A Sad Sunday Morning

I was doing some work this morning with the news on in the background and was stunned to hear that four police officers in a city south of here were killed in an ambush while they were working on their laptops in a coffee shop.
Earlier this month there was what appeared to be a random shooting of a police officer that I blogged about here. At the time it was such a sudden, totally unexpected event that it shocked the entire city. People just don't go around shooting police officers here for no apparent reason. They don't go around shooting police officers randomly even if they have a reason. This type of behavior is simply not tolerated in our area.
So this is yet another terrible tragedy that will reverberate throughout our area. While this type of activity happens commonly in other areas, specifically other countries (see here and here), generally due to political/gang/drug activity, targeted shootings of police officers in our area is practically unheard of.

Here's some random thoughts:

• First of all, my condolences go out to the families of the officers. These are hard working people who have families who got up to go to work this morning and won't be coming home. There are no words that can bring comfort to the families at this time but my condolences go out to them nonetheless.
• The PIO for the Sheriff's office in the area is doing an excellent job as are the other officers working the scene. I can't imaging having four of my family members killed and having to go on working, especially in the public eye, during such a horrific time.
• I hope this doesn't impact the whole gun rights issue. Of course it probably will. People tend to make knee-jerk reactions to crimes which involve guns and it negatively impact responsible gun owners.
• I hope this doesn't impact the racial/religious relations in our area. Unfortunately when the media reports that it is a black man who is a suspect, it seems like ALL black men are looked at differently. If it is found that the suspect is a Muslim (as in the Ft Hood shooting), then ALL Muslims are painted with the same brush. This is unfair. The vast majority of blacks (or any other race for that matter) are wonderful people just like you and me. Likewise, the vast majority of Muslims (and all other religions) are wonderful people just like me and you. There is a small criminal element in all racial/religious/geographic groups which shouldn't cause people to generalize ALL people of those groups.
• I hope when they catch the person/people who did this they save the judicial system and tax payers a whole lot of money...if you know what I mean. I would rather have my tax money go to support law enforcement instead of support someone who will have a lengthy stay in prison.

Sleep Out for Homeless Report...Or Why You Need to Get Prepared NOW

Last week was the annual Sleep Out for Homelessness event which is used to bring awareness of how the homeless are forced to live every day. these events take place across the country annually in late November. Although I didn't participate in the event, a friend across the pond sent this article about one reporter's experience sleeping outside over night with his family. If this doesn't make you reinforce your preparedness position (ie: get out of debt, have an emergency fund, pay off your house), I don't know what will...


CAJUN CORNER
A night without, much harder than I expected
By STEVEN DEDUAL
Central Kitsap Reporter Staff writer
Nov 26 2009, 12:17 PM · UPDATED


I think it is fair to say if I were to say the word “homeless,” many would think of people standing around with various signs attempting to get money or food. Many of us would conjure up visions of alcoholics who choose to live day-to-day looking for just enough to get a buzz. I know I have had these thoughts before. I am ashamed of myself for it, but I am at least willing to admit it.

Those thoughts changed for me when I was able to meet a few homeless people here in Kitsap County recently who found themselves without shelter due to positions lost through the degradation of our national and local economies. These were hard-working folks who found themselves without jobs because their employers had to downsize or even completely shut down.

What happens in times like these is a shift in job classification. Specific jobs within a company can often be added to the workload of another job classification without much drop in the quality of that company’s product.

This is the case for many of the new homeless, victims of foreclosure who once were productive members of society, homeowners and taxpayers. In fact, these people make up the largest portion of the homeless population.

These are the real faces of homelessness. Meeting them made me realize I may not be far away from where they are. As the field of journalism continues to struggle to find profitability in the Internet age, many in the business have seen their friends lose longtime jobs. And it hasn’t stopped. A headline like, “Newspaper circulation may be worse than it looks?,” from the Associated Press, Nov. 23, keeps many concerned. What if I lost my income? How long could I keep my life together?

Doing some math, I was shocked at the answer to my own questions. In the worst-case scenario, I could end up living in my car with my wife and two kids, in less than a year.

