Year: 2016

Odds ‘n Sods:

Today NOAA Adds Solar Storms to the Weather Forecast – G.G. o o o Several readers sent this link in: Gun-Show Customers’ License Plates Come Under Scrutiny. Well worth reading, though you may have to sign in to get it. You can get a summary of the article at Bearing Arms. o o o Gun sales hit 17th straight monthly record, up 27 percent – G.G. o o o ‘We run the streets’: Video shows angry mob attacking CHP patrol car with officer still inside – W.C. o o o A bit of humor for your Tuesday morning – Music …



Notes for Monday – October 03, 2016

October, 3, is the anniversary of the Mogadishu, Somalia raid. The 18 Americans killed were: MSG Gary Gordon, 1st SFOD-D SFC Randy Shughart, 1st SFOD-D SSG Daniel Busch, 1st SFOD-D SFC Earl Fillmore, 1st SFOD-D MSG Timothy Martin, 1st SFOD-D CPL Jamie Smith, 3/75 Ranger SPC James Cavaco, 3/75 Ranger SGT Casey Joyce, 3/75 Ranger PFC Richard Kowaleski, 3/75 Ranger SGT Dominic Pilla, 3/75 Ranger SGT Lorenzo Ruis, 3/75 Ranger SSG William Cleveland, Jr. 160th SOAR SSG Thomas Field, 160th SOAR CW4 Raymond Frank, 160th SOARD CW3 Clifton Wolcott, 160th SOAR CW2 Donovan Briley, 160th SOAR SGT Cornell Houston, 10th …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Springfield Armory TRP vs TRP Operator

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The 1911 handgun has been around since, well, 1911, so the design is more than a hundred years old. For an old work horse, the design shows no signs of slowing down. As a matter of fact, there are probably at least 50 companies producing the 1911 in one form or another. We can have a 1911 in the basic mil-spec version or a fully decked out custom gun with more bells and whistles than we could ever use. We can find 1911s imported from The Philippines for well under $500 or acquire custom guns that easily cost tens of …


Recipe of the Week: Chicken Sesame, by R.C.

Ingredients: 1 frying chicken, cut up ¼ cup flour 3 tbs sesame seeds ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper ¼ cup salad oil 1 small onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped ½ cup dry white wine 1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled ½ tsp tarragon ¼ cup water ¼ cup cornstarch 1 cup dairy sour cream Directions: Coat chicken with mixture of flour, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil, then place in a slow cooking pot. Add onion, celery, wine, bouillon cube, and tarragon, then cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 …


Letter Re: Moving to Alaska

Hi Hugh, Regarding the person’s letter on the October 1, 2016 blog; one small correction if I may? I just drove up and back to/from Alaska in Aug-Sept, 2016; and the Alaska Hwy in Canada (mile 0 is Dawson Creek, BC, Canada) and the highway is paved and well maintained the entire way. The Canadians do an excellent job of putting up flagging to let drivers be forewarned of bumps and road damage which is minor. Gasoline ranged from $1.07-$1.39/liter (3.72 liters/gallon). Years ago I drove it in winter too, twice; and both the Canadians and Americans keep it well …


Economics and Investing:

Smoke And Mirrors: What Did OPEC Really Agree On? Oil prices shot up more than 6 percent this week on the news that OPEC reached a deal to cut oil production, but in reality the deal is fairly shapeless o o o The Trumped-Up Myths Behind “Trickle-Down” Economics. The critique of “trickle-down” economics relies on a mistaken zero-sum view that more income for some must reduce incomes to others. o o o Some Deutsche Bank Clients Unable To Access Cash Due To “IT Outage” o o o The retirement gamble: 30 percent of American adults have no retirement savings. Half …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“There’s no government like no government”: Spaniards, Exhausted by Politics, Warm to Life Without a Government o o o A Review: ‘Do Not Resist’: A chilling look at the normalization of warrior cops – C.S. o o o Florida Residents Urged To Start Preparations For “Serious And Life Threatening” Hurricane Matthew o o o Homeless now camping on kids’ playing fields in Seattle – P.S. o o o Facebook artificial intelligence chief developed SURVEILLANCE systems – G.P.



Notes for Sunday – October 30, 2016

My special thanks to SurvivalBlog reader A.P., who kindly sent me the gift of an autographed hardback copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s 1982 novel titled Friday. He sent me that book in lieu of a Ten Cent Challenge (10 cents per day) subscription donation.  I am humbled by the tremendous generosity of SurvivalBlog readers. Thank you! October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) He died on July 4th, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. Safecastle’s October Mountain House Sale ends Monday. They are offering …



Round 66 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First Prize goes to J.P.R. for “Quick Reference Manual Regarding Disaster Survival and Recovery on the Road- Part 1”, and “Part 2“ which was posted on September 6th and 9th. He will receive the following prizes: 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 Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day …


Seed Collecting- Part 2, by Sarah Latimer

We are continuing to look at how to collect our garden seeds. I am sharing how I do it simply without the use of expensive seed cleaning screens that most people can’t afford or won’t spend the money on. There certainly are other ways to go about this, many of which I have tried myself. I am not an expert, but I am happy to share what I have learned from observing, investigating, trying, failing, and succeeding at collecting seeds from my garden and planting them in my garden to produce another year’s crop. If you are collecting seed to …


Letter Re: Why a Higher Alert Level Is Appropriate This Fall, by Kass Andrada

Hugh, The scenario discussed of China needing food and invading neighbors to do so is the topic of a Book series, the first of which is called Tomorrow, When the War Began. It was also made into a movie, which removed much of the country specific aspects. The basic premise being that China required farming land to feed its population and so invades Australia, because the rich, greedy, Australians are wasting their territory and the Chinese will show them how to better use their assets. The Chinese Army is greatly supplemented with conscripts and volunteers, who are offered land to …


Economics and Investing:

China’s yuan joins elite club of IMF reserve currencies – E.S. o o o This is insane! Taxpayers pay rent for Somalis who feel the need to visit Somalia (for months!) – B.B. o o o Hillary’s Huge Estate-Tax Hike o o o Consumer Spending Falls Flat, Economists Surprised Again o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.