Light - Readiness series

There was Light… and it was good 

Here follows my first of MacGyver-styled remedies for the problem of light. Yeah, flashlights are great; but you can only conserve spare batteries for so long before resorting to more permanent solutions. Candle stubs?  That assumes you stock and use candles.

So, first, let me review basic rules of this game. Materials must be found routinely about the house or car. These are things commonly added to your shopping list, items you won’t likely forget to resupply. That means something kept on hand, perhaps for some other purpose entirely… such as a basic ingredient of pizza-making. And if it is already a dual-purpose item, some creative thinking may reveal even more functions in a pinch. Then, don’t forget to consider its trade value for those weeks when even cash money proves worthless –unless this high-rag paper that bears a presidential portrait can be used to make candle wicks. Talk about ‘burning’ through your savings!

So… what kind of stuff is used to make pizza (the really good kind) and produces an excellent light with help of just about any wicking material? Besides, this magic stuff may boast any number of added virtues: medicinal, cosmetic, hygienic, etc.; truly a multi-purposed commodity.

Answer: cooking oil. Olive oil works best—burns bright, smokeless and efficient. But even bacon fat will allow itself to melt and be drawn up a short length of cotton shoelace (very like a candle), assuming you can ignite a flame. But I like the olive oil lamp best; just an ounce or two at bottom of a glass dish or jar will last the night or longer.  Punch a hole in a metal bottle lid or soda can bottom to make a serviceable ‘boat’ that floats your wick and reflects your flame:



Found online at Judy of the Woods

Materials:
Olive oil
   (or other vegetable/ mineral oil)
Triangular wedge of cardboard or cork
   (as a float); or cut the bottom from an aluminum can; salvage a screw-on metal lid (to form a boat)
Utility scissors; hammer and nail
   (to punch a hole in your float for the wick)
Piece of cotton string or strip of fabric
   (rolled up paper toweling works)
Ceramic dish, empty jam jar 
   (canning jar or some other clear glass container)
Optional spare wire coat hanger and pliers
   (form a hook to grab the floating wick; or make a handle for carrying the jar, as glass grows hot to touch)


Some alcohols and solvents will work for fuel as well, though hazardous to handle.  I will feature another idea for light and heat in a later installment featuring rubbing alcohol and toilet paper. That sounds fun!

Again, be sure to print this page and keep it for reference.  Fold it up showing the headline at top to file in a shoe-box under your bed… first of many catalogue cards for ready reference in an emergency –the original low-tech ‘computer’ database immune to energy blackouts.  Label the box ‘Survival Treasures’ in case the grandkids stumble upon it while playing Hide and Seek.

More oil lamp designs:
http://modernsurvivalblog.com/alternative-energy/do-it-yourself-olive-oil-lamp/
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Water-Candles
http://putitinajar.com/crafts/mason_jar_oil_lamp/

Why should you care what rival insurers say?

Insurance Ad Review series: Introduction

I am an independent insurance agent/broker in California (Steve Evans of Carroll L Evans Insurance). So, you insist upon buying a GEICO policy (not sold through personal agents): You could still engage me as consultant to coach you through their quote and application process; I can even help you to survive their Policy Service Department’s game-of-tag and to navigate their Claims Service obstacle-course when that time comes. But I must charge you, of course, the equivalent of standard commission for that expertise. And all that goes without the option of directly representing you –as your agent—to insurance company personnel.

This is where the tagline comes from: “Save 15% or more on your car insurance.”  But few agents ever collect 15% commission from insurers they represent. And in real life, the broker-less insurance shopper ends up paying in other ways for this ‘freedom’ of going it alone.


GEICO’s landmark Caveman ad campaign strategically sought to insult the insurance shopper’s intelligence. Critics of the spin-off TV comedy series even called it racist.

Problem for me, wanting to promote my brokerage service in this new age of Google-domination: Only the big-money players get real dibs on internet advertising real-estate.  Of course, that was always true for traditional ad media, especially premium TV and radio time; but even effective paper campaigns. To get the print-browsing public’s attention, an advertiser must reserve lots of white space to ‘frame’ their message visually… Whole pages are best; and even better to publish serially, every week or so.  Similar realities characterize the ‘new’ online media.

What’s more, Google or Yahoo or Microsoft ads are lately become stalkers.  They’re sneaky, creepy and invasive. Just reading this page about insurance means that your future browsing activity will be marked, infected by various electronic cookies and bots.  So wherever you go, online ads –paid for by insurance mobsters—will follow and demand your attention.

I can’t compete with that. Even if I never monetize this blog or my company website (click the CLE logo at top right of this page), all my biggest competitors will be dogging your trail, both coming and going.  What agency can afford to run in that race?  Not sure I want to. Instead, I have decided to participate as Unofficial Umpire… That’s right, another self-appointed media critic (see also expertinsurancereviews.com).

