Some Ideas for Living on the Down Low

I met a number of interesting people this past week. Among them are a few who are living virtually untraceable lives. Here's how they do it:

• One person was from a foreign country and is now living with a new husband in the US. Although I am sure this person is completely documented in the USCIS system, she does not have anything in her name (bills, mortgage, car, etc).
• Another guy is now living with his elderly father. He has always kind of lived on the down low, first having lived with a girlfriend for a number of years and now with his father. He has no debts, no bills in his name, drives his father's car under whose name it is registered and insured, and while he has a driver's license, I think that is about the only official document with his name on it.
• A few people are here illegally. They simply walked across the border from Central America looking for work. I am guessing they are totally undocumented in all aspects of the word.
• One interesting lady seems to have fallen into a pretty good situation. She lives as a house sitter and often gets long term jobs (ie: summers in hot places and winters in cold places) at a variety of locations around the country. She stays in a client's home, watches their house, waters the plants, takes care of the mail, the yard, and other small tasks, and seems to live quite well.
• All of these people get by by living in someone else's residence either as a spouse, renter, border, caretaker, or other such situation which allows them to pay low or no rent with none of the usual house bills in their name.
• All of these people seem to have "under the table" job skills. You won't find a neurosurgeon working under the table (most places are sticklers for licenses, insurance, etc), but many other jobs transfer quite nicely to the "pay for work" job market (ie: handyman, care taking, agriculture jobs, construction, masseuse, etc).
• These people all seem quite charming. Personality counts when it comes to working one-on-one for others. Most jobs such as these are spread by word of mouth so making a good impression, being trustworthy, being perceived as a hard worker, and getting along with others are almost as important as their actual job skills.
• These people all carry cash. Not once did I witness anyone using a check or credit card. All, when they needed to purchase anything, used cash.
• They didn't have a lot of possessions. Lots of possessions tend to tie you down. How easy would it be to pick up and move if you have to haul a 60" TV, a desktop computer, a grand piano, a jet ski, and all of the other assorted items that the "average American" has?
• They all seemed very flexible. If you say "do you want to ____" 99.9% of the time they will say yes. They aren't stuck in a rigid schedule, don't do things the same way every day, and they are all open to opportunity (how else, I guess, would they be able to put together such unique lifestyles).
• They aren't radical anything (radically political, radically anti-government, radical anti-anything else) they just seem to have come by these lives because they are happiest living this way. I'm not so sure they live the way they do to make any kind political statement, I believe chance, interesting opportunities, minimalist living, and other more social/personal reasons prevail for their choices.
• They get the things they need in unique ways: one has a cell phone under a girlfriend's name, a couple use pre-paid cell phones more to have a lack of a monthly bill rather than to be untraceable, one is just the most charming, personable person you could ever meet and therefore is invited to a lot of things such as parties, functions, and events which means she rarely would even need to buy her own food because it is all provided to her via others.

The point of this post isn't to suggest this lifestyle for everyone. It would be difficult for many to live in such mobile, uncertain situations, even more so if you had a passel of kids, or other responsibilities to take care of. However, being open minded to opportunities and not doing things "like everyone else does" will go a long way towards making your life more interesting (and possibly more untraceable).

10 Things to Take With You When You Travel

I'm on the road for this week and part of next week. With very little time to post (or think up creative topics to blog about), I figured I would list the things that I always take with me when I travel...

1. A jacket with pockets. I keep my wallet, cell phone, passport, boarding passes, etc. zipped in my jacket pockets when I travel. This way they are easily accessible and not prone to being left behind or stolen. Should I have to exit the airplane in an emergency, my stuff will be on me instead of in an overhead compartment, and I am sure my sciatic nerve will thank me if I don't sit on my wallet in a hard airplane seat for 15 hours straight.


2. A GPS device. I use a portable Magellan unit in my car at home and when I travel, it goes in my bag, this way I can park it on the dash of my rental car so I will know how to get to where I am going. Note: take the thing with you when you leave your car so it won't be a target for thieves.


3. A Kiva backpack. This very tiny backpack folds up into itself and clips to my belt. It is an excellent companion for travel because I hate to have my hands full carrying things. When I acquire stuff, I just pop open the backpack and I have an instant way to carry my stuff.


