Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 25, 2021

National Medal of Honor day is officially observed on March 25th of each year. This is the birthday of English film director David Lean. He was born in Croydon, England in 1908. He died in 1991. He is best known for his films Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago. On March 25, 1944 RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a jump from a burning Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet over Germany without a parachute. His fall was broken by pine trees and soft snow, and he suffered only a sprained leg. He died on …


Post-Collapse Barter: The Value of Silver – Part 2, By Dr. Derek King

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) So let us postulate (while we still have time, sanity, and electricity) what that sack of coins might be worth as time crawls on. The topic of bartering safely, back-room banking, armed protection and hiding places are beyond the scope of this paper and will be saved for another time and venue. Let’s just speculate as to what a 1960 quarter and a plain 1-ounce 99.9% silver “round” will be worth on a chronological time-line, shall we?! Remember that silver is measured in Troy ounces (12 to a pound) and that this …


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 examine Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). License Plate Readers are Becoming Ubiquitous Over at EndGadget: Anyone with a camera and $5 can now have a license plate reader. The article begins: “Automatic license …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 24, 2021

March 24th is the birthday of Dr. Art Robinson, who was born in 1942. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 93 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 onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 23, 2021

Today is the birthday of acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. He directed 30 films. His samurai films (many starring Toshiro Mifune) such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, and Ran are considered legendary in the cinema world. And today is the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death speech. It was delivered to the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, on March 23, 1775. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …


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. — M. in The Redoubt wrote to ask: JWR,  Do you think the benefits of owning a [registered] suppressor (flash signature and sound reduction) outweigh the increased exposure of being on the ATF registry?   JWR Replies: In the present-day political climate, I would advise against it.  The high profile outweighs the potential benefits.  If you want to shoot quietly, …


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 the recent Wyoming snowstorm. (See the Wyoming section.) Idaho Video: Elderly Couple, Dogs Rescued from Pickup Dangling over Idaho Gorge. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.) o  o  o Idaho concealed carry bill advances; would allow some school staff to …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The State obtains its revenue by coercion, by threatening dire penalties should the income not be forthcoming. That coercion is known as “taxation,” although in less regularized epochs it was often known as ‘tribute.’ Taxation is theft, purely and simply even though it is theft on a grand and colossal scale which no acknowledged criminals could hope to match. It is a compulsory seizure of the property of the State’s inhabitants, or subjects.” – Murray Rothbard



Recipe of the Week: Chicken & Ham Sandwiches

The following recipe for Chicken & Ham Sandwiches is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book is one of the many bonus items included in the latest edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition (2005-2020) USB stick has sold out, but another small batch should be available in a month. Ingredients 1 cup cooked chicken meat 1/4 cup cooked ham 1/2 cup celery Mayonnaise Butter Lettuce Directions Mix chicken, ham …


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 current high price of reloading primers. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Here is a set of gold-to-silver ratio charts that is instructive.  JWR’s Comment: Keep in mind that the long-term trend can only head in one direction, since silver is being gradually consumed, whereas most scrap …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The worship of the state is the worship of force. There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men. The worst evils which mankind ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments. The state can be and has often been in the course of history the main source of mischief and disaster.” – Ludwig von Mises


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 21, 2021

March 21st, 1778: Just three days after Hessian mercenary forces assaulted the local New Jersey militia at Quinton’s Bridge, the same contingent surprised the colonial militia at Hancock’s Bridge, five miles from Salem. In what became known as the Massacre at Hancock’s Bridge, at least 20 members of the militia lost their lives, some after attempting to surrender. The Loyalists reputedly exclaimed “Spare no one! Give no quarter!” as they stormed the occupied house. Judge Hancock and his brother (both Loyalists) were bayoneted in the melee by the attackers even though they were both staunch supporters of the crown and …