New Year's Resolutions

Judging by the poll going on in the sidebar, most people don't make and/or keep new year's resolution so this may be an unnecessary post but should you decide to set some goals for the coming year, here's some ideas:

1. Learn something.
2. Make something.
3. Add a new income stream.
4. Get outside.
5. Survive on your own.
6. Develop a skill.
7. Become debt free.
8. Travel somewhere.
9. Help someone.
10. Set and reach a huge goal.

If you set one specific goal in each of the above areas, it would definitely make for an interesting year, the things you learn will most likely impact your survival/preparedness abilities in a positive fashion, and you will finish up the year on a better footing than when you started (as far as getting out of debt and having more income are concerned at least).
Happy New Year, thanks for reading the blog and website, thanks for commenting and adding interesting info for our readers, and here's to a great 2010!

Lessons Learned: Technology Isn't Perfect and Be Prepared

This article was making the rounds on the web the last couple of days. Lessons learned from this article:
#1--Technology isn't perfect (and its corollary, use your common sense). In this article, the couple followed their GPS device which led them down a snowy forest service road where they got stuck in the snow for a few days before being rescued. My GPS has a couple of glitches as well, mainly it doesn't know brand new roads so when I was driving down a small highway in an area I was unfamiliar with not too long ago, my unit said to "turn right here" which would have caused me to drive off the side of the freeway overpass to the other freeway 30 feet below. The freeway had been redesigned and apparently changed from a stop light to an overpass. Common sense told me not to turn where there isn't a road. The bottom line is that technology is good but you still need to pay attention to where you are going and if you are following your GPS, you may also want to either have a general idea about where you are going or at least stay on the main (plowed) freeways instead of taking small side roads to get to where you are going. Note that this rule applies to all forms of technology. Computers die so be sure to back up your documents, cell phone service isn't available everywhere so if you think you can call for help if you get into a dicey situation, you better have a back-up plan for accessing assistance. MapQuest and Google Maps are great, usually. If where you are going doesn't look like what the map is saying, consider calling for directions.
#2--Be prepared. I'm glad the article put so much emphasis on the fact that these people were able to survive their ordeal because they were prepared. Food, water, warm clothes, and emergency supplies are what helped them survive which is a good lesson for everyone no matter what kind of situation you find yourself in. You may make mistakes, you may inadvertently find yourself in a dangerous situation, but if you are prepared to take care of yourself no matter the situation for a few days, you will have a much better chance of survival. Always be prepared whether it is carrying basic survival necessities in your Go Bag, having a well stocked car, having a BOB at the ready in case of evacuation, or just having enough food, water, and preps for emergency heating available at home should you end up snowed in or otherwise sheltered in place.

A Rant: Airport Security

Am I the only one who thinks airport security is beyond stuuuuupid? I mean, a guy tries to blow up a plane shortly before it lands so now no one can stand up or have anything on their laps during the last hour of a flight. So that means if he would have tried to blow up a plane after take off, people wouldn't be able to stand up during the first hour of a flight? If he would have tried to blow up the flight during the middle of the flight does that mean nobody would be able to stand up during the hour that falls in the exact middle of a flight? Ayayay. Talk about knee-jerk, idiotic reactions...
Fortunately Bruce Schneier provides a voice of reason in this crazy, terrorist-obsessed time. Read his commentary about airport terrorists here.
I certainly don't feel any safer going through airports now that "new, enhanced security measures have been enacted." I feel less safer because #1) the average people on the plane have been disarmed and in a crisis, it is the average people who are going to save your ass, and #2) the employees who enforce the anti-terrorism rules which seem to change daily are about as effective as call center employees (they follow a script, do whatever they are told, and common sense seems to escape them totally).
I am all for, as Bruce suggests, going back to pre-9/11 safety measures. Since 9/11 there is no way a plane full of passengers is going to follow the old script of "if your plane is hijacked, give the hijackers what they want and they will let you live." We know now that if a plane is hijacked, your only option is to fight the hijackers with every fiber of your being. It's fairly well ingrained in people, now all they need is the means to arm themselves in order to be able to effectively fight back. If you were a terrorist, would you want to face a plane load of armed passengers or a plane load of unarmed, cowering people who expect their government to keep them safe?
I'll hop off my soapbox now...

Poll Results and a New Poll

Unfortunately the CNI polls seem to languish in the sidebar until I either come up with an idea for a new poll or remember that it's been weeks since the last poll closed. We'll try to work on that in the coming year. Our last poll asked "What do you think will happen in 2012?"
Your answers:

• 5% (3 people) said there will be rampant disasters on a global scale, basically the end of the world.
• 55% (29 people) said that nothing will happen...remember Y2K?
• 34% (18 people) said that there will probably be a slightly higher rate of global disasters as they seem to be on the increase.
• 3% (2 people) said the world will be a happier, safer place by then.

