SurvivalBlog Readers' & Editors' Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: Germans Attend ‘Blackout Courses’ as Energy Crisis Worsens Ahead of Christmas. Mike’s Comments: “I find it amusing they need courses for what we’ve known for decades. When our house furnace failed in 2017, we used the cooking range and fireplace for three days, closed off the non-main rooms, and the house stayed above 70 F.”

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Russia Announces 12 New Countries Want to Join BRICS Economic Alliance as US-Backed Global Order Crumbles.

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Global population will hit 8 billion on November 15, but it will begin shrinking around 2100.

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From USA Today: Crack in Earth’s magnetic field triggers extremely rare pink auroras witnessed in Norway. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)

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Reader James D. suggested this video interview of Victor Davis Hanson: Why Most Californians Aren’t Happy with the State.

o o oAnother one to file under “Partition is Inevitable”: 27 Illinois Counties Have Voted to Split the State.

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Sarge in Montana wrote:

“In Part 1 of the article written by Tunnel Rabbit on 04 November 2022 you inserted a comment:

‘ Even the local oscillator within a radio receiver produces detectable RF energy — but minuscule, compared to what you’d produce in operating a transmitter.’

Many Americans have no conception of what the weak local oscillator signal can do. It seems insignificant, but is still a concern.

While stationed in West Germany back in the early 1980s, I witness a German Bundesposte (post office) VW micro-buss putting around town with a small yagi antenna sticking out of the roof. My friends in the local German Amateur Radio club explained that the van was seeking out the weak local oscillator signal from television sets. Whenever they detected a signal, the equipment operators would reference a listing of addresses that held a “TV license”. If the residence did not appear in the listing, that indicated an “illegal” TV set being used by someone without a “TV license”. Keep in mind that back then there were no independent television stations. All the television stations were state-owned and produced programming at taxpayer’s expense. Thus the requirement to have a “TV license” in order to watch the “official” television stations.

The UK was doing the same thing. Fans of Monty Python may remember a skit involving a man who was convinced by a scam artist that he had to have a “license” for his pet fish. American viewers may not have grasped what he was talking about when the man mentions the “Cat Detector Van” that had stopped in front of his door and asked to see his “cat license”.

In the United States, there was a period where some Highway Patrols in certain states used a “Radar Detector Detector” to seek out motorists using radar detectors in states where they were illegal. This device also used the detection of the weak local oscillator signal from the radio detector to alert the Highway Patrol to the presence of a radar detector in a nearby vehicle.

So here are some practical examples of what a weak local oscillator signal can do. Tunnel Rabbit was very correct in warning of “noisy” chargers and equipment used in solar panel charging systems. Amateur Radio operators are very aware of the “RF hash” radiated by some electronic devices. But if you are not a ham radio operator dialing across the radio dial and encountering these signals, you will probably not be aware that they even exist. They do, and can be used to direction find (RDF) your location. So beware!”

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Another from H.L.: DHS Censorship Agency Had Strange First Mission: Banning Speech That Casts Doubt On “Red Mirage, Blue Shift” Election Events.

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Shocking video: 5-foot alligator found inside Burmese python in Florida.

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The Daily Wire reports: Alex Jones Gets Assets Frozen, Now Has To Pay Almost $1.5 Billion To Sandy Hook Families. JWR’s Comment: The chilling effect on freedom of speech of these court judgments cannot be overstated. The fear of drawing a false conclusion and getting sued into oblivion will make everyone in the press shy away from any incisive journalism. Huge jury awards like these are antithetical to the First Amendment.

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UK to provide 1,000 more surface to air missiles to Ukraine.

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FBI Conducts “No-Knock Warrant” At Home Of Owner Of Website Devoted To Area 51. (Thanks to D.S.V. for the link.)

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Tim J. spotted this: Federal Judge Agrees w/ Biden’s DOJ: No Guns for Pot Smokers.

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In The Jerusalem Post: Russia gave stolen Western weapons, cash to Iran.

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Reader A.K. suggested this video: Episode #54: The Reality of Living Remote & Off Grid Water @ Remote Alaska Cabin.

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And, lastly, here is one more article suggested by H.L.: NYC thieves steal over 2 dozen cars worth hundreds of thousands from luxury dealership overnight.