Merry Christmas! And Of Course, A Few Tips

Just a quick note to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa or Happy Holiday of your choice) and a very Happy New Year. Thanks to you, our readers, the CNI website has been going strong for over five years and we have posted 602 blog posts to date. We especially appreciate comments and feedback from our readers--you cannot survive a disaster all by yourself and one website certainly cannot provide all you need to know about preparedness which is why input from our wise and well rounded readers is so important.

Here's some other things to keep in mind during Christmas and New Years:

• If you drink, don't drive and vice versa. The most common 911 calls during the holidays revolve around drunk driving and alcohol-fueled domestic violence problems. Spending the night in jail, or worse, is not the way you want to remember the Christmas of '09.
  
• Give yourself plenty of time to get to where you are going for the holidays. A good section of our country is buried under a treacherous pile of snow so take it easy getting to your destination (I don't have to tell you to have emergency supplies in your car in case you get stranded by the bad weather).
  
• Keep a good attitude and don't let people get to you. Sometimes relatives can only be tolerated for a short period of time which is why we only see them on the holidays. If you have a particularly bothersome clan, strive to keep a positive attitude no matter how bad you want to tell them where they can stuff the holiday turkey.
  
• If you are having a tough Christmas financially, and many people are this year, remember that money and extravagant gifts really aren't required in order to have a happy holiday. Kids remember unique and creative things much longer than they remember a sparse Christmas. Even if you have NO money, you can still have a fun Christmas. Put on a play with the whole family, make cookies for an elderly neighbor or the local police/firefighters/ER staff who will be working over the holiday, start a new tradition that requires creativity not cash, or volunteer at a homeless mission and make someone else's holiday brighter.
  
• If you have lost a loved one recently, you have my condolences. The holidays are tough when loved ones are missing from our lives.
  
• If you are alone/sad/otherwise miserable around the holidays, remember there are always people with stories much worse than yours. The way to take your mind off of this is to help someone else. Leave a huge tip for the waitress who has to work all day on Christmas, help the homeless, walk through your city and randomly give out $20 or $100 bills.
  
• Finally, stay safe. The holidays bring about situations that are uncommon and thus follow uncommon problems that we often forget about. If the power goes out, DON'T bring the barbecue grill inside to finish cooking the turkey. Of course be careful if you are deep frying a turkey for the holiday. Keep and eye on kids and pets if they are in a new environment (ie: if your kids are rarely at the grandparents house, be sure to ask that medications, firearms, and other things they can get into are secured. The same is true if you are hosting the family party and are having lots of little people over and your house isn't kid-proofed).

Have a very Merry Christmas and safe New Year!

A Rant--Your Responsibility to Be Prepared

I was watching with disappointment and some annoyance at the rescue mission on Mt Hood to save three climbers over the past couple of weeks. One was found dead and the other two remain missing and presumably dead. This reminded me of a very similar situation a few years back when I was on a microscopic South Pacific island which received exactly one news station via satellite. For more than a week, the top story was the search for three missing climbers on Mt Hood. Everyone was glued to the news reports and it was the main topic of conversation for over a week. Eventually, one climber was found dead and the other two were never found.

In both of these cases and many more that have been splashed across the media, I get very frustrated that these people wouldn't take simple precautions to spare rescuers and their loved ones the misery of their dangerous rescues or, more often, the recovery of their bodies. A very simple tool--an avalanche rescue beacon that rents for $5--may have saved their lives and they didn't take this simple precaution. I know it's not polite to blame the victim but politeness goes out the window when people behave stupidly. Which leads to the purpose of this post...

No matter who you are or how good you are or how invincible you think you are, you have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions in all of the activities that you do. Your loss or death doesn't begin and end with you. Whether it is becoming lost in an avalanche because you didn't rent an avalanche beacon, riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or wandering off for a day hike without the ten essentials, these choices don't just affect you. Putting yourself in harms way when there are precautions that can be taken to save your skin is irresponsible and affects not just your outcome but the physical and psychological bearing of your rescuers, your friends, your family, and everyone else even distantly related to you.

You have a responsibility to be prepared. Whether it is declining to drink because there is a possibility that you will have to drive later, or saying no to a technical climb that is way beyond your abilities, taking care of your life is of the utmost importance because there are people who rely on you, people who will mourn your death, and people who will risk their lives to save you no matter how stupidly you have behaved to get yourself into a particular situation.

I'll hop off my soapbox now...

Who's Tracking You? Hint...It May Be a Pissed Off Wife

A friend and former employee dropped into my office last week. I figured it was a holiday social call, until the woman proceeded to have a melt down right in front of me. Seems her husband was having an affair and between her (significant) investigative skills and the investigative skills of the equally irked husband of the female involved in the affair, they had compiled a rather amazing amount of evidence. While I like to engender trust in my employees and I do have some level of compassion for such situations, I am not much help for people having an emotional break down just steps away from me, other than to offer some strategic advice (which surprisingly didn't come across, I think, as very compassionate). Why does this always seem to happen around the holidays?

My two cent's worth of advice about affairs: affairs happen, especially in relationships of any significant duration. If you notice odd behavior (showering three times a day as opposed to every other day) here's your sign. Marriage counseling should be considered. It takes two people who want to be married to stay married (although one can carry the load for a short amount of time). Marriages can survive affairs. The fallout from an affair can be huge and dramatic--financially disastrous, for one. Plus, if you end up marrying a person who cheated on his/her spouse, um, you are marring someone who may CHEAT on you too! Finally, aside from very bad situations, fixing problems with your spouse is probably better, overall, than having to train a new one.

But this post isn't about the moral/legal/financial implications of having an affair--what people do in their private lives is up to them. This is actually about how simple it is to track the affair due to the myriad ways that your every movement is tracked these days. If you don't want to have your lawyer's office wallpapered with evidence of your affair (or illegal activities), consider (and make plans to avoid) how you can be tracked:

• Credit card receipts. Do you buy two lattes every morning? Did you spend big on a nice dinner for two (and the wife wasn't invited)?


• Debit card receipts. Hmmm...a diamond necklace...and you thought the spouse wouldn't notice that SHE didn't get a necklace recently?


• Receipts found in your possession. Did you pay rent for an apartment when you have a nice home that you currently pay a monthly mortgage on?


• Voicemail messages and text messages. Nuf said...if you haven't seen the audio and video fallout from Tiger Wood's affairs over the last couple of weeks then you must have been out of range of a TV.


• Cell phone bills. So easy to get online and so hard to cover up the daily calls to the mistress.


• Transport card activity. Whether you use a Metro card, bus pass, automated toll payment system, etc., it can be fairly obvious if your costs suddenly change dramatically and it can be easy to pull these records from your account (gee...my spouse NEVER goes to the east side of town...til the last couple of months...I wonder why that is...).


• Email, Twitter, FaceBook, Blogs. If something is printed/shared digitally, there is no telling who will see it. Most likely it will be the cheated upon spouse at some point, thus adding fuel to the divorce fire. Note that NOTHING is safe from prying eyes if it is emailed, saved on the computer (or even if it has been deleted), written about on FaceBook, written about in your blog, written down anywhere (ie: in letters or cards), photographed or videoed.


• Anything you bought that has a tracking system. Airline tickets, hotel reservations, your car's GPS device (don't people clear previous destinations?), an unusual pattern of calls on your home phone's caller ID, an iPod with recently updated music that the spouse never before listened to, etc.


• Secret anything. Secret credit cards (they WILL show up on your credit bureau file), secret cell phones (these can be found and if it is under contract, will show up on your credit bureau record as well), keys to a secret apartment/post office box/locker/etc.


• Lies that can be tracked. If you say you were working overtime, did it show up on your pay stub? If you say your job suddenly requires a lot of travel, will this lie be substantiated when the spouse calls your office?


• Evidence of the video/audio/actual kind. Photos are bad. PDA that can be photographed by a detective are equally bad. Phone calls and conversations that can be recorded are bad. Condoms or birth control pills when the other spouse has been spayed or neutered making these unnecessary is also a clear sign. Don't even get me started on sex videos or other misapplications of cameras or camcorders...

The bottom line is that what people choose to do is their own business. Personally I think the drama and deception of an affair is a huge amount of work for what in the end will be a very poor outcome for all involved. If you do decide to do something illegal, immoral, or both, the least you can do is not get caught because you do things that can so easily be tracked.

Things You Can Do Without

The number and range of things that people think they NEED in their lives can be astronomical. It also puts them in debt, ties them to jobs they hate, ties them to spouses they hate, and generally makes them miserable. They spend their entire lives yearning and striving for the "things" that they think they should have, just because "everyone" has them, while at the end, they look back and wonder if they shouldn't have spent their precious time doing something else. Something more meaningful, something radically different, or something that would have made them happier (like better relationships or an interesting purpose) instead of purchasing "things" that the media said would make them happier. But didn't. So here's a list of things you really can do without because other people are actually doing it...

