DPT--Stretch Your Food Dollars, Go Ethnic

As I was thoroughly enjoying a nice Indian lunch today, it dawned on me that more people should eat this way. Not only is it nutritious, it is also way cheaper to prepare (they use lots of vegies and less meat), and it tastes great. In fact most ethnic food is based on simple, inexpensive ingredients, interesting combinations of spices, and very little meat. The results? A less expensive grocery bill, less cholesterol and fat, and more of what is good for you (vegies, whole grains, and spices). Why not visit some local ethnic restaurants or check out some Mexican/Greek/Asian/Latin food cookbooks at the library and try your hand at creating some new, inexpensive, healthy dishes?

Spare Me the Gung Ho Survivalists Who Have Gone Off the Deep End

I love preparedness stuff. I love gadgets. I love having an small armory of firearms and a year's worth of food in my home. The only thing that I don't like so much about this field are the wackos that seem to pop up regularly. They either brag about how great they are, claiming adulation and honor that they don't deserve (wacko type #1), or they are so far past the preparedness/survivalist mode that they think that being a survivalist means being set to take on the US government and overthrow the country (wacko type #2).

Over the course of a number of years, I have run into quite a few people who have either stretched the truth so far past reality that it was no longer discernible or just flat out lied about such things as being a soldier, being a war hero, being a cop, firefighter, etc. I'm not sure what drives people to do this but it drives me crazy. I don't care if they have raging insecurities, I don't care if they couldn't get past the psych test, what I do care about is people who talk about "the war" when they weren't even there just to get the esteem and accolades that they didn't earn and don't deserve. Years ago I was at a function and a group of people were standing around chatting. One guy started talking about 'Nam--going into detail about his Special Forces unit and throwing out so many insider terms I thought he was going to choke on them. Now, I did pass math and something didn't seem to jive, namely his youthfulness, so I asked him what year he was born which he told me without giving it much thought. After a quick calculation I announced that he would have been about 12 when Saigon fell. The room got quiet awfully quickly. Now I may need to work on my social skills but when someone defies logic or is just flat out bullshitting me, I tend to point such things out, crowd or no crowd. Moral of the story: if you want to be able to tell great war stories, you need to have have earned the right to do so by putting in the time and the work to qualify; if you want to spew fiction, go write a book.

The other category of people that I tend to run into seem to have a distorted view of survivalism. Yes, I firmly believe that everyone should be able to take care of themselves (physically, financially, psychologically, etc), and being a survivalist who can grow your own food, raise up good kids by example, go kill your dinner and bring it home, run off any roughneck fool who is dumb enough to target your home or family, help rescue people during a disaster, and do the myriad other tasks that true survivalists can do should be applauded. Being a survivalist means being prepared for any eventuality. It is not all about having guns and being prepared to play shoot 'em up. Actually that is the fastest way to get killed which would preclude 'surviving', which would be the antithesis of being a survivalist. While I enjoy a good Rambo type movie as much as the next person and scenarios of action adventure flicks give me some ideas of things I could improve upon (I definitely need to shoot better, I would like to be able to run further, one movie that showed a guy with a huge safe full of cash made me think that's a good idea, etc), being a survivalist is less about getting ready to shoot all comers and more about getting ready for the next big winter storm. Moral of the story: true survivalists include the guy who puts money away for his kid's college education so his kid can "survive" in the future job market, the woman who can raise three kids single-handedly, the karate instructor who imparts skills to his students that could save their lives, and the average Joe who knows his rights and exercises his right, for example, to bear arms while encouraging others to know and defend their rights now instead of waiting for the world to cave in then gleefully fighting their way through the mess that is left over. I'm thinking it won't be such a gleeful situation and that fixing small problems as they occur, surviving each day with an eye on how to improve your future and survive future problems, is a better option.

...I'm done ranting and have now hopped off my soap box...

Participate in YOUR Government

Our government is supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. That said, how have you participated is the governing of this great country lately? Here's some ideas:

• Vote. This has got to be the easiest way to participate in our government. With vote by mail happening in many areas of the country, you don't even need to leave the comfort of your Barcolounger to do this.
• Contact your governmental representatives. Everyone from your local mayor and city council members to your state representatives, senators and the president of the country are technically your employees. They work for you. If you never tell them how they can help you or what you want done with specific issues, how are they supposed to represent you? Imagine if you had a boss that always paid you on time but never once, in years, ever contacted you and told you what you needed to do? Would you just take the salary, kick back, and do whatever you wanted to do? You bet you would. Someone needs to hold these people accountable.
• Run for office. So you have a lot of good ideas (or a lot of complaints about how things are currently bring run)? Think you can do a better job? Why not run for office. You don't need to start out in congress, you can work your way up the political ladder from the basic political positions in your own community such as fire commissioner or city council member.
• Volunteer on citizens committees, advisory boards, or work on a political candidate's campaign. Who knows, if you work on a high level campaign and your candidate wins, you may end up appointed to a very comfy job.
• Make your voice heard. Speak on an issue at a city council meeting. Write a letter to the editor about a specific issue that impacts/bothers you. Attend a protest if something really bothers you. Start a media campaign for or against an issue.

