Preparedness Notes for Friday — September 27, 2019

Your last call! There are just three days left until the U.S. sales ban on multi-band Baofeng UV-5R handie-talkies takes effect. As of October 1st, 2019, it will be illegal to advertise or sell them. But they will still be legal to operate. Only licensed amateur can operate on their ham bands. However, unlicensed folks can operate with them on their FRS, and MURS bands. So get yourself a six pack, ASAP! — This is the Birthday of Samuel Adams (not counting the change in dates due to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar). He was …




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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at some recent declines in classic car prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Can the rallies in gold and silver continue? o  o  o The Surprising Advantages Of Investing In Gold, A 50 Year Historical Analysis Economy & Finance: Insider Selling Hits 20 …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 26, 2019

On September 26, 1908 an ad for the Edison Phonograph first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The author is just 13 years old. I think he did a commendable job, for his age. By his advanced vocabulary and writing style, I suspect that he is home-schooled. 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 …




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 significant drop in bird populations. Study Finds Hand Sanitizers Fail Against Flu Reader DSV sent us this: Study finds hand sanitizers fail against flu, CDC completely wrong. U.S., Canada …







Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 25, 2019

Today is the birthday of Will Smith (born 1968), best known for his roles in I Am Legend and Enemy Of The State. On September 25th, 1789, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  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 …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food as and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. This week the focus is on the soon-to-be-banned Baofentg UV-5R handie-talkie transceivers. (See the Gear & Grub section.) Books: Edward Snowden’s latest: Permanent Record o  o  o Flayderman’s Guide …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 24, 2019

On this date in 1775, Ethan Allen was captured by the British. And in 1493, Columbus set sail with 17 ships on his second voyage to the Americas. — Through a friend who has an FFL, I’ve started another two-week GunBroker.com auction for one of the original pre-ban HK91 rifles from my personal collection. To explain why I’m selling this: We still have some family medical expenses to cover. Here is a description of this rifle, which has some unusual features: “This rifle has a few modifications done to it that set it apart from a standard HK91. First off, …




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 more  grizzly bear attacks. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Idaho Dept. of Insurance releases Post-Disaster Claims Guide. o o o Readers T.Z. and M.C. both sent this: Idaho Legislator: State Considering Defunding Leftist Agenda on Boise State Campus. JWR’s Comment: Gender …




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 Instagram banning photos of people at gun ranges. Some Libertarians Moving to Fort Galt, Chile H.L. mentioned this at Zero Hedge: Neighbors Suck? Try These Ones Instead! Pandemic Risk Rising …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 23, 2019

There are just eight days remaining in the current round of our non-fiction writing contest. I’d like to make a special appeal to some of the subject matter experts who have been chiming in with lengthy comments, in our comments section. Many of you are clearly great writers, and really know your stuff. I encourage you to write just a bit longer pieces and submit them to the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. You can even use one of your posted comments as a starting point, and simply expand it.  The minimum word count is just 1,500 words. Take note that …




Recipe of the Week: Newell’s Skillet-Baked Apple Crisp

Looking for a use for some of your baskets of recently-harvested apples? Reader Newell in Northern California kindly sent us his recipe for skillet-baked apple crisp. Yum! Filling Ingredients 6 large (or 8-to-10 small) baking apples, cored and sliced 1/4 cup brown sugar (either light or dark) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1 tablespoon corn starch Topping Ingredients 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup brown sugar (either light or dark) 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 full stick) unsalted butter Directions Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium …