20 Ways to Protect Yourself

In no particular order...

1. Have a basic emergency fund ($2000 or more; emergencies are expensive these days).
2. Have a fully-funded emergency fund (for longer term emergencies like illnesses or job loss; make sure this fund can cover six months or more of your monthly expenses).
   
3. Have suitable insurance (life, home, auto, long-term care, umbrella, travel, etc).
4. Participate in physical fitness activities every.single.day.
5. Stay on top of health problems and reverse them if possible (type 2 diabetes is reversible for most, type 1 isn't).
6. Get a tetanus vaccine if you haven't had one in the last several years (confirm the necessity of this with your doctor).
   
7. Change out your fire/smoke/CO detectors if you haven't done this in the past seven years.  Also be sure your fire extinguishers are fully charged.
8. Learn how to physically protect yourself (karate, boxing, tae kwon do, etc).
9. Get a firearm, learn how to use your firearm, and get a concealed carry license if this is something you want to do.
10. Perform an annual home safety review and fix any problems.
11. Protect yourself from identity theft by using this handy checklist.
12. Protect yourself from scammers.
13. Make your home a hard target when it comes to robbery and burglary.
14. Protect your mental health from the difficulties of modern life.
15. Protect yourself from violent crime.
16. Know how to be proactive with school and workplace violence.
17. Diversify your assets (don't keep all of your financial eggs in one basket).
    
18. Stay up-to-date with local, state, national, and international news so you won't be surprised by things like weather emergencies, violent protests in your city, etc.
19. Choose a career path that is lucrative, in-demand, and not subject to out-sourcing to overseas labor.
    
20. Protect your future (choose a good spouse, don't commit crimes, teach your children well so you can avoid legal/financial issues due to your child's behavior, avoid lawsuits, etc).
    

10 Ways to Save A Life

From the news this weekend...

1. Wear a seat belt and make sure everyone else in the car does too.  Being launched out of a vehicle during a crash often means death.
2. Drive a car instead of a bicycle or motorcycle.  There is a huge motorcycle rally in Laughlin this weekend, unfortunately one person won't make it as they were killed in a crash on the way there today.  Cars offer a lot more protection in a crash than anything on two wheels can.
3. Avoid the two main causes of crashes (this weekend we are talking boat and car crashes as there have been a rash of both): speed and alcohol.
4. Although "killed by mom's boyfriend" isn't an ICD 10 code yet, it probably should be.  Be exceedingly wary of who you leave your child with.
5. If you think you need a pit bull, think again.  Pit bulls are far and away the most common types of dogs that kill or severely injure people.  
6. If you or someone you know has mental health issues and/or substance abuse issues and/or suicidal tendencies, get help.  Every day in the news you will find articles about suicide (Avicii was the most notable this weekend), overdose deaths (in my state an average of two per day), and mental health issues (generally having to do with homeless and violence or domestic abuse and violence).
7. Killed by random violence is a thing here is Vegas as well as many other places.  People may either be at the wrong place at the wrong time (as happened here a couple days ago) or are hanging with the wrong people (as suspected in a drive-by shooting of two teenagers last night).
8. Jaywalking is a surprisingly common cause of death here in Las Vegas.  Now crossing in the middle of a quiet two lane road is one thing, but on many city streets there are four or more lanes of traffic all traveling very fast and trying to cross the street akin to "Frogger" doesn't work out well for the pedestrian in most cases.
9. Deaths related to environmental factors don't often make the news unless it is tragic (like a baby left in a hot car) or shocking (like the two teens who went out for a hike in Joshua Tree and died from the heat; they were found months later).  And while these deaths aren't a big deal, statistically, they are usually wholly preventable by preparing for the weather--either hot or cold--with common sense and basic preps.
10. Finally, although it won't make the news, is the number of people who die each day from heart disease and cancer, the top two leading causes of death in our country.  Many of these deaths are lifestyle-related and can be prevented with lifestyle changes like diet, stress reduction, and exercise.

10 Ways to Save Your Life (Taken From Recent News)

In no particular order...

