Haiti Reminder: Prepare!

It may be a little early to discuss lessons from Haiti, but there's one glaring shortcoming in the relief effort that should put chills down your spine and motivate you to immediately assemble a disaster kit of your own.

Public and private relief organizations from around the world have been on the ground in Haiti for two weeks, and quake victims are going hungry and thirsty by the tens of thousands. The problem, according to all the news reports I've seen, is a failure of coordination. There is no one leader managing the distribution network, so food, water and medicine are sitting in piles unused at the airport. When officials are asked about it, they just kind of pass the buck and no one takes the reins. This while people are clearly suffering.

If you think you're immune to this type of situation, you have a short memory. This is very reminiscent of what happened on a much smaller scale after Katrina hit New Orleans, where residents of the city and outlying parishes were left on their own for days and weeks without coordinated assistance.

None of this comes as a surprise to me. In 2004 and 2005, my home in South Florida was hit by three hurricanes that knocked out power for a week or two. During that period, we had to rely on our own store of non-perishable supplies to get through the ordeal. Hurricanes are a peril for the Gulf Coast and entire Eastern Seaboard. Other areas of the country can experience tornado swarms, earthquakes, blizzards, ice storms and man-made disasters that can put the essentials -- food, water, adequate shelter and medical services -- out of reach of locals for an extended period of time.

You don't have to be a victim. As adventurers, we always have the basics stored in our pantry for our next camping trip. We have at least ten days worth of : 1) Bottled water; 2) Non-perishable canned goods (meats, vegetables, fruits, spaghetti sauces), pastas, crackers, cereals and dried milk; 3) Comfort foods like tea, cocoa and sodas that can make all the difference holding up your spirits when the world around you is in ruin. For shelter, we have a full camping kit, including all-weather tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, pillows, gas stove, cooking pans and utensils. Finally we have a complete first aid kit and extra medications on hand.

I also recommend that you stock batteries, a handcrank flashlight/radio, and bleach with cleaning equipment for decontaminating items and purifying water. None of the items we keep as part of our disaster preparedness kit goes to waste. We rotate the water and food in our normal food preparation process or on camping trips, so it's always kept fresh.

The lesson from Haiti -- a country that anticipates hurricanes but never expected a devastating earthquake -- is there's always a chance that you will experience a natural disaster that may leave you on your own for an extended period of time -- certainly longer than the three days some government agencies ask us to prepare for. The best way to deal with it is through proper preparation. RuggedReviews.com features a lot of the equipment you will need to make it through our next great disaster.

Running Shoes: Basic is Best

Sometimes experience trumps marketing. Case in point: For years I ran in the latest running shoes with air pumps, shock absorbers, cushioned heels and other technological breakthroughs. And for years, I always sensed that all the high-tech features were creating more problems than they were solving.

Every time I ran, it felt like the super-cushioned bottoms were causing my feet to land or adjust to landing slightly off. Often, this led to ankle, knee or hip pain. Shin splints were a chronic problem, too.

A recent report published in the December issue of the journal of American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation confirmed my suspicions. A research team led by former University of Virginia medical researcher Dr. D. Casey Kerrigan found that too much cushioning causes increased pressure on the ankle, hip and knee. The cushioning creats torque -- or twisting -- that would increase stress on a runner's body. The report stated that the damage inflicted could be greater than that experienced by women wearing high heels.

Long before this report came out, I stopped buying high-tech sneakers in favor of more basic designs. My favorite running shoe for the last three years has been Salomon's Techamphibian model. The shoes, reviewed on my Web site RuggedReviews.com, are as basic as it gets. They have a much flatter soul and bottom than high-tech running shoes, but they also feature a single-pull lacing system and adjustable heel strap that ensure they stay on firmly.

The Salomon Techamphibian shoe is intended for use in marine environments. They're made of synthetic materials and have a wide mesh upper that's suitable for warm-hot conditions. I wouldn't use them in off-road running-- the shoes will fill up with sand, pebbles and twigs. But for regular road-running, they can't be beat.

Food, Water, Shelter -- Adventure Essentials

Off-season -- when it's too cold and inclement for me to go on any great adventures outside my home state, Florida -- I spend my spare time searching for travel ideas.

