Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR Reports

It was a beautiful winter week here at the Rawles Ranch, with mostly cold and clear or partly-cloudy skies. This coming week is expected to be substantially warmer, with highs in the mid-30s. Lily will be sad to see her good skiing powder snow turn to slush. She’ll soon need to turn her attention to sprouting our greenhouse seedlings.

I did some snowshoeing this week. I got down to the the Unnamed River  that runs through the back of the ranch, on Tuesday, March 5th. I was surprised to see that the river was mostly frozen over. In my 12+ years here at the ranch, this is the most ice that I’ve seen on the river in the month of March.  Thanks for that “Global Warming”, Al Gore!

Although I also have some larger snowshoes, my current favorites are what are commonly called modified bear paws. They measure about 9″ x 30″. With any that are any longer, I have difficulty on steep hillsides, and/or in dense woods. And I’ve tried using smaller ones. With those, I sink in too deep, and that is too tiring for long hikes. I’ve found that there is a requisite minimum surface area, especially with the extra weight of carrying a pack. I also often use a pair of very lightweight white ski poles when snowshoeing.  Those are particularly important when carrying a pack, for balance.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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”.  Today, we focus on the announced retrial of Tommy Robinson.

Photobucket Web Site Compromised by Malware

SuvrvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson, sent this warning:

“Photobucket has been having ongoing issues with service and security. Quite a few of the “featured” photos link to dangerous malware that can damage your files.

Today, I got hit with an annual charge, only three months after my previous annual charge. Clicking the FAQ button immediately started downloading malware that my system and my wife (an IT security expert) managed to block this and delete it.
We’re not sure if it was an invisible overlay that clicked to the malware site, or if their entire system is compromised.
The Facebook page for Photobucket is full of complaints, with their canned response of, “We are aware of this problem and are working on it.”
I had been slowly porting images elsewhere. I’ve now made it a crash priority to finish moving them today.
I would suggest anyone with an account pull their images at once, host elsewhere, and permanently close your account. Photobucket is increasingly unreliable and malware ridden–and has been for close to a decade.”

Tommy Robinson to Face Trial Again

I just heard that British anti-pedophile grooming gang activist Tommy Robinson will face trial again. His new trial is scheduled to begin on March 22nd, 2019.  If he is convicted, he will almost surely be imprisoned, for up to two years. And given the death threats and physicaI attacks he has already endured whilst in prison, that could very well be a Death Sentence. I believe that his cause is just, that the charges are almost entirely contrived, and that he is being singled out for prosecution for purely political reasons. Just days before the re-trial was announced, Tommy Robinson caught undercover police officers parked in a specially-equipped electronic surveillance van parked near his home. This smacks of Stasi tactics. Freedom of speech in England is in serious peril! Please help Tommy Robinson with his legal defense expenses, if you can.
And a special note for our readers in England all around the world: Order yourselves optic yellow safety vests. You may need them, quite soon! The turmoil caused by a Brexit “no deal” may seem mild, compared to the scale of public protests that will explode in England, if Tommy Robinson is re-sentenced.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”  Genesis 6:1-22 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – March 8, 2019

March 8th is the birthday of famed revolver shooter, big game hunter, and gun writer Elmer Keith, who co-designed the S&W .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges. He authored the book Sixguns, which is still considered a standard reference. His fascinating life story is told in his last book, Hell, I was there!  A Proto-Redoubter, Keith spent the second half of his life on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. (Keith was born in 1899 and died February 12, 1984.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 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 Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  5. 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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 81 ends on March 28th, 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.

Time and Planning, Pt. 1, by 3ADscout

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Have you ever considered the influences that time has on your preparedness efforts or will have upon your survival post-TEOTWAWKI? When we take an in-depth look at time, we will realize that time is one of our greatest preparedness resources. This article will discuss ways to use our time wisely now so that we can save even more time in a post-TEOTWAWKI world.