Um...yeah. While I like to look on the bright side and don't anticipate anything too terrible (although it does seem that there are more disasters as the years pass...or just more comprehensive reporting of the disasters?), I am a fan of Edgar Cayce and he predicted a polar shift to coincide with about 2012. So we shall see. In the mean time, I will keep prepping while at the same time, enjoying my life, and hope that should the worst happen I will be around to put my survival skills to work. Be sure to take our new poll...>>>

Link Roundup: End of the Year Edition

As the year is coming to a close, here's some things to consider:

• I've got my list of New Year's Resolutions all ready, do you? Top 10 New Year Resolutions All Men Should Make.
• A project I am working on this weekend--getting my office ready for the new year. Top 10 End-of-Year Office Upgrades (You Can Probably Write Off).
• Why you need to at least take a first aid class in the coming year if not an EMT course. Medic Shot, Treats Self.
• I also recommend a HAM radio class...but you don't have to go overboard. HAM Cramwich: $25,000 of Communications Gear in a $500 Car.
• Another goal for the coming year? Resolve to cut your food bill and bank the leftover money. Mom Feeds Family of Six on About $4 a Week.
• Random: The reason I like my germs just fine thank you, and I'll skip the anti-microbial soap and incessant hand sanitizing too. Microbes That Keep Us Healthy Starting to Die Off.
• Pass along to the females in your life. It's called borderline personality disorder and when you have to pick up the medical and legal pieces of one of these train wrecks you will wish you could tattoo this list on everyone's forearm just for reference. 10 Signs Your Dating a Loser.

Merry Christmas! And Of Course, A Few Tips

Just a quick note to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa or Happy Holiday of your choice) and a very Happy New Year. Thanks to you, our readers, the CNI website has been going strong for over five years and we have posted 602 blog posts to date. We especially appreciate comments and feedback from our readers--you cannot survive a disaster all by yourself and one website certainly cannot provide all you need to know about preparedness which is why input from our wise and well rounded readers is so important.

Here's some other things to keep in mind during Christmas and New Years:

• If you drink, don't drive and vice versa. The most common 911 calls during the holidays revolve around drunk driving and alcohol-fueled domestic violence problems. Spending the night in jail, or worse, is not the way you want to remember the Christmas of '09.
• Give yourself plenty of time to get to where you are going for the holidays. A good section of our country is buried under a treacherous pile of snow so take it easy getting to your destination (I don't have to tell you to have emergency supplies in your car in case you get stranded by the bad weather).
• Keep a good attitude and don't let people get to you. Sometimes relatives can only be tolerated for a short period of time which is why we only see them on the holidays. If you have a particularly bothersome clan, strive to keep a positive attitude no matter how bad you want to tell them where they can stuff the holiday turkey.
• If you are having a tough Christmas financially, and many people are this year, remember that money and extravagant gifts really aren't required in order to have a happy holiday. Kids remember unique and creative things much longer than they remember a sparse Christmas. Even if you have NO money, you can still have a fun Christmas. Put on a play with the whole family, make cookies for an elderly neighbor or the local police/firefighters/ER staff who will be working over the holiday, start a new tradition that requires creativity not cash, or volunteer at a homeless mission and make someone else's holiday brighter.
• If you have lost a loved one recently, you have my condolences. The holidays are tough when loved ones are missing from our lives.
• If you are alone/sad/otherwise miserable around the holidays, remember there are always people with stories much worse than yours. The way to take your mind off of this is to help someone else. Leave a huge tip for the waitress who has to work all day on Christmas, help the homeless, walk through your city and randomly give out $20 or $100 bills.
• Finally, stay safe. The holidays bring about situations that are uncommon and thus follow uncommon problems that we often forget about. If the power goes out, DON'T bring the barbecue grill inside to finish cooking the turkey. Of course be careful if you are deep frying a turkey for the holiday. Keep and eye on kids and pets if they are in a new environment (ie: if your kids are rarely at the grandparents house, be sure to ask that medications, firearms, and other things they can get into are secured. The same is true if you are hosting the family party and are having lots of little people over and your house isn't kid-proofed).

Have a very Merry Christmas and safe New Year!

A Rant--Your Responsibility to Be Prepared

I was watching with disappointment and some annoyance at the rescue mission on Mt Hood to save three climbers over the past couple of weeks. One was found dead and the other two remain missing and presumably dead. This reminded me of a very similar situation a few years back when I was on a microscopic South Pacific island which received exactly one news station via satellite. For more than a week, the top story was the search for three missing climbers on Mt Hood. Everyone was glued to the news reports and it was the main topic of conversation for over a week. Eventually, one climber was found dead and the other two were never found.

In both of these cases and many more that have been splashed across the media, I get very frustrated that these people wouldn't take simple precautions to spare rescuers and their loved ones the misery of their dangerous rescues or, more often, the recovery of their bodies. A very simple tool--an avalanche rescue beacon that rents for $5--may have saved their lives and they didn't take this simple precaution. I know it's not polite to blame the victim but politeness goes out the window when people behave stupidly. Which leads to the purpose of this post...

