Political Unrest in Honduras...Some Local Insight

Being in America, land of the free press and all, you would think we would get fairly unbiased coverage of news and events, especially of the international kind. Unfortunately, we get the news that the press wants to write about or broadcast which--surprise--usually has a typical American slant to it.
I think the media is undergoing a cataclysmic change that will forever transform the way that people both produce and receive the news on a world wide basis. Thank God. It's about time.
Case in point, Honduras. I am a bit concerned because I haven't been able to reach some friends in Honduras for a few days. With nearly 24 hour coverage of the coup on CNN, all of the video and political posturing made me even more concerned.
Enter broadcasting by and for the people, otherwise known as blogs and Twitter. I follow interesting blogs from around the world so when I went to La Gringa's blog to get her take on how the political situation is shaping up in Honduras since she actually lives there, I was pleasantly surprised to see that she isn't nearly as worried about, nor as negative towards, the situation that happened with the overthrow of their president. This is exactly why I try to corroborate news and information that I receive, if is important, through a variety of sources.

DPT--Some Flu Preps You Can Do Now

Many people (and major health organizations) think that flu, possibly of the pandemic kind, will come back even more forcefully than we saw early this summer when the swine flu made an appearance. Just an idea, but if this is true than it only makes sense to start taking steps now to prepare for such an event. Some things you might want to stockpile now: masks, meds (the over the counter kind such as Thera Flu, Tylenol, aspirin, etc. Whether or not you stock prescription anti-virals is a personal decision), "sick kit" stuff (thermometer, cough drops, etc), more food for your emergency food supply, and more cash for your emergency fund in case you can not work for an extended period of time.

25 Skills to Teach Your Kids

There are kids all over this weekend. What I really find interesting about them is the wide range of skills that even some of the little kids seem to have. Our kids ended up pretty skilled (in spite of us) but if I had a list to check off the skills they needed to learn it probably would have been a more organized, comprehensive education for them. Here's 25 things that all kids should know how to do:

1. How to swim.
2. How to read a map.
3. How to shoot (and be very familiar with guns and gun safety).
4. How to camp in the wilderness.
5. How to fish and hunt.
6. How to work (for the sake of work, not because they are bribed or yelled at to do it).
7. How to speak and act properly with their peers and adults.
8. How to ride a bike.
9. How to make their case (ie: defend themselves or argue a point) appropriately and effectively (ie: using logic, facts, and persuasion).
10. How to take care of animals and other people.
11. How to travel across town, by public transportation, by themselves.
12. How to perform CPR, call 911, and provide basic first aid.
13. How to cook simple meals (and use a knife, stove, etc).
14. How to fight (not only the physical boxing or karate skills but how to avoid fighting if at all possible as well).
15. How to avoid dangerous situations and what to do if they find themselves in such a situation.
16. How to grow and harvest a garden.
17. How to learn for the sake of learning (ie: reading, math, logic, and research skills).
18. How to earn, spend, and save money.
19. How to do all jobs around the house (wash clothes, do dishes, clean, sew, mow the yard, make simple repairs, etc).
20. How to start, run, and profit from their own business.
21. How to eat right and stay physically fit.
22. How to be responsible (this is usually taught incrementally with more and more responsibility as earned).
23. How to shop, spot deals, determine "deals" that aren't so good, and overall be a wise consumer.
24. How to set and attain goals.
25. How to be emotionally well balanced (control anger, have a positive attitude, etc).

Actually the Boy Scouts were onto something when they listed these and many other skills that make for a well-rounded person. Parents, of course, are kid's best teachers and kids really are a reflection of the time and effort invested in them by their parents. I am always amazed at kids who are home schooled from a young age--it seems like parents who home school their kids really do have to put a lot of time and effort into creating pleasant, interesting individuals that you would want to be around because they are generally around these kids 24/7. The best part about teaching your kids these and other valuable skills is that they will grow up to be responsible, smart individuals who will be able to make a positive impact on society (and on their own families).

