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 the latest on the drought that is affecting most of the western states. A Serious Utah Dust Storm Dust storm in Utah causes series of crashes on I-15, at least …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 28, 2021

On July 28, 1932, U.S. Army troops, using tanks, cavalry, and tear gas demolished and burned the shanty town set up near the U.S. Capitol by unemployed Bonus Army protestors. July 28th is also the anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, in 1914. This war irreparably changed geopolitics. Officially, the war lasted until November 11, 1918, as did our involvement. But American troops were still running around shooting Russians until 1920. — Update: The Elk Creek Company shopping cart system is now back in operation. We are again ready to take orders, with payments either in pre-1965 silver …


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. Reader John L offered this: “Thanks for running the interesting article on cordage. A few additions: Knots.  Hard to use cordage effectively without them.  Bowline, sheet bend, clove hitch, and prusik will cover 98% of needs.  Learn these. Consider traditional laid (“twisted”) ropes instead of braided.  Laid cordage can be spliced with appproximately 95% retention of strength, not only to …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 27, 2021

July 27th is the birthday of Captain Samuel Whittemore (born in 1694, died February 3, 1793). He was an English-born American farmer and soldier. He was eighty years of age when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American War of Independence. Here is a summary of his combat against the British Army: Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy. Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling …


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, a special edition of the column where we feature videos on Backcountry Flying, throughout the Redoubt. Region-Wide First up, here is a video from GravityKnightFlying that gives you a good taste of tundra tire backcountry piloting in the Redoubt, with some great scenery: Flying the …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 26, 2021

On July 26th, 1931, a swarm of grasshoppers descended on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Already in the midst of a bad drought, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota suffered tremendously. The swarms were said to be so thick that they blocked out the sun and one could shovel the grasshoppers with a scoop. While America has not seen infestations on such a scale since then, North Africa and parts of the Middle East continue to experience them. — The confirmation of David “Waco” Chipman as Director of the BATFE may come up for a vote before …


Recipe of the Week: Lamb’s Quarters

The following wild greens recipe is from Mrs. Alaska. Many wild greens can be cooked the same way people like to cook spinach: with butter and lemon or garlic or as a creamy concoction. In spring, we enjoy fiddlehead ferns and fireweed shoots.  In early summer, we eat dandelion leaves raw and cooked.  But my favorite wild green is Lamb’s Quarters.  It is chock full of vitamins A, C, K, iron, and calcium.  Unlike many leafy greens, its flavor does not include a bitter or sulfurous component.  It is mild, and almost nutty. This slim plant with grey/green soft leaves, grows …


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 labor shortages in the railroad industry. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Mike in Alaska wrote to mention a free online precious metals price calculator. o  o  o Arkadiusz Sieroń: Gold’s Behavior in Various Parallel Inflation Universes. Economy & Finance: First up, at Wolf Street: After Slashing …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 25, 2021

On this day in 1897, Jack London sailed for the Klondike. While in the Klondike, London began submitting stories to magazines. In 1900, his first collection of stories, The Son of the Wolf, was published. Three years later, his story The Call of the Wild made him famous around the country. London continued to write stories of adventure amid the harsh natural elements. During his 17-year career, he wrote 50 fiction and nonfiction books. He settled in northern California about 1911, having already written most of his best work. London, a heavy drinker, died in 1916. — Today’s feature article …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:   To share this, you can find it here: https://kapwi.ng/c/s8tS8lkh Meme Text: Biden-Harris Administration Statist Logic: It Would Egregiously Violate the 1st Amendment to Have the White House Censor Facebook Posts. But Jen Psaki Says It Is Okay For The White House to “Flag” Facebook Posts and Ask Facebook to Censor Them. Related News Links: https://dailycaller.com/2021/07/20/media-white-house-line-social-media-censorship-jen-psaki-peter-doocy/ and https://spectatorworld.com/topic/joe-biden-digital-serfs-misinformation-jen-psaki-facebook/


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 24, 2021

The late Jerry Ahern passed away on this day, July 24th, in 2012. His survivalist novels created an entire genre. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 95 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 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 certificate from …