Armed with this knowledge and constantly being bombarded with comments from my children like, “I’m so bored” or “There’s nothing to do,” I decided to take part in last Friday’s Sleep Like the Homeless event. I wanted my kids to see what could happen and I wanted a taste of what it might be like if we had to live that way. It was an absolutely terrifying and educational experience neither my kids nor I will soon forget.

The night began at 6 p.m. We drove to a local grocery store and parked beneath one of the lights in the lot. I was trying to get as much light as I could for the children so they could do some homework. At first, they handled it quite well and seemed almost defiant, as if they would just stick it out and prove to me it was no big deal. Then I shut off the car.

“Uhm, the heat doesn’t work without the motor on,” my son said.

“We don’t have enough gas to run the motor son, I’m sorry,” I said.

The children looked at each other and shrugged. A mumbled, “Whatever,” came from the back seat in stereo. They were standing strong, but the night had just begun.

The first complaint came by way of my daughter. She wanted to wait until we got home to do her homework. I explained the purpose of our night out was to do things as though we had no home to go to. She said, “But my back hurts from sitting in this car bending over to write.” I asked her what she thought kids who really lived in their cars did in the same situation. She sighed and went back to her homework, rubbing her neck.

After that, my son, now done with his homework, said he was getting cold. I jumped out and grabbed him the blankets I had stored in the trunk.

“These smell like gas,” he complained.

I apologized to him, explained there was no gas on the blankets and told him his options were to cover up with the gas-smelling blankets or be cold.

“This is stupid,” he replied as he covered up and pinched his nose. “Can we at least listen to the radio?”

“Sorry, son, but that would drain the battery. We can’t do that,” I told him.

Again he sighed, this time accompanied by a little eye-rolling.

“So all we can do is sleep?” he asked, though I don’t think he was really looking for an answer.

My daughter finished her homework and asked about dinner.

“We have two cans of potted meat, a can of kidney beans four granola bars and a pack of two crackers,” I said.

The look they both gave me hurt.

“Are you freakin’ serious?” my son asked.

“Sorry, son,” I replied. “That’s all we have.”

“Someone’s coming over,” my daughter said.

I rolled down the window a bit and a young lady who I assumed was an employee of the store told me we couldn’t stay in the parking lot. I told her we had nowhere to go and I wanted my kids to be safe, so I parked where there would be light.

“I understand,” she said. “I really do. But I still have to ask you to go or else they will call the cops.”

She told me a lady saw the kids under their blankets and told the store manager he should call Child Protective Services on me for endangering my kids.

“Oh well,” my son said smiling. “I guess we will have to go home now.”

But that was not the plan. I started the car and started driving.

“Can we turn on the heater now since we’re driving?” my daughter asked.

I told her running the heater would cause the car to use more gas, so we couldn’t run the heat. She said nothing.

I was trying to find a place to park where we would not be harassed. I decided on another grocery store parking lot, but this time we went to the far back of the lot, near what I perceived to be employee vehicles.

We broke out the food and began dinner. I did not bring a can opener so the beans were useless.

“So all we have now is nasty potted meat and granola bars,” my son said with disappointment. But he was right, and it made my heart hurt.

In that moment, watching my kids eat potted meat from a can with their fingers because we had no utensils, I realized what the hardest part of being homeless would be for me. Not being in a position to provide for my kids would be devastating. I knew they were still going to be hungry after their dinner of meat-from-a-can and a granola bar each. I also knew they were going to be uncomfortable sleeping in a cold car, exposed to the elements and any person who chose to walk by. I didn’t like that feeling.

Now it was 10 p.m. We were fortunate enough not to be asked to move again, probably because we did a good job of being inconspicuous. It was much, much colder now. We were passing the time trying to guess the jobs of people we saw exiting the store. I could tell they were bored and when we were quiet, I could hear someone’s stomach growling, other than my own. Neither asked for more food, but I could see in their eyes they wanted to eat more.

My daughter decided she was tired and asked if we had more blankets because she was still cold. I suggested the kids huddle together and cover up with all of the blankets rather than each covering themselves individually. They complied and laid together, stretching across the back seat.

“Goodnight, guys,” I said, but they didn’t reply. They always told me goodnight. Every night it was a ritual. It was not to be this night.

