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The practical Way to go : At a minimum, frugal financial planning for preppers simply means living within your means so that you are able to build yourself a financial cushion. For beginning preppers, this is important to ensure that you can build sufficient emergency reserves of supplies and cash (cash on hand, not at the bank). In addition, you will want to gradually reduce your reliance on things that may not be available to you, such as utilities and fuel.

The coronavirus is a hard habit for the media to break — and that’s pushing other dangers off-stage and out of sight. As the country marked one year since the attack on the Capitol, most mainstream news outlets last week still made their central focus COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. Every twist and turn in the pandemic continues to gobble up resources and dominate headlines at the expense of stories that are just as urgent.

Wearing religious garb publicly, whether cassock, biretta, habit, etc., was at one time a no-brainer act for all priestly and religious vocations. It was always understood to give a public witness to the Faith, and serve as a tool for evangelization. Even Hollywood has picked up on this, and invariably portrays priests and religious in traditional habits. But many in the Church have forgotten this elemental truth over the past few decades. A very handy post from Fr. Peter Carota – who you should read daily! – notes the conversion experience of one secular woman who found herself having a...

Secrets of the Habit – A Fascinating Video and Reflection on the Wearing of the HabitBy: Msgr. Charles Pope  The video at the bottom of this post is a fascinating little exploration of the traditional habit of Religious Sisters. The video does not make it clear as  to what Order the Habit belonged. There are many things I learned about a habit I never knew. Things like hidden “saddle bag” pockets, opening crucifixes, symbolism in the pleats, and the purpose of the outer veil. I hope you’ll take time an view a fascinating video.Sadly,  the sister who recounts the hidden...

In the early days of life without nicotine I am focusing on the positives associated with quitting. The greatest thought is an incident that firmly planted the quit smoking seed into my mind. Even before my diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease surfaced, the wheels were put into motion by a most unlikely source. It came out of the blue from my 9-year-old grandson. As part of the Thanksgiving observance last year at his school, he noted what the holiday means to him. What he posted on the wall in his third grade classroom was priceless. He wrote, “I am...

WASHINGTON (AP) - During a Vietnam-era run for Congress three decades ago, John Kerry said he opposed a volunteer Army because it would be dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to "the perpetuation of war crimes." Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who turned against the war, made the observations in answers to a 1972 candidate questionnaire from a Massachusetts peace group. After Kerry caused a firestorm this week with what he termed a botched campaign joke that Republicans said insulted current soldiers, The Associated Press was alerted to the historical comments by a former law...

For some, the Internet it has become an addiction, adversely affecting their lives and their family's lives. While not yet defined as a true addiction, many people are suffering the consequences of obsession with the online world, warns Dr. Diane M. Wieland, who treats patients with computer addiction in her practice in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. For some people, the Internet may promote addictive behaviors and pseudo-intimate interpersonal relationships, reports Wieland in the journal, Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. "Such cyberspace contacts may result in cyber disorders such as virtual relationships that evolve into online marital infidelity (cybersex) or online sexually compulsive behaviors,"...

/begin my abridged translation  Kim Jong-il's 'Platform Shoes' Caught in Pictures 4-5 inches tall, foreign photographers spotted them [ 2005-05-24 11:48 ] A photo from Oct. 2002 issue of 'Korea Today', taken during the 2001 summit with Russian President Putin.    Kim Jong-il is said to be 165cm(approx. 5' 5") tall. However, he is believed to be smaller. It is well-known that he wears platform shoes to compensate his short stature. His platform shoes are kept as top secrets among N. Korean media photographers.  We analyzed photos taken by foreign media during Kim's trips to China and Russia in 2001 and 2002....

WASHINGTON - Ronald Reagan (news - web sites), in his 1988 State of the Union address to Congress, hefted a 1,000-page, 14-pound spending bill and warned lawmakers against sending him more "behemoths" like this. "And if you do, I will not sign it." Last Saturday, Congress passed a spending bill of more than 3,000 pages — what Sen. Robert Byrd (news, bio, voting record), D-W.Va., called a "monstrosity" — to fund most federal programs in 2005. President Bush (news - web sites) will sign it into law next month, but only after Congress returns to pass a separate bill to...

There are enough packs of cigarettes in the freezer to get AshfieldK and I through Friday, then we are quitting cold turkey. Since I do most of my smoking while sitting in front of the computer, FReeping or playing solitaire, the computer is going to be off from this Friday night until the morning of September 3, 2004. This means that I'll need a volunteer to post the Family Table thread on 8-27, moms--I'll let you work that out, just let me know who gets the ping list. After this coming Friday's back-to-school thread, Grellis will be silent for two...

Humans' 10,000-year warming habit By Richard Black BBC science correspondent, in San Francisco Human influence on climate is hotly debated Humans have been warming the Earth's climate for the last 10,000 years, US scientist William Ruddiman claims. The University of Virginia professor says agriculture has put greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, pushing up temperatures by about one Celsius. This, he claims, has broadly balanced the cooling that should have come from a natural reduction in the Sun's heat reaching Earth over the same period. The professor has presented his ideas to the American Geophysical Union. The AGU is holding its...