Short answer is this…there are a few areas that seem to have come to light from many contacts of mine over the last few weeks…and it’s not looking good.

BF seems to THE concern…

* it’s getting closer…now in the UK, and it’s been moving this direction all the way from Indonesia…crossing the whole of Eurasia in its march to our shores

* insurance companies are writing special riders to NOT have to pay out for anything the may be BF related

* first responders across the nation have had more than a little bit of reference and training for pandemic fears

* big media has plans and some product in work to start the sheeple thinking from a ‘pandemic’ point of view

* articles in computer industry magazines, as of today, fear that the net may falter, should home based workers, forced to work from home due to flu control measurements, actually have to work from home

* government has plenty of meds for the key folks in goverment and key workers (fuel, power, food producton, etc), but only a portion of the general populace…and then, only in larger cities and metro areas…

* transportation and distribution systems ALREADY IN PLACE may be used nationwide to get products (meds, food, reserves) to key locations…as needed. In other words, using a known system, versus creating an entire system from scratch

* some big chains are very quietly adding prep items in key places….more floor and shelf space devoted to them…camping, cleaning, self sufficiency items

* vaccine creation on the final med can’t proceed until we’re already 6 months into a pandemic

* some bits and pieces from all over the place, that seem to support the above elements….

…and it all revolves around an almost certain disturbing, gut wrenching, and heart pounding realization, that bird flu pandemics are in our immediate future.

It’s building…a lot faster than we’ve anticipated….

And, I hope to HELL I am wrong on all accounts above…

Rich

Cosmic Echoes has not been getting its fair share of my attention the last few months, and it is in a great position to help a LOT of people. I should be doing a better job of keeping this blog updated.

So, in that state of mind, I’ve made a commitment to myself, and to you, the reader, to make this blog a USEFUL, interesting, and cutting edge look at all things preparedness…again.

This year, after 3 years of heavy college student involvement, resulting in two college degrees, many awards (All USA Academic Team, New Century Scholar, Video Telly Award, and others), I am taking what we students like to call “a breather”, and do some half time college work and invest the majority of my time this next 18 months doing a specific set of projects. In no specific order these are…

• 6 to 8 credit hours of college classes towards my bachelors degree in Journalism(instead of 12 to 20 credit hours per semester…as I have been doing for my first two degrees)
• major update of SurvivalRing.org..the ENTIRE website…into a database driven, Web 2.0, easily manageable, and entirely up-to-date system. See the first glimpse here
• the addition of a citizen driven, science backed, and thoroughly complete compendium of BIRD FLU prep..including some deep discussion of the effects a very possible pandemic outbreak might bring to our society
• a greatly enhance fallout shelter compendium, with lots of comments, suggestions, and insight….versus just a ton of free downloads. You’ll have the info in your hands to print out with the downloads. Now, I’ll tell you the things you’ll really need to understand..if you’re considering actually building one. The Build A Fallout Shelter Page, in other words, is due to a massive overhaul.
• Podcasts….yes, long promised, yet, not online. I’ve been doing weekly music radio shows for my college radio station for over a year…now it’s time to make the SurvivalRing Survival Podcast a reality. Everything is ready (computer hardware, software, recording equipment, mics, etc)…but that ACTUAL podcast recordings. That will change, very soon.
• A lot of new articles from yours truly, on a wide range of preparedness topics and genres. These articles will also be making the rounds of magazine editors, to hit the real world between the eyes with what can be done with very little work, when it comes to being preparede.
• New CD Rom projects. I’ve published two multimedia CD projects in the past 4 years…I’m doing at least 3 more in the next YEAR. Watch this space for more news.
• New digital publications. I’ve mentioned here many times that I have hundreds of original government produced, unscanned survival and preparedness documents…some of which you never knew existed. I have at least a dozen ready to finsish and upload in the next month, and new scan projects queued and prioritized. You’ll love what is coming…
• Interactivity for you, the site visitor. I’ve had polls up for several years on the main SurvivalRing website, and had forums up for years as well, until spammers wreaked total chaos and havoc. I’ve got the old archives saved and updated, and will be opening the new SurvivalRing forums this spring, in a much more secure and stable software package. Chat has been working fine, but with little traffic. Comments in the new site design may be posted in ANY page or article, much like commenting is available on THIS blog. Take advantage of it!

That’s just the start. A new year, a new sense of adventure, and a lot of work to do…and a lot of work that has ALREADY been done.

Many things are happening in the background that will change the way we all see our future. SurvivalRing, Cosmic Echoes, and I will be here to help you get through what we fear will be tough times ahead. Consider me your friend, mentor, and guide…we will get through this together.

Rich