National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month. Here's some ideas to celebrate the month:

• Write a list of 30 preparedness goals, one for each day, that you will accomplish in September.
• Check your local Red Cross, Department of Emergency Management, fire department, or other agency for a preparedness-related class that you can take. This month there are a number of classes in our area including CPR course, HAM radio class, etc.
• Reinvigorate your fitness goals. I've kind of slacked off during August because I've been so busy. Starting September first I'm going to hammer away on the fitness front, at least for a month.
• Do some simple things: get your flu vaccine, change the batteries in your smoke detector, change your passwords, etc.
• Help others: deliver meals on wheels (it will help you to learn the roads of your city better, a preparedness bonus), volunteer to be the school crossing guard for your kid's school (you can keep kids safe while helping them learn to be more aware of their environment and safety), join your community's Medical Reserve Corps/Search and Rescue/emergency HAM radio team, etc.

Some Comments on Breaking News

As I type this, the 11pm news is covering a breaking story in our downtown area. Apparently many shots from an "assault rifle" were reported so the main freeway through the city was shut down, the place is crawling with cops, and a police helicopter is in the air while they look for suspects. So here's my comments:

• The traffic is stopped and backed up on the freeway and the people are getting out of their cars to try to figure out what is happening. When you don't know what is happening, listen to the local news. These people are putting themselves in danger if, indeed, someone is shooting randomly in the area in which they are gridlocked.
• People are coming out of their homes to see what is going on. Ditto the above comment. If there is a lot of action happening outside, ascertain what is happening before running outside to see--a shooter, someone trying to run from the police, a drunk driver mowing down mailboxes and vehicles in their way--all of these situations can cause death and/or bodily harm to spectators.
• A police scanner can be useful in these situation.
• Radio pre-sets, whether on your car radio or your home radio, when set to the local news stations can also be useful in these types of situations.
• Other options for news include television news, checking the website of your local newspaper, Twitter, and occasionally YouTube.
• If you do find yourself in the middle of a firefight, keep down. Whether in your house or your car, keeping down and getting under/behind something that can cover and conceal you is a good idea. Ditto for everyone else with you.
• Engaging a shooter if you are armed, while always risky, is even more so if you are between the cops and the bad guys. If the cops hear shots coming from your area, they will assume you are one of the suspects; don't add to the confusion. Better to follow the advice in the previous point unless you, specifically, are under fire from the suspects and you have absolutely no other option to save your life.
• Feel free to document like crazy if it can be done safely. Note times, events, descriptions (of suspects, cars, firearms, and other details you can see), and any other pertinent details. Photos and video are also nice, if this can be done safely.
• Don't draw attention to yourself. You don't want to distract law enforcement and you don't want to make yourself a target for the suspect. If you are home, lock doors and windows, draw the curtains, turn off the lights, etc. If in a car there isn't much you can do but lock the doors and leaving yourself an escape route if possible (ie: don't be so close to the bumper in front of you that you cannot drive off--through the median if necessary--in case you need to escape).
• React appropriately. Currently the people on the freeway do not seem to be in harm's way. Apparently they should stay where they are until given notice by the police as the suspect doesn't seem to be in the immediate area of where the cars are parked on the freeway, so it isn't necessary for all of the traffic to suddenly drive through the median and head off down the other side of the freeway (note that each situation will be different so what is appropriate in this case--to stay parked--could be different in another situation and you would DEFINITELY want to drive through the median, against traffic, etc, in order to escape. And no, if the situation is as described above, you don't need to call 911 to alert them to the problem, they already know about it, unless you have pertinent information that you don't think they have such as you just saw a man with a rifle running southbound along the freeway.
• And some other things: if you are expecting a spouse or kids to come home soon, call them to tell them to stay away until the situation is resolved. If you (or your kids) are outside when a situation such as this occurs, you (or they) should go to the closest house and seek refuge until the situation abates. If you are outside of this type of situation but your loved one is in the middle of it, resist the urge to go charging in to save them (easier said than done). Hopefully they will be educated with the information above and get themselves into a protected position while law enforcement gets a handle on the situation (ie: fear crazed parents running into a live fire situation doesn't HELP the situation or your loved one even if that is your natural instinct).

From the 'Be Careful what You Say' File

I often write about keeping as low a profile as possible. Of course you want to be careful about the things that you say to others (which can be misconstrued or taken out of context), what you say to someone which can be overheard by others, especially regarding personal information (which can provide too much information about you, be taken out of context, or similarly, be misconstrued) and what you say around your kids (which can be repeated to the wrong people or out of context...or in context but that would send the person being told the story running for help). Anyway, this line of thought came about because of this article on Consumerist. The person making the call should have noted that a) such a question would sound suspicious without a plausible explanation, b) may have been recorded and the store could have caller ID, c) due to the nature of our society these days people are much more likely to both be suspicious and report odd behaviour to the police, and d) if they do need to remove a blood stain, say resulting from a homicide, do they really think they will get good information from a general worker at Home Depot?...a nice anonymous internet search may have produced better results.

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our last poll asked "Do you have a BOV (bug out vehicle)?" Your answers:

• 3 people (6%) said they don't own a car.
• 31 people (64%) said they will use the family vehicle for this purpose if needed.
• 11 people (22%) said their everyday vehicle (which has some extras such as a wench, camper, etc) will serve as their BOV.
• 3 people (6%) said their vehicle was specifically purchased and outfitted as a BOV.

Interesting set of answers but I think these percentages are about accurate for the general population (although in my neck of the woods, A LOT of people have trucks, campers, RVs, boats, and/or other vehicles that they use for fun but would quickly shift into BOV mode if TSHTF). I know many people who live in cities who simply don't own cars because public transportation is easy to use, affordable, and reliable. And, I am guessing that should a bug out-worthy event occur, people will just jump into whatever vehicle they have on hand and go whether it is prepared spcifically for bugging out or not. Of course I do have a nice list of criteria for an optimally equipped BOV which I will share in a later post.

Be sure to take our new poll (can you tell I am running out of poll questions?). >>>

Local Foraging

After a morning of painting (yes, the painting saga continues) we went out for a walk in our neighborhood and came home with a big ziploc bag of blackberries. I grabbed the bag on our way out the door with the intent of finding these tasty berries because they have been everywhere the past couple of weeks when I drive down any road in our county.

About this time in our area there are all kinds of wild edibles to be found. Also, it never fails that if you admire a local gardener's work and chat them up a bit you usually end up coming home with something out of their garden, that's just the way farmers are. Thus is pays to carry plastic bags with you in order to contain your goodies until you get home. This month's finds include blackberries and huckleberries growing wild, tomatoes, cilantro, and potatoes from farmers. Soon it will be apples, nuts, and mushrooms which grow wild around here. Another plus in our area is that if you walk down by the fishing docks, you may end up with a fish as well. More than a few times I have admired a fisherman's catch and have been rewarded with a few choice fish for dinner.

So today's lesson is to pick up a bag of Ziplocs from the Dollar Store and keep them in your car for the times when you come across a foraging opportunity. Also, it pays to be interested in what others are doing because more than likely they will be so happy with you being interested in what interests them, that you will be rewarded with some edible goodies.

Prepping: Getting the Family Involved

Our last post was about the ten simple steps you can take to begin getting prepared for whatever disaster may strike (ie: job loss through a complete societal meltdown). Now here's some info about getting the whole family involved in your efforts:

