  He was the inventor of the turbojet engine. — Ready Made Resources is running a special on Elbit PVS-14 Gen 3 autogated white phosphor night vision monocular/weapon sights. They are giving a free upgrade from 1,900 Figure of Merit (FOM) to a hand-selected 2,200 FOM. (That is a $250 value.)  This special offer ends next Monday (June 5th, 2023.)  Please mention SurvivalBlog when you order, to get the 2,200 FOM upgrade. I should mention that Ready Made Resources has been a loyal SurvivalBlg advertiser since the early …


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, we look at ham radio emergency communications. The Vintage Radio Enthusiasts Prepping for Disaster Over at Commander Zero’s Notes From The Bunker blog: Article – No cellphone? No …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 31, 2023

Actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930. — On May 31, 1921, the Tulsa Race Riot destroyed a 35-square block section of the city nicknamed “Black Wall Street.” At least 75 people were killed — mostly black. Some were shot and some died in structure fires. The initial shootout took the lives of 10 whites and two blacks. The riots that followed were more lopsided in the other direction. There were even firebombings and shootings from the cockpits of private planes. The incident left a stain on the history of Tulsa, largely because some Tulsa police officers were complicit …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This 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. — The latest video from Tom Grieve: New Pistol Brace Option! Final Words Before D-Day. o  o  o Video: Wagner Finds Antique Weapons In Ukraine’s Underground Weapons Cache.  JWR’s Comment:  Seeing those crates of mint condition lend-lease Thompson SMGs made my jaw drop. And seeing the two rusting Barrett .50 rifles made me …




An Arborist Training Position in Louisville, Kentucky

I just heard about a job opening for an essentially recession-proof job that might interest a SurvivalBlog reader.  I have been asked by the owner of the company to do the initial review of the resumes that come in: Arborist Training Position Job Description: Climber ISA Certified Arborist Position available as climber trainee in a growing (literally!) field in high demand.  Work one-on-one with owner of a small but successful tree company. We have a relaxed but safe work environment, with no drama.  We are servicing Louisville, Kentucky.  You will learn all aspects of tree care including planting, pruning (including …


Skynet May Soon Not Be Fiction: The Coming AI Singularity

Introductory Note:  This brief article that I wrote may take you several hours to read and digest, because it includes so many links to other articles and also a few videos. Put on a pot of coffee, and set aside some time to work your way through this. – JWR — You’ve probably read about ChatGPT, and the clever things that it writes. And you’ve most likely seen artworks created by artificial intelligence (AI). But AI isn’t all fun and games. The rapid advance of AI has some profound implications for the economy, our liberty, and even the very survival …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements 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. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on rising house and land costs.  (See the Region-Wide section.) Region-Wide A television news segment: Booming housing prices in the Inland Northwest — Boomtown. o  o  o County secession: Local efforts to redraw political borders. o  o  o 10 States People Are Fleeing …