Category: SurvivalBlog

Today, I’m launching a new weekly column to focus on the books and movies that I have found particularly useful and entertaining. I either have these on the shelf here at the Rawles Ranch, or they’ve been recommended to me by my family members or close friends. Please note that many of my movie recommendations are not “training films”; they are simply entertainment. Also note that many of these films depict times of peril, so they are not suitable for children! Books Cookin’ with Home Storage by Vicki Tate Raising a Calf for Beef by Phyllis Hobson Wolf And Iron …

We have completed Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest! First Prize goes to T.Y. for “Low Moisture Aged Cheese – Hard food for Hard Times”, which was posted on Wednesday, April 2, 2014. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried …

For those who have eyes like mine, the font on an iPad/iPod is difficult to read, but there is an answer. Since everyone’s eyes are different, it doesn’t make sense to regulate that aspect of the blog from the server side. Rather, each iPad/iPod needs to adjust specifically for its user. To that end, these instructions should alleviate the issue. If you are using a Windows or an Android tablet/phone, there should be similar methods available to you as well. For those who want the advertisements to show on the smaller screen identical to the desktop, you pretty much have …

I am pleased to announce that SurvivalBlog has selected Scot Frank Eire (a pen name) as our new Product Review Editor. He is a perfect fit for the blog, both editorially, experientially, and in personality. For those that are curious, his pen name is a play on Scotts Irish as well as working in “Frank” from the Frankish tribes the city of Frankfurt is named for. Frankfurt is where his family was based in the mid-18th century. Here are a few details about Scot: He has spent the bulk of his career in Newspaper publishing as both a photographer and …

We have completed Round 51 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest! First Prize goes to G.A. (RN) for “Setting up a Sick Room in Your Home”, which was posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2014. She will receive the following prizes: Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees …

Starting with Round 51, the fine folks at SurvivalBased.com are donating a $500 gift certificate to the Third Place prize winner of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Be sure to visit their web site and check out their full line of preparedness gear, and their blog. Also starting with Round 51, TexasgiBrass.com a is kindly providing a $300 gift certificate for first place and a $150 gift certificate for second place for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The company sells full military specification once-fired brass for reloaders. Note that even if you don’t reload, this is excellent brass to provide …

Dear Editor Like other readers have stated, you have a truly amazing set of qualifications. As a former AWANA Commander, welder, machinist, physicist, embedded engineer and technical editor I hope to continue fleshing out my skills and service in the ways you have. Though my estimate is you have 15-20 years on me. 🙂 Not only welcome to SurvivalBlog but thank you for the material encouragement. -D.D. HJL Replies: Thank you and congratulations on a well rounded and broad skill set. A quote from one of my favorite authors sums it up nicely: “A human being should be able to …

We have three responses to the introduction of our new Managing Editor today: Greetings, Mr Rawles, Wow – I just read the posting on your new hire and I’m absolutely blown away. What an outstanding set of qualifications! I’m glad to have submitted my resume, but clearly you have found a tremendous candidate with very high credentials. Congratulations and may this new working relationship bear much fruit in the years ahead. –J.M. J.F.J sends this response: >Please tell him that I said “WELCOME ABOARD!”. And just one more thing… with his impressive resume, can you also please tell him that …

I am pleased to announce that following the review of more than 50 resumes, we have selected Hugh J. Latimer (a pen name) as our new Managing Editor. I consider him a perfect fit for the position. He will be taking over many of the day-to-day operations at SurvivalBlog, including editing letters and articles, compiling column items, writing some feature articles, creating and updating advertisement graphics, and posting the blog. Meanwhile, I will continue to be actively involved as Senior Editor. To distinguish between our posts and comments, they will either begin or end with our initials (“JWR” or “HJL.”) …

I am planning to hire a contracted Managing Editor for SurvivalBlog, sometime in the next two months. While I plan to continue on as Editor, I need some assistance with day-to-day editorial work. This position could be your ticket to living in the Boonies. The locale for the new Managing Editor position will be “virtual”, meaning that our new hire can live and work anywhere on the planet where there is a stable high speed Internet connection. The pay for this 30 hour per-week contracted position will be up to $40,000 per year, depending on the candidate’s experience. Hiring preference …

Not counting editorial salaries, SurvivalBlog has more than $22,000 per year in annual operating costs including our fully redundant servers in Colorado and Sweden. We need this redundancy because we’ve been attacked (DDOS ping flooding) by malicious hackers, on several occasions. Unlike most publications, our subscriptions are 100% voluntary. And we only make one annual post every January to remind our readers to subscribe or renew, and this is it. We are not like other organizations on the Internet that are endlessly begging, so you hear this this just once a year. We don’t want to pester anyone. Here is …

SurvivalBlog, a private information service, is obliged to post some disclaimers and provisos, annually. These notices are current as of January 1, 2014 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. 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 me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews …

The fine folks at Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana have announced that they will now sponsor the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest with an additional $333 prize bundle that will bring the combined value of the three prize packages to more than $9,700. Starting with Round 50 et sequitur, the winner of the Second Prize package will receive Dri-Harvest foods gift certificates for: One Mixed Case: Kidney Beans, Lima Beans, Buttermilk Powder (2 of each) / Case of 6- #10 Cans  valued at  $68.86 One Montana Hard Red Wheat 5 Gallon food grade bucket, valued at  $44.95 A mixed case of Lemon, Peach …