Arizona Preppers Network

We have Moved

2011-12-31T18:03:00.000-08:00

The Arizona Preppers Network has moved. Please bookmark our new location at: http://arizona.preppersnetwork.com/

Be sure to update the new link on your sites!

Garden Guy Dave Owens

2011-12-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

Some of you in the Phoenix metro may be familiar with Garden Guy Dave Owens since he appears on newscasts .. but he also has many tips, videos and articles for desert dwellers on Azfamily.com.

I can't figure out how to embed videos but here are some links to some short winter gardening vids...

Garden Guy: How to care for Christmas plants and flowers

Garden Guy: Natural ways to zap winter weeds

Garden Guy: Protect your plants

Also check out the Garden Guy blog at http://www.azfamily.com/community/blogs/the-garden-guy/

And Dave has articles, FAQs and products on his personal site at www.gardenguy.com

Happy gardening! j / itsa

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Merry Christmas everyone

2011-12-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays!! j & B

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Agave has many uses

2011-12-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posts past several weeks - just crazy busy. I ran across this article by Jonathan DuHamel called "Agave, a plant of many uses" recently and including some portions of it below and a link to entire piece which is a very worthy read. j / itsa

Agaves have been used by people in southern Arizona for at least 4,000 years both as a wild plant and a cultivated plant.

Agaves, sometimes called century plants, are succulents like cacti. Their normal life span is usually between 10 and 30 years, not a century. At the end of their time, they shoot up a stalk which is often quick growing, as much as one foot per day. Agaves make a stalk just once in their lifetime, then die.

Some examples of agave uses include:

Fiber - is extracted from the spiked leaves. By the way, the pulp in some species is acidic enough to cause dermatitis but baking reduces the acidity. The cleaned fibers were used to make clothing, rope, baskets, and brushes. The end spines could be used for needles, and with careful extraction, came with thread attached.

Food - the heart of the plant (imaging a giant artichoke) was roasted yielding a sweet nutritious food that is slightly slimy and tastes like molasses. Cooking is essential because otherwise the heart of the agave is very poisonous. The juice of the agave heart was boiled down into a sweet syrup.

Drink - the juice could also be fermented (by spitting into it) into pulque, a beer-like drink and of course made into tequila or mescal.

Medicine - agave contains polysaccharides which are bactericidal, and saponins and sapogenins that have antibiotic, fungicidal, and antiviral properties.

Building materials - stalks can be used for a variety of building purposes and they make good, light, strong walking sticks.

Read DeHamel's full article explaining agave uses in more detail on Tucson Citizen

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Pomegranate pests

2011-11-30T07:17:00.001-08:00

As a follow up to my Wonderful Pomegranate post last week, a word of caution about a critter that can do some damage to your fruit.

This is the evil Leaffooted Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus). These things can measure up to an inch long and can fly. They are interesting critters since they move slowly on branches and fruit and sometimes they’ll turn and watch you with wary eyes.

Although a bit amusing to watch, this pest will bore holes into the ripening pomegranates causing brown spoiled spots and eventually it falls to the ground in a pile of rotting fruit. (Note: these pests not only damage pomees but can wreck havoc on many kinds of crops, including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and ornamentals.)

Scouting is necessary because of the nature of the leaffooted bugs’ damage. Damage produced is similar to that produced by stink bugs, and be warned ... and, speaking of stinky, these bugs also can emit a distinctive odor when handled.

Leaffooted bugs hide in the tops of trees and are often camouflaged by the tree canopy, so some sites suggest taking a long pole and giving the tree a good whack. If disturbed, the bug will take off and usually land nearby, giving you a chance to take a closer look at it and make an ID.

These bugs have long sucking mouthparts that they use to suck the juice from seeds that don't have a hard coat which is why they really love pomegranates. They overwinter as adults in weeds or debris piles so clean up the area around your trees. Also watch for their eggs and young nymphs in the early spring.

According to the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, nymphs of the leaffooted bug have much the same shape as adults, but do not acquire the flattened leaf-like hind tibial expansions until well along toward becoming adults. Eggs are golden brown and are laid in a single row or chain along a stem or leaf midrib. They are somewhat cylindrical, flattened on the undersides and at the ends and are closely laid end to end, forming a stiff cylindrical rod in which each egg appears as a joint or cell. (Photograph by: Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida)

A few tips to help eradicate the pests naturally without chemicals include...

One lady wrote in the VPA forum... “I staple paper bags over my immature pomegranates to keep the bugs off - but like Anita, I have had far fewer leaffooted bugs this year since I got chickens so I too am assuming that many of the nymphs became chicken treats. The nymphs are bright red and black and have a much smaller 'foot'. I handpick any adults I see and drop them in soapy water - just like squash bugs. ...”

Another member wrote .. “Hand picking of the adults seems to work best for me at dawn or dusk - they don't seem to fly away as fast as they do during the daytime.”

And eHow.com suggests planting Mexican milkweed, which attracts ladybugs and lacewings which prey on young leaf-footed bugs.

If we use any bug control spray around our place, it's pyrethrum (made from certain species of the chrysanthemum) and have read another non-toxic solution called Multi Purpose Insect Killer is used on organic gardens.

So just remember to watch for the bright red nymphs in the spring and don’t let the adults get out of control in the summer and fall months ... and happy harvesting!

Sources (and learn more) at:
GrowingProduce.com
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Valley Permaculture Alliance forum

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:45:00.001-08:00

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love and laughter.

As you reflect on your blessings, please take a moment to remember those serving our country and separated from their families today and throughout the year.

Have a fun, safe holiday weekend! j & B

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Wonderful pomegranates

2011-11-17T07:09:00.001-08:00

This is a "Wonderful" time of year in our southern AZ household. We have 4 Wonderful pomegranate trees (and yes, "wonderful" is a specific type of tree) ... and they are definitely that!

This year's pomegranate harvest (or pomees as we call them) is very small due to the hard freezes we had early this year. But they are very easy to grow, keep well in storage (if you have a cool place to store them) and are very tasty!

According to the California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. the pomegranate is a neat, rounded shrub or small tree that can grow to 20 or 30 ft., but more typically to 12 to 16 ft. in height. Dwarf varieties are also known. It is usually deciduous, but in certain areas the leaves will persist on the tree. The trunk is covered by a red-brown bark which later becomes gray. The branches are stiff, angular and often spiny. Pomegranates are also long-lived. There are specimens in Europe that are known to be over 200 years of age. The vigor of a pomegranate declines after about 15 years, however.

The AZCentral.com gardening forum writes: Pomegranates do not require the same amount of water as other fruit trees because they are native to the dry regions of the world. An established pomegranate tree could be watered deeply once every two weeks during the hot months and still have good fruit production.If the tree is younger, it may be watered a little more frequently until it is established. You can water less during spring and fall. Most pomegranates are dormant during our winter and can be watered once a month. If time permits, build a soil ring around the drip line of the tree and create a bowl to collect the water and allow for a good deep soak.

Per CRFG, the fruits are ripe when they have developed a distinctive color and make a metallic sound when tapped. Our test is ... if they twist off the tree easily, they are most likely ready. Well, that and when critters start pigging out on them in Sep and Oct, the pomees are ready. And fruits must be picked before over maturity when they tend to crack open, particularly when rained on.

The pomegranate is equal to the apple in having a long storage life. It is best maintained at a temperature of 32° to 41° F. and can be kept for a period of 7 months within this temperature range and at 80 to 85% relative humidity without shrinking or spoiling. The fruits improve in storage, becoming juicier and more flavorful.

The fruit can be eaten out of hand by deeply scoring several times vertically and then breaking it apart. The clusters of juice sacs are then lifted out and eaten.

We cut each end off then score it vertically so it's easier to peel and reveal the red jewels (aka arils). WARNING: The juices will stain things! And the fleshy internal membrane turns fingernails a lovely shade of yellow esp after pulling out the seeds manually. But the good news is my nails turn back white several weeks after the last pomee is eaten.

The fruit also makes an attractive garnish when sprinkled on various dishes. Pomegranate fruits are most often consumed as juice and can be juiced in several ways. The sacs can be removed and put through a basket press or the juice can be extracted by reaming the halved fruits on an ordinary orange juice squeezer or use a blender for a bit then strain seeds.

The juice can be used to make jellies, sorbets or cold or hot sauces as well as to flavor cakes, baked apples, etc. Pomegranate syrup is sold commercially as grenadine. The juice can also be made into a wine.

A great blog post with several pomee recipes is http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pomegranates/ and the POM site has recipes, tips, coupons and more at www.pomwonderful.com

Have a wonderful day! :) j / itsa

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Thank you Veterans

2011-11-11T05:56:00.001-08:00

Words cannot express the gratitude we have for our men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.

God bless you and your loved ones... and thank you for defending our freedoms.

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Low Buck Prepper in the news

2011-11-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Tucson's local TV station KOLD did a recent interview with Low Buck Prepper about preppers...!

TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - Your neighbor could be one, your coworker or even your own mother. Some say they are Doomsday or conspiracy theorists. They say they are just regular folks, with one exception.

"If the power or water got shut off after five days, which is not out of the realm of possibility, I wouldn't be leaving my house because it's going to be pandemonium, people are not going to be prepared," said Low Buck Prepper.

They're called preppers: People all over Arizona prepping with food, water and security.

To protect his identity this man goes by Low Buck Prepper. He started prepping with one thing in mind."You just never know what's going to happen, you have health insurance, you have car insurance. Why don't you have food insurance or water insurance?"

But Low Buck wants you to know it's not what you think, he's prepping for a different reason. "I do this because I don't think the end of the world is coming or anything like that but if I lose my job, well I have 6 months of food that me and my wife can live on. If a family or a neighbor needs help I can help, plus it's fun."

Most preppers don't consider themselves as Doomsdayers or conspiracy theorists.

He says most are just preparing for the possibilities of what could happen. Like the collapse of our government to a natural disaster. ...

Continue reading and watch entire interview with Low Buck on KOLD.com

Also visit Low Buck Prepper's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/LowBuckPrepper

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Story about preppers in Salina Journal - part 3 of 3

2011-10-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Gordon Fiedler at the Salina Journal has written a great 3-part series about preppers and APN.

According to the Editor's note: "Today we begin our three-part series on "preppers," those who believe in being prepared for whatever calamity befalls us by setting aside food, water, emergency equipment and even guns. Preppers who spoke with the Journal did so with the understanding that their names would not be used for fear that their supplies might become targets."

Bad times mean good times
by Gordon D. Fiedler, Jr - Salina Journal

A recent gathering of preppers at Ottawa County State Fishing Lake, north of Bennington, drew folks from all over the state. They were alerted to the "meet-up" because they are members of the Kansas Preppers Network, which is part of the American Preppers Network.

They go by such online names as Lionheart, Trekker, Kanman, MoEngineer, Guntech and High Hopes. They didn't want their real identities known for fear of home invasions by the unprepared and also, in some cases, to hide their efforts from suspicious employers.

As forum members, they can post questions and comment on queries from others, rant about current events and share an occasional joke among their prepper peers in every state and in all of Canada's provinces and territories. There are even groups in Britain, Italy and New Zealand.

APN's co-founder and current director is Tom Martin, who maintains the site from his Idaho home.

He launched the site in January 2009 and patterned it after online forums in Texas and Utah. Others began popping up and he and associates decided the time was ripe for a larger, more cohesive organization.

"We saw the writing on the wall some time ago," he said.

He could see ominous signs in the housing bubble, the federal debt and other events....

continue reading Part 3 of 3 on salina.com ... and join the discussion on APN

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Story about preppers in Salina Journal - part 2 of 3

2011-10-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Gordon Fiedler at the Salina Journal has written a great 3-part series about preppers and APN.

According to the Editor's note: "Today we begin our three-part series on "preppers," those who believe in being prepared for whatever calamity befalls us by setting aside food, water, emergency equipment and even guns. Preppers who spoke with the Journal did so with the understanding that their names would not be used for fear that their supplies might become targets."

Preppers a diverse group
by Gordon D. Fiedler, Jr - Salina Journal

Smoke curled from the modest campfire and wafted aloft through the cottonwoods. An aluminum coffee pot warmed over some coals. The day was sunny, cool, with just a whisper of wind, a near perfect Kansas fall.

Relaxing around the fire on this Saturday in early October were almost two dozen folks, many meeting for the first time. They had journeyed here -- to Ottawa County State Fishing Lake north of Bennington -- from all over Kansas.

It was a diverse bunch. All different shapes, sizes, ages, gender and political persuasions.

Some were ex-military. Some never served. Some were unemployed, some had jobs. A few were retired.

But they all shared a common bond: They call themselves Preppers, and they had gathered to share ideas, demonstrate various skills, enjoy each other's company and to put faces to the online names they use to disguise their identity. ...

continue reading Part 2 of 3 on salina.com

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Story about preppers in Salina Journal - part 1 of 3

2011-10-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Gordon Fiedler at the Salina Journal has written a great 3-part series about preppers and APN.

According to the Editor's note: "Today we begin our three-part series on "preppers," those who believe in being prepared for whatever calamity befalls us by setting aside food, water, emergency equipment and even guns. Preppers who spoke with the Journal did so with the understanding that their names would not be used for fear that their supplies might become targets."

Gordon was kind enough to include the interview he and I did for this first part .. and yes, I agreed to use my name. itsa (Janet)

"Prepping for disaster"
by Gordon D. Fiedler, Jr - Salina Journal

To a growing contingent of folks, signs abound that all is not well in the world. growing contingent of folks, signs abound that all is not well in the world.

Y2K. 9-11. Hurricane Katrina. Joplin, Mo. Fukushima. Solar spasms. Overpopulation. Peak oil. Food scarcity. Economic collapse. Societal breakdown. Zombies.

Zombies? OK, not in a literal sense, but as a metaphor for some horrific, walking-dead-like scourge.

A sense of unease has them scared, worried and frightened. They envisage an inevitable cataclysmic shift, a "when," not a "what-if," scenario.

But rather than wringing their hands, sticking their heads in a dark place and trying to convince themselves that the future will be all blue sky and birdsong, they are taking action, but not by marching, flamboyant public protesting or overt political activism.

They are preparing by, well, preparing. ...

continue reading Part 1 of 3 on salina.com

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Mexico looks to export water to Western states

2011-10-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Since water is such a serious subject here in the desert, thought you guys might find this of interest.

According to the AP... Western states are looking south of the border for water to fill drinking glasses, flush toilets and sprinkle lawns, as four major U.S. water districts help plan one of two huge desalination-plant proposals in Playas de Rosarito, about 15 miles south of San Diego. Combined, they would produce 150 million gallons a day, enough to supply more than 300,000 homes on both sides of the border.The plants are one strategy by both countries to wean themselves from the drought-prone Colorado River, which flows 1,450 miles from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California. Decades of friction over the Colorado, in fact, are said to be a hurdle to current desalination negotiations.
...

Water agencies that supply much of Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Tijuana, Mexico, are pursuing the plant that would produce 50 million gallons a day in Rosarito near an existing electricity plant. They commissioned a study last year that found no fatal flaws and ordered another one that will include a cost estimate, with an eye toward starting operations in three to five years. ...

Read full article on AZCentral.com

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Infested! Pests can cause a disaster too

2011-09-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Posted on APN by ShinigamiGurl

There's a series on animal planet called "Infested" that shows families driven to financial ruin and even homelessness by pests. We aren't talking a small pest problem, some of the pests covered include bed bugs, rats, scorpions and poisonous spiders. These pests, disturbed from their natural habitats by human development, can drive a family to financial ruin and INSANITY. Some of the pest nightmares shown on animal planet shows include...

In the southwest, a family with a young child was driven out of their home by bark scorpions, who evaded all chemical attempts to kill them, everything they did just made it worse. Bark scorpions are the most poisonous scorpion species in north america and can kill a small child. When the wife got stung, and was fortunate enough to only come out of it with minor injuries, they moved. Their bark scorpion infestation did not respond to pesticides.

In the pacific northwest, a woman was driven out of her home by thousands of poisonous hobo spiders, while the exterminator said that cutting down the trees on her property would reduce the amount of hobo spiders that infested her home, the landlord refused to allow it, believing her just to be hysterical and the spider problem to only be one or two insects.

