DPT--Check Out Your Local Transit System

Up until a few years ago, it had been decades since I had used public transit. Then gas prices went through the roof, then I noticed a bus stop by my house, then I gathered up the courage one day to hop on the bus just to see where it would go. After that I was sold on public transit and now use it regularly in my city and quite often when I travel as well.
It just makes sense to know ALL of your options when it comes to transportation. There may come a time when for some reason or another you cannot drive your car or get a ride with a friend, walking or riding your bike may not work because of the weather or the distance, and calling a cab may be too spendy.
So, take some time this weekend to get a day pass for your local transit system and ride the bus/subway/light rail/monorail/etc just for the fun of it. This will allow you to find out not only where the transit system can take you but costs/distances/times, how far you can get away from the city and into the rural/mountain areas, and provide some options/ideas for bugging out should the need arise.

An Interesting Fingerprinting Technique

I'm not sure if there are any fingerprint techs who read this blog, but for those who work in law enforcement or related fields, I wanted to pass along an interesting technique for fingerprinting hands that have decomposed beyond the point of being able to print them in the normal fashion. It is an unusual technique that is virtually unknown in the US (it was passed along to me via video from a forensics team in South Africa). So you have a hand which would normally be considered too decomposed to pull prints from. Simply pour boiling water over the fingers and palm. You will see the muscles contract and the fingers rise up. Dry the fingers and palm, dust the hand like you are dusting for latent prints, take some white fingerprint tape and proceed to print the fingers. You now have mirror images of the fingerprints on the tape which I am told are quite accurate and useful for identification. Interesting.

Stuff You Need to Identify a Loved One

When something like the Twin Tower collapse, Hurricane Katrina, or the Oklahoma City bombing happens, the recovery and identification of the remains (bodies and/or parts) falls to specialized teams coordinated by the government. Obviously, identifying remains can be a daunting task, made slightly easier by high tech forensics, however the identification process leans heavily on information provided by loved ones of the deceased. Here's the stuff that can be used to identify a loved one should the worst happen:

• Recent photos (of both the face and the full body)
• Personal characteristics (age, height, weight, race, scars, birthmarks, etc)
• Photos of tattoos or other permanent identifying marks
• Dental records including dental x rays
• Medical records, medical history, medical x rays
• Fingerprints
• DNA samples (most people don't have/preserve their own DNA samples which is why the DNA of next of kin are used for comparison) Here's an interesting DNA collection how-to.
• Information on personal property of the deceased (jewelry, clothing, other items known to be in the victim's possession)

Sounds kind of gruesome but for people who have experienced the loss of a loved one in a mass fatality event (natural disaster, plane crash, etc), having definitive proof that can assist in the identification of a loved one so a family can have closure is important. If you want to take preparedness to (what some would call) the extreme, consider putting together an "identification kit" for yourself and your loved ones.

The Value of Setting (And Reaching) Goals

For the past few days I was out of town, participating in a marathon. I actually finished (!), however I realized that I am not as young as I used to be. I used to be able to participate in hard-core physical activities for hours on end and have no repercussions. My feet today, however, are screaming in pain and I am barely able to walk. Bummer.
The best part is that this was one of many goals that I have set for the year and I accomplished it. I have found over the years that having a list of goals to accomplish has not only provided direction for my life but has also greatly increased the chances that I would be successful in the things I want to accomplish.
With a list of goals, I can plan out my year, or at least the high points, and the list also serves as motivation to actually get the things done that I want to achieve. One of the best things about having written goals is that there seems to be more accountability than just having a number of good ideas in your mind. There have been many times when there was a particular activity/event coming up and I would literally have to pull myself out of bed on the morning of said activity and drag myself to where ever it was I needed to be. If I didn't have a concrete goal set in writing, there is no way that I would have gone to the trouble to attend said event/activity/class. Afterwards, though, I am always happy that I made the effort to achieve the goal no matter how lazy I was before the fact.
If there are things you want to accomplish, no matter how large, small, or improbable, write them down, set a time frame, and get busy working towards your goals.
On a side note, don't worry about the money when it comes to goals. If people looked at only what they knew they could afford/achieve they would not reach very high. As many philosophers have noted, once you set your mind of something, the universe has a way of making things happen.

20 Identifiers to Consider

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to identify people based on just looking at them and their stuff? If you want to be able to "blend", consider how the following identifiers tell the world something about you:

1. Your passport. A good reason to hold dual citizenship.
2. Your tattoos. No tattoos are optimal if you want to be incognito. Prison tattoos, gang tattoos, and military-related tattoos are clear "give aways" about your past/present.
3. Your clothing. The reason costumes are an integral part of undercover work/movies/etc is because the clothing you wear tells quite a bit about you.
4. Scars. Again, these permanent marks can tell your history, especially to those who know what to look for.
5. Sexual identifiers. Earrings, clothing, other jewelry can be used to identify a person's sexual preferences.
6. Jewelry. Besides the above mentioned use of jewelry, wedding rings send a signal, watches, and other jewelry also tell the world something about you.
7. Religious wear. Everything from head scarves to religious jewelry to coptic tattoos can signal your religious preferences.
8. Mannerisms. Often times I can identify what country people are from simply by their mannerism. Each locale has certain types of mannerism that are kind of common throughout the populace.
9. The way you carry yourself. I can identify former Marines with a high degree of accuracy simply by the way they walk and carry themselves. Ditto for victims of domestic violence. Drug users can be distractingly twitchy.
10. Indicators of your hobbies/work. Bowlers have unusual thumbs, gardeners usually have dirt stains on their hands, violinists have marks on the side of their necks, and many occupations leave people with callouses on their hands.
11. The kind of car you drive (sometimes a dead give away about your income level/profession/political leaning/etc) and your license plates (does the registration lead straight back to you?).
12. The way you smell. You probably can't do much about this as your "smell" depends on your environment and what you eat but it can be a dead giveaway that you are from somewhere else.
13. Your level of awareness. When people appear to be hyper aware, there is usually a reason for their behaviour--they may have been in a combat zone, been recently released from prison, are on the run/hiding from someone, etc. The majority of people are relatively oblivious to their surroundings so if you see someone who isn't, that's your clue.
14. Biometric identifiers. DNA, fingerprints, your retinas...again these are things you can't do much to change. Keeping these items to yourself is a good idea.
15. Cultural markers--turbans, bindis, henna designs--there are a number of items that announce to the world something about a person's cultural background.
16. The way people talk. Accents, level of formality, word choice, and other verbal indicators of a person's background can provide clues to the person you are talking to.
17. Dental work (or the lack thereof). This can range from areas where very little dental work is done (missing teeth, rotting teeth, and teeth sticking out every which way) to areas where dental work is of the utmost importance (braces, veneers) to location specific dental items ("grills" in the ghetto to silver dental inlays in Central America).
18. Your face. Another something you can't change easily. This includes your race, the look of your eyes, the shape of your face, your gender...obviously with good theatrical makeup/props or a good plastic surgeon this could be changeable.
19. Your body. It the person you are looking at ultra fit or ultra fat? What does their musculature look like. The person's body can give clues to their health and their lifestyle.
20. What the person's hands are doing. People's hands give away a lot about them--are they pissed off? Nervous? Hiding something? Reaching for something like a weapon? Picking their nails? Signaling someone?

Take a good hard look at yourself in a mirror. What are you projecting to the world? If someone was hunting you, how would you change the aforementioned things about you so as to disguise your identity?

Link Round-Up: Preparedness Related

From the favorites list:

• A cool new tool from Victorinox.
• A reminder about why you need an emergency fund.
• And a second reminder with some real world applications.
• An interesting challenge.
• And some info for work.

The Value of Being Organized

Being organized--having a place for everything and keeping everything in its place--can save you not only time but money. Here are a bunch of recent examples of how being organized can save both of these valuable commodities...

• I reviewed my insurance coverage and found that it was time to shop around and find out if my homeowners insurance was still the best coverage for the money I was paying. Having a copy of my policy on hand (in a file where I could easily find it), I figured out what coverage I had, what I was paying for the coverage annually (something many people don't pay attention to because it is usually included with your mortgage payment), and went about seeking quotes for insurance from a handful of local insurance companies. I switched companies and now save about $200 per year.
• A local store had an excellent sale on batteries. Instead of guessing whether or not we needed more batteries and what sizes (AA, AAA, D, etc) we needed, I simply went to the cabinet in the garage where we store the batteries and looked to see what we needed. No hunting through the house and searching various places for lone batteries. If they are all stored together, not only can you see when your supply is getting low, but, if need be, you can find them in the dark in the event of a power outage.
• I save time, money, and gas by planning my day the previous evening. By laying out your day on paper, you can schedule in errands (ie: a trip to the post office or a quick grocery shopping trip) where they logically fit in your day instead or running across town and back two or three times, wasting both your time and gas. On a side note, I usually have a cooler in my vehicle which is useful for a number of things including keeping the milk cold if I buy it mid day instead of on my way home. On occasion I have been down on the docks to meet friends and ended up with a cooler full of fish. Nice.
• I keep a print out of all of my important papers/documents and review this list occasionally. By doing this, I noted that my passport will expire in about six months and my concealed carry permit will expire next year. By ensuring that these types of documents are renewed before they expire, you save hassle (ever tried getting back into the country with an expired passport?), money (in added fees to renew documents that have expired), and time (by renewing before these things expire, you can choose the time to renew them instead of running down to the office in a panic on the busiest day of the month and waiting in line).
• Having financial records at your finger tips can save time and hassle. When shopping around for mortgage financing, you are always asked for records. Past tax returns, annual income records, DD214, bank statements. Obviously you can round these up with time and effort by contacting your bank, the IRS, etc., but that is the hard way to do things. By having these records on hand, neatly filed in one place, you can whip out these documents and have a loan decision in a couple of hours.

I am all for having the big important things in life well organized, such as my BOB, backpacking gear, and the trunk of my vehicle or first aid kit, but by having ALL of your possessions, documents, and even the smallest of things such as fingernail clippers in ONE specific location ALL of the time, you will save money, time, and frustration.