Some Things from This Week

A few things to know this week...

• Our deep-state overlords will be meeting in Davos next week.  One can hardly wait to see what sort of 1984-esque machinations they will be devising for us at the event.
• On Monday it will be MLK Jr Day as well as free entrance day to all of the national parks.  This is a great time to get out in nature and enjoy our national parks.
• If you haven't heard of Open AI and ChatGPT, you will.  The possibilities will be amazing and/or it may end civilization as we know it.
• Anecdotally, I know A LOT of people who have been double and triple vaxxed and they are either sick, or in a few cases, dead.  While the mainstream media is pointing to coincidence, there are some doctors saying maybe giving giant pharmaceutical companies unlimited power without any oversight might be a bad idea.  Hmmm
• The recent kerfuffle about banning gas stoves seems to have the public's attention right now (never mind the massive payouts sent to Ukraine while our country's debt limit showdown is soon coming to a head or other such important things but anyway...).  Did I mention that the study was funded by a renewable energy institute?  I used to take medical and scientific studies at face value; these days I first check to see who funded the study to see if they got their money's worth.
  
• If you don't know who Whitney Webb is, you should.  Search YouTube for videos like this (before they are scrubbed from the internet).
• If you live in the southeast, I hope you and yours are safe after the massive tornado outbreak that happened yesterday.

Today in Clown World

Pretty much I just sit back and shake my head at the way the world is going these days, to wit...

• In the '60s, we had protest songs.  These days we have protest songs (examples here and here).
• "Sowing discord" and "undermining trust in the US government" now makes you a terrorist.  Never mind free speech these days, or the bill of rights in general.
  
• The largest protest in Canadian history is going on but you would be hard pressed to find coverage in the mainstream media.  If you do hear about, the bias is palpable.
  
• Speaking of media not covering major news events, their coverage of covid vaccines has been exceedingly biased as well.
• Sadly, noted scientists are being silenced (my tin foil hat got a bit itchy when Dr Robert Epstein came out with this interview then his wife was tragically killed in a one-car accident).
• Also on someone's shit list: Joe Rogan, Dr Malone, and many other scientists who expressed concern over covid and the covid vax.

At least we still have the Super Bowl...maybe.

5 Things to Watch This Week

It may be an interesting week coming up...

1. Full 5g rollout will take place on Wednesday the 19th.  Many are concerned that it could impact flight safety.
2. Also on Wednesday, the government website to order free covid tests comes online.  We'll see how this goes.  Note, the site went live today, a day earlier than planned.
   
3. On Sunday, January 23rd, there will be a huge anti-vaccine mandate march in Washington DC.
4. Next Monday, January 24th, is the first day you can file your 2021 taxes.
5. And there are more major storms forecast for this week.
   

Watching the World Burn?

I just realized it's been a while since I have blogged here.  I suppose now is as good a test as any when it comes to the preps we have made over the last many year since the world seems to be a dumpster fire at the present time.  To wit, 

• The Pandora Papers show that the rich and powerful are scammy.  No surprise here.
• And Facebook is scammy as well.  Ditto.
  
• Social media had a major outage today.  Can't say this bothers me much at all.
• The government seems to be heading towards a shutdown.  Just one more piece of bad news.
• The covid scamdemic continues.  Don't even get me started on the firing of healthcare providers who already have acquired immunity or mandates that people who work from home get the vax.
• But at least we aren't Australia.  Don't give up your guns folks.
  
• The supply chain is a hot mess.  This is causing wide-spread shortages of...everything.  Even worse, there is a massively long list of drug shortages too.
• Apparently we are careening towards the Great Reset as planned, and Agenda 2030 will make us more secure.  Thanks but no thanks, I will choose freedom over security any day.
• But at least all of this chaos made everyone forget about the Jeffrey Epstein (who didn't kill himself) scandal.
• Needless to say, keep prepping and aim to be as self-sufficient as possible.
  

A Quick Update

Hopefully you ae all hanging in there during this tumultuous time.  Blogging should pick back up after the first of the year but for now, check out the regularly updated 'Daily Insight' list as well as the recently updated CNI Link List.  As always, stay safe and stay prepared.

10 Things on My 'To Done' List

After a very nice vacation I came back to perfect Vegas weather and a lengthy to do list which, at this point, is nearly done.

