10 Summer Safety Tips

Summer is coming up for most of us (well, at least those of us not in upper New York state...).  Here's some safety tips to remember:

1. Drowning doesn't look like drowning so think water safety anytime you are near a river, lake, ocean, etc.
2. Watch your pets (and small kids) around wildlife (example here).
3. Never use gasoline to start your barbecue grill, bonfire etc. (example here).
4. Beware of burglars (summer is prime time for home burglaries).
5. Don't drink and drive (alcohol is often served at beaches, barbecues, and other summer events...that's no excuse for drinking and driving).  Watch this, have your kids watch this too.
6. Prepare for summer wildfire season (tips here).
7. Prepare ahead and avoid sunburn/heat stroke (example here).
8. And keep your kids--from small kids to older teenagers--supervised (their brains aren't fully developed until they are in their early 20's, which means stuff like this happens).
9. Remind your kids about stranger danger (tips here).
10. Don't leave your kids or your pets (or anyone else for that matter) in a car during hot weather (this is all too common during summer months).

50 Things About Tornados

If you missed the news, there was a huge (EF5!) tornado in Moore, Oklahoma a few days ago.  While the town begins clean up and wraps up search and rescue operations, here are 50 things to consider about tornadoes:

1. While there is such a thing as Tornado Alley, tornadoes can happen pretty much anywhere so everyone should know what to do in the event of a tornado.
2. Anyone living in an area prone to tornadoes or other weather-related emergencies should have a NOAA-approved weather radio.
3. Always have your BOB ready to grab and go at a moment's notice (see the after photos of Moore, OK and then think about what you would wear or eat in the aftermath of such an event.  Hint: it will be located in your BOB).
4. Know what your local area has planned in the event of a tornado.  Most tornado-prone areas have special news broadcasts, tornado sirens, info on tornado shelters, etc.  You need to know about all of this stuff AHEAD of time.
5. Follow the news prior to and up to the disaster (afterwards as well but this may not be possible).  When I am in the midst of a possible disaster I have CNN on, the local news on, the weather station on, Twitter up on my computer screen, NOAA up on my computer screen, etc.
6. Heed the warnings.  When we spent a spring in Georgia it was nearly habit to get in the basement every time the newscaster came on and said "ya'll better head for the basement now".  This happened multiple times during a particularly short period of time a couple of years ago.
7. Monitor social media.  Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, etc will probably have more timely updates than the standard TV and newspaper media outlets.
8. Hold regular tornado drills with your family so everyone will now what to do in the event of a tornado.
9. Realize that after a disaster your communication options will be limited.  Cell phones probably won't work, text messages may not either, wi fi networks will be down, land lines will be down.  When a whole city is wiped out, your communications options may be limited to satellite phones (rare that people have these), HAM radios (yes you should have one and know how to use it), and sending a runner to the nearest manned disaster station.
10. Fortunately disaster response has improved exponentially over the past decade.  In most places in the US, a coordinated disaster response will be set up shortly after the danger passes.
11. Before a tornado strikes you will need to seek shelter--in a basement or cellar is best (provided you aren't in an area that could flood), in a bathroom is OK, in an interior closet is OK, in your car isn't OK).
12. If you are out in the open when a tornado strikes, lay down flat in the lowest-lying area you can find and cover yourself as best as possible.
13. While you are sheltering, cover yourself with things that can protect you as you may look up during the tornado and everything--roof, walls, etc--could be gone.  Put on a motorcycle helmet, cover yourself with a mattress or a heavy blanket, put on a bicycle helmet...all of these things will provide extra protection between you and falling wood/metal/debris.
14. Don't try to drive home from work or drive to your children's school if a tornado is bearing down on you.  You simply won't make it and will be even less protected in your car than you would be in your home or office.
15. Get your insurance coverage in order now--life, health, auto, home.  All could come into play after a disaster.
16. Prepare your home for a tornado: tie down heavy furniture, secure your home to the foundation and reinforce the roof per code, glue down glass knick knacks on shelves so they won't go flying, etc.
17. Prepare the exterior of your home for a tornado: before a tornado hits bring in anything that could fly away (patio furniture, planters, the barbecue grill, etc), remove old or dead trees so they don't become a hazard, etc.  Here's more info on the topic from FEMA.
18. Take a bit of time now to make a video home inventory of everything you own.  Save this video on a flashdrive and put this in your BOB or backed up in the cloud (you will need this for your insurance claims after the disaster).
19. If you live in a tornado-prone area, plan ahead with neighbors for such an event.  Who has basements where those without could shelter?  Who can take care of the elderly or children left at home by themselves when a tornado is coming?
20. Consider where you fall on this map of tornado strikes since 1950.
21. Consider your transportation options after a disaster.  As you can see from the photos of the tornado-struck area, cars are buried and roads are impassible.  Having a bicycle or motorcycle (and a way to fix multiple flat tires since the roads are covered with debris) may be a good option.
