Note from JWR:

The SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends at midnight eastern time tonight. (Friday, February 15th). The high bid is now at $300. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” …




Notes from JWR:

The current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends at midnight eastern time tomorrow (February 15th). The high bid is now at $270. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” …




Notes from JWR:

It is gratifying to see that there are now so many SurvivalBlog readers all over the planet. Our readership growth in Europe has been phenomenal. I do have one question: Why is there now a 30-to-299 SurvivalBlog reader cluster way out in Siberia, just north of the Mongolian border? It looks too far east to be the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Tyuratam), but it is apparently somewhere on the Trans-Siberian railway route. Perhaps just some bored knob-turners at a far-flung Russian SIGINT site? Oh well, I guess that I should just be content that there are so many SurvivalBlog dots on the …




Note from JWR:

Today we welcome back one of our original advertisers: Wiggy’s, in Grand Junction, Colorado. They make outstanding quality sleeping bags, clothing, and other outdoor gear. They are one of the four remaining true American-made sleeping bag manufacturers. (Nearly all of their competitors have moved their production offshore.) I love their products. We have five Wiggy’s FTRSS sleeping bags and four Wiggy’s Lamilite ground pads here at the Rawles Ranch. Most of these are now more than 15 years old, and still quite serviceable. They are truly built to last.




Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $250. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items combined in one lot: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 …




Note from JWR:

Today’s first post is for the benefit of the many folks that have just recently found SurvivalBlog. (Our readership has quadrupled since February of 2006. We now have nearly 10,000 unique visits per day.) This is something that I wrote and originally posted in September of 2005.




Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 15 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 15 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.




Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction mixed lot is now at $220. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), a …




Notes from JWR:

I’m posting this a couple of days early, due to technical difficulties at my small town’s ISP. Life in the hinterboonies does have its drawbacks! There are now SurvivalBlog readers all over the planet. The readership growth in Europe has been phenomenal. Thanks for continuing to spread the word about SurvivalBlog! Links to SurvivalBlog in your personal web page and/or in your e-mail footer would be greatly appreciated.




Note from JWR:

Because of some power outages and power spikes at our ISP, we’ve been having some serious problems accessing the Internet for the past couple of days. So rather than keeping you waiting for your daily dose of SurvivalBlog, I am posting a couple of days worth of posts in advance, whenever our connection sporadically comes up. So don’t be alarmed if in the next few days you see a future date on any posts.




Notes from JWR:

Because of some power outages and power spikes at our ISP, we’ve been having some serious problems accessing the Internet for the past couple of days. So rather than keeping you waiting for your daily dose of SurvivalBlog, I am posting a couple of days worth of posts in advance, whenever our connection sporadically comes up. So don’t be alarmed if in the next few days you see a future date on any posts. Today we present the first article for Round 15 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable …




Notes from JWR:

Because of some power outages and power spikes at our ISP, we’ve been having some serious problems accessing the Internet for the past couple of days. So rather than keeping you waiting for your daily dose of SurvivalBlog, I am planning to post a couple of days worth of posts in advance, whenever our connection sporadically comes up. So don’t be alarmed if in the next few days you see a future date on any posts. We have finished the judging… The winner of Round 14 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. is J. Britely, for his lengthy article “Prepare …




Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $220. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value)–both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources–as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), a SurvivalBlog …




Note from JWR:

Today we present a very lengthy and profusely linked article for Round 14 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It summarizes a lot of what has been posted in SurvivalBlog in the past two years very succinctly, and includes references to a variety of other useful sites. This is a good article to send to family and friends that are less well-prepared. (You can e-mail them this permalink.) Disclaimer: The author has his own survivalist web site (www.PrepareOrDie.com), where he earns affiliate commissions on sales of the books linked to Amazon.com. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win …




Notes from JWR:

When I last checked, the spot price of silver was $16.75 per ounce, and gold was at $929.30. That’s an all-time high. There will be plenty of volatility and some very scary pull-backs, but the trend for the precious metals is still definitely upward. Meanwhile, the USD Index was at 75.56 and falling. The key number to watch for there is 72. Below that, watch out! BTW, I’m not like those television cheerleader/analysts that have suddenly jumped on the precious metals bandwagon. After a dismal two decade bear cycle, I fairly accurately called the bottom of the silver market seven …