10 Links

Some things to know for this week...

1. NASA and FEMA are simulating an impending asteroid strike this week.
2. And last week they did an interesting experiment at Fort Bragg.
3. Just released...a tabletop game featuring a pandemic.
4. Also newish to the market, this useful app.
5. If you are looking for a challenge, this is a good one.
6. Whether you need to bolster your emergency fund or just need some extra cash, this is a useful infographic.
7. A threat to your second amendment rights.
8. A threat to your health.
9. A threat to your security.
10. And it would be nice if people would quit shooting innocent people.

10 Random News Links

In no particular order...

1. The Jussie Smollett case was unceremoniously dropped???
2. Mueller's report has been unceremoniously hidden...I'm sensing a theme here.
3. How many people have to die in a person's house before it becomes criminal?  Politics related of course.
4. Lots of cold cases these days are being solved via DNA genealogy databases.
5. The bump stock ban starts today.
6. A consequence of flooding that many people don't think about...what happens to haz mat "Superfund" sites when they are flooded out?
7. A historic space walk was canceled because no one checked to see if they had the right size space suits(??).
8. If you have an iPhone you should probably update it.
9. Surveillance capitalism...it's a thing now.
10. TIL Louisiana is disappearing.

More Things That Will Make You Want to Head for the Hills

If the hacking stuff from yesterday's post wasn't enough to make you want to forsake our too-tech enabled lives and head far off grid, these current happenings may convince you...

• LA will install subway body scanners.
• And license plate readers are being used to monitor welfare recipients.
• You already know how easy it is to track your cell phone but now "co travelers" are being tracked.
• Google is pretty ubiquitous, now they track you even if you opt out of tracking.
• As does your GPS, again, even if you turn it off.
• And here's an overview of all of the ways you are being tracked.

Interesting Random Links from Around the Internet

From my favorites list...

• What happens in a prison during a natural disaster.
• A basic evacuation kit list.
• An online community for misfit travelers.
• A crazy, 340 mile desert relay.
• 50 things to stop wasting your money on.
• Trace an object to help stop child abuse in Europe. 
• FBI's seeking information in America.
• How many day's worth of food will $100 buy in various cities.

Useful Tips from Reddit

Here are some useful tips gleaned from reddit...

• A great list of tips if you want to become a digital nomad/long-term traveler
• 20 Overlooked and Unusual Tax Deductions
• What to do if intercepted by fighter jets
• How to fix common cooking and baking mistakes
• Claw comparison chart
• Common tourist scams

10 Things to Know Today

In no particular order...

1. If you watched the President's State of the Union address you may be wondering if what he said was true.  Here is a fact check of the speech.
2. From the 'dumb kids' file here's what you need to know about the Tide Pod Challenge.
3. And this is the even dumber 'No Lackin Challenge'.
4. Early tomorrow morning will be a lunar eclipse of the super moon/blue moon/blood moon/snow moon--wow!
5. Cape Town is moving closer to being totally out of water.
6. Here's a list of the World's 100 Most Nutritious Foods.
7. FEMA will be cutting off food and water air to Puerto Rico this week.
8. If you haven't heard of Swedish Death Cleaning, here's an overview.  Quite a useful thing to do I might add.
9. From the people are idiots file...a support peacock?
10. And although the entire country probably knows this, this Sunday is the Super Bowl.

10 Interesting Websites You Should Know About

Semi-related, semi-not related to the purposes of this blog:

1. AllTop Survival Aggregator (great list of survival links)
2. CrowdMed (interesting way to crowd source medical mysteries)
3. Class Action Rebates (you may qualify for some of these)
4. Namus (fascinating)
5. CodeAcademy (learn to code for free)
6. NukeMap (wow)
7. r/InternetIsBeautiful (interesting links)
8. Ninite (fastest way to set up a new computer)
9. GeoGuesser (fun game)
10. Neatorama (neat info)

5 Things to Be Concerned About Now

In no particular order...

1. The possibility of a world-wide pandemic.
2. Our crumbling infrastructure.
3. The possibility of having NO potable water at all.  For days on end.
4. Natural disasters (such as wildfires).
5. Various international crisis (Ukraine, Gaza, Iraq, etc)

Do you have a plan to deal with these potential threats?