No matter who you are or how good you are or how invincible you think you are, you have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions in all of the activities that you do. Your loss or death doesn't begin and end with you. Whether it is becoming lost in an avalanche because you didn't rent an avalanche beacon, riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or wandering off for a day hike without the ten essentials, these choices don't just affect you. Putting yourself in harms way when there are precautions that can be taken to save your skin is irresponsible and affects not just your outcome but the physical and psychological bearing of your rescuers, your friends, your family, and everyone else even distantly related to you.

You have a responsibility to be prepared. Whether it is declining to drink because there is a possibility that you will have to drive later, or saying no to a technical climb that is way beyond your abilities, taking care of your life is of the utmost importance because there are people who rely on you, people who will mourn your death, and people who will risk their lives to save you no matter how stupidly you have behaved to get yourself into a particular situation.

I'll hop off my soapbox now...

Who's Tracking You? Hint...It May Be a Pissed Off Wife

A friend and former employee dropped into my office last week. I figured it was a holiday social call, until the woman proceeded to have a melt down right in front of me. Seems her husband was having an affair and between her (significant) investigative skills and the investigative skills of the equally irked husband of the female involved in the affair, they had compiled a rather amazing amount of evidence. While I like to engender trust in my employees and I do have some level of compassion for such situations, I am not much help for people having an emotional break down just steps away from me, other than to offer some strategic advice (which surprisingly didn't come across, I think, as very compassionate). Why does this always seem to happen around the holidays?

My two cent's worth of advice about affairs: affairs happen, especially in relationships of any significant duration. If you notice odd behavior (showering three times a day as opposed to every other day) here's your sign. Marriage counseling should be considered. It takes two people who want to be married to stay married (although one can carry the load for a short amount of time). Marriages can survive affairs. The fallout from an affair can be huge and dramatic--financially disastrous, for one. Plus, if you end up marrying a person who cheated on his/her spouse, um, you are marring someone who may CHEAT on you too! Finally, aside from very bad situations, fixing problems with your spouse is probably better, overall, than having to train a new one.

But this post isn't about the moral/legal/financial implications of having an affair--what people do in their private lives is up to them. This is actually about how simple it is to track the affair due to the myriad ways that your every movement is tracked these days. If you don't want to have your lawyer's office wallpapered with evidence of your affair (or illegal activities), consider (and make plans to avoid) how you can be tracked:

• Credit card receipts. Do you buy two lattes every morning? Did you spend big on a nice dinner for two (and the wife wasn't invited)?
• Debit card receipts. Hmmm...a diamond necklace...and you thought the spouse wouldn't notice that SHE didn't get a necklace recently?
• Receipts found in your possession. Did you pay rent for an apartment when you have a nice home that you currently pay a monthly mortgage on?
• Voicemail messages and text messages. Nuf said...if you haven't seen the audio and video fallout from Tiger Wood's affairs over the last couple of weeks then you must have been out of range of a TV.
• Cell phone bills. So easy to get online and so hard to cover up the daily calls to the mistress.
• Transport card activity. Whether you use a Metro card, bus pass, automated toll payment system, etc., it can be fairly obvious if your costs suddenly change dramatically and it can be easy to pull these records from your account (gee...my spouse NEVER goes to the east side of town...til the last couple of months...I wonder why that is...).
• Email, Twitter, FaceBook, Blogs. If something is printed/shared digitally, there is no telling who will see it. Most likely it will be the cheated upon spouse at some point, thus adding fuel to the divorce fire. Note that NOTHING is safe from prying eyes if it is emailed, saved on the computer (or even if it has been deleted), written about on FaceBook, written about in your blog, written down anywhere (ie: in letters or cards), photographed or videoed.
• Anything you bought that has a tracking system. Airline tickets, hotel reservations, your car's GPS device (don't people clear previous destinations?), an unusual pattern of calls on your home phone's caller ID, an iPod with recently updated music that the spouse never before listened to, etc.
• Secret anything. Secret credit cards (they WILL show up on your credit bureau file), secret cell phones (these can be found and if it is under contract, will show up on your credit bureau record as well), keys to a secret apartment/post office box/locker/etc.
• Lies that can be tracked. If you say you were working overtime, did it show up on your pay stub? If you say your job suddenly requires a lot of travel, will this lie be substantiated when the spouse calls your office?
• Evidence of the video/audio/actual kind. Photos are bad. PDA that can be photographed by a detective are equally bad. Phone calls and conversations that can be recorded are bad. Condoms or birth control pills when the other spouse has been spayed or neutered making these unnecessary is also a clear sign. Don't even get me started on sex videos or other misapplications of cameras or camcorders...

