Category: Odds ‘n Sods

The judge in the George Zimmerman trial has clearly flipped out and should recuse herself. Watching this, her bias is so blatant that it is palpable. Was the jury present to witness that exchange? Depending on how she phrases her jury instructions, the Manslaughter Railroad may be running at full steam. The fix, it seems, is in. Please pray for justice! Please also pray that the judge comes under the supervisory control of the next higher court before she further taints the judicial process. This can be done with an appeal in the nature of a writ of error. (Traditional …

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent an amazing piece about a homebrewed Glock with a steel frame. (Crude language warning.)    o o o A lengthy and poetic article that would strain credulity, if it didn’t come from a respected Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist: Dear Leader Dreams of Sushi. This is either an elaborate fantasy or another Pulitzer Prize in the making    o o o Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime

Reader Brian M. sent this: Couple discover 7,500 machine gun, shotgun and pistol bullets in their back garden while weeding their pond. Now, to illustrate a world of difference: Last year one of my consulting clients discovered 5,500 rounds of .22 ammo and six boxes of shotgun shells stored in dusty ammo cans in the crawlspace of the house that he had bought eastern Oregon. He called the previous owners and asked if they wanted the ammo. (They had moved to Arizona.) They told him to just keep it. He expressed his heartfelt thanks. Note that he did not become …

Reader Greg S. sent us some news of Nanny State hand-wringers, run amok: Geolocating “Dangerous” Guns and Gun Owners. Wait! I can make it easier for them: Click here. (Each tiny green pixel dot represents a privately-owned gun. And yes, they are “dangerous”–dangerous to criminals and dangerous to would-be tyrants.) We also have some of the lowest crime rates in the country. I wonder why…    o o o G.G. sent some news from the Land of Lincoln Obama: Elderly man who picked dandelions for food gets $75 ticket. And speaking of Chicago: More than 1,000 shootings so far in …

G.G. flagged this: Extreme Solar Storms Could Destroy Earth’s Power Grids    o o o In Case of Emergency: My Cellphone Knows What to Do    o o o Indonesia Readies Mass Production of Drones. Coincidentally, I described their Wulung drones in my upcoming novel Expatriates: A Novel of the Coming Global Collapse. (It will be released on October 1, 2013. Please wait until the release date to order your copy. Thanks!)    o o o Has Motorization in the U.S. Peaked?    o o o This link bears repeating: Informed Christians New Disaster Crash Course

One often overlooked traditional tool is a bark spud. You probably already own lots of axes and perhaps a shingle froe and a draw knife. But few folks recognize the importance of a bark spud for peeling logs. (In fact, these days most people wouldn’t even be able to name this tool, if they were handed one.) These are expensive to buy new, so look for used ones, via Craigslist. Or watch for garage sales or estate sales where “logging tools” are mentioned.    o o o Frank and Fern (pseudonyms) recently started blogging about their retreat and their preps. …

My #1 Son suggested this bit of practical knowledge over at The Art of Manliness: How to recognize when someone is drowning.    o o o S.D. suggested a great article on trash can EMP shielding. JWR’s Comment: Note that the typically-available mild steel wool has a tendency to rust, and that might induce rust on the contents of the can. So I’d recommend that you substitute stainless steel wool. This is particularly important if you live in a humid climate.    o o o Reader Luke D. sent an items that is hardly a news flash to SurvivalBlog readers: …

The latest on concealed carry in The Land of Lincoln Obama. (Thanks to “S.” for the link.) And Mark sent: Illinois Gov. Quinn triggers backlash after changing concealed-carry bill.    o o o Reader Stephen S. wrote to mention that he got the following confirmation on the use of deep chamber flute barrels from the management at PTR: “All of our rifles have run the same chamber as the G.I. [variant] rifles since the G.I. rifles were brought to market.  This means that regardless of model, all of our current rifles will shoot the same ammo.”    o o o …

For those following Orange Jeep Dad: He just got his grandfather’s 1949 Ford 8N tractor running!    o o o The Montrose a Prepper recently had some interesting observations of the threat that feral dogs will pose, come TEOTWAWKI, in a piece that was cross-posted at Lew Rockwell’s site.    o o o Please ask your congresscritters to support this bill that would at least partially secure America’s power infrastructure: H.R. 2417: Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act    o o o And speaking of our technological infrastructure, see: EMP Attack and Solar Storms, Part II: Cascading …

In their latest podcast, the folks at the Pantry Paratus blog interviewed Pete Kennedy, the president of Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.  They represent small farmers who are being targeted through government policies and regulations.  An interesting podcast!    o o o Hikers rescued trying to reach famed ‘Into the Wild’ bus. JWR’s Comment: Someday, a spectacularly unprepared hiker visiting this Shrine to Lack of Preparedness is going to die of exposure. OBTW, a similar locale exists in Utah, where people want to visit the spot where Aron Ralston was forced to amputate his own hand.    o o …

Reader Lee M. sent: Take a Look Inside the Hidden 100 Year Old Caverns Underneath Kansas One Man Says Could Save Humanity    o o o I just noticed that someone updated a list of my quotations at the Wikiquotes page. Thanks!    o o o Calgary, Oil Capital of Canada, Could be without Power for Months.    o o o Some good commentary over at Ryan and The Other Ryan’s blog: How Much Is Enough?    o o o D.S. wrote to recommend: The Trash Can EMP Shield.    o o o The FBI has pulled a ‘most wanted …

I was disappointed to learn that Trijicon is no longer providing any repair or refurbishment services for their older-generation 1″ tube scopes. (These scopes had bee sourced in Japan and then they added their tritium elements.) One of my original scopes–a Trijicon “3-9×40 Wide” with three color elements I had bought around 1993–finally had its radioactive elements fade out past the point of usefulness. (The half-life of tritium is 11.2 years.) Sadly, Trijicon no longer replaces the elements for these scopes, even for a fee. To rectify this, they did offer me a 50% discount on a new scope, so …

The latest in the long saga of U.S. military camouflage patterns transition: Guy Cramer Talks Camo Part V – Phase IV C3: Camouflage, Color and Cost. (Thanks to Matt L. for the link.)    o o o I was recently sent a few test and evaluation samples of some LED lights by the folks at www.CreativeLightings.com. (We’ve mentioned them before in SurvivalBlog, first commenting on their LED light “ropes.”) Seeing their new products, I was amazed at how far LED lighting technology has leapfrogged in the past couple of years! Their 18″ long LED units that replace standard 12 VDC …

Freeze Dry Guy is running a 25% Off Special All Mountain House #10 Cans. The sale ends on July 1st, so order soon!    o o o Top 10 Tools for Centerfire Rifle Disassembly. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o os G.G. flagged this: ‘Hell to pay:’ Residents angry as RCMP seize guns from High River homes    o o o P.D. liked this piece at Wired about the NSA’s capabilities: The Secret War.    o o o J. McC. sent news of another scandal that echoes the recent IRS revelations: New EPA Leak Farmers’ Info Given …

Of interest to those who read French, here is an article on the American survivalist movement ran in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps: Aux Etats-Unis, ils sont de plus en plus nombreux à attendre l’apocalypse. Fittingly, the piece ends with an homage to the Swiss tradition of preparedness, and compares it to The American Redoubt concept: “L’inspiration principale des survivalistes se trouve pourtant de l’autre côté de l’Atlantique. Tous décrivent la Suisse comme une sorte de paradis du prepper. «Avec vos abris atomiques, votre armée de milice et votre politique du réduit national, vous êtes les mieux placés pour survivre …