A single mother who was poor had to make an appeal on the TV news for help when her home was overrun by enormous rats and one of them bit her on the foot. In the end, they had to leave the home to the rats. Even though the exterminator came out for free. ...

Read entire thread and join the discussion on APN

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How to Make a 16 Brick Rocket Stove

2011-09-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

interesting and simple...

Dr. Larry Winiarski makes a clean burning rocket stove using 16 adobe bricks at the Rotary International-sponsored Integrated Cooking Workshop in Tlautla, Mexico (2008)

(hat tip to The Survival Mom)

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Water Treatments, an Experiment by WIJG

2011-08-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

Check out an excellent post by Who is John Gall about his findings and photos of an experiment using various water treatments...

from WIJG's "INTRODUCTION:"

"So…I have often wondered, what is the best way to treat water without filtration? I mean, I like water filters, but they have drawbacks: they are often bulky, they may filter slowly, they usually do not filter out viruses, etc. I like the idea of water purification tablets—something that I can include in my little pocket survival kit that I take with me whenever I am away from civilization and so on. Something convenient that will kill the bugs in the container that it is in at the same time that it treats the water…something else that you don’t get with a filter. I mean, if you fill a dirty canteen with pure water from a filter, you still have dirty water, but if you add some water purification tablets to the water while it is inside of that canteen…

I decided to do an experiment using different means of water purification, similar to the experiment that I did with water filters. Originally I intended to only test chemical means of water purification, specifically commercially available water purification tablets and certain household chemicals. However, I had two extra petri dishes so I decided to test boiling water too. ..."

from "Treatments:"

"... I tested eight different water treatments: boiling the sample for 5 minutes, boiling the sample for 10 minutes, tincture of iodine, household bleach, Micropur, Chlor-Floc, Coleman/Portable Aqua tablets, and Polar Pure. ..."

Read entire discussion and findings on APN

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National Farmers Market Directory

2011-08-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

A recent USDA blog post listed a few farmers markets statistics:

... USDA’s latest National Farmers Market Manager Survey, published by the Agricultural Marketing Service in 2009, shows that sales at farmers markets in 2005 exceeded $1 billion. At the time, USDA counted about 4,300 farmers markets operating in the United States. Today there are 7,175 farmers markets listed in the USDA National Farmers Market Directory. ...

The post discussed some other economic figures, but we wanted to share their directory link since you can search by zip code, products available, payments accepted, etc .. and they even include web links for farmers markets with a web presence.

USDA's National Farmers Market Directory http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

Happy surfing and support your local markets!

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Preparedness 101 (3 part lesson by Salty Dawg)

2011-08-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Over the past several weeks the American Preppers Network blog posted Salty Dawg's 3 part lesson called Preparedness 101. Below is a snippet of each of the 3 phases and links to original posts on APN. Good stuff to read and share ... and kudos to SD!

Phase 1 Cerebral Preparation - Alright so you have an interest in joining the ranks of the prepared. Good for you have a seat we have cookies. No matter the reason you have come to these decisions congratulations you are here.

The entry course to your new life long journey is called preparedness 101. It begins by assessing the need to prepare for the "what if's" in life. Many Prepare for the apocalypse and others prepare for more minor events that may occur in their local regions.

Regardless the reasons you have decided to take on this challenge we all started off the same way. Let me reiterate NOT ONE PERSON POPPED INTO THIS WORLD KNOWING HOW TO PREPARE AND HANDLE EVERY SITUATION regardless of what the so called experts hocking their goods WILL TRY TO CONVINCE YOU OF. Everyone started off right where you are right now. They had the benefit of knowledge and someone passing that knowledge onto them to enable them to be in the position they are in currently. Read more...

Phase 2 Physical Preparation - This phase is in my opinion is where the wheat gets separated from the chaff because in the cerebral phase although you have to think there are many things that can help you. In the Cerebral phase many people get mired down with paralization through analization simply put, they think so much that they don't do anything . I will be writing about this at a later date.

Getting beyond the thought process we get into the Physical Preparation Phase and In this phase you have to actually do something! There are not magical Prepping fairies to bippidy boppidy boo your Prepping heaven into existence nor can you just will It into being. Much like Noah and a few supporters your on your own kid. Read more...

Phase 3 Actual Survival - The Actual survival portion of our class today boys and girls is the culmination of everything you have done thus far. You have used the cerebral and the physical to prepare yourself and your family for the event that will put you into survival mode. Read more...

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Rainfall monitoring network for Arizona

2011-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

Rainlog.org is a cooperative rainfall monitoring network for Arizona developed at the UA by SAHRA and Cooperative Extension. SRP has been a leading partner in supporting rainlog.org. Data collected through this network will be used for a variety of applications, from watershed management activities and weather reporting to hydrologic research and drought planning at local, county, and state levels.

All one needs to participate is a rain gauge and access to the Internet. We seek volunteers with rain gauges installed at their homes, who are willing to report daily total rainfall amounts through an online data entry form.

Why do we need more rainfall data? Official rain gauges in Arizona are few and far between. The large gaps in coverage are a particular problem where precipitation amounts are highly variable due to topography and seasonal weather patterns. This is especially true during the monsoon, when thunderstorms can produce heavy rainfall that is very localized.

You can use the interactive map to monitor rainfall levels across the state or in a specific city or region by day, month or specific date ranges.

Learn more at http://rainlog.org

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The Record Heat Waves

2011-07-22T14:03:00.001-07:00

With the record heat waves and drought across the nation, the American Preppers Network hopes that you have been prepared. Disasters of any type can and do happen anywhere, at anytime, and without warning. We are now witnessing and will continue to witness a prime example of how one disaster can cause a chain reaction leading to other disasters. Here are some potential disasters to be aware of as a result of the drought and heat waves.

1) Water shortages. Water is the number 1 most important necessity to survival. The average human can only survive 3 days without water, and even less in a heat wave. I hope you've stored some. If the water system shuts down or does not have enough, you could turn on the tap only to have a few drips. If you run into a situation where there is not enough municipal water supply to your home, start looking for other sources of stored water.

Your hot water tank may have 30 - 50 gallons of water stored.
The top supply tank to your toilette is typically clean water that you can use.
Your plumbing in your house could have a few gallons. Open a higher faucet in your house as in a shower, sink, or upstairs source to relieve pressure, then open a lower outside faucet to retrieve water from your plumbing system.

Don't short change yourself on water! Make sure you have plenty for personal consumption. If you stop sweating, that means you are dehydrated!

Got Water?

2) Heat. Heat poses many risks, including but not limited to:

Heat Stroke. Watch family members closely, especially the elderly, watch for slurred speech and disorientation. When in doubt, call for help. Time lost is brain lost. Never leave pets or children in a vehicle, and keep them out of the direct sun. Drink lots of water.
Fire. Fires are much more common in the heat. Things dry out and become more flammable. Keep dry brush and trash picked up. Do not store fuel in or around your house, and keep well ventilated in a cool area out of the sun. Keep grass cut short, especially if your city is rationing water and not allowing watering of lawns. Do not store any flammables in the direct sun or in your attic.
Vehicle breakdowns. Avoid driving unless it's absolutely necessary, or drive at nite. Check your fluid levels and make sure your oil and coolant are topped off. Bring extra oil and coolant with you in case you need it. DO NOT top off your fuel tank! Make sure your tires are property inflated and not over or under inflated. Bring extra water with you in case you do break down. Drive with the A/C off when going uphill. Watch your vehicles tempature when climbing grades. If your car starts to overheat when going uphill, pull over at a safe location to let it cool. Check to make sure your thermostat is working before you make your trip.

3) Blackouts. The nations grids are maxed out. With everyone using A/C, expect rolling blackouts. If you are in a blackout, you can wrap sleeping bags around your refrigerator or freezer to help insulate it. To conserve power, only use what you absolutely need. Keep lights turned off and keep your A/C set to the warmest temperature that you can safely stand. Do you have a generator? Be prepared to use it. Do you have plenty of non-perishable food stored? If there is an extended blackout, you may need it. Stores and gas stations will be shut down in a blackout. Do you have an emergency battery powered radio and flashlights?

4) Food Prices Expect food prices to increase. Especially meat. Many ranchers are butchering all of there livestock as there is not enough food and water to care for them, this means shortages in the future. Produce crops are drying up. Prices of corn, wheat and other grains will increase. Even produce grown in unaffected areas may increase in price as well due to demand. If the blackouts are too severe, stores, gas stations and truck stops may close down temporarily disrupting the supply chain and preventing food from making it to the stores.

Stay safe during this heat wave and dought. This is a serious and potentially devastating national disaster.

If you have tips, ideas, news, videos or pictures that you wish to share regarding this heat wave you can submit your article to americanprepper@yahoo.com. If your article is chosen we will post it on your states preppers network blog. Top articles will get posted on APN. The top article of the week will win a free flashlantern valued at $49.95 (made in the USA). Articles must be submitted before 7/29.

Feel free to copy and repost this article in it's entirety. Credit source as AmericanPreppersNetwork.com

Here are some free helpful pdf files to download

Fire and Heat Waves
- ARC - Are You Ready - Fire

- ARC - Are You Ready - Heat Wave

- ARC - Are You Ready - Wildfires

- Fact Sheet: Fires

- Fact Sheet: Fire Safe

- WildFires

Water
- ARC - Food and Water in Emergency

- Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water

- How To Make A Solar Still (Plastic Cover)

- Purification Of Water On A Small Scale

- Simple Solar Still For The Production Of Distilled Water

- Slow Sand Filters

- Water Purification

- Water Treatment

Fire Safety

- Fighting Fire

- Fire Safety

Get More Free Downloads here:
http://preppers.info/Free_Downloads.html

Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use

2011-07-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

Now that monsoon is here we are finally experiencing some moisture from above. Since we get so little rain in AZ (plus storms are extremely short in duration) it's difficult to study water runoff on roofs and structures, but now is the time to consider this since there are ways to capture, store and distribute rainwater for plants, trees and gardens.

The University of Arizona has a useful paper called "Harvesting Rainwater for Landscaping" describing some simple and complex designs for homeowners as well as larger facilities in arid conditions at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1052/harvest.html

There are also catchment systems you can develop for personal use and I'll dig around and post some data about that soon.

In the meantime, visit APN's Water forum for resources on storage, filtration and other water-related topics ... and join in on the discussions.

Stay safe (and hydrated) out there, itsa

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Massive haboob envelops Phoenix

2011-07-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

A massive dust storm (or haboob as we zonies call it) rolled through Phoenix metro Tuesday evening. The storm originated near Tucson and traveled across much of the Valley at 30 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service reports that the wall of dust towered 8,000 to 10,000 feet high before it hit the Phoenix valley, and local meteorologists estimated the storm to be about 50 miles wide when it struck the city.

A great video of the storm can be seen on BBC News

And yes - it was large but if you search any browser, you'll find tons of haboobs hitting Arizona cities over the years and decades. It's more of a nuisance than anything .. and a good indicator monsoon is here!

Also .. check out AZPN's June 15th blog post about monsoon, haboobs and wildfire threats

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Happy Independence Day

2011-07-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

While Independence Day is usually associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues and sales .. today celebrates our country's adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. If you'd like to read the full Declaration, visit the APN forum.

Today is also a good day to reflect on the service and sacrifices of our military men and women (and their families) who continue to give so much each and every day to protect our freedoms.

Hope all of you have a fun, safe July 4th celebration .. and please heed any firework restrictions in your areas since AZ is still dealing with wildfire threats.

Happy Birthday America!! itsa

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garden tips for July

2011-06-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

Some AZ gardeners are probably struggling to maintain gardens by late-June / early-July due to the intense heat, but hopefully yours are still surviving.

Since we're closing in on July, did you know valley dwellers can add to their gardens next month?

According to AZ Republic's Garden Guide, July is a good time to plant Armenian cucumbers, pinto and snap beans, melons and winter squash.

Also, if you want a pumpkin for Halloween, plant now since it takes about 100 to 120 days to harvest.

Learn more on azcentral.com

Happy gardening and have a great weekend! itsa

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Surviving summer temps

2011-06-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Well .. it's officially summer as of yesterday it's gettin' toasty in the desert.

Unfortunately any hope of monsoon rains are on hold for at least another week or 2, but there is some good news. According to J.J. Brost, the science and operations officer for Tucson weather service, when this high-pressure system moves north and allows the monsoon wind shift, things will cool a bit.

In the meantime, some common sense tips while outdoors are to avoid intense sun (10a-3p); wear loose, light clothing, shades and a hat; use sunscreen; drink plenty of water, and watch for heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

Remember ... heatstroke can be deadly! It's more important to bring down a victim's temperature than to get fluids in the body.

Visit the APN forum for a few discussions about Heat-related illnesses and Extreme Heat: Dealing with heat (peeps and critters)

Stay safe (and cool) out there, itsa

Wildfire updates as of late Sun 19Jun2011

2011-06-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here are latest updates as of late Sunday 19-Jun-2011 along with some phone #s for residents in wildfire regions...

Wallow Fire
eastern AZ and western NM is approx 511,118 acres and about 51% contained.

Winds are finally dying down a bit today .. will be west-northwest between 8-17 mph with gusts to 32 mph. Temperatures will be cooler, from 68-70, with relative humidity 8-15 percent.

The public may call the following numbers for area specific Wallow Fire information:

Spanish fire information: (877)-632-6678.
Springerville, Eagar, and Greer: (928) 333-3412, (702) 308-3238, (702) 308-3357 or (702) 308-8227; 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Luna, Reserve, N.M. and Alpine, AZ: (575) 533-6928.
South and west, including San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian Reservations: (877) 701-8201 or (928) 205-9884.

Monument Fire
near Sierra Vista in southern AZ in the Huachuca Mountains is almost 27,000 acres with 27% containment

The fire took a turn for the worse on Sunday aft, crossing Highway 92 at two points and spreading east, leaving many evacuees living south of Sierra Vista to wonder if they have homes to return to. Gusts between 45 to 50 mph kept helicopters from aiding in the fire suppression efforts, but officials are optimistic that the blaze east of Highway 92 would be completely contained by this morning.

For up to date info regarding the Monument fire, emergency shelters, road closures, and evacuations, visit www.sierravistaaz.gov or call the joint information call center at 1-800-288-3861.

Horseshoe Two Fire
in southeastern AZ near Portal approx 213,511 acres and is 80% contained.

Residents seeking information about the status of homes and structures on private land are encouraged to call the Cochise County Sheriff's Department at 520.432.9500. For structures on federal property, please contact the Douglas Ranger District at 520.364.3468

More updates on all AZ wildfires are available at www.inciweb.org and www.azein.gov

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the wildfires .. and a BIG thank you to the firefighters working the lines. Stay safe out there, itsa

Wildfire updates as of late Thu 16Jun2011

2011-06-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

I wanted to summarize some updates as of Thu night 16-June on 3 major fires still burning in Eastern and Southern AZ.

Unfortunately there's another Red Flag Warning for today (Friday 17-Jun) from 11 AM to 8 PM MST due to strong winds and low relative humidity. Winds will be from the southwest from 15 to 25 mph with gusts of 35 to 45 mph. Conditions will be dry with relative humidities of 5% to 12%. Critical fire weather conditions can be expected today through Sunday.

Wallow Fire
Burning in eastern AZ and western NM has charred 487,016 acres with 33% containment.

