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”. Forget real parenting. Tracking your kids with a GPS ankle bracelet is the new thing.
Amazon is Taking Over Your House
Amazon wants to take over your entire house. Alexa is being introduced into everyday appliances like microwaves and toasters and there are even adapters that will turn ordinary lamps into smart lamps. The adapters are incredibly easy to use too. Just plug it in and your smart phone will recognize it and program it for you. Amazon’s concept is to seamlessly integrate your everyday activities with shopping so you’ll spend more money with them. Hey, Amazon already lets strangers in your house, so why not give them total control over the rest of it. What could possibly go wrong here? I wonder if your home will be classified in the future: Are you a Google home or an Amazon home?
Card Sniffing Dogs
With the size of digital storage media growing at the same time the physical size is shrinking, I’ve often wondered how secure facilities could manage. I’ve even wondered how authorities could find information hidden on these cards when executing search warrants. Of course my mind was thinking in terms of Bibles in countries where the Bible is illegal and things like that. As it turns out, that has already been dealt with. Apparently, there are dogs who are specially trained to sniff out the chemicals found in the plastics in these devices. The dogs are currently in use sniffing out the storage media of pedophiles when warrants are served on them. Thanks to G.P. for the link.
Tracking Your Kids
Reader DSV sent in this article on parents who are actively using the GPS ankle bracelet to track their kids movements. I was actually surprised by this article. Who would have thought that there was actually a market for this sort of thing. Since you don’t need a court order to make your kid wear one of these, parents are increasingly turning to this sort of idea to keep track of their kids risky behavior. Some models are near impossible to cut off and offer a two way communication ability. Others sound a piercing alarm if the child strays out of an allowed area. Hmmm, here is a novel idea: How about trying actual parenting for a change. Cut back on the required expenditures of your lifestyle, homeschool your kids and have at least one parent in their lives during the formative years. Quit leaving it to others to parent the children. It’s a time honored tradition that actually works and is preventative in nature rather than punitive.
Forced to Abort
Dozens of doctors stormed out of an emergency meeting on Sunday. Their concerns about abortion are just being ignored. With the recent law passed in Ireland, the doctors are being told that they will be required to perform abortions regardless of their personal faith and convictions. About 300 doctors attended the meeting at the Irish College of General Practitioners EGM in Dublin and when their concerns were just ignored, dozens of them walked out of the meeting. According to the law, every maternity hospital must be ready to perform abortions starting on January 1st.
Antifa Doing What Antifa Does
Seattle has made itself so amicable to Antifa that it might as well be considered the headquarters of the group. While you can’t freely express your faith or criticize ungodly lifestyles there and you have to watch where your step so you don’t get human poo on your shoes, Antifa gets a free pass. Recently Antifa held a protest where they blocked public sidewalks and menaced residents with AR-15 rifles despite not having the requisite permits. Police just ignored them. But when a Portland journalist became the target of the group, he was informed by police that he was the one inciting conflict. It’s past time to vote with your feet if you live there. Thanks to DSV for the link.
A World Without Can Openers
Canned tuna, long a stable of American lunches, may be on the way out. The big players, StarKist, Bumble Bee Foods, and Chicken of the Sea, are struggling to keep demand for their product relevant by changing packaging, flavors and even their image. But packaging may be the key. Apparently younger households don’t own a can opener anymore. While many of us grew up with canned goods, younger generations prefer fresher options with the Just-in-time (JIT) market providing things like fresh foods delivered to your door. I’m aware of young couples who make a standard trip to the grocery store every day on their way home from work because they have no food at home in their pantry. StarKist is reporting that sales of tuna pouches are up by 20%. (Warning: link may require a login to read.) Thanks to C.D. for the link.
Signs of Recession
We’ve had a relatively long period of economic expansion (if you can call a couple of years long), but there is a problem on the horizon. During the last recession, interest rates were dropped to near zero and the average consumer debt went up as consumers and states spent money they didn’t have just to maintain their positions. Now we are seeing the problems develop. The Fed is trying to raise interest rates without crashing the economy because they really have no more tools in the belt. It’s a delicate balance for them. Consumers, on the other hand, have just continued to increase their debt loads despite economic recovery and as the economy turns, they also have no where to go financially. It’s a strange new world. Thanks to H.L. for the link.
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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!
Without can openers: Young people who have no food at home? Darwin was so ahead of his time, anyone have a recipe on how to cook a new $1000 I phone or all the little Alexa pucks around the house? All I can think about lately is that the world is getting set for a major reset. Which will of course end the arguments about man made global warming in a couple of months or less. Will it be a better world or just one with a heck of a lot less people? Someone once posed the question ” Am I mad or is it all the people around me?” When I contemplate things like this I realize how close together the emotions laughing and crying are.
How to cook a $1000 IPhone? Easy, throw in microwave and push the button for popcorn. Nothing tastes as good as fried circuit boards. Hehe
I could see it´s uses if you could loose your child in a mall for example, on a School hike in the Woods or a Museum. if your kid isn´t coming home late or such i don´t see anything homeschooling should make a difference.
Many cans don´t Need a can opener and Fresh Food from the store every other day doesn´t Need to´ve anything to do with having Nothing at home.
Canned fish takes a hit in Europe, especially with the Younger generations because of Health issues .
Those pull-top cans are great… until the pull tab pulls loose of the lid. …Then what?…
Army Cutlery, SAK,
” I’m aware of young couples who make a standard trip to the grocery store every day on their way home from work because they have no food at home in their pantry.”
My family and I lived that way for awhile when we were stationed in (West) Germany in the early 80s.
Because of (WWII) wartime, and post-war economy and social conditioning, most families then and there did their shopping daily to have dinner. But there were open markets with good fresh foods, as well as the usual mom-&-pop and “super” markets.
I´m very sorry, that we Germans are socially conditioned to prefer fresh Food over Food from a tin can.
The issue isn’t one of “fresh vs canned” but instead how that fresh is obtained. JIT is a disaster just waiting to happen. One family I know made the daily trips to the grocery store right up until a three day ice storm trapped them in their home with no food. Now they still do “fresh” but they have canned food as well
IIRC in my kin there was no Family who wouldn´t ´ve at least a week worth of Food in the house more likely 2 or more in the 80s.
But Things like Bread, Meat/Sausage etc. was usually bought every few days Fresh.
JIT isn´t a disaster waiting to happen, it´s a disaster that has , is and will be Happening.
When the iron loses a nail, it´s verhy Handy to´ve the correct nail at Hand.
‘Nothing wrong with that… until food isn’t available… all of a sudden…
Many “canned” foods from the store now have pull tabs on them. I still have a P-38 in my wallet.
I suppose that the 5oz cans of tuna will become 4oz pouches, but the price will remain the same.
If there is not such much water in the pouches wouldn´t that at least a fair deal?
It would be, except that it’s usually the other way around…
Canned tuna is great. But expansion of fresh market small farms is the ideal way to establish small but vital segments of a resilient society, enabling families to raise children with work ethic.
Support your local roadside stands and small operation animal producers. Buy a few good organic items like pork, chicken, beef, vegetables…..even if they cost more than grocery stores. You’ll be voting with your wallet.
Who needs a can opener! Just take the can and grind the end on a flat piece of concrete till the seal breaks.
It’d be hilarious to watch someone dragging a spam can behind their car to get their ammo out! 😛
Be careful. If you drag more than one can behind the car, people might think you just got married
On the topic of Irish doctors being forced to perform abortions, I recall that following World War II, at the war crimes trials in Nuremberg, doctors who performed abortions on unwilling women were convicted of atrocities and war crimes. Forcing doctors to murder unborn babies against their will IS ALSO a war crime. The war ? The war on Christ and Christians.
Yeah, what happened to be fruitful and multiply?
80% of our societal problems were created by allowing women to leave the homes. It is a man’s job to provide and a woman’s job to be that man’s helpmate.
There was a couple a few months back writing to the extent of moving to the redoubt due to feminism. When women leave their God given role to procure her man’s God given role there’s no space for men anymore with women harassing them there.
There’s too many abortions, lawsuits, divorces, male job terminations and male incarcerations when women are taught to fight against the goads of society to be something they were never created to be- men.
I agree with the comment above that us women staying home and raising the children. Society runs much smoother and you reap God’s blessings and not his curses in being the man and woman in a relationship
Women need to go back to their families immediately to see a turn around in our culture.
That’s the most politically incorrect thing I’ve heard in a long time and I LOVE IT! Very well said. But unfortunately the trend is still leaning towards women placing their utmost importance on their careers and then putting their families and God somewhere else way down on the list.
Amazing, Antipoo waving around AR15’s. Can you imagine what would happen if a conservative group did something like that? It would be non-stop news on CNN and MSNBC for the next month. They would analyze the thing to death such as ‘some members looked like they had high capacity magazines or certain pistol grips’. Along with conjuring up some lady that was supposedly threatened by a person in the group. Of course conservatives wouldn’t do something like that of waving around weapons. Only lunatics do that.
Re: A World Without Can Openers
No app. No tuna fish.
Home Depot went so far to create a video for Millennials, ‘How to use a tape measure’. Americans have become American’ts.
I remember just in time (JIT) back in the late 80,s I worked in a machine shop
I would set up a CNC lathe put in the programs and tooling took a few hours to do
Then only run 2 parts sometimes one yes it took a few hours to finish each part
Then take out all the tooling and do it all over again for a different part
A few days later they would need the same part again So wash and repeat
I did ask why Boss said do not want to stock them I did get faster each time I had to set the machine up Still did not make sense to me
I see my neighbors- unemployed neighbors — driving around in $50,000 new trucks. And I’m fairly sure, based on what I see, that most of my neighbors and friends have made no preps at all — no stored food, no water, no nothing.
And I read that 50 % of Americans have no retirement savings — nada, zip. And yesterday my pension plan contacted me telling me that, in their view, I needed to have 70% of my retirement in equities rather than the majority in what amounts to an annuity. I told them to stuff it.
The fact people can’t open cans doesn’t surprise me. We can’t even get the important things right. It’s not an issue of if my friends — it’s just a question of when.