Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 7, 2025

On November 7, 1811, the Battle of Tippecanoe: General William Henry Harrison defeated the Native Americans of the Tecumesh Confederation. — November 7, 1837: In Alton, Illinois, abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy was shot dead by a pro-slavery mob while attempting to protect his printing shop from being destroyed a third time. — November 7th is the anniversary of the death of actor Steve McQueen (born March 24, 1930, died November 7, 1980). The many well-publicized exploits in his tempestuous life and his enduring persona are well known. However, the end of his life is actually the most noteworthy part …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

A Special Editor’s Note:  This weekly item replaces the Economics & Investing For Preppers news column.  Because so many news outlets have put their content behind paywalls, it became increasingly difficult to assemble that column. In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we will feature photos, charts, graphs, video links, or occasional news items of interest to preppers. Today’s selection is data from the U.S. Treasury Department, showing that the U.S. National Debt now exceeds $38 Trillion Dollars. See: Debt Dashboard.  The image below is click-expandable: Other Links of Interest Household debt hits record $18.6T as delinquencies remain elevated. …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 6, 2025

On November 6th 1528, shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European to set foot in Texas. — On this day in 1977, the Toccoa Falls Dam in Georgia gave way and 39 people died in the resulting flood. — November 6, is the anniversary of the day that B-24 Liberator co-pilot Al Millspaugh was shot down over Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in 1944. He ended up in a Luft Stalag, until 1945. I got to know Al at some John Birch Society chapter meetings back in the late 1970s. Hearing his stories was fascinating. He told …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, the threat to satellites posed by a major solar storm. A Solar Superstorm Could Wipe Out ‘All Our Satellites’ SurvivalBlog reader Steve A. sent us this, from LiveScience: …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 5, 2025

November 5th, 1572: Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe observed a bright new object with the naked eye in the Cassiopeia constellation, which he believed to be a new star but is now known as a supernova, a massive explosion of a dying star. — November 5th, 1605: King James learned about the Gunpowder Plot. Hence we have Guy Fawkes Day. — On November 5th, 2009, Army Major Nidal Hassan killed 13 people at Fort Hood. He shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he opened fire.  But predictably, the mainstream media cited “no known motive” for the terror attack. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — SurvivaBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this note on a body armor destructive range test: “A friend brought some armor plates to our shoot for testing. They were advertised as “US-made” and Level IV.  Turns out they were imported [from China and there was no evidence of an NIJ test]. Both torso …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 4, 2025

November 4, 1841: The first emigrant wagon train arrived in California after a five-and-a-half-month, 1,730-mile journey over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Missouri. This was the Bartleson–Bidwell Party. John Bidwell’s mansion property (pictured above, before the destructive December, 2024 fire) is now a state park. — November 4th is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone. He was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York. The 2025 Basilone Parade was held in Raritan, New Jersey, Sunday, September 21st. Locals should try to attend in 2026, to honor his 110th birthday. — I just heard that Jase Medical (one …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

A Special Editor’s Note:  This will be the last regular News From The American Redoubt column.  Because so many news outlets have put their content behind paywalls, it has become increasingly difficult to assemble this column.  It will be replaced by a new weekly item: American Redoubt Media of the Week.  That will typically be photos, video links, or the occasional news item. — 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. …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 3, 2025

On November 3, 1917, the price of U.S. postage stamps was raised to 3 cents per ounce. — November 3, 1917: Flooding from a tropical storm killed 84 people in the Winooski River Valley, Vermont. Several flood control dams were eventually constructed, to prevent a similar disaster. — And November 3, 1987, Gordon Gould was issued US patent US4704583 for the laser, ending his 30-year battle to be credited as the inventor of the laser. — Today’s feature piece is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Scrambled Eggs With Green Peppers is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is one of the many bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available in February of 2026. Ingredients 8 eggs 3 tablespoons cream Salt and pepper 2 sweet peppers\ 3 tablespoons butter or butter substitute Directions Beat the eggs slightly, adding the cream, salt and pepper. Heat the butter or butter substitute, and when hot add the eggs. As the eggs begin to cook, …