Category: Odds ‘n Sods

In the wake of the real estate collapse comes inevitably: Squatters: The latest real-estate menace. (A hat tip to Hoffmama.)   o o o Several readers sent this: As if Things Weren’t Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S. (Of course, consider the reliability of the source.)    o o o David D. mentioned that Farm Show magazine has lots of articles with energy saving ideas, including: “Wood Gas Generator Produces “Free” Power”, a Coal-Fired Grain Dryer, Biodiesel Generator Powers Up On Veggie Oil (or Almost Any Oil) , and Manure Furnace Burns All Kinds of Waste.    o …

Kurt reminded me that the US Army’s Survival Manual (available for free download in PDF) has and appendix on Edible and Medicinal Plants. It includes a lot of color photos, which makes it a lot easier to identify plants.    o o o Some good news, especially for those of us that plan to stock up on winter-formulated gas: South Carolina gasoline hits 91 cents per gallon    o o o Robert S. in Las Vegas e-mailed to alert us: “While out shopping for post-Christmas deals yesterday we ran into a great deal on 20# propane cylinders (the standard BBQ …

American Fork [, Utah] Man Is Food Storage Fanatic    o o o Rod M. sent us a link to this tongue-in-cheek piece from Australia on the resurgence of survivalism: Where is The Safest Place on Earth? BTW, the article includes mention of our spin-off web site, SurvivalRealty.com    o o o Several readers sent this: Mormons prepared for hard times. While I’ll never see eye-to-eye with the LDS church doctrinally, I highly commend them for their food storage policy and their extensive cannery and bishop’s warehouse infrastructures.    o o o Another huge batch of economic news and commentary …

Frequent contributor Bill N. mentioned an interesting site on off-road driving. Bill’s comment: “The guy teaches 4WD recovery procedures and has several articles posted on his web site. I read his one on Hi-Lift jacks and learned some things.”    o o o KAF was the first of several readers to send us this: Homeland Security forecasts five-year terror threats    o o o Justin and Jeff both sent this, from The Wall Street Journal: Fourth Quarter Retail Sales Plummet.    o o o Reader Dan. H. mentioned this photovoltaic power system in the San Juan Island archipelago in Washington …

Katie F. suggested this account of surviving and airliner crash.    o o o Several readers mentioned this: “The End of the World As We Know It”: An unexpected, thick layer of solar particles inside Earth’s magnetic field suggests there are huge breaches in our planet’s solar defenses, scientists said. These breaches indicate that during the next period of high solar activity, due to start in 2012, Earth will experience some of the worst solar storms seen in decades.    o o o Aaron R. flagged this one: Liquidity Traps versus Inflation Traps    o o o From Cheryl: Massive …

Several readers sent us the link to this Christian Science Monitor article: Survivalist businesses surge in uncertain times. BTW the article mentions both our spin-off web site (SurvivalRealty.com and several of our advertisers.    o o o Speaking of retreats, readers FFF and Ben H. both mentioned that the newly-released US Census data might be useful for anyone looking to buy a retreat property:    o o o Michael from Texas suggested this: Google Maps Mashup Combines Your Address, Nuclear Blast    o o o I wish that I had better news for you for Christmas, but here is some …

Reader Chris M. sent this from UPS: Global Supply Chains Not Ready for Challenging Times    o o o Jim G. sent us a link to a YouTube clip with some timely humor: Sponsor an Executive    o o o Eric sent this big batch of economic train wreck news and commentary: Where’d the bailout money from taxpayers go? Shhhh, it’s a secret — Bailed-Out Executives Got $1.6 Billion in 2007 — Housing crisis worsens as economy weakens — House-price stabilisation is not imminent — Banks brace for an ugly 2009 — Mortgage Re-Defaults Rising With No Sign of Slowing …

