Building the Castle – Part 1, by Jake R.

22

This two-part article describes some TEOTWAWKI considerations for home building and long-term maintenance.

—

Have you ever daydreamed about building the perfect home for the end of the world as we know it? If you’re like me, you may have caught yourself daydreaming about various configurations and options you would like to have on your home to help you survive with better security and better comfort. I would like to say that there is a perfect home configuration out there for everyone but that just wouldn’t be true. When building a home, you must take multiple things into consideration including geographical location, soil types, legal considerations and various other hurdles that may be encountered along the way.

With that being said, let’s go over some of the options out there along with some of their pros and cons:

Foundations
Slab Foundation

Slab foundations are essentially concrete slabs that rest directly on the ground. These types of foundations are reinforced with metal components that add strength to the foundation itself and are designed to last for the life of the home.

Pros

Low Maintenance – There just a lot of maintenance requirements with this type of foundation. The biggest concern is the level of moisture around the foundation walls. High or low moisture content can cause movement but can be prevented with proper drainage when it rains and a watering program for when it’s extremely dry.

No need for additional flooring – Flooring is optional with slabs. More and more people are going with a concrete stain instead of installing flooring. This may save you some money down the road and is easy to keep clean.

No Wood Rot – As with pier and beam and even some basement foundations, you will eventually experience water damage and may even have to replace some of the wood in these areas over time. When the sawmills no longer work, this is one less thing you’ll have to be concerned about.

Cheaper to Install – Slab foundations are typically cheaper than basements and pier and beam foundations. This should free up some extra cash for that solar well pump you’ve been looking at.

Cons

Expensive to Repair – When a concrete slab does fail, its usually costly to repair it. Usually, this requires cutting holes in various locations around the home to install piers. Another downside to this is, it’s usually not a DIY project and will likely require the skills and tools of a trained professional. In the event of TEOTWAWKI, you may find that you are not able to make the needed repairs.

More susceptible to flooding – Concrete slabs usually sit lower to the ground than pier and beam foundations. This may increase the risk of flood damage if your house is in a low-lying area or if your grading and drainage isn’t performing well. Once a home has flooded, you can easily start to see mold growth. If mold takes over the home, you may be forced to find shelter elsewhere.

Concealed Plumbing – You won’t be able to look at your drain plumbing with this type of foundation. This means that if there is a leak, you usually won’t be able to see it until it shows up somewhere else, quite possibly in the form of foundation movement. This may not apply to you in a SHTF situation, but it should still be considered.

Continue reading“Building the Castle – Part 1, by Jake R.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

11

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on wolf population estimates.   (See the Idaho section.)

Region-Wide:

Reader M.K. spotted this wire service article that mentions the American Redoubt movement and real estate agent Todd Savage: Survivalists who fear a looming, urban catastrophe are swapping city life for a fresh start off grid and far from civilisation.

Idaho

As West Coast Transplants Pour In, a Small Idaho Town Has a Big Dilemma

o o o

A first hand video message, by way of Redoubt News: The label lynching of Rep. Heather Scott.

o o o

Officials warn of falling rocks on Idaho roads near mountains

o o o

Game cameras took 11 million photos of wolves in Idaho for new population estimate

Here is how the article begins:

“Game cameras took 11 million photos to help Idaho Department Fish and Game researchers count wolves.

IDFG has a new estimate of the statewide wolf population through its new survey method using game cameras and mathematical modeling, which will be repeated annually and fine-tuned during the next few years.

At the IDFG commission meeting on Wednesday in Boise, staff reported there were an estimated 1,541 wolves in the state during summer 2019. The estimate represents the peak population shortly after pups were born.

IDFG biologists haven’t estimated the statewide wolf population in Idaho in 5 years.

From 2006 to 2015, Fish and Game’s wolf monitoring program remained under federal oversight. During that time, the department maintained enough radio-collared wolves to show there were more than 15 breeding pairs in the state and more than 150 total wolves. Those surveys were intended to show the wolf population exceeded targets needed to remove them from federal protection and oversight.”

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 27, 2020

25

January 27th is commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today is the birthday of singer-songwriter Kate Wolf. (Born 1942, died December 10, 1986.)  Her untimely death of leukemia at age 44 cut short an amazing career and robbed America of a great songwriting talent.

This is also the birthday of the late Helen Chenoweth (born, 1938, died October 2, 2006). She was a controversial Republican congresswoman from Orofino, Idaho.

