Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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Several readers have written to mention the new Pluribus post-apocalyptic sci-fi television series. It is an odd and somewhat creepy show that depicts a “soft” alien Hive Mind takeover of the world, via a Happiness Virus. In Episode 1, we see that 99.999% of the population has their consciousness subsumed into the collective Hive Mind. There are just 13 “Unaffected” people, scattered around the world, that the Affected majority tolerate and even seem to pamper. There are just two in North America (the lead character, a cranky lesbian novelist, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a drunken womanizer, in Las Vegas), and one in South America (a man who is the manager of a self-storage warehouse in Asunción, Paraguay.)
Curiously, the character from Paraguay is named Manousos Oviedo. (Pictured in an MG Midget, above.) Seeing that name prompted a bit of etymology and onomastic research: Manousos is a Greek name, derived from Emmanouil, meaning “God is with us”. And Oviedo is a city in Spain that is usually associated with its prolific military small arms arsenal. It produced hundreds of thousands of Mauser rifles, before, during, and after the Spanish Civil War. Hmmmm…
I found the show disturbing, especially to see so much of humanity infected and totally passive to the will of the Hive Mind, and talking in unison like a creepy Greek Chorus. I see Pluribus as a metaphor for the nascent societal impact of Artificial Intelligence.
Seven of the nine episodes in the series have already aired. I suspect that the series will end with a bang, rather than a whimper. Or, at least I hope so. – JWR
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Reader Tim J. wrote:
“A fellow student in a recent class recommended upgrading the battery in older UV-5R radios for one that charges via USB-C, eliminating the charging station from carry kit, while adding charging options. The larger 3,800 Amp-hour BL-5L battery was recommended.”
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Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time.
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Richard T. wrote:
Keep an eye on the market and legislation; back when 110-watt and later 60-watt [incandescent] bulbs were outlawed, I stocked up on closeout sales of incandescent bulbs and recently sold my excess at a massive profit.
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Ferd wrote us:
“This article is interesting: Modern Warfare: Lessons from Ukraine. I will quote:
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Paul Joseph Watson: What Really Happened at Bondi Beach?
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Reader K.R. had this comment in response to JWR’s recent article on registering home-made suppressors:
“…although far more problematic than what you presented, there is a fellow that machines an oil/fuel filter adapter called the IMACS. Once mounted, it allows for birdcages on the threaded 5.56 and 7.62 barrels. It is a hybrid threading, allowing for both 1 inch-14 and 3/4 NPT attachment…or so I’m told. It might provide a path, or another mounting option for the Maglite folks.”
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Mike in Alaska wrote:
“In regard to your recent post:
“Buy most items used, rather than new. Never buy a new “big ticket” item like a car or truck “factory new”. Be sure to refer to Edmunds.com before making any vehicle purchase, to make sure you aren’t getting a “lemon” model or model-year. If you are buying a used vehicle worth $5,000 or more, then get the car’s VIN and pay for a CARFAX vehicle history report. These reports show a car’s crash history and even flood damage history. That research is well worth the expense.”
I would like to add a caution. Carfax has been hacked and I sincerely believe that people are being scammed thinking they are getting accurate information from their reports. I personally had a Carfax report I paid for on a vehicle I bought based upon that report. I paid (as I recall) $46 for the “full” report but what I did not get was any information on a wreck the vehicle has been in previously to my purchase. It was a minor incident and would not have made any difference in the purchase. However, the dealer that was aware of the incident and failed to tell anyone seeking to buy from them ended up with a hefty fine and had to pay us $500 in costs to get a proper title on the vehicle that our insurance agency would issue a policy on. It was aggravation to say the least, and in our case nowhere as unthinkable as the video shows. So even with Carfax, as the saying goes, “let the buyer beware”. A title search before buying should be included with a report be it Carfax or even one done by any individual or dealer.
