Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Today is the U.S. National Day of Prayer.    o o o There have already been some bids in the auction that just started yesterday for last remaining autographed copy of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” from the inventory at Survival Enterprises. The proceeds of the auction will benefit the SurvivalBlog bandwidth fund. The high bid is currently $50. Please e-mail your bids before May 30th. Thanks to Kurt and Angie Wilson of Survival Enterprises for sponsoring this fund raiser!    o o o The silver market remains very volatile. Yesterday, there was a huge $1.20 per ounce …

SurvivalBlog reader R.V. mentioned that Hollywood’s anxiety piece on the Asian Avian Flu will air on May 9th. Any guesses on its impact on food storage vendors? Hmmmm… If you’ve been procrastinating, then you’d better get your orders in soon.    o o o I just noticed that a gent with whom I’ve corresponded for several years (and also a SurvivalBlog reader) currently has a few nifty items for sale on eBay.    o o o There is an interesting thread on the FAL Files about heavy duty 20 liter gas cans made by Briggs and Stratton, and stabilizing gas …

Yikes! Copper is at $7,000 per ton!    o o o The folks at Safecastle mentioned that they give substantial discounts (generally 10-20%)to Survivalblog readers –for everything listed in their eBay store . All you have to do is mention SurvivalBlog when you e-mail your requests for quotes. Some of Safecastle’s highest volume product lines are Maxpedition, Mountain House, JetBoil, and Katadyn. BTW, it is better if you e-mail Safecastle at jcrefuge@safecastle.net rather than using the eBay message system.    o o o Take the time out to read Dr. Peter Hammond’s great piece about Switzerland. This is something you …

The much-publicized Iranian oil bourse, conducting trades in Euros, opens for business next week. o o o SurvivalBlog reader R.B.S. (who kindly sends us several links every day) spotted this interesting site: The U.S. Gas “Temperature” Map. As you can see, Wyoming has some of the lowest prices–proving yet again that the Free State Wyoming folks made a good choice for their locale. o o o An interesting thread on the pros and cons on the various commercial versus military camouflage fabric patterns is underway over at The FAL Files. o o o This Generator Site has some great links …

A reader mentioned this site with some good general information, particularly on assembling survival kits.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader B.T. found this link to a PDF of The U.S. Army Survival Manual. (19 chapters and eight appendices, each as a separate PDF file.)    o o o A lengthy but informative piece on Peak Oil.  

As a follow-up to our recent item on surplus Titan missile bases, a reader spotted this fly-in dream home/bunker for New Yorkers: http://www.silohome.com. The asking price is a cool $2.3 Million. OBTW, please don’t bug Bruce James with any questions unless you are a sincere, qualified, potential buyer. And if you do you buy the place, tell Mr. James that Jim Rawles from SurvivalBlog sent you, and hopefully I’ll get a nice little “non-agent” commission.)    o o o Financial analyst Puru Saxena warns “Cash is Trash.”    o o o It is hardly a news flash for SurvivalBlog readers, …

Spot silver is down to around $12.00 on profit taking. If you haven’t already diversified into precious metals, then I recommend that you buy on these dips. The long term trend is definitely upward. (See the six month and one year charts at Kitco.)    o o o “My Night with The Minutemen” by Bryanna Bevens    o o o Hurricane Katrina, first hand evacuation experiences    o o o Gary Duncan of the Times of London on Avoiding an Economic Earthquake    o o o The Kiplinger Letter has made the following energy price forecasts: Crude oil early July …

The switch from MTBE to ethanol for gasoline oxygenation has caused a Gas Shortage on U.S. East Coast    o o o A Titan 1 Missile Base in Eastern Washington is Being Auctioned on eBay. Wow! 57 acres, 120,000 square feet of underground space, and hundreds of million of dollars worth of concrete. It has been bid up to $476,000 and there are still two weeks until the end of the auction. I spoke briefly with the seller about the property. He said that the nice thing about this one is that the water table is down at the 400 …

From Fortune magazine: Ready for $262 Per Barrel Oil?    o o o A new Biodiesel Reactor Technology was announced by Oregon State University researchers. For some technical details, see this PDF.    o o o Some interesting commentary on the Refuge Blog: “Mistaken Entitledness is a Core Global Issue”    o o o U.S. Agriculture Secretary Johanns releases national animal ID implementation plan. For details, see the USDA’s official plan (a PDF.) Be careful not to be fooled by their claims of “extensive dialogue with producers and industry organizations across the country.” The NAIS is being advocated by the …

I’m presently reading the novel “The Hunt for Confederate Gold” by Thomas Moore. (Published by Fusilier Books.) I’m now halfway through the novel, and I can’t put it down! Without giving too much away, I can tell you that it is three storylines wrapped into one. (One of which takes place in the closing days of the Confederate States of America.) Thusfar, I can highly recommend the novel. I’ll post a full review once I’ve finished reading it.    o o o The Survival Report for April 2006 from Mike “Mish” Shedlock and Brian McAuley provides some good background on …

U.S. Army Dragon Skin body armor test have been delayed.    o o o Oil and natural gas industry analyst Dr. Joe Duarte reports of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is taking decisive steps to turn off the oil taps to the U.S. He says that Venezuela’s state owned oil company PDVSA has inked a key deal with India, taking the first key step away from the U.S. as its major oil buyer.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader Scott M. told us about a novel “Send A Brick” congressional mailing campaign has been launched in the U.S., designed to a …

The latest murmurings from Wall Street and the Chicago Board of Trade are that the commodities markets have not nearly reached their peak. If anything, the traders say, we are in the opening stages of a secular bull market that will likely continue for several years. As I’ve stated on previous occasions, the second half of the Aughts will probably look a lot like the second half of the 1970s, with rising interest rates, consumer price inflation, international tensions, and galloping commodities prices.    o o o We just returned from a family trip down to California. (Which explains the …

Cowabunga! Spot silver is over $14 per ounce, and gold is at $621. The shorts are heading for the hills! There may be some fright inducing pull-backs along the way, but I think that this bull market is just getting started. Consider any deep dips your best buying opportunities.    o o o Richard Kiyosaki on “The Coming Oil Crisis“    o o o From the Second Amendment Foundation: More than seven months have passed since New Orleans residents were forcibly and illegally disarmed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and starting Monday, April 17, the City of New Orleans …

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad alternately threatens to annihilate or “liberate” Israel. With these tensions is it any wonder oil an precious metals are spiking?    o o o David Limbaugh comments on “Immigration Madness“    o o o It looks as if the short squeeze that I predicted in the silver market is starting to unfold. Look for a substantial spike in the price of spot silver in the next two weeks, as the shorts panic to cover their positions. This spike may very well be followed by some profit taking, but who knows–the stair step pattern may persist.

Chuck the Welding Wizard introduced me to an amazing publication, called the Encyclopedia of “Made it Myself ” Ideas. (30th Anniversary Edition, published by the folks at Farm Show Magazine). It has a wealth of knowledge on farm machinery modifications and outlandish inventions, some of which will doubtless prove useful at a retreat. It is available through http://www.farmshow.com. While you are at it, I recommend that you get their collection of magazine back issues on CD-ROM–less than $40 for 30 years of back issues.    o o o Former Federal Reserve Chairman Al Greenspan says that he regrets “irrational exuberance” …