Category: Current Events & Politics

What We See And Believe Is Not Always Reality, by Old Bobbert

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Let’s talk about reality and what we see and believe, but just for a moment imagine this scenario. Visualize the following presumably safe evening event at your home one day soon. A Grateful Situation…Somewhere You are reflecting on the terrible situation in (name any major city, state, or area) and you are very grateful that your home area is not severely affected by that power grid outage somewhere else in the country, specifically about 1,000 miles away from your home. Your area power system is functioning just fine. You’re feeling really bad for that area as you watch the video …


Earthquake and Power Out Experience in the Philippines- Part 2, by S.B.

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A Good Neighbor We charged the neighbor’s cell phones. So at that point, they let us run the generator all night! The generator ran from 6pm to 6am and then ran out of gas. It used 25 liters of gasoline. So here that equates to about $20 a day for gas. If it runs for a month, it will be expensive; $20 times 30 equals $600 per month. Ouch! At this point I tried to shut generator off before it ran out of gas. I was afraid the voltage will vary a lot when it does last couple revolutions before …


Earthquake and Power Out Experience in the Philippines- Part 1, by S.B.

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This was my experience with a mild earthquake and a power outage in the Philippines. Amazingly nothing was damaged by the quake. I expected some things to tip over. Latest reports say it was a 6.5 quake. The epicenter was about 15 miles away. It was stronger than other quakes I have experienced here in the past eight years. Also, immediately after the main quake, there was a long slow side to side rocking motion for several seconds. I never felt that before. We also had 10 or more aftershocks. A local man who is about 50 said it was …


A Response to Going Analog, by M.G.

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Selectric Typewriter Security Issues Back in the 1970s IBM was required by at least one of its customers to make some options available for Selectric typewriters because they discovered the Selectric design was susceptible to electronic eavesdropping that could determine what the typewriter was printing. As it turns out, mid-’70s electronics were capable of detecting not only the unique electronic signature of individual typewriter motors but also measuring the load incurred by that motor during character selection from the main power feed outside the building. So, it’s possible that even using a mechanical electric typewriter for written communications may not …


Letter Re: Search Engine Privacy and Security

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Good day Sir, I want to reference to a topic which could prove of great importance. A situation where the loss of personal liberty and freedom occurs. There are some that believe that we are in that situation currently. I browse the Internet for news and factual information, much like earlier times when a person would pick up a newspaper. I have in the past used “Google” as my primary “Search Engine”. To my understanding and experience, my search results are cataloged and referenced. When I do searches through “Google”, I am bombarded by advertisements that seemingly reference my previous …


Survival To Go, Revisited- Part 3, by JMD

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Today, we are continuing with the revised list of items to carry for survival when traveling, carrying a pack on a flight or otherwise. We are in the midst of going through the content of the main zippered backpack compartment. We’ve covered solar panels, light shelter, lighting, clothing, water, food/energy, and now we’re moving on down the list. Main Zippered Backpack Compartment (continued) “Repair” pouch (because something always breaks when you’re traveling): Assorted sizes of zip ties, including reusable ones, twist-tied together. 8′ of regular paracord 6′ of steel wire 20’ of 400lb Kevlar line 20′ of 1″ Gorilla tape, …


How I Stopped Worrying and Used P.M.C.T.- Part 2, by D.D.

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Yesterday, I shared my background and how I retreated to my retreat cabin for 83 days.  I reemerged a changed person, maturing from “Doom Prepper” to someone with a greater appreciation for life and nature. I made some changes to accommodate my family and life situation. Still, I found contentment in living what would I would have considered a certain death trap years earlier. How did I do it? My Answer: P.M.C.T. P.M.C.T. stands for Prayer, Mindset, Confidence, and Training Prayer Without faith in something you are truly lost. Whether it is God, peace, humanity, or puppy dogs, you must …


How I Stopped Worrying and Used P.M.C.T.- Part 1, by D.D.

