Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 5, 2020

Today is the birthday of actor Robert Duvall (born 1931.) His roles in Open Range and Apocalypse Now are unforgettable. — January 5th is the birthday of the late John Pugsley (born 1934, died April 8, 2011), libertarian and economics author. Pugsley was well known in preparedness circles as the author of The Alpha Strategy. (The book is out of print, but a PDF is available for free download.) — It is also the birthday of General Courtney Hodges (born 1887 – January 16, 1966). Kicked out of West Point for low math scores, he enlisted as a private but …




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 newly-minted U.S. Space Force. US Space Force to Take Over Florida Bases Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Patrick AFB, Canaveral fall under new US Space Force. …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 4, 2020

January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde. His surname at birth was “Heide”, but it was later anglicized. He was born in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927.




Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 3, 2020

On this day, in 1521, Martin Luther – the father of the reformation and founder of Protestantism – was officially excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, …




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 heavy truck market, as an economic indicator. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: A fascinating piece by Lyn Alden, over at Gold-Eagle: Gold Price Forecast: A Weaker Dollar Is The Easiest Path To $2,000 Gold o  o  o Gold Price Forecast: Gold To Rise On Fed …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight. If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of …







Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

Each year, I only post one reminder, encouraging voluntary Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions, and this is it. Hopefully, some readers appreciate the fact that SurvivalBlog is one of the last of the daily “Old School” blogs without any of these annoyances and intrusions: Annoying pop-up ads Opt-in pop-ups to generate e-mail lists E-mail list spamming Auto-playing media Paid placement pseudo-articles Instant surveys “Are you sure you want to leave?” messages Animated graphics or animated/blinking ads “Top 10” slideshows Cheesy stock photography “Members-only” exclusives Keyword stuffing Sporadic posting SurvivalBlog is not sporadic. I’ve only missed two days of posting in nearly …




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 announced issue of Tikka T3x Arctic rifles, in Canada. Canadian Rangers to Get Tikka T3x Arctic Rifles An interesting video from Bloke on the Range (a British ex-pat who …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Antifa posers with fantasies of a Civil War II need to worry more. ATF says more than half of all rifles sold were scary semiauto carbines. Combine these so-called “assault rifles” with the current Big Thing for traditional bolt action rifles: shooting very small targets at very long distances, and with more powerful ammo. Then explain to the campus commandos they do this as a hobby, for fun.” – Ol’ Remus, in his Yer Ol’ Woodpile Report blog.




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 1, 2020

A notable birthday: John Cantius Garand was born  January 1, 1888 in St. Rémi, Quebec. John Garand designed one of America’s best known battle rifles, the M1 Garand. General Patton praised Garand’s design, writing to Chief of Ordnance Lt. Gen. Levin H. Campbell, Jr., (January 26, 1945): “The M1 rifle is the most deadly rifle in the world.” Garand died on February 16, 1974. — Archive USB Update For those who have asked, here is an update on our upcoming release of the SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 archive waterproof USB sticks. To summarize: The archive now includes all SurvivalBlog posts and comments …