The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

 Print This Post Email This Post Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Google LinkedIn LinkedIn

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”.

Smoke and Knives

Our favorite knife maker is back at it again. This time he created a knife out of smoke. Technically, I guess you could call this a carbon fiber knife, but he makes the carbon and fiber himself, then forms it into a knife using a mold with the carbon fiber paste. After it hardens, he uses his normal methods to create an incredibly sharp knife from the blank. This one is a bit more messy to create than his others, mostly because the dust from sharpening is so visible. As usual, the video is fascinating to watch. He also adds a section at the end where he compares the hardness of various knives that he has made in the past. This one ranks very well.

Fever Deaths

Something is brewing in northern India that doesn’t bode will for people. A sickness has broken out among the people with the primary symptom presenting itself as a high fever. Reader G.P. sent in this article in which at least 50 people have died over the past two weeks from this illness. The patients are testing positive for malaria and viral infection, a usually non-fatal sickness that causes coughing and colds. Local hospitals are being overwhelmed with makeshift clinics being set up to accommodate the patients. This is India’s most populous state with over 200 million people living in impoverished conditions. It is suspected that heavier rains than usual have contributed to the conditions of this years outbreak.

Deepfake Video

We’ve been tracking this concept for the last year and the technology is getting scary good. This technology is getting very close to the ability to completely fake a traditional fool proof way of proving something. Currently, there are still artifacts in the final output that enable you to determine that the video has been tampered with the the technology has advanced so far over such a short time that it won’t be long before that isn’t the case. The creators of the technology advocate the ability to help AI drive cars or quicker and cheaper movie production, but you know it will be applied to political candidates. Imagine the outrage when the left finds “video evidence” against Trump for collusion, human rights abuses, or any other nonsensical, radical cause that they desire.

Now That’s Committed

Or perhaps he should be committed – to the psych ward at least. A Las Vegas professor shot himself in the arm to protest Trump. The professor was found outside a bathroom with the gunshot wound and there was $100 bill with a note to the janitor taped to the bathroom mirror. Setting aside the obvious absurdity of shooting yourself in protest of anything, there are some obvious conclusions that can be drawn. The professor carried a concealed weapon without a permit onto a campus that didn’t allow that. he discharged the weapon in an unsafe manner and was not in fear of his life at the time. Opponents of campus carry have often expressed fear that this very thing would happen. Perhaps the prohibition against campus carry should just extend to liberal/progressives with Trump derangement syndrome? Thanks to DSV for the link.

Threat to Grid

Wired magazine ran an article that showed hos the Internet of Things (IoT) could be used to attack the grid and create mass blackouts. This is a new approach to an attack on the grid. Traditional attacks have focused on attacking the supply side of the grid. Generators, transformers, power substations – all have been targeted by hackers in the past. Now a group of Princeton university security researchers are presenting a study in which a coordinated attack from the demand side of the grid can have the same kind of consequences. Your water heater is now a threat to the grid. Thanks to T.Z. for the link.

Empty Shelves

Reader Zac has sent in a reminder for those prepping that you can’t wait until the last minute to expect to get supplies. In the south, many stores have empty shelves and very few have bottle water. Walmart has no gas cans, hand pump gas siphons, candles, or D cell batteries. If things are this bad with pre-storm shelf stocking, imagine how things will get after a crises.

Collapse of Civility

You are standing around in a convenience store when the store clerk falls to the ground in front of you. What do you do? Do you call for help? Do you check his vital signs and perhaps start CPR if needed? Two teens inside a Washington convenience store were in that exact position. Rather than display a common courtesy for human life, they saw this as an opportunity to rob the store and take what they wanted, including the case. They even had to spend time figuring out how to open the cash drawer of the register. All the while, the store clerk is lying on the ground suffering. Even a man, who was not involved in the robbery, just watched him for a few moments, then left the store.

o o o

Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!


14 Comments

  2. Collapse of Civility
    The perps that came in to rob the store, and caused, or at the least accelerated, the clerk’s heart condition——they need to be thrown under the jail.
    As for the bystanders—- a possible explanation—–we have become such a litigious (sue happy) society, that many people are afraid to do SOMETHING, for fear that they will do the WRONG THING, and be sued down to their socks. So, they do NOTHING. Can’t be sued over nothing, can you?
    Do the “Good Samaritan” laws no longer work? Are they no longer in place?
    My understanding is that they were enacted so that you, as a non-expert civilian, could/would not be sued if you attempted to help another in dire need, and made a non-lethal mistake.

