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”. One Michigan school is completely full of hockey puckey.
The Army’s Next-Gen Weapons
Reader H.L. suggested this article on the Army’s Next generation squad rifle and pistol. Both weapons are designed specifically to improve on the weaknesses of the existing M16/M4 and the M9. Features of the squad rifle include higher velocity bullets and the ability to penetrate body armor. The M17/M18 pistol incorporates modern proven technology to increase the handling characteristics and the reliablity. We’ve seen how the adoption of the M16 and M9 have created an incredible civilian market for the civilian counerparts – so much so that the AR-15 platform may be the best selling rifle platform of all time. I suspect that the same thing will occur with the new weapon system.
Hijacking Computers
The NSA lost control of some of it’s own hacking tools a bit over a year ago when details were leaked to the public on how they worked. In that time span, patches to the operating system and software were released specifically to combat those vulnerabilities. Sadly, over a year later, many computers are out there that just haven’t been updated at all. Hackers first used these known vulnerabilities to spread ransomware, then moved on to cryptocurrency mining attacks. Now security researchers are suggesting that the UPnProxy vulnerability is being used by hackers to build an even bigger malicious proxy network. Unless you have upgraded the software on all of your vulnerable devices, hackers can reach through your firewall and target unpatched computers. Thanks to G.P. for the link.
Hockey Puckey
DSV sent in this article on how Oakland University in Michigan is arming its faculty and students with hockey pucks to defend against active shooters. Yes you read that right. The school is a victim rich no gun zone with the faculty and staff having very few options available to them legally. Many of the classrooms can’t even be locked from within. During an active shooter training for faculty, the police chief was asked what could be done and he responded by telling them to throw something at the bad guy. As a result, one of the professors started an effort to purchase 800 hockey pucks for union members and another 1,700 for students so they could have a weapon. My forehead is hurting from smacking it with the palm of my hand now.
ChiCom Hacking
Reader D.B. sent in this article that shows that China continues to sabotage critical technology components bound for America. Apparently, China’s intelligence services had ordered subcontractors to plant malicious chips in Supermicro server motherboards for over two years. While this evidence revealed the implant was in the server’s Ethernet connector, the security expert suggested that he has seen other hardware and other manufactures compromised as well. The only way to identify the hacking is by monitoring for hidden communications originating from the server boards. Supermicro continues to deny that it sold any hardware containing malicious microchips to any customers.
Migrant Fraud
The migrant caravan has reached the U.S. border and conflicts continue to rise as many in the migrant camps test the resolve of the border patrol in defending the border. Now, DHS has released data that shows someone is coaching the migrants. There has been a 110% surge in migrant men falsely claiming that the children they show up with at the border are theirs in order exploit a legal loophole that lets migrant families enter. So far, 170 “families” have been caught lying about their relationships to enter the U.S. Another 165 claimed to minors, but were actually adults.
Good Guy Killed
Reader B.B. sent in this article on the recent Alabama mall shooting over Thanksgiving. Sadly, the man killed by police was not the shooter, but instead a good guy with a gun. This stands as a stark warning to all those who carry concealed. Be careful when assisting others and the police are on their way. The police are often entering the situation “behind the curve” and anyone seen with a firearm in their hand is in danger.
Kiosks and Poo
With the rise in minimum wage and the expected result of fast food outlets responding by moving to ordering kiosks, it was with a sense of irony that I read this article sent in by reader P. Every single time I’ve ever visited a fast food restaurant and utilized the bathroom facilities, I’ve been appalled at how many people refuse to wash their hands after doing their business. Watching employees do the same thing is what broke me from eating out. Now there is a study that shows that every single kiosk tested across the country is covered in coliform bacteria. The range of contaminates found on the touch screens is absolutely appalling and apparently most people are completely unfazed by the revelation.
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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!
You should note the poo covered kiosks are all in the UK.
There has been no such study yet in the US, so your story header is misleading.
Sorry, the header misled no one.
As that great observer and commentator of all things American, Paul Simon, said, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest, li-dee-di.”
The link goes to a story about kiosk contamination in the U.K.
From the above header and story, quote
” Now there is a study that shows that every single kiosk tested across the country is covered in coliform bacteria.”
A statement that does not apply to us. We are in the USA. No such study has been conducted in this country.
Look at me tell you Ted, I have to frequently use public toilets like at Costco, Walmart, etc. I don’t shake hands with strangers anymore. More than 70 percent of men do not wash their hands after holding and wiping themselves. Beware. The next gut virus is yours.
@Ned2,
Do you really think that people in the U.S. wash their hands more than those in the U.K.? While the article is about the U.K., my own experiences have clearly been in the U.S. I would also note that when I was teaching science in the Public Schools, I got in trouble because I had my students take culture swabs from various places around the school, grow the bacteria culture, and identify it. Unsurprisingly, the toilet seats were the cleanest areas in the whole school (because of the strong cleaners used when cleaning them) and the filthiest area in the whole school was the lunch serving counter.
