Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 2, by The Chemical Engineer

(Continued from Part 1,)

Fifth, I believe that people are the most valuable creation on the planet for religious and practical reasons. The more people we have, the more knowledge they generate and can apply. I believe the growth of knowledge, personal freedom, and rule of law are the significant causes of mankind rising out of historical poverty. Great books like The Ultimate Resource 2, by Julian Simon, and Superabundance, by Gale Pooley and Marian L. Tupy, hammer home the fact that increased populations have increased prosperity. This is very counter to conventional wisdom because Malthusian thinking has warped much of our culture, including prepper culture.

An example of this is how we often talk about how much things cost in the past versus today. A candy bar was a nickel but today it costs a dollar. A better way to compare this is to look at how much time we have to spend to earn that candy bar. When the candy bar was five cents the hour wage was thirty five cents an hour allowing our ancestors to buy 7 candy bars for an hour of their time. Today, the average hourly wage is about thirty one dollars an hour so for the same hour of time we can have 31 candy bars. Our time gets us more than past generations and our time is freer to spend as we wish. This is the increasing prosperity I am talking about. I recommend reading or listening to the books above to understand more about this line of thought and to combat some very anti-human assumptions in our culture.Continue reading“Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 2, by The Chemical Engineer”

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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, discussion of possible Northern Lights viewing and descriptions of some designated Dark Sky Reserves.

Idaho

These Are the Most Overlooked Places in the U.S. to See the Northern Lights, According to a New Analysis. Not surprisingly, North Idaho tops the list.

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Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve.

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Some of the best (and most accessible) night sky viewing on public land in southern Idaho: Craters Of The Moon National Monument.

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Idaho Chevy Dealership Offers Free Gun and Flag With Every Sale. (A hat tip to D.S.V. for the link.)

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How to not lose your gun rights in Idaho.

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Idaho Governor Brad Little announces ‘Operation No Return’.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Man’s constitution is so peculiar that his health is purely a negative matter. No sooner is the rage of hunger appeased than it becomes difficult to comprehend the meaning of starvation. It is only when you suffer that you really understand.” – Jules Verne

Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 20, 2025

On October 20, 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara established the Tokugawa clan as Japan’s rulers (Shoguns.)

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October 20, 1634: King of England Charles I levied the “Ship Money” tax on all English and Welsh counties.

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October 20, 1906: Dr Lee DeForest demonstrated his electrical vacuum tube. (Soon commonly called a radio tube.)

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Today is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor.

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Today is also the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading.

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And October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 121 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.

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 $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.

Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 1, by The Chemical Engineer

JWR’s Introductory Note:  At just over 20,000 words, this is perhaps the longest single-topic contributed article ever serialized in SurvivalBlog. I consider it an important piece to ponder.  Please read all eight parts before sending your comments. I will post most of them in the Snippets column on October 29th.

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I want to start with a brief but sincere thank you to all the article writers I have learned from here at SurvivalBlog.com. Your efforts have made a difference for me and many others. I hope my contribution can have a similar benefit to others. Thank you.

Let me also begin with a warning. Some parts of this article will sound like heresy or foolishness to conventional preparedness wisdom. I am willing to risk being considered a fool if this article can help someone who read it, to someday save lives. This audience of the prepared and preparing are in the best position to have an oversized impact for good if they have the right knowledge to apply at the right time.

In the preparedness literature, much has been written about how every serious emergency will naturally bring out more of the worst in humanity when people become desperate or they feel that there are no consequences. We would be unwise to ignore the historical facts that support this assumption and not prepare for it. However, I will challenge how we should respond to the retreat of humanity during an emergency. I don’t accept that our approach to dealing with the unprepared around us needs to be 99% guns and bunkers and 1% butter diplomacy as the best way to protect ourselves and our families during a long-term societal collapse. I believe the moral and highest reward approach would be to wisely swing for the fences and aim for a ratio closer to 50% guns and bunkers and 50% butter diplomacy, so our ability to help others around us is just as strong as our ability to protect ourselves. I believe the following thought applies here, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men and women to do nothing.” If we prepare to only defend against evil and suffering during an emergency then that is likely the world we will live in.Continue reading“Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 1, by The Chemical Engineer”

Recipe of the Week: 

The following simple recipe for Chicken and Egg Sandwiches is from The New Butterick Cook Book, copyright 1924, now in the public domain. That is one of the many bonus books included in the 2005-2025 20th Anniversary edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that will be available in February of 2026.