22. If your city has tornado shelters, physically go and take a look at them so you will know exactly where they are located.
23. Consider storing survival supplies in a basement or cellar.  Generally when there is major destruction coming it is good to put supplies in an outbuilding (less debris to hunt through afterwards to get your stuff) but in the case of a tornado out buildings are usually demolished and blown away...along with everything stored inside them.
24. Among other items to stockpile in your basement: bottled water, canned/no prep food, medications, etc.
25. After a tornado you will want to have clean up supplies on hand: work gloves, goggles, hard hat, tarps, rope, duct tape, etc.
26. Be able to signal for help if needed (a whistle is an item everyone should have with them, spray paint will allow you to make a big sign requesting help very quickly).
27. Be prepared to camp out after a tornado (as you can see from the after photos, there were no structures left standing in a large swath of the town after the tornado went through).
28. Also be prepared to stay at a shelter if they are available or pay your way to stay in a hotel should your home become uninhabitable.
29. Realize that looters can be an immediate problem after any type of disaster--tornadoes included (thus the reason people camp out on their property instead of going to a shelter; an adequate way to protect yourself and your property would be required).
30. And scammers can be a problem after a disaster as well, unfortunately.
31. Immediately after a tornado, determine if first aid is needed by anyone.  Assist with this if possible or evacuate the person a medical facility.
32. Also after a tornado, check your home for damage (if it is damaged you may need to leave your home immediately), also check for broken gas or water mains (which also means you will need to evacuate).
33. Watch where you walk after a tornado--hazards range from nails and metal that you could impale your foot with to downed power lines that are still live and could electrocute you.
34. Be careful if you need to conduct a full-on rescue of trapped people.  Helping someone out of the wreckage of their home can be easy (they simply need physical help to get over small obstacles) or deadly (they are trapped and the entire structure could fall down and trap you as well; in this case wait for professionals to arrive).
35. Realize that the police car or fire engine passing by may not stop to help.  After large disasters, many first responders are sent to survey the entire disaster scene before they provide assistance.  Obviously this shouldn't stop you from signalling for help if help is needed, it is just a reason that they may not stop.
36. Be sure your office/worksite has a tornado plan if you are located in a tornado-prone area (this is a good place to start).
37. Also be sure your children's school has a tornado plan (ditto).
38. And for your own home, this prep sheet should help.
39. After a tornado, find out what resources are available.  Often the Red Cross will set up shelters and mobile units to provide food, water, and shelter for those left homeless.  Note that "finding out what's available" could mean walking to the other side of town since all other ways to receive news and information could be gone. 
40. After a tornado file an insurance claim with your car insurance company if needed and your house insurance company.
41. Depending on the type and range of a disaster, finding people afterwards can be difficult.  Having a place for your entire family to meet after a disaster is a good idea (which can be much more difficult if the entire town and all of its landmarks are wiped away).
42. Other options for finding people after a tornado or other disaster include: Safe and Well and Google Person Finder.
43. Google also has a useful Crisis Response page for disasters.
44. In the aftermath of a disaster, you may want to contact the Red Cross (for a variety of types of assistance) as well as FEMA (for assistance after a disaster) or your state/local Department of Emergency Management.
45. If you want to help victims of a disaster, you can give blood or donate money (only to reputable agencies! Scammers come out of the woodwork after such an event and would be only too happy to rip you off).  This gives you an idea of reputable agencies who are responding to the tornado area/victims.
46. What you don't want to do to help is drive yourself to the disaster area and jump into the fray--you will become yet another person that disaster response teams will need to deal with.  Should you want to be able to respond personally to a disaster, sign up with a reputable agency (Red Cross, FEMA, Mercy Corps, etc), get trained, then if needed, get deployed with the full backing and support of those in the first responder community.
47. Realize that the disaster will fade from the news in a few days but recovery and clean up will last for months, sometimes years.  Cleaning up, getting insurance money, rebuilding...all of these things take time and a lot of effort.  The more self-sufficient you can be during this time (financially, physically, etc), the better.
48. Don't scrimp on insurance.  Full coverage auto insurance will pay for your car that was blown into the next county, renter's insurance will cover the loss of all of your belongings as well as a temporary place to stay, home owner's insurance is invaluable to getting the funds to rebuild (make sure your insurance covers the disasters most likely to happen where you live!).
49. Sometimes, you just need to rely on instinct.
50. Never stop preparing.  The things you learned in first aid class could save a life, the HAM radio you play with on the weekends with your buddies could become a lifeline in a disaster, the ammo you reload could save your life.  Prepping, planning, and most important--practicing--is a daily thing, not a thing to be needed during a once in a lifetime disaster event.

