Thanks for continuing to put up with the “lite” posting. Posting will probably be on-and-off all this week but should be back to normal by next Monday.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
Mark\/Greylocke, the guy who brought us the Knoppix Thumb Drive preparedness document project<\/a>, is now putting together a YouTube channel for survival\/preparedness info<\/a>. He’s inviting your contributions.<\/p>\n If you have a knowledge or skill you want to share but don’t have the ability to edit your own video, he’ll even do that for you from your raw footage.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n I received my own KTD the other day via Scott’s ready-made drive business<\/a>. Scott takes the tedious and technical work out of getting those 600+ preparedness documents into usable form. He’s currently selling KTDs for $35, which includes the price of the drive and shipping.<\/p>\n It’s a treasure trove of info. The only equivalent I can think of is Backwoods Home’s<\/i> “Whole Sheebang”<\/a> — which is probably better organized and more fun to read but also costs a bunch more.<\/p>\n The drive can be used as a bootable, complete with very simple Knoppix (Linux) operating system. Or the files can be accessed from whatever operating system you’re already using. The useful files are in two folders (KTD_extra_files and the original CD3WD_40). While some are academic papers or commercial advisories and a few aren’t wildly useful, there’s a ton of info on everything from water purification to raising rabbits.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n Though I pledged nothing but good (or at least productive) news for two weeks, I’m having trouble shaking the black mood engendered by the vultures over Newtown. I can’t even crack a smile observing the irony that the same people who long to do this<\/a> to us, have no problem whatsoever with this<\/a>.<\/p>\n I don’t want to live in a country that approves of (let alone does, or submits to) either. Some days I think the only thing keeping me in this Land of Dying Freedom is my passel of animals. <\/p>\n I’ll consider this to be at least productive, if not exactly good news. Something to think about: my ex-pat friends are happy.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n At least it’s good that more of the media is finally recognizing the perverse incentives of the snitching-for-profit racket.<\/p>\n Here’s Bruce Schneier<\/a> on the subject. (Several people sent me that one.)<\/p>\n And here’s a handy interactive<\/a> from USA Today<\/i>, of all places. (With H\/T to the Infamous Oregon Law Hobbit.)<\/p>\n Be sure to keep spreading the anti-snitch word<\/a>.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n And although this is rather melancholy, it’s also a gentle meditation on Truth and Beauty. And on thinking rather than screaming meaningless political slogans at one another. “Chiaroscuro Musings and Rantings”<\/a> by novelist S.J. Griffo.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n Although it appears as I write this that the U.S. probably won’t go off the “dairy cliff”<\/a> after all, it’s insane such a possibility even exists<\/a>. Oh my. The persistence of bad policy.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n