Decision Matrix

I am committed to rebuilding and improving my current kits and supplies. In the past I have just gathered up all the things everyone believes should be in a kit and stuffed it all in various transport bags. In the end, I have a bunch of bags with lots of gear and will probably never have what I need with me when I actually need it. Time to rethink this whole process.

Back to my strategic planning background -- plan with the end in mind. OK, I can plan for the most likely scenarios. Can it be simpler?

In looking at all the possible disaster scenarios, I realized there really are a finite number of options. The real question is "Will you receive warning that a disaster is coming?" In Southern California, earthquakes are always unannounced. OK, we always know there is another one coming so we need to be prepared, but we don't get to watch them form on the weather radar with estimates of when we are going to get hit. I am keeping earthquakes in the No Warning category. Chemical spills, terrorist attacks, accidents, perhaps wind damage and home fires could be added to the No Warning list. Most other disasters we have some notice of.

The difference in Awareness/Warning is the difference in Evacuating versus Escaping. Evacuation allows more time, more orderliness, more thought. Escape just has to happen NOW! Grab what you can as you are running out the door.

Of course, you always have the option of Choose to be A Victim. That decision is usually made up front with a complete lack of planning and preparation -- but even the prepared may choose this route in the end.

In many cases, Shelter in Place is a preferred option. Note, if you are looking at a Localized Disaster, Shelter In Place may be with friends or family at their home.

I will be discussing these options in future posts. For now I wanted to get the concept of a Disaster Planning Matrix out there so we can begin building a structure to evaluate our own preparedness -- and it is posted in time to influence New Year's Resolutions!

Active Shooters

Yes, there have been too many shootings lately. Oh, let's not forget there was also a mass knifing and another person bludgeoned to death with a hammer on the same day as the school shooting that is getting all of the press.

While each and every one of these incidents are sad, we must be careful not to rush to blame the tools (guns) being used. Note the three examples I listed used three different "tools." What is universal is that there is something fundamentally wrong in the minds of the killers. Perhaps it is manufactured diseases, too much chemical treatment of illness, violent video games, or just poor upbringing. Perhaps this is how God plans to destroy the planet on December 21? Regardless of the conspiracy you choose to embrace, we will all need to remain vigilant.

Today I am sharing two videos that were emailed to me over the past 24 hours. The first was made in Houston for businesses to plan for an Active Shooter scenario. It is actually well done for the average individual.

Note near the beginning of the video you see part of the notice on the door that (in spite of Texas being concealed carry friendly) states this is a "no weapons" building. I will restrict my politicized comments on that to two thoughts:
(1) Nice to designate this building as a safe zone for bad guys, and
(2) Totally naive to believe any criminal is going to NOT carry weapons in because of that stupid sign.

Here is the link to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0

Thank you to the folks at www.mysurvival101.com for sending this video out.

The next video is a bit different -- not as professional but still has good messages. Cindy and Jeff at SoulSurvivorX2 are a real couple in Florida who have been sharing their experience as they learn more about prepping a survival. Like most of us, they have learned from some mistakes and came back with new videos to show why earlier decisions may not have been the best. I enjoy the odd reality of this couple.

In this video, Cindy shares some basic awareness tips for anyone moving about in public. You can never be too safe in today's world...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOI_xtDS2lk

Systems Thinking

Today I attended the grand opening of a prepping/survival store and enjoyed a couple hours of conversation with complete strangers who share my passions. I am not claiming to be a genius – but I can admit to making mistakes and try to guide people so they don’t have to repeat my mistakes (there are always additional mistakes they can explore and call their own!).

The biggest mistake I see being made by people getting into prepping is that they are not thinking of systems that can share modules. It really hit today when a neat couple was discussing how they had picked up a bunch of ammo cans because they needed to transport 6 different calibers of ammo for their guns. What?

OK, I am not condemning this man because I have been there myself. You see gun A and decide to get it for whatever reason. Then a friend tells you to get gun B and you add that to your collection. An “expert” on You Tube says gun C is the best so you add that to your arsenal. Nothing matches and you have potential chaos.

Let’s also acknowledge that everyone believes the guns and gear they have is the best (please don’t ask us to admit we may not have made the best possible decision!). I don’t care what brand of gear you get – but I do suggest you think as a system. For instance, a full-size Glock handgun in .40 caliber can share ammo and magazines with a target version, compact version, and subcompact version. Add a KelTec Sub 2000 to the mix and you have a folding carbine that can use the same ammo and magazines. Now you have multiple firearms that share the same supplies. Life just got simpler!

