Category: Odds ‘n Sods

“The Werewolf”, (our correspondent in Brazil) recommended a 49 cent downloadable Amazon short by Kim Stanley Robinson. It is titled :”Imagining Abrupt Climate Change: Terraforming Earth.”    o o o Michael Z. Williamson reminded us that the Oak Ridge Laboratory treatise on what nuclear weapons actually do, and how to defend your family against their effects is available for free download from the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.    o o o “Simple Country Doctor” recommended this “moderately technical discussion of non-nuke EMP device” from Australia.

Bush Targets Iran in Speech, Implies Military Action    o o o I’ve just been notified by Survival Enterprises that the big blow-out ‘truckload sale” that I had mentioned previously is now definitely a “go.” They bought a container load of nitrogen packed long term storage foods from a U.S. cannery that is going out of business. Survival Enterprises has well over 11,000 cans of storage food coming, (a full to the gunnels 40 foot shipping container load) and it’ll be arriving sometime next week. These will be everything from beef, ham, chicken, and bacon TVP to green beans to …

From Thomas Horn, writing in WorldNetDaily: The good news about imminent disaster    o o o Four different SurvivalBlog readers sent us the link to this news story: Proposal to send drones over Idaho raises hackles    o o o The Daily Mail reports: Dead birds rain down on towns half a world apart

Economist Gary North commented in a recent e-newsletter about “inflation fighter” Alan Greenspan’s legacy: “Using the inflation calculator, located on the home page of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we find that in 1997, an item that had cost $1,000 in 1987 [when Greenspan took office] cost $1,412 — a 40% increase in prices.”   o o o Tessy e-mailed us to mention: “One of the greatest and most valuable treasures in my survival library is the book written by the cadre of the United States Rescue and Special Operations Group based in Kansas City: “Six Ways in, Twelve Ways …

Kara S. told us about this story: Thieves Steal $200K In Copper In Broad Daylight    o o o Our friend novelist Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this book that might prove useful in extremis: Unmentionable Cuisine by Calvin W. Schwabe    o o o For our readers in the UK that are wondering about the vaguely survivalist Jericho television series produced in the U.S., Simon in England mentioned: “Jericho is starting the the UK cable / satellite channel Hallmark at 20.00 on Friday 12 January 2007.”

Simon in England notes that do-it-yourself and garden centers there are presently selling off their ‘Christmas candles’ at closeout prices. He said that he got ten of the large pillar type candles for just £0.49 (around $1 USD) each that otherwise would have been £3.00 (around $6 USD) each. The nice thing about these candles is that most of them are formulated with extra stearic acid, for longer burning.    o o o From Yahoo News: 6 of 75 cities get top disaster rating. Jason says: “Yet another reason to ‘get out of Dodge”    o o o Front Sight …

B.H. in Spokane mentioned that VCI paper desiccant rifle barrel protective tubes are now available commercially, under the brand name “Barrel Guard.”. (Any of you that ever bought a M1 Garand from the CMP–or from its DCM predecessor–will remember these, which are inserted in a rifle’s bore.) Barrel Guards are ideal to use as an adjunct to (but not a substitute for) Rust Inhibitive Grease (RIG) and silica gel desiccant packets for long term firearms storage or caching.   o o o A demographic milestone: City dwellers are poised to take over the world. This adds more credence to my …

Eric Fry, co-editor of the free e-mail newsletter The Rude Awakening comments: “The [U.S.] dollar fell sharply in 2006 against every major world currency and against most major global commodities. In short, it lost a lot of value against almost everything. A rebound, therefore, should be in order. But fleeting short-term strength would not compensate for the greenback’s inexorable long-term weakness.”    o o o Colorado and Kansas Digging Out From Blizzard    o o o Simon in England e-mailed me to mention that the new 33-chapter expanded edition of my novel “Patriots” is now available through a variety of …

 Denver gets pounded by another blizzard   o o o A 14-year-old is set to become youngest ever to sail solo across the Atlantic.    o o o World faces hottest year ever, as El Niño combines with global warming

“John Adams” mentioned this: For those of you with high speed Internet connections: Basic Urban Skills Training: Concealment Does Not Equal Cover. (A very interesting 20 minute USMC training film showing extensive live fire building penetration tests, produced by Dahlgren Laboratories.)    o o o Rob at MURS Radios reports: “Response to the $98 SurvivalBlog.com MURS Radio [pair of handheld transceivers] special has been terrific! I sold out 25 pairs in one day but I am happy to report that I was able to negotiate the same discount ($98 a pair and free shipping) on another batch of these radios. …

The Werewolf, our correspondent in Brazil, noticed an Amazon Shorts downloadable e-book “Peak Oil and Personal Preparation for It” by Steven Woeste available for just 49 cents.    o o o The Rude Awakening notes that pre-1983 U.S. pennies “contain about 3 grams of copper and about .1 grams of zinc. Current metallic value: 2.4 cents per penny.” Post-1982 pennies, which contain almost no copper whatsoever (they are just copper flashed zinc tokens), are “rapidly approaching metallic parity, thanks to the soaring price of zinc. These later pennies contain 97.6% zinc and 2.4% copper. Current metallic value: .89 cents per …

Mike M. gave a thumbs up for the Nader Khalili’s sandbag building technique recently mentioned in SurvivalBlog. Mike says: “This is great stuff. Our church has been trying this building technique for use in Mexico. It would make a great shelter for short or long term use.” See: http://www.calearth.org/    o o o The remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party have threatened to retaliate if their leader is executed.    o o o Courtesy of Gold-Eagle, Joshua Fritsch offers some interesting charts showing the bull market in gold. The best is yet to come.

Mike the Blacksmith recommended this article: How Our Civilization Can Fall.    o o o The first episode of the Front Sight Challenge reality television series will air for the first time on on January 5, 2007. Naish Piazza tells me that the series will be available to cable and satellite television viewers in 70 million homes around the globe. I predict that this exposure will cause a spike in Front Sight course enrollments, so make your reservations soon. Because of the hot climate in southern Nevada, in my experience the most pleasant months to attend are October through April. …

The U.S. FCC‘s recent change in amateur (“Ham“) radio licensing requirements (dropping the Morse code test for all license classes) inspired an interesting thread of conversation over at The Claire Files.    o o o Michael H. just had to send us this link to the Jet-man of Switzerland. This site has no survival or preparedness applicability that I can imagine, but wow! Check out the video clip. Tres cool!     o o o If it is an issue of concern for you, get your comments in ASAP about the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The deadline for public comments …

Mat The Propmeister reminded me to mention that there have been some very handy do-it-yourself projects detailed at Make Magazine, (“The first magazine devoted entirely to DIY technology projects”), including great articles on heirloom technology, and “Makeshift” scenarios.    o o o In a recent e-mail, my buddy “Purk” in Nevada noted that this is the time of year that the phone companies in many regions distribute free new phone books. Paper from phone books can be used in place of toilet in case of emergency. (Preferably new phone books, to minimize the risk of lingering bacteria from handling.) Purk …