Total Personnel: 4,571, including 20 hotshot crews; 72 hand crews
Date Started: 05/29/2011
Cause: Human – under investigation
Residences: 2,714 threatened; 32 destroyed; 5 damaged
Commercial Property: 473 threatened; 4 destroyed
Resources: 15 Helicopters, 5 Air Tankers available; 312 Engines; 75 Water Tenders; 22 Dozers
Outbuildings: 1,216 threatened; 36 destroyed; 1 damaged;
Vehicles: 1 destroyed.
A map of the Wallow Fire can be seen here

BEAR ALERT: Residents returning to their homes near the Wallow Fire are advised to dispose of spoiled or unsafe food at the local landfill/refuse station to minimize conflicts with black bears.The Wallow Wildfire has gone through some of the state’s densest bear habitat near the communities of Eager, Springerville, Nutrioso, and Alpine, in some areas displacing the local bear population that is in search of food, water, and shelter. During these conditions, an influx of open, rotten, and easily accessible food sources in the community are the key ingredients for a possible human-wildlife conflict during an already trying crisis. Get more info, locations of refuse/transfer stations, and bear safety tips on AZGFD site

Horseshoe Two Fire
burning on the Coronado National Forest in southeastern AZ near Portal is 198,174 acres and 65% contained

Number of Personnel: 1,335
Resources: Engines: 65; Dozers: 2; Water Tenders:39; Helicopters: 3 Type 1, 1 Type 2 and 3 Type 3
Total structures destroyed: 23
Cost to Date: $42,005,029

Monument Fire
near Sierra Vista in southern AZ in the Huachuca Mountains (Coronado National Memorial / Coronado National Forest) is 9,300 acres with 17% containment

Cause: Under investigation
Number of Personnel: 536
Resources: 40 engines and 5 helicopters
Total structures destroyed: 50 structures (40 homes and 10 other structures)

Those traveling along Highway 92 should be aware of the increased fire traffic and possible closures. All evacuation orders remain in place. For evacuation information call Cochise County Sheriff's Office at 520-432-9500.

Donations are being accepted at the Fry Fire Station on Yaqui and the Red Cross Shelter/City of Sierra Vista at Apache Middle School in Sierra Vista. Note: MONETARY donations are always best since the city is very limited on space and manpower to sort through donated goods. Read more

One bit of good news .. the Murphy Fire that began May 30 and burned over 68,000 acres in the southern part of the state, is considered 100% contained at this point.

Since the weekend is here many people (esp visitors) across AZ may hike or meander through parks and backcountry so please, PLEASE be careful with cigarettes, off-road vehicles (which can sometimes spark), fireworks, grills and camp fires..! Stay safe out there, itsa

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Monsoon increases haboob + wildfire threat

2011-06-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

June 15th kicks off the official Monsoon in Arizona, but unfortunately the winds haven’t shifted much, everything is bone dry, humidity is extremely low and there’s no precipitation in sight .. yet.

The average start date for monsoon is around mid-July, but with such whacky weather patterns this year, we'll just have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for us.

In addition to incredible light shows and life giving rains, monsoon can also cause major dust storms (haboobs) due to the high gusting winds. And since the state is so parched, the chance of a haboob encounter is high until some moisture falls from the sky.

If you find yourself driving in one of these nasty dust storms, AZ DPS suggests these safety tips:

Turn on your headlights to make yourself as visible as much as possible.

Slow down and keep some distance between you and the car ahead of you so you can react if something goes bad.

If conditions get too bad, pull off the road as far as you can then TURN OFF all of your lights. And keep your foot OFF the brake -- you don't want brake lights on since someone may see them thinking that’s where the road is and they might rear end you.

Be prepared every time you get on AZ freeways and highways. You never know when you might get caught in a backup. Accidents can take several hours to clear so always take water and food with you on every trip.

Stay current on traffic warnings or advisories on the A-DOT AZ 5-1-1 site http://www.az511.com/adot/files/

Also .. check out my Monsoon blog post from last June with some cool pics and commonsense safety tips.

p.s. Another wildfire has erupted down in Sierra Vista (near Mexican border) .. so PLEASE be careful with cigarettes, fires, grills, off-road vehicles and fireworks in the coming weeks! Get some Wildfire mitigation tips here .. and .. on APN forum and please share the links and tips with others.

Stay safe out there, itsa

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Wildfire updates as of 10Jun2011

2011-06-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

Some updates as of Friday night, June 10 on 3 major wildfires raging thru our state:

Wallow Fire:

in Eastern Arizona has charred 408,887 acres and is only 6% contained
Date Started: 5/29/2011
Number of Personnel: Approximately 4,422
Structures: 35 destroyed
Cause: Human - under investigation
No cost to date estimates yet

Horseshoe Two fire:

near Portal AZ is approximately 134,615 acres and estimated at 45% containment.
Date started: May 8, 2011
Number of Personnel: 1,153
Estimated Containment: June 22, 2011
Total structures destroyed: 23
Cause: Human
Cost to Date: $34,475,754

Murphy Complex Fire:

in Nogales Ranger District in the Coronado National Forest (Five miles east of Arivaca, and four miles west of Tubac) is approximately 90% contained and is estimated to be 68,078 acres.
Time/Date Started: 3:28 pm, May 30, 2011
Cause: Human-caused. Under investigation.
Estimated Cost to Date: $4,800,000

There are several smaller incidents but officials appear to be getting a handle on them for now. Unfortunately there will be more posts and updates to come on this subject. Stay safe out there, itsa

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Arizona burning

2011-06-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

According to a June 4 CNN article, two Arizona wildfires have consumed more than 200,000 acres, prompted evacuations and brought a smoke alert to Albuquerque, NM -- more than 200 miles away, officials said.

The Wallow Fire near Alpine has scorched 120,600 acres with very little containment as of Friday night. Unfortunately officials are warning the warm temperatures and gusty winds will hamper the firefighting effort.

Dozens of people were evacuated in the region and the town of Greer was given a pre-evacuation notice Friday night, KNXV said.

Due to extreme fire conditions, the Apache National Forest was closed to all public entry.

The Horseshoe Two Fire in southeast AZ near Portal had burned more than 90,000 acres but was 50% contained, fire officials reported Saturday. The cause was under investigation.

A mandatory evacuation order continued for the communities of Paradise, East Whitetail Canyon and the surrounding communities, according to KNXV.

Chiricahua National Monument is temporarily closed.

Some other fires include...

Murphy Fire (near Tubac / about 21,000 acres with 15% containment);
Empire Fire (near Sonoita in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area / only 611 acres with 75% containment);
Engineer Fire on the National Guard Army Depot, Camp Navajo, moving towards I-40 / only 75 acres so may be contained by now).

The coming monsoon and Pacific hurricane forecast will eventually bring some much needed rain and higher humidity, but unfortunately those also bring lightning strikes to a bone dry desert so more wildfires will continue to rage.

Some Wildfire Resources:

AZ Emergency Information Network Emergency Bulletins www.azein.gov/azeihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn

Southwest Coordination Center - updates on AZ and NM wildfire incidents http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/information/information.htm

Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention - news, safety tips, etc http://wildlandfire.az.gov/links.asp

And check out some Wildfire safety tips on APN forum and share your experiences and resources.

stay safe out there, itsa

Hurricane season ... in Arizona?!

2011-06-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

When you hear it’s hurricane season, not too many people think of Arizona, but the Pacific Ocean sees a fair share of hurricanes every year, and often times they meander up across Baja into the Gulf of California. Those disturbances can impact areas of southern and central AZ.

Today (June 1) marks the official start of Hurricane Season for the Atlantic and Gulf parts of the country. But did you know the eastern Pacific Hurricane Season began on May 15 so we've already started ours?

The Pacific forecast is a little light this year. Typically we expect 15 to 16 tropical storms, but the 2011 predictions are for only 9 to 15 storms.

The Atlantic forecast is predicted to be very active with many as 18 named storms, which is seven more than average.

But experts also recognize since La Nina is winding down (cooling affect on the Pacific Ocean) and El Nino has not reared its head (warming affect), it means we are moving into a “neutral” cycle making it very difficult to predict Mother Nature’s fury.

As FYI, the last time temperatures were in a “neutral” condition was 2005 when Katrina and Rita slammed the Gulf coast.

But back to the southwest ... according to Aaron Pickering, meteorologist at KOLD, if tropical storms approach the Gulf of California, we can see a "Gulf surge". Gulf surges transport large amounts of moisture usually causing heavy downpours.

Pickering also mentioned in the coming months an active Atlantic season could mean more moisture moving from the Gulf of Mexico, around the monsoon high and into AZ ... and boy, we sure do need some of that wet stuff.

Stay tuned and stay safe out there, itsa

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Remember our fallen heroes

2011-05-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

Our Gift to the Fallen

For each soldier that has fallen so that many may stand
We honor their spirit as they pass to God's hand
For without their sacrifice we would live forever in fear
We pray for their loved ones and provide a salute and a tear
God help us heal the wounds of hate and the misery of war
That is our gift to our fallen heroes that are amongst us no more.

© 2007 Charlie Gragg

Fire Restrictions and News in AZ

2011-05-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

This Memorial Day weekend could be impacted by the on-going drought in parts of Arizona. The hard freezes this past winter damaged or destroyed some vegetation, plus the moisture during those months caused spring grass growth (which is now getting crispy with triple digit temps almost here), so there is a lot of fuel around creating restrictions at various levels.

For example, currently in Southern Arizona many of the national forests and parks are in "STAGE II" .. which means NO WOOD OR CHARCOAL FIRES! There are also areas where smoking is not even allowed so educate yourself (and visitors) about the threats and restrictions before you head out to camp, picnic or hike.

Also remember, although the sale of fireworks and their use in some locations is now legal here, fireworks are not permitted on public lands at any time. This includes State Trust Land, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Parks, Fish & Wildlife Service Refuge lands, as well as lands owned or managed by Arizona State Parks and Arizona Game & Fish.

Some sites with updates on AZ wildfire conditions and fire restrictions include:

Public Lands Interpretive Association posts the latest Fire News broken down by NATIONAL FORESTS, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES, NATIONAL PARKS, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS (BIA) lands, STATE PARKS, STATE TRUST LANDS and STATE WILDLIFE AREAS and COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES at http://www.publiclands.org/firenews/AZ.php

Southwest Coordination Center has updates on AZ and NM wildfire incidents http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/information/information.htm

Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention has tons of public safety data about wildfires http://wildlandfire.az.gov/links.asp

And finally .. find some Wildfire Mitigation tips (to help protect your home and property) in a previous AZPN blog post

Have a fun, safe holiday weekend! itsa

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It's May 21 and still here

2011-05-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well .. Harold Camping's "End of Times" and Judgment Day May 21 2011 predictions have kind of gone kaput. If you haven't heard by now, an 89-year-old Californian preacher had prophesied that the Rapture would begin at 6pm in each of the world's time zones, with those "saved" ascending to heaven and the non-believers being wiped out by an earthquake rolling from city to city across the planet.

Even though it hasn't happened in Australia, Japan, etc .. remember, the U.S. still has to hit our 6pm deadlines .. so .. why not take a break from all the seriousness and join in on the fun in one or both of APN's following discussions..?!

Check out The End Of The World Starts May 21, 2011 and 5/21/2011 - Advantages to being left behind? SNARKY HUMOR .

Have a great Saturday and stay safe out there, itsa

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Gardening resources

2011-05-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting much lately and hope everyone's gardens are surviving these AZ temps. I wanted to share some links I found on Arizona Republic's home gardens section.

Two are based in Phoenix but their tips and resources could work for most desert gardeners .. the other is a national site but they break things down by zones in some sections of their site.

Urbanfarm.org: planting calendar, upcoming gardening classes, "green" topics, Urban Farm tours, 6750 N. 13th Place, Phoenix. http://www.urbanfarm.org

Dbg.org: Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Gardening & Horticulture resources http://dbg.org/gardening-horticulture

Garden.org: National Gardening Association food growing guide http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse

Happy gardening and stay safe, j (aka itsa)

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Container gardening: Vegetables

2011-04-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

Arizona temps are creeping up to triple digits (and have hit them in some places like Phoenix) and, even though the planting window was a month or 2 ago, consider growing veggies and herbs using containers. Typically AZ soil isn't that great so containers allow you to blend a good soil base and can provide some fresh options for your food supply.

A great online resource I've written about before is the "Arizona Master Gardener Manual An Essential reference for gardening in the desert southwest (produced by the Coop Ext, College of Agriculture, Univ of Arizona)"

Container gardening topic includes tips on ...

money saving containers like barrels, cut-off milk and bleach jugs, window boxes, baskets lined with plastic (with drainage holes punched in it), etc
suggested soil mixtures for desert climes
watering and fertilizing tips
indoor veggie gardens

There's also a table showing suggested container size, spacing, days until harvest and more.

Learn more at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/vegetable/container.html

Also .. stop by the Arizona forum and share your gardening tips and other stories here...

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Palo Verde nuke plant operating licenses renewed

2011-04-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

Since the Japan nuclear plant incident, I’ve written a few posts about our state's nuke plant (3/18 Arizona's nuclear power plant and 3/30 Commissioners meeting at Palo Verde nuke plant) .. so .. I wanted to share an update from WNN.

According to a 27-Apr-2011 World Nuclear News article... the operating licenses of all three units at the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona have been extended for a further 20 years beyond the original 40-year license period by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The plant's operator, Arizona Public Service (APS), submitted its license renewal application to the NRC in December 2008. The company said that it has made various recent equipment upgrades to enable the continued safe operation of Palo Verde including the replacement of components such as steam generators, reactor vessel heads and low-pressure turbines in all three units. APS also reached an agreement in 2010 with local cities guaranteeing the supply of sufficient cooling water for the plant through to 2050. The company is also modernizing the plant's cooling towers.

The NRC said, "After careful review of the plant's safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded that the applicant had effectively demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging and that there are no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal. In addition, NRC conducted inspections of the plant to verify information submitted by the applicant." The renewal of the operating licenses of the Palo Verde units brings the number of reactor licenses renewed by the NRC to 66 out of a fleet of 104 reactors.
...

Full article on WorldNuclearNews.com

And join the discussion about our nuke plant in the AZ Prepper Network forum

Earthquakes 101

2011-04-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

With the recent Japan earthquake and tremors in the Central U.S. many are wondering how and why earthquakes happen and if there is an increase in the number of quakes lately.

First let’s look at some numbers. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates over 3 million earthquakes occur globally each year. That’s about 8,000 seismic events every day ... or 1 every 11 seconds, but most of them are very small. And with the 10 to 20-fold increase of seismograph stations operating around the world (from 350 in 1931 to 4,000 or 8,000 today [reports vary]) combined with the Internet and 24-hour news sources, the numbers are up due to more accurate data and reporting methods.

But if you analyze global earthquake records over the past century (which is a tiny sliver in time compared to our planet’s history), the averages of large events (6.0 and higher) are fairly constant especially during the past three decades.

So ... how and why do earthquakes happen?

... continue reading and join the discussion on APN forum

National Park Week fee-free entry 4/16-24

2011-04-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry .. I should have posted this last Sunday but National Park Week is April 16 - 24 meaning entry to all 394 national parks is FREE!

Between now and Sunday 4/24 there are events planned at national parks nationwide, including many here in Arizona.

Normally the Grand Canyon is the main national park people think of here, but did you know AZ has 21 other national parks? A full list and description of each one can be found at http://www.nps.gov/state/az/index.htm?program=parks

Learn more about National Park Week and find the complete list of parks nationwide at http://www.nps.gov/npweek/

p.s. A list of other fee-free days is at http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm

Stay safe (and have some fun) out there! itsa

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Liquid Fuel candles

2011-04-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

A recent thread on APN started by CajunDaddys_girl compares costs on the 36 (and 50) hour liquid fuel candles which are great for emergency lighting.

According to one vendor's site... The Candle Lamp SL50 "Smokeless" disposable oil lamp fuel cartridge uses highly refined liquid paraffin fuel, which burns longer and more efficiently than traditional candles. It can also be used to replace tea lights and votives.

The disposable Candle Lamp SL50 "Smokeless" paraffin wax lamp fuel cartridge burns for approximately 50 hours. Dimensions: Height: 3 1/4" and Bottom Diameter: 2 5/16"

Join the lively discussion on APN called 36 hour Liquid Fuel candles for summer time emergency light

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Tips to keep PC safe

2011-04-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Since many of us surf the web constantly researching various sites, I wanted to share some tips to keep your PC safe esp related to "scareware" and/or "phishing".

You may have heard / read about scareware on the Internet (esp a recent one called LizaMoon), but realize a user has to allow the bad file to infect their computer. Just visiting a hijacked site does not install it on your system .. but .. downloading a file to scan or fix a “virus” would.

If you're a geek like me none of this will be new to you, but for those who aren’t too PC savvy (or in case you’d like to share with others), some basic tips to keep your PC safe include...