For another example, let’s look at shotguns. My first shotgun was a Winchester 1300 set up for home defense. I found it at a good price and bought it. However, that is not a great hunting shotgun. I looked at the Remington 870 combo offer with switchable barrels which allows one shotgun to be optimized for hunting purposes and then reconfigured in about a minute for home defense. Cool concept. However, I also discovered the Winchester 1200 shares a lot of key components with my existing 1300. By getting a specific purpose hunting shotgun with interchangeable parts with my home defense shotgun, I am able to harvest parts from one to resolve many potential problems with another. If I were starting fresh today, I would probably buy 2 of the Remingtons so I would have the versatility and the spare parts. Either way, think system.

I gave two examples of systems thinking with firearms because that is the topic that got me started today. But you should apply systems thinking to all of your planning.

Over the past year I bought my first lightweight water filter – picked a unit from MSR because one of my sons has that unit and the parts would be interchangeable if one broke – systems thinking within the family structure. Beyond that issue, the MSR filter screws directly onto the top of my Guyout bottle for easy use. It also fits the Platypus that I carry on my motorcycle. It also fits the Outdoor Research bladder in my back pack water reservoir. Know what it doesn’t fit? My old Camelback! That bladder was about due for replacement anyway. Another MSR bladder will fit that carrier just fine. So all of my primary water transport containers are 100% compatible with the threads on my MSR water filter. Systems Thinking! It really is that simple.

Much like my discussion a few weeks back on selecting a power source where I will hardly purchase any item that does not use AA  batteries, I do not intend to acquire any additional water carrying options that do not share the same thread pattern as the water filter. I won’t be buying another Camelback!

Sometimes system thinking is easy and flexible – think of all the PALS/Molle gear that is now available. Everything can fit together in some manner and be updated as your needs change. I like the modularity.

Let’s not limit our systems thinking to prepping though. Many years ago I did a great deal of research and selected what I truly believed was the best all around cell phone for my business purposes. It worked great for all of my needs. However, since it was a niche phone, few accessories were available. I reflect on that experience when looking at new technology today. Sometimes the absolute best piece of gear may not be the one you should buy if the accessories you want will not be available.

Systems thinking. Use it everyday – especially in your prepping purchases! You will save lots of money AND chaos by applying a little thought up front.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Last Thursday was the day many families come together and become almost comatose from ingesting so much food. I however had the opportunity to join a crew working a 15 hour shift at a retail store preparing Black Friday specials on Thursday night. I knew the area restaurants would not be open during this time so I would need something to eat. Hmm, what should I take?

A few months ago I picked up this container of Survival Tabs Emergency Food Rations. I had seen these sitting on the store’s shelves before and was intrigued. The label says “The best possible nutrition in the smallest possible volume.” Basically, you eat 12 of these 7/8”x1/2” tablets a day for all of your basic nutritional needs during an emergency. There are 180 tablets in this container so you theoretically have 15 days of food needs. When I got the jar home I immediately repacked sets of 12 tablets into mylar bags which are just 3.5”x4.25”. Three of these small bags now travel in my Get Home Kit. Yes, I still have a pack of crackers, an MRE brownie and a Millennium Bar in the kit too – comfort food!

It is important to test emergency gear and supplies before they are needed – and I had been woefully neglectful in testing these; honestly, I wasn’t too excited to try them. Wednesday evening I tasted one. Hmm, not too bad, chews up well and has a faint malted milk ball flavor. Will they be filling enough?

Commitment time – I pack two mini baggies in my side pocket with 6 tablets in each. The thought was that every hour or so I would eat one and see if that gets me through the night. A pack of crackers were also in my pocket just in case I needed a little more filling (it was Thanksgiving!).

It was a busy shift. When I found myself starting to feel a little hungry I just reached in my pocket and chewed a Survival Tab. The first one was several hours into the shift since I made a point of eating before going. Guess what? In 15 hours I only ate 5 of the Tabs and I was feeling pretty good. Again, I did eat before the shift but I expected to be feeling much hungrier at this point. I am now comfortable carrying these in my kit for emergency rations – rations which take virtually no space!

I added this photo because the package stated that the container could be carried easily in a standard canteen pouch. In fact, there is a separate plastic bag folded inside the lid so you can dump the tablets in the bag while using the container to hold water! And yes, as you can see in the photo, the container does fit very nicely in the canteen pouch with the black lid just peeking out. I always appreciate a well thought out design. In this case, I like the packaging approach overall – even though I repackaged for my personal purpose – and the Tabs worked great for this experiment.

Maybe someday I will test them as the only food source over a couple days? No, I will need to supplement that with my nightly ice cream!

Transportation for Disasters

 My favorite pair of Matterhorn boots for all around living. I will do a write-up on boots in a future entry.

