Category: Odds ‘n Sods

From Kevin S.: Three Simple Internet Privacy Tips (And 1 Super Secret Ninja Move)    o o o Will your defensive architecture stand up to a sledgehammer? Consider this: Possible One-Man ‘Wrecking Crew’ Responsible For Countless Destructive Robberies In Harlem    o o o Several readers sent this: Oklahoma Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It’s Okay to Shoot    o o o AmEx (American Expat) sent this: Drought Doomed Ancient City of Angkor    o o o R.C. flagged this news item: Moving trends: More people leave Northeast

RBS mentioned that more Kmart stores will soon close. [JWR’s Comment: If you do some shopping in the last two weeks before a store closing and use coupons, I predict that you will bring home some genuine bargains for stocking your retreat. At a Kmart that was closing a few months ago, I noticed that a lot of items had been overlooked, particularly in the pharmacy and automotive sections. I took advantage of 50% price reductions on motor oil, vehicle tow straps, tube socks, zinc lozenges, vitamins, extension cords, light bulbs, LED flashlights, shotgun shells, and propane cylinders. Those items …

L.A. arson wave grows to about 40 fires; most since 1992 riots. (It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do a web search on the phrase “delayed action firebomb design”, so I predict that this will spawn copycats, even if the pyromaniac is arrested.)    o o o From January 2nd to January 15th, Safecastle is offering the maximum allowed discount on all Mountain House can varieties: 25% off.     o o o Two interesting recent posts over at John Robb’s Global Guerillas site: Modern Darknets and The Digital Roll-Out of Resilient Communities    o o o B.B. mentioned a …

Stephen M. sent this: A One-Horse Town Down to Two People    o o o My “Taking the Gap” interview on Radio Free Redoubt is now available as an archived podcast.    o o o The publicized drug shortages expand to old standbys like Tetracycline. (Thanks to Damon S. for the link.)    o o o I heard about a company in Florida called Rainwater Warehouse that markets American-made rainwater harvesting equipment such as downspout diverters and rain barrels.    o o o Vince W. wrote to note that Dave Canterbury has been doing a series of YouTube videos called …

Bob. G. sent this: American civilization could be next to collapse    o o o K.A.F. forwarded a link to a useful PDF: Tactical Combat Casualty Care Guidelines    o o o Bryan. B. spotted this: Urban Fruit Trees and Food Security. [JWR Notes: Out here in the Hinterboonies, we wouldn’t be quite so open to “registering” our fruit trees. OBTW, our biggest concern for fruit thefts is black bears that have a bad habit of breaking limbs. Nothing that a .308 won’t cure, usually followed by congratulations on the nice rug. I suppose that the legalities for stopping two-legged …

Big American Brother gives hints on how to spot citizen terrorists. Since when did paying in “Legal tender for all debts, public and private” morph into something suspicious and “weird”?    o o o From the SHTFPlan blog: What To Expect From The Government After Collapse    o o o Some incisive commentary on Attorney General Eric Holder, over at the View From The Porch blog: The cheek of the man is unbelievable.    o o o T.C. mentioned a piece by MSN: Best places to live off the grid    o o o A short and sweet video clip …

Reader B.B. sent this: Montanans Launch Recall of Senators Who Approved NDAA Military Detention. Merry Christmas, US Senate    o o o You may remember reading my description of an Elecraft QRP ham radio transmitter in my novel “Survivors”. Here is an update on that technology: the Elecraft KX3 Transceiver is now available for ordering.    o o o A reader from Saskatchewan wrote to ask if it was worthwhile to use paracord bootlace. I replied that I do indeed recommend them due to their durability and versatility. I specifically recommend making them about 18 inches longer than the original …