DPT--Death Preps

Today saw not one but two famous people die--one was expected (Farrah Fawcett) and one was quite unexpected (Michael Jackson). This should be a reminder to get your affairs in order, just in case. Here's what you need:

• Life insurance
• Will
• Living Will
• Medical Power of Attorney
• Leave some general (if death is not expected) or more specific (if death is imminent) directions for what you want to happen after you die (burial or cremation, memorial service or grave-side funeral, etc).
• Personal info all together in one place (birth certificate, passport, social security card, financial records, veteran's info, insurance info, etc).
• List of people to notify.
• An "in case I die" letter to your loved ones

The Office Daily Carry Ring

Here's a picture of an "office daily carry ring" that I put together. Although I always take my daily carry kit with me in my brief case, the items on this ring (actually a small carabiner), are items that I like to have immediately on hand (clipped onto a belt loop) while I am working. Items include a watch (which can be hung up, used to time things, etc), a whistle (good for getting everyone's attention), a tiny flashlight (great for when the power goes out or when searching in dark storage areas), thumb drive (use this all the time), a small sharpie (for marking items, making signs, etc), and a small multi tool (comes in quite handy for a number of 'fix it' projects).

Your Own Personal Threat Assessment

When is the last time you conducted a threat assessment, on yourself? Threat assessments are fairly common practice in many industries. Schools, hospitals, businesses, high profile individuals, military/government/critical infrastructure...these days conducting a threat assessment is just part of doing business. Individuals, however, usually don't think to conduct such an assessment on themselves. It's about time we all do this so that we will have a more realistic basis for our disaster preparedness planning. Here's some things to consider:

• You may want to begin by listing any and every threat you can think of. Threats include: job loss, hurricanes, street crime, fire, winter storms, socio-economic collapse, illness/injury/death of the family breadwinner, earthquakes, home invasion, pandemic flu, chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear disaster, etc.
• Think the threats out for yourself--and don't pay attention to the news while you do it. If every media source is reporting on the horrible economy but you are debt free, own your own home, have plenty of savings, are self employed in a stable industry, and can pretty much take care of yourself financially, then unlike most of the population, financial calamity probably won't be at the top of your list.
• Next look at each risk and make three categories: least likely to happen, most likely to happen, and everything in between. Where we live, we simply don't have hurricanes so although this phenomena can be a very serious risk, it isn't a risk for me and my family so it gets put into the 'least likely to happen' list. We do, however, get earthquakes so this will go on the 'most likely to happen' list.
• Take your 'most likely to happen' list and logically prioritize them. Don't let the media or emotions take over when putting this list together. The news of the day can often impact our thinking and cause us to give more priority to categories that really are less likely to happen then the regular 'ol boring stuff like job loss.
• Now look at your prioritized 'most likely to happen' list and start planning. What are ten steps you can take now or in the near future that would help mitigate each disaster? For example, if you are the family breadwinner and you have a spouse and three kids at home, at the top of your list of disasters would be the possibility of your long term illness/disability or death. Without you and your income around, that truly would be a disaster for your family. And unfortunately, such a scenario is much more likely to happen than something like marauding hoards or nuclear warfare. Your ten steps, then, would include: getting life insurance, writing or updating your Will, looking into disability insurance, getting an emergency fund in place ASAP, etc.
• Your disaster preparedness tasks should now be laid out fairly clearly. If you have ten 'most likely to happen' disasters with ten steps each to complete in order to be better prepared for such disasters to happen, then you now have 100 tasks to take care of.
• Does this mean you shouldn't prepare for things such as social collapse or bugging out for an indeterminate amount of time? No. You should always develop your skills, think through every "what if" scenario you could think of, practice camping out in the woods, grow a garden for the exercise and health benefits, etc, however the majority of your time, attention, and money should go towards preparing for the disasters that are most likely to happen to you.
• What about the rest of the threats you listed, those that were least likely and less likely to happen? Fortunately disaster planning in general will help mitigate a wide range of disasters, not just the things you plan for. For example, an earthquake may be high on your list and a flood may be very low on your list, however the steps you take to prepare for the earthquake (getting your BOB ready, checking your insurance, planning to bug out if necessary, gathering clean up supplies, etc) will work for both situations.

