Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Joe K. recommended a piece in an Outdoor Life blog: Survival Skills: How To Make A Torch    o o o Rob L. pointed me to a video demonstration of a new sniper scope technology: TrackingPoint Demonstration.    o o o Regional update: Sudan, Iran, and Gaza    o o o November 30th is the Last Day of Safecastle’s Mountain House sale, with discounted prices on select canned favorites. Also, From November 26 to December 2, during Week 14 of our ongoing “Repel the Chaos” incentive program, Safecastle Buyers Club members who make any purchase of at least $600 in their …

James C. sent: How To Use Mason Jars With a Blender    o o o Miller: Crimes of gun-grabbing mayors    o o o Reader V.L. suggested this: How to Use a Flashlight in a Tactical Situation    o o o Kevin S. liked this piece by one of my heroes, Dr. Walter Williams, wherein he explains the myth of “price gouging”: Disaster Ignorance (But of course it is important to be charitable in the midst of disasters.

SGT just posted this video: The Madness of a Lost Society 3. (It includes a few sound bites from JWR.) F.G. sent this by William Baldwin of Forbes: Do You Live In A “Death Spiral” State? Items from The Economatrix: Good-bye Petrodollar, Hello Agri-Dollar? Outline On Collapse End Game China Launching Gold-Backed Global Currency

“Sell your garment, and buy one”: Churches offer concealed weapons training. (Thanks to Stephen M. for the link.)    o o o Steve H. mentioned a portable high volume water filter, using a 12 VDC pump.    o o o Five Different Shelf Life Studies: Two on Canned Food and Three on Dry Food    o o o From loyal contributor R.B.S.: U.S. food banks raise alarm as drought dents government supplies    o o o R.B.S. also spotted this tutorial: Waxing Cheese for Storage

10 Freest States For Homeschooling    o o o An interesting recently-released e-book about electromagnetic pulse (EMP): The Pulse of Allah. And with no affiliation, there is also a new EMP Blog.    o o o Dr. Gary North: Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl: Blowing Sand in Our Eyes    o o o C.D.V. sent: Houston Police Department: Victim shoots robber to death    o o o Six Places It Pays to Relocate To

I just heard about a new online marriage courtship service for Reformed Christians: Sovereign Grace Singles. They have a special “Group” page for preppers! It is refreshing to find a conservative online service with a backbone. (Unlike the many mainstream dating sites out there with that seem to feel obliged to have a rainbow of categories like: “Men Seeking Women/Men Seeking Men/Men Seeking Goats, et cetera.) It is nice to see that Sovereign Grace Singles even has a doctrinal statement.    o o o R.C. suggested this at Instructables: The best Rain Barrel for less than $15, and where to …

Eric B. sent: Photos: The safety cavern under Apollo launch pads    o o o Loyal contributor K.A.F. sent: The drive for grass-fed beef    o o o Reader R.B.S. mentioned this clever American-made invention: The Spiral-Eye Needle    o o o $300,000 In Gold Dust Found In Sacramento Home During HVAC Installation    o o o U.S. food banks raise alarm as drought dents government supplies

At least a dozen readers have recommended Dana Richardson’s documentary film Back To Eden. This film runs one hour and 43 minutes and is available free, online. It is important to note that the wood mulching method advocated in the film requires caution. It is fine for use as top much cover, but do not mix in any wood-based mulch with your soil until it has aged for at least three years. (Wood mulches bind nitrogen, until the cellulose breaks down.)    o o o J. McC. sent a tale of a Deer Delinquent in East Texas. (Assault, vandalism, stealing …

No great surprise: Defense Security Service – Succession Petition Signors – Security Clearance Impact. Note that: “This issue is under review.” (Thanks to F.T. for the link.)    o o o Ratmageddon: 180 Million Rats Face 22 Tons of Poison on Galapagos    o o o Reader Rick H. sent a reminder that the 505-page 15th Anniversary Edition of the AVOW Preparedness Manual is now available for free download.    o o o Reader Kevin S. mentioned Aircraft Spruce–a company familiar to most private plane owners and FBOs, but of interest to preppers. They even sell carbon fiber material.    …

Real Crimes of Genius: Not so Honest Abe?    o o o G.G. sent: House Tour: Laura And Matt LaVoie’s 120-Square-Foot Home In The Smokey Mountains Of North Carolina    o o o Joseph L. mentioned some new dual-wheel drive motorcycles. [JWR Adds: I’m more of a quad kinda guy. I don’t own a motorcycle, and thus avoid embarrassing myself.]    o o o Reader F.G. wrote to report that the Drone Wars have begun: Flying Camera From Animal Rights Group Shot Down at Pigeon Shoot

The New York Times gets down and dirty a with prepping issues and the requisite OPSEC: How to Survive Societal Collapse in Suburbia. (The article briefly quotes JWR.)    o o o Scientific American: How Safe Are America’s 2.5 Million Miles of Pipelines?    o o o JRH Enterprises is celebrating their 20th Year in business with a big Black Friday sale that starts Wednesday. The sale includes new Third Generation+ Pinnacle Autogated  Mil Spec PVS-14s with real ITT tubes and a 5 year warranty as low as $2595. And PVS-14 Third Gen + Pinnacle Autogated “Upgraded” monoculars are available …

November is the month of the year that new phone books are released in most of the country. Take this opportunity to lawfully collect un-used or lightly used copies of obsolete phone books that would otherwise be recycled or hauled to a landfill. A stack about 6 feet tall would make a good paper reserve for a typical family. The paper in phone books has many uses including kindling or ersatz toilet paper.    o o o 32 dead. They have serious cattle rustlers in Africa, and they are obviously willing to kill, to protect their food source.: Kenyan Police …

Don’t miss this: Mother Lode: Big caches of free and legal TEOTWAWKI downloads    o o o Reader Dave G. wrote to mention: “If ‘Superstorm Sandy’ was just a Level 1 hurricane, then how well will FEMA and the state-level disaster agencies cope with a Level 3 or Level 4 in the same region? I’ll never move back to the coast! And I’m avoiding tornado country, too. American Redoubt, here I come…”    o o o Preppr Bawb sent a link that he found to a UN manual on drying meat. It is only a few pages but very detailed. …

Reader Mark H. suggested and an interesting web site for digital mode ham radio (such as PSK31) mapping worldwide. He also sent a video link of an operator making trans-Atlantic contact with less than half a watt, ERP.    o o o After a hiatus, Granny Miller’s blog is back up an running. Great stuff.    o o o The Survival Doctor: What to Do for Pneumonia    o o o File Under: COMSEC Comedy: Taliban accidentally CCs everybody on its mailing list. “Moxxu gazma! Use blind carbon copy, you idiot!”    o o o Michael W. sent this article: …

A possible preview of the United States in a few years, when the wolf population peaks: Woman with axe versus wolf.    o o o Kevin S. pointed me to an article about mandated car safety features that I missed when it was posted last summer: A Modern Take on ‘Planned Obsolescence’    o o o Karl G. sent a video of a rotary wood chopper. Clever, but watch where you put your hands! (I don’t think that this would ever be OSHA approved!)    o o o The editor of GuerillAmerica has posted two interesting articles: Intelligence Preparation of …