Category: Contest

A Medic of Last Resort – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Learning As We Go Without the basic knowledge and skills to use our supplies, that first aid kit is actually a ‘last aid’ kit. By shopping shrewdly and avoiding items that we do not know how to use, one might acquire a larger store of items that we can actually use. Given the possible savings that result from shopping hard and long for bargains, and limiting ourselves to the basics, we can then purchase more of the basics supplies that are needed most of the time.  And we should strive to continually improve our knowledge and …


A Medic of Last Resort – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Introduction Prepping is ideally a systematic and balanced effort to acquire, in advance, the essential resources, skills and knowledge that make sustaining life on this planet possible after a collapse of a civilization occurs. Many preppers have the resources–that is, supplies and equipment–but do they have the skills and knowledge to make use of them?  Most, including myself, are sorely lacking in  medical knowledge, skills, and resources. Without one of these three (knowledge, skills, and resources) our ability to provide meaningful medical care is diminished. A medical professional could certainly do a better job on this topic than a layman …


My Burn Adventure Ride, by Dan D.

Introduction As a former Disney Imagineer I can reveal to you that all their rides and movies follow a simple pattern: things are great, then they go awry and finally everything is resolved in bunnies and rainbows (or as the Brazilians say, “We all eat pizza together.”) Befitting that framework here is the story of my Burn Adventure Ride. The usual caveats apply since I am not a medical professional – but I can read and learn the sciences – so just remember that in the trades we teach that hot steel looks just like cold steel. Put in the …


Long-Term Survival For Women, by T.E.

The problem with modern-day conveniences is that we have forgotten what our ancestors did to take care of feminine needs. Onething we all know is that women are complicated, but most survival blogs are geared to the general population, without the concerns of women. Women have specific needs, and provide specific roles that only women can do. If a family is preparing for long-term survival, then look at the members of your family to decide what needs they will have. I am a Registered Nurse, and I work as a School Nurse. This career has made me realize how most …


It Is Chick Season!, by Hollyberry

I open the mailbox and oh… there it is! Nothing perks me up from the winter blues more than getting the McMurray Hatchery chick catalog or a garden/seed catalog. I spend hours pouring through the pages of the catalogs and planning and plotting where I can add more chickens or growing space! I really don’t need any more birds in my flock but that will not deter me from adding at least 4-5 more this season out of our incubator. The first time I purchased chicks I ordered 50 meat birds and 50 Leghorn layers figuring I would kill at …


The Accounting Equation and Salvation Equation, by J.E.H.

There are some things I need to state before we get started. I am a CPA. Don’t quit reading thinking this will be another boring paper. Second, I am a Christian. How can a CPA be a Christian? CPAs are held to a higher ethical standard than any other profession. If you plan on sitting in front of an IRS auditor, who is going over your client’s tax return, you better be a truthful, ethical, and a praying person. A good CPA should have a healthy fear of the Lord and a healthy knowledge of IRS laws. On a sidenote, …


Compact Power To Go – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) Battery The next item to consider is a portable USB battery, frequently referred to as a USB power bank. These range in size from a little credit card-sized 2500mAh up to massive power bricks with over 60,000mAh. Note that USB power banks that provide QC or PD charging levels have recently started hitting the market, and they tend to be somewhat more expensive than the older ones that only provide 5V/2A outputs. I ended up using one that I picked up a while back, which is the Miisso 5000mAh model. It provides …


Compact Power To Go – Part 1, by J.M.

There have been numerous articles on SurvivalBlog.com about the use of various pieces of electronic technology such as flashlights, cell phones, night vision devices, radios, drones, etc., in disaster and survival situations – ‘Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI’, ‘Technology After TEOTWAWKI’, ‘Survival Electronics’, ‘Surviving With Electronics’, ‘Survival Electronics’, ‘How To Use a Baofeng UV-5R’ and many others. (Some of those were written by me.) As part of my general effort to lighten up my load and develop a lightweight modular approach to my mobile kit, I recently started focusing on how to power the various electronics I’m carrying. To that end, …


Reader Poll: New SurvivalBlog Feature Topics

It has been several years since we’ve conducted an opinion poll of blog readers. Because SurvivalBlog has been published for nearly 18 years, we’ve covered a lot of topics. But, obviously, we’ve missed a few, or we need to revisit a few, to get up-to-date and to cover them in greater depth. So, here is my question to readers: What topics would you like to see covered in SurvivalBlog feature articles, in the coming months? Here are a few topics that came to mind, when Avalanche Lily and I were brainstorming: Herbs — Medicinal and Cooking Wildcrafting with plants and …


My Swedish Death Cleaning Experience – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Financial Death Cleaning A neighbor recently received a large portion of her financial inheritance from her mother even though she’s still alive and well. I’ve often thought the idea of leaving our wealth to our children when we die is an inefficient system now that people live so much longer than they did a century ago. Typically when older people die nowadays, they pass their wealth on to their children who themselves are already “old,” well-established in life, and who oftentimes have no practical use for the money. I think of how …


My Swedish Death Cleaning Experience – Part 1, by St. Funogas

“Swedish Death Cleaning” is an unusual moniker for an interesting process. The purpose of a Swedish death cleaning is to rid ourselves of unnecessary possessions so those we leave behind won’t have to when it’s our turn to do the ashes-to-ashes thing. It’s more commonly used by those wishing to declutter in a big way whether to downsize in general, move to a smaller residence, or just to simplify their lives. A Swedish death cleaning can benefit many people but it’s definitely not for everyone. Those in the minimalist camp can become even more so. Those on the other end …


Winter Foraging, by Mrs. Alaska

Climbing the learning curve from “erstwhile city slicker” in Texas to remote rural life in Alaska, my acclimation has been immeasurably aided by several courses in botany, which have enhanced both gardening and foraging for food, home remedies, and construction materials.  Currently, I am enrolled in a fascinating on-line course in Applied Ethnobotany. It is offered by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. As the name suggests, this field studies human use of plants – for food, fuel, textiles, shelter, medicine, and anything else.  I am learning how indigenous peoples and settlers utilized the resources all around them, that other people, like …


Preparedness: Now What? – Part 2, by O.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Into The Pentagon After nine years or so as a defense contractor around the DC area, I was able to secure a job in the Pentagon as a civil servant in the Directorate of Special Access Programs. There I learned about Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government (COOP/COG) for the first time. It’s fascinating. Although Nancy Pelosi originally claimed that she was not taken to a secure location, she indeed was, based on COOP/COG protocols. I won’t say exactly where, but I think it was [a hardened site] not far from D.C. I …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 104

We’ve completed the judging for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize-winning writers are: First Prize First Prize goes to A Grateful Mechanic, for Career Change to a Durable Trade. (Posted on January 24, 2023.) He will receive the following prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried …


Preparedness: Now What? – Part 1, by O.C.

Upfront, I should say I am a few months away from 70 years old. I was raised in New Jersey. Even though I spent 26 years in the US Air Force and the Montana Air National Guard, I was not prepared for anything out of the ordinary. My journey to prepping really began on September 11, 2001. At that time, I was working as a defense contractor in Crystal City, Virginia, just down the road from the Pentagon. Meanwhile, my wife was a civil servant working inside the Pentagon building. In my cube-ville we were no radios or televisions allowed. …