10 Tips for Conventions and Other Big Events

Well the WSOP (World Series of Poker) has begun and I've already made my donation but I digress...here are ten tips to consider when you are participating in any big event (like a conference, trade show, the biggest poker game in the world, etc).

1. Be ready to take care of your basic needs.  While most events like these take place in urban surroundings and you are sure to find a Starbucks not too far away, you may be out at odd hours when stores and restaurants are closed and/or you may be appalled at the exorbitant prices charged for food and beverages at these venues.  Be sure to bring enough food to sustain you for a day or so as well as a couple of bottles of water.
2. Dress in layers.  In Vegas the temperature can run from a high of 110 outside to a cool 65 degrees in overly air conditioned hotels.  Dress in layerable clothes and bring a jacket just in case.  Don't forget to wear comfortable shoes as these venues can be huge and entail a lot of walking.
3. Bring a big bag/daypack.  This will make it easier to schlep your stuff around, pick up souvenirs and handouts, etc.
4. Bring cash.  Yes, most places will take credit or debit cards but there may be the odd restaurant or vendor (or the entirety of the WSOP which only deals in cash) that will not accept a card and you will thus be required to use cold, hard, cash (yes, you will probably be able to find an ATM close by but in venues such as casinos they can charge a whopping $5 to $10 just to access your money!).
5. Do a bit of recon before you begin your event.  Know where all of the exits are, note where security is, get a feel for the area and if you will be wandering about outside ask where the bad neighborhoods are.  Check out posted times for restaurants, vendors, and the events you will be participating in.
6. Watch your money.  Big events with people happily spending money can draw out all kinds from small-time pickpockets to high class hookers, all happy to relieve you of your hard-earned cash.  Be aware and take precautions to safeguard your stuff (money, iPhones, etc) at all times.
7. And the corollary, watch yourself.  These away from home/away from the office kinds of events tend to bring out the wild part of people.  Don't let this sudden bit of freedom cause you to become overly intoxicated/overly drugged up/overly stupid because rest assured, someone will be waiting to take advantage of this.  Always remain in control of yourself and watch your buddies backs as well.
8. Vacuum up information like a Bissell.  You can learn a lot online, sitting on your couch in the evening, but you can learn/do/experience so much more at big events that caters to your hobby/job/etc.  Gather as much info as you can, network like a fiend, talk to the vendors, learn as much as you can at the workshops or clinics that are scheduled, pay attention to others, etc.
9. Put your vital info on your phone.  This can range from a photo of your passport/driver's license/airline tickets to an "In Case of Emergency number, the address and phone number of your hotel, and the phone number to the local cab company/pizza delivery place/embassy.
10. Pace yourself.  I'm looking at the guy across from me who looks and smells like he has been on a three day bender, I know he has put a goodly sum of money down to get into this particular poker game, and he is slamming Red Bull like he owns stock in the company.  This is only day two of a six week event.  There is a tendency for people go all out, 24/7 when they a) get to the conference which is being held in a fun city, b) get to Vegas no matter the circumstances, or c) want to show off and "party like a rockstar" when the money (and women, food, cards, other vices) are flowing.  You want to live to fight another day so remember to plan your time and pace yourself.

Memorial Day

A heartfelt thanks to all of those who have served to protect our country on this Memorial Day.

10 Tips for a Better Bug Out Bag

In no particular order...