• People are going to grumble, at first, about any new changes you suggest. It's human nature to resist change so don't let that stop you from making changes to improve your life (you may just have to move a bit slower than light speed to get these things done).
• The family may think you have lost your mind, especially if you start out with anything remotely close to "conspiracy theories", "the end of the world as we know it", or you break out architectural drawings for a bunker slated to be buried in the back yard. That's why you want to start out basically and slowly as outlined in the previous article. General preparedness should be the theme of your efforts, not preparing for TEOTWAWKI.
• Your attitude will impact both the effectiveness of your preps and cohesiveness of your group. People don't like being ordered around, even if you are in charge. Better to use positive enthusiasm and positive reinforcement to get the troops to rally around your plans than an ineffective dictatorial style of leadership.
• Make the planning process as well as the actual "doing" process a group effort. Even though you wouldn't usually think about getting buy-in from a seven year old, your preparedness efforts are like leading any organization. People like having a part in the plan as well as a part in the work to complete the plan. It makes them feel needed and a part of the group.
• Have reasonable expectations. While you don't want to give your wife the responsibility of installing the exterior security system to your home, especially if she has no idea about electrical things, you also don't want to do the whole thing and just tell her to watch (it's like watching paint dry). Make sure everyone has a part in the work so they can take pride in their individual efforts as well as the accomplishments of the entire family.
• Realize that mistakes will be made, it's part of the process. Instead of putting your fist through the wall in frustration, discuss the problem, fix the problem, and move on.
• Lead by example. Even though you are working as a team, your example (and remember that actions speak louder than words) is what people will follow.
• Tailor the efforts of the family to their strengths. If your son is getting his scouting badge in first aid, let him take the lead in putting together the first aid kit and purchasing the components for the kit. Of course you want to provide oversight for the project but letting him be responsible for the project (even if he makes mistakes) will benefit him in the long run (and help him earn his scouting badge).
• Make your efforts fun too. Kids like the job of setting off the fire alarm as part of the fire drill. Giving the spouse $200 dollars extra to shop for emergency food stores when she loves shopping anyway will be fun for her.
• Give age appropriate explanations as you go. Instead of telling the kids that you need to put in a security system to keep the bad guys from breaking into your house and slaying the family like they saw recently on the news (guaranteed to give them nightmares for quite a while), tell that about the importance of security (tailored to their age), about how electronics work, what components make up the security system, how the security system works, and rules for its use (ie: set the alarm each time you enter and leave the home, etc).
• And the corollary, choose your words well. Kids will repeat everything you say, often at the most inopportune moments and usually out of context. If you say anything along the lines of "if some bastard breaks into my house I'm gonna blow their fool head off and I have all of the firearms I need to do it....if they try to escape I'll drag them back into the house to finish 'em off" Now think of how that phrase could be distorted when told to a teacher. Years ago, the teacher may have agreed with you. These days they have CPS on speed dial.
• Be firm in your efforts. It is easy to get dissuaded from your goals when people complain or drag their feet everytime you make a suggestion or want to work on a project. You may have to make some assignments much like you would chores in order to get a project done but, like doing chores, these are sometimes things that need to get done for the good of the family. Period.
• Realize that you are doing more than just getting your preps in order. The entire process will have a lasting affect on your family for years. I can see how the family building projects and the big family trips (ie: driving across and around the US multiple times) has impacted our kids decades later. There is hardly a time when I call my son that he doesn't have a project going with his kids working by his side. My daughter and her family think nothing of piling the entire clan in the car and heading out for a 20 hours drive to see friends, family, or a national monument. When we all get together, the kids always reminisce about family travels even though at the time I remember them fighting and complaining like kids do when they are stuffed into a car for hours on end. I also see in them the leadership skills as well as the technical skills that they have developed and added to over the years which they are now teaching their family. Of course at the time my intent was to get a project done, I didn't think of the lasting impact these things would actually have on them.

10 Basic Steps to Preparedness

Everyday, more and more people are getting into the "preparedness" or "survivalist" movement (see article here). For many of us, this is our nature so we have been doing what is now termed "survival stuff" for years. For those who are new to this whole concept, here's ten quick steps to get you started on becoming a TEOTWAWKI survivalist (or just get yourself ready to face the next natural disaster that strikes your area):