Ingredients
  • 1 cup cold cooked chicken
  • Yolks of two hard-cooked eggs
  • 1 teaspoon rich stock
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon melted butter or butter substitute
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Bread slices
Directions
  1. Pound the chicken to a paste.
  2. Add the mashed yolks of hard-cooked eggs, the stock, Iemon juice, melted butter (or butter substitute), salt, and pepper.
  3. Mix well.
SERVING

Spread the mixture onto sliced bread, for sandwiches.

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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:  Map of Tree Canopy Cover in the United States. (Graphic courtesy of the USDA.)

For the full dataset with useful variant raster maps, see: https://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/rastergateway/treemap/index.php

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:

“Both free speech rights and property rights belong legally to individuals, but their real function is social, to benefit vast numbers of people who do not themselves exercise these rights.” – Thomas Sowell

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 19, 2025

October 19, 1987: Black Monday. Stock market indices around the world crashed, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which fell 508.32 points (22%). That was 4½ times the previous daily record.

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October 19th also marks the anniversary of Operation Gatling; the famous “Green Leader” raid in 1978 in which Rhodesia attacked ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army) in retaliation for ZIPRA shooting down a scheduled passenger flight, Rhodesia flight 825, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The Rhodesian military suffered only minor casualties in the raid, but claimed to have killed 1,500 ZIPRA personnel as well as some Cuban military instructors. Other sources falsely claimed that those killed were refugees camped near the border. Sadly, history does not seem to remember the two airliners shot down by ZIPRA along with the innocent civilians killed on them, but emphasizes the retributory Rhodesian strikes.

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Today’s feature article is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. We usually post his review articles on Mondays, but I moved this one up to Sunday, since we have a seven-part article in the queue. That will be posted starting tomorrow.

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We need more 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.

Benjamin M600 Airbow, by Thomas Christianson

The Benjamin M600 Airbow is an outstanding development in the world of archery. It is powerful, accurate, and easy to use. Using pre-charged pneumatic power, it delivers arrows downrange at up to 600 feet per second with 300 foot pounds of energy.

With a weight of 6.8 pounds and a length of 33 inches, the M600 delivers these features in a reasonably light and compact package.

The M600 is made in the USA with globally sourced components. At the time of this writing, it cost $829.90 at benjaminairguns.com.Continue reading“Benjamin M600 Airbow, by Thomas Christianson”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

 

Meme Text:

Thankfully, “Fall” is Three Months Long

But “Pumpkin Spice Latte” Season Only Lasts About A Month

News Link:

Why is there such a strong aversion towards Pumpkin Spice Lattés?

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:

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

1For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” – Hebrews 9: 11-20 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 18, 2025

October 18th 1356: The Basel Earthquake. This was the most significant historically recorded seismological event north of the Alps. It destroyed the city of Basel, Switzerland. It was rebuilt with many of the buildings that can still be seen today.

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October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) (1708–1710) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar.

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Today’s feature article is short piece by our friend Hub Moolman of South Africa.

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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.

 

Gold: The US Dollar Bank Run Is Speeding Up, by Hubert Moolman

Previously, I have shown how the US dollar banking system is in the midst of a bank run. We have entered the critical part of this bank run. The US dollar banking system has become too debased, and nations are running to an asset like gold as a reserve asset instead.

It can be described as very similar to the events since Nixon ended the direct convertibility to gold in 1971. In the Gold/Monetary Base chart (below) you can see currently how a similar pattern has developed to the 1971 end of convertibility.Continue reading“Gold: The US Dollar Bank Run Is Speeding Up, by Hubert Moolman”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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!

Jim Reports:

I completed all of my fall slash pile burning on a rainy day early in the week. This was just a day before our first snowfall of the year.

Lily and I constructed a new rain/snow shelter in one of our sheep corrals.

I helped our #2 Son move. We used our 4WD pickup and horse trailer for the furniture, major applaince, and miscellany hauling.  He now lives three hours of driving closer to the Rawles Ranch, so we will get to see him much more often.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”