1. Make your bag urban friendly (ie: this as opposed to this).  You don't want to look like a threat or a lunatic.  You want to fly under the radar and look like any other urban commuter.
2. Don't overload your BOB, you may be carrying it a long ways.  With a 40l pack, you can walk for hours or days; with an 80l pack you can walk for an hour.  Only one.  If that.  (And I'm talking about the average person...plenty of mountaineering and military folks can hike for hours with a super heavy pack but for most people that isn't reasonable or even possible).
3. Get in the habit of putting the batteries in backwards in any electronics you are carrying (radio, flashlight, etc).  This will prevent the device from accidentally being turned on and draining the battery (just remember you did this so you don't check the item six months later and toss the battery thinking it doesn't work).
4. Make the items in your BOB do double or triple duty (alcohol wipes make an excellent fire starter, hand sanitizer, and wound cleaner; a condom can be, well, a condom, a tourniquet, and a water carrier).
5. Shop the Goodwill (and the $1 store and Walmart, etc).  You don't need a BOB with only REI-purchased high-dollar items.  Pay more for critical items (a knife, a firearm) and less for less critical items (clothing, matches, paracord, etc).
6. Layer your clothing.  You can pack less, lighter weight clothing if they are layerable instead of specialized clothing for each and every circumstance.
7. Make your BOB as versatile as possible.  You want a BOB that can be used for bugging out into the woods as well as spending a few nights at the hospital or in a hotel.  Many people pack their BOB like they are going on a 20 day mission in a war zone and that just isn't necessary.  You don't need every creature comfort, rather you need the basics to survive.
8. Dump the contents of your BOB out every six months and check all of the items for usefulness, check that the item still works (check the batteries, for example), check expiration dates on food, etc.
9. Take your BOB out for the weekend, live out of it in the woods, and see what works and what doesn't work.  Revamp your BOB as necessary. 
10. Make your BOB low key.  It shouldn't tell everyone that you are bugging out, it shouldn't scream "commando", it should be a small, lightweight bag full of insanely useful items to see you through a crisis.

10 Things To Always Carry With You

Are you carrying the following items now?

1. Cell phone (multiple uses)
2. Cash ($100-$200 plus a few quarters)
3. Packet of aspirin (headache reliever)
4. Pocketknife (always useful)
5. Alcohol wipe (clean your hands, and a good fire starter)
6. Matches (strike anywhere kind)
7. USB drive (a back up of all of your files)
8. Flashlight (useful in an emergency)
9. Safety pin (many uses from fish hook to popping blisters)
10. ID/credit card

Survival Skill #10 Planning (Part 10 of 10)

The final survival skill that everyone should master is planning.  Continual planning.  It surprises me a great deal when I watch the news coverage of the wildfires in Southern California and every person who is interviewed on the news says "I can't believe this happened...we never expected it!" as they watch their entire home and neighborhood go up in flames.  Really?  You live in an arid place, there is a heatwave with high winds for days, and the ground is covered with burnable material and you don't even think about the possibility of wildfire???

Someone who wants to survive is always planning, always asking "what if?", and always looking at what the future could bring and reacting accordingly BEFORE they reach crisis mode.  Here are ten examples of planning:

1. You know you are going to die.  I will too and so will everyone you know at some point.  Hopefully it will be a good deal in the future but it could be next week.  Everyone should have a plan for their death (life insurance, a Will, a Living Will, a durable Power of Attorney, etc).
2. Something will happen that will require a sizable sum of money and you will need it immediately (the furnace blows out in the middle of winter, your car engine blows, a family member ends up critical in the hospital and you need to jet across the country).  Have you planned for such and event and put aside money in an emergency fund for this purpose?
3. Keeping a job for life is practically unheard of these days.  Lay offs, companies folding, getting fired for whatever reason...have you planned for these possibilities?  You want to always keep your resume up to date, your job skills sharp, and your networking thorough.
4. You have a house, you have a car, you have kids.  Just by looking at these circumstances, the person who plans will already be looking forward to replacing the roof, replacing vehicle tires, and paying for braces.  None of these sorts of of everyday expenses should come as a surprise.
5. It isn't if but when you will need to evacuate your home.  It is almost a certainty that at some time during the course of your life (hopefully only once, for some people this happens with unfortunate regularity), you will need to evacuate at a moment's notice.  It could be due to a wildfire, flooding, police activity, a stalker, a chemical spill, your kid or spouse being taken by ambulance to the hospital...for whatever reason, you will need to grab and go.  In this case, the planner already has a comprehensive BOB at the ready to take with them.
6. You walk through the mall or the tourist attraction that has drawn the interest of your kids.  The average person walks around being amused by what they see.  The planner takes note of emergency exits, the people who are passing by, and wonders 'what if I need to evacuate my family immediately...what would I do?'
7. You are a young person just out of college working a crappy minimum wage job.  You can become one of the crowd (I'm entitled to a higher minimum wage, I am entitled to work 40 hours per week) or you can be a planner (and a do-er) and figure out how to develop multiple streams of income that will, in the future, provide more money that you ever though possible (this is my plan for starting a small business, this is my plan for building my skill set, etc).
8. You don't have a whole lot of hope for the (socio-economic) future of your country.  If all goes well, your worry will be for nothing, but the planner determines what skills would be necessary in this uncertain future and makes a plan to develop these needed skills (by joining the local HAM radio club, by spending free time camping and backpacking, by reading incessantly, etc).
9. You are a planner by nature so have no problem (and indeed enjoy) planning tasks (keeping a calendar, using a daily/weekly/annual "to do" list, drawing out plans for everything from achieving the career of your dreams to continually refining your BOB).
10. Many times throughout the day, you stretch your planning muscles by wondering "what if?"  What if an active shooter appears within the next ten minutes?  What if my boss fires me next week/promotes me next week?  What if the spouse suddenly up and leaves?  What if my kid decides they want to go to Harvard instead of a state school?  What if the price of coffee triples in the next few weeks?  What if I win the lottery?