1) Keep your anti-virus package current with latest updates (it’s usually automatic behind-the-scenes) .. and scan your system daily, weekly or at least a few times a month. It really depends on how often you use your PC. We’re on 7 days a week, 8 to 12 hours a day, so I schedule daily quick scans at a set time and do full scans multiple times a month. Scans are usually automatic at a specific time and day (check your anti-virus pkg settings or ask your network people if using a work PC), but your computer has to be on to run at that time. If not, it will just wait until the next time to run - depending on when it’s set to go. Also keep in mind, a current anti-virus package is always running and monitoring emails and downloads so, if you stay current with updates, most would catch the latest craze.;

2) Make sure you know the name of your anti-virus pkg and what the windows look like when it’s open so you recognize layout, name, color scheme, etc.;

3) If a browser window pops up saying it's running / ran a scan, found a virus/viruses and prompts you to download a file to scan/fix it ... DON’T do it ... esp if it doesn’t look like your normal anti-virus pkg (see #2 above).

Normal anti-virus pkgs won’t ask you to “download” something .. and it won’t appear in a browser window .. and it will not ask for your credit card! Just go BACK or close window.

This is a malware trick called scareware and it preys on victims who are alarmed when a browser window pops up with the appearance it found a virus. These scumbags do a good job of making LizaMoon (and others) look semi-legit. This again is why you want to make sure you know your anti-virus package layout .. and don’t get click happy and download something nasty.

If you want to see what the recent LizaMoon scareware windows and process looks like (or maybe share with your IT people), check out WebSense’s 4-min youtube vid at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKI5dg1cs74& or visit Websense's Security Labs blog at http://community.websense.com/blogs/securitylabs/

4) Same goes for email messages and even social media sites. The recent Epsilon hack has compromised millions of email ids which could create a massive wave of spam and/or "phishing" attacks.

Phishing is basically when a spoofed message comes in with a name or logo you recognize (like your bank or favorite store) and tricks individuals into clicking on a viral attachment or harmful Web link. The intruder can then take full control of the victim’s PC.

Epsilon maintained millions of names and email ids from Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Barclays Bank, Best Buy, Hilton WorldWide, Marriott International, Disney Destinations, The College Board (which runs the SATs), and 2,500 companies. Even though no secure data was compromised in the hack, targeted spear phishing will be on the uprise since they know a little more about people's purchasing habits.

My personal suggestion is .. use common sense and don't give out sensitive data after clicking on an email link. Banks and credit card companies will never ask you to verify a PIN or bank account number through email! And if the email is a "special" offer .. instead of clicking the link, open a browser and key in the company's web site and search for the promotion .. or call. Don't just click willy-nilly on email graphics or links .. esp if you don’t recognize sender and it has an attachment or link with “.exe” on it or a short, funny looking link.

It’s difficult in business since we get emails all the time from unknowns but .. just be aware, save and scan unknown attachments .. and, if you delete something and it was legit / important, the sender can always resend it.

Happy surfing! itsa

Sources:
WebSense
PCMag.com
BBC News
USA Today

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Spring .. what spring?!

2011-04-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you guys but is anyone else wondering what the heck happened to Arizona's spring..?

Granted Jan and Feb had some major hard freezes causing extensive damage to plants and trees so it was refreshing when March rolled in with some great temps, but what's up with the 90s already? Argh.

Anyway .. if you're in AZ and you haven't already started gardens you might want to get on the ball since it may be toasty from here until Oct or so. Yes, we've had freezes in April sometimes (I remember snow on Easter morning back in 2003) .. but I'm not holding my breath this year.

Pop by the Arizona forum to say Hi and join the latest discussion on spring gardens and our whacky 'zona weather.

Commissioners meeting at Palo Verde nuke plant

2011-03-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

As I wrote the other day, the Arizona Corporation Commission invited Arizona Public Service Co. to an informational meeting about the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix which occurred Tuesday 29-Mar-2011.

According to the Arizona Republic, the plant has significant design differences that would likely prevent the type of problems that are occurring in Japan. In addition to discussing the design, officials shared some potential disaster scenarios that could occur and safety plans and procedures in place to respond. Some data shared at the meeting included...

Flooding: Although there is low risk of major flooding in the area, officials have prepared for an emergency in which the plant is flooded by broken pipes or other means inside the plant.

Earthquakes: Arizona has a low risk of extreme earthquakes but the plant was designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake occurring on the nearest active fault, which is 72 miles west of the power plant in California. The State Geologist still monitors for earthquakes and searches for new faults, however the seismic monitor nearest Palo Verde, one of eight in the state, was vandalized and much of the equipment above ground was stolen last year and the agency has been searching for funds to refurbish it.

Power: Palo Verde is prepared with several backup sources of power … Each of the three reactors has an emergency diesel generator and a backup generator; the plant has two natural-gas-burning turbines that can be fired up to supply electricity if diesel generators fail; and, if those fail, the plant has four redundant battery sets on each generator, which would be expected to protect the plant for three days.

Water loss: If water were cut off to the plant, operators could turn to more than 3 billion gallons stored on site, including in the plant's evaporating ponds, he said. The plant also has several deep-water wells nearby it could tap for emergency water, although that would require power.

Fissures: Also of minor concern at Palo Verde are earth fissures, large cracks in the ground that are caused by pumping groundwater, Allison said. These were discovered in Arizona in 1949 and occur only in a few other places nationally. One fissure is near Palo Verde to the east.

Also .. on April 8, plant officials and government leaders will have access to a new 32,000-square-foot Energy Education Center, located about 20 miles east of the plant. The facility will help officials respond and share information with the public, and allow operators to hold drills and plan emergency responses. The new center will also house an Emergency Operations Facility currently located at the plant and a Joint Information Center currently located at the Papago Military Reservation in Phoenix. There’s even a live camera feed of the plant and a 222-seat auditorium where officials and agencies can brief the public and the media.

Join the discussion about PV nuke plant in the AZ Prepper Network forum

Sources:

Arizona Capitol Times

Arizona Republic

AZGS

USGS

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Amaranth as an alternative grain

2011-03-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Several species are raised for amaranth "grain" in Asia and the Americas. They are highly edible by gluten intolerant individuals because they are not a member of the grass family and contain no gluten.

Amaranth was one of the staple foodstuffs of the Incas, and it is known as kiwicha in the Andes today. It was also used by the ancient Aztecs, who called it huautli, and other Native America peoples in Mexico to prepare ritual drinks and foods. To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn or martala and mixed with honey, molasses or chocolate to make a treat called alegría (joy in Spanish).

According to a post on the Valley Permaculture Alliance (in Phx), amaranth grows vigorously, tolerates drought, heat, and pests, and adapts readily to a wide range of environments. A staple grain of the Incas, Aztecs, and other pre-Colombian peoples, amaranth was once as widely dispersed throughout the Americas as corn.

Amaranth grains are slightly larger than poppy seeds with the flower heads of a single plant containing more that 100,000 seeds. Seed colors range from black to red to ivory.

Nutritionally, amaranth is a very valuable food–higher in protein than the major cereal crops with a high level of the amino acid lysine, an essential amino acid that is usually deficient in plant protein. Amaranth and quinoa seeds can germinate in as little as three days and most amaranth varieties mature in 4 to 6 months.

Learn more about amaranth and join the discussion on APN forum

Sources:

Valley Permaculture Alliance

Wikipedia

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Quinoa tips and recipes

2011-03-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Since my hubby has celiac disease and other food allergies, our options for grains is very limited. We've tried quinoa (KEEN-wah) before but we weren't thrilled with it, altho it was okay in soup.

The main key is rinsing it before use (and we even soaked seeds a few minutes then rinsed) .. but it was boring and wimpy. But ... after reading below article, I'm inspired to experiment further someday.

snippet from Arizona Daily Star article called "Protein-packed quinoa rules"...

...With all nine essential amino acids, quinoa is a complete protein - like meat - which makes it the Holy Grail of the vegetarian world. And, it's gluten-free.

...First, quinoa needs to be rinsed before use, to eliminate the bitter coating that surrounds each seed. Overcook it or use too much water, and quinoa loses its marvelous, fluffy texture. ...

Postman's first quinoa escapade resulted in a terminally soggy side dish - and instead of ricelike appeal, her red quinoa was unexpectedly assertive in flavor. The darker the color, she says, the nuttier the taste.

"It comes in a spectrum of colors, from white to pink, orange and black. I would advise first timers to start with the lighter types, because those are a little blander," she says.

That blandness makes quinoa a perfect palette for creation.

"I've come to love it," says Postman. "It's so versatile. You can add pesto or a vinaigrette or leftover roasted veggies. It's a really great vehicle for flavor."
...

Read full article with more quinoa tips and recipes here ... also ... check out APN thread growing grains in raised bed gardens discussing quinoa and amaranth (I'll post more about amaranth soon)

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Nuke plant discussion on AZPN

2011-03-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

As fyi, I just copied Friday's blog post about Arizona's Palo Verde nuclear power plant into our Arizona forum .. and encourage readers to visit the forum going forward to exchange ideas, links and updates about our state's plant, safety plans, etc.

Check out the PV nuke plant discussion HERE

... and, as mentioned Friday, I'll post updates here and there as things progress with Commission's meeting, etc. Stay safe out there, j & B

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Arizona's nuclear power plant

2011-03-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station located in Wintersberg, AZ (34 miles west of Phoenix) is the largest nuclear electric generating site in the United States.

The plant consists of three (3) Combustion Engineering Pressurized Water Reactor units and each unit has 2 reactor cooling loops, each with a 2 reactor cooling pump and a single steam generator. Units 1 and 2 went commercial in 1986 and Unit 3 in 1988.

Because of its desert location, Palo Verde is the only nuclear plant in the United States that does not sit on a large body of water. Instead, it uses treated effluent from several area municipalities to meet its cooling water needs, recycling 20 billion gallons of wastewater each year.

According to a recent article in The Arizona Republic, the Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a public hearing with Arizona Public Service Co. officials to assess safety procedures at Palo Verde. Commissioner Bob Stump’s letter outlines a number of questions he has about the plant's operation, safety procedures, how often the plant conducts drills, backup power systems and more. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also plans to review the safety procedures at Palo Verde and at other U.S. nuclear plants because of the situation in Japan.

An APS spokesperson said he welcomed the hearing and the chance to discuss all safety issues with the commission. He also noted the containment domes at Palo Verde that prevent radiation from leaking into the atmosphere are significantly stronger than those at the Japanese plant and that this region is not prone to earthquakes.

I’ll post more data here after the hearing is scheduled and held. In the meantime, check out some safety tips on Prepping for nuke power plant emergency on APN

Sources:

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2011/03/18/20110318palo-verde-facing-scrutiny.html

http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/palo1.html

http://www.nucleartourist.com/us/pvngs.htm

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Good time to rotate supplies

2011-03-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Even though we don't change our clocks in Arizona (yay!) consider using this weekend to rotate out your water and food supplies, test and rotate batteries in kits and homes, and go over your Family Emergency Plan (e.g. confirm meeting places esp with the little ones, ensure all phone numbers are current, etc. Download a generic 2-pg Family Plan template in PDF here)

Also make sure to check and rotate supplies in your Bug Out Bags and Disaster Supplies Kits in homes, cars, offices and lockers.

It's also a good time to practice drills with your family (although drills should be done throughout the year).

Supplies should be continuously rotated (esp if you store what you eat and eat what you store) ... but if you don't, keep in mind a good time to do this is Daylight Savings Time since it's twice a year on a weekend. Have a great Sunday! j & B

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AZ Earthquake Information Center

2011-03-12T06:17:00.000-08:00

Think Arizona is immune to earthquakes? Think again.

The purpose of the Northern Arizona University’s Arizona Earthquake Information Center is to collect and distribute information on Arizona earthquakes, and to conduct research on them.

All of Arizona has experienced some earthquake shaking since 1887, but significant damage has occurred in only a few areas. This map shows the maximum historical ground shaking intensities in various parts of Arizona.

Intensity levels as high as IX occurred in southeastern Arizona during the 1887 Sonoran earthquake, which damaged buildings throughout the sparsely populated region. The Yuma area experienced strong shaking and significant damage because of the 1940 Imperial Valley earthquake in southern California. Three magnitude ~6 earthquakes in the early 1900's caused some damage I the Flagstaff-Grand Canyon region. Moderate earthquakes that have occurred in northern Arizona since then have caused only minor damage.

NAU’s Arizona Earthquake Information Center has lots of resources on Quake History, Seismic monitoring and webcams, Publications, maps and much more at http://www4.nau.edu/geology/aeic/index.html

Above also in AZ Preppers Network forum ~ join the discussion. And find some Earthquake safety tips on APN forum

Arizona Preppers Roll Call - All Preppers Please Check In

2011-03-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

The American Preppers Network is conducting a network-wide roll call. Whether you are a member or not please check in and let us know what you are doing to prepare.

This is a good opportunity to network with other preppers near you.

Alaska Preppers, to respond to the roll call please follow this link:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=234&t=9246

Reply to the Roll Call and let us know what you have been doing to prepare.

If you are not yet a member of the forum you can register here for free:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

Edible Plants resource for Southern AZ

2011-03-05T06:25:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon an excellent resource called "Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and the Plants of the Sonoran Desert" with a long list of edible plants found in SE AZ.

According to webmaster and photographer T. Beth Kinsey .. these are plants "with edible parts such as their flowers, fruit, leaves, or roots", but one must take care since "just because a plant is listed here as edible does not mean that the entire plant is safe to eat. Some plants with edible parts may also have poisonous parts."

Beth provides Photos, Plant Name, Characteristics, Description, Special Characteristics, Classification and links to More About This Plant in her list.

Visit http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/category/edible-plants/ to learn more and join the discussion on AZPN and share your links and knowledge on edibles.

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Survival Fire

2011-03-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Dual Survival star Cody Lundin teaches Ecosa Institute students how to make fire

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No CWD detected in 2010-11 deer and elk testing

2011-02-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

Below is from AGF 25-Feb-2011 newsletter...

The Arizona Game and Fish Department reports no detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in any of the 1,417 testable samples from hunter-harvested or road-killed deer and elk during Arizona’s 2010-11 hunting season.

Game and Fish has tested nearly 16,000 deer and elk samples since beginning its surveillance program in 1998.

To date, none have tested positive for the disease.

Although CWD has not yet been found in Arizona, it is present in the three neighboring states of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Another improvement to the program is easy access to test results. A web-based online system at www.azgfd.gov/cwd allows you to enter your name, phone number, permit and hunt number to obtain results, rather than waiting for a mailed post card with those results.

“The online system is a great improvement to get individual test results out as quickly as possible,” said Justice-Allen. “This monitoring program is made possible by Arizona’s hunters, meat processors, and taxidermists who continue to provide the samples we need and we hope this new tool will make the process easier for them too.”

Each year, hunters who are successful in the Game Management Units bordering Utah and New Mexico, particularly Units 1, 12B, 27, and 28, are encouraged to submit heads for sampling because these units are closest to CWD positive areas. Arizona deer and elk from these areas have the greatest potential to have contact with an infected animal from these neighboring states.

About CWD

CWD is a neurodegenerative wildlife disease that is fatal to cervids, which include deer, elk, and moose. Symptoms include loss of body weight or emaciation, excessive salivation, increased drinking and urination, stumbling, trembling, and behavioral changes such as listlessness, lowering of the head, and walking in circles or repetitive patterns.

No evidence has been found to indicate that CWD will cause disease in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

CWD was first identified in captive deer in Colorado in 1967 and has since spread to both captive and wild cervids in 18 states and two Canadian provinces. It is a naturally occurring prion disease belonging to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Other TSEs are Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in domestic cattle and Scrapie in sheep and goats.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department will continue to work in close coordination with other state and federal agencies to monitor for CWD.

For more information on CWD, visit these website resources:

• Arizona Game and Fish Department’s CWD program at www.azgfd.gov/cwd

• Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance at www.cwd-info.org

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cwd

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February Garden Guide (for Valley dwellers)

2011-02-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

Even though this article is a few years old, it has some February gardening tips for those living in the Valleys and lower elevations of Arizona.

Tomatoes

• Transplant tomatoes as early in the month as possible to give plants enough time to set fruit. (Choose varieties with a shorter growing season of 60 to 70 days.) However, be prepared to cover plants during frosty nights. Tomatoes set fruit only after nighttime temperatures are consistently above 55 degrees. Tomatoes will not set fruit after daytime temperatures reach 90 degrees. Do not plant tomatoes any later than mid March.

