Notes for Friday – October 16, 2015

October 15th, 1859 is the anniversary of abolitionist John Brown’s raid against the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. Although the raid failed, it inflamed sectional tensions and raised the stakes for the 1860 presidential election. Brown’s raid helped make any further accommodation between North and South nearly impossible and thus became an important impetus of the Civil War. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes …




Notes for Thursday – October 15, 2015

October 15th, 1990 is the day South Africa’s Separate Amenities Act, which had barred blacks from public facilities for decades, was scrapped. o o o Having spent the last 18 days camping, it’s good to be back! The homecoming is somewhat bittersweet though. Eight of those days were spent celebrating The Feast of Tabernacles with others in a wonderful time of joyful worship, and it’s hard to leave such fantastic fellowship! Now the process of unpacking and cleaning begins. This trip also happens to be great practice for a G.O.O.D. situation. Just like every year, there were some lessons learned …




Notes for Wednesday – October 14, 2015

Safecastle (one of our loyal advertisers) is running a 35% to 51%-off sale on Lindon Farms Foods, until October 16th. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate …




Notes for Tuesday – October 13, 2015

Editorial Updates: The posting queue for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest is now quite short, so we encourage you write an article and send it in, soon. You can share your knowledge with others, and you will be eligible to win lots of valuable prepping prizes. Given the unusually short queue of entries we’ve already received, any articles that we get this week will likely be posted within 10 days! o o o Hugh J. Latimer will soon be returning from his vacation, and resuming his duties as Managing Editor. Thanks for putting up with my sometimes fumbling HTML editing …







Notes for Sunday – October 11, 2015

Today we present a guest article by Patrice Lewis. She is an energetic rancher, gardener, and writer who is simultaneously active in several venues. These include: Her own Rural Revolution homesteading blog, essays for WorldNetDaily, articles for Backwoods Home magazine, and articles for the newly-launched Molly Green magazine. Patrice is one of my favorite bloggers, who truly “lives the life” of rural self-sufficiency.







Notes for Friday – October 9, 2015

On October 9th, 1967, Che Guevara was executed by the Bolivian army on orders from Bolivian President René Barrientos. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from …




Notes for Thursday – October 8, 2015

October 8th is the birthday of economist and libertarian commentator J. Orlin Grabbe. (Born, 1947, died March 15, 2008.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from …




Notes for Wednesday – October 7, 2015

On this day in 1985, the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro was commandeered by Palestinian terrorists. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 61 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This …




Notes for Tuesday – October 6, 2015

Folks in the Carolinas are still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Joaquin, which brought a record-breaking 15 inches of rain in 24-hours in several locales. This being called a “1,000-year rain event.” With the flooding, there are now curfews with “no firearms allowed” in effect in some South Carolina cities. Please keep the Carolinians in your prayers! (Thanks to Reader J.B.G. for the link.) o o o October 6th is the birthday of adventurer Thor Heyerdahl. (Born 1914, died April 18, 2002.) Today is also the birthday of science fiction author David Brin. (born, 1950.) He wrote The Postman, …




Notes for Monday – October 5, 2015

October 5, 1703 was the birthday of Jonathan Edwards. He was a prolific Calvinist theological writer. Many of his writings were later collected in the multi-volume book The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, edited by John Gerstner. Edwards died March 22, 1758. o o o We are pleased to announce that we are adding one more new prize for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, starting with Round 61, which is in progress. DisasterStuff.com is kindly donating one of their Berkey-compatible 5-gallon bucket filter systems, complete with four black Berkey filter elements. This is a $245 value. It will be …







Notes for Saturday – October 3, 2015

October, 3, 2015 is the 22nd anniversary of the Mogadishu, Somalia raid. The 18 Americans killed were: MSG Gary Gordon, 1st SFOD-D SFC Randy Shughart, 1st SFOD-D SSG Daniel Busch, 1st SFOD-D SFC Earl Fillmore, 1st SFOD-D MSG Timothy Martin, 1st SFOD-D CPL Jamie Smith, 3/75 Ranger SPC James Cavaco, 3/75 Ranger SGT Casey Joyce, 3/75 Ranger PFC Richard Kowaleski, 3/75 Ranger SGT Dominic Pilla, 3/75 Ranger SGT Lorenzo Ruis, 3/75 Ranger SSG William Cleveland, Jr. 160th SOAR SSG Thomas Field, 160th SOAR CW4 Raymond Frank, 160th SOAR CW3 Clifton Wolcott, 160th SOAR CW2 Donovan Briley, 160th SOAR SGT Cornell …




Notes for Friday – October 2, 2015

SurvivalBlog readers on the East Coast are doubtless already making preparations for the expected double whammy of a nor’easter and Hurricane Joaquin. Meteorologists are expecting “a historic” 10 to 15 inches of rain in only 72 hours perhaps between Georgia and Virginia. Batten down the hatches! You are in our prayers, folks. o o o Today we welcome our newest advertiser, Tom Henthorn, CPA, of Somers, Montana. (That is deep in The American Redoubt, up at the top end of Flathead Lake, not far from Glacier National Park.) He has taken up the small advertising spot that was formerly occupied …