Survival Skill #9 Skills (Part 9 or 10)

You are almost all set to face disaster.  You have money, water, food, shelter, supplies, knowledge, and the ability to provide medical care and security.  One of the most important survival skills to have, however, is actual skills that you have learned and practiced before you need them.  Anything you know how to do will be a benefit but here is a list of standard survival skills that all people should learn as soon as possible and practice as often as possible:

• Cooking
• Baking
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Foraging
• Firestarting
• Sewing and repair
• Navigation with GPS
• Navigation with map and compass
• Camping
• First aid
• Carpentry
• Plumbing
• Electrician
• HAM radio
• Gardening
• Animal husbandry
• Butchering
• Bee keeping
• Car repair
• Food preservation
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Backpacking
• Tracking
• Trapping
• Gunsmithing
• Balcksmithing
• Shooting
• Knife skills
• Hand to hand combat
• Interpersonal skills
• Candle making
• Escape and evasion
• Weapon making
• Weather forecasting
• Search and rescue
• Jungle survival
• Desert survival
• Arctic survival
• Swimming
• Boating
• Bicycle riding
• Motorcycling
• Finance and investing
• Veterinary
• Advanced first aid
• Beer and wine making
• Leather working

Survival Skill #8 Knowledge (Part 8 of 10)

This actually should be moved up towards the top of the list as, in many survival situations, you may be left with absolutely nothing except what's between your two ears.  Your stockpiles may have been washed away, your BOB may have been stolen, and you may have nothing but the clothes on your back however, if you have a a wide range of knowledge, you will be well on your way of recouping what you need to survive after a disaster.  Here's how to obtain the most useful knowledge out there:

• Read voraciously.  Read everything you can get your hands on and read on a wide range of topics.  Yes you may love murder mysteries but by throwing in a couple of non-fiction books each week you will greatly add to your store of knowledge.  You should definitely have a library card and, bonus, many libraries these days have an online loan system which allows you to download thousands of ebooks thus reducing the need to even travel to the library in person.
• Pay attention to the news each day.  You don't need to be obsessive about this, but you should at least peruse your local online newspaper, catch the local evening news, the local national news, and even a financial news program as well.
• Use the internet to gather more information.  I do this by perusing news aggregators like this, this, and this.
• Also check out websites that will help you increase your knowledge on a wide range of topics like this, this, and this.
• Take classes in your community.  There are many ways to increase your knowledge on survival topics in your very own community.  Local colleges offer everything from SCUBA and mountaineering classes to business and wood shop classes.  Also check out the class schedule at your parks and rec center and at your local tech/hacker space to see what's available.
• Join groups with others who are interested in learning more about a topic.  In my own city there are groups on every topic imaginable from peak bagging to hiking to tech meet ups to HAM radio.  The great thing about these groups is that you don't need to be an expert already, in fact these clubs are usually very friendly towards beginners and those who want to expand their knowledge on their topic.
• Google.  When you are sitting at your computer and are bored, simply Google any topic that interests you.  Within minutes you will have tons of resources at your fingertips to increase your knowledge. 

