urban rucksack

Lists make it easier

2007-07-27T23:53:00.000-07:00

These guys are taking the need for check lists to the next level with their product. I'm trying to get an order, so I can't comment on the lameness or awesomeness of it, but I doubt it's bad. Click on the link above to go to the website.

Home Emergency Pocket Guide

Preparedness NOW! Book review

2006-10-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Aton Edwards new book 'Preparedness NOW!'. All I can say is WOW! Dude has done a great job of providing up-to-date info. Published after Hurricane Katrina, this book covers all the topics, even if some are a little farther out then I might think
necessary.

Our friends over at SurviveLA went to an event for the book back in July and gave it big props too.

Here are some of my thoughts on the book;

A must have. Really, if you only pick up one book on the subject, this is it.

Comprehensive, really good and up to date, with check lists in the back as well as references for online research and ordering.

Well written, without being overly sensational or pedantic, with an emphasis on Green. Aton makes a concerted effort to not come off as fringe-element or urban warrior and does a good job. No reason to scare the natives.

I disagree with some of the generalizations regarding firearms usage – I don’t think that shotguns are the best for home defense due to heavy recoil and limited range with standard loads. Pistol caliber rifles are better IMHO (we still need to discuss this in-depth on another post).

I don’t agree with the tactic of getting under things to protect against falling debris. The Triangle of Life is better. Or get in between two sturdy objects.

A blizzard omission - Remember to keep car windows cracked when trapped in snow storm – may cases of carbon monoxide poisoning due to poor ventilation.

Here's his site

http://www.readyforanything.org/

Do the right thing

2006-09-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Found another blog, and this guy does it right. Of course, the fact that he's local to me makes me happy. He's also very environmentally aware. Good stuff.

http://survivela.blogspot.com/

Your cell phone

2006-08-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know about where you live, but here in LA, when you dial 911 on your cellular phone, you get connected to the CHP. This is a throwback to when they were CAR phones.

Now-a-days, they are a primary means of communication (I don't even have a land line - haven't since 2002). As such, I have found that programming my local police department's number in as a separate entry to be much better for getting the police to respond. I have both the emergency and non-emergency numbers in there (not everything you call the cops about is sirens wailing, guns drawn action).

Just put the entry under police, and if your phone is the asshole kind that asks you "Which number?", just put the digits in every space. Mobile, home, work, mobile 2, etc.

Well, it's about time!

2006-08-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

No excuses (and acknowlegement doesn't mean shite), but HI AGAIN! Life's been too good to worry about the, the, um whatever...Gonna do a few quick posts and then get back to thinkin'.

Rule Of Three's

2005-10-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here's how long you can expect to survive a disaster

3 years without hope
3 weeks without food
3 days without water
3 hours without shelter
3 minutes without air
3 seconds without thinking

The moral of this story is you need to have a plan BEFORE you need one. Not when it has all gone to hell in a handbasket.

If Harvard can do it, so can you

2005-10-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

Download their list in .pdf form here

Harvard Disaster Preparedness

Online Storage Update

2005-10-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

SWEET! This little app will let you turn your GMail account into an online hard drive. Ask and ye shall receive. Get to backin' up, slack-a-holics.

gdisk

Yes you have to pay for the shareware (babies), but this is worth it.

A Different Kind Of Disaster

2005-10-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, the other day I did something bad on my computer. I deleted the wrong identity in my address book. What I mean by that is that I deleted my WHOLE ADDRESS BOOK! 10 years of electronic contacts gone.

Sweet Corn Muffins! Panic set in, quickly.

Luckily, I had made a back-up of my entire hard drive about a month ago. It was a little tricky, but I was able to recover everything (minus 4 weeks of info, but that seems like nothing compared to 600+ contacts and calendar events).

You do back up don't you? For the love of Pete, haven't I told you all, for years now, that ALL MAGNETIC MEDIA WILL FAIL. Everything. Your hard drive, floppy disks, Zip disks, you name it. One day your computer will die. Without warning. Not the time to figure out what to do. Emergency disk recovery services go for about $1000-2000. It works, but man!

So here's what you need to do at the minimum -

Back up your address book. If you use Outlook or Entourage, there is an Export function. It makes a small text file that you can re-import later. Other programs like Palm and the rest have the same type of deal.

Back up your Web Browser's Bookmarks. They all have an export function too.

Pictures? You bet. This'll take up more space though.

Now, where do you keep this? I have a fireproof safe. A small one in a closet. In it I have a spare hard drive that I back up to at least monthly (that'll change now, duh). Just the contact and bookmarks, plus a few other important docs can fit on a flash drive or you can burn them to CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. Hey keep one away from the house too. Think how happy Mom will be when you send her duplicates along with a couple of them to keep for you. Ain't manipulation grand?

But with this kind of info, think about an online account also. Apple has .Mac accounts that you can do this with. Just a file online. It's pretty cool. Look at CNET.com or Yahoo.com. They will have links to similar services, most for about $3-5/month. Yahoo even has something called Yahoo Briefcase. Or just get a GMail account and mail yourself the files. Free and a lot of storage. You can even get software to automate the process (but that's WAY beyond the scope of this blog).