I would also note that there have been plenty of studies done in the U.S. on how many people actually wash their hands after doing their business in public restrooms that concur with my own observations.
So now hockey pucks are weapons? Hey, that would solve police shootings, replace guns and tasers with hockey pucks. Maybe it is a puckish joke, but this was a university, which is already pucked up beyond all recognition.
As to the Kiosks, some of the bacteria is everywhere and sanitizing will only make them resistant. Beyond that, consider the supply chain for nearly every other food you buy at the grocery store. Where IS all that e-coli death meat and romaine coming from? Oh, who picks or processes them and do they wash? Especially people like Somali MUSLIM or Syrian refugees who don’t speak english and are illiterate in their own language and the first modern toilet was when they arrived here? They are now popular with the industry now illegal aliens from south of the border create difficulties.
Sample: https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Clash_of_cultures:_Somali_and_Latino_workers_at_U.S._meat_packing_plants
Hey, no problem having unvetted Muslims and MS-13 handling our food supply much less those who aren’t used to first world sanitation or standards.
Or maybe they tested kiosks near the streets of San Fran S**thole. Did they find any needles along with the bacteria? Sanctuary city, but for what exactly?
I wonder how long it will be before Dimocrats call for the control and confiscation of hockey pucks?
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry…
Having traveled in the UK numerous times I believe the population there is more blase’ about washing after using the loo than in the U.S. However I also believe this is a concern in the U.S. as well.
I applaud the astute observations of Oakland U. They recognize that a projectile at high velocity can end a crime in progress. This is something I can work with. Dear Professors, how about a propellant of some sort to make the pucks go even faster?
But Wait, There’s More!
If the right ratio of propellant to projectile size can be found one could (Theoretically) carry many more projectiles of a smaller size that could do even more damage per projectile to an assailant? Do you think that’s possible? I mean, you’re the know-it-all professors here, and I’m just some dumb hillbilly, but what do you think?
Bingo. If the police chief himself is advocating the use of a projectile at high velocity for defense – and for defenders to launch these as hard and fast as possible in an attempt to disable criminal attacker(s) – the door is now opened to discuss how this is, in theory, the very same argument for use of force via any means, and therefore right-to-carry.
Unless the police and/or university are against the idea everyone walking around on campus with concealed hockey pucks on their persons? Because, you know, the police chief has publicly acknowledged pucks can be potential weapons?
For starters we could even make the smaller projectiles out of the same rubber as the hockey pucks?
True, but lead has proven to be useful for this, in that it’s more efficient, both in its manufacture and ability to end a threat. Smile.
How much speed and energy can a hockey puck develope?? These are the people that are teaching our children 7 hours a day??
Ask a hockey goalie.
Enough that you don´t want to be hit with one, believe me
So which 6.5 is Big ARMY going to? I still don’t see any reason to switch from 7.62X51.
SOCOM is adopting 6.5CM now. “Big Army” is poised to go to 6.8
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/05/08/armys-next-squad-weapon-will-fire-a-never-before-seen-ammo-combination/
7.62×51 was deemed too heavy in the early 1960’s,replaced with 5.56,tried to replace that with”caseless” in the late 80’s(too fragile)
There are plenty of reasons to prepare your own food other than kiosk contamination. Too many to insult you with the long list. Convienence does not necessarily make one wiser nor healthier.
The Alabama guy is not been proven good or bad as of yet. He has been cleared as the shooter, but it still is not clear if he was involved according to police. They were wrong in that he was not the shooter.
In a recent study in America, “Placing children in grocery shopping carts has been implicated recently as a source of infection with Salmonella and Campylobacter in young children. This study was conducted to assess the occurrence total bacteria, coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli on grocery shopping cart handles and seats. A total of 85 shopping
carts in parking lots of grocery stores were tested in five major metropolitan areas across the United States. The total numbers of heterotrophic bacteria were as great as 1.1 × 10 7th
on the handle and seat. Coliforms were detected on 72% (62) of the carts. E. coli was identified on 18 of 35 carts (51%) on which coliform identification was conducted. The results of this study suggest the need for improved sanitation of shopping cards/baskets to reduce exposure to pathogens and potential transmission of microbial infections among shoppers.”
These various microbial forms are also found on the keypads at checkout stands, on door handles, etc. One needs to take thorough, consistent precautions these days, even if one looks like the Monk from the popular TV series. And in yogurt-hits-the-fan situations, fecal contaminated water and foods can be very lethal.