The bottom line is that you can't complain about something unless you have tried to fix it first. The most obvious thing that needs to be fixed...according to just about everyone, is our government. Why not be part of the solution?

15 Rules for Concealed Carry

If you choose to carry a concealed firearm (I highly recommend it), here are a number of "rules" to live by:

1. Have a concealed carry license. Some people don't like this but it alleviates some legal issues.
2. Know the laws of concealed carry--where you can carry, where you can't, how you can carry (in some states you can carry openly), etc.
3. Have a concealable firearm. Carry a .50 S&W Model 500? Not unless you are a 350 pound linebacker.
4. Know how to use your firearm. Practice A LOT.
5. Always carry a spare, loaded, magazine or speed loader.
6. Carry effective ammo. I like 147 grain jacketed hollow point.
7. Never carry a weapon when you are intoxicated.
8. Always keep your firearm in your immediate possession. Don't leave it laying around in an unsecured gym bag, for example.
9. Try a variety of holsters. Some are more comfortable for longer wear than others.
10. Dress appropriately (ie: avoid tight clothing that gives the public a clear outline of your firearm).
11. Avoid places where you are likely to need your firearm (bad neighborhoods, bars, ATMs in bad section of town at midnight, etc).
12. Learn de-escalation tactics so you can diffuse a situation and not need a firearm.
13. Practice drawing your weapon, practice stance, practice quickly identifying shoot-no shoot targets, practice scanning what is behind your target, practice close combat shooting skills, etc.
14. Practice for unusual situations--low light shooting, multiple attackers, what to do when an animal (usually a dog) is attacking, weapon retention, etc.
15. Never draw your weapon on someone unless you intend to kill them.

10 CNI Challenges

Here's a recap of the ten Code Name Insight Challenges:

1. No Spend Day/Week/Month
2. Live Out of Your BOB for the Weekend
3. Make a Fire Without Matches (or a Magnifying Glass)
4. Can You Walk a Marathon?
5. Take Public Transportation for a Month
6. Provide All of Your Food for a Day...Yourself
7. Do a Long Distance Hike
8. Earn $500 in One Day
9. Barter for Something Big
10. Set Your Own Amazing Goal

The purpose of these challenges? To get you to think outside of the box, to develop creativity, to develop strength in areas you never thought you had, to become better prepared, and to amaze yourself at what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it. Plus, if you can live out of your BOB for a weekend, walk a marathon, survive the Pacific Crest Trail, barter for a car, earn a blackbelt, and rub two sticks together and make fire, you can survive anything!

CNI Challenge #10 Set Your Own Amazing Goal

The idea of this challenge is for you to craft a goal to meet your needs. It needs to be a challenge physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, etc. The goal needs to be big, something you would otherwise never do, and it has to be useful. It needs to be something that makes you really stretch to reach it and something that requires a deal of blood, sweat, tears, time, investment, et al. For example, if your goal is to purchase a BMW with cash and you can easily write a check out of your money market account for it, it doesn't count. If, on the other hand, you make minimum wage and you have the goal of paying cash for a new BMW, that will take quite the large amount of effort and be quite the story to tell afterwards. Other big goals that require time, work, discipline, and creativity may include: earning a black belt in karate, getting a pilot's license, winning a national shooting match, finding a long lost relative, opening your own business...you get the idea.

10 Things You Must Take With You When You Evacuate

Last month there were wild fire evacuation and this month there are hurricane evacuations. Add to that the possibility of tsunami evacuations and the occasional winter storm evacuation and you see the need to have things ready to go in an instant. Of course we always recommend that everyone have their BOB ready to go, but for friends and family members who think being ready to "bug out" is a bit of the extremist side, make sure they at lease bring the following items:

1. Cash—there may not be an ATM (or it may not be working) when/where you evacuate to.
2. Medications—you may not have your prescription on hand or pharmacies may not be open so bring your own necessary meds.
3. Food and water—when you evacuate, stores may not be open or the place you end up may not have food and water so bring it with you.
4. Important papers—things such as passports, birth certificates, marriage license, financial document, etc. are necessary to prove who you are and what you own. Bring them with you.
5. An overnight bag—if you have a hygiene kit and a change of clothes, at least you will be able to clean up after you evacuate; this is a big psychological boost in a trying time.
6. Communications stuff—a cell phone and a hard copy of your contact information (friend’s and family member’s phone and email contact info).
7. A thumb drive with all of the contents of your computer backed up on it.
8. Something to pass the time—playing cards, a book, an iPod, etc.
9. Emergency supplies—first aid kit, flashlight, emergency blanket, etc.
10. Any special, hard to replace item—dentures, hearing aids, glasses, nebulizer, etc.