I sat staring out the window. I couldn’t sleep. I wanted them to be warm so I had very few blankets myself. It was cold. The chattering of my teeth kept me awake the entire night. I just sat there, thinking.

My kids did not sleep well. I watched them all night. They both tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. Their lips and cheeks were almost blue by 5 a.m.

At 6 a.m. I woke them up and told them we were heading home. I have never seen them that excited to go to our boring little house. We pulled into the driveway and they bailed out of the car as if it were on fire. My daughter approached my window.

“Please don’t ever make us do that again, dad,” she said. “I don’t want to be homeless.”

I smiled until she made it inside, then I laid my head on the steering wheel and cried.

“No one does, baby,” I whispered. “No one does.”

Some Thoughts on Survival Food

Now that I have come out of my food coma from yesterday...let's talk about food.

Knowing what to buy as far as survival supplies go is relatively simple. You know that duct tape, para cord, and sheet plastic all have hundreds of uses. You know that it is a good idea to buy a battery operated radio, have flashlights on hand, and that you can never have too much ammo. But when it comes to planning for your emergency food needs, the mind boggles.

Basically I stock up on food that we will eat anyway (canned soup, canned meat, canned vegetables, and grains along with some MREs and freeze dried food on the side that can be used for the occasional backpacking trip). The problem comes when you try to plan for long term food needs, say of about a year or so. That is often as far as most people get before they become overwhelmed with what to buy, how much to buy, how to store it, etc. When you start to calculate calorie needs per person, per day, for 365 days, along with assuring an assortment of food that covers all of your macro nutrient and micro nutrient needs...well you can see how people can end up throwing up their hands.

And then I watched an episode of Surviving Disaster that gave the most succinct explanation of long term food storage that I ever heard of. It was such a simple idea I nearly fell off of my chair. Basically what the guy said is that for three months of food for one person at 1800 calories a day, you need three gallons of oil, 100 6-ounce cans of tuna fish, and a 20 pound bag of rice. This simple stockpile would cover all of the fats, proteins, and carbs an average person would need to survive for three months. Aside from the fact that should you be forced to live on this food, you would never want to see another tuna fish or grain of rice again, the concept simplifies emergency food storage to something that everyone could understand and do. For a year's worth of food, simply multiply these items times four.

If you can't fathom eating these three items for a year (and you are worried that you will miss some significant dietary nutrients), consider how you can substitute items that fall into the three categories.

For fats, consider: butter, mayonnaise, salad dressing, cheese, milk (dried), meat, nuts, eggs.

For protein, consider: meat (dried, canned), fish (canned), milk (dried), eggs, beans and rice, soybeans.

For carbs, consider: rice, whole wheat flour, beans, oatmeal, barley, pasta.

You'll note that some of these foods overlap categories (ie: canned sardines packed in oil cover both the protein and fats categories). Throw in some canned/dried fruits and vegetables and some spices and you will be set. Also, don't forget a good multi vitamin.

The bottom line is that emergency food storage doesn't need to be overwhelmingly complicated.Theoretically someone could go to Costco and buy 100 pounds of rice, 15 gallons of oil and 400 cans of tuna and be set for a year. Most of us like a bit more variety in our diet and would substitute canned sardines, beef jerky, Spam, beans, and other sources of protein for 300 cans of the tuna but when you look at the simple equation that makes up your food needs, everyone should be able to have enough emergency food stores on hand to carry them through both short and long-term disasters where your food supply could be interrupted.