—

Seed for Security, LLC is having a special sale: Their Colossal Security Pack is 15% off. This pack is a total of seven pounds of vegetable, grain, and herb seeds. All are open-pollinated and non GMO. Included are their three most popular collections: The Super Survival Pack, 4 Grain Collection, and their Heirloom Herb Collection. This offer is for a limited time.

—

Deliveries by mail have begun for the Waterproof USB SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive sticks. Because of the recent rush of orders, please allow four to six weeks from when you placed your order. Orders are being filled in the sequence that they were received. Many readers are placing orders for multiple sticks, so these are going quickly. When I last checked, there were only 312 remaining. That is not a lot, for a blog with more than 100,000 readers. Get your order in soon, before the small available supply sells out.

—

Life just got a lot more interesting with the outbreak of Wuhan Pneumonia. On Sunday, the Chinese government announced their finding that the disease has a 1-to-14-day infectious period, before symptoms are seen. (Not yet confirmed by a western lab.) If true, this is very bad news for epidemiologists.

With only four reported cases in the United States, N95 masks are already selling out, from coast to coast.  (But of course most SurvivalBlog readers were already well-supplied, years in advance.)

My advice: Don’t mess with the Wuhan. Don’t get near the Wuhan, and don’t get within spitting/sneezing distance of anyone outside of your immediate family who might have the Wuhan unless you are wearing an N95 mask, gloves, and goggles.

Worst case (i.e. in the event of further mutation to a more lethal strain): Be prepared to hunker down in isolation and let this contagion burn itself out. Please pray fervently, folks.

Sportsman 1,000-Watt Portable Generator, by Pat Cascio

20

If you’re serious about your preparedness, then you really should consider owning a backup generator! Of course, a portable generator isn’t meant for long-term use. It is mostly for power outages, that might last a few days or at most a few weeks. You can’t possibly store enough gas or oil, for operation of a portable generator for years and years. It is a short-term solution – period!

There are so many different types and sizes of generators out there, it will make your head spin. When shopping for a portable generator, you have to keep in-mind what you intend to operate with your generator. We own several portable generators, one is a 3,500-watt, for heavy usage, and the other one is only 1,000-watts and it gets the most use. We simply don’t need to operate everything in our home, that runs off of AC electricity when the power goes out.

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: DO NOT OPERATE ANY GAS POWERED OR PROPANE POWERED GENERATOR INDOORS – IF YOU DO, YOU RISK CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING – SIMPLE AS THAT.

The Sportsman 1,000-watt portable generator under review today, is one we purchased from Home Depot,  several years ago. I studied their web site for what I believed would be the best choice for us, for our second portable generator, that would be used more often than the larger portable generator we already had on-hand. You must also keep in-mind that, the bigger (more wattage) your generator puts out, the more fuel it needs to run – that is something to keep in the back of your mind. Plus, you also need to know local laws, when it comes to storing fuel on your property – some locales are very strict on this, and might only allow you to have 5-gallons of fuel – if you have a high wattage portable generator, that 5 gallons of fuel, probably won’t last you half a day, if you are running the generator with a full load.

The copy hype for the Sportsman 1,000-watt generator states that this unit is “the ideal size for hunters and campers to run small appliances, such as a portable television”. Personally, if I’m out hunting or camping, I don’t believe I’ll have a portable television with me, unless I’m in my travel trailer. This little two-stroke portable generator only weighs 38-pounds. So its easy to transport in the trunk of your car, or bed or your pick-up truck – without fuel in it. I don’t do tailgating parties or anything like that, so I don’t worry about transporting this generator – it stays at home.

A two-stroke engine requires a mixture of gas and two-stroke fuel. In the case of this generator, the fuel tank holds .8-gallons of gas, and you have to have that gas mixed 50:1 with the two-stoke oil, you can’t just mix any kind of oil with it. No, it takes a special two-stoke formulated oil that you can get at any big box store, farm/ranch supply store, etc. This oil is cheap enough, and it doesn’t require very much of it, that you can keep several bottles on-hand and mix it as needed. Some places sell this fuel ratio already mixed, however it is very expensive – I priced a one quart can – and it was almost $20. That equates to $80 per gallon, and that is highway robbery, if you ask me.Continue reading“Sportsman 1,000-Watt Portable Generator, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Chicken-Rice Casserole

2

This week’s recipe is for a Chicken-Rice Casserole. It is a recipe excerpted from the scarce book Nine Hundred Successful Recipes, by Lulu Thompson Silvernail. This book, from my own book collection, was published in 1923. A recent change in U.S. copyright law now puts most pre-1925 books in the public domain.

