Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 15, 2024

On January 15, 1919 a storage tank collapsed in Boston, sending more than two million gallons (eight million litres) of molasses flowing through the city’s North End; the Great Molasses Flood, as it became known, caused extensive damage and killed 21 people.

This is the anniversary of the 2009 “Miracle On The Hudson” engines-out emergency water landing.

And this is the birthday of Dr. Edward Teller who co-invented the H-bomb and worked on the Manhattan Project. He was born January 15, 1908 in Budapest. He died September 9, 2003 (aged 95).

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I just heard that Natchez Shooters Supplies (one of our affiliate advertisers) is offering Free Shipping On  ALL Ammo When You Spend $200+.  Use Promo Code: FS240115.  This special ends  on January 16th, at midnight EST.

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We are now taking pre-orders for the Waterproof/EMP Resistant 2005-2023 SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks.   This year the stick capacity is 32 gigabytes and we upgraded to the faster USB 3.0. We had to raise the price from $29.95 to 30.95 due to increased product costs. The postage is flat rate, so you pay just $7 postage for your order whether you buy 1 stick or 100. Deliveries will begin in the first week of February. Orders must be made through our automated ordering system. These sticks sell out quickly each year, so order your sticks soon!

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

Bear Swipe IV Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The slightly leaf-shaped blade of the Bear Swipe IV folding knife calls to mind other leaf-shaped blades from ancient history and literature. I like the look of the blade form, and it also makes it easier to get the best angle on certain types of cuts.

The assisted-opening, modified-drop-point, saber-grind blade of this Bear-OPS-made knife is 3.25 inches long, razor-sharp and easy to resharpen. It is made of 14C28N Swedish Sandvik steel. The scales of the black and green G10 handle are easy to grip, with a texture that is evocative of unpolished canvas Micarta.

The knife has become one of my top-three-all-time-favorite folding knives. With a price of $99.99 at the time of this writing, the Bear Swipe IV represents an excellent value. The fact that the knife is American-made makes it much more desirable.Continue reading“Bear Swipe IV Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Potatoes With Savory Sauce

The following recipe for  Potatoes With Savory Sauce is from Good HouseKeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (Copyright 1926, now in public domain).  That is one of the 11 new bonus books included in the new 2005-2023 edition of the SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick.

Ingredients
  • 12 small potatoes
  • 1 teaspoonful chopped chives
  • 4 tablespoonfuls butter
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of grated cheese
  • 1 tablespoonful chopped red or green sweet pepper
  • 1 teaspoonful salt
  • Pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Wash potatoes thoroughly and boil in their jackets.
  2. Remove skins.
  3. Melt the butter, add parsley, chives, pepper, and lemon juice.
  4. Season with salt and pepper, adding cheese last
  5. Stir until cheese is melted.
  6. Pour sauce over the potatoes.
Variations

Chopped onion or onion-juice may be used in place of the chives and peppers.

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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 increasing postal rates and provide an update on real estate values, in 2024. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold and silver have held fairly high prices thusfar in 2024. JWR’s Comments: When I last checked, spot gold was at 2,062.00 USD per Troy ounce, and silver was at $23.41 per ounce.  As always, buy on the dips, or Dollar Cost Average your precious metals purchases. As a prepper, I must always emphasize: Avoid “paper” metals such as mining stock shares and ETFs.  Instead, buy physical metals, take delivery and store them very well hidden, at home. (But let at least two other trusted family members know their exact location – just in case you die unexpectedly.)  When buying, search for a trustworthy dealer that charges low premiums. Pay cash, to avoid a paper trail. Be willing to drive a long distance for cash deals when buying precious metals, to maintain your privacy.

o  o  o

Phil Carr: How High Will Gold Prices Go In 2024?

Economy & Finance:

Entry-Level Jobs Pay Six Figures In This Gritty Part Of America.

o  o  o

BlackRock Announces Plans To Lay Off Over 600 Employees.

o  o  o

Banks should increase use of ‘discount window’ to prevent crises – expert group.

o  o  o

FINRA Publishes 2024 Regulatory Oversight Report.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” – Richard Henry Lee

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 14, 2024

On January 14th, 1526, the Treaty of Madrid was signed by the Habsburg emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain — pictured) and his prisoner Francis I, king of France, who had been captured during the Battle of Pavia in February 1525 and held prisoner until the conclusion of the treaty, when he was allowed to return to France.

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On January 14th, 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Second Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence. In the document, which was known as the Second Treaty of Paris or the Peace of Paris because the Treaty of Paris was also the name of the agreement that had ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763, Britain officially agreed to recognize the independence of its 13 former colonies as the new United States of America.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 110 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. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $870,000 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 110 ends on January 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.

Winter Plumbing Preparedness – Part 2, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.)

Pex pipe can be installed without regard to any water that is still dripping from the system since it uses mechanical connection methods. Coat the threads of two male adapters of the appropriate size with pipe dope and tightly thread one into each of the female fittings exposed in the previous step. I don’t know if electrolytic effects are of concern between galvanized steel and brass (for PEX substitution) or copper, but I trust pipe dope to be a better deterrent to any possible corrosion effects than Teflon tape. I refuse to use CPVC due to the number of threaded fittings I have unintentionally cracked by over-tightening, although plastic adapters are an option if you choose, or are limited to using it.

