The AI Threat in Perspective, by Silvertip

In the 1980s, a funny, popular pseudo-AI computer program “Eliza” was a college joke magnet.  A few beers, and then dialed into a dialup Bulletin Board System (BBS) and ask all kinds of suggestive questions, just to see what “Eliza” said.  So, as a Coder, we expanded the Data File, many times over… and Eliza’s answers got more verbose and direct, like Grandma suddenly butting into your life!  That was about the start of the AI revolution, for me.  It was cool, funny, and a half-life of 30 minutes over a dialup system.  Querying a Data file, database of “information” wasn’t going to sit stationary, for me. This was just cracking the door open on AI.

About 2003-04, the company I was working for in telecommunications, a Fiber Optic Carrier, was looking for ways to improve efficiency, the Databases needed something to “merge” it all together, into a simplified user interface.  Libraries were doing the same thing, any multinational company was facing the same issue(s), everyone up and down the company, from Sales to the Field Technicians, NOC (Network Operations Center).  It was literally the conversion from “Paper Records” to “Online”.  The same thing was happening in Public Schools – you know, “we gotta put a computer on every kid’s desk”.
Continue reading“The AI Threat in Perspective, by Silvertip”

MTM Case-Gard “The Bull” Rifle Rest, by Thomas Christianson

“The Bull” Rifle Rest by MTM Case-Gard provides a light, stable, sturdy, and inexpensive base for zeroing firearms and testing ammo. It is easy to assemble and easy to adjust to fit a wide variety of firearms.

Over the course of six months of testing, I used the Bull with break-barrel air rifles, semi-automatic rimfire rifles, bolt-action centerfire rifles, semi-automatic centerfire rifles, muzzleloading rifles, and lever-action centerfire rifles. It adjusted well to provide a stable and sturdy rest for every firearm with which I used it.

I have used other rests that have had difficulty accommodating rifles that use 30-round detachable magazines. That was not a problem with the Bull.

The Bull is made in the USA. At the time of this writing, it cost $43.63 at mtmcase-gard.com. If you want a rifle rest that is easy to use, reliable, and easy to transport, the Bull is a good choice.Continue reading“MTM Case-Gard “The Bull” Rifle Rest, by Thomas Christianson”

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a map that shows the courses of the 7,000 tributary rivers that feed into the Mississippi. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.

 

 

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If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a wide horizontal format (to match our blog template) then please send it in as an e-mail attachment, and I will consider posting it as a Graphic of the Week, or as a Top Note photo. I can of course credit you by name — or pen name —  if you’d like. Many Thanks! –  JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation, under your copyright or uncopyrighted in the public domain. Thanks! – JWR

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Here is an interesting map: Average daily long-haul truck traffic across US highways. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

(Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

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 the emphasis is on China’s latest military technology developments.

China’s New Hypersonic Glide Missile

At The Telegraph: China’s new hypersonic missile puts US on notice. Here is a brief excerpt:

“Beijing has developed a new manoeuvrable type of air-to-air warhead capable of avoiding interception and hitting aerial targets thousands of miles away.

The warhead, known as a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) sits on a ballistic missile fired high into the upper atmosphere, detaches, and then glides towards its target at more than five times the speed of sound, all while making sharp, unpredictable manoeuvres.

For now, China is the only known country with this joint technology.

In practical terms, this would allow China to launch the missile from the air and it could be used to target support and command and control aircraft located further away from live combat.”

Chinese Humanoid Robot Soldiers Only 5 to 10 Years Away

CBS report: Humanoid robot soldiers likely only 5-10 years away, one developer behind China’s robotics boom tells CBS News.

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

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.

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Reader Dale R. mentioned this news: Army Armaments Center Unveils New Ammo Packaging System.  From the Army news release:

“Blending lightweight polymers with a rugged steel shell, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center’s new SixPAC system marks a groundbreaking leap in small-caliber ammunition packaging, one intended to reshape how soldiers use munitions.

The SixPAC, named for its capacity to hold 6.8 mm cartridges, consists of two lightweight polymer ammunition containers in a steel outer pack. After successful implementation with the cartridges, the system is planned for adaptation across multiple legacy small-caliber ammunition production lines.”

o  o  o

Meta settles social media addiction case with California, other states for $16.7 billion.

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Trump administration advances plan to rescind protections for nearly 45 million wild acres.

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I’ve recently received a half-dozen fake AI-generated scam e-mails. Most of them have pretended to be real publishers and real movie and television producers, but they are fake, fake, fake!  These e-mails are all very polite and grammatically correct. The first red flag was that several queries used Fundadores in the e-mail header. That is the name of my novel Founders in its Spanish translation. I played along with one of them for a couple of e-mails, ostensibly about developing a television series based on my Patriots novels. Then I asked the fake “Tom” (the famous Hollywood movie producer) to phone me. The AI replied:

“Regarding the call, I understand that you prefer a regular phone call. At the moment, I’m only available to communicate by WhatsApp for calls, so unfortunately I’m not able to do a regular phone call. I completely understand if that makes it difficult for you to continue, and I respect your preference.”

Beware, folks! Oh, and also beware that the AI scammers now use synthesized voice phone calls, too!  Those appear to be fun to catch and modify.

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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.