We all have a finite supply of time, just 24 hours a day, no more. We can’t buy more time regardless of our income. We all only have seven days a week. There are however, a few ways we can make it seem like we have more time available.

Planning

Using time wisely is one of the best ways to make it seem like you have more time. By having a plan, being organized, and prepared to do a task/project you will use your time more efficiently–thus not wasting time. Recently we built two sets of shelves in our BOL. We had wood, screws, nails, saws, hammers, saw horses but what we didn’t have was a clear and concise plan for the first shelf. I had some images in my head of what I wanted the shelf to do and look like but in honestly, there was no “plan”. Although I had my tools and supplies, they were not where they needed to be at the start of the project thus, we had to stop and walk back and forth to the barn to get stuff and bring it back to the BOL. With no plan I had to pause and think about what I wanted to do. What dimensions do I want the shelf? Nails or screws? Long story short it took 4 of us about 6 hours to get this spontaneous project done.

Now fast forward a few weeks and it took just my son and I about 4 hours to build another shelf. Why? First, we had much of the equipment and supplies from the first build still where it was needed for the building of the second shelf which meant no time spent walking to and from the barn. But the main difference was that before we started, I sat down and sketched out a drawing of what I wanted, including the dimensions of the shelf which allowed me to have a cut sheet for my son to use to keep him productive the whole time, versus him waiting for me to tell him what to cut next. These were simple projects, but none-the-less they illustrate how organization and planning can save time and thus make you more productive since you will now have time to do something else.

Continue reading“Time and Planning, Pt. 1, by 3ADscout”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today’s focus is on Recycling. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Price Goes ‘Thunk’…And ‘Tis A Good Healthy Thing

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From H.L.: The Arms Race Between Gold Counterfeiters and Bullion Testers Is Heating Up. JWR’s Comment:  This is yet another reason that I prefer buying circulated pre-’65 silver coins. (Since they are much more rarely counterfeited than gold.) Anyone who plans to buy gold bullion coins should buy a set of Fisch coin checkers. If the gold counterfeiting problem gets any worse, then it might reduce us to trusting only  PCGS or NGC slabbed Gold Eagles.

 

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: Foreigner Boycott Of US Treasurys Continues: 7Y Auction Indirects Tumble To 3 Year Low

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Next, over at The Wall Street Journal: In This Oil Boom Town, Even a Barber Can Make $180,000.  The article starts off with this: “One of America’s hottest labor markets is in West Texas, where the brisket is scarce, the ‘man-camps’ are full, and oil workers with no time to spare pay $75 to skip the line at the barber shop.”

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Home Prices in Sydney & Melbourne Spiral Down, Bust Spreads. IMF to Regulators: “Reinforce Financial Crisis Management”

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Michael Snyder: 18 Really Big Numbers That Show That The U.S. Economy Is Starting To Fall Apart Very Rapidly

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – March 7, 2019

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March 7, 1944 was the birthday of Townes Van Zandt, a gifted Texan singer/songwriter. (He died in 1997.)

March 7, 1707 was the birthday of Stephen Hopkins, (Governor of Rhode Island) one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

March 7, 1925 was the birthday of Rene Gagnon, a U.S. Marine, who was seen in the famous photographs of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. (He died in 1979.)

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Today we present a short but heavily-illustrated guest article by reader P.R., titled Observations on City Life in Brazil. It was too short to meet the 1,500-word minimum for our bimonthly nonfiction writing contest, so he asked that it be posted as a guest piece.

Observations on City Life in Brazil, by P.R.

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I recently vacationed in Brazil. Whenever I’m abroad, I always keep my eyes out for things that may be of interest to you fellow preppers. Brazil presented a lot of opportunities for this.  I do like theoretical discussions, but I really like to see how people in the real world cope with problems and issues that we may have in the future.  Looking at these real world examples can greatly help out own plans and preparedness.

