The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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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

Jim Begins:
Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,
We are still in Snow Shovel Mode, here at the ranch.  We have three feet of snow on the ground.

The snow is so deep that one of our yearling steer calves jumped the fence, and was found wandering around our barnyard–even though there was no source of feed for him on that side of the fence. We just muttered our usual comment: “Bovine Delinquents!”  Putting him back in the pasture took 20 minutes of shoveling to get him through a gate.  As we used to say in the Army:  ‘That was real. And that was fun. But that wasn’t real fun.”

Continue reading“The Editors’ Preps for the Week”

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, this week from JWR. Today we highlight the population density of the Great Basin region.

Survival and Austere Medicine Book Update!

A group of medical  professionals has rewritten their great Survival and Austere Medicine freeware book. The Second Edition was published in 2005 as a free PDF and has been download more than 5,000 times and it is found in many on-line prepper/survivalist collections. They have just released the Third Edition.

The new edition of the book remains free – it is a labor of love from a group of medically-orientated preppers and Survivalists – several MDs, nurses, Physician’s Assistants (PAs), a veterinarian, and a biomedical technician. Most of them live in Australia and New Zealand. The Third Edition (of December, 2017) is a complete update of the 2005 edition. There are many more chapters and nearly all of the original ones have been rewritten. It has been expanded from 250 pages to just over 600 pages! You can  download the Third Edition free of charge, here.

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Retreat Perimeter Security

“Max Velocity” recently posted this wisdom, over at his blog: Perimeter Security: Use of an Obstacle Plan. Here is a key quote: “It is essential to understand that any perimeter security measure that you use will only ever cause delay, by slowing down the ingress of an intruder. It is unlikely that you will be able to install a perimeter security feature that will permanently deny entry to a determined intruder, given sufficient time and determination. This is why in a military sense, any obstacle that is installed should be ‘covered by observation and fire.’ The obstacle is thus simply intended to delay the enemy, in order to be able to bring fire on them, the delay providing time in which to deploy forces to respond, thus regaining the initiative.”

o o o

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.” – Isaiah 28:5-6 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – January 05, 2018

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Today is the birthday of actor Robert Duvall (born 1931.) His roles in Open Range and Apocalypse Now are unforgettable.

January 5th is also the birthday of the late John Pugsley (born 1934, died April 8, 2011), libertarian and economics author. Pugsley was well known in preparedness circles as the author of The Alpha Strategy. (The book is out of print, but a PDF is available for free download.) It is also the birthday of General Courtney Hodges (born 1887 – January 16, 1966). Kicked out of West Point for low math scores, he enlisted as a private but soon became a maverick officer and went on to a distinguished career.

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Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 2, by P.N.

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As an educator, I’ve been a part of many types of drills for safety, including active shooter drills. Most schools practice active shooter drills by “calling” the drill while students are already in class. When the drills are called, the teacher shuts the door (that typically is already locked from the outside) and the students sit in the corner away from the door. Then the drill is “cleared”, and that’s pretty much it. There are a variety of problems with this, and as parents we can do some things to improve the safety of our students by helping them be more independent and aware.

We have already discussed ways to improve safety at the bus stop, on the bus, and while entering the school. Now, let’s move on to what students can do inside the school to increase their safety.

Walking Through the Halls

Each day, students change classes upwards of 5-7 times, depending upon their grade level, and walk the halls of their school each time. In the lower grades, typically fifth grade and below, a staff member walks them from location to location. In the lower grades there tends to be much less congestion in the hallways. From sixth or seventh grade (depending on how the district divides their middle school) and up, the quantity of students in the hallway magnifies. In some schools, there are specific stairwells for specific grades because of the quantity of students. There may be 500 plus students moving through the halls at any given time. Again, this creates a prime location for the most devastation to occur. Anyone with ill intent will definitely pick a time such as this to cause the most casualties.

Continue reading“Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 2, by P.N.”

Letter: Survival of the Weaker Sex

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Hugh,

I am having a difficult time with the “Me too” movement and the allegations being raised throughout the country. In my mind, I find this as just another divisive trend. Where does it stop? Is this just another way to divide this nation?

If you mention immigration, you are a racist against persons from Mexico and other Central America states. If you mention unruly protests by BLM, you are a racist against black people. When the need for the end to “Gravy train” handouts is mentioned, you are deemed inhuman. The mention of self sufficiency pegs you as a nut. If you mention removing children from current state school systems you are proponent of right wing politics. If you are not in favor of LBGT, you are an evil Christian.

I don’t know that this nation can withstand these divisions much longer. I want to shake the ignorance out of all of them when they have no clue as to the world around them.

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Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest 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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Cryptocurrencies in 2018.

Precious Metals:

Jeff Clark: The Q&A Guide to Cryptos vs. Gold and Silver

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Asian Metals Market Update

Stock Markets:

Paul R. LaMonica: Can the stock market bull keep raging in 2018? (This page has as a mostly un-related auto-start video.)