Frequent content contributor KAF suggested sci-fi novelist David Brin’s nonfiction book “The Transparent Society“ as a useful reference when considering retreat OPSEC in this modern era of Google Earth. BTW, its was Brin who authored the novel “The Postman“, which Kevin Costner later put on the big screen, with uneven results.    o o os Reader Michael H. notes: “[My friend] Art was just reading in an airline magazine article that mentioned in 1960, 1 in 9 people in the US were overweight or obese and we averaged 8.5 hours of sleep daily. Now 2 in 3 are overweight or …

Reader Tim L. suggested economist Roger Garrison’s lecture (MP3 file) titled “The Great Depression”. Time notes: “It is very illuminating since it explains why booms and busts happen and also why the Great Depression was much worse than it had to be.”    o o o David B. recommend this brief but telling article: Outrage in New Hampshire Over Power Outages    o o o Ron S. pointed us to a great post by Mike Vanderboegh on the importance of having enough ammo for an extended firefight close at hand, already on stripper clips. Those should of course be stored …

Vice-President Elect Joe Biden: US Economy in Danger of “Totally Tanking’. His solution? More “stimulus”. Just as I warned, the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) will continue to grow to gargantuan proportions that will inevitably spawn stagflation. Mark my words: Deflation in the short term, and mass inflation in the long term will be the hallmarks of the emerging Second Great Depression. Oh, speaking of inflation, SurvivalBlog reader Bill N. sent us this propaganda piece from the 1930s, archived on YouTube. Back then, just $4 billion was considered a massive economic stimulus. My, my! How times have changed.    o …

A reader mentioned a very useful new blog on Survival cooking, recipes and menu-planning. It looks worthy of bookmarking.    o o o I heard from the wife of an active duty Marine that starting last week, SurvivalBlog’s URL has been universally blocked by the US DOD‘s Navy and Marine Corps Internet (NMCI). I find it ironic that my blog is currently not blocked by Red China’s notorious “Great Firewall of China“, but it is now blocked to so many US servicemen. This is particularly difficult for Navy sailors aboard ship, who needless to say have few Internet access alternatives. …

Mark R. and Eric both highlighted this: Depression Possible: Canadian Prime Minister. And Eric also sent this big raft of economic news: Calpers to Report Losses of 103% on its Residential Investments — Forecast: A Long, Cold Winter — HUD Chief Calls Aid on Mortgages a Failure — 55% of SoCal house sales were foreclosures — Foreclosures push So Cal house prices down 35 percent — Fed now lending money for 0% interest — Banks Show No Signs of Easing Credit in Step With Feds Rates — FDIC rules will ban new banks — Goldman Sachs’ Tax Rate Drops to …

Thanks to KAF for spotting this: A Giant Breach in Earth’s Magnetic Field. This natural event–roughly analogous to the nuclear EMP effect in that it can fry microcircuits–is all the more reason to store your spare radios in ammo cans or other Faraday cage type enclosures.    o o o Reader Bob R. notes that there was a recent “Death Map” study done with data from 1970 to 2004 that categorizes US mortality rates from natural disasters. Bob’s comment: “One would think that hurricanes would top the list, but it turns out heat is a bigger killer. I think this …

Reader T.H. in New Mexico wrote to ask, “How long will this recession last, and how deep will it get? A year ago, I would have said that it might last as little as 18 months, and that it would surely be “sharp.” But no we see many trillions of dollars being thrown at Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB), thus perpetuating the malinvestment, and doubtless delaying economic recovery. So I’d say that we will see a severe recession if not a full blown depression with lots of disruption that will last between four years and 15 years. Be ready for …

Eric sent us this: Amish homeowners: Religion trumps building codes    o o o Michael H. flagged this: Fed Refuses to Disclose Recipients of $2 Trillion    o o o I’m overwhelmed! More than 300 SurvivalBlog readers have bought Foodsaver vacuum packers at the special December sale price.This a is a great way to save money and to support SurvivalBlog! (We get a small commission on each sale, if you follow our link.) You can buy a FoodSaver v2830 for $59.99 (originally $169.99) with free Standard Shipping for orders over $100, directly from FoodSaver.com.Use code L8FAV28 at checkout. This offer …