We all do it, right?  Everybody calls fair or foul as mere spectators from the sidelines, by virtue of being consumers of entertainment. Ever since that first Roman Coliseum ‘super bowl’ commercial campaign, we are a society of amateur critics. Though, when it comes to insurance, I do have some 28 years professional experience under my belt. And if rival advertisers are determined to haunt our steps (as well as my small business enterprise), like paparazzi pirating celebrity photos— Well then, why shouldn’t we all benefit for their trouble?  At least I can try.

So give me 15 minutes and you just might save 15 percent or more of time wasted shopping for cut-rate (and cut-quality) insurance. Meanwhile, check out this latest ad from GEICO:


Click image to view video...

Lessons learned: Don’t bother the public with trust-building imagery, reliable information, promises or pricing. Cute sells. Sexy sells. Violent and explosive sells. Stupid or embarrassing sells. Even creepy sells.  Combine a few of those randomly, and what do you have?

GEICO ads.

Oh and, by the way… What were they supposed to be selling?  I will attempt to explain my analysis in the next installment of this series.

Introduction - Readiness series

Tabernacles (a.k.a. ‘tents’)

Every year, orthodox Jews traditionally celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles to remember their escape from slavery into the wilderness.  It’s a family affair, as well as community festival.  They basically construct temporary wigwams or tents to camp out for a week. It’s an exercise for building strong character, self-control and interdependence; by denying oneself comforts of ‘normal’ modern living—something like the Christian Lent.

However, I doubt that the Jewish children feel much of any self-sacrifice.  Camping can be fun, after all.  It’s an adventure –building and eating inside the sukkah shelter—as well as practice of cool survival skills; you know, what Dad is always talking about. And the experience can be purging of attitudes and values.  Helps everyone to re-order priorities; to better appreciate the simple things of life; to prefer friendships and family relationships over accumulation of things, career or social status.


My family just returned from our annual tent camping vacation. We aren’t Jewish, but it’s a tradition we value for many of the same reasons that children of Israel move into tabernacles once a year. Camping is lots of work, but well worth the effort, even if only to maintain some basic survival tools and supplies… just in case the lights go out.



Three large trees were blown down onto our campsite first night (see prior photo).

This power pole was also knocked down, just after our grandson left the tent to find out what the racket was all about.

That’s right: when the power fails, when city water gets shut off, when we can’t refill our gas tank right away, everyone at my house knows to dig out the camping supplies.  And a yearly camping trip is the best excuse to replenish, repair and evaluate what else to include in our emergency stash of preparedness equipment, food, first aid essentials and know-how.  Here is my list:

Water (for drinking and washing)
Cases of our favorite brand of bottled drinking water
Reservoirs of portable toilets filled with clean water
Food chests packed with ice
Dropper bottle of bleach (5 drops to purify a liter)

Heat (fire for warmth, cooking and protection)
Matches, lots of them (all kept in a waterproof container)
Gas lighters
Propane and/or white gas cooking stoves
Propane tank (5 gallon) and manifold (for multiple attachments)
Propane canisters
Firewood & kindling
Long skewers (for marshmallows)
Hatchet, camping knife and sharpener
Flint & magnesium fire starter (in case matches are lost)

Light
Flashlights and lots of batteries
Propane lanterns and spare mantles
Spare phone batteries (keep charged)

Shelter and comforts
Plastic tarps
Tents with insect-resistant screening
Folding canopies (for shade) with screening
Spare rope, stakes, bungee cords, clamps
Shovel; spare hand tools; zip ties, Velcro & adhesives (for utility and repair)
Sleeping bags, mats and/or air mattresses (used often for house guests)
Extra blankets and pillows
Folding chairs
Carpet scraps for inside tents and out (keeps dust/mud contained)
Cold weather coats, gloves, sock caps, socks
Card games (for rainy days)

Food
Plastic coolers (with drain plugs)
Dry ice (CO2) and regular ice (small packages)
Canned beans and vegetables
Cereals, grains and nuts (sealed packages)
Salt, pepper and other spices
Dried fruits
Coffee beans and teas
Utensils for cooking and eating
Iron skillets and griddles
Nesting cook pots
Dutch oven
Coffee pot
Hot water pot

Hygiene
Plastic carrying buckets and wash tubs
Five gallon buckets fitted with faucet valves (for dispensing wash water)
Soaps in dispensers
Baby oil (or olive oil)
Toiletries (disposable wipes, tooth brushes/paste, floss, deodorant, etc.)
Portable toilets and septic chemical
Portable shower
Brooms and metal dust tray or bin (for ashes also)
Wash cloths & towels
Spare set of underwear and clothing

Medicine
Assorted plastic bandages
Cotton bandaging
Ace bandage
Antiseptic ointment and spray
Bug repellant
Cold medicine
Antihistamine (pills and/or syrup)
Analgesics (ibuprofen and/or aspirin; anti-inflammatory ointments, spray)
Aloe Vera gel
Eye wash
Nasal spray (saline)
Rubbing alcohol and swabs
Antacids
Personal medicines
Tweezers, needles & thread, nail clippers, scissors

Security
Slingshots (sport hunting quality)
Pepper spray (bear potency)
Air horn and/or whistles
Road flares and/or reflectors
Truck battery cables
Spare car keys
Infra-red motion lights and/or alarms
Mobile phones with cameras
Shortwave radios (where phones fail)
AM/FM radios
Notepad & pen
  Copy of ID’s; spare cash; emergency phone numbers
  Extra phone charger

That was all off the top of my head, thanks to recent memory of packing for travel. There will be no dearth of checklists to find online or at your local library.  But I recommend that you print these pages to keep in your own ‘readiness’ cabinet, just in case circumstances don’t allow the electronic luxury of searching out ready answers. Then compare some other lists and write your own ideas on back for keeps. During an extended power outage, your family will become celebrities around the block, just because you were prepared and can freely share the power of knowing how to survive for yet another day.

