Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Several readers sent this: Miami treehouse grandma Shawnee Chasser keeps up fight for home. JWR’s Comments:  This illustrates the essential problem in the very nature of government:  This is an age when someone must apply for a “license” or a “permit”,  or make themselves subject to a “building code” and “inspections” to live our everyday lives. This is an age of legislated tyranny. In 21st Century America, we have too-willingly abandoned our essential freedom to live our lives unhindered. Most people don’t stop to think that a government-issued license or permit is: “permission to do something that would otherwise be …

On a recent road trip through Ontario, Canada, I noticed a surprising number of houses equipped with photovoltaic (PV) power panels–both roof-mounted and ground rack-mounted. I suspect that these these PV systems were nearly all both:  A.) Grid-tied, and B.) Partly paid for by generous incentives. One of these incentives is called the Feed-in-tariff (FIT), wherein a grid-tied renewable energy producer is paid a premium for excess power fed back to the grid, for a limited number of years. For small producers (under 10 kW) the available term is 20 years for PV, and 40 years for hydro power. – …

Charles Hugh Smith:  What Happens When the Electricity Is Off for Three Days? o o o SurvivalBlog Reader G.L. wrote to mention this Radio Free Redoubt podcast: Episode 16-40 Reconciling Christian Dual Citizenship, Patriotism, and Politics (You can scroll forward to the 35:20 mark to skip over some now dated news..) o o o Here is a useful primer: Travel Power Adapters: How to Choose

Linda Y. suggested this great 24-minute video showing old-time carpentry skills, in Latvia: The Birth Of A Wooden House. The portion showing joinery was particularly interesting. Note the growth of their daughters, marking the considerable passage of time.  All in all, a very satisfying documentary! o o o Several readers sent this: Iceland, a land of Vikings, braces for a Pirate Party takeover o o o Commander Zero’s humorous poster:   Election year and Smokey the Bear… o o o Telegraph: U.S. Top Country for Gun Ownership, Not Even in Top 10 for Firearm Deaths

Why is it that nearly every mainstream newspaper, magazine, and web journalist reporting on “preppers” or “survivalists” feels obliged to illustrate it with a picture of someone wearing a gas mask?  (And usually it is a nearly useless and thoroughly obsolete Russian gas mask with a dangling filter canister, not properly stowed in a pouch.)  These cliched images are tiresome, and they only serve to belittle the whole movement. Such images are about as de rigueur as pictures of Steampunk enthusiasts with goggles on their hats.  But at least those folks actually wear them. – JWR o o o Instructables:  …

Michigan: Anti-Gun Lawmakers Introduce Gun and Magazine Ban Legislation o o o Reader D.S.V. sent this warning from Kim Komando: Card skimming malware infecting thousands of online retailers o o o G.G. flagged this:  NSA Can Access More Phone Data Than Ever (Thanks to John N. for the link.) o o o Since Cabela’s has been acquired by Bass Pro Shops, they now appear to be deeply discounting a lot of their “Cabelas” logo-marked camouflage clothing. 

Study: 1 in 2 American Adults Already In Facial Recognition Network. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) o o o Another DDOS Ping Flood attack: Many sites including Twitter, Shopify and Spotify suffering outage. And this article explains how it might have been done, by harnessing the processing power of hijacked The Internet of Things linked devices: When the Entire Internet Seems to Break At Once o o o Conspiracy Theorists Vindicated: FBI Docs Reveal “Shadow Government” Protecting Hillary Clinton o o o Case against Ammon Bundy heads to jury

Reader C.S. recommended this web site for trauma care training resources:  NAEMT.org TCCC. o o o BHO’s latest Executive Order: Coordinating Efforts to Prepare the Nation for Space Weather Events.  JWR’s Comment:  Someone must have reminded his cabinet Science Adviser that the risk of X-Class solar flares is greatest during prolonged sunspot minimums–just as we are now experiencing.  And it is noteworthy that many of the same infrastructure protective steps for surviving solar flares also protect systems from electromagnetic pulse (EMP.) o o o Reader B.B. sent us this: NRA-ILA: Hillary Clinton Supports Australia-style Gun Confiscation o o o H.L. …

The editors of the Middle East Forum note: Hungary has become “the first government to open an office specifically to address the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Europe.” o o o Reader W.C. suggested this Link:  CIA Prepping for Possible Cyber Strike Against Russia – NBC News.  W.C. asks:  “How can it be covert if they are telling everyone?” o o o Mike E. sent a link to this at Front Page Mag:  The Hijrah Into Europe. o o o DIY submachineguns are popping up across the West Bank. (Kudos to Tim J. for the link.) o …

This great video shows a “stealth” camper van project with some potential for preppers: How to convert a Van in to an Off-Grid Camper in 17 Days! Used Transit Vans and Combi-Vans (as well as similar large vans–which you probably recognize from out on the highway, and on American Pickers) are starting to become affordable here in the States.  Most preppers would of course want to have more battery capacity, more propane capacity, and some hidden compartments. A little Velcro behind paneling and molding works wonders, for those. (Don’t miss opportunities like that.)  Oh, and don’t forget to wear eye …

Former senator spills beans on Hillary’s anti-gun strategy o o o Reader J.E. sent us this: Russian state newspapers predict ‘direct military conflict’ with US as it compares Syria stalemate to Cuban missile crisis o o o I spotted this item at Mac Slavo’s great SHTFplan.com news aggregation site:  Our Threat Comes From Within: “The Establishment Is Doing Everything It Can To Make Us Look Crazy” o o o Video: Wranglerstar’s family makes a batch of elderberry wine. o o o This article over at Skilled Survival is of interest: DIY Survival Gear: 11 Projects Worth Building

Daisy Luther warns: Eight Alarming Warning Signs That Indicate War With Russia Could Be Imminent o o o John Whitehead at The Rutherford Institute:  The Imperial President’s Toolbox of Terror: A Dictatorship Waiting to Happen o o o Five Awesome Car Life Hacks

One of my phone consulting clients recently asked about a recommendation for a low power (QRP) high frequency (HF) AM and FM single-sideband (SSB) capable transceiver.  I suggested one of the most popular ones. It is the Yaesu FT-817ND.  It runs on 12 volts DC and is VERY compact!  (They are even used for backpacking, as seen in this video.) They are ideal for voice, CW/Morse, and digital work, and cover the Amateur 160 through 10 Meter bands, 50 MHz, 144-148 MHz (the 2 Meter band), 430-450 MHz, as well as the Alaska Emergency Channel at 5167.5 kHz.  When sending …

Crime Statistics: Motor vehicle theft (most recent) by state.  (Take note of the correlation of the bottom-ranked states with the American Redoubt states and the adjoining western Plains states.) o o o The makers of the famous (and now copied) BedBunker gun vault have expanded their product line to include a variety of automotive gun vaults including center console vaults, under seat vaults, and most recently car trunk vaults.  Be sure to check out their web site. – JWR o o o I spotted this at Off The Grid News: The Five Best Places In America To ‘Bug Out’ When …

I spotted this collection of how-to videos over at the Backdoor Survival web site:  39 Fantastic Prepping Tips o o o Michael Snyder: Why Are So Many Christians Moving To The Great Northwest? Could It Be A Safe Zone? o o o In an odd riff, this somehow reminds me of the plot of my novel Land Of Promise…. Here is a new spin on the concept of establishing a new sovereign nation in Terra Nullius: Asgardia o o o Zero Hedge reports: Wikileaks Releases Another 2,000 Podesta Emails In Part 6 Of Data Dump