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, we look at relocation trends for moves within the United States. Moving to the Country in a Post-Pandemic World Moving to the country in a post-pandemic world. The …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Complete sovereignty at the individual level is nearly impossible today due to the interconnectedness of our economy and society. This is due to the specialization of tasks: individuals are more productive when we focus on doing one specific thing very well. As a result, we outsource many aspects of our lives to third party specialists who are very good at providing specific goods and services. Even if you’re a ‘mountain man’ who lives in the middle of nowhere and is mostly independent, it’s unlikely that you’re living a primitive lifestyle. Most of those folks are still reliant on supply chains …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 11, 2023

On October 11, 1899, the South African (Boer) War began between Great Britain and the two Boer (Afrikaner) republics—the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. — Today is the birthday of novelist William R. Forstchen (born, 1950.) He is best known for his post-EMP survival novel One Second After. — Today’s feature article is a review by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. — We are in need of entries for Round 109 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 …


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. Today’s column begins with two news items from Philadelphia — “The City of Brotherly Love.” — New Philly car dealership has 60% of its cars stolen within a week of opening, owner says he “would not come to Philadelphia” if he could have a do-over. o  o  o Philadelphia Journalist Who Mocked Concern …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 10, 2023

On October 10th, 1846, English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the largest satellite of the planet Neptune. Today is the birthday of composer Giuseppe Verdi. (Born 1813, died 1901.) And on October 10th, 1913, the Panama Canal officially linked the Atlantic to the Pacific when the Gamboa dike was demolished with dynamite charges. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 109 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 coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this …


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, news of bad bear behavior.   (See the Montana section.) Idaho Video: Idaho’s Most Beautiful Overland Road. o  o  o Couple charged with injury to a child after police show video of gun-toting toddler. o  o  o Judge denies U of I murder suspect’s request to …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 9, 2023

October 9, 1936, the Boulder Dam (later called Hoover Dam), on the Arizona-Nevada border, began generating electricity for such areas as Los Angeles, which celebrated with a parade. — On October 9, 1000, Leif Ericson discovers “Vinland” (possibly at what was later named L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America. — A fairly detailed update: Israel at War: Day 2 // The FAI Wire. And here is a word of caution about the circumstances of the Hamas invasion: This was allowed to happen.  Note: Avalanche Lily, who has studied both Biblical and modern Hebrew confirmed …


Recipe of the Week: Honey Mustard Chicken

The following recipe for Honey Mustard Chicken is from SurvivalBlog reader J.P.V.. Ingredients 6 bone-in chicken thighs Sauce: 4 Tbsp butter or ghee, melted 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup yellow mustard 1 tsp salt 1 tsp curry powder Directions Preheat oven to 400. Place chicken in baking dish.  Stir all sauce ingredients together until well-mixed. Pour sauce over top of chicken. Bake 30-40 minutes until chicken is done. SERVING Great served with rice and steamed veggies and sauce drizzled over all. — Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe …


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, a recap of last week’s market rout in precious metals. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: Gold and silver both bounced back on Friday, following a rout for most of last week. On Friday afternoon, spot gold had recovered to $1,846.10 per Troy ounce (up .81%).  Meanwhile, spot silver had jumed back up to …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 8, 2023

On October 8, 1918, Corporal Alvin York single-handedly captured 132 Germans and killed another 25 during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of World War I. — October 8th is the birthday of economist and libertarian commentator J. Orlin Grabbe. (Born, 1947, died March 15, 2008.) — As I’m sure you’ve already read, starting with a massive barrage of 5,000 Katyusha 122mm rockets coming from the Gaza Strip on the morning of Saturday, October 7th, war has broken out on both the southwestern and northern borders of Israel. This was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. More than 200 people were …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: The FBI Has Created A New “MAGA Terrorist Group” Category It Is So Good To Know That The FBI Is Still Unbiased and Apolitical News Links: Donald Trump Followers Targeted by FBI as 2024 Election Nears Is the FBI turning Trump supporters into terrorist targets? FBI Targets Trump Voters As Domestic Terrorists Ahead Of 2024 Election. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though …