Eggs, bread, butter, milk and a Geiger counter?

A few rather skittish Oklahoma residents are adding a new item to their shopping lists.

This story popped up on the website of an Oklahoma television station.

Fears about radiation from damaged nuclear power plants in Japan seem to have boosted public interest in buying Geiger counters, the hand-held devices that can be used to measure radiation levels.

Rita Loeffler, who works at Brigadoon Military Surplus in Del City told reporters at the station the store has received multiple calls asking about the devices.

 “Years ago we had a couple of the surplus Geiger counters. They weren't very effective and they weren't very realistic in what they would measure," said Loeffler.

"For the most part, most people don't even know what they're looking at when they read them,” she said.

She offered a more practical list of supplies for people worried about surviving a disaster in Oklahoma.

"I would say for the money you're gonna spend for a Geiger counter, you're probably better off, with the kind of disasters we see in Oklahoma, to have a good shovel and a good blanket and a flashlight in your car.”

Atheists die first during a disaster?

Atheists are more likely to die first during a disaster, according to a guest talking head on CNN.

"Most studies on survivors show that atheists die first. Because if you don’t believe in something super-natural, how can you imagine that you yourself have supernatural abilities enough to survive," according to Dr. Wendy Walsh on CNN.

My reference came from the comedy section of the Huffington Post, so you might want to take this one with a grain of salt, but the original clip is from CNN and has spead like wildfire through the web.  

It has to be read to be believed.

How Stuff Works: Survival edition

I'm guessing that gadget and kit lovers will love this one. How Stuff Works has published a list of the top 10 survival items to stuff in your backpack or the trunk of your car.

The writer has also included short but informative summaries of how each item can be used during an emergency situation.

Since January, I have been building my own emergency pack and already have items like a first aid kit, water purification tablets, and water- and wind-proof matches. The Government of Canada recommends you have enough supplies to last 72 hours in case of an emergency.

As I type this, I am realizing my food supply has dwindled to a few Snickers bars and elk pepperettes and I should do some shopping on the weekend.

How Stuff Works is recommending a complete safety kit include flares and a snakebite kit. Canadian Tire sells the flares. Not sure I need a snakebite kit in the city but might order one just to take it apart and read the instructions.

How to gain control of a spinning car

I do not like driving, particulary on highways or any road with more than two lanes. Trucks make my heart race and watching cars snake and weave through rushing traffic causes my blood to boil.

I am not a violent person, but I have had more than one fantasy of using a flare gun to force drivers tailing too close behind me off the road. 

But driving is a necessity, so to minimize the chances of killing myself or hurting others on slippery roads I signed up for Skid School in Oakville.

Here is the link to the story and video for the Star.

On a controlled course - where I learned to recover a car skidding out on the snow - it was almost too fun to focus on learning.

I still expect sweaty palms the next time I am sandwiched between two trucks. But I highly recommend this course for anyone who wants a little extra confidence on the road.

Canadian avalaches result in higher mortality rate

Tourism Canada will not be pleased.

Canada’s ski hills and mountainsides are more deadly than the ones enjoyed by winter sport enthusiasts in Switzerland, according to a new study focused on survival rates following an avalanche.

Researchers from Canada, Italy and Switzerland studied 301 cases of Canadians caught in avalanches and 946 Swiss.

On average Canadians were rescued about 18 minutes after burial, while Swiss victims were rescued about 35 minutes after they were caught in raging torrents of snow.

However the study showed that denser snow conditions – similar to ones found in the maritime Coast Mountains – are more likely to cause asphyxia.

“Significant differences were observed between the overall survival curves for the two countries; compared with the Swiss curve, the Canadian curve showed a quicker drop at the early stages of burial and poorer survival associated with prolonged burial," wrote Dr. Pascal Haegeli, Simon Fraser University, with his Italian and Swiss coauthors. A summary of the results was published on science website Eureka Alert.

"Poorer survival probabilities in the Canadian sample were offset by significantly quicker extrication,” said the authors.

Haegeli found that 70 to 90 per cent of people buried in Swiss avalanches survived if they were dug out in 20 minutes or less. But for Canadians, or people buried in Canadian avalanches, the same survival rates only applied if the person was dug out in ten minutes.

If someone caught in a Canadian slide was dug out between 10 to 20 minutes their chances of survival dropped to 36 per cent.

He noted that denser trees and heavier snow contributed to injury on Canadian slopes during slides.

Anyone who wants to learn more about avalanche safety, including what to do if you or a friend is caught in a slide, should head to the Canadian Avalanche Centre.

With files from the Canadian Press

P.S. Credit where it is due. Since I knocked out the first part of this blog on Monday night James Keller from the Canadian Press has written a long article on the same subject that is worth checking out.

How to scare off a polar bear

CNN has posted a short list of survival tips from Pen Hadow.

Hadow is "a veteran polar explorer and Arctic expert. He was the first person to trek solo and without resupply from Canada to the North Geographic Pole and was part of the first Catlin Arctic Survey with two colleagues," according to the post.

My personal favourite is tips on how to avoid a polar bear attack.

"Their eyesight isn't great, so your best move is to deploy bear bangers -- bright, loud flares -- and activate a shrill personal attack alarm that should frighten your local visitor away. Having a dog is a real help. They can tell if there are bears nearby much sooner than a human, and their barking is often enough to put off a bear."

