Day: August 17, 2013

Notes from JWR:

This weekend only, (August 16-18, 2013), Camping Survival is having a 10% off sale on all Honeyville long-term storage food products. Use coupon code: “honeyville10”, at checkout. — Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses …


Extending Your Vehicle’s Driving Range, Without Cost, by Steven B.

A while back, I remember reading a tantalizingly titled but substantively misleading news article about a group of junior high school students who built a “car” that attained a fuel efficiency of 150 mpg. After reading the story, my skepticism was confirmed that a bunch of junior high school students “out-engineered” those who engineer automobiles for a living, or more succinctly for profit. The vehicle they built was little more than a soap box racer with a Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engine; more of a go-cart instead of a practical conveyance. What I did discover in reading the article …


Letter Re: Save Your Disposable Lighter Flints

Hello, Mr. Rawles: I’d like to share a hint with you and your readers: Save all of your empty (discharged) disposable lighters, such as “Bic” brand lighters. They contain flints that you can use in your Zippo lighter. [These lighters can have their striker mechanism quickly broken down with a pair of pliers.] These are longer than the replacement flints that are sold in stores. They also work well in the older Coleman lanterns equipped with flint strikers.


Economics and Investing:

Reader C.D.V. sent: New Fox, Same Henhouse: Wall Street Takes Over LIBOR. This piece includes some interesting thoughts on derivatives: “A former trader who worked in both New York and London recently told me, ‘At the end of the day, this market is running on the [Federal Reserve]. Once they pull out it’s all over. Cheap money, loads of people making loads of money, but no lessons learned.’” I noticed that Backwoods Home magazine now has a “pay for your subscription in pre-’65 silver coins” option. (We do likewise, for our voluntary Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions.) Similarly, Late’s diner offers …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was pleased to see that Mark Levin’s new book The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic hit #1 overall on Amazon.com.    o o o Ohio Shawn spotted a piece about a single-wheel human cargo trailer, over at Instructables.    o o o Bob G. sent this study in contrasts: AK-74: Fast Assembly & Disassembly In Russian School. (Most American school teachers would throw a fit before they would allow this in their classrooms.)    o o o Just for fun: Swiss “Jetman” flies along B-17 aircraft    o o o New Company Allows Organizations to Hire Fake Protesters


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse [is] a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver [any] by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD [is] upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he [is] our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, …