Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 23, 2023

On October 23, 1956, the Hungarian Revolution began with a massive demonstration in Budapest. JWR’s Comment: The days of trenchcoats and Tokarevs… Too bad that they didn’t have access to more effective ant–tank weapons, or they could have pushed the communists out of power, permanently.

Today we remember the 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy Sailors, and three U.S. Army Soldiers who died on this day in 1983 when terrorists attacked the Beruit Barracks. 58 French soldiers also died in the attack. JWR’s Comments: It seems like yesterday, but 40 years have transpired. In October of ’83, I had just recently joined an Army Reserve Intelligence unit, and I remember reading after-action summaries of the event, soon after I got my TS/SBI clearance.

Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

 



Ruger Single-Ten Stainless, by Thomas Christianson

The very first handgun that I ever fired was a Ruger Single-Six chambered in .22 Long Rifle (“.22LR”). I was then in junior high school. Our church had a group for boys my age. The men who led that group took us on an outing one time in a nearby state forest area. One of the men took along his Single-Six. When we came to a sandbank that could be used as a backstop, he placed a soda can on a stick stuck into the ground. Then he let us take turns shooting at the can. My major takeaway from that experience was that it is much harder to fire a handgun accurately in real life than it is in the movies.

About a year ago, I became nostalgic about the memory of firing that Single-Six. I went to the Ruger website, and learned that they make a Single-Ten stainless in .22LR with fiber optic sights. It looked like a nice step up from the Single-Six, so I contacted Ruger and asked to borrow one. They were kind enough to agree, and placed one on order for me. Eight months later, I received notification that the Single-Ten had been shipped to my FFL.Continue reading“Ruger Single-Ten Stainless, by Thomas Christianson”



Recipe of the Week: Pork In a Pot

The following recipe for Pork In a Pot was sent to us by SurvivalBlog reader Richard T.

Special note from Richard:  “You will need a Lodge 3-quart combo cooker, or something similar. Any cast iron pot will work, but this pot has a handled flat lid that can serve as a skillet on which the ribs can be browned while preparing the other ingredients.”

Ingredients
  • 1 large white onion
  • 2 white Russet potatoes
  • 1 tomato (contains an insignificant amount of acid to affect the cast iron)
  • 1 pint of drained sauerkraut
  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Paprika
  • Cooking Oil
Directions

Begin with heating up the pot & lid (or skillet) on a medium heat for several minutes. Cut the pork rack in four bone sections and brown them on the oiled skillet for straighter ribs like the St. Louis cut, or in the oven on the broiler setting if using the curved baby back ribs.

Onions are sliced and layered on the oiled bottom of the pot, next add sauerkraut and finally the sliced tomato. After browned, the ribs are seasoned and layered in the pot over the onions and tomatoes. Sliced potatoes are filled in on top wherever they fit. It is not necessary to add any liquid as the ingredients will provide that. Sauce, spices, and stripping the membrane is not necessary either. Turn the heat down to a low setting for 2.5 hours. Resist the temptation to turn up the heat; lower and slower is better.

SERVING

With cast iron cooking you don’t have to be in a hurry to dish it out, it will keep hot for quite some time in the pot.

Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!



Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the price of silver. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

After seeing highs above $25 in July and August, spot silver has been pushed down by the short sellers in recent weeks. When I last checked, spot silver had rebounded a bit, to $23.60. I expect to see a trend reversion to at least the $27 USD per Troy ounce level, by mid-December. And, as always: Buy low, sell high.

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Five Signs that Gold Will Increasingly Flow to the East.

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A podcast from veteran analyst Jim Puplava: Big Picture: Unsustainable.

Economy & Finance:

H.L. spotted this: Is the Great U.S. Debt Crisis About to Begin?

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Electric Slowdown: Tesla, General Motors, Ford Hit the Brakes on EV Production. JWR’s Comments: The key message is hidden near the end of the article: Higher interest rates are the real killer of car sales.  Most EV buyers use borrowed money to purchase their vehicles. Just as with the housing market: Higher interest rates mean fewer qualified buyers.

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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Dow closes nearly 300 points lower after 10-year Treasury yield tops 5% for the first time since 2007.

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Amazon will start testing drones that will drop prescriptions on your doorstep, literally.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”





Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 22, 2023

On October 22, 1934, infamous criminal Charles (“Pretty Boy”) Floyd was fatally shot in a field near East Liverpool, Ohio, by FBI agents.

On October 22, 1797, André-Jacques Garnerin, an inspector in the French army who encouraged the use of balloons for military purposes, made a balloon ascent in order to give his first exhibition of parachuting, when he jumped from a height of about 3,200 feet (1,000 meters).