Although a fairly developed country, Brazil does have a larger economic disparity than the US, especially in the larger cities like Rio de Janiero and São Paulo. There are a lot of homeless folks visible in the larger cities, especially compared to the larger places that I’ve lived In the US, such as Chicago. There are areas that are basically shanty towns, rife with the poor, crime, and where the drug dealers operate out of.Continue reading“Observations on City Life in Brazil, by P.R.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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”.  Today, we focus on Canada’s Risk Database.

Humanity Development Library

Reader David K. wrote to mention: “I found this while researching food crops for my pigs. It looks like it’s a great resource!”:  Humanity Development Library.

Canada’s Risk Database

Reader C.H. sent this: Police in Canada Are Tracking People’s ‘Negative’ Behavior In a ‘Risk’ Database. Here is a snippet:

“Information about people believed to be ‘at risk’ of becoming criminals or victims of harm is shared between civilian agencies and police and is added to the database when a person is being evaluated for a rapid intervention intended to lower their risk levels. Interventions can range from a door knock and a chat to forced hospitalization or arrest.”

C.H.’s Comment: “According to the article this currently focuses on homeless people, children in dangerous neighborhoods etc.  But how long before there is a Canadian “social credit” system similar to what the PRC is doing?”
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 6, 2019

March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004.

Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space, aboard Vostok 6. She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR.

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Today we present a short guest article by reader A.B.S., titled Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival. It was too short to meet the 1,500-word minimum for our bimonthly nonfiction writing contest, so he asked that it be posted as a guest piece.

Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival, by A.B.S.

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When it comes to firearms for survival situations, you can find about as many opinions as models of weapons on the market about what is the best choice. To me, the ability to use multiple calibers in one platform will go a long way in extending the utility of these tools without breaking the bank.

The popularity of newer caliber firearms, such as the .327 Federal Magnum has brought this into a new light. The. 327 Federal Magnum had been offered in revolvers for several years. In this form you can use .327 Federal Magnum, .32 H & R Mag, .32 S&W Long, .32 SW Short, .32 ACP, as well as a couple of European calibers. This gives you several options. Lately .327 Federal Magnum has been offered in lever action rifles that are capable of firing .327 Federal Magnum, .32 H & R Magnum, and .32 S&W Long. With this diversity of calibers, it should give a resourceful person the chance to find ammo from a number of sources.

Many other platforms are available in various caliber families for anyone wanting to have options and willing to do careful research and use safe practices. Randy Lyman, of the reloading company fame, has a list of compatible calibers. This makes for a good starting place.

Continue reading“Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival, by A.B.S.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on the documentary film titled Calvinist. (See the Movies section.)

Books:

Battlefield America: The War On The American People, by John W. Whitehead.

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Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War

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Brown’s Skin and Minor Surgery: A Text

Movies:

Reader Bruce D. recommended this documentary: Calvinist. Bruce wrote:  “I just watched a great documentary on the recent resurgence of Reformed Theology amongst young adults. It’s streaming on Amazon and I’m sure your readers will enjoy it. Here is a cut & paste from the description: ‘When a generation finds the theology and practice of the modern church wanting, they turn to the internet for answers. an investigation into the roots of the reformation reveals a theology that challenges everything they thought they knew about Christianity. With a fresh view of God, where do they go from here? Calvinist is the theology documentary of a lifetime.” It is available of Blu-Ray, DVD, and for free streaming with Amazon Prime.

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The Fight of Our Lives – Defeating the Idealogical War Against the West, directed by Gloria Greenfield. It is available of Blu-Ray, DVD, and for free streaming with Amazon Prime.

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today’s focus is on $100 Bills. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Only The Fed Could Kill Gold Now – Analyst

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Do you like nuggets? Here is a great collection of photos, sent to us by reader H.L.: The most gigantic gold finds of all time

 

Economy & Finance:

Next, over at Seeking Alpha: An Honest Look At Recession Risk – A Simple Model Tells You How Close We Are

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The Fed Chair Just Admitted On Record That The US is Heading For a Debt Crisis. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.)

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Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”