Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 13, 2021

May 13th is the birthday of firearms engineer Theodor Koch (born 1905, died 1976.) Koch, along with Edmund Heckler and Alex Seidel salvaged tooling from the bombed-out Mauser factory at Oberndorf, and with it founded Heckler und Koch. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 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 …


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 Colonial Pipeline hacking incident and the subsequent fuel shortages. Colonial Pipeline Hack Update First up, there was plenty of talk in the past few days about the Colonial fuel …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 12, 2021

One hundred years ago this week, in May of 1921 a solar storm began, dubbed The Great Geomagnetic Storm of May 1921. These were some of the headlines: “Telegraph Service Prostrated, Comet Not to Blame” — declared the Los Angeles Times on May 15, 1921. “Electrical Disturbance is ‘Worst Ever Known’” — reported the Chicago Daily Tribune. “Sunspot credited with Rail Tie-up” — in The New York Times. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum …


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. — This was a very thought-provoking essay: The Inevitable End of a Ruling Elite. o  o  o Michael J. wrote: “Here are my inflation-fighting tips for the SB community: 1) If you go to work, don’t buy your lunch; bring it from home.  When even a burrito can cost $10-13 dollars, that adds up fast.  Buy some lunch meat and …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 11, 2021

On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted into the United Nations. — Our Jeff Cooper’s Birthday Sale at Elk Creek Company is now underway, and will end on May 21st.  This is the time to round out your collection of pre-1899 Federally-exempt guns! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 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 …


Growing Your Own Food in The Inland Northwest – Part 1, by D.F.

My Background I grew up on a family farm in the Midwest where at one time or another apple orchards, field crops, cows, pigs and chickens were raised. I assisted my parents in nearly all these endeavors and in the process drove several different farm machines. This experience caused me to feel significant confidence in my gardening skill. However, I subsequently realized that I really only learned how to do farm work as instructed by my parents rather than actually learning how to farm. I am surprised sometimes at things I know that others don’t, but at other times I …


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 a new military vehicle museum in Wyoming. (See the Wyoming section.) Idaho This property caught my eye.  Not only is it in a remote and very defensible locale, but it also has amazing line of sight (LOS) for any ham radio operator:  …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 10, 2021

The Jeff Cooper’s Birthday Sale at Elk Creek Company begins today (May 10th, 2021), and ends on May 21st.  This is the time to round out your collection of pre-1899 Federally-exempt guns!  I’ve reduced the prices on more than half of my pre-1899 gun inventory, and all of my replica percussion-fired revolvers. — May 10th is the birthday of the late Col. Jeff Cooper (born 1920, died September 25, 2006). On May 10, 1972. Top Gun Graduate Randall “Duke” Cunningham and his backseater Wally “Irish” Driscoll shot down three MiGs in a dogfight and became the first Ace of the …


Recipe of the Week: Bear’s Pumpkin Custard

The following recipe for Pumpkin Custard was kindly sent to us by SirvivalBlog reader Bear. She notes: “It tastes like dessert but it’s healthy enough to serve for any meal. Pumpkin custard! I copied it from another homeschooling mama years ago and tweaked it. Her family often made it for breakfast, but my family prefers it chilled rather than warm, so I usually make it ahead of time, for lunch or dinner.” Ingredients 8 eggs (fresh, frozen, or reconstituted powdered) 1 large (29 oz) or 2 small (15 oz) cans pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix) 1/2 – 3/4 cup …


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 the recent spike in lumber prices. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: Bloomberg: Why Sam Zell Bought Gold for the First Time o  o  o The Dollar Is Not A Safe-Haven — video interview with Lyn Alden Economy & Finance: How COVID ‘Rescue’ Funds Are Mowing Down American Small Businesses …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The business of procuring the necessities of life has been shifted from the wood lot, the garden, the kitchen and the family to the factory and the large-scale enterprise. In our case, we moved our center back to the land.” – Helen Nearing, The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing’s Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living — Today, another review written by the Redoubtable Pat Cascio.


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 9, 2021

On May 9th, 1945, Herman Goering– commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, president of the Reichstag, head of the Gestapo, prime minister of Prussia, and Hitler’s designated successor– was taken prisoner by the U.S. Seventh Army in Bavaria. Goering, who was addicted to painkillers due to a wound, was instrumental in creating concentration camps for political enemies. It was Goering who ordered the purging of German Jews from the economy following Kristallnacht in 1938, initiating an “Aryanization” policy that confiscated Jewish property and businesses. Tried and convicted at the Nuremberg trials, he was sentenced to hanging, but before he could …