1. Wear your seat belt.  These people would probably still be alive if they did.
2. When involved in a plane crash, leave your bags and GET OFF THE PLANE.  Obviously you will want to always have your wallet, passport, and cell phone on you at all times.
3. Use common sense when determining what activities you and your children participate in.  A tiny 9 year old shouldn't shoot an Uzi, a tiny 10 year old shouldn't go on a 5G ride (physics 101 folks).  I'm particularly wary of temporary ride set ups.
4. Be aware of your surroundings when playing Pokemon Go.  Obviously anyone can be a victim of a random attack but Pokemon Go players seem to be particularly targeted lately.
5. And young women should reconsider jogging in remote places.  Yes it sounds sexist but women alone in remote areas make a very easy target for criminals.
6. If you live in the desert Southwest (or Kuwait or much of the Middle East) you know to take care when a haboob, or dust storm, is heading your way.  Stay inside, don't drive, if you are driving pull way over, wear a mask, etc).
7. Ditto flash flooding.  But note (like in the case of the kid killed by an alligator at Disney World) people who go on vacation need to make themselves aware of the local hazards before they arrive at their destination.
8. And don't leave your kids in the car (ever...whether it is hot outside or not).
9. Of course during the summer, be aware of wildfire danger.  Both near your home and near your vacation destination.
10. Finally, always be aware of your surroundings.  Even if you are carrying, that isn't a guarantee of safety.

20 Garage Safety Tips

In no particular order...

1. Unless you are actively working in your garage, keep the garage door closed (an open door can be an invitation to thieves or worse).
2. Unless you are actively working in your garage, keep the door between your house and garage locked.  Many people don't lock a door on the other side of a locked door but it is an added deterrent should someone gain access to your garage (at least they will have a difficult time accessing your house if this door is locked).
3. Don't park your car in your driveway and leave the garage door opener in it.  It is a simple thing for a thief to break your car window, get the opener, then open your garage door (and then access your house because reason #2 above).
4. Don't leave your garage door opener in your vehicle when you leave your vehicle with the valet (this will give them your car, your address on the registration, and access to your home through the garage).
5. When you back out of your garage and hit the garage door opener to close the door, make sure it closes completely (the sensor on the door can sometimes sense something in its path, open, and the garage door will stay open until you come home!).
6. Keep your garage neat and organized.  Having junk all over the floor of your garage is a good way to cause falls, cuts, etc.
7. Lock you car doors even when the vehicle is in the garage.  Again, going back to #2, it is yet another precaution to keep thieves from easily accessing your stuff should they breach one locked door.
8. Store chemicals and fire hazards (like chemical-soaked rags) appropriately.  Info on how to do this here.
9. Don't store certain items in the garage ever (like extra cans of fuel which could cause an explosion and wipe out your house as well as the garage).  Other items not to store in the garage can be found here.
10. Keep a charged fire extinguisher in the garage in case of emergency.
11. Make sure your garage door opener is of the newer variety which has a reversing mechanism when it senses something in its path.  The old door openers won't sense that there is a child, pet, or other item in its path and this can prove deadly.
12. Keep your garage "kid proof" (even if you don't have kids).  Safely store ladders so they can't fall on someone, never leave electric tools (like saws, trimmers, etc)  plugged in when not in use, use locking cabinets for dangerous items, etc.
13. Back your vehicle into the driveway/garage.  This is a safer way to park a vehicle (you can easily see what is in front of your vehicle and prevents back-over accidents when exiting your parking area) and a faster way to exit your parking area in an emergency.
14. Beware of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.  This can happen when you run your vehicle's engine in the garage, when you move your barbecue into the garage during rainy weather to use it, etc.
15. Soak up any spills/vehicle oil leaks/fuel leaks from the floor of the garage.  Besides being a slip and fall hazard, this can also be a fire hazard if not cleaned up immediately.
16. Make sure the lighting in your garage is adequate.  Many garages have a single light which doesn't help much if you are working on a project over in the corner of your garage.  All areas of your garage should be lit up, especially areas here you will be working with tools, table saws, etc.
17. If you have a video/audio/motion detector security system in your house, don't forget to add these systems to your garage.
18. Don't allow kids or pet to hang out in the garage unattended.  This can be dangerous for a number of reasons including high temps in an un-air conditioned garage, the possibility of kids getting stuck in a refrigerator or freezer which is kept in the garage, accessibility to poisons, etc.
19. Consider installing a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in your garage.  This is an added level of safety (but note that some of these appliances can be very sensitive to dust and very high/very low temperatures).
20. If you store kid's sports equipment in the garage, make sure the kids can easily access the items (ie: kid's shouldn't have to climb up to reach their roller blades, life their bikes off of high bike holders, etc).