Link Round Up: The Abject Stupidity Edition

Either I'm getting old and senile or the news and those who make it are getting stupider beyond all reason...cases in point:

• An "ethical takeover of a gun manufacturer".  Uh...guns are made to kill.  Not sure where the "ethical" part comes in.
• Newtown's murderer's mother was a survivalist obsessed with guns.  I know the media loves hype but really, calling people who prepare for whatever the future may bring a "survivalist" and equating the ownership of five guns as having an arsenal is just stupid.
• Preppers prepare for the worst.  Nothing like stating the obvious.  Preparing for only the best would kind of defeat the purpose of prepping.
• Group offers weapons training for Utah teachers.  A bad idea all the way around beginning with the idea that if teachers are armed there is an expectation that they will be mandated to respond in an active shooter situation; I can't even fathom the variety of lawsuits that could come of this situation   Then there is the part about the training being six hours long.  I don't want any novice shooter with only six hours of training carrying a concealed weapon around my kids or grandkids.  If you want armed people in the schools they need to be well trained and practice OFTEN for tactical shooting scenarios.  Teachers barely have time to grade their student's papers let alone get out to the range to train on a regular basis.
• And then there was the newspaper that published the names and addresses of registered gun owners. I can see this playing out a few way...a) there is a spike in burglaries in the neighborhoods where there are a lot of gun owners, b) there is a spike in burglaries in the neighborhoods where there are few gun owners, or c) there is an increase in "Castle doctrine" shootings because people who would break in to a house to steal someone's firearms aren't the brightest bulbs in the pack and they probably missed the part about this information being about registered HANDGUN owners; so people who aren't listed could still own rifles and shotguns.
• And then there is this article about, yes, people acting stupid during disasters.  'Nuff said.

Link Round Up: Random Stuff Edition

Here's a bunch of links that don't quite fit into the Daily Insight link list:

• Lifehacker 'How I Work' series (I'm fascinated by how other people use and increase their productivity)
• Everplans (what to do before and after you die)
• Popurls (where I get my morning dose of news)
• AllTop Survival (CNI is now listed in this news aggregator)
• RIP Zig Ziglar (he was one of the greats in the productivity/motivation industry)
• This guy walked (literally) around the world. Wow.

A Few More Links While I Finish Up a Project

It's been crazy busy around here while I am finishing up on a big project so here are some links to keep you busy...

• The creativity of drug users (stuff to know if you have teens, also useful things to know for yourself)
• I don't know how many ways to say it...Afghans aren't our friends. Duh.
• Gotta love these doormats if you are the geeky type (like me)
• Some useful home security checklists from a reader
• If you're coming to Vegas here's some scams to avoid
• If you see this guy...

10 Things You Should Know About

A random list of interesting things that have come across my desk recently...

1. The Bourne Identity Burn Bag (a la Adam Savage)
2. Do you know about Goggles?
3. You should, of course, get your home ready for fall.
4. And a bit of info on shooting rampage statistics.
5. If you are bored and live near a lake you may want to do this.
6. An interesting new cell service.
7. And ya gotta love TED.
8. Some things to add to your bucket list.
9. Four Ways to Track and Recover Your Stuff
10. And did you know you can DIY your own gear?

Link Round Up: The Subversive Edition

It's a pretty sad day when "subversive" (meaning "seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution") means coming back around to common sense.  As you can see from these links, 'subversive' means going back to the lessons your grandparent taught you because the garbage you are being taught now could kill you (or at least have a significant, negative impact on your life).  Here goes:

• 20 Things I Should Have Known at 20 (the writer had me at the first thing on the list..."the world is trying to keep you stupid" 'nuff said).
• We Need to Focus on Disease Prevention (this is kind of a "duh" statement but I am alarmed at the number of doctors who would rather write a prescription--and the insurance companies that would rather pay for a prescription--rather than cure the underlying problem that actually causes the diseases that are rampant in our society).  tl;dr  Eat right and exercise or you will die, especially in the event of TEOTWAWKI when drugs to contain chronic illnesses will be in short supply or not available at all.
•  Getting Serious About Experimentation (people are afraid to fail, thus they are afraid to experiment yet experimenting is what brings progress). tl;dr Don't be afraid to experiment, don't be afraid to fail...that is how success is born.
• Save Money and Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck (another "duh" thing.  Many people are broke because they buy crap they don't need and can't afford.  Be subversive and actually save your money instead of spending it).
• 12 Essential Traits of a Modern Day Leader (I especially like the one about working within--and without--the system).
• 60 Selfless Ways to Pay it Forward (finally, I am a fan of karma and what goes around comes around so start the ball rolling in a positive direction so when it comes back to you it will be in a good way). 

Link Round Up: Things You Should Know

Here's some things you should know...

• America's corporate pension system is dying (tl;dr you need to be responsible for your own retirement plan)
• When TSHTF you may need to create your own medicine cabinet...from your garden.  Here's some good info.
• Can you get a daily sit rep in your corner of the world?  I just found this on line for my state/area.
• Another reddit link...I Want Out.  News and info for expats.  Check the I Got Out link on the right of that page too.
• And if you are bored this summer, consider the Devil Dash.

