Category: Odds ‘n Sods

My recent interview on Doc and Reginald Kaigler’s Watchmen podcast is now available via YouTube.    o o o LVZ in Ohio notes that there is a home brew Pelton wheel project described here: Micro-hydro Power Bucket.    o o o Rod McG. pointed to the BBC’s Dimensions web page as a useful tool for visualizing disasters.    o o o N.R.S. mentioned this opinion piece from a as Northern California newspaper: Maybe the NRA’s right to be paranoid.    o o o I noticed that Darrell Holland’s Long Range Shooting video is now available on YouTube. Buy a copy …

Reader Kevin J. mentioned this opinion piece: Looters and the lessons of Katrina. It has some typical liberal hand-wringing, but it is nonetheless a thought-provoking piece. |    o o o D.T.D. pointed us to this interesting article: Man has lived without money since 2008. Apparently, he also swore off wearing shirts.    o o o Cheryl N. suggested this essay: Collapse Survival Will Be Tribal: Begin Recruiting Now    o o o Did you ever wonder why you might want to add a .50 BMG rifle to your battery? Watch this.

Susan C. in Texas sent a link to a web site that has all sorts of mixes you can make yourself to save money. Susan notes: “Many of these mixes are healthier than store bought ones. OBTW, I find that these recipes call for too much salt.”    o o o The big sale at Ready Made Resources on Mountain House freeze-dried foods began last night, and runs for just one week. Don’t miss out!    o o o Reader N.I.M. sent this: H1N1: A Bullet, Dodged. Meanwhile, we read: XDR-pH1N1 Raises Pandemic Concerns    o o o Richard H. …

Brian H. suggested a Scientific American interactive web page: “How Much is Left?”    o o o I’ve previously mentioned the JBM Ballistic calculators in the blog. But now there is a new Backup Ballistic Calculator –a circular slide rule–created by Todd Hodnett of Accuracy 1st. These will soon be available from LaRue Tactical. They are taking pre-orders now, and expect to starting shipping them in mid-September.    o o o Reader Travis B. recommended the blog Laptop and Rifle. Travis gave quick summary of the blog’s content: A guy that used to work for Google (a smart guy) buys …

KAF sent us this: Are Free-Range Eggs Safer?    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson was the first to send me this very bad news: The Government’s New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS. I suspect that this case will be appealed to the Supreme Court. If they then affirm this decision, we can conclude that we are on the path to the Surveillance State. I wonder… Perhaps some hackers will start putting GPS trackers on government agency vehicle, so that the public can track them in real time. After all, turnabout is fair …

Reader RFJ mentioned an awesome piece over at Instructables: Hidden Door Bookshelf.    o o o Frequent content contributor Damon S. suggested two articles on do-it-yourself hydroelectric power: Homestead Hydropower and Home-Made Water Power for the Homesteader.    o o o Kelly D. was the first of several SurvivalBlog readers to mention this: Two days of food stretched more than two weeks in mine; Determined to stay alive, trapped Chilean miners made two days of food last more than two weeks. These guys have displayed tremendous courage and discipline. May God see them safely home!    o o o Why …

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson has a new science fiction novel in his Freehold series now available in book stores and from Internet sellers like amazon.com: Do Unto Others. Mike is a gifted writer, and I’m honored to have him on SurvivalBlog’s masthead.    o o o G.G. sent this item from Britain’s Daily Mail: Do it yourself? Not likely if you’re under 35. More than half are DIY dunces who can’t even rewire a plug and have to rely on parents    o o o When is a Brigade not a “Brigade”? Combat brigades in Iraq under …

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this news item: American abducted into Mexico. Here is a key quote: “U.S. authorities did not contact their Mexican counterparts because they did not know whether they were corrupted or connected to the girl’s captors, Gonzalez said.”    o o o Several readers sent this EPA Considering Ban on Traditional (Lead Core) Ammunition. Please leave a comment during the public comment period. (If this ban goes through, price of ammunition will skyrocket!)    o o o H.L. wrote to alert us of the following posted by the CMP Office: “M14 KITS NOW …

Matt R. sent us this: Peak oil alarm revealed by secret official talks.    o o o C.P. forwarded this report from China about a traffic snarl that has lasted nine days: Worst traffic jam ever? Gridlock spans 60 miles.    o o o Free Land: Build Your Homestead Without the Debt. (Thanks to Damon for the link.)

J.P. sent us this: Study shakes up scientists’ view of San Andreas earthquake risk: Researchers find major quakes on the southern section, on average, every 88 years — three times as often as previously thought. It’s the strongest evidence yet that we’re overdue for a massive quake.    o o o Reader N.C. recommended the new Earth Changes Central – Survive PX web site. (Membership is required for most of the content.)    o o o Tamara linked to a pitiful video clip, at her blog: Tactical Tips. At least he sounded sincere. OBTW, don’t miss the comments, that follow. …

From Alaska Dispatch: When a bear wants to join the hot tub party, what’s an ex-governor to do?    o o o Hooray! After recognizing that the predominantly gray ACU uniform was a costly mistake, the U.S. Army is adopting MultiCam. OBTW, once the old ACU uniforms start to get sold inexpensively as surplus, anyone that lives out in sagebrush country might want to pick up a few sets. Sagebrush is one of the few foliage backgrounds where the ACU pattern blends in well.    o o o SurvivalBlog Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent word of a scary …

Patrice Lewis, over at the Rural Revolution blog recently posted an excellent article: Hoarding.    o o o J.M. in Michigan suggested this article about coronal mass ejections that ran in The New York Times: The Sun Also Surprises.    o o o P.D. spotted this: Israel’s “Judgment Day” Shelters    o o o KAF sent this one: WHO calls for monitoring of new superbug.

N.C. liked this article: Are you ready for a world without antibiotics? Here is a key quote: “Doctors and scientists have not been complacent, but the paper by Professor Tim Walsh and colleagues takes the anxiety to a new level. Last September, Walsh published details of a gene he had discovered, called NDM 1, which passes easily between types of bacteria called enterobacteriaceae such as E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae and makes them resistant to almost all of the powerful, last-line group of antibiotics called carbapenems. Yesterday’s paper revealed that NDM 1 is widespread in India and has arrived here …

Bob G. recommended this piece over at Warrior Talk: High Risk Operator – Rural Patrolling    o o o This news story from California sent in by Jacob P. illustrates the peril of rural camping in an exposed area: Three arrested in foothills camp robbery. Anyone that plans to bug out to a public park should re-think their strategy.    o o o Leland Teschler’s Editorial: How Much Power Does It Take to Run a Wind Turbine? (Thanks to Don W. for the link.)    o o o EMB flagged this: For Lean Budgets, a Plug-and-Play Solar Array.