PPEs

PPEs, or personal protective equipment, is a topic that is hardly ever covered by survivalists but it is pretty important when it comes to protecting yourself from everything from viruses to lung infections.

What they are: Personal protective equipment can range from the hearing and eye protection you wear at the shooting range to the gloves that healthcare workers use to the hard hats and respirators that are used in the construction industry.  The personal protective equipment you choose has much to do with the types of situations you may find yourself in.  Basically you want to use PPE gears to protect yourself from anything that could cause you harm (this could range from loud noise when shooting to preventing contamination during a disease outbreak).  The basic PPEs that everyone should have on hand include rubber gloves, dust masks, N95 masks if possible, goggles, life jackets, hearing protection (ear plugs as well as shooting ear muffs), leather gloves, and high visibility safety vests.

Where to buy them:  Most of these are common items which can be found quite cheaply at Walmart and Home Depot.  For more specialized gear (like Tyvek coveralls) you can easily find these items online.

When to use them:  Many people don't give much thought to using PPEs unless they work in healthcare, construction, or other fields where such items are required by OSHA.  However, everyone should use PPEs when they find themselves in situations where they could be harmed or contaminated.  When shooting, eye and ear protection should always be used.  When boating a life jacket should always be worn.  When cleaning up after a disaster, gloves and masks are a minimum of what should be worn to prevent contamination and infection.  When painting or doing major contaminant clean up, coveralls, gloves, goggles, and a respirator can save your health and in some cases your life.  Should there be a major disease outbreak (a la ebola) complete PPEs should be warn when taking care of the sick.

So along with your preps and stockpiles, be sure to keep some personal protective equipment on hand for use during a disaster (and for use in everyday life when needed).

Get Yourself Oriented to a New Environment: 15 Tips

Whether you are moving to a new location, heading off to college, traveling on holiday, or traveling for work, it is important to do a bit of recon concerning your new location.  Here are 15 things to do to orient yourself to your new location:

1. Write down the address and phone number of the place you are staying.  If you are in a foreign country, have someone write this information down in the local language.  Nothing like heading out to explore your new environs and forgetting how to get back… 
2. If you have a phone or other type of GPS device, mark the location on the device for future reference.
3. Pull out a map (or pull up a map on your computer) and orient yourself to your new location.  See where you are in relation to major landmarks, know what city/county/state/province/prefecture/barangay/arrondiseement/etc you are located in, and identify what surrounds you.
4. Research what natural disasters are common in the area as well as what to do before, during, and after such disasters (I had quite the surprise when we were in north Georgia last year and the tornado warnings kept coming up on the TV.  I didn’t know exactly where we were in relation to the warnings until my brother in law came home and told us a tornado “was fixin’ to come this way…y’all better get in the basement”.  Fortunately the tornado missed us, unfortunately it hit a town just north of us and it looked like a weed whacker had taken out half the town.
5. Research what man-made disasters could happen in the area.  Everything from chemical plants, to major freeways, to rail lines, to having a forest behind your new home that is popular with weekend shooters could pose a problem for you; know about these things ahead of time.
6. Don’t forget to find out about hazardous flora and fauna in the area.  I am still in the habit of making our garbage cans bear and raccoon tight since this was a problem in Washington…I’ve yet to see a bear, raccoon or even a stray cat wandering around here in Las Vegas.
7. Save the following numbers on your cell phone: local friend or relative, non-emergency police number, emergency number (if it is different than 911), local hospital, local pharmacy, local taxi, closest embassy, local media (TV news or newspaper), etc.  The number to any person or service that could help you out of a jam should be saved (and for double protection, you may want to laminate a list of these numbers/addresses and put it in your wallet in case your phone dies).
8. Walk or drive the local roads and look for two or more ways to exit the area in a hurry.  Also look for other things that could come in handy during an emergency (sources of water, sources of emergency food, sources of wood for heating, etc).
9. If you have a question—everything from the best auto shop to the best carry out Chinese food  place to what is that weird ______ question—ask someone.  Better to ask than to remain clueless.
10. Add local online resources to your web browser’s “favorites” list.  Mine include a half dozen local news sources, a link to the Department of Emergency Management for my local area, links to the Vegas and Las Vegas reddits (kind of like a giant bulletin board for nearly every large community on the planet), and another half dozen links to Vegas blogs and local websites that cover everything from updated entertainment options to continuously updated lowest airfares from my city reports.
11. Make yourself seen in your neighborhood.  You don’t need to necessarily make friends, but when people being to recognize you, whether from your daily walks around your neighborhood to your daily visits to your favorite new coffee shop, you begin to become part of the fabric of the community (this can come in handy in an emergency).
12. Find out what resources are available to you.  This list is huge and can include student discounts at local businesses, locals discounts for attractions and shows (quite common in Vegas), discounts on property taxes if you are a senior citizen, rebates and freebies from your utility company, gym passes if you are an enrolled student at a local college, free days each month at the museum, et al.
13. Find out what the local laws are.  My first concern is usually what the local concealed carry laws are in whatever location I happen to be in.  You also want to know if there are any laws that could adversely affect you (for example, in strict Muslim countries you don’t want to be hanging all over your SO even if you have been married for decades as there could be severe penalties for this).
14.  Find out what the local social customs are.  From my travels I have learned quite a few “unwritten” rules from the people I have visited including: you don’t disparage NASCAR or country music in the south, you do hang your laundry outside even if you live in a multi-million dollar house in Tokyo and have a brand new clothes dryer in your home, there is no such thing as orderly lines in the Philippines—you just kind of shuffle ahead until you get to where you need to be, Vegas is full of rude people and idiots (well not ALL of them but a surprisingly large number…), and New Jersey is full of people who sound rude but aren’t--that’s just the way they talk.
15. Try the local food.  And the local toothpaste.  And the local everything else.  Whether you are traveling and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to get an American product that you have just run out of or you have moved to a new area permanently, realize that people have survived for years without (fill in the name of your favorite product here).  Just because you can’t easily come by your favorite product (in my case, Umpqua ice cream which I can’t find anywhere outside of the Pacific Northwest) it doesn’t mean you can’t find a local product that will meet your needs (well, except for in the case of this particular ice cream…although I don’t even miss Dicks burgers anymore because they have In N Out here but I digress…).