After installing the male adapters, you “sandwich” the new piece of pipe between them. Sounds simple right? Unfortunately, straight runs of water lines are often locked in place by the combination of clamps and the configuration of the other branch supplies. If after removing the initial broken section you can push (gently) either open end of the repair and find that you have a couple inches of give, then continue with your repair as described. If, however there is no give, then I would recommend making your repair with PEX since its flexibility enables it to be gently bent or manipulated for easier installation. Alternatively, fittings such as 90s or 45s can be incorporated with shorter pieces of pipe to build an offset into the repair and minimize the spacing challenges. In my worst-case situations, I have had to form an open box with four 90-degree elbows. This is a less-than-ideal long-term solution, but in an emergency, it works.Continue reading“Winter Plumbing Preparedness – Part 2, by A.F.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Jeffrey Epstein’s Full Client List Has An Amazing Correlation With…

The Bilderberg Group Roster, The U.S. Congressional Roster, The Fortune 100 CEOs List, and The Malibu Phone Book

News Links:

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: 

“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” – Mark 8:22-31 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 13, 2024

On January 13, 1928, Swedish-American inventor Ernst F.W. Alexanderson (pictured, right), of General Electric, demonstrated the first television receiver at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, New York.

On January 13, 1978, radical guerrillas held 72 hostages and shot at police outside the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru.

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NOTE: I recommend that my readers set aside 22 minutes to watch a new video from Dr. John Campbell: New Brain Virus.  (It was twice removed from YouTube, but is still available on Rumble.) He shares some frightening news of a new lab-created virus causing encephalitis that has an extremely high lethality rate. In my estimation, this is gain of function research, run amok! Here is a link to the original paper, published on January 4th:  Lethal Infection of Human ACE2-Transgenic Mice Caused by SARS-CoV-2-1related Pangolin Coronavirus GX_P2V(short_3UTR).  The paper was authored by researchers at the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 110 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. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $870,000 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 110 ends on January 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.

Winter Plumbing Preparedness – Part 1, by A.F.

“We are out of water!” were the words my dear bride spoke as she recently awakened me at 3 a.m. Hmmm said I, as I reached for my clothes to dress and began troubleshooting the issue.

Step 1, Open the faucet and listen for gurgling or sucking sounds. No noises to indicate a vacuum so likely the pump hasn’t lost prime nor has the main supply line broken.

Step 2, Check the panel and make sure the breaker hasn’t tripped. The weather has been clear ie. it’s unlikely lightening is my culprit and sure enough the breaker is fine.

Step 3, Grab my flashlight and multimeter and head out to the well head. After removing the “decorative rock” and insulation from the well head and pressure tank, I removed the cover from the pressure switch and voila—fire ants galore!

After returning to the panel to open the breaker I spent a few minutes with an old toothbrush wiping dozens of dead ants out from between the pressure switch contacts, using caned air to clean away what I couldn’t reach with the brush. Next step – performing a continuity check on the load side of the switch to make sure there wasn’t a short before repowering the circuit. Finally asking my wife to close the breaker, I held my flashlight beam on the spring-loaded contacts and saw the switch close followed by hearing the water begin to flow. I left the well uncovered so I could spread Amdro granules the next morning and went back to bed.Continue reading“Winter Plumbing Preparedness – Part 1, by A.F.”

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:

First, DO NOT miss the link in today’s top note about a new lab-created virus causing encephalitis with an extremely high lethality rate!

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After a nearly snowless autumn, we are finally getting some heavy snowfall, here at the Rawles Ranch. We’ve had more than 15 inches in the past week. The forecast was anything between 13 inches and 34 inches. It was -2 F on Friday morning and it could be as low as negative 15 F during the next four or so nights. I’ve had to do some snow shoveling in from of our shop doors. Since we have a long lane out to the county road and there is a large turnaround area between our house and outbuildings, this has necessitated a lot of time behind the wheel of our plow pickup truck. I usually dedicate that time to prayers or listening to sermons, rather than listening to music. I should mention that living in a remote and mountainous area, our selection of daytime radio stations is very small:  Just three stations on the FM band and none on the AM band.  But thankfully, the FM station that comes in the strongest is a repeater (“translator station”) for KMBI, a Christian station in Spokane. I am not a fan of modern praise music, but I do enjoy hearing sermons from reformed theologians. My favorite is Alastair Begg.

Update:  This morning (Saturday, January 18th) the thermometer read -18 F. Brrrr!  That is the coldest morning that I’ve seen here, within memory.  Our thermometer bottoms at -20 F. Hopefully, we won’t go “off the scale”, in the next few nights.

Getting this much snow and deep cold also forced me to postpone slaughtering and butchering a couple of yearling cattle. That project can wait…

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Thus saith the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.

An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.

The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.

Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.

And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth.

Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of their’s: neither shall there be wailing for them.

The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.

They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.” – Ezekiel 7:5-18 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 12, 2024

On this day in 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, especially Port-au-Prince, killing more than 200,000 people and leaving more than 1,000,000 homeless and touching off a massive international relief effort.

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Today is the birthday of Edmund Burke. (Born 1729, died 9 July 1797.)

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On January 12, 1888, the “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” killed 235 people.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 110 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. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $870,000 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 110 ends on January 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.