Monday, April 27, 2009

Shameless advertising




TWO CASES of MRE's for a total of 24 meals, for $89.98 (about $30 for shipping).

Unless you're doing some really strenuous physical activity, you DON'T need to eat 3 of these a day. (Each meal contains around 1200 calories.) So this would last longer than you might think.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Flu

One of the reasons I started this blog in the first place (aside from a convenient excuse to ramble on about whatever I feel like at the moment) was to post information about emergency preparedness, and that sort of thing.

I don't want to come across as some sort of panic-mongering Chicken Little prophet of doom and gloom or anything, but I've been reading about this new Swine Flu and possible linkages to avian and other influenza viruses (virii?), and it's...a little disconcerting, at least. Probably didn't help that I was up until about 2am last night reading this stuff...

Here's the tip of the iceberg:


WHO's Chan says swine flu has pandemic potential
25 Apr 2009 13:46:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - Outbreaks of swine flu in Mexico and the United States have the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic but it is too early to say whether they will, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Saturday.
"It has pandemic potential because it is infecting people," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said.
The new flu strain -- a mixture of swine, human and avian flu viruses which has killed up to 68 people among 1,004 suspected cases in Mexico and infected eight in the United States -- is still poorly understood and the situation is evolving quickly, Chan said on a teleconference. (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Jon Boyle)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LP275715.htm

Possible Swine Flu Outbreak At NYC Prep School
Department Of Health Officials Testing 75 Students At St. Francis Preparatory School In Queens
http://wcbstv.com/health/swine.flu.nyc.2.994071.html


Again, I don't want to sound like Chicken Little, but this has potential to be ugly. The cases identified so far in the US have not been fatal, but that is a mixed blessing. A rapidly fatal virus has less risk of spreading, if it kills the host too quickly. If a virus evolves/mutates/adapts to become a little less lethal, it has a better chance of infecting more people, some of whom may likely die from the infection. But possibly not before spreading it.

Anyone who doesn't understand why a flu pandemic is a big deal should read about the Spanish Influenza of 1918
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic

If this thing does get out of hand, a good supply of clean water is essential! We need to keep clean, and hydrated!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Well, Emily and I made it to Arizona

It's good to be here. I don't have much to say right now, but if anybody in the area wants to hire me ;)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Nuts!

You are what you eat at the Oakdale Testicle Festival!

http://www.modbee.com/scene/story/643121.html

A joint fund-raiser for the Oakdale Rotary Club and Cowboy Museum, the event is now in its 28 years, and raised $28,000 last year, charging $50 a ticket ($65 if you pay at the door).

The organizers promise that you'll "Have a ball!"



I'm sorry, but that violates man law. I wouldn't want anybody chowing down on my...ahem...yeah, so I don't chow down on anybody or anything else's.

Monday, March 16, 2009

What's Really Going On

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2009/03/13/what%e2%80%99s-really-going-on/

Link to the Intellectual Conservative website for a great (and depressing) article by Phillip Jackson. It's a must-read.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

How did I ever live without this?



It's......BEAUTIFUL!!!



I don't know who invented this, but I know it was a guy. Bacon. In a can. For long term storage. Society may crumble, but there will be bacon.



Mmmmmmm......

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

A VOICE OF WARNING

This is an e-mail I received from my mother-in-law, quoted in its entirety. The links do have some very useful information as well, I would definitely recommend following them.

PANDEMIC
D&C 45: 31 31 And there shall be men standing in that ageneration, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing bscourge; for a desolating csickness shall cover the land.

For those of you who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the verse is quoted from one of our cannons of scripture. If you like Biblical references I picture the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

I found this to be quite interesting. Do with it as you will.

"About a month ago a seminar was put on by Dr. Susan Puls, who is a cardiologist appointed by the First Presidency of the Church as the head of the church's pandemic committee. She said she was not an expert on pandemics as this was not her speciality, but in the two years she's been in her position, is fast becoming one. She now works for the church on a full-time basis working on planning for the pandemic and trying to get the word out to as many people as possible. There were about 1400 people at the Saturday all-day seminar.

In her capacity, she works with the governor's pandemic committee and the federal pandemic planning agency. She also said a pandemic is coming - not 'maybe' but is DEFINITELY coming. She says _the pandemic is expected within the next two years but she personally believes it will be 'sooner rather than later..' The various groups (CDC, WHO, etc..) do not know what the pandemic will be but 'first among their list of suspects is the avian bird flu. It's only one mutation away from being easily transmitted from birds to humans and from human to human.'

She said the World Health Organization expects 40% of the world population to become sick. Of those who become sick, they expect 50% will die. If you do the math - there are over 6 billion people on the earth today - that puts the death rate at over 1.4 billion people - and she says these deaths will happen over only a 3 to 4 month period of time.

Dr. Puls related that when the pandemic hits the US, mandatory quarantine's of all infected and NON-INFECTED peoples will occur within the first 48 hours. Only emergency personnel (Dr's, nurses, firemen, police, national guardsmen, etc..) will be allowed to leave their homes - not even to go to the store, etc.. This quarantine will last during the duration of the 'pandemic cycle' which will last approximately three months.

Her main point was that everyone will need a *MINIMUM of 3 months supply of food at home* as the governments of the world will be overwhelmed within the first week and cannot be counted on to provide food, medical help, etc..

She only briefly spoke on the 'social disruption' that will occur and did not go into any detail about what plans may, or may not exist, to deal with this. However - think about this - if your neighbors (both those you know and strangers) run out of food and are starving how might they react? Then think of all the individuals who already live outside of the law and are only 'controlled' by our current legal system. How might they react when law enforcement becomes innefectual due to illness among the ranks and those who abandon their jobs to stay home and protect their own families. Ditto for the national guard and our own military.

This isn't to scare anyone - just to provide a 'heads up' as 'to be forewarned is to be forearmed.'
That's the end of the e mail. I try and check the authenticity of e mails such as this so I Googled Dr. Puls and was eventually linked to the Church's Provident Living Website and was surprised to find that they have a section on Pandemic Planning under Home and Family Preparedness.

http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,8041-1-4414-1,00.html

The government also had a website:http://www.pandemicflugov/plan/tab3.html




I'm also including this link to a wikipedia article on the 1918 Pandemic Flu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu, which killed over 20 million worldwide, more than were killed in World War 1.

Whether or not this is something that is coming down the road, it can't hurt to take some simple precautionary measures.