Surviving a Blizzard in La Yacata

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Snow in Los Amoles, Moroleon, Guanajuato March 2016

Yes, La Yacata is in central Guanajuato and the average daily temperature in the state of Guanajuato is 65 degrees F (18.1 degrees C), but a blizzard is possible, especially in light of global climate change. In fact, in March 2016, Los Amoles, which is another municipality of Moroleon at a higher elevation than La Yacata, did in fact, experience a blizzard.

So, looking at what the experts suggest in the event of a blizzard, how does La Yacata (or rather the Flores family in La Yacata) rate for preparedness?

In the event of a blizzard, make sure you have:

1. Working flashlight (check) We always have at least one flashlight that is fully charged. Overall, we’ve found the cranky handle type to be the best value for the money.

2. A charged cell phone (check) We charge our phones with the car battery inverter or power banks.  Although I don’t rightly know who we’d call.  I suppose it would be good to keep our emergency status updated on Facebook!

3. Battery-powered radio or television (check) We have a rechargeable radio, but no TV.  I expect this is to be informed about changes in the weather conditions, although both serve as a nice distraction when cooped up indoors. Instead of the TV, we do have portable DVD players.

4. Extra food, water, and medicine (check) My thyroid medicine is issued in 6 months supply quantities. I doubt a blizzard would last that long. We have an aljibe (dry well) and 2-3 tinacos (water storage containers) for water storage. We also keep a good supply of beans and rice for when there just isn’t anything else. We have milk when the goats are lactating and eggs when the chickens are laying.

5. First Aid Supplies (check)We keep a small first aid kit on hand. We also have aloe growing out back for burns and wound treatment although, in the event of a blizzard, we might have to dig it out.

6. Heating fuel (check) We not only have a small supply of mesquite wood but a chimney in which to burn it as well. And remember, cow patties and horse poop burn pretty darn good and we have a good source for both of those!

7. Emergency heating source (check) Our lovely chimney, of course.

8. Fire extinguishers (NOPE) But, I must say that only in one place in the 10 odd residences I have lived has there been a fire extinguisher available. And in that case, it did come in handy when my refrigerator caught on fire.

9. Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors (NOPE) We ought to maybe look into these for La Yacata.

Not on the official list but I would also recommend:

–a kindle or other reading material (check)  We have a kindle and a nice large library to keep the cabin fever at bay.

non-electric cooking device (check) Our stove uses gas and our entire kitchen is fully functional without electricity.

On a Farm:

1. Move all animals to an enclosed shelter (check) Although our chickens roost outside and the goat area is outside, both areas have a roof and 2 walls. We also have enough room to move all the animals into a 3 walled area with our horses in necessary.

2. Bring extra feed to nearby feeding areas (check) With our recent remodel of Joey‘s stall, we have a nice area to store food.

3. Have an extra water supply easily available (check) Our aljibe (dry well) is right in our back yard and our tinacos (water storage containers) are up on the roof of the first floor.

So as you can see, we are fully prepared in the event of a blizzard or two here in La Yacata!

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Surviving an Apocalypse in La Yacata

I don’t consider myself a Prepper per se, but I find that our aims (the Preppers and Me) are often very similar. With that in mind, I’m recommending La Yacata as a Bug-Out Location (a place to go in the event of a disaster). Of course, if I were truly a Prepper, I wouldn’t give you the location of my secret bunker. After all, you might tell the Zombies where I am.

I love living in La Yacata, despite its hardships, but it may seem like a stretch of the imagination for me to say that La Yacata is the place to be in the event of an Apocolypse. Maybe a little venture into word origins is in order.

So what is an Apocalypse?

The term Apocalypse is actually not a scary thing. It comes from the Greek and literally means uncovering or unveiling of knowledge.

Thus, in the bible book of Revelations, otherwise known as the Apocalypse of John, the apostle John records his unveiled knowledge of the end of the known world. In his visions, he saw the ultimate victory of good over evil. Not something that would inspire fear, provided you are on the right side.

In Prepper terminology, this event would be known as TEOTWAKI (The End of the World As we Know It) which doesn’t mean the end of the world, just the end of the known world, implying that there will be something on the other side of the Apocalypse. Going back to the apostle John, his vision included something of what was on the other side of that battle of Armageddon, the beginning of a 1000 reign of Christ and a new heaven and new earth. As for what comes after that thousand year stretch of prosperity, I expect it would be another Apocalypse.

The Aztec also had beliefs about Apocalypses that are similar to the apostle John. They believed that there had been four worlds (called Suns) before the present one. The previous 4 worlds had been created then destroyed by catastrophic events caused by the gods. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Aztecs were living in what they believed to be the Fifth Sun (world) and in fact, felt they were the chosen people of the Sun God. In order to show all due respect to their god, they sacrificed humans on a massive scale to keep the world from ending. Ironically, in part, it was the excessive sacrificing that caused the internal rifts that made the inhabitants ripe for a revolution which the Spaniards played on in order to gain supporters for their conquest causing the “Aztec Apocalypse” (See La Malinche) So this internal strife, disease brought by the Spanish and ecological collapse caused by excessive exploitation of the natural resources all played a hand in the Aztec demise, but more about those in later posts.

