The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Central & South America news starts us off today.

Central & South America

Venezuela’s collapse continues unabated. At the beginning of the year the U.S. Dollar was worth an abysmal 3,000 Bolivars. Today, it takes nearly 8,000 Bolivars to buy one dollar. As the economy spirals out of control, the citizens are suffering through shortages of food and medicine. Now even government controlled police officers are defecting. Last week one police officer pilot and accomplices stole a government helicopter, flew it over the Supreme Court building, firing shots and lobbing grenades. A public statement made by the pilot demanded that Maduro resign.

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Reader G.P. sent in this article on how much of Central America has been rocked by major power outages. Millions of people from Panama to Costa Rica to El Salvador have been without power. According to reports, a downed Panamanian transmission line adversely affected the power supply for much of the region. The power grid is tied between multiple countries and a failure in one can severely affect all. Something to consider if you are considering this area.

Wildlife Encounters

Reminding us that wild animals are “wild” and that our “vacations” tend to put us in contact with wild animals in their domain comes this story out of Alaska. A fishing party was charged by a grisly bear and an 11 year-old boy’s quick thinking probably saved their lives. he shot and killed the bear with his pump-action shotgun (loaded with bird-shot). It’s worth noting that the act of working a pump-action under duress suggests a familiarity with the weapon born of practice.

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Even in areas where you wouldn’t normally expect hazardous contact with wildlife, it can still happen. One family in a Florida state part ended up having monkeys turn violent and chase them. The park is now telling visitors not to make eye contact with them because it will upset them. New York City…Florida state parks…It’s all starting to look eerily similar. Thanks to reader T.J. for the link.

Biblical Basis for $300,000 college

From the New York Times comes this story of Reverend Jenkins, president of Notre Dame during the commencement ceremony of 2017. he urged the graduating seniors to turn and applaud their families for the sacrifices that they had made. A student starting Notre Dame this fall can expect to pay $300,000 over four years (assuming rising costs of about 3%/year). The writer asked Jenkins to point to some of his favorite religious readings and teachings that would shed some light on how much families should sacrifice to send a child there. It’s an interesting read to see how some would advance this financial nonsense.

Farm Equipment

Reader T.J. also sent in this YouTube video of a Swedish homesteader who bought a new (used) air-cooled tractor. Air-cooled engines have somewhat fallen from favor. However, they can provide reliable and relatively trouble free motive power under the right circumstances. If you live in an area with freezing weather conditions a significant portion of the time, the lack of a coolant can be a big plus for you.

Early Summer Heat

The Latimer Homestead has been much cooler this last week. But the triple digit temperatures took a toll on plants and animals alike. Most city folks living in their air conditioned homes, are blissfully unaware of the dangers these extreme heat waves can pose for humans and livestock alike. Farmers in Fresno, Kings and Tulare, California are having to dispose of hundreds of cow carcasses from cows that expired in this heat wave. So many died that the rendering plants are unable to handle the demand for services. This sort of natural disaster can cause significant impacts in the economy. Thanks to H.L. for the link.