Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Several readers sent this troubling article: ‘Cabbagegate’: Man Fined $5,000 for Home Garden    o o o Ham radio operators: The American Preparedness Radio Network has chats on Sunday and Thursday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern Time in the 80 meter band on (or about) 3.818 MHz. (All the usual OPSEC provisos for public venues apply.)    o o o Record U.S. Arms Deal With Saudis Advances. David in Israel notes: “This could be spun that the Arabians are purchasing arms for a confrontation with Israel or Iran. But If you use your nose for news and Follow The Money, …

Reader M.P.S. notes that there are two coupons for home canning jars currently available at on RedPlum.com. You can print each coupon two times.    o o o A follow-up: Mayor Eddie Perez (recently mentioned in the blog) was sentenced to three years in prison, and three years probation, of a possible 60 year sentence. Perez was convicted on five of six felony charges. He is one of the rogues gallery of Mayor Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns members that have been indicted or convicted of felonies including Sheila Dixon, Kwame Kilpatrick, Gary Becker, Larry Langford, Samuel Rivera, Jerramiah Healy, …

Reader R.P.B. recommended the 12-part instructional video series, available free on YouTube, prooduced by Analytical Survival.    o o o Reader James C. spotted this: Look what happens when you cross a skateboard with a tank    o o o Bill R. sent this NPR piece: Consumers Still Gear Up, Camp Out In Recession    o o o Yet another reason to avoid social networking web services: Burglars Picked Houses Based on Facebook Updates. (Our thanks to G.J. for the link.)    o o o J.B.G. liked this piece by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: The backlash begins against the world landgrab. Gee, …

Heck sent us the link to a great article on utilitarian bicycles.    o o o Speaking of bikes, Reader W.H. notes: “There are several great videos and plans on the net for rail bikes, both with and without motors. I thought this version [with Spanish narration] was neat because it could be broken down.” (See the SurvivalBlog Archives for several articles and letter on rail bikes like this one, including some important safety provisos.)    o o o Condie Rice tells of Bush row after 9/11. Here is an amazing quote that sounds like something out of the movie …

M.O.B. sent us a link to an article about MREs: A Taste of Home in Foil Packets and Powder    o o o An easy-to-make and free project for survivalist time-telling: The Ring Sundial. (Thanks to Jeff S. for the link.)    o o o M.& K. sent this: Asteroid Near-Misses Actually Common, Scientists Say    o o o The Nanny State Run Amok: Toy guns will have to be licensed in Queensland under new firearms laws. My advice to Australians: Take The Gap.

Marie K. flagged this: Nine Years After 9/11, Public Safety Radio Not Ready    o o o Reader Matt R. wrote to mention that sites like ft.com (frequently cited in our Economics and Investing column) require user registration. For the sake of privacy, there are free sites like BugMeNot.com that provide login usernames/passwords to these newspaper sites that would otherwise require registration.    o o o “Kron” spotted this useful item at Low Tech magazine: How to tie the world together: online knotting reference books    o o os The military and firearms manuals formerly housed at the Survival Bound …

Today is the big day for Mayor Eddie Perez–his scheduled felony sentencing day. Perez is one of the many members of Mayor Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns that are criminals. This so-called “law and order” group has had an inordinately large number of member-mayors that have been felony indicted or convicted including Sheila Dixon, Kwame Kilpatrick, Gary Becker, Larry Langford, Samuel Rivera, Jerramiah Healy, the late Frank Melton, Will Wynn, and David Della Donna.) Perez faces up to 60 years in prison after conviction on five corruption charges.    o o o More than a dozen readers recommended this Stratfor …

Bicycles offer a lifeline in rural Zambia. Bikes are used for transportation and even grain grinding.    o o o Several readers sent this: Long Island Man Arrested For Defending Home With AK-47. Jeff E. notes: “This guy fired three shots into the dirt to deter several hostile gang members approaching his home and threatening him and his family. And who went to jail? The homeowner. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but only a complete moron would continue to live in New York.”    o o o Joe O. sent this: Our terrifyingly crowded solar system: New video reveals …

Inyokern wrote to say that he enjoyed this article: The Trouble with Civilization; Ancient cities reveal the vulnerabilities of modern societies    o o o Guatemala mudslides kill at least 38; two buses hit    o o o Jim D. flagged this: Argentines risking all to carry huge wads of cash    o o o Patrice Lewis, the editor of the Rural Revolution blog recently had an excellent post: Don’t come a-knockin at my door. Think OPSEC!!!

B.B. sent a link to this outstanding country music video on YouTube: Never Gonna Stand For This by Teachenor Clark. (BTW, the opening clip castigating “Tea-bagging rednecks” is uber-liberal actress Janeane Garofalo.)    o o o Magistrate Recommends Dismissing States’ Gun Suit. I can foresee this issue going to the Supreme Court. Given the precedent set by the U.S. v. Lopez decision, the States should prevail. In essence, if a gun (or receiver) is manufactured and sold within in a state, then there is no Federal nexus. (It is intrastate rather than interstate commerce.) Ditto for used guns being sold …

Christchurch, New Zealand Mayor: Quake hit city ‘like an iceberg’    o o o KAF flagged this item: Harnessing the Power of Gym Rats    o o o Bill N. found this great Analytical Survival video tutorial: Bug Out Vehicle – Re-Inventing the Car Trunk    o o o Ooh, ooh! I want one: The KamAZ Armored Car. (Not that I can afford to buy one, but it makes a nice daydream.) OBTW, I assume that these are built on one of the assembly lines at the sprawling Kama River truck plant–the product of some Yankee ingenuity from the Pullman-Swindell …

Rourke recommended the Patriot Nurse video blog. Rourke says: “She has done many videos on several survival topics. Check this one out in particular.    o o o “Your Agonizer please, Mister Kyle.”: Inmate-frying microwave pain blaster turret installed in US jail. This news really bothers me on several levels. To start: This isn’t at a prison. It is a County Jail, where I assume a good portion of the population is awaiting trial, and presumed innocent. This sounds like “cruel or unusual punishment”, to me.    o o o I spotted this over at TSLRF: Talk about adrenaline powered …

Joshua H. sent a link to a nifty homemade hand crank flashlight, over at Instructables.    o o o In celebration of Labor Day, JRH Enterprises is offering full mil-spec AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ night vision weapons sight monoculars at a special sale price. These are autogated and complete with soft case, head mount, head mount adapter, operators manual, batteries, lens paper, de-mist shield, sacrificial window, and ITT tube data record, et cetera. The price is just $2,895, which is less than most dealers charge for a standard Gen 3 scope. (As I mentioned before, these are the much more sought-after …

Roman sent us to a web page with some “outside the box” thinking: How we turned an old backyard swimming pool into a self-sufficient garden in a desert city.    o o o Following her recent training with Louis Awerbuck, Tamara weighs in about Tacticool Mall Ninja fashion consciousness. And she’s right. Looks don’t kill. Well-aimed projectiles do.    o o o ‘Don’t tread on me’ flags start disputes around the country. (Thanks to Judy T. for the link.)    o o o Pastor Chuck Baldwin (former Constitution Party presidential candidate) is wisely relocating his family from Florida to Montana.

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 …