Category: Odds ‘n Sods

The Memsahib is now “Happy McHappy” because her annual Murray McMurray poultry catalog just arrived. Along with the obligatory pile of seed catalogs, this annual event is one of the things that keeps our spirits up during the snowy winter months.    o o o Eric spotted these articles: Kansas wheat acres continue downward trend and, German bond auctions fail, and, Latvia is shaken by riots over its weak economy    o o o More gloomage, courtesy of Cheryl: Crude Tumbles Below $35 — Fears Grip Banking Sector as Barclay’s Cuts 2,100 More Jobs — FTSE 100 Joins Global Rout …

Eric sent us this: Prices for rooftop solar systems fall as supply grows    o o o “OffGrid”, James S., and KAF were the first of more than 10 readers that flagged this: U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible. Speaking of emerging threats, Semperfiwife sent this Newsweek piece: Bob Graham talks about the possible nature and likelihood of a WMD terrorist attack over the next few years.    o o o From FloridaGuy: Detroit’s credit rating downgraded to junk bond status    o o o Nick sent this: The New Paranoia: Hedge-Funders Are Bullish on Gold, …

Dave S. flagged this disturbing news: Treasury: Deficit hits new record in just three months    o o o Northern Tool & Equipment (one our affiliate advertisers), has a special offer that runs though the end of January: Free Shipping on UPS Ground Orders over $149. Use key code: 117231.    o o o Cheryl spotted this: Wisconsin Department of National Resources to Hunters: Hand Over Your Guns on Demand. Cheryl also sent us a fresh batch of economic news and commentary links: Digest: Stocks Shed 4-5%, Gold Dips 2.5%, 7.2% Unemployment — Russia, China, Brazil and India Looming Collapse …

Eric S. suggested this Washington Post piece: We’re Borrowing Like Mad. Can the U.S. Pay It Back? And if that weren’t bad enough news, here is the daily glut o’ gloom from The Economatrix: Leading Economist Fears Decade of Economic Weakness — Oil Traders Demand Ships to Store Crude at Sea Before Prices Rebound — Crude Below $40 as Demand Drops Faster than Supply — The Bond Bubble is an Accident Waiting to Happen — UK Auto Workers: Pay Cut or Lose Jobs — Japan Suicide Hotlines Overburdened in Economic Crisis — Merkel Makes 44-Billion U-Turn to Save German Economy …

Several readers sent this: Powerful Solar Storm Could Shut Down U.S. for Months. As I’ve mentioned before: Your most reliable source of power will be a home micro-hydro or photovoltaic power system that is not grid-tied. (Since a grid power connection can couple EMP or EMP-like surges over long distances.) Yes, I realize that there is now a 30% Federal tax credit for new grid-tied alternate energy systems. So my advice is to make the initial installation grid tied, but later disconnect it and make it a stand-alone system after you’ve received your tax credit and once you are no …

Perennial content contributor Bill N. sent this: NYPD Eyes Disrupting Cell Phones in Event of Terrorist Attack. So be forewarned that you can’t count on cell phone connectivity, in extremis.    o o o Check out the Pioneer Living online magazine, they have a lot of useful educational resources.    o o o FloridaGuy sent this: Radical cheap: $1,000 homes. (But you have to wonder about the safety of those neighborhoods…)    o o o Sam in Illinois mentioned this sign of the times: BATF running out of 4473 Yellow “Record of Sale” Forms.

A SurvivalBlogger in the southeastern US might find this “RV” of interest. I’ve noticed that retired armored trucks don’t get sold on the open market very often–most get re-engined umpteen times and simply passed around between armored transport companies. (Thanks to Chester for the link.)    o o o Trent and FloridaGuy both sent us this: Merrill Lynch predicts $1,150 gold by June    o o o As usual, here’s the latest economic news and commentary from Cheryl, but the first item was suggested by Redclay: Numbers show economy in near free fall — World Stocks Drop as US Unemployment …