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our last poll asked "how do you preserve the harvest now that produce is plentiful?" Your answers (with apologies for making the poll confusing since the option to check multiple choices when the answers weren't worded that way was inadvertently turned on):

• 9 people (23%) said they freeze, can, and do the simple stuff
• 14 people (35%) said they freeze, can, make jam...intermediate level food preservation
• 12 people (30%) said they do everything--freeze, can, make jam, drying, pickling, etc.
• 11 people (28%) said they get all of their food from the store

The numbers are not so surprising. I, for one, do very little food processing any more which is unfortunate. This is a valuable skills that everyone should be at least passingly aware of. Growing up, almost all of our food was processed at home and the food that was canned, dried, pickled, frozen, or otherwise processed during the harvest was what we had to live on until fresh produce was ready in the spring. Things certainly have changed! This may have to be one of my projects for the summer.

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

Link Roundup

Here are some interesting links to check out:

• If you think your life sucks, here's some inspiration for changing it.
• Something you don't want to have happen when you're shooting.
• An interesting food challenge.
• An interesting bicycling challenge.
• An interesting take on world cultures.

Some Basics If You End Up Homeless

I know a woman who will end up homeless soon. There were a number of complications and through a death, having never worked, having no savings, no life insurance, no family, and a looming foreclosure, the sheriff will be moving her out of her home soon. She is one of the people who falls through the cracks because she has no children so doesn't qualify for social welfare intervention and is not old enough to collect her husband's social security. Having never been homeless I am probably the last person who should be giving her advice, but here are some of the things that I felt were important for her to do to get her ducks in a row as soon as possible:

• Shelter, even a temporary roof over your head, is critically important. This woman will move in with a friend temporarily but these arrangements don't often work long term so she needs to look for other options. Soon. Other immediate options for shelter that I can think of include: camping/living in your car (not optimal), house sitting (better but irregular), section 8 welfare housing (usually there is a long waiting list and unless you need shelter for your kids, I would say don't get caught in the welfare trap), homeless shelters (from what I've heard these aren't the best places and usually have a time limit but better than nothing), live-in helper (it's a room), apartment manager (it's a job and usually includes a free apartment), etc.
• A source of income. Your first priority in a situation such as this should be securing a source of income. Fortunately we found out that this lady qualifies for a widow's pension because of her husband's military service, unfortunately it is tiny (around $600 per month). Your full time job should be finding a full time job. After you get a job, your part time job should be either getting an education to get a better job, using your time to find a better job, or starting a small business on the side. Other options for income include: welfare (again, my least favorite source of income), unemployment. social security, veteran's benefits, temp jobs, part time jobs, a paper route, etc.
• A cell phone. Funny how this didn't used to be a necessity but these days it kind of is. When you are homeless like this women will be, you will lose your home phone so having a means of communications is pretty much necessary. My advice, check the pre-paid plans for all of the cell phone providers in your area and pick the one that best meets your needs. If you don't want to waste your minutes, let all but the most important calls go to voice mail then return calls at the end of the day (or better yet, respond with an email which will save minutes).
• A PO box. Another thing you lose when you lose your home is your mailing address. A PO box is an excellent option, just be sure to send in a change of address before you leave your home. Choose the smallest box available to save money and check around at local post offices as rates vary from branch to branch for the very same sized box.
• A bank account. These days, money mostly flows through banks and it's a good bet that at some time or another you will need to cash a check or put your money somewhere for safe keeping. Many banks offer free checking and/or savings accounts along with a visa/debit card that is a better option for cash strapped people that a credit card.
• Identification. You can't get very far in our society without identification. If you have no ID you severely limit your ability to work, travel, cash a check, rent an apartment, et al. At the minimum you need one or more of the following: a state ID card, a state driver's license, a passport, a military ID card.
• A bus pass. If you live in an area that has a bus system, purchasing a monthly bus pass will often provide one of the cheapest forms of transportation (aside from a bicycle). Many homeless people have cars which are great for shelter but bad in the amount of money it takes to keep it insured, gassed up, and repaired. Going without any of these things can cause you to receive tickets and fines if you get caught without insurance or a car in bad repair. If you do get a bus pass, see if they offer any discounts for low income, students, vets, etc.
• A library card. Libraries are often the de facto "safety net" for the homeless. It is warm place to shelter during the day, you can enjoy free books, free music, and often free computer and internet use.
• An emergency fund. This is something that can obviously be a boon to someone who is facing homelessness but very rarely, if people are in such dire straits, do they have this luxury. If you see homelessness coming, by all means do anything you can to get some cash into your emergency fund. I was amazed when I saw foreclosed homes on TV that were full of furniture and tons of other stuff that the families just left behind. I can't imagine why they didn't have a garage sale or Craigslist the stuff to make some extra cash before leaving.
• A monthly pass to the Y. I understand that some homeless people will purchase a monthly pass to a local gym or Y in order to have a place to shower. Depending on the cost, this may be an excellent option.
• An email address and internet access. Like cell phones, this didn't used to be a necessity but now it kind of is. Email addresses are free (Yahoo, GMail, Hotmail, etc) and are an excellent way to stay in communication with friends, families, and potential employers. Internet access can be found free at libraries, some coffee shops, some public places like the mall, schools, and other locations. Often you can use computers free of charge at libraries but if you have a laptop, which continue to get smaller and smaller (and cheaper and cheaper) and/or the ability to access the web from your cell phone, you may even be able to start a blog a la 'Homeless at NYU' or 'Hobo Stripper', and make some money this way.
• Secure storage for your stuff. Obviously if you are homeless but have a car you have a (somewhat) secure place to store your stuff. You may want to consider getting a safe deposit box at a bank to store your really important papers including birth certificate, passport, Social Security card, etc. For larger items (or your gear when you are at work) you may want to find other storage options such as storage lockers at bus or train stations, or even at bowling alleys. Note that self storage units have been turned into shelter for some creative homeless people however this is not usually allowed or legal.
• A backpack or messenger bag for your daily carry stuff. If you have storage for your bigger gear, it is best to carry only what you need for the day so that you can more easily blend in with the crowd and not stand out as a homeless person.
• A printed list of resources. Many cities have fairly comprehensive lists of homeless resources including lists of homeless shelters, food banks, churches that serve free meals, etc. It would be a good idea to carry this list with you for reference.

