Solar activity: There are two major events happening on the sun. One, there is a very large prominence on the sun.  Two, dark filament of magnetism is winding halfway around the entire sun. I am unaware of the effects this will have on the earth.  I will keep my eye on the situation. I will report back to you if there are any negative effects from the collapse of these structures. This information comes from SpaceWeather.com

Cyber-attack:  Attacks on our computer systems are not reported on that often.  It’s easy to focus on preparing for natural disasters, but what about technology disasters? Our infrastructure is not bullet proof. I will leave the Wall Street Journal article up in the “News Section”, it is a great article about this threat. The Tech Herald talks about home grown hackers breaking into business computer systems, and taking sensitive files.

Fraud: Speaking of being hacked, I found out this past week someone stole my debt card information and was making illegal purchases.  Make sure your bank has your current phone number, so they can contact you ASAP. When suspicious fraud activity is detected. It is also a good idea to check your account once a week. It is vital to report the crime to the police.  I went to www.portlandonline.com/police/ to file my report.  It’s a great alternative than to call an operator who is probably fielding more urgent calls.  Click here for a great article about ATM skimming.

Winter:  Multnomah County going off the NOAA information has announced the chance for more “active winter storm season and higher precipitation than normal this year.” Let’s hope the weather is not a repeat of January of 2004. I will be posting an article about winter weather in the next week.

Training: Swing by the training tab to see if there are any classes you would like to take.  I have included classes on herbal medicine, farmers market, and emergency preparedness.

Facebook: If you haven’t done so yet, click on Facebook tab and “Like” the page.  It is great way to gain extra information and help raise my self-esteem Also; you can contact me by email at preparePDX@gmail.com or by the comment/contact buttons. I greatly appreciate any comments that are left.

Guest blogger:  Prepare and Survive Expo.com invited me to write a post for them.  It is titled Financial Calamity 101.  It is the most important post I have written about the financial situation. When you have the time check out the article, and please leave a comment letting others know what you think of the material.  Speaking of financial issues, here are two more articles I would highly recommend to help understand the economic situation. Greg Hunter from UsaWatchDog.com talks about the unfolding drama taking place in Europe. On November 1st, The Automatic Earth website wrote a simple to understand article about buzz words the banking system likes to use.  This is a long article, but well worth the time.