Seed starting time is coming.

Hey Floridians!

It's getting close to that time again to start those seeds (if the south Floridians haven't started already).The Mothership (American Preppers) is running a free seed giveaway. The seeds are non-hybrids/non-GMO and the company running the giveaway, Hometown Seeds has a great selection.

7.0 Earthquake strikes Haiti

Though an initial tsunami watch was issued....it has since been cancelled.

Since I am at the coast this issue has crossed my mind a few times.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rja6.php#details
Magnitude
7.0
Date-Time
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 21:53:09 UTC
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 04:53:09 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
18.451°N, 72.445°W
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region
HAITI REGION
Distances
15 km (10 miles) SW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
140 km (90 miles) E of Les Cayes, Haiti
145 km (90 miles) WNW of Barahona, Dominican Republic
1140 km (710 miles) SE of Miami, Florida
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 8.3 km (5.2 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters
NST=103, Nph=103, Dmin=365.7 km, Rmss=1.14 sec, Gp= 94°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID
us2010rja6

To: U.S. and Canadian Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico coastal regions
From: NOAA/NWS/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
Subject: Tsunami Information Statement #1 issued 01/12/2010 at 6:03PM AST

A strong earthquake has occurred, but a tsunami IS NOT expected along the coasts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states, and Eastern Canadian provinces. NO tsunami warning, watch or advisory is in effect for these areas.

Based on the earthquake location, magnitude, and historic tsunami records, a damaging tsunami IS NOT expected along the Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic, Eastern Canadian and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Earthquakes of this size can generate destructive tsunamis along the coast near the epicenter. Authorities in the epicentral region should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action.

At 5:53 PM Atlantic Standard Time on January 12, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 7.3 occurred in the Haiti region . (Refer to the United States Geological Survey for official earthquake parameters.)

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii will issue messages for areas in the Caribbean outside Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

This will be the only statement issued for this event by the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center unless conditions warrant. See the WCATWC web site for basic tsunami information, safety rules, and a tsunami travel time map and table. (NOTE: Travel time maps and tables indicate forecasted times only, not that a wave was generated.)

Unemployment numbers December...Update

Update at the bottom


www.medfinity.com

Many, incuding myself were hoping for an improvement to the employment numbers...unfortunately bad news. The economy seems on life support.


Size of Labor force -661,000 vs -272,000 (revised down) last month.

No Longer in Labor Force +843,000 vs +326,000 (revised up) last month....this is really huge....
In the last 3 months 1.162 MILLION workers are gone...no longer counted.

U6 (those on UE long and short term plus those with part time jobs that want full time) is now 17.3% +0.1%

Over 1.1 million people are no longer counted in the BLS stat in the last 3 months alone because they have given up looking...thus they are no longer in the stats.

Dec 2008:
6.6 million people were unemployed 14 weeks or less(but still on benefits)
4.3 million people were unemployed 15 weeks or more (but still on benefits)
Total: 10.9 Million

Dec 2009:
6.2 million people were unemployed 14 weeks or less (but still on benefits)
8.5 million people were unemployed 15 weeks or more (but still on benefits)
Total: 14.7 Million (or a 74% increase over Dec 2008)
(from BLS Table A-9)

Actual unemployment is probably ~13% for the U-3 numbers and ~20.5% for the U-6 numbers....we are reaching depression era numbers.

This all suggests to me things are not only worse but will continue to stay bad. Not to be a doom and gloomer, but eventually something has to give. Either the government will have to print even more money (which causes inflation) or states will begin to default.

I worry to prevent default, many will begin to cut some crucial services such as fire and police. This leads one to reassess security and fire prevention protocol/plans. If ifr services are cut back do you need more fire extinguishers? A larger first aid kit? Should a AED be a part of your kit if you have someone in your house that could be a candidate for heart attack?

All things that should be considered.

Update
In my mentioning of defaults by states....a new article came out today about California and it may not pay some bills that come due in March. This is called a default in the real world, much like what happened in Dubai when they said they wanted to delay payments on bills.

Hard Freeze Warning

I know this isn't breaking news for anyone in North Florida, but 2 nights in a row make things really tough on plants and animals. I was trying to cheat and get a 3rd cycle of tomatoes from my plants...managed to get a few before the plant had had enough.

Be careful Friday into Saturday with the rain coming followed by a possibility of freezing temps. Could be areas of ice on roads especially bridges and shaded roads.

Stay warm out there!

HIGH PRESSURE WILL SETTLE OVER THE AREA TONIGHT...BRINGING LIGHT
WINDS AND NEARLY IDEAL RADIATIONAL COOLING. AS A RESULT...ANOTHER
HARD FREEZE WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TONIGHT. SUB-FREEZING
TEMPERATURES WILL PERSIST FOR UP TO 12 HOURS. MINIMUM TEMPERATURES
WILL RANGE LOWER TO MID 20S.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A HARD FREEZE WARNING MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE
IMMINENT OR HIGHLY LIKELY. THESE CONDITIONS WILL KILL CROPS AND
OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION. YOUNG CHILDREN...THE ELDERLY... THE
HOMELESS AND OUTDOOR PETS ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO THE COLD.
TAKE MEASURES TO PROTECT THEM. BE PARTICULARLY CAREFUL WITH
PORTABLE HEATERS...THERE IS DANGER OF FIRE OR POISONOUS FUMES.
APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO ENSURE EXPOSED WATER PIPES
HAVE ADEQUATE PROTECTION FROM THE COLD TEMPERATURES.

Catch-up.

Hey Florida Preppers!

I am back from my long (badly needed) vacation in the Caribbean. I have alot of catching up to do, as you can see by the new masthead as well as the rapid changes at the American Preppers website.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and will have a safe and prosperous New Year. Any suggestions or submissions you wish to make to the board or areas that need to be covered, let me know.

Tom H