Some things I didn't mention: depending on the situation, if and what kind of weapon you carry will be a very personal decision; there are positive and negative aspects to either decision. A lot of homelessness has much to do with other variables including alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, divorce, job loss and sometimes all of these things at once, which require treatment and other social service resources. While I never recommend going into debt, getting a student loan that covers school, room, and board may be an idea. A network of friends to help you out is a good resource however the longer you require help, the fewer, it seems, friends you will have. On a side note, many people who become homeless, especially from the upper reaches of society, often report that their supposed friends will no longer want to be associated with them once they lose everything so you may need to rebuild your entire friend network. These same preparations may be useful for victims of domestic violence. That was about all I could think of to tell her.

20 Ways to Legally Protect Yourself

When it comes down to it, common sense in our society is nearly gone. Today we have lawyers and courts to tell us what is right and what is wrong even if what a normal person would consider wrong is considered right and what is right is considered wrong. It's a sad state of affairs which means you have to work overtime to protect yourself in a manner that the powers that be understand. This means you need to cover your ass legally in any situation that could even possibly arise. Before a handshake would suffice, these days it won't. Here's how to legally take care of yourself:

1. Get everything in writing. Memory doesn't count and heresay doesn't count either, legally speaking. If it isn't written down, it didn't happen. This means everything from saving receipts to writing up sales agreements when you sell your junker car, to documenting instances of domestic violence. Any negative incident, any transaction, needs to be documented.
2. Obviously if you buy or sell a house you will get the transaction written out in triplicate (a simple mortgage can entail a three inch stack of paperwork, doublesided!). The same goes if you rent a place to live in or if you rent your place to a tenant. I am working with a client now who fell for a sob story and let a young woman and her children move in to his empty duplex after she promised to pay in week or so. Over a month has gone by and apparently this woman knows the system because she refuses to leave (which is legal) so he has to go through a complex eviction process (which is lengthy and spendy).
3. Have a Will and keep it updated. Probate is lengthy and expensive and relatives can fight like hyenas over the most minuscule things when the person who was holding the family together dies. Make your death easier on everyone by having a valid, recently updated Will.
4. Never loan people money. Never borrow money. This includes making loans to friends/family, borrowing money from friends/family, co-signing loans for others, or borrowing from credit cards or a lender for anything except for a home. Once you get entangled with money, you may need a lawyer or financial expert to get you out of it, therefore, don't put yourself in such a situation to begin with!
5. Keep your documentation up to date. Never let your driver's license, passport, or concealed carry license expire--people get tickets, fines, and even denied entry into their own country when this happens.
6. Any time you drive a vehicle ensure #1 you are licensed to drive, #2 the car is registered to you or you have written permission from the owner to drive the car, and #3 you have valid car insurance. Not having in place even one of these items can cause you a bundle of legal trouble.
7. Pick a good spouse. This is kind of a crap shoot because while most people are decent human beings, others can be closet sociopaths and can make your life hell. Should you not pick the best spouse and your married life implodes, again, get everything in writing and follow legal orders to the letter. Parenting plans, marriage dissolution papers, valid pre-nups...you'd be surprised at how many people are dragged through the legal system for years because of a marriage that falls apart. The financial costs can also be staggering.
8. Stay away from situations that could cause you legal problems. If I'm at a nightclub and people start fighting, I'm out of there. I also stay away from people I know are trouble makers, drug dealers, et al. You are only as good as the people you hang around with and if the people you hang around with are perpetually going to court for domestic violence, DUIs, assault, or worse, stay as far away from them as possible as no good can come from this. If you do happen to get a ticket, pay it immediately. If you have a warrant, clear it up immediate even if it means some time at the local jail. You never want the legal system hanging over your head.
