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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National Park Service Plans to Remove William Penn Statue From Philadelphia Park. JWR’s Comment:  This trend of politically correct historical revisionism has completely escaped the bounds of rationality.  While they are at it, they should just as well rename their state “Fettermansylvania”.  They could erect a bronze statue of John Fetterman, complete with his signature short pants and hoodie.

Update: William Penn statue will not be removed from Welcome Park, says National Park Service in sudden reversal.

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An interesting map: Life Expectancy in the U.S., by County.

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Victor Davis Hanson: A Culture in Collapse. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.)

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My buddy Pete in Switzerland sent this: Building Autonomous, Off-Grid, Encrypted, and Solar Powered Communications Infrastructure.

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Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“[T]here seems to have been an actual decline in rational thinking. The United States had become a place where entertainers and professional athletes were mistaken for people of importance. They were idolized and treated as leaders; their opinions were sought on everything and they took themselves just as seriously-after all, if an athlete is paid a million or more a year, he knows he is important … so his opinions of foreign affairs and domestic policies must be important, too, even though he proves himself to be ignorant and subliterate every time he opens his mouth.” – Robert A. Heinlein

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 16, 2024

The Persian Gulf War, triggered by Iraq‘s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, began on this day in 1991 with a U.S.-led air offensive against Iraq that continued until a cease-fire was declared on February 28.

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On January 16, 1556, Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain, renounced his claim to Spain.

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The Persian Gulf War, triggered by Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, began on this day in 1991 with a U.S.-led air offensive against Iraq that continued until a cease-fire was declared on February 28.

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The Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16th, 2003. STS-107 would explode on re-entry 15 days later, killing all seven of the crew members on board.

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SurvivalRealty.com has released a new downloadable guide addressing many of their most-asked questions about bunkers and bomb shelters, including their uses and limitations, where to find one, and important considerations if you are building or buying one. It’s available free for anyone who signs up for their e-mail newsletter, here: Survivalrealty.com/bunkers/

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The volume of pre-orders for the Waterproof/EMP Resistant 2005-2023 SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks on just the first day was huge. Many readers are placing orders for 2, 3, or 4 sticks. This year, the stick capacity is 32 gigabytes and we upgraded to the faster USB 3.0. (Though it can still be read with USB 2.0 devices.) Deliveries will begin in the first week of February. Orders must be made through our automated ordering system. These sticks sell out quickly each year, so order your sticks soon!

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 110 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. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  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 $870,000 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 110 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.

 

 

Let’s Go Ice Fishing!, by Hollyberry

Back when I was living in New Jersey when reading about ice fishing in the colder states, I would shudder and say “not for me!” Well, now that I live in one of those colder places — Maine — I am one of the crazy people out there on the ice that I used to think were nuts! Ice fishing is fun and gets you outdoors. It feels good to be outdoors and moving around. People may stop by and see what is biting. We can usually spot deer and moose on shore. Eagles are perched in trees near the lake. Pick a sunny day and pay close attention to the wind, especially if you don’t own an ice shelter. The weather may seem tolerable while you are standing in your driveway but even a small breeze out on a frozen lake can make you miserable.

Make sure the ice is stable and thick. This is not something you want to take chances on. Keep an eye on the weather while you are on the ice also as snow squalls pop up and they can reduce your visibility quite a bit. If a squall occurs and you can’t see, just hunker down and stay put until it passes. You don’t want to be wandering around on a frozen lake and not know where you are headed.Continue reading“Let’s Go Ice Fishing!, by Hollyberry”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements 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. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today’s news: Snow and cold weather belatedly returns to the Inland Northwest.

Idaho

Snow day in Boise!! Kids hit Camel’s Back Park to sled down the hill.

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Regulators restrict medical license of Idaho health official who spread COVID-19 disinformation.

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It seems like yesterday, but it has been nearly 14 years since his passing:  Vernon Baker, the only living black World War II veteran to receive the Medal of Honor. 

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To file under “Perps From Outside The Redoubt”: Missouri man arrested in Nampa for suspected homicide.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 15, 2024

On January 15, 1919 a storage tank collapsed in Boston, sending more than two million gallons (eight million litres) of molasses flowing through the city’s North End; the Great Molasses Flood, as it became known, caused extensive damage and killed 21 people.

This is the anniversary of the 2009 “Miracle On The Hudson” engines-out emergency water landing.

And this is the birthday of Dr. Edward Teller who co-invented the H-bomb and worked on the Manhattan Project. He was born January 15, 1908 in Budapest. He died September 9, 2003 (aged 95).

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I just heard that Natchez Shooters Supplies (one of our affiliate advertisers) is offering Free Shipping On  ALL Ammo When You Spend $200+.  Use Promo Code: FS240115.  This special ends  on January 16th, at midnight EST.

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We are now taking pre-orders for the Waterproof/EMP Resistant 2005-2023 SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks.   This year the stick capacity is 32 gigabytes and we upgraded to the faster USB 3.0. We had to raise the price from $29.95 to 30.95 due to increased product costs. The postage is flat rate, so you pay just $7 postage for your order whether you buy 1 stick or 100. Deliveries will begin in the first week of February. Orders must be made through our automated ordering system. These sticks sell out quickly each year, so order your sticks soon!

