Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Brandy down in Bianchiland suggested this piece in the Los Angeles Times: Economic Slump Stirs Up Homemade Preserves Industry    o o o RNS mentioned this troubling news from Sweden: Robberies raise prospect of retail cash ban. What great logic. So if they ban water, there’d be no more drownings!    o o o Roger Y. suggested this article: Doorstep bank raids plague cash-loving Argentina    o o o One of our former advertisers, BulletProofME.com, currently has a special on their overstock of US-made Interceptor vest nylon outershells. These are in camouflage. They are just $20 each if you mention …

Judy T. suggested this: Peak Oil and Apocalypse Then    o o o Reader John G. mentioned a South Carolina proposal to criminalize hidden compartments in cars. Yikes! Talk about a legislative solution to a non-existent problem. Whatever happened to “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects…”?    o o o G.G. sent us a curious story about the owner of a “nail house” in China’s Wuhan Province: China’s Wuhan Nail House Owner Fights Forced Demolition with Home-Made Cannon. From the photos, his “block house” architecture leaves a lot to be desired. …

Reader D.T. pointed us to a Coast to Coast AM where William Forstchen discusses EMP Threats. (He is the author of the novel One Second After.)    o o o NASA reports: The Sun Has Reawakened. (Robert R. was the first of several readers to send me this link.)    o o o I heard that Noah’s Castle, a hyperinflation novel by John Rowe Townsend, just went back into print. It was written for the “young adult” market. The good editors at October Mist books in Seattle noticed that this British book from the 1970s was out of print. So …

Here is “must read” article: Societal Collapse Due to Peak Oil ‘Inevitable,’ According to Researcher. (Thanks to Chris H. for the link.)    o o o Reader RBS recommended a link to some free greenhouse plans, over at Vibration Nation.    o o o Kevin S. suggested this from New Scientist: The wisdom of herds: How social mood moves the world    o o o I noticed that even more counters have been automated at the U.S. Debt Clock web site.

A bad portent of future lawlessness, in hard times: The End of Empathy. “A University of Michigan Study of nearly 14,000 college students has found that they have less empathy than college students did during the 1980s or 1990s. In fact, today’s college students scored about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts did 20 or 30 years ago.” (A hat tip to Rebecca S. for sending this link.)    o o o Jeff B. flagged this troubling news story: Mystery Crop Damage Threatens Hundreds of Acres.    o o o Reader James C. pointed us to a YouTube …

NASA reports: The Sun Has Reawakened. (Robert R. was the first of several readers to send me this link.)    o o o Brian B. and SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson both mentioned this video clip of a new robot-deployed bangalore torpedo.    o o o Ferd spotted this practical link: Build a Simple Off-Grid Laundry Machine    o o o North Korean Envoy Says War Could Erupt Soon

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. …