Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Harvey J. sent us a link to a web site that ties in nicely with our recent posts about utility uses for bicycles: Hauling Cargo by Bike   o o o We’ve recently added two new Affiliate Advertisers: 1.) TotalVid. They provide a wide range (thousands) of instructional videos via high speed Internet download. Many of these videos are for practical do-it-yourself skills. They offer a free trial subscription. Check them out. And, 2.) KeepYouSafe. They provide off-site backup of crucial documents for both businesses and families. Oh, and speaking of our Affiliates, I should also mention that Nashbar …


Odds ‘n Sods:

This news story caught my eye. Buffalo Man Lives in Underground Bunker. On a somewhat related note, the folks at Walton Feed have an interesting web page titled: “The Granddaddy Of All Underground Storage Areas “   o o o Home Sales in US Hit Slowest Pace in Four Years. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. This “downturn” may very well be the beginning of a housing market collapse that will last a decade.    o o o Commentary from the International Herald Tribune: Finding doomsday asteroids.    o o o From WorldNetDaily: Untreatable Tuberculosis threat ‘apocalyptic scenario’


Odds ‘n Sods:

The UN does it again: Remember when the UN appointed Libya to head their Human Rights Commission? That was ironic. The latest outrage is that the UN has just appointed Zimbabwe to head the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Is this some kind of cruel joke? The economic masterminds of Zimbabwe have absolutely wrecked the nation’s once-thriving economy. Basic commodities are chronically in short supply. Commerce and agriculture are in shambles, verging on total collapse. They have turned a major food exporter–once “the breadbasket of Africa””–into a food importer, with hundreds of thousands of their citizens malnourished, and thousands now …


Note from JWR:

I’ve once again updated and expanded the SurvivalBlog Glossary. There are now more than 1,500 entries. If you find what you read in SurvivalBlog useful, then please consider becoming a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber. Subscriptions are entirely voluntary. All those little $3 monthly payments do add up–enough that they help pay the bills here. Thanks!


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Alfie Omega” flagged this new article: Gas at $6 per gallon? Get ready. (Congress has an expensive “solution.”)   o o o Sean M. forwarded us this one: Solar Shingles Could Power Tomorrow’s Homes. Sean’s comment: “It would difficult to keep these clear in the winter in snow country. But it is discrete, so you won’t be screaming ‘Hey, I have power’ to anyone passing by.”    o o o For those of you that asked about promotional clips for the upcoming Sarah Connor Chronicles television series, for some reason they were removed from YouTube, but are still available …


Odds ‘n Sods:

U.S. Economy: Housing Starts Drop; Slump May Persist. Notice how the 20% slump in housing starts in the western U.S. was buried in the article? After reading the entire article, I think that it would be better titled “US Economy: Housing Market Enters Death Spiral.” But of course I’m the pessimistic type.   o o o China sells more US T-bonds. I’ve said it before: the U.S. Dollar is doomed.    o o o From MayoClinic.com — West Nile virus: Signs and symptoms    o o o Our friend Tom at CometGold.com sent us this: Bear Stearns Staving Off Collapse …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Minnesota’s “Code Ready” preparedness campaign urges deep larders   o o o Reader BWN sent us a link to fairly detailed plans for a slow sand water filter.    o o o I recently updated my Pre-1899 FAQ and Mauser Bolt Rifles FAQ. Both are available (along with many others that I authored or co-authored) for free download at my FAQs Page


Odds ‘n Sods:

Rourke sent us the link to this PDF: The Day After Action in the 24 Hours Following a Nuclear Blast in an American City. In this study, Harvard and Stanford professors recommend a return to constructing bomb shelters and an active Civil Defense program in the U.S. (Rourke’s comment: “Geez, these Harvard and Stanford professors are sounding like survivalists!”)   o o o SurvivalBlog reader”Mr. Bill” kindly created more convenient single-file PDFs with chapter bookmarks for three crucial medical references that are now in the public domain: NATO Emergency War Surgery, Where There is No Dentist, and Where There is …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SF in Hawaii recommended this article on midwifery in austere circumstances: Border Patrol Learns “Emergency” Childbirth .   o o o Linked at Drudge: New age town embraces dollar alternative. This trend has implications for post-collapse local economies, based on barter.    o o o Sean M. suggested this article from one of Guns & Ammo‘s spin-off magazines: What Really Happens In A Gunfight? The conclusions from twenty-five years of lethal force investigation.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Brian H. sent us a link to this article about NBC shelters in Germany: Bunkers in vogue in as cold war fears rise   o o o There is an interesting thread of discussion over at The Claire Files Forums about precious metals investing. OBTW, this thread was started on April 23rd, when spot gold was at $687 per ounce. Gold is presently around $656. So I think that it would now be a good time to buy. (As I often say: “in a bull market, buy on the dips.”) My prediction for gold is somewhere north of $2,000 per …


Odds ‘n Sods:

As if things couldn’t get any worse in Zimbabwe, the latest estimate is that the annual currency inflation rate could reach 24,136% by December. This quote from the article reminds me of accounts of the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany: “This weekend bread prices rose again, to Zim$20,000 per loaf. At the beginning of the week, one loaf was selling for around $9,500.” The exchange rate to the US Dollar is now approaching Zim$65,000 to USD$1. I’ve said it before (and hopefully I won’t have to say it again): Comrade Mugabe and his band of fools must go!   o o …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Chuck alerted us to this piece of commentary from Eugene Linden, published by Business Week: From Peak Oil To Dark Age?   o o o S.F. in Hawaii mentioned that he found a Wikipedia page on Olduvai Theory, which ties in to Peak Oil.    o o o I heard from SurvivalBlog reader “BVance” that the James Wesley Rawles Wikipedia article has been flagged for lack of notability–mainly because it lacks references. The gent that wrote the original wiki entry is currently deployed in Afghanistan and tells me that he has just sporadic Internet access and hence doesn’t have the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Four readers all sent me this same link: World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists   o o o Reader RBS recommended this book excerpt article: The Ethic of the Peddler Class, by Frank Chodorov    o o o “Alfie Omega”, KonTiki, and Hawaiian K. all sent the link to this recent article at the Jeff Rense web site: Lowest Food Supplies In 50-100 Years    o o o Losing it All: Home Foreclosures Reach Record Levels


Odds ‘n Sods:

Because so many readers of SurvivalBlog are interested in establishing survival retreats, I’m in the process of setting up a new SurvivalBlog”sibling” web site that will feature survival retreat real estate listings. These will be both For Sale By Owner (FSBO) and from licensed real estate agents, worldwide. If you have a retreat property for sale, or know of someone that does, here is the deal: To get my new survival real estate web site off to a fast start with a lot property ads, I am offering free two month advertisements for the first 25 sellers that respond. Just …


Odds ‘n Sods:

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller says that it is only a matter of time and economics before terrorists will be able to purchase nuclear weapons.   o o o May home foreclosures up 19 percent: RealtyTrac    o o o Frequent contributor Michael Z. Williamson sent us this food for thought: A map with US states renamed for countries with similar GDP.