Ham I Am

HamRadio.com

Last Saturday, my husband and I passed our Ham Radio Operator Licence Exam…finally.  Many events of the last year prevented us from taking the class we wanted to take to prepare for the exam.  I was the one who needed the class.  He would have been fine without it.  Alas, we both accomplished the first step.  We are now preparing online for the General exam and eventually the Extra.

We are excited to stop by the Ham Radio Outlet this weekend to get some accessories for our radios. In Moving Beyond AM Radios I explained the process we went through in selecting our first set of portable Ham radios.  The Wouxun Powerwerx is proving to be a great first radio for a technologically challenged individual, like myself.  My husband will surely be upgrading very soon.

As I explained some time ago in Ham It Up…Ham Radio for Newbies, eHam.net offers practice exams and the complete pool of questions for each level of exam:  Technician (394), General (456), Extra (700).   I am anxious to get started preparing while the information is fresh in my mind.

Next month, I will be attending a class for newbies called “Get on the Air!” sponsored by Ready-Five in San Diego.  They were the company who graciously hosted our Ham Radio class last weekend.  I will be writing more about them in the next few months.  In the meantime, be sure to check them out!

For those who do not want or need a class to help them jump into the air, Don Butler (N4UJW) a boatload of information and reference material at HAMUniverse.com   This site has been a lifesaver for me to fill in the gaps of my knowledge and answer practically any question I have had!

Once again, I encourage everyone who is interested to take the practice tests or go to a class if you prefer that route.  Please don’t be intimidated.  If I can do it, you can do it!!

Michio Kaku on Alien Existence & Invasion

Michio Kaku is one of my favorite scientists.  I was sorry to miss his July 19 interview where he touched on the existence of aliens and the prospects of an invasion.  Although alien invasion is not on my list of preparedness scenarios, I embrace Dr. Kaku’s opinions on the prospect of our potential vistors.

The Most CRITICAL Step to Preparedness

“What is the most important thing I can do to be prepared?”  is the most common question I am asked by friends, family, and clients.  I have one simple answer every time.  Get healthy and fit on the inside and out!  It is truly about maintaining mind body balance.

Daniel Wolpert’s presents “The Real Reason for Brains” in a TED talk last year and has resulted in my clear understanding of why my recent recovery from an accident was so fluid and why my favorite  TACFIT works.

Two years ago,  I was hit by a car and thrown to the ground while walking through a parking lot.  I won’t go into the details of the accident, although it resulted in injuries to my wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and left a large bump on the back of my head.  I’ve bounced back from all of my injuries, with the exception of my elbow and that is a work in progress.

I attribute my recovery to three factors. 

Water Lessons from Doomsday Preppers by David Morse

David Morse, author of The Urban Survival Guide (13 week online training course) hit the nail on the head today with his approach to the National Geographic show “Doomsday Preppers”.  Check out his tips to improve on the methods presented in the show:  Water Lessons from Doomsday Preppers

Living in an area surrounded by ocean and dessert, water is a top concern and priority in our preparedness plan.  We especially liked his recommendation for a water desalination system.  Check out what David has to say here.

Public Alerts by Google

Earlier this year, Google’s announced a new Public Alert layer of functionality to Google Maps developed by the company’s Crisis Response Team.   I bet those folks love their job!  The application integrates information from various agencies to provide severe weather, earthquake, and flood warning for the area in which you are searching.  When I checked it out earlier today, it showed warnings of high wind in the northwest, a winter storm warning in Central California and it also provided information on the 6.3 earthquake that occurred in Japan several hours before.

Google has not impressed me with some of their recent policy changes, yet I want to give them kudos for this one.  This is one more way to help authorities get the critical information out to people in an efficient manner when every minute counts.

What do you think of Google’s efforts?  Will you use it?