How Would You Vanish for a Month?

Alas my application for the Vanish challenge was rejected (I did get a nice thanks but no thanks email though). Although I am not the most technically savvy person, thus not one to be a "searcher" who hunts down the contestants, I was damn sure that I could hide out in plain sight for a month and collect up the $10,000 prize. Here were some of my ideas, feel free to add your own ideas in the comment section below...

• Location matters. If you know that the people who are hunting for you are some of the most technically savvy in the country, you obviously wouldn't want to be hanging out in techie hot spots (Bay Area, Seattle, etc), where people would be more likely to have heard about the contest or be an active participant. I would head for places where the demographics would support a group of people less likely to know about or be participating in the contest (rural areas, Indian reservations, South Central LA, etc).
• Technology matters. The people who would be interested in participating in such a contest are the hackers, techies, and others who will go to great lengths to follow your every move through technology--credit card swipes, Twitter reports, cell phone transmissions, etc. Thus, use cash, minimize your communications via web, minimize your (obviously prepaid) cell phone use, etc.
• Your habits matter. The guy who originated the contest was found because he used technology to search out a gluten free pizza. Um, strike one (technology) and strike two (how many people would be searching out a gluten free pizza??). More often than not, if you ask detectives and those who search for people in hiding, it's the people's habits (which of course are well researched ahead of time) that trip them up. In other words, if you are going into hiding and you have a two pack a day smoking habit along with a taste for dive bars, pole dancers, and Jack Daniels, unless you become the stellar opposite of these habits, you will be much easier to find.
• Your looks matter. When people try to disappear, they think that dying their hair or shaving it off completely will be a good enough disguise. Wrong. A good disguise requires a total transformation so that you actually become another person. Uniforms are good since people often look, and quickly dismiss, a uniform and barely notice the person in it. How closely would you look at a nun in full nun's dress? Or a guy dressed as a janitor who is sweeping up trash in a city park? A woman in a McDonalds uniform with her hair pulled back and no makeup? Taking on a homeless disguise is also effective as most people barely acknowledge and quickly want to be away from the homeless people they encounter.
• Your persona matters. Store security, undercover cops, even Air Marshals are fairly easy to pick out of a crowd no matter how dressed down they are because the air about them is different. Their body language usually affects a subconscious, confident, intimidating manner just because they can't get past their training. The way people speak matters--if you look like a minimum wage waitress but sound like you just escaped from an Ivy League college, people will notice. People who have just returned from deployment in a war zone or just got released from prison are easy to spot because they have so many mannerism that served them well in their previous environment that they stick out like a sore thumb in your average American community.
• Your price tag matters. The more someone wants to pay to find you, the bigger the target you become. If the price is high enough (and in some circles that isn't very much), your best friend will turn you in. In other words, if you are on the run, trust no one.

Well those are a few of the thoughts that were going through my mind as I carefully planned my month-long escape. Any other ideas?

15 Tips I Learned This Weekend (Preparedness-Related)

It's been a busy weekend. A couple of friends who run cross country (they say cross country, I say cross mountains) wanted to mark out some new trails and invited me to come along. As always, new experiences can also be excellent learning experiences. Here's what I learned:

1. When you get a new GPS device, practice using it at home before you are in the middle of a dark forest and are relying on it for direction. Very important.


2. You can not under estimate the need for good shoes when you are traveling distances on your feet. You wouldn't feel safe driving around on half flat, threadbare tires so why would you use crappy shoes when you are relying on your feet to get you where you want to go?


3. If you think you are going to "head for the hills" when TSHTF, you should be heading to the hills each weekend. I hadn't been out in the wilderness for quite a while so the hopping over trees, crawling under trees, fording creeks, and quickly maneuvering wet muddy trails was a physical experience that takes practice and experience (recent experience!).


4. As I learned from my (much better in shape) friends, your diet is just as important as getting regular exercise. A crappy diet will give you crappy results during physical challenges.


5. Bring a couple extra pair of dry socks when you are out in the wilds. Your feet will thank you.


6. If you are feeling lousy, Thera Flu works like a charm.


7. For blister fixes: carry band aids and moleskin. My son prefers to cover his blistered feet with duct tape. To each his own...