A Good Bet

2005-10-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine turned me onto this. Pick one day a year (Groundhog's Day will do), and on that day, every year, you empty your wallet onto the copy machine and make photocopies. Make a couple of them. Keep one in a safe or safe-deposit box, the other in your files.

This way, if your wallet is stolen of lost, you don't have to pick your brain about what needs to be replaced or cancelled.

Drivin' around

2005-09-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. You spend a lot of time in your car, and away from home. 50/50 odds that you will be at work if something goes haywire. Here is a kit I had in my car for the last 5-6 years (under the seat, so stop whining about space). I recently combined this kit with some more gear, but it still all fits in a small back-pack. The company I'm linking to is a good place to find a lot of stuff also.

Nitro-Pak 72 Hour Waist Kit

Insurance

2005-09-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Conversation yesterday
“Jimmy, why all the emergency supplies?”
“Um, weren’t you here for the last earthquake in ‘92?”
“Sure, but I was OK. Nothing happened where I was.”

Listen, I’ve never had my house burn down, but I have INSURANCE just in case it does. That’s what we are doing here.

Now stop procrastinating!

(Sorry for the date mix-up. I always switch the LA riots and the Northridge Earthquake)

Your first list - Go shopping!

2005-09-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

FOOD

This seems easy until you realize that there might not be any power or gas. Think about camping and go that direction. Again, the point of this is to make it for a few days without building a bomb shelter (unless you want to do that, in which case, have a ball).

Eat the stuff in your fridge first, then the freezer, then the dry/canned goods. In that order. That’s how it’ll go bad in case you don’t have any electricity for 2-5 days.

Canned food (tuna, veggies, fruit, stuff that you like, and a lot of it)
1 Bag Dried Beans (5lb or more if you have a family)
1 Rice (5lb or more if you have a family)
Powdered milk (if you have kids)
Peanut butter (pretty close to a perfect food really)
Jelly
Water (a couple of flats of bottles – cheap and easy to replace. In case you need to leave)
Salt, pepper, and or garlic salt (something to take the monotony away)
Matches and lighters (get a 5 pack or whatever)
Candles
Sterno cans
Radio (generated or battery) or, find a crystal radio. They make wind-ups that’ll charge your cell phones – SWEET)
Flashlight (LED-types will put out good light for longer)
Batteries (lithium batteries will last for 10 yrs)

If you are lazy, you can go the MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) route. They're not super tasty, but last a long time, and can be eaten hot or cold. Kind of pricey though.

Now, some will say (with some legitimacy) that you need 2 weeks worth of food. If that's your gig, go directly to Major Surplus and Supply at the link below. There are other outfits, but I trust these guys. Not some dopey mom-n-pop reseller scamming you on your fears. Think of them as survival porn. No one blinks an eye when you order some shit you'd be ashamed to talk to your friends about. You pervs know what I mean.

http://www.majorsurplusnsurvival.com/products.htm

WATER

The most important thing you can/need to have. You can go WEEKS without food, but after about 3 days without water, you're dead. Period.

Remember that if you live in a house, your water heater has 40-80 gallons of fresh water in it. Close the valve at the top (the municipal water supply might become contaminated, and boiling water or bleaching it is a drag) and you should not have to worry a lot about drinking water. There is a valve at the bottom to get the water out of it (without pressure coming in, nothing will come out of the pipes in your house). You can hook up a hose.

Remember that you need to keep old/non-potable water around for flushing if you are trying to use the toilet. Speaking of which, there are 4-6 gallons in the tank on top that is fresh. No drinking from the bowl.

Get shoppin' slackers!

Pt. 2 (Still dealing with the mental work-up)

2005-09-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

To answer before someone opines out of their blunt-hole: Thinking about this does not make you a negative thinker or imply that I/you live in fear. Quite the opposite. It empowers you (man I hate typing an overused phrase). It means you are dealing with your fears, not just shoving them to the side. Having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen doesn’t mean you are bringing bad karma into the kitchen. Same idea.

We need to understand that in our society today, there isn’t a lot of thought that has to happen about surviving. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Hell, I like my life. But we’re going to be dealing with different stuff here. The glue that holds our society together will be broken for a few days. You are going to have to do it for yourselves. And I know that you can. You manage offices, split atoms, build houses, and raise families.

That means WE will have to take care of ourselves and others in primitive conditions (no water or electricity. no medical, fire and police services).

OK kids, here it goes.

2005-09-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

Exciting times, huh? Worried? Me too, but not enough to freak-out. You shouldn't either.

But, judging by recent events, in a diaster, we are on our own. At least for a little while. I am going to try to make this a decent list and clearing house for ideas and resources to help us prepare for a disaster. I am aslo going to ask my friends for some help, because we don't have to be alone during these times. We are Americans, and we should help each other.

This blog will NOT deal with politics. I don’t have time or the room for that, not to mention that a lot of this is going to cross much of the spectrum. So there! A lot of the sites and resources I'll be blogging about have a very different viewpoint of the world around us, and are doing preparedness for (sometimes) different reasons. I'm OK with that. And you should be too. Welcome to America and all our different lifestyles and ideas. I won't be resourcing hate groups or the like, so don't worry (although I if they have a good idea I might crib it without giving them credit - they can kiss my ass!).

Now, go buy some water and put it under your bed.