Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 24, 2024

On July 24th, 1704, English and Dutch troops occupied Gibraltar. — The late Jerry Ahern passed away on this day, July 24th, 2012. His survivalist novels created an entire genre. — On July 24th, 1567, Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate. Her 1-year-old son became King James VI of Scots. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 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 …


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. — SurvivalBlog reader C.B. sent this: Microsoft-CrowdStrike outage: How a single software update was able to cause IT chaos across the globe. Here is an excerpt: “The global IT outage on 19 July serves as a stark reminder of our vulnerability to technological failures. Triggered by a single faulty software update provided by …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 23, 2024

On July 23, 1745 Charles Edward Stuart, “the Young Pretender” or Bonnie Prince Charlie, landed at Eriskay Island, Hebrides beginning the final Jacobite Rebellion. — On July 23, 1777 Polish military leader Casimir Pulaski arrived in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to volunteer in the Continental Army cavalry. — Also on July 23, 1777: King Louis XVI of France and his Foreign Minister clandestinely agreed to supply the United States with munitions in its war of secession from England. — On July 23, 1944 Battle of Kursk (“Koersk”) ended. This massive tank battle in the USSR was a defeat for the Nazis, with …


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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, we focus again on American Redoubt general aviation flying and drone videos. Idaho Flying Idaho Backcountry – Johnson Creek to Wilson Bar.  JWR’s Comments: You’ve got to love that 330-degree-pivoting wingtip camera bar!  Remote grass strips like this are best accessed with fat tire (“Tundra …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The inexorable growth of the national debt has become The Great Unspeakable Truth. This quandary is a l’empereur sans-cullotes situation. It took 200 years for the U.S. government to accumulate a one trillion dollar national debt. But now we have a $34.9 trillion debt and are adding another $1 trillion in new debt every 100 days.  Repaying that debt is nearly impossible without the destruction of the Dollar as a currency unit. To say that our legislators are spending like drunken sailors is an insult to drunken sailors.  At least those sailors spend money that they’ve actually earned. The congresscritters …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 22, 2024

On July 22, 1893, the poet Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to “America the Beautiful”.  Inspired by the scenery of Colorado, Bates wrote the words as a poem, originally titled “Pikes Peak“. It was first published in the Fourth of July 1895 edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist. At that time, the poem was titled “America”.   The music was earlier composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never met. The combination of Ward’s melody and Bates’s poem was first entitled “America the Beautiful” in 1910.  The …


Recipe of the Week:  Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Wheat Germ Muffins

The following recipe for Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Wheat Germ Muffins is from SurvivalBlog reader J.M.W. Ingredients 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur) 1 ¼ cup wheat germ (such as Kretschmer’s) 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda (necessary!) 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder MIX TOGETHER THOROUGHLY, THEN ADD: 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese 12 ounces lean raw bacon, cooked crisp, cut into ½ inch pieces OPTIONAL: 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated WET INGREDIENTS 2 eggs 1 ½ cups milk, or buttermilk, or yogurt 1 stick soft butter, not melted …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a map showing the Frontier Counties of the United States. To qualify as “frontier”, a county must have six or fewer people, per square mile. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.       — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 21, 2024

On July  21, 1853, Central Park in New York created when the New York State Legislature set aside more than 750 acres of land on Manhattan Island. — July 21st is also the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He committed suicide on July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, after being diagnosed with haemochromatosis, and after electroshock treatments failed to lift him from chronic alcoholic depression. He lived a sad life but was a great writer. — We are in need of a few more entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


2024 Political Shockwaves: Election Year Turmoil

With each successive election cycle in the 21st Century, Americans seem to be growing more divided and more strident. This political divisiveness has spilled over into popular culture, movies, and even rifts in some religious denominations. College and university campuses have become flashpoints for large protests. Policing and prosecutions at the federal level – and in some coastal states – have become overtly politicized and weaponized.  Each passing year, there is less and less “common ground.”  People seem to have been grouped into diametrically opposed camps. And, as I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, a geographic self-sorting is also underway, and …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Getting Just a Graze Was a Miracle He Must Have Invested in Miracle Ear Stock News Link: Trump adviser: It’s ‘miraculous’ former president turned his head ‘at the right moment to avoid the bullet’ 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:

“And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he …