    1. As the last boy scout leaves, please take the flag. No body is learning basic life support anymore. I say more power to them. You might be able to get someone to call 911, maybe, but as for a person to help you do CPR. You are going to be out of luck.

      As the only one present that is in a survival state of mind, you are in charge of the scene. You become the sheepdog moving the sheeple. You are the last boy scout .

  3. The deepfake video technology is going to be mainstream before long, and it will be used to deceive the hearts of many.

    For example, if someone showed you a video of your pastor drunk, cursing, and slobbering on some woman, would you support him in your church? Probably not. Would the average person have the discernment and chest to sort through truth and falsehood? Probably not.

    The Bible says that when Christ is lifted up he will draw all men to himself. All other attempts to join people together (such as technology, government, force, etc…) will fail. These things are ultimately rooted in an anti-christ spirit, going all the way back to the tower of Babel, in which mankind desired to draw all men together in pursuit of technology, unified government, enslavement, etc… It failed because only Christ has the authority to draw all of us together. Everything else results in confusion and destruction.

    Whatever humankind builds will ultimately fail spectacularly and result in confusion. The deepfake videos now throw the entire concept of truth into confusion.

    This is what comes when men give their hearts to anything but God.

  4. Both “Empty Shelves” and “Collapse of Civility” provide stark examples of why readers visit SurvivalBlog on a daily basis. They reveal the seamy underbelly of society for which most SurvivalBlog readers prepare, and a time when things get “spicy.”

    Time after time when there is a looming disaster, behavior such as is seen in “Empty Shelves” occurs. A version of it occurs every Black Friday.

    After a major societal calamity, what is seen in “Collapse of Civility” will be considered mild behavior in large sections of the urban landscape, and beyond. It is easy to advise people living close to such areas to re-locate, but it is obvious that, for a great many, this is not a practical option due to a variety of reasons. Were it possible, any sentient being would likely have done so already.

  5. Please remember that the inverse risk of DeepFake Video is that the presence of that technology in society will provide some truly bad folks with a sense of plausible deniability.

    When they are captured on legitimate / real video behaving badly they will just claim that it is “Fake Video” and that people should not believe it.

    Let the conspiracy theories commence…

  6. You’d think that since video is stored as a video file that a hash value could be provided to ensure that the video you are watching is the original. non-repudiation could ensure that someone on video can’t claim that it was altered. Perhaps methods like these could be improved and customized for video files so that all non technical viewers know that what they are watching is unedited.

  7. Now That’s Committed
    I completely support the Las Vegas Professor. He has a right to carry a weapon. He has a right to shoot himself. He was honorable in offering the janitor a decent tip for cleaning up the mess. He must simply pay any damages if the bullet exited his arm and pay his own hospital bills. Nobody was endangered and nobody else was hurt. He has rights, including the right carry a weapon. I don’t see a crime against a real person here. He should walk free. This is how you support freedom and the 2A. I call for his complete exoneration.

    Collapse of Civility
    “Two teens”??? Oh, you meant two yuuths, I see.

  9. I wonder what the guy who shot himself in the arm thought would happen.

    Does he expect Donald Trump to say “Oh my! Someone has shot himself in the arm. I will change my ways and do what that guy thinks I should do!”

  10. What many people don’t understand is that those stores will not be up and running with restocked shelves for another week or two after a Hurricane. So even if you rush out at the last minute and get a few days worth of food thinking you be alright once the storm has passed, You’re in for a bad surprise.

  11. Aside from video, “WE” have had the capability since at least the late 90’s to digitally take a persons voice and re create an audio track that never came from that person. We can make them say what is needed for a specific purpose. After seeing federal agencies go rogue in attempt of a soft coup. I am afraid this technology will be used against POTUS and anyone the opposition see’s as a threat.

  12. Regarding deep fakes: Perhaps this is why the Lord requires two or three witnesses as His measure?

    “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (Deuteronomy 19:15, NIV)

Comments are closed.