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With the apparent imminent collapse that I have focused upon in my years of preparedness, I was worrying. My focus became a frantic effort. I made plans. Yet, wisdom came with P.M.C.T. “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”-Proverbs 16:9 “Man plans and God laughs…” -old Yiddish adage The Tenth Man Theory In the 2013 zombie apocalypse movie World War Z the hero has a conversation with an Israeli Mossad agent about the Tenth Man Theory. It states (and I paraphrase) that in the midst of military planning, if nine people agree on a particular …


Eclipse Traffic: This is What a Bug Out Would Look Like

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Oregon Traffic Here in Oregon, because of this eclipse thing, people are flooding into the state. They expect at least 1.5 million to arrive here…tens of thousands already arriving since yesterday! Today, on Oregon Highway 26, from Prineville, OR for 15-miles east, they closed the road – it is bumper-to-bumper traffic, nothing is moving – vehicles are running out of gas….with no place to go… Gas stations in Bend and Redmond Oregon are already out of gas…don’t know if they will get another delivery of fuel in the next day or two… In our area,  gas prices went up 30-cents …


Some Alternatives to Health Insurance for Americans

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There are huge obstacles to President DJT’s Swamp Draining Attempt in Washington, DC.  One of the biggest fights revolves around replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is commonly known as Obamacare. There seems to be a log jam in Congress. This was in part instigated by the left wing of the Republican Party. (That’s is the majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate.) So, despite their rhetoric, it seems like they don’t want to do away with socialized medicine.  This is because the status quo concentrates both power and the flow of wealth through Washington, DC. For …


Lifetime Disaster Assessment, by M.B.

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Coming To Grips With a Life Changing Event If you live long enough, you will undoubtedly face a life changing event. These events are not easy to plan for. And even if you know one is on the horizon, they always seem to catch you by surprise. I refer to these life changing events as sentinel events, because once they happen your life will be forever changed. While I’ve practiced and taught strategic planning and business development in several different industries, including pharmaceutical sales and hospice/rehab/long-term care senior healthcare, I have survived several sentinel events in my own life. I …


Letter: Violence in Charlottesville

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HJL, JWR, Readers of SurvivalBlog, My current hometown of Charlottesville, VA suddenly found itself thrust into the headlines. My home is less than three miles from the site where the events occurred. From my 4th floor apartment balcony I watched the state police helicopter hover for hours. It eventually disappeared from view as some unknown event caused it to crash. Readers of SurvivalBlog are well informed; I will not rehash the events of the weekend of August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville. But I will add that all parties involved in this “rally” came prepared for a fight. What you probably …


If It Works Well, It Is Ours, by Old Bobbert

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I’m so glad you asked about dealing with these non-preppers. This is a great topic. As a general rule, a non-prepper, most of the time and in most circumstances, simply does not see a need for “our” quality, variety, and/or style of preparing for some potentially serious problem that will, in turn, have an unexpected negative influence in their personal lives. It’s all just vague to them. Or to put it another way, they have heard that sermon before and they ain’t buying it, not then, not now, and not tomorrow. They are honest, generous, sincerely caring for others, like …


International Travel Preparation- Part 2, by O.D.

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Yesterday, in Part 1, I shared about the importance of getting your vaccinations before travelling to international destinations. I also shared various preps, including some of the things I find helpful to carry, where I recommend a person stay, and what not to bother with. I also shared that from time to time when I was staying some place for awhile, I have purchased and stashed an old bicycle to have on hand in case I needed to “get out of Dodge” quickly and quietly. No matter whether you are having to get out of Dodge or you are just …


Letter Re: Approaching Grand Solar Minimum

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HJL, I have recently heard about the grand solar minimum and am wondering if you guys have any thoughts on it? It seems to have some pretty serious implications regarding more extreme weather and how our climate is changing (which it always has been). I live on the gulf coast so preparedness for me has always been important due to hurricanes. My question is: out of all the climate hype that we have been inundated with over the last decade or so, is this something to really be taken seriously? It is wise to stay prepared nonetheless, however if the …