Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Hundreds of DHS badges, guns, cell phones lost or stolen since 2012 Exerpt: “…the phones are likely to have enough protocols in place to prevent them from being used for nefarious purposes, the badges and credentials are an entirely different matter and could allow access to sensitive areas such as cargo.” – A.L. o o o Do you sometimes wish you had the same data as the police, when trying to find someone? Maybe you can… An Unprecedented Threat to Privacy Vigilant Solutions, makers of the license plate recognition software, has taken roughly 2.2 billion license plate photos to date …

Writing from his retirement home, the former press secretary to Democrat Governor Cecil Andrus (and biographer of the four-term governor) penned this diatribe: Serious questions about American Redoubt. This septegenarian Democrat did his best to sling mud, but he had difficulty finding a handful to toss. He sounded downright disappointed that the American Redoubt movement is anti-racist. In a fit of convoluted logic, he even implied that somehow we would be racists if the demographic situation were different. Sorry, sir, but that is not the case. (It is the statist leftists who are famous for situational ethics–not us constitutional libertarians.) …

For those who thought that 3D Printing and the Ghost Gunner milling machine were cool, this is simply amazing: The Pour Freedom-15 AR-15 100 Percent Lower Receiver Mold Kit o o o It’s the X-Files – for real! 20 Dead, 200 Hospitalized After Reports US Lab “Leaks” Deadly Virus In Ukraine – W.C. o o o SurvivalBlog reader B.B. sent in this link to an article by Dean Weingarten profiling misconduct by Connecticut State police. Every person with a smart phone is capable of being a reporter and there is no room for misconduct. Law enforcement’s job is hard enough …

I had to chuckle a bit, seeing the news reports from the east coast. You see, we get five to eight feet of snow most winters here in our part of the American Redoubt. And it is not unusual to get two feet of snow with just one two-day storm. When we do, we just throw another log on the fire, top off our livestock water tanks, and our kids have an excuse to slack off on their homeschooling to do some extra sledding. But we certainly don’t call it #SNOWMAGEDDON, and the local police chief doesn’t threaten to arrest …

Good news for those living in the deep south…Reader G.P. sent in this article to an interesting invention. It’s a self-filliing water bottle that converts humidity to drinks.. Now if only they could invent one of those for the arid southwest. o o o Staying Warm During the Polar Vortex – Submitted by T.A. o o o Sent in by D.S.: Is D.C. megastorm Jonas a ‘gift of God’. While it’s probably not judgment from God, “Snow-pocalypse”, as many are calling it, can at least be looked at as an excellent time to practice putting those preps to work. A …

French Toast Warning! (Get your Milk, Eggs, and Bread now.) – Or better yet, just check your pantry and make sure everything is in order. More than 75MILLION people brace themselves for the wrath of Jonas – the monster East Coast snowstorm – as FIVE THOUSAND flights are canceled and panic buyers clear the shelves – JBG o o o Reader BLW wrote in to tell us that while the east coast is expecting a major snow storm in the next couple of days, an unexpected clipper roamed through his area Wednesday night and it crippled the city. Only one …

SurvivalRealty has what I would term the “coolest” survival property ever in it’s listings. It’s a 165 acres located in the Western USA with a half mile tunnel (20 feet wide, 30 feet high and 2,400 feet long) on it. The property is 200 feet wide and seven miles long. o o o K. in Tennessee sent in a link to 25 PVC projects. While some of these rate high on the coolness factor as well as the impracticality scale, some actually look useful. o o o Reader GJS sent in the link to this article that explains What Amending …

RBS sent in this link: Drone Catcher Is Every Drone’s Worst Nightmare (video) – My favorite comment: “Inevitable, a counter-drone. Next will be a counter-drone-catcher” o o o Clinton-Appointed Judge Dismisses RICO Case Against Clintons JWR’s Comment: This adds new meaning to the word racketeering. (Any ethical judge would have recused himself.) o o o Inspector General: Clinton emails had intel from most secretive, classified programs – Apparently Hillary had “several dozen” emails classified as special access programs (SAP) on her private server. SAP indicates a level of classification beyond even “top secret”. Anyone placing bets on whether a Democratic …

SurvivalBlog reader T.Z. sent in a link on the GP-5 SSB Shortwave (+AM + FM) receiver. It is a bit complex to use with all the buttons and features, but it receives all the HF Ham bands (CB and shortwave too), has a useful scan/store channel feature, can use NiMH rechargeables or normal AAAs or even a Mini-B USB. It includes all the accessories, including a ferrite and clip-on wire antenna. It’s not very expensive, is small and has lots of extras, like alarm and temperature. It is receive only, but considering the number of Amateur Radio operators this would …

Water matters. “Michigan’s attorney general opened an investigation Friday into lead contamination in Flint’s drinking water, and the governor asked President Obama to declare a disaster as National Guard troops fanned out across this anxious city to help distribute bottled water, water filters and testing kits. The actions drew new scrutiny to an environmental crisis that poisoned the water supply for a year and a half before it was addressed. The contamination has left a city of 100,000 people unable to use tap water for drinking, cooking or bathing…” From the New York Times: Anger and Scrutiny Grow Over Poisoned …

SurvivalBlog reader K.S. wrote in with these links on how to re-pressurize spray cans. (This should work with anything in a spray can. As long as whatever is in it hasn’t dried up.) I don’t think he mentions it, but a basketball inflating needle would screwed into a blow gun would help. This guy uses a tire valve. It just overpowers the built-in valve. This guy refills the liquid while he is at it! (This would work well with anything you can buy as a liquid, like WD40 or maybe Rustolium?) o o o Reader W.A. sent in this link …

After 2½ years and 1,000,000 page views, Frank and Fern are bringing their blog to a close. They want more time to continue their prepping but will continue to leave the blog up and encourage folks to spend time looking through the archives. Many of SurvivalBlog’s readers enjoyed their perspectives, and we are certain to miss their input and reading about their experiences. Jim, Lily, and the whole SurvivalBlog team wish them well. We are already missing them! o o o SurvivalBlog reader JFJ sent in this link to SurvivalSherpa: How to Estimate Distance in the Woods with Right Triangles …