A couple days after Sandy hit, someone sent me a message suggesting everyone should get mountain bikes. The knee jerk reaction was “that makes sense.” After pondering further, I am saying NO! I do believe mountain bikes are good around transportation for people who are used to riding them. Living at a trailhead in the Cleveland National Forest, I get to see lots of mountain bikers coming back from the local trails. Not surprisingly, I get to see a fair number of injured people hobbling by too.

Here is my thought: People who are not experienced riders (and will not become experienced riders in spite of best intents when buying a mountain bike for disaster use) will become hazards on their bikes – especially after they try to tie belongings on for escape or carry a heavy backpack filled with groceries. Disaster scenes have broken glass, road debris, and all matter of other obstructions. You are definitely going to be dealing with flat tires and the odds of serious injury compounded with infection are greatly increased. If you want to buy a mountain bike because you want to use one on a regular basis for transportation – excellent idea. You will then have it available during a disaster also. Do not get one for disaster.

So what should we have for transportation? This topic was casually discussed a little at a recent prepper dinner party and we must concur there is no single best answer.

Most of the group had a Jeep or some type of aggressive off road pick-up truck. The latter provides space to haul more gear than a typical Jeep. Either one would be a good solution to travel wilderness roads out of a disaster area – and circumnavigate problems on the highway. Generally very sound solutions for pre-disaster evacuation and some types of post disaster escape.

One of the families had quads set up and had explored various routes including following alongside train tracks to avoid most of the traffic. Carrying capacity is somewhat limited and long distance travel may not be comfortable – but it is a functional option for many scenarios.

Living in Southern California, my primary concerns are wildfire and major earthquakes. Wildfires are much like most other natural disasters in that you usually know they are coming. It could start right beside your home and overcome you immediately – but this is rare. I have seen several wildfires in this region and you normally have several hours notice that the fire is heading your way. Time for a somewhat orderly evacuation under an eerie orange sky. The main vehicle concern at this point is one that you can shove stuff into. Of course, having your stuff prepacked for evacuation can help – but many of the new small cars just don’t have much cargo space or what they have is oddly shaped which hinders loading boxes and crates. My actual preference for planned evacuation is a plain, full-size cargo van. These can be parked discreetly just about anywhere, have a good amount of cargo space (especially if configured with shelves and your gear is prepacked in crates that fit the shelves), and they can be effective mini campers when outfitted with cots, sleeping mats or hammocks. If you can set it up with four wheel drive and oversize fuel tanks – so much the better! Since there are so many of these on the road, and several models share components with pick-up trucks, spare parts should be relatively easy to scavenge.

Full size dual sport motorcycles are the pack mules of modern transportation.

Earthquakes are a different and arguable answer. Since there is no advance warning of earthquakes, we must shift our thoughts from pre-event evacuation to post-event escape. Earthquakes can range anywhere from minor nuisance to complete destruction. Somewhere short of complete destruction, there will be major regional collapse with hoards of people trying to get out of the destroyed areas. Traffic will be a major concern. With this in mind I set up my dual sport motorcycle with a narrow wheel base trailer which can split lanes and travel on fire roads. The bike is designed to carry fairly significant loads as it did on a recent cross country trip. Even so, the total chaos on the highway will probably mean there are limited paths through the traffic. Also, anyone utilizing any successful means of escape when everyone else is trapped will automatically become a target. Someone told me their first response in seeing me riding by would be to grab a broom or hiking staff and knock me over to take my cycle. Hmm, that was the same someone who recently made the suggestion to use mountain bikes…

That brings us back to boots. They will allow you to wade, climb, walk, run, and clamber through all sorts of debris. You will have some ankle support and protection from bumps, clunks – perhaps even snake bites! Get a good pair. Then get out and walk/hike in them. Get comfortable wearing the boots for long periods of time. During any kind of disaster (even if you are driving a truck!) a good pair of solid boots will get you further, safer.

Guess there may be a clear best all around answer for survival transportation after all!

Get Home - Yours or a Friend's

The news coming from the aftermath of Sandy the Terrible is pretty much what we have heard after every other major disaster: People are dangerous! As a result, I have recommitted to one belief and am rethinking another.

(1) I continue to believe the single most important item to develop is a good Get Home kit.

(2)  I no longer believe I would be very helpful to strangers in need. Sorry.

I have stated before that everyone should properly prepare to Shelter in Place. Let’s expand that a little. You should prepare your home so you, family members, and a few select friends, can shelter together safely after a major disaster. Some other family members and friends should do the same. In this manner, you and your family will have at least one alternative escape location prepared and available if your primary home/shelter is destroyed or unreachable.

