The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you.” – 2 Peter 3: 1-15 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — February 8, 2020

3

On February 8th, 1963 the Kennedy administration issued an order prohibiting travel to Cuba and banned financial transactions and commerce with Cuba, by U.S. citizens.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,

Round 87 ends on March 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.

Thoughts About Gold, by Todd from Florida

86

This is going to be a different type of article. Different in that this gedankenexperiment will undoubtedly provoke many readers who will want to disagree with me- and that is fine!  In fact, that is sort of what I am wanting. I am looking for others to explain to me what I am missing, and therefore make me a more informed, prepared, and hopefully secure individual.

This article you are reading is going to be about gold. Specifically, how I just cannot agree with all the hype (my word choice perhaps not the best) and advertisements you hear on the radio and Internet, even television pitches from people like Alex Trebek or Pat Boone.  Go to a search engine and type in “prepper gold” and see over 1,020,000 results.  Over the last few years, I have come to really enjoy SurvivalBlog site and definitively respect the opinions of its founder, Mr., James Wesley, Rawles. I think that some articles ore references in the past at least are going to be in contradiction to the points I am going to lay out here.   I have many of the books the site founder has written, and totally respect all of the situations outlined in those books and this website.   Except, there is still this ongoing struggle that the whole ‘buy gold’ thing is just not the best idea for the average prepper. Maybe as an investment strategy just like a mutual fund or something, but even that has some concerns. Here are some extracts from some gold broker websites. I do not want to link to any specific sites as not trying to promote one over the other:

Precious metals, and especially gold and silver, have done an amazing job at retaining their value over the years. “Generation after generation, irrespective of which politicians are in power at the moment, gold and silver have proven themselves as stable stores of value and the ultimate form of money”….and…”Physical investment grade god can be purchases at spot price, Physical gold can be liquidated in the unlikely event of a total economic collapse”.

So SurvivalBlog community – read on and see if you agree with me, or have some counterpoints that will help me. I expect some good feedback and want it – like said before I just need to get some questions figured out.

It is important to stress that I am not opposing precious metals as an investment strategy, like any other stock or mutual fund. After all, I note that in 2008 the price of gold was as low as $720 an ounce, and went to $1854.40 an ounce in 2011. The price of gold as of the time of writing this is $1512.45 an ounce.

This is the mindset that I do not like – that when the world really goes dark then all money will be worthless, and by golly if you don’t have gold you are done for.   My thought is primarily that if all you have is a ledger somewhere without your hands actually on the precious metals, when that event happens do not expect, ever, to have your investment back. One strange concept I have seen is buying gold focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) or future contracts to buy gold at a future time, at a predetermined price. These are traded on an exchange and the buyer never has claim to the physical gold itself. This would not be for me.

Now, let me say I agree with James’s thoughts on tangibles. My situation is that I never have had enough money to properly look at where I want to be.   I live in Jacksonville, Florida, so many years ago sitting in my home riding out a hurricane, had the revelation of “what if”? I was totally unprepared for anything really bad to go down, no way to care for my family.   That night began my sort of casual quest for what we call “preparedness”.   After three international adoptions, raising the kids, then college tuitions, then a wedding…I am just now starting to see the proverbial light in the tunnel with respect to having any sort of extra income to really make a factor in improving my “preparedness”. All the while, tangibles has really made sense.

Now if the world situation gets bad, I mean really bad, FEMA Camp for the everyone type bad, then I am going to look at the actual things I can hold in my hands that is going to be useful. Example, I have some food rotating, (not much maybe two month for the family if stretched) and some basic stuff: radios, water filter, flashlights, Baofeng handi-talkies, Goal Zero items, candles, batteries, full ammo can etc.   I want to be able to invest my little resources into things I can immediately use when again, it gets bad and really bad. This year in 2020 I am attempting to get much better at gardening and have spent some of those precious few dollars in garden stakes and fencing for the backyard and half dozen blueberry bushes, some lumber for raised garden beds that sort of thing.Continue reading“Thoughts About Gold, by Todd from Florida”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

62

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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This past week was a challenge, but with the help of my incredible wife, I got through it.  As of Friday morning, I was up out of bed and dressed for the first time in nine days. Bronchitis is never fun. Whilst ill, I fell behind on my blog writing. And I foolishly launched my Internet mail order biz (Elk Creek Company) last Saturday, because I falsely concluded that I would soon be well. (Why do I set self-imposed deadlines?) Oh, and to top it all, my publisher in England asked me to make some last minute changes to my book manuscript. Fun, fun, fun. Thankfully, I have an incredible, amazing, lovely, and gracious wife who was able to manage everything else around the ranch, and play Florence Nightingale, and cook tasty meals.  I must say that Avalanche Lily is The Complete Package. I feel truly blessed.

Avalanche Lily Reports:

Dear Readers,
Gee, How am I supposed to follow that, except to say that Jim is my Complete Package!  He is my Manly Man!  And I am truly doubly blessed to be married to him and to share with him the life God has given us to live in this beautiful American Redoubt valley, on our own land, with our own gardens, and livestock, surrounded by gorgeous mountain vistas and rivers, dreams come true… We are truly blessed of the Lord!  God gets all of the praise and thanks!

Despite all of our colds and bronchitis, I did get to accomplish a few things in the area of prepping:Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” – Malachi 3: 1-12 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 7, 2020

4

February 7th, 1867, is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder (died February 10, 1957). SurvivalBlog highly recommends the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as well as her biography.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,

Round 87 ends on March 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.

Beyond Cooper’s Four Rules by L.K.R.

30

Most people know the four rules of firearm safety popularized by Colonel Jeff Cooper:

1.) All guns are always loaded.

This one has a double meaning – (1) always check an “unloaded” firearm yourself and (2) once you’ve checked, still follow all the other rules as though it was loaded.

2.) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

This doesn’t mean you’re willing to destroy the wall of your home – just that it’s not catastrophic like pointing at a family member.

3.) Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target.

This is a critical partner for the ‘muzzle’ rule above. It means that you have to violate 2 rules in order to hurt someone – both sweeping a person with the muzzle and having your finger on the trigger.

4.) Be sure of your target.

This is often expanded to “be sure of what is between you and the target along with what is behind your target”. You must know where the bullet will stop.

Let’s expand on these rules and consider some issues faced by almost everyone who owns a firearm:

In the home
  • Even with guns that you know are unloaded – check every time. This is very important when kids are around to demonstrate good habits. It’s also essential when handling firearms around people less familiar than you – putting them at ease and ensuring no problems when they invariably violate the muzzle and/or finger rules.
  • When unloading, first remove the magazine from semi-autos. Then lock the slide back to inspect the chamber. This ensures that racking the slide does not inadvertently chamber a round.
  • Have a safe direction for the muzzle when loading and unloading. Some people keep a 5-gallon bucket of sand in the workshop for this purpose. At least have a safe direction where you won’t penetrate a floor, wall or ceiling into an occupied room or adjacent building.
  • The above muzzle advice is also important when moving firearms in the home. Muzzle “up” may be the best option on your upper floor but muzzle “down” may be the best option downstairs.
  • Dry fire practice is an excellent way to develop good sight, trigger and follow-through skills. The best technique is to aim at a blank wall about a foot away. First unload the firearm and separate the ammo or loaded magazine to a different room. Then double check the chamber and use a wall where nothing important will be damaged if an accident occurs.
  • If you store loaded guns for self-defense, consider having a small safe or lockbox. There are many options that allow fast access via a key code, fingerprint or RFID bracelet. I personally avoid anything with batteries since they can and do fail at inopportune times. I prefer key codes using a Simplex lock – one that is purely mechanical. If you hide firearms in the home, then you may want to keep the chamber empty in case they are found by an unauthorized person. If there is any chance of a child or unstable person finding them, stick with a lockbox or safe.

Continue reading“Beyond Cooper’s Four Rules by L.K.R.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

21

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 prices of pre-1899 cartridge guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold, silver up as the bulls stabilize markets

o  o  o

H.L. sent us this: How Effective Is Gold As a Hedge? History Has an Empirical Answer

Economy & Finance:

2019 US Productivity Rises Most In A Decade, Real Wages Jump Most Since 2015

o  o  o

Another at Zero Hedge: Another Massively Oversubscribed Term Repo Confirms Persisting Liquidity Woes

o  o  o

China faces dilemma as it tries to get back to work amid coronavirus outbreak fears following Lunar New Year

o  o  o

A podcast, at Wolf Street Report: What Will the Coronavirus Do to the US & Chinese Economy?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

8

“Real prosperity comes from everybody in the country working together in a growth mode. Real prosperity comes as a result of people’s own initiative and efforts and so forth. Prosperity, if it comes from the government, is not prosperity. It’s an existence or a subsistence or whatever, but it isn’t prosperity.” – Rush Limbaugh

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 6, 2020

4

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6th, 1911.

—

An update on the SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive waterproof USB stick mailings: Free replacements for the first 68 sticks (which had a glitch that made them not compatible on some operating systems) have now all been mailed out. Any of you folks that got sticks in that category can simply keep the first one as our gift, to over-write and use for utility purposes. I’m pleased to report that mailings of subsequent orders are continuing apace. Remember: “…allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery” from the day that you placed your order. Thanks for your patience!

Also, please note: The first batch sold out in less than three weeks.  The second (smaller) batch is selling out rapidly, a there may be no more produced in 2020. So if you want to buy a few for gifts, then don’t delay!  They are soon to be a scarce commodity.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,

Round 87 ends on March 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.

