Day: October 18, 2011

Notes from JWR:

It’s official: “Survivors” is #3 on the New York Times bestseller’s list (for fiction hardbacks.) Ditto over at Publisher’s Weekly. Thanks for making the novel such a great success. Among other things, your strong orders have driven the price down to $12.39. Many thanks! Your brief reviews of “Survivors” at the Amazon.com and the Barnes & Noble web sites would be greatly appreciated. It is notable that there have been a few reviews posted by racists that have skewed downward the book’s ratings average. For the record: I’m a Christian and an anti-racist. The Great Commission directs us to share …


How to Defend a Retreat Against Wheeled Vehicle Threats, by B.W. in Pennsylvania

I recently finished JWR’s latest novel “Survivors”and have read it predecessor, “Patriots”. I have realized that there were some things that the retreat owner could do to better prepare the land to prevent or slow down vehicles from entering your ground. Although the offsetting of obstacles works well in funneling, this does not stop vehicles. I think of my own retreat and how I plan on defending it, I thought back to my former MOS when I was in the service. Although I can block the roads into the farms that sit on the lane, there is a power line …


Letter Re: Uses For Discarded Satellite Dishes at a Retreat

Hello Jim, and Readers: Recently I was looking for a way to record some long distance sounds, and thought of a solution for Listening post observation posts.  I discovered  an old Dish Network or Direct TV dish will work fine with a microphone mounted to it. Using a UHF or N type bulkhead RF connector mounted to the point where the old  antenna LNB was mounted I drilled a hole large enough on the front of the antenna mount with a step drill for the base of the  RF connector, and 1/8th holes for the flange mount of the connector, and mounted …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: The Austerity Myth: Federal Spending Up 5% This Year Greece Faces ‘Hellish Week’ as Debt Crisis Tests Nation. (Thanks to Alice C. for the link.) Also from Alice: Berlin tempers summit hopes, banks under pressure Items from The Economatrix: 10 Essential Fiscal Charts Demonstrating America’s Disastrous Condition Wall Street Lower As Banks Drag On Germany, Earnings Lowe’s Closes Stores, Lays Off 1,950 Workers


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Great Endarkenment: Detroit struggles to keep lights on: Copper thieves, aging equipment darken blocks in cash-starved city. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o o Reader R.C. kindly sent this: Automotive ‘black boxes’ raise privacy issues    o o o The Womb to Tomb medicated society: Consider ADHD starting at age four, says doctor group. (thanks to Diana V. for the link.)    o o o John T. sent us this inevitable headline: New crime wave: Cooking Oil Thefts.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king. Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king, you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils, and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’ ” – from “The Song of the Bird” by Anthony de Mello