Entertainment vs. Experience

I'm a big fan of Barnes & Noble (and most other bookstores for that matter). My usual route through the store includes a swing by the sports section (depending on my latest endeavour I may glance through books on backpacking the Appalachian Trail, bicycle commuting, wilderness survival, et al), then make a pass through the language section (somehow I feel I will pick up all six forms and sixteen tenses of each of hundreds of Spanish verbs by osmosis, just by being near the dictionaries), next a shuffle by the Moleskine section to determine if I really need ANOTHER notebook, then a quick check to see what's new in the business section, and finally I finish up by reading a bunch of magazines (NG Adventure, and a number of tactical handgun magazines being among my favorites). Overall, a nice afternoon of entertainment.
What all of the books and magazines in the world can't give you, as you peruse their pages, is experience. I may get some good ideas from books and magazines, pick up a couple of tactical tips (like in the latest annual edition of Weapons and Tactics magazine where one article refers to a handful of innocuous items which can be used as weapons yet carried right through airport security such as a solid metal Washington Monument figurine which could do some serious damage if used correctly), and find some interesting ways to improve/expand my business but just reading these things does not provide what is most important: experience.
In order to change your afternoon's entertainment into useful experience, you need to take the next step by taking what you have learned from books and magazines and actually putting it to work. Instead of just reading a book on learning a foreign language, find a group that meets to practice speaking the language. Instead of reading about tactics for clearing a house, practice doing so (preferably when the spouse and kids aren't home so they won't think you have lost your mind). Instead of reading about other's grand travel adventures, dust off your passport and go somewhere.
Reading for entertainment is a great way to wile away an afternoon, but consider taking the next step and actually using the things you learn from the multitude of books and magazines available to improve your life, your health, your safety, and your skills.

10 Holiday Safety Tips

It will be Thanksgiving in a few days. Everyone thinks about holiday fun--food, friends, and the Black Sunday ads--but they often forget about the dangers of the holiday season. Here's some safety tips:

1. Deep fried turkey. Need I say more? Check out the video here.
2. Back over accidents. Kids are short, cars/trucks/SUVs are tall. Bad combination. With lots of people around, you can lose track of a kid and someone can back over them in only seconds. When there are people around, be sure to walk all the way around your car before getting into it and backing out of the driveway.
3. Driving accidents. There are a bunch of ways to get into a driving accident but the most common around the holidays are because of bad weather (snow, ice, rain) and because of DUIs. Having even one drink at a holiday party can leads to irreparable harm on the roads.
4. Be careful on ladders. Better yet, stay off them all together. Tis the season to hang up holiday lights and decorations but ask any hospital/ambulance company what their largest number of injuries are from and falls will most likely be in the top two or three. I didn't believe this until I saw the data but apparently falls out number other causes of injuries in our state by many thousands.
5. Look for dangers around your home. Right now my home is not dangerous. With only the spouse and I, everything is set just the way we like it. During the holidays, however, when family of all ages come from around the country, I need to re evaluate my home for dangers. Things like firearms, medications, poisons, etc. can be fine with just an older couple in the home but can be deadly if found by inquisitive kids.
6. Be extra alert for thefts, burglaries, and robberies. Sometimes people get desperate during the holidays and take advantage of opportunity (a car that is full of high end presents), see something that catches their eye (like a box from a 50" plasma TV next to your house), or plan an even bigger score (like a bank robbery). Stay aware.
7. Be fire safe. This is also the season for fires. Aside from the turkey inferno above, candles, fireplaces that haven't been cleaned in decades, frayed cords on tree lights, overloaded circuits, and dried out Christmas trees can all cause a fire. Be sure your smoke detectors are in working order.
8. Be carbon monoxide safe. Obviously never use a barbecue grill inside, always use (and vent) your generator correctly, and if you are working on your car in the garage, always have the doors open. Along with the winter holidays come winter-related power outages, the use (and misuse) of generators which cause carbon monoxide deaths each year, and working on cars indoors as opposed to outside due to the weather which requires additional safety measures.
9. Malls and other shopping areas require extra attention during the holidays. Whether you run into a thief who wants to relieve you of your packages or lose a kid in the swarm of shoppers, plan ahead for every contingency.
10. Keep an eye on kids and pets. Little kids and pets can get into all kinds of things (decorations and ornaments, poisonous plants like Poinsettias, dangerous toys) or get too close to the fireplace/turkey fryer/space heater, all of which can lead to injuries or death.

Here's to having a safe holiday!

DPT From a Reader

Reader GM sent in the following tip:

"I recently became interested in self-sufficiency and survival as I believe that TEOTWAWKI is a real possibility. When the SHTF I'ld like my family to be prepared to take care of itself. Through studying on-line, I've found that one of the common themes throughout various sites is the stored food rations that people suggest keeping.