8. Leave an itinerary. As I was in the middle of the woods in a place I was quite unfamiliar with, having no cell signal, a GPS that I couldn't figure out, and was only briefly catching glimpses of my friends' red jackets as they sprinted far ahead of me, the thought occurred to me that the spouse wouldn't event know where to start looking for me should the need arise. Oops. I'm sure I would eventually find my way out if I got lost but causing the spouse undue worry is not a good thing.


9. Tips from grandpa--stay hydrated throughout the day, always carry high energy food (fruit, nuts, jerky, etc) with you, and don't forget the ten essentials.


10. When it is the first sunny day of the year and your skin is as pale as a snake's underbelly, bring sunscreen.


11. Alcohol pads are a must in your essentials kit. They are good for: fire starters, sanitizing wounds/needles/etc, and cleaning your hands after using a nasty outhouse.


12. You need to challenge yourself physically every once in a while. I am not a cross country runner but the opportunity for a challenge is something I didn't want to pass up. There were a couple times when I was hyperventilating as I was clamoring up a slippery mountainside that I had to tell myself to keep moving forward and eventually I would reach my destination...that's kind of a motto for life too.


13. If you want to learn a new skill, or build on an old skill, learn from people who know what they are doing. Reading a book or watching a video is OK but there is no better way to learn than from someone who can give you hand-on, in-person training.


14. Layering your clothes--three or four thin layers--is better than wearing a t shirt and heavy jacket. With layers you can adjust for the weather and temperature. On another note, wet and cold equals dead in the mountains. You need to be warm and/or dry.


15. On a side note, firearms are now allowed in national parks!

People are Gettin' Fed Up

You've probably heard about one man's response to problems with the IRS today (if not, read here) and you may or may not have heard about this guy's problem with his bank. Reading the comments attached to these articles show you how many people actually support (in theory, probably not in method) what these guys did. A Facebook page in support of the IRS guy was even put up before the government ordered it taken down--a security risk they said. Uh huh. Seems people are stressed out, being financially pummeled, and don't want to take it any more.
While I can sympathize with these guys--sometimes you get so fed up you want to lash out--I kind of think that, as with the guy with the IRS problem, you can't really get full satisfaction if you are...um...dead.
So might I make some random suggestions on how to handle such situations short of causing permanent harm/fines/imprisonment/and the like...

• Stay on top of your finances. Pay your taxes on time, have an emergency fund, don't have any debts, don't co-sign loans or get into a partnership with anyone, avoid situations that could lead to lawsuits, etc.
• If you are in a financially disastrous situation, fix it: make an offer in compromise, sell everything you own to pay your debt, work five jobs to pay your debt, or file bankruptcy--you can always start over (actually starting over isn't as bad as it seems and you then have many more options when the slate is wiped clean).
• If you are overwhelmed, learn from people who have overcome similar challenges (Dave Ramsey often tells of how he went bankrupt, owed the IRS a whole lot, and turned his life around. He is now a multimillionaire.).
• Live "under the radar". Always one of my favorite choices. You can have hours of enjoyment thumbing your nose at the powers that be by doing small things (shopping at garage sales and not paying sales tax) to big things (living so frugally that you can earn just at the poverty line and not pay taxes or going totally underground so there are no records of your life at all) to stick it to "the man".
• Change your attitude. People get stuck on how things "should be" and get all bent out of shape when things don't turn out as expected. Well, things often don't turn out as expected and if you don't want to end up in the fetal position under your therapist's desk, you need to take life with a grain of salt. Do something totally out of the ordinary...along the lines of "you want my house? here, take it". A 180 from what people would expect to happen but who knows what might happen after you do such an unexpected thing...you may be featured on the evening news, a billionaire gets word of what you did and gives you a mansion at no charge, you go on to write a book...

The bottom line, like a wise Shaolin master once said, is when you meet force with force, you end up with pain and all sorts of bad stuff. Be like water and you will win.

