Odds ‘n Sods:

Water matters. “Michigan’s attorney general opened an investigation Friday into lead contamination in Flint’s drinking water, and the governor asked President Obama to declare a disaster as National Guard troops fanned out across this anxious city to help distribute bottled water, water filters and testing kits. The actions drew new scrutiny to an environmental crisis that poisoned the water supply for a year and a half before it was addressed. The contamination has left a city of 100,000 people unable to use tap water for drinking, cooking or bathing…” From the New York Times: Anger and Scrutiny Grow Over Poisoned Water in Michigan City – T.A.

o o o

SurvivalBlog reader sent in this link on using “gravity” to power your light. Really…Humans have used gravity to power devices for thousands of years. Why not a reading light? Turning Gravity Into Light – Smarter Every Day 146

o o o

G.G. sent this article in from Popular Mechanics on how long fast food ketchup packets actually last. Surprisingly it isn’t forever!

o o o

I prefer a good Weller butane-powered portable soldering iron, but reader G.P. sent in a neat article showing how to hack a USB charger into a cordless soldering iron.

o o o

Sweden: State-funded Muslim “Sniper” Training. Excerpt: “The almost unbelievable plunge into insanity—started two years ago already—was reported—in a positive pro-refugee light—by the Allehanda newspaper in Sweden, under the title ‘Fired up for Sniping’,” – T.P.