The bottom line is that what people choose to do is their own business. Personally I think the drama and deception of an affair is a huge amount of work for what in the end will be a very poor outcome for all involved. If you do decide to do something illegal, immoral, or both, the least you can do is not get caught because you do things that can so easily be tracked.

Things You Can Do Without

The number and range of things that people think they NEED in their lives can be astronomical. It also puts them in debt, ties them to jobs they hate, ties them to spouses they hate, and generally makes them miserable. They spend their entire lives yearning and striving for the "things" that they think they should have, just because "everyone" has them, while at the end, they look back and wonder if they shouldn't have spent their precious time doing something else. Something more meaningful, something radically different, or something that would have made them happier (like better relationships or an interesting purpose) instead of purchasing "things" that the media said would make them happier. But didn't. So here's a list of things you really can do without because other people are actually doing it...

• A home. The recession forced many people from their homes. Some people turned to the media to tell the world how losing their home was the end of the world, while others took their lives because they couldn't deal with the loss of their 'status' home. Here's some people who voluntarily do without homes and are all the more interesting (and apparently happier) for it: Family on Bikes, Female Nomad, Legal Nomads.
• A car. For most Americans, getting a car is a rite of passage. People could think of a lot of things to do without if they were really strapped for cash, but once a person has a car, they are loathe to ever part with it (even if it is drowning them in debt). There are, however, people who make a conscious choice to be car free: Car Free Family, Car Free Tribe, Car Free Bike Forum.
• Credit Cards. Un American! Blasphemy! You would think that people were issued credit cards at birth by the way most people are permanently attached to their cards, emotionally moved by their credit score, and traumatized by a cut in their credit limit or a jump in their interest rates. Again, there are plenty of people who live just fine, thank you, without credit: Dave Ramsey, Enemy of Debt, No Credit Needed.

Those are the biggies. Those are the things that keep people in perpetual debt. There are, however, many other things you can do without that will save you smaller, yet significant amounts of money over the long haul:

• Cable TV. Cutting the Coax--Living Without Cable
• Home phone service. Cutting the Cord
• The electrical grid. HSW Living off the Grid
• Cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, caffeine. Breaking addictions is a good thing--good for your health and good for your pocketbook.

The bottom line is that the less you need, in regards to material goods, the better off you will be, especially in a disaster situation. If you need an eye-opener about the minimum that people actually need to survive, go on a week long backpacking trip, taking everything you need to survive in a small bag on your back. Go to a third world country, in the slums or the very poor parts of the country, and see how little people can live on for entire lifetimes. Visit an Amish community and note how few modern conveniences people use yet still manage to live full, interesting lives.

10 Things to Do by the End of the Year

Now is a really busy time of year, however there are a bundle of things that you should do now, rather than later...

1. Back up all of your files. I back up all of my business files at least once a week onto a thumb drive. Some people do this daily, depending on the quantity of work generated or the value should the files disappear into the ethers. Others do this not at all...these are the people having a meltdown at their local computer shop because their hard drive is totally toast and all of their family pictures, work, and important info has been lost forever. Get into the habit of backing up your files on a regular basis so that if your computer should die, you will still have most if not all of your important computer files ready to put on another computer and keep going.


2. Back up all of your contacts. Whether you use GMail, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, or any other email program, you need to export your contact information regularly as well. I export my contact list into a .csv file and keep it saved with my backed up files so in case my email server should implode, I will still have this important information.


3. Get your tax deductions in. If it looks like it will be a big tax year or you are just feeling generous, be sure to get your tax deductible donations and deductions in ASAP, at least by the end of the year.


4. Change all of your passwords. This is also a good habit to get into on a regular basis and what better way to start off your new year than with a whole set of new passwords?


5. Dump out the BOB and repack it. I did this a couple of days ago. I generally go through my BOB a few times a year in order to rotate the food, make sure the clothes are appropriate for the season, and refine my gear (I am on a minimalist kick and I want to be able to grab my BOB and RUN not grab my BOB and drag the thing down the street because it weights so much).


6. Get a calendar. Whether you use an electronic calendar, a huge wall calendar, or a pocket calendar, having something to write important dates in is an excellent way to stay organized. So far my calendar includes standing meetings for 2010 and a whole bunch of fitness activities such as bike rides, marathons, and other events I plan to participate in during the upcoming year.


7. Check all of your important documents that have an expiration date and note anything that will be expiring on your calendar so you will be able to renew them on time. Driver's license, passport, concealed carry license, credit cards, professional licenses...all of these things have expiration dates and can create a real problem if you let them lapse.


8. Make a goal list. Each year I make a list of around 100 goals that I want to accomplish each year. If you keep these sorts of things in your head, you are much less likely to accomplish them so take the time to actually write out the things you want to accomplish (work, financial, travel, health, family goals) then set about completing them in the new year.