Does this sound familiar? Walking Away from the American Dream. FWIW, In August of 2005, I accurately predicted mortgage holders “walking away” from houses and turning in the house keys to their bankers. This has more recently been called “jingle mail”. Also on the economic front, comes these items from The Economatrix: Stock Losses Leave Pensions $400 Billion Short — Martial Law, Financial Bailout, and War — Biggest Rise in US Unemployment in 59 Years — Bank of England Cuts Rates to 300-Year Low — Pink Slips Pile Higher, Recession Worsens — The Fate of Paper Money —    o …

Susan Z. sent us this bad omen: [Former Bank of England official] Willem Buiter Warns of Massive Dollar Collapse    o o o Reader Debby S. flagged this: Terrorists could use ‘insect-based’ biological weapon    o o o “Shades of Minority Report…“, writes “Mike Papa”, an ex-pat living in Jordan, regarding this article: Police set to step up hacking of home PCs. Mike’s comment: “So now the United Kingdom is authorizing warrantless preemptive invasion of home computers by police if “a senior officer says he “believes” that it is “proportionate” and necessary to prevent or detect serious crime.” Scary stuff, …

Reader J.L. sent this piece describing the impact of a new Federal regulation: “New safety rules for children’s clothes have stores in a fit”. J.L’s comment: The thing that galls me, is that the thrift/resale arena is one of the few bright spots in the economy, and they are some of the few places people can go and get low priced clothes to help them get through this recession.”    o o o Frequent content contributor Bill N. found a web site with a useful comparison of civilian MRE equivalents.    o o o Reader Paul B in Texas found …

Reader Jason in North Idaho mentioned the documentary “Alone in the Wilderness“ about Richard Proenneke. Jason notes: “I saw it on on PBS. It was very good documentary.”    o o o The day’s economic news, starting with this from The New York Times, courtesy of Karl K.: The End of the Financial World as We Know It. Next, Jonathan B. sent this: The Economist magazine says its a depression. Allen sent us this sobering piece by the ever-cheery Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of The London Telegraph: Asia needs to fully wake up to the scale of the West’s economic crisis. And …

Thanks to Lisa for finding this gem: Blacksmith ‘a collector of forgotten trades’    o o o Joe H. sent us a link to an article from Permaculture magazine about self-sufficient living on the cheap (in England)    o o o I read that the latest movie in the Terminator franchise (Terminator 4: Salvation) is scheduled for release on May 22, 2009. Judging from the trailers, it looks like most if not all of the film takes place in the post-Skynet nuked future. This one should be good.    o o o The latest flurry of economic news and commentary …

The Releveller wrote to suggest that America’s architectural future may lie in China’s past: Fujian Tulou.    o o o In the “Why am I not surprised?” Department: NASA’s Hansen to Obama: Use Global Warming to Redistribute Wealth    o o o Chris K. sent a linked to a Wired magazine article with lots of rookie survival comments. Chris noted: “A few sound like they may survive the first couple weeks and [then] become armed and dangerous — a good reason to move another 100 miles away from the ‘blast zone’.”    o o o More economic cheer from Cheryl: …

Blacksheep sent us this Army Times article about WoundStat: Army halts use of new anti-blood loss product. (Note: So far as I know, Celox and QuickClot (available from several of our advertisers) are still approved for use in trauma cases.)    o o o FloridaGuy sent this “signs of the times” piece from one of the several states teetering on the edge of bankruptcy: California Taxpayers Due Refunds May Get IOUs    o o o s This piece by Matt Hardigree was linked once before at SurvivalBlog, but it was so entertaining that it bears repeating: And Now for Something …

Reader Rod McG. recommended this web site: Mappery.com    o o o I heard from a gent over at The FALFIles Forums that Dan’s Ammo still has some original FN (of Belgium) Browning Hi-Power 13-round 9mm magazines at just under $20 each. These were made for the South African Defense Force (SADF), back in the 1960s, and were recently surplussed. If you own a Hi-Power pistol, my advice is to buy at least eight of these magazines for your own use, and another larger pile for barter. You’ll probably be laughing about getting them at this price, this time next …