Category: Note

On February 8th, 1963 the Kennedy administration issued an order prohibiting travel to Cuba and banned financial transactions and commerce with Cuba, by U.S. citizens. — 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 …

February 7th, 1867, is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder (died February 10, 1957). SurvivalBlog highly recommends the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as well as her biography. — 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 …

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6th, 1911. — An update on the SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive waterproof USB stick mailings: Free replacements for the first 68 sticks (which had a glitch that made them not compatible on some operating systems) have now all been mailed out. Any of you folks that got sticks in that category can simply keep the first one as our gift, to over-write and use for utility purposes. I’m pleased to report that mailings of subsequent orders are continuing apace. Remember: “…allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery” from the day that you placed your …

On Feb. 5, 1869, the largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger“, is found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.  It weighed a whopping 97.14 kilograms. — The flu still has me in its grip.  (Pardon the pun.) So today I’m omitting my usual Recommendations of the Week. 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 …

On this day in 1789, George Washington became the first and only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. This was repeated on this same day in 1792. Because of the way the early American voting procedure worked, the electors cast two votes with no distinction for president or vice president. Washington was chosen by all of the electors and is considered to have been unanimously elected. Of the others on the ballots, Adams had the most votes and thus became the vice president. — I’m now on Day Seven of my flu travail. Since I still haven’t …

February 2nd is the birthday of Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum in 1905), died March 6, 1982. She is of course remembered for her novel Atlas Shrugged, which is considered a Libertarian classic. While I sharply disagree with her views on religion (since she was an atheist), I admire both her skill as a writer and her ability to articulate some core precepts of human liberty. — I’m still down with the flu, so I won’t be posting anything but this top note and a quote today. Sorry!  The feature Post-TEOTWAWKI Pest Control – Part 2, by J.S.R. should …

Today we remember February 1st, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. Also today, we recognize the birthday of Christian economist Dr. Gary North. (Born, 1942.) North is a prolific writer on Christian Reconstruction and economics topics. — As promised, I’ve just launched my web-based mail order business, selling pre-1899 guns. It is called Elk Creek Company. The ElkCreekCompany.net web site is now up and running, and the attached credit card processing system is ready to take your orders. Consult your state and local laws before …

Congratulations to the Citizens of the UK! Brexit will take effect at midnight tonight. It was originally scheduled for March of 2019. But there were, ahem, delays. I’m glad to see that you are finally getting out of Burger King. Next up: How and when do you get your guns back? — And, speaking of England: On January 31, 1606, Guy Fawkes was scheduled for execution for his part in the Gunpowder Plot against parliament and King James. As he was being marched up the steps to his gallows, he fell and broke his neck and died, thus depriving his …

January 30th is the birthday of historian Barbara Tuchman (born 1912, died February 6, 1989). She wrote some very engaging history books. January 30th is also the anniversary of the 1945 Great Raid on Cabanatuan Prison Camp where US Army Rangers and Filipino Guerrillas liberated Allied prisoners. The book Rescue At Los Baños, by historian and bestselling author Bruce Henderson is fascinating reading. And the movie The Great Raid was loosely based on this raid’s history. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of …

Today is the birthday of journalist and inventor Thomas Paine (1737–1809.) And speaking of Toms, this is the birthday of actor Tom Selleck (born 1945), best known for playing the title role of Magnum, P.I. He is an avid shooter and quite pro-gun. — A special note on our waterproof 2005-2019 archive USB sticks: We discovered a formatting glitch on the first batch that were mailed out. So… We are mailing free replacements (properly formatted) for all of those customers. You may keep the old sticks–free of charge–and erase their contents, to be able to use those sticks for whatever …

January 28th is the anniversary of the rescue of General James L. Dozier from his Italian Red Brigades kidnappers. Tangentially, Colonel Jeff Cooper created a shooting drill in honor of those who freed him – The Dozier Drill. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course …

January 27th is commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today is the birthday of singer-songwriter Kate Wolf. (Born 1942, died December 10, 1986.)  Her untimely death of leukemia at age 44 cut short an amazing career and robbed America of a great songwriting talent. This is also the birthday of the late Helen Chenoweth (born, 1938, died October 2, 2006). She was a controversial Republican congresswoman from Orofino, Idaho. — Seed for Security, LLC is having a special sale: Their Colossal Security Pack is 15% off. This pack is a total of seven pounds of vegetable, grain, and herb seeds. …

January 26th, 1945 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army. Established in 1941 Auschwitz was a complex of three large camps and 40 smaller camps used for slave labor, unethical medical experiments, and monstrous killing grounds where prisoners were gassed and cremated. As the Soviets headed for Auschwitz, the German Gestapo began a murder spree and began destroying the facility in an attempt to hide the evidence of their crimes. When the Soviets arrived, they encountered 648 corpses and more than 7,000 starving camp survivors along with storehouses filled with hundreds of thousands of dresses, …

Today is the birthday of celebrated Scottish poet Robert “Bobby” Burns. He was born on January 25, 1759. — Some good news:  Our supply of Waterproof USB SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive sticks has arrived!  Deliveries by mail have begun. But because of the recent rush of orders, please allow four to six weeks from when you placed your order. Orders are being filled in the sequence that they were received. Many readers are placing orders for 2, 3, and even 5 sticks, so these are going quickly. (When I last checked, there were only 485 remaining.) Get your order in soon, …