Reader Todd H. mentioned a newspaper article about Cupertino’s Fairgrove Neighborhood o o o Michael W. mentioned that Wiggy’s makes a dog coat that is insulated with Lamilite— the same material as their sleeping bags. Michael says: “Our dog loves hers.” o o o Damon S. found an article on pinhole emergency glasses. o o o From CNET News: EFF Sues Feds For Info On Social-Network Surveillance
Reader Brian S. noted that plastic drum liners look like a good way to re-use otherwise sketchy 55 gallon drums for at least storing washing water. Brian’s comment: “I’ve ordered other items from US Plastics before. It is a good place to buy in bulk.” o o o From Cheryl: At Midnight Last Night (Dec 1st), The UK Ceased To Be A Sovereign State o o o Frank B. sent us two clever bike trailer building articles at Instructables: Combined cart bike trailer and Shopping Cart Bike Trailer
SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson found an amazing story that illustrates the anarchic situation in Somalia: Somali Pirates Open Up a “Stock Exchange”. Mike pointed out this quote: “Piracy investor Sahra Ibrahim, a 22-year-old divorcee, was lined up with others waiting for her cut of a ransom pay-out after one of the gangs freed a Spanish tuna fishing vessel. ‘I am waiting for my share after I contributed a rocket-propelled grenade for the operation,’ she said, adding that she got the weapon from her ex-husband in alimony. ‘I am really happy and lucky. I have made $75,000 in …
BulletProofME.com (one of most loyal advertisers) is running an Interceptor Body Armor special until December. 23rd: $590 in Small and Extra Large ($830 for Medium or Large), and 20% to 30% off selected Kevlar Helmets. For example: $156 for a Level III-A helmet with the ACH / MICH blunt trauma pad system, and as low as $67 for unused, military contract overrun PASGT helmets. o o o KT sent this indicative piece on The Guns of Goldman: Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public. o o o A SurvivalBlog reader has a launched a business making a line of …
Jim B. sent a link to a BBC story about a British prisoner of war who smuggled himself into Auschwitz during WWII. It includes some interesting observations on cigarettes as barter items. o o o Courtesy of Captain Bill and Bayou Renaissance Man, a The Daily Mail piece about a British couple who demonstrated what not to do when your house catches fire. o o o SurvivalBlog regular Bill Buppert sent a link to a study on the effectiveness of current camouflage patterns. Bill’s comments: “One of the keenest bits of advice is contained in paragraph 4.b. in …
Jack H. mentioned a good article in The City Journal: The Cyber-Threat Grows o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson said he thought that this book looked interesting: Confessions of an Igloo Dweller: Memories of the Old Arctic o o o A reminder that the special two-week 25% off sale on canned Mountain House foods at Ready Made Resources ends on Monday. They are offering free shipping on full (“unbroken”) cases lots. But because of the higher handling costs, if you “mix and match” cans within cases, shipping will be charged. o o o …
M.K. sent a link to a piece on potassium iodide (KI) that ran on NPR. By the way, KI and KI03 are sold by several SurvivalBlog advertisers. o o o Joe Ordinary sent a link to footage of a large meteor that went over South Africa late Saturday evening. Listening to eyewitness accounts it was seen from as far away as Maputo (in Mozambique) Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The meteor was traveling northwest and was presumed to have landed beyond the Botswana border. This video footage was taken approx 350 kilometers from the border. o o o The …
Reader Paul D. sent us a YouTube link that shows how to make a 16 Brick Rocket Stove. o o o FJ forwarded a link to an article on Teeny Tiny Houses o o o Reader MP recommended this Wired article: Vanishing in the modern age
Real estate bust opens doors for parties at vacant houses. (Thanks to GG for the link.) o o o Reader Ken S. wrote to mention: “I have also been diving construction dumpsters at various construction sites for excess building materials. You’d be shocked at what a construction hand will throw away. It’s just another way to survive this worsening economy and put stacks of building materials in my storage shed.” o o o Courtesy of reader HPD comes another Nanny State Britannia Update: British police arrest people ‘just for the DNA’; More than three-quarters of young black men …
My old friend Fred the Valmet-meister has been helping me for the last few months in restoring several “All-American Five” 1940s vintage AM and Shortwave table radios. These have included a RCA, a Crosley, a Motorola and two Pilot brand radios. Fred has installed all new replacement capacitors, checked the tubes, cleaned the tuners, and realigned the radios. The end result has been EMP-proof dual band radios that can operate on both AC and DC power. As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, these are ideal for anyone that has an alternative power system where they have a 110-to-120 volt VDC battery …
On a recent trip in foul weather, we were reminded how useful it is to have several whitewater rafting “dry bags.” These heavy-duty rubberized nylon bags have a virtually watertight seal, and have become ubiquitous with the paddling crowd. Ours were purchased back in the early 1990s, and were made by Northwest River Supply (NRS). This is back in the days when nearly all of the NRS products were made by hand in Moscow, Idaho. And this was when their “Bill’s Bag” was available in green. (Now, the only choice is “shoot me ” red!) There are now umpteen dry …
SurvivalBlog’s British-born Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: British Navy was within 50 feet of Somali Pirates as they Kidnapped British Citizens. Mike’s comment: “Their poltroonery in letting the pirates do this may be related to the advice that no pirate should be taken on a British ship in case he might apply for political asylum. Words cannot express how far this is from the Nelsonian tradition.” o o o Also sent in by Mike: No, they’re not kidding: UK proposal to ration carbon usage on an individual basis. o o o Attention South Carolina Citizens: …
We’ve had a tough deer and elk season here at the Rawles Ranch. Thusfar, we’ve filled just two deer tags, and haven’t yet got an elk. The season has been difficult because there have been two hard winters in succession with deep snow that have taken their toll on the herds. The local wolf population seems to be increasing as well, and their depredations have been obvious. (And so are their big piles of scat that we see all-too frequently when we are out in the woods!) After they’ve cleaned out the deer, I suspect they’ll move on to consuming …
Reader Chris B. wrote to mention that a software update glitch caused him to lose all of the address book data on his Blackberry. He wanted to remind folks to periodically write down (or upload and print out) all of the phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addresses that you keep stored on hand-held devices. Chris wrote: “I felt pretty sheepish, using my laptop to e-mail everyone for their cell phone numbers because I don’t know them and didn’t have the foresight to write them down.” Nothing beats a hard copy backup! o o o Gun Sales Shoot Up Amid …
Bobbi-Sue spot what must surely be our cue to stock up before some hefty retail price increases: Rice to Return 100% as Typhoons, Drought Roil Asians o o o Chalk up one minor victory for personal liberty: Airport rules changed after Ron Paul aide detained. (A hat tip to HPD for the link.) o o o Straycat sent us this: Death Valley Bones May Solve Mystery of Missing German Tourists. The Cat’s Comment: “First rule of survival; Be prepared! Second rule; Don’t do anything stupid! “ o o o ‘2012’ Movie Tops Box Office, Pulls in $225M …