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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U.S. Army Reveals New Chevy Silverado-Based Infantry Squad Vehicle – Heavy Next-Gen Hybrid. JWR’s Comments:  They say that history doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.  This reminds me of the U.S. Army’s Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV) procurement in the 1980s. That was basically a diesel-engine Chevy K5 Blazer with CARC camouflage paint, blackout lights, towing shackles, military trailer hitch, brush guard, and a slave cable receptacle. They looked tough and somewhat mil-spec, but they were NOT combat vehicles!

o  o  o

El Niño coming this summer, says NOAA in update; what does that mean for summer temperatures and hurricane season?

o  o  o

Brave ROTC students credited with stopping deadly classroom shooting at Old Dominion. JWR’s Comments:  It was interesting to hear how the FBI spokesman euphemistically said: “…rendered him no longer alive” with a pocketknife. And I must mention that the regulations of most eastern colleges and universities including Old Dominion do not allow students to carry knives.  Thank goodness that at least one cadet flouted that rule!

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 17, 2026

On March 17, 1959, the US nuclear submarine USS Skate became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole.

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After a multi-month restocking hiatus, we are again taking orders at Elk Creek Company. Here are our updated inventory counts:

  • Pre-1899 Antique Rifles:  22 (We have deeply restocked 7×57 and 6.5×55 Mauser rifles.)
  • Pre-1899 Antique Shotguns: 9 (Most are 12 gauge and most of them have fluid steel barrels!)
  • Pre-1899 Antique Pistols and Revolvers: 21  (Mostly S&W top break revolvers.)
  • Blackpowder Revolvers: 23 (Most are .44 caliber, with modern cartridge conversion cylinders available. We have deeply restocked the much-in-demand Ruger Old Army revolvers.)
  • Blackpowder Rifles: 7 (Most of them are .50 Caliber deer/elk hunting rifles.)
  • Knives and Bayonets:  24 (Edged weapons and tools from the 1870s to the 2010s.)
  • Magazines and Other Accessories:  7 types (These include some scarce original Rhodesian camouflage-painted FAL magazines!)

No paperwork is required for buyers in most states!  (Consult your state and local laws before ordering.)

We accept payment by USPS PMO, check, or pre-1965 U.S; silver coinage at a divisor than changes often.  That divisor is presently 58-to one!  (Just take the total for your order and divide by 58.  For example, say that you are orderingan antique rifle priced at  $750 plus $45 postage.  (A total of $795.)  You would pay just $13.70 face value in U.S. silver in any mixture of dimes, quarters, and half dollars.

Take a look at our inventory!

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Today’s feature article is by Field Gear Editor Tom Christainson.

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We need a few more entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 ends on March 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.

WeatherWool Selvedge Poncho, by Thomas Christianson

I recently re-read The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O’Brian. It is book 16 in the Aubrey/Maturin series. One episode in the novel describes Dr. Stephen Maturin riding a mule into the Andes to meet with conspirators who are plotting the overthrow of the Spanish government in Peru. As Maturin rides higher into the Andes, the temperature falls, and he pauses in his journey to put on a poncho.

I suspect that the poncho that O’Brian had in mind as he penned his novel looked something like the one worn by Clint Eastwood in all three films of the Dollars Trilogy.

The WeatherWool poncho that I recently tested was shaped more like the ones worn by the soldiers portrayed in the statues of the Korean War Veterans Memorial. It was made of heavyweight Merino wool rather than the coated nylon twill of the Korean War era.Continue reading“WeatherWool Selvedge Poncho, by Thomas Christianson”

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.

Redoubt 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 — March 16, 2026

March 16, 1802: The first US Military Academy at West Point was established through a Congressional act. It opened July 4, 1802.

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Today’s feature article is the third and last installment of a guest post by our friend Mrs. Alaska. We highly recommend her blog and books.

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We need entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 ends on March 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.

Update: Now Mailing the March, 2026 S.O.S. Newsletter

I’ve completed the new issue of the SurvivaBlog Old School (SOS) newsletter.  The March, 2026 issue will be mailed starting today, over the next several days. This issue’s emphasis is on suppressor construction with detailed specifications, tips, and tricks. This is our third issue, and it is six pages long.

SOS is a traditional hardcopy mailed newsletter intended as a backup to Internet delivery, in the event of any sort of disruption — whether natural or man-made. Normally, you’ll receive just one issue each year, with some practical information that is not published in the online edition of SurvivalBlog. But if a crisis develops that limits Internet access, you might get SOS issues as often as once per month.

Subscriptions are simple: $50 for a three-year subscription or $200 for a Lifetime Subscription. (My lifetime, not yours.)

Any new subscribers will also receive the two previous issues. And I will continue to mail out all three extant issues of the newsletters to anyone who signs up in the next four months.

I’d prefer that you send your subscription payments via USPS Postal Money Orders, payable to just “Jim” or well-concealed cash, for your privacy. Alternatively, you can send just $3.25 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coinage to cover a Lifetime Subscription.  Please use the address below, and also please put the same address in the upper left-hand corner of your envelope. Similarly, you’ll receive each S.O.S. issue in an envelope with your own address duplicated as the return address. (Again, for your privacy.):

SOS Newsletter
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845

I also take subscription payments via PayPal (to james@rawles.to), but that of course leaves a digital record.

