Modern Survival Blog

Why ‘Modern Survival Blog’?

Modern Survival Blog

I wrote this article not long after I started this blog in January 2010. I thought that some of you may be interested in what inspired me to do so back then, which is still valid today.

 
Modern Survival Blog is just one of many survival preparedness related blogs on the web today, and I am happy to see so many others who are aware and involved in varying degrees of a preparedness lifestyle.

The reason I am doing this comes from a combination of life events that have led me to this point. Having worked various careers within ‘the system’ since the ’80’s (showing my age), I am presently working outside the system and have a bit of time to dedicate to maintaining this blog.

Why a survival blog? Good question. It really just happened naturally. Of my many interests, survival preparedness is one that I have gravitated to, and it fits with my concerns of the world we live in today.

I would say that I first realized something wasn’t quite right with our present economic system back during 2005 – 2006 when real estate prices had become noticeably outrageous, crazy, and through the roof. It was so obvious to me that people’s paychecks could not, and were not, keeping up with the skyrocketing prices of home real estate. It had become a major bubble. Something had to give… Everyone seemingly could qualify and get a loan, even with no money down.

This was the time when I really started digging for clues beyond just the main stream. I was amazed at what I was learning and seeing of the world around us. The more I dug, the more concerned I became about the fragile nature of the financial system that we live in, and its debt-based dependance on growth. It was also glaringly evident as to how so many ‘systems’ had already been tweaked, leveraged, and maximized to squeeze out every last bit of profit. How much more could there be?

I could see how our modern lifestyle had become so dependent upon distribution chains, any of which could break and result in severe consequences. I realized that the majority of people assume that these systems will never fail, and they never stop to think about the possible consequences. They are not prepared, and that could be bad… for me.

Having lived and worked most of my life near or within major population centers, the dependencies were obvious to me, as they are necessary to support the population of tens of thousands, and millions of people living in small geographical regions. I began to see these dependent systems for what they are… risks… ‘just-in-time’ distribution channels. I also realize that about half the world population lives in urban areas / cities that depend entirely upon these systems for their survival.

Another contributing factor in my life has been my experience with the typical corporate machine, the one that constantly pressures and expects their workers to work more, do more, produce more, and even give their ‘life’ to the company so as to improve the next quarterly earnings report. I am NOT anti-Capitalism, but I do recognize when some of it is overridden with excessive greed instead of a more balanced way of life. I believe this is pretty widespread, at least here in the US. When this pressure gets bad enough, one asks them-self what is more important, trading all of one’s time for the good of the corporate machine and the paycheck? Or is there another way that leaves more time for one’s self…

It has amazed me how many people seemingly accept and even embrace the notion of trading their entire life and time, for the fatter paycheck, which is simply leveraged into higher loans for bigger homes and fancier cars. It is all an illusion. Most of them do not own those things, and in fact are in debt to their eyeballs while pretending to be wealthy.

Maybe it is something to do with my present stage of life and I am looking at things differently than I once did when I was younger. In any event, my interest in the Internet as an alternative medium of information exchange, coupled with my belief that adapting to a more self-sufficient and preparedness minded lifestyle will be important or necessary in our future, has inspired me to create Modern Survival Blog in January, 2010.

I decided to use the phrase, ‘Modern Survival‘, which would orient more towards survival topics that are practical and usable today in our modern world, in order to prepare and adapt to harder or more difficult times that may come tomorrow.

As this blog evolves, I hope that we can provide a range of topics and categories that will provide some of you with useful preparedness information, and/or bring situational awareness of the risks that we face, as well as an alternative approach to living a more self-sufficient lifestyle while we make our way through modern times.

27 Comments

  1. Thank you Ken.
    This is the first site I read every night, and one I look forward to reading.

  2. Thanks. To know that even one Reader appreciates some of the work, makes it worth it ;)

  3. Thank you for starting and keeping this website. You have provided a lot of useful information, and I have gained knowledge from your articles. Unfortunately, I do not retain all that I read and learn, but thankfully you keep a list of categories which allow me to explore and refresh these subjects again.

  4. This blog is on my daily visit list for the last year or so. Keep it up, great work.

  5. Thank you Ken for the wealth of knowledge and insight that’s found in this blog!

  6. I have yours listed on my blog and every day when I check mine I see what you have posted. Been with you since 2011. You do a good job!!! You articles are insightful and well written. You have been a blessing to me. If not for you then I would not have developed my own blog. Live long and prosper!!!

  7. I too, read the blog daily and I recommend it to anybody that wants to learn. The archive is a library unto itself. A treasure trove of information. I also like the changes, made lately, but I would still like to see comments from other articles over to the side. Sometimes the articles doesn’t interest me, but the comments do. Keep up the good work.

  8. Excellent article Ken. I really appreciate your work with Modern Survival Blog and have learned so much from the site. I was that guy several years ago, working for a fatter paycheck from “Corporate America”. Missing out on real life in order to make my bosses and the shareholders more and more. When I finally got sick of it, I found out that there is life after “Corporate America” my hard work started providing me more time, money and a better quality of life.
    Thanks again and God Bless this great Republic

  9. Thanks again… and as ‘RL’ said, working for a fatter paycheck often comes with a heavy price to pay (missing out on real life). The system bends us towards wanting more and more, all the while as we lose our precious minutes as they tick away…

  10. You are a pleasure to read on a daily basis. Your comments about working in the corporate world really hit home. Spending time with the family is very important, and setting a good example for your kids is critical. Your kids are always watching and learning on what Mom and Dad do. Trying to create a balance between a career and family can be difficult. Your common sense advise on how to prepare, so we can provide for our families during a emergency, is important. Thank you for all you do.

