Odds ‘n Sods:

I’ll begin with some positive news from an Australian newspaper, by way of reader Kevin A.: Fifty Reasons To Thank NASA

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FerFAL (SurvivalBlog’s correspondent in Argentina) recently posted some quotes and commentary on Gabe Suarez’s description of his training trip to Argentina.

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Pamela mentioned a commercially-made fireplace log rolling machine that speeds the newspaper rolling process that was described in a SurvivalBlog article posted earlier this year.

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SurvivalBlog’s Economic Editor Cheryl N. sent us another batch of economic news and commentary: Credit Crunch Cancer Metastasizing, US National Debt Clock, World Heads for Deflationary Collapse, Scramble for Cash as Central Banks Dry Up, Lehman Bros. Faces Korean Takeover Bid, and Credit Crisis Financial Armageddon.

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Reader B.P. mentioned that he watched a recent television show about children in Africa being saved from starvation by a new a new product called Plumpy’nut, which requires no refrigeration and that has two year shelf life. B.P. notes: “I was thinking that this product would also be a good [supplementary] food source for infant children in a SHTF scenario.” JWR’s comments: Since it is a paste, it might also be useful for anyone in rehabilitation from jaw or dental trauma, or for elderly patients that are sans dentures. It is also a captivating possibility for a lightweight, compact food source for G.O.O.D. kits. (Although, to provide nearly complete nutrition it should probably be supplemented with blue-green algae tablets, jerky, honey, some selected vitamins, and a source of dietary fiber.) The only big downside I can see is that it can’t be eaten by anyone with a peanut allergy. I predict that if a food packager in the US were to sell it, it would be an ideal candidate for a BOGO arrangement, to support an international charity.