One of the foods my family often eats and uses in a variety of meals is dried seaweed, sometimes called by the Japanese name "nori", sometimes by the korean name "gim" or "kim", sometimes by the English name "laver". Dried seaweed is very lightweight, highly nutritious, and not very expensive. Most people would know it as the wrapping around "california roll" style sushi. My family prefers the Korean style as it has been dried with sesame oil for additional flavor.

It can be used as a seasoning on a variety of foods, made into soup, mixed in with other foods, or eaten by itself. Dried seaweed goes well with fish, rice, and adds a bit of variety to the diet.

Dried seaweed has a high iodine content, good amount of protein, Vitamins A, B, C, and D, carotene, good quantities of trace minerals (calcium and iron in particular) and has a lot of water soluble fiber that helps with cholesterol issues. The weight to nutrition ratio is exceedingly good. Probably the only negative issues are that it has a high salt content which could be problematic in a survival situation and it needs to be kept dry prior to use for spoilage prevention.

While the flavor and texture are not necessarily for everyone, if you like it, people should consider adding a batch of it to their survival pantry, bug-out-bags, etc. It can be easily found in asian markets or on-line by searching for "dried seaweed'. It stores easily, keeps well and should retain its nutritional values a long time."

Thanks GM for the tip. Although I have eaten nori wrapped around sushi, I hadn't considered its many benefits as a survival food. I think I will be adding some of this to my stash of survival food!

10 Ways You Can Help Others Survive All Kinds of Situations

Tis the season to think about others. What with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the generally jovial atmosphere of giving these last couple months of the year, here are a number of ways you can help others survive all kinds of situations:

1. Give something that literally saves a life: blood, plasma, bone marrow, a kidney, and any other vital organs that you don't need (ie: become an organ and tissue donor).
2. Give your time to those who most need it. Investing your time and effort to help others, whether you are helping someone learn to read or watching a passel of kids for a single mother while she looks for a job, often provides the payback of creating a better community. Having a better community to live in is a good thing--it makes for better survival rates for all.
3. Teach others. I am fairly certain that I wouldn't be the person I am today without all of the things I learned from important people in my life (ie: how to survive in the wilderness, how to use logic to solve problems, how to speak a handful of languages, etc). It's a good bet that if you teach someone something, that knowledge will go on to help them later in life.
4. Give good gifts. To me, "good" gifts are practical gifts. A sweater is nice, a box of ammo is nicer. I also like to give car emergency kits, sporting goods that get kids outside and active, experiences that help people improve their skills (everything from an auto repair class for the daughters to cooking class for the sons). Maybe that is why I am not often in charge of gift giving....
5. Pay attention to what is going on with others and help if/when needed. While I am busy enough with my own life and disdain drama of all kinds, if I know someone is going through a difficult situation and I can help by providing something concrete such as a job lead, a referral to services, a positive word, etc, I will do it without hesitation.
6. Invite others to learn from/with you. I am a fan of Dave Ramsey because his basic program is to get a group of people to go through a class (FPU) together which allows them to support each other while they all aim for the same goal of getting out of debt. And it works. Mastermind groups are similar as are study groups at college and sports teams. Basically everyone is working towards the same goal, supporting each other, and teaching each other as they go.
7. Lobby for training opportunities in your community. The more people who have access to CPR, HAM radio, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), weather watcher, firearms safety, and other disaster prep training opportunities, the better.
8. Prepare leaders. Whether within your family or your office, leadership training is important. You may be the head honcho on a normal day, but when TSHTF, and if, by some chance, you become incapacitated, you will need a leader other than yourself to take over. Who might that be? How might you help others prepare to take on leadership roles if necessary? Everyone needs training, everyone needs to know the chain of command, and everyone needs to know what to do in a disaster in case they are the last one standing and need to take control of a situation.
9. Volunteer. There are plenty of people out there who wouldn't be alive today without the efforts of volunteer EMTs at rural ambulance agencies. Volunteers at the food bank help people survive during hard times, volunteer search and rescue personnel pull people off mountains with surprising regularity, and volunteer coaches help develop skills that will prove useful for immediate needs and vital for the future development of the coach-ees.
10. Practice. You never know when you will get to save a life. Be sure you have training, and have on-going practice, in a wide range of skills including CPR, first aid, lifeguard swimming, shooting. foraging, fire building, sea survival, mountain survival, etc.