20 Ways to Survive Poverty

It's no surprise, if you have been reading the news lately, that more people are finding themselves almost instantly dropped into poverty. Here's some tips for surviving if you find yourself in such a situation:

1. No matter how much (or how little) you make, always put aside 10% of your earnings into savings.
2. Take help (food stamps, welfare) only if you absolutely, positively can't survive without it--you don't want to get too comfy and become dependant on such help.
3. Keep yourself busy; if you aren't working then volunteer, take classes, start a garden or do other things to keep yourself occupied. "Idle hands are the devil's playground" as grandma used to say.
4. Ratchet back your standard of living to meet your current income. Some people try to support their former standard of living using credit which never works out well.
5. Study frugality. Millions of people before you have lived (many quite happily I might add) very frugally. There are books, websites, and even classes that can teach you how to embrace frugality and live well on much less.
6. Never lower your standards. You may end up living in the ghetto but that doesn't mean you lower your standards for your children's schooling, your behavior, your spouses qualities, etc.
7. Develop quality relationships. A nice thing about "poor people" is that they are often less judgemental than your usual snooty yuppies. They are often the people that will give you the shirt off of their backs if you need it and they will often clue you in about all kind of information (about the neighborhood, the neighbors, etc) which may prove useful.
8. Keep your goals in mind and work towards them every day. You may be broke and in the ghetto but there is always hope, if you have a clear goal and keep working towards it every day no matter how small the progress; eventually you will end up somewhere better.
9. Hustle and make money every time the opportunity arises. You may need to scan Craigslist daily, go to the 'daily work, daily pay' office, or go door-to-door asking for lawn mowing jobs but you can't make money if you don't try. The more you try, the more you will make.
10. Search out the free things that will make your life enjoyable even if you are broke. Go to the free night at the museum, volunteer at a community event so that you will get the opportunity to enjoy the event for free after your shift, check out free community activities such as free outdoor movies, bands on the pier, etc.
11. Stay out of trouble. There is no denying that when you are living in poverty you will meet many people who are in poverty because of their poor decisions--whether it is get rich quick schemes that always fail, problems with drugs or alcohol, or a penchant for getting into legal trouble. Avoid theses people. You are only as good as the people you hang around with.
12. Use your time wisely--read instead of watch TV, play educational games with your kids instead of going to the bar or casino, limit computer use to work-related stuff and limit mindless internet trolling. Often times when people are in a crappy situation, they look for ways to escape instead of ways to engage. Keep engaged.
13. You may be in poverty but you can still look good and presentable. Always iron your clothes and keep them stain-free, polish your shoes, and stand up straight...these things cost very little money but can make you look like a million bucks.
14. Ask for help when possible. Maybe you can hit up an old friend for a job referral, ask a relative to babysit while you go job hunting, or make your needs clearly known to your spouse instead of just assuming they should know what it is you want them to help out with.
15. Look for win-win situations to take advantage of. Say an elderly relative needs help around the house and happens to have a small apartment over her garage. Work out a deal where you get reduced or free rent in exchange for taking care of her home and yard.
16. Take care of your health. Generally if you are in poverty, health care is hard to come by so it only makes sense to take care of your health by yourself as much as possible. Exercise every day (walking is free and easy to do for most people) and eat right (skip the fast food and cook staples such as beans and rice from scratch).
17. Look for cheaper options for things that are important to you (ie: use free public internet instead of paying for internet at home, watch movies for free online instead of paying monthly for cable, cut down to a pre-paid cell phone if you don't use many minutes, etc).
18. Get outside. Fresh air, sunlight, and social interaction are better than locking yourself away in a dinky, dank apartment.
19. Consider relocating. Some places are just dead ends--for jobs, for social attitudes and mores, and for upward mobility. Don't discount the power of changing to a more promising location in order to help yourself back out of poverty.
20. Don't give up. Being broke can be tough but giving up won't help. Get into a good, supportive church, take any opportunity to improve yourself and your marketability, make living frugally fun with picnics and playing at the park with the kids, hang out at the library instead of the bar...

Being in poverty is a fairly crappy way to live. Most people have ended up here at one time or another in their lives, however there are ways to escape from poverty and many people have been able to do this. You can too.

