It’s no secret that the current administration does not approve of gun ownership by American citizens. So overall it came as no surprise when I found a video on a blog of the white house chief of staff, Rahm Emmanual, speaking to a conference for the Brady campaign about one of his ways of preventing firearm ownership.
Mike Rowe and Hard Work
I personally don’t watch all that much TV. Even shows I actually enjoy, I still am just usually too busy to feel I can arrange the time to sit and watch something. When I do watch though, one of my favorites is Mike Rowe. Currently he is most well known for his Discovery Channel shows Dirty Jobs, and Deadliest Catch. His dry humor, and matter-of-fact tone seem to keep me coming back for more. One of the best things about his Dirty Jobs show is how it focuses on what really are the average jobs in life, the ones that most people seem to look down on for various reasons. Continue reading “Mike Rowe and Hard Work”
The Surveillance Self-Defense Site
As an admitted geek, I have often tried to help people in understanding 
the importance of information security, especially when it comes to data storage and transmission. From what kind of software you run, to how you communicate with others your data can be vulnerable. From employers to government agencies, neighbors to hackers, what you say and keep can be taken and used in ways that you don’t want. But teaching everything people should know to keep themselves safe is often a long process, and something I often have to revisit to remind people. Continue reading “The Surveillance Self-Defense Site”
Taking Stock
One of my secret, very un-prepper-like joys is getting the call from my wife on the way home, stating that I need to pick something up.
Who knows the reason, but usually that means I’m going to stop by Costco to pick up one of their roasted chickens. Then again, we tend to pick up one of these pretty often. Getting a whole chicken works out well, giving us several meals already largely prepared.
But whether you are like us, and just addicted to that rotisserie chicken, or you like to cook your own. There lies the question of what do you do with the *rest* of the chicken that you don’t eat?
Glenn Beck on the Worst Case
Glenn Beck had a show on Friday that is making quite the rounds among the preparedness blogs (among other places) for very good reasons. He started out by bringing on several “experts” on various topics, after giving each one a potential “doomsday” type of scenario. As he states, at time we need to think about what we are preparing for. What is the worst that we think *could* happen, and what can we do to avoid it, or be prepared for it in our own lives.
These three videos give some of the highlights of the discussion (wish the whole show was up there).
Shelf Reliance Recipe Contest
Do you have a favorite recipe for using your food storage? Maybe a comfort food your family wouldn’t want to go without, or something that makes excellent use fo the basics? Well here’s a good chance to show your stuff, and have a chance to win some *awesome* prizes. Our friends at Shelf Reliance are having a recipe contest this month.
There’s some seriously nice prizes too:
- 1st Place = One (1) Harvest Food Rotation System ($459 value)
- 2nd Place = THRIVE Fruits and Veggies Essential Package ($283 value)
- 3rd Place = Three (3) Cansolidator Pantry systems ($135 value)
Entries can be emailed to [email protected]. For more information, such as the rules and details, go check out their page.
Also, go ahead and send along your favorite recipe to me, and we’ll post them up on the site here. Of course, just watch out because I’ve got a few recipes up my sleeve, and I’m gunning for that #1 prize myself :)
Tax Refund Preparedness
We are coming to the time of the year that has become the second Xmas for many Americans. And I purposely chose to write xmas because it has nothing to do with the real Christmas we should have celebrated so recently. What I’m talking about is the look people get in their eyes as they get some portion of their taxes back from government. To many people this is the only surplus of cash they will see during the whole year, and our business world thrives on the swing in spending this influx of cash creates.