This is the birthday of painter and book illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945).

This is also the birthday of actor Jeff Goldblum (born 1952), who had unforgettable roles in Buckaroo Banzai, The Fly, and in the Jurassic Park and Independence Day franchise films.

Today’s feature article was too short to qualify as an entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, 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.



Rebuilding: The Role of the Post-TEOTWAWKI Librarian, by W.J.

What will be missing during the great reconstruction of America after TEOTWAWKI is the knowledge of how to do it.  Those wonderful how-tos on YouTube will no longer be available unless people have electricity and they have systematically stored them as offline video files.  That will be very few people.

There is an occupation that rarely gets mentioned that will be of immense value: Librarian.  With your own library.  Books. Books on how to do everything imaginable, starting with the basics.  How to grow food and care for livestock, obviously,  How to build with stone.  How to do carpentry with hand tools, maybe no more than a saw and a hammer.  (I once built a storage wall that way – it came out very well, although I didn’t know that six-foot-long shelves needed a central support, so they were a bit saggy.) Making paper, ink, pens, wine, beer, “Everclear” for herbal medications, shoes, clothing, simple machinery, etc.

This is a very good occupation for those who love books and are physically not going to be able to do heavy labor.  How to make a living at it?  Borrowing fees, such as a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk, with screamingly high fines for not returning irreplaceable books when due – perhaps a cow. No, you will not misplace the book, or forget to bring it back!  Classes, where the librarian simply reads the book aloud to the students, who take notes, especially for books too valuable to lend – one pound of vegetables per class, or perhaps firewood. Such as books on gathering and preparing seeds, or anything by Garrigou Lagrange (particularly his classic Three Ages of the Interior Life).

If you gather children’s books, try to get ones that were printed in England, or published before the 1950s, when age-restricted vocabulary became almost universal, and American children were never exposed to intelligent, rich vocabularies.  I picked up a copy of Thomas the Train for my little nephew, opened it, and was shocked at the vocabulary level – it was printed in England, not the USA.  Victorian children’s books are the best.  Did you know that children used to read novels by Dickens?  This was normal. And see if you can find a copy of Webster’s blue spelling book.  And of course, the Little House series by Laura Wilder.  It is a detailed how-to story.

Where to get the books?  Vintage semi-antique stores, estate sales, library sales, eBay, flea markets, etc.  I picked up a hefty multi-volume set of how-to books from before WW2 at a junk shop.  It’s in a box in storage for now.  I’m not at all handy, but other people are, and they will need that knowledge.  Also, if a zombie motorcycle gang shows up, they aren’t likely to be interested in old books.

You don’t have to be a professional librarian.  Given what the library associations are supporting these days, it’s probably better if you aren’t. (p’rn for children, anyone?).  What you do need is safe, dry storage space for as many volumes as you can collect. And some way of organizing them.

You may also want to collect boxes of high-quality office paper from one of the big box office supply stores.  Paper will quickly become non-existent, and your borrowers/students will need it.  Of course you charge for it, by the sheet.  You won’t be able to replace your supply either.  For now, paper is cheap and storable.  Make sure it is acid-free. Most paper made today is acid-free, but check.

You also need a good eye for what might be useful, and be very open-minded about what.  Do you actually need to add a book on how to make artists’ oil paints?  Not the first year you are trying to stay alive, but that baby your sister just had may be a Michelangelo, and will really, really need it ten years from now.  We will be rebuilding a civilization.

JWR Adds:  I concur with W.J. about the quite noticeable way that the American vocabulary has contracted. Some of the bonus items that I often include with my Elk Creek Company orders are old, original 1880s and 1890s issues of the children’s newspaper, The Youth’s Companion. To see their reading level, as well as the level at which children wrote in the Victorian era is astounding.

And, at the risk of sounding self-promotional, I recommend the many reference books that are included in our annual waterproof USB archive stick.  There is not enough therein to rebuild civilization, but those books and military manuals might prove to be a useful adjunct. The next edition of the archive stick should be available for ordering on or about January 22nd, 2024.  Mark your calendar, and watch for the ad in our right-had column.



JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

“Hey, Abdullah… I Heard That Our Best Intel Comes From Our Drones”

“Nah, Muhammed, Our Best Intel Comes From The Mossad”

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” – Matthew 13:1-13 (KJV)



Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 21, 2023

On this day in 1805, a fleet of 33 ships (18 French and 15 Spanish) under Admiral Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve fought and was defeated by a British fleet of 27 ships under Admiral Horatio Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar (combat was waged west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain).