9. Update important documents. The end of the year is a good time to look back over the past year and update documents such as your home inventory, your resume, and your Will to reflect any new changes in your life.
10. Start on your way to creating a "super abundance" in your home. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to worry about buying laundry soap, toilet paper, shampoo, etc for an entire year? At the end of each year I try to purchase enough of the consumable products that we use on a regular basis to last for an entire year. It greatly streamlines your life when you have plenty of everything in your home. No more running out of important items, no more running to the store at the last minute because you ran out of dish soap, always having enough of everything on hand even if you have dozens of house guests visit throughout the year...all good reasons to stock your home well at the beginning of each year.

DPT--Buying Tools

I had to run by Sears yesterday (big mistake due to the huge Christmas crowds but I digress) and my nephew happened to be accompanying me. Of course we got waylaid in the tool department as we were pulled by the siren song of the Craftsman tool section. My nephew being young (and not yet having a family to divert his money) was maybe minutes away from breaking out his wallet and parting with his hard-earned cash for a 260-piece mechanic's tool set. No matter that he isn't a mechanic. No matter that he lives in a very, very small apartment. No matter that the biggest repairs he makes are simple fixes that require at most a screwdriver and maybe a hammer. It was at this point that I broke into my tool buying spiel. Here's the high points:

• If you are young, don't look at a much older person's tool collection and think you have to match them. The person has had probably thirty extra years over you in which to collect his tools.
• Buy tools as you need them. I know how exciting the tool displays look at the store. They make you want to buy. They make you dream of projects there is no way you will ever do. If you need a tool, buy the tool that you need for the particular project you are working on. If you just moved into your first place and need to hang pictures, buy a hammer, a level, and perhaps a drill.
• Buy only what you need. Many tool sets come with thirty screwdrivers when at most, you probably only need four. Don't be wooed into thinking you need every conceivable size of the same tool when you only need a few sizes to cover all of your bases.
• Buy quality tools on sale. Don't waste your money on crappy, cheap tools. I know tools can seem expensive which leads to the second part--buy them on sale. And yes, if I need a hammer and there is a sale pack that includes three different sizes for a good prices, I will buy the three pack.
• Build up your tool collection over the years. I learned this from my granddad who had a massive collection of tools, which he used every day. He was by no means rich so it took literally decades to build up his collection as he bought each tool one at a time. The interesting part is nearly each tool had a story to go along with it. One tool he used when he was working on the Fremont bridge in Portland. One tool he won in a bet. One tool was given to him by his dad...you get the picture.
• Take care of your tools and keep them organized. Tools can last forever if you take care of them (ie: store them properly and wipe them down after use). Also, if you keep your tools organized you will always know where they are and won't run out to buy a tool again and again because you can't find where you left it.
• Consider the project you are working on and whether it would make more sense to borrow or rent the tool. If a particular tool is very expensive or if the tool is so specialized that you will probably only need to use it once or twice in your lifetime, consider borrowing the tool from a friend or neighbor or renting it from the local rental place.
• Start out with the basics and move on from there. Most people who do very little actual mechanical work only need the most basic of tool sets: big Phillips screwdriver, small Phillips screwdriver, big flat-head screw driver, small flat-head screwdriver, maybe a socket set (standard and metric), a couple of adjustable wrenches, a hammer, pliers, measuring tape, box knife, tin snips, etc. Obviously if you move into more specialized projects (car repair, plumbing, carpentry) you will need to expand your tool repertoire to meet your needs.

Buying tools is a fun things to do. Tools hold their value and of course are useful but don't feel like you need to break the bank in order to have a stellar set of tools to meet every conceivable preparedness need.

Link Round Up--Interesting Ideas, A Couple Comments, and a Great Article

Here's a random list of some interesting ideas plus a really good survival article:

• I like people who think outside of the box, like this guy.
• I'd never even heard of this website before, thanks to the reader who passed it along...good for a laugh.
• Another reader pointed out this website which I haven't used before but it looks like it may be a good idea to sign up.
• This article was sent along by a reader but there was no identifying information about the author. I like to give credit where credit is due so if anyone knows who wrote it, I would like to add their name to the article. UPDATE: Thanks to our readers we now know who wrote the article. Check out the author's blog at http://ferfal.blogspot.com.
• A note--you know the bottles of water you have in your car for an emergency? If you live in the parts of the country that have been in the deep freeze for the past week, you may want to check on them and make sure they haven't frozen and expanded which will create leaky bottles as soon as they thaw.
• And finally, feel free to submit links to add to our huge link list, poll ideas, blog post ideas, or great articles that we can add to our Daily InSight links.

