RVA Disaster Prep

The Garden. Well, I call it a garden. Some people call it a graveyard for vegetables.  Hi gang.   We all know I have a black thumb. Like, I can kill a plant before it gets home from the shop.  But being prepared for any sort of disaster is more than just  buy a few boxes of this or that. It is preparing for any kind of disaster, including difficulties in the food supply chain.   I have spent the last 2 days researching gardening and working on why we had such a poor result last year. I think the number one reason is that the planter box is in partial sun. It only gets sun about 5-6 hours a day, and is in shade the rest of the day.   So, what grows in partial sun?   Ummm…   I think greens do—lettuce and chards and spinach. We shall see as I experiment this year.   According to Garden.com, lettuce prefers full sun, but partial shade extends the season. I should also plant my garden of lettuces in mid-late March through...

  Hi Gang..   I spent some time talking a home security camera guru. We did not discuss everything, but here are some of the things to think about when looking at a video home surveillance system.     Why do you need/want a camera system Or closed circuit TV system- There are 2 main reasons. Evidence for the police or other authorities early warning for people who are actively watching.   Cameras are a PASSIVE security system.   They are not reactive, and they don’t call or do anything. It just takes pictures.   What it ISN’T—Not active- won’t do siren or call cops, etc. UNLESS you go really high end and that will do that and more. But those systems are REALLY expensive.   RECORDING: Local vs cloud recording vs hybrid Local- the  is hard drive is there, onsite. Cloud- uploads to someone else’s server, often referred to as “the cloud”. Hybrid- Saves locally and then upload to cloud. RING and NEST...

Well, I hadn’t planned to write about snow this week… it was supposed to be security cameras. But, it snowed.   Lets talk about preparation for a snow disaster.   Lets talk about what kinds of emergencies can occur in snow storms, particularly on the east coast, and then talk about how you can prepare for them.   There are 2 categories, generally of problems that you may face. The first is home. The second is transportation/cars. The second is a bit easier to discuss, so lets start there.   CAR In your car, there are only a few things that are possible issues. You get stuck somewhere due to snow. You crash, and get stuck somewhere due to snow Your car breaks down. If you get stuck somewhere, the easiest solution is to have a snow shovel or military entrenching tool in your car. Dig yourself out. This is the easiest problem to fix. You may need help, but in most cases a shove is all you need. There are also some tra...