Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Montana real estate agent Viola Moss sent us an interesting snippet from The Christian Science Monitor, that illustrates that while most residential real estate is going down in value, some agricultural rural real estate is going up: “Farmland is hot property these days. Nationwide, it is up nearly 9 percent from a year ago. Iowa farmland has increased in value 18 percent. South Dakota’s value has risen 21 percent. The rise reflects rising profits from agriculture. The use of corn to create ethanol has driven up the price of corn and beef cattle that feed on corn. The U.S. Department …

Sean M. spotted a New York Times article on the recent theft of solar panels. Sean’s comment: “With the economy the way it is, crime will increase.” JWR Adds: If your retreat is unoccupied for long stretches of time then your photovoltaic (PV) panels should be dismounted and either locked up securely or hidden in a secret room or cache. If your panels are roof mounted, then I should mention a clever option that was revealed to me by one of my consulting clients in Arizona: camouflaging PV panels underneath well-aged black plastic pipe solar hot water panels. The latter …

Inyokern flagged this: Pandemic Planning Reveals 30-Day Power Plant Coal Supply    o o o I recently updated our Affiliate Advertisers page. Please shop with our our paid advertisers first. (See the scrolling ads in the right hand bar of the main blog page.) But if they don’t have what you are looking for, then please shop with our affiliate advertisers here in the U.S. as well as in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. (When you shop with our affiliate advertisers, SurvivalBlog will receive a small commission on each purchase.)    o o o Mike …

Chris S. sent us this frightening glimpse of how a post-TEOTWAWKI society might operate: Somali towns run on pirates’ treasure. It sounds like they are in need of a Barbary solution.    o o o Matt mentioned that South Carolina has enacted (over their Governor’s veto) a 2nd Amendment Recognition Act that creates a two day ‘sales tax free’ holiday on firearms following Thanksgiving 2008. I hope that this catches on in other states    o o o Alaskaman flagged this: There is No Secret Sauce: The Truth About ‘Deflation’    o o o David B. pointed out that three …

Government warns of “catastrophic” U.S. quake in New Madrid Seismic Zone    o o o David V. sent this: Argentine Stocks Threatened as Biggest Holders Seized.    o o o There is an old saying on Wall Street: “Nobody beats the bear.” That was recently proven out by Warren Buffett, the legendary manager of Berkshire Hathaway. Because of some bad trading decisions, the company’s share value has declined $23 billion since September 17th. Buffett’s company had a value over $55 billion, but now they’re down to just over $32 billion. That is still quite a nest egg, and they’ve still …

Signs of the (Los Angeles) Times: Adult children moving back home with parents. (A hat tip to Erik for the link.)    o o o Jim H. sent us a link to an interesting Business Spectator (of Australia) article about CDS-based CDO paper (so-called “synthetic CDOs”): A tsunami of hope or terror?    o o o The latest economic news and commentary from Cheryl: Stocks Plunge Anew, Led by Financials; Dow Down 873 in Two Days — Stocks Plunge To 5-Year Lows As Hopes Fade For Auto Bailout — Fears Over US Economy Weaken World Markets — Panicked Investors Send …

Michael G. sent this great link: The The King of Scrounge and His Castle    o o o Erik mentioned that US military personnel with proper identification can shop at Sam’s Club without a membership for two days in December. The company will also waive its 10 percent non-member service fee. The military open houses will be held Monday, Dec. 1 and Monday, Dec. 15 at 598 Sam’s Club locations in the U.S., during regular club hours. This is a good opportunity to stock up! BTW, if you need to know exactly what food products, hygiene items and sundries to …

More than 20 readers sent us links to various articles about Gerald Celente’s recently very gloomy predictions, including this one: Celente Predicts Revolution, Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012    o o o Eric flagged this one: Root cellars thrive as food prices rise. Oh, and BTW, count this as yet another greenie that doesn’t mind giving an exact location to reporters. How incredibly naive! (“Don’t forget to mention the nearest cross-street!”)    o o o From Cheryl, our Economic Editor, comes another big batch of news and commentary. It is noteworthy that the most incisive reporting on the US …