Top end of one fallen tree, was over 180 feet high.

Large branch crushed our park bench.

PG&E crew worked the night replacing power pole, downed lines and transformer.

In weeks to come, I will be referencing categories of my camping supply list for a longer-term project, already stated as the theme of this blog.  What, when the city infrastructure lets you down for more than a few days? If your family or business isn’t practiced at ‘camping out’ for at least a week, people will be prone to panic or despair. That’s no exaggeration. And even my own camping supplies won’t last so very long.



Some of the survivors… and their vanquished tree.

I want to propose another way to maintain readiness; a minimalist and self-replenishing approach, without the worry (and self-defeat) associated with a typical five or ten-year survival package. Those kits cost too much, the food tastes… well, not normal (just ask the kids) even before the package expires; and we are prone to neglect inspecting it regularly. Much like Tabernacles or family camping traditions, there has to be a better, natural way, a lifestyle method for staying prepared. After all, the Israelis did it for forty years, they say.

Please check back soon for the first installment of my Readiness Series… starting with the category of Light.

Behold the spiny fruit:

Sierra Gooseberry, Ribes roezlii

One of our discoveries while roaming among the Sequoia giants.

Yes, sweet to eat... but in a painful sort of way.

On the move...

That's right-- the economy is changing (to put it kindly) and insurance distribution has all-but abandoned bygone standards and methods. So this blog's chief sponsor is proposing to keep up with the times. A storefront office may no longer be a customer's preferred venue for shopping insurance solutions. Nor is insurance always the best or only way to prepare for risks of  personal and business ventures, those inevitable cracks in the road. 

It was 1929 when Carroll Evans first established his agency in the Eagle Rock district of Los Angeles.  He started out with a desk at home, four wheels and a shoe box to organize contacts and sales records. As business grew and the U.S. economy recovered from two world wars, the Evans Agency office has remained a prominent establishment on Colorado Blvd, serving customers in all of California. But that part isn't changing.

Eagle Rockers might miss seeing the office sign at a fixed place in town. But Carroll L Evans Insurance isn't going anywhere. No, we aren't moving away... even though we are 'on the move'. Watch for our sign now going places, out and about. We are coming to a neighborhood near you... yours, in fact.

And our service is expanding. As this blogger site will prove very soon, insurance is about more than paying dearly for policy contracts. Insurance also means 'readiness', employing a variety of methods to prepare for the risks of life.  It demands that one count the total cost of an enterprise (another word for risk) in terms of time and energy, as well as money.

TCOR --total cost of risk: the latest savvy marketing motto (goes for buying also). Some insurance programs promote that message, as well as potential solutions.  Other insurers publish ads that seek only to entertain, hoping that name recognition alone will merit your trust.  But when it's time to cash in that policy... well, then it is too late to reconsider. Was your good faith misplaced after all? 

We will also be offering practical guidance through the public maze of insurance promotions. Funny lizards and deep sexy voices may command your attention, briefly. But does that gimmicky video or radio spot truly equip today's buyer to select the best insurance protection? Maybe there is something worthwhile to be learned amidst all the silliness. But what's the real value of their dollar price comparisons?

Stay tuned, as those old black-and-white TV commercials used to say. You are bound to find some tidbit of lasting value here. Especially as the internet has grown to supply every imaginable DIY and How-To article as a know-it-all survival guide. But that assumes, of course, that the power stays on. When the lights go out (and your laptop battery fails), will you actually find your home or business prepared? How will you access all that free resource then?

If only you had kept printed copies of instructions in a shoebox under your bed: How to scrounge up precious light and emergency fuel, food and water, basic first aid and sanitation know-how. It may be days or even weeks before the power comes back or clean water is flowing again.

So why didn't you stock up on emergency meals and splurge on one of those pre-packaged rescue packs? Too pricey?  I agree.  And you are unlikely to remember when it's time to trash and replace expired items. Surely there must be a way to use or repurpose stuff that every operating home or business keeps all the time. Perhaps it is only a matter of buying a bit more of the same.  Then pick and choose the best know-how to keep on hand; though be sure to save it in non-electronic format. But what and which?

All of this comprises the mission of this blog and Carroll Evans Insurance. We aim to become your partner in readiness. Our hope is that everyone in our community will commit to prepare for Life's potholes, the twistings and turnings of fate; for their own sakes and for neighbors; for our future prosperity and success.