The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 18, 2022

February 18th, 1898 was the birthday of Enzo Ferrari, the car manufacturer who originated the car that carries his family name. Today is also the birthday of astronaut Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964.) He was killed in a birdstrike flying accident, while flying a T-38 Talon jet trainer. He was the first casualty of NASA’s manned space program. Fittingly, Ted Freeman’s name is inscribed on a memorial plaque that was left on the moon, by Apollo astronauts. This is also the birthday of Jack Palance (1919–2006), an actor known for his Tough Guy roles, …


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 results of the recent Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) emergency meeting. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Gold touches $1,900 for the first time since June on flare up in Russia-Ukraine tensions. o  o  o Gold Is The Geopolitical Hedge Of First Resort, Goldman Sees …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 17, 2022

February 17th, 1844 was the birthday of Aaron Montgomery Ward, founder of the mail-order business Montgomery Ward. On this day in 1838, hundreds of Voortrekkers traveling along the Blaukraans River in the Natal region were massacred by Zulus. This tragedy became known as the Weneen Massacre. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 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 …


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 further examine the Solar Storm CME threat. — Andre mentioned this, at SpaceWeather: Huge Farside Explosion. Yet again, we’ve witnessed a large CME that would be devastating, had it been Earth-facing. We …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 16, 2022

February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He is also the father of actress Candice Bergen. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 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 …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — From Frank S.: How a rather mundane space storm knocked out 40 SpaceX satellites. Here is an excerpt: “In recent months, sky watchers have been treated to some of the most beautiful auroras in years as the sun enters a period of greater activity. Moderate and strong solar storms in October and November spurred the …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 15, 2022

February 15th 1809: Birthday of Cyrus Hall McCormick, the inventor of a mechanical reaper. Gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away peacefully at home on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm patents. Today, I’d also like to wish Mike Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) a Happy Birthday! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. …


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 some recent skiing accidents. (See the Idaho and Oregon sections.) Region-Wide Moving Grain: Inland Waterways Users Board Reactivated After Long Wait o  o  o NPR (aka National Pravda Radio) is once again bashing The American Redoubt movement. This echoes a British journalist’s …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Between these law-made agencies and the spontaneously-formed ones, who then can hesitate? The one class are slow, stupid, extravagant, unadaptive, corrupt, and obstructive: can any point out in the other, vices that balance these? It is true that trade has its dishonesties, speculation its follies. These are evils inevitably entailed by the existing imperfections of humanity. It is equally true, however, that these imperfections of humanity are shared by State-functionaries; and that being unchecked in them by the same stern discipline, they grow to far worse results.” – Herbert Spencer


Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 14, 2022

On this day in 1859, Oregon was admitted to the Union as the 33rd State. — I just noticed that we are now down to less than 35 of the SurvivalBlog Archive 2005-2021 archive USB sticks. The first batch was 1,000 sticks, and the second one was 600. This may be the final batch that we’ll have available until January of 2023. So order yours, soon! — Today we present another review article that was written by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio.


Recipe of the Week: Lean Beef Goulash

The following recipe for Lean Beef Goulash was kindly sent by SurvivalBlog reader C.K.. She says: “I use lean beef, to keep this from tasting like some old-time greasy goulash.” Ingredients 1 to 1.25 pounds Ground Beef (93% lean — or even more lean) 1-1/2 cups minced onions 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 can (15 ounces) of tomato sauce 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) of diced tomatoes 1-1/2 cups water 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon paprika 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (or less, if on a low-salt diet.) 1 bay leaf 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni …