Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 17, 2020

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Today would have been the 101st birthday of famed mercenary Thomas Michael “Mad Mike” Hoare. (Born 17 March 1919) He just recently passed away in Durban, South Africa at age 100 on February 2, 2020. The book Mad Mike Hoare: The Legend is fascinating reading.

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Welll folks… I’d say that at least in San Francisco, the Schumer has officially Hit Fan.  Headline: San Fran Shutting Down for 3 Weeks … 24-Hour Curfew Starts Tonight.

Meanwhile, some Petty Tyranny, in New Orleans. (I believe that Madam Mayor LaToya Cantrell is a bit late with her scheme, since all of the local gun shops have likely already sold out of inventory.)

Key questions of the day: Do you have enough cash and have you topped off your fuel tanks yet?

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The 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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

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.


42 Comments

  1. Not surprised to see the steps CA is taking, both SF and the northern CA communities which have told people to shelter in place and only leave to buy groceries, go to the pharmacy etc. Even here in VT our governor has closed the restaurants and the schools are closing tomorrow. Many businesses are shutting down. Our main regional indoor winter Farmers’ Market has closed.

    The big question(well one of them) though is how do we save our local businesses so that when this all ends, and it will eventually, and the survivors come out of their homes where they’ve “sheltered in place”, we still have local businesses? At present these businesses still have to pay rent or mortgages and utility bills; here in the far north they still have to heat the stores. They can lay off all of the employees but that still leaves big bills to pay with zero income. Businesses are sitting on purchased stock; some quite perishable such as restaurants. What can we do to try to help them on a local level so we still have a “Main Street”? I’m not too worried about helping Walmart survive as it will(other than it’s little problem of needing to be resupplied by China). I have no clue how to help gyms and yoga studios. But what about the bookstores, cafes, restaurants, hardware stores, bakeries etc? What can we do on a local level to try to lessen the pain? Maybe if we contribute ideas we can utilize some of them in our own area?

    I’ll start here; In my region we are connecting with local farmers who would be selling at the now shuttered indoor winter market. One has already stepped up by sending out a list of veggies and prices to anyone who gets in touch(and some of us are spreading the word for them online). They will take orders by email and will package up the orders and meet their customers in a parking lot in two locations this weekend. Obviously if one can’t go out at all this won’t work but there are also people willing to deliver for those stuck inside. This isn’t perfect as obviously there is some level of exposure but it’s outdoors and the transactions are set up to go quickly as they are already bagged up and identified by name so there won’t be the mingling and touching of produce one normally has at the market. So we get fresh veggies(even in northern Vermont!) and the farmer has some income and sells their perishable crops(salad mix, spinach etc).

    Got ideas?

    1. One suggestion I heard on the local news was to go and buy some gift certificates. The business gets the influx of cash and you can get the service at a later date.

      2. Yes, I’ve heard that too . The only question is whether or not the business will still be around to be able to redeem the gift certificates later on if they are forced to close now.

    2. Goes without saying for most, we need to connect with our older neighbors.
      I told my neighbor that if he needs, meds, food or supplies call me.
      I will glove up, make his purchases, leave them on the porch and call him.
      We can square up later or not at all. He is an old veteran on oxygen.
      We are all children of God and it is time to meet our neighbors, at a safe distance of course.

      1. Correction, I meant to say – an older gentleman and a Veteran on oxygen-
        Just in case he reads this blog. He is all heart and gristle and I am pretty sure he could still beat me up for calling him old.

      2. An excellent message and reminder — and a sense of humor too! We surely do need to look out for others around us — especially those who are the most vulnerable.

      3. Thanks for the reminder Lee, thanks for letting us know about the goodwill and compassion that you so willingly display. I think I would like to have you as a neighbor, and so thankful that yes indeed, we are children of God.

  3. We received a call last night from my husband’s surgeon to say his surgery was cancelled for this morning. The doctor said they were having staffing problems and that he was sorry. My husband asked him about the risk of his cancer spreading while waiting for surgery. The doctor said that the cancer was slow growing and wouldn’t spread while waiting for his surgery. He said, “you have a higher risk of getting Covid 19 then you have of the cancer spreading”
    I must admit that I watched several of the videos that were linked from this site yesterday and was concerned about the exponential growth and unknown cases out there. It is also very disconcerting that a renown university hospital is having trouble staffing.
    Things surely seem to be getting interesting. Be careful out there. May God keep all of you and your loved ones in His care.

    1. May God’s peace surround you. I know these seem to us like setbacks and can quickly become discouraging; but our hope is in the Lord and He will lead and guide as you walk by faith, knowing *He* is completely in control. We will continue to lift you both in prayer in the days and weeks ahead.

      Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.”

    2. CD, I am hearing of similar surgery cancellations and “postponements” here in SE WI. Don’t for a minute believe it’s for staff shortages. This is a preemptive measure to keep beds open for the coming wave of critical needs patients related to Covid.
      If we’re truly two weeks behind Italy in the virus’ progressive, hospitals are freeing up bed capacity in advance of the first wave.
      I heard DeBlasio had instructed NYC hospitals to cancel elective surgeries last week.

