Ramblings on working TOO much...

Howdy Folks,

I have been terribly busy @ work these past few weeks working 12-13 hours almost every day. This has resulted in my computer time being severely limited and my brain functioning in EAT/SLEEP/WORK mode.

August & September are usually my "work till I drop" months, so hopefully things will get back to normal after these next few weeks.

Luckily the money is good and it is helping patch the holes in my preps... I do feel like an almost 3/4 turned zombie a la George Romero style. IOW I feel more like a zombie than a axe! LOL

The chickens are incredible and IMHO are one of the best investments I have made into food production.

The only thing that I have keeping up on are various podcasts that I listen to about 10+ hours a day.

The preparedness podcast had an excellent one on Hydroponics last week, and Jack Spirko keeps cranking out his usual great stuff.

I don't listen totally to prep minded stuff as I enjoy many other interests, so all preps and no fun makes ZA a dull boy... well I am dull enough so no need to make it worse!

I ordered a new flashlight last week that has over twice the output of the BlackHawk Gladius and runs on ONE AA battery. We will see, but looking forward to testing that! Yep, you guessed it... it is a Maratac County Comm special... I figure it has to be pretty good, but only testing will prove it a worthy successor to my beloved Gladius.

It looks like the Scottish jerks let go of that mass murderer. I would boycott Scottish goods, but I have not bought any anyway! Where is William Wallace when you need him???

Well that is all for now as my iTunes has grabbed the latest editions of the podcasts I listen to, so off to work I go.

Thanks for reading... and I'll be back!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Pan Am Flight 103...

For many folks their first experience with terrorism was with the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 ,the terrible Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, or even the horrific second World Trade center bombing, but one that struck close to home for me was the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103...

I had officially become a soldier in the summer of 1988 and had 3 weeks of vacation around Christmas later that year. My parents had provided me with airfare to spend Christmas with some relatives in Dusseldorf, Germany.

I had been enjoying my down time experiencing a European Christmas which was quite different from the ones I had experienced in the South growing up. I can still recall the tolling of church bells at midnight on Christmas morning. That is a truly an amazing experience that if you are given the chance, you should experience it.

I am getting a little ahead of myself here...

My relatives had shown me a wonderful time, with a weekend trip to Paris, a tour of the Netherlands, and all the wonders of Dusseldorf. Life was good with no worries... terrorism only happened to people in far away places...

I was in a far away place, and terrorism was about to come calling nearby...

We were all enjoying watching TV on the evening of December 21, 1988 when the news came on and announced that Pan Am Flight 103 had crashed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the news that night, but over the course of the next week and half, we learned that it was a probable terrorist attack. As a side note, back in 1988 you did not have access to all the 24/7 news channels, Internet, and news radio like you do today. Today one can get INFORMATION OVERLOAD if you wish!

In a week and a half, *I* would be on a commercial jet flying back stateside. I was wondering if a similar fate awaited me...

I remember telling my relatives farewell as I boarded a Lufthansa flight from Dusseldorf to JFK International in NYC. My flight was going to the same destination that Pan Am 103 was headed to and I prayed I would be safe. I will not say I had a sense of dread as I boarded, or was even worried, because the thrill of flying (well it is thrilling to me) was greater than anything that could possibly happen. However it crossed my mind a few times as we crossed the Atlantic.

I was dozing in my seat, when all of sudden Frank Sinatra's New York, New York starting playing (Lufthansa used to do this on all their flights when the plane was getting close to JFK). I had never been so happy to hear that song! That song song still brings back that fond memory and sense of relief.

You know the rest of the story, I lived to tell the tale.

The bad guys were found guilty and locked away... well until Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is about to released on "COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS" WTF!!! WTF!!! again WTF!!!

Where is the compassion for the 270 people he killed??? All humans deserve forgiveness, but we should never forget and we should never treat him any better than he treated his victims.

Sorry tonight for the rant folks, but this really makes me angry that this scumbag is possibly getting to go home to die with COMPASSION with his family! To bad Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi didn't have compassion for his 270 victims AND THEIR FAMILIES!

I bring this up folks, just to point out, the good guys don't always win, and evil can still triumph in this world I am sad to say...

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on having your gear with you...

Some folks like to build homes in remote locations and then put gates to block access into them. I totally understand that idealogy, but I don't call people to repair my problems and then don't provide access to allow them to fix them.

I had to head up and fix a customers service. The problem was all the gates that provided access were locked up and I was not going to able to drive the old work truck down to the residence. So I was going to either leave the customer out of service or go on a little hike.

I freshened up my CamelBack with 3 liters of ice cold goodness, sprayed down with insect repellent, grabbed my Woodsman's Pal, Walking Stick, batteries for my flashlight and headed down the road.

The picture on top was taken a few weeks before when I was in the area that shows you the terrain.

I began my descent down the trail with the realization that it would be all uphill on the way back. Roughly two miles down and I located the house and the problem, but I would need my work truck for the materials.

So back up the hill I hiked and I began to appreciate the gear I had with me. The water quenched my thirst, the walking stick helped me walk up the little trail, the LED flashlight illuminated my path, and the iPhone had sent out a position report to my wife via email and also provided me with a map and compass (had paper and a real one as well).

As I came back on top of the mountain my work cellphone had a voice mail with my customer and I called him back and got someone to let me into the gate to fix his problem.

With my gear I carry I am able to save my own rear as well as utilize it for things as simple as long hikes to help me with my job. So your BOB is not just for emergencies only, it helps you when there is nothing too exciting going on as well.

Just make sure you replace any items you used when you get back to where you can.


Oh yeah, here is the last bit of light fading behind a mountain that I was blessed in seeing as I got back to my truck!


