Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 6, 2019

March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004. Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space, aboard Vostok 6. She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR. — …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on the documentary film titled Calvinist. (See the Movies section.) Books: Battlefield America: The War On The American People, by John W. Whitehead. o  o  o Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War o  o  o Brown’s Skin and Minor Surgery: A Text Movies: Reader Bruce D. recommended this documentary: Calvinist. Bruce wrote:  “I just watched a great documentary on the recent resurgence of Reformed Theology amongst young adults. It’s streaming on Amazon and I’m sure …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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’s focus is on $100 Bills. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Only The Fed Could Kill Gold Now – Analyst o o o Do you like nuggets? Here is a great collection of photos, sent to us by reader H.L.: The most gigantic gold finds …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“INDECISION, n. The chief element of success; “for whereas,” saith Sir Thomas Brewbold, “there is but one way to do nothing and divers way to do something, whereof, to a surety, only one is the right way, it followeth that he who from indecision standeth still hath not so many chances of going astray as he who pusheth forwards” –a most clear and satisfactory exposition on the matter. “Your prompt decision to attack,” said Genera Grant on a certain occasion to General Gordon Granger, “was admirable; you had but five minutes to make up your mind in.” “Yes, sir,” answered …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – March 5, 2019

We are sad to report the death of actor Luke Perry, on Monday, following a massive stroke a few days earlier. He starred in the quasi-survivalist television series titled Jeremiah. Season 2 of the series is available free for Amazon Prime members. For Season 1, you have to pay. On Hulu, both Season 1 and Season 2 are included with a Hulu subscription. Here’s a description of the series from IMDB: “In a post-apocalyptic future, a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity. The only ones who survived, were those who hadn’t yet reached puberty. Now, a decade has …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on railroads, rail bikes, and rails-to-trails in the American Redoubt.  The region has a rich history of railroads.  Many  “branch ” (Class III) railroads were and still are used to haul grain, ore, logs, and lumber. (A hat tip to reader JML, who sent me the initial link that piqued my interest in rail biking and rails to …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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”.  Today, we focus on U.S. Population Density.  The featured image is a composite photo of the lights of North America at night.  Some pictures truly are worth a thousand words. Insured Against Cataclysm? First up, over at Wired: Post-Apocalyptic Insurers Try Out a New ‘Make it Rain’ Strategy.  Here is a quote: “Typical insurance, the kind you probably have on your car or home, helps with this, but it is slooooow. It …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 4, 2019

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Today is the birthday of James Ellroy (b. 1948), an American noir novelist. He authored L.A. Confidential, which later became a popular film. — I was just told that the family that is handing fulfillment of orders for our latest 16GB waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks has fully caught up on mailing out orders. So if you order soon, your package should be mailed out within the next two to three working days. Note that there is up to a 2-week delay for orders paid by check. We started out with 1,500 sticks in mid-January. We now have less than …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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’s focus is on some observations by economist John Mauldin. (See the the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: U.S. Mint Suspends Silver Bullion Coin Sales After Sales Double In February o o o Why the Barrick deal could mean the mega melt up is here for gold. …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 3, 2019

Today is the birthday of bluegrass musician Doc Watson. (He was born in 1923 and passed away in 2012.) His guitar work was phenomenal. This is also the birthday of James Doohan, in 1920. He played Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek television series and films. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He passed away on July 20, 2005. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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”.  Today, we focus on how Seattle’s slow slide continues. The featured photo is of vagrants in Paris, circa 1930. Some things don’t change. Seattle’s Slow Slide Continues Reader D.S. sent us this link: Seattle’s homeless, ‘prolific offenders’ responsible for thousands of criminal cases. Here is how the article starts off: “A report commissioned by Seattle business leaders and written by a member of the previous Mayoral administration concludes that a small number …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 2, 2019

This is the birthday of libertarian economist Murray Rothbard (born 1926, died 1995) His book For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto is highly recommended. Today is also the birthday of Moe Berg, American baseball player and clandestine agent. (He died in 1972). His biography The Catcher Was a Spy is fascinating reading. And on March 2nd, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Today is coincidentally also the birthday of Sam Houston. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …