Bird flu case in Vancouver, BC.   Apparently I am terrible at getting items copied for posting.  In any event, if you check, on  November 13th there was an article on CNN & also a statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada.  The patient in question is very ill.  While this is the first case, transmission is unknown.  Will this develop into another COVID scenario?  I certainly hope not, but viruses are tricky.  I work in healthcare ( retiring next month – Yay!) and was hip deep in COVID patients for the better part of two years.  I will tell you, from my perspective, that the healthcare system in the U.S. is still understaffed.  I believe that will continue to be the case as the general population is aging & healthcare jobs are not the most attractive to the younger generation for various reasons so we will struggle with filling positions.

I found it to be very suspenseful, like a horror movie up until the very end.  I thought that it did point out how dependent the general population is on technology.  Even more, it showed the paralysis that many people experience when there is a breakdown in technology.  Only one character appeared to be prepared and he wasn’t presented in the best light.   From a preparedness standpoint; if there is a complete breakdown in communication from a cyberattack, then when do you make a move?  I think that disturbed me more than anything.  These folks were out in the sticks, but if you are in a populated area you would think that there would be some information available.  Would it be reliable?  It sort of brought home that the “fog of war” is real, even for civilians. Just a few things, hopefully food for thought.  I guess I need to hit up the posts on communication options.

Hardened – just to piggyback on your wildfire smoke “theme”; wanted to relate our past week here in Indiana.   My DW & I drove back from South Dakota for a family event this past Tuesday (6-27).  I failed miserably at situational awareness – driving across Iowa we could see that the smoke cut the horizon to within a few miles ( I’m terrible at judging distances).  Thinking that the car AC would provide adequate filtration was way wrong.  By the end of the day, my throat was burning quite badly & that didn’t dissipate fully for about 36 hours.  Then, just a couple of days later we were hit by the derecho that blew thru the Midwest.   Our power cut out abruptly – along with about 149K other Hoosiers.  Fortunately, it wasn’t too hot that day & our house is well sealed as the air quality was still atrocious.  (AQI of 225 or so).  We were incredibly lucky – our power was only out for three hours  – some folks were in the dark for three DAYS. Things to think about!!   #1  Have to more seriously consider a generator.  #2 Glad that I had some MRE’s/hiking food on hand so we could have a hot meal.  I could have used my natural gas grill for cooking as well.  We have a Berkey, so clean water wasn’t an issue.  #3.  Have to put more thought into how to keep cool in a power outage scenario during the summer.  #4.  What are other options for keeping persishables cold?  We have a towable RV, but it is stored several miles away -without traffic lights, that might not be an easy option to retrieve that. As several articles have related, we have not seen the last of the smoke, so make sure you have some N-95’s  & up for outdoor wear this summer.  I still have my COVID 3M respirators from my hospital work  – also have some fairly snug fitting googles (the smoke burned my eyes as well). I’ve often said that I learn more from failures than successes – the lessons stick with me longer.

I live about 1.5 hours west & north of Richmond, so the story has been front and center on the local (Indianapolis) newscasts.  Thankfully for me, the prevailing winds have blown the smoke & debris into western Ohio (sorry about that neighbors!).  Reading the CNN article, it was interesting (sad) that one women drove off without her shoes, purse, or any other gear.  It serves to once again remind us to be prepared to bug out with little notice & to keep your panic down to a manageable level.   Other things that have popped up in the local reporting – the city had been aware of the facility for years & never really pushed the owner to clean up the place.  A ticking time bomb that finally went off – makes you want to do a bit of recon around you to see if you can spot any potential hazardous sites. The local reporters are now doing the onscene reports wearing masks, but they appear to be just surgical masks which won’t help much against the toxic fumes.

I’m currently in NC on a travel work assignment.  Fortunately, I’m not in Moore county.  The power outage has pretty well brought that county to a standstill.   All schools are closed, working from home is impossible (unless you are one of the few with a generator) and even then your Internet provider is down as well.  Multiple accidents as all traffic signals are inoperable.  One of my co-workers has a husband that works for a local electric company & his best guess is that a disgruntled current or former employee did the damage.   The equipment damaged required some fairly detailed knowledge of it to get the most “bang for the buck” with rifle fire.  Some of the delay in getting the power back on is that some of the pieces have to be replaced & tested before they can go back online.   The NCBI & the FBI are looking hard for the person(s) responsible.   I am chagrined to say that we didn’t bring along much in the way of supplies to cover us for this sort of issue.  We got lucky this time.  One local woman that was interviewed related that with a winter storm you have advance warning & can go out and get some supplies before the storm arrives.   The fragility of the grid is brought into sharp relief once again.  Redouble your efforts friends.

Wow, great segment John & Bradley.   I was so glad that they brought up the hurricane & wildfires.  It really helped to reinforce that preparing should reflect what happens in real life and not the “zombie aliens” as you said John!  Eric – thanks for the link, it worked perfectly.  

Wow,  wild figs!  Don’t think I’ll have much luck finding them in Indiana.  However, upon consulting my favorite Hoosier mail-order nursery, I have discovered that there is a variety that can survive here.  Now I just need to figure out where I can plant it & convince my wife that it’s a good idea.  LOL

COVID – apparently government/society has come to the conclusion that allowing a death toll  of somewhere between 110K-145K per year from COVID is “acceptable” because we don’t want to wear masks and/or take time off work when we are sick.  Has there been some calculation that we are thinning/improving the herd by killing off those who are older and/or medically vulnerable?  I didn’t get that memo.  All snarky remarks aside – I’m deeply saddened that we have CHOSEN to sacrifice some of our citizens just to avoid a little inconvenience. In my mind another domino has fallen on our way to the collapse of civilization.  Keep prepping my friends, it’s only going to get worse.

