Curious Bank Observation

I stopped by my bank today (one of the "too big to fail" banks) to do a fairly large cash withdrawal.  I do this from time-to-time just to have some ready cash in the house, but I also do it when my gut says things are getting a bit "hinky".

This was a "hinky" withdrawal.  My "spidey sense" is going off - too many things in the economy are going sideways, and I'll sleep better at night knowing I have at least some of my cash in hand.  I'm not going to say how large it was, but I'll say it was under the $10k limit where paperwork gets written up and sent to the government.

Anyways, I tell the teller what I want and in what denominations.  She pushes all of the buttons, then says she needs to get a supervisor over-ride.  Hmmmmm.... OK.

The guy comes over, and makes her do the entire transaction all over.  Me swiping my card, PIN, sign the withdrawal slip - everything - with him standing there.  Very odd.  This has never happened before when I've done this in the past.

She finishes up counting out my cash and the supervisor leaves.  We're chatting about this-and-that - how I used to be in banking, the economy, the weather - and she makes a comment about, "not getting the memo."  I asked her what she meant.

She said that something must be going on.  She said that I was the 7th person to come to HER line since the bank opened (it was 11:30, so they'd been open for 2 1/2 hours) that had made a large cash withdrawal.  I was the FIRST that was under $10k.

I just shrugged my shoulders and said I had not a clue....

I have no idea if this is an isolated incident or if it's a trend.  Some of this may be attributable to some in the Main Stream Media finally calling our economic situation for what it is:  Bad.

It may be due to the stock market tanking yesterday (and again today) or any of the multiple economic reports that have come out recently - none of which are pleasant to consider.  It may be due to Europe telling the administration that they won't keep spending like we are.

Or, it could have been a bunch of separate transactions that have nothing to do with any of this.

I hope and pray this all holds together for about 12 more months.  I will have all of my ducks lined up, and if the world goes to hell-in-a-hand-basket, I'll at least be able to weather the storm much more easily.  True self-sufficiency will be a practical consideration.

If things DO turn around, I'll be in a very stable position, literally for the rest of my life.  Not living "high on the hog" but all of our basic needs taken care of.

It would be interesting to see if this continues, and if it was happening at other banks.  Was this a bank-run precursor?  No.  I think it was a handful of people that just happened to get worried on the same day.

If you remember, Citibank (not my bank) back in February notified all of its customers that it could require a 7 day advanced notice on all withdrawals.

They tried to back-peddle and say it was a mistake and was supposed to only be sent to customers of one of their Texas banks, and had been sent nationwide in error.  Oh, but they didn't fix that "error" the next month, so it still stands.

I haven't read my account disclosures since I opened the accounts.  I need to spend a bit of time scanning them to see if there is anything similar.

Interesting times...

---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Deep Sheep Dip

Is all of this financial garbage finally coming to a head?  I can't tell for sure, but it sure looks like we're at least creeping up on it.

The Dow is crashing, the euro, yen and pound sterling are tanking, and gold is still holding its own.  Even the government is having trouble pumping out the Happy Gas "economic" reports - no one believes them any more.

Some of this is almost surreal.  Joe "Did I Say That Out Loud?" Biden now tells us that the 8 million jobs lost on his watch (both as a Senator and VP) are lost forever.

Vice President Joe Biden gave a stark assessment of the economy today, telling an audience of supporters, "there's no possibility to restore 8 million jobs lost in the Great Recession."

Newsflash, Joe:  Most of us knew that.  It was your buddies in the Main Stream Media who weren't doing their jobs by keeping the lid on this for the past two years.  It was all puppies and rainbows.  Green shoots sprouting up everywhere!  Don't want to scare the proles.

Housing prices continue to crater.  People don't have jobs, so there's no demand.  Tent cities are popping up all over the place.  Hawaii?

Hunkin walked past a pit bull puppy and peered over a makeshift shelter of tents and tarp hidden by koa haole and elephant grass, then pointed toward the high school's athletic complex barely a football field away.

"The school is right over there," Hunkin said last week. "This isn't right."

The strip of land is bounded by Waipahu High School on one side and the calming waters of Pearl Harbor's Middle Loch on the other, where the Navy's mothball fleet sits idle. It's the most visible portion of an enormous homeless encampment that stretches five miles over approximately 50 acres of city, Navy and state land that serpentines around...

Yep, even paradise is taking its lumps. As the picture up top shows, they DO have their green shoots, though...

And speaking of surreal, I damn near stroked out when I saw that socialist Europe was telling our administration they weren't going to try and spend their way out of this mess.

In Britain, the new government reburied Keynes last week, choosing budget austerity over further stimulus. Germany rebuffed Obama’s requests to keep priming the pump. The European Union’s economic affairs chief wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he “cannot but disagree” with the push for more deficit spending.

Getting debt lectures from Europe, the continent that already has brought us the Greek bailout and riots? That’s like leaving it to Lindsay Lohan to tell you to lay off the sauce for a while.

Ouch.

Still, it's no surprise what the administration has planned for us.  The projections FROM THE WHITEHOUSE say that by 2085 our annual budget deficit will be equal to 62.3% of GDP.

What does that mean?  To put it into persective, right now, our GDP is about $14 trillion.  Our annual deficit spending is about $1.5 trillion (out of a total "budget" of $3.5 trillion).  This deficit is equal to 10.7% of GDP.

In today's dollars, that 62.3% of GDP would equate to ANNUAL deficit spending of $8.7 trillion!  Hell, our current bloated spending is only about $3.5 trillion right now.  THAT'S how bad this is becoming.

But no one bats an eye.  Spend, spend, spend.  Don't worry about our kids, their kids, and their kid's kids.  We'll all be dead by then, so who cares?

Accept The Challenge

Realistically, if the projections of the budget office come to fruition, there is nothing any of us can do to "soften the blow" of what's coming.  Deficit spending at those levels is unsustainable.

Financially, we need to look much more near-term.  As sad as it is to say, unless we see some "fundamental change" in how our federal government operates, I simply don't think that squirreling away nuts for the future will be worth a damn. 

Read up on Argentina and what happened to their private retirement funds.  Poof!  Our Congress is already studying the idea for Americans.  If your money isn't in a tangible form (read "precious metals") when TSHTF, your life's work will be gone and will be managed by a nice DMV-like bureaucrat.

I personally believe that to have any real chance of surviving what is coming our way will require land.  Arable land.  Land that will allow you to provide for yourself.

If the projections for 2085 do happen, even owning the land and precious metals won't do you any good.  They will have been long-ago "repatriated" by the government.

This is the path I'm taking - precious metals and dirt - and the means to preserve both.  Unless a fundamental change occurs that is 180 degrees different from the change the government is imposing on us, we're all in deep sheep dip.

Not a place I plan on being.

---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

The Summer of Our Discontent

Things are heating up all over the world.

The lid is blowing off in Canada.  Anarchists are being arrested left-and-right for turning peaceful protests into violent mob scenes.  So far, more than 500 have been locked up, a portion of which are peaceful protesters or simply people watching the mess and getting swooped up in a police dragnet.

Bangladesh is rioting because of the "misrule and failure" of their government (hmmmm).  Chinese workers are striking.  Young people in France are protesting because the government has told them their retirement age is going to go up.   We already know what's been going on in Greece.

Here in the good old US of A, we have had buckets-o-protest over Arizona's immigration laws.  The law goes into effect on July 29th.  Expect to see MORE protests ("National Day of Non-Compliance").

In fact, starting tomorrow, there is a "30 Days For Human Rights" deal leading up to the big crescendo on July 29.  They have a calendar on their site, but it's empty, so I've signed up for their email updates.  Should be interesting...

We're seeing protests against BP for the oil spill (great images of protest signs).  So far, they look non-violent, but I know that if I lived on the Gulf Coast, I'd be quite bent out of shape even if I weren't in the oil or fishing industry.  BP and the Federal Government have really screwed this one up quite well.

The BART cop trial is expected to wrap up very soon - perhaps going to the jury as early as this week.  As I've said before, if he's not found guilty of murder - rightly or wrongly - the protests will be wide-spread and very violent.

More than a year later, emotions still run high.

Oakland police and city leaders fear the possibility of violence when a verdict is announced.

Last week, the city's Police Department simulated a riot to help officers prepare for unrest. Meeting areas are being set up for residents to peacefully express their feelings about the verdict. And preachers have agreed to urge calm.

"Whatever the verdict, it's sure to raise a lot of emotion. It touches an issue that's very deep in the community," said city spokeswoman Karen Boyd.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said special preparations were in the works for any post-verdict crowd gathering outside the downtown criminal courts building, but he declined to elaborate.

"We are not going to go into any sort of detail on our planning other than to confirm that we are working with court security and are prepared to handle any gathering of crowds outside of the courthouse, when a verdict is returned," said Lt. John Romero.

Accept The Challenge

Have you got an Evacuation Plan (Part 1, 2, 3) and Shelter-In-Place plan?  Unless you're one of the lucky few that live out in the boonies full-time, you need to consider each of these over the next few months.  Tighten them up, review your evacuation routes, be sure your BOBs are complete.

Don't end up a victim!

Obviously, review your Safety and Security plans as well.  A big part of that (should be) safety awareness.  Knowing or being able to anticipate problems by following the news or the Internet on potential "hot spots" will take you a long way in staying safe.

Remember:  The best way to avoid an emergency is to not be there!

Photo Credit:  REUTERS/Mark Blinch
---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

More Homemade MREs and Other Preps

 I wanted to do a follow-up to the post I did back in March ("Homemade MREs") and see if I could beat the cost per 100 calorie numbers I got earlier.  My plan this time around was to bring the cost down as far as I could, so I decided to do my shopping at The Dollar Store. 

As a reminder, the MREs I put together for the first post had a cost/100 calories of $0.42 and $0.53.  Commercial MREs run around $0.51!

I figured I could drive the price down considerably, but I'd probably have to give up a good deal of the shelf life expectations. I set a minimum of 12 months shelf life for the products I purchased.

Once again, I was surprised by the results.

I started with the following "ingredients" and statistics -

For the items that have a price of less than a dollar, there was more than one item in a package.  For instance, with the cookies, there were 6 packs of cookies for a buck.  With the Tea Drink, that was one item that was not purchased at a Dollar Store (ten packs for $3.30).  Also, when compared to the last MRE post, the vacuum bag cost has been reduced, as much less bag is needed for these ones.

I tried to put these packages together in such a way as to make them enjoyable.  At least at this point, I was looking for a "complete" meal, so to speak.

First up, is MRE package number one -

Notice the milk?  It is a shelf-stable milk with a shelf life of a year.  Hmm.  Supposedly no hormones or other garbage is in there.  Hmmmm again.

Anyways, here are the stats -

Instead of being less expensive, the cost/100 calories went through the roof!

MRE 2 fared a bit better.  Here's what was included -

And here are the stats -

It's better than the first try, but still nothing to be proud of.  As with the first test, it looks like your best value is to go with commercial MREs, as they are the only solution that combines a decent cost/100 calories ($0.51) AND extended shelf-life (5 years).

Still, I wanted to see which of the foods I used would give me the greatest bang-for-the-buck, so I added a column to calculate this out -

From strictly a cost/100 calorie standpoint, the milk, nuts and salmon are all a bust.  The cookies are the best (YEAH!  Cookies rule!).  I keep a bunch of the Tuna and Crackers in my car at all times for a quick bite to eat when I'm out on the road.  You can also get them in Chicken and Ham, but IMO, they suck badly.  I really like the tuna.
---

I've also been doing some other preps.  Strawberries prices were a steal, so I bought two, half-flats and made up 9 pints of jam.

One's in the fridge and two were given away as gifts.  BONUS!  I've got a buddy into canning now.  His first foray was with strawberry jam as well.

I gave him some of my canned chicken and canned Barley and Pork soup to see how they taste.  I'll be sending him the recipes and process for these, plus chili and clam chowder.  He really likes the "meal in a jar" concept.

I also made up another batch of beef jerky.  The price on the beef was excellent, so I made up 3 pounds of the stuff.

I still need to trim it up.  My friend asked a question about jerky that I couldn't answer:  How long would it last if vacuum sealed and put into the freezer?  I dunno.

I'm going to take a portion of this and put it into two vacuum bags.  I'll check on one in 6 months, and one in a year.  My gut says it will be perfectly good and edible, but I don't want to assume anything.  I'll post the results in the future.

Lastly, My Name is Chief, and I'm an addict.  To nicotine.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm trying to quit smoking, and have cut down significantly over the past year or so.  Still, if things get ugly, you don't want to be around me in a high-stress situation without an occasional nicotine fix.  Trust me on this!