1. Taxes.  These were done simply and inexpensively online, months before some procrastinators will be heading to the post office at midnight to beat the April 15th deadline.
2. Garden.  Unlike most of the country, we got zero snow and now temps in the high 70s which means gardening time.  I've got a half dozen vegetables planted and the fruit trees are already flowering.
3. Cleaning out the garage. Spring cleaning is best done in, well, spring.  And since it is very much spring here, cleaning has been commenced.
4. CraigsList.  Which leads us to CraigsListing many items we no longer need.  This both clears out the clutter and provides cash to add to the emergency fund.
5. Pantry and freezer.  As we get set for the spring influx of guests, it was time to review our food stores in both the pantry and freezer, rotate stored food, and restock.
6. Revamp the BOBs.  Also as the weather changes it is time to dump out the BOBs (house BOB, car BOB) and review/replace/exchange items as needed.
7. A semi-annual home inspection.  Fortunately the "need to fix" list is short after a thorough home inspection but there are a couple of fire extinguishers that need to be recharged, an AC unit that needs an annual service, a vehicle that needs its oil changed, a stockpile of batteries that have dwindled over the winter and need restocked, etc.
8. The annual bill review.  This is done once a year, usually at the beginning of the year, and includes a review each expense we pay.  For example, the house payment.  I am quite please with this and the interest rate is much lower than anything I can get today so that bill is left as is.  However, when I looked at vehicle and home insurance bill the rates seemed a bit high so I did some comparison shopping, got quotes for better rates than what I was currently paying, then marched over to my insurance agent's office and finagled a lowering of said rates to my satisfaction. 
9. Summer travel.  In our case, winter is generally a good time to stay home but summer...not so much.  So summer travel has been planned, tickets purchased, hotels booked, etc.
10. Fitness goals.  Fitness activities are an integral part of my life anyway but I do have some particular goals for this year and need to plan out how they will be reached.  For example, I want to walk 1200 this year which should be accomplished with daily three mile walks and a couple of "big walks" of 20 to 50 miles which need to be scheduled.  Ditto I need to get busy scheduling a Grand Canyon rim to rim hike and a long distance walk in the UK.

And from today's BS-conspiracy-theory-inducing-let's-hope-this-cover-up-gets-exposed news: this

5 Concerns for This Week

A recap if you will...

1. The flu is on the rise.  The H1N1 flu tends to kill young, healthy people as opposed to the "regular" flu which usually kills the very young, the very old, and the very ill (although there is some of this flu to go around as well).  Consider getting vaccinated.
2. Target and now Neiman Marcus have had huge data breaches in recent months which means your financial information could be in jeopardy.  Consider pulling your free credit reports and straightening out any information in the reports that is incorrect.
3. The recent poisoning of water sources in West Virginia only highlights the problem that could happen to anyone without notice and without recourse besides driving around trying to find bottled water or waiting in huge lines for FEMA water trucks.  Consider storing bottled water and lots of it.
4. The weather has been wacky--ranging from feet of snow in the Northeast to feet of rain in Florida, massive wind storms throughout the south to blustery winter storms in the Pacific Northwest.  Prepare ahead of time for winter weather, of the 100 year storm variety.
5. Marijuana is now legal in Colorado and moving towards that direction in other states.  I don't have an opinion one way or the other on the topic and don't care what people do in the privacy of their own home.  Do NOT however, get high and drive, which is as bad as drinking and driving.

A Mass Shooting, A Mass Shooting, A Budget Showdown, and More

For today, a bit of a rant...

• The mass shooting in Washington DC was (no surprise here) committed by someone who by many accounts seemed to have some serious mental health issues.  When will the powers that be stop wasting their banning efforts on the means of killing and start working on the real problem?  Thousands of people are killed each year by drunk drivers but you don't see people trying to ban cars or alcohol.  tldr; the mental health care system in the US sucks.
• There was another mass shooting, this time in Chicago yesterday which barely made the evening news.  It happened in Chicago, after all, the south side, of course, and the shooters and victims were black.  Unfortunately these circumstances make it an almost non-issue, never mind that Chicago has one of the strictest gun control laws in the country (a lot of good that does), never mind that when a non-black shoots a black person it is raised to the level of a national incident but when blacks shoot blacks, Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are nowhere in sight.  And the first comment on the news article was spot on--why was a baby out late at night in a park anyway?  tldr; black people need to stop shooting black people which isn't a racist comment it is a factual, statistically accurate comment.  Also, gun bans don't work.
• A budget showdown is looming in Congress which promises to set the stage for a lot of (useless) posturing by the Republicans and Democrats.  There will be lots of finger pointing, lots of debate about who is right, and lots of "set up" for the upcoming elections.  Of course this has to be someone's fault so one party or the other will get the blame and Obamacare may or may not make it out alive, so to speak, but the bottom line is that the government is in debt, congress continues to spend like, well, congress, and and yet another unfunded mandate (Obamacare) is put on the table as something that must get done--never mind that there IS NO MONEY to pay for this program and never mind that the government has no idea how to run a business profitably (see US postal service, social security, etc).
• And a few more rants: the irresponsible parents rant (this story), the who gives a crap rant (this story), and the WTF were they thinking rant (this story).