      God’s Blessings for you and your husband.

    3. CD! Saying prayers for you and your husband, and trusting that the hospital will assemble the team needed, that his surgery will be timely rescheduled, and that he will be safely delivered to the other side of this with the BEST result (and that includes NO COVID-19 either). Thank you for sharing this with all of us so that we can support you in our prayers.

  4. Most local businesses should have an inclusion on their business insurance policy for business interruption coverage that can assist in the loss of business during times like these. Now it will depend on what policy they have. However, a lot of those policies have that coverage. They will need to check with their insurance company after all of this to see what they can do.

  6. Hi all, I went to bank over several weeks and took out enough for myself, Husband & Mom & Dad & some in case my brother needs anything.
    Of course I got the dirty looks each time I did this.
    I also hit the ATM several times and plan to do that as long as I can.
    Right now I estimate that my family (every one I’ve mentioned) has about 3 months of cash on hand and enough in the bank to cover bills that I have prepaid for the next 3 months.

    I also yesterday and this morning purchased a bunch of physical Silver Eagles.

    The site I use is currently out of stock on small denomination platinum and palladium but I put an alert in with them to notify me when they get more

    Last month I had already purchased some 1 /10th oz Gold Eagles and Krugerrand’s

    Going to call County Tax assessor this morning to see if I can pre pay Mom & Dads property taxes for the year.

    Our Mortgage is a pretty low payment so I paid the next three months in advance and our property taxes are calculated in that payment

    Filled all gas tanks on vehicles (even the ones we don’t drive right now) and today I am filling all the gas cans we have

    I also did a tank exchange of propane and purchased 3 more.

    Went to Home Depot and got cheap blinds to cover some of the windows that could be an issue if someone wanted to spy in to see what we have (it was EMPTY in there, people & stuff) although there was one other man there that I suspect was doing the same as me. You could just tell. (Chick Intuition)!!!

    Lastly, wanted to let you all know that my brother (The Burlington Northern Engineer) let me know that as of this morning they are slashing in half the Metra Lines that feed from different tracks (From about 75-80 miles out North , South, East & West) into Union Station & Ogilvie Station in Chicago . He’s been told he will work one week on/ one week off. Luckily he said he will be paid for the off week. I suspect that they will stop those Lines altogether soon (he does too). If that happens, I will let all of you know as soon as I find out.
    Also changed the HEPA Filters in my 3 Medify M40 Air purifiers (These are medical grade HEPA Filters

    Have a Rockin Good Day!

    1. Thanks for the tips RKRGRL68.

      We have 98% of stuff prepped and covered for a basic shutdown.

      But now we who are prepared are looking at the 3d and 4th tiers of collapse coming 30 days from now. Government rush to throw billions of future increased tax money wullvreducececonomic ability to rebound for years to come in the future.

      Rampant devaluation of the dollar will result in unavoidable reduced luxuries and a lower quality lifestyle, which we all know will require even more taxation to feed and house those who refuse to work or establish any modicum of self sufficiency.

      Those who have not worked and will not, number in the millions in the US. If you produce food or run factories, there is a good way ahead. Count on the government to simply increase what they already do, which is to increase taxes from every single source they can think of.

      The days of surplus budget money are over. Washington state Demokrat legislature passed huge tax increases and free college tuition bills this month.

      Now the simultaneous crises of taxation, loss of income, skyrocketing health and hospitalization requirements, loss of housing and non-payment of mortgages and monthly bills, and much more, place us just at the start of severe global economic depression.

      This is no short term crisis. It is a triple whammy. Get ready for years of economic impacts. This situation is adding in 1918 and 1929 together, with 2008 financial issues and the government sole recourse is total control.

      Don’t get scared, get prepared. Build friendships and allies now because you will need them.

      1. Wheatley Fisher
        Agree, 100 %, I’m 52 years old now and looking down the road to my “Golden Years” right now doesn’t look good.
        I had to leave the work force to take care of my parents full time but I WILL enter back in when the situation changes. I absolutely detest the people that will not even attempt to work as they get more from the government handouts. Wonder what will happen with those people if they decide to cut checks for everyone like they are taking about. My guess is that they will blow it on stupid stuff and then complain it’s not enough.
        I’m ready for whatever happens and will continue to keep preparing.

        Ahhh my hands hurt so much from constantly washing & sanitizing. Anyone else have this problem?
        Take care

          1. W.F., This is a planned takedown by using the Ft. Detrick Bioweapon and a reinforced PANICDEMIC. 1918 was the aftermath of the Great War with not only the flu from Ft. Riley,KS but multiple other illnesses related to world wide destruction,hunger and depression after the fighting ceased. Led to the Bonus marches and subsequent massacre in WashingtonDC. McArthur+Eisenhower in charge of murdering veterans for protesting

          2. Robert, metra is commuter rail service in Chicago and suburbs,some lines are also freight and Amtrak. It also shares a terminal with the last interurban train line to Indiana(South Bend-NotreDame Univ.). It also links to the Chicago Transit Authority Elevated/Subway lines,bus system.

