Notes from JWR:

I just got off the phone with Charles Feldman, a reporter with radio station KNX in Los Angeles. At the end of my interview, he asked me to poll the SurvivalBlog readership: If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, and have experienced any food rationing or empty shelves at a “big box” store or at a supermarket in the past few weeks, please give him a call. (He is trying to gauge how widespread the rationing is.) You can phone him at (323) 900-2070. If you call on Wednesday, please call between 9 am and 5 pm, PST. Please start your call by mentioning that it is regarding rationing. If you leave a message, please mention the city where the store is located. Thanks!

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $230. This auction is for four items: A FoodSaver GameSaver Turbo Plus heavy duty food vacuum packaging system (a retail value of $297) kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, an autographed copy of : “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”, an autographed copy of “SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog.”, and a copy of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living”, by the late Carla Emery. The four items have a combined retail value of around $395. The auction ends on May15th. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.