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Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog  Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

Bear Swipe IV Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The slightly leaf-shaped blade of the Bear Swipe IV folding knife calls to mind other leaf-shaped blades from ancient history and literature. I like the look of the blade form, and it also makes it easier to get the best angle on certain types of cuts.

The assisted-opening, modified-drop-point, saber-grind blade of this Bear-OPS-made knife is 3.25 inches long, razor-sharp and easy to resharpen. It is made of 14C28N Swedish Sandvik steel. The scales of the black and green G10 handle are easy to grip, with a texture that is evocative of unpolished canvas Micarta.

The knife has become one of my top-three-all-time-favorite folding knives. With a price of $99.99 at the time of this writing, the Bear Swipe IV represents an excellent value. The fact that the knife is American-made makes it much more desirable.Continue reading“Bear Swipe IV Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Potatoes With Savory Sauce

The following recipe for  Potatoes With Savory Sauce is from Good HouseKeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (Copyright 1926, now in public domain).  That is one of the 11 new bonus books included in the new 2005-2023 edition of the SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick.

Ingredients
  • 12 small potatoes
  • 1 teaspoonful chopped chives
  • 4 tablespoonfuls butter
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of grated cheese
  • 1 tablespoonful chopped red or green sweet pepper
  • 1 teaspoonful salt
  • Pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Wash potatoes thoroughly and boil in their jackets.
  2. Remove skins.
  3. Melt the butter, add parsley, chives, pepper, and lemon juice.
  4. Season with salt and pepper, adding cheese last
  5. Stir until cheese is melted.
  6. Pour sauce over the potatoes.
Variations

Chopped onion or onion-juice may be used in place of the chives and peppers.

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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!

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 increasing postal rates and provide an update on real estate values, in 2024. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold and silver have held fairly high prices thusfar in 2024. JWR’s Comments: When I last checked, spot gold was at 2,062.00 USD per Troy ounce, and silver was at $23.41 per ounce.  As always, buy on the dips, or Dollar Cost Average your precious metals purchases. As a prepper, I must always emphasize: Avoid “paper” metals such as mining stock shares and ETFs.  Instead, buy physical metals, take delivery and store them very well hidden, at home. (But let at least two other trusted family members know their exact location – just in case you die unexpectedly.)  When buying, search for a trustworthy dealer that charges low premiums. Pay cash, to avoid a paper trail. Be willing to drive a long distance for cash deals when buying precious metals, to maintain your privacy.

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Phil Carr: How High Will Gold Prices Go In 2024?

Economy & Finance:

Entry-Level Jobs Pay Six Figures In This Gritty Part Of America.

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BlackRock Announces Plans To Lay Off Over 600 Employees.

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Banks should increase use of ‘discount window’ to prevent crises – expert group.

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FINRA Publishes 2024 Regulatory Oversight Report.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” – Richard Henry Lee

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 14, 2024

On January 14th, 1526, the Treaty of Madrid was signed by the Habsburg emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain — pictured) and his prisoner Francis I, king of France, who had been captured during the Battle of Pavia in February 1525 and held prisoner until the conclusion of the treaty, when he was allowed to return to France.

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On January 14th, 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Second Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence. In the document, which was known as the Second Treaty of Paris or the Peace of Paris because the Treaty of Paris was also the name of the agreement that had ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763, Britain officially agreed to recognize the independence of its 13 former colonies as the new United States of America.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 110 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. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $870,000 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 110 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.

Winter Plumbing Preparedness – Part 2, by A.F.

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

Pex pipe can be installed without regard to any water that is still dripping from the system since it uses mechanical connection methods. Coat the threads of two male adapters of the appropriate size with pipe dope and tightly thread one into each of the female fittings exposed in the previous step. I don’t know if electrolytic effects are of concern between galvanized steel and brass (for PEX substitution) or copper, but I trust pipe dope to be a better deterrent to any possible corrosion effects than Teflon tape. I refuse to use CPVC due to the number of threaded fittings I have unintentionally cracked by over-tightening, although plastic adapters are an option if you choose, or are limited to using it.

After installing the male adapters, you “sandwich” the new piece of pipe between them. Sounds simple right? Unfortunately, straight runs of water lines are often locked in place by the combination of clamps and the configuration of the other branch supplies. If after removing the initial broken section you can push (gently) either open end of the repair and find that you have a couple inches of give, then continue with your repair as described. If, however there is no give, then I would recommend making your repair with PEX since its flexibility enables it to be gently bent or manipulated for easier installation. Alternatively, fittings such as 90s or 45s can be incorporated with shorter pieces of pipe to build an offset into the repair and minimize the spacing challenges. In my worst-case situations, I have had to form an open box with four 90-degree elbows. This is a less-than-ideal long-term solution, but in an emergency, it works.Continue reading“Winter Plumbing Preparedness – Part 2, by A.F.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Jeffrey Epstein’s Full Client List Has An Amazing Correlation With…

The Bilderberg Group Roster, The U.S. Congressional Roster, The Fortune 100 CEOs List, and The Malibu Phone Book

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.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” – Mark 8:22-31 (KJV)