• Tomatoes are treated as annuals in the Valley. Both thrive in the summer heat. Gardeners have better success with smaller varieties of tomatoes such as Cherry, Sweet 100s, Grape, Early Girl, Roma, Grape and Yellow Pear.

(more tomato tips in article)

Some other topics discussed include:

Other edibles

Roses

Other ornamentals

Maintenance and watering

Plus .. the article has links near top to other 11 months of the year. Full piece on The Arizona Republic

And pop by the Arizona Preppers Network forum and main APN gardening forum for more tips ... and join the discussions. Happy gardening!

Vegetable Seed Saving Handbook

2011-02-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

here's a great resource posted by cityhomesteader on APN

Vegetable Seed Saving Handbook

Complete, Free How-To Seed-Saving Instructions

Some topics from the site's Table of Contents include:

- Why Save Seeds?

- How to Grow Healthy Seeds

- Breed Your Own Varieties

- Seed Isolation Distances

- Storing Your Seeds

- Heirloom Seed Sources

...and much more.

Learn more at http://howtosaveseeds.com/ ... and join the discussion on APN forum

Aquaponics 101 discussions on APN

2011-02-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

If you missed the posts on APN blog and forum, check out the following series called Aquaponics 101 contributed by APN Sponsor AquaponicsUSA ...

Here is a snippet from Part One (links to the series below):

What is Aquaponics and why should I care?

Aquaponics is an ancient food growing technology that has been around since the Earth has had water with fish and plants growing together naturally. Aquaponics is nature at work. In nature, the fish eat whatever they find for food, and their waste is broken down by the bacteria in the water creating nutrients for the plants. The plants then absorb these nutrients; and in doing so, they clean the water for the fish.

The word "aquaponics" comes from two separate words. The first word is "aqua", which, of course, means water; but in this case, the "aqua" is from another compound word "aquaculture" (the raising of fish). The second word is "ponics", which is latin for work, and comes from its use in "hydroponics" (working at growing plants in water, hydro).

So, aquaponics is raising fish and growing plants by using the nutrient rich water provided by the fish. ...

Links to Aquaponics 101 series on APN forum:

Aquaponics 101 Part One: The Process

Aquaponics 101 Part Two: The System

Aquaponics 101 Part Three: The System, Continued

Aquaponics 101 Part Four: System Start Up

Aquaponics 101 Part Five: Fish to Water Ratios

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Citrus resources

2011-02-05T06:15:00.000-08:00

AZ has experienced several hard freezes this winter creating issues for citrus trees. The following is a snippet from UC's Master Gardener Program's 10-pg PDF on Citrus...

Recognizing freeze-damaged citrus

During periods of low temperatures, citrus leaves can appear wilted or flaccid. This is the citrus tree’s natural protective response to freezing temperatures, and does not always imply permanent frost damage to your tree. If a hard frost does occur, frozen leaves will appear firm, brittle and sometimes curled. Leaves will become flaccid after thawing, and if the injury is not too severe, they will gradually regain turgor and recover. Dark flecks on the leaves can be an indication that a freeze and thaw has occurred. Leaves that have been exposed to a prolonged frost will mostly likely shrivel, die, and remain on the tree. New and tender foliage are most susceptible to frost damage. If twigs or wood have been seriously damaged, the frozen leaves may remain on the tree for several weeks. If the twigs and wood have not been damaged severely, the leaves are rapidly shed. Contrary to what many growers believe, it is actually a good sign when a tree sheds its leaves rapidly. This usually indicates mild frost damage to the trees.

Cold damage to twigs appears as if the twigs have absorbed excess water and also become discolored. In older branches and on the trunks, cold damage will be indicated as splitting or loosening of bark, where the cambium has been killed. Bark may curl and dry with many small cracks. Dead patches of bark may occur in various locations on limbs and trunk. Sensitivity to frost is dependent upon many variables. In general, mandarins are the most cold hardy followed by sweet orange and grapefruit. Lemons are very frost sensitive with Eureka decidedly more sensitive than Lisbon. Limes are the least cold hardy. Healthy trees are more tolerant than stressed ones. The rootstock also imparts sensitivity onto the scion. Injury to the foliage and to young trees may be immediately recognizable, but the true extent of the damage to larger branches, trunks, and rootstocks can take up to four months to show damage following the freeze. No attempt should be made to prune or even assess damage from the frost until spring when new growth appears.

Learn some rehab tips and download some helpful PDFs in AZ forum

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Master Gardener Manual online ebook

2011-01-29T06:06:00.000-08:00

An online book that might come in handy for desert dwellers is called "Arizona Master Gardener Manual An Essential reference for gardening in the desert southwest (produced by the Coop Ext College of Agriculture Univ of Arizona)"

Contents include:

Introduction, overview and credits
Basic botany, physiology & growth
Soils & fertilizers
Entomology
Plant pathology
Diagnosing plant damage
Pesticide use and safety
Plant propagation
Plant pruning
Indoor plants
Vegetable gardening
Fruit trees
Lawns
Aboriculture
Flower bed
Water quality and use
Cacti
Irrigation
Vertebrate pests

View book online at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/index.html

And find more Garden & Landscape tips in APN's AZ forum

Native Seeds/SEARCH

2011-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

Below was also posted in AZPN forum - join the discussion here and share your knowledge on local seed harvesting

Native Seeds/SEARCH (Southwestern Endangered Aridlands Resource Clearing House), a nonprofit group based in Tucson, conserves, distributes, and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwest and Northwest Mexico.

The seed bank maintains more than 1,800 different collections representative of traditional crops grown by Apache, Akimel O’odham, Chemehuevi, Cocopah, Guarijio, Havasupai, Hopi, Maricopa, Mayo, Mestizo, Mexican, Mexican-American, Mojave, Mormon, Mountain Pima, Navajo, Paiute, Puebloan, Spanish missionaries and explorers, Tarahumara, Tohono O’odham, Yoeme, and other early inhabitants within the region.

You can download NS/S's Seed listing catalog (20-pg PDF / 4MB file) here

And a great page about Seed Saving is at http://www.nativeseeds.org/how_to/seedsave (use “download this article” link on right to get 7-pg PDF)

APN and Preppers in the news

2011-01-13T06:15:00.000-08:00

Popular Mechanics just posted a piece called "Rise of the Preppers: Survivalists Get a Makeover .. Can disaster preparedness become a lifestyle without turning into survivalism?"

Read article on Popular Mechanics site

... and join the discussion about it on the APN forum

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Rep Giffords and 18 others shot in Tucson

2011-01-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rep Giffords, Judge Roll and the other victims of today's shooting in Tucson.

Per Arizona Daily Star... U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot point-blank in the head on Saturday at a northwest-side grocery store, but surgeons say they are optimistic about her recovery.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jan Brewer's office is confirming federal Judge John Roll was among the dead, as was Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords' director of community outreach.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said there were six dead, including a child, among the 19 dead or injured.
...
Giffords was in critical condition following surgery at University Medical Center, said Dr. Peter Rhee, a UMC surgeon. The bullet passed cleanly out her brain, exiting her head. Rhee said she was following commands, which is a good sign.

above from AZstarnet.com

APN has setup a special discussion forum about the incident here

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Happy New Year! A new opportunity...

2011-01-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year! Can you believe 2011 is already here?!? I don't know about you but a few months of 2010 seemed to drag on and on, but most of the year flew by for us.

As the above quote implies ... today is page 1 of a new opportunity. Now personally I don't make "resolutions" but I always have goals and mini "to do" lists every day. Plus my philosophy has always been to face everything as an opportunity rather than a problem. That way I can grow and learn from everything thrown at me in life.

Consider using this new year as an opportunity to improve something .. big or small .. but make it something realistic that you can see or feel so it has a lasting impression.

Maybe it's something simple like making a family plan (e.g. gathering a list of emergency phone numbers and meeting places and share it with all members esp children) .. or adding more food in the pantry by purchasing a few extra cans each week. Or maybe try a bigger or more involved project like starting some container gardens or raising chickens or rabbits.

But whatever it is ... try to learn something new that can expand your knowledge and skills about self-reliance. That IS the main reason we prep anyway .. right..?!

Again, happy new year and stay safe out there!

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Winter storm safety tips

2010-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

As 'zona braces for below freezing temps and snow (possibly as low as 2,000 elevation but we'll see) ... keep some links and #s handy, esp if driving over the holiday weekend:

Before heading out on the roads, drivers are encouraged to call 5-1-1 or log on to ADOT’s Traveler Information Center at http://www.az511.gov for the latest highway conditions around the state. The Web site features images along state highways that give drivers a glimpse of weather conditions in various regions.

ADOT’s “Know Snow” site http://www.azdot.gov/KnowSnow has safety tips and downloadable snow maps of snowplowing routes

Keep current on AZ emergency alerts by visiting http://www.azein.gov

And finally .. check out some discussions on APN forum on Winter Storms and Extreme Cold and Staying warm in your car if stranded

Stay safe (& warm) out there! itsa

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Grey Water: Can we reuse it?

2010-12-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

check out this great APN thread posted by ReadyMom

I've been thinking about this off and on. Can you use grey water again, for anything other than water plants or flushing a toilet? Here's what I found:

Safe Use of Household Greywater
Guide M-106
Revised by Marsha Duttle, Extension Research Assistant
College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences New Mexico State University

Greywater is water that has been used for washing dishes, laundering clothes, or bathing. Essentially, any water, other than toilet wastes, draining from a household is greywater. Although this used water may contain grease, food particles, hair, and any number of other impurities, it may still be suitable for reuse. Reusing greywater serves two purposes: it reduces the amount of freshwater needed to supply a household, and reduces the amount of waste water entering sewer or septic systems.

USES FOR GREYWATER ...

The amount and quality of greywater will in part determine how it can be reused. Irrigation and toilet flushing are two common uses, but nearly any non-contact use is a possibility.

Greywater is suitable for irrigating lawns, trees, ornamentals, and food crops. Though irrigation methods in greenhouses may differ greatly from outdoor irrigation, several guidelines for use of greywater apply to both situations.

* Apply greywater directly to the soil, not through a sprinkler or any method that would allow contact with the above-ground portion of the plants.

* Root crops which are eaten uncooked should not be irrigated with greywater.

* Plants that thrive only in acid soil should not be watered with greywater, which is alkaline.

* Use greywater only on well-established plants, not seedlings or young plants.

* Disperse greywater over a large area, and rotate with fresh water to avoid buildup of sodium salts.

In addition, when irrigating outdoors, apply greywater only to flat areas where runoff is not likely. A cloth bag attached to the end of the hose will help distribute water and also act as an additional filter. The filter will need to be removed and cleaned periodically (every three or four days).

In arid areas where dry grass or brush pose a fire hazard, homeowners may wish to plant a firebreak or "greenbelt" of a selected high-moisture species. Greywater is ideal for irrigating firebreaks, because it contributes plant nutrients in the process. ...

to read the rest of the discussion on APN click here

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AZ State Parks + Trails Guide

2010-12-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

this was posted in AZPN forum earlier this month in case you want to familiarize yourself with state parks and trail networks in our state:

According to the Arizona State Parks Dept site, there are 27 state parks in AZ (another 4 have been closed due to budget crunch for now).

Search thru park listings at http://www.azstateparks.com/find/index.html

Also .. the Arizona State Trails Guide is a geographically comprehensive set of trails in Arizona that provide trail descriptions and locations to 550 trails in the state. Updated and revised edition with more comprehensive trail descriptions, trail locators, and a simple user format available at http://www.azstateparks.com/Giftshop/09_trailguide.html

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Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T09:28:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas and many blessings in the coming new year!

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Slow Sand Filter

2010-12-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

posted on main APN forum by Dutch-az

I am building two slow sand bucket filters. One will have a spigot near the bottom and will be used stand alone to filter rain water for non-potable uses - laundry, dish washing, etc. The other will be used as the first stage of a rain water filter/purification potable water system, with a bottom drain to another bucket with four 7" Doulton Ceramic Candles. The sand filters are constructed as in the diagram.

Now for my question. Can I eliminate the gravel and have the aquarium filter pad on the bottom? What purpose does the gravel have besides supporting the other medium?

Visit APN water forum to read replies and join the discussion...

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AZ National Forests

2010-12-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

There are 6 National Forests in Arizona managed by USDA spanning over 8.5 million acres. Consider learning more about the terrain, vegetation, hunting and water sources, maps and many other resources for each specific National Forest.

Read more and join the discussion on Arizona Preppers Network forum

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Arizona Preppers Roll Call

2010-11-27T09:42:00.001-08:00

The Arizona Preppers Network is conducting a Roll Call on our forum. If you are a prepper please check in.

* Here is a link to the Roll Call:

http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=234&t=6215

You have to be registered to check in. If you aren't registered please join here:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

* If you are a HAM Radio Operator check in here:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=6219

* If you are an A.N.T.S. member please check in here:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=618&t=6220

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Although this year has been tough economically for most of us, take some time to reflect on the many blessings that fill each and every day of your life. And please keep our troops and Veterans in your thoughts and prayers since their dedication and sacrifices have provided many of the freedoms we often take for granted.

Also ... if traveling thru AZ over the holiday, stay safe out there. Snow has hit the high country across the north and northeastern parts, and southern 'zona has freeze warnings for Thanksgiving night and Friday morning.

Get Arizona highway conditions by calling 511 or visit www.az511.gov

Have a wonderful, safe holiday weekend, j & B

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Old swimming pool now a greenhouse

2010-11-24T06:18:00.000-08:00

A Mesa family documents their journey of converting an old backyard swimming pool in to a way to feed their family and live more self-sufficiently.

They combined solar power, water conservation, poultry farming, aquaculture, hydroponics, biofiltration and more.

Per their site... "when we purchased our first home in Mesa, AZ on October of 2009, it came with a large, empty, and run-down pool. Rather than spending thousands of dollars in fixing the pool or having it filled with fill dirt we decided to design an inexpensive and self-sufficient urban greenhouse. Initially, we had anticipated self-sufficiency by 2012 but we achieved our goal by mid-2010. Our family gets about 8 fresh eggs a day, unlimited tilapia fish, organic fruit, veggies, and herbs 365 days a year."

Learn more and check out their videos at http://gardenpool.org/

And join the discussion about garden pools (and many other topics) on APN forum

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Free E-books from APN

2010-11-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

American Preppers Network posted an incredible deal the other day and sharing link here in case you missed it. APN is offering approx 200 E-books, Manuals, and PDF files with data on Survival, Preparedness, Sustainable Living and Alternative Energy. They are FREE for download but please consider making a donation to help offset bandwidth costs .. or request it on CD for a small shipping & handling fee. Learn more

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Thank you Veterans

2010-11-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

A brief history of Veterans Day

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

The observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day:

A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

To all our nation's former, current and future Veterans ~ God bless you .. and thank you.

Source: VA.gov

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No clocks to change but do this

2010-11-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

Although Arizona doesn't "fall back" like the rest of the country today (thank goodness), here's a bit of DST trivia. Did you know the Navajo Tribe in NE corner of AZ observes daylight savings time? Since the Reservation expands into 4 states, 3 of which observe DST, the AZ Navajos decided to change clocks so everyone's on the same timezone. The Hopi Tribe & Rez (which is inside the AZ Navajo Reservation) does not observe it .. so they are rebels like the rest of us 'zonies.

So even though we get out of changing clocks, do consider taking some time today to rotate supplies in home and car kits, BOBs, and pet kits ... and update your family emergency plans (e.g. verify phone#s are still accurate [esp school emergency contacts / ph#s]; go over meeting places with family members; discuss various evacuation routes from locations you frequent like work, school, nursing home, mall, etc.)

Another thing to do is to ensure all smoke alarms are working properly. The US Fire Administration suggests to test alarms regularly (at least once a month), replace batteries at least every year, and replace units every 8-10 years. (Units have a manufacture / expiration data on the label.) Also clean any dust away from the slots so smoke can enter freely. For more information about home smoke alarms and fire sprinklers, visit http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/smokealarms

Stay safe out there and enjoy these incredible fall temps! j & B

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Prepping for data loss and recovery

2010-10-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Recently my 5+ year old notebook died forcing us to get a new system running Windows 7. I maintain a dozen years of business files on my XP system and have been dreading moving to Vista or 7 since we use various software packages that wouldn’t be compatible … and upgrading all of them would cost almost $2,000.