1. Put away $1000 in cash as your starter emergency fund.
2. Stock enough easy to prepare food in your garage, in a closet, or under your bed, so that you can survive on this food for two weeks without having to go to the store (at all). Be sure to include enough bottled water too.
3. Pay off your debts ASAP (this is the biggest obstacle most people face when it comes to being ready for a disaster--they need to be at work the next day because they can't miss work or they won't get paid and if they don't get paid they can't pay their bills or eat. Having no debt gives you a whole lot of flexibility).
4. Develop a family disaster plan (this covers everything from a home inventory for insurance purposes, to a family communications plan, to a fire escape plan, etc).
5. Pull together a nice supply of camping gear. Get the gear that you would need to camp out in the wilderness for a week for you and your family (ie: tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, first aid kit, gas stove, et al). Next go camping with this gear for a week. See what works, see what doesn't work, and refine your gear and your plan. This may be the situation if a tornado levels your home. While you may be put up in a hotel, you may be on your own for a while and having this camping gear will help you to be much more self sufficient than the average disaster victim.
6. Get insurance. Car, health, life, auto, home, disability, et al. Insurance will save you from catastrophic financial disaster.
7. Develop multiple sources of income. As this last recession showed, people who were dependant on one job and one source of income were devastated (financially and psychologically) when they lost that job. If you have multiple sources of income coming in each month, you will have more flexibility and security.
8. Develop as many skills as possible. You never know when CPR, HAM radio, well drilling, or fishing skills will come in handy. The more you know, the more you can do during a disaster to help yourself and your family. Start simple with a community CPR first aid course then move up to Outward Bound-type experiences.
9. Get healthy. America is obese. America is unhealthy. If you are obese and/or unhealthy, this is a huge hindrance during a disaster. If you can barely run a block, what are you going to do when you have to flee a wildfire? If you are dependant on 15 different kinds of meds a day, what will you do when an earthquake levels every pharmacy in your area? While some things can't be changed (ie: if you are wheel-chair bound or dependant on life saving medications), other things can (many people have been able to get off many meds just by getting healthier and fit). Note that if you or a family member are dependant on life saving medications and/or equipment (like a ventilator) makes plans NOW for how you will meet these needs in the event of a disaster.
10. Make your home clean, organized, and secure. This will make you happier, healthier, and safer.

Notice that nowhere in these steps do you find recommendations to load up on the firearms, buy a generator, raise all of your own food, or turn your home into a bunker. These are things that some people decide to do when moving towards self sufficiency, however many people who jump feet first into survivalist mode skip the basics (things that will make them more prepared in their everyday life) and cobble together a half-assed plan that really won't help them in a disaster because they haven't even covered the basics!

Preparedness Tips...For Your College Student

Apparently it is back to school time judging by the mob at our local Walmart and the number of parents who are stressing about driving their kids half way across the country to settle them into their new college dorm rooms. A lady I met today at a conference was wondering where she would be able to buy her son a refrigerator for his dorm room at his new college because she just couldn't stuff another item into the family's mini van when they head off in a couple of days to drive him three states over to his new college. Fortunately we have passed that kid milestone but for parents who are about to launch their newly minted adults into college life, here's some preparedness tips:

• Check out the best cell phone plans in your student's new college town. Your current cell company may have no or limited reception in the new town so you want to make sure the phone they carry with them 24/7 will actually work.
• Give them a homework assignment before school starts. Of course you could look up the phone numbers for the RA (Resident Advisor) and campus security, find out how to receive email alerts from the college, and research the university's campus safety plan but you are done with college so make the kid do a bit of work. Even though they don't think they would ever need this info, by doing the research and providing YOU with all of the safety and security information there is to be obtained about their new school, they will at least have a passing knowledge of these items which they find may be useful in the future.
• Minimize stuff. This has been learned from decades of travel--the less stuff you bring, the less stuff can get lost or stolen. You don't know what will be in style in your new location so wait and shop where the locals shop and wear what the locals wear. They do have everything you could ever need in your new college town, just like people in Kenya brush their teeth so you will be able to find toothpaste in Kenya, people in a college towns eat Ramen so you don't need to bring a year's supply with you.
• Give them the safety talk. Our kids got the safety talk at the beginning of each new school year starting when they were in kindergarten and ending...well it hasn't ended yet but I think they have perfected tuning out the parents a few years back. Each talk was age appropriate and included elementary school things such as how to cross the street and not to talk to strangers, moved on through middle school with peer pressure, teen suicide, and alcohol/drug use risks, went through high school with warnings about drinking and driving and teen pregnancy precautions, and finished up with college specific concerns such as date rape, depression, campus security, dorm security, and the whole binge drinking/partying/hazing/psycho stalker lecture. Even if your kids roll their eyes and yawn as you run through every possible scenario they may encounter, it makes a parent feel better just to know the information is out there and it may have possibly sunk in.
• Discuss expectations: how often they will check in (my parents were lucky if they heard from me once a month during college but that was way before kids were joined at the keypad with their parents), what their grades need to be if they want to keep the parental cash-flow coming, and what an emergency money situation would entail (this could be everything from a lump sum each quarter and they need to figure their way out of any emergency that comes up, a credit card that the parents pay monthly hopefully with a spending limit, or a permanent link to a bank account that is regularly replenished by the parents). The bottom line is to set clear rules before any situation comes up that makes you, as a parent, stressed or broke.
• Don't forget your emergency preparedness stuff. Everyone in the family, including kids away at college, need to know the family emergency contact person/phone number/email address and to know where the family meeting locations are at. Kids need to know what natural and man made hazards they may face at their new school. Your kid may have spent their whole life in southern California where earthquakes and wildfires were the main hazards and not know anything about the hurricanes and tornadoes that their new southern Florida locale is known for. Keeping food, water, an extra blanket, a radio, a flashlight, and other necessary emergency supplies in their dorm room is just as important as it is at home--you never know when your facility will go into lock down and you may be stranded in your room for a period of time.
• Don't forget the basics: Vaccinations, check. Marking your valuables in case you need to identify them if they are stolen, check. Not leaving any valuables out where they could be swiped, check. Not advertising to the whole student body that daddy just sent you a wad of cash thus making you a target for robbery, check.

Hopefully after the first 18 years of life spent with you, your kids will be ready to tackle the world. It is often scarier for parent to let their kids go--you don't know if you taught them everything they need to know and now that they are hundreds or thousands of miles away you wonder how you will help them if they need it--well you could stress yourself out all day worrying about the possibilities. But with a little preparedness, and a bit of luck, your kids will survive the transition even better than you!

Link Roundup: Challenge Edition

Here's some random tidbits of news that are sure to challenge you:

• Find this guy, win $5000. An interesting idea for a challenge.
• The H1N1 flu vaccine will be delayed and there will be less of it to go around. Not so much of a challenge yet but should we have a large outbreak, all hell may break loose.
• Amazing Race is holding open casting calls. A good challenge with a nice payday if you win.
• Check out Active.com and find your own local physical challenge.
• Ruggedize your gadgets. The challenge is to keep your expensive electronics working even if you abuse them with your wild adventures. This article should help.

Accessing the Internet

For some people, being able to access the internet is a survival need. While it may be possible to actually live without the internet, these days, it is just as important for many as having a cell phone, an emergency fund, or a BOB. Here's a number of ways to access the internet:

• Pay for internet service to your home (cable, DSL, dial up, etc).
• Connect through your cell phone company by using an air card or linking through your cell phone.
• Many libraries, malls, and coffee shops offer free wi-fi.
• If you live in an apartment building, you may be able to pick up your neighbor's unsecured wif-fi network.
• Offices, hotels, churches, schools, nearly every building/organization has internet service these days. Sometimes you can catch these wi-fi signals if they are unsecured. Sometimes, if you belong to the organization (ie: a student at the school, a hotel guest, a church member)you can get the key to log into the network. Sometimes you can guess the password to the system. Sometimes you can hack your way into the network.
• You can use your cell phone to access many parts of the internet.
• You can access the internet through your Wii or PSP.
• You can ask. In places that didn't have wi-fi I have been able to ask if I can use a cable connection to the internet from a computer that no one is using.
• Internet cafes allow you to access the internet from nearly anywhere in the world.

How Tough Are You?