4. A cell phone that will work in the area I am traveling in. I have cell phones from a couple of companies so if I am going somewhere new, I check the coverage maps from both companies to see which phone will work where I am going. In cities this is no problem but in outlying areas there isn't always coverage depending on what cell company you have.


5. ATM/Credit/Debit cards from a few banks. I keep money in a handful of bank accounts, all of which have ATM cards associated with them. The problem with traveling is that sometimes your bank will see unusual transactions and promptly cancel usage of the card until they can figure out what is happening. One way to prevent this is to tell your bank that you will be traveling so they can note this on your account. If you forget to do this, one of the other cards may work. In other words, don't just rely on one card for travel. Cash is also nice to bring.


6. Contact numbers. I keep a laminated list in tiny 4 point font in my wallet with emergency contact numbers on it. Included on the list are numbers for people I know in the area that I will be traveling in as well as numbers for people who I know I can count on in an emergency no matter what is happening or where I am. This way, if I don't have cell coverage or lose my cell phone, I can still get in contact with someone who can help me.


7. Laptop. Since I am almost always working when I travel, I usually snap up the smallest laptop I can find when then come on the market. I now have a tiny Asus laptop with a 120 gig hard drive. It easily holds all of my programs and files and weighs about a pound. When I think back on traveling with a 15" laptop, I shudder. This tiny computer rocks.
8. A thumb drive with all of my computer files backed up on it. While I always take a laptop with me when I travel, I am not foolish enough to think that is will always work or never get stolen. Therefore, I always carry a thumb drive with all of my files backed up on it. In a crisis I can always find another computer to use but without a backup I won't be able to access my files.
9. A 2500 ci backpack. I hate schlepping luggage. I always travel light, with what I can fit in my Mountainsmith backpack. I figure that if I absolutely need something that I didn't bring with me, I can always buy it when I get to my destination. Note: if I am heading off to very remote places for specific purposes I do end up schlepping a ton of gear, equipment, and supplies but for regular travel, you can pretty much buy anything you need, anywhere you go.
10. Food. You never know when you may become stranded somewhere, whether it is on a plane, in an airport, or on a remote island, so I always carry food with my where ever I go. Jerky, nuts, dried fruit, granola bars, and other items that travel well along with a bottle of water will usually hold me until I can get some regular food.

The Evils of Credit Card (Companies)

I am not a fan of credit cards. Yes, some people can use them strategically and properly and have absolutely no problem with them, however most who use credit cards need to be protected from themselves and from the ever evolving lows that the credit card companies will go to in order to both make money and create more problems than ever for credit card holders.
The latest scheme from many credit card companies includes cutting limits then charging the customers for being "over the limit" when they weren't just a month ago. Also, a number of very good credit card customers have seen their card limits cut, their cards cancelled all together, and their credit dinged through no fault of their own. Some have even been offered "bribes" to cancel their credit cards. It is my fervent hope that these horrible credit card companies (not the few which do business in an honest way but all the rest) promptly go bankrupt and cease to exist. Anyway, I digress, here's some ways to work the credit card situation to your benefit:

• Don't rely on credit cards for emergencies. When you need it most, you may find your limit decreased or your card cancelled all together. A better choice? Put $1000-$5000 in a bank account or two that you can access with an ATM card that can be used as a credit/debit card. The payoff? You will be using your own money, paying zero interest, and you may even make interest on your money while it waits for an emergency. Some people think this sounds like a lot of money but it really isn't when you consider how much can be made from a garage sale, from getting rid of some stuff on eBay, or by working an extra job for a month.
• Pay off your credit cards ASAP. The only way not to lose at the credit card game is not to make yourself a victim to the whims of the credit card companies. If you don't use credit cards and don't have any balance on credit cards, you won't fall prey to their shady tactics.
• Check your credit report annually at the minimum. You want to make sure the information is accurate and that you don't have any "mystery" credit cards in your name.
• Consider paying cash for everything. The people who really don't worry about their credit scores are the people who don't need them. These people pay cash (ie: check, cash, or debit card) for everything from groceries, to cars, to real estate. It really doesn't matter what the credit bureau says about you if you aren't relying on it for a loan. True, employers, insurance companies, and others may use your credit report for their own purposes but you can get around this by explaining your rationale about not using credit and backing it up by being debt free and having a solid stash of cash on hand.
• Opt out of receiving junk mail. Not only will this help keep the planet green and cut down on the amount of junk papers you need to shred/recycle, it will also help protect you from identity theft. A common scheme is to pick up the pre-approved credit card application that you ripped up and tossed in the trash, and put the identity thief's info on the application. The card and bills can be hijacked by the thief but the damage they do can be found on your credit bureau reports for years to come.