We will resume our normally scheduled programming tomorrow...

The Wireless Emergency Alert System

A bit of an update on the last post...

During the storms we had a couple days ago, I noticed my cell phone (and everyone else's cell phones) would go off occasionally with emergency warnings.  I thought it was a bit odd as while I do get some updates which I specifically signed up for (Nixle, CNN breaking news, etc), these messages seemed to come from out of the blue.  A day later, our local newspaper ran a story about these alerts.  Seems they come from a newish system called the Wireless Emergency Alert System.  Read more about it here.  Mystery solved.

10 Things You Should Know

Everyone once in a while I think to myself "I wonder if my readers know this?"  Here's a list of things you should know:

1. More on Michael Hastings (the conspiracy continues).  
2. Does your city/town/county/state have any useful discounts for you?  A bit of Googling around saves me the cost of most of my annual vehicle registration fees just by taking advantage of this program.  Your area may have similar discounts (for veterans, seniors, low income, et al).
3. I posted this link on the Daily Insight links page but it is so important that I am posting it here as well.  Tldr; don't let a lack of money stop you from doing amazing things (like reaching your goals, setting off on an adventure, etc).
4. When you are buying things, always: search for discounts or coupons on the item, compare prices, check the discount bins, do price matching (example here), see if the product can be found at the Goodwill first (or online at Freecycle, Craigslist, etc).
5. I have the cheapest cell phone plan of anyone I know.  It's the $30 plan from TMobile at Walmart.  Needless to say, I don't talk on the phone much but do send a massive amount of texts and use the internet quite a bit as well.
6. Do you know about Kayak Explore?  I use this site to find super cheap fares to various places that we travel to (note that we often hop from place to place so I find a cheap fare, check the dates, then go on Travelocity and look up the one way fare on the sale date and can often get pretty cheap fares to our destinations.
7. This has absolutely nothing to do with preparedness except maybe the idea that you are only as old as you think you are and you need to "use it or lose it" and this woman obviously uses it quite often.
8. In a couple weeks you will find me here.
9. As I've pointed out before, the police are tracking you.  Here's how.
10. Where you won't find me is here (although I did give it a shot).

Update and Some News Items

As you have probably noticed there have been a dearth of posts on the CNI blog of late.  I have a few projects which will be wrapped up mid-April so until then, sadly, there will be some filler her for lack of better topics and lack of time to write inspiring pieces.

The latest in the news (and lessons learned, of course):

• When rich, powerful people turn up unexpectedly dead, one hopes a thorough investigation is taking place.
• If you plan on faking your death, it doesn't take a die-hard survivalist to know that all contact must be cut off.  Duh.
• The most atrocious crime you can think of often results in a rush to judgement.  If the crime went down as reported the death penalty would be too good for the perpetrators, on the other hand, the Diane Downs case still rankles in the back of my mind.
• The nanny state is getting to be a bit much.
• ALL parents should teach their children how NOT to become a victim (and how not to become a perpetrator).

p.s. If you have left comments recently on the blog and don't see them posted, there was an issue with hundreds of comments being accidentally deleted.  Please re-post them!

Update

I should have anticipated that posting every day on this blog would end up being both boring (#1, #2, #3...blah) and unlikely to happen (I am generally pretty busy every day).  So here's a quick update:

• I will go back to posting more or less sporadically as before (sorry but I feel I have covered just about every prep topic under the sun somewhere in this blog so I will try to keep the info I provide here new and interesting instead of rehashing basic prep topics over and over again).
• I have been walking and hiking everyday in preparation for some big trips this summer.  I hadn't realized just how extensive the network of trails for hiking is around Las Vegas.  Amazing.
• The president's gun control plan as announced yesterday can be summed up by saying: enforce the gun laws we do have and if we wanted a dictator (23 executive orders. Really?) we would have elected one.  Oh wait...