I'll play the age card and say "not as tough as I used to be", however if you want to gauge how tough you are, here is a good way to find out. Check out the United States Adventure Racing Association to find out about a sport that is continuing to grow in popularity.
If you and your team want to 1) get in shape, 2) practice working as a team under stressful conditions, and 3) practice a whole bunch of useful survival skills, this may be the race for you. Most races run anywhere from 6 to 30+ hours and include travel by bike, kayak, and trail running with a heavy emphasis on navigation and orienteering (the old fashioned way with a map and compass as GPS devices are not allowed). Races test your endurance in the cold of winter and in the heat of a summer and take place everywhere from swamps to deserts to mountains to prairies. Races also have interesting names as 'Howl at the Moon' adventure race to 'Amphibious Warrior' adventure race. This is definitely something I will be taking a closer look at.

Know Your Gear

I was browsing the EDC forums and it occurred to me that there appears to be gear aficionados who may have some excellent lists of gear to carry everyday or to put in their BOB but it also occurred to me that they may not know their gear very well.
Case in point: an everyday carry list that, if you added it up, would weigh about 30 pounds. I love gear about as much as the next person (or maybe more because I really am a gadget person) but I also know the gear that I need and I also know that I don't want to have a standing appointment with a chiropractor. Which means you really need to know the gear you are carrying.
For my everyday carry needs, I know that I don't want to carry much weight. Everything I bring with me on a daily basis needs to do triple duty, needs to be infinitely useful, and needs to be really small.
Some considerations:

• My basic pocket knife has a few bells and whistles (Phillips and flat screwdriver) but not 25 different blades. I don't need to carry a separate tool box with me every day because I can make the screwdrivers on my knife work for most (maybe not all) situations. I don't carry a razor blade because the knife blade will work well enough. I don't need a saw blade, adjustable wrench, or a multi-bit driver because if I need such a specialized tool, I will ask around and find one or go to the local Walmart and pick it up in a pinch as I would rather do this than carry extra weight.
• I carry a space blanket with me (weighs a couple of ounces) as opposed to a blanket for emergencies. If I find someone down in the street in shock, my space blanket would suffice or I could ask someone if they have a blanket in their home or car but I would rather cover them with leaves before I would haul a blanket around all day in the off chance that I would need it.
• Don't carry three of the same thing. On the list that I saw was medical tape, duct tape, and electrical tape. A short piece of duct tape will work in any situation where you would need any of the other tapes (although removing the duct tape from a patient you have taped up will probably leave a hairless patch on the fellow but that is less of a concern to me than the added weight of carrying a whole range of tapes).

For my BOB, I know that my gear needs to meet the above standards as much as possible and it needs to be tested regularly. Some considerations:

• While having a nice list of stuff to purchase to put in a BOB seems like a good idea, it doesn't mean anything if you end up carrying around a heavy bag of useless crap. I've done this before. I purchased the boots that "everyone" recommended only to find that if I wore them for more than an hour, my feet felt like hamburger. I've bought a nice tactical flashlight when, for my purposes, a headlamp would have worked much better (I'd rather be able to see hands-free than carry a heavy tactical flashlight in the off chance that I would need to use it as a weapon because, quite frankly, I would rather use a weapon in self defense at 10 yards than be 10 inches away from someone who means to do me harm).
• If you want to know how a piece of gear will function in all weather, in all terrain, in all seasons, there is no other way to find out then get out there and test it...in all weather, in all terrain, in all seasons. A friend raved about his ultra-light down sleeping bag until he weathered a multi-day northwest downpour--he said his bag felt like he was curling up with a wet cat after a couple of days of this weather. Yuck. You may have a great tent in your BOB but can you put it together...at night...in a downpour? Even if you do this, does it meet your needs? Ultralight bivy-sack type tents are not conducive to waiting out a storm. You may stay relatively dry but you won't be able to sit completely up (ie: you won't be the proverbial happy camper if you are left in a semi-prone position for a couple of days).
• Do you actually use the gear you think you need in your BOB? Go camping for a weekend, take it backpacking for a week or so. A lot of gear that is a good idea "just in case" is usually a lot of dead weight the other 99% of the time. People can be pretty creative when they need to be so consider what you can do without to save weight and what you could use "just in case" you really need an item. I would rather rely on creativity to replace some of the items that I would otherwise carry with me as a security blanket.
• Skip the niceties. If I am preparing for a disaster, I don't need to pack deodorant. I won't care if I smell. If I do care that I smell, I will go to Walmart and buy a stick. If it truly is a disaster but I really need a stick of deodorant, I would rather dig it out of a destroyed store than carry it over miles.
• Skip the redundancies. Yep, I like having an armory-worthy set of firearms. If I am holed up in my home or bug out location. I don't plan to carry a half dozen firearms and the associated ammo in a bug out situation if I am on foot. I would rather be lite and fleet of foot rather than armed to the teeth. If I need more than the one or two firearms that I am carrying, I will take them from my downed enemy.