So, I was able to buy a cigarette machine from a fellow member of a fraternal organization to which I belong.  I went down to a smoke shop, picked up some pre-made tubes and bought some tobacco.

After a couple of tries, I was able to get them made up pretty well.  The price per pack is less than half of what store-bought smokes run.  The problem is, they don't taste as good, at least to me.  For my preps, these will be strictly Nicotine Delivery Systems!  I'll squirrel away a couple of cases of tubes and bags of tobacco in my long-term preps.  Worst case, they'll make for a good trade/barter item.

Accept The Challenge

I'd really like to see someone come up with a homemade, cheap, nutritious and (at least moderately) long-life alternative to commercial MREs (yeah, that's a challenge).  I'm guessing it's an Economies of Scale thing with the commercial MREs.

Now is a great time to develop and practice your canning and dehydrating skills.  Even if you haven't grown or raised your own food, prices tend to drop in the summer.  Take advantage of this.

Also, foraging should be a part of your plans as well.  I will be doing a run along the Sacramento Delta levee system next month, gathering up as many blackberries as I can get (we got 6lbs in two hours last year).  Talk to neighbors with fruit trees about you making up jams and splitting the "proceeds" 50/50.  You can do the same with fish any time of the year, or with wild game during their hunting seasons.

Take a shot at pickling veggies, smoking meat and drying fruits and herbs.  Take advantage of Times-o-Plenty...


---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

My Letter To The NRA

Chris Cox
Executive Director
NRA-ILA


I just received your "explanation" regarding the fire-storm you've been under by NRA members. 

Your explanation was a weak, pathetic attempt at CYA.  Your membership is angry as hell.  You would be well advised to listen - and understand - why we're upset.

In your explanatory letter, you and others attempted to explain that the NRA had no intentions to ever support the Disclose Act.  Nope, not us, how'd you ever get that impression?

You provided a copy of your May 26th letter to Congress, supposedly as proof of this. 

I am writing to express the National Rifle Association's strong concerns with H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act, as well as our opposition to this bill in its current form.

Sorry, but that's not what I got from the letter.  I got the impression that you wanted a special "carve out" for the NRA.  The whole "in its current form" was the clue.

Now, that might make sense to you - after all, you do work for the organization.  What has got us all upset is that we Americans are NOT single issue people.  We care about each and every right of ours that gets trampled.  Since you jumped into the First Amendment fray, we don't expect you to act like a typical politician and only protect your little slice of America.  We expect you to stand up for all Americans - NRA members or not.

If you truly had no intentions of getting a special exemption from Congress, as soon as it was reported that this was being considered, you should have IMMEDIATELY issued another press release stating that you didn't support ANY version of the bill that would restrict the 1A rights of any American - including NRA members.

Instead, you waited 3 weeks and issued this pathetic attempt at damage control.

Be clear:  If you EVER pull a stunt like this again - sacrifice any American right so that the NRA can retain it - you will be down at least one more member.  I'm guessing by the panicked tone of your email letter that a number of members have already pulled the plug.

Remember that next time.

---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Sunday Grumpy: It's For Your Protection

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

--Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution

I spent 31 years in banking - from 1977 to 2008.  Back in 1985, I worked for a large bank in California.  I was in charge of the department that was responsible for resolving all of the various out-of-balance conditions inside the bank, and also any outages that occurred between us and other banks.  As a result, we had computer and micro-fiche records for the entire bank.

Because we were this centralized repository of records, whenever any government agency needed records on one of our customer accounts, the request would come to us.

There is a law called the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).  It was in effect back then, and is in effect to this day.  But the law has been turned on its head.

Back in the 1980's the law was in place to protect the privacy - the secrecy - of our customer records.  If a records request was received from a government agency and it wasn't sent in the form of a subpoena, it was rejected outright.

If the request came in as a subpoena, we were required by law to notify the customer of the request by the government agency.  We were also required by law to hold the requested documents for (I believe) 10 business days to allow the customer to fight the subpoena.

Over the next 20 years or so, banks were turned from being trustees and protectors of customer records into quasi-agents of the government.  The BSA was changed from a law that restricted banks to only disclosing their customer records after a judge had approved the request (as is required by the 4th Amendment) into a process where a single agent at any state or federal agency can get your records.

