Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Jeff B. reminded me about this useful article by Grandpappy: How to Preserve Food for Future Consumption Using Three Simple Old Fashioned Methods.    o o o Phoenix-area hospitals fight highly toxic ‘supergerm’. (Thanks to S.M. for the link.)    o o o Douglas wrote to mention a Guatemalan web site that has downloadable examples of pedal power that can be harnessed which would otherwise require electricity or hand power (which is far more effort). Pretty neat stuff.    o o o Bill M. thought this article would be of interest: Vanishing Farmland: How It’s Destabilizing America’s Food Supply    …

“Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course    o o o Thanks to Kevin S. for a heads-up: Signs Point to Administration Plan to Lock Up 13 Million Acres of Federal Land    o o o Reader Lee C. spied this one: Wheat rust: ‘cereal killer’ in Kenya    o o o Bill in New York suggested: 15 Unusual Uses for Baking Soda

Abram in Washington State mentioned a comparative nutritional analysis of canned, frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables conducted by the University of Illinois Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.    o o o F.B.P. pointed out a US Department of Transportation map of truck traffic in the U.S. that can be added to your data set in choosing retreat locales.    o o o Reader RBS flagged this: West Poised for Worst Grasshopper Outbreak in 30 Years

As if there wasn’t already enough “real wrath of God stuff” news in the headlines, Jeff B. sent us this: Tropical Storm Agatha blows a hole in Guatemala City.    o o o Damon S. spotted this: Glitch shows how much US military relies on GPS.    o o o Our Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent a link to a photo compilation of the recent floods in Tennessee.    o o o I spotted another review of the novel “One Second After”

Michelle sent us this: Global Cold Wave May Be Looming — This Time, the Science Is Good    o o o Reader RBS suggested some commentary by sci-fi veteran Robert Silverberg that puts all of the Peak Oil punditry in proper perspective: Reflections: The Death of Gallium    o o o I was troubled to see that the erroneous e-mail titled “Wasp Spray…important information” is still circulating, after more than two years. What is described therein is a good way to get sued for every penny that you have, for blinding some goblin. As I’ve mentioned many times in SurvivalBlog, …

This isn’t news to most SurvivalBlog readers: American Family Farmers Feed 155 People Each – 2% of Americans Farm. (A hat tip to Josh for the link.)    o o o SurvivalBlog readers in the Pacific Northwest will find this of interest: A new store that specializes in survival gear, compact storage food, and bullion coins is opening today (June 1st, 2010) in Kalama, Washington: The Survival Bunker. They are located at 447 North First Street, Suite 110, Kalama, Washington 98625. (It is about 30 miles north of Portland, Oregon, just off I-5. The usual sales tax breaks for Oregon …

K.T. recommended this insightful piece over at the Western Rifle Shooters Assn. (WRSA) web page: Lessons From Lithuania    o o o Some of us may have watched a few too many old westerns. For those in the Cowboy Action Shooting fraternity, you’ve gotta check this book out from you library, or get your own copy: Packing Iron: Gun Leather of the Frontier West. The book has a whole chapter devoted to H.H. Heiser, one of my favorite gun leather makers that I discovered back in the days when I rented gun show tables.    o o o I’ve often …

K. in Montana forwarded a link to the Livin’ The Dream blog: Preparedness Apologetics.    o o o Chad S. spotted this on a North Dakota State University web site: Preservation of Game Meats and Fish    o o o Lest we dwell too much on heaven and not the alternative, Hank D. suggested reading some sermons on hell.    o o o Senate Takes Up “Emergency” War Bill Despite Obama Pledge to End Practice

Here at the Rawles Ranch, and in our vehicles, we’ve standardized with Anderson Power Pole connectors for all of our 12 VDC radios and accessories. We mostly use their 30A Power Pole Connectors. These genderless connectors have been adopted by most Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) organizations and Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARE ) organizations. They are vastly superior to the bulky “cigarette lighter plug” connectors, which have a bad habit of popping loose, unexpectedly. In our experience, one good source of Anderson Power Pole connectors, cables, and adapters is PowerWerx.com. Aand another good source is Quicksilver Radio Products. …

Just 24 hours left! Safecastle (one of our most loyal advertisers) is running a special sale that ends May 29th, with 25% Off All Mountain House #10 Cans, and free Shipping to the Lower 48 States. There are additional freebies, depending on the quantity that you order. (See their web page for details.)    o o o Reader Steve H. spotted a fascinating “heat” map with some implications for picking retreat locales: World’s most and least touristy places. Steve’s comments: “This is an interesting map that could give some insights into less visited regions for retreat location planning and determining …

Jeff B. sent this scary article link: What if a hurricane were to slam into the oil slick?    o o o Robert S. sent us the link to this charming news: Dengue Fever in Florida Portends a Growing Problem    o o o JM from Michigan mentioned the many older (out of copyright) on-line books and info that are available at Archive.org. BTW, it is also the home of the “Way Back Machine”– a fascinating web archive search tool that allows you view deleted web sites, or to see what current sites looked like in their early days.    …

Just three days left! Safecastle (one of our most loyal advertisers) is running a special sale from May 16-29 only, with 25% Off All Mountain House #10 Cans, and free Shipping to the Lower 48 States. There are additional freebies, depending on the quantity that you order. (See their web page for details.)    o o o Reader Ray B. mentioned this article in an Everett, Washington newspaper: Our volcano: Glacier Peak is the hidden threat in our back yard    o o o Beatriz mentioned this great web site on dehydrating foods at home: Dehydrate2Store.    o o o …

Reader Dan V. mentioned that a scanned copy of the scarce Operation and Maintenance Manual for the AN/PSR-1A Intrusion Detecting Set (TM-04074B-15) is now available online. You can find it linked near the bottom of this page.    o o o RBS spotted this: Why Snakebites Are About to Get a Lot More Deadly – Cost of Antivenom Production Creates Shortages    o o o Jack T. sent us a link to some good reporting from C.J. Chivers of The New York Times: A Firsthand Look at Firefights in Marja. It is refreshing to hear from a mainstream reporter that …