The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We are now entering a new era of forced frugality in which incomes and net worth stagnate or decline while the cost of living rises and borrowing is no longer frictionless. To say that these changes will shock the system is putting it mildly. Here’s the key dynamic in forced frugality: income can drop precipitously without any ratcheting to slow the decline, but costs only ratchet higher, or decline by nearly imperceptible degrees; that is, costs are “sticky” and refuse to slide down as easily as income. The second key dynamic in forced frugality is the tightening of lending and the rising cost of borrowed money. When lenders …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 30, 2020

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Known for his quips and unaware of the injury to others at the scene, President Reagan walked into the hospital, despite his wound, and was heard telling his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” — Today we present another product review by our Field Gear Editor. But first, a crass commercial announcement.


Elk Creek’s Pre-Hunker Down Sale — Our Hiatus Begins Soon

5

We are getting ready to lock our gate and hunker down at the Rawles Ranch. To minimize our number of trips into town to mail out antique gun orders, I’ve decided to run a special sale for just the next 48 hours. I’ve reduced prices on most of my guninventory. Following this sale I will temporarily cease taking any orders until May 4th. This sale ends at midnight, Pacific Time on Tuesday, March 31st. So get your Elk Creek Company order in soon! Note that I still have about 80 nice hand-picked pre-1899 cartridge guns in inventory. Nearly all of …


Recipe of the Week: Dan’s Salty-Sweet Trail Mix

1

Reader Dan H.. kindly sent us Salty-Sweet Trail Mix recipe. Dan says: “This recipe can be doubled. If you have kids in your house, then you should definitely double it–or you won’t have any left to eat while out on the trail. <grin>.” Ingredients 1/2 cup raw cashews 1/2 cup raw almonds 1/2 cup raw (shelled) pumpkin seeds 1/2 cup coconut flakes (rather than regular baking shredded coconut.) 2 tsp ghee, melted 2 TBS  maple syrup Salt, to taste. (Go easy on the salt, if the cashews, almonds, or pumpkin seeds you use are salted.) Directions Preheat oven to 350F. …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

9

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 uncertain future of private cryptocurrencies. (See the Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: 2020 Gold Price Forecast And Gold Thesis o  o  o Gold Gains 8% and Silver 18% In Week As Fed Balance Sheet Tops $5 Trillion Economy & Finance: All T-Bills Up To 3 Months Now Have Negative …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

9

“These are your choices. They always were and they always will be. Prepare when no one else is preparing. Panic when everyone else is panicking. Got food? Ammo? Meds? It’s too late now to prepare adequately for the pandemic much less the impending derailment of civilization itself. Preppers were calmly topping off their stashes in early January, at regular prices, in any quantity with lots-o’-choices. They saw the foreshadow of this emergency and acted appropriately. Prepping always looks crazy until the rug gets pulled. Paranoia is a survival tool, panic is not. Systems are visibly collapsing. The stock market is …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 29, 2020

2

Today is the 101st birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki: “He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered. On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese in China, he became a Prisoner of War (POW) and lost his …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 28, 2020

2

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s. The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

41

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 Wuhan coronavirus crisis brewing in New York City, and the first wave of “camping” refugees leaving cities. To borrow some modern parlance: This is about the get real. Re-Scheduling …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 27, 2020

6

March 27th is the birthday of the late Robert W. Ford (born 1923, died 20 September 2013). He was an amazing man who had a remarkable life. His book, Wind Between The Worlds (an account of experiences in Tibet, captivity by the communist Chinese, and his fight against brainwashing), is highly recommended. It is available for free download. — Some Troubling Statistics…  My most recent visit to WorldOfMeters revealed plenty of “hockey stick”-shaped  graphs.  If the U.S. continues to mirror Italy and Spain (presently with about a three week delay), then our hospitals will run out of standard ward beds …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

37

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 stock market rebound–most likely a bull trap rally. (See the Equities  section.) Precious Metals: Gold bid/offer spreads blow out to $100 in loco London market. JWR’s Comment: Things are definitely askew when the “paper” gold market says that gold is trash while simultaneously the physical gold market says …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 26, 2020

3

March 26th marks the anniversary of the historic peace agreement ending three decades of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and the establishing of diplomatic and commercial ties between them. Less than two years earlier, Anwar Sadat had traveled to Jerusalem to seek permanent peace. Most of the Arab world was outraged, but despite criticism from Egypt’s regional allies, they pursued peace. While the efforts earned both Egypt’s Sadat and Israel’s Begin a joint Nobel Prize for Peace in 1978, Egypt was expelled from the Arab League and in 1981, Sadat was assassinated by Arab extremists. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today …