The latest meme created by JWR:
Meme Text:
After Multiple X-Class Solar Flares and Multiple Hurricanes Recently
I’ve Gotta Say That Those “Nutty Preppers” Were Right
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.
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” – 1 Corinthians 2: 1-12
On October 12, 1879, in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, British troops occupied Kabul, Afghanistan.
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On October 12, 2000, the U.S.S. Cole was attacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists.
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Today we present another entry for Round 115 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
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More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. 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. Round 115 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.
Our background: We have been prepping and part of the SurvivalBlog community since 2011. We moved to our bugout location in the summer of 2016, a secluded spot in Middle Georgia. I work full-time at a local bank in a town about 25 minutes away. My husband had total knee replacement surgery several weeks prior to the hurricane, so he was unable to help much. We are in our late 50s/early 60s, respectively.
Back in September 2017 and 2018 we experienced hurricanes with power outages of five days on the first one and three days with the second one. And I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, so hurricanes are nothing new. I always go into this storm prep mode where I do all my laundry, top off my gas tanks, buy a few extras at the store, etc. This year was different because we had so much going on in our lives. I also want to emphasize that things don’t always happen at the most opportune times! And things don’t always go like you think (or hope) they will.
My storm prep consisted of clearing the porches, deck, yard, gardens, and animal areas of anything that could fly in the wind. I topped off all animal feed and water. However, we had four baby chicks that we had hatched out a few weeks prior, so they were a bit more needy. I had to unhook their heat lamp, gather up the extension cords and give them a pep talk. They were in a rabbit cage inside of a small covered coop to protect them from snakes, this would turn out to be the safest place to keep them from drowning.Continue reading“Georgia: Hurricane Helene – Part 1, by Forward Preppers”
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!
We had some trouble with a cow and her heifer calf. We had been separating the Mom from the heifer on some nights, by putting the Mom inside one section of our milking parlor and the heifer on the other side, divided by a tube gate. This way, they would feel close to one another, and wouldn’t bellow all night. The purpose of this was to briefly keep the Mom separated from her calf, so that the calf wouldn’t hog all of the available milk, overnight. After Lily did her morning milking (several days each week), the two were reunited. This worked fine for a few months until those two Bovine Co-Conspirators figured out a clever positioning for the calf to be able to stick her head through the tube bars, and still get her fill of milk. So Lily asked me for a solution. I cut up part of an old frayed tarp and wrapped two thicknesses of it around the tube gate. I secured it with a dozen plastic zip-tie cable fasteners. We’ll see how that tarp holds up. If it proves to be too fragile, then I will replace it with some wire mesh or perhaps even plywood.
Now, Lily’s report…
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.” – Ecclesiastes 6:1-10 (KJV)
October 11, 1923, under the Weimar government, the value of the hyperinflated German Mark fell to 10 billion per British Pound and 4 billion per US Dollar.
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Today is the 74th birthday of novelist William R. Forstchen (born, 1950.) He is best known for his survivalist novel One Second After.
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The last day! The big sale at Elk Creek Company ends tonight! We’ve been running a 3-week-long sale at Elk Creek Company. Today, October 11th, 2024, is the last day for sale pricing on all of our blackpowder revolvers, all of our M1891 Argentine Mauser rifles, and all of our sporter rifles. Their prices are deeply discounted. Get your order in before midnight, tonight!
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Please continue to pray for all of those who were hit by either of the two recent hurricanes in the Southeast. For those who were, we’d appreciate reading your Lessons Learned. They need not be full-length articles. Thanks, – JWR
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Today we present another entry for Round 115 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
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More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. 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. Round 115 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.
Wood stoves are the heart of everything that happens at a off-grid homestead. The obvious reason is that it provides heat that keeps the home warm and comfortable, yet it can also be used to cook and preserve our food, boils water for drinking and cleaning, and just as important, wherever it is located there will be the family gathered together.
The Fisher/Forester style stoves were produced in the the early 1980s all over the U.S. in small and large metal fabrication shops that purchased the doors that had the name brand cast into the door. Had the name plate been Fisher that marketed their Bear line of stoves that became widely sold and earned a very positive reputation, this same stove might be advertised in excess of $1,000 on Craigslist or eBay even without a fresh coat of paint.
The reputation of these stoves is well deserved. But they were cleverly marketed and featured certain brass ornamentation that could cozy up a home. So it became fashionable to show off the latest adornment the house could afford. It wasn’t just another unimpressive hunk of steel, but became a part of the furniture and today it has some collector value.Continue reading“Practical Wood Stoves, by Tunnel Rabbit”
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 higher mortgage interest rates. (See the Economy & Finance section.)
JPMorgan: Gold Getting a Boost from the “Debasement Trade”.
