Category: Note

Today is the birthday of Lee Marvin (1924–1987), who you may remember from The Professionals and The Big Red One. — Today’s feature article from The Rutherford Institute is a guest post, selected by JWR.  It is reposted with permission. — We are still seeking entries for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for …

Today is the birthday of astronaut Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964.) Ted Freeman and his wife Faith were friends of my mother and father. Both my father and Ted Freeman were stationed at Bryan Air Force base in the early 1950s, and they rented houses three blocks apart, in College Station, Texas. About ten years later, while training as an astronaut in the Gemini space program, Ted was killed in a birdstrike flying accident, while flying a T-38 Talon jet trainer. He was the first casualty of NASA’s manned space program. Fittingly, Ted Freeman’s …

On February 17, 2021, talk radio personality and author Rush Limbaugh died at age 70.  His network radio time slot has been ably filled by The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their …

February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He is also the father of actress Candice Bergen. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course …

Gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm patents. And February 15, 1809 was the birthday of Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of a mechanical reaper. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  …

On February 14, 1946, the first general-purpose high-speed electronic digital computer, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was demonstrated to the public by its creators, J. Presper Eckert, Jr., and John W. Mauchly. — Today, we wish a happy birthday to our Editor-At-Large, Michael Z. Williamson.

Today is the birthday of General Chuck Yeager (born, 1923), the first man to break the sound barrier. He passed away December 7, 2020. February 13th is also the birthday of Robert Charles R.C. Sproul (born 1939, died December 14, 2017), a well-respected American Calvinist theologian. — A special request from JWR: A relative of mine will soon be attending a school that is south of Hamilton, Montana.  That relative will need to rent garage space to store a vehicle for about a year. Ideally, it would be a spot with an outlet available for a trickle charger, and that …

February 12th is the birthday of theologian and journalist Cotton Mather (1663–1728). — Today’s feature article was written by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. — We are still in need of entries for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

I just heard that pop music composer Burt Bacharach passed away, at age 94.  For many years, he teamed with lyricist Hal David, who passed away in 2012. They are gone now, but their music lives on. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be …

On February 10, 1939, the classic western film Stagecoach premiered. It starred John Wayne, and was directed by John Ford. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), Two cases of Mountain …

February 9th is the birthday of Major George Charles Nonte Jr. (Born 1926, died June 30, 1978.) He was quite the pistolero. — We are now sold out of the 2005-2022 SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks. Note that if you have purchased through the automated ordering system and stated that you would pay by check, we have your stick(s) reserved, waiting on your check or money order. For all others, the ordering window is closed. We hope to see your order next January for the 2005-2023 edition of the SurvivalBlog Archive. Thanks! — We are seeking entries for Round 105 of …

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.  Remnants of that order remain in place today, 60 years later.  Evidence of the U.S. commerce embargo can be seen in the large number of sturdy 1950s American cars that have been kept running, in Cuba. February 8th, 1828 was the birthday of Jules Verne, the French writer who wrote From the Earth to the Moon. He is considered the father of science fiction. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round …

February 7th, 1867 was the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder (died February 10, 1957). SurvivalBlog highly recommends the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as well as her biography. — Just a couple of the 1,100+ folks who’ve bought 2005-2022 SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks wrote to mention that they thought that they weren’t working. Apparently, on some devices — such as older slow PCs or Mac iPads — it can take several minutes for the “SB” icon to appear, after you plug in the stick. This year’s archive stick has 18.3 GB of data, with more than 92,000 files for your device …

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6th, 1911. I miss Reagan. Those were simpler times, with much less partisan divisiveness.  This video of a performance by comedic juggler Michael Davis attended by both Reagan and Tip O’Neil demonstrates the tenor of those times. — We are still gathering resumes for the ranch caretaker position, in northwestern Montana.  Please let any of your friends or relatives know about this opening, if they meet the qualifications and be interested in relocating. — A special request from JWR: To finish building some antique rifles, I’m in need of a few complete Chilean …

Today is the birthday of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916). He was an American-British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curling irons, a mousetrap, and steam pumps. Maxim claimed to invented the lightbulb. Coincidentally born the same day of the same year was John Boyd Dunlop, the Scottish inventor who invented pneumatic rubber tires. — An Update:  We are now down to just 120 of the SurvivalBlog 2005-2022 Archive waterproof USB sticks. We are not planning …