The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, we look at software-defined radios (SDRs). A Primer on Software Defined Radios (SDRs) This video is a primer on inexpensive software-defined radios (SDRs): The Coolest Radio You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.  JWR’s Comment: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralysed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it. The Machine develops — but not on our lines. The …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 4, 2021

On August 4th, 1944, 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter in a small space in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps. — Two of my recent gun auctions at GunBroker.com ended very satisfactorily. But oddly, the third one got no bids. …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. We’ll start out today’s column with this:  Pompeo Says ‘Collapse From Within Is Possible’ In Dark Vision Of Nation’s Potential Future. (Thanks to Reader A.K. for the link.) o  o  o Avalanche Lily pointed me to a brief “must read” essay, over at NC Renegades: Bad Things Are Coming! Nothing Is Going To Stop It Now! o  o  o In …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 3, 2021

On August 3rd, 1914, Germany and France both declared war on each other, formally beginning the First World War. August 3rd, 1846 is the day that the Donner party found a note warning the emigrants that their expected route through the mountains ahead was nearly impassable. Hastings, an unscrupulous trail guide had created his own “short cut” route and wasn’t even at the planned meeting place at Fort Bridger, but had left word for the party to continue on. Hastings had claimed easy passage through the rugged Wasatch Mountains, but had left a note attached to a forked stick for …


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 Point Zero Energy portable solar power systems. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho One of my consulting clients recommended a backup/off-grid photovoltaic power system. Point Zero Energy in Weston, Idaho (a small town, near the southeast corner of the state) is currently working …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 2, 2021

August 2nd was the birthday of Peter O’Toole (1932–2013). When his name is mentioned, Lawrence of Arabia immediately comes to mind. But one of my favorites was his 1971 film titled Murphy’s War. That has some very memorable seaplane flying scenes. — I’ve recently added eight guns, over at Elk Creek Company. And I have several more new acquisitions to add soon, including several stainless steel Ruger Old Army percussion revolvers. Take a look. Keep in mind that we now take payments both in pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage, or in Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) at a multiplier that changes often, …


Writing Contest Winners Announced: Round 95

We’ve completed the judging for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize winners are: First Prize: First prize is awarded to S.B. for An Electric Car for TEOTWAWKI? (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) published on June 3-4-5, 2021. He will receive the following prizes: 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), A course …


Recipe of the Week: Plain Soft Custard

The following recipe for Plain Soft Custard is from The New Butterick Cookbook, published in 1924, It is now in the public domain. A custard is a mixture of cooked egg and milk, flavored. Starchy material is sometimes used to replace part of the eggs. Custards are classified according to the method used in cooking them; those cooked over hot water and stirred throughout the cooking process are known as soft or stirred custards-erroneously, as boiled custards; those set in hot water and cooked in the oven (oven-poaching) are firm or baked custards. The firmness of a custard depends on …


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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in military surplus rifles. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Silver Price Forecast: Back into the Teens? o  o  o Inflation climbs higher, but gold closes sharply lower. Economy & Finance: On Friday, the U.S. Senate advanced the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill with a 66-28 vote. JWR’s Comment: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“’Runner’s World‘, like many magazines, has become a print chatroom for disenfranchised women, minorities, and men so feminized they are practically lactating. Every article portrays runners as victims of oppression, racism, and sexism thanks to white guys like me. You may be sporting $250 running shoes while sipping $10 lattes and talking on your $1000 smart phone all financed with student loans, but you are still a victim of evil capitalism. The woke movement infecting America is more dangerous than the CCP virus because rather than being aerosolized in respiratory secretions, it is spread by thought. Social justice authors could …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 1, 2021

August 1st is celebrated as Swiss Independence Day, in recognition of the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291, which united Switzerland’s first three cantons. As of 2021, Switzerland has been free and independent for 730 years. Having a well-armed populace has assured that. Today is also the anniversary of the general uprising against the German occupation, in Warsaw, in 1944. Like the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto uprising in April of 1943, it was doomed to failure. The uprising was eventually crushed, with massive civilian casualties. There was no support provided by the Allies. The advancing Soviet Red Army–just a few …