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

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:

It has taken many days but I’ve picked up nearly all of the rocks that I plowed up in the three plots of the close pastures. Most of them were about the size of walnuts but a few were fist-sized. Most of the rocks were hauled in buckets to down-trodden spots at the gates to east and southeast pastures.  The rest of them were dumped in a low spot at the edge of our south woodlot. It seems that the work on a ranch is never finished. Fences and gates need the most attention. In a word: Entropy.

We put the finishing touches on our new “just in case” outhouse building project.  Lily and I took turns staining the plywood interior.  I put up a coat hook and two shelves to hold  plastic-lidded steel coffee cans holding either rolls of toilet paper or loose sawdust, for sprinkling over waste. (We need to keep everything both dry and mouse-proof.) There is also now a 2-gallon plastic bucket with a spinner lid that is full of agricultural lime, for the same purpose, stowed on the outhouse floor.

I helped Lily harvest two potato beds. That yielded 80 pounds of gold fingerling potatoes. There are 3 more fingerling potato beds to harvest plus about eight other rows of mixed potatoes. I’m hoping for a total of 350 to 500 pounds.

We’ve had a serious field mouse invasion of our ranch house in recent weeks. I’ve been keeping eight Victor spring mouse traps set every night.  For the past two weeks we’ve averaged catching two mice per night.  Our buddy from our Bible study group say that is evidence that there is a hard winter, ahead.

With fall rains approaching, I’ve temporarily tarped some of our slash piles, to keep them dry. If the rains continue, I plan to burn those piles in early October.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

JWR’s latest meme, based on a suggestion by SurvivalBlog staff member Thomas Christianson:

Meme Text:

A lesson in past tense versus present tense:

The Biden-era “Woke” agenda was Crazy

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is Crazy

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

Editors’ Quote

“Many Americans who say that we should learn from other people, especially Europeans, mean that we should imitate what they did. That may make those who talk this way feel superior to other Americans. But let us never forget that the most disastrous ideologies of the 20th century — Communism, Fascism and Nazism — all originated in Europe. So did both World Wars.

More recently, Europe has been belatedly discovering how unbelievably stupid it was to import millions of people from cultures that despise Western values, and which often promote hatred toward Western people.” – Thomas Sowell

Preparedness Notes — August 25, 2026

This Week in History:

On August 25, 1537, The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, was formed. Pictured is the Honourable Artillery Company Band at Balboa Park, while on a visit to San Diego, California.

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August 25, 1898: 700 Greeks and 15 Englishmen were massacred by the Turks in Heraklion, Crete.

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August 26, 1789: The National Constituent Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen at the beginning of the French Revolution.

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August 26,1859: A geomagnetic storm caused the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of the USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan.

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A belated obituary note on Jerry Wigutow: “Wiggy”, who passed away in early March. He left his business to his longtime partner, Kok Bou, and for now it will continue operating as Wiggy’s Manufacturing.  But given Kok Bou’s advancing years, I suspect that they may be looking for a new owner for the company. I suppose that this is a chance for someone to become the owner of one of the last truly American sleeping bag manufacturers. – JWR

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Sale Ends Tonight!  The sale on selected investment grade guns at Elk Creek Company ends at midnight, Eastern Time tonight. Take a close look for some great prices on guns that you will be proud to pass on to your children and grandchildren. Get you order in, soon! – JWR

Preparing to Serve in Disasters, by JMS

This my recollection about preparing for a natural disaster in the summer of 2017. I had just arrived on a Caribbean island with a single checked bag and a temporary rental. Within weeks of arriving Hurricane Irma, a category five hurricane, passed a few miles north of the island. It took only hours for the island to lose electricity and communication with the outside world. Two weeks later, Hurricane Maria hit the island and knocked us back to the 18th century.

I was unable to access my money in a bank on the US mainland, due to infrastructure damage on the island, and befriended only a few people in the short time I had been there. My ability to adequately prepare was also inhibited as the island had gone more than a month without resupply.

This is how I prepared. Though it may appear to have little value to those who believe they are prepared, with water purification and food and, likely, munitions, I learned that service is a preparation that requires little more than empathy and understanding.Continue reading“Preparing to Serve in Disasters, by JMS”

Recipe of the Week: RUTF

Reader Becky B. in California wrote to ask about a do-it-yourself recipe for the shelf-stable peanut-butter based ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) that was developed in Africa in the 1990s. It has saved many thousands of lives in starvation zones. It is sold commercially packaged in sachets under the brand name Plumpy’Nut.  Note: For the best nutrition its is best to buy the commercially-made product.

I found a Public Domain practical home-style recipe. It is approximate and for household use only.  It is is as follows:Continue reading“Recipe of the Week: RUTF”

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a map that shows America’s abandoned and out-of-service railroad lines. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) It was posted by “vladgrinch” with this note:

“The [American rail] system peaked in 1916 at 254,037 miles of track, at a moment when the railways carried virtually all interstate traffic in the United States, and roughly 138,477 miles remain in use today. Cars, lorries and aircraft pulled the traffic away over the decades that followed, and the branch lines serving small towns were lifted or simply left to the weeds.”

The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.

Abandoned and out-of-service railroad lines

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If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a wide horizontal format (to match our blog template) then please send it in as an e-mail attachment, and I will consider posting it as a Graphic of the Week, or as a Top Note photo. I can of course credit you by name — or pen name —  if you’d like. Many Thanks! –  JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation, under your copyright or uncopyrighted in the public domain. Thanks! – JWR

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!