9. Have a medical power of attorney, legal power of attorney (if necessary), and Living Will. These documents will protect you when you are unable to protect yourself. Note that anyone you elect to have power of attorney for you should be someone you could trust with your life.
10. Have plenty of insurance, you never know when the worst is going to happen. Car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance...insurance makes the world go round these days and at the minimum it will keep you from going bankrupt if something horrible happens.
11. Ensure that your legal, financial, and medical records are both accurate and kept private. It's amazing how one little incorrection in an important record can have a (very negative) ripple affect in your life. You also want these records kept private--they are no one else's business but yours.
12. Keep your personal information private. I was listening to a talk radio show and the guest speaker was saying how people will post their driver's licenses online just to show how funny their picture looks. The picture may be funny but what an identity thief can do with the information on the license (full name, address, birth date, and occasionally social security number) is not so funny.
13. Shred everything. Unless the information on a piece of paper is advertising or the like, it gets shredded in my office. This goes for papers in my home as well. I never want my personal information waiting in the garbage can for an identity thief to pick up and use to steal my identity and I certainly wouldn't want to compromise my client's information either. Get a quality cross-cut shredder and use it religiously.
14. If you are ever picked up for questioning by the police, and you are asked to provide anything but the most basic information, ask for a lawyer and QUIT TALKING. People seem to forget the "everything you say can and will be used against you" part of the Miranda Rights and even if you haven't been arrested and Mirandized, what you say still can be used against you. If in doubt, ask for a lawyer.
15. Protect your stuff. This means having insurance (either homeowner's or renter's insurance), securing your stuff (with a good home security system), and making your stuff easy to identify should it be stolen (keep documentation for expensive items, engrave identifying marks on lower cost items and install RFID chips on very expensive items).
16. Be careful what you say, write, text, email, or post to your website. If I had a quarter for every time people incriminated themselves with what they emailed to their enemies, what they texted about others, the nude pictures that they posted online, etc. I would be wealthy. Everything you send into the public domain becomes totally out of your control and can show up years later in a court case against YOU so be careful!
17. Be aware of the trail you leave. Many criminals are either found, tripped up, or convicted because of the paper trail they leave. They didn't stop to think that every cell phone call is recorded in detail, that the things they buy with their customer loyalty card at the supermarket can be traced, that every time they use their credit/debit card they leave a record, that their cell phone pings local towers whether the phone is in use or not, that every item they looked up online was duly recorded on their hard drive, and that their EZPass for toll roads creates a perfect time stamp of their every movement.
18. Know that more and more government systems are able to be cross-referenced. If you cheat on your taxes, the IRS can use your bank records to figure this out. If you are in this country illegally and apply for an ITIN number, the Department of Homeland Security will be able to compare records and figure this out. Note that FUSION Centers were created just to collate all of your info to make sure it jives.
19. Keep control of yourself at all times. Committing assault, stalking, embezzlement, et al. are clear signs of a weak person. You must be strong enough to control your actions at all times no matter how hard others are trying to push your buttons or how tempting a situation is that you KNOW can not turn out well. Rise above the situation and let things pass. Never let yourself react in a way that will create legal problems for you far into your future. Note that when defending yourself in a life or death situation, control goes out the window and your one goal is to survive the situation and sort the legal mess out later.
20. Don't become a target. While this will never happen to most people, some people become targets for whatever reason. Live a low profile life, be congenial and likable but not to open with personal information, don't make enemies if at all possible, and if your work/personal life makes you a target take precautions to protect yourself. Take care when you travel to foreign countries. There are plenty of people in prisons who have been framed or set up. There are tourists who were obliviously obvious targets and are now waiting for someone to pay their ransom. There are people with a lot of money and much less common sense who set themselves up for burglary, robbery, and other schemes meant to separate them from their cash.