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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A public that can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction is left to interpret reality through illusion. Random facts or obscure bits of data and trivia are used to bolster illusion and give it credibility or are discarded if they interfere with the message. The worse reality becomes—the more, for example, foreclosures and unemployment skyrocket—the more people seek refuge and comfort in illusions. When opinions cannot be distinguished from facts, when there is no universal standard to determine truth in law, in science, in scholarship, or in reporting the events of the day, when the most valued skill is the ability to entertain, the world becomes a place where lies become true, where people can believe what they want to believe. This is the real danger of pseudo-events and why pseudo-events are far more pernicious than stereotypes. They do not explain reality, as stereotypes attempt to, but replace reality. Pseudo-events redefine reality by the parameters set by their creators. These creators, who make massive profits peddling these illusions, have a vested interest in maintaining the power structures they control. – From: Chris Hedges “Empire of Illusion”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – January 04, 2018

January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde, who was born “Heide” in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forums mentioned some details on his life before World War II:

Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man at Griffin & Howe. He quit there and went into business for himself. Samuel A. “Harry” Leonard teamed up with Hyde, and their rifles are marked “Leonard & Hyde New York” on the barrel. In May of 1935 [school teacher and New York National Guard Major N.H.] Ned Roberts and his father-in-law [well-known carte-de-visite photographer] W.G.C. Kimball went into business together as “Roberts and Kimball” in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Their idea was to make high-quality sporting and varmint rifles on Mauser actions in the then-popular cartridge that bears Roberts’ name, the .257 Roberts. Metal work on these Roberts & Kimball guns was done by George Hyde, and the stocking was done by Harry Leonard. Some information suggests that Leonard and Hyde did not relocate to Massachusetts but that the work was sent to them in New York City. Roberts & Kimball company lasted less than a year, and their rifles are not found very often.

Continue reading“Preparedness Notes for Thursday – January 04, 2018”

Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 1, by P.N.

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As an educator that has worked in quite a few small and large schools, there are a number of safety drills I have been required to take part in. The list includes fire drills, shelter-in-place drills, bomb threat drills as well as lockdowns (active shooter) and evacuation drills. One drill that I find lacking in every school I’ve entered is the active shooter drill. Security in schools are more than willing to admit that “it’s not if, but when” for the next school shooting.

Current Active Shoot Drills

Most schools practice active shooter drills by “calling” the drill while students are already in class. When the drills are called, the teacher shuts the door (that typically is already locked from the outside) and the students sit in the corner away from the door. All are required to be quiet until someone comes and checks the door. Once all doors are checked, someone from administration comes over the loudspeaker and “clears” the drill. If a school is responsible, they will require a two-person verification at this point, meaning two people must come over to “clear” the drill from two different locations in case one of them is being held hostage.

Continue reading“Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 1, by P.N.”

Letter Re: New Year’s Resolutions

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Hi Hugh,

I am interested in hearing from the readers about their New Year’s resolutions.

Some of mine are:

  • I will include daily prayer for my family members who are not prepared. (Yes, I have been guilty of leaving them out in my daily prayers.)
  • I will go off the grid for as long as I can using what resources I have at hand and keep up to military standards of hygiene, cleanliness, and good health. Plus, I will maintain communications. (My only exception is toilet flushing; I was thinking of digging a latrine and reminding myself and family when they use the bathroom that out back is where they would actually go in a grid-down event.)

What are yours? Hearing from you would assist me and hopefully others in some new ideas.

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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 “HJL”. In today’s edition, learn how to remove Google from your life.

Confusion on New Gun Rules

Over the last two years, California has passed considerable gun control legislation. Without getting to political, I think it’s fair to point the finger at Reagan’s immigration amnesty program as one of the root causes of the left leaning biases in the state today. A fair warning to anyone considering such an action today. With many of the new rules being challenged in court, how do you know what you can and can’t do right now? Reader P.S. sent in this article with a reasonable interpretation of the current state: New gun restrictions are coming to California in 2018. Here’s what they mean to you

OPSEC Failure

A 19 year old  girl has been arrested for the murder of a 19 year old male in Texas after an attempt by the young girl to steal the mans guns turned into a domestic violence incident and resulted in the girl shooting and killing the man. the man was apparently dating the girl, who then stole the guns and held them for a $2000 ransom. the negotiations turned deadly after the man apparently grabbed her in a headlock and held a pistol to her head. there are so many things wrong with this story it literally makes my head spin. thanks to T.J. for the link.

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

How To Prep For … Throwing In The Towel- Part 2, by DR in Tennessee

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Yesterday, we began by asking many questions to determine just how prepared and ready you were for a situation when you or your spouse were unable to continue daily or regular responsibilities around the homestead. It is apparent that many preppers are aging and just can’t do the independent prepping and property maintenance and management they had envisioned and begun decades earlier. So, in part one of this article series, we discussed some of what it takes to prepare your property for sale.

Today’s Reality

That brings us to today’s reality. Plan now for a time when the Good Lord calls you up, as unlikely or as remote as that possibility may seem to you now. Plan for the liquidation of your property, because it’s highly unlikely that your heirs will get the full value of what you invested into your retreat property when they sell it at the average per acre price for farmland in your three-county area. No! You’ll not get anything near the outrageous sums that developers paid for 200+ acres of attractive mountainside about six miles from your retreat. But you can get a very fair price and can help your survivors hand off a great off-grid property to another prepper… if you do your research and your homework now.

Think of it like life insurance. When you’re gone, it pays off for your survivors. Planning now pays off because you leave vital information behind that helps your heirs properly value the retreat assets in a manner that reflects the true investment you and your family made over the many years you worked the property.

Continue reading“How To Prep For … Throwing In The Towel- Part 2, by DR in Tennessee”