The only "burden of proof" that agent needs is a belief that someone might somehow be involved in any type of criminal activity.  Forget that whole, "probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized" inconvenience.

Oh, and the banks are now forbidden, by federal law, from disclosing to the customer that their records have been sent to the government.  If the banker tells you of the request, they go to jail.

Privacy and secrecy are now only associated with criminals and terrorists.  A good, up-standing citizen has no need for such things.  If you've done nothing wrong, you should have nothing to hide.

People slurp up this school of thought like it's free lemonade on a hot summer day.  They choose not to see they are making a deal with the devil.  They willingly make the, "trading liberty for security" bargain Benjamin Franklin warned us about.
---

Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001

You and I know it as the USA PATRIOT Act.

In October of 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attack, they wrapped this desecration of the Constitution in Red, White and Blue and sold it as patriotism. Just from a banking perspective, you have no idea what powers this abomination granted to the federal and state government.

Most people know that you cannot take out $10,000 in cash from your own bank account without it being reported to the government.  Same thing if you deposit $10,000.  Trust me when I tell you that it goes much deeper.  Much deeper.  All under the pretense that it's keeping us safe from bad guys.

No matter that it's YOUR money.  No matter that the federal government has no Constitutional right to know what you do with that money or that you've decided to covert it from electrons into paper money.

They get the information, and we all willingly comply (you keep money in a bank, right?) - like it or not.
---

DHS is pulling out the "National Security" card once again -

Fighting homegrown terrorism by monitoring Internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the U.S. government must make to beef up national security, the nation's homeland security chief said Friday.

As terrorists increasingly recruit U.S. citizens, the government needs to constantly balance Americans' civil rights and privacy with the need to keep people safe, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Yeah.  That whole, "balance Americans' civil rights" thing.  The Constitution tells you what you can, and what you can't do.  There's no balance involved, Janet.  Unless you have evidence that an individual or group is planning or committing a crime, and you can sell the story to a judge, you MUST NOT invade their privacy.  It's really that simple.

But that's old news.  Janet already knows that the battle over the Fourth Amendment is won.  We citizens got our collective butts kicked.  That's not what her new battle is about.  She's taking aim at the First Amendment -

"The First Amendment protects radical opinions, but we need the legal tools to do things like monitor the recruitment of terrorists via the Internet," Napolitano told a gathering of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

Hey, see, no big deal.  We're just going to watch for evil terrorists.  We promise that's all.  We have no intention whatsoever of restricting what you can say.  Nope.  Not us.  Really.

"We can significantly advance security without having a deleterious impact on individual rights in most instances. At the same time, there are situations where trade-offs are inevitable."

Try selling that reeking sack of donkey feces somewhere else.  This former banker has seen what the government does when it offers a trade-off.  All we get in exchange is screwed.

Accept The Challenge

Silence Is Consent.  Use your First Amendment rights while you are still able.

---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Confused and Disgusted

WTF is going on with gold and silver. I'm happy, but it makes no sense.

The dollar is up against most foreign currencies, the unemployment numbers (as "trustworthy" as they may be) are better, consumer prices are down, and a number of world leaders are talking about how the euro is getting ready to crater against the dollar.  Yet as of this moment, gold is up about $15 from yesterday's close (which was up $15 from the day before).

Is the world finally waking up to the fact that the "highest and best use" of fiat currency is as kindling?

Maybe it has to do with the fact that the world has specifically lost confidence in the dollar.  Talk like this isn't helping the boys in DC -

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday he has spoken with Chinese officials about boosting the role of emerging-market currencies and that the Chinese yuan, the Indian rupee and even the Russian ruble should partly replace the dollar among the world's reserves currencies.

Sure looks like that super-secret, gotta-keep-it-under-wraps Federal Reserve Monetary Policy is working like a charm...  The world quakes in fear at the mighty dollar.

Oh, wait, they're not quaking in fear... they're giggling...

 ---

Speaking of burning money...

But make no mistake: we will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy. 

President Barack Obama, June 15, 2010

Really?

"The Coast Guard came and shut them down," Jindal said. "You got men on the barges in the oil, and they have been told by the Coast Guard, 'Cease and desist. Stop sucking up that oil.'"

A Coast Guard representative told ABC News today that it shares the same goal as the governor.

"We are all in this together. The enemy is the oil," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dan Lauer.

