Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Mr. Rawles, I am compelled to respond to the essay by “Stone of Scone” on OPSEC. He wrote the following with regard to obfuscating his residence’s physical location: “The only downside to not having a valid 911 address that points to your real home’s location is that when an ambulance is called, it will go to the wrong place. In this rare emergency I will just send someone to flag them down to go to the correct location.” I am a volunteer emergency medical technician in rural northwest Montana. I volunteer out of a sense of duty to my neighbors …

F.G. sent us some news from Las Cruces, New Mexico: Family arrested in gun bust; feds raid LC, Deming store. So why aren’t the BATFE agents that knowingly and intentionally facilitated similar sales of more than 2,000 guns facing similar charges? (The agents ordered gun shops to proceed with straw purchase sales to Mexican nationals.)    o o o Some good analysis by Fred Burton of Stratfor: Above the Tearline: Reconstructing the Monterrey Arson Attack from Surveillance Footage    o o o D.W. sent a link to the PDF of a U.S. Army /USMC Counterinsurgency Field Manual with a foreword …

JRH Enterprises is running a Labor Day weekend sale on new 3rd Generation Pinnacle Autogated AN/PVS-14 night vision scopes for $2,695 for the standard model and their upgraded version with higher line pair specs now at just $2,995. I bought one of the latter from JRH several years ago, and I have been thrilled with its performance. Order yours, before the sale ends!    o o o Dan. M. sent this news article from Ohio: Cops Confiscate Lakewood Lady’s Arsenal; Motive Pending. JWR’s Comments: Since the guns were deemed “legal” we can conclude that the “Thompson sub-machine gun” was in …

Dixie mentioned some fascinating interactive maps that might have bearing on your relocation plans: Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census. Be sure to click on the tabs to see the various maps.    o o o For anyone that feels priced out of the market by the often-touted Country Living grain mill, there is a now a low-cost alternative on the American market that is made in India: the Wonder Junior Deluxe Grain Mill. These have a cast body and carbide burrs. There is a drill motor attachment available. They can even make peanut butter! At $216, they are half the …

Real Wrath of God Stuff: From Waterbury to Wilmington, Vermonters shocked by Irene’s destruction. Meanwhile, we read about the wisdom of stocking up and owning a water filter: Airlifts take food, water to cut-off Vermont towns. (Thanks to T.E.M. for the links.)    o o o The second person killed by bears this summer at Yellowstone Park: Michigan man killed by grizzly in Yellowstone. Somebody ought to remind folks that it is again legal to carry a gun in a National Park, as long as you are in accordance with state law. (That is, in a state where open carry …

K.A.F. flagged this: Copper Thieves Leave I-95 In Palm Beach Co. In The Dark    o o o F.G. sent this: Yes, we’re the cops. Yes, we’re breaking the law. And yes, we don’t care.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) wrote to mention that he will be a member of several discussion panels or a solo lecturer at the upcoming Labor Day Weekend DragonCon, in Atlanta. Several of these panels should be of interest, such as: “Year Two” (You’ve survived the first year of the “apocalypse”. Now what?) and “Beans, Bullets, Band Aids: Bring …

K.A.F. was the first of several readers to send this: Feared Beetle Makes Its Way to U.S. in Rice from India    o o o L. Veritas sent this: Raw milk raids, now guitar raids. It seems nothing is safe!    o o o Reader Ian R. e-mailed me to describe last weekend in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, only diesel fuel was available at the local gas station. All grades of gasoline were sold out. Ian noted: “The gas station attendant stated they sold out of regular by Friday afternoon, and out of all gas …

K.T. suggested this nine minute fictional video: “It has been six months since the grid went down. You and the other five members of your party have settled into what may be a long grinding existence.” If the narration sounds familiar, it is because it was originally from a 2009 SurvivalBlog post. I have belatedly given them permission to use the contents of that post. (Thanks to reader “Blacksheep” for sending the link back to Jeff’s post.)    o o o Litigation Nation: Burglar’s family awarded $300,000 in wrongful death suit. (A hat tip to Karl G. for sending the …

If you have any recommendations for items that we should add to The SurvivalBlog Amazon Store, please mention them in an e-mail. Note that if you click on one of our Amazon links and then “click through” to order ANY product from Amazon.com (not just the ones listed in our catalog), then we will earn a modest sales commission. So please bookmark one of our Amazon links. Then use that as your starting point whenever you plan to place an Amazon order. Thanks!    o o o Jonathan B. sent this: Inside the secret world of hackers Computer hackers are …

Free Food To Go is organizing a Preparedness Fair in Boise, Idaho on August, 26 and 27, 2011.    o o o Why the rebels finally reached Tripoli    o o o The folks at Directive 21 wrote to mention that they now have a limited supply of Crown Berkey Water Filter Systems in stock, ready to ship. (These are the six gallon system–the largest Berkey system available. )    o o o Kevin S. wrote to tell me about the Fluid Nexus web site. “Fluid Nexus is an application for Android phones and desktop computers enabling exchange of messages without …

Matt in Colorado Springs, Colorado sent us this: Can you survive if you’re YOYO? Commissioner preaching preparedness    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson wrote to mention that he will have eight tables at the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show this weekend (August 27th and 28th) in Indianapolis. SurvivalBlog readers are welcome to drop by to chat. Look for 8 tables of swords, knives and other edged tools, toward the back right of the hall. I assume that he’ll have some of his notorious famous WWF Panda T-shirts with him.    o o o Richard …

K.A.F. flagged this: Localize It: PodPonics Grows High-Tech Organic Produce In Shipping Containers    o o o John in Montana spotted this: Portable House, Simple Life    o o o Reader Chris H. recommend Cooking Wild magazine, a publication dedicated to wild game recipes.    o o o Bob R. suggested this at the C-SPAN web site: Heritage Foundation Discussion on the Electromagnetic Pulse Threat    o o o I have often bemoaned the dearth of true American field gear makers. (Most of the web gear on the market is now made in China.) But reader Ken S. wrote to …

Huricane Irene appears to headed toward North Carolina. Please keep the folks living in the storm’s path in your prayers.    o o o Reader Paula S. sent this: The Cause of Riots and the Price of Food — If we don’t reverse the current trend in food prices, we’ve got until August 2013 before social unrest sweeps the planet, say complexity theorists.    o o o Dave B. flagged this: A Wireless Communications System That Works When Cell Phones, Internet are Down    o o o What we have here is a failure to understand the 1st Amendment: Long …

Mike Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large) wrote to mention that September 6th is “Book Bomb Day” for his novel Rogue. It is the sequel to The Weapon. It has: “Some violence, some harsh language, and very few sexual references.” You can read some advance chapters here. Let’s lift Mike’s new book into Amazon’s Top 20! By the way, Mike will be signing books at Uncle Hugo’s book store on September 10th, 2011, including the signature edition of Rogue.  Uncle Hugo’s is Mike’s preferred outlet for sales ranking.  Also, Mike’s new Freehold series adventure story (with minimal adult content in the …

Dirk W. spotted this: At Vacant Homes, Foraging for Fruit    o o o Reader Bob J. sent this: Did Wal-Mart stop people from giving CPR to man? Bob’s comment: “This news story reminded me so much of an incident from Michael Z. Williamson’s excellent book “The Weapon.”    o o o The End is Nigh: Let’s All Move to Barter Village! “Located in a tiny castle (yes, castle) in northeast Arkansas, Barter Village is an “experimental educational project” where people who’ve been particularly hurt by the down economy can go to learn survival skills such as organic farming, sewing …