25 Skills to Practice This Summer

Summer is a great time to practice a bunch of survival skills.  Obviously the ability to perform a variety of survival skills in the dead of winter, in the middle of a storm--basically under least optimal conditions--is crucial, getting the hang of these skills under more optimal conditions (namely in the summer) is a good idea.  Here's some things to learn/practice:

1. Geocaching (no better way to learn how to use your GPS device).
2. Camping/hiking/backpacking (how to survive without running water, electricity, etc is a necessary skill).
3. Fishing (catch your own food).
4. Swimming (a vital skill that everyone should know).
5. Growing your own food (a great way to produce food on the cheap and develop a useful skill).
6. Preserving the harvest (can you can, freeze, pickle, and otherwise preserve your own food for future use?).
7. Walking (there are plenty of people who can't walk more than a couple of miles.  Regular nice, long walks are great for your health as well as survival in some situations when you need to evacuate on foot).
8. Shooting (I'm becoming more of a fair-weather shooter as the years go by).
9. Distance bike/canoe/kayak trip (being able to cart yourself a long distance under your own steam is a valuable skill).
10. Home improvement projects (to develop self sufficiency skills and save money).
11. Barbecuing (learning how to cook over an open flame is both useful and tasty).
12. Shelter building (this could be something as simple as building a chicken coop or a garden shed).
13. Plant and tree identification (can you identify which plants in your area are poisonous? which can be used for medicine? which ones are edible enough to add to your usual meals?).
14. Raising animals for food (chickens and rabbits are easiest; pigs and cows much more complicated).
15. Boy Scout merit badge stuff (can you tie a variety of knots, navigate by the stars, etc?).
16. HAM radio (summer is a great time for HAM Fests).
17. First aid (your local Red Cross, DEM, fire department, etc. usually offer a variety of first aid classes--a set of critical skills you should know and practice).
18. Making money (extra cash is always useful; hold a garage sale, sell stuff on CraigsList, mow lawns and challenge yourself to do other things to raise a set amount of cash).
19. Do preventive maintenance things (clean your guns, sharpen your knives, change the oil in your car, etc).
20. Master a new skill (make cheese, knit a sweater, reload your own ammo; the more skills you can add to your repertoire, the better).
21. Revamp your BOB (not a skill necessarily but a continual opportunity for improvement and preparedness).
22. Conduct drills: fire drills, lock-down drills, evacuation drills, etc.
23. Entertain yourself without electricity (this is, surprisingly, a useful skill as when the power goes out, people have absolutly no idea how to entertain themselves without a working cell phone/TV/computer/etc.  Play cards, read a book, whittle a figure, etc).
24. Develop a hobby (be known as the guy who can: build a bird house, make a robot, make his own moccasins, etc.  Hobbies are useful for developing useful skills, creating another stream of income, entertaining the kids, amusing the neighbors, killing time, etc).
25. Travel (make your summer vacation a survival-worthy adventure.  The further off the beaten track you go, the more survival lessons you can learn).