  11. Certainly a good blog. I just got back into reading Survival type blogs since we have a renewed (re-elected) threat to our national survival. The older blogs seem to have become stale with no author contributed articles or useful information. Keep it coming, good food for thought.

    1. Thanks Galt. Yes it seems that not only do we face external threats, but we also have threats from within to our freedoms and liberties as once defined by the founders of this nation.

  12. Ken I really appreciate this blog. It’s one of the few that discusses serious survival issues with an intelligent tone. There are far too many survival bloggers out there who are just antisocial jerkwads fantasizing about disaster so all the “stupid people” get their comeuppance. I’m glad to see more civilized voices emerging in this community.

    1. Thank you SonjaD, I appreciate that.

      I try to approach the wide variety of issues pertaining to survival in our ‘modern’ era, in a way that is intended to be helpful, eye-opening, informative, and thought provoking… sometimes with a lean towards the dramatic (while trying to remain ‘centered’ in logic and practicality), in hopes of inspiring some to consider their own self awareness as it relates to the propaganda and the risks that are all around them.

  13. Ken
    Just happened across this Article updated back in 13.

    Did you ever think you’d have over 500 comments on a Saturday “free for all” at times?

    And to think you’ve had this going on since 2010. Holy Cow Ken.

    Kinda wish you’d put up an “Archive” tab, a LOT of interesting articles that are a little hard to find on just a search
    Finally, GREAT job young man, great job indeed.

    And Thank You for the hard work you put into helping us all.

    1. NRP,

      It is rewarding to see that my efforts over the years have brought people to MSB in enough numbers to actually comment. Commenters only make up a fraction of the regular returning visitors so the fact that we might get 25, 50 or over 100 comments on a given article is great!

      The current weekend comment numbers (300 – 500) on the “What have you done for your preparedness this week” article are a bit misleading because often there are just a handful of you (about a dozen more or less) who make up most of the comments on that particular regular post.

      That said, I just checked and I have about 2,400 articles in the database. Some of which are not too relevant any more (old current events). I’m actually weeding some of those out and deleting them. But yes it has been quite a body of work. Wow, 8 years!

      1. Ken,
        is it time to compile it into a book? Many folks enjoy/appreciate a book to “keep”/reference.

    2. Ken
      HEY!!!!
      You changed my post from “old man” to “young man” that’s sneaky HAHAHAHA
      Ya young whippier snapper ya….

      1. HA! I’ve been doing that for awhile now. You’ve just noticed… What’s that say about situational awareness? ;)

        1. Well first time I actually went back and looked…..
          OLD-Man… HAHAHAH
          Will admit you got me on that one :-) :-)

  14. Hands down, this is the most useful website out there. Its unique features easily make it the best. Why?. ..

    Open Forum (OF) is where we chat about our experiences, opine on the political/economic situation, share our requests for prayer, etc. That’s our campfire and it’s okay that Ken washes it away every week or so. It binds us together as a community, even as a family from the perspective of some. ..

    The Recent Comments (RC) feature allows us to see the latest across the entirely of the blog, even back to the beginning sometimes. How? For example, when I have something new for the GSM discussion, I go to the search field that is available at the top of every article, including Open Forum and Recent Comments, and type in GSM or Zharkova. Then I pick the most topical article and add a comment which populates below the article and in RC. This way, someone looking for specifics about the GSM can find it any time. It allows for relevant information to be preserved for posterity. ..

    Mrs. U, The Original Just Sayin’, and others put enormous effort into discussing the preparation and uses of herbs and other plants. Putting the comment into the OF ensures that folks can read it for a few days. However, typing “herbal” into the search bar yields NRP’s article Herbal Medicines for Ongoing Health. Placing the comment there would keep the knowledge available for anyone wanting or needing herbal information; and pops it up over on RC too. ..

    Calirefugee and others wise in the ways of firearms and reloading might find Ken’s article on Ammo Shortage a good place to stash those long, complex comments. Someone might have a rainy day and need that info to have been saved there rather than shared only temporarily. There are other such subjects. ..

    Please, fellow MSBers, take that one extra step to preserve your unique shared knowledge for posterity. Recent Comments will make sure that we see them every day.

    1. Wow, that old blog post brings back memories. And look at the old logo – yikes.. Anyway, thanks Anony Mee, your advice is good. And I appreciate that you like this blog.

  15. Ken, I love this blog. Because you make searching and finding information so easy, you have made living a preparedness lifestyle so much easier. Whether disasters are short-lived or we actually experience a TEOTWAWKI event, you have saved uncounted lives, all across the globe. As have all the posters who share their precious knowledge. ..

    Have you ever thought about selling a thumbdrive of your blog?

  16. Ken:
    I still think that was mighty sneaky how ya changed the “Old Man” to the dream state of “Young Man”
    LOLOL.
    Was a total of ~2400 Articles back in 18, wondering where yar at now?
    And how many millions of comments over the years.

    You have really done the world of Preparing a great service Sir.
    Thank You hardly seems enough at times.

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