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our last poll's question: How has the current economic situation affected you?
The answers:

• Job loss (8 people/12%)
• Investments have tanked (18 people/29%)
• Upside down in mortgage (8 people/12%)
• Stress/paranoia/depression (26 people/41%)
• Lost home to foreclosure (2 people/3%)
• Had to curtail retirement plans (9 people/14%)
• No impact (23 people/37%)

From the numbers, it looks like the readers of this site take financial responsibility and preparedness pretty seriously. While 3% have lost a home to foreclosure, an article by MSNBC stated that 12% of all mortgage holders in the US are late with their house payments or in foreclosure. Fortunately 37% of respondents have seen no impact from the current economic crisis which is very good news--I'm not sure if that is because they live in areas relatively unimpacted by the economy (ie: military towns, areas with widely diversified businesses, etc) or because they take steps to be independent of the market (ie: no debt, diversified investments, etc). Whatever they are doing, keep up the good work and feel free to share your success strategies!

p.s. Be sure to take our new poll >>>

10 Free Things to Do At the Mall

I got stuck waiting for someone (*cough* spouse) at the mall for over an hour. Now most people would think the mall is the last place they would want to be, what with the lousy economy and some people's disdain for the whole shopping thing, however on closer inspection, I found nearly a dozen reason why it actually pays to go to the mall.

1. Free blood pressure check. There is a machine near the food court that our local hospital installed to provide free blood pressure checks. Just insert arm, push button, and in a minute or so, you get a read out. Mine was fine.


2. Marketing surveys. There is a marketing company with a store front at the mall. The employees wander around with surveys and try to catch people to provide their input on various marketing projects. While most shoppers see these people and run the other way, I found out that for about 15 minutes of your time in order to answer some questions, look at some pictures, and check out a quick video, you get paid $5.


3. Exercise. There is a whole sub-culture at the mall in the early morning, hours before the mall opens. At 7am people come out in droves, dressed up in tennis shoes and workout clothes, who then proceed to walk around and around the mall. Two laps around the mall and you have walked a mile and a half. Most of the people you see in the morning are retired seniors and moms with babies in strollers but you can find "the walkers" at all hours of the day getting their exercise.


4. Free samples. Depending on the day and the time of year, you can score some free samples of everything from food (in the food court and See's Candies), to lotion (no thanks), to perfume/cologne (they try to spray it in your direction at some of the higher end department stores but again, no thanks).
5. People watching. The mall is a good place to practice your observation skills (walk by a group of people, try to remember as much as you can about them, then turn around and walk back by them to see how accurate you were). You can also walk around the mall and every few minutes ponder how you would escape quickly from your location if needed; also consider where you would seek cover and/or concealment if worse comes to worse.
6. The bookstore. This is my favorite place to spend time. If you have to hang out and wait somewhere, you might as well use the time to educate yourself and the book store is the perfect place to do this (see photo).
7. Work. The local mall offers free wifi and I noted quite a few people who looked like they have set up their businesses at tables in the food court. With a laptop, cell phone, and free wifi, you're in business. And it seems to be much quieter than trying to work at Starbucks (hard to explain the blender and coffee grinding sound every few minutes when you are on an important business call).
8. Entertainment. Although nothing much was happening at the mall today, there are many times throughout the year where there is free entertainment to be had. Shows range from kids doing their piano recitals to karate students demonstrating their developing skills to health/adoption/sports/etc fairs that take up table space from one end of the mall to the other.
9. Parking. Parking at the mall is free and since it is right on the bus line, this is an excellent place to leave your car for the day instead of a "park and ride". The mall has regular security patrols, plenty of places to park, and easy access since it is centrally located.
10. Free housing. I am mostly kidding about this but it has been done. Check out the article here.

