Hurricane Ian highlights another important need in a disaster

  In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ian, hundreds of thousands of Floridians found that their cellphones did not work.  The towers were inoperative, either due to storm damage or because their power had been cut off.  Many were repaired within a day or two, but apparently several hundred cellphone towers are still not working,… Continue reading Hurricane Ian highlights another important need in a disaster

An amazingly effective, yet simple, home improvement project

  As part of our recent home upgrades, we decided to invest in an insulated garage door, properly fitted and snugged up to the walls, with side and top sealing strips mounted externally to minimize air exchange between outside and inside.  We considered insulating our existing double garage door, a metal economy unit, but it… Continue reading An amazingly effective, yet simple, home improvement project

A reminder from an African war comrade: emergency hygiene

  In all our talk about the current food crisis and preparing for hard times, I’ve neglected to mention one aspect that’s particularly important:  personal and household hygiene.  An old buddy from Africa reminded me about that during an e-mail exchange today.  It’s important enough a topic that I figured I’d best address it right… Continue reading A reminder from an African war comrade: emergency hygiene

About our meat supply…

  In an article last week, I said: I live in the heart of cattle country.  Texas agriculture is heavily oriented towards livestock.  I’m talking to those in the industry, and listening to what they have to say, and what I’m hearing is scary as hell.  Farmers are citing drought, fertilizer and pesticide shortages, supply… Continue reading About our meat supply…

An interesting perspective on morals and virtues

  Larry Lambert published this very interesting diagram on his blog the other day.  Clickit to biggit. I found it intriguing, and looked for more information.  It comes from a Christian academic paper authored by James D. Lanctot and Justin A. Irving, titled “Character and Leadership: Situating Servant Leadership in a Proposed Virtues Framework“.  (It was… Continue reading An interesting perspective on morals and virtues

The power grid is getting more vulnerable by the day

  If you haven’t already got a backup emergency generator, now might be a very good time to invest in one.  Hot Air reports: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has released its latest reliability assessment for the summer of 2022 and, to put it mildly, the news is not good. In far too… Continue reading The power grid is getting more vulnerable by the day

Forecasting the weather – and arthritis pain

  As regular readers will know, I’m permanently partially disabled due to an on-the-job injury almost two decades ago, and my wife has had some fairly serious injuries in the past.  I’m permanently in some degree of pain, and she gets hit by it if she over-exerts herself, or if the weather (heat, humidity, pressure,… Continue reading Forecasting the weather – and arthritis pain

More reader questions answered about emergency food reserves

  Following earlier warnings from many sources about looming food shortages and the need to keep reserves in case of emergency, I answered a number of reader questions last week.  They keep coming, so here are a few more answers. One reader asked about simple staple foods that keep for a long time, are nutritious,… Continue reading More reader questions answered about emergency food reserves

Readers’ questions answered on emergency food and other reserves

  After publishing two articles over the past two weeks on the unfolding worldwide food crisis and the need to build up our emergency food reserves, I’ve been fielding questions from several readers about what they should do in their particular situations.  I thought the answers I gave them might be of wider interest. One reader… Continue reading Readers’ questions answered on emergency food and other reserves

The joys of installing a new HVAC system

  A short while ago, I noted: We recently got paid a useful sum of money that’s been owed to us for some time.  If we put it in the bank, the inflation rate would reduce its buying power by double digit percentages every year; so we’re going to put it to work instead, by… Continue reading The joys of installing a new HVAC system