Home Security Tips I Learned from My Neighbor

Our neighbors headed to sunnier climes about four months ago. Since that time I have learned a few things about home security from them...actually it was from the things that they didn't do right. Such as:

• They don't have anyone regularly checking their house while they are gone. It appears that they have their kids (maybe relatives?) drop by about once a month or so but that isn't frequently enough to stop problem before they get out of hand. What if a water pipe breaks as spews water for a whole MONTH before someone notices? What I do when we are away from home for a lengthy period of time is either get a house sitter or have the housekeeper come by weekly just to dust. There isn't much cleaning to be done, rather this is just to have someone check out the place and make sure all is well.
• The relatives that come over to check their house apparently don't have a key to the house since about once a month I see them scurry around to the back of the house, lift up a planter, take out the "hidden" key, then return after a half hour or so and replace the key. Um, real safe thing to do. Good thing they live in a good neighborhood where the usually observant neighbors don't want or need anything they have in their house. Our solution is to have a couple of people (a trusted friend and the housekeeper) keep keys to our house. If anyone else needed to get in our house we would have them meet up with either of these two for a key hand-off.
• The neighbors don't make any effort to make their home look "lived in" while they are gone. There are no lights on, no noise from the radio or TV, basically their house looks abandoned. When we go on vacation or are away for work, we leave various lights and TVs on a timer. Of course our neighbors may notice from the lack of activity that we are gone, but the random burglar may be thrown off by the lights and sounds coming from our home.
• The neighbors didn't leave any emergency contact information with anyone in the neighborhood. Most of our neighbors are friendly enough to wave when passing and will occasionally invite neighbors they see outside over for a barbecue or garage sale but mostly everyone keeps to themselves. This can be good for people who like their privacy but, as happened this weekend, it can also be a problem. Just a couple of days ago an alarm in the neighbor's house went off. We are talking a shrill, screechy alarm that continued to sound for nearly 10 hours before I couldn't stand it any more and called the sheriff. He came out, took a look around, and asked how to contact the people because it wasn't within his duty to break into their house. After going back and forth a bit, with me telling him that if the alarm continued for very much longer I was just going to cut the power to the entire house, we finally decided that he should get the "hidden" key and take care of the problem. Fortunately he was reasonable about the situation and realized that I wasn't going to listen to the alarm very much longer. He got the key, went in, fixed the alarm, and left a note. This whole problem would have been averted if they had left emergency contact info with any of the neighbors or even left a card in the window stating "in case of emergency call___". Actually a card like this would be good to have in everyone's window. Should an elderly neighbor fall or a diabetic neighbor pass out, at least it would save emergency responders from breaking the door down and the proper people (the emergency contact) would be alerted to the problem and could come over.
• The exterior of their home doesn't look like it was "prepped" for vacation. There are no exterior lights on at all--generally a welcome invitation to burglars. Fortunately it is now winter so the grass isn't getting overly long which is a clear sign that no one has been home for a while. I do see some papers piling up in their driveway which is also a clear sign that no one is home--these are the free papers, not the subscription papers, which are stacking up so if this happens where you live, you should be sure to call the distributor and tell them you want absolutely no papers delivered to your home.
• Here's some other random things that I hope (but doubt) they did before leaving: take the garage door opener out of the car they left in the driveway. Take valuable items (guns, jewelry, expensive electronics) out of the home and leave them in the car of a responsible friend. Unplug all electrical items to avoid being toasted by power outages (we have had three outages since they left...don't know how their electronics have fared). Secure the garage doors by disconnecting the electronic motor and/or putting a metal bar through the tracks so they can't be forced open.

Well, they did one thing right. They picked the right neighborhood to live in. However, it doesn't matter how "good" your neighborhood is, if you don't take care to secure your home before you leave to go out of town, you run the risk of coming back to a home that may not be in the same condition as you left it.