10 Things...

...In no particular order...

1. The CNI website was a mess yesterday; it's better today.
2. End of an era: Encyclopedia Brittanica stops printing
3. You don't send someone with a traumatic brain injury into combat (duh)
4. Pain at the pump...with no end in sight.
5. I'm all for prepping...but this is a bit extreme.
6. Bye bye Bear...
7. Here's hoping you are in the 40%.
8. This may not go over too well...at least not in any public place I can think of.
9. One of my favorite sites on the web: TED (followed by TEDMed, TEDEd, and TEDX)
10. And my second favorite site.

A Round-up of News Headlines...With Lessons Learned, Of Course

It's been a busy week of news headlines (and with a little fore thought and preparedness most of these items wouldn't have happened/made the news)...

• Big fire in Reno this morning.  I woke up to hear about this on the news.  Lesson learned: have a BOB and an evacuation plan.
• Girl gets DUI. Girl blames getting caught on her shoes.  Girl is soundly thrashed in the comment section.  Lesson learned: if you get a DUI it's your own fault.  Never drink and drive.  If you drink don't drive, if you drive don't drink.
• Crazy man kills woman.  Unfortunately with our mental health system in shambles, this isn't an uncommon event.  Lesson learned: you always need to be on alert and you always need to be able to defend yourself.
• Snow storm causes drop in slot revenue.  An FYI for your business (and for you if you are an employee).  It's not if a disaster will happen but when.  Lesson learned: sometime, something will happen that will disrupt your business, this is why you need an emergency fund to tide you over through drops in revenue caused by a disaster large or small.
• Guy murders ex boyfriend and says "oops".  Apparently the gun was supposed to just scare the guy.  Lesson learned: if you pull a gun on someone assume that you will kill them.  A weapon should never be used to "scare" someone.
• Man killed when tree falls on SUV during a storm.  This happens often.  Lesson learned: stay in during a storm if at all possible, one of the most common ways to be hurt or injured during as storm is to have trees/power lines/other stuff blown down onto you.

Link Round-Up: Things to Do Edition

Here's some interesting ideas to try:

• 11 Uses for Coffee
• Get Healthy During a Power Outage
• A Reminder to Watch What You Say in Public
• Make Yogurt
• Anything on this list

Link Round-up...And Commentary

Here's some links you may find interesting...and of course my commentary...

• License Plate Search.  This doesn't appear to work very well (yet) but it is (yet) another way people can spy on you (thanks to our government).
• Person of Interest.  An interesting new show.  Not sure if art imitates life or life imitates art but it is a bit eye opening as you stop to consider how much surveillance you are under on a typical day. Scary.
• A reddit list of interesting websites.  As if we don't already spend enough time online but definitely some interesting sites here.
• How a business emergency plan paid off.  Thus the reason I always harp on being prepared for any emergency (at your home or business!).
• The forever recession.  This. This. This.  People are waiting for the good old days to return.  FYI that won't be any time soon.
• Economic infographic.  A visual of how we got into the current economic situation.

News Round-up...With Commentary Of Course

Some recent news links...and of course I can't help but offer some commentary...

• Pediatricians Turn Away Unvaccinated Kids (don't be an idiot, get your kids vaccinated! Duh).
• Obama's Plan to Scare the Hell Out of the Elderly and Vets (nice way to pay back the people who have funded Social Security and/or defended out country. Appalling).
• Man Shoots Self...On "Training" Video (someone get this man a gun safety class. STAT).
• Warrior Dash (now this sounds like fun!)
• Man Makes City His Gym (now THIS is genius)
• $185,000 for a Bachelor's Degree (now THIS is stupid! Someone get this kid a math class. STAT)

Link Round-up: Improve Your Life Edition

No matter how prepared you you are for disaster, one of the most important things you can do to be ready for anything is to have a good foundation. Namely, you want your every day life to be so well taken care of that a disaster becomes a minor blip on your radar instead of the straw that breaks the camel's back. Here's some links to help improve your foundation:

• Are you a good driver? People tend to prepare for the once-in-a-lifetime flood or earthquake but forget simple things like always wearing their seatbelts and not driving after having a few beers.


• 21 Quick Actions You Can Take to Revolutionize Your Health. Again, the foundation of survival is you. The foundation of you is your health.


• 10 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Build Brands Online. Everyone should have multiple sources of income. One (or many) of these sources of income should be some sort of online business that you can do from anywhere.


• Nearly Half of Americans are 'Financially Fragile'. In other words, BUILD UP THAT EMERGENCY FUND!


• The Cure for the Modern Male Malaise. Psychological health is just as important as physical health.