Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Neil G. sent a link to the USDA’s June acreage report: “All wheat planted area is estimated at 54.3 million acres, down 8 percent from 2009. This is the lowest United States total since 1971.”    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent us some further evidence that Chinese-made merchandise should be shunned: Dallas store sells U.S. flag with 61 stars    o o o There hasn’t even been a trailer released yet, but the forthcoming remake of Red Dawn looks like it will be quite a film. With a web search, I found an interesting …

K. in Montana mentioned this humorous piece: You might be married to Burt [Gummer] if……    o o o 15 Facts About China That Will Blow Your Mind. (Our thanks to Ed in Kentucky for the link.)    o o o F.G. sent this: Utah gun permit business booming – in other states    o o o John M. flagged this: FDA issues Draft Guidance to reduce antibiotic use in food-producing animals

Lee C. sent us a link to a BBC radio segment: Parts of residential Detroit have gone feral. Derelict crumbling houses, human gangs, dog gangs…    o o o Reader R.B.S. wrote to mention that Michael Yon has expanded his article series on Gobar Gas. (Home biogas production.)    o o o Now that’s a mess! (A NASA photo taken back on day 67 of the Deepwater Horizon spill.)    o o o Brian B. was the first of several readers to send this: High Court’s Big Ruling For Gun Rights. That was a narrow 5-4 decision. Let’s pray that …

The Other Rourke recently posted his interview with Dr. Bruce Clayton. You’ll probably recognize him as the author the book Life After Doomsday.    o o o Yishai suggested this good article: Night Vision Versus Thermal Vision    o o o Floyd B. spotted this: Solar cycle sparks doomsday buzz. Here is a quote: “Fortunately, the methods for predicting space weather have improved over the past decade or two. Satellites such as the Advanced Composition Explorer can spot the signs of a geomagnetic storm up to an hour before it hits our planet, providing valuable lead time for power grid …

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent me a link to a collection of photos showing Chinese military’s obsession with parades and ultra-precise formations. It reminded me of a quote from Jean Larteguy (The author of The Centurions and The Praetorians.): “I’d like France to have two armies: one for display, with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, fanfares, staffs, distinguished and doddering generals, and dear little regimental officers who would be deeply concerned over their general’s bowel movements or their colonel’s piles: an army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country. The …

Reader Jamie D. mentioned that the government’s own documents show that the FSA program’s food warehouses are effectively empty. Jamie notes: “Government still hasn’t begun to replenish actual reserves of food. This is mandated, funded, and empty. If the gulf disaster results in toxic rains that impact crops, the government will have no reserves of wheat, corn, soy, et cetera.”    o o o Chavez pushes Venezuela into food war. (Thanks to Matt D. for the link.)    o o o G.G. flagged this: Knoxville City Council approves backyard chickens    o o o Keith B. spotted this: Brazil to …

Jerry E. sent this item: Belarus president halts gas flow. [JWR Adds: I guess that from now on, they’ll be calling him “President MasterBlaster“.]    o o o Jonesy, in Alberta, Canada highlighted this: Eat up – we may soon witness the decline and fall of a food empire    o o o EMB mentioned this at Frugal Living: Coupons Sources You May Not Have Thought Of

There has been an e-mail widely circulating, with pictures of a Zeta drug cartel camp that was found near Higueras, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. They uncovered quite the little arms cache–enough guns to make even my old friend “Dan Fong” envious. These photos were recently posted to a web page. It is noteworthy that the Zetas are just one of the many Mexican drug cartels. By the look of it, the majority of the weapons came straight from the Mexican Army. No doubt some very large stacks of cash changed hands with some Generals. And to answer one criticism: no Nancy …

Jeff E. spotted this article from Florida: Brazen home-invasion robberies stir Jupiter Farms residents to action    o o o RBS suggested this New York Post article: $7-a-gallon gas?    o o o Reader David W. wrote to mention that last week all of Intuit’s online services went down for several days. This sent much of the company’s critical accounting system, payroll and credit card business into cloudy limbo. Intuit’s President sent out this apology. David comments: “This was reportedly caused by a power failure that cascaded. But no one is talking about where or how a massively redundant distributed, …

Kevin S. flagged this: How to Survive a Solar Storm. The article begins: “Scientists at NASA have been warning for some time of the dangers of space weather affecting the earth, and particularly the danger of solar storms. With the sun due to reach the top of both its 22-year magnetic energy cycle and 11-year Sunspot cycle in 2013, there’s real danger of magnetic energy damaging electronic equipment.”    o o o Reader EMB sent me a link to very practical piece posted at Hillbilly Housewife: Homemade Sanitary Pads. If you’d rather buy them pre-made, there is prepper-oriented home-based business …

Several readers suggested this fascinating interactive map: Where Americans Are Moving. If you click on an individual move segment, it shows the average income level of those moving. As an interesting example, click on Teton County, Wyoming. Wow! Talk about Galt’s Gulch. (Could this be, because there is no personal income tax in Wyoming?)    o o o S-Gnome found a web site useful for those of your readers trying to stock up on food while surviving on a limited budget: Eating Well On $1 A Day. S-Gnome’s description: “This guy takes couponing to a whole new level and manages …

EMB suggested this discussion forum thread: My Emergency Communication Box (Ham radio)    o o o Trent H. flagged this article in an Australian newspaper: Our own extinction is forecast, but he’s going by dead reckoning    o o o The folks at Directive 21 (one of our advertisers) wrote to tell me that the recently unavailable Stainless Steel Berkey Water Filter systems are now back in stock, and back orders are being processed and shipped.    o o o The National Geographic Explorer special ‘Electronic Armageddon’ is going to be replayed this Saturday, 6/19 at 7:00 PM and on …

Here is a link to the Milo Nordyke interview on CNN that I previously mentioned. Nordyke is a proponent of peaceful uses of nuclear bombs–including the possibility of using nukes to seal off deep sea oil leaks.    o o o J.M. in Michigan sent me a link to some videos about “off grid” projects. Go to Vimeo.com and in their search box enter: emas. This takes you to about 10 pages of videos on topics like High Pressure Hand Pumps, Rain Water Harvesting, Water Storage Cisterns, Ferro Cement Tanks for Water Storage, Using the Sun to Heat Homes, Latrines, …

All that I’ve been hearing from SurvivalBlog readers thusfar about the National Geographic documentary Electronic Armageddon has been positive. It is about the effects of a High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) on the US. Check your local listings for repeat showings! For further research on this topic, I highly recommend the EMPact America web pages.    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this free NAS on-line book: Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A Workshop Report    o o o RS.R. noted this: Green Gadgets: Nokia Unveils New Bike-Powered Phone Chargers

Mike M. highlighted this interesting article from southern California: Wealthy homeowners seeking privacy are increasingly buying adjacent properties.    o o o Reader F.J.R. sent this uber-doom prediction on an Extinction Level Event: The end of the world as we know it; Forget man-made threats – the catalyst for the apocalypse will come from outer space, warns astronomer Chris Impey    o o o For those in coral snake country: Why Snakebites Are About to Get a Lot More Deadly. (A hat tip to Damon for the link.)    o o o Another Medical Corps Field Dentistry class is now …