Science Fiction and the Preparedness Mindset, by Michael J.

Some SurvivalBlog readers might think that science fiction is just starships, aliens, and directed-energy weapons. Not all science fiction is created equal, but the best of science fiction provides important commentary on society as it is now, or as it could be given the invention of certain technological devices. There is also a genre of science fiction called alternate history, which attempts to depict what life would be like if certain historical events had turned out differently, or if certain famous people had been removed from the scene before the activities that made them famous. (For example, imagine how different history would have been if Corporal Adolf Hitler had been one of the millions killed during World War I.) It is for this reason that science fiction was once called speculative fiction.

This essay highlights some science fiction short stories, novels, television shows, and movies that provide some hints about prepping and some commentary on what our country and Earth in general have become, and what we can do to prepare ourselves and possibly even to reverse some of the damage. If I missed your favorite example of science fiction, I’m sorry; I wish I had time for everything out there.

Much science fiction attempts to describe politics of the future. The themes are tyranny (religious or secular), war, chaos, or a benign, democratic world government. This last is the cornerstone presumption of Star Trek in its various forms: there might be war and despotism and anarchy out there in the galaxy, but Earth is peaceful and united. If anyone thinks that is likely to happen anytime soon, I’ll sell you some oceanfront property in Arizona.

Sadly, despotism, war, or anarchy seem to be more likely here on Earth. One good candidate here is Robert Heinlein’s Friday. Friday depicts a future in which the United States has disintegrated into several smaller countries: Vegas Free State, the Atlantic Union, the Chicago Imperium, the Lone Star Republic, and the California Confederacy. The heroine is a genetically engineered woman who works for a shadowy corporation. Robert Heinlein coined the term “corporate states” and noted that these would be more powerful than many territorial states (the modern nation-state). I’d say he hit the nail on the head: Amazon, Google, Twitter, Apple, and Facebook (Meta), as well as industry leaders in finance and energy, among others, all command a great deal of revenue and power. Facebook even attempted to start its own currency, and backed down only in the face of united opposition from the territorial states. Friday contains a hilarious parody of California politics.Continue reading“Science Fiction and the Preparedness Mindset, by Michael J.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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 this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I’ll start out with my recently-visited Radio.Garden stations:

  • Ballina Killaloe Local Radio – Killaloe, Ireland
  • BeatlesRadio.com – Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • The Sound of the Caribbean Radio – Bluefields, Nicaragua
  • Rumsey Retro Radio AM 1580 – Rumsey, Canada. (They feature music and radio shows from the 1930s and 1940s.)
  • cuRADIO – Quismondo, Spain.

(Note: Radio.Garden has been glitchy with recent releases of Firefox, but it works well with the Opera browser.)

I had some business travel this week, so I wasn’t able to accomplish much around the ranch.

We had some difficulty with our lambing, this past week. We had to slaughter and butcher one of our young ewes that had a failed lambing.  Lily stayed up to attend to the ewe for most of the night. The ewe made no progress in birthing. Lily tried to go in several times to help the ewe, but couldn’t get her very small hands in very far because of the smallness of the opening.  Her bones were too narrow.  It had nothing to do with her dilation status. There was no room for the head to come through. A pitiful situation. A foot-long section of the umbilical cord prolapsed, before dawn. Judging by that cord’s condition, we could see that the lamb would very likely be stillborn, if it was born at all. Therefore at the hour of opening that morning, we had the ewe at the vet’s door for confirmation.  He couldn’t get his hand in, either, and stated that it would be best to butcher her since even with a C section this time, she would continue to need them in the future and chances are pretty good that she would pass this smallness genetic trait down to her future daughters. Therefore some decisions on a ranch must be made based on practicality rather than sentimentality. It simply makes no sense to pay $400+ for a veterinary c-section surgery to save a $100 lamb. So we made an immediate trip to the local butcher, before the ewe might go down and long before any sepsis would have set in. At least we now have about $130 worth of chops and lamb-burger in the freezer. So that ewe wasn’t a total loss. But the whole ordeal was still a disappointment.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.

And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.

And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.

For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.

And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.

And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.

And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.” – 1 Chronicles 5:17-26 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 27, 2022

On May 27, 1813, former President Thomas Jefferson wrote former President John Adams about the loss of their mutual friend, Dr. Benjamin Rush (pictured). Reflecting upon the loss, Jefferson wrote, “We too must go; and that ere long. I believe we are under half a dozen at present; I mean the signers of the Declaration.”

Dr. Rush was instrumental in the reconciliation of Jefferson and Adams by initiating correspondence between the three of them. Both Jefferson and Adams continued to correspond until their coincident deaths on July 4th, 1826 – the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which all three had signed in 1776.