A few days ago I mentioned the concept that the first 24 hours after any disaster is usually relatively safe as the crooks and creeps get their act together. We saw this again on the East Coast where people began pretending to be aid workers or inspectors in order to gain entry to homes to commit crimes against the disaster victims. In addition, people set up dummy “need help” scenarios on the roads to get good Samaritans to stop – and be attacked. I have always prided myself on being the kind of “good” person who would stop to offer aid to a stranger. That practice is now being rethought.

Make note - there have been very few instances reported of neighbors attacking neighbors. It is good to work with your neighbors prior to disasters to build a stronger community which will come together to support each other. This also provides a larger number of bodies in order to stand watch if needed. But beware of those from outside!

Here is what you need to do:

(1) Adequately prepare your home to shelter in place – for your family and a few others.

(2)  Identify a partner family that will do exactly the same. Their home should be accessible from your region but not in the same neighborhood so it will not be destroyed by the same regional disaster.

(3) Set up Get Home Kits for every family member that includes maps and supplies to reach either of the two designated destinations. Some people may want to designate a tertiary destination.

(4)  Develop a Communication Plan to help coordinate information on which destination the family members should be heading for after a disaster. This will also help determine if individuals in your group need help.

(5) EVERY ONE must commit to reaching the destination within one day (even if on foot). After that time frame, the roads will simply be too dangerous for most people to safely travel.

(6) While a coworker  or child’s visiting playmate may tag along, no one should pick up strays along the route!

Remember, after the first 24 hours, humanity can get you killed. Sorry – it is just the nature of desperate people.

I Can't Afford to Stock Up

So you say you understand the need to prepare for emergencies and stock up. “But I just can’t afford it! I barely have enough money to buy groceries now.”

I am going to ask just 2 questions:

(1)  Do you expect food prices to continue increasing over the next year?

(2) Do you believe your personal income is going to increase faster next year than food prices?

No one has answered Yes to the second question yet.

 This chart shows that food prices continue an upward trend – always! There are some peaks and valleys as prices go up 15 cents then drop 10 cents. The trend is always up. Income is not following the same kind of trend.

 Here we see similar information for fuel prices. Put simply, if you can barely afford to buy required food and gas right now, you will NOT be able to buy food and gas in another year. Simple math.

We must address what I call “Choices and Consequences” before we can make any real change in our situation. The premise is that every choice we make has real consequences – often a combination of good and bad stuff. Just as boaters are taught that they are responsible for their wake, and any damage that occurs from it, we must accept responsibility for any bad consequences that result from our personal choices. If you choose to drive too fast, you must accept the consequence that you may get a ticket/fine, or you may even cause an accident. There used to be a saying – don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

This issue hit me a couple years ago when a young woman I worked with made the statement about not being able to afford to save or stock up on food. This was a woman who smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day and stopped for a big breakfast burrito on most mornings before work. Multiple sodas and snacks were consumed through the day. Oh, she enjoyed going out to bars at night and was able to save up for new tattoos and piercings. She is the extreme example of someone who could easily afford to begin building some reserves IF she was willing to make a change or two in her lifestyle. Changing just one of the practices I listed above would free up a little income to buy an extra case of canned goods each week. She could fully stock up for her entire family – if she was willing to make the choice. Her conscious choice was to prioritize all of the other activities. In so doing, she has chosen the consequence I described in yesterday’s blog: After a disaster they will find themselves huddled together in the dark; cold, hungry and scared. Choice / Consequence. And yes, they will be whining that the government and other groups are not trying hard enough to save them. End consequence: more victims and sheep.

You say you can’t afford to prepare for emergencies right now? Stop and ask what you can change – what conscious CHOICES you can make – to change the potential CONSEQUENCES. Either make those changes now, or sit down with your family tonight and tell them, “I am choosing to maintain my current activities instead of preparing for our family’s safety. In so doing, I am consciously accepting that we will all suffer the potential consequences of huddling together in the dark; cold, hungry and scared.”

Are you willing to actually say that to your family? 

You Can Only Tell People So Many Times!

Photo from Fox News showing people lined up to get gas in New Jersey.

We are just halfway through day 3 of the Sandy aftermath and people are getting stupid. There are actually state police posted at every functioning gas station along the NJ Turnpike because people are fighting over the gas lines – lines NO ONE should be in to begin with!

Here is what Fox News said today:

“Residents jockeyed for fuel at the few stations still pumping, searched store shelves in vain for batteries, struggled with sporadic cell phone service and found themselves unable to buy necessities at supermarkets.”

One last time: Always have enough food, water, fuel, batteries – everything you actually need to live! – to last at least 3 days. 5 to 10 days is much more appropriate. The idea of 3 days is that the Red Cross and government can usually get their shelters in place and operating in about 3 days. If your plan is not to go to a shelter, then your supply needs to be much larger.