Self Reliance

I was visiting my usual set of blogs today when I came across this blog post http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/03/18/self-reliance/ at the Simple Dollar. It was short and not very thorough on the subject but it was a concise reminder that people really aren't very self reliant these days. When you think about all of the things we hire out these days, it's a wonder we can do anything for ourselves. Here's a random list of things we often don't do for ourselves any more:

• Make our morning coffee (Starbucks does this)
• Wash, dry, and press our clothes (the cleaners does this)
• Clean our house (the housekeeper does this)
• Mow our yard (the yard guy or kid down the street does this)
• Grow our food (all of our food now comes from the grocery store)
• Catch or kill our food (again this comes from the grocery store)
• Take care of our kids (daycare, school, and babysitters do this)
• Cook a meal (restaurants do this)
• Fix our car (the high-tech repair shop does this)
• Build or repair our home (various contractors/construction people do this)
• Repair our plumbing (we call a plumber)
• Repair our electrical problems (we call an electrician)
• Heal our pets (we take them to the vet)
• Heal ourselves (we run to the clinic)
• Talk to our friends (we text them or email them)
• Process our own garbage (the garbage company does this)
• Acquire water for ourselves (the water department ensures that it flows through our pipes)
• Heat our homes with our own work gathering wood (the electric company does this)
• Sew our own clothes (they come from the store)
• Traverse the town or the world independently (our GPS tells us where to go)
• Rely on ourselves in the wilderness (cell phones and satellite beacons keep track of us)
• Bury our dead (some company whisks them away from the hospital and we never see them again)
• Manage our money (we rely on advisers, creditors, and the government to tell us how to do this)
• Use our own skill and judgement to make a deal (we rely on contracts to protect us from ours and others stupidity or dishonesty)
• Save for something we need (we rely on credit)
• Save for retirement (we think Social (in)Security will take care of us)
• Deal with your kid's behaviour issues (we rely on school and law enforcement to do this)
• Using your effort, wits, and skill to create a business (you rely on an employer for everything--pay rate, medical insurance, work atmosphere, etc)

Anyway, you get the idea. The bottom line is that the more you can do for yourself, the less you are at the mercy of others.

If You've Served In the Military, This Post Is For You

I learned a lot of new things today by visiting our local Veteran's Administration Service Center. This all started a few months ago. You may have remembered I ranted about a guy who died and left his wife penniless. She had no job, no job skills, no insurance, no income, and a whole pile of bills. Today after sifting through armloads of paperwork, the widow was able to apply for a monthly stipend for poor widows of persons who served during a war. The guy had only served a few years during Vietnam before getting out of the military, but because he did this, his wife is still entitled to a number of benefits even though he wasn't retired from the military.

I had always thought that you needed to be retired after 20+ years or medically retired with a service connected disability in order to receive any type of compensation from the VA. Turns out this isn't true. The particular VA service center we went to today had a long list of programs available, many of which are offered to people who have served any amount of time in the military. These things include: a one time death payment (to help pay for burial or cremation), help paying electric/gas/water bills, rental assistance, medical care, substance abuse treatment, a homeless shelter, transitional housing, employment services, incarcerated vets program, financial hardship grants, educational assistance, emergency transportation help, emergency child care help, down payment assistance, medical care, et al.

If you have previously served in the military for any amount of time at all and you are suffering any kind of hardship, make one of your first stops at the VA Service Center in your nearest city and see what they have to offer.

Where Will You Get Your News From?

Apparently newspapers are going the way of the telegraph and 45 records. It is hard for me to imagine a world without newspapers since the daily paper has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Sunday mornings around the breakfast table included reading the comics section of the newspaper as soon as we learned how to read. Newspapers were where we looked for jobs, found an apartment to rent, clipped coupons for grocery shopping, read the obituaries, found out who was arrested and who did good things in the community, and posted our birth, marriage, and death announcements. But like many things, progress keeps moving forward so you have to keep up. I have been pondering where I will be able to get the news I need in the future. Here's some ideas:

• YouTube. Videos are posted just as soon as they happen such as the plane that landed in the Hudson, fires, and other visually graphic events.
• Cable news. I usually start my day with our local cable news station on in the background and catch a bit of CNN during the afternoon.
• Craigslist. I often check our local Craigslist for garage sales, items for sale, and other local info.
• Our local online newspaper. I have to admit I haven't had a newspaper subscription for a few years. I would pick up a newspaper if there was something specific in it that I wanted to keep but I often did not have time to read the entire paper so I usually just checked out the latest news online.
• Sale ads. I am now in the habit of check the sale ads for our local and national big box stores online. It is quite simple to go to the store's website, type in my zip code, and peruse the local ads to see what's on sale for the week.
• Email. I am on listservs for various things locally, regionally, and nationally. Any time there is a community event that needs my attention (ie: news of legislative action needed, etc), a pending disaster (ie: an alert from our local health district or department of emergency management), or other key news alerts or other info I need, it lands in my email inbox.
• Websites and blogs. I have a portal page on one of my websites with a fairly comprehensive list of websites and blogs that I read frequently that provide a wide range of news and information. You can also do this by RSS feed.
• Twitter. Likewise I follow a range of Twitter-ers who provide frequent updates of everything from the mundane to the very important.
• Other online sources. TV Guide online, a variety of travel websites where I can purchase tickets, Daily Word for some spiritual inspiration, our local military base websites, and other info is gathered online these days.
• Text messages and phone calls. News used to be shared person to person over the back fence now it is shared through technology such as cell phones, text messages, chatting online, IMs, etc.
• Books and magazines. I dread the day that books become obsolete. I still get information from my regular trips to Barnes and Noble. Although the info is a bit dated due to production time, there is still something about actually holding a book or magazine in your hands, flipping through the pages, and learning something new.
• Radio. I can't tell you what the popular songs are these days, mostly because any time I am in the car, my car radio is set on a local news station. Late afternoon I may flip the station to NPR, but our local AM news station includes news, ballgames, commentary/talk shows, etc, and this is what I mostly listen to.
• Cellphone. I use my cellphone, of course for phone calls, but I also use it quite often to read the news. Whenever I have a few minutes I pull up CNN, ABS, and Reuters to read the latest news.

If anything, I think we are a society of people overdosing on news and information. Decades ago, life was simpler. Back then, we had very little news--an afternoon paper and an hour or so of news on TV--and we were perhaps happier. At least we didn't stress over 500 different things each day because we weren't aware of so many things that, quite frankly, shouldn't even concern us.

From the 'What is the World Coming To' file...

Some stuff is just too ridiculous to believe (unfortunately its true). Here's some of the latest what-is-the-world-coming-to headlines:

• Court Will Take Your Case If You Supply Paper
• Our Money is Still Going Towards AIG Bonuses
• The End of Newspapers
• 10,000 Show Up for Job Fair

Your Disaster Recovery Plan

We spend all kinds of time focusing on disaster preps. What equipment to buy. What skills to develop. What drills to partake in. Basically we do a lot of planning for what to do before and during a disaster but very little time preparing for the recovery period after a disaster. Here's what you need to do (and have) after a disaster:

• Clean-up stuff. Most disasters leave a mess which requires clean-up supplies such as trash bins, trash bags, rubber gloves, boots, gloves, demolition equipment, etc.
• Paperwork stuff. Particularly papers that have to do with insurance, titles/deeds, identification, financial accounts, etc.
• Stuff to set up your home away from home. If you must evacuate during the clean-up phase, you at least want to be comfortable. All of your bug-out supplies should be easily accessible (and not damaged by the disaster). These include clothes, food, camping equipment, etc.
• Back-up stuff. If the crux of your life is housed in your computer, make sure you have an off-site back-up copy of all of your computer files.
• Money. Money is good in most all situations, especially when you will have a number of unexpected expenses.
• Recording stuff. After a disaster you need to document everything so that you will (hopefully) be reimbursed at a later date. Use a pad of paper and pen, a voice recorder, a digital camera, and/or a camcorder to record all pertinent information such as items destroyed, clean up and replacement expenses, etc.
• Contact list. Your friends, acquaintances, and services providers will be more valuable than ever after a disaster. Have a contact list so that you can get a hold of these people to provide moral support, clean up assistance, and repairs to your home.
• Mental health stuff. If you were injured during a disaster, people will make sure you get fixed up at the nearest medical center. If you were psychologically damaged during a disaster, people may not realize this. Make sure you get the mental health care you need if you suffer from post traumatic stress, depression, or other disaster-related conditions.

The recovery phase of a disaster is just as important as the preparation phase. Make sure you put the recovery components in place before you need them.