But … we found some very inexpensive solutions and learned some tips and lessons along the way so I wanted to share them in case it can help others prep for potential data loss and/or data recovery.

1. Backup your data often, esp before you do any software or hardware upgrades. (We use USB external drives and flash drives for our systems so we’re always in control of the data. And we store backups, Recovery CDs, scans of important papers and CDs in fire-proof boxes on-site and keep copies off-site.) There are also services you can purchase that backup data for you .. or .. disc image backup pkgs (e.g. Macrium reflect, etc). Do comparisons of services and pkgs using tech-savvy sites like CNET, PCWorld and others to help find your best solution.

2. Tip: Never try to replace a cooling fan on a notebook unit. It’s a bugger since you have to completely disassemble the darn thing cuz the fan is on the back of the mother board.

3. Consider getting a USB 2.0 to IDE and SATA cable adapter to transfer data quickly off an old hard drive. This little unit only costs $25 and is a VERY worthy investment. First, remove internal hard drive (desktop or notebook), then remove the metal casing and the little black plastic protector on the IDE prongs (casing and protector on right side of below picture) … then attach adapter cable to the IDE (or SATA) connector.

...then plug the USB into another PC to access files using Windows Explorer!

Granted you still have to install each program on new system to make those files work, but it’s a much faster method of transferring data. The adapter cable also works on Zip, CD or DVD drives too.

4. Realize some older XP software packages may not function properly when you install them on Windows 7. Tip: Visit the software manufacturer’s support site BEFORE you install it to see if they have a patch or update for Windows 7 to save time and headache. I had one package that needed a specific file during installation (which I found out after the fact so had to remove it, download patch and reinstall.) Win 7 also has a “program compatibility” feature that might help too.

5. If you still have trouble getting an XP package to work properly in Win 7 (like I did) ... consider using XP Mode. Most cheap off-the-shelf notebooks come with Windows 7 Home which works fine for many users. But if you own a small business and/or use older desktop publishing pkgs, database programs, etc … purchase “Windows Anytime Upgrade” for $89 that upgrades you to Windows 7 Pro.

You then need to download Windows XP Mode and Virtual PC (both free at http://www.windows.com/business/downloads ). Once you get XP Mode installed, you open that window to have both XP and Windows 7 running on your desktop. (see pic)

You then install your old XP programs using the XP mode window. Once installed you can open that program thru your Win 7 Start button or send icon to your normal desktop.

It may take several hours (or days) and some sanity to get everything reinstalled and running properly, but it can save hundreds or thousands on software upgrades.

And the adapter cable can save hours of time on data recovery since it supports high speed data transfer on both Windows and Mac systems.

Hope this helps and remember … prep for data loss by backing up your system often (esp if you get that adapter cable – it works both ways so you could use a cheap internal drive as a backup device by copying your entire drive over while it’s clean) … and keep your anti-virus packages current and scan systems often!

Join the discussion on this (or other topics) over on APN forum

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New CPR procedures by American Heart Association

2010-10-21T15:28:00.001-07:00

borrowing a post by ReadyMom that appeared on APN forum ...

Important information on administering CPR! It is no longer the 'ABC' method, but 'CAB' method, using chest compressions FIRST! See this VIDEO to get a good lesson on new method.

http://www.youtube.com/americanheartassoc

Here's the link to the NEW AMA 2010 CPR Guidelines.

and join the discussion about new CPR guidelines on APN forum by clicking here

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Batty time of year

2010-10-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. For the past several weeks the bats have been wiping out our hummer feeder every night. And now that temps are cooling off and windows are open more, you really appreciate the dent they make in the bug population.

Did you know…

… a single bat can eat more than 1,000 insects in an hour, including mosquitoes ... and many insects avoid areas where they hear bats?!

…there are more than 1,000 species of bats in the world and Arizona is home to 28 species of bats -- more than almost any other state?!

…a bump of only 1/16” is enough for a bat to hang from?!

Bats get a bad rap but they really are very docile creatures. They can squeeze into holes as small as 3/8” and are attracted to spaces inside buildings and attics, under bridges, in culverts, behind siding on buildings, in palm trees, and under eaves and porch or patio awnings.

We found this li’l critter hanging out under our patio on stucco wall of our home one afternoon. It stayed for several hours then took off. Altho it's not a very good pic, you can kind of make out its black eyes, nose and mouth.

As mentioned above, during their migration to and from Mexico large numbers of batty bats visit Southern AZ hummingbird feeders at night. They stick their long tongues into the feeder to drink and, if you sit outside (or watch thru a window with a flashlight) you’ll see dozens and dozens of them jockeying for position to slurp up the sugar water. Here’s a great pic from Wikimedia commons…

Some really incredible bat pics can be seen on the Mostly Photos blog here and here ... and The Firefly Forest blog here

And check out the Arizona Game & Fish Dept’s “Living with bats” page for some health & safety tips

Also … join a discussion about attracting bats with Bat Houses on APN forum

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Fire Prevention Week is Oct 3-9

2010-10-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Fire Prevention week has been observed every October since 1922. This year’s theme is “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” and the campaign is designed to educate people about the importance of smoke alarms and encourages everyone to take the steps necessary to update and maintain their home smoke alarm protection.

Some facts about Smoke alarms:

Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half.

Overall, three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one working smoke alarm.

Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires.

In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate even though the fire was large enough, batteries were missing or disconnected. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected alarms.

More than half of the smoke alarms found in reported fires and two-thirds of the alarms found in homes with fire deaths were powered by battery only.

In a 2008 telephone survey, only 12% knew that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.

In fires considered large enough to activate a smoke alarm, hard-wired alarms operated 91% of the time; battery-powered smoke alarms operated 75% of the time.

Some facts about Fire:

Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and injuries.

Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.

Heating is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries.

Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in roughly 50,000 reported fires each year.

Roughly 30, 000 intentionally set home structure fires are reported each year.

The National Fire Protection Association’s Fire Prevention Week site has many resources for educators, families and kids, and agencies. Learn more at www.firepreventionweek.org

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Private Sector Preparedness (PS-Prep) (BPS part 10 of 10)

2010-09-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (10 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

In this final part of our Biz Prep series (on this last day of National Preparedness Month) we wanted to share some data about a voluntary certification program in case readers would like to share this with your employers. DHS is still seeking comments from small businesses and others on the adoption of these standards.

In June 2010, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the adoption of the final standards for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep)—a major milestone in DHS' implementation of a program recommended by the 9/11 Commission to improve private sector preparedness for disasters and emergencies.

The PS-Prep Program will provide a mechanism by which a private sector entity - a company, facility, not-for-profit corporation, hospital, stadium, university, etc. - may be certified by an accredited third party establishing that the private sector entity conforms to one or more preparedness standards adopted by DHS.

Prior to the PS-Prep program, there was no comprehensive set of standards by which American businesses and other private sector entities can assess their preparedness for all hazards. Having a plan to reduce the impact of all hazards on business and protect employees can help ensure that a business is able to recover and reopen following a disaster or other emergencies.

Participation in the PS-Prep program is completely voluntary. No private sector entity will be required by DHS to comply with any standard adopted under the program. However, DHS encourages all private sector entities to seriously consider seeking certification on one or more standards that will be adopted by DHS.

The three standards for PS-Prep program:

ASIS International SPC.1-2009 Organizational Resilience: Security Preparedness, and Continuity Management System – Requirements with Guidance for use (2009 Edition). Available at no cost. (66-pg PDF)

British Standards Institution 25999 (2007 Edition) - Business Continuity Management. (BS 25999:2006-1 Code of practice for business continuity management and BS 25999: 2007-2 Specification for business continuity management) The British Standards Institution is making both parts available for a reduced fee of $19.99 each.

National Fire Protection Association 1600-Standard on Disaster / Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs, 2007 and 2010 editions. Available at no cost. (57-pg PDF)

The Act recognizes that small businesses need to be treated differently in the PS-Prep program, and requires DHS to give special consideration to small business concerns. DHS continues to seek comments from small businesses and others on the adoption of these standards and their impact on future decisions to seek certification under the PS-Prep Program.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate is the Designated Officer responsible for the accreditation and certification program.

Additional resources:

FEMA PS-Prep Resource Center

Institute for Business & Home Safety's PS-Prep Crosswalk (21-pg PDF)

Preparing for PS-Prep - Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Certification by Bob Connors, Director for Preparedness at Raytheon Corporation (appeared on Security Debrief)

We hope you found this series helpful and please feel free to share any/all of the 10 parts with others to help strengthen the business sector and our nation. j & B

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Pandemic planning (BPS part 9 of 10)

2010-09-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (9 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

Although last year's swine flu event has faded out for the most part, flu season is gearing up again and there is always a chance of a strain mutating and becoming virulent. And the recent news of the new “super bug” is another reason to plan for unexpected or long-term illness.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, each year the flu kills 36,000-40,000 Americans, hospitalizes over 200,000 and costs the U.S. economy over $10 billion in lost productivity and direct medical expenses. Health experts warn a pandemic flu could kill over half a million Americans, hospitalize 2 million more, and cost the [U.S.] economy an estimated $160 - $675 billion. Another scenario predicted by the World Bank estimates a pandemic could kill more than 70 million people worldwide and create havoc in global markets.

If a global pandemic occurs, it could change our way of life dramatically. Schools, work, transportation and other services may close for long periods of time. (For instance, the 1918 flu pandemic lasted 18 months while other pandemics weaken for a while then recur.) Supplies will be scarce, medical facilities will be overwhelmed and travel will be very difficult.

Planning for a crisis of this magnitude may seem overwhelming, but an informed and prepared staff and public will know how to protect themselves and decrease their risk during a pandemic.

• Talk with local public health officials and health care providers to get their input and recommendations on pandemic planning and stay current on health alerts and advisories.

• Get travel updates and restrictions by visiting www.cdc.gov/travel or www.state.gov/travel or www.who.int/topics/travel/en/

• Adopt business practices that encourage sick employees to stay home (like using Skype or instant messaging) and anticipate how to function with a smaller workforce for weeks or months at a time.

• Think about how your business would function if suppliers, banks, transportation and delivery services are limited or shut down. And encourage staff to keep at least a few weeks supplies at home.

• Remind employees to reduce the spread of infections by washing hands or using alcohol-based sanitizers often, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or shirt sleeve, and wiping down work stations, phones and keyboards with disinfectant or bleach.

What to do to reduce the spread of infectious diseases…

-- Wash hands often using soap and water or use hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol in it) to reduce the spread of germs. But keep in mind sanitizers don’t work against some bugs so it’s best to wash up.

-- Tell health care workers and visitors to wash their hands before they touch you or your stuff -- don’t be timid!

-- If you have a fever, stay home! And wait 24 hours after fever breaks before you return to work or school.

-- Use antibiotics only when absolutely necessary. Consider boosting your immune system to help fight infections.

-- Sick people should cover mouth and nose with tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, wash hands often, and wear a face mask around others (if very ill).

-- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered until healed.

-- Clean counters, doorknobs, fixtures, phones, remotes, nurse call buttons, linens, etc. often with a bleach solution.

-- Follow doctor’s instructions and limit activities outside home until fever and symptoms have gone away.

For more information, visit the following web sites ...

Influenza / Flu: US: www.cdc.gov/flu/ and www.pandemicflu.gov
Canada: www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/
WHO: www.who.int/topics/influenza/en/

Avian flu: www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/ or www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/

Swine (H1N1) flu: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ or www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/

And check out a discussion on "Flu vaccines" on APN forum

Tomorrow: Part 10 of 10 will cover DHS’s Private Sector Preparedness (PS-Prep).

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Protect your workplace from cyber threats (BPS part 8 of 10)

2010-09-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (8 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

The latest WikiLeaks controversy and an estimated $1 trillion in losses annually due to cyber attacks are good reminders that businesses need to take cyber security seriously.

Cyber threats can range from computer crime or “hacktivism” (which can be costly and a pain to fix but it normally don’t threaten lives or public safety) to major cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. Cyber terrorism is usually done with a minimal loss of life but there are some groups and nations that could use cyber attacks or cyber warfare to cause human casualties or fear by disrupting transportation or public safety systems.

A new report conducted by Ponemon Institute reveals malware costs a firm on average $3.8 million a year. More specifically, the cost of cyber-crime ranges from $1 million to $52 million per year per company depending on the size of the business. Some other statistics from the report show…

- 90% of cyber-crime costs are due to Web attacks caused by malicious code, hackers or intruders.

- It takes companies an average of 14 days to neutralize a cyber-attack (average cost: $17,000 per day). In the case of attacks carried out by hackers or intruders, it takes more than 42 days on average to neutralize them.

- Information theft accounts for the majority of financial losses (42%), followed by the disruption of business operations or productivity losses (22%).

- Detecting the problem and restoring systems and information accounts for 46% of internal activity.

- Cyber-crime affects all types of industries equally, despite the fact that costs arising from cyber-attacks are higher in the case of areas such as defense, energy and financial services.

Whether you use one computer or a massive network, it is critical to keep systems protected from viruses and attacks.

Make sure computers and wireless devices have current anti-virus and anti-spyware software and firewalls .. and schedule them to scan daily or weekly. Also set virus patterns, operating systems and browsers to update automatically. Encourage employees to protect their personal home devices too.

Set security preferences as high as possible on Internet browsers and anti-virus packages.

Be aware some flash drives may have trojans or viruses, or be used to copy sensitive data off secure systems, so consider limiting access to critical files and/or systems.

Although it is best to not open emails or attachments from unknown sources, that’s not feasible in the business world. But implement precautionary procedures like having employees save attached files into a temp directory and scan them before opening.

Discourage accessing financial institutions from mobile devices using apps or email links. Instead, visit banking and credit card sites directly using a browser window.

Use long passwords (using both numbers and letters), change them often, and don’t share them with others.

Backup data often and keep a daily or weekly backup off-site.

Make sure someone knows how to download patches or fixes in case a computer or system gets infected. And have a backup plan in case that person (or team) is not available.

If your business is hacked, file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov

Stay current on cyber threats by joining DHS’s US Computer Emergency Readiness Team www.us-cert.gov or the FBI’s InfraGard www.infragard.net . Or check out the National Cyber Security Alliance at www.staysafeonline.org

Coming up: Part 9 of 10 covers Pandemic planning tips and resources.

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Tips to protect your business assets (BPS part 7 of 10)

2010-09-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (7 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

Some things businesses can do in advance to protect your building, workplace and equipment include...

-- Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers and test them often.

-- Draw a map of your building and mark locations of exits, fire extinguishers and utility shut-off points. Post copies so employees can find them easily and share copies with local First Responders. Or use Depiction mapping software to create interactive maps and scenarios.

-- Consider installing extra security measures like alarm systems, automatic sprinklers, closed circuit TV, keypad or card access systems, or security guards. (More measures below)

-- Think about all the ways people and deliveries enter and leave your building and the potential risks associated with them.

-- Learn about FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) loans and other cost-saving mitigation tips for structures and property by visiting www.fema.gov .

-- Plan how you would replace machinery, computers or equipment quickly if it’s damaged or destroyed and keep extra supplies onhand.

-- Decide where you could run the business if your shop’s not usable.

-- Ensure any backup location complies with local, state and federal codes and other safety regulations and ask your insurance agent if operating at another facility impacts your policy.

Additional Security Measures with little or no cost

-- Increase the visible security personnel presence wherever possible.

-- Rearrange exterior vehicle barriers (traffic cones) to alter traffic patterns near facilities.

-- Institute / increase vehicle, foot, and roving security patrols.

-- Implement random security guard shift changes.

-- Arrange for law enforcement vehicles to be parked randomly near entrances and exits.

-- Approach all illegally parked vehicles in and around facilities, question drivers and direct them to move immediately. If owner cannot be identified, have vehicle towed by law enforcement.

-- Limit number of access points and strictly enforce access control procedures.

-- Alter primary entrances and exits if possible.

-- Implement stringent identification procedures to include conducting 100% "hands on" checks of security badges for all personnel (if used).

-- Remind personnel to properly display badges, if applicable, and enforce visibility.

-- Require two forms of photo identification for all visitors.

-- Escort all visitors entering and departing.

-- X-ray packages and inspect handbags and briefcases at entry if possible.