I have heard often that real problems happen after the span of 3 to 6 meals. That is when people realize the problem has not gone away and their pantries are empty. They get desperate and stupid. OK, if you saw any of the thousands of images people posted Monday night of their pantries that consisted of a bottle of booze, a bag of chips and an old can of beans, you may understand that many of the people around you think a disaster will be a party. Yes, those people are whining that there is no food in the stores that don’t even have electricity to run a register if food was there.

Take another look at the photo above. Most of these fools are buying gas for their generators. Fools! I am calling them fools because they bought the generators thinking they were properly prepared for the emergency – then failed to properly store adequate fuel. All they bought was an expensive paperweight to hold down false hope. Some certainly had a couple gallons stashed but did not give proper thought to how much gas would be needed to keep running for 3 to 10 days. Planning to survive a disaster that lasts only a day or so is not planning for any real disaster.

Your family will pay the price for your failure to properly prepare.

Read that again and let it really sink in. Monday night you may have thought it was cute to post photos of an empty cupboard. Now you and your family are huddled together in the dark; scared, cold and hungry.

Let’s start over.

Water – buy several cases of drinking water and stash it in closets around your home. The minimum is always 1 gallon per person per day. If a family of 4 is planning for 2 weeks you need 56 gallons (1 gallon x 4 people x 14 days). Note, this does not allow for bathing!

Food – stock up with stuff you already eat. Get a 2 week supply in right away – then build from there (and do not let it dwindle). You can supplement with MREs or freeze dried food if you want.

Cooking – get some type of cooking device that can prepare your food. A grill or camp stove is great. Make sure you have lots of extra fuel for these devices.

Light – you really don’t need as much as you think. Get several good flashlights (I say a minimum of 1 in each room and 2 for each family member.) Try to make sure your entire collection uses only 1 type of battery and keep lots on hand. Solar rechargers are a good supplement but only if it is sunny! DO NOT let your kids raid your emergency battery supply to power their toys and games. Achieving the next level in their electronic game is not an emergency!

Hygiene –water pumps are not working because the electricity is out. You get one flush from each of your toilets and hope it does not back up because the sewers are already flooded. Human waste and personal hygiene are grossly neglected in emergency plans. Get a 5 gallon bucket (or several) with potty lids. I keep these emergency pots stashed with a supply of related bags, chemicals and toilet paper inside each. These inexpensive items will help protect your family from a host of bacteriological problems. Get some of those antiseptic hand cleansers too to keep with these supplies.

I did not address shelter because most of the people in the current disaster did not lose their homes and the supply of clothing and blankets that was inside.

No need to wait in gas lines because few of these people had any reason to go anywhere. Bet many with little in their tank wasted their fuel driving around gawking at the destruction.

Was this discussion a bit harsh? Perhaps. But you can only tell people so many times. Are you properly prepared for your family to weather a disaster like Sandy? If not, I will look for you in the photos of fools staring at empty grocery shelves and standing in a long line at the gas station.

Bug Out Bags for Sandy the Freak?

Typical photo pulled from the AP. Here a National Guard truck drives through a flooded area. Take a good look at the trailers - every one of them are sitting higher than the water line. Power and plumbing will need to be addressed, but these units will remain intact and in place.

As sunlight creeps across the land, the actual damage and devastation from the Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Freaky Weather known as Sandy is becoming apparent. Current news reports are showing at least 35 people dead and up to 8,200,000 people without power. The damage is spread over 2/3 of the East Coast. Certainly this must make me rethink my earlier post that Bug Out Bags are folly?

NO! In fact, this disaster reinforces the issue of a good Get Home Bag, Evacuation Plan, and Shelter In Place kit.

Let’s look at the actual damage. The homes that were actually destroyed were generally right on the coast or in low lying areas that are naturally prone to flooding. Let’s note here that I grew up in the North East. Multiple times a year I had to make adjustments to my daily commute because seasonal heavy rains caused localized flooding of creeks. During a larger storm you just knew to take a different route. The same understanding applied to underpasses and lower sections of highway. The news delights in showing some dippy reporter standing in water up to his calves to build the drama of the disaster. Yet, when the camera pulls back, you can see curbs and dry land within a few feet of where the reporter is standing. Yes, the impact from this storm is large in scale, but don’t fall prey to the media display.

With widespread pockets of localized damage, there are much larger areas that remain intact. Adjacent areas. This is not like the tsunami that hit Japan! A good Evacuation Plan remains the most critical element to have in place for a disaster of this type. Have your hard drives, important documents, photo albums, etc, very accessible and ready to pack quickly if any type of disaster is heading your way. Hurricanes and wild fires are the perfect disasters to build your Evacuation Plan around as you generally have a few hours, if not several days, to get packed and out.

