Preparedness Lessons From Communist Mongolia – Part 1, by G.K.

We lived in Mongolia in the early 1990s, for a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, during a time when the system had officially ended but its habits had not yet loosened their grip on daily life. I was in my early thirties, married, with two young daughters, trying to build a life far from anything familiar. We were not passing through, and we were not insulated expatriates. We were attempting to function inside the local economy, under local conditions, with consequences that were immediate and personal.

At the time, I did not think of what we were doing as preparedness. I had no language for it. There was no ideology attached to the experience, no checklist to consult, no theory to reference. There was simply life as it presented itself each day, and life required adaptation. At first, the differences felt cosmetic. Language, clothing, food. Small disorientations that seemed manageable with time and effort. But slowly, and then unmistakably, deeper assumptions began to collapse.

Food was the first. There were no grocery stores in the sense we understood them. No aisles. No fluorescent lighting. No refrigeration cases humming steadily in the background. Food came instead from informal markets and small vendors, scattered and inconsistent, appearing and disappearing without explanation. Availability shifted from day to day, sometimes from hour to hour.Continue reading“Preparedness Lessons From Communist Mongolia – Part 1, by G.K.”

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: mutated bird flu viruses.

Bird Flu Mutations Cause Concern

Reader B.T. sent us this, from The New York Times: Bird Flu Viruses Raise Mounting Concerns Among Scientists. The article begins:

“In the United States, the term bird flu has become synonymous with a particular virus that has devastated poultry and dairy farms over the past few years. But that virus, called H5N1, is not the only form of bird flu in circulation.

Concerned scientists are keeping a close eye on other types, including a fast-changing flu virus called H9N2.

In a study published in November, researchers in Hong Kong showed that over the last decade, this virus has acquired mutations that allow it to spread more efficiently among people and to cause more severe disease.

H9N2 is often discounted as a threat, because it causes only mild symptoms in poultry. But in people, especially children, the virus can cause more severe illness than the seasonal flu.

There have been fewer than 200 reported cases of H9N2 in humans since 1998, but the number has been rising sharply. China reported 29 human cases of H9N2 last year, compared with 11 in 2024.”

Trump Weighs Options on Supporting Iranian Popular Uprising

At the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Trump on Iran: We’re looking at some very strong options… I’m getting an hourly report, and we’re going to make a determination very soon.”Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day: 

“The wild Indian power of escaping observation, even where there is little or no cover to hide in, was probably slowly acquired in hard hunting and fighting lessons while trying to approach game, take enemies by surprise, or get safely away when compelled to retreat.” – John Muir

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 14, 2026

On January 14, 1799. American inventor Eli Whitney received a government contract for 10,000 muskets. While his competitors largely produced guns with hand-fitted parts, Whitney became famous as an innovator with his designs that featured interchangeable parts.

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And on January 14, 1873: “Celluloid” was registered as a trademark by its inventor John Wesley Hyatt.

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I just heard that cartoonist Scott Adams passed away. Rest in Peace.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

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 TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  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 $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

The Elenco Two-IC AM Radio Kit – Part 2, by Mike in Alaska

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

In a previous article I had described a possible need for having some form of radio communications receiver in a TEOTWAWKI situation. It is just good policy to have something you can hide, run on very low voltage, and in the case of this radio, a battery that you can recharge using a solar panel to generate a charge into a battery bank. This radio is an AM receiver set only. However, the chip set can work at much higher shortwave (SW) frequencies and I am researching the possibility of using it for that purpose.

Continue reading“The Elenco Two-IC AM Radio Kit – Part 2, by Mike in Alaska”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our 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.  Pictured above is an old stereo view of the frosted beards of some Klondike miners.

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Mike in Alaska wrote:

“In the time since December 20th, 2025 and this morning we have had consistent temperatures at or below -35 degrees; in addition we have had 23” of snowfall, and our snow will not melt until mid April or May … Juneau is on the ocean and it is a tragic event for them inland, as it is for all the costal areas. Welcome to the real Alaska. The last winter we had in this State was in 2012 which was as bad as this one is just not as long lived as this one is. Yesterday it was -7 degrees out during the day for about five hours ..then it dropped to -27 again, this morning the skies are clear, the aroura is spectacular, and its -37 below zero again. We had five consecutive days of temperatures at -51 below zero to -57 below zero and a wind chill factor that froze the doors shut. In the 15 years that I’ve lived here this is only the second time I’ve seen this kind of winter, so I guess it was overdue.

I’m ready for a nice balmy Montana winter where one can expect a spring in April, early planting in May, and a great harvest in fall … I miss the seasons. We have four seasons up here …. June, July, August (1/2 of it) and winter. Arggggggh ….. when we lived on Flathead Lake we had a 1 acre garden and grew so much that we ended up giving away some of it … did you know that a bulk pack of zucchini seeds (25 seeds) do not all need to be planted at one time?? I found that out …. Garden City Seeds out of Hamilton was our primary seed source back then … I miss Montana and the real weather. Keep warm and may God richly bless you all.”

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A book excerpt from author Jack Lawson: Lice (and How to Deal with Them). You wil recognize Jack Lawson’s name, as one of our writing contest prize donors.

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From freelance writer Jasper Craven, at Wired: True Patriots Are Cashing In on the Apocalypse. JWR’s Comments:  Craven’s approach to the subject was antagonistic. And his selection (or the editors’) selection of photographs to run in the article not-too-subtly attempted to cast the two rival companies in a bad light.Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“You know, for most of its life bluegrass has had this stigma of being all straw hats and hay bales and not necessarily the most sophisticated form of music. Yet you can’t help responding to its honesty. It’s music that finds its way deep into your soul because it’s strings vibrating against wood and nothing else.” – Alison Krauss

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 13, 2026

On January 13, 1404, The Act of Multipliers was passed by the English Parliament, forbidding alchemists to use their knowledge to create precious metals. (It was feared that if any alchemist should succeed, it would bring ruin upon the state.)

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January 13, 1733: British officer James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrived at Charleston, South Carolina

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And January 13, 2023, China reported 60,000 COVID-19-related deaths in just over a month, while another report estimates 900 million people have been infected, 64% of the country’s population.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

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 TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

The Elenco Two-IC AM Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

Introductory Note: I purchased this kit for this article and I do not represent the Elenco Company. They have not paid me or provided any materiel for writing this article.

This article is a review on the Elenco Model AM-780K AM radio kit. It was designed for students in an electronics lab class, and when I was working on my associate’s degree in Electronics Engineering the college I was attending issued us both the AM radio kit from this company as well as the AM/FM version of it.

The knowledge I want to pass on here is that should you decide to purchase a kit for yourself or possibly for your children as a STEM project, it would be a great choice for learning basic electronics, electronics parts identification, soldering, reading assembly instructions, and general knowledge of radio theory. In fact, should you build this radio to operating completion you will have learned enough that it would suffice as a good portion of knowledge needed to pass the FCC ham radio test for both Technician and the General license classes. The rest of those exams would be FCC regulations and such.Continue reading“The Elenco Two-IC AM Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest.

Recent Redoubt Links

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 12, 2026

On January 12, 1528, Gustav Vasa, Gustav I of Sweden was crowned King of Sweden. He ruled for 37 years, and became known as the “father of the nation.” His coronation started a succession of 23 monarchs with many of them known as “Gustav/Gustaf”. Their current king, Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, was born on April 30, 1946. He ascended the throne on September 15, 1973. Carl XVI Gustaf is the seventh king of the House of Bernadotte. He is the longest-reigning king in Swedish history.

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And on January 12, 1913, after using other pseudonyms over the years, Josef Dzhugashvili signed himself as Stalin (“man of steel”) in a letter to the newspaper Social Democrat.

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Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog staff member Tom Christianson.

Tyrant Design TDC 002 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The Tyrant Design T.D.C. 002 Folding Knife has a 2.75-inch Tanto blade that is 0.13 inches thick at the broadest part of the spine. It has a black nitride finish and is made of D2 steel. The blade opens smoothly around a ball bearing pivot point using nicely textured thumb studs. It is secured in the open position by a liner lock. Jimping on the spine of the blade gives better control during delicate cuts.

The grip of the handles is enhanced by textured EPDM rubber panels with a decorative chevron pattern. Chevrons on the accent spacer on the back of the handle harmonize nicely with those on the panels.

The knife is nicely machined and beautifully finished. The overall length of the knife when open is 7 inches. It weighs 3.2 ounces.Continue reading“Tyrant Design TDC 002 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Rich Amish Cornbread is from SurvivalBlog reader Tractoguy.  He says: “I love the taste of cornbread, but don’t eat much of it because it is usually so heavy. This is the lightest, fluffiest cornbread that I have ever had, probably because of the sour cream in it.”

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
Directions
  1. Combine ingredients, mixing briefly.
  2. Pour the batter into a greased 7-inch square baking dish.
  3. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

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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!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week 

Today’s graphic: A map showing recent U.S. Internal Migration — The Geography of Choice. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Note that majority of the states that are gaining population are conservative “Red” states.  Preppers moving to the American Redoubt, Texas, The Ozarks, and to the Cumberland Plateau undoubtedly were a contributing factor in these population shifts.

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

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Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.