Category: Odds ‘n Sods

More bad news from the P.I.: Typhoon that smashed houses to smithereens: Full horror of destruction in Philippines revealed as rescue workers says two thirds of dead are children. We also read: The Chaos After the Super Typhoon. And the president has declared a national calamity amid widespread looting. If you want to help with the relief effort, please don’t send contributions to the bloated, top-heavy charities like the Red Cross. Instead, please send your donations to any of the dozens of small charities that have had a long-established presence in the country.    o o o Reader M.P. in …

Bad news from the Philippines: “Super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of the area in its path as it tore through Leyte province on Friday…”    o o o James C. mentioned that an important piece to print out for your reference binder was recently re-posted over at Preparedness Advice Blog: Chemical Names, A List Showing the Older Names vs the Modern Names. [JWR’s Comment: Credit for compiling most of this list (nearly verbatim) should be given to Kurt Saxon. He was the first one I know of to have published an earlier edition …

Reader Troy H. mentioned a map, updated hourly, of infectious disease outbreaks and diagnoses from around the world.    o o Billy Graham’s final evangelism campaign has been via a great Internet video. Please watch and share it.    o o o Ray Jason: The Sea Gypsy Tribe    o o o Andre D. suggested: How to Erase Yourself From the Internet    o o o I was recently interviewed by Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast.

An Incredible 26 Piece Altoids Survival Kit    o o o This may be a landmark Supreme Court decision: Bond v. United States. [JWR Adds: Don’t miss reading the amicus brief from the American Center for Law and Justice. An aside: Just when, exactly, did the Supreme Court become the Supreme Courtesans, and when was there first any doubt of a slam dunk decision, in a case like this? Before or after Mrs. Sonia Sotomayor came on board?)    o o o Jay B. sent: Exploding windmill — What happens when there’s too much wind even for a windmill    o …

Reader H.L. mentioned some great video instruction for newbies from Dave Canterbury: Shelter Basic Tarp Setups and an E Fire 2    o o o Google’s Secret Revealed: Barge To Offer High-End Showrooms, Party Deck. Note that with CONEX construction, it is feasible to make the enclosed portions of these structures EMP-proof.    o o o Abundance from a prepper’s garden: Green eggs & Ham sandwich – eat more sweet potato and malabar leaves    o o o Hiker stranded in Canadian wilderness reportedly ate dog to survive.    o o o I had received several enquiries from readers about the …

Bill in Colorado sent this: 51st State Question Answered “Yes” in 6 of 11 Counties Contemplating Secession    o o o Pat S. suggested a useful primer: How to Save Seeds    o o o L.D. mentioned a great article at Reason.com about the Free State Project: The Free State Project Grows Up: Libertarians are changing the face of New Hampshire. L.D.’s comments: “[This project] seems to be gaining traction. It’s actually yielding results when you start small and build within the framework we have in place right now. It is possible to bring about positive change. I also believe …

Next on my reading pile is Richard J. Johnson’s book Redoubts: Paleopopulism at Twilight. Though ranty in spots, this looks like a cogent collection of essays.    o o o Several readers mentioned a propaganda piece in the Washington Times that quotes Chinese military planners boasting about their nuclear strike capability on the United States. In my estimation this blustering is more about China’s economic goals than it is about actual military plans. China aims to crush the United States economically in the long term, but in the near term they need the American consumer market, to keep their many …

Sometimes, the “crude, but effective” approach will work: How to open a can without a can opener    o o o Diana V. pointed out this important article: In United States v. Bond, The Supreme Court Could Be Ruling On The Safety Of All American Rights    o o o Does this look familiar? “Strawberry” sent us a video link, showing a couple of carags casting off. (You can skip the first minute or so.) A carag is of course featured in my most recent novel, and shown on the cover. Note that gas engine carags tend to be much …

An innovative new company that makes portable DC power systems has been launched by three Florida college students: SharkBox.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) spotted this: How to Make a Soup Can Forge. (Of course a section of scrap Schedule 80 steel pipe would prove far more durable for the outer sleeve. )    o o o The Republican Liberty Caucus of Idaho is sponsoring the Treasure Valley Liberty Expo on Saturday, November 9th at the Red Lion Downtowner Hotel in Boise, Idaho.    o o o Beyond the Bunker: Preppers Go Mainstream.    …

H.L. sent this news from Nanny State New York: Three Too Many Cartridges Means Loss of Firearms Rights    o o o Reader B.B. recommended the latest essay by Matt Bracken, over at the WRSA site.    o o o How to disable MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Light Armored Vehicles    o o o JMC sent: Holocaust And Resistance: “Without A Weapon, You Were Worthless.“    o o o Amnesty Is Republican Party Suicide (Phyllis Schlafly )

Loyal content contributor J.B.G. sent this link: 28 solar flares in the last seven days, and more may be coming.    o o o Joe E. spotted this interesting product: FiberFix aims to make duct tape look pathetic.    o o o To counter the claims of some Chicken Little fanatics on the Internet who apparently have no clue about the Inverse Square Law, here is some hard data: Health risk assessment from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, based on a preliminary dose estimation. The health risk in the U.S. because of continuing …

An interesting piece over at the Pantry Paratus blog: Wintertime Harvest: Food Preservation in the “Off” Season    o o o Over at Dollar Vigilante, a Canadian’s essay on the implications of voting with one’s feet: The Unbearable Lightness of Leaving. (She is moving to Galt’s Gulch Chile.)    o o o Reader “1F” mentioned a new needful countermeasure: New Product Lets Sportsmen Know When Drones Are Near    o o o J.B.G. suggested this piece over at Glenn Beck’s site: Are Americans waking up to the encroaching tyranny of the surveillance state?    o o o Owners of FN-FAL …

Ray Jason (The Sea Gypsy) writes: The Road to the Future Leads to the Past    o o o A couple of reminders: I will be a featured guest speaker (via teleseminar) Life Changes. Be Ready! Preparedness and Gun Expo that will be held in in Lakeland, Florida on November 2 & 3, 2013. (My slot should be mid-day, on Saturday.) I will also be a featured guest speaker (again, via teleseminar) at the Charlotte, North Carolina Back To The Basics convention on November 16, 2013. (This event was formerly known as Charlotte PrepCon.)    o o o Don H. …

The folks at Prepper Press wrote to mention that they’ve released a new book by author Tony Grice. It is titled Indivisible: With Justice for Some (Volume 1.) Coincidentally, that increases their generous writing contest prize package from 22 books to 23 books.    o o o G.G. suggested this article: ‘We’ve reached the end of antibiotics’: Top CDC expert declares that ‘miracle drugs’ that have saved millions are no match against ‘superbugs’ because people have overmedicated themselves    o o o Ender’s Game is scheduled for release on November 1st. I hope that Hollywood didn’t mess up a great …

While supplies last, APEX Gun Parts in Colorado is a having a $44 special on Polish surplus 26.5mm flare pistols. Note that these are inexpensive enough to consider using 2 or 3 of them around your retreat (post-TEOTWAWKI), as trip-wire actuated intrusion detection signal devices. Take note of the notch in the trigger, which makes them well-suited for rigging a trip wire. A mousetrap should provide sufficient force for the trigger pull. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just use power screws to attach the flare gun and mouse trap to a scrap of 2×4, lag screw the contraption …