Whether you will be in your new location for days, weeks, or years, it pays to situate yourself as quickly as possible so that you will be comfortable—as well as safe—in your new place.

Disaster...Slightly Averted

This is what happened over the past week...lessons learned included...

We got back to the Seattle area a week and a half ago.  I went to a couple of my regular haunts to say hi to everyone, everyone said hi to me, all was well.  Then a couple of days later a guy I knew called me up and asked if I could check on Gus (name changed, of course). 
I knew Gus vaguely as he was always hanging out at the same place with the same group of guys literally every single day, so for him to be gone without a word, even for a couple of days, was odd and his old buddies were getting worried about him. 
I got his name and the type of car he drove but no other information as they tend to hang out and BS but not socialize at each other's homes.  So I hop on Google with the guy's name and city and up comes his address, phone number, and age which pretty much identified him as the person I was looking for. 
First I try giving him a call but no one answered so I left a message.  Next, I go over to his apartment and take a look around.  I found his car and note the things that were in it (a half empty cup of coffee and some mail dated a couple of days ago), then I go and knock on his door but don't get an answer.  I talk to the apartment manager and ask about the possibility of them doing a welfare check, just to make sure the guy wasn't passed out in his apartment or something.  They declined saying it would be illegal for them to do this. 
Seeing that his car was parked, no one was answering the door or phone, and that he was not the type to head off walking, I head back to our temporary home and debate calling the police for a welfare check.  Due to his age, the fact that his habit of being at a certain place on a daily basis had suddenly changed, and that his car was home but he didn't seem to be, I called 911 and requested a welfare check.  I seriously hate to do this as privacy is important to me and I would hope it would be important to others as well but the "this doesn't seem right" feeling was kind of the clincher. 
So law enforcement got the key from the manager and checked on the guy then gave me a call and said the guy was home but asleep and said he was feeling a little under the weather but was otherwise fine.  I figured this was a good thing and relayed the message to his friend. 
However, four days later, Gus still hadn't shown up or contacted anyone, I go the call from his friend again, and I basically did the same thing--go to his place, knock on the door, call his number, check his car (it hadn't moved since before), and pondered all the way home about what I should do.  Again I call law enforcement.  Again they check on him and call me and say he was talking to the officer and said he was fine.  Again, circumstances just seemed off and I asked a bunch of other questions of the officer--could he get out of bed and walk you to the door? what did his breathing sound like?  was he alert and oriented or a bit off?  The officer basically said no, don't know and meh... so then I asked if he could get a medical evaluation since the whole situation just seemed weird. 
Turns out the guy was not fine and was rushed to the hospital after medics evaluated him.  His leg was amputated because of a massive infection and he is now being pumped full of antibiotics to try to get rid of the infection that would have killed him sooner rather than later. 
Now that he is coherent, he doesn't remember the second officer at all, vaguely recalls talking to the first officer, and noted that he knew his leg was infected but since he hadn't seen a doctor since 1968(!) he figured he would be fine since he had always been in pretty good health. 
p.s. He repeated thanked us for invading his privacy and eventually getting him to the doctor.
p.s.s. Needless to say all of his old buddies are pretty shaken up by this turn of events.