I was watching an intriguing PBS adventure show Saturday in which a young woman host was canyoneering with guides in northeast Arizona. The colorful sandstone landscape held many hazards for hiking and rappeling, chief among them steep and unstable canyon ledges and the danger of flash flooding in the monsoon season. Ultimately, none of these dramatic threats posed a danger to the host, guides and film crew. What turned their trip from an exciting adventure into pure misery the very first day was the common malady called unpreparedness.

They were hours into their hike -- on the way to a fully-stocked campsite -- when thunderstorms and rising waters slowed them down. They fell so far behind their schedule that night fell. Certain that hiking canyonlands in the dark was too dangerous, they decided to set up camp far short of their destination. It was at this point that the clearly agitated host turned to the camera and said she was annoyed. Sure that they'd make it to the pre-arranged campsite on time, they brought minimal supplies. Their total cache consisted of a bottle of water, two apples and a power bar.

They also didn't bring any kind of shelter with them -- not tent or tarp -- which meant they had to build a lean-to structure out of branches. This was almost-adequate, until a thunderstorm moved in and rain dripped through the branches. Miserable, the host hunkered in the lean-to in the dark while water dripped on her.

The lesson of this misadventure shouldn't be lost on anyone -- even the pros. Always bring enough food and water for an emergency. If you're going out for a day, bring a Nalgene bottle full of water. If you're going overnight, bring two. The food doesn't have to be extravagant. A couple of power bars a day should hold you. If there's even a slight chance that you won't make it to your destination and you might get stuck overnight, the shelter can be as simple as a tarp that can be used to create a makeshift shelter. (Cold weather will, of course, require greater preparation. A lightweight, 4-season tent is essential.)

Another critical point is to bring climate-appropriate clothing. If there's even a chance of rain, bring a raincoat and rain pants. I can't tell you how many times mine have kept me warm and dry from rain and fierce wind. Finally, bring a map and a basic first aid kit and know how to use it before you hit the trail.

Great adventures require great planning. Making sure you cover the basics can mean the difference between life and death or at least a memorable trip for all the right reasons. RuggedReviews.com has an Adventure page with great gear for all occasions.

Web Design The Winter Away

EVERYONE has a story to tell, and the Web is a great place to tell it. For little or no cost you can post your thoughts, start a social movement, or create and promote a business out of thin air. Designing a Web page is a great way to exercise your creativity and become acquainted with the nuts and bolts behind the virtual world we increasingly inhabit each and every day. It's also a productive way to pass long winter days indoors.

Establishing a presence on the Web can be as easy as joining a social networking site -- Facebook or Myspace, for example -- and sharing your life with friends and family. Another option is writing your own blog, like RuggedReviews.com The Blog. Both options cost nothing and can provide the means to expand your circle of friends in the outside world.

For the more ambitious -- even those who don't want to learn complicated computer programming languages -- there are Web design services that offer preformed templates. All you have to do is pick a design and plug in your text and photos and upload your siteto a host.

If you want to be really creative -- and you don't mind having to learn a little about what makes a good Web site and how to upload it to a host server yourself -- you can purchase an open-ended Web design program.

I never designed a Web site from top-to-bottom before I created RuggedReviews.com, but I was determined to learn at least the basics. To create a site from scratch without having to learn html -- the programming language of the Web -- I decided to purchase a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Web design program.

WYSIWYG programs are very similar to working with a standard word processing program. Wherever you put your text and photos is where they should actually appear when the site is uploaded to the Web. I say "should" because not all WYSIWYG programs are created equal. The first program I tried was a nightmare. I'd put titles, text boxes, graphics and photos in the composition window, then check the design on a page that replicated the way the items would appear on the Web only to find the elements shifted all over the place. I fought the faulty program for weeks before giving up. I was so disappointed it took me a while after that to take up designing RuggedReviews.com again.

The second time I approached the project, I researched WYSIWYG programs exhaustively and all paths led to the SiteSpinner Web design software. Right out of the box, the experience was better. The program installed easily on my computer. When I opened it, I saw that the composing screen was well organized and featured easy to recognize controls for adding text, photos and tables. Three of the most-used design elements.

It took me about a day of playing with the program to fully understand the controls. Once I got started designing and writing RuggedReviews.com, I didn't want to take a break.

The biggest challenges to designing a Web page from scratch are making sure:

1) You not only can write but you enjoy writing. If you don't, the experience will get old fast.

2) You enjoy creating and processing original artwork for the Web. If you don't, this will become tedious, too. Web sites depend heavily on visual content. I shoot my own photos and use Adobe PhotoShop Elements to process them. Especially valuable is Adobe PhotoShop Elements' "Save for the Web" feature that makes it a cinch to get the best quality with the lowest amount of memory-consuming kilobytes.