The bottom line is that you, as stated in previous posts, are responsible for you. It is a legal jungle out there so take common sense precautions to help yourself out.

Self Reliance

When I heard on the news a few days ago that people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina are still living in FEMA trailers and waiting for government help FOUR YEARS LATER, I was shocked. I cannot over emphasize the need for self reliance. If you want to have any measure of control in your life, you need to rely on yourself to achieve this. There is no way, if you rely on the government (or anyone else for that matter including friends and family) for money, food, housing, or any other thing that impacts your life, that you will have control over you life and thus the joy and success that creating a life of your own can bring.

Now I know there are some people that have no choice but to rely on help from others or the government--those who are elderly, very young, or very ill--but there are plenty of others who put themselves at the mercy of a giant bureaucracy and wonder why their life is crap.

Here's some keys to self reliance:

• If you rely on public assistance, set a timeline to get off of this pseudo gravy train. At the most, you should never be on public assistance for more than two years, the time it takes to get training in a field (nursing, welding, etc) that will allow you to become employed and support yourself. Better to live in a "just scraping by" fashion, earning your own way, than to be on public aid which actually doesn't help people but actually makes them more and more dependant on the welfare system. The same goes if you are living off of friends, living with parents past your early 20's, or in other similar situations.
• Realize that your life is only as good as you make it. Living with good values, managing your money properly, dealing with people fairly and honestly, and setting goals and reaching them, will lead to a life you can call your own.
• Enjoy failure. Everyone fails, that's how we learn. There is no shame in failure if you pick yourself up, learn from what happened, and move forward. Note that sometimes failure can temporarily require you to receive help from others, but again, don't let the fear of failing again paralyze you and keep you reliant on others or the government for an extended period of time.
• March to the beat of your own drummer. Rely on yourself for direction, not your parents, not society, not the government. If you do what you totally enjoy doing (which must, of course, be legal and ethical) you will most likely find success beyond your wildest dreams. The problem that many people face is that they do what their parents/spouse/teachers/employers say they should do and never get to do what they really want to do.
• Do as much for yourself as possible. Plumbing problem? Try fixing it yourself, you may be surprised at your abilities and, again, you won't be at the mercy of expensive plumbers. Car problem? Ditto. Don't like the high price of vegetables at your local store? Grow your own. Don't like your boss? Start your own business. Don't like the disaster in your garage? Clean it up and organize it. Everything you do for yourself will both expand your abilities and skills, and encourage you to do more for yourself.
• Realize that relying on others (government, friends, family) can take a huge physical and emotional toll. Relying on friends and family can lead to problems that aren't easily resolved (watch Judge Judy if you don't believe me). Relying on the government can impact your health (the stress of putting up with their bureaucracy, the negative impact on your health when living on only what you can buy with food stamps, the unsafe atmosphere of living in many public housing projects, etc), your social standing (you'll be that guy or gal on welfare not that upstanding citizen that is a leader in the community), your self esteem (how great can you feel if you are living off of your momma/girlfriend?), and your income potential (if you rely on someone else for your income, you get what they give you and no more...you're smarter than this!).

The bottom line? Do for yourself. People these days are so used to relying on someone else for just about EVERYTHING--got financial problems? go to a debt consolidator. Got a cold? Run to the doctor instead of doing what your grandma would have done like rest and eat chicken soup. Got an issue with your employer? Sue instead of moving on to a better employment situation--that the ability to rely on yourself is declining exponentially. Don't let this happen to you. Rely on yourself. Period.

