Like  redrose3125 , I posted a comment re: decluttering  (http://ozarque.livejournal.com/642105.html) I'd like to keep (with a few extra notes here, in italics). The commenter I responded to makes the key point "if I take a digital photo of something, I can enjoy the photo whenever I like without ( Read more... )

or is it better to think in terms of T-240, T-288 and T-624 Hours?

Taking out the third for sleeping, that's T-160, T-192, and T-416 hours.

One can get a lot done in 160 hours.

Speaking of time, I bought for myself a Salter 330 4-way multi-timer. It has four separate channels with countdown or count-up timers (up or down to/from 99.9 hours). Been ( Read more... )

The Association of Bay Area Governments has an interactive shaking hazard map- choose a faultline and your city and it'll show you what type of shaking you could expect from a 6.8 quake.  Here it is- play with it.

Last night's quake was on the Calaveras fault- a gentle faultline as it goes.  Compare and contrast it with quakes on the Hayward fault ( Read more... )

I grew up in earthquake country, and the training I got as a child (or the training I remember) was
1. At school, get under a desk
2. Everywhere else, get to a doorway or get outside.

Turns out that 1. should be the choice for everywhere- at least everywhere with modern earthquake codes.

In an earthquake, your best choice is to
Drop, Cover, and Hold ( Read more... )

This weekend, Ebay is evil.

I'm helping to sort and empty out the house of an elderly relative who passed away.

10 years ago cleaning would be much easier, because so many more things would be obviously trash. Characterized by immediate tossability. Wouldn't have thought about it.

For example, consider an unopened box of Kodak 'Verichrome Pan' b&w ( Read more... )

As I read about people checking in on relatives and friends in Minneapolis, I'm reminded of a critical phone issue I've observed directly:

Too many people rely solely on their cell phone as their phone book, rather than memorizing a few key numbers. This is especially true for teenagers and young adults.  If their phone is broken, flooded, lost, ( Read more... )

Short post after a long weekend:

HP and books...
Midnight Friday: the line took an hour, I then read for 2 hours, slept, and then continued reading Saturday until done. At the fan-heavy party we then went to, I wore a "Yes I've read it" sticker, B wore "No, not done yet." Satisfying.  Then until today- when he finished- I answered every question ( Read more... )

1. Go to your fire extinguishers- are they full? (You do know where they are... (You do have them...?)?)

2. Go to your Go-Bag: is it full? (It is full of current items: up-to-date and unexpired... (You do have one...?)?)

3. Go to your cell phone: have you filled in your local emergency numbers? You do know where your cellular 911 call goes, ( Read more... )

1. Is there an easy way to add a "Books Read" box to my side column? If it means going into the more complex style system, I'd be willing to contemplate that. (While I'm otherwise happy with this pre-made layout, the lack of a "books" box is bothersome.)

1. What did you learn after a few  months of LiveJournaling that you wish you'd known from the

I live in earthquake country: when you live there, you should have an emergency food supply (EFS).

If you're not here, there's also flood, blizzard, hurricane, zombie, ice-storm and other lands, not to mention the upcoming world of pandemic flu.

What I do
Here's the ESF method I've found that works best for me:
Buy non-perishable foods that you'll ( Read more... )