Yesterday, I mentioned using a SOPA work-around: IP-Lookup.net. Today, I noticed that Ol’ Remus at The Woodpile Report had a link to something even better: a Firefox add-on called “DeSOPA”, that provides and offshore DNS (“dotted quad”) number lookup service, in case your favorite site’s domain name gets Borged by the FedGov and you get automagically redirected to a scary-looking FBI “anti-piracy” placeholder page. (I consider that just one notch below the classic “Big Brother” image.) And BTW, and unnamed SurvivalBlog reader who is a skilled software engineer is kindly creating a more robust variant of HTOIP–an application that converts …

At least once a week, I get another one of those endlessly-forwarded e-mails about the “China buying up Idaho” rumor, with a note attached, to the effect of “Well, Jim, that destroys any hope for the American Redoubt…” That is balderdash! Not only was the “Chinese Invasion” an exaggerated tale, but the scheme was dead before it ever got started. Read this piece from The Idaho Statesman, and then this one. Please don’t let those wild rumors change you plans to move to any of the American Redoubt states.    o o o Rick. R. sent this: Health Story of the …

Tamara suggested the latest WorldNetDaily piece penned by Patrice Lewis: Peace on Earth, now buy a gun. (OBTW, be sure to also check out her blog, Rural Revolution, which is very strong on family preparedness.)    o o o Glenn Greenwald: Three myths about the detention bill.    o o os The inevitable rush, now that Iowa’s CCW permits are no longer at the whim of county sheriffs: ‘Unbelievable’ rise in weapons permits. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson for the link.)    o o o R.B.S. suggested this: How SOPA Will Destroy The Internet.And some related …

Doug Casey on Getting Out of Dodge. This echoes what I wrote in my piece last week about “Taking The Gap.” (Thanks to John R. for the link.)    o o o Kevin S. suggested a thought-provoking piece at the My Adventures in Self Reliance blog for anyone that is planning to “double up” with another family (or multiple families) for mutual security in the event of a disaster: Using #OWS as a learning tool of what happens in a collapse. Time-proven military sanitation standards should be your baseline.    o o o Reader M.J. sent a link to a …

10 Days and Two Candy Bars: Stranded student survives 10 days in her Toyota Corolla. This underscores the profound need to carry survival gear and water when traveling. (Thanks to Ian in Virginia for the link.)    o o o Congratulations to Mac Slavo of the SHTF Plan blog, now listed as #1 in popularity by the Survival Top 50 survey site! Congratulations are also due to The Survival Podcast, the top-ranked site in Survival Top 50’s ongoing Reader’s Choice Awards. (Note: You have to scroll way down to the bottom of the Reader’s Choice web page to see The …

How many times must we shout it, folks? OPSEC, OPSEC, OPSEC! Man’s life savings stolen after daughter leads friends to it. (A hat tip to F.G. for the link.)    o o o Kevin A. wrote to mention that he liked a five minute TED video: He Went Broke, Then Found Himself. Kevin says: “Interesting information that may spark interest in the SurvivalBlog community. He earned a Ph.D. But with no practical skills, he thought he was useless. So he started a farm — and stumbled upon a revelation.”    o o o M.E.W. sent a link to an interesting …

Reader Adam W. sent us a piece about a very expensive lesson in OPSEC: On December 9, 2011, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a residential burglary. A list of the stolen property includes: 7,000 – 1 ounce 2011 American Silver Eagles Coins in plastic sleeves 12 – [$1,000 face value] bags of 1920-1963 Silver Coins at 5, 10, and 25 cents 15 – South Africa Krugerrands, 20 – 10 pound bars of silver, 20 – 5 pound bars of silver, 30 – American Gold Eagles with Canadian Maple Leaves 10 ounce and 6 ounce bars …

To temper this sensationalistic news reporting on the man-made H3N2 flu variant, consider: On Research Ethics    o o o A reminder to readers in the US that you have less than one week left left to purchase Primatene Mist Inhaler(s) over the counter, after 12-31-11 it will no longer be available. As most of you know, this is nothing more than Epinephrine in an inhaler and can be used for any type of anaphylaxis. The cost is around $21.    o o o NYT Smears Gingrich Over EMP Threat Comment. (Thanks to Yishai for the link.)    o o …