"Contingency Plans"

Sometimes I go in to planning mode for Apocalyptic and lesser scenarios. Unlike most people, I do not really think that I would be one of the few survivors of some terrible catastrophe. I am relatively sure that I would be either wiped out in the first wave or die soon afterward.

Even the most basic catastrophe, I am woefully unprepared. What if transportation shut down today, leaving me with no way to get food or get out of town?

First, I have a hard enough time thinking about what to eat day-to-day. If we rationed our food, we probably have about a month of slightly above starvation level. Maybe a little more. After that, we will be eating the fish in the koi pond. I also have some understanding of edible plants in the area and I do know how to prepare several common garden plants and weeds to eat. However, given that I live in one of the larger metro areas in the region, I will be competing with about a million other people.

More important than food, water will be a significant issue. Plumbers shut off the water for the neighborhood last week and we were without any water for the evening. I have been in a situation with not potable water before and it is not fun. But that was in a smaller city and the National Guard came in and provided drinking water. At this moment, I have several sources of water to use, mainly ice and the toilet tanks. After that, we will be collecting rain water and filtering the koi pond (after we eat the koi.)

If there was a breakdown in law and order then I again would be behind my neighbors. I am willing to bet that there are better armed people within 5 miles of me. Even for defense, a pistol is better than the simple swords, knives, and clubs I have access to. I do have martial arts training but not much of a response to a firearm. If they wanted to, my meager supplies would be gone.

Without even one zombie, alien, or nuclear bomb, I am pretty screwed. So what can I do about it? I could start stockpiling canned goods. Start canning more food on my own too. If I had a way to do so, I could build a cistern to supply emergency water. There are plenty of places in my house that could store a large water container as well. I do not want to own a gun so the best way to avoid raiders is to give the impression that we have nothing or we have already been raided. Then find a place to hide our stores.

The best way to avoid the pitfalls of the metro area in a disaster is to plan an escape route. No interstates, get to the first point on one tank of gas. We have bicycles, so once the care dies, we have human powered transportation. We also have a tent so there is emergency shelter. Of course camping may be worse than the city as we have a less defensible position and less supplies. We would have to make our way north to a cabin in the mountains; several of my friends have cabins and it would be a matter of picking one to go to. Plus many of the cabins are rentals so likely to be empty. Of course, "cabin in the woods" also means "people with guns" so we would have to be careful. I would say move south to my parents but they are worse supplied than us and live near a military base. While a base would be a good place to go for protection, it would also be a good target and there are closer bases than that one.


" - http://ping.fm/GrOE3

Who said this?

"The discoveries of healing science must be the inheritance of all. That is clear. Disease must be attacked, whether it occurs in the poorest or the richest man or woman simply on the ground that it is the enemy; and it must be attacked just in the same way as the fire brigade will give its full assistance to the humblest cottage as readily as to the most important mansion." - http://ping.fm/hs4nQ

Meetings, Bloody Meetings

It seems that far too often, the people tasked with scheduling and leading meetings have absolutely no idea on how a meeting should be run.

For someone who has a lot to do everyday and people calling for assistance and questions, my time is valuable. Rather than value and respect my time, I am often in meetings where the topic is fluid and the goal is unclear.

There is a great training video available called "Meetings, Bloody Meetings" and I think every manager should watch it. Unfortunately, it is rather expensive and not widely available but if you ask me, I can get you in touch with someone who has an official copy.

Politics

I heard somewhere recently that the common thread between all politicians is the diesire to be liked and ambition. I think one reason I am not a politician (at least not now) is that I often compromise my ambition. I would rather be comfortable than consumed by success; happy over powerful.

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE NOTE

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE NOTE

 

Please put your NAME and DATE on your food.   

 

If you do not label you food it will be thrown away (or eaten.) 

 

Anything older than 2 weeks will be brought back to your desk and hidden for you to find later. 

Small Business is the Backbone of America

A commercial (ironically, advertising the need to advertise) spoke about the fact that "small business is the backbone of America!"

Is it? The first thing is to establish terms. What is a small business? Number of people? Amount of money/profit? I am going to say a business under 50 people, making less than $10 million is gross revenue. This excludes franchisees of larger companies.

I look around my house and I see many products. Few were created, distributed, or sold by a small business. There are services that I receive. Car care, hair cuts, dry cleaning, etc. Is the independent car shop the backbone of America?

Big business is the backbone of America. There is no debate about saving small businesses. It is the "too big to fail" who are getting the help. Small business is the fingers of America. You can lose a few fingers, even all of them, and still keep moving. If small business what the backbone then Walmart would be coming in and decimating small towns. They don't. Walmart replaces the smal business with big business.

Is this bad? I would borrow from evolution. If the only genes we have are "big business" genes, the genetic diversity is ripe for extinction. With the diversity of small business we have a chance to survive the next meteor/climate change/hunters.

Inspiration

I went to get an oil change and due to other repairs needed, I was left at the shop for an hour. A National Geographic article kept my attention. It spoke about the increase in light pollution and that most of the country and the world is in a permanent twilight. Even hundreds of miles outside of a major city, the glow blocks out most of the stars.

Then as we put our son to sleep, my wife sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." When she sang, "how I wonder what you are" I wondered if he will be able to look up into the sky and wonder as well what is up there. Will he be more in awe of the lights of the city than the lights of the stars?

For all of human history we have looked to the skies and wondered. Now we are left with our eyes straight ahead. Will the stars still inspire or will we be inspired by what we see on a screen?

Contempt

I have noticed an interesting trend; and I suspect it will be an ongoing theme in my writing. People cannot disagree anymore. We are no longer capable of accepting that someone has a difference of opinion. They are either in our camp or our enemy; compromise is out of the question.

Sometimes, once NPR switches to classical music for most of the day, I listen to the talk shows on the radio. Since the recent election many of these shows have decided that the American people are wrong and we will pay for our poor choice.

Why the contempt for the American voter? Why not ask "why did the majority of the electorate choose this man over the other?" The unfortunate thing is that they are asking this question and answering it themselves.

The American people voted the way they did, not for rhetoric or handouts, but for the idea that government should work. For decades we have been told that government is inefficient, bloated, and slow. Conservatives have governed with the point of proving this rather than correcting it. The voters have decided to elect a government who will govern instead.