Don't Let Your Car Make You a Crime Victim

Most of us don't give a whole lot of thought to our cars. As long as they start up in the morning, we're usually content with that. We may curse them depending on the price of gas or the size of the car payment but basically cars are a way to get from point A to point B as easily as possible. What many people don't think about is that their car can help make them a crime victim. Here's some things to consider:

• Is your car on the "most stolen car" list? Check here and see.
• Do you drive in a city with the highest rates of car theft in the country? Check here and see.
• Do you just hand over your car key (or worse, your entire key chain) to car maintenance men or valets? Don't. Instead, lock up everything (console, trunk, glove box) and give them the valet key so the only lock they can open is the car door.
• Do you have the "home" setting on your GPS set to your home address? If you are driving a very nice car, thieves may think your home has equally nice stuff. With your GPS device, they can hit the "home" button and be led directly to your home. Side note: the home setting on my GPS device is set to the local sheriff's office address--it will get me close enough to my home destination yet still serve as an amusing deterrent to thieves.
• Do you have your home address on your car's registration? This is yet another way a thief can steal/ransack your nice luxury car then assume your home will have some nice up-scale items as well--and with the registration they will easily be able to find their way to your home. Side note: the address on my car's registration is the address to my office.
• Do you leave your garage door opener hanging on your visor (or other accessible place in the car)? Thieves can steal your car (or just your garage door opener), find your address, then easily let himself into your home. Side note: my garage door opener stays locked in the console until I need it.
• Does your car provide a paper trail of your entire life? I looked into a car the other day and I could give you a complete run-down on the owner. They are a student at the local university (college level books and crumpled up sweatshirt from the U), they live on fast food (wrappers from every fast food restaurant in a five mile radius were strewn about the car), their name is ___ (I will leave this blank for privacy purposes but it was clearly displayed on the mail left on the dashboard) and they live at ____ (again I will leave this blank but their address was clearly shown on their mail). Side note: my car looks like it came from a rental agency, it is clean inside, the only contents being my briefcase and other items I need for the day; a bag of emergency supplies is kept concealed in the trunk.
• How about the outside of your car? Is there an NRA sticker on it which may lead neighborhood car prowlers to think you have a nice stash of firearms in your home? Does it tell the world where your kids go to school? Again, the less information on your car, the better.
• What does the license plate say about you? Hopefully not you name--a criminal can catch you in a parking lot, call you by name, and immediately get you within victim range just by acting like they know you. The license plate holder can be used similarly--if the names of your grand kids are cleverly displayed on your license plate frame, a criminal can use a made up incident with your grandchild, called by name, to get your attention and possibly your purse/body/life.
• Do you know your license plate number? While rare, criminals have been known to switch plates from their stolen car with plates from a similar car that hasn't been reported stolen. If you notice something amiss with your car, say plates with different numbers on them, report this to the police immediately.

Fortunately most of us go about our lives without having anything negative happen but there are some things that only thieves would think of that we can use to make our cars (and ourselves) a bit safer.

Making Due

It's still freezing here. Which probably isn't such big news considering that a large part of the country is in the deep freeze now. My problem, however, is that my home weather station shows that humidity levels in my house are now down around 40% which is a big drop from our usual balmy 70% humidity. And I really don't like the electrical shocks, dry skin, and parched air that comes with such low humidity. Anyway, this post isn't about the weather, but it is about my response to the situation.
My first thought after determining that all of this dry weather was becoming distressing, was to ask "what can I buy to fix this situation?" This is often my (and obviously most everyone else's) reaction as well. You have a problem, and you immediately run out to buy a fix for the problem.
Then I stopped and thought, what would my grandparents have done? They didn't have much money and decades ago, most people didn't run out and buy something to fix a problem. My memory of them and most others in their generation was that if there was a problem, the last thing they wanted to do was buy something to fix it as money was tight for most people back then. Often they would try a dozen different homemade remedies to fix a problem before breaking down and buying a solution which would kind of mean they lost the battle with the problem--it was a pride thing along with a financial thing.
To make a long story short, the answer to my humidity problem was not to run out to Walmart and buy a humidifier. I remembered that during the cold winter months when the combination of cold air and the use of indoor heat created really low humidity levels in the house, grandma always left a pot of water sitting on the wood stove. The wood stove was hot, the water became heated releasing steam, and the house remained pleasantly humid. Now there is a pot of water sitting on my wood stove and the indoor humidity levels are slowly creeping up to a more desirable level. Problem solved.
Here's some other "old-timer make-due" solutions to common problems:

• No gloves and you want to play outside in the snow? Put a pair of granddad's wool socks on your hands like mittens. If it is really cold, wear two pair at a time.
• Small hunk of meat out to feed the family and unexpected guests show up? Make soup or stew instead. This is an easy way to stretch a small piece of meat to feed a group.
• Kids come home hungry after school and need a snack? Back then there was no such thing as running by McDonalds on the way home from school. Things like popcorn, fruit in season from the garden, or biscuits with peanut butter and jam would be served to quell their hunger.
• Really old, thin window glass that easily lets the cold air into your home? Cover them with plastic for the duration of the winter.
• House really cold even with the heater/wood stove going? Since most homes didn't have very good insulation back then, the heat would go straight up and out through the roof. Blankets were hung in the doorways that separated the living room from the rest of the house and everyone stayed in that one room where the wood stove and TV was. Blankets were on hand to provide extra warmth. Amazingly back then there was only one TV in the house (complete with a total of four TV stations) and everyone watched TV together!
• Clothes taking forever to dry? Back then most had washers but no dryers, so they used an outdoor clothes line which wasn't very useful in the middle of winter. Instead people hung their clothes in the attic to dry if it was warm enough, if not, the clothes ended up hanging by the wood stove to dry.