Regarding the caravan being supervised and controlled…in almost every video of the crowd you can see individuals (male) wearing fluorescent ( traffic ) vests directing the crowd. Sometimes they have bullhorns. When the crowd is trying to pass a fenceline, these guys direct people to openings.
There is also a group of military age males wearing orange ballcaps, who weave thru the crowd as a unit of group and move with a purpose.
Watch several news videos and look at the background.
Elderly lady here. I cannot speak about rest rooms for men, but as for women, they often do not bother to wash, or do not really soap up and rub for at least 15 to 20 seconds. Public rest room toilets do NOT have lids, and flushing sends fine spray into the air. Ugh. Carry bleach impregnated wipes, or make your own with paper towel dampened bleach and water in zip log bag. Wipe down door handles, cart handles, anything and everything you touch, even your vehicles steering wheel when getting in because you may have germs on your hands. Avoid hand dryers in rest rooms, they send the flushing spray out into the hot air for your hands. Carry your own paper towel.
Good points. I have one question though: Why is it so hard to train a woman to put the lid down again after she uses a toilet? In my 55 years I have met only one that closes the lid when she’s finished.
Granny, Go to the Peeople’s Republic of California and you can use any restroom you like. Just identify as female one day and use the ladies room. Identify as a man the next day and use the men’s room. It’s that simple and no forms to fill-out or even birth certificates to change.
California Nut-jobs! Who needs them anyways!
Another elderly lady weighing in here… I carry a purse-sized spray bottle of Four Thieves essential oil in an easily accessed purse pocket. While out and about, I ALWAYS spritz my hands with this before getting into my car. If I get rid of the germs before they can get into my car, the odds are good my house will less germy. I have skin that is unhappy with hand sanitizer, so the essential oil works well for me. A few spritzes, then rubbing my hands together is what I do. In a workplace, I would spritz as soon as I got back to my desk, so at least that area would be clean. There’s nothing you can do about the habits (or lack thereof) of others, so figure out what you can do that is as non-burdensome and pleasant to use, and a time/place that makes the most sense.
As a man and a retired big-rig truck driver in the United States, I can speak to a couple of previous comments. 1 – @elderly lady: Men do not wash their hands at a rate probably surpassing that of women. I have so often wished that there were two handles on the inside of restroom doors, one marked “washed hands” and the other marked “unwashed hands.” Another solution is to always design that one door to exit by pushing, rather than pulling. 2 – @Ned2: Rest assured, based on what I (32 years on the road in America) and “elderly lady” have observed, the contamination on kiosks here is just as bad as in your country. Ugh!
I’m going to trade my pistol for a pocket pick.
Most liberal college students are non-athletic, spending too much time playing video games or on social media to have developed proper throwing form. Most “throw like girls”. No way is a hockey puck thrown by the average social justice “warrior” going to have enough speed or force to inhibit an active shooter. Better for them to do what they know, lock arms, chant, and block the doorway or hallway.
“Better for them to do what they know, lock arms, chant, and block the doorway or hallway.” That’s exactly what they do. Every time. Except their “chanting” sounds like screams. But they do an excellent job of blocking exits with their bodies.
I think colleges should issue hockey sticks also along with the pucks so that the potential victims can get some real velocity on that puck.
Hockey Puckey
Don Rickles must be rolling over in his grave with laughter! “Ya hockey puck!”
I’m surprised the teachers weren’t issued shuriken (throwing stars). Much more cool then hockey pucks.
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
re:
Modernizing fUSA Weapons
Hilarious. From the closing paragraph of the article:
…before the next conflict slated for mid-2020…
Slated as in ‘scheduled’. Right there on the slated calendar. Set your slated clock.
Criminy. Who are these people. How did they get to be in-charge.
Criminy. Who are these people. How did they get to be in-charge.
The politicians, we elected. The bureaucrats volunteered, as did the military folks, also bureaucrats.
The answer is term limits, for all of the above. Politicians, that’s easy. Three terms for the House, one term for the Senate. The bureaucrats and military folks, no more than 10 years for non-military, no more that 12 for the military. No pensions for anyone in government unless wounded in the line of duty, and then only depending on the extent of the injuries.
Why is it that our congress critters end up with multi-million dollar pensions at our expense? If they need a retirement plan, how about a 401-K at their own expense, with no contributions from their employers., that would be us. Come to think of it how about the same thing for the bureaucrats as well. They are all supposed to be public servants, not public slave masters.
Regarding contaminated kiosks, I used to work with medical professionals, and would avoid using a drinking fountain in a hospital. Elevator buttons in a hospital or medical office building, use your elbow or a finger knuckle. Think of how many germs are on the door handle of your doctor’s office. I won’t set the grocery bags that have been in the grocery cart on my kitchen counter. No way!