Also on this date, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of Maryland issued Ex parte Merryman, challenging the authority of President Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. military to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 ends on May 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

Keeping Preps In Stock, by 3AD Scout

You don’t have to be prepping for very long to know that the list of equipment and supplies never seems to end. As you move up from novice to expert prepper, your level of sophistication can actually decrease to some degree. As we all started out, we looked at the proverbial “Beans, bullets, and band-aids”. A good prepper is never really done with any one category but instead our sense of urgency shifts. I tend to shift my prepping based on a few variables. One variable is the demand. I refuse to pay $1 a round for ammunition, nor will I pay $200 for a thousand primers. Why? Simply because over the year I have steadily put back for a “rainy day”. So when ammunition or magazines become insanely high priced I switch over to focusing on something else like food, fuel or medical. This strategy has served me well for decades until now, when “everything” seems to be in demand and “everything” seems to be insanely priced. So, I have tried to find equipment and supplies that don’t seem to be in demand by the masses of new preppers. Here are some ideas to think about, if you are “okay” with basics:

When the power fails and our normal ways of heating our homes are no longer viable how are we going to heat our homes? Well, hopefully we all have wood-burning stoves but that will be far from the case. Traditional wood-burning fireplaces, it is said, have 70 to 90 percent of the heat go up the chimney. Hence the common fireplace is not an efficient way of heating one’s home. In the 1500s many English homes did not have fireplaces but rather they placed a small wood fire on the dirt floor in the middle of the home and kept it burning all day. In a somewhat different version, there were also reredos that were an open fireplace, made of fieldstone and perhaps some clay. The shape of many reredos would be like that of an armchair with no legs. The fieldstone would act as a heat sink to absorb the heat. Our modern homes are not conducive to doing this for a number of reasons, such as not having dirt floors, lower ceilings and not being as drafty — just to name a few.

As we often see in emergencies necessity becomes the mother of invention. People will do what they can, with what they have at the time to stay warm in a post-TEOTWAWKI world. (Please note this is for a long term grid down scenario like an EMP — not an ice storm.) A few items that can make heating our living spaces a little easier post-TEOTWAWKI are available, with no mad rush, are fire bricks, high heat silicone sealant, and welding blankets. Obviously, there are a number of safety issues with any fire, let alone with fires in post-TEOTWAWKI environments. I’ll leave it up to you to research how you may use these items, individually, in a post-TEOTWAWKI world.Continue reading“Keeping Preps In Stock, by 3AD Scout”

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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the recent shortage of Swiss watches. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

The U.S. Economy Is In A Recession Now – Gold, Silver Set To Soar.

o  o  o

Ray Dalio: Gold Reduces Risks, Enhances Returns, Belongs In Your Savings

Economy & Finance:

New home sales plunge nearly 17% in April.

o  o  o

FreightWaves reports: Supply chains are never returning to ‘normal’.

o  o  o

Great Reset: Americans Lost $20 Trillion Since The Start Of 2022.

o  o  o

Wait, What? HALF of Infants in the U.S. Are on WIC?!

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 26, 2022

May 26, 2022 is the 32nd wedding anniversary of Don and Patrice Lewis.  Patrice is the Editrix of the excellent Rural Revolution blog.

May 26th is the birthday of Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams, Jr.) He was born 1949. When not touring, he lives Somewhere in Montana, so he qualifies as a Redoubter.

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Today we present a guest article that is not eligible for judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?, by Kevin R. Berg

The title of this article is an echo of a song title, by The Clash. This essay is about how I will choose an area for further investigation before moving to the American Redoubt. This summer I will load the family into our RV for a trip through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. As we travel, we will all be looking out for the pluses and minuses of each area. I have already marked up a paper travel map of the route and we can make marks on the map to remind us later. When I make a long road trip I usually mount a HD camera on the dash to record the travels. In using the video log we can replay the trip in those areas that we like. In areas that spark our interest I will collect local papers and other information. I will pass through many National Parks and Monuments so as to make the trip more enjoyable for the family. We are looking forward to seeing Glacier, Yellowstone, and Mount Rushmore.

Toward the end of the article, I have compiled various links that can be referred to for more information.
I tend to lean towards making decisions based upon research of available data at hand. I will use a point system on a list of criteria items I mention in this article. Of course, there are other occasions where I jump first, but a move like this will require a little restraint on my part.Continue reading“Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?, by Kevin R. Berg”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, we look at upcoming wheat shortages.

World Has Just Ten Weeks’ Worth of Wheat

World has just ten weeks’ worth of wheat left after Ukraine war. The article begins:

“The world has just 10 weeks’ worth of wheat stockpiled after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted supplies from the “breadbasket of Europe”.

The UN has been warned that global wheat inventories have fallen to their lowest level since 2008 as food supplies are rocked by a “one-in-a-generation occurrence”.

Official government estimates put world wheat inventories at 33pc of annual consumption, but stocks may have slumped to as low as 20pc, according to agricultural data firm Gro Intelligence. It estimates that there are only 10 weeks of global wheat supply left in stockpiles.

Russia and Ukraine account for around a quarter of the world’s wheat exports and the West fears Mr Putin is trying to weaponise food supplies. Russia is on track for a strong wheat harvest this year, cementing Mr Putin’s control over the staple grain as bad weather spoils production in Europe and the US.”

Baby Formula Supply Flights

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Baby formula flights to relieve shortage to arrive this weekend.