Lulu Thompson Silvernail’s emphasis in this book was recipes that included hard red winter wheat flour. This entire recipe book is just part of the extensive bonus content that is included in this year’s SurvivalBlog archive waterproof USB stick. Note: The USB sticks are now in stock. They are selling quickly, so get yours soon, before they sell out.

IngredientS

2 cups boiled rice
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups of chicken broth or top milk
4 tablespoons butter
3  tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Butter a casserole dish and line dish with the cooked rice, retaining some to place on top. Melt butter in saucepan and add flour, allowing butter and flour to brown lightly. Stir into this the chicken broth or top milk. Then add the chicken. Allow mixture to boil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour all in rice lined casserole, placing [more] rice on top. Cook in hot oven for 15 minutes.

SERVING

Serve hot.

—

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

28

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 pre-1899 antique guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Silver, Platinum Missed Much of the Commodities Rally. Prices May Catch Up in 2020

o  o  o

Craig Hemke, over at Gold-Eagle: Real Gold vs Pretend Gold

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: The ‘Golden Age Of Plastic’? Banks Are Quietly Raising Credit Limits For Freespending Borrowers
o  o  o

Reuters reports: Frustrated Lebanese depositors turn rage on crisis-hit banks

o  o  o

Wolf Street had this: Union Pacific Cut 17% of its Workers, Will Cut 8% in 2020. Revenue Fell 9.5%, Income 10%. Bought Back $5.8 Bn in Shares. Stock Hits New High

o  o  o

Report: Your State Is Likely DESTROYING Your Money

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

8

“A man builds a house in England with the expectation of living in it and leaving it to his children; while we shed our houses in America as easily as a snail does his shell. We live a while in Boston, and then a while in New York, and then, perhaps, turn up at Cincinnati. Scarcely any body with us is living where they expect to live and die. The man that dies in the house he was born in is a wonder. There is something pleasant in the permanence and repose of the English family estate, which we, in America, know very little of.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 26, 2020

3

January 26th, 1945 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army. Established in 1941 Auschwitz was a complex of three large camps and 40 smaller camps used for slave labor, unethical medical experiments, and monstrous killing grounds where prisoners were gassed and cremated. As the Soviets headed for Auschwitz, the German Gestapo began a murder spree and began destroying the facility in an attempt to hide the evidence of their crimes. When the Soviets arrived, they encountered 648 corpses and more than 7,000 starving camp survivors along with storehouses filled with hundreds of thousands of dresses, suits, and shoes that the Germans did not have time to burn.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Sensible Long Range Cartridges, by Tunnel Rabbit

41

I’m writing this article to follow up on a couple of comment threads that I’ve seen at SurvivalBlog: To have a substantive long range accuracy advantage over .308 Winchester, requires 6.5 Creedmoor to use the 140 grain bullets that have accurate loads that are more often then not, are typically at velocities of between 2,600 to 2,700 fps.  The low recoil advantage should not be underestimated. However this advantage is easily offset by the much longer barrel life of barrels chamber in .308 calibers.  However, exceed 2,900 fps (feet per second) in .308 diameter barrels, and  barrel wear is greatly accelerated.

Because in my area it is difficult to find 500 yard shots, and I had the old trusty 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser (SE) rifle, I duplicated the 7.62 NATO Match load trajectory of the 168 grain .308 bullet at 2,650 fps, with a very mild recoiling 123 grain 6.5 bullet at only 2,601 fps. Even with a worn barrel, this custom load for this barrel produces Minute of Angle (MOA) accuracy. As the barrel wears, the load will have to be changed.  Starting out with an MOA load, the old Swede will stay accurate enough for 500 meters for significant time. The ballistic coefficient of the 123 grain AMAX  and SST bullet is .510, a tad higher than the B.C. of the 168 grain .308 bullet that is usually around .475.  The result is a near perfect match in trajectory as determined by a ballistic calculator.

This was done to match the calibration of the BDC (ballistic drop compensator) military style ‘turret’ scope set up for this trajectory.  It has the markings on the external dials in meters, and can quickly be adjusted on the fly as targets may present themselves quickly at nearer, and farther distances. This is intended to be a poor man’s DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle), that really should be a semi auto, but this is what I got. The result is also a recoil that is so mild, roughly 11 lbs, and on par with the .243 Winchester, that the hit can be seen in the scope every time, eliminating the need for a spotter.  And therefore, the follow up shots are more accurate, as the shooter can see his misses and corrects his aim, and can get back on target quicker.Continue reading“Sensible Long Range Cartridges, by Tunnel Rabbit”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

45

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 how the US Navy is finding new uses for old flak cannon technology.

