Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Micah flagged this Fox Business video clip with some speculation about a possible war with Iran and a resultant spike in the price of crude oil.    o o o Kevin A., RBS, and Tim P. all mentioned a news article over at the Silver Bear Cafe that focuses on one of our least favorite Nanny States, California: Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes: States Seize Citizens’ Property to Balance Their Budgets    o o o “Viking Eric” mentioned a company in England that creates houses out of CONEXes.    o o o Mike the Blacksmith sent us this: Fed’s Discount Window Loans to …

More Gloom und Doom from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: The global slump of 2008-09 has begun as poison spreads. It sounds like he’s been reading SurvivalBlog. Don’t listen to the Wall Street pundits at CNBC who assure us that there will be a jolly “soft landing,”    o o o Thanks to Chester for sending this: US foreclosure filings surge 65 percent in April. As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog: Anyone that does not yet own a rural retreat should watch the foreclosure listings carefully. There may some tremendous bargains in the next few years that are right in your “ideal” retreat …

Thanks to Yishai for sending us this interesting article link: Five Modern Secret Room Dreams (and Nightmares): From Creative Hideouts to Dreadful Spaces    o o o Samuel K. flagged this: Are Backyard Ethanol Brewers an Answer to High-Priced Gas? In the context of Schumeresque days, such systems would only make sense in a place like Hawaii, where it could expected that grid power might be available, and cane sugar is readily available. Used in CONUS, I predict that grid power or transport disruptions would quickly transform these systems into just quaint ornaments. And of course these systems make E100 …

R.E. found a link to this map of the population density of the US, Mexico, and Canada. Do you see why I prefer the Western US for retreats? Too bad that Canada has a frigid climate (inland) and such draconian gun laws. Otherwise, much of western Canada would be ideal. See my free Recommended Retreat Areas web page for more detail on my recommendations, and my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” for even greater detail, with some very useful accompanying maps.)    o o o Eric sent us this: Hard-hit consumers turn to Amish–People save by buying ‘scratch …

22 dead in Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia after new round of storms. This underscores the need for anyone living in tornado or hurricane country to construct an effective storm shelter.    o o o Rob at MURS Radios mentioned that he will soon have a limited number of Kenwood TK-2100 MURS radios in stock. These are similar to the ones that he used to sell and at the same price. These come with a used radio (programmed for MURS frequencies), antenna, drop-in charger, and a new battery. The price is $69 each, plus shipping. Rob is taking pre-orders on a first …

FerFAL–SurvivalBlog’s correspondent in Argentina–reports in his personal blog on the effects from the volcanic eruption in adjoining Chile.    o o o We found this linked at Steve Quayle’s site: As usual, journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard pulls no punches: Global free market for food and energy faces biggest threat in decades    o o o Bob at Ready Made Resources mentioned that they have just five cases each of the following Mountain House freeze dried foods briefly back in stock, available for immediate delivery: Spaghetti and Meat Sauce $110 per case Chicken and Rice $110 per case Beef Stew $165 per …

Jack B. forwarded this: Wheat disease threatens supplies.    o o o Reader KBF found a mainstream media article that has good general advice and great links for food cost savings: Tips for taming rising grocery prices.    o o o  Frustrated owners try to unload their guzzlers.    o o o Oil surpasses $125 per barrel ahead of US driving season.

Eric mentioned that Rock Port, Missouri is the first US city to be 100% [net meter] wind-powered.    o o o Burma death toll worse than Tsunami. We may never have an exact count, but the previous estimate of 100,000 dead may have been a huge understatement. And to make maters worse: UN halts aid to Myanmar after junta seizes supplies.    o o o I found an insightful article by Devvy Kidd linked over at the Bull (Not Bull) blog site: Do You Have a Plan?    o o o A reader in Iraq mentioned that US Marine Corps …

Reader D.K. mentioned this item that first appeared in the AMA’s Morning Rounds e-newsletter: Hospitals in Cities Most at Risk of Terrorist Attack Do Not Have Capacity To Treat Injured, Report Finds    o o o Eric mentioned that the US Federal Reserve has now resorted to desperation measures to pump liquidity in the midst of the global credit collapse: We read in The New York Times: Fed Takes Steps to Add Liquidity. The piece begins: “The Federal Reserve announced new steps on Friday to help ease tight global credit markets by increasing the size of its cash auctions to …

Hard numbers: The economy is worse than you know    o o o UBS reports first quarter net loss of $11 billion, cuts 5,500 jobs    o o o Just as I had warned you, folks: Penny prices pinched by rising cost of metal. The article begins: “Further evidence that times are tough: It now costs more than a penny to make a penny. And the cost of a nickel is more than 71?2 cents. Surging prices for copper, zinc and nickel have some in Congress trying to bring back the steel-made pennies of World War II and maybe using …

Myanmar cyclone death toll 22,000+ dead or missing. Does your family have rated storm shelter?    o o o Joe S. flagged this: Who Should Doctors Let Die in a Pandemic?    o o o Reader “Bois d’Arc” sent us a link to an interesting Malthusian web page written by Paul Chefurka, which seems to borrow heavily from other sources: Peak Oil, Carrying Capacity and Overshoot: Population, the Elephant in the Room. The bottom line is that he expects a population crash from a peak of near seven billion in 2012 to just one billion by 2075.    o o …

M. In Texas sent the link to a “must read” piece over at The Contrary Investor (for May, 2008): Slowly I Turned    o o o Oil Tops $120 Per Barrel    o o o The Werewolf in Brazil found this for us, about a new disease outbreak: 24 Chinese children die of EV-71 virus; other countries affected    o o o Samuel K. suggested this article: An Unlikely Way to Save a Species: Serve It for Dinner. Samuel’s comment: “Some of these local breeds of livestock and crops mentioned in the article may have appeal to survivalists for growing …

Naish Piazza of Front Sight has regretfully announced that because of increased merchandise costs as well as increased shipping and mailing costs he will soon be raising the price on his very generous “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer. Get your order in right away, to beat the price increase! Also, keep in mind that the offer will likely end soon, since it is being run at or near cost.    o o o Inyokern sent this article link about survivalists the UK’s Guardian newspaper: Natural born survivors. BTW, it mentions SurvivalBlog and cites the size our our …

Fred The Valmet-meister relayed this bit of bad news: Berkshire Hathaway’s quarterly net profits dropped 64 percent because of derivatives losses    o o o Norman in England sent us this: India feels the heat as thousands riot over power cuts    o o o Ron D. flagged this article: What happens when oil is no longer priced in US Dollars    o o o Gulf States may end the dollar peg. (Thanks to Samuel K. for the link.)

Reader EG mentioned this Science in Africa article: Make your own 220 Volt [AC] backup power supply Of course the same principles apply to readers in countries with 120 VAC utility power, by substituting a 120 VAC inverter and the appropriate prong pattern plugs and jacks.    o o o Ian and John M. both mentioned this Wired article: Survival Gear That’s Just Crazy Enough to Work    o o o I just noticed that we surpassed te threshold of 3.3 million unique visits. Thank you so much for making SurvivalBlog such a resounding success! Please continue spreading a the …