Year: 2015

Odds ‘n Sods:

Sent in by T.P.: Flame Thrower Equipped Hobby Drone – Happy Holidays ! – You know you want one! “The next best thing to having sharks with lasers” – JWR o o o Also sent in by T.P.: FAA Finally Admits Names And Home Addresses In Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available JWR’s Comment: Let me get this straight: I can buy or build, and personally fly an ultralight or a powered parachute with an empty weight of up to 253 pounds with no FAA paperwork or licensing whatsoever. Some ultralight owners have staged solo cross-country flights. (3,000 miles!) But …



Notes for Saturday – December 19, 2015

December 19th is the birthday of physicist Albert A. Michelson (born 1852, died May 9, 1931), who was the first American to be awarded a Nobel Prize in science, for measuring the speed of light. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 62 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course …


Water Works- Part 2, by JSP

In part 1, I explained several things we did to take our water preps to the next level, which felt good but was still lacking in some areas. So, let’s start by looking at the potential problems of that system. Problems of Our Water System At This Point First, at this point, the poly tanks are not “plumbed” to anything; they are simply static, stand-alone storage vessels. Make no mistake that is way better than having no water on hand but not ideal either. Secondly, the primary grid down backup plan is a gas generator. Many people would argue that …


Letter: Professor Preponomics on Yellen’s Rate Hike

I have long been of the opinion that the Fed has backed itself into a corner with interest rates near 0%. Such low interest rates only serve to encourage the borrowing, adding to the unwieldy national debt. With the interest rates so low, the debt may be currently serviceable, but if the rates are raised, I question whether or not the debt load can be serviced at all. After Yellen announced a 0.25% rate hike, I queried Professor Preponomics on what in the world Yellen was thinking. I believe SurvivalBlog readers will be very interested in the answer. – HJL …


Economics and Investing:

Something Broke In The U.S. Silver Market o o o Here is a new interview done with Jeff Berwick regarding current and upcoming events. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. News Sell the Bonds, Sell the House, Dread the Fed (Contra Corner) Article Quote: “There is going to be carnage in the casino…” …and from one of the comments at the end: “As the pilot told the passengers after lightning struck the plane and fried all of its instrumentation: “I’ve got some bad news and some good news. First, the bad news. We have no idea where we …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Forced Diversity: Obama Administration Begins Redistributing Poor Inner City Families to US Suburbs – Sent in by B.B. o o o Like him or not, Rush Limbaugh covers the GOP sellout of America. – Sent in by P.M. o o o Reader GJM writes in: I Sold My Soul On A Fractional Reserve Banking Basis—-And Then Some Of The Buyers Were Mean To Me! That’s one of the things about the buying and selling of high offices…The more compromised the ascent, the more uncompromising the descent. o o o ISIS loots the rich heritage of the Middle East, pillaging, burning, …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.” Ezekiel 37:18-19 (KJV)


Notes for Friday – December 18, 2015

December 18th is the birthday of Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788). He wrote more that 1,700 hymns. Today is also the birthday of Jørgen Haagen Schmith (born December 18, 1910, died October 15, 1944). He was better known under the codename Citron and was a famous Danish resistance fighter in occupied Denmark. His biographical sketch at Wikipedia describes his death, after he was tracked down by the Nazis: “German soldiers arrived at the house to arrest or kill Schmith. He fought for hours against an overwhelming force of enemy troops killing 11 and wounded scores of …


Water Works- Part 1, by JSP

Many years ago I became friends with an older gentleman who was a retired farmer. It seemed to me that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix or build, whether small engines, regular engines, diesel engines, electrical, electronics, welding, and so on. Not having been raised around people like this gentleman, he was a good role model for me, especially when it came to problem solving. He and his wife had retired, sold their farm, and moved to the “city” of 30,000 people. One day he told me that they were selling their home in the city to move to a …


Letter Re: How To Title Retreat Property, An Overlooked Item in Your Planning, by John in the Ozarks

HJL John in the O is right on. It is important to make it hard to track you down. He talks about insurance in a figurative sense. My day job is independent insurance agent. In the literal sense it is important in insurance for names to match. Not named? Then there’s no coverage. Find an agent that preps, confide in that agent, and get the coverage right. No one ever comes to me looking for one of my clients, particularly lawyers. Even if the insurance company is not paying attention to details, handling a check with the wrong name on …


Economics and Investing:

Something Strange Is Taking Place In The Middle Of The Atlantic Ocean – Sent in by J.C. o o o Baltic Dry Crashes To New Record Low As China “Demand Is Collapsing” – Sent in by G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. News Fed Betting It Will Avoid Central Bank Errors of the Past (CNS News) Commentary: The Fed’s 1937 error, Japan’s lost decades, Europe’s dubious hikes… A stroll down a less than pleasant version of memory lane. Time will unfold the story about whether or not the current quarter point rate hike was the right Federal …


Odds ‘n Sods:

There are some pretty frightening satellite images in this link sent in by RBS. Batten down the hatches! Bering Sea monster storm hits Alaska as wind gusts reach 122 MPH and waves 40ft in the Aleutian Islands. o o o SurvivalBlog reader B.B. sent in this link: Russia and China’s “Enhanced Human Operations” Terrify the Pentagon. o o o Just tourism or something else? Sheriff’s office confirms tip about possibly suspicious questions regarding Bagnell Dam. o o o Electromagnetic Harvester charges battery (in a day) from “thin air” While this isn’t a new concept, I do wonder how long before …



Notes for Thursday – December 17, 2015

December 17th, 1905, was the birth day of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. He died April 1, 2002. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 62 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy …