how to prepare for emergencies and how to fix the results
the most recent info is at the top

9 march 2006

Looter-Proof Home

Homes on my street were looted fairly extensively.

When we noticed that my home had not been looted even while the place was uninhabitable, we started to wonder why.

Here's what we came up with:

1. I live in a raised home and my main living area was above the water. Windows on that level are hard to access without a ladder.
2. I don't have the thin decorative windows by my front door or back door that can be easily broken which will then allow an intruder to just unbolt the door from the inside.

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Mold Remediation: Fact vs Fiction

Mold remediation may consist of any form of mold removal and disinfection.  The simplest form of mold remediation consists of spraying a weak solution of chlorine bleach plus or minus a surfactant onto mold-infected surfaces.   The most expensive and elegant form is to seal the area and fill it with chlorine gas which kills the mold and leaves most materials relatively intact.  Demolition with removal of wet materials followed by drying and superficial disinfection is an effective solution.

Mold is not harmful to humans despite all the hype UNLESS you ingest large amounts of it (e.g., eat it.) The spores of the mold may have toxins in them, but the spores do not remain airborne. They are so heavy that they fall directly to the ground. There is probably NO cause and effect relationship between mold and "sick building syndrome."

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Emergency Preparedness: Online Document Storage

I have been actively implementing another aspect of my personal emergency plan: online storage of documents and presentations.

If one stores their documents online, the necessity to be near a specific computer or file cabinet at the time of an approaching disaster becomes much less important. You can access all of your important documents from any internet-connected computer anywhere you are (unless you are already dead.)

I am currently storing all of my licensure information, board certifications, automobile and home insurance information, titles, CME, health information (I created a self-generated medical summary), presentations, papers, articles, valuable photographs, financial information, birth certificates, tax records, etc. Just about anything that you would put in a physical file can be uploaded.

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Please email Jim at vendomeplace(at)gmail.com [substitute @ for (at)] with your current contact information in this format:

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Pre-Katrina Address:
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