Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 9, 2020

March 9th is the birthday of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – the first man to ever travel in space. He was born in 1934 and died in the crash of a MiG-15-UTI fighter on March 27, 1968. Today is also the birthday of writer John McPhee (b. 1931), a master of creative nonfiction. One of McPhee’s most widely read books is Coming into the Country, which eloquently describes the Alaskan wilderness. — We are pleased to welcome aboard our newest advertiser: Redoubt Scout. If you are considering a move to northern Idaho, then you should definitely take a look at their …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 8, 2020

March 8th is the birthday of revolver shooter, big game hunter, and gun writer Elmer Keith, who co-designed the S&W .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges. He authored the book Sixguns, which is still considered a standard reference. His fascinating life story is told in his last book, Hell, I was there!  A proto-Redoubter, Keith spent the second half of his life on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. (Keith was born in 1899 and died February 12, 1984.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 7, 2020

March 7, 1925 was the birthday of Rene Gagnon, a U.S. Marine, who was seen in the famous photographs of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. (He died in 1979.) March 7, 1707 was the birthday of Stephen Hopkins, (Governor of Rhode Island) one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. And March 7, 1944 was the birthday of Townes Van Zandt, a gifted Texan singer/songwriter. (He died in 1997.)




Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 6, 2020

March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004. Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space (aboard Vostok 6). She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR. — …




Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 5, 2020

March 5th, 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre. (March 5, 1770.) It was one of the key precipitating events for our War of Independence. This is also the birthday of Howard Pyle (1853-1911) an influential American book illustrator, painter, and author. He was the mentor of many great American artists including Thornton Oakley, Frank E. Schoonover, Allen Tupper True, and of course his most famous student: N.C. Wyeth. — Some anxious folks have written to check on the status of their recent SurvivalBlog archive USB stick orders. Rest assured: We did not take orders for more than …




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 4, 2020

On March 4, 1902, the American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded in Chicago. — Do you want a really remote retreat? Here is a new SurvivalRealty listing in Alaska: Riverfront cabin on 80 acres. It is accessible only by aircraft, or a 150-mile boat ride. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off …




Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 3, 2020

Today is the birthday of Alexander Graham Bell. Today is also the birthday of bluegrass musician Doc Watson. (He was born in 1923 and passed away in 2012.) His guitar work was phenomenal. And it is also the birthday of actor James Doohan, in 1920. He played Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek television series and films. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He passed away on July 20, 2005. — A Special Note: We are running quite low on articles for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. So this is your chance to make sure that …




Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 2, 2020

Today is the birthday of Moe Berg, American baseball player and clandestine agent. (He died in 1972). His biography The Catcher Was a Spy is fascinating reading. On March 2nd, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Today is coincidentally also the birthday of Sam Houston. And this is the birthday of libertarian economist Murray Rothbard (born 1926, died 1995) His book For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto is highly recommended. — Several readers have e-mailed in the past three days, to ask me about protective gear handling techniques. By coincidence that was one of the topics that I …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 1, 2020

Today is the birthday of the late singer, songwriter, and cowboy poet Allen Wayne Damron. Damron was quite the Texan, through and through. (Born 1939, died August 13, 2005, in Terlingua, Texas.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — February 29, 2020

On February 29, 1996, the Siege of Sarajevo officially ends. — I’m pleased to announce the return of Steven Cochran’s monthly precious metals column, to SurvivalBlog.  Steven is with of Gainesville Coins — not one of our advertisers, but a well-established and very reputable company. Take a look at their available coins and bars. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 28, 2020

February 28th is the birthday of famed Swiss investor and economic pundit Marc Faber. (He was born in 1946). — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or …




Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 27, 2020

On February 27, 2012, Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million e-mails stolen from private intelligence company Stratfor. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course …




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 26, 2020

This day, February 26, is the birthday of Major-General Orde Charles Wingate (born, 1903, died 24 March 1944), an eccentric British Army officer who organized special military units in Palestine in the 1930s, and in Abyssinia, Sudan, and Burma during World War II. He is most famous for his creation of the Chindits, airborne deep-penetration troops trained to work behind enemy lines in the Far East campaigns against the Japanese during World War II. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for …




Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 25, 2020

February 25th is the birthday of bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley (1927 – 2016). His harmonizing and high tenor solos had an almost haunting sound to them. — Be advised: I will be putting Elk Creek Company on a Shipping Hiatus, starting February 27th. (I’ll be traveling for the month of March, and gathering and a cataloging new inventory.) I’ll resume shipping orders around April 4th. Please mark your calendar to check back at the Elk Creek Company store page on April 7th. You can then expect to see the addition of at least 20 more carefully selected antique guns. …




Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 24, 2020

A couple of folks who have bought our waterproof 2005-2019 Archive USB sticks have had questions about how to use them. Hugh Latimer has provided the following explanatory notes: The SurvivalBlog Archive stick is an offline copy of the web site. As such, it requires a web browser in order to display the contents. However, the web browser does not need to be connected to the Internet. This has been the case with every archive year, produced in the past. Because it is “offline” that means there is no way to provide and index or search function because those are …