Aside from basic needs for your family, you will want to have a couple destinations preset. The destination may be the homes of family and friends or perhaps a hotel. If you are in a fire zone you will want to choose a location that is less susceptible to fire. If you live in a low lying area that is subject to flooding, choose an evacuation site that is higher. Common sense is really important here. Take 60 seconds to note what dangers your home is most subject to and find a site that does not share those qualities!

Now about your Get Home Bag. I am thinking a slight revision is merited. While I have not addressed these kits in detail yet, I do believe you need to have good maps – street and topographical – to connect your work, home and school locations. The new revision is to add a map to a designated evacuation location with some means of communicating to family members that the secondary location is the new primary. This type of issue really doesn’t apply to the Sandy situation since there was so much information available ahead of time. Sorry, but if you were not where you needed to be when Sandy struck, the best kit in the world would not have helped. Sometimes we just have to accept Darwin at work. That said, the maps I am suggesting for your Get Home Bags would be valuable during evacuation also.

Above all else, the current storm aftermath reinforces the need for a good Shelter in Place plan. If your home was not in an area that was actually destroyed, you are probably sitting there without power right now. And we did see the shelves in the food stores cleared of critical supplies within a few hours yesterday morning. Get your goods in place – both at your home (primary shelter) and at your secondary location if possible. This is actually a great time to open dialogue with friends and family who may have a residence that is geographically different enough from yours that they would be perfect reciprocal escape locations. For example, someone near the shore that is subject to flooding may be a great partner for someone whose home is in the mountains where they are subject to forest fires. Each of you build a good Shelter in Place plan with adequate supplies for both families.

You can choose to sit there and feel sorry for the folks whose lives were forever impacted by this current storm. Or, you can use this as the impetus you need to get your family positioned so they will not be victims of the next storm. Either way, you still don’t need to start with a Bug Out Bag!

Any Kids in Your Family?

Today's entry is going to be a little different. I stumbled across a link at the bottom of a news article referencing survival skills every kid should know. That story follows. But first a couple comments:

In 2009 I had the pleasure of attending Dirt Time. One of the sessions was led by trackers who provided what I believe to be the best tip ever for parents.Since so many kids all seem to wear the same brand shoe, it is often challenging to pick your child's prints out of a group if they need to be found. Trackers sometimes find themselves tracking the wrong prints! The solution is simple -- cut a small chunk out of one lug of the sole. This will make your child's print totally unique. Then, take a photo of the shoe sole with your smart phone and keep it on there. If your child is ever lost and professional help arrives, show them the photo and point out the unique identifier. This simple step can save considerable time in locating your child. AND, why not do the same to YOUR outdoor shoes? It can be just as helpful if you get lost!

Now for the article. It was from a site called The Survival Mom. A link is at the end of the article. The initial tips when lost and concept that every kid should have their own emergency kit is exactly on track. Plus, the ending tip about situational awareness is something I have never seen addressed for kids. Yes, we all complain that kids seem to spend their life consumed in the video games and phone apps. Truth be, most parents encourage that as a way of quieting the commute. Time to put away the electronics and turn situational awareness into a family game.

FYI, I went to The Survival Mom site with the intent of providing a direct link to this article. I got so sidetracked reading other articles I stumbled across on her site that I never got to this article, so I will just paste it here and you can follow the link at the bottom to explore her site further.

The 4 Survival Skills Every Kid Should Know

Tuesday, June, 26th, 2012 at 9:25 am

Some of outdoor adventurer Bear Grylls’ biggest fans are kids. Their eyes widen at his derring-do, and boys and girls alike admire his survival skills and savvy. But the survival skills that are more likely to keep our kids safe and sound are actually far more mundane! Here are four survival skills that every kid should know, along with a few tips for parents.

What to do if lost

A lost child is a scared child, and usually their first instinct is to begin searching for their family. Train your children to stop and sit as soon as they realize they are lost. Assure them that, no matter how scared they might be, you are searching for them at that very moment; but also that, if they keep moving around, it will take longer to find them. Consider equipping your children with an inexpensive cell phone and when venturing outdoors, a few survival items tucked in a backpack or their pockets. Items such as a whistle, a bright bandana and a bottle of water are the makings of a kids’ survival kit that will go a long way to helping them be found more quickly.

How to answer the door when home alone

Usually the best strategy is to not answer the door! Yes, the person knocking could be a burglar scoping out the neighborhood. But once the door is opened, it’s that much easier for an intruder to enter. And children are easily overpowered. Train your child to enforce home security: Keep doors and windows locked and blinds and curtains closed. Noise from a TV or radio is fine. Someone with questionable motives will think twice about entering a home if they hear noises inside, even if the house is closed up and no one answers the door.

