My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

AI WRITING

While there are many brain developments, AI will be shortchanging our youngest single-digit aged youth on, they’ll also be robbed of learning many of the skills that are learned later in life as well.

I’ve always enjoyed writing and creating things with pencil and paper since that poem I wrote about the Pilgrims in second grade that my teacher loved so much. It’s something I’ve continued to develop since then and even after all these years, I’m still learning. I don’t know what a dangling participle is and I can basically only tell you what a noun, verb, and adjective is, but the names of the different grammatical pieces aren’t as important as learning how to use them and string them together in meaningful ways regardless of what they’re called.

When I hear that the modern way for kids in school to write a report is by using AI, I can only shake my head. While the younger generations will tell me to get with the times, I reply that our writing skill doesn’t develop well when we merely have to say to a computer, “Write me a 1,000 word report on peanut farming.” When AI is doing all the work, no writing skills are developed on how to put a written sentence together. The way we write and the way we talk are not the same. No creativity skills are developed when we don’t have to figure out which angle to take it from, on what level to write it, or how broad or specific to make it. No organizing skills are developed when AI hands us a well-organized final product ready to hand in to the teacher.Continue reading“My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 3, by St. Funogas”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme generated by JWR. (Not an original concept, but with my own choice of photo, and layout):

Meme Text:

Did You Know That If You Hold A Squirrel Up To Your Ear…

…You Can Hear What It Is Like To Be Attacked By A Squirrel?

Video Link:

Man Attacked By Squirrel

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 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.” – Luke 4: 14-31 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 23, 2025

On August 23, 79, Mount Vesuvius began stirring on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, and went on to destroy Pompeii. (Note:  Some recent evidence suggests that the main eruption actually occurred after October 17, 79.) Above: Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum (c. 1821) by John Martin.

—

August 23rd is the anniversary of the declaration of the independent state of “Franklin” in Eastern Tennessee by the settlers there in 1784. Unfortunately, the Continental Congress rejected it, so the state of Franklin never became a reality.

—

In 1833, Britain abolished slavery in the colonies and 700,000 slaves were freed.

—

August 23, 1954: First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. Serial production of the C-130 began in 1956. Although all of the original late-1950s airframes have been retired, C-130 variants are still in production and in extensive  service, 71 years later. More than 2,700 have been produced at the longest-running military aircraft production line in history, in Marietta, Georgia.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 120 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.
  5. 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.

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. A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  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.

—

More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 120 ends on September 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.

My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.)

TRYING AN AI APP

After my wow experience with my daughter showing me how her drawing app works, she showed me the ropes and I started doing some pictures myself. Since I have the artistic ability of a quadriplegic starfish, it was a lot of fun to be able to create some photos, paintings, and cartoon characters. I’ve been working on illustrating the events of my life the year I was nine years old. While it’s done nothing to develop the artistic portion of my brain, it’s physiologically too late for that, it’s been amusing. And amusement is one of the things which cause us to use these types of AI applications more and more until they become the new norm.

While there shouldn’t be an earth-shattering events caused by an old geezer creating some illustrations, other revelations occurred to me as I’ve been playing around with it.Continue reading“My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 2, by St. Funogas”

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:

This week, I finished all of my seasonal firewood cutting for our home woodstoves.   Now I’m working on a much smaller pile to supply the woodstove in our greenhouse. That stove is not operated throughout the winter. We only use it to extend our fall growing season and sometimes to get an early start on our spring gardening season.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.

The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.” – Psalm 93 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 22, 2025

On August 22, 1639, Madras (now Chennai), India, was founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers.

—

August 22, 1775: King of Great Britain and Ireland, George III, proclaimed the American colonies to be in open rebellion and ordered his officials to suppress it.

—

On this day in 1812, Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was the first European to rediscover the Nabataean city of Petra in modern-day Jordan.

—

Today is also the anniversary of the founding of the London Armoury Company, in 1851. It was founded by Robert Adams (1810–1870). He patented the first successful double-action revolver in 1851. His revolvers were used during the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the U.S. Civil War, and the Anglo-Zulu War.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 120 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.
  5. 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.

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. A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  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.

—

More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 120 ends on September 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.

 

 

My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I appreciated JWR’s comments in his August 19th article on artificial intelligence. I’ve also had a lot of thoughts on AI recently, which I’d like to share.