U.S. Stops Controlled Burns Nationwide

H.L. sent this: U.S. stops controlled burns nationwide after New Mexico disaster.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Require nothing unreasonable of your officers and men, but see that whatever is required be punctually complied with. Reward and punish every man according to his merit, without partiality or prejudice; hear his complaints; if well founded, redress them; if otherwise, discourage them, in order to prevent frivolous ones. Discourage vice in every shape, and impress upon the mind of every man, from the first to the lowest, the importance of the cause, and what it is they are contending for.”- George Washington

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 25, 2022

On May 25th, 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia with George Washington presiding. The task of the peaceful overthrow of the new American government as it had been defined by the Articles of Confederation eventually led to the United States Constitution that is so abused today.

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Here are two new property listings over at our family’s SurvivalRealty.com spin-off:

Two 5 Acre Parcels near Puget Sound, Washington.

and, near Boise, Idaho: Totally Remodeled Cabin on 40 Acres.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 ends on May 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

 

Patio Herbs, Spices, Peppers, and Tomatoes – Part 2, by MonkeyMan

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

Thyme – unknown plants

About three years ago, while my son was in college for forestry he would bring me leftover plants from the horticulture department. The horticulture departments from the local schools around you are an untapped goldmine of inexpensive, quality grown plants of all types. I encourage you to explore the markets these departments put on each year. I have two different types of thyme. I do not know the history of the plants. They each have a different look and taste. The seeds from these plants are so small I just let them fall back into the pot. They are nice size small bushes and produce good quantities of dried thyme. I mix the two together; I have not yet explored having different types and quantities of each herb. I am more interested in replacing the herbs and spices we purchase from the store. I have yet to see any new volunteers from these plants; the bushes just keep growing after each yearly trim. No pests that I have noticed. Both plants were unprotected during the freeze and both plants made it through fine.

Oregano – purchased plants

The oregano plant is in a large pot north side of the house. It is in full shade, but does just fine. Every spring it puts out long shoots of leaves that I cut off and place in The Dryer. This is another plant that takes a long time to dry. Each fall it goes to seed and I loop the seed shoots to remain in the pot. As far as I can tell, this is the same plant I purchased and there have been no volunteers spring up. It dies off a little each year, but comes back strong. No pests that I have noticed. Unprotected during the freeze and died off, but came back stronger than ever. It will be a good year for oregano.

Tarragon – purchased plant

This plant, so far, acts the exact same way as the oregano plant. It is on the north side, it puts out long shoots of leaves that go into The Dryer. This plant makes very nice yellow flowers each fall which I direct back into the pot. There have been no volunteers, yet. This plant will die all the way back each winter, but new shoots come out of the root ball each spring. It is six years old. No pests that I have noticed. It was unprotected during the freeze and it completely died.Continue reading“Patio Herbs, Spices, Peppers, and Tomatoes – Part 2, by MonkeyMan”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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. We may select some longer e-mails for posting as separate letters.

o  o  o

Reader Joe M. wrote to ask:

“I’ve been a reader of your blog for at least 10 years. Thank you for all the knowledge and advice you’ve given us all over the years.

Assuming we are indeed headed into a recession, what advice would you give the average prepper to prepare for it and mitigate its impact? Personally, I am not interested in anything related to investing in stocks, bonds, crypto, etc. My question is more direct-action oriented. What would you physically DO to prepare: purchase tangibles, land, equipment, etc.? Learn certain skills? I’m not familiar with what a recession would look like for our country and communities, so anything you could advise would no doubt be of immense help to me and your regular readers.”

JWR’s Reply: To be ready for a deep and protracted recession or depression, I believe the most important thing that you can do is to make yourself recession-proof.  Two of the best ways to do so are: A.) Position yourself in a recession-proof job, and B.) Start a home-based business that will do well in a recession. The latter will be your fallback revenue stream, in case you lose your primary employment.
I’ve addressed this issue in several SurvivalBlog, starting back in 2009. See:

The last one of those linked articles is certainly dated, wherein I recommended a DVD rental or sales business. With the advent of online movie streaming technology,  DVDs are essentially dinosaurs.

These days, I’d recommend pursuing anything related to RV or camping trailer repair or refurbishing. One lucrative niche is doing RV phototovoltaic power system installation. There is a multi-billion dollar backlog of orders for new RVs and camping trailers from companies such as Winnebago and Airstream. That seemingly unquenchable demand, in turn, has created greater interest in getting used RVs and camping trailers roadworthy.

And, needless to say, also having savings and a deep larder will provide a cushion, in the event of unemployment or illness. Food storage is for more than just disasters! It can be relied upon, when a family’s breadwinner is out of work.

o  o  o

Several readers sent this news link: Michigan Couple Says Town Seized Their Building and Offered To Return It if They Bought Two Cars for Police.  JWR’s Comment: When I read things like this, it leads me to an axiomatic conclusion: The only difference between the institutions of “government” and “mafia” is the presence or absence of badges.

o  o  o

Destroying farms, golf courses, lawns – feral pigs causing $115 Million in damages each year in South Carolina, and it’s only going to get worse. (Our thanks to H.L. for sending that link.)

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.” – Niccolo Machiavelli