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Frank Holmes: Gold SWOT: Hungary has raised its gold reserves, citing the precious metal’s role as a haven. JWR’s Comment: Part of the recent slip in the U.S. gold price is attributable to the U.S. Dollar hitting a 7-week high on the Forex. The more important metric: As priced in Chinese Yuan, gold recently hit another all-time high. When gauging precious metals markets, I suggest looking at long-term global trends and ignoring short-term currency fluctuations.
Rates increase – Today’s mortgage rates for October 8, 2024. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now average 6.40%,
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Reported on Monday: Dow closes lower by nearly 400 points as surging oil prices and rising Treasury yields weigh on stocks: Live updates
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The Unstoppable Path to Ever-Increasing Currency Debasement.
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Pew Research: Economic ratings across 34 countries are more negative than positive.
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At Gold-Eagle.com: Fake News on the Economy Is Driven by Fake Money.
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At Zero Hedge: Biggest Hong Kong Crash Since 2008 On Record Volumes: What You Need To Know.
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Consumers Crack: Credit Card Debt Suddenly Plunges Most Since Covid As APRs Hit Record High.
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.” – John Adams
On October 10, 1902, Tom Horn‘s murder trial began. He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in 1903.
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Today is the birthday of composer Giuseppe Verdi. (Born 1813, died 1901.)
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On October 10th, 1913, the Panama Canal officially linked the Atlantic to the Pacific when the Gamboa dike was demolished with dynamite charges.
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The big sale at Elk Creek Company ends tomorrow! We have been running a 3-week-long sale at Elk Creek Company. Until October 11th, 2024, all of our blackpowder revolvers, all of our M1891 Argentine Mauser rifles, and all of our sporters have their prices deeply discounted. Place your order soon!
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Today we present another entry for Round 115 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
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More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. 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. Round 115 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.
(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)
The first issue when I started was using the pressure cooker even though the gasket had some very small wrinkles along one surface. On the previous two experiments the pressure hadn’t gotten above normal and the gasket held. The second issue developed after Experiments #1 and #2. The lid was harder to turn into place so I applied butter to act as a lubricant for this third experiment. The owner’s manual suggests a little mineral oil if a small amount of lubrication is needed. Too much butter making the gasket too slippery was the probable cause for the gasket blowing out at the end Experiment #3. The wrinkled gasket probably didn’t help. Take-home lesson: when the manual says to not use an imperfect gasket, they mean it! Another important lesson: if anything is amiss with a pressure cooker such as the lid being harder to turn than normal, figure out what the problem is before using it.
To try the blowout-plug test again, I removed the gasket butter with hot soapy water. I’d be standing back 20’ so if there was a malfunction again, no problem. Unfortunately, the test failed because the gasket was damaged enough that the lid wouldn’t seal and pressurize, all I saw was steam was coming out from under it. My first three experiments showed a pressure cooker can often work normally even when slightly defective, but the last experiment showed how dangerous it can be when it gets under abnormally high pressure. For that reason, don’t ever use a gasket with even small defects. Replacement gaskets are inexpensive and as always, two is one and one is none.Continue reading“Pressure Cooker Lessons Learned – Part 3, by St. Funogas”
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 gradually increasing interest in homeschooling by families in the United States.
Over at The Christian Post: Homeschooling continues to increase across the US post-pandemic: report. (A hat to SurvivalBlog reader D.S.V. fo the link.)
On October 4th, the editors of Phys.Org reported: The sun unleashes its strongest flare this cycle. The article begins:
“Yesterday the sun released a huge solar flare, and it’s heading toward Earth. It’s nothing to worry about since it’s nowhere near as large as the Carrington Event of 1859, but it is large enough to give us some amazing aurora.
Large solar flares happen periodically. Quite literally, because the sun goes through an 11-year cycle of lower and higher activity. Right now the sun is near the maximum of a cycle, so we see lots of sunspots and flares. When astronomers first studied the cycle they could only measure the number of sunspots at a given time. Solar flares were largely invisible to early telescopes.
But now with orbiting observatories such as the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we can capture images of solar flares in real time. Astronomers now categorize the strength of solar flares by the intensity of X-rays they emit, known as their x-class. The categories are numbered by power level, with each category double the previous one. So, for example, an X2 flare is twice as powerful as an X1 and half as strong as an X3.
This latest flare is rated as X9, which is much stronger than most solar flares.”
“…our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” – Thomas Jefferson from a letter to Dr. James Currie, January 28, 1786
On October 9, 768, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I were crowned Kings of The Franks.
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On October 9, 1000, Leif Ericson discovered “Vinland” (possibly at what was later named L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming the first European to reach North America.
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And on October 9, 1865, the first US underground pipeline for carrying oil was laid in Pennsylvania.
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Today we present another entry for Round 115 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
—
More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. 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. Round 115 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.
