Well, looks like it’s time for an update from yours truly on the CE blog. Lots of news, updates, software projects, business opportunities, and more…a virtual plethora of digital goodness.

Yet another school year has passed here at Central Wyoming College, and we’ve added yet another college graduate to our family, as my son Kenny earned his music degree. As an extra treat, he arranged and sang a duet right before commencement began on the stage of the Robert A. Peck Arts Center here in Riverton. What was really cool was that the entire commencement exercise was broadcast via Wyoming Public Television for the entire town to see on the college’s education access channel.

I’ve got a DVD of the events, and will create a Youtube video of Kenny’s performance for his blog at www.automaticboymusic.com. Kenny’s graduation brings the total number of degrees earned by our family in the last three years here at CWC to SEVEN college degrees. I am very humbled by my entire family working so hard for full and complete educations, and pursuing further college goals in the coming months.

I’ll be starting classes via the University of Wyoming this fall, and will continue working towards my bachelor’s degree over the next couple of years, while working on my home business project. I’ll keep you updated on any news associated with UWyo from this end.

In other family news, we’re going to taking care of our grandchildren for the summer (and possibly longer) so our time for summer fun and travel plans have been put on the back burner for a while.

The SurvivalRing website is undergoing a MASSIVE redesign over the next three months, with EVERY webpage, every documentn, and every download being upgraded to state of the art web design and content management systems. Once all editing is done, changes are tested by a host of SurvivalRing supporters, and hundreds of downloads are added and cataloged into a database tracking system, we’ll flip the switch and let you run with it. Wanna peek at the new design? Check it out at www.survivalring.org/sr to get just a taste of what is coming.

While we’re doing the long awaited update, I’ll also be finishing off some entire new sites that will be part of the *new* SurvivalRing. These new tools include a Product Reviews website for prep and survival gear, a complete EVERYTHING FALLOUT SHELTER site with all the documents I have put all in ONE place for ease of use (and using the www.myfalloutshelter.com domain), and some over yet to be released projects still in the planning stages.

Once nearly all projects are up to speed, the new homepage for SurvivalRing will be a portal into all areas of the entire SurvivalRing network, that loads fast, gives a short bio of each site section, and let’s you just jump right into the area you are most interested in, without having to jump through any hoops.

As SurvivalRing moves forward, and the major updates are done, we’ll be creating a series of podcasts, videos, and new ebooks (and possibly even hardcopy versions) on all areas of preparedness.

Our Podcasts, to be called SurvivalRing Radio, will start broadcasting in July, and will include news, alerts, threat analysis, prepping tips, interviews, reviews, and a whole lot more. I’ll be producing weekly 30 minute shows at first, but the long term goal, after things are all said and done (all major projects for the site are finished), is to have a daily one hour show, which if things work out, may go on broadcast radio through any of a number of web/on air broadcast organizations.

Our Video Projects, to be called SurvivalRingTV, will start appearing after the first of the year, and will feature hands on tips, outdoors adventure, survival how-to’s, preparedness tools and uses, and eventually a complete series on fallout shelter building, designs, systems, and use.

As all these creative outlets are being worked on, I’ll be building up the business side of SurvivalRing as well, to support upgrades to dedicated hosting of the entire SurvivalRing network, HD video cameras and tools, audio mixing systems and needs for live radio broadcasts from my home studio, and a variety of other tools to create unlimited potential for online education for all website visitors. The business at SurvivalRing consists of CD ROM publications, online digital media content, membership sections, our new forums system, advertising opportunties, home business creation packages for anyone needing extra income.

Finally, to round everything out, our long overdue SurvivalRing Newsletter will begin production again in June. Expect weekly updates, free download links, news, tools, and commentary on the world of survival and preparedness, from someone who’s spent a lifetime living it. Yep…me.

More to come later. Stay tuned. This is The Summer of SurvivalRing.

Rich

I found this jewel of an article reposted on Timebomb2000.com, and felt it covered all the bases of survival in hard times (disaster, ecomonic downturn, civil strife, etc.) that I just had to make sure it was seen by a wider audience.   Many of the items here could by applied and used in worse case scenarios, including pandemic bird flu, which seems to have the biggest echo on the governments “Fear Radar”.

Rich

From the old Greenspun board

Fair use
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0011Lt

How to Survive Really Hard Times
greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread
Moderator: ed@yourdon.com

——————————————————————————–

How to Survive Really Hard Times
In the old days, folks were accustomed to periodically having to live through hard times. They knew how to survive the hard times with the least amount of wear and tear on their families. Nowadays, most folks don’t know what hard times really are. Even those folks who think they have it hard right now can usually still depend on some type of government handout or charity assistance, and therefore they don’t truly know what hard times really are.

My definition of hard times is when things ain’t what they use to be and they don’t look like they will return to normal anytime soon. This frequently happens in times of war, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Which are also usually accompanied by power failures that last for days, weeks, or months.

Following are some suggestions for surviving these types of hard times.

Shelter:

Let’s start by assuming you now live in some type of dwelling and your dwelling is not in the immediate path of a flood, hurricane, marching troops, etc.

First, stay inside unless you must absolutely go outdoors. In the old days, folks had enough sense to come in out of the rain. During hard times, you don’t need to get wet, cold, or frost bitten. That just makes matters worse.

Continue Reading »
How to Survive Really Hard Times

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Two weekends ago, my wife and I took a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was there to help Wyoming Public Television record an orchestra concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival. I was able bring Annie along for the trip, and we had a great time.

On the way home, we took a little detour through a couple of small local parks…

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park, to be specific.

Want to see some pictures of some of nature’s most beautiful scenary? Take a peek here at my new flash based photo gallery.

Last weekend, my college hosted the annual Riverton Rendezvous hot air balloon rally. I got to take another trip into the wild blue yonder, hanging under a 40,000 cubic foot nylon envelope. You can view the gallery of dozens of great hot air balloons at the same link above.

Also, I’ve added some new tools to SurvivalRing. Check out the homepage for the latest addition…MyWeather.

A friend on another forum had an accident this last week, and hit a deer at high speed…with a big SUV. SUV had some damage, but he was able to drive home with it.

It got me thinking…about my “deers and driving” stories…and wrote the below posting on that forum.

Thought you might find it an interesting if you’ve ever had a close call.

Rich

My deer stories…

Went 24 years of driving without ever having any “real” road kill issues, either in Texas or Alabama.

Then, in 2000, I started driving cross country, with hotshot delivery of Lance Campers and Chinook motor homes from the factories, to dealers coast to coast.

DEER NUMBER ONE

I was on the road two months, before I took out my first and only deer. Had dropped off a load in Ocalla, Florida, after a LONG journey originating in LA, to Milwaukee, to Louisville, Kentucky, to Ocalla. Headed back empty to Birmingham to visit the inlaws for a couple of days, before heading back to LA for another load. They have a very steep drive, and the 44 foot long flatbed I was hauling was a bit too big to park on the curb (which as on a curve), so I dropped it off at a friend’s country home (with 20 acres) around 10pm one nite, visited for a bit, then headed off to the inlaws.

After leaving the friends driveway, had about a quarter mile drive down clay roads, to get to the gravel roads, and made a left. Lo and Behold, I see the ONLY deer I had seen in the wild in Alabama, after LIVING there for 9 years and not seeing a single one in the county, standing on the left side of the road, and since it is so unusual, I brake to peek at it. I’m driving a one ton Dodge dually 4×4 Diesel extended cab, and the deer stops nibbling grass to look at it. I pass it slowly, and it starts trotting along…then I speed up, and it speeds up. So it wants to race, eh?

Not wanting to lose, I punch the gas, and the deer takes a 90 degree right turn, right into the side of the pickup, hitting the front driver side of the bed…and then going under the dually rear wheels.

Unfortunately, the name of this backwoods gravel road was Deer Chase Road.

I felt very bad about this, but there was nothing I could do for it, and since the family is 1200 miles away in Wyoming, any venison won’t make the trip home. I figure that the local neighbors will find it within a bit, and make use of it.

…and then head on down the road.

DEER NUMBER TWO

Not two months later, after dropping off a http://local.google.com/local?q=from%3A+Yakima+washington+to%3A+albany+new+york&spn=27.187141,77.651367&f=d&hl=en from upper NY to Fredricksberg, VA, I’m taking the cross country route through WV, heading northwest, and it’s way in the wee hours of the morn…around 3ish or so. All the rest areas are full and overflowing with sleeping truckers, so I continue on looking for the next truck stop. Finally coming into a sleepy little town with a small truckstop, I take the exit…only to find some of those little WV deer leaping from the driver side of the exit to the passenger side of the road as I’m coming up the ramp.

Miss the last deer by inches…possibly clipping his toes as he leaps across the ramp into the woods. No damage to him…or the truck…but it’s a bit tough to stop a 5 ton truck hauling a 3 ton trailer in a heartbeat…so I was a bit concerned for a few seconds seeing a passel of deer leaping and prancing across my path.

Fast forward to late December 2000.

DEER NUMBER THREE

I’ve picked up another Chinook in Yakima, Washington, bound for the east, and head ESE across country with the aim of getting a day’s rest at home in Lander, Wyoming. I’ve got four choices of getting home…I90 (6 hours extra driving), I80 (8 hours of extra driving, Teton Pass (the fastest, but deadliest with black ice and steep grades, just west of Jackson Hole, or Alpine Junction, many miles south but much safer. So, I follow the little county highways across mid Idaho, cross the Teton range near Alpine Junction, and then head north to Jackson.

North up 91, then hit Moran Junction, and head east on 26, which goes directly to Lander..about 90 miles away. Now I’m heading towards Togwatee Pass, one of the worst parts of the state to drive in the winter time.

I come up on a wreck while going up the pass, where a small white pickup is laying on its side in my lane. Cops and wrecker are already there. As I pass them, and punch the gas a touch, the wheels spin…black ice….

I drop the truck down into four wheel drive with the flick of a wrist, and take it slow to the top of the pass…no problemo.

