Day: January 29, 2007

Note from JWR:

Living here in the hinterboonies, our daytime radio reception is pitiful, but our nighttime reception is fantastic. (The Rawles Ranch is in an isolated “electromagnetic quiet zone.”) To make up for the lack of daytime reception (since we get less than a half dozen daytime AM stations and no FM stations), I have turned to Internet radio for entertainment during the day, and shortwave radio listening at night. I am particularly fond of a listener-sponsored Internet streaming audio service called Folk Alley. Great stuff, albeit with a perceptible liberal slant. At least they don’t shy away from playing gospel bluegrass …


Book Excerpt: “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”

In response to a request to Matthew from Indiana, who wanted to know what my novel was like before ordering it, the following is an excerpt from the first chapter of the expanded (33 chapter) edition of my novel “Patriots”: On the last day of October, the Grays found that their phone was still working, but only for local calls. When they tried making long-distance calls, they got an “All circuits are busy now” recording, at all hours of the day or night. The next day, there was message advising that “All circuits will be restored shortly.” Two days later, …


Letter Re: The Next Pandemic: Starvation in a Land of Plenty

Sir: Seeing the discussion regarding the gentleman who loaned a flashlight and leaf blower to his ungrateful neighbors, I’d thought I’d share my method of loaning out items. First off, never loan out primary tools. I have three sets [that I’ve designated – mine [primary], for friends, and a lower quality set for loaning. If you’ve never borrowed from me before and I don’t know your “borrowing character”, then you get the cheap set of greasy, grimy tools or the flashlight with weak batteries. If you return them in the state that you borrowed them, you get to borrow them …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Steve P. flagged this “must read” article by Doug Hornig: Climate Change Revisited    o o o From BlogIdaho: Why Cops Shoot Guys with Knives (Warning: Some graphic photos, not for the squeamish!) BTW, shallow slashing wounds to the torso of the type shown are not often fatal. It is either wounds to the neck or deep penetrating wounds to the abdomen (typically angled upward, from just under the ribcage) followed immediately by lateral motion of the blade tip that are the real killing wounds. (The latter is what one of my Army training NCOs referred to as “massive surgery …