          1. Yes, Ahava is great! Another option is ShiKai Borage Therapy lotion. Or, just get borage oil capsules or evening primrose oil capsules (borage is less expensive), then open the capsule and squeeze the oil onto your hands.

            I used to wash my hands constantly (due to my profession) and my hands would just crack and bleed. Bag balm, coconut oil, all the other common remedies didn’t help, but borage and evening primrose oil worked miracles. I now grow both perennial flowers in my garden.

    2. RKRGRL68, Your family is blessed to have you watching out for them, your post is informative and entertaining. You also have a “Rockin Good Day”…God Bless!

  7. Re: “Petty Tyranny, in New Orleans.”

    How cute, an emergency order. As we’ve seen in the not-so-distant past, they will just come and take firearms from law-abiding citizens whenever they please, then wipe their boots on the Constitution on their way out the door.

  8. One last note. We get health care on military bases. They called us to cancel appintments. The nurse told us they are already setting up hospital tents to be ready.

  9. My wife had a dental appointment for a 3 hour procedure scheduled for tomorrow. Dentist just called and cancelled, rescheduled for late April. Said it’s due. To ADA directive to all dentists.

  10. We’re getting shut downs- business shut downs, no restaurants, movies or unnecessary gatherings >20. The city says ‘do it!’, adjacent sister city says ‘be cautious’ w/o shutting everything down, the county says ‘be cautious’ while the state governor has pulled the plug on everything. All that done without citation to law. When you can get something close to governing authority, the laws offered are mental health protective laws i.e. Red Flag type law. Interesting times.

  11. Update!
    Illinois now has 166 cases
    1 Death in DuPage county
    22 cases at a nursing home in Willowbrook (Cook County, in the area of around I-55 & Route 83) for those that know the area.

    My mom and dad live in a 55 & over community near the area of I-55 in Plainfield. There are 3 of the 55 & up communities in that general area alone & at least 5-6 nursing/assisted living/memory care facilities in that area alone. They are gated communities with guard buildings and security. (it would be really easy to go total lockdown)

    I know this because I was trying to get my grandma a spot at one about a year ago. Sadly she passed away in September at age 99 in a nursing home in Missouri. I’m extremely thankful that she is in heaven now instead of in the nursing home.
    I am also extremely thankful that I promised my mom and dad that I would never put them in a nursing home. (When Mom was in the hospital last October they tried to get me to put her in one).
    Although it is EXTREMELY challenging to care for my parents I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m extremely fortunate that my husband has a good job that allows me to be available to my mom and dad 24/7.

    I’ll let you know if I hear anything more from Illinois

    1. Please note I have noticed someone else posting as Robert… I have replied to others as Robert and have noted that I live near Nashville, TN…so that others may recognize me as the one who resides in TN I am changing my identification to RCB5472TN… TY to all the SB community for your willingness to share information

      1. Heard First on WGN AM 890, Chicago first around 5PM Central time, then a little later around 6:30 on Lou Dobbs show (Fox business) the announcement was streaming at the bottom of the screen.

  13. WI now restricting gatherings off >10 or more, bars and restaurants, theaters, gyms etc, Schools closed indefinitely.
    36 hours ago it was groups >50. Last Friday schools closed until April 6th.
    Accelerating restrictions…feels like “they” want to take us to full quarantine but not too fast as to scare too many too fast.
    Strange and crazy times.

  14. Metra lines are the commuter train lines that run from all the suburbs into Chicago , probably a dozen track lines in each Station ( I’ve ridden into each Station when I worked in Chicago) (I believe that they run out about 75-80 miles in all directions but don’t bash me if I’m off a little, I’m trying to describe it to you ) There are two Chicago terminals. One is Ogilvie transportation Center, The other is Union Station . Oh yeah, the Amtrak runs out of Union Station too!
    Anyway, there are hundreds of thousands of commuters on these trains EVERYDAY. !!
    For some this information doesn’t matter, but I’m just updating what I’m hearing & seeing in my home state. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only reader on here from Illinois.
    I just think it’s good for us to share information with each other no matter where we live.

    They just said Midway Airport IS open but 3 technicians are positive.

    Hopefully this is helpful

    Have a Rockin good night

    2. Don’t forget Metra electric and South Shore that go to Millennial Station (Randolph St.). They only go out about 30 miles or would be required to have bathrooms on cars if any farther out. If anyone wants information about Chicago/Suburbs WTTW/Geoffrey Baer does excellent documentaries.
      You will not regret taking care of your family,we did it for my Grandmother and got some good memories knowing everything possible was done.

  16. T of A, don’t forget the Chicoms have warned us before. Remember several years ago when a Chinese sub surfaced between Catalina island and Malibu and launched a missle but Obama tried to claim it was a UFO or a whale. About the same time a Russian plane used a electronic warfare device to totally cripple a navy destroyer then simulate bombing and straffing runs on the helpless ship for about an hour until help arrived. We are very vulnerable to next generation weapons.

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