Survival Skill #7 Durable and Consumable Goods (Part 7 of 10)

Moving right along...

You've hit the high points of post-disaster survival--currency, water, food, shelter, medical care, and security--and now it is time to move on to the things that make life a great deal more comfortable.  The list is huge (which is why I won't print it here) but consider all of the items in your everyday life that are useful/necessary/nice to have and then consider how you would acquire these items in a post-disaster scenario.  You probably like toilet paper in your bathrooms, gasoline for your cars, tools to make repairs, shoes on your feet, and a myriad other items.  Here are some thoughts on their acquisition:

• Stockpiling ahead of time is one of the most common options (and hopefully you will be able to salvage/keep these items after said disaster).  Here's a list of the most common consumer items people want to have after a disaster.
• Scavenging and looting are, unfortunately, common ways that people acquire items they need after a disaster.  Yes, it's an unpleasant though, but post-major disaster, all bets (and many rules of law) are off.
• Making your own.  I doubt that many people will be able to forge iron in the immediate aftermath of a disaster (long term is another story), but everyone should have some basic fix it skills so you can repair your shoes, repair your clothing, set up a basic latrine, reload your ammo, etc.
• Reusing and re-purposing items.  Some people will look at leaves and magazines and see, well, leaves and  magazines, while others in a desperate situation will see toilet paper.  You get the idea...
• Sharing is another option after a disaster.  With a good group of people around you (friends, neighbors, family members), sharing the goods you need (tools, etc) is another way to acquire the items you need if only temporarily.
• The bartering economy also picks up after a disaster (which is why it is a good idea to stockpile extra items on the above list of items that people most want after a disaster).
• Doing without.  No big surprise here but in the aftermath of a disaster that wipes away a goodly portion of your community/county/state people will be forced to do without many of the items they have become used to in everyday life.  You will quickly determine what is absolutely necessary to have/acquire and what things a "nice to haves".

Survival Skill #6 Security (Part 6 of 10)

During normal times, people usually give some consideration to their security.  They lock their vehicle doors and their doors at home, they may have a security system which they set when they leave their home, they use reasonable caution when determining what neighborhoods to drive through, etc.  Some folks are even more security conscious--they have a black belt in karate, they carry a concealed weapon as a rule instead of as an exception, they have a safe room in their home, etc.

When TSHTF, our usual fall backs for security--namely calling 911 or having a hard wired security system in our home--may not be available.  In this case you will need to give more than a passing consideration to the security and safety of you and your family.  Here's some ideas in no particular order:

• Consider where you live.  If you live in the hood, you put yourself at more risk for crime.  On the flip side, in a major disaster, looters aren't looking to break into someone's third floor tenement walk-up, they will look towards nicer (and more lucrative) targets.
• Make your home a hard target.  You want to analyze your home from the outside in.  Does the outside look like a more difficult target than other homes in the neighborhood (your home is behind a fence, landscaping is clean and useful--ie: doesn't provide cover to the burglar looking for a quick break in, are roses or other thorny bushes planted under the windows, etc).
• And work your way in.  Are doors and windows and sliders more difficult than average to break into (solid core doors, dead bolt locks, quality instead of cheap locks, triple pane windows, etc).
• Do you have dogs (the bigger and louder the better) both inside and outside your home (burglars and looters will usually pass homes guarded by dogs and look for an easier target).
• Do you have a comprehensive security system (both visible and invisible to those who are looking for it).
• Should someone be determined enough to get through all of this security, do you have ways to protect yourself inside your home (an audible security system/panic alarm, multiple ways to call 911, firearms and the training to use them for close quarters combat, a safe room, a family plan in the event of a break-in/robbery, ways to exit your home unseen if needed, etc).
• Are you part of a neighborhood watch program or similar organization of the neighbors to keep the neighborhood patrolled and safe.
• Are you and the entire family security aware at all times (pay attention to what people in the neighborhood are doing, not invite strangers into your home if at all possible, never give out the alarm pass codes, don't post vacation plans on social media, come and go at random times so burglars can't time a break in to coincide with times "no one is ever home", never brag about the expensive items you keep in your home, etc).
• Does your security awareness follow you when you leave your home (you are aware of everything going on around you when you drive, vehicle doors are locked at all times, you avoid places in the city where trouble is likely to occur, you carry a concealed weapon and know how to use it if that is your choice, you don't put yourself in situations that could be dangerous such as not visiting ATMs at night, you travel in pairs when possible, etc).
• Are you prepared for a disaster of large magnitude which would both leave security up to you and incite the natives to dangerous behavior (looting, robbery, targeting the weak, etc)?

Survival Skill #5 Medical Care (Part 5 of 10)

Right after a disaster, and right after you have procured the basics for survival (food, water, shelter), you may--depending on the disaster and your personal circumstances--need to procure medical care.  Picture the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (all of the people including doctors and nurses were displaced, buildings like hospitals and pharmacies were washed away) then picture what you would do if you or a family member needed medical care in a post-disaster scenario.  Here's some ideas:

• Have a stockpile of necessary medications (prescription and non-prescription meds) that you keep in various places (your home, your BOB, your office, your car, etc).
• Have comprehensive first aid kits located in the aforementioned places as well.
• Have some basic medical training (a first aid class, a CPR/AED certification, an EMT class as well as volunteer EMT experience under your belt, etc).
• Have a comprehensive medical library at your disposal (both in hard copy format and digital format; start with the popular "Where There is No Doctor" book and expand from there).
• Be well-versed in home remedies and herbal medicine (this is becoming a lost art as people now run to the ER for the smallest of medical problems but years ago that was about the only medical care a person received unless they were missing a limb or literally dying).
• Know what medical skills your friends and neighbors have and cultivate these reciprocal relationships (ie: you help your neighbor, a doctor, out with car repairs and he/she provides medical care for you if needed, etc).
• Be sure everyone in your family/neighborhood/survival group has similar medical knowledge and training as you do (this way if YOU are the patient someone else will be able to help you).
• Prepare now for your future healthcare needs.  Basically, the better condition you are in now (exercise regularly, eat healthy, take care of preventive healthcare, etc) the less likely you will be to have a major medical event in the future (like a heart attack, stroke, etc).
• Make basic healthcare precautions part of your everyday life (isolate yourself from sick people, wash your hands regularly, etc).
• Get vaccinated as necessary (make sure your tetanus booster is up to date, ditto any other vaccines that are needed).
• Go out of your way to prevent injuries.  While it may be fine for you/your teenager to do some stupid scary stuff that ends up going viral on YouTube (like riding a bicycle off the roof into the family pool, etc), in a post disaster scenario (and even in everyday life for those of us who are generally safety conscious) some very basic safety precautions like wearing a seat belt or bicycle helmet, not taking unnecessary physical risks, etc, can greatly reduce the need for emergent medical assistance.
• Know what your community's disaster plan is (where medical services will be offered after a disaster, what the mass casualty response plan is, etc).
• Volunteer with a medical disaster team like the Red Cross, Search and Rescue, the Department of Emergency Management, a private group like CMRT, etc.  This provides excellent training, the opportunity to work with like-minded disaster preppers, and gives you a knowledge of how a medical disaster will be dealt with in your community.
• Be able to reach out--sometimes way out--for help.  This may entail driving a patient to a community with available medical care, having the means to fly a patient to outside medical care, being able to use a HAM radio to call for assistance when all other communication lines are down, etc.