Your Disaster Recovery Kit

As the last couple of weeks has shown, disasters can happen anywhere and at anytime.  While there is a small chance that you could become a victim of the disaster (either killed or injured), there is a far more likely chance that you will be on the periphery of the disaster and will end up less in survival mode and more in recovery mode.  Here are the items you need to respond immediately after a disaster:

• A BOB (you may end up displaced from your home and need to evacuate).
• A vehicle with a full tank of gas (ditto...and gas stations will probably be closed).
• Heavy, steel-toed work boots (necessary for rescue and clean up after a disaster when the ground is covered with nails/pieces of metal/other things that can pierce regular shoes).
• Heavy, leather work gloves (ditto).
• Multiple communication tools (a cell phone and a portable HAM radio, for example).
• Appropriate training (basic first aid is a must, search and rescue training is also a good skill to have).
• Bottled water (rescue and clean up is hard work...keep hydrated).
• Portable food (ditto).
• Wet wipes and alcohol hand cleaner (sanitation is important in a disaster area)
• Breaker bar and other basic tools (useful for wedging open stuck doors, etc).
• Bigger tools (such as a chainsaw, a wench on your truck, and other items for major rescue/clean up).
• Giant Sharpie marker (for leaving info on the wall about evacuation, help needed, etc).
• Cash (ATMs probably won't be working).
• Hard hat, goggles, ear plugs, etc (ie: things to protect you while you search through rubble).
• Clean up items: tarp, rope, duct tape, bleach, towels and rags, shovels, rubber gloves, PPEs, etc.
• Situational awareness: know the area you are working in and be aware of fire/electrical/chemical/biological/other hazards that could adversely affect you.

Two Days, Two Disasters: 10 Prep Tips

In the last few days there have been not one, but two major disasters (the Boston Marathon Bombing and the Explosion of the fertilizer plant in Texas).  Here's ten ways to prep for these kinds of unexpected disasters:

1. Take a first aid class (or two...or three).  Most disasters require the rendering of first aid so it is a good idea if you have some skills in this area.
2. Always carry an EDC kit with you (even the basics such as a bottle of water or a knife can come in handy in a disaster).
3. Participate in disaster preparedness training (everything from volunteering with your local Search and Rescue or Red Cross to taking an online FEMA class).
4. Consider communications (how would you communicate during a disaster? Text messaging? Two-way radio? and of course, consider the lack of communicating in order to save bandwidth).
5. Document, document, document.  In every disaster, the more documentation that is available (by way of written records, photos, and videos) the better after-action reports/plans can be developed.
6. Situation awareness is paramount.  Some places just scream "this is not a good place to be".  Obviously if your spidey-sense is telling you that the location you are in is not safe (a fertilizer plant of fire), then evacuate without needing to wait for permission from the powers that be.  Ditto for buying/renting a house anywhere in the vicinity of a specific, known danger area.
7. Always be ready to evacuate at a moments notice (you do have a BOB waiting and ready to go don't you?).
8. Use your best judgement.  There is no "right" thing to do during a disaster.  As was seen in the Boston blast, one blast may send people running in one direction but with choreographed explosions (generally completely unexpected unless you are in a war zone), the direction you run to may be equally unsafe.  Use your best judgement depending on the situation.
9. Use common sense.  My common sense tells me to stay away from places packed with tens of thousands of people.  Other common sense (which was lacking in Texas as the fire department should have had entry protocols for a fire in the fertilizer plant which pretty much should have specified NO entry during a fire but anyway...) should tell you to always take specific actions in order to avoid or at least mitigate disasters (ie: always look for escape routes, always be watching people in the crowd, know where to go for help, etc).
10. Learn from disasters.  Digest all of the news from these and other recent disasters and play the what-if game.  What are things that could have been done to mitigate the damage caused by these disasters?  What changes could be made in future situations similar to the scenarios of these disasters? 

