Category: Odds ‘n Sods

A reminder that the new Surviving Disaster series premieres on Spike TV on Tuesday, Sept. 1st. Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying The Colony, on The Discovery Channel (via online streaming–I don’t own a television.) Four full episodes of the latter are still available online.    o o o Eric S. sent us this every useful link: How to Move Heavy Objects with Simple Tools    o o o Bill would give president emergency control of Internet. (Thanks to H. for the link.)    o o o Ben M. flagged this: Fresnel Lens Solar Distiller. JWR Adds this Proviso: Keep in mind …

Thanks to Damon for sending this: More Sun for Less: Solar Panels Drop in Price    o o o From TLG: Potato blight confirmed in Dane County, Wisconsin    o o o Survivalists, Town Clash Over Craftsbury Road. There are two lessons to be learned here: 1.) OPSEC, 2.) Fully research any right-of-way and easement issues before buying a retreat property! Unfortunately, the body of case law that has accumulated on prescriptive easements does not bode well for the new land owners. If a road is used “openly and notoriously” with continuity for many years–in this instance for 150 years–then …

“Use Enough Gun” Department: Alaska man kills attacking 900 lb. Grizzly with .454 Casull revolver (Thanks to FG for the link.)    o o o Frank S. mentioned a video report on the propane re-filler techniques that were previously described in SurvivalBlog.    o o o I encountered an interesting thread of discussion in progress, over at TMM Forums: Bartering with Alcohol and Cigarettes. (I don’t use either, so I have no expertise. Nor do I approve of them. But for those of you that do, I offer this link.)

$49.9 Million US Contract for .300 Winchester Magnum Ammo. That is a significant quantity, but not enough yet to indicate that the US Army will discard the M24 (chambered in .308 Winchester) as their primary sniper rifle.    o o o Playboy magazine jumps on the 2012 bandwagon. (Read only this re-posted online article and for the sake of your mortal soul don’t read their disgusting, smutty magazine.) OBTW, mention of this article came to SurvivalBlog directly from Liz Sablich, a Junior Publicist with Playboy Enterprises. Do your parents know what you do for a living? These is honest work …

Honoré scolds Louisiana on storms. A quote (paraphrased): “Every one dollar you spend on preparedness, saves you nine dollars during the crisis”. Don’t miss the wisdom included in the last few lines of the article. (Thanks to Jason A for the link.) KT spotted this: Laos Government Continues to Hunt Former CIA Secret Army. JWR’s comment: Unless they’ve been covertly re-supplied (which I doubt), the fact that they are still mainly using US-made weapons is indicative that they have been fighting defensively in a conservative fashion, rather than offensively. Otherwise, they would have been out of .30 Carbine. 5.56 mm …

Reader Eric S. sent this: A storm brews over food, water & power    o o o Greg H. sent us this article: Clock ticks down on a deadly chemical stockpile in Kentucky    o o o From frequent content contributor DD: Without prospects, they’re prospectors: Metal’s high price and economy’s low ebb create new California gold rush    o o o British Residents Bring Back Bartering

Reader G.D.T. sent us a story that recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal. G.D.T. wrote: “I saw the link about cattle rustling in Pennsylvania. Now folks are stealing hay in Texas.”    o o o Tamara posted this bit of levity that has a serious lesson attached: A more dangerous breed of junkie. The point is that there was no Matrix-esque bullet-dodging going on. This was just an all-too common case of a poorly trained cop that unloaded in the general direction of his intended target–and he didn’t hit score any hits. Only hits count!    o o o …

Sometimes the bias of mainstream media is blatantly obvious. Compare this video clip, with this news report from CNBC. Notice how, with some clever editing, they did not inform their viewers that the man carrying the “assault rifle” in this news story about the “racist overtones” of the anti-Health Care plan protestors was in fact a black man.    o o o News from Australia: No-Warrant Terrorism Raids Proposed    o o o Reader Ken M. mentioned: “Ready Made Resources has a free solar power products catalog in PDF format that is great for anyone interested in solar power. The …

Greg C. sent this news article from Florida: Rush is on for concealed-guns permits    o o o From KAF: A rush for black gold in the Gulf. KAF notes: “Every country except the USA will be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.    o o o North Korea Threatens Nuclear Strike    o o o US City of Paterson, New Jersey, Planning Curfew to Combat Rising Crime

U.S. Army mulls adopting a new camouflage pattern for uniforms. (Thanks to Ron G. for the link.) I think that this would be a good switch, since the current ACU pattern is a horrible compromise with insufficient contrast It look like a solid color, from past 60 yards. It reminds me of the old joke about the camel being “a horse, designed by committee.”    o o o Matt in Tennessee reminded me about a Steve’s Pages, a very useful web site with almost all the US and Canadian military manuals and many other usefual references on many subjects.    …

Jim in Southern California flagged this: Heirloom Tomatoes, The Hand Me Down of Foods. Jim also sent this companion piece: Attack of the Heirloom Tomatoes.    o o o Beware of agent provocateurs: Attorney: FBI trained New Jersey blogger to incite others. (BTW, this in part explains why I ignored the urging of dozens of SurvivalBlog readers to post a link to Hal Turner’s much-publicized but bogus “New Amero Notes have already been printed” story. Something about that just didn’t smell right. In fact, if you do a search, you’ll see that I’ve only mentioned Turner once in my blog, …

Several readers sent me this piece about backyard poultry partisans: “Chicken Underground” Emerges in Indiana    o o o From Cheryl: Vegetable Gardens Help Morale Grow    o o o Some great stuff, as always, from Michael Yon: The Kopp-Etchells Effect: “How can you have a better heart?” said a grateful Judy Meikle, 57, of Winnetka, Ill., who is still recovering from the surgery. “I have the heart of a 21-year-old Army Ranger war hero beating in me.” I’ve always been impressed by both the eloquence of Michael’s writing and his skill as a photographer. (For example, his latest shots, …

KAF alerted us to this from The Australian: Food prices to surge under emissions trading scheme    o o o Robert M. forwarded this: The Mars menu: This is not Buzz Aldrin’s astronaut food    o o os Readers in the Boise, Idaho area might find this event on Saturday, September 12th of interest. Oh, and please wear a SurvivalBlog or Bennington Flag hat or T-shirt, since you never know who you might meet.

Steven C. sent a link to an article about some exciting new developments in sodium-sulphur battery technology: Power Shift; New battery could change world, one house at a time. Hmm… If I were speculator, then I might consider buying some stock in Industrias Peñoles.    o o o Mark P. sent this: Accountant, lawyer, dentist — future farmers? Program partners aspiring farmers with aging pros to preserve way of life. Mark’s comment: “This might be a vehicle for some to make the break with the city and learn those skills they will need as things go from bad to worse. …

Dan H. and Chris Z. both pointed to where the EMP threat is getting some more mainstream media coverage: Rep. Roscoe Bartlett On Grid Security    o o o F.G. mentioned this news item about the new Terms and Conditions (Ts and Cs) for the Ts and Cs: Britain imposes direct rule of Turks and Caicos isles. F.G. ‘s comment: “The empires strikes back!” [JWR Adds: Did offshore banking privacy play into this decision?]    o o o Global warming update: Wyoming set for Late Summer Mountain Snowstorm. One historical note: Snow has been reported in every month of the …