Now, I’m heading downhill (the right side of the Togwatee link above) and gaining speed, so I’ve got the ebrake on, and keeping my foot on the foot brake as well…an interesting roller coaster ride…with a $75,000 hi end motor home balanced on 35 foot dovetail fifth wheel flatbed trailer.

Then…that Stupid Deer walks slowly into the headlights, and into my lane, hundreds of feet ahead…and stops dead center in my path….and I’m doing 60mph with a lead sled.

Talk about pucker factor…about 21…on a 10 point scale.

I ever so lightly veer into the oncoming lane (thank God no traffic in 2am)…waiting for the deer to bolt…just like that one did back in Alabama weeks before…and it doesn’t move. I cruise on past…and resume breathing again once I’m back in the regular lane of travel.

Talk about a heartstopping episode.

Fast forward 18 months.

DEER NUMBER FOUR

I’m no longer driving cross country…been thru the lost job, homeless, starting over, and making it back to normal phase, and I’m the GM of the Worland, Wyoming McDs. Family is still living in Lander in a recently acquired apartment, and I’m commuting home on the weekends from a tiny apartment a block from my store, provided by my owner/operator.

Just coming to Riverton, about 23 miles north of Lander, on the only highway between the two. About five miles out, it’s pitch black outside…around 10:30pm.

Come over a crest of the next hill and there’s about two miles of straight road across the countryside (which is the heart of the Wind River Reservation), and lo and behold…again….a shape slowly forms in the gloom far ahead, just off the shoulder. Normally nothing except weeds along this stretch, so I slow down to about 50mph..wondering. As I get closer….it’s a deer…closer still…a big deer…yet closer…a huge buck…maybe an 8 to 10 pointer.

Flashback…Togwatee Pass….crap…not again.

So I slow farther in the next few seconds…and the deer is stepping on the shoulder and starting to cross. I do the oncoming lane thing again…

He Bolts.

Crap again….PF now of 25…

I’m now driving a front wheel drive 1990 Ford Taurus…which means good road control, but no safety from impact.

The deer is in my path 50 feet away…just about to cross the highway lines painted on the road…and he’s not stopping.

So, it’s emergency manuever Ralph.

PF 32.

Somehow, I miss the rear end of the deer by inches, with the rear quarter panel and tail light of the Ford. And, I’m a bit sideways from the instinctive jerk of the steering wheel, and it takes all I’ve got to straighten it out…and do.

Pull over to the side of the road for a moment to check the drawers, and catch my breath. Holy Crap…is the only thing on my mind.

That’s the closest I’ve come to death in a long time, and my last deer/car escapade.

DEER NUMBER FIVE…

However, Son Number One continues the tradition.

They were living in Spokane last year, and came home to visit for Christmas here in Riverton…

Nice visit, and they head home VERY early the next day…Riverton, to Casper, north to Billings, then west on 90 all the way to Spokane…

Until Belgrade that is.

Still in the wee hours, there is wisps of fog developing in the valley they’re driving down 90 on. They get a bit thicker as time goes along. Son is going a little too fast for the conditions.

Fog bank…70mph…huge ass deer….small Toyota sedan….

Accident. Headon collision.

Son, DIL, and precious grandaughter are ok, the latter two sleeping…no one is hurt…except the deer…and the car.

Both are dead.

Son hits the deer at just exactly the right scientific speed to cause the huge buck to fly OVER the car, instead of THROUGH the windshield. It’s antlers leave creases in the hood and top lip of the windshield, cracking the window, but not piercing it.

Son calls on cell phone to 911, then to us minutes afterward. Thankfully all are ok, but they’re stranded, and it takes a couple of days to get them back home to Spokane.

So ends the Fleetwood vs. All Species of Deer saga…at least for now.

BUT…every vehicle we own now has deer whistles (do they really work?), very bright light headlight bulbs, AND driving and fog lights…for those LONG distance, late night trips across the countryside.

Be safe out there…and DON’T take your eyes off the road for a second in deer country.

Rich

As if we haven’t had ENOUGH excitement lately…there’s ANOTHER disaster on the way….after 4 hurricanes, two big SoCal earthquakes, and that tornado nearby here yesterday….

Scientists say Mt. St. Helens ( ya know, that big pissed off rock in Washington? ) is making noise, having swarms of hundreds of earthquakes, and causing rock slides and growing literally inches a week now. They think it will pop its top again, though not nearly as bad as 1980. A few ash clouds…some flying rocks…and a hardy hi-ho silver. Keep an ear out for any loud noise in your neighborhood. And hey, if you see any geologists running, TRY to stay caught up with them.

Here’s the MSH webcome….watch it closely now.

(NOTE: If it’s dark, that means NO LAVA is flowing at nite. The camera uses ambient lite, so during daylight hours you’ll see the mountain, and at nite, well…you’ll see ‘dark’.)

And here’s the site to check it out and stay up to date with it….

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

And, so you can learn more about “falling rocks”, why not visit Slashdot.com and see what they have to say…those big bunch of geeks!

Whew! THAT was close. It ALMOST hit us. Really…you haven’t heard?

A 3 mile wide asteroid just flew by….out there!!! Didn’t you see it? It was HUGE. Got a picture of it…

Its name? Toutatis…

Next time… DUCK!