-- Validate vendor lists for all routine deliveries and repair services.

Additional Security Measures that may bear some cost

-- Increase perimeter lighting.

-- Remove vegetation in and around perimeters, maintain regularly.

-- Institute a vehicle inspection program to include checking under the undercarriage of vehicles, under the hood, and in the trunk. Provide vehicle inspection training to security personnel.

-- Conduct vulnerability studies focusing on physical security, structural engineering, infrastructure engineering, power, water, and air infiltration, if feasible.

-- Initiate a system to enhance mail and package screening procedures (both announced and unannounced).

-- Install special locking devices on manhole covers in & around facilities.

Above “Additional Security Measures” came from the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency’s Terrorist Threat Advisory System. Learn more tips on what business owners, managers and citizens should be doing at each color code in a free 8-page PDF

Also, read “The Role of the Private Sector in National Security” by W. Edward Griffith, former Director of GCIS and current Intelligence Chief of SGG

Coming next week: Part 8 of 10 will discuss how to protect your company from cyber threats.

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Tips to help protect your workplace (BPS part 6 of 10)

2010-09-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (6 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

In addition to emergency planning (covered in Biz Prep series parts 2 – 5), the following steps can be taken to safeguard your company. (Note: This series is written with business owners and managers in mind so please consider sharing this series with your employer.)

Review insurance - Meet with your agent or provider to review policies and ensure coverage includes physical losses, flood coverage and business interruption. Also visit www.floodsmart.gov for tips.

Utilities - Think about what your company would do if there’s no power, gas, telecommunications, sewer and other utilities. Find alternative and backup options during disruptions of service (e.g. portable generators for power, walkie-talkies for communication, sanitation items in case sewer lines are damaged, etc.)

Protect assets - Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers and test them often. Consider installing security measures like alarm systems, automatic sprinklers, closed circuit TV, keypad or card access systems, or security guards. (more on this in part 7 of 10)

Secure equipment - Use straps or L-braces to batten down cabinets or machinery, move heavy items to lower shelves and raise electrical equipment off the floor.

Airborne threats - Several types of disasters can impact the air quality of a building from mold due to flooding, airborne particles from a biological attack or dirty bomb, or smoke from a wildfire. Ask if there are options to improve air quality and protection in the Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system.

Cyber threats - Computer crime and hacktivism cost businesses billions of dollars every year. Whether you use one computer or a massive network, it is critical to keep your system protected from viruses and attacks. (more on this in part 8 of 10)

Pandemic planning - According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, each year the flu kills 36,000-40,000 Americans, hospitalizes over 200,000 and costs the U.S. economy over $10 billion in lost productivity and direct medical expenses. If a global pandemic occurs, it could change our way of life dramatically. Schools, work, transportation and other services may close for long periods of time. (more on this in part 9 of 10)

Travel – Stay current on travel updates and restrictions by visiting www.cdc.gov/travel or www.state.gov/travel or www.who.int/topics/travel/en/

Coming up: Part 7 of 10 will cover some additional security measures to help protect your business assets.

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Communications plan (BPS part 5 of 10)

2010-09-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (5 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

Below are some basic communications plan tips from DHS’ Ready Business site and several business continuity links, but realize there are many resources and consultants out there who can help develop plans for your firm.

Write a crisis communications plan in advance so you are prepared to communicate with employees, customers and others during and after a disaster.

• Employees - Be prepared to tell workers when, if and how to report to work after an emergency (either through voicemail, email or manual call system). Explain how the incident may affect jobs.

• Management - Give executives as much information as possible to protect employees, customers, vendors and nearby facilities.

• Public - You may need to update the media and general public about the safety or status of employees or buildings and that plans are in place for recovery.

• Customers - Stay in touch with clients so they know when products or services are back in stock or online.

• Government - Let officials know what your company can do to help in recovery efforts and ask for help, if needed.

• Other Businesses/Immediate Neighbors - Be prepared to give neighboring companies or competitors updates on the nature of the situation in case they need to make plans for their own safety.

The following list includes some agencies, companies and nonprofit groups providing products, services, free e-newsletters and resources on business continuity, communications and planning.

ASIS International www.asisonline.org/guidelines/guidelines.htm
Association of Contingency Planners www.acp-international.com
Business Roundtable Partnership for DR www.respondtodisaster.com
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/workplace
Continuity Central www.continuitycentral.com
CPM Online www.contingencyplanning.com
DERA International www.disasters.org
Disaster Preparedness Blog www.disasterpreparednessblog.com
Disaster Recovery Journal www.drj.com
Disaster Resource Guide www.disaster-resource.com
ICF International www.icfi.com
Institute for Business & Home Safety Open for Business® www.disastersafety.org/text.asp?id=ofb_main
Institute for Business Continuity Training www.ibct.com
MessageOne www.messageone.com
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health www.cdc.gov/niosh
Prepare My Business www.preparemybusiness.org
PS-Prep www.fema.gov/privatesector/preparedness/
Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) www.riskinstitute.org
Ready Business www.ready.gov/business
SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” www.score.org/disaster_preparedness.html
TAO Emergency Management Consulting http://ricktobin.com/
The ICOR www.theicor.org
US Chamber of Commerce www.uschamber.com
US Department of Health & Human Services www.pandemicflu.gov
US Small Business Administration www.sba.gov

Coming up: Part 6 of 10 has tips to help protect and safeguard your company.

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Dealing with bomb threat or suspicious pkg (BPS part 4 of 10)

2010-09-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (4 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

Although these types of incidents rarely happen, the following tips may come in handy if your company or building ever receives a bomb threat or suspicious package.

What if you or your office receives a “bomb threat”?
Bomb threats are usually received by a telephone call or in the mail. In the event you or someone in your office receives a bomb threat, do the following...

Get as much information from the caller as possible (e.g. what kind of bomb, what does it look like, where is it, when will it go off, etc.)

Try to keep caller on phone as long as you can and write down everything that is said! (Since you’ll be nervous or scared, good notes will be very helpful to officials later.)

Notify the police and building management.

Calmly evacuate the building, keep the sidewalks clear and stay away from windows.

What if you or someone in your office receives a “suspicious package”?
According to the United States Postal Service, the likelihood of you ever receiving a bomb in the mail is remote. But there have been a small number of explosive devices and biological agents that have surfaced in the mail over the years. Some possible motives for an individual or group sending a “suspicious package” include revenge, extortion, love triangles, terrorism, and business disputes.

The following are some unique signs or characteristics from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that may help identify a “suspect” piece of mail ...

Package may have restricted markings like “Personal” or “Private” to one who doesn’t receive personal mail at office or to someone no longer working there.

Package is sealed with excessive amounts of tape or has way too much postage on it.

Postmark city different than Return Address city.

Misspelled words, written badly or done with letters cut from newspaper or magazine and pasted on.

Package has wires or aluminum foil sticking out, oil stains, smells weird or sounds funny (sloshing noise).

Package may feel strange or look uneven or lopsided.

If you are unsure about a letter or package and are not able to verify the Sender or contents with the person it is addressed to then...

DO NOT open it, shake it, bump it or sniff it!

Cover it with a shirt, trash can or whatever is handy.

Evacuate the area quickly and calmly.

Wash your hands with lots of soap and water.

Call building security, police and your postal inspector.

List all the people who were near the package or letter in case they are needed for further questioning.

Coming up: Part 5 of 10 has tips and resources to help develop a Communications plan.

above extracted from IT’S A DISASTER! …and what are YOU gonna do about it?

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Do you stay or do you go? (BPS part 3 of 10)

2010-09-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (3 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

Continuing with our business prep planning series, owners and managers must develop plans for a “shelter-in-place” scenario as well as have an evacuation plan in place for employees, clients and customers that may be in your facility during a crisis.

Obviously the type of disaster or event will determine whether you stay put or evacuate, but below are some basic tips to get you started.

Things to plan for if instructed to “Shelter-in-place”:

• Listen to local authorities and tune in radio or TV for updates.

• If possible, know who’s in the building if there is an emergency.

• Set up a warning system (and remember folks with hearing or vision disabilities or non-English speaking workers).

• Determine which room or area will be used for shelter for each type of disaster in advance (i.e. some emergencies require staying above ground - others may be best underground or in a sealed room). Discuss ideas with others in your building or complex or with First Responders.

• Calculate air requirements for sealed room in the event of a hazardous materials incident.

• Consider installing a safe room at your facility to provide protection from the high winds expected during hurricanes, tornadoes and from flying debris. Shelters built below ground provide the best protection, but could be flooded during heavy rains.

• Assign certain people to grab Kits, take headcounts, seal off room, etc. and have backups lined up in case someone’s off or injured.

• Take a headcount or have a checklist of people in shelter.

• Practice, practice, practice -- make sure employees know shelter-in-place plans and be ready to explain procedures to newbies not familiar with your plans (like customers or suppliers who might be at your building when an event occurs).

Things to plan for when making an “Evacuation plan”:

• If possible, know who’s in the building if there is an emergency.

• Decide in advance who in your staff and your building has the authority to order an evacuation. And if local authorities tell you to leave - DO it!

• Determine who is in charge of shutting down critical operations and systems and locking doors (if possible) during evacuation.

• Draw a map of your shop or building and mark locations of exits, disaster and first aid kits, fire extinguishers and utility shut-off points. Plan at least two escape routes from different sections of facility. Post copies of maps so employees can find them easily and share copies with local First Responders. Better yet, get a copy of Depiction mapping software to help visualize and create interactive scenarios and maps.

• Set up a warning system (and remember folks with hearing or vision disabilities or non-English speaking workers).

• Have flashlights handy or install emergency lighting to help staff exit safely. (Note: never use lighters since there may be gas leaks.)

• Pick two meeting places (assembly sites) in advance for staff to go - one near the facility and one further away. Also discuss how employees should notify someone if they need to leave the site or aren’t able to reach one.

• Take a headcount or have a checklist of people at assembly site.

• Practice, practice, practice -- make sure employees know evacuation plans and be ready to explain procedures to newbies not familiar with your plans (like customers or suppliers who might be at your building when an event occurs). Practice drills with other tenants or businesses in your complex and share plans and ideas.

September is National Preparedness Month so please consider using this opportunity to help employees, co-workers, business associates and customers prepare for the unexpected. And people reading this blog entry, please share this data with employers to help make your workplace better prepared.

Coming up: Part 4 of 10 has tips on what to do if your office receives a bomb threat or suspicious package.

above extracted from IT’S A DISASTER! …and what are YOU gonna do about it?

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How to Join The Arizona Preppers Network

2010-09-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Come learn survival, preparedness and sustainable living with us!

The Preppers networks are all about volunteering our knowledge and skills with each other. We share ideas, tips and basically network with each other to survive any type of disaster whether natural, man made, or economic. Information that you learn and share with others will help everyone learn how to find "Freedom Through Teaching Others Self Reliance."

Joining the Arizona Preppers Network is simple, and most of all, it's Free! To join, just follow these few steps.

1) Register to become a member of the American Preppers Network www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net The registration page is here: http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

2) Once you have your account, go to the index page of the forum and do your first post by introducing yourself in the new members area. http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/index.php

3) Once you know how to do posts, visit the Arizona forum and introduce yourself. The Arizona forum can be found by scrolling to the lower section of the index page where you will find a list of states, or you can go directly by following this URL: www.ArizonaPreppersNetwork.net

4) After you've visited the Arizona forum, follow this link to learn how to join the Arizona Preppers Network group:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=564&t=2738

APN's success depends on your contributions. If you would like to donate to our organization by becoming a Gold Member you can join the APN Gold Members club by following this link:
http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/page.php?p=apn-gold-membership&sid=5b241e92a767cdfbe7a345c54dd55127
Gold Membership is only $5 per month. For a list of Gold Member benefits go here

Thank you for your support!

Never forget...

2010-09-11T07:14:00.001-07:00

Office and Car Kits (BPS part 2 of 10)

2010-09-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Biz Prep Series (2 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

Disasters happen anytime and anywhere -- and, when disaster strikes, you may not have much time to respond. And sometimes services may be cut off or first responders can’t reach people right away.

Hopefully you already have a Grab & Go kit or BOB at your home … but what about your office or car?

Office Kit checklist

Keep items in a small pack, drawstring bag or duffel so everything is together and easy to grab!

[ ] Battery-operated radio and extra batteries (or a hand crank radio)

[ ] Copy of IT’S A DISASTER! …and what are YOU gonna do about it? manual

[ ] Emergency blanket (small, cheap, & light - the size of a wallet)

[ ] A few plastic trash bags with twist ties

[ ] Mini flashlight and extra bulbs and batteries (or a hand crank unit)

[ ] Non-perishable foods like crackers, cookies, trail mix, granola bars, etc.

[ ] Personal hygiene items (tissues, moist towelettes, hand sanitizer, comb, toothbrush, tampons, etc)

[ ] Small First Aid kit (with disposable gloves and N95 face masks)

[ ] Sweatshirt or sweater (or a full change of clothes if enough room)

[ ] Walkie-talkies (low cost set of FRS radios and store extra batteries)

[ ] Water … as much as you can fit! Small juice boxes are good too.

[ ] Work gloves to protect your hands (especially from broken glass)

Car Kit checklist

Keep most or all of these items in a waterproof pack so everything is together and easy to grab. Make one for each vehicle too!

[ ] Battery (or hand crank) radio, flashlight, extra batteries and bulbs

[ ] Blanket (small emergency ones are cheap and the size of a wallet)

[ ] Bottled water and non-perishable foods (Tip: store food in empty coffee cans to keep it from getting squashed)

[ ] CD (could be used as a reflector to signal planes if stranded)

[ ] Copy of IT’S A DISASTER! book

[ ] Extra clothes (jeans and sweater), sturdy shoes and socks

[ ] First Aid Kit (with disposable gloves and N95 rated face masks)

[ ] Local maps with evacuation routes pre-marked

[ ] Personal hygiene items (hand sanitizer, toilet paper, tissues, tampons, etc)

[ ] Plastic bags that seal

[ ] Shovel (small collapsible ones are available)

[ ] Short rubber hose (for siphoning)

[ ] Small fire extinguisher (5 lb., ABC type)

[ ] Tools - Tire repair kit, booster cables, flares, screw drivers, pliers, knife, wire or rope, etc.

[ ] Work gloves

A few reminders…

-- Keep items in airtight plastic bags to keep them dry in kit.

-- Look around your home since you may be able to put a lot of these things together from what is already on shelves or in drawers or medicine cabinets.

-- Replace your stored food and water supply every 6 months and keep in mind Car Kits may need supplies changed more often due to temperature changes. It’s best to test or replace batteries at this time too. Rotate out items every daylight savings time - it’s twice a year on a weekend.

Coming up: Part 3 of 10 will suggest tips for office shelter-in-place and evacuation plans.

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Developing your business disaster plan (Biz Prep series part 1 of 10)

2010-09-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

Since Sept is National Preparedness Month Bill and I wanted to share a 10-part series we created for businesses owners and managers in hopes readers will share this data with others. Bloggers are welcome to repost this data too. (We apologize in advance for a few commercial plugs but proceeds do benefit APN.) Stay safe out there, j & B

Tips on developing your business disaster plan
Biz Prep Series (1 of 10) by Bill & Janet Liebsch

The last thing business owners want to think about during these tough economic times is how to prepare for a disaster. But, since many states and cities are facing cutbacks to First Responders, it is more important than ever for people to know what they should plan for and do during an emergency situation.

September is National Preparedness Month and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. It doesn’t matter if you run a home-based business or a Fortune 100 corporation .. by planning in advance, the odds of a company surviving and recovering from a disaster increase dramatically.

The following tips may help you get started…

Learn what types of disasters are common in the places where you have offices or buildings. Keep in mind minor things like the flu, power outages or computer crashes can create havoc too.

Get a copy of Depiction mapping, simulation and collaboration software to help visualize and create interactive scenarios about real or hypothetical events.

Review the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency’s Terrorist Threat Advisory System for tips on what business owners and managers should be doing at each color code. (Free 8-page PDF)

Find out which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are needed to keep your business operating. Define who will help develop your emergency plan and make sure everyone involved knows what to do and have backup staff trained and ready to fill in, if needed.

Share your plans with others in your building or complex and talk to local First Responders, vendors and others to exchange ideas, experience and knowledge.