So, if you are one of those looking at receiving a check from Uncle Sam in the next month or two, why not put a little more thought in how it can be used for preparing your family for the year ahead? The following list of ideas might help stimulate your family in a way far better than buying some toy you’ve been looking at recently. Each of the following is a simple idea, that will later be posts of their own with all the details you’ll want. Continue reading “Tax Refund Preparedness”
Utah Earthquake Education
My wife is from California, I’m from Washington. We both grew up learning about the dangers of earthquakes, and the likelihood of them happening. While she had far more experience with them actually happening than I did, I do remember having earthquake drills in school. Learning to stay away from the windows, and what would help protect me from the roof falling in. Living in Utah now, my son hasn’t had drills like that in his school, some might say because of the lower risk of earthquakes. We’ve had family lessons on how to react in the case of an earthquake, among other emergencies, but what do other people have to say about earthquakes in Utah? What would be the general populations reaction? Continue reading “Utah Earthquake Education”
Review: Shelf Reliance Cansolidator Pantry
By now I’m sure all of our readers have had time to gawk at the wonderful photos in previous posts showing large shelving units with impressive amounts of canned foods with a nice rotation system built in. These Shelf Reliance products are favorites of the folks around here. A wonderful local company delivering something we all love.
But let’s face it. Not all of us have room for a large shelving unit, or maybe we just cant afford it. Better yet, maybe you’re like me and you have one, but you also really need a way to rotate a few cans that are in your kitchen too. And as impressive as the rack is, it just doesn’t quite match the decor of the kitchen.
Enter two other products made by the same company, the Cansolidator ‘Cupboard’, and the ‘Pantry’. Two smaller sized roller systems designed for use in your kitchen/pantry/closet. Continue reading “Review: Shelf Reliance Cansolidator Pantry”
Slimline Can Roller Project
Ever wanted to find a way to store a bunch more cans, especially those big #10 sized ones? Love the idea behind products such as the Shelf Reliance, but maybe you don’t have enough money for one, or better yet, maybe not enough space because of oddly sized rooms? Maybe you’re like me and maybe several of those are true all at once. What follows is a restatement of a post I did last year about some home-made can rotation shelving I built, along with the basic instructions you need to create your own (and you’ll want to).
American Preppers Networks
The idea of regional/state preparedness networks seems to be catching fire. Just like what has happened with a couple friends and I, people are looking out to how they can begin to share the information they have about preparedness of all forms to their neighbors. The early networks such as Texas and us here in Utah started as simply a couple bloggers looking to network together a little more. Now in our amateur attempts to help ourselves and our friends, we seem to have started something, as we began to see other states such as Kentucky, Idaho, and Colorado start their own groups. As it should be, each is independant, representing local bloggers trying to share their experiences in life with the local flavor.
Well, several people have been wondering how they could possibly start a group for their own state. Some even stooping to asking us (talk about a rewarding feeling, as if this is successful :) ) how to get a group started. I’m glad to say that somebody has stepped up to make this process even easier. Check out American Preppers Network, which is an umbrella blog. He’s also created blogspot blogs for each of the 50 states, and will hand them out to anybody who’s willing to step up and lead the charge. Interested in seeing something for your state, step up and help out, it’s never been easier.
Of course, if you have the technical aptitude, feel free to use other means. This site here just happens to have a bunch of geeks running things, so we run our own software, on our own server. But as all things preparedness related, use your own strengths. :)
Dinner Grouping
One of the most important factors in being able to build up a quality food storage program is to actually store the food that you will eat and find a way to rotate that stored food into your daily diet. The problem many of us face is that while pizza is fast and convenient, and the pizza boxes stack really well, the food sure doesn’t last. I also don’t think that if I ordered an extra meal from the local Chinese delivery place, that I could just throw it onto my food storage shelving and expect it to do any good.
Part of the problem is that most families, especially those of my admittedly younger age group, have grown so accustomed to having cheap, tasteful food at our fingertips that we have lost the skill of actually cooking for ourselves. The family dinner at the table has become a thing of the past as have the requisite skills from planning meals ahead of time to storing for particular meal needs. Fortunately, for the past couple of years my family has participated in a program with several of our neighbors that has helped combat this trend and created an excellent, yet unplanned opportunity for us all to build up our food storage supplies and skills.
How does it work? Let’s look at the basics of our dinner group program.