Emergency Preparedness

Well, another TV solicitation is making the rounds. Here is the email I received this morning.

——

Greetings.

I am a casting director at Metal Flowers Media in Los Angeles.

We cast shows like Storage Wars, American Guns, One Man Army, Ice Road Trucker, and Frontiersmen.

We are now casting a new show for a major cable network. This is a show about the real world of family prepping:
We are looking for families who understand the reality of current worldwide pandemics, threats, etc.

We are looking for families who are eagerly and aggressively preparing for the worst, to protect their families.

This show will have a team of experts to help families take their preparations to the next level.

We are searching for families with a minimum of 4 members, and kids over the age of 10.

I was hoping you might be able to pass along my information to anyone who you think might be interested.

Anyone who is interested, can call Sarah Mahoney Furlong at 310-857-8575 or contact us at metalflowersmedia.com.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sarah Furlong
Casting Producer
Metal Flowers Media
1149 N. Gower St. Ste. 279
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Contact Number: 310-857-8575
Web// www.metalflowersmedia.com
FB// facebook.com/metalflowersmedia
Twitter// @metalflowers

——–

Now, given that at least a couple of people who have appeared on such prepper shows have since run into trouble with the law due to what they talked about on those shows, I’d hesitate to ever get involved.

I also have no clue who their “team of experts” are either. Personally, I’ve often said there could be significant value in a prepper show that actually teaches skills and shares knowledge without resorting to exhibiting preppers as being akin to a circus sideshow act. But, TV being what it is, I doubt something like that would ever happen. Heaven forbid viewers actually learn something, y’know?

Of course, appearing on such shows is also a serious violation of maintaining good OPSEC (operations security). It makes little logical sense to appear on a nationwide TV show detailing all your preps as all that does is tell everyone exactly what you have and where you are. Why not just put all your supplies out on your front lawn with a “FREE” sign and be done with it?

And for those who think there will be some sort of financial windfall sufficient to mitigate the risks of appearing on such a show? Think again. Many of these folks aren’t paid at all or if they are, it is nothing more than a pittance.

Consider yourself warned.

In our ever more data heavy lives, cloud storage has become more and more popular. The idea is you can store books, music, and just about every other form of digital information offsite while still being able to access it any time through your electronic devices. For example, rather than clutter up your e-reader with hundreds of files, just store them in “the cloud” and download them when you want to read them. Instead of all those media files hogging your computer’s resources, you just download what you need right then, then put it back when you’re done.

Kinda cool, right?

Well, maybe.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of cloud storage. Granted, I do use Dropbox frequently but that’s not pure cloud storage either. With Dropbox, I can save files on my computer and every other computer I own will automatically download the same files, giving me almost immediate access to them on any of my devices. Further, just like traditional cloud storage, I can use any other device to access the same files by going to their website. This allows me to work on my book manuscripts and other projects from pretty much anywhere.

But, I don’t like the idea of using it for valuable/sensitive information, books, music, and some other digital files. Imagine going into Barnes & Noble, buying a couple books, then being told you can access them anytime you want, just call the store and they’ll send you a link to them online. Um, no thanks. If I buy a book, I want to be able to read it any time I want, without having to jump through any hoops.

What if something goes wrong with a server somewhere and I can’t access my data? Right now, the only thing that could really go wrong with me pulling a book out of my personal library might be I can’t find the damn thing on my bookshelves. That’s my problem, no one else’s.

What if a file becomes corrupt? Thus far, I’ve yet to ever pull a book from my shelves and find it suddenly lost a dozen pages in the middle.

What if data gets stolen? I have a list of passwords for all my various frequently visited websites. Someone would have to break into my home, get passed all my security, and find it to be able to access that information. A hacker in Nigeria ain’t gonna get very far in that attempt.

What if the power goes out? It is bad enough that many preppers choose to store hundreds of pages of potentially critical information on their own hard drives, where it I guess theoretically could be recovered if a power source were found. If all that information is on a cloud somewhere, all the rain in the world probably won’t get it to fall during or after an emergency.

The last couple weeks have been pretty darn hot here in the Upper Midwest as well as other places around the country. Frequently during these first heat waves of the year, we scramble to get outside and enjoy the weather while getting things done in the yard and gardens. However, you need to be careful you don’t overdo it.

While we did have a very mild winter, our bodies still need a little time to get used to 90 degree days. This goes for kids as well as adults. We get so caught up in the work we’re doing, or the games we’re playing, we forget to hydrate and end up feeling sick and dizzy.

Make a point of stopping work regularly to drink water. Make sure you’re wearing sunscreen too as sometimes those first burns of the season will sneak up on you. If you’re working in the yard or garden, consider a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off your face and head.

If you haven’t done so already, now is also probably a good time to take all the winter gear out of your trunk and store it away until fall. Add a couple more water bottles to your vehicle emergency kit too.

It is important to LIVE your life, rather than just spend every waking moment preparing for what may come later. As preppers and survivalists, sometimes we lose sight of that. We become so involved with prepping that our day-to-day lives sort of slip by unnoticed. Eventually, we come to the realization we’ve missed out on a lot of the present because we were so concerned about the future.

I want each and every one of you to take some time this upcoming holiday weekend to have some fun.

Invite some friends over for a cookout.

Play catch with your kids.

Go see a movie at the budget theater and splurge on the large popcorn with extra butter.

Just sit outside at night and look at the stars.

We’re going to have my in-laws over on Monday for a BBQ. We’ll listen to some tunes and just relax. I’ll be working the grill and we’ll have burgers with all the fixings.

Well, that’s the plan IF I can get our bathroom remodel done before then. By the gods do I HATE working on plumbing! Seriously, if you live in or near southeastern Wisconsin, I’ll give you a signed copy of my upcoming book, Prepper’s Home Defense, when it comes out in October if you can help me get this project done in the next few days.

Remember, life is to be lived. Go out and live it.

Most of us probably have more credit card debt than we’d like, right? Not only are we paying through the nose with the interest, keeping up with the payments really puts a ding in our monthly budget.

Reducing debt will give you additional purchasing power for your preps as well as give you some breathing room every month. Here is a proven strategy to get out from under the debt umbrella.

Make a list of all your credit accounts, including the balance currently owed as well as the minimum payment due. Place them in order, from the lowest balance to the highest. Starting this month, pay as much as you possibly can afford toward the lowest balance, while still making at least the minimum payments on the others. Continue doing this until that lowest balance reaches zero. Then, take the money you were paying on that debt and put it toward the next lowest balance, adding it to whatever you were paying for the minimum due.

Important — don’t shortchange that next payment plan! For example, let’s say you were paying $75 a month toward your lowest balance. At the same time, you were paying the minimum payment (say, $25) on the next lowest balance. When that first one is paid in full, you’ll then pay $100 a month toward the next one ($75 you were paying previously + $25 minimum monthly due).

Once accounts are paid in full, don’t use them anymore but don’t close them out either. The reason for that is two fold. First, closing accounts negatively impacts your credit rating (I know, sounds stupid, but it is true). Second, you just might need that extra purchasing power due to an impending disaster.

I also don’t advocate declaring bankruptcy unless it is truly your only viable option. I realize for some folks there is just no other way. But for lots of people, it is nothing more than an easy out. BK has a tremendous impact on your credit rating and it is a long, arduous process to get out from under it.