Preparedness Notes for Saturday — December 9, 2023

On December 9, 1793, Noah Webster established New York’s first daily newspaper, the “American Minerva“. — On December 9, 1315, the Swiss Woudsteden renewed the Eternal Covenant. (The Oath Society) — On December 9, 1688 King James II‘s wife and son fled England for France, to help preserve the Stuart family. — December 9th, 1914 was the birthday of Maximo Guillermo “Max” Manus. He was one of the few Norwegians who had the testicular fortitude to put his life on the line, fighting the Nazi occupiers. (There surely would have been more active resistance fighters, but fearing widespread reprisal executions …


For Your Bugout Bag: The Humble Sillcock Key

One often overlooked item for a bugout bag is a Sillcock Key. This handy little wrench will allow you to access tap water from commercial establishments that have “limited access” water spigots.  It is commonly called a Sillcock Key, Sillcock Wrench, or Sillcock Handle. You often see “security” spigot taps on the exterior walls of restaurants, stores, school buildings, shopping malls, and warehouses. There are several different styles.  Some of them are “frost free”, and some are not. There are at least four different anti-tamper key patterns in common use in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Hence the need …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 8, 2023

On December 8, 2010, the American aerospace venture SpaceX became the first commercial company to release a spacecraft—the Dragon capsule—into orbit and successfully return it to Earth. — On December 8, 1542, Mary, Queen of Scots was born, and six days later she became queen of Scotland. — We are now in need of entries for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article …


The SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.) Newsletter Plan

In response to requests from several long-time readers, we are developing the infrastructure to produce an “Old School” hardcopy mailed newsletter, starting in 2024. The concept is to be ready to revert to distributing a paper newsletter that is sent out by traditional mail, for if and when SurvivalBlog is expunged from the Internet’s World Wide Web. (“Taken down.”) I’ve dubbed this contingency project: SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.) The infrastructure required to produce and distribute the S.O.S. Newsletter will include… For grid up, but Internet-down situations: A very sturdy desktop photocopier. Dozens of reams Reams of paper. Boxes of …


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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the rise of spot and futures gold prices. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals Gold continues to roar! After hitting an intraday all-time high of $2,119.50 USD per Troy ounce on Sunday night (December 4th, 2023) — which was Monday morning, in Asia — gold settled down in the $2,020/oz. range. …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 7, 2023

On December 7, 1972, American astronaut Eugene Andrew Cernan commanded the last crewed flight to the Moon, effectively ending the Apollo program. — On this day in 1941, Japanese bombers launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, precipitating the entry of the United States into World War II. — On the very same day, Adolf Hitler issued his Night and Fog Decree, a secret order for the arrest and execution of “persons endangering German security.” — An important Reminder:  TODAY, December 7th, 2023 is the deadline for comments …


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, a retrospect look at Winter Storm Elliott. FERC Report on Winter Storm Elliott Several readers sent us the link to this troubling report from the Federal Energy Regulatory …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 6, 2023

Today is the birthday of pilot Dominic Salvatore “Don” Gentile.  (December 6, 1920 – January 28, 1951).  He was a World War II RAF and USAAF pilot who achieved fame as he came close to surpassing Eddie Rickenbacker‘s World War I record of 26 downed aircraft. He later served in the post-war U.S. Air Force. His birthday was coincidentally on the same day as fellow fighter pilot George Frederick Beurling, who was born one year earlier: December 6, 1920. — Sad news!  By way of Steve Quayle’s site, I just heard of the passing of my dear friend, Bob Griswold.  …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This 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. — New York Retailers Blast Gov. Hochul After Losing $4.4 Billion to Theft Last Year. o  o  o SaraSue sent us this snippet: “Busy, busy, busy.  I have sold some dairy cows who needed pregnancy checks, disease testing, and a health certificate from the vet in order to move out of state.  One …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 5, 2023

December 5, 1890, Director Fritz Lang—whose films, dealing with fate and man’s inevitable working out of his destiny, are considered masterpieces of visual composition—was born in Vienna. He is best known for the 1927 film Metropolis. — On December 5, 1952, a lethal smog began blanketing London, causing thousands of deaths; the incident prompted passage of the Clean Air Act. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off …