Lifeboats Versus Yachts, by Survivormann99

73

Most readers of this fine blog are well beyond the preparedness novice level. People in this more advanced category often forget their mindset, questions, and concerns when they first became involved in the field of preparedness. This is the case whether the prepping neophyte is preparing for a few days of inconvenience resulting from an ice storm, or a long-term survival ordeal as a result of a massive attack on the national power grid.

It is also the case that most articles submitted to web sites across the internet are intended for those readers who are far ahead in their journey toward self-sufficiency or preparedness.

From time to time, however, I believe that it is useful to see articles that help those who are taking their first tentative steps in prepping/preparedness. This information can help them to make good choices as they begin their path toward their ultimate objective. As with so many areas of human interest, bad choices at the beginning of the journey will have consequences that negatively impact the result. Here are three assumptions:

  • Let’s assume that you are a typical American and that, for family or compelling professional/financial reasons, you are unable or, simply, unwilling to pull up stakes and to re-locate to an area that will allow you to live an independent, self-sufficient lifestyle.
  • Let’s assume that you are realistic about the fact that your preparedness efforts will involve storing “beans, bullets, and band-aids” and other provisions and equipment for use when times get spicy.
  • Let’s assume that you fully understand that, if/when the “balloon goes up,” you will either make it, or not make it with what you have on hand at the time. You will sink or swim with the resources you have accumulated and that it is likely that the cavalry won’t be coming anytime soon–and perhaps not for a very long time.Continue reading“Lifeboats Versus Yachts, by Survivormann99”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

47

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 the Second Amendment erosion in Virginia.

An Excellent Medical Lecture on the Wuhan Coronavirus

Reader M.M. sent a link to a lecture that removes a lot of conjecture: NCH Healthcare System presents: Coronavirus, A Rapid Evolving Situation with Dr. Gregory Poland. JWR’s Comment: Watching this is well-worth the 48-minute investment of your time!

Treat Burn First With Cool Running Water

Mom was right: To best treat a burn, first cool with running water, study shows.

Virginia Lawmakers Pass 7 Gun-Control Bills, More Coming

DSV sent his one: Virginia Lawmakers Pass 7 Gun-Control Bills With More Coming. The article begins:

“Ten days after over 20,000 peaceful Second Amendment supporters marched in front of the state house in opposition to newly-elected Democrats’ proposed gun-control legislation, Virginia lawmakers approved seven new gun control bills.

Virginia state representatives voted to approve numerous gun-control measures that had been enthusiastically supported by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, ABC News reported.

Similar bills had already passed the state senate and all the gun-control measures pending are expected to quickly receive the Democratic governor’s signature.

One new law will require background checks for all gun sales, including private gun transfers and those bought at gun shows, WTVR reported.”

One Step Closer to a Batsuit for Soldiers

Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: One Step Closer to a Batsuit for SoldiersContinue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

3

“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth.” – John Wesley, Letter to Alexander Mather

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 5, 2020

1

On Feb. 5, 1869, the largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger“, is found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.  It weighed a whopping 97.14 kilograms.

—

The flu still has me in its grip.  (Pardon the pun.) So today I’m omitting my usual Recommendations of the Week.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,

Round 87 ends on March 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.

Post-Exposure Prevention (PEP) Protocol, by JJ in MI

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Everyone already knows about the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak so I’ll skip an overview of what it is and why it’s dangerous. No doubt you’re also aware of the CDC’s recommended preventative measures of hand hygiene and avoiding close contact with those who may be infected. You may have also acquired items such as masks, goggles, or gloves (if you didn’t have enough already) as additional preventative measures, and those can help limit exposure when used properly, but they do not provide 100% protection either. You may also have considered social distancing, or even self-quarantine, but that’s not always possible – some will need to go to work, use public transportation, travel by plane, or otherwise interact in relatively close proximity with those that could be infected.

Given what is known so far about the Wuhan Coronavirus it’s probably premature, as well as somewhat socially unacceptable at this point, to don a full array of PPE before going to the grocery store or to the DMV to renew your driver’s license. But if you did suspect that you had been directly exposed to it, such as yourself or a loved one inadvertently getting too close to someone that was displaying the symptoms, is there anything you can do to lessen the chances of contracting it? Maybe, and if there was such a protocol it would be called post-exposure prevention, or PEP. As defined by wikipedia:

“Post-exposure prophylaxis, also known as post-exposure prevention (PEP), is any preventive medical treatment started after exposure to a pathogen in order to prevent the infection from occurring.”.

Currently there isn’t a PEP protocol from the CDC or other authorities for the Wuhan Coronavirus, but I’ll offer a plausible one based on studies done following the SARS and MERS coronavirus outbreaks, and based on those a suggestion for a new item or two you might consider adding to your Every Day Carry or Individual First-Aid Kits.Continue reading“Post-Exposure Prevention (PEP) Protocol, by JJ in MI”