10 Uses for Your Emergency Fund

I always keep an emergency fund on hand. It is important that you ALWAYS have $1,000 to $5,000 available in cash or a mix of cash and money in your bank account which can be accessed with your ATM card. On a side note, I don't consider the use of a credit card to be an emergency fund because when you are in crisis, the very last thing you want to do is get into debt. Here's how my emergency fund has been put to the test over the years:

1. Our furnace died in the dead of winter. There was no getting around the need for a very small (and very expensive) circuit board that blew out. And there as no waiting as the house dropped to about 40 degrees fairly rapidly since it was so cold outside.
2. The car had a couple of issues, one electrical, which caused the brake light and tail light to only want to work occasionally. Now if I would have been stopped with the lights not working I would have got a ticket and a whole lot of hassle so it was best just to break out the emergency fund and pay to get the situation fixed immediately.
3. A relative came down with Dengue fever--a tropical disease that is quite painful and unpleasant. Contrary to US hospitals where you can show up in the ER and receive treatment then figure out how to pay later, in the country where this event happened, if you don't pay at the ER door you don't get seen or treated.
4. The spouse got laid off unexpectedly. Although this didn't cut into our normal budget, if this would have happened to many families that depend equally on both partner's incomes, the emergency fund would most likely have been tapped for living expenses.
5. Last minute travel. We funded our travel to see our son who will soon be deploying out of our travel account because we knew ahead of time the approximate date he would be leaving. I have had two friends, however, who needed to leave on a moment's notice because of hospitalized relatives and have actually had this situation happen to me over the years where there isn't time to save or plan for travel because someone ended up in the hospital or they died unexpectedly. An emergency fund is the difference between heading to the airport immediately and calling everyone you know to scrape together enough gas money to drive across the country.
6. The $800 cell phone bill. Some years ago (before I realized how much teenagers could talk in one month) we ended up with a surprise $800+ cell phone bill. After passing the stages of denial, shock, and anger, I ended up coughing up the cash to pay the bill so that #1 everyone else's cell phones would remain activated, and #2 I wouldn't have collections coming after me. This money was available because we had an emergency fund (note that the fund was replenished by said kid working a whole lot over the following months).
7. The surprise tax bill. One year I was going along happy as a clam thinking all of my taxes were paid up to date like they usually were when I received a threatening letter from the IRS. Did you know you underpaid your taxes by over $3,000? Why no, I didn't. After practically sprinting to my accountant's office and learning that her assistant had a crisis right in the middle of preparing my taxes causing her to transpose the numbers on my form, I dejectedly went back home and cut the IRS a check. It would have been much worse if I didn't have the money in my emergency fund to cover this rather large expense.
8. A very, very, very good deal. Your emergency fund is not the place to draw funds for every "good deal" that comes your way. In this case you would never have an emergency fund because there are always deals to be had. I have only used my emergency fund on a couple of occasions to take advantage of very, very, very good deals. One was for a car a friend wanted to sell--he was willing to take one quarter of the value of the car since he was leaving the country immediately and he knew it was going to a good home, and once for a couple of firearms that a widow needed to sell ASAP which were both rare, and very well priced.
9. Paying off that very last debt. After spending months or years getting out of debt, you will reach a point where you maybe have $1000 left to pay and you will be COMPLETELY DEBT FREE. In this case, you may want to just pay the debt out of your emergency fund and get it over with.
10. A disaster occurs. Think Haiti, think Hurricane Katrina, think something as basic as a flood in your town. When a major disaster occurs, it usually requires an initial outlay of cash even if you do have the ability to be compensated later. Gas for the car, hotel rooms, restaurant meals, replacing clothing and toiletries...all of these things require immediate cash, which, fortunately you will have in your emergency fund. While this hasn't happened to us on the scale of Hurricane Katrina, we have sheltered families on occasion who found themselves homeless due to flood or fire; they would have been much better able to handle the situation if they had had emergency funds available.

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Being ever so practical (and admittedly not the best gift giver probably because of my practicality) I offer the following range of ideas for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday:

