TechBite by Steve Bass: Newsletter #21
Trouble viewing this e-mail? had three TV feeds on the air. The National Weather Situation also covered Katrina with six windows showing weather and satellite maps, and TV and radio feeds.
Television broadcasts are fairly common across the Net. There's Joost and MyTVPal and a host of others. My focus is strictly news: You can watch Los Angeles stations KCBS and Fox in your browser; DMZ has multiple live Los Angeles video feeds. Ditto for LiveNewsCameras. Sometimes AM-FM radio is a better bet in an emergency, so try Live-Radio.
I've been able to glean inside information by listening to police and fire department scanners. Finding the local scanner will take some digging, but it's worth the trouble. I have to admit that I love watching California police pursuits while listening to CHP and LAPD talk about what's really happening, especially when I'm on deadline (like, uh, now.). I covered this topic in a recent newsletter, so read Like Action? Listen to Police and Fire Scanners to find a few sites with scanners in your area -- or wherever there's a disaster.
Put Together a Disaster Kit
We have the usual stuff -- food, water, flashlights, beer and wine -- as well as a checklist of contact info for friends and relatives, and emergency services. We also have a crank-powered radio (more on that later).
If you don't have a kit to prepare for your area's brand of disaster, you really should put one together. There are plenty of Web sites offering lists and procedures to get you started.
You might want to begin your research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site, where you'll find information to help you prepare for any manner of disaster: earthquakes, extreme heat, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, you name it.
The Earthquake Store has details that you can use to create an emergency handbook. Dig into PDFs for ways to protect your family as well as pets, seniors, and physically challenged people in an emergency.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a valuable page that talks about preparing for floods, fires, and all the other disasters you might face. [Thanks, Pete.]
Disaster Equipment To Keep Handy
It seems to me that everyone needs a self-sufficient radio--and the essential component is that the radios use a hand crank to generate their own power, so no batteries are required. I spotted Eton's American Red Cross FR150 emergency radio at the Consumer Electronic Show in January. It's $30 at many retailers, including Amazon.
Eaton has a bunch more models with similar features. The differences include having access to either the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather or short-wave broadcasts. Unfortunately, TV-VHF broadcasts are no longer available on these radios, likely because North America will eventually have all-digital TV broadcasting. [Thanks to Gary Fisher for this good catch.]
What's also neat is that these radios have a connection that can charge most cell phones. There's a however, though: You'll need lots of cranking (and I don't mean kvetching). The manual says, "Because cell phone batteries vary in their current ratings, we cannot specify charging rates or usage time. 10 to 15 minutes of cranking may result in 1 or more minutes of talk-time."
If you don't need all the bells and whistles, and just want to charge your cell phone, I spotted two refs to hand-cranked chargers. (here and here). You're on your own; I haven't tried either.
What Subscribers Have To Say
Back in my PCW days, I wrote about Hurricane Ike and received a slew of e-mails about how people cope in an emergency. Here are their recommendations:
Crackerboy (aka Bill Webb) posted Keep Your Cell Phone Charged During Power Outages Using Your UPS on his blog. It's worth the read.
Danna Henderson maintains her landline and "keeps an old-fashioned phone in the closet that plugs directly into it." That way, she says, "I can get a dialup connection for emergencies." She also has a cigarette lighter cell phone charger, "an essential part of the arsenal." My tech editor, Rod Ream, echoes the thought: " Are all your phones cordless? If the power fails you won't be able to make a 911 call in an emergency. It's always a good bet to have at least one corded phone connected wherever you are." Jay Roth, from Missouri, experienced a massive ice storm a few years ago. "It knocked us off the power grid in the WINTER. If not for landline phones (I opted out of offered VOIP after a thunderstorm that took electricity out for two days) we would have no communication with the outside world." Ronald Nickelson: "I was able to get the recorded emergency calls from the city via my Cincinnati Bell hardwired land line. My neighbors who had cordless phones or Time Warner cable phone were incommunicado." Joe DeRose said, "I am fortunate to have earned a ham radio license back in the early 90s (AA3BT), and a portable ham radio can operate completely off the grid." Gary Fisher suggests that "a cheap office-style UPS, provided it's kept charged, can let you run one or two devices for at least a few hours, say, a small lamp and TV."
Tool of the Week: Google SketchUp 7
Have a small DIY project, like designing a fence or a bookcase? Try Google's SketchUp, a powerful and free 3D modeling program that's both fun and incredibly easy to use. Watch the YouTube demo, take a look at some of the online tutorials, and after you download and install the tool, the self-paced, model-based tutorials.
This Week's Tech Tip
A guy with my name wrote and was ticked off. "Every time I try to register my name -- stevebass -- I discover it's already taken by you," he wrote with a smiley emoticon. Usernamez is a quick way to find out if your name's been taken on over 60 sites, such as Twitter, eBay, Flickr, and Pandora. When you're done, try your name in CheckUserNames for another 100 sites.
Time Wasters
Installing tires, ID-ing fonts, body piercing, and a brain game, all to keep you busy.
Listen for the thump -- then the applause
Make It Disaster Proof
You can keep my newsletter stats from becoming a disaster by doing the right thing: Forward this newsletter to your all your relatives. How about your long-lost cousin, an aunt who has you in her will, and all your nieces and nephews (who wish they were in your will). Just copy and paste this link -- http://www.techbite.com -- or send 'em the entire newsletter.
Steve Bass is the publisher and self-appointed Chief Content Officer at TechBite; he continues to experience the cool feeling having of his own newsletter. Send him your feedback at TechBite. To sign up for TechBite's free Steve Bass Technology newsletter, head for our signup page.
Steve's also the author of "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," available on Amazon. Buy a couple of copies today. And again tomorrow.
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