Notes from JWR:

Wow! I just looked at our stats and I see that we logged 71.78 GB of bandwidth for March! The previous record for a month was 53 GB. And as a gauge of long term growth, our traffic in March of 2006 was only 20.5 GB. More than a 355% increase in just a year! The “visits” counts were equally impressive, with 146,548 visits in March of ’07 versus 61,641 in March of ’06. Many thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a huge success. Please keep spreading the word by telling your friends and co-workers about SurvivalBlog. Just wearing a SurvivalBlog …




Notes from JWR:

We have finished the judging for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The first prize winner is: E.C.W., MD, for her article: “Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor’s Perspective” (posted on February 24th.) She will receive a four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate that is worth up to $1,600. Congratulations! Second prize goes to J.D., for his article “Fish Farming for Survival Protein“. J.D. will receive an autographed copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. Honorable Mention prizes go to Mike McD for “Selecting a Retreat Location in Australia“, and to CMC for “Blue …




Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $425 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!




Notes from JWR:

Because of some difficulties with lost mail addresed to me in Reno, we have severed our contract with our Reno-based mail forwarding service. We’ve now made arrangements to have our mail forwarded by a trusted friend. There still will be an up to two week delay before we receive your mail. But now we know that we will be getting all of your mail! The mail is forwarded to us here at the Rawles Ranch once every two weeks. Thanks for your patience. From now on, please use the following address for sending us snail mail. (Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions, …




Note from JWR:

Our blog site visit statistics keep growing! There were more than 31,600 unique visitors to SurvivalBlog in the last month, running a whopping 63 gigabytes of bandwidth. (Up 30% from just four months ago!) But, even so, there are still lots of folks that have never heard of SurvivalBlog. Please keep spreading the word. I hope that you will consider adding a linked SurvivalBlog banner or logo to your e-mail footer and/or to your web pages. Many thanks!




Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $425 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot:. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!










Note from JWR:

I was up on the roof yesterday, doing the semi-annual de-gunking of the wood stove chimney spark arrestor, and the annual cleaning of the chimney itself. A messy job, but one that is crucial for fire safety. (Creosote-fueled chimney fires are commonplace, and are almost always the result of lax chimney-cleaning discipline.) Every survival retreat owner should have a set of chimney-cleaning rods and brushes, and the discipline to use them regularly!




Notes from JWR:

Radio talk show host Steve Quayle kindly mentioned SurvivalBlog in his show recently, generating more than a thousand new visitors to SurvivalBlog. This demonstrates that there are a lot of people interested in preparedness that have never heard of SurvivalBlog. Please continue to spread the word, particularly on talk radio shows. Thanks! A brief follow-up on our recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a Schecter “Warthog” Electric Guitar: The nice folks at Schecter Guitar not only threw in a free hard case, but they also sent it via Second Day Air (at no charge) to make sure that it arrived in …




Note from JWR:

We see Bald Eagles nearly every day here at the Rawles Ranch. (Mainly, they glide up and down the length of The Unnamed River.) Yesterday, on the way home from a church meeting, an eagle flew across the road, right in front of our car, just three feet above the ground –so close that I had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting it. What a great view, but it was a startling near miss!




Note from JWR:

Green Mountain Gear has just announced the first of a series of Green Mountain Gear “SurvivalBlog Group Buys.” This one is for brand new-in-the-wrapper military contract C-Products M16/AR-15 30 round magazines at near wholesale pricing. (Most dealers charge from $14 to $17 for these , but in the Group Buy they will be less than $10.) These full military specification 30 round alloy magazines have durable gray Mil-Spec moly coating, and the latest orange anti-tilt followers. Pricing is as follows: 10 magazines: $9.99 each ($99.90) Shipping is $5 50 magazines: $9.65 each ($482.50) Shipping is $7 100 magazines: $9.30 each …




Note from JWR:

I am seeking recommendations from SurvivalBlog readers on real estate agents in the U.S. that are “survival minded.” My goal is to be able to provide a list of licensed agents all over the U.S. that are knowledgeable about survival retreat selection. (I might even set some sort of standards for “SurvivalBlog Retreat Specialist Certified” agents.) This is mutually advantageous to all parties involved: land/house sellers, agents, and land buyers. By working with a “Retreat Specialist” that understands the unique criteria for survival retreats, there will be no wasted time showing properties that aren’t suitable. Most buyers would also appreciate …




Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $250 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot:, with a combined retail value of around $370. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!




Note from JWR:

We had a great view of a Golden Eagle on our way home from church yesterday. It was on the ground within 10 feet of the road, snacking on a road-killed deer. (Raptors aren’t picky, this time of year.) I pulled our car to a stop on the shoulder just 25 feet away, and instead of taking wing, the eagle just hopped 20 feet up the hill and stared at us. (No doubt wondering why we had been so rude as to interrupt its meal.) I’m regularly amazed at the variety of wildlife that we see at the Rawles Ranch, …