• An emergency fund. Nothing says "I care about your future" like having money set aside for an emergency.
• A firearm, and of course, proper training. This is especially useful if one spouse is often at home alone. Having only one spouse who owns and knows how to use the firearms in your home is a mistake. Both halves of the couple should be well trained in the care and handling of firearms since you never know which one of you will be home when the worst happens.
• Life insurance, a Will, and a Living Will. No one ever thinks of these things until someone is dead and by then it is too late to go back and fix the mess that is sure to be created if you die without any of the previously mentioned items.
• A commitment to exercise together EVERY day. With two thirds of the people in the US overweight and verging, if not knee deep into, a host of medical disorders that come along with obesity, taking care of your health and your significant other's health should be right up there at the top of your "to do" list. Exercise is much more enjoyable when you have someone to hold you accountable to show up and keep you entertained while participating in something as simple as taking an after dinner walk.
• An emergency kit (actually three) for your significant other's home, office, and car. Very practical and actually very useful in many circumstances.
• A date to share an activity that your spouse enjoys. Hate poker and wouldn't know a tell from a big blind? Make an effort to learn something about the game then take the spouse to a poker game and actually be supportive (even join in if you are so inclined). Think getting a manicure and pedicure is a girly thing? Men actually do get manicures and pedicures so take your wife out for a date to her favorite nail salon and jump into the chair next to her--the shock value alone will be well worth the expense to your ego...your nails will look nice too.
• Commit to a weekly date night. When we get really busy we tend to take those closest to us for granted. We assume they will always be there and that we will spend more time with them "later" when we aren't as busy. This doesn't usually end up well in the long run, mostly people end up getting divorced or one of the couple dies, either way the end result is that you don't get another chance to spend the time together that you should be spending together each week.
• Do a project together. Working hard together--whether it is a round the world backpacking trip or building a deck together--you become closer when you are working together for a common goal.

Could You Vanish for a Month?

A while back, I posted information on a challenge from a writer at Wired Magazine--find him after he purposely vanishes and win $5,000. Here's the story about what happened to him.

Apparently people had so much fun with this challenge that a group from Wired along with some TV producers have decided to find four average people who want to disappear for a month. If any are successful and not caught for the entire month, they will win $10,000. Sound like something you would be interested in? For those who want to practice "dropping out" and living the low profile lifestyle, this sounds like a very interesting place to start.

If you would be interested in applying, check out the link here.

Dealing with 'Snowmageddon'

I'd like to wax poetic on prep tips for dealing with all of the snow that has recently pummeled the eastern part of our country but today was 60 degrees and sunny at my house which kind of takes the passionate discourse out of this post. In fact, this has been one of the warmest winters on record with nary a snowflake hitting our area all winter. I will, however, be heading to DC in a few weeks...and I'm hoping all of the snow will be melted by then. So for our readers who are either snowbound or enjoying a bit of cross country skiing without having to leave the city, here's some random tips:

• Obviously, stay inside if at all possible. No need adding to the confusion, accidents, and craziness that accompany a major snowfall on the highways and byways.
• If you are out of power, keeping one room as warm as possible where the whole family can hang out and sleep if necessary, is important.
• Never use your barbecue to cook inside your home and always properly vent any appliances (generator, alternative fuel heaters, etc) so as to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Be aware of the signs and symptoms of hypothermia. If you or the kids are getting wet and cold from being outside--either to play or to work--ensure that you and/or the kids can get warm and dry regularly.
• Check on elderly friends, relatives, and neighbors who can sometimes freeze to death for a variety of reasons (inability to judge temperature, lack of heat, lack of resources to seek help, etc).
• If you have any sort of food in the house, then don't panic and don't run out and stock up "just in case". Just prior to the storm beginning, the stores in DC looked like they had been ransacked by people who were panic buying. Now this isn't TEOTWAWKI and the snow will eventually melt--it isn't like the snow will hang around for a few weeks before people can get outside. So just relax and eat the food that you have in your house. Most people have enough food tucked away in the back of their cupboards to last for weeks. They don't usually eat this food and continue buying more food each week, but if necessary, it is possible to get creative and have enough food to sustain you until things can get back to normal.
• If you are involved in a car accident due to the snowy conditions, don't immediately get out of your car. The same slipping and sliding that caused you to crash can also make others crash and you don't want to be standing out in the open when this happens.
• When heading outside be careful not only of out of control cars but falling trees and power lines that have been weighted down by the icy snow.
• Hire help if necessary. Shoveling snow is great exercise but if throwing out your back or sending you into cardiac arrest from the exertion is a possibility, hire this work done. Ditto for removing trees (if you don't know how to do this, don't do it), patching roofs, and other activities that can be dangerous.
• Relax and enjoy the storm. There isn't much you can do about the snowy weather so why not enjoy it? Get lots of sleep, read a book, play board games with the kids...basically all of the things you never have time to do is now available so take advantage of the situation.

