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. — Video with some good advice from Austin-based building contractor Matt Risinger: Three Generator Pro Tips (from a mini-Prepper). o  o  o Reader Ron M. suggested a brief, informative video describing NIJ body armor levels. o  o  o T.M. forwarded this news link: General Mills Announces Recalls For Bleached, Unbleached Gold Medal Flour. …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, the ones executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals or bands of individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy of those governments — that is, by the official representatives of governments, acting in their official capacity.” – John Hospers (the first Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. President.)


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 2, 2023

On May 2nd, 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced that high-accuarcy GPS would be made available to the public; the satellite signals had previously been degraded for nonmilitary use. — And on On May 2nd, 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France at a cost of four cents per acre for 828,000 square miles (2,144,520 square km), which soon proved to be a tremendous bargain. — Seed for Security, LLC — one of our long-time sponsors — has announced a special sale. Their Colossal Security Pack is now 15% off. This pack is a total of over …


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 growing wolf pack numbers. (See the Region-Wide and Washington sections.) Region-Wide Oregon, Idaho law enforcement and community honor fallen Nyssa officer. o  o  o Melting snow to fill up rivers around the Inland Northwest. o  o  o Wolf numbers increasing in Yellowstone, …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 1, 2023

May 1st is the birthday of the late Joel Rosenberg, a Canadian-born novelist and gun rights advocate (born 1954, died June 2, 2011). He is not to be confused with Joel C. Rosenberg (born 1967), who is another great novelist and the author of The Last Jihad series. — Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We are seeking entries for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested …


Recipe of the Week:  Muffin Pan Chicken Pot Pies

The following recipe for Muffin Pan Chicken Pot Pies is from SurvivalBlog reader G.S..  This makes miniature pot pies for individual servings, rather than one big pie. One advantage is that this method takes less cooking time than baking a big pot pie. Notes:  You can use any leftover cooked vegetables in this recipe. You can also substitute other types of cheese. Ingredients 1 cup cooked chicken chopped 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional) 1 cup mixed vegetables frozen 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can of biscuit dough (or an equivalent quantity of mixed Bisquick or similar biscuit …


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 some tax issues. (See the Taxes section.) Precious Metals: You may have noticed that silver is gaining, versus gold. As of Saturday morning, spot silver was at $25.34 per Troy ounce, while gold was at $2,003.30 per Troy ounce.  That is a 78.82-to-1 ratio.  I’m still looking at a ratio under 70-to-1 …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 30, 2023

Today is the birthday of sci-fi novelist Larry Niven (born April 30, 1938). Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. April 30th is also the birthday of software engineer Ed Yourdon, who was born in 1944. He passed away in 2016. — Today’s feature article was too short to qualify as an entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 29, 2023

On April 30, 1897, English physicist J.J. Thomson announced that he had discovered the electron, which helped revolutionize the knowledge of atomic structure; he later was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. — I just belatedly learned of the death of economics commentator Richard B. Daughty (aka The Mogambo Guru.) He was born March 27, 1947 and died February 10, 2022. He stopped posting articles in 2017. Both his insight and his humor are greatly missed! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Make haste, o God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make …