Note: If for some reason you redundantly receive TWO envelopes each containing the March, 2026 issue, then please let me know, so that I can take the redundant address off the list. Thanks! – JWR

Construction and Design of a Remote, Off-Grid Residence – Part 3, by Mrs. Alaska

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

Storage

A big challenge when living in small homes is storage space. In a climate with dramatic temperature swings like ours, we have, for example, different mittens, boots, parkas and hats for +30, 0, and -30 degrees. All of these are bulky. We also have special clothing for hunting, fishing, and rain, and various accoutrements for outdoor activities. So, we built lots of storage shelves in various outbuildings to hold labeled totes of out-of-season clothes. In our cabin, I store things under, over, behind, and beside furniture. For example, my husband built long, plank bookcases under the windows and at the top of the pony walls (3.5 feet) below the steep roofline. I curtained the space beneath the bookcase to store medical and office supplies. Fermenting beer and wine are stored between a loveseat and cabinet. Long cooking utensils hang on cup cooks inside cabinet doors. Potatoes are stored behind a corner chair. Since I have only two drawers in the kitchen, I hang wicker creels from the spiral staircase to corral small items.

I consider outside “rooms” very important, too, even in a cold weather climate, but surely more so in hot and rainy regions. Outside, we enjoy two 10 x 16 decks upstairs and down, and a 6 x 16, unheated arctic entry (combination mud room and food pantry) that leads to a 10x 10 deck with the cedar soaking tub. We move among our three decks and living room based on sun, shade, rain, and wind.Continue reading“Construction and Design of a Remote, Off-Grid Residence – Part 3, by Mrs. Alaska”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Basil Buttered Greens is from SurvivalBlog reader Trish.

Ingredients
  • 3 spring onions
  • 2 Tablespoons of butter
  • 1 Cup  frozen peas
  • 1 Cup frozen, shelled edamame beans
  • 1/4 Cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 medium cos (Romiane) lettuce bunch
  • A handful of fresh basil leaves
Directions

1. Slice the three spring onions, both the white and the green parts. Melt half the butter in a wide saucepan and stir the spring onions over a low heat, letting them soften but not brown.

2. Tumble in the 1 Cup each frozen peas and edamame, along with the 1/4 cup of stock and a teaspoon of sugar. Raise the heat and let the stock bubble away and reduce slightly, stirring all the while.

3. Trim the base from the cos lettuce and roughly slice the leaves. Drop them into the pan, stirring till they wilt a little into the other greens. Remove from the heat.

4. Tear the handful of basil leaves and stir through, along with the remaining butter.

 

SERVING

This recipe serves just two adults as a full side dish. Double it, as needed.

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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: Global GDP Clusters. These three regions, spread across three continents, together generate half of the world’s GDP  (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

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.

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 15, 2026

After a multi-month restocking hiatus, we are again taking orders at Elk Creek Company. Here are our updated inventory counts:

  • Pre-1899 Antique Rifles:  24 (We have deeply restocked 7×57 and 6.5×55 Mauser rifles.)
  • Pre-1899 Antique Shotguns: 9 (Most are 12 gauge and most of them have fluid steel barrels!)
  • Pre-1899 Antique Pistols and Revolvers: 21  (Mostly S&W top break revolvers.)
  • Blackpowder Revolvers: 23 (Most are .44 caliber, with modern cartridge conversion cylinders available. We have deeply restocked the much-in-demand Ruger Old Army revolvers.)
  • Blackpowder Rifles: 7 (Most of them are .50 Caliber deer/elk hunting rifles.)
  • Knives and Bayonets:  24 (Edged weapons and tools from the 1870s to the 2010s.)
  • Magazines and Other Accessories:  7 types (These include some scarce original Rhodesian camouflage-painted FAL magazines!)

No paperwork is required for buyers in most states!  (Consult your state and local laws before ordering.)

We accept payment by USPS PMO, check, or pre-1965 U.S; silver coinage at a divisor that changes often.  That divisor is presently at an all-time high of 58-to-one!  (Just take the total for your order and divide by 58.  For example, say that you are ordering an antique rifle priced at  $750 plus $45 postage.  (A total of $795.)  You would pay just $13.70 face value in U.S. silver in any mixture of 1964 or earlier dimes, quarters, and half dollars.

Take a look at our inventory!

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Today, we present a guest post by our friend and long-time SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska.

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We need a few more entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 ends on March 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.

Construction and Design of a Remote, Off-Grid Residence – Part 2, by Mrs. Alaska

(Continued from Part 1.)

Power

Most remote homes and lodges rely on generators. The problem with generators is that they are noisy and smelly. So many people build a ventilated shed around them to buffer the noise. I appreciate that! In our case, we built the power tower (for the wind turbine, solar panels, antennas, and satellite dish) and power shed on the highest point on our property, so the 120 foot tower rises above the tallest trees, 400 feet east of the cabin. When we use the small generator as supplemental power, on rainy, snowy, still days, I am grateful that I do not have to listen to it, in part because it is so far away, and in part because the engine is angled east -away from us.

Unfortunately, because of that distance, we had to dig a 400 foot trench for the electrical wires from the power shed to the cabin, by hand, on our hands and knees through thousands of roots. That was tiring and uncomfortable work. We had similar issues with other buildings in which we wanted electricity, but by that time, we had bought a small backhoe that we can tow behind our ATV, which quickly dug the trenches.Continue reading“Construction and Design of a Remote, Off-Grid Residence – Part 2, by Mrs. Alaska”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Mohamed Jalloh Learned the Real Meaning of the Acronym ROTC:

Rendering Oafish Terrorists to Corpses

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.