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.

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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.

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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.

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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”

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 developing shortage of 5.56mm NATO ammunition. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Off the record: silver looks better than gold in 2024 according to LBMA survey.

o  o  o

Gold SWOT: Could This Be the Start of a New Bull Market in Bullion?

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Higher silver prices needed to meet solar demand, ‘you’re not going to melt grandmother’s silver at $35 an ounce,’ Hecla’s Phillips Baker.

Economy & Finance:

Reader C.B. sent this: Czechoslovak Group Acquires Federal, CCI, Hevi-Shot, Remington Ammo & Speer.

o  o  o

Linked over at Zero Hedge:  Bidenomics Simplified.

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David Haggith: Bonds Bust!  The Big Bond Bust brewed into a huge storm today with the US 10Yr making a face-ripping rise above 4.8% to its highest level in 17 years and fastest climb in years.

o  o  o

Janet Yellen: America Can ‘Absolutely’ Afford Another War.

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SEC Head: Financial Crash Caused by AI ‘Nearly Unavoidable’.

o  o  o

Best Buy to cease selling DVD and Blu-ray media after the holidays.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 19, 2023

On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted nearly 23 percent, the largest one-day percentage drop in the stock market’s history.

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October 19th is also the birthday of three notables– the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), investor Jim Rogers (born 1942), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand and the nonfiction book The Long Emergency. A fictionalized portrayal of Zus Bielski is seen in the movie Defiance. This movie was loosely based on the excellent book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec.

Post-TEOTWAWKI Community and Employment – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

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

Much like society today, those who have “the means of production” control industry, finance, and banking are like the nobles. Those who run the factories and institutions are like the vassals and blue collar and farm workers are like the peasants. So, thinking that in times of great social upheaval when a hundred-plus years of technology disappears, we could see feudal-“like” societies form out of the ashes. This is not far-fetched. Unlike hundreds of years ago, most communities are not self-sufficient. The closest thing to a self-sufficient community today would be Amish communities but even they are dependent upon outside trade for their industries, such as buggy making. But they are not as dependent upon outside trade for a good portion of their food.

My local community is a mixture of Amish, Mennonite, and “English” (non-Amish). As an outsider, who moved into the community from “the city”, it is astonishing how people in this rural community are accepting, especially if you adopt and practice a “rural lifestyle”. Typically others that don’t assimilate just build a McMansion, complain about a dry well and no Internet or cell phone coverage. Once you assimilate into a rural community you start to learn who does what and where to buy stuff. My neighbor has been great in helping me find and acquire older haying equipment. The point is, in many rural communities there is already some semblance of a self-sufficient community.Continue reading“Post-TEOTWAWKI Community and Employment – Part 2, by 3AD Scout”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at contemporary global military posturing and saber-rattling.

Western Allies are Running Out of Ammo for Ukraine

In the Left-of-Center Guardian: Western allies say they are running out of ammo to donate; Ukraine advancing in south, says General – as it happened. A quote:

“Western military powers are running out of ammunition to give to Ukraine to repel Russian attacks, the UK and NATO have warned. Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, Admiral Rob Bauer, NATO’s most senior military official, said governments and defence manufacturers now had to ‘ramp up production in a much higher tempo’.”

Accurate Weather Prediction Maps

I want to repeat my recommendation to bookmark a website that offers fairly accurate weather prediction maps. It is called Tropical Tidbits.

YouTube Bans 3D Print Channel

P.F. sent this: YouTube bans 3D print channel after manually reviewing its videos as suitable for monetization.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“As I will explain, the crash of 1987 was largely a trading event, not a fundamental or economic one. I don’t mean to sound overly boastful, and I certainly do not pretend to be the foremost expert on the crash of 1987, but I do think my vantage point was quite unique for this momentous event in history.

Some might say you could blame the whole crash on Dan Rostenkowski. Okay, before you get all worked up, I don’t really blame the crash on Rostenkowski, who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee at the time and had spent many years on the tax-writing committee. But Rostenkowski and his committee played a very, very important role in the crash of 1987.

In fact, it was that committee’s ‘trial balloon’ regarding a takeover-tax bill, sent around several days before the crash to see how the measure would be received, that was a main catalyst — or at least the straw that broke the camel’s back — in an environment that was already appearing to be a perfect storm for some kind of tumble for months, if not years.” – Matt Maley

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 18, 2023

After much opposition, a deal negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward for the U.S. purchase of the Russian colony of Alaska was approved, and on this day in 1867 the U.S. flag was flown over the capital, Sitka.

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October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar.

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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.

Post-TEOTWAWKI Community and Employment – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

Humans are no strangers to catastrophe. Through the centuries, civilizations across the earth have succumbed to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, plagues, and crop failures. Regardless of where this took place, or the people it affected, there was a rebuilding of society and life went on.

For many of us, we focus on surviving the immediate effects of disaster or catastrophe, but few focus on what comes next, the recovery or rebuilding phase. Just like being prepared to survive the immediate impacts of an incident starts in the years long before the disaster ever strikes, so does preparing for rebuilding our community. Let us explore some strategies for being better prepared to rebuild society after the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI).

The importance of recovery preparedness

Humans are, for the most part, a very sociable race and this has allowed us to build complex societies, that have come to a point, where we enjoy the most leisure time in human history. Diseases responsible for keeping the average life expectancy in the 40s to 60s are now rare and it is common for people to live into their 80s, 90s, and even over 100. Clean water and sewage treatment have also aided in adding to our life expectancy. The Information Age has made it quick and easy to find information and to learn skills at a faster pace. An event, that ends the world as we know it, will erase about 150 years of progress and with it will bring back diseases, more injuries and deaths due to reverting back to manual labor and free time will be a sparse luxury. To clarify, I am not talking about tornadoes or floods but rather large-scale incidents like a coronal mass ejection (CME), electromagnetic pulse (EMP), or other events whose impacts are long-lasting and felt across much of the globe.Continue reading“Post-TEOTWAWKI Community and Employment – Part 1, by 3AD Scout”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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A Second Carrier Group Steaming Toward the Med. JWR’s Comments: If you look at U.S. military history, you can see that we’ve primarily been a naval power.  And many of the key turning points in our major wars have been on naval/maritime incidents, namely:

  • Spanish-American War: The sinking of the Maine.
  • World War 1: The sinking of the Lusitania.
  • World War 2: The sinking of the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Letye Gulf (the largest naval battle in history), and the Normandy landings.
  • Korean War: The Inchon landing.
  • Vietnam War: The Tonkin Gulf (U.S.S. Maddox) and U.S.S. Pueblo incidents.

Four of those events shifted public opinion and drew us into large-scale conflicts.

Also, take note of the tragic U.S.S. Liberty incident, off the coast of Israel, during the 1967 Six-Day War. The relatively “calm” waters of the Eastern Mediterranean can be very dangerous, during times of war.

Please pray for peace and for the safety of our sailors and other servicemen. Using them as sacrificial chess pieces in global politics would be unconscionable.

o  o  o

Woman killed in explosion at Hornady plant west of Grand Island.

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Oh, and speaking of ammunition: Lake City Ammo Plant Cancels All Commercial Contracts. JWR’s Comments:  I hope that you’ve already stacked yours, deep. If not, then get what you need on order, ASAP!

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”