Be Prepared

Two simple words. Yet, words that can and have had tremendous impact on myself and others. I came to embrace them as a Boy Scout, and have found over the years that preparedness always, always pays.

The media likes to portray all who prepare as poorly educated nuts preparing to fight off the government. Yes, there are nuts just like that, but most who prepare are simply being prudent. Keep in mind that almost every household has at least some, occasionally small, start at preparedness.

We keep bandaids just in case. Preparedness. We have batteries for toys and more serious things. Preparedness. Some of us have multiple lighters, and even matches, in case we need to light a cigar or a candle. Preparedness. Most households have cans of food in the pantry and things to eat in the refrigerator that can feed us for several days. Preparedness.

The degree of preparedness taken is up to the individual. Given where I live, I tend to keep 3-5 days of food, water, medicines, and basic supplies simply because we get ice, snow, tornadoes and damaging winds, and even the occasional (small, thankfully) earthquake over the course of a year. In short, there are things that can happen that could trap me in my home for a day or three. If so, I have what I need to survive in style.

If there is something else happening — civil unrest, terrorist attack, epidemic, major earthquake — I have the means to quickly up my level of preparedness. I can and will fill emergency containers with water while it lasts. I have several tanks of propane for the grill (actually my landlord’s grill), burner (closest I can find to what I have), and smoker, and they provide one means of cooking food at need. Another is a portable chef’s stove (note: link similar to mine) I’ve used for years at events, for which I keep a reserve of butane.

And, yes, I am an Amazon Affiliate and if you use those links and buy something I may one day finally earn enough to get paid.

Note something with the above. These are all things that I use on a regular basis. They are things many people have. Preparedness isn’t about getting things you never use except in an emergency, at it’s core it’s about making the most of what you already have or are likely to get to improve your life. Yes, there are some things that you may not use except in an emergency, but most have everyday uses.

A good example, and an good example of preparedness paying comes from collapsable water containers. This one is great for camping or backpacking; this one for camping; this one is very good for emergencies (and this one is double the use) but may have other uses. Don’t backpack or camp? Keep one in the car.

Why keep one in the car? A number of years ago, some people I knew had a hose rupture on their car as they were on a remote section of interstate. Using materials they had on hand for an emergency, they fashioned a patch for the hose that would hold until they could reach an exit where they could replace the hose. They then took a collapsable water container down to a nearby creek and filled it up. With that, they refilled the radiator so that they could drive the car. The state trooper who stopped to check on them just as they were finishing up was shocked and pleased with what they had done.

Note also that they avoided being stranded for hours or longer, avoided a major towing bill, avoided having to be towed to a mechanic they did not know and had no choice about, and avoided their car being further damaged by unsafe operation. They were, for about $20 worth of preparation, able to safely drive to a location where they could safely obtain a new hose and put it on/have it put on with only relatively minor inconvenience.

Does the fact that there is an almost infinite list of disasters keep you from preparing? If so, take heart. While the list of potential disasters is indeed almost infinite, the list of types of damage boils down to a total of three: People, Places, Things.

In the days ahead, we are going to explore these topics. My goal is to introduce you to practical preparedness and help you disaster-proof your life as much as possible.

Quick Update

Sorry, work has had me hopping, but hope to get back to more regular posting tomorrow. Keep an open mind, and remember that good preparedness always pays off.

This paper has created a lot of controversy, with scientists of varying stripes jumping in to say it is trash or that they may have something. Things hit in threes it seems, as on top of swine flu and coronavirus, China now has a new outbreak of bird flu. Rare occasion that I link the NY Slimes, but good article on this becoming a pandemic. Some good food for thought on transmission.

Why Should You Be Prepared?

Because your government is not in many cases. In fact, depending on where you live, to call what passes for disaster preparedness as preparedness is on par with calling prostitution virginity.

Here is a report (and more) on global health security that you really should read, or at least skim. While the US rates high, my own opinion is that there is still room for improvement on this topic and on many others.

As before, here is a page at Johns Hopkins that includes a very good interactive graphic that allows you to display current data on 2019-nCoV.

More soon.

Keeping Alert

There is a difference between being alert and in a panic, a distinction that is lost (or deliberately ignored) by those of our “betters” sniffing in disdain and saying the current nCoV outbreak is nothing to worry about and it will fizzle out like SARS. Such people are, for the most part, educated idiots without much of a clue. The rest of us do not, yet, have a true clue but we know that and acknowledge it.

Yesterday, there was briefly some hope that this would be like SARS: deadly, contagious (particularly in non-first-world areas), and brief. This hope was very short lived. Note that the chart(s) are part of the link I provided yesterday to keep up on things.

Here’s a good post on part of the poor response to the outbreak by all levels of the Chinese government. Here’s another take by a medical professional.

In the “closing the barn door” department, we have this, this, this, and this. In the department of “Duh” we have this. I think SF activating it’s EOC is both prudent and interesting. This is a neat fact: an AI system issued an alert for the virus a week before WHO, CDC, et. al. For the record, I think we should have shut down air/sea with China already, and that the evacuation of Americans in Wuhan directly to CONUS without quarantine offshore is a mistake.

That’s all I have time for this morning, hope to get back into some of the background, and some discussion on practical preparedness in the days ahead. Stay safe.

Coronavirus And Practical Preparedness

I had originally planned to write about the bigotry of Stephen King and some other authors along with a miserable trope in USA channel movies, but that will have to be later this week. Instead, I need to cover a more important subject.

There is a lot being written about the coronavirus that is raging across China, and headed world-wide. A coronavirus is any of a family of single-stranded RNA viruses that has a lipid envelope with club-shaped projections. Some of the family don’t really have a negative affect on humans; but, some strains do. While a suspect for some cases of gastroenteritis, the ones that do effect humans do so through the respiratory system. The common cold is a coronavirus.

Unfortunately, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are both of the coronavirus family. The strain currently spreading from Wuhan (2019-nCoV) is a new strain and is similar to SARS.

It can infect human lungs as easily as the common cold, it can be passed person-to-person (patient to caregiver is confirmed), and while England has issued some strong precautions, at least one of the cases in the US is being treated by telemedicine as much as possible.

Also understand that the Chinese government has lied about this disease from the start, and there is no reason for them to stop. They are severely censoring information as fast and as hard as they can. They are taking the virus seriously, but the question is will their efforts be effective. As a bit of background (hope to add more later), when the Chinese government was admitting to 50 cases, outside experts pegged it at 1,700. That was on the 18th, and there are reports suggesting that while there are roughly 3,000 confirmed cases, that the actual infection rate is in excess of 90,000 people.

Is there cause to panic? No. Is there cause to be concerned? Yes. A good resource for keeping up with the current outbreak is here.

What can and should you do? Well, I think having 3-7 days of food and water is a good start for anything. I try to keep that and a bit more (so I have a month’s supply of coffee, don’t judge my addictions) on hand at all times. For other reasons, I’ve been upping some of my preparations. If you don’t have a 3-7 day supply of food, water, medicines, supplements, and basic supplies, it is good to get and maintain them for general preparedness purposes.

If this does turn into a true global pandemic similar to the 1918 Spanish Flu (or worse), then you are talking a different level of preparedness. For that you will need 4-6 weeks worth of water, food, and supplies.

I will discuss practical preparedness, as well as preparedness for a pandemic more in the days ahead.

The Violent Racist Gathering That Wasn’t

Despite the best efforts of His Majesty’s Governor Northam, the Duke of Blackface (more commonly known by the Commoners of the the Commonwealth as “Racist Ralph”) and members of the media, the rally in Richmond was peaceful and did not feature bigotry (save by the media and progressive politicians).

Indeed, it was in most ways an idealized representation of what it means to be American. You had diversity of races, sexes, genders, and more.

This white supremacist (according to the media he is one) nuked several media memes and political talking points. Kudos to him.

This guy just cracked me up. He was the epitome of the humor and camaraderie I’ve seen in almost every video from the event.

Love the fact that some (am hearing that more did as well) LE came and joined in.

At least one agitator showed up. He was shown his ass and had it strongly suggested he get his ass, get on it, and get out of there. Again, Kudos to those who shut him down.

All this classic and ideal Americana has thrown Racist Ralph and members of the media into funk. Racist Ralph is still trying to smear those who came out. A typical example of media coverage is here. Here’s a good summary of the media malfeasance, though it is not complete IMO. There is another take on it here that is well worth the read. A good summation is found here. A very accurate piece about the media coverage can be found at America’s new newspaper of record (as opposed to the newspaper with a record).

BTW, loved this takedown of a bigot bloviating about the rally.

This group that was there were far more accurate than the media. And, finally, a huge difference between your typical progressive event and one like this one. Think the media would ever report that? No, I don’t think so either.