Category: Odds ‘n Sods

It is interesting to see that the price of crude oil has drifted down to around $70 per barrel and because of growing supplies (there is actually a shortage of storage space!) it is expected to drift lower still in coming months. Meanwhile, the price of gold is holding solidly over $620 per ounce and the price of silver is advancing past $12.70. But wait a minute… The “experts” tell us that oil and precious metals have their prices “tied.” Obviously the silver and gold prices are telling us a different story. I think that the coming year will see …

I heard that James at Gun Parts Guy (one of our advertisers) is running a big Labor Day sale on FAL and L1A1 parts and manuals. There are some great items such as complete metric replacement spring sets, bolts and bolt carriers, scope mounts, and stock furniture. The sale ends on September 6th. If you own a FAL or L1A1, or clones thereof, then stock up! OBTW, for owners of other .308 Winchester / 7.62mm NATO rifles: one of the items that James has on sale is .308 ruptured case extractors. You should have one of these for each rifle …

Richard from KT Ordnance pointed us to this WorldNetDaily article: America’s Infrastructure Fire Sale.    o o o And reader Ben L. mentioned this one from CNN.com: Getting Real About Real Estate. All that I can say is “I told you so.”    o o o Frequent SurvivalBlog content contributor Jim K. told us about a belt drive bicycle motor that uses regular gas and gets 225 m.p.g “Not a bad idea for long bicycle commutes in a Peak Oil scenario.”

Seeing our hit map each month is gratifying. The SurvivalBlog readership keeps on growing, globally. What I want to know is, who are all these readers that I see scattered across Asia? I had no idea… I get a few e-mails from soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and South Korea. But who are all the others? Mystifying.    o o o 13 Plague Cases Reported in U.S. As long as there are rodents with fleas, the plague will be lurking in the background.    o o o Reader Joe in Florida mentioned that: www.alarmclocksonline.com has a fine selection of wind-up movement …

Randy in Utah mentioned to me that Dan’s Ammo currently has a great deal on brand new, unissued Hensoldt Z24 scopes with STANAG claw mounts, in the original military carry cases. These are $375 each, postage paid. Once this batch of Z24 scopes at Dan’s is gone, I’m fairly certain that they will jump back up to the normal market price of around $600 each.    o o o Cliff C. alerted us to this article: IBM and Tekvet team to remotely track and monitor the health of millions of cattle. One would hope that this doesn’t get integrated with …

I just finished watching a review copy of Larry Wick’s DVD: Split Second Survival: First Strike. It teaches some truly no-nonsense practical self defense. Highly recommended! It emphasizes unarmed defense, and devastating defense techniques with always close-at-hand objects such as pocket combs and ballpoint pens. I’ll post some detailed comments in a subsequent blog entry.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader “Flighter” recommends this US Army web site on water filtration. He notes: “It has an analysis of a variety of water purification filters and disinfection methods, all commercially available. It is interesting stuff.”   o o o The eighth …

Michael Z. Williamson sent a link for this interesting piece of ordnance. Too bad about that pesky $200 transfer tax. OBTW, you gotta love the picture of that WECSOGed fifth wheel trailer hitch mount. A also BTW, I woudln’t be surprised to see one of these Anzio 20mm rifles show up in one of Mike’s upcoming novels.    o o o From NewsTarget: The top ten things food companies don’t want you to know.    o o o Market Watch: The United States is headed for a recession that will be “much nastier, deeper and more protracted” than the 2001 …

Please check out the web site for our newest advertiser, Comet Gold, a site dedicated to analysis, commentary, and charts on precious metals and base metals investing. They also host some lively precious metals discussions at the Comet Gold Forum.    o o o The high bid is now at $100 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a copy “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. The course was kindly donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on September 15th.    o o o Zimbabwe’s new currency (sans three zeroes, versus the …

I have once again updated and expanded the SurvivalBlog Glossary. Let me know if I missed any terms or if you spot any errors. Thanks! o o o Reader “The Rabid One ” mentioned this article from The Guardian, about search engine privacy. He notes: “The story is of Google’s storing of search data and the user’s IP address. It also references a couple search engines that do not keep such data.” I agree with the advice to stop using Google. They log not only IP addresses but also your search phrases. Taken out of context, in a courtroom someday …

It is nice to see the prices of both silver and gold bouncing back. I holding by my prediction that after the current summer doldrums the precious metals will see a strong rally this Fall. For those of you that took my advice and sold your spec or vacation house at the top of the market and invested the proceeds in silver: hang on! By late 2007, the dollar will go down versus many foreign currencies, silver will go up substantially, and house prices will go down substantially, especially in the most overheated markets. Those simultaneous moves will be a …

Mark Steyn in Australia comments on global demographics: It’s breeding obvious, mate.    o o o Regarding the recent question on Ethanol blends long term storage–here is part of the answer. SurvivalBlog reader Shawnee contacted the makers of PRI-G gas stabilizer to ask about how it works with ethanol blends. This was their reply: “Our initial experience with ethanol blended gasoline has been very positive. PRI-G not only provides enhanced stability to the blend, but protects on lubricating value as well.”    o o o The USDA has not replied to the query about small farmers and NAIS submitted by …

Reader “Desert T” notes: “I came across this item at the Smith & Wesson web site while researching something else. Rather steep price, but I found the marketing strategy interesting.” JWR Adds: Just the ticket for traipsing around Alaska.    o o o I recently heard about an interesting vendor called Civil Defense Supplies. They stock and eclectic line of storage food, first aid gear, commo gear, night vision gear, 72 Hour Kits, and so forth. I should mention, however, that I have not yet done business with them.    o o o Reader Sid near Niagara Falls spotted a …

When I was doing some recent research for a consulting client, I found this interesting land development in the White Mountains of Nevada. The land is being sold near Dyer, Nevada, not too far from Bishop, California. (But safely across the state line, in the tax haven of Nevada.) The unusual thing about this property is that some of the parcels have frontage on a year-round creek. That is a real rarity in Nevada. They are asking $100,000 for a 10 acre chunk with creek frontage. The gent that I talked with (Mike Levin) said that they plan to sell …

Ain’t we high tech? I just heard that Mobitech Reader software (works with Bluetooth compatible laptops, Blackberries, PDAs, and even some cell phones) can now display RSS feeds. So you can read SurvivalBlog on the go. (Yes, we have had our own RSS feed for several months.) OBTW, I am looking into putting some of my writings out as Mobitech/MobiPocket e-books, but I have some reservations about security that will have to be resolved first.    o o o Darrel Holland mentioned that he still has just a couple of seats open for his next long range shooting school, September …

Petromax Lanterns: This gent on The FALFiles is selling the genuine article–originally from German Bundeswehr surplus.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader J.E. mentioned: “I ran across this link via a productivity site: Free e-textbooks for a myriad of subjects, at http://www.textbookrevolution.org/ Very useful, with of course the standard disclaimer about not depending on electronic documents being accessible in a ‘situation’.” #1 Son adds: Our readers that have home-schooled kids may find this useful as well.    o o o Jim K. forwarded this link to a site with some interesting photos of improvised up-armored civilian “contractor” vehicles in Iraq. …