Anyway, you get the idea. There is usually a low-tech, common sense, low to no-cost way to fix any problem you run into, it just takes a bit of creativity and thinking outside of the consumer box.

Cold Weather Survival

Today it was freezing outside. Literally. Actually most of the day it was around 20 degrees outside with no let up in sight. Here's some cold weather survival tips in case the weather is similar at your place:

In your car:

• Make sure your car has anti freeze in it, not just water.
• Realize that ice and black ice are very real possibilities any time the temperatures dip below freezing. Bridges and overpasses are particularly susceptible to freezing. In any case, stay home if possible and if not possible, drive with extreme care. Note that if you hit ice, it won't matter how carefully you have been driving, you will slide anyway.
• Check the emergency supplies in your car to make sure every thing is ready to go (batteries in flashlights, water and food that has been rotated recently, etc). Also, add items that you will need for cold weather including cat litter (for traction) and a shovel as well as extra blankets, etc.
• Consider using studded tires (note that they aren't non-slip) and always carry chains if there is any possibility that you will end up traveling in the snow.
• Check to make sure that your windshield washer fluid is the type that won't freeze.
• If you are driving a truck, consider adding extra weight in the back for extra traction.

Outside:

• Be careful walking! Our Volksmarch excursion last weekend had me a bit concerned with all of the elderly people who were participating. I wasn't concerned with their ability to walk the 6+ miles, but I was worried about them slipping on the roads (who'd have thought the white painting on the cross walks could get so slippery?). With black ice, one wrong step, and you could be on your ass. Not good no matter what your age is.
• Note that even if you are careful walking down the street, cars that are coming at you could slide on the ice and you could be toast. Pay attention to everything and be ready to jump out of the way if necessary.
• Dress warmly and depending on the weather (ie: subfreezing with a high wind chill factor) go inside often to warm up.

Your home:

• This can't be repeated enough...never use a generator/barbecue grill/anything else that combusts inside your home. You will die from the carbon monoxide.
• Insulate any exposed water pipes so they won't freeze then burst. I've had this happen and it wasn't pleasant. You will want to cover the outside faucets and if you have water pipes running in an uninsulated part of your home (ie: under your home, below the insulation) be sure to wrap them with insulation or heated pipe wrap.
• If your house is cold as some older homes tend to be if not well insulated, "hibernate" in one room with a space heater. The space heater will keep the room toasty warm even if the rest of the house is on the cool side. Note that you don't want to turn the heat in your house completely off as you don't want things in your house to freeze.
• Get ready for a power outage. Often with freezing weather comes downed tree branches and downed power lines which can knock out power for hours or days. Be sure you are prepared for a power outage with alternate sources of heat, communications, easy to prepare food, etc.
• If your home becomes unlivable (no heat, no power, no water because of a burst pipe, etc) seek refuge at a community shelter which are often set up during the coldest days of the year. Better to suffer some place warm than to suffer and freeze to death.
• Check on elderly neighbors. Whether because of declining mental state or declining ability to judge temperature, some elderly literally freeze to death during times of severe weather. If you have friends or neighbors who are elderly, check on them to ensure they have heat, have firewood where they can reach it, and if you really want to help them, offer to run any errands for them so they won't have to get out in the icy cold.

If you are outside:

• There is a huge difference if you are outside by choice or necessity (ie: participating in outdoor sports versus being homeless).
• If you are outside by choice, of course dress warmly in layers and in sub-freezing temps, make sure everything is covered (ears, fingers, face, etc). Also be sure to seek shelter throughout the day to warm up. Carry hand warmers with you. Also, if you will be out skiing, snowshoeing, or otherwise in the wilderness, be sure to carry an avalanche beacon and a complete cold weather emergency kit with you at all times.
• If you are homeless, dress warmly (many shelters and social service agencies are providing hats, coats, and gloves for free), and seek shelter indoors whenever possible (ie: at an overnight shelter, or at the mall or library or shelter during the day).
• If you are homeless and decide to stay in your outside shelter, dress warmly and insulate the shelter with extra tarps, blankets, etc. Do not get wet! If you get wet and stay cold you can easily get hypothermia and die. Consider using hot water bottles (easily made with warm water put in a soda bottle--you can even use urine to fill the bottles--it's warm). If you have a dog, all the better--they are quite warm to cuddle up to.
• If you end up sleeping outdoors for what ever reason, don't drink alcohol. Alcohol and frigid temperatures don't mix and you can easily die since alcohol numbs your ability to judge how cold you are. Also, be careful with fire. Having a fire on the coldest of nights is a good idea but don't let it get out of hand and catch anything else on fire.