JWR’s informative article addressed many of the societal changes and threats we’ll experience just as sure as the grass is green. At this point, my concerns are mostly on a personal level of how things will affect my grandchildren, and to a lesser extent, how they’ll affect my children and siblings.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

When people ask me to define what artificial intelligence is, I give them my country-bumpkin definition: Human intelligence is everything we’ve ever learned and stored in our brains since birth, and the ability to apply it to real-life situations, to be able to understand the situation and/or come to a logical workable solution.Continue reading“My Concerns With Artificial Intelligence – Part 1, by St. Funogas”

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 physical precious metals shortages. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

I’ve been warning about this: Unprecedented Gold and Silver Deliveries Transforming COMEX Markets. JWR’s Comment: The physical metal shortage is even more dire at the LBMA. A short squeeze is approaching.

o  o  o

Gold is Signaling a Tectonic Shift in the Financial System.

o  o  o

Mike Maharrey, at Gold-Eagle.com: Data Discrepancy Highlights Difficulty of Tracking Chinese Gold Reserves.

Economy & Finance:

CNBC: Divided Fed worried about tariffs, inflation and the labor market, minutes show.

o  o  o

Map shows states where property tax could be repealed.

o  o  o

Jeremy Warner: We may be facing the dotcom bubble 2.0.

o o o
Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Bed Bath & Beyond Flees California’s Marxist Mess: The Latest Casualty in the Golden State’s Business Exodus.

o  o  o

Futures Slide For Fifth Day As Jackson Hole Jitters Rise.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 21, 2025

On August 21, 1689, during the Jacobite Uprising, the Battle of Dunkeld was fought in Scotland between supporters of King James VII of Scotland and troops of William of Orange. The illustration above was by Richard Simkin (1840-1926). It is titled: The Earl of Angus’ Regiment (The Cameronians) at the Defence of Dunkeld, 1689.  Simkin was an artist best known as an illustrator for the Army and Navy Gazette and the Boy’s Own Magazine.  He also produced some artwork for recruiting posters, under contract from the War Office. His heyday was from 1890 to 1905. Take note that if his painting were more historically accurate, only a few of the King James VII loyalist soldiers would have been wearing Red Coats. And both sides would have been wearing the then-ubiquitous Blue Bonnets.  (A hat tip to the Scottish History website.)

—

August 21, 1772: King Gustav III of Sweden completed a coup d’état by adopting a new constitution and installing himself as an enlightened despot, ending 50 years of Swedish parliamentary rule.

—

And on August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre museum by Vincenzo Peruggia. It was recovered in 1913.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 120 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.
  5. 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.

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. A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  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.

—

More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 120 ends on September 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.

 

An Everyday Pellet Gun, by Lodge Pole

Where I grew up, we called them pellet guns, not pellet rifles or air rifles. I am by no means a pellet gun expert. Nearly all of my experience is with a single-shot, break-action pellet gun. The knowledge and advice I offer in this article is solely based on my experience and familiarity of single-shot, break-action pellet guns. Depending on your age, physical build and desired purpose of use, pellet gun actions vary, though in application, the concept remains the same. There is an option for everyone.

About twenty years ago, I was camping with a friend who had a .22 caliber Benjamin Trail NP XL single-shot, break-action pellet gun. While we were sitting in camp, a ground squirrel came into view, about fifty yards away. Sitting in his chair, my friend slowly drew up his pellet gun, took aim, gently squeezed the trigger and sent a 14.3 grain lead hollow point at the squirrel. The squirrel had no idea what hit it. The accuracy of the pellet gun and the impact of the pellet dropped the squirrel in its tracks, humanely and ethically. I could not believe the accuracy and impact I had just witnessed. From that moment on, I could not get that pellet gun out of my mind. Finally, a couple of years ago, I pulled the trigger (pun intended) and bought the exact same pellet gun. I have not been disappointed.Continue reading“An Everyday Pellet Gun, by Lodge Pole”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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 some saber-rattling in Venezuela.

Venezuela Mobilizing Millions in Its Militia

Reported on Wednesday by the leftist Time: 4,000 Troops and 4,500,000 Militiamen: What to Know About the U.S.-Venezuela Standoff.

FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an E-mail Address

Over at Wired: FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an Email Address.  A pericope:

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will now require disaster survivors to register for federal aid using an email address—a departure from previous policy where email addresses were optional.”

Long Gun Open Carry Legalized in DC?

Fletch sent the link to this New York Post report: Pirro to ease prosecutions for carrying registered rifles, shotguns — calls DC law ‘violation of the Supreme Court’s holdings’.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”