Richard Stooker

Ultimate Fitness by Gina Kolata

I could give this book a lot better review if it had a more appropriate title. The subtitle is a lot better: The Quest for Truth About Exercise and Health. That's a lot more accurate. This book contains a lot of interesting information, it debunks ... Read >

Surviving Floods - the Basics

As I write, huge amounts of the country of Pakistan are suffering from a flood the United Nations has declared worse than the 2004 tsunami. I don't know if there's a way to prepare for disaster on such a large scale, particularly in a poor country wher... Read >

How to Prepare for an Evacuation

People in the United States have to evacuate their homes hundreds of times a year, thanks to hurricanes, floods, forest fires, tornados and other emergencies. It's best to be prepared. The first step is to decide where you're going, and everybody in... Read >

The Complete Guide to Joseph H. Pilates\' Techniques of Physical Conditