Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Cheryl (aka The Economatrix) sent this: More Women Are Canning, Becoming Domestic Homesteaders    o o o Vamoose to the Rural Retreat! Crisis-hit Greeks leave the cities for a new rural life    o o o Stephen F. sent this: Handy farm devices and how to make them    o o o Also from Stephen F.: Cable plowing, where a winch pulls the plow by cable.  (“Energy efficient because you just move the tool.”)

Another perspective on an important news item that I’ve already covered in SurvivalBlog: ‘Russian’ hackers seize control of U.S. public water system by remotely destroying pump. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.)    o o o K.A.F. flagged this one: Feds want secrecy on ICE facility for Wake County    o o o R.B.S. sent this: Cursive writing becoming a font memory in Idaho.

J.K. in Colorado mentioned: Another Family Lost In The Woods.    o o o Time to Stock Up on Lightbulbs. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)    o o o G.G. flagged this: Guns Better Investment Than Gold?    o o o News from The American Redoubt: Historic Eastern Oregon hotel going to auction. (A hat tip to loyal content contributor R.B.S. for the link. His comments: “Union is cattle and natural resource area.  Yes, it would not be an easy go but if you don’t bring a Hollywood mentality with you to this part of the world, and are …

Steve M. sent a news article with this comment: “One more reason to live full-time at your retreat”: Neighbors helping neighbors—to break into vacant houses    o o o Scientists create man-made flu virus that could potentially wipe out millions if it ever escapes research lab. (A hat tip to F.J. for the link.)    o o o Jonathan B. sent this from northern California and southwestern Oregon: State of Jefferson Rises again!    o o o EPA targets families that generate heat off the grid using traditional wood-burning stoves. (Thanks to Steve M. for the link.)    o o …

“Sierra” sent this: Depicting America’s Greed: 10 Shocking Videos From Black Friday 2011 It shows all the various chaos that went down yesterday; everything from stampedes and frenzies to police attacks. Sierra’s comment: “Just imagine if those hungry masses were going after food instead of video games!”    o o o G.P. mentioned this, from a Canadian newspaper: Breaking Apart the United States: Part II    o o o Grace sent us the link to Charm City Vacancy, a growing (now 33 pages long) collection of photos of abandoned houses in Baltimore.    o o o Special discount for SurvivalBlog …

F.J. found this at The Blaze: This Hobbit house is an honest-to-goodness man-sized home. Not only does it fit a family of four, but it cost just over $4,650 to build.    o o o The Prepper Website has begun incrementally posting a review/synopsis of my novel “Survivors”. (Warning: lots of plot spoilers.)    o o o Nic recommended this video primer by STRATFOR’s Fred Burton: How to Stay Safe in an Urban Environment.    o o o Kevin A. suggested an essay by John Silveira of Backwoods Home magazine: The threat of electromagnetic pulse    o o o And …

Mat Stein’s new non-fiction book “When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide for Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival”has been released! Yours Truly wrote the Foreword. Let’s do our best to push it into Amazon’s Top 10.    o o o I heard from Mark Baciak of PNW Arms that his company’s relocation to The American Redoubt is almost complete. They have moved their ballistics division over and should have their weapons division moved by January, 2012. They are moving to Potlatch, Idaho. They have also announced a “Black Friday” sale with a 25% discount on all in-stock merchandise. I should also …

Doubling Up Gets Popular: Tight budgets boost house-sharing. (Thanks to John in Ohio for the link.)    o o o JRH Enterprises is running their annual “Black Friday” sale going on now that includes genuine AN/PVS-14 night vision monoculars for $2,695 and Thermal imaging units that take “AA” batteries available as low as $2,775. They are also offering deep discounts on water filters, medical kits and other preparedness products.”    o o o F.G. mentioned some wasteful, hoplophobic stupidity in Cleveland.    o o o G.G. was the first of several readers to send this: Survival Shop Reports Jump In …

Over at Mish Shedlock’s blog: EU Bans Claim “Drinking Water Can Prevent Dehydration”; Expect More Such Stupidity if European Nanny-Zone Fiscal Union Forms    o o o K.A.F. sent this: Police Departments Look to Tune Out Scanner Hobbyists    o o o The Survival Mom asks: Could you survive TEOTWAWKI in your state? Here are the Best 5 States and the Worst 5 States for Survival    o o o Ham Radio Purchases on the Rise. The disaster preparedness factor is no doubt a strong contributing factor.

This was posted at Alt-Market.com: A Message To The SPLC From A Montana “Extremist”. It bears special mention that the SPLC‘s slam piece was their oh-so typical blathering, with a mix of fact, innuendo, and myth. They cleverly mixed in mentions of racists and radicals alongside references to level-headed folks, including myself. When they slandered me, they didn’t just use the time-proven “guilt by association” technique. They took it a step further and employed guilt by lack of association. They also slandered Pastor Chuck Baldwin, up in Montana as well as Stewart Rhodes, the head of The Oath Keepers. I’ve …

My old friend Rob L. wrote to mention: “A reminder to pass on to your readers in the U.S. that they only have about six weeks left to purchase Primatene Mist Inhaler(s) over the counter. After December 31, 2011 they will no longer be sold [even with a prescription.] As most of you know, this is an Epinephrine inhaler and can be used for any type of anaphylaxis. Cost is around $21.” JWR Adds: Other inhalers still on the market will require a prescription. Am I now to feel safer on January 1st, knowing that there is an infinitesimally smaller …

Thankfully, a swift retraction, after public outcry: Shooters Heard: Interior Will Not Ban Target Practice. (A hat tip to Lee M. for the link.)    o o o Jan S. recommended some interesting commentary on Smart Meters.    o o o And speaking of privacy risks, reader F.S. mentioned that all Android phones have a root kit called Carrier iQ that allows all functions to be logged without user knowledge.  It can be used as a key logger, location log, app use log, etc… He sent links to a short summary analysis and a full article that describes this huge …

SurvivalBlog’s Michael Z. Williamson was the first of several folks that forwarded me this ATF classifies Chore Boy pot scrubber pads NFA firearms    o o o Commentary from Michael Yon: Pocket Spies.    o o o Kevin S. found some fascinating reading: Source List and Detailed Death Tolls for the Primary Megadeaths of the Twentieth Century    o o o Reader P.N.G. suggested this case study: Building Your Own 20kW Hydroelectric Power Plant    o o o I heard that the movie Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 has been released on DVD. I missed it at the theater, so I’ll …