10 Things for This Weekend

A quick roundup:

1. If you live on the East Coast, you should be prepared for the "Frankenstorm".
2. The CNI website will undergo and overhaul this weekend but it should be all fixed up by Monday.
3. Did you vote yet?  Many states offer early voting which allows you to avoid long lines at the polls.
4. For those not in the eye of the storm, this may be one of the last nice weekends to throw together a garage sale.  This will give your emergency fund or your Christmas fund a nice boost.
5. Late hunting season will be picking up pretty soon.  This is a great way to fill up your freezer.
6. Many stores are offering layaway for Christmas.  Start your Christmas shopping early and skip the last minute rush.
7. A late fall weekend camping/backpacking trip is also a good idea--the views are great and the people are sparse.
8. Even if you can't get away for the weekend you can get outside an play.  Exercise outside is a good thing for everyone.
9. Check out your local grocery store's loss leaders--now is a great time to stock up on baking supplies.
10. Get out and explore your city.  If you have a local Volksmarch organization you can take a walk with them and learn about some amazing/hidden/interesting trails around your city.

Update: Southeast Asian Edition

Just a quick update...I have been traveling throughout Southeast Asia for the past few weeks.  Between a typhoon, lack of power, crappy internet connection (when it is even available) and a nearly week-long illness (I was getting to the point of dragging myself to the "hospital" thinking I had Dengue or malaria but fortunately have recovered) I haven't been able to post anything.  I should have a half dozen new blog posts for you by next week however so check back back soon.

Headlines, Commentary, and a Quick Update

I've been rather busy the past couple of weeks.  I will be heading to Asia for a month or so in a few weeks (no doubt some interesting posts will be generated by this trip), I just bought a house in Las Vegas (also a future post but suffice it to say that paying cash for a home base was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up...we'll see how this works out), and I am wrapping up some business things in Seattle for the time being.
I have not, however, missed out on the news.  Here's some commentary...

• The heatwave.  I didn't write a post about this because each summer there have been a couple of posts on this topic posted in the blog.  The summery: keeping cool is the name of the game.  Being able to do this with or without power is a skill that everyone should learn.
• The Norway shooting.  Tragic, of course.  It was interesting how everyone immediately thought 'Islamic terrorists!' when this happened.  Noting that the bombing and shooting targeted one specific political party made me think otherwise.  And while I haven't been meticulous in the study of the details, why an outdoor camp had no firearms (for protection against wildlife if nothing else) is beyond me.  Shootings can happen anywhere and the only effective response is an armed response.
• The debt ceiling crisis.  What a circus.  The summary: you never want to be at the mercy of the government.  If your only income is Social Security or a military pension or a welfare check or eventually, even a government job...well let's hope you have some sort of side business going so you can at least afford some food while the political powers that be play ping pong with the national economy.
• And some other random headlines: Amy Winehouse (sad; this is what years of drugging will do to a body), 3700 post offices closing (it's about time; a private business with a business model such as the USPS would have went under years ago), Happy Meals get a healthier makeover (meh; you shouldn't feed your kid garbage on a regular basis anyway), mother not sent to prison over son being killed while jaywalking (what a waste of taxpayer money to even bring this to trial).
• Funniest headline on reddit in the past few days: this (every once in a while a headline will remind me that Darwin was right).

Update

It's been kind of busy around here. Here's what's happening:

• Thanks to those who have donated and/or ordered from Amazon on our new page. It's much appreciated!


• I also order a lot of outdoor gear through REI. At the REI Outlet, you can get an extra 20% off one item through next week (not an affiliate link, just an FYI).


• We're off to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. I have a bunch of friends doing the World Series of Poker plus I am going to take a look at some real estate there.


• I have deleted my FaceBook page. I didn't like FaceBook to start with but it seemed like the only way to keep in touch with what the kids and grandkids were doing. Now that they are using facial recognition software on every picture uploaded to the site (as well as many other ways to capture personal information about each individual on the site) I have decided that it simply isn't worth it (guess I'll just have to call the kids more often).


• I am a big fan, however, of the reddit network in general and the AskReddit, Guns, and Survivalist subreddit in particular. For a giant list of all of the subreddits, check here.