Assessments

Every once in a while it is a good idea to assess yourself. With a comprehensive assessment, you can see where you are, where you've been, and where you are going. How do you assess yourself? Check out these two excellent (and may I say complementary) assessment checklists:

• I have always been a fan of Thomas Leonard. Unfortunately he passed away after writing only one book, but his ideas about personal preparedness will definitely live on. Check out his "Clean Sweep" program checklist here.
• Here is the Code Name Insight's take on the assessment survey. How prepared are you? This survey should give you an idea of the many areas/tasks/skills that are more or less required for you to be prepared to handle any disaster/survival situation.

CNI Challenge #11 Preserving Food

If you remember way back when we posted the first ten CNI Challenges, you will recall that each challenge offered up a task that you could do to improve yourself, your skills, and your knowledge of things that could help you out during a disaster/survival situation. Now we are on to the next ten challenges. Challenge #11 is to preserve your own food. Can you preserve food in the following ways?

• Freezing (fruit, vegies, meat)
• Drying (fruit, meat, etc)
• Pickling (pickles, sauerkraut, kim chi, etc)
• Canning (fruit, vegies)
• Jams and Jellies (fruit)
• Smoking (meat)
• Wine-making
• Beer-making

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our latest poll asked "How is the ammunition situation in your area?"
Your answers:

• 2 people (6%) said there was no problem and they could buy as much ammunition as they wanted.
• 5 people (15%) said that there were some shortages but that the shelves were restocked regularly.
• 12 people (37%) said that there were lots of shortages and you had to be there when they unloaded the pallets to get any ammo.
• 13 people (40%) said that the shelves were bare and that ammo was nearly impossible to get.

I guess my only question would be where do those two people live where ammo is plentiful?? The shelves in my local stores as well as stores in a number of states that I have visited lately have all seemed pretty sparse!

Don't forget to take our new poll >>>

Email Notice

A short notice--if you have sent email to the webmaster@codenameinsight.com address over the past week and a half or so, note that we had an unfortunate email incident and it all disappeared. Please resend if you haven't heard back from us.

Conference Notes (Part 7 of 7) Handling People After a Disaster

One of your major tasks after a disaster if you are in a facility that people will gravitate to (ie: school, airport, hospital, community center, etc) is handling people. You will have injured people, mentally ill people, worried well people, people who want to help, people who are frail or infirm, people who are displaced from their homes, etc. Here's some tips for handling people after a disaster:

• Triaging people after a disaster is often a common task. The dead are put in one place, the nearly dead are put in another place, the critically ill or injured are sent for immediate treatment, and the not so severely injured are often put in another place to wait for treatment. Note that when you are triaging people, you are often triaging groups or families--what do you do with the rest of the family if mom is sent to the hospital, dad is waiting for less emergent care, and there are four kids running around with them?
• If you don't control a crowd at the beginning of a situation, you will be overwhelmed. It is virtually impossible to show up at a scene and reason with a large, unruly crowd. Immediately after a disaster, if you expect a crowd to show up at your door (ie: to a hospital, community center, etc) you need to become immediately organized: traffic control, access control, security, information for people, a way to process people through your facility, etc.
• A good way to get control of a group is to give people something to do. People who have no idea what's going on, who feel out of control, and who are flailing about are more difficult to control than people who are given a task and expected to perform--it keeps them busy, keeps them out of your way, and keeps their attention on the task and not the overall situation.
• Signage is important. You don't want to answer the same "where is..." question two hundred times.
• People who will be dealing with the crowds after a disaster should be trained, as a team, before the disaster occurs so that they will be able to work efficiently and effectively together to control the scene and the people at the scene. Note that the government's National Incident Management System has become the the de facto incident management system in the US.
• If you will be handling people after a disaster (ie: at a hospital, airport, casino, school, large office complex, etc) you need to be prepared to be on your own for up to 96 hours. This includes: shelter, food, water, sanitation, decontamination, medical supplies/care, security, communications, entertainment, etc.
• A system for tracking people is also important. How will you track who went to what hospital? How will you reunite children with parents?

Conference Notes (Part 6 of 7) Forensic Evidence Management

After a disaster, especially after the man-made type such as a bombing or other terrorist event, forensic evidence management is important. The idea is to not mess up the evidence because investigators need this vital information in order to both figure out who did it and/or preserve evidence for further investigation. So how do you manage forensic evidence?