• A home. The recession forced many people from their homes. Some people turned to the media to tell the world how losing their home was the end of the world, while others took their lives because they couldn't deal with the loss of their 'status' home. Here's some people who voluntarily do without homes and are all the more interesting (and apparently happier) for it: Family on Bikes, Female Nomad, Legal Nomads.
• A car. For most Americans, getting a car is a rite of passage. People could think of a lot of things to do without if they were really strapped for cash, but once a person has a car, they are loathe to ever part with it (even if it is drowning them in debt). There are, however, people who make a conscious choice to be car free: Car Free Family, Car Free Tribe, Car Free Bike Forum.
• Credit Cards. Un American! Blasphemy! You would think that people were issued credit cards at birth by the way most people are permanently attached to their cards, emotionally moved by their credit score, and traumatized by a cut in their credit limit or a jump in their interest rates. Again, there are plenty of people who live just fine, thank you, without credit: Dave Ramsey, Enemy of Debt, No Credit Needed.

Those are the biggies. Those are the things that keep people in perpetual debt. There are, however, many other things you can do without that will save you smaller, yet significant amounts of money over the long haul:

• Cable TV. Cutting the Coax--Living Without Cable
• Home phone service. Cutting the Cord
• The electrical grid. HSW Living off the Grid
• Cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, caffeine. Breaking addictions is a good thing--good for your health and good for your pocketbook.

The bottom line is that the less you need, in regards to material goods, the better off you will be, especially in a disaster situation. If you need an eye-opener about the minimum that people actually need to survive, go on a week long backpacking trip, taking everything you need to survive in a small bag on your back. Go to a third world country, in the slums or the very poor parts of the country, and see how little people can live on for entire lifetimes. Visit an Amish community and note how few modern conveniences people use yet still manage to live full, interesting lives.

10 Things to Do by the End of the Year

Now is a really busy time of year, however there are a bundle of things that you should do now, rather than later...

1. Back up all of your files. I back up all of my business files at least once a week onto a thumb drive. Some people do this daily, depending on the quantity of work generated or the value should the files disappear into the ethers. Others do this not at all...these are the people having a meltdown at their local computer shop because their hard drive is totally toast and all of their family pictures, work, and important info has been lost forever. Get into the habit of backing up your files on a regular basis so that if your computer should die, you will still have most if not all of your important computer files ready to put on another computer and keep going.


2. Back up all of your contacts. Whether you use GMail, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, or any other email program, you need to export your contact information regularly as well. I export my contact list into a .csv file and keep it saved with my backed up files so in case my email server should implode, I will still have this important information.


3. Get your tax deductions in. If it looks like it will be a big tax year or you are just feeling generous, be sure to get your tax deductible donations and deductions in ASAP, at least by the end of the year.


4. Change all of your passwords. This is also a good habit to get into on a regular basis and what better way to start off your new year than with a whole set of new passwords?


5. Dump out the BOB and repack it. I did this a couple of days ago. I generally go through my BOB a few times a year in order to rotate the food, make sure the clothes are appropriate for the season, and refine my gear (I am on a minimalist kick and I want to be able to grab my BOB and RUN not grab my BOB and drag the thing down the street because it weights so much).


6. Get a calendar. Whether you use an electronic calendar, a huge wall calendar, or a pocket calendar, having something to write important dates in is an excellent way to stay organized. So far my calendar includes standing meetings for 2010 and a whole bunch of fitness activities such as bike rides, marathons, and other events I plan to participate in during the upcoming year.


7. Check all of your important documents that have an expiration date and note anything that will be expiring on your calendar so you will be able to renew them on time. Driver's license, passport, concealed carry license, credit cards, professional licenses...all of these things have expiration dates and can create a real problem if you let them lapse.


8. Make a goal list. Each year I make a list of around 100 goals that I want to accomplish each year. If you keep these sorts of things in your head, you are much less likely to accomplish them so take the time to actually write out the things you want to accomplish (work, financial, travel, health, family goals) then set about completing them in the new year.


