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 some firewood cutting and splitting for an ailing neighbor. He has mostly recovered and is now able to handle all of the wood-stacking part of the project.

Our annual hay season is now underway. We’ll be buying only 16 tons of grass hay bales this year, since we’ve reduced the size of our cow herd.  As usual, we’re picking up bales in the field. The bales are running lighter this year, so each ton is 34 bales. We are able to load 50 bales on our pickup truck and 3-horse trailer on each trip. The farmer’s flat trailer can carry 150 bales.  We’ve made two trips so far, and have two more to go. We are praying that we can do so before the next forecasted rain, on Tuesday.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.

He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.” – Proverbs 22:1-10  (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 18, 2025

On July 18th, 1914 the US Army Air Service was established, as part of the Signal Corps. Pictured are four U.S. Army Vought VE-7 test planes undergoing NACA tests, in 1921.

—

July 18th, 1954 was the birthdate of Ricky Skaggs, an American country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, mandocaster, and banjo.

—

Today, we present a guest piece by our friend Patrice Lewis. It first appeared in her excellent Rural Revolution blog. Patrice is also the author of The Simplicity Primer.

—

We are in need of entries for Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Croutons to Die For, by Patrice Lewis

Editor’s  Introductory Note:  This article was written by friend of the Blog Patrice Lewis. She is the Editrix of the long-running Rural Revolution blog. She and her husband Don have truly lived the prepping/homesteading life for decades. They homeschooled their two daughters, gardened, raised cattle and poultry, preserved foods, ran a home-based business, and much more. Lily and I first met them 15 years ago, when they lived on a ranch about 40 miles southeast of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. More recently, they moved to another ranch in an undisclosed location, elsewhere in Idaho. That ranch is more remote, and in an ideal climate zone for self-sufficiency. There, they are applying all of the lessons learned from their previous rural homes to become even more self-sufficient.  As tireless homesteaders, their new place is quickly becoming disaster-ready. I’m confident that in another decade it will also be retirement-ready. Patrice really knows how to plan ahead!  I highly recommend bookmarking her blog. – JWR

—

Up until this point, we (the Lewis household) have been fairly lazy when it came to croutons. Normally, I buy them bulk from Winco on my once- or twice-a-year excursions into the city to stock up on bulk items from the big box stores. Well, stocking up on bulk items is pricey, and since February’s job loss, we just don’t want to spend the money.

But we were out of croutons, so Don took it upon himself to make some. They’re easy-peasey to make, so I don’t know why it never occurred to us to do this earlier. Go figure.Continue reading“Croutons to Die For, by Patrice Lewis”

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 the LMBA’s nascent silver short squeeze. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals

The Comex shorts did their best to hold down the price of silver again this week. But the Asian traders kept bidding it back up into the $38.20 to $38.50 USD range. The word is out that the LBMA has nearly exhausted its supply of physically warehoused silver available for delivery. The exchange now holds less than 160 million physical ounces. Keep in mind that more than 200 million ounces worth of silver contracts are cleared there, daily. But most of those are “paper for paper” transactions — not physical deliveries. What happens if and when more buyers start to demand delivery? This could get ugly. (For the Shorts, that is. Not for us silver stackers. We are now sitting pretty.) – JWR

o  o  o

At Gold-Eagle.com: The Key Breakout for Many Markets Including Gold.

o  o  o

Scottsdale Mint: US Metal War: Silver Becomes Strategic as Premiums Explode.

Economy & Finance:

Argent: Fixed Income Update – July 2025.

o  o  o

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news site: Senate Passes “DOGE” Recissions Bill, Heads For House Vote As Deadline Looms.

o  o  o

Reader H.L. mentioned this piece at Zero Hedge: What Types Of Jobs Will Survive The AI Revolution?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites. … Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.” – Edmund Burke

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 17, 2025

On July 17, 1930, construction began on the Empire State Building. It was the world’s first skyscraper of 100+ stories. It was built on 5th Avenue in New York City.

—

July 17, 1938: The Italian Air Force, in support of Francisco Franco, bombed Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War.

—

Today’s feature article is a guest piece that was written by Mrs. Alaska.  Because it will eventually be re-posted in her blog, it is not part of the writing contest judging.

—

We are seeking entries for Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

A Goldilocks Tale of Three Lake Docks, by Mrs. Alaska

When we bought our undeveloped land on a lake in Alaska, the first thing built was a little dock on the lake, so that boats and float planes could deliver workers and supplies.

What type of dock is best in a cold climate where lakes and rivers freeze and thaw? In general, I found that Americans writing from states like Minnesota favored light metal docks that you could pull out of the water at the end of the season.  We saw that approach frequently used in Wisconsin.  From friends there, we have heard that it is something of a seasonal ordeal.  Surprisingly, Canadian writers more often described floating docks, without the need to remove them at all. We opted for the latter – a simple, floating dock.

The following are descriptions of three different docks that are in the same weather conditions here. Rather like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, one dock is small and simple, one is large and heavy, and the third is in between.Continue reading“A Goldilocks Tale of Three Lake Docks, by Mrs. Alaska”

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, .

