Day: October 29, 2015

Notes for Thursday – October 29, 2015

October 29th is the birthday of Vermont Garrison, fighter pilot, an American who fought in three wars– WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died February 14, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho. This is also the birthday of World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin (born 1921, died January 22, 2003). o o o I just noticed that Ted Koppel’s nonfiction book Lights Out just hit #9 on Amazon.com. From all reports it definitely looks worth reading. I just wish that he had selected a more original title. David Crawford’s post-EMP novel, also titled Lights Out, definitely has …


Survival Electronics- Part 2, by K.A.

Fire Fire for heat and cooking can also be very important to survival. Enter the USB-rechargeable cigarette lighter. Note there are two versions of an electronic lighter: one which is an “arc” lighter that generates a small electric current and requires the material to be lit be passed through the beam and is loud like a tazer (definitely try these first before buying) and another which is a resistance-coil version that requires the item to be lit to be pressed into the hot coil. While the author feels a good old-fashioned firesteel is more reliable in the wilderness, sometimes you …


Letter Re: Harvest Right Freeze Dryer

Hugh, If the purpose is having a year’s supply of food in a root cellar for the next 25 years “just in case” that you never intend to eat until doomsday, the Mountain House products are less expensive and a lot less work, since you can just store the cans after you receive them and forget about them. I got my Harvest Right mainly because I was throwing away too much really good food. I don’t grow my own but buy from local organic growers. There is always more than I can eat before it spoils, and one point Harvest …


Economics and Investing:

Big Business Has No Community Or Country Loyalty – So Buy Local – RBS o o o The Worse Things Get For You, The Better They Get For Wall Street, Sent in by J.Q. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Empty Malls in China? A Lesson in Excess Capacity (Zero Hedge) House Conservative Leaders Say It’s Too Late to Prevent a Debt Ceiling Hike (Reuters) Economic Outlook Strongest Predictor of Immigration Views (Gallup) Record Number of Americans Sell Blood Plasma to Make Ends Meet (Zero Hedge) Debt in China: Deleveraging Delayed (The Economist)


Odds ‘n Sods:

I stumbled upon this interesting video from Latvia that illustrates just how long a well-prepared buried cache can remain intact: WW2 Unbelievable airtight container find. My favorite item was the explosive lump of fake coal. (Designed to blow up steam locomotives.) Cool. As Slim Pickens would say: “Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas, with all that stuff!” – JWR o o o Hobby Lobby dared to push back on Obamacare, and Obama will make them pay: Feds Investigate Hobby Lobby Boss for Illicit Artifacts. Sent in by T.P. o o o We normally don’t say …