• It's summer! I hope you are all getting out and getting back to nature while the weather is good. It's hot as Hell here in the south but I have still been able to enjoy the mountains, some kayaking, and some fishing.


• On the tech front, some of my favorite things are: Ninite, LibreOffice, and AllTop Lifehacks.


• On the "world is going to Hell in a hand basket" front: keep stockpiling food, get into the best possible physical condition you can, stockpile some cash and gold but realize your knowledge and skills are more likely to save you in a post SHTF scenario than your money and gold, and be self employed in some fashion--it is the only sure way to have a job in this economy.

A Busy Few Weeks, A Goal, and Why You Shouldn't Go to College

It's been a busy few weeks (thus the dearth of blog posts!)...

• I was supposed to go to New Orleans for a few days before heading back to Miami then Atlanta. As usual, and with my penchant for attracting disasters, that plan is on hold for a week or two.


• Family and friends have been dropping in over the last couple of weeks (note to self, invest in airline stock).


• And, as usual, our nomadic schedule is still up in the air but it looks like we will be traveling for another year, perhaps settling down next summer.


• I have also been biking a few hours each day.

The goal...

• Each year I like to do something that challenges me. Last year it was a marathon. This summer I will take a month or so to ride my bike from Canada to Mexico. Ole!

And the college thing: I have been getting calls from kids I know who are either entering college in the fall or debating whether or not to continue with their education, generally because they are swimming in debt and although they don't truly know the effect of huge debt yet (it is so easy to just sign for student loans and get a check), they have an inkling it is not good. I tell them we can talk about majors and funding and their future in general, but first I send them some reading material as listed below:

• JJ Luna was way ahead of the curve when he wrote 'Skip College: Go Into Business for Yourself'. Although the book came out quite a while ago, the message is even more true today if you want the ultimate freedom, and the ultimate opportunity to be as wealthy (or not) as you want to be. He answers the questions that every post grad student I have ran into lately is asking...how do I make money???


• Eight Alternative to College. Again, as in the above book, this list of alternatives to college teaches you many of the things you need to learn in order to be a successful human being.


• Then there is this article, The University Has No Clothes, which further notes why the value of a college education is negligible for many.


• And an interesting article from NPR.


• Finally, check out this article, this article, and this article.

The Economics of Being a Vagabond

In the past week we have changed from "average" citizens with a home, job, ties to the community, etc. to, for lack of a better word, vagabonds. Surprisingly the spouse hasn't mutinied yet!
While the survivalist in me is quite happy with order, a guaranteed roof over my head, a year's worth of food provisions, and all of the other things that impart security in an insecure world, the vagabond in me is currently reveling in the fact that we now own very little. Here's what's changed:

• We have no home. We completed the sale of our house and are currently staying with relatives. We will then head off to visit other friends and relatives over the course of the next few months in the US before heading overseas for a few months then coming back to the US for what may be an epic physical challenge (more on that later).
• We have one small storage shed that is holding a few of our belongings that we didn't want to part with.
• Other things have been stored at the homes of trusted friends (vehicle, firearms, etc).
• The things we technically have at this point: a private mail box which will forward our mail to where ever we go, backpacks with our meager belongings that we will bring with us, a fairly good-sized emergency fund, and a fairly good-sized travel fund.
• Other things we won't have: gas bill, water bill, garbage bill, sewer bill, electric bill, mortgage payment, cable bill, property tax payments, house insurance payments, and the need to buy loads of junk during the course of normal shopping (in fact this greatly helped to pump up the travel fund as during the past few months our shopping was basically nil because we knew we were going to be leaving and not have room to pack anything else). Of course we have no debt which is the cornerstone of the vagabonding life.
• Things that we will pay for as we go: food, sundries. Shelter is graciously provided for free by friends and relatives for the time being.
• Some concerns: not being able to carry a firearm with me on a more or less daily basis as I usually did. Not even being able to carry a pocket knife with me! Not having a giant stockpile of food in case of emergency. Not having a garage full of stuff that would be very useful during an emergency.
• Alleviating these concerns: the fact that if there is a disaster in a certain area, relocating is as easy as hopping on a plane and going somewhere else. Also the fact that if there was a disaster, we would have very few possessions to loose in such an event.

That's what's happening so far. Posting will resume more regularly this weekend after we settle into our next temporary home.