Dakota Power Bank and PV Panel – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

As the saying goes “One is none, two is one, three is two …. and if you are building your preparations with only one back up then you have failed to prepare.”

Disclaimer: I purchased the system with my own funds. I am not being paid by the company for this article.

We live in the Arctic area of Alaska. Our winters here are long and dark, and they can be brutal. For us it starts in mid-August when the sun begins to set earlier and rise later in the day, and the truth be known, it starts June 21st at the point where the sun doesn’t set but just circles around overhead and starts its journey below the horizon from that day on. That is why our home area is called the Land of the Midnight Sun. For those of us living here having electric power can be the difference between life or death if a person wasn’t prepared for an outage, and that can happen on a regular basis any time of the year.

I have had a “prepper” mindset for as far back as I can recall, my grandparents survived the Great Depression of the 1930s, and they instilled in us the need to always be ready for disaster be it weather, or political. Growing up I had the opportunity to work on my grandfather’s farm doing chores as they arose. I remember one chore grandpa gave me to do; he had somehow come into possession of an old barn that had been torn down, and had what was to me, a huge pile of boards full of nails that he wanted me to pull those nails and sort out the boards. It seemed crazy to me at the time but in retrospect I see now the true value of what grandpa saw. I was paid the incredible sum of $2.00 a week for my various chores.

He always gave me a silver certificate bill and told me “Don’t you ever trust that paper. It is no good, you take it to the bank when we go downtown on Saturday, and you get the silver for it.” Then he would add “someday those thieves in Washington are going to take away the silver and that paper will be useless because it will have no value.” I just couldn’t imagine such a thing happening and even more couldn’t understand how the government would ever force us to use money that would be worthless.Continue reading“Dakota Power Bank and PV Panel – Part 1, 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.

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Version 1.0 of Elon Musk’s AI-generated Grokipedia has gone live. At first glance, it appears to be a far less biased alternative to Wikipedia. The mainstream/statist Le Monde of France had this report:  ‘With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it. JWR’s Comments:  Without a doubt, all AIs inherit the biases of their programmers. Based on what I’ve seen thusfar, Grokipedia appears to lean mildly Constitutionalist, anti-statist, and quasi-libertarian. It also seems somewhat pro-corporatist and pro-Republican. We’ll see how long those leanings persist. With 885,279 articles (as of November 9th, 2025) there already seems to be a bit of intentional obfuscation. I assume there was a calculated path taken to avoid controversy, in the choices of the topics that are covered and those that are not. For example, when I last checked, there was a glaring lack of a Grokipedia entry on the short-lived Department of Government Efficiency.  And there was an article on National Debt of Pakistan, but not one on National Debt of the United States. Interesting. – JWR

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Farmers’ Almanac announces final publication after 208-year run.

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SurvivalBlog Editor-At-Large Mike Williamson spotted this news: Hunter found alive in California national forest 20 days after he disappeared.

Mike’s Comments: 

Luckily, God was looking out for him. He did lots of things wrong:

  • No travel partner.
  • No concrete route/itinerary shared with others.
  • Insufficient communication methods (needed a shortwave, or at least a CB with extra antenna, not just a phone).
  • Needed better emergency shelter supplies and some backup signaling method such as flares, reflectors.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Awake, my soul, and with the sun
thy daily stage of duty run;
shake off dull sloth, and early rise
to pay thy morning sacrifice.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew.
Disperse my sins as morning dew;
guard my first springs of thought and will,
and with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
all I design or do or say,
that all my pow’rs, with all their might.
in Thy sole glory may unite.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Him all creatures here below;
praise Him above, ye heav’enly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

– Thomas Ken (1637-1711), Morning and Evening Hymn (aka, in short form, The Doxology“)

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 11, 2025

Today is of course Veteran’s Day. If you value your freedom, then thank a veteran.

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Today is also the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr..  He was born in 1885 and died December 21, 1945.

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Today is the birthday of Hugh Everett (born 1930, died July 19, 1982), the American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics, which he termed his “relative state” formulation.

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November 11th also marks Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), in 1965. Remember Rhodesia.

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Today’s feature piece is a brief update from JWR.

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We still need some entries for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 121 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. 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.

Where Have All The Real Prepper Blogs Gone?

I recently visited the Gun Blog Blacklist site.  One of its key features is lists of gun and prepping blog sites. The “Prepper Blogs” are linked down in their lower-right column.  I was taken aback when I found that the majority of those linked sites are now either offline, or they haven’t had any posts in more than two years. And of the few that are still active, many of those have switched to all un-dated posts, presumably to obfuscate a bit on how often they post. (Which in fact is infrequently.)Continue reading“Where Have All The Real Prepper Blogs Gone?”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly item 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.

The photo of the Veseth Ranch, below, is click-expandable:

Veseth Ranch

 

 

 

Redoubt Region News 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 — November 10, 2025

50 years ago today, the Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, sank with the loss of all on board. The ship is pictured in 1971.

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On November 10, 1619, René Descartes had a dream that inspired him to write his “Meditations on First Philosophy”.

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November 10, 1911: The Chinese Imperial army recaptured Nanking, during the 1911 Republican Revolution.  The Xinhai Revolution (or Hsinhai) Revolution, ended China’s last imperial Qing dynasty under the Manchus. They had been in power for 268 years.

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November 10, 1933: The “Black Blizzard” snowstorm-duststorm began in South Dakota. “The size of the ominous black clouds reached biblical proportions as dust from the storm reached all the way to Albany, N.Y.” In the 1930s, these storms were called black blizzards or black rollers.

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November 10th is also remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps.

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

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We need entries for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 121 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. 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.