• After an incident, block off the crime scene and don't let anyone muck around there. You don't want evidence to be destroyed or compromised before the experts can process it.
• "When two objects meet, there is an exchange of material from each to the other" French scientist Edward Locard. This is the basic theory of forensic evidence.
• Photograph everything: the scene, the crowd, the evidence, etc.
• Document everything: time of the event, weather, witness information, etc.
• Unless you are saving a life, stay out of the crime scene. If people are dead, leave them where they fell for the investigators.
• Suspects may attempt to escape from the scene by joining the crowds who are being evacuated.
• All persons coming into contact with response workers should be searched for weapons.
• Let the professionals process the scene and recover evidence. This both properly preserves the evidence and ensures the chain of custody of the evidence.
• Forensic evidence management team members not only process the scene but they also go to the hospital and morgue with victims to process evidence from the bodies.
• Recovery of bodies: each body and body part found is treated as evidence; always wrap the head, hands and feet before removal; all bodies and body parts should be accompanied when taken from the scene to preserve continuity of evidence; bodies and body parts should always be subject to x ray examination to establish the possible presence of evidence.
• Beware of the media (they will stop at nothing to gain entry to the scene), those impacted by the event (people often react unreasonably after a disaster creating problems for themselves and others), and volunteers who show up to help (some will exaggerate their qualifications in order to help).

Highly Classified Document Posted

One of the email lists I am on is Steven Aftergood's 'Secrecy News'. Usually there are interesting tidbits in these emails but it isn't like I wait anxiously for my emails from this organization. Imagine my surprise when I came across a totally separate article (in the NY Times I believe) about a highly classified document that came out in his e-newsletter today. Of course I quickly checked my email and found this document (note it is a 13mg file) that is clearly listed on the document as Highly Classified but had been posted by the GAO apparently by accident. The document lists all of the nuclear "sites, locations, facilities, and activities" in the US.

Five Things

Here's five things, with lessons learned, that have come up recently:

1. If you don't have an emergency fund, get one. ASAP. I've known a couple of situations recently where the people had what would be considered a crisis and they had absolutely nothing to fall back on. One got a loan from a family member and another went to a Payday Lender (always a bad idea). Just yesterday we had a minor plumbing situation that required an immediate fix by a plumber. It was nothing major but being able to simply retrieve the needed cash from the emergency fund and not having to scramble for a loan or not pay a bill because you have an unexpected expenses is a huge relief both financially and psychologically.
2. There was a tragic shooting this morning of an armored car driver at a Walmart a ways south of here. Of course this was the lead story on all of the local news stations but it also got me to thinking. How many times have I crossed paths with armored car drivers who are picking up or delivering money? The answer...fairly often. At the bank, at the grocery store, at the big box store, you run across these people and we often don't pay much attention to them. Note to self and everyone else: people carrying lots of money are a target. Not every time, fortunately, but if you are in the vicinity of a stationary armored car with their staffers outside of the vehicle, remember that this is a security threat situation that requires a higher level of awareness on your part.
3. Also in the news, the apparent crash of a jetliner which was on its way from Rio to Paris. Are you ready to die? Most of us aren't, of course, and fortunately flying is generally very safe, but the point is that death often happens quite unexpectedly. It is always a good idea to have your affairs in order. Life insurance is a good idea, having all of your papers organized so your next of kin aren't left with a mess of papers to sort through is a good idea too, having the afore mentioned emergency fund at the ready would also be a great comfort to those who are left behind and need to pay for your funeral expenses.
4. Hummer was sold to a Chinese company. Companies are bought and sold internationally as a matter of course but, excuse the paranoia, it is a bad sign when we can't keep our own companies afloat financially, and one of the most powerful countries in the world--besides us and generally opposed to us--can.
5. Other random news: a local teen was convicted today of second degree manslaughter. He was hunting when he shot and killed a lady who was hiking nearby because he shot at an outline of what he thought was a bear but couldn't clearly see because it was foggy. Never shoot at something you can't clearly identify. The body of a soldier was found today in a river a few weeks after he went rafting with friends--without a life jacket and/or knowledge of the river. Always wear a life jacket when participating in water sports. Multiple homes were ransacked while the occupants slept last night because they had left their windows open due to the warm weather. Always secure your windows and doors, especially before you go to bed. Leaving your windows and doors unsecured is like leaving an invitation for burglars.