"Don't worry if you feel sick ... that's normal."

That lovely quote comes courtesy of Anouk Malavoy, who teaches the 6:30 a.m. Tuesday endurance spin class at Quad on King St.

Good to know I'm normal.

On Monday the Star ran an article I wrote about the efforts I am making to get fit, as part of my overall plan to become more self-reliant, or more predator than prey. 

We will be back to knives, skidding cars, fire and first aid soon. But exercise is a big part of the project, so bear with me for a bit.

I plan to keep you posted on how I feel but I won't be posting my weight. Frankly I believe that pounds have very little to do with how you feel, and I think boiling it down to body size sends the wrong message to girls.

Since November I have been meeting with a personal trainer and recently started taking spin classes. Spinning is a punishing workout in all the right ways. Anouk said the reason you may feel a bit sick or green is because of the release of lactic acid throughout your body.

The best part: You are so focused on making it through, you can't think. Highly recommended for anyone who spends a good part of their day with their brain on overdrive at their desk.

It turns out a lot of people at 1 Yonge St. (the Star) like to spin, but colleague and personal finance and consumer spending whiz Ellen Roseman was the first one to raise the obvious point that exercise programs are expensive.

I know I am extremely lucky to have the cash and free time to zip around the city to build muscle and burn fat.

My methods are working – I would have to be funnelling ice cream for it to fail – but I wanted to offer a few tips on lower-cost ways for people to improve their physical fitness at home.

I hit up my trainer Jennifer Shearer for a few cheap ways to strengthen your heart and get in shape. She points out that meeting with a personal trainer doesn't mean shelling out significant amounts of cash and meeting three times a week. Shearer, also a holistic nutritionist, helps people design programs to do on their own then checks in with them every month or so to see how they are doing and to change the exercises.

Her full text is below.  

Stairs: a great way to get your cardio as well as some strength training. A fast pace up and down allows the cardiovascular system to get conditioned. To gain some strength and tone try stepping up every second stair nice and controlled and let your top leg to the lift without pushing from the bottom, you will feel the difference!

Tip: for an added leg workout do some jump squats in place at both the top and bottom of the stairs between each set OR if you want to add in some upper body then do some push ups between sets!

Investing in a few sets of free weights or resistance bands will expand your options for training at home or on the go. Depending on your fitness level you may want a few heavier weights or some lighter ones...remember don’t be afraid to challenge your body with some heavy weights. With these items it allows you to do things such as bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder presses just to name a few!

Tip: the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn at rest! So instead of the 5 lbs go for the 8 lbs!

Tip: If trying to loose weight and burn fat or just trying to maximize your time, focus on compound exercises. These exercises utilize as many muscle groups as possible at one time therefore burning the maximum amount of calories as well as getting in a few different movements at once! An example of this would be a lunge with a shoulder press or a push up with a dumbbell row.

 

Sewing kits, whistles and multipurpose tools

  
  
 


 I am going to need a bigger purse.

A New Hampshire company called Adventure Medical Kits sells (what looks like) a bewitching multi-purpose survival tool in a waterproof case with a compass, knife, LED light, quickstart fire-starting tinder, heavy-test braided nylon cord, stainless-steel wire, and an emergency sewing and fishing kit.

The knife has an emergency whistle built into the handle. The lid of the case is also a mirror or emergency signal. Adventure Medical Kits markets this particular item under their survival brand dubbed SOL. It stands for Survive Outdoors Longer as well as the funny but less family friendly version of SOL. You know the one that starts with a word rhyming with Hit and ends with Out of Luck.

It costs (US) $60 and a company spokesperson said it will be available at Mountain Equipment Co-op (as well as a few other sports retailers) in late March.

It also contains a wee booklet with 60 survival tips and strategies from U.S. backpacking expert Buck Tilton.

Unfortunately the multi-purpose tool I usually carry in my purse (Leatherman Super Tool 300 ) seems to have gone missing.

Just in case my twin sister (who gave it to me as a gift last year) is reading this, I just wanted to be clear I have not given up all hope. Hopefully it will turn up in one of the cracks in the couch.

Based on the pliers, saw, bottle opener (so important), screwdriver heads and rave reviews from a few highly skilled friends, I still consider the Leatherman the king of multi-purpose tools.

My only problem is if this product proves to be high quality (by that I mean fun to play with) I might have to purchase both.

I must remember that having money for groceries is also important when it comes to my survival.

Skid school, homework and finding ways to hold the camera

On Sunday I will head to Oakville for a private lesson at a skid school, or driver training facility that instructs people how to recover if their cars start to spin out on slippery surfaces.

I don't own a car but will borrow a Star car for the assignment. More than once I have ended up driving on highways in close to or whiteout conditions. One memorable drive from North Bay to Toronto resulted in my jaw staying clenched for about 24 hours after I arrived safely home.

Winter seems to be drawing to a close. But apparently cars can skid all year round, so I figure this will be a good skill to learn.

On Saturday I have to read a small handout called the The Seasoned Driver's Course (part of the SafeRoads Canada program) The booklet is a primer on what causes tires to slide (excessive braking) and what can be done to prevent it.

On Sunday morning we (myself and an instructor) get in a car.

I have been filming most of my skill building tests and plan to have a camera in the car.

But with two hands on the wheel I am hoping I can convince my instructor to keep the camera on and pointed in my direction.