But the Coast Guard ordered the stoppage because of reasons that Jindal found frustrating. The Coast Guard needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and then it had trouble contacting the people who built the barges.

ABC News, July 17, 2010

The real kicker is that they were already using these barges, and they were working.

Sixteen barges sat stationary today, although they were sucking up thousands of gallons of BP's oil as recently as Tuesday. Workers in hazmat suits and gas masks pumped the oil out of the Louisiana waters and into steel tanks. It was a homegrown idea that seemed to be effective at collecting the thick gunk.

"... as recently as Tuesday..."  Hey, isn't that the exact same day when the president said he would do, "whatever's necessary"?


---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Boom Boom: Out Go The Lights

A comment on the last post by MikeH of Behind The Parapet got me thinking of what I've done to prepare for any kind of  significant, long-term power outage.

First, a question:  What is the first thing you do when you have a power outage?  Our plan, like most, is to find some sort of light source - be it a flashlight or candle.  We then grab one of our dynamo-powered radios to try and figure out what is happening.

I'm guessing the next item on our checklist is a bit different from most:  We fill up our bathtub with cold water.  Even if the event that caused the power outage is a particularly bad one - and EMP or CME, there should still be sufficient water pressure in the system for us to fill our tub.  If it's because of some sort of "normal" problem with the power company, most municipal water companies have back-up generators to maintain water pressure.

We do this for a couple of reasons.  First, there's the obvious reason of water storage.  We fill it with cold water to preserve the water in our water heater as additional storage.  Filling the tub will immediately add about 40-50 gallons of water to our current storage supply.  Be sure to have one of those small rubber disks to place over the top of your drain plug - you don't want your saved water to slowly leak away.

The second reason we do this is a bit less obvious - cooling.  One of the most common times the power goes out is during the summer.  We've all got our air conditioning units running, and the power demands exceed the power available.  We get black-outs.

Suddenly, hot, sweaty people have no way to cool themselves.  This is especially troubling for home-bound seniors.  If worse comes to worse, you can use that bathtub full of water as a mini-pool to keep yourself cool.  If you have a now-illegal-in-California Black Berkey Water Filter (or something of similar quality), that "used" water can still be easily purified into drinking water.

Do you remember the heat-wave that hit Europe in 2003?  In France alone, nearly 15,000 people died over a 7 day period due to the heat!  It was a "Perfect Storm" of excessive heat, caretakers, doctors and public safety personnel  on "holiday," and a pampered populous unfamiliar with caring for itself.  Some sources have gone back and reviewed historical statistical records, and they place the number of extra deaths in all of Europe during that period at up to 70,000.

Accept The Challenge

Is it time to update your Power Outage checklist?  If you have elderly or disabled folks in your life - and they live on their own - the next time you speak with them, tell them about filling up the bathtub.  I started this with my own mother a couple of years ago.

What's the downside?  If the power is only out for a couple of hours, you've potentially "wasted" some water.  You can take that water and put it in your garden, fill your bird bath or use it to flush your toilets.

As Europe found out only 7 years ago, not doing so could cost you your life.

PS:  Want to know where I picked up this tip?  About a million years ago, I was watching the show, "Hill Street Blues".  The character of Sgt. Belker was interviewing some criminal, when Belker's mom called him on the phone.  She was complaining about the oppressive heat wave in NYC.  The criminal made a suggestion about filling up the tub with water to cool her off...

---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Electronic Armageddon

Explorer on the National Geographic Channel had a show last night called, "Electronic Armageddon."  The show is on the possible impact of a natural or man-made disaster that takes out our electric grid.

Sobering stuff.



It's on again this Saturday, 6/19.

---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Melt Up Follow-Up

A friend sent me a link to a follow-up to the Melt Up video from last month.  These are put out by the National Inflation Association.  This one is much shorter, but has some very disturbing information.

Pay attention to the likelihood of 'quantitative easing' (printing money out of thin air - can you say, "$200 BILLION MORE stimulus?"),  the amount of income American's now receive directly from the government (nearly 18%), and the size of our April Budget Deficit (one month - $82.6 BILLION).

This is simply unsustainable.




We, as individuals and as a nation, have some hard choices ahead of us...


---
Please click our advertiser links. They pay us so you don't have to. A click a day is all we ask!

Copyright 2010 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com