Odds ‘n Sods:

Rourke e-mailed us a link to a table of U.S. Metro home price changes: The level terrain before the precipice.

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Michael Z. Williamson sent a link to this handy reference page that gives the bullion content of older European coins. You never know what you might be offered in a Post-TEOTWAWKI, barter transaction–French “Roosters”, , British Sovereigns or perhaps even native gold nuggets… In the absence of the Internet and your local coin shop or jeweler, you must be the expert. Without this expertise, you may end up the victim of a swindle. So it is important to print out some hard copies of some key references like the page linked above. (And, for example, see Item #6 in my original TEOTWAWKI FAQ.). It might also be wise to buy and practice using an acid test kit for gold, and a touchstone. And needless to say, if you buy gold coins via mail order, be sure that they are from a reputable dealer like Swiss America.

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If you think that your state’s gun laws are sub-optimal then reading through California’s myriad laws should cheer you up. Reading through the California DOJ‘s web pages is like Alice stepping through the looking glass–with no hint of logic evident. My favorite is their recent ruling that Yugoslavian (“Zastava”) SKS carbines are classified as “destructive device” grenade launchers (a potential felony possession offense), simply because they have 22mm diameter flash hiders! Please don’t tell those idiotic legislators in GranolaLand (the Land of Fruits, Nuts, and Flakes) how many other rifle models there are that have combo flash hiders that can accept rifle grenades!