Processed Meats Study: Not Healthy

Reader D.S.V. sent this warning on processed meats:  Just one hotdog per day could harm your health, study finds.

Trump Threatens Russia with Tariffs and Re-Arms Ukraine

From the Associated Press: Trump threatens Russia with tariffs and boosts US weapons for Ukraine.

In Canada: Traditional Values = Possible Extremism

SurvivalBlog reader C.B. forwarded the link to this report from the far-left/statist MSN: People with traditional values could be extremists, Canadian police warn.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Even the striving for equality by means of a directed economy can result only in an officially enforced inequality – an authoritarian determination of the status of each individual in the new hierarchical order.” – Friedrich August von Hayek

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 16, 2025

On July 16, 1936, the first automatic parking meter in the United States was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

o  o  o

July 16th is the anniversary of the first successful atomic bomb test in Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1945.

o o o

And July 16th is the anniversary of the death of Hugh John McCall, in Rhodesia, in 1979.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 119 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. 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 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

A 21st Century Threat: Battery Fire Cyber Attacks

I will keep this essay brief, and to the point. Readers of my novel Expatriates and Liberators will recall how I fictionally described the use of both time-delayed and remotely-controlled incendiaries and explosives. I have recently been considering the potential threat posed by the inclusion of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in consumer products that have Internet connections. As the Internet of Things (IoT) proliferates, I believe that the possibility of malicious, remotely-controlled battery fires is a growing threat.

It has already been well-documented that thermal runaway battery fires are an increasingly common occurrence. These fires happen often, even in devices that are American-designed with safety in mind. Recently, a thermal runaway battery fire was blamed for the sinking of a ship loaded with 3.000 newly-manuactured electric cars, from China. But what if terrorists exploited the threat of battery fires via malware, in a coordinated terror campaign?

It is reasonable to assume that a clever group of hackers could create malware that could induce a thermal runaway fire in almost any battery-powered (or battery backup) device or vehicle that is connected to a software-controlled charger.  I am not the first to mention this possibility.  In February, 2024, this was suggested as a threat to smartphone batteries. And in October, 2024, the same was mentioned about Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries.  If a large-scale terror campaign employed simultaneity, it could have devastating consequences that would overwhelm the ability of fire departments to respond effectively.

Timing Is Everything

To modern-day international terrorists, timing is everything. Simultaneous event coordination was the key to Osama Bin Laden’s 9/11/2001 attacks. And look at how simultaneity maximized the effectiveness of the Israeli Mossad’s notorious Exploding Pagers coup. Just put on a Bad Guy thinking cap for a moment: Consider that a global terror cyber attack could be timed for “the worst possible moment” — to coincide with a larger world event. Say, for example, a Mainland China invasion of Taiwan or a Russian invasion of Poland.

A battery fire viral hack could also be timed to coincide with a widespread cyber warfare campaign against a wide variety of infrastructures, orchestrating a full-scale “Fire Sale” series of timed attacks. (In a Fire Sale, “Everything Must Go.”)

Just some food for thought and grounds for further research. – JWR

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

—

Reader John P. wrote this query:

“What is your opinion on the new service T-Moble is offering? I know that at this time it is only text, but the future? No Sat phones? No need for ham radio? When the towers are down? My Dad trained me that there is always a weak link, what could it be? My thought is that it could be the Starlink system, but?”

JWR Replies: The T-Mobile system that will become available on July 23rd will have limited capability. I suggest waiting about a year, until Starlink/Tesla releases their planned satellite phone/Internet handheld “Pi Phone”.  This will make all other satellite phone offerings obsolete.  And in the present-day huge “no cell coverage” swaths of the western U.S., it will make most cellular phones obsolete. It is rumored that the mid-2026 version of the Starlink Pi Phone will have a port (or Bluetooth?) to allow your laptop (with browser and e-mail) low-latency satellite Internet connectivity at very high speed. That will be a true game-changer.

o  o  o

Guilty: Republican Election Observer Convicted of Felony After Refusing to Wear a Mask. JWR’s Comments:  Our society has become so over-regulated that some absurd mala prohibita crimes have been reclassified as felonies. This trend needs to be reversed!  Keep in mind that in most cases, a felony conviction means forfeiture of the right to vote and the right to own any post-1898 firearms for life.

o  o  o

A SurvivalBlog reader in Belgium sent this: “Otroverts” and why nonconformists often see what others can’t.

o  o  o

Over at the Rural Revolution blog: Buried in blueberries.

o  o  o

Texas death toll rises to 129 with at least 150 still missing.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 15, 2025

July 15, 1410: The Battle of Grunwald (a.k.a. First Battle of Tannenburg and Battle of Žalgiris) was fought. It was one of Medieval Europe’s largest battles during Poland-Lithuanian Teutonic War. Polish King Władysław Jagiełło and Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas defeated Teutonic Ulrich von Junginge.

—

On July 15th, 1888, the Bandai Volcano erupted on the Japanese island of Honshu killing hundreds and burying many nearby villages in ash.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 119 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. 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 119 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.