Lists make it easier

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

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

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

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!

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

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

Download their list in .pdf form here


Harvard Disaster Preparedness

Online Storage Update

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

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).