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| -Land of the Free |
| This Week in Books, May 8th, 2022 |
| 2022-05-08 |
| First, Happy Mother's Day. Chicken Cacciatore, salad, breadsticks, rice or penne, 3-bean salad, iced tea and sweeteners, pinot noir for those who do not have or have finished their work day. This article's link is to the 15th Anniversary of the Greensburg Tornado, famous for being so horrible because W. had Kansas Guard troops in Iraq or something, and only DiCapprio and his Green Initiative could save us or something. Saw the other day in the post covering the Andover tornado and Springtime preps, H/T Trailing Wife. And yes, it has been above average busy but not because of storms. The Andover tornado was an interesting tornado because it was so clear. Usually there is so much debris you can't see the bits of house get hurled up in the air. For those new to Tornado Land, this is why when seeking shelter you want to get as low as possible on the most leeward-side room, preferably without windows. Being under the twister's thumb is going to ruin your day. For the rest of the people it is debris which does the damage. In our shelter area, each of us has a backpack suited to the individual's needs, clothing medicine glasses etc, 2 or 3 MREs, water, some of my old work boots and work gloves, and group needs like that clotting bandage wrap, flashlights, whistle, and a helmet. The idea is to duck and cover with that backpack and helmet on to add just a bit more protection. Additionally, these packs also double as a basic bug out bag. I do have an extended leave bag, but in a need to grab and go these will cover the basics. Therefore, they need to be constantly updated especially as members grow into or out of specialized clothing and/or needs, such as diapers and medicines. What I found interesting in my last re-pack was how much has changed in 15 years. Information. Numbered may be the days that us sorcerers can smell the wind and have a good idea what the weather is doing. The really neat trick, though, is having real time radar in my pocket. In that spirit, Battery Banks have been added for near negligible space and weight. Don't forget a cord. If you can communicate, you can coordinate your extraction. Sure beats the old time trick of taking a pack of hot dogs to help the S&R dogs find you. First Aid. Compared to 15 years ago, it is dang near DYI as imaginable. Streamlined tourniquets, clotting bandage wrap and pads, those bandages with staples built into them. Incredible. Consider that you may be injured, but long on the waiting list for professional help. Walkie-Talkies. These have come a long way, especially in the battery department. Also there are some which can coordinate with your devices, giving you additional communication abilities, especially if cell and internet service is unavailable. As always, having things set up before the emergency is the way to go. Is there an initial setup cost? Sure, but that can be mitigated. Instead of the Ruk Ruk 2000 backpack, hit a military surplus location. A china bag from big box works just fine, too. Space blankets are $5, water and long term food can be figured. Then just add an item to your cart every time you go shopping to spread out costs, and before you know it you have your aspirin, anti-histamine, bandages, maybe get that weather radio with the built in flashlight, noise maker, and manual recharging crank, orange vest, so forth. Get the Surviving Sudden Severe Weather sorted, and then think about branching out into evacuation scenarios where, perhaps, that Ruk Ruk 2000 may cause you to stand out when you don't want to. Going to end there for now; just this has taken 4 hours so if it is a bit choppy, apologies. And as always, this is an open discussion as nobody's situation is exactly the same. BOOKS Wilbur Smith and The Courtney Series. Wow, talk about unapologetically masculine especially in today's puri-tyrannical humanities, or lack thereof, environment. I had so much fun I caught myself looking around the room to make sure the kids weren't reading any of it over my shoulder. Jock of the Bushveld, Sir Percy FitzPatrick Got to read this to see if son is ready yet. I'm not sure he is just yet, but I certainly enjoyed it. Sailing Alone Around the World, Joshua Slocum Real-life adventure and very enjoyable style. Soldiers of the Sun, Meirion Harries H/T badanov; it really did fill in some gaps concerning Japan leading into WWII. It also is flowing very nicely into: Shattered Sword, Jonathon Parshall and Anthony Tully Just getting started and so far I am very impressed. I hope it will fold well into: Who Can Hold the Sea, James Hornfisher This is about the US Navy 1945-1960. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of his other books. Once an Eagle, Anton Myrer It has been a while, but there was some discussion of whether Sam Damon's time had gone. I have failed to come to the defense of Sad Sam, not because I didn't think his social ladder shrew of a wife didn't take every opportunity to press him or be queen of the ball, but because I just didn't like the prose. I found it choppy and, perhaps because I was tired and at the end of the day, found myself having to re-read sections as the character changed and I could not immediately deduce whom to. There are some great parts, but overall I just got tired of her drama. There are plenty of scholarly reviews available if you are wanting something more highbrow than "got sick of her shit." |
| Posted by:swksvolFF |
| #3 Got pinged a few weeks back. Knew the thing was at least 30 miles out. (long ways away) How I saw myself was as Bill Paxton....what everyone else saw, well that's their testimony. Tornado didn't land though. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2022-05-08 08:19 |
| #2 I slept through the tornado warning two nights ago, even though the phone was right next to me. The thunder woke me up after it passed to the northeast. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-05-08 08:11 |
| #1 There are also alerts available for emergency situations. Just check out what you may want to subscribe to so your phone doesn't blow up every time Karen loses her cat in a tree. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2022-05-08 08:09 |