Thanks for reading!

later,
ZA

Ramblings on Networking with minimal OPSEC risk..

Networking...

It is what people do to get to know each other. Most business people do it so they can get to know the movers and shakers in their line of work, maybe get a promotion/ new job offer or just make some new friends that have similar intrests.

You as a prepper should also seek out those of the like mind but how do you do so without risking OPSEC (OPerational SECurity aka giving away your home base) but still make friends???

I will try and cover a few ways to still make friends out there that will grow into life long friendships where you have the power to slowly make sure the people you meet on the web are the people you want to meet in person.

If the people you meet on the web are NOT the people you want to meet in person then no harm no foul, just break contact.

Forums:

Forums and Message Boards such as http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/ allow you to use PM (private messaging) which allows other users on the forum to message you without revealing your email address. Very low risk method of getting to know others.

Blogs/Facebook/Myspace and Social Networking Sites:

I included blogs as more or less as a way to sell yourself. Once I had a large amount of email to answer for some writing I had done, and many folks wanted to know more about myself. I simply pointed them to my blog and said, "if it ain't in there, I ain't a telling!!!" My blog and information that I post are things I wish to share with the world. I am a terribly private individual, but I love to write, share experiences (as long as they do not compromise my safety) and come up with crazy ideas.

As for Facebook and MySpace? I do not use them but limit the information to the level you wish to reveal about yourself.

As for Twitter??? I tweet on occassion but not enough to follow...

Picture Sharing Sites, You Tube and other media sites:

Just because you post a picture on Photobucket on your personal account and put it in your blog does not mean I can not figure out how to locate your album (unless you go private) and see those pics of you in your pink tutu you thought the world would never see. Remember, what you put on the web can be used against you in the distant future. Those pictures of your house... maybe not a good idea with the pics of your gun safes contents!

Some cameras will geo tag your pictures with GPS coordinates... maybe not such a smart idea to put a picture of your cache site with that info on the web! Get rid of the geo tagging!

On one of my blog entrys on the "Check Six Ring" I am wearing gloves. Why you ask? The answer is... a close up of my finger tips may be innocent, but with the right technology you could probably get my finger prints. No I am not a criminal, but when I served my country they had to ink me so they are 'on record'.

When you take a picture of a new weapon, make sure the serial number is not showing as that is info that the wrong people may use.


Email:

Google, Hot and Yahoo Mail allow you to setup an email account so when you give out your email address, it is not your personal email address. Consider them disposable if you need them to be. Once your prepping buddy and you are great friends you can always migrate them to your personal email address. If you publish your email address on the web ANYWHERE spammers will eventually use it to send you those 'wonderful Liberian send me money scheme' emails which will flood your inbox with SPAM and you can't even eat it!!! So use an email account you can dispose of if it gets unusable.

Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms:

Instant Messaging Services such as AOL AIM and other 'type to talk' services allow you to get to know folks and ask those questions in a little more privacy than public forums and make sure that your new internet buddy is on the same page as you. Chat rooms that some forums provide are also great places to meet those of the like mind.

Voice and Video Chat:

When you would rather talk than type and you want to see each other, services such as Skype offer you a way to do this. For those of you who are iPhone users, Skype is FREE @ the iTunes store and it works seamlessly with it. You can call any other Skype user for free and if you need to you, can even call a landline/cellphone for a price as needed.

Cellphone:
A cellphone is a great way to talk with a new friend. With many cellphone plans offering long distance plans all the way across the country, you can reach out and call those far away friends. You can cahnge your cellphone # if you get to be to popular and want to make it all go away. Prepaid cellphones are also low risk and low cost solutions to calling your new friends with pay as you go plans that don't lock you into multi-year contracts.

Ham Radio OPSEC:

I was reading some of the comments on Preparedness Junkie's blog the other day and we are both on the same page about posting our callsigns on the web... not a good idea. Where there is ham gear there is nice stuff. Where there is ham gear and prepping supplies, there is thief nirvana!

For those of you who have a ham license or plan on getting one, I highly recommend acquiring a PO BOX address to be associated with your callsign. I will not go into the details but there are websites that will give you the address to any callsign that is out there. With a PO BOX you get the town my mailbox is in, and that can be ANYWHERE!

Hams are generally good people, but you don't want all the looney tunes having a pathway to your home.

I am not EVEN going to go into the risk of using APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) which displays a users location to other hams who are voluntarily allowing their position reports to be displayed and how that can be used by criminals. I only use APRS on vacation and never within a set radius of my home QTH (hamspeak for location). So think before you give away your position to the entire web until YOU want to and understand the implications!

I am not telling you this to make you paranoid and I don't think TPTB are out to get us, but I think by covering your six, by limiting your personal info, and being vague to strangers, goes a long way to protect yourself from the scumbags that lurk the web.

Ramblings on The Secure Home...

So you are preparedness/survival minded and want to build a home? Want to upgrade your current home?? You will need to get a copy of "The Secure Home" by Joel M. Skousen!

This is the book I wish I had read before I built my home and after reading it I found I did a lot of things right. Still there are some things I wish I had done.

Joel has been designing 'secure homes' for years so he knows about what he speaks of.

I really like his idea of a bullet resistent room using commonly available materials and many other great ideas you need to consider BEFORE you begin building your home.

Yes it is pricey, but where else are you going to get that kind of information that Joel provides from your local contractors (unless you have some really cool contractors in your area).

So give it a read.

FYI, this review is based soley on myself purchasing this book on my own (about a year ago) with no consideration to feature it in this blog entry. Only after reading it I found it to be excellent material for those who want their home a little more secure.

Thanks for reading,

Later,
ZA