Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Nine readers all suggested the same article: Barton Biggs’s Tips for Rich: Expect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets. The article begins: “Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with “seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.” The “etc.” must mean guns, because Biggs is also quoted as stating: “A few rounds [fired] over the approaching brigands’ heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage,” he writes in his new book, “Wealth, War and Wisdom.” Note that this is coming from a well-known fairly mainstream …

Matt in Texas sent us a link to a great piece about the sheer size and complications of the global derivatives bubble.    o o o From Cordi (by way of Mark From Michigan) came a link to some plans for a homemade solar oven.    o o o Michael G. suggested this article over at John Galt’s Blog: Whip Up Inflation Now.    o o o Eric sent us this: Fed Cuts Rates Boldly; Wall Street Wary. Eric’s comment: “The Fed cuts interest rates by another 1/2 point: and the Dow closes down! The Dow can’t even rally to …

B.L. sent us this one: Radon Gas Causes 100 Times More Deaths than Carbon Monoxide Poisoning    o o o Some thought-provoking analysis from Peter Schiff: Another One Bites The Dust    o o o Eric found this one: Swiss still braced for nuclear war. Eric noted that there are now calls by the Social Democrat party to drop the shelter-building requirement. (These are the same socialist do-gooders that did away with the war reserve ammunition that had previously been kept in Swiss homes, in sealed cans.)    o o o WW flagged this unusually revealling news tory link: Shell …

I found this “must read” piece by economist Jim Willie, posted over at Gold-Eagle: Gold & Math On A Napkin    o o o Eric mentioned a great article on the looming derivatives and hedge fund implosion in The Boston Globe: The black box economy. One tidbit from the article: “Despite the anxiety, nobody is stockpiling canned goods just yet.” Oh, yeah? Speak for yourself. Meanwhile, we also read: Crisis Grips European Hedge Funds. This is just the beginning folks. I’ve warned you before about hedge funds suspending redemptions, and hedge fund collapses. If you have any money in hedge …

Wired News is reporting that an Illinois startup is claiming they can make ethanol from most any organic material for around $1 per gallon. Coskata, backed by General Motors and several other investors, uses a process that is bacteria based instead of some of the other available methods. The bacteria processes organic material that is fed into the reactor and secretes ethanol as a waste product. A hat tip to Eric for sending us this link.    o o o Pete found us this one: Gold production halted amid South African energy crisis    o o o Ten-finger Fingerprint Scan …

US Home Prices Fell in 2007 for First Time in Decades    o o o Eric sent us this piece that squares nicely with my comments yesterday: Central Bankers Confront A New Inflation Calculus    o o o Richard G. sent a link to this recent front page Wall Street Journal article: In a World Short Of Oil, Provisions Must Be Made. Richard’s comment: “While the major media is starting to admit to peak oil, I was somewhat surprised that the WSJ would run this piece about stockpiling food, starting relocalization networks, storing gasoline and propane, buying and storing physical …

I got the chance to watch the first three episodes of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”. I found the show was worth watching. There are no great earth-shattering revelations about preparedness, but it sure beats the mindless drivel usually found on network television. For those of us without televisions, full episodes are available at the Fox network web site.    o o o In a recent e-mail, Naish Piazza of Front Sight sent a link to key web site to bookmark: Family WatchDog.The site provides Google maps showing where registered sex offenders live in proximity to your home.    o …

Loyal content contributor RBS sent us this “must bookmark” link: The Librums’s PDF Collection. It is veritable gold mine of mostly out-of-print books on practical skills.They are primarily late 19th Century, but there are also a few modern titles like the “US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook”, “Where There is No Dentist”, and “Where There is No Doctor.” They have lots of free gardening books, formularies, recipe books, and so forth. The usual provisos on 19th Century book reprints apply: Most notably, safety standards in those days were not quite the same as today’s, so be careful around harmful or …

Eric S. sent this piece from Canada: All signs point to U.S. consumers hunkering down in recession bunkers    o o o Reader Dale L. mentioned that Cheaper Than Dirt now sells battery-powered surplus German field telephones (minus commo wire) for $48 per pair. Cheaper Than Dirt is not one of our advertisers, but I recommend them. Anyone looking for original USGI surplus TA-1 field telephones that don’t require batteries should contact Ready Made Resources. A good source for military surplus WD-1 commo wire is Fair Radio Sales. (Also not one of our advertisers, but recommended.)    o o o …

Have you seen the “Tick Tick Boom” music video promo for the new season of “Jericho“? I thought that the snippet of the speech from a representative of the “Allied States of America” was reminiscent of the “Mr. Clarke” character from the “Provisional Government of the United States” in my novel “Patriots”. I am really looking forward to the new season, which will premiere on February 12th. (We don’t own a television here at the ranch, but CBS network shows can be watched online.) o o o Reader RBS sent us this: Cashiers vulnerable to flu from banknotes. o o …

Three bits of heavy duty economic Gloom und Doom: Jonas sent this: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down nearly 500 points, Eric sent this: A 1,000 Point Drop On The Dow? , and Stephen in Iraq sent this: Shares Tumble in Asia and Europe. Our friend Randy commented in a recent e-mail:: “Things are not looking too rosy for Tuesday’s market opening bell in New York.”    o o o Thanks to E.S. for this: India battles to contain ‘very serious’ bird flu outbreak    o o o Jeff C. mentioned that www.RARESEEDS.com sells only heirloom (non-hybrid) varieties.    o …

General Motors CEO says that oil has peaked. As I’ve said before, vehicles with a diversity of fuel sources is a good thing. If possible, retreats should have a variety of diesel, gasoline, E85, electric, and LP-powered vehicles, just to be ready for any eventuality. (A hat tip to Jason H. for sending the article link on the GM CEO‘s quote.) OBTW, I’m currently building up savings for a Bad Boy Buggy electric ATV to supplement our aging gas-powered utility ATV.    o o o Statistics from Memphis, Tennessee, show that concealed carry works: With more people carrying guns, self-defense …

The US Federal Reserve appears poised to significantly increase its purchases of Treasury securities. These purchases are called an open market operations or “repos”, and are highly inflationary, if done to excess. Since the Accord of 1951, the Federal Reserve banking cartel has been in full control of open market operations. The credit market is presently going through an unprecedented collapse, so be ready for more Fed “liquidity pumping” and hence more inflation!   o o o From Reuters: ‘Second Thoughts about Fluoride,’ Reports Scientific American. Yet another good reason to move to the hinterboonies.    o o o Desert …

Reader “O.E.” suggested Jim Willie’s recent commentary: Threat of Sovereign Wealth Funds. O.E.’s comment: “This is an interesting article on these new contraptions. The fire sale of America has begun.”    o o o Several readers sent us a link to a piece by economist Jim Sinclair: The Panic Starts. Jim Sinclair is really ringing the alarm bells. In times like these I think that he has good reason to be an alarmist.    o o o Nicole suggested this article by Greenpa as a counterpoint to those who are touting switchgrass as an ethanol source. OBTW, since “Greenpa” has …

SurvivalBlog reader “Rightcoast” mentioned that the new anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction titled Wastelands, from Night Shade Books, is now available for ordering. (I first mentioned this book back before it was available for ordering.) The authors include M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, and Richard Kadrey.    o o o We live in a very remote, lightly-populated area “somewhere west of the Rockies”, so our daytime radio reception is pitiful. (Although at night, it is fantastic on the AM and shortwave bands.) Since we enjoy listening to Internet radio webcasts and podcasts such as sermons, I recently got a small FM transmitter …