The bottom line is that you can create the most praise-worthy list of bug out or everyday carry gear but if it weights too much, you won't want to carry it. If it fails during a disaster because it was never tested, you will kick yourself (right after kicking the offending piece of gear out of your way). You need to know your gear, and choose stuff that suits you, not everyone else.

Earthquake Preparedness

There have been a few fairly sizable earthquakes over the past couple of days. Even though the earthquakes have taken place near Japan and India, and whether or not you live in an earthquake prone area, you need to be aware of earthquake hazards and preparedness tasks that you can do now and during such an event because you never know when you will find yourself in the middle of a huge quake. There could be an earthquake where you live, regardless of whether you live in an earthquake zone or not, or you may be on vacation at Disneyland when things start to rattle so it's good to refresh your memory now instead of after the fact. Here's some earthquake preparedness resources:

• USGS Earthquake Preparedness and Response Links
• LAFD Earthquake Preparedness Guide
• USGS Earthquake Center
• FEMA's Earthquake Page

Like any disaster, there are no specific "if you do this, you won't die" kind of preps you can make. Each disaster is different and has an outcome unlike other disasters, but you will, however, significantly improve your odds of survival if you know what to expect, know what the most likely tasks/skills for survival are based on lessons learned from past disasters, and take steps to prepare yourself ahead of time.

Weekly Food Preps

Aside from a really busy weekend painting (half the interior of the house has been painted with half left to go...weekend by weekend the big job is getting accomplished), we did what we usually do each Sunday: prepare food for the upcoming week. This serves quite a few purposes such as getting food ready for lunches on the go, making food that is a bit time intensive and that otherwise we wouldn't have time to make during the week, cleaning out the fridge and pantry before a big Sunday afternoon shopping trip to restock, and rotating food from our emergency food stores. Here's what we do each Sunday (we meaning the spouse and I because I bake and the spouse cooks which is good. If it was the other way around we would probably starve but that's another post...):

• Make yogurt. Making yogurt is one of the simplest things in the world. The ingredients are milk and a couple of tablespoons of the last batch of yogurt and the yogurt can be mixed with fruit, made into a smoothie, mixed with granola, made into a salad dressing or Greek tzatziki sauce, etc.
• Make granola. Most breakfast cereals are horribly overpriced and full of sugar; much better to make your own cereal.
• Boil a dozen eggs. These will be used for everything from a hard-boiled egg breakfast, egg salad sandwiches, potato salad, etc.
• Bake bread. Making a couple of loaves of bread is also one of the simplest things to do and again, homemade bread doesn't contain all of the chemicals and preservatives that store bought bread does.
• Cook up some beans. Soak then boil beans then store them in the fridge for quick chili, baked beans, refried beans, soup, etc.
• Occasionally we work on a bigger food project such as making hundreds of tamales or lumpia which keep well in the freezer, make tortillas, bake pies or cookies if there is an event happening during the upcoming week, etc.

This may sound like a lot of work but with two people working, it doesn't actually take a lot of time to do all of these things, many of which are cooking/baking/boiling simultaneously.