The current mistaken common belief that the end of the world as we know it is the end of THE WORLD has caused all sorts of hysteria. Look at all that hullabaloo about 2012 being the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. What people didn’t seem to get in their panic is that yes, it was the end of a “world” but it also marked the beginning of another.

The Mayans believed that three previous worlds had been created and destroyed. Humans didn’t arrive on the planet until the current, fourth world. This fourth epoch would end December 21, 2012, or Mayan date 13.0.0.0.0. It didn’t mean that the planet would be destroyed, just that an age was at an end and another ready to begin.

So, endings and beginnings aside, I still believe La Yacata to be the place for the best chance of survival in the event of catastrophic events. And I’ll tell you why.

Just to make it fun, I will be addressing different potential apocalypse-making disasters in alphabetical order this month with the A to Z Blogging Challenge. You’ll be able to see all the links below at the end of the month.

Meanwhile…..

REM It’s the end of the world as we know it

A to Z reasons why La Yacata is the place to be WTSHTF (When the Sh*t hits the Fan)

A-Apocalypse

B-blizzard

C-climate change

D-drought

E-EMP Attack

F-fire

G-global economic collapse

H-hail

I-impact of an asteroid

J-jawhole

K-kakistocracy

L-lightning strike

M-martial law

N-nuclear disaster

O-oil shortage

P-pandemic

Q-quake

R-revolution

S-solar storm

T-terrorism

U-UFO invasion

V-volcanic eruption

W-wind storm

X-toxic cloud

Y-years

Z-zombies

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Book Review–Cancelled: The Ultimate October Surprise by Michael Pinsky

cancelled

Cancelled: The Ultimate October Surprise by Michael Pinsky

It’s June before the 2016 US elections and things are a bit out of the ordinary.  Business tycoon Austin Howard is the unlikely dark-horse for the Republicans.  A former senator, Secretary of State and former First Lady Samantha Thompson is battling it out at the Democratic primaries with Senator Leland Anthony, the popular favorite.  While the public is being entertained by the mud-slinging Presidential candidate debates, General William Mendenhall, retired commander, becomes increasingly alarmed about the underlying motives for the Presidential orders that cut military spending but increase militarization of federal agencies.  The whole world is watching as the days count down to the election.

Although Cancelled: The Ultimate October Surprise by Michael Pinsky is a work of fiction, a number of characters could be easily identified as having some basis in reality.  This added to the intrigue and the what-if scenarios but also was a little confusing.  For instance, several actual episodes of the Trump/Clinton race are presented through the eyes of Austin Howard of Samantha Thompson, thereby accrediting things not known to be true as motives for the real events.  Then worldwide terrorist attacks were mentioned in the text, along with fictionalized attacks making it difficult to keep the parallel universes straight at times.  Despite this, the political story that unfolded was riveting.  Perhaps there is something to all those conspiracy theories after all.

I had more trouble following the covert military sections.  Instead of prose, most of the story was advanced through dialogue.  There were multiple characters to keep track of including retired and active duty military personnel, senators, governors, and terrorists.  Not being terribly military aware, I couldn’t say if the maneuvers were more or less authentic or boys playing soldier.

If you followed the 2016 elections as carefully as I did, I believe you would enjoy this book.  If you are following the political developments under POTUS 45 since his election, I believe you would find the book incredibly interesting.  Could the events that are depicted in this fiction book actually happen?  Only time will tell.

I rate this book a 3 out of 4.  I could not, in all conscience, rate this book higher, however much I enjoyed it, because of the number of typographical errors and poorly worded sentences.  The dialogue was forced and repetitive in many instances.  A good editor would be able to fix these errors and add to the quality of the book.

three stars

This book was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day.  Click here to see other great titles.

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Failing at your own business–Blogging

You’ve all seen the headlines “Make money blogging” “Become a millionaire blogger” “Quit your job and blog the day away.” Well, as with all too good to be true schemes, making incredible amounts of money with your blog is realistically not doable for average folks. That’s not to say that there aren’t bloggers out there who found the magic formula and made lots of money blogging. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be books or courses showing you how (and making money for their authors). Unfortunately, I’m average folks and this is how monetizing my blog is going for me. (Spoiler alert–read the title of this post again)

So what is the magic formula?  Problogger reveals all:

  1. Set up your blog
  2. Start creating useful content
  3. Get off your blog and start finding readers
  4. Build engagement with the readers that come
  5. Start making money from the readership you have through one or more of a variety of income streams

Provided you’ve achieved steps 1-4, it’s time to start thinking about monetizing your blog. Here’s a list of income generating ways to consider. Some I’ve tried, some I plan to, and some are just not for me.