Terrorism Threat in the Offing?

Once again the news is all over a possible terrorism attack that should occur within the next couple of months. Once again, my thought is "what is the purpose of putting out such a generic threat warning that it is basically meaningless?." Aren't we always supposed to be in a heightened state of awareness, simply because acts of terrorism are #1 possible (as we have seen many time), and #2 random (in location, time, and type of incident)? Yes, random terrorist acts can happen anywhere, impact anyone, and look like anything (from an IED to a poison gas attack to jetliners flying into buildings), but excuse me if I don't get all spun up over this latest warning. Personally I will keep doing what I am doing, and, what I think many readers are doing, and that is being prepared for ANY kind of disaster which includes everything from an earthquake to an IED to a virus outbreak to...you get the picture.

Here are the things you should be doing no matter what the news is telling you and what the random possible attack could be:

1. Be debt free.


2. Have an emergency fund (some of which should be cash in hand).


3. Have a stockpile of food, fuel, and supplies that could tide you over should you not be able to work/earn an income for a while.


4. Be able to grow some of your own food.


5. Know how to hunt, fish, and forage for food.


6. Have a range of skills that you can use both to improve your own situation and sell to others.


7. Have multiple streams of income.


8. Be security and awareness-minded at ALL times.


9. Be able to protect yourself and your family.


10. Be able to "go portable" at a moment's notice.

While everyone is in a near panic attack about shadowy terrorists, remember that the leading causes of death in the US annually are: heart disease (630,000 deaths), cancer, stroke, respiratory disease, accidental injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's, influenza/pneumonia, nephritis, and septicemia (34,000 deaths). Annual terrorism-related deaths in the US? 2007=0, 2006=1 person by the Animal Liberation Front, 2005=0. In other words, you should be much more worries about your health than about terrorists.

Moscow Rules

If you haven't heard of the Moscow Rules, rules that were developed to keep spies and others safe while working in Moscow during the Cold War, check out the list below (which, by the way, are good rules for everyday life too). Here is a blurb from Wikipedia about these rules. The Moscow Rules as posted at various sites around the web...

1. Assume nothing.
2. Technology will always let you down.
3. Murphy is right.
4. Never go against your gut.
5. Always listen to your gut; it is your operational antennae.
6. Everyone is potentially under opposition control.
7. Don’t look back; you are never completely alone. Use your gut.
8. Go with the flow; use the terrain.
9. Take the natural break of traffic.
10. Maintain a natural pace.
11. Establish a distinctive and dynamic profile and pattern.
12. Stay consistent over time.
13. Vary your pattern and stay within your profile.
14. Be non threatening: keep them relaxed; mesmerize!
15. Lull them into a sense of complacency.
16. Know the opposition and their terrain intimately.
17. Build in opportunity but use it sparingly.
18. Don’t harass the opposition.
19. Make sure they can anticipate your destination.
20. Pick the time and place for action.
21. Any operation can be aborted; if it feels wrong, then it is wrong.
22. Keep your options open.
23. If your gut says to act, overwhelm their senses.
24. Use misdirection, illusion, and deception.
25. Hide small operative motions in larger non threatening motions.
26. Float like a butterfly; sting like bee.
27. When free, In Obscura, immediately change direction and leave the area.
28. Break your trail and blend into the local scene.
29. Execute a surveillance detection run designed to draw them out over time.
30. Once is an accident; twice is a coincidence; three times is an enemy action.
31. Avoid static lookouts; stay away from chokepoints where they can reacquire you.
32. Select a meeting site so you can overlook the scene.
33. Keep any asset separated from you by time and distance until it is time.
34. If the asset has surveillance, then the operation has gone bad.
35. Only approach the site when you are sure it is clean.
36. After the meeting or act is done, “close the loop” at a logical cover destination.
37. Be aware of surveillance’s time tolerance so they aren’t forced to raise an alert.
38. If an alert is issued, they must pay a price and so must you.
39. Let them believe they lost you; act innocent.
40. There is no limit to a human being’s ability to rationalize the truth.