Today is also the birthday of late R.J. Rummel. (October 21, 1932 – March 2, 2014.) He was was professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii. He spent his career assembling data on collective violence and war with a view toward helping their resolution or elimination. Rummel coined the term democide for murder by government (compare genocide), and his research suggests that six times as many people died of democide during the 20th century than in all that century’s wars combined. He is best known as the author of: Death by Government: A History of Mass Murder and Genocide Since 1900.

Today’s feature article is a guest piece that does not qualify as an entry for the writing contest.



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 Internet searches. As I was building up my homestead I often searched for different ideas on how to accomplish one project or another. Many times I’d get a hit on a SurvivalBlog article so I’d click on the link to read the article. I must confess, I hated wading through those three screens of the SurvivalBlog writing contest stuff, the list of prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and rules like an article submission needing a 1,500-word minimum. I wanted to get right to the article on the topic I was researching instead of reading about a contest. Then one day I asked myself, “What’s this stuff actually about anyway?” As I read through the rules and the prize lists, I thought, “Wow, I have something I could contribute here, and those prizes look great!”

Over the next few days, I ruminated on this as I was working around the homestead. Maybe I could write a decent article about the rocket-stove water heater I had built? I thought it would be a good topic because I’m probably not the only prepper on the planet who wouldn’t want to face TEOTWAWKI without a good supply of Thin Mints and hot water. That first article, “Rocket Water Heater” Part 1 and Part 2 turned out to be a success and I won a prize. The prizes included an AR-15 upper from DRD Tactical, $300 worth of gunsmithing DVDs from the American Gunsmithing Institute, a $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried dinners in #10 cans. I later ate those during my 10-day preps test. Wow, over $1,000 worth of merchandise just for writing an article.Continue reading“Why You Should Write an Article for SurvivalBlog, by St. Funogas”



Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This week I spent a lot of time in the garden. I removed some old raised beds, and then spent several hours rototilling those areas. I also rototilled the spot for a new strawberry patch inside the fenceline of our orchard.  With the help of our neighbor and his tractor, we spread rotted-down cow manure on all of those rototilled areas. I plan to re-til those areas, before the ground freezes.

I’ve been busy with both my consulting work, and with fulfilling Elk Creek Company orders.

I finally got the trenches backfilled for the water system extension down to the orchard. That felt good to see that job finished. Now instead of cobbling together 650 feet of seasonal garden hose, we have four new freeze-proof hydrants, and we will just have to run a couple of 100-foot hoses inside the orchard.

Now, on to Lily’s report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.

To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.

The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.

It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.

When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.” – Proverbs 21:1-12 (KJV)



Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 20, 2023

On October 20, 1977, a plane carrying the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, known for such songs as Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama, crashed in Gillsburg, Mississippi, killing singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines, among others.

On October 20, 2011, Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi was killed by rebel forces following a revolt that received international military assistance.

Today is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor. He had a cameo role as the leader of Bridge City in the movie The Postrman.

Today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading.

October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in The American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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.
  2. 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),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, 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.



Farming and Prepping As a Lifestyle, by Bulldog

I have lived a prepping/survivalist lifestyle for a lifetime. I was born and raised in the Midwest to parents, who even by mid-20th century standards grew a huge garden every summer. A garden large enough to feed 6-8 large families, either selling or giving the excess to others. They canned and otherwise preserved more produce than anyone I knew at that time. In addition, we milked about 150 head of Holsteins. We were the largest dairy farm in about seven counties. Of course, all of the milk used in the household came out of the bulk milk tank. Prepping was a family affair and my paternal grandmother always willing to do her part would take my brother and I on outings in the woods at least a couple of times a year to harvest mushrooms and pick herbs. We were typically able to return from such forays each with a brown paper grocery bag full of these delicacies. Upon return, my mother and grandmother would meticulously clean, sort and cut up these mushroom and wild greens treasures in preparation for canning. For my brother and I we knew the trip would result in a large platter of fried mushrooms along with the wild greens added to the evening meal.

We typically had one of our steers butchered annually. If for instance, on rare occasions a cow or yearling became injured and was not savable we would butcher a second time. In instances like these, however, we did the butchering rather than take it to someone else to process. In like manner fall deer season meant further opportunities to test one’s butchering skills. As a youth, when pelts were still worth something, raccoon season meant further opportunities to practice one’s skinning skills.Continue reading“Farming and Prepping As a Lifestyle, by Bulldog”