Demolition Tools

Sometimes you just need to demolish things. Occasionally you need to break into things. Might as well have the right tools on hand to handle these tasks. Here's the things you need:

• Chainsaw. For cutting down trees, for clearing downed trees out of the road, for cutting things into smaller pieces to make them easier to remove.
• Bolt cutters. For cutting open padlocks, fencing material, and other metals.
• Ax. For cutting firewood, cutting down a tree, breaking through a wall.
• Pry bar. For dislodging things, opening doors, breaking windows.
• Sledgehammer. For breaking down things, smashing things.
• Come along and wench. For hoisting things, pulling down larger things, removing larger things.
• Smaller hand tools: hammer, tin snips, chisel.

p.s. When using these tools, I would highly recommend wearing safety glasses, gloves, and a hard hat.

Alternate Transportation Plan

Do you have an alternate transportation plan? Even if you aren't planning for a SHTF bug out scenario, having an alternate transportation plan can be a good thing to have. What happens if your car breaks down and you have an important meeting to get to? What happens if you are stuck out of town and your kids are at school waiting for you to pick them up? By putting together an alternate transportation plan now, you will have the information and resources at your fingertips to make quick transport decisions if needed. Here's the information/supplies/gear you need:

• Car (with registration, proof of insurance, and maps in the glove box, at least a half tank of gas at all times, a car BOB and emergency supplies in the trunk, $200 in cash hidden in the car for an emergency, and any other goodies you can think to add).
• List of local cab companies and their phone numbers by the phone and on your cell phone.
• List of local car rental agencies and their phone numbers by the phone and on your cell.
• List of five local friends you can call for a ride in an emergency by the phone and on your cell phone.
• Printed and/or electronic schedule/info sheet with hours and routes for the local bus/subway/train and handful of tokens.
• Info for other forms of public transportation that you can access if needed such as airlines, Amtrak, long distance bus lines, ferries, shuttles (some casinos on the east coast have shuttle service from New York to Boston), etc.
• Other forms of transport that you can keep in your garage (bicycle, motorcycle, moped, canoe, kayak, motorboat, ATV, motor home, along with any registration/license/spare gas/gear such as bicycle helmet or life jacket/BOB that can be strapped on or tied to it/emergency cash/supplies like spare tire or tube, oars/etc).
• Unconventional forms of transportation: horse, hitch hiking, freighter, limousine rental, etc.
• Forms of transportation used in other countries: jeepney, tricycleta (bicycle or motorcycle with a side car for hire), banka (boat for hire), hiring a car and driver, etc.
• When all else fails and/or for locations within about 10 to 15 miles, don't forget to consider your own two feet.

Those are pretty much the components of an alternate transportation plan. The idea is to have enough transportation alternatives that you never end up stranded anywhere. Be sure to go over the plan with the family and actually practice using the various modes of transport before you need to use them in an emergency.

P.S. for the hardcore survivalists, you may want to add older basic car registered in someone else's name (along with permission for you to drive it, registered to a ghost address, and stashed at a distant location) to your plan. Never know when you will need to get away in an incognito fashion...

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our last poll asked "How prepared are you for a major pandemic influenza outbreak?"
And your answers were:

• 11 people (24%) said they have the basics like a first aid kit, flu meds, and kleenex.
• 26 people (57%) said they have more advanced preps like masks, gloves, a month's worth of food, and some stashed cash/sick leave.
• 4 people (8%) said they are very prepared with PPEs, an emergency fund, a way to work from home, and some Tamiflu in reserve.
• 4 people (8%) said they are not prepared at all.

To the last group of people, I say 'yikes'. It is nearly a given that even if you don't get the pan flu, you, the spouse, or your kid will end up with some kind of illness like the seasonal flu this winter so even if you aren't fighting off a virus that may kill you, it is a good bet that you may miss work and you may need some kleenex and Theraflu so now would be a really good time to get even some of the basic preps done.

Be sure to take our next poll,,,>>>

Active Shooter Response

I was organizing the My Documents file on my computer and came across this item that was provided by a military base a few weeks back after an on-base shooting took place. This advisory is geared towards the public and gives an overview of what to do if you are in an active shooter situation. Obviously each and every such incident is different and what works in one situation may fail miserably in another, however just being more aware of what could happen and of the things that you should always be looking at (ie: escape routes) no matter where you are is good information to know.