9. Update important documents. The end of the year is a good time to look back over the past year and update documents such as your home inventory, your resume, and your Will to reflect any new changes in your life.
10. Start on your way to creating a "super abundance" in your home. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to worry about buying laundry soap, toilet paper, shampoo, etc for an entire year? At the end of each year I try to purchase enough of the consumable products that we use on a regular basis to last for an entire year. It greatly streamlines your life when you have plenty of everything in your home. No more running out of important items, no more running to the store at the last minute because you ran out of dish soap, always having enough of everything on hand even if you have dozens of house guests visit throughout the year...all good reasons to stock your home well at the beginning of each year.

DPT--Buying Tools

I had to run by Sears yesterday (big mistake due to the huge Christmas crowds but I digress) and my nephew happened to be accompanying me. Of course we got waylaid in the tool department as we were pulled by the siren song of the Craftsman tool section. My nephew being young (and not yet having a family to divert his money) was maybe minutes away from breaking out his wallet and parting with his hard-earned cash for a 260-piece mechanic's tool set. No matter that he isn't a mechanic. No matter that he lives in a very, very small apartment. No matter that the biggest repairs he makes are simple fixes that require at most a screwdriver and maybe a hammer. It was at this point that I broke into my tool buying spiel. Here's the high points:

• If you are young, don't look at a much older person's tool collection and think you have to match them. The person has had probably thirty extra years over you in which to collect his tools.


• Buy tools as you need them. I know how exciting the tool displays look at the store. They make you want to buy. They make you dream of projects there is no way you will ever do. If you need a tool, buy the tool that you need for the particular project you are working on. If you just moved into your first place and need to hang pictures, buy a hammer, a level, and perhaps a drill.


• Buy only what you need. Many tool sets come with thirty screwdrivers when at most, you probably only need four. Don't be wooed into thinking you need every conceivable size of the same tool when you only need a few sizes to cover all of your bases.


• Buy quality tools on sale. Don't waste your money on crappy, cheap tools. I know tools can seem expensive which leads to the second part--buy them on sale. And yes, if I need a hammer and there is a sale pack that includes three different sizes for a good prices, I will buy the three pack.


• Build up your tool collection over the years. I learned this from my granddad who had a massive collection of tools, which he used every day. He was by no means rich so it took literally decades to build up his collection as he bought each tool one at a time. The interesting part is nearly each tool had a story to go along with it. One tool he used when he was working on the Fremont bridge in Portland. One tool he won in a bet. One tool was given to him by his dad...you get the picture.


• Take care of your tools and keep them organized. Tools can last forever if you take care of them (ie: store them properly and wipe them down after use). Also, if you keep your tools organized you will always know where they are and won't run out to buy a tool again and again because you can't find where you left it.


• Consider the project you are working on and whether it would make more sense to borrow or rent the tool. If a particular tool is very expensive or if the tool is so specialized that you will probably only need to use it once or twice in your lifetime, consider borrowing the tool from a friend or neighbor or renting it from the local rental place.


• Start out with the basics and move on from there. Most people who do very little actual mechanical work only need the most basic of tool sets: big Phillips screwdriver, small Phillips screwdriver, big flat-head screw driver, small flat-head screwdriver, maybe a socket set (standard and metric), a couple of adjustable wrenches, a hammer, pliers, measuring tape, box knife, tin snips, etc. Obviously if you move into more specialized projects (car repair, plumbing, carpentry) you will need to expand your tool repertoire to meet your needs.

Buying tools is a fun things to do. Tools hold their value and of course are useful but don't feel like you need to break the bank in order to have a stellar set of tools to meet every conceivable preparedness need.

Link Round Up--Interesting Ideas, A Couple Comments, and a Great Article

Here's a random list of some interesting ideas plus a really good survival article:

• I like people who think outside of the box, like this guy.
• I'd never even heard of this website before, thanks to the reader who passed it along...good for a laugh.
• Another reader pointed out this website which I haven't used before but it looks like it may be a good idea to sign up.
• This article was sent along by a reader but there was no identifying information about the author. I like to give credit where credit is due so if anyone knows who wrote it, I would like to add their name to the article. UPDATE: Thanks to our readers we now know who wrote the article. Check out the author's blog at http://ferfal.blogspot.com.
• A note--you know the bottles of water you have in your car for an emergency? If you live in the parts of the country that have been in the deep freeze for the past week, you may want to check on them and make sure they haven't frozen and expanded which will create leaky bottles as soon as they thaw.
• And finally, feel free to submit links to add to our huge link list, poll ideas, blog post ideas, or great articles that we can add to our Daily InSight links.