Advertising Income

The easiest way to add advertising income is to apply for Google Adsense.  If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see areas where Google Adsense will place appropriate ads.  I don’t have to do anything but attract readers.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  I have a privacy policy and an About page with a way to contact me.  (See also 12 Things to Do Before Applying for Google AdSense)

Other advertisers include Infolinks, BidVertiser, and Medianet.

Affiliate Income

I also use affiliate income. With these types of link, if someone clicks and buys a product during that session, I earn a commission on the sale. I link to Amazon and Amazon Mexico Amazon Mexico products in my posts and include links to a variety of products that I think my readers would be interested in through FlexOffers and ShareaSale.


Find a sponsor for your web site. Get paid for your great content.

I have yet to earn any money through the last two sites but there are a lot of great companies listed!

I have an astore through Amazon as well, which lists products that I think people considering moving to Mexico would find useful. This has been the most profitable option for me. In 2016 I earned almost $20. I know, I know. I’m rolling in the big bucks.

amazon earnings 2016

I have also signed up for Zulily and G Suite affiliate programs. I’m always on the lookout for other companies that I think might be useful for my readers.

(See also The Ultimate guide to making money with the Amazon affiliate program and 10 popular affiliate programs for small and medium sized blogs)  

I have added a disclaimer on all my affiliate link pages to satisfy legal requirements.  (For more information on this requirement see Best Practices: Blogger Disclosure Examples and Tips)  

With ads and affiliate links as additions to my posts, I’ve opted for readability over prominent ad placement. I probably sacrifice earnings, but my readers come to my blog to read my stuff, not shop. If they happen to see a link or ad that appeals to them and I earn a commission, well, that’s great too.

Events

Some blogs organize conferences to add to their income. One of my favorite blogs Raising Miro organizes World schooling summits and Teen Learning retreats.  This isn’t something I do right now, but maybe in the future?  Who can say?

Memberships and services
Other blogs offer paying memberships. Internations.org/mexico-expats has a free version and an upgraded version. For a yearly fee you are entitled to use other services not permitted to the free loaders.

Memberships and services

Other blogs offer paying memberships. Internations.org has a free version and an upgraded version.  For a yearly fee you are entitled to use other services not permitted to the free loaders.

Other sites offer personal coaching or access to special lists and exclusive deals. I don’t know what I would offer paying readers that would differ enough to make it worth their while. I have mentioned that I’m available for certain jobs (See Failing at your own business–web design) but have yet to earn any money from readers contacting me.

Selling Products or Promoting a Business

My friend at ChildOrganics.com had an online business selling organic baby products for years.  She moved to a more informative setup and no longer sells those products but it was a major source of income for her family for quite some time.  I’ve started my writing career along with illustrator Claudia Guzes (who sells her artwork) with my first e-book.  I hope to add a whole series of e-books to my name in the near future.  I’ve promoted business as well, not that I receive a commission on that, but perhaps someday. (See Modern Day Marias–Maggie the provider and Modern Day Marias–Nicole the liberator).  I like to think I’m paying it forward.

Courses are another way to offer a virtual product that will keep providing income.  I’ve highlighted a few that I particularly on my Finding your Passion page.

Asking for donations and Crowdfunding

I’ve seen bloggers asking for donations on a variety of sites.  However, I have taken my donate button off because Paypal does not allow for donations to any organization except non-profit.  I also had a crowd funding option (Indiegogo) to receive donations for La Yacata (See Generosity) which I removed, mostly because after a year I hadn’t received a cent.  I’ve heard about this option doing well for some people.  Unfortunately, I’m not some people.

Syndicating content

I have used syndicated content for one of my guest bloggers Jamie Miranda.  I asked permission to use her original blog post on my site with a link back to her blog.  I do not pay my guest bloggers, but appearing on my site does increase SEO for the original blogger.  Apparently there are paying gigs out there for syndicating content.  (For more information See The 101 on Content Syndication: Who, What, Where, When and Why)

Reviewing Products

I’ve just begun my venture into reviewing books for pay.  You can read all about that here)  Although I have yet to make any money doing this, I have high hopes.  If other products come my way for review that would appeal for my readers, I’d be interested as well.

Become a professional blogger

If you love blogging, there are people out there who will pay you to write their blogs.  This isn’t a feasible option for me as I can barely get out my own posts in a timely manner.  I’ve got too much else going on.  But….it’s an option. (See How I Make $5,000 a Month as a Paid Blogger)

Selling the blog

If you’ve established a successful blog that you no longer wish to pursue, instead of just letting it languish away quietly, sell it.  You’ll get a better price if you’ve done everything legally by the book (no copyright infringements, adequate disclosures, etc).  (See also Signs You Could Sell Your Blog and Make Money)

There you have it folks! The recipe for successful monetization of your blog. Have I missed anything? Let me know.

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