The Near-record snowpack in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Solar Storms?

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at the near-record snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.

California’s Historic Snowpack: More Flooding Ahead?

ABC television: California’s historic snowpack and the runoff’s potential impact on farmland.

“After historic snowpack levels in California, the concern now is for how fast the snow melts and the rate of runoff’s impact on farmland.”

How a Solar Storm Took Out a Fleet of Starlink Sats

SurvivalBlog reader C.B. sent this: Now we know how a solar storm took out a fleet of Starlinks.

An Attempted Kidnapping Using a Roadblock

Peter sent us this: Detectives release sketch for attempted kidnapper after woman is attacked at roadblock. JWR’s Comments: Be armed and vigilant folks. Generally, you should stay in your vehicle, and don’t forget that it too is potentially a weapon.

Inside the Alaskan Wilderness of ‘Outlast’

Video: Inside the Alaskan Wilderness of ‘Outlast,’ Where Literally Nothing Is Easy.

Ruling Count-Down: Some Arm Brace “SBR” Advice From JWR

There are now just 55 days of “amnesty” remaining until the ATF’s absurd re-definition of arm-braced pistols goes into full effect. After that, the ATF can begin making felony arrests even for guns that remain within state lines. (And they claim that they can make arrests even now, for such guns sold across state lines.) My advice? Do Not Wait to see if Congress or the courts intervene. Some viable solutions:

1.) Switch barrels to ones that are 16-inch length, or longer. The market supply of 16-inch barrel uppers will probably get very thin, in the next 10 days, so order yours, ASAP. (Palmetto State Armory still has a good selection of upper assemblies, at competitive prices.)

2.) Permanently attach a flash hider, muzzle brake, or another muzzle device to bring the barrel length to 16+ inches. “Permanently” according to the ATF means only welding or high-temperature silver soldering. Any other method is deemed temporary, and hence makes you subject to felony prosecution.

3.) Switch to a traditional plain, round M4-length buffer tube, and destroy your old arm brace and also its buffer tube, if that buffer tube is notched for adjustable length. Brownells and Palmetto State Armory still have some plain M4-length pistol buffer tubes in stock today, but they probably won’t in another week. Order yours, ASAP. Since a favorable court decision might be handed down, you might consider waiting until just a day before the ruling’s effective date, to destroy the contraband parts. Note that keeping those old parts around after the ruling’s effective date might be deemed to be “constructive intent.”

4.) Register it. The ATF boys are waving the $200 tax for only the first SBR registration of your pistol, But this means fingerprinting, a background check, and photographing the “SBR”. I do not recommend this option, but that is your choice.

AI Predictions: Time to Prepare for Solar Storms?

NASA-enabled AI Predictions May Give Time to Prepare for Solar Storms.

More About Solar Cycle 25

Old Farmer’s Almanac: When did solar cycle 25 start, and when will it end? A quote:

“Solar Cycle 25 is predicted to continue until 2030, with peak sunspot activity expected in 2025, according to the NASA/NOAA panel of solar science experts.”

14 States That Will Pay You to Move There

Reader S.U. spotted this article: 14 States That Will Pay You to Move There. The article begins:

“The pandemic-driven remote work trend is here to stay, creating a new level of mobility for many workers. If you’re one of those fresh mobile workers, you may be looking for a living environment with lower costs and lower stress. Some of those environments are also looking for you. Towns all over the country are making an active effort to attract new residents. Some states will even pay you to move there.”