Demko Shark-Cub Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The Demko Shark-Cub AUS10A Slicer Shark is a great knife for everyday carry (EDC). Its 2.5 inch drop-point, saber-ground blade is 0.13 inches thick at the spine and has a stonewashed finish. Deep jimping along a longer-than-average segment near the base of the spine of the blade provides extra control during delicate cuts. A thumb notch makes ambidextrous one-handed deployment simple, while presenting a thinner profile than thumb studs.

The glass reinforced nylon (GRN) handle has a canvas-micarta-like finish with contours that fit the index and middle fingers. The scales are reinforced by a steel liner that extends half of the length of the handle to reinforce the innovative shark-lock. The caged-bearings of the pivot-point make deployment extremely smooth. That smoothness combined with the frictionless action of the shark-lock when opened make blade deployment possible with just a flick of the wrist.Continue reading“Demko Shark-Cub Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Parmesan Chicken is from SurvivalBlog reader “Sis”. She notes: “This recipe uses boneless chicken thighs, but you may instead use bone-in thighs, chicken breasts, or drumsticks if you desire.”

Ingredients
  • 1 family pack of boneless chicken thighs (8)
  • 3 sticks ( 1 1/2 cups) of butter
  • 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers ( regular long sleeve)
  • 1 jar (10-to-12 oz) Parmesan cheese.
Directions

Butter a 8″ x 9″ , roll chicken in butter, then in Parm/cracker mixture, place in baking pan. Top with the remaining butter. Then sprinkle with 5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped. Drizzle with a little honey, then sprinkle with garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, a small amount of Alpine seasoning, rosemary, and thyme. Cover and place in oven at 350 degrees until nearly done. Then remove cover and lightly brown to finish baking.

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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: Countries Where Over 90% Of The Population Can Speak English. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

JWR’s Comment: Note the lack of shading for Canada.

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.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“It is part of our human nature to want to be liked. It is part of our human nature to worry about what others think of us. It is an attribute of greatness and of American exceptionalism to not surrender to our nature, but to be guided by an inner calling to persevere and to prevail, no matter the personal cost.” – Charlie Kirk

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 9, 2025

November 9, 1330: The Battle of Posada. Wallachian voievode Basarab I defeated the Hungarian army (led by Charles I of Hungary) in an ambush. The 1855 imagining of the Battle of Posada above was by József Molnár. It is titled Dezső sacrifices himself protecting Charles Robert.

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After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on November 9, 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans from the other side in a celebratory atmosphere.

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Today is the anniversary of the death of Colonel Ulius Louis “Pete” Amoss.  This former OSS officer was best known as the originator of the resistance warfare concepts of Leaderless Resistance and “phantom cells.” Amoss was born in 1895 and died on November 9, 1961 from coronary thrombosis. He had a fascinating life.

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Today’s feature article is an update to a 2007 article by JWR.

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We still need several entries for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 121 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. 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.

Update: On Spring Water, Well Water, and Water Treatment Basics

This article is an update and expansion to a brief but important piece that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in 2007. –  JWR

Plentiful fresh drinking water for drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening is the most critical resource for all societies. The vast majority of the residents of First World countries are dependent on grid power to supply their water. When the grid goes down for more than a few days, water towers will soon be drained and huge numbers of people will be forced to draw water from open sources. Thankfully, there are streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds in walking distance of most homes. Rainwater from roof downspouts can also be used. But the logistics of hauling water will be a challenge, just by itself. Next, people will need to treat all that water, or face infection. Most families don’t own a water filter. Boiling water is an option, but only for those who have natural gas, propane, or wood cooking stoves, since electric ranges don’t work without grid power. Even folks with well water will face difficulties, unless they have a backup generator, or better yet a fully capable alternative energy system. (Coincidentally, we have also addressed emergency well buckets in SurvivalBlog.)

Spring Water

Gravity-fed spring water is the ideal water supply for a rural retreat. There is no need for power, relatively low installation expense, low maintenance, and little risk of frozen pipes. For gravity feed, you can anticipate developing about 1/2 pound of pressure at the output for each foot of elevation between the spring and the faucet. Also, run at least a 1″ diameter line if you have any substantial distance and/or your elevation difference is minimal. Larger diameter pipe reduces friction loss in the pipe. Unfortunately, very few properties are blessed with a spring that is situated to provide gravity flow to a house. When I advise my consulting clients, I urge them to make gravity-fed spring water a top priority when they are evaluating properties, when relocating.

Well Water

Grid-powered wells are problematic, since most wells use just a small pressure tank. Whenever there is a power failure, the water pressure drops to nil in just a short time. Photovoltaically-pumped well water is a good solution, albeit with a fairly high installation cost. With a large cistern that is positioned to supply gravity flow to your house (typically 35 to 60 feet of “head”) you can skip putting a battery bank in your system. When the sun shines, it pumps, and when the sun sets it stops. Simple. A float switch on the cistern will insure that you prevent needless wear and tear on your pump.

Ultraviolet (UV) treatment is an interesting innovation that was first embraced by fish farmers and by koi pond enthusiasts. The UV technology is quite promising for anyone that has a shallow well or spring that has an unacceptable bacteria count. (This typically happens during a flood, or seasonally with heavy rains that increase surface water that can get into a well or spring.) The UV method of treatment is growing in popularity in the US and Canada because there is no need for chemicals. Ultraviolet light rays–just like those from the sun that produce sunburn, only stronger–alter the DNA of bacteria, viruses, molds, and parasites, so that they cannot reproduce. They are not killed, but are merely rendered sterile. Thus, they safely pass through your digestive tract, but cannot reproduce–which is otherwise the cause of intestinal illness.Continue reading“Update: On Spring Water, Well Water, and Water Treatment Basics”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Zohran “The Commie” Mamdani Has Just Been Named

Florida Real Estate Salesman Of The Year

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.