Category: Odds ‘n Sods

The New York Times reports: N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers. Of course they claim that this isn’t being done domestically, but based on other recent revelations, I have some strong doubts. In fact I’m now persuaded that the dialogue of Edward Lyle (Gene Hackman’s character in Enemy Of The State) was more prescient than paranoid.    o o o I heard about Flags and Poles by Lee. This a family owned and operated business in Texas. They are worthy of your business.    o o o My friend Fred The Valmetmeister recommended this eight minute video: M39 Mosin Nagant & …

Mike P. suggested this well-reasoned 12 minute video by Josie The Outlaw on America’s Groupthink indoctrination institutions: A Prison By Any Other Name. Other than her advocacy of “Unschooling”, it is a great video. (Homeschooling has a superlative track record, by comparison.)    o o o S&K sent this from Hackaday: Build a Tape Measure VHF Yagi Antenna    o o o I heard about a quite clever new product that is made in Sonora, California (up in the Sierra Nevada mountains): Siege Stoves. The video on their home page explains it best. These stoves are 100% made in USA.    …

Reader R.B.S. suggested this handy tool for finding cellular phone coverage–or avoiding it: Antenna Search.    o o o F.J. spotted yet another useful piece at Instructables: Mukluks for Christmas    o o o Former Mayor Noramine Jasmin will soon go on trial, on corruption charges. Once again, another one of Mayor Bloomberg’s “crime fighting” anti-gun mayors may be headed to The Big House. Meanwhile, we read of another gun-grabbing mayor with an apparent oral fixation: Ex-Marcus Hook mayor sentenced to 10-20 months. Note that with this felony conviction he can no longer own a firearm for the rest of …

H.L. suggested: Drinking Water and Garden Irrigation During Drought or Crisis    o o o An interesting discussion: Security Risks of Embedded Systems    o o o I recently mentioned off-center feed (OCF) ham transceiver dipole antennas. A reader then suggested this one as a more durable and lower-cost alternative.    o o o “Cool, by accident.” Three-wheel $6,800 car gears for 2015 US launch. (Thanks to George S. for the link.)    o o o Seed For Security has announced a new bonus that will be mailed with each Super Survival Pack that you order: A Practice Kit of …

I was doing some web wandering, and discovered a great collection of WX links: Weather monitoring links — Satellite and RADAR for USA and world    o o o The latest Economist/YouGov poll shows that 39 percent of American households own guns, which represents a five percent increase over the number of gun owning households in 2012.    o o o James W. sent us this: Florida moves ahead with bill legalizing ‘warning shots’    o o o By way of Tam’s blog, I found this at The Shekel – Coins, Law and Commentary: Range Trip With The Tavor    o …

Reader James K. kindly sent: Intense Photos Of Mexican Vigilantes Battling A Drug Cartel For City Control. (Warning to dial-up readers: beaucoup bandwidth required.) Note the that in the first few photos, you mainly see vigilantes armed with .22 rifles and shotguns. But then after the cartel stronghold is defeated and the police are disarmed, some of the vigilantes are armed with AKs, ARs, and even an M-203. This adds credence to what I described in my novels. (Namely, the Butter knife Gun concept.) OBTW, you’ve gotta love the very well-worn M1911 pistol seen in last picture. This being Mexico, …

Michael Z. Williamson, (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) suggested this piece: Risk of supervolcano eruption big enough to ‘affect the world’ far greater than thought, scientists say   o o o Cause for concern: Future Health Care In America: The Abyss Of Gun Rights. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)    o o o Reader M.V.R. suggested a good essay by Libertarian author L. Neil Smith, over at the JPFO site: ‘‘Pot And Kettle Projection’’    o o o Fatal case of H5N1 bird flu in Canada. (Thankfully it has not mutated into an easily-transmissible form.)    o o o I …

Terry H. was the first to send: How to open a can with your bare hands. Oh, and if the can is short, then see this video.    o o o Our friend Tam at the great View From The Porch blog mentioned that Colt has added a handy serial number lookup service to their web site.    o o o R.B.S. sent: Like to Travel???? The Places You’re Most Likely to Get Kidnapped    o o o Long-time content contributor KAF suggested this article in JAMA: Comparing Diabetes Medications: Where Do We Set the Bar?    o o o …

I just heard about the Buckmaster, a 7 Band, 300 Watt ham radio off-center feed (OCF) antenna that currently sells at a special price of $207. (The regular list price is $273.) It is manufactured by the same folks who operate the widely-visited Ham Call web site that lists more than 9.8 million amateur radio call signs from over 200 countries, also available on DVD.    o o o Reader K.A.F. mentioned an upcoming free online Survival Summit from January 20th to 26th, 2014.    o o o B.B. sent this interesting news: 3D Printed metal gun hitting the market    …

Outbreak of ‘nightmare bacteria’ in Illinois stirs worry. (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.)    o o o Mexican Vigilante Gunmen Disarm Local Police So They Can Rid Town of Feared Drug Cartel. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)    o o o California Gun Law Paves the Way for Confiscation: Starting in 2014, the state will keep a list of every gun owner and the specific guns each person buys. (This explains the rush to buy long guns before December 31st.)    o o o Huge Solar Flare Delays Private Rocket Launch to Space Station until Thursday. …

Reader Pierre M. sent: Break Up: Will California splinter into six states? Voters, Congress could soon decide. [JWR’s Comments: Looking at the way their proposed state lines are drawn, it would appear that three of the new states would be libertarian/conservative while the other three would be statist/liberal. California’s present two senate seats are currently held by ultra-liberals. They would be succeeded by 12 senators — and presumably that would mean six libertarians/conservatives and six statists/liberals.] While the plan might seem like giving inordinate political power to the populace of what is now the single state of California, this fragmentation …

To follow up on a post I made on Monday, I mentioned this article: Justice Department Pays Linkedin $500,000 For Unlimited Access To Your Personal Information, wherein I noted that the company name: “Carahsoft” sounded suspicious, since “Carah” is an anagram for “Hacar” which of could be spoken “Hacker.” On Tuesday a reader wrote to mention that the company’s founder first named his daughter Carah. (Like the company, Carah Abod is now in her early 20s,) It is noteworthy that Carah (with a trailing “h”) is an extremely rare name–both as a given name and as a surname. So this …

Mountain House just introduced a new Breakfast Bucket which is now being offered by Directive 21. The introductory sale price of $79.99 with free shipping ends on January 10th, so order soon.    o o o Luke D. was the first of more than two dozen readers who sent this: The Congressman Who Went Off the Grid: Roscoe Bartlett spent 20 years on Capitol Hill. Now he lives in a remote cabin in the woods, prepping for doomsday.    o o o Detroit police chief: Legal gun owners can deter crime. (Thanks to Peter S. for the link.)    o …

Which U.S. states are booming, in four charts. (Thanks to Tom K. for the link.)    o o o Violence In The Face Of Tyranny Is Often Necessary    o o o Reader H.L. sent: Here Are the Rights You Have When Interacting With a Police Officer in One Detailed Infographic    o o o Texas Court Throws 2nd, 4th Amendments Under The Bus

Over at Zero Hedge: Presenting DROPOUT JEEP, your phone is their phone, by The Bard of the American Redoubt    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this obscure text: Obliterating animal carcasses with explosives.    o o o By way of blog reader Alan W. and the editors of Infowars: Motorist checkpoint in Reading draws questions    o o o Bucky Fuller’s Forgotten WWII Shelters Rediscovered In New Jersey    o o o Jay B. sent: Inside TAO: Documents Reveal Top NSA Hacking Unit