G.G. was the first of several readers to send this: The great Asian gold theft crisis

   o o o

I heard about some American-made Boost Regulators that are useful off the grid. These can produce 14 volts with just 9 volts input.

   o o o

Linda U. suggested this article: Three Oregon mushroom pickers rescued after 6 days lost. JWR's Comment: It is indeed a miracle that they survived. Consider: Poor prior planning. (This was a case of PPPPP.) Pitiful clothing and equipment. No signaling capability. No map and compass. No GPS. And if the temperatures had been any lower, they would have died of hypothermia. Learn from their mistakes, folks!

   o o o

Reader T.O.B. mentioned this monumental example of suicide-grade bad OPSEC consciousness: New APN Facebook Group. I recommend that readers keep a much lower profile rather than voluntarily adding themselves to a Nationwide Looting Targets Directory.

   o o o

Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog's Editor at Large) mentioned that the Global Village Construction Set guys are stills expanding their project: Open Source Ecology

I heard that Ready Made Resources will have a booth at the upcoming Dallas, Texas Self Reliance Expo on February 10th and 11th.They tell me that they will have Mountain House foods available by the case--over $30,000 worth of inventory at the show available for you to take home immediately. They will also have with them: Country Living grain mills Goal Zero solar power products, Katadyn,  and Ultimate Survival kits, as well as many others. Anyone who desires absolute privacy  can purchase there at the show without any records. (So bring plenty of cash!)

   o o o

Preview of the future north of the border? 2,500 Cops in Mexico Abandon Their Homes Thanks to Cartels. (A tip of the sombrero to R.C. for the link.)

   o o o

There have been several new property listings added at our spin-off SurvivalRealty.com web site, including a former Marble Mine in Arkansas.

   o o o

From J McC. comes this bit of humorous news: Cops Bust Naked Burglar Covered In Chocolate, Peanut Butter

Galt's Gulch Green Light! I just heard that Atlas Shrugged, Part 2 is set to start filming in April, with a fast-tracked (pardon the pun) release date in October, 2012. Presumably to get it in theaters before Election Day in the United States. For some reason they are re-casting the film. I should mention that I found the first film (Part 1) was fairly loyal to the original novel, and worth watching. (Thanks to Jim M. for the link. )

   o o o

Steve V. was the first of several to mention this piece over at Mac Slavo's blog: SHTF Planning: 20 Lessons from the Streets of Cairo. (Warning: Contains some crude language.)

   o o o

German pensioner eats 64-year-old US lard. (Thanks to James C. for the link.)

   o o o

Tim J. sent this: Why hunting and gathering makes us smarter and thinner

   o o o

J McC. mentioned that he really likes this blog: A Girl and Her Gun

   o o o

Yishai sent this: Quick Release Paracord Bracelet for Emergency Deployment

A good video: Four Things A Man Must Have. By the way, I'm really looking forward to seeing Cody's upcoming homesteading compilation video.

   o o o

Kevin S. sent us this, from an English newspaper: Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about (and if NASA scientists are right the Thames will be freezing over again.

   o o o

A new television show pilot planned: J.J. Abrams sells sci-fi apocalypse pilot to NBC. Is it post-EMP, or post-solar flare? Regardless, it is TEOTWAWKI. (Thanks to Jake K. for the link.)

   o o o

Sue C. sent this news: Villagers scramble for fuel in Europe's big chill. Meanwhile, in other Global Warming news: Snow falls in Rome for the first time in 26 years as -36 celsius temperatures across eastern Europe send death toll to 150.

   o o o

Study shows that brains of addicts are inherently abnormal

Kevin S. suggested this: Amateur Radio Glossary: Jargon, Abbreviations and Terminology

   o o o

Reader Susan N. mentioned a piece where Helen Atthowe, Norris Thomlinson and Tulsey Latoski convey their very experienced opinion on how many acres it takes to feed one person when there are no external inputs.

   o o o

Yishai sent this alert: Photos: Massive Food Shortage Unfolding in Mexico -- Is a Refugee Crisis Imminent?

   o o o

Loyal content contributor F.G. forwarded this YouTube clip: Mini-drone formation

   o o o

Reader Matt M. wrote to mention that "Patriot Nurse"--a well-known and respected YouTube video blogger on medical preparedness--has been making the wrong people angry with her prep-minded medical channel. She has been given an ultimatum to either remove some her videos about vaccinations or face get fired from her nursing job. This is absurd censorship, given that she has never mentioned her name or where she works in any of her videos. I noticed that she just switched some of her videos to the "Private" category. This is a sad day for our First Amendment rights. I recommend that she move to the American Redoubt, where most employers are far less dictatorial and Nanny-nosey.