What to do in a medical emergency

From a young age, kids can learn how to dial 911 and report an emergency, but this takes practice. Spend some time rehearsing phone calls, teaching your children to relay detailed information to an operator, follow his or her instructions, and then stay on the line until help arrives. If possible, children should also get the home ready for the arrival of EMTs by putting pets in closed areas and, if it’s nighttime, turning on both indoor and outdoor lights. Summer is an ideal time for children to take first aid and CPR classes, that are typically suitable for kids age 9 and up.

How to maintain situational awareness

When driving in the car, for instance, ask your kids to describe a building or vehicle you just passed. Teach them to pay attention to the route home by asking them to give you driving directions!

This one skill can help your child avoid many dangerous situations. The concept is simply for children to be aware of the people and events around them. Parents can help their children become more observant and aware—not by scaring them, but by playing games to teach and practice this skill.

When driving in the car, for instance, ask your kids to describe a building or vehicle you just passed. Teach them to pay attention to the route home by asking them to give you driving directions! Tell them to close their eyes and describe what someone in the room is wearing. Encourage them to check out the license plates of passing cars: Which states are they from? What is the sum of the numbers on the license plate?

Being aware of their surroundings will help them avoid predatory people and other dangerous scenarios. Simple to teach. Fun to practice. And, quite possibly, a life saver.

Lisa Bedford is the author of Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst Case Scenarios and editor of www.thesurvivalmom.com blog.

Power to the People

Like it or not, electricity provides a tremendous amount of support to our daily lives. One of the keys to maintaining your sanity during/after a disaster is having the comfort of light, communication, even music.

One option is to fit your home with a nice generator (and plenty of fuel). Another option may be solar or wind electrical generators. Perhaps a small water turbine? We can discuss some of these options in the future. The choice I made was to remain transportable and simple.

The basic element of my energy preparation is the humble AA battery. I originally went this direction just because I noticed the myriad of devices I had on hand were using AA, AAA, C, D, and CR123 batteries. Sitting down one day to determine how many of each I should keep on hand to provide for emergency needs was somewhat mind boggling. Historical use was meaningless because it would not be indicative of emergency use. Gave up and bought a box or two of each.

“Honey, the batteries ran down on this again!”

“No problem, I’ll grab new ones out of the drawer. What kind does it take?”

“I don’t remember.”

Sound familiar? Looking at the array of products I was using, it seemed the majority of devices were either running AA or CR123 batteries. OK, let’s consolidate. I made the final selection between these two based on the fact that, at the time, CR123’s were not as easy to get as the AA and I found no reputable sources of a rechargeable CR123. Thinking rechargeable batteries made a lot of sense if I were consolidating types, the AA became an easy choice. The choice may be a little more difficult today as sources and rechargeable options are now common for CR123s.

Decision made.

Step 1 – Identify and replace all critical devices in my supplies which were not currently set up for AA.

Step 2 – Establish decision process for future purchases where AA batteries were the initial sort unless there were pre-identified critical features that were not available with AAs.

Step 3 – Establish more substantial inventory of AA batteries, mostly Alkalines.

Step 4 – Begin building a supply of rechargeable AA batteries with a variety of charging options.

Step 5 – For key items that are not available in AA formats (cell phones) acquire quick charge options that are AA based.

The photo at the top of today’s blog entry shows my emergency weather radio, portable CB radio, a FRS/GMRS handheld radio, a variety of lights, in-line headphone amplifier, charger for my iPod, portable alarm clock and label maker. My GPS and several other devices are also set up for AAs. OK, I may have abused Step 2 a little by restating it as: “This thing uses AA batteries. Perhaps I should get it!”

Charging was originally accomplished with a basic wall plug in unit shown to the right of this photo. The other items are from Goal Zero. The key to this system is the foldable solar panel which was actually designed to hang off a back pack or similar item. Hey, it comes with rechargeable AA packs that plug right in. Better get that! In fact, this system has proven its value during my motorcycle trips as it is strapped to the tank of my BMW! It concurrently charges batteries for my phone WHILE it is powering my iPod. Very convenient. In fact, I am tempted to get a slightly more powerful panel and mount to my back case or to the top of my trailer – it really does work that well! When at home, I have laid it out on a chair and even hung it up inside a window to recharge batteries. I like this simple unit.

So I have charged batteries and a bunch of electronics – a few of which still don’t work on AA. Enter iGO adapters  I first picked up the basic set of adapters several years ago while traveling on business. I needed to charge phones, pda’s, gps, camera, etc. Instead of carrying wall and vehicle chargers for each and every device, I could carry one set with multiple tips to charge units as needed. Get a new phone or some other device? Just get a new iGO tip. Yes, that center item is a plug in power supply for any of the devices which is powered by 2 AA batteries.