Reader “Arclight” mentioned that here is a DEA newsletter, formerly restricted to Law Enforcement, called “The Microgram.” Arclight’s comment: While some of it dry and technical, there are some fascinating stories of how drug operations are hidden, items are smuggled through customs, etc. The Microgram and the newsletters also available on the site give a fascinating look into who is running this trade and how. Good intel reading for the good guys.”    o o o I recently updated my M14 / M1A Magazine FAQ, to include a link to the set of excellent Counterfeit USGI M14 Magazine Detecting Flowcharts …

Robert R. recommended this piece over at The Simple Dollar blog: Investing in Skills (or Fear of an Apocalyptic Economy)    o o o For November and December only, FreezeDryGuy is offering a special sale price for a one year’s supply of 30-year shelf life Mountain House freeze dried fruit plus a free water filter. For just a hair over $500, you’ll get one case (six #10 cans) of Freeze Dried Strawberries (132 cup servings), two cases Freeze Dried Banana Slices (240 cup servings), and a bonus Aquamira E&E Military Water Filter. (Normally $20.) Contact FreezeDryGuy for ordering details.    …

While surfing around the net looking for ammo suppliers, Tim in Maryland found an ongoing firearms forum thread that tracks .308 prices from all the various online outlets. Tim notes: “It lists the supplier, the country of origin, year of manufacture, whether its sold by the case, battle pack or box, and cost per round. This could save people a lot of time spent comparison shopping.”    o o o In an e-mail to JWR, the editor of TheTraderBlog.com mentioned two interesting news articles with repercussions on the value of the US Dollar: China Expected to Shift Reserves to Gold …

Paul D. sent us a link to an article that profiles several families that have built extremely energy and water self-sufficient homes. Their elaborate do-it-yourself efforts and expertise are commendable, but: What is it about the Peak Oil crowd that makes them so incredibly naive about present day burglaries, and the potential for future home invasion robberies–to the point that they blithely mention their street addresses to newspaper reporters? My advice is to learn to be circumspect around reporters. Your stock answer should be: “For the privacy of my family, I’m not at liberty to discuss that topic.” Most reporters …

Mike O. e-mailed us to mention a dangerous omnibus package of Federal land grab legislation that will soon come before the US Senate: HR 5151.    o o o The latest wreckonomic news and commentary from Cheryl: Wall Street Ends Up Almost 553 Points — Budget Deficit Hits Record; Jobless Claims Surge — Soros Says Deep Recession Inevitable, Depression Possible — Who Will Bail Out The Fed? — UK on Brink of Meltdown — Hedge Funds Lose $100 Billion In October Alone (I hope that readers took JWR’s advice posted in September of 2007 and exited hedge funds) — Abandon …

FFF mentioned this interesting forum thread: Going Off Grid in East Tennessee    o o o From our volunteer Economic Editor: Disheartened Wall Street Plunges For Third Straight Session — Paulson Says Troubled Assets Will Not Be Purchased — Best Buy (US #1 Consumer Electronics Co) Slashes Forecast Due To Consumer Slowdown — Bailout Already $3.5 Trillion; Expected To Get Much Bigger — Citigroup Freezes US Home Repossessions — Fannie, Freddie Ease US Mortgage Payments — Oil Falls To 20-Month Low — Dow Could Reach 5,000 By January 2009 — Gloom Commentator Gerald Celente Predicts Revolution — Possible Gun Ban/Increase …

Paul D. and Rourke both mentioned this Time article Extreme Green: Living Off the Grid    o o o Thanks to Garth S. for finding this: US May Lose Its ‘AAA’ Rating    o o o The 25% off sale on Mountain House and AlpenAire freeze-dried foods at Ready Made Resources ends in just two days. Don’t hesitate!    o o o News and commentary from the Economatrix: Credit Crisis Tentacles Reach Everywhere — Fed Okays AMEX to Become A Bank — Asian Stocks Fall as Confidence Drop — Countrywide Gas Prices — Crude Oil Falls Below $59/Barrel — These …