I ended up selling that vehicle ( with a title describing the incident) at a loss but not because of the damage done by the wreck; the transmission went bad and to me it wasn’t worth the cost to rebuild it. I used it as a trade in and did end up with a great deal on a used Isuzu Trooper that I put over 200,000 miles on before then trading it (for more than I originally paid for it) and now wish I had just rebuilt it and kept it. Oh well, my current pickup is a 2000 GMC 1500 that I bought from the original owner. He bought it brand new from a dealer in Fairbanks and I still have the original window sticker. I also have all the receipts from all the maintenance he did on it, and all I have done on it since I bought it at 51,000 miles, and use the same Mobile One synthetic oil & lubricants he used from the day he bought it. The only “major” repair I have had to do on this truck is the front transfer case went that bad. I elected a full rebuild on the transfer case, the front end (thank you Alaska DOT for poor road maintenance winter 2020), and normal maintenance items such as brakes, shocks, etc. It runs great, has a wonderful heater, is arctic winterized and paid for … no more “new” cars or trucks unless (God forbid) this one gets wrecked…
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Jerome wrote:
“I am following Trump’s recent executive order banning state regulation of AI with great trepidation. There is a 10th Amendment issue here, also a personal privacy issue, also a financial / economic issue (personal, corporate, national and international), also a constitutional issue as to whether the constitution can survive as written under AI dominance. This could attempt to make the Constitution obsolete, and on and on and on. This issue is so massive that it is not comprehensible in its entirety, and therefore becomes impossible to argue in its entirety.
I understand the advantage and the need for AI relative to national defense, but at the same time I recognize the States’ right to secure the privacy and financial security, both personal and financial, of the citizens and organizations within that state. When considering AI the terms privacy and financial security are intertwined.
While privacy has been eroding for the past 50 years it is now deteriorating at an exponential rate. Initially (in olden times) it was confined to fingerprints, driver’s license, vehicle registration, and passports. Then came DNA, facial recognition, license plate readers, iris scans, digital tracking through GPS and cell towers, etc, etc. And next will be digital money and digital wallets and likely the complete nullification of green American money. (How absolutely short-sighted of the founding fathers to not even mention digital money while they were making GOLD and SILVER legal tender in the Constitution.)
Digital currency would allow the government to not only track where you are making a purchase but what you are buying and give the government the ability to freeze [or seize] your account if the bureaucracy thought you might be criminal or a threat, or if for some reason (politically?) they don’t like you. Of course the U.S. Government would never do this right? Although the Canadian Government had no problem doing this to truck drivers during the trucker strike and they did it without digital wallet access. (I await the day that I can not buy an ice cream cone with my digital wallet because I’m 3 lbs. over my government-appointed weight.) As to the security of precious metals? I have serious concerns that the government could / would either make it illegal to transact in precious metals or call in all precious metals as was done around 1934 related to the Gold Reserve Act. There are approx 9 states that have initiated or passed legislation relating to precious metals as legal tender within their state (as allowed by the Constitution Article 1-10-1 also refer to 1-8-5, ( it says “COIN MONEY”) Under constitutional scrutiny, I’m curious how a federal government confiscation would fair in those states? I am curious what the price point will be before the govt decides to confiscate Precious metals? After all, they need to put something into Fort Knox. Sure makes real estate look like a more stable more secure investment? Of course, it can also be confiscated and is easily tracked if you get crossways with AI big brother.
Perhaps one solution to the financial aspect of the Money / Digital threat from AI would be a constitutional amendment, generated by the states (not by a Constitutional Convention) confirming the Article One sections as stated above and also a constitutional amendment confirming and strengthening the 4th amendment to include prohibition or serious limitation against state or federal asset forfeiture or seizure sans a conviction on a criminal complaint specifically related to the assets to be seized and agreed to by the jury that decided the verdict (Assets to include all financial assets and personal and real property) Hell while were at it lets consider a strengthening of the 2nd amendment. Seems reasonable considering the uptick in violent / really ugly crimes as being reported in the MSM. (Hard to understand why some states continue to want to disarm their population, given this crime trend? )
I fear AI. Primarily because I am digitally incompetent. Yes, I can search the web and do e-mail, but I have never and hopefully never will venture into social media or transacting business online. To become digitally competent, I would have to learn a totally new language that is ever-changing and constantly adding new words or changing their definition, adding acronyms, revisions, and programs, it is an unstable language. If I ever decide to learn a new language it will be Navajo or Mandarin as I believe they would be a great deal less stressful. A wise man once said “do not desire that which you can not achieve as to do so will only lead to frustration and that to unhappiness. I try to remain happy in spite of AI . As always, do your own due diligence.”
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I recently did an hour-long podcast interview on All Across America. – JWR
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