Navy to Revive Flak Cannons to Combat Drones

Over at Zero Hedge: US Navy To Revive Flak Cannons To Combat Drone Attacks.

Army Picks Robotic Fighting Vehicles

And speaking of robotics, this was linked over at Whatfinger.com — my favorite news aggregation site: The U.S. Army Just Picked Its First Robotic Fighting Vehicles. A snippet:

“The Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command plans to award a contract to QinetiQ North America to build four Robotic Combat Vehicle-Light prototypes and another contract to Textron to build four Robotic Combat Vehicle-Medium prototypes, all for initial tests that will take place in late 2021.

The Army also wants a bigger, more powerful Robotic Combat Vehicle-Heavy, but the service doesn’t plan to begin testing the larger vehicle until 2023.

After testing the armed robots, the Army plans to make a decision about wider development of the vehicle for front-line use.”

China Locking Down Cities to Stop Wuhan Virus

The Associated Press reports: China locking down cities with 18 million to stop virus

Virginia Senate Passes Three Gun Control Bills

H.L. sent this: ‘Assault on the Second Amendment’: Virginia Senate passes three gun control bills. JWR’s Comment: This news came just a few days before the huge, armed, pro-gun rally in Richmond. Given their arrogance, I believe that the Virginia state legislators would have passed these, even after that rally.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” – 2 Timothy 2: 1-16 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 25, 2020

1

Today is the birthday of celebrated Scottish poet Robert “Bobby” Burns. He was born on January 25, 1759.

—

Some good news:  Our supply of Waterproof USB SurvivalBlog 2005-2019 Archive sticks has arrived!  Deliveries by mail have begun. But because of the recent rush of orders, please allow four to six weeks from when you placed your order. Orders are being filled in the sequence that they were received. Many readers are placing orders for 2, 3, and even 5 sticks, so these are going quickly. (When I last checked, there were only 485 remaining.) Get your order in soon, before the available supply is exhausted!

—

Today I’m posting a short article.  Because of its length, and because it includes a lengthy quote, it was not submitted for judging in the writing contest.

Home Canning With Reusable Lids, by Michele C.

19

Editor’s Introductory Notes: The following instructions work with both Tattler brand canning lids and the more recently-introduced Harvest Guard brand lids. The author uses the term “Tattler” generically, just as some people use the word “Kleenex” for facial tissue, even though there are many brands.

For time, temperature, and pressure data, be sure to use current water bath or pressure canning instructions, as published by authoritative sources, such as in the Ball Blue Book. – JWR

—

I have, many times over the years thought about learning to use Tattler lids because they are reusable – but they are so expensive! So I and managed to put off buying them for a very long time.

Last spring there was a sale on bulk packs of Tattler re-usable canning lids, and I just happened to have some extra money, so I bought 200 wide mouth and 200 of regular mouth size canning lids. I have known for a long time that I needed to learn to use them, and even though I have in my emergency stores over 100 boxes of the regular metal lids, in a long term emergency they would eventually run out, and personally, as a prepper that was not acceptable to me. I like the fact that Tattler or Harvest Guard kids can safely be used repeatedly, if handled properly.

So, now (before I needed to use them) was a good time to figure out how to can with the reusable Tattler lids. I did multiple searches on the Internet, and was totally dismayed to find most people said they had about a 50% failure rate. I figured (hoped) it had something to do with how people were using them, and I was determined I would learn the correct way to can with them.

The lids came with ‘REVISED (easier to follow) CANNING INSTRUCTIONS”. I read the instructions through thoroughly, and noticed on several of the web sites that the instructions were a little different than the instructions I received with the lids. The people who had a high failure rate probably used older –or different–instructions.Continue reading“Home Canning With Reusable Lids, by Michele C.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

47

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:

Following a week of heavy snow, we’ve had some unseasonably warm weather. The result was inevitable: It turning our barnyard into an enormous un-flavored Slurpee. Well, it is actually barnyard flavored, but I don’t  wish to sound crude.

I’ve been incredibly busy, trying to get the web pages set up for my new biz. I intend to launch it on February 1st.  Because there is unique descriptive text for each individual gun, and an average of seven photos per gun, this has turned into a big project!  When guns are 122+ years old, there are no two that are exactly alike. So they need detailed descriptions.

I also a lot of snow shoveling and snowplowing. And I also a made a 100+ mile round-trip drive into town, running errands. A lot of this was tackling the ever-changing “Honey Do ” list.

Now, over to Lily, for her more thorough report.  She has a lot to say about her recent kitchen organizing.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”