3) You are dedicated to editing, maintaining, updating and promoting the site (especially if it's business related). This is critical. A Web site will die quickly if viewers visit and there's nothing new to see.

4) You like to learn. The Web is rapidly evolving. You have to evolve with it or get left in the dust.

If you have enthusiasm for all of these critical Web skills, you'll enjoy designing your own Web site on a WYSIWYG program like SiteSpinner. After the initial build, probably the most intimidating process is uploading your masterpiece to the Web. SiteSpinner has a very basic publishing tool. If you place your site on their host server, it should be a snap. I placed mine on HostMonster.com and hit a few snags, but HostMonster's and SiteSpinner's expert service reps addressed my questions and had me up and running in no time.

RuggedReviews.com isn't a perfect Web site -- yet. But I'm learning more about designing and operating a Web site every day, and the challenge scratches my brain and expands my horizons. Can't ask for more than that from a hobby.

Time to Bust That Gut -- Part 2

Ok. We had another week to eat a bunch of junk. We're downright bloated and seriously ready to eat well and work out.

Last week, we talked about the mental side of working out, mainly that exercise has to be seen as a permanent part of our lives, not just a way to fit into our favorite clothes for a single special event. The other critical point made was that we absolutely can't dive into exercising with so much gusto that we hurt ourselves or flame out. We have to take it slow at the beginning and build up strength and endurance as we get fitter.

On the diet front, I don't use any specific diet. I try to eat well from the four basic food groups and keep junk food out of my kitchen. I'm at my worst when there's potato chips, ice cream and anything chocolate in the house, so I keep them out of the house. I'm not sure what to call this diet, but you're welcome to submit a title.

My basic workout regimen -- when I'm not doing the P90X Extreme Home Fitness regimen is to run for 40 minutes three days a week and weight train for fitness another three days. Running is excellent for my cardio-vascular system. It also helps me to control my allergies by keeping the gunk moving, and it provides a mental catharsis that helps me to keep my head clear. All that, and it just plain feels good to get out and actually interact with the world instead of seeing it from car and office windows.

If you take up running, be sure to buy the right running shoes. Living in Florida's typically hot environment, I like a shoe that has lots of ventilation, like the Salomon Techamphibian line. I also like to use a Garmin GPS/heart rate monitor watch, Ipod Shuffle headphones, and Sweat Gutr headband. None of this equipment is absolutely essential, but it makes running more enjoyable, which means I will do it more. This point needs to be repeated, too. You have to find forms of exercise you truly enjoy, or, sooner or later, you will quit. After a few months, running became such a positive force in my life, I crave it.

As for weight training, I have to stress again that I do it for fitness. That means I'm not out to bulk up or get model ripped. I'm happy residing in a body that's strong enough for any activities, as diverse as hiking up steep mountains to kayaking long distances, that also appears healthy. I purposely avoid working with weights that are so heavy they might cause injury -- especially to my back. We all know a lot of former weight trainers whose activities are restricted because they hefted too much and caused permanent injury. I also listen to my body. If a joint or tendon is hurting, I lighten the load or find a new exercise that provides the same benefit.

I also constantly check to make sure that I am performing exercises with good form. Good form is more important than the amount of weight lifted or the number of reps completed. With good form, you get maximum benefit per movement. Without good form, you will actually damage your body, which is counterproductive.

I work with weight that's certainly a challenge but mostly focus on getting in as many reps as possible. A typical workout features three sets each of pushups, pullups, chinups, curls, lawnmowers, tricep dips, dumbbell bench presses, and overhead tricep extensions. You might want to mix up a bunch of different exercises. As long as your workout touches all muscle groups and builds core strength, you're on the right track.

Two excellent resources for weight training are The Special Ops Workout book, which will provide you with a firm understanding of beneficial exercises and how to perform them correctly. Once you get fit, you might want to take on Tony Horton's P90X Extreme Fitness Regimen. I can't say enough about how much this 13 DVD set did to bring me to my maximum fitness level. I like it so much, I take on the 90 day regimen twice a year. It's so tough, any more than that and I'd flame out.

The bottom line to all of this is that to be healthy for a lifetime, you have to commit time six days a week to maintaining a healthy body. Fortunately, there are so many exercises that can help you achieve that end you should be able to find several that you enjoy.