Artisanal Wheat On the Rise. The article begins: "Giving factory flour the heave-ho, small farmers from New England to the Northwest are growing long-forgotten varieties of wheat."

   o o o

Ready Made Resources has announced a special bonus deal: With the purchase of a Augason four person 1-year dehydrated food package, SurvivalBlog readers will also receive a free stainless steel Big Berkey water filter with two white ceramic filters. As usual, they offer free shipping  and the flexibility of customer-requested substitutions allowed for equally-priced Augason dehydrated food items.

   o o o

Do any SurvivalBlog readers know of a stationary bike maker in the U.S. or Canada that produces an exercise bike that has both a DC generator and mountings for a Country Living Grain Mill? (With both powered by v-belts.) I'm looking for one bike that can do both, with just brief down-time to switch between the two belt-driven devices. Please e-mail me if you know of a maker. Thanks!

   o o o

Lew Rockwell interviews Will Grigg: Police State USA (A podcast.)

Thanks for your patience as we get the kinks worked out in SurvivalBlog's new primary server in Sweden. The new server can 5 terabytes of traffic per month. Overall, it is looking good. But we still have some issues with false McAfee anti-virus warnings. We hope to have that resolved soon.

   o o o

Mongolian Nomads Build a Yurt in an Hour, You Can Watch It in Two Minutes. (Thanks to F.J. for the link.)

   o o o

AmEx (American Expat) sent this: Tiny rustic farms battle for survival in Los Angeles area.

   o o o

A most unusual TED Talk: Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gun.[JWR's Comment: Sadly, his statist idealism is unfounded. A "state monopoly on violence" is an invitation for repression. History has shown that the vast majority of nations drift toward totalitarianism. There is no remedy or recourse for the citizenry when the state has monopoly on the tools of violence. That is why gun registration laws are utterly repugnant.]

   o o o

And speaking of guns, here are two news stories on proposed civilian disarmament from a couple of coastal Nanny States: New Jersey plan to ban ammunition, and in California: Long guns now targeted for 'open carry' ban. (Thanks to Lee M. and Scott S. for the links.

The inevitable end result of several years of drought in Texas and high feed prices, nationwide: National Cattle Herd Drops to 1958 Low

   o o o

Troy H. sent a link to a fascinating TED Talks series lecture on Thorium salts power reactors.

   o o o

Vic at Safecastle mentioned that they've launched a new 7-month "Foodbundle" variant, for about $1,800.

   o o o

Reader Lee M. suggested this: How to get alerts of an emergency

I just heard that Kent Lomont passed away on Saturday, after a long battle with bone cancer. This is a great loss to the shooting community. Kent was very well known in the Class 3 world. I can remember being inspired by Kent's many articles about the AutoMag pistol, back in the early 1980s. Kent spent many of his youthful summers shooting and handloading with Elmer Keith at his ranch near Salmon, Idaho. It has been noted: "In the seventh grade, when most adolescents acquired and traded baseball cards, Kent obtained an exclusive franchise to manufacture Harvey Jugular jacketed handgun bullets - the very first jacketed handgun bullets." Kent was a honcho in the legendary Club de Auto Mag Internationale along with Lee Jurras, J.D. Jones (of SSK Industries and "JDJ" fame), and George Nonte. Not surprisingly, Kent was the inspiration for a fictional character in the novel Unintended Consequences by John Ross. I only had the privilege of meeting Kent once, a few years ago at a SAR West show. He was quite a guy and he will be missed by many.

   o o o

An amazing example of leapfrogging technology: iPhone 4,4S AN/PVS-14 Night Vision Adapter. Can you imagine being able to stream night vision imagery from your observation post back to your house, or even to the local police department, if you see intruders on your property? Readymade Resources is now stocking them. These adapters sell for $209, with free shipping. They currently work with AN/PVS-14, AN/PVS-7, AN/PVS-15, AN/PVS-18, FLIR M24 and M18 night vision scopes. They have a one year warranty. Note that they are ITAR restricted from export.

   o o o

Meet the middle-aged, middle-class woman who traps, butchers and eats squirrels in her Seattle backyard. [JWR's Comment: Following this news, I predict that the Nanny City of Seattle will soon ban harvesting squirrels.]

   o o o

Troy H. sent this news story from NPR: Law-Abiding Mexicans Taking Up Illegal Guns (And Want Them Legalized)

   o o o

Roman suggested a piece at No Tech Magazine on non-refrigerated storage of fruits and vegetables.

A good man is hard to find: Can You Spot The Sniper?

   o o o

Recently at Glenn Beck's site: How to prepare: What should you put in a go bag?

   o o o

Lee M. sent a link to a piece about a medical app for smartphones. That article has a link to a blogsite with this downloadable app along with other medical apps for your smartphone.

   o o o

To repeat a previous post: I was recently interviewed by Doug Belkin, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal for an article that he is writing about the growth of the preparedness movement. He would like to interview a few preppers that are chiropractors (who represent an unusually large segment of the SurvivalBlog readership), to ask them about why being preparedness-minded fits in with their career and their world view. Send him an e-mail, if you are interested. For your privacy, I would recommend that you use a pseudonym.