Here you see my entire Goal Zero + iGO kit that powers virtually all of my electronics when traveling (still need to resolve my laptop). This combination provides an incredible amount of versatility in a very small space.

Your personal plans should include a solid look at power. Do you want a full house system? Do you want something totally transportable? There are clear pros and cons to each choice – but do make a choice. Transportability was important to me. Your needs may be different. That said, do what you can to keep it simple. Simple solutions are almost always the best in challenging times.

Take a look around the house and determine what is critical and how many power sources you are currently needing to maintain. Make an initial decision right now. Then take a couple days to think through and revisit your commitment. Just make sure you start moving in some direction very soon – the best plans are useless if not implemented.

Now we have a selection of electronics that we consider key to future needs. Perhaps I should put together a Faraday Box?

Document Storage and Transport

I read an article today from Kim Komando about loading programs on a USB drive to boot up and browse the internet with a high degree of anonymity from remote locations. She also had several suggestions on protecting your browsing history on a daily basis. I don’t know anything else about Kim Komando but will be exploring her site some in the future.

The article did prompt me to share how I save and transport documents.

Finding the Right Media

There was a time when we printed out and carried copies of all important documents in a paper file. People who are currently watching the new TV series Revolution may be tempted to do the same. That said, the technology now at our disposal makes transport of important documents incredibly easy. OK, I probably said the same thing when the 5.25” floppy was introduced. Again with the 3.5” floppy and CD ROMs. But really – relish the USB drive. These devices are so inexpensive and easy to use that I can’t believe everyone doesn’t already own several. Load copies of all of your important documents on one of these and keep it with you!

That was my plan. In fact, after listening to some discussion on The Survival Podcast, I set out to find the perfect USB drive. If I was going to carry it with me, it had to survive everything I do. Some quick searches yielded a fair number of USB drives that were shock proof, water proof, etc. Most were housed in fairly large, rugged aluminum or titanium canisters which were large enough to do double duty as a fist load or kubaton. Problem, I really don’t want to carry yet another thing that large! So I wondered off to the local Staples to see a wide range of devices to get my mind around this project.

Here is what I came home with (several months ago) and believe to be the best solution for me and many others. A higher capacity Micro SD Card which can be used in my telephone along with a small USB converter so the same card can be used as a standard USB drive in any computer with a USB slot. Once I saw these, I felt the answer was so obvious. These small cards are waterproof, shockproof, x-ray proof and temperature proof (-18 to +185 degrees Fahrenheit per the website). I believe the packaging also referenced dust proof and something about being exempt from magnetic problems. That should pretty much cover any situations I am likely to be in! And the versatility of using in any Micro SD device as well as USB really extends my options.

The down side is that these gizmos are so small they could be lost or misplaced very easily. I remember when Bin Laden was “picked up” he had some gold coins and phone numbers sewn into the clothing he was wearing. As small as these Micro SD cards are you could easily clip 2 or 3 threads on your pants’ waistline and drop the card in. That would be great if traveling in an area that you felt theft was likely. I have not done that. Another option would be hollow coins which can be found on the internet. These allow you to carry the card with your normal change – just be real careful not to spend that particular coin! Many people choose a foreign or specialty coin for their transport for this reason.

I am not James Bond and don’t need to be that sneaky. I already carry a multi-section elastic band in each pocket with my EDC tools. The entire USB drive slides inside this band. Another simple option is to stash it underneath a Velcro patch. Lots of clothing and bags now come with Velcro sections to add patches of your own choosing. Pretty easy to discreetly carry one of these cards under a patch. Want more ideas, just do a search for Drug Stash. You will be amazed at all the simple ways people have come up with to hide their stashes! Adapt these ideas to your needs.

What Should Be On the Card?

Everyone has their own list of what they believe should be carried. I began with color copies of my drivers license, vehicle titles, birth certificate, social security card, and passport. Add to that insurance documents, credit card listings, important contacts, and medical information. Since this is electronic media, go ahead and add a short video of your home contents (for insurance claims after a disaster) and photos of family that you want to keep with you. That’s a good start. Keep these properly filed and secured on the card.

Security Settings

As soon as I see a list like the one above, I begin feeling very vulnerable to ID Theft. SanDisk provides some data security apps to encrypt the entire device or specific files within the device. This is a good place to get started. Be aware that this class of data encryption and protection is really evolving. Periodically review respected sources to learn the latest options and determine which you want to implement.

So we can now discreetly carry a large volume of secured or encrypted documents on a device which can be read on a very wide range of devices – with a very small expenditure of real dollars! Now about that “T.A.I.L.S.” system that was on the Komando site…