Here's some lessons learned:

• The elderly and the ill (and especially the ill elderly) need to be looked in on regularly.
• When someone alters their usual behaviour drastically, something is probably wrong.
• You don't have to break down someone's door to check on them, the police regularly do welfare checks.
• Just because the police do a welfare check, doesn't mean all is well.  Ideally, the person who is concerned should go with the police, as they are more aware of the person's usual mental status (I am guessing Gus' friend would have seen that he was talking but not as sharply aware as he usually was).
• I talked to the police chief and suggested some changes to their welfare check policy. Namely, if the person you are checking on can't get out of bed to walk the officer to the door, there might be a problem.  Also, although law enforcement gets limited medical training, some things need to be reiterated (namely, that people in diabetic shock, the elderly with medical issues and a boatload of medications, and people in many other situations can talk but that doesn't mean they are well--similar to LE pulling over someone who appears to be driving drunk when they are really having a diabetic shock episode).
• As people get older (and people rarely notice when they become "elderly") a doctor's appointment once every year or two is probably a good idea to make sure many of the chronic problems that can cause bigger problems (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc) are screened for and kept in check.
• People, especially those who live alone, need to be proactive about taking care of their health, taking care that they have a safety net of sorts in case they get in trouble, and taking care that their information is easy to find (the ER doc asked me who his next of kin was, what his health history was, what medications he was taking, etc.  Of course since I barely knew the guy, I had no idea.  It took a couple of days to locate his next of kin).

Obviously this situation could have ended better (he could have been medically evaluated sooner) but it could have ended worse too (dead is worse).  Next time I will not hesitate to make sure the situation is taken care of instead of being leery of getting into someone else's business.

Protect Your Personal Items...Like Your Life Depends on It

I was in the grocery store yesterday and noticed something that I see quite often unfortunately.  I lady was shopping and had left her purse wide open (apparently her coupon book was in her purse) in the child seat area of her shopping cart as she wandered off to check prices on a shelf about ten feet away.  This was dumb and dangerous on so many levels and although this would have been a great teachable moment, I wasn't in the mood to cause a commotion and possibly end up in jail so I let it pass.  What I wanted to tell her was this:

• A thief can grab your entire purse in less than ten seconds. Or he may be sneakier and just grab your wallet, cell phone, and keys.
• He will then take your keys, go into the parking lot, and click the fob until he sees where your car is.
• If he wants to kidnap you, he will wait patiently in the back seat of your car, hidden until he has you alone and under his control.
• Another option would be to steal the money and credit cards in your wallet then steal your identity.
• If he was feeling particularly energetic, he will drive off in your car, check your home address on your license or on your GPS, then drive over to your house, open the garage with the garage door opener in the car, let himself into your house (most people don't lock the door between the garage and house), then wait so he could rape or murder you and/or steal everything of value in your home.

What else would the thief get?

• He can pick the medical insurance card out of your wallet and sell it to someone who will use it to get free medical care.
• He will have your smart phone which is just loaded with information (pictures of your kids, your schedule, access to your email/FaceBook/LinkedIn/Twitter accounts, etc).
• Your email/smartphone and/or iPad/computer will open up a whole world of information to him (think of all of the documents you have linked to these items such as all of your bank account numbers and passwords, a scanned copy of your passport and driver's license, and confidential work documents).
• He will take your business card out of your wallet, note the address of your office, figure out which key will open your office door, then go into your office and take whatever he wants.

It's a scary scenario to think about but these kinds of things do happen.  It is imperative for your piece of mind as well as safety to closely guard your personal items (wallet, cell phone, keys, GPS, etc) like your life depended on it...it just may.