Interesting Idea--How to Save A LOT on Food

As I was sitting down to write a blog post this evening I remembered a story I heard on the news earlier today so decided to look up the blog about a lady's project to only spend $1 per day for food for a month. It looked interesting and pretty soon I realized I was reading the entire blog. Which leaves very little time for this blog post. Anyway, this is an interesting idea that definitely has merit. Check out the Less is Enough blog here.
I am always fascinated when people decide to do things that everyone else says can't be done. "Experts" say you can't feed a family of four for less than $700 a month. I think the experts are wrong (as they often tend to be). I have been considering such an experiment (although not for a dollar a day because while self deprivation may be fine for me, the spouse would probably strenuously disagree) and saving money of food seems to be one area where people can make the most difference in their budget. More on this at a later date...

Mass Shootings: Some Random Thoughts

If you have been anywhere near the news today, you have already heard about the mass shootings that took place yesterday in Germany and Alabama. Here's some random thoughts on the issue:

• These incidents often lead governments and other authorities to the knee-jerk reaction of more stringent regulations on firearms. This seems counter-intuitive. Laws are followed by law abiding people (the ones who were killed by the shooter--since they were following the law, they were not armed) but they aren't followed by the killers who, um, usually acquire guns illegally in order to go on their killing rampages.
• Random shootings are by nature, random, so there is no way to know such an event is going to happen.
• I think everyone should be armed. Mass shootings usually happen at locations where the shooter knows that people won't be armed such as at schools. This makes all of these people sitting ducks for some psychopathic killer.
• After researching ways to prevent mass shootings, I found basically no concrete information on how to defend against and/or prevent these incidents. Seeking help for those who have expressed a desire to kill and preventing bullying were suggested but many people don't come in contact with the shooter until the incident is happening so preemptive steps are kind of a mute point.
• Having not experienced such a situation and having no real experience in this area, I nonetheless take some precautions to protect myself and my family against the possibility of this happening: I am usually armed, I am aware of my surroundings, car doors are locked when I am in the car, doors are locked when I am in my home and office, no matter my location I always check for escape routes as well as areas that could provide cover and/or concealment, and I watch people (how are they acting, what are their hands doing, their body language, etc).

If anyone else has better ideas on what to do in this type of situation, please add your suggestions...

Follow CNI on Twitter

Just set up a Twitter account. Seems everyone these days is "tweeting" a wide range of info so I figured this would be a good way to provide quick snippets of information including daily preparedness tips and other useful news and updates. Check it out at https://twitter.com/CodeNameInsight.

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our most recent poll's question was "How much money (US$) would you need to survive for a year if you had no other sources of income besides savings?" Here's the results:

• $20,000 or less 33 people/54%
• $20,000 to $50,000 18 people/29%
• $50,000 to $100,000 7 people/11%
• $100,000 or more 3 people/4%

I'm happy to see that more than 50% of the respondents could live on $20,000 or less. This either means that people have very little debt so their main living expenses would be for the basics such as food, electricity, gas, etc., or that if necessary, they could cut their expenses quickly such as living in a cheaper apartment and cutting out discretionary spending in order to survive on such an amount. Either way, the less you absolutely need to survive, the better. I actually know people that really do need $100,000+ per year just to survive--mostly this is to pay their debts such as massive mortgages, car payments, and other debts that cannot be easily gotten rid of. The bottom line is that the less debt you carry (ideally you will not have any debt such as credit card, car, or house payments), the more easily you can survive whatever life throws you such as an extended medical leave, a job loss, or a major recession/depression.

p.s. Don't forget to take our new poll >>>

Scene Safety

One of the first things that law enforcement personnel, firefighters, the military, and others who launch themselves into danger on a regular basis are taught is scene safety. This is because the most important person in a rescue--you--needs to be protected from whatever caused the person you are rescuing to go down in the first place. Besides the fact that your boss thinks you are a nice guy and doesn't want anything bad to happen to you, the bottom line is that a lot of money and effort has gone into your training and that is a fairly large investment to lose over a bad call.

Everyone needs to be concerned over scene safety, whether you are a rescue professional or the average guy on the street who comes across an emergent situation and reacts. Here's some pointers:

• Don't panic or go running in to save someone without thinking first.
• Call 911. It is best to have help on the way before you get knee deep in a rescue effort (ie: you don't want to start CPR and then remember that you probably should call 911 and have to stop resuscitation efforts to do so).
• Stop and look over the scene. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel? Your five senses will provide your first information about the scene.
• Are there any obvious safety concerns? For example, in a car accident on an icy road, don't immediately get out of your car to help because other cars could slide on the ice and run into YOU. If you think you have stumbled upon a drug lab, stay out--the chemical soup in these things can kill you. If bullets are still whizzing by, get to a safe location immediately--rescue can wait.
• Note that your two biggest dangers will be the environment (cars driving by, trees falling, power lines flapping about, etc) and people (people on drugs behave erratically, domestic violence situations can rapidly deteriorate, highly emotional situations can make people act out in all kinds of often negative ways).
• What happened? Try to ascertain this from bystanders then consider what your next steps should be. If the person got shocked by live electrical wires, what happened to the wires? You don't want to get yourself electrocuted if they are still live. If someone was shot, where is the shooter now? When the scene is safe you can then begin rescue efforts such as CPR or providing other basic care.
• Work in teams if possible. In a precarious situation, it is best to have additional people to help out (ie: in the case of a car accident/drowning/etc you can tell one person to call 911, have one person control the scene, one person to assist with the rescue, etc).
• Clear the area. Keep bystanders out of danger (and/or out of a potential crime scene) by having everyone move away from the immediate area.
• Move yourself and the victim to a safe area if necessary. In the case of a car accident, leave the person where they are unless there is an immediate danger (ie: they are in a car that is on fire). If the person may have a head, neck, or back injury, do everything you can NOT to move them until professional help arrives.
• Carry and wear PPEs (personal protection equipment) if possible. If you will be dealing with blood and bodily fluids, wear gloves, eye protection, a face mask, etc. In this day and age you don't know what kind of diseases people are carrying. I keep these items in my car emergency kit just in case.
• Don't do anything that you are not trained to do. There is an art and a science to getting someone out of a squished car--if you have not been trained to do this and don't have the equipment to do this, don't do this; wait for help to arrive. If someone is stuck up a tree or on a roof and they are not in immediate danger of falling, for example, it is best to just talk to them and keep them calm until help arrives rather then trying to get them a ladder to climb down on, they may fall and then you will have a bigger problem.
• As a bystander with no particular rescue skills, the most important things you can do are: call for help, provide immediate first aid (CPR, help stop bleeding), remain calm and try to keep the victim calm as well, and ensure the scene is safe (ie: by directing traffic away from the incident or pulling the victim from a burning house if you can do so with no injury to yourself).
• Don't put yourself in obvious danger. It is not worth risking your life to save someone who is drowning if you have no idea how to perform a water rescue. The best thing you can do is throw them a rope or flotation device but resist the urge to jump in too or then there will be two people who need to be rescued.

Interesting Idea: Urban Camouflage

I like camouflage. I particularly like appropriate camouflage. For example, if you are in downtown New York City, dressing like a street bum is much better camouflage than dressing in a ghillie suit. Ditto if you are hunting--a ghillie suit is much more appropriate than a three piece suit. You get the idea. Today I ran across a very clever art project in which a guy camouflaged himself to look like an Ikea display. Check out http://www.urbancamouflage.de/ and note that the pile of towels, boxes, and shopping bags is actually a guy cleverly camouflaged to look like a display--you would never know there was an actual person in there. Think of all of the information/insight/etc someone could gather this way. Hmmmm

DPT--Stuff to Do With the Time Change

This Sunday, March 8th, will be the start of Daylight Savings Time. In addition to turning your clocks forward, get some supplies ready so you can also do the following tasks:

• Check the batteries in your smoke detectors.
• Check the batteries in your CO2 detectors.
• Check your fire extinguishers.
• Check your kids helmets, car seats, life jackets, and other life saving items that they may have grown out of.
• Replace your furnace filters.
• Hold a fire drill.
• Hold a lockdown drill.
• Review the contents of your BOB. Replace the food, check the batteries, update the clothing, etc.

What Can You Do Without?

Today's topic comes compliments of Oprah. Apparently yesterday's show was about challenging people to live without things that were not absolutely necessary (I say apparently because it is now all over the blogosphere and while I didn't see the show, the promos seem to indicate this was the gist of the show). Anyway, here is my challenge to you. At the risk of sounding like Oprah, I would like you to choose something (or many somethings) to do without for a day, a week, or a month. This is both an exercise in restraint and an exercise in creativity (ie: what are you going to do if the TV gets packed away for a month?). What better way to practice and prepare for a SHTF situation, then to do so voluntarily, if only on a temporary basis? This will allow you to see how the family (and yourself) would react to situations both stressful and primitive. Here's some ideas of things to do without:

• Television
• Driving
• Spending
• Designer clothes and accessories
• Talking on the cell phone
• Using the computer
• Central heat
• The housekeeper
• The gardener
• Shopping
• Eating out
• Processed food
• Gambling
• Drinking
• Smoking
• Etc...