Practice, practice, practice -- make sure all employees do drills and know what to do and where to go during and after a disaster. Ensure you have plans for disabled employees and assign “buddies” to help them during a crisis. Take notes on things that should be modified during drills and get feedback so your plan is continually improving.

Assemble or purchase multi-day Disaster Supplies Kit for staff and encourage them to make their own “Office Kits” and “Car Kits” with personal items. (more on this in Biz Prep series - part 2 of 10)

Plan in advance how staff should shelter-in-place versus do an evacuation, and practice drills. (more on this in part 3 of 10)

Provide first aid and CPR training to your staff and keep first aid kits stocked and accessible. And talk to your local Fire or Emergency Management Dept about joining or forming a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Discuss with employees what to expect and do if your office or building receives a bomb threat or suspicious package (more on this in part 4 of 10)

Write a crisis communications plan in advance so you are prepared to communicate with employees, customers, your business neighbors and the public during and after a disaster. (more on this in part 5 of 10)

Above is a snippet from the Business Continuity Appendix in IT’S A DISASTER! …and what are YOU gonna do about it? Click below link to learn about our special discounted price for businesses thru 9/30/2010.

A commitment to planning today can help ensure your business’ survival and help support your employees, customers, the community and even the country.

Learn more at www.itsadisaster.net

Coming up: Biz Prep series Part 2 of 10 discusses Office Kit and Car Kit checklists.

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Sept is National Preparedness Month - what are you gonna do about it?

2010-09-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Planning is a fact of every day life. We plan for our chores, the kids’ activities, shopping trips and vacations. But when it comes to planning for a disaster, many Americans don’t do it.

According to Lynne Eicher with the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross, “Research shows that fewer than 15% of the population in this country is prepared for any disaster.”

And, according to FEMA, almost 67% of respondents in a 2009 Citizen Corps survey say they plan on relying on government in the first couple of days.

Unfortunately disaster preparedness is often thought of moments before or immediately following some sort of crisis or emergency. For example, how many times have you seen images of people stocking up on water, can goods and batteries just before the hurricane comes ashore?

It would be easier (and cheaper) to purchase things in advance and have them in a kit with other supplies. And yes, planning for something that may never happen is hard … but what if something does happen? Are you and your loved ones prepared?

September is National Preparedness Month and a perfect time to take action and get ready.

Some important things you can do to prepare for the unexpected include:

Get or assemble Disaster Supplies Kits (grab & go kits) for your home, office and car … and don’t forget special needs family members, Seniors, and your pets or livestock.

Make a Family Emergency Plan (e.g. list of Emergency phone numbers, Meeting places, etc).

Learn about different types of disasters and emergencies that may affect your area and, if you travel to other parts of the country for business or pleasure, learn what to do there too.

Include children and seniors in discussions so they get a basic understanding of what could potentially happen during different types of scenarios. There are lots of kid-friendly tools and data available to help little ones understand what they need to think about and do.

Learn how to protect your home and personal items to lessen the impact of disasters.

Take a first aid class (or at least read about basic first aid and learn what you would need to expect and do). And ask local officials if they offer a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course in your area.

Ask your employer what the emergency plans are for your office or building and, if you have children, talk to school officials and learn what their plans are for different types of emergency scenarios. Also ask about plans at nursing homes, day cares or any other places your loved ones frequent or live.

Find the closest emergency shelters to your home, workplace and school. These are usually posted on the city or county Emergency Management Agency’s web site or call their office. Also think about where you would go if you had to be evacuated for days, weeks or months and discuss it with your family.

Keep in mind some shelters may not allow pets so find out what motels or hotels allow critters or ask your vet or animal shelter if they would be able to board animals during a time of crisis.

Get involved in your community and share ideas with neighbors, schools, youth groups, faith-based organizations, civic clubs and First Responders.

All of these things can be found on the Internet in various shapes and sizes ... or ... you can get all this (and more) in Fedhealth's "IT’S A DISASTER! …and what are YOU gonna do about it?" book. The 268-page paperback provides quick-reference instructional bullets about what people should think about and do to prepare for different types of disasters and emergencies, as well as how to administer basic first aid in one easy-to-use source.

Download some free topics and learn more here or contact Fedhealth at 1-888-999-4325. (Proceeds benefit American Preppers Network)

Or visit Ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY (TTY 1-800-462-7585)

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Just in Case AZ - Prep Month Contest for kids

2010-08-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a poster contest for the little ones that might be fun to share. Below is from AZEIN site...

While emergency preparedness requires a continuous effort, September is Arizona Preparedness Month and the opportune time for Arizonans to ready themselves, their families and their communities for all types of emergencies.

One of this year’s Arizona Preparedness Month activities is a poster contest for first- through sixth-graders. Our hope is that the contest engages children’s creative talents and highlights the simple steps it takes to prepared for an emergency.

The Just in Case Arizona / Arizona Preparedness Month poster contest is now underway. The final day to submit posters to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is Friday, October 8, 2010.

If you are interested in participating, please see the below forms or contact Eliza Gregory at eliza.gregory@azdhs.gov for further information.

Visit AZEIN at http://www.azein.gov/azein/Toolkits/JICAcontest.aspx to download poster contest letter and submission form.

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AZ Emergency contacts, links and #s

2010-08-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some Arizona Homeland Security, EM and Health agencies and links and a few Volunteer groups that could help during a disaster or emergency situation. Hopefully their sites can assist with developing or enhancing your family emergency plans. Stay safe out there, j & B

Arizona Department of Homeland Security
(602) 542-7030
http://www.azdohs.gov

Arizona Division of Emergency Management
1-800-411-ADEM (2336) or (602) 244-0504
http://www.dem.azdema.gov/index.html

Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN) - state's online source for real-time emergency updates, preparedness and hazard information, and multimedia resources http://www.azein.gov/azein/default.aspx

Arizona County Emergency Management offices (in case you want to write down your county contact) http://www.ready.gov/america/local/az.html

Arizona Department of Health Services
General and Public Information: (602) 542-1025
http://www.azdhs.gov

Links to County Health Departments http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/local_health/health_depts.htm

Arizona Citizen Corps Program (provides opportunities for citizens to get emergency response training; participate in community exercises; and volunteer to support local first responders)
(602) 542-7077
http://www.azdohs.gov/ASCCC/

American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org (can key in your zip code to find local chapter so you can write down some ph#s)

Southern Arizona Chapter, Tucson http://www.redcrossarizona.org
The Grand Canyon Chapter, Phoenix http://www.arizonaredcross.org

The Salvation Army http://www.salvationarmyusa.org (can key in your zip code to find local offices so you can write down some ph#s)

The Salvation Army Southwest Division, Phoenix 602-267-4100 http://www1.usw.salvationarmy.org/USW/www_usw_sw20.nsf

More links and data over in state forum http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=235&t=4334&p=41415#p41415

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Emergency Plan Checklist for Pets or Livestock/Large Animals

2010-08-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

We all remember the heart-wrenching scenes of stranded critters during Katrina but it doesn’t take a major crisis like that for animals to be placed in a dangerous situation. A wildfire, flood or an overturned truck carrying chemicals may create an evacuation scenario so make sure you include pets and livestock in your family emergency plans.

Some basic checklist items include...

TIPS FOR PETS

- If you have to evacuate your home, DO NOT leave pets behind! Make sure you take a secure pet carrier, leash or harness with you.

- Have kits for all pets with food, water, medications, current photos and papers, litter & bags, leashes, muzzles, toys, bedding, etc.

- Emergency shelters may not accept pets (unless it is a service animal). Find out which motels and hotels in your area allow pets in advance of needing them. Or ask your veterinarian or animal shelter if they board animals during a disaster or emergency, but keep in mind if it’s a widespread disaster, those facilities may be inaccessible too.

- Make sure identification tags are current and securely fastened to pet’s collar or get a microchip implanted in your pet. Keep a current photo in your wallet or cell phone for identification purposes. And consider filling out Pet I.D. sheets for each critter.

- Make sure a roommate, trusted neighbor or friend has an extra house key to evacuate your pets in the event you are unavailable.

- If you have no alternative but to leave a pet at home, confine it to a safe area inside with dry food and plenty of water. Leave bathroom door open and toilet lid up (or remove lid completely) so they can access additional water (but only if toilet is free of chemicals.) If you must leave your pet outside -- don’t chain it.

TIPS FOR LIVESTOCK / LARGE ANIMALS

- Evacuate livestock whenever possible. Make arrangements for evacuation, including routes and host sites, in advance. At least two alternate evacuation routes should be mapped out as a backup. (And do practice drills / evacs to work out any kinks.)

- Have first aid and disaster kits handy with gear (halters, ropes, webbing, gloves, duct tape, blankets, etc), medications, current photos and papers, etc. Consider filling out Large Animal I.D. and Release of Liability sheets for each critter and put in their kits and keep copies in your own disaster kit.

- Evacuation site should have food, water, veterinary care, handlers, equipment and proper facilities.

- Trucks, trailers, and vehicles for transporting animals should be available with experienced handlers and drivers to transport them.

- If evacuation is not possible, a decision must be made whether to move large animals to available shelter or turn them outside. This decision should be based on the type of disaster and the soundness and location of the shelter or structure.

- If you must turn animals loose, prepare halters for horses, llamas, etc that include your name and phone numbers or spray paint your number on the critters and leave lots of food and water out. Don’t rely on electric watering systems to replenish water either since there may be a power loss.

- If you board animals, ask if facility has an evacuation plan in place.

Above extracted from IT'S A DISASTER! ...and what are YOU gonna do about it? book

Get some Additional Resources for kits, pet first aid, etc and join the discussion over on APN forum

Where you live

2010-08-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Another family pulled out of my neighborhood, leaving an empty house. They weren't the first, there's two other empty houses on my block. Unoccupied homes are crime magnets. The fixtures, air conditioning and hot water heater still have value and may be looted, these thieves will be checking the rest of the area and may go after occupied homes if they think it's safe enough. Transients can move into these empty homes, and from there prey on the neighborhood. Drug dealers will do the same, and there's nothing that will drag down an area faster than drug pushers.
Think ahead and be prepared! Talk to your neighbors more, see about organizing a neighborhood watch program. Pay attention to folks coming and going. If there's suspicious activity going on, investigate or call the police depending on what the situation is.
Your home may be your castle, but that doesn't mean hiding behind the walls and hoping for the best. Be aware, and be prepared!

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Heatstroke tips for pets & horses

2010-07-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

With triple-digit temps and higher humidity levels now due to summer and monsoon, please don't forget about the critters...

Heatstroke tips for Pets

-- Never leave your pet in the car on warm days. The temperature inside a car can rise very quickly to dangerous levels, even on milder days. Pets can succumb to heatstroke very easily and must be treated very quickly to give them the best chance of survival.

-- If you cannot immediately get your pet to a veterinarian, move it to a shaded area and out of direct sunlight.

-- Place a cool or cold, wet towel around its neck and head (do not cover your pet's eyes, nose or mouth).

-- Remove the towel, wring it out, and rewet it and rewrap it every few minutes as you cool the animal.

-- Pour or use a hose to keep water running over the animal's body (especially the abdomen and between the hind legs), and use your hands to massage its legs and sweep the water away as it absorbs the body heat.

-- Transport the pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Tips for a horse

-- Move him to shady area (or erect temporary shade over him) and spray with cool water.

-- Place an ice pack on the jugular vein to help cool blood as it circulates and/or put some cubes in a rag or sock and tie to the top of halter. (If you put a wet towel over a horse's head to cool him down, do NOT cover his nose since they are nose breathers!!)

-- Offer him fresh water and put some close by to drink. Watch for signs of dehydration too (e.g. sunken eyes, panting, dark red or dry, sticky gums, etc.)

Resources:
American Veterinary Medical Association
SAVE YOUR HORSE! by Michelle Staples

Join the "Dealing with Extreme Heat" discussion on AZPN forum -- tips for humans too!

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Pet Fire Safety Day is July 15

2010-07-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

An estimated 500,000 pets are affected annually by home fires, and a new data analysis by the National Fire Protection Association shows that nearly 1,000 house fires each year are accidentally started by the homeowners’ pets.

July 15th is Pet Fire Safety Day and here are some tips from The National Volunteer Fire Council...

Prevent your pet from starting fires

 Extinguish open flames - Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.

 Remove stove knobs - Be sure to remove stove knobs or protect them with covers before leaving the house – a stove or cook top is the number one piece of equipment involved in your pet starting a fire.

 Invest in flameless candles – These candles contain a light bulb rather than an open flame, and take the danger out of your pet knocking over a candle. Cats are notorious for starting fires when their tails turn over lit candles.

 Beware of water bowls on wooden decks – Do not leave a glass water bowl for your pet outside on a wooden deck. The sun’s rays when filtered through the glass and water can actually heat up and ignite the wooden deck beneath it. Choose stainless steel or ceramic bowls instead.

 Pet proof the home - Take a walk around your home and look for areas where pets might start fires inadvertently, such as loose wires and other potential hazards.

Keep your pets safe

 Keep pets near entrances when away from home – When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.

 Secure young pets - Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when away from home, such as in crates or behind baby gates in secure areas.

 Practice escape routes with pets – Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case you have to evacuate quickly with your pet or firefighters need to rescue your pet.

 Consider using monitored smoke detection services – As an added layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms, smoke detectors connected to a monitoring center help save pets who can’t escape when left home alone.

 Affix a pet alert window cling – Write down the number of pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. Make sure to keep the number of pets listed on them updated.

The NVFC has a listing of fire departments across the nation where pet owners can get a free pet alert window cling as part of National Pet Fire Safety Day. Visit http://www.nvfc.org/windowclings to find a location near you … or order a cling for free online at http://www.adt.com/pets

The National Volunteer Fire Council is the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue services. Above from NVFC

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Independence Day

2010-07-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

With Independence Day coming up I thought this might be a good time to reflect on our nation's Declaration of Indendence so I posted the text in main APN forum. There's also a link on where to get a free pocket-sized booklet of the Declaration and the Constitution.

We hope everyone has a fun, safe July 4th weekend ... and sending out a special thank you to our military for giving us the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.

What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Read a transcription of the text of the Declaration on the main APN forum

or visit http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=262&t=3508

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Car preparedness - part 3

2010-06-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

The permanent car emergency bag should be able to keep you healthy for a few days, fix injuries and signal for help. For a good start, I recommend the comment to my previous post. :)
First Aid kit - this depends a lot on your knowledge. Recommendations for a great vehicle first-aid kit are here: http://bloodletting.blog-city.com/the_first_aid_kit_part_ii_the_truck_kit_1.htm
Read that carefully, and remember that the tools are worse than useless if you do not know how to use them.
Back to the mundane items that I add in to the above stuff:
Sunscreen
Insect repellant
long comb for 'combing' cactus off of you
Folding shovel
For LED car flashlights, I have had good luck with the winding charger type. They are bulkier than the shake kind, but hold a charge in their capacitor for longer. Arizona heat is not kind to batteries, if you have a regular flashlight in your car, replace the batteries every June and August.
Hard candy - food also deteriorates quickly in heat, with the exception of hard candy. It's not nutritionally balanced, but is better than nothing. Otherwise, carry food per trip.

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Car preparedness - part 2

2010-06-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

If you're a prepper, having a car tool kit just makes sense. What you have in that tool kit can vary depending on your mechanical skill, though. The minimum that I recommend are the following:
Leather gloves - protect those hands.
Lug nut wrench - the ones that come with the car are generally cheap and unreliable. A four-way or gorilla lug nut wrench is recommended.
Pliers - at least one standard set. I suggest a needle-nose, tongue and groove, locking and diagonal cutters as well.
Adjustable wrench - again, comes in a variety of sizes, I suggest a 6" and 8" at a minimum.
Screwdriver - the 8-in-1 types are nice and handy.
Socket wrench set - a 3/8" set isn't much money for the utility.
Rags/shop towels
Duct tape - thousands of uses!
WD-40 - not aerosol!! Can substitute 3-in-1 oil.
I also keep a tube of Form-A-Gasket sealant, superglue and some JB weld.
Two or more gallons of water (change out every year at a minimum), this doubles as emergency water.
Two quarts of oil, think about having a canister of brake fluid and ATF too.
A box or bag to keep this all in.

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