“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.” Roger Miller

OH NO!!! The words uttered just before your favorite electronic device falls into a puddle of water. Now what? Turn the device off immediately. If it is off already DO NOT TURN IT ON! No not even to try it for a sec. Now what? Get a Tupperware container and fill it with rice (uncooked) and then bury your device in the middle of the rice and put the top on. Now we play the waiting game. The longer it was in the water is the longer it stays in the container. Rice is absorbent and will suck in the water from your device. I would try to wait as long as I could, about a week. If you are prone to the watering of electronics then it is time to get prepared. You know those little packets that come with things like shoes or vitamins. It is a packet of silica and is made to absorb water. Every time I get these lovely little freebies I add them to my mason jar and save them for emergencies. I will put them in with the rice to help speed up the absorption of water. So start saving now because a water balloon comes when you least expect it.

“Never speak loudly to one another unless the house is on fire”

Yesterday I placed a call to my father in San Diego hoping to find out if he and his house were OK. I did get a short text message back telling me it was smoky but OK. This of course got me thinking of the net and its usefulness for this sort of event. One example is Google maps for San Diego. They have created a special map that has all sorts of icons that show you where to bring large pets, find some shelter and where fires have broken out. As Wi-Fi and Internet access increase, it is this sort of thing that could help a lot of us feel better and in extreme cases survive in an emergency. So if you have interest in the wildfires or just want to see a good emergency implantation of a map, give it a try.

The Weasley family clock has all hands pointing at "mortal peril." Rowling

After incidents like 911 and Katrina the American Red Cross decided to use some Internet help for people. One of the major problems for family and friends of victims is the unknown fate of the person they care for. The Safe and well list is a database that has those involved in emergencies put up their information as soon as they can, Families can search to see if their loved one is on the list. It is a simple site and does not have mush else besides a search function. At the moment of posting they had over 1100 registered safe and well. If you are worried about someone give it a try.