Category: SurvivalBlog

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced: Round 113

We’ve completed the judging for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  Round 113 began on June 1, 2024, and ended on July 31, 2024. (The contest runs in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 113 are: First Prize First Prize goes to A.F., for: Stocking Up: OTC Medications Part 1 and Part 2. It was posted on July 9 &10, 2024. He will receive the following prizes: 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 …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced: Round 112

We’ve completed the judging for Round 112 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  Round 112 began on April 1, 2024, and ended on May 31, 2024. (The contest runs in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 112 are: First Prize First Prize goes to R.B., for Tree Planting and Care, posted on May 21, 2024. He will receive the following prizes: 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 $2,000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced – Round 110

We’ve completed the judging for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  Round 110 began on December 1, 2023, and ended on January 31, 2024. (The contest runs in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 110 are: First Prize First Prize goes to A.F., for Winter Plumbing Preparedness, posted on January 13-14, 2024. See: Part 1 and Part 2. He will receive the following prizes: 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 …


Details on The 2005-2023 SurvivalBlog Archive USB Sticks

The new batch of 32-gigabyte waterproof SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks is pre-selling very rapidly!  Many readers are ordering 2, 3, or 4 sticks. I’ve had some folks write to ask about what is included in the new 2005-2023 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. There certainly is a lot! These sticks of course have everything that has ever been posted in SurvivalBlog, dating back to its launch in August, 2005, and up to December 31, 2023. In my humble opinion, these feature articles, product reviews, columns, and quotations just by themselves are worth the price of the archive stick. But then there …


2024 Annual Appeal: The Ten Cent Challenge

I hope that you get at least 10 cents worth of knowledge, entertainment, and motivation each day from SurvivalBlog. It has been posted with fresh content daily, since 2005. In all these years I’ve only missed posting on a few days — most notably in the week after my first wife passed away. I do my best to mention the Ten Cent Challenge editorially only once each year — and this post is it, for 2024. Unlike PBS, we don’t run agonizingly endless pledge drives. But we do depend on voluntary subscriptions to pay the blog’s bills. These expenses include: …


SurvivalBlog’s Annual Disclaimers, Provisos, and Public Notices

Just doing my annual duty… SurvivalBlog, a private information service, is obliged to post some disclaimers and provisos, annually. These notices are current as of December 16, 2023 and remain in force unless later specifically revoked or modified by the Editor. Advertising and Reviews Per FTC File No. P034520: SurvivalBlog accepts cash-paid advertising. We also have affiliate advertising  relationships. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of our advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this blog have solicited SurvivalBlog or our staff to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided …


The SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.) Newsletter Plan

In response to requests from several long-time readers, we are developing the infrastructure to produce an “Old School” hardcopy mailed newsletter, starting in 2024. The concept is to be ready to revert to distributing a paper newsletter that is sent out by traditional mail, for if and when SurvivalBlog is expunged from the Internet’s World Wide Web. (“Taken down.”) I’ve dubbed this contingency project: SurvivalBlog – Old School (S.O.S.) The infrastructure required to produce and distribute the S.O.S. Newsletter will include… For grid up, but Internet-down situations: A very sturdy desktop photocopier. Dozens of reams Reams of paper. Boxes of …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced – Round 109

We’ve completed the judging for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  The judging was particularly difficult for this round, because there were so many great articles. Round 108 began on August 1st and ended on September 30, 2023. (The contest is run in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 108 are: First Prize First Prize goes to SaraSue, for: Homesteading – A Cautionary Tale, posted on November 10-11-12, 2023. See: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. She will receive the following prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing …


SurvivalRealty.com is Expanding!

Jonathan Rawles (my #1 Son) has announced that he has set aside his other career and will now be devoting all of his time to SurvivalRealty.com, and related ventures. This means that he will be able to greatly expand the number of listed properties and have properties listed in the majority of the 50 States. He also plans to make the website a more comprehensive source of information for preparedness-minded families who are planning to relocate. I’ve encouraged Jonathan to write a regular column for SurvivalBlog on retreats and relocation topics. He has already co-authored one book with me (Survival …


Why You Should Write an Article for SurvivalBlog, by St. Funogas

I’m going to cut right to the chase for once: You should write an article for SurvivalBlog because the prizes are great! In addition to that, you should write an article because everyone has a skill, or knowledge, or a viewpoint that would benefit the rest of us. That includes you. Everybody has something to contribute. Many of us look at SurvivalBlog as an online group discussion and everyone would like to hear from you. How I Got Started Writing Articles Before I was a regular SurvivalBlog reader, I used to run across SurvivalBlog articles now and then in my …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 108

We’ve completed the judging for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  The judging was particularly difficult for this round, because there were so many great articles. Round 108 began on August 1st and ended on September 30, 2023. (The contest is run in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 108 are: First Prize First Prize goes to Reelfisherman, for: Vintage Car Repair Part 1 and Part 2, posted on August 29 and 30, 2023. He will receive the following prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 107

We’ve completed the judging for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 107 ended on July 31st, 2023. The contest is run in rounds that each last two months. The prize-winning writers for Round 107 are: First Prize First Prize goes to PrepperDoc, for: Assembling a Stealth Prepper Group, posted on July 18th and 19th, 2023. See: Part 1, and Part 2. He will receive the following prizes. 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 …


A Special Reminder About Our Writing Contest Rules

Well, it happened again! We’ve been threatened with a lawsuit. This time it was over photo licensing. The use of what appeared to be an unlicensed photo in a 2021 article submitted by a reader resulted in me getting an “unauthorized use” photo licensing bill from Germany for €963 ($1,038 US Dollars) with the threat of a $150,000 USD lawsuit if I failed to pony up the license fee. The photos were provided by the reader/author. Therefore, I need to post a reminder about our writing contest rules. The posted rules clearly state — including some huge bold type: To …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 106

We’ve completed the judging for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize-winning writers are: First Prize First Prize goes to G.F., for: Pest Control for Keeping a Bug-Free Home.  (Posted April 26-27, 2023.  See: Part 1 and Part 2.) He will receive the following 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 …


JWR: A Bit of Sick Leave

I’ve come down with what seems to be a bad cold.  I’m hoping that this isn’t the dreaded Omicron variant of the WuFlu. For the first time ever in 18 years of writing and editing SurvivalBlog, I’ll be taking a few sick days, to recuperate.  Don’t worry, folks. I’m only 62 years old and I’m doing all of the right things:  Plenty of fluids, bed rest, extra Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, and Zinc.  I’m also taking a five-day course of 12 MG Ivermectin tablets. As I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon, I’m still sick abed but now actually feeling a …