Pets and Livestock:

• Dogs who aren't used to the cold can not be left outside for long on the freezing pavement without damaging their feet. I know it looks weird but if you want to walk your dog in sub-freezing temps, fashion some kind of shoes for them.
• Bring pets in at night, even those that usually stay outside. During the coldest nights we always used to bring our dogs in to the kitchen and barricade it so they couldn't roam around the rest of the house. For livestock, ensure that they have a dry, draft-free place to shelter.
• Be sure to check outside water bowls/troughs throughout the day (take a hammer with you because you will probably need to break up the ice that is covering them). You may also want to give your animals extra feed to carry them through the colder weather.
• Always keep pets and livestock away from anti-freeze and de-icing chemicals which can injure or kill them.

Other Random Tips:

• If you take the bus or other public transit, check the appropriate website to see if the icy weather has changed anything (routes, times, etc).
• Check the kid's school website each morning as well. Sometimes freezing weather will cause a delayed opening or, with heating problems, may close the school all together.
• Depending on your employer, icy weather may cause them to institute their bad weather policy which could mean delays in opening, closures around the base/campus, etc. Know these things before you head out to work.
• Do you know where your homeowners insurance policy is? It's always a good thing to have on hand when potential disaster threatens.

Volksmarching...Exercise and More for the Prepper

I got out on my first Volksmarch in years this morning. It was a balmy 25 degrees and the black ice kept us on our toes, but over all, the 10k walk was a welcome way to spend a weekend morning. Here's the details:

• Volksmarching is a popular organization that sanctions walking events in nearly every city in the US, many smaller cities in the US, and in many countries around the world.
• Although you can walk the routes at any time, most Volksmarch organizations schedule walks where a whole group of people show up to walk together most weekends.
• Many Volksmarching clubs schedule bigger events on occasion that include marathon-length walks (most normal walks are 10k, about 5 miles, in length), swimming, skiing, and biking events.
• Like all organizations, you will have some die-hard club members who walk every event, some walkers who show up fairly regularly, and some people who try one walk and never come back.
• Volksmarching is excellent exercise. The people I walked with this morning included quite a few who were age 70+. And they were FAST, even on the hills.
• The walks take place around the local community along pre-planned routes. The cool thing about this is that you get to see corners of your community that you wouldn't normally even notice. I went on one walk some years ago that mostly followed trails that I had no idea even existed (a good thing to know if you need to bug out from point A to B without being noticed).
• The only thing you need for the walk are shoes, way less of an investment than, say, golf.
• Joining the Club is a bargain. With a $6 membership fee and $3 cost per walk, this is a much cheaper thing to do than playing at the casino, going to the outdoor store, or many other thing that people usually spend their weekend doing. As a bonus, you get little rewards (pins, patches) as you accrue mileage and attend walking events.
• The people in the group are both active (obviously, they are out and ready to walk at 9am on a freezing morning) and interesting. On today's walk I learned about the best gear for wet weather walking (there were many opinions and lots of good advice), picked up some history about the area we were waking in from some of the people who had lived in the area for 50 years, and heard about people's latest travels to points all over the world.
• For more information on this organization or to find a walk in your area, go to the Volksmarching website at www.ava.org.

The bottom line is that Volksmarching is not only excellent exercise but it is perfect for the prepper. You get to learn you local area even better, can cull all kinds of useful advice, and be more prepared for any bugging-out scenario.

All I Want for Christmas Is...

At a loss as to what to give your friends and family for Christmas? Here's some nifty preparedness-related gifts to consider:

• Emergency kit for their car.
• Flashlights in assorted sizes.
• First aid kit.
• Life Hammer (or other car escape tool).
• Fisher Space pen.
• Timbuk2 messenger bag.
• North Face fleece jacket.
• Ammo (store bought or stuff you have reloaded yourself).
• Emergency radio (battery, solar, and wind-up powered).
• 2-way radios.
• Books (Encyclopedia of Country Living, for example).
• Air horn.
• Pepper spray.
• Firearms (always a nice gift).
• KaBar knife.
• Leatherman knife.
• Solar charger.
• A case of MREs.
• GPS device.

You get the idea... Anything that could be useful during a disaster makes a thoughtful (and valuable) gift for those you are buying presents for this year.

Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You

This was forwarded along from a reader. Pretty good tips, some I hadn't even thought of...


1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste ... And taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Here's a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

8 MORE THINGS A BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU:

1. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

2. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

3. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.

4. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

5. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

6. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.

7. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.

8. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California, and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.