Hockey Pucks will now be called Assault Pucks by the LEFT… Be watching for the barrage of congressional Puck Control laws to sweep the nation. Does the 2A include Assault Pucks – I say yes!
CCWs out there: WARNING! Follow your instruction/training. After you kill an assailant scope the area for more assailants then re-conceal your weapon, call police, and perform CPR on the assailant. The last one is tough but is required in training unless you pronounce them dead!
Big Box stores now have sterile towels you can whip down every grocery cart you touch. Don’t tell me this doesn’t happen in America. They don’t even allow dogs in carts anymore due to their fannies touching the bottom of the metal.
Having your weapon holstered and concealed doesn’t stop the police from murdering you. The only thing that stops your murder is a head shot.
My holstered weapon is always unnoticed due to an inside my front pocket in a small .380- caliber. I usually have my wallet over the weapon so no imprint on the front of the pocket. In fact, my wife and her girlfriends don’t notice it.
I am not required to do cpr on an armed idiot I had to put down! In no way are you legally required to do so!
A healthy human body can withstand many germs. Washing your hands regularly and training yourself not to touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands will help prevent sickness. I too would be careful where I eat , when possible. Otherwise pray and bless your food. We shouldn’t stress ourselves over everything we know that can harm us. Stress lowers your immunity. Do what you can, be wise and do good.
Sis,
I love the “when possible” on watching where you eat… I’ve been traveling the world for Uncle Sam for a couple decades now, and at some point you have to just give up, get your hot food HOT your cold food COLD and get used to the idea that your skeleton will occasionally try to exit your body through your backside. I do not look forward to the day where intestinal upset is common and Immodium AD and Gatorade are not.
A school in Pennsylvania placed a bucket full of river rocks in each classroom to throw at potential shooters. One commentator suggested shuriken. “Ninja Throwing Stars” along with realistic toy guns are banned in Kansas. Fortunately switchblade knives and concealed pistols are legal to carry without a permit in most places, though not in classrooms.
Maybe they could just broadcast the national anthem over the school intercom system instead and then all the bad guys would take a knee leaving enough time for the SJW’s to escape………………….just sayin
Kiosks and Poo:
If you work in an office like I do, it is downright frightening the people that use the bathroom and fail to wash their hands. And since it is Christmas time, nothing says Merry Christmas like a potluck made by people who don’t wash their hands. I make sure I take a vacation day or schedule a meeting so I miss the potluck.
Curious about the position that wide-spread adoption of the Sig pistol, much less a new rifle in this day and age.
The last time a new rifle was actually adopted, the M16, the year was 1964; the most recent pistol was the crappy Beretta M9. In each case, if my memory serves, the laws were different, and companies could sell commercial versions of military firearms at less that full military price. With law preventing commercial sales at prices below military rates, and the explosion of costs for all military equipment, the new Sig, and whatever the military finally adopts for a new battle rifle, the cost of a commercial version of each will invariably be prohibitive to see wide-spread adoption.
On the issue of ammunition adoption, well, that to me seems a given, assuming that the rounds are not classified. Milspec ammo has historically been cheap and plentiful. I can see the 6.8 SPC II becoming more widely used, but never eclipsing the inexpensive AR-15 platform chambered in .223/5.56mm.
On 9mm, the military probably is not looking to improve over the crappy ball ammo they are using, so it seems unlikely there will be innovation from the mil-ind complex that doesn’t steal from commercially available bullet designs.
But then, I’ve been wrong before.
Kiosks and Poo; don’t fret! the same bacteria is found on money! Momma always said “You never know where that money’s been. ‘Course, as kids, we imagined entirely different places could land, not knowing about things like strippers’ G-strings! Swab those kiosk screens all you want, and there’s one thing you won’t find a trace of; $15.00/hr employees! …This is the world you wanted, kids!
As far as hygiene goes, I work every day with, shall we say, a “diverse” staff. The worst offenders, from my observation; people from India! Those folks know NOTHING about handwashing! One of the, shall we say , “non-diverse” staff printed a notice saying “In this country, we wash our hands!” and tacked it up in the mens’ room. He was forced to take it down and e-mail an apology to the entire staff for being so “offensive.” This is the world you wanted, kids!
When I use the can, I always ( whenever possible ) use the paper towel dispencer instead of the hot air dryer blower. And after having worked in the packing house for 40 yrs, you washed your hands every time, all the time, no matter what. And that applyed to the maintence side too.
lot of times i dont wash after using a public restroom
in most public restrooms, im pretty sure the parts of my body i touch are the cleanest thing in the room.
pretty sures there more germs on the sink faucet handle than on me
I use my knuckle, not my finger at any touchpad or or anything , also at all those credit card readers where you have to enter a PIN number,
and I use my shirt tail or sleeve to open doors