I'm Not Panicking...Yet

If I was the type to panic (but I'm not--the whole world could be collapsing and I would be observing and then giving orders), now might be the time to begin. My "line in the sand" for grave concern, at least in my mind, was when the Dow falls into the 6,000 range which it did today for the first time in twelve years. What the news didn't say is that the Dow fell to 6,000 in 1997 but it fell from a high of 8,000 not the 14,000 it fell from beginning in late 2007. This is huge. Here's some of my thoughts on this crisis:

• It does no good to panic. Panic makes you behave irrationally.
• If you cannot change the situation then you need to roll with the punches. Sticking your head in the sand and being oblivious is just as bad as stressing and panicking over something that you cannot change.
• I am going to continue to tithe. This is something I have always done and of any money I have, I will continue to do this, to me it is the right thing to do.
• Having backpacked for extended periods of time and traveled all over the world with what I could carry in one bag, I know that what I really need to survive is actually very little. People who think they can't live without a huge home, two SUVs, shopping on credit, an X Box, or whatever other material possessions they have, really do have it worse off because they don't have the mental flexibility to accept and go with change.
• I'm not using credit. Ever again. I am old enough to see how credit creates an illusion that is totally out of sync with reality. I have made enough mistakes with credit that I never want to go back there.
• I will continue to volunteer and donate to good causes.
• Constricting your use of money seems to constrict the flow of money to you as well. So I continue to spend (in a reasonable manner) and give.
• Over the past maybe year and a half, we have gone from eating out once a day to a couple of times a month. And I really don't miss it.
• I still buy things we need. I bought a new backpack last weekend (of course it was on the clearance rack) but I determine ahead of time if it is something I need or just something to buy out of boredom or because we "deserve" it. You know if you need to treat yourself or you are shopping because you are bored, sad, or depressed, that it probably isn't something you NEED.
• I will continue to buy food to rotate into my emergency food supply. Having a year's supply of food on hand is sometimes better than money in the bank.
• We are doing a thorough cleaning/reorganizing of the house as soon as the weather gets warmer. The reason for this is because we have lots of stuff and we don't need two, three, or ten of one item. Minimalism is good. Then we will have a huge garage sale.
• Our ultimate goal is to sell our oversized house that we hardly use (more than half basically goes unused unless we have guests) and buy a small (I'm thinking 800 square foot or so) house as a "homebase" and then live in random places around the globe for most of the year (at least the cold part of the year).
• Business is still good fortunately, however whereas before I would basically pick and choose the work I wanted to do, now I will take anything and everything as a hedge against the possible future of little to no work.
• Skill development is still at the top of my list. Learning skills, improving skills, and devising ways to market these skills seem more useful to me than a large investment portfolio right now.

I am no economist but this is my take on the current financial situation. I'm guessing things will get worse but how much worse remains to be seen. The best way that I can think to prepare myself for this possibility is to be debt free, have some (but not excessive) savings because who is to say how much (or little) value our money will hold, have a wide range of marketable skills, look for interesting ways to keep the income flowing, continue to participate in our market economy, and move forward with my life instead of hiding in a bunker from things that may or may not happen.

10 Things to Do on a Lazy Sunday

Tomorrow I plan to chill out after a busy few weeks of work. Here's some things I am considering doing:

1. Go for a bike ride. I'm a fair weather biker and the weather is just now turning a bit nice so it's time to dust off the bike and get some exercise.
2. Hang out at Barnes and Noble and peruse the books in the outdoors survival section and the firearms magazine section.
3. Dump out my BOB, check everything for usability and fit, then repack it.
4. Browse survival blogs online.
5. Wander through Cabela's (one of my favorite stores).
6. Head out to the range and do some shooting (early before the crowds get there).
7. Take the spouse out to dinner; we rarely eat out but every once in a while it is a nice treat.
8. Take a day trip and do some early season trout fishing (season opens tomorrow).
9. Drag out the camping/backpacking gear and get it ready for some early spring hikes.
10. Get the garden spot ready for planting peas.

Even when I have "nothing to do" there are always things that I want to accomplish...usually accompanied by a list...usually preparedness-related...