Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

A few days ago, I wrote about having purchased some survival food bars for my emergency readiness backpack . I also got a pack of the 3600 calorie food bars (feeds 1 person for 3 days) to try out. Today, I decided to eat just the survival food bars, as well as only a moderate amount of water, to see how I'd make out. Each pack divides into 9 portions, each of which is about 5 cm x 5 cm x 3cm, or approximately two-thirds the size of a standard nanaimo bar. Three portions a day is the estimated intake for one adult person. I further divided each portion into half, and aimed to eat one half portion every three hours, starting from 10 o'clock. The check-in times would therefore be at 10, 1, 4, 7, 10, 1. Since I work graveyards, my "day" starts at 10pm. My job is pretty sedentary, with some walking about now and again. Of course I did not gorge beforehand, as that would be cheating. BAR #1 10 PM: Ate 1/2 bar. Had 2 cups of water (i.e., ~ 1 mug) of water. 1 AM: ...

Have you ever tasted survival food bars? Now that the devastating quake in Japan has very decidedly fallen off front page news (possibly since the depressing news is that Japan is probably irradiated stem to stern), the topic of emergency preparedness is as tasty as stale bread -- But it doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared. Previously I had written about Emergency Preparedness Kits , such as the ones from The Red Cross . Depending on where you get them, kits may come WITHOUT food or water. The Red Cross ones come with a huge collapsible plastic container for water, but it's carried separately from the backpack, and not really that portable or convenient. Also, the plastic smell leeches into the water and makes it stale, so refreshing the water periodically is important. You can get both food and water separately, and in surprisingly compact 3-day supply amounts. And if you are in British Columbia, Canada, 72hrs.ca offers free shipping with a $60+ order . 12 packs...

A while back , I wrote about the Red Cross having for sale personal Emergency Preparedness Kits . They were on backorder at the time, but finally my order of two kits (backpacks) have come in. The backpacks are bright red and very spacious with all the stuff inside. Lots of room for food and a few other items you may want to put in it. Some interesting items include: Emergency tips notebook with space for you to write various important entries about your local emergency contacts and information. The collapsible water container is a whopping 20 liters (which would work out to 20 kilograms if you filled it up) and comes with a carrying handle. The no-batteries required flashlight that is included has a hand crank, and two light settings: A low light that uses only one bulb, and a bright light that uses all three bulbs. There is also a button to emit a noise that sounds like a police siren. Beats blowing a whistle, I guess. Your credit card will be charged by "ST-JOSEPH PRINT G...

If the recent 8.9 quake that devastated Japan hasn't gotten you spooked about emergency preparedness, you should cancel any insurance you have on your house and person. After all, it only happens to someone else, right? Otherwise, you may want to look into an Emergency Preparedness Kit. If, like me, you're too lazy to assemble one yourself with the scores of items you should have in it, you can try the Red Cross or Costco. Yes, Costco. The Red Cross has personal Emergency Preparedness Kits weighing in at 2.65 kg (5.85 lbs). NO FOOD. NO WATER. It comes with a collapsible water container. There's no size indicated for the container, but as the basic recommendations range from 2 to 4 liters per person per day, you can expect it to be at least 6 liters. Costco has an Emergency Preparedness Kit for 4 people. It is a single kit that weighs 11.8 kg (26 lb.). This includes an empty 10-litre water carrier, but also includes packages of water with a 5-year shelf life. Clea...