10 Things: Boston Marathon Explosion

Obviously you have heard about the tragedy in Boston this morning.  Here's 10 things about the incident:

1. Yes, I went out of town to do a marathon, no it wasn't this one (after my email, Twitter feed, Facebook messaging, and cell text messaging blew up asking where I was I realized that when I said I was on my way to a marathon, I should have specified that the one I am doing is NEXT weekend).
2. There is very little you can do to prevent a situation such as this (by all accounts, probably an IED attack).  Even people who are in war zones who are specifically looking for IEDs have difficulty identifying them until it is too late.
3. I would hesitate to point fingers until a thorough investigation has been completed (terrorists? Maybe. Muslims? Not necessarily.  North Koreans? Not necessarily.  Mentally ill psychopath? Just as probable as anyone else).
4. Kudos to all of the emergency responders who responded almost instantaneously--both race staff and city responders.  These events usually have emergency response as one of the cornerstones of their pre-planning but since it has been a while since there has been a major terrorism incident, you have to wonder how much pre-plannning went into the possibility of a terrorist attack at an event such as this.
5. The possibility of what happened today is one of the reasons I tend to avoid large, highly public events which draw tens of thousands of people.  Soft target + major media coverage = a very tempting target.  
6. What if you are caught in an incident such as this: obviously each situation will vary but a few things you can do (if you aren't one of the wounded in which case your first and only priority should be seeking medical care): photograph and video everything from your vantage point then turn this information over to the authorities, help others if you can, don't touch anything unless you are picking up an appendage for reattachment (it is infinitely helpful for investigators if everything--body parts, bomb parts, everyday detritus, etc--is left where it fell), avoid the media (I know, anathema in today's society but this keeps conflicting info/misleading info/biased theories/etc from becoming unproven media fodder).
7. There are so many countries where things like hospital surge plans, thorough screening of everyone entering a public place, and armed guards are common place...it's sad that it is getting closer and closer to this in my country.
8. As usual, the first reports of this incident didn't come through the major media outlets but via Twitter and Reddit (I know, I said don't talk to the media/post to the media but people are going to do this anyway thus the instantaneous reporting from any and all disaster scenes).  Also this.
9. Kudos to the people who came to the aid of those in need--everyone from people who helped the injured seek help to those who opened their homes to strangers who had no place to stay since they had intended to do the run then hop on a plane home.  Disasters often bring out the best in people.
10. I know that runners tend to go as ultralight as possible (I mean who wants to schlep a bunch of stuff over 26 miles?) but you should ALWAYS carry some basic EDC stuff for use in the event of a disaster--knife, cell, cash, water, ID, etc.

More on this as further information is available...

Goal Setting 101

As I get ready to head across the country to do a marathon, I realized that my training for said marathon is much like reaching any sort of goal whether for a physical challenge, a big prepping goal, building up an emergency fund, becoming a doctor or jet pilot, etc.  Here's how:

1. Begin with the end in mind (probably one of the biggest advances in goal management in recent memory, thanks to Steven Covey).  You need to know specifically what you want to achieve so you will know when you have reached your goal.  Obviously this end product needs to be specific (I want to run a 26 mile marathon, not I want to be able to run far).
2. Give yourself a reasonable, yet specific, amount of time to reach the goal (I will participate in the XX marathon on XX date).  If you say you will reach your goal "sometime" that time may never come.  Likewise, if you set an unreasonable timetable (I will go from couch potato to marathoner in two months) you probably won't reach your goal either.
3. Make daily, reasonable progress towards your goal.  Get off the couch, walk around the block.  The next day do a half run, half walk around the block.  Lather, rinse, repeat; extending your efforts a bit each day.
4. Seek help if needed.  The type of help needed, of course, depends on the goal.  If you are training for a marathon you may consider retaining the services of a running coach to help you improve your distance running skills or pick up a running partner to help keep yourself motivated.
5. Exert gazelle intensity and effort towards reaching your goal.  Goals that make you say "meh" probably won't be achieved.  Ditto for goals that you only work hard on occasionally thinking you will make up for the missing effort later.
6. Keep only one or two goals on your radar at a time.  It is much easier to focus on one or two goals until they are achieved rather than dispersing your effort among a dozen or more goals at the same time.
7. Reach your goal.  Of course, with a major goal that requires major effort, there is the possibility that you could fail and not reach your goal at which point you would need to regroup and redouble your efforts (after figuring out why failure occurred) or throw in the towel and work on a different goal.  Either one are options; sometimes goals don't work out as you have planned, other times they loose their importance and your enthusiasm, but at least by making the effort you will benefit in some ways.  On the other hand, you may reach your goal and completely amaze yourself with what you have accomplished.