What sort of pocket jumper do you have?  Do you recall where you got it?  Thanks

Re: Midwest refinery fire.  The EPA waived a rule that keeps certain types of gasoline from being sold during the summer in the four states affected.  The season for the rule expires September 15th anyway, but every little bit helps.

Thanks for the links on the expiration extension – I have 8 tests sitting in my cabinet that were “expired”; so glad I didn’t toss them.  Now, I’m good for almost 6 months on those.  Also, the refresher on the Omicron booster was helpful – I had read both of those articles, but had let it slip into the back of my brain!  I’ll be looking to get the booster ASAP.  I work in healthcare & have (knock wood) not caught COVID yet ( at least I don’t THINK I have).  

One would think that the supply/demand forces will combine to increase prices until we reach an equilibrium.  Saw an article today that a number of ranchers are taking cattle to slaughter much earlier than usual due to the lack of water & the reduction in grazing land due to the ongoing drought.  There may be a brief dip in prices if a lot of beef hits the market at once.  If you’re a beef eater that might be time to make a purchase & freeze some.  As for myself, it would seem that a plant-based protein diet is looking relatively cheaper climate change continues to march on.

FWIW  – I ran across this article in Popular Mechanics on a device that uses solar power, water, and CO2 to create jet fuel.  It’s carbon neutral since it is recycling the CO2.  Thought it was a cool concept.   Apparently I suck at copying & pasting links.   If you look up Popular Mechanics, the article is entitled:  “This solar tower can transform air into jet fuel”.

Love the Dune reference.   I’ve been contemplating re-reading the original book for a while.  Sounds like a better way to pass the time rather than doomscrolling my news feed!

I was just looking over some reporting on the monthly jobs numbers & was struck by the almost casual mention of the continued impact of COVID on employment.  According to the Household Pulse Survey from the Census Bureau 3.7 MILLION people were unable to work because they were sick with COVID and/or were caring for someone with COVID.  Alarming ( at least to me) is that this number is UP from 3.1 million in the late April/early May survey.   We know from numerous credible sources that the number of COVID infections are being grossly underreported since  a) many people are testing at home and b) the government tracking has gone off the rails since the number of deaths has (relatively) plummeted.  However,  Dr. Jha (White House COVID response coordinator) said on TV just the other day, we are still averaging 300+ deaths a day which adds up to >100,000 deaths a year.   I know that we are all tired of this pandemic, but I would urge you all to really evaluate the precautions you take in large, crowded, indoor spaces.  As for myself, I’ll be flying in a couple of weeks & have already decided to utilize a high efficiency mask for my trip.  My primary care physician, a very cautious guy, came down with COVID just last week while on vacation.  He’s doing well, but despite being vaxxed and boosted still couldn’t dodge the virus. Good luck everyone & remember to be prepared and not just scared!

Small victory for prepping – just watched a (too short) segment on the Today show.  They talked about extreme weather events and what you should do to get ready/survive them.  They featured a go bag for wildfire evacuations.  They only mentioned 3 items that were in the bag, but you could see on the screen that there were a lot more things in the bag.  I’m hopeful that this will get people to think & act since it has been on MSM.  Might be a conversation starter with friends and families—hey, did you see the Today show this morning? Here in the Midwest it will be sweltering today – on the segment they mentioned not using fans above 95 degrees as it will just move the air around and  ” turn the room into a convection oven.” Good luck everyone!

Ditto on masks for meningitis – mostly see outbreaks in folks that live in close quarters – college students, inmates.  Not as transmissible as COVID, but way more deadly.  If you get septic (meningococcemia) then mostly you die & very quickly at that.  Up north here ( Midwest) we mostly see it in the winter when folks are indoors together a lot.  Very worrisome that there is an outbreak in Florida in the summer.  Have plans to visit my aged mother in Florida next month.  I’ll have to keep an eye on this – thanks for the heads up. Re: insurance implosion –  We will see a surge in climate refugees from Florida & Louisiana in the next few years since we know that hurricanes are not going away.  I would get out now if I were living there.

Here in Indiana the state government had a surplus as well (we have a balanced budget statutory requirement – thank goodness).  They handed out $125 earlier this year & another  $150(?) is coming soon to everyone that filed a state tax return for 2021.  It won’t keep the lights on, but hey, ultimately it is OUR money that is being spend on government services.  I will see what sort of draconian abortion laws are passed in the next couple of weeks by the legislature.  Perhaps I will donate my refund to Planned Parenthood in the name of my state legislator!

We are on the edge between zone 5a & b.  Our next door neighbor is an expert in gardening/landscaping plants so we relied on her knowledge base.  We chose a honeycrisp tree just because we like those best.  Japanese beetles have discovered it; they have attacked our rose bushes in the past.  Fortunately they are quite slow & not in huge numbers.  We lean heavily towards organic/non-toxic approaches for pest control.  A  bucket with some dish soap works great – you just snatch the bugs off the tree & toss them into the soapy water.  You can even knock them to the ground & they are slow enough that sometimes you can pick them up & drop them into the water.  A variation of this approach is to spray them with soapy water – haven’t tried that yet, but might give it a go.

The “for-profit hate mongering” really struck me & resonated.  I find myself hitting the news feed more & more, but I think it just stresses me out even more.   I’m going to try & cut back on that.   Set a timer & just be done so I don’t keep going down the rabbit hole…see if that helps.  I’ve always prided myself on keeping up with current events & explaining things to co-workers.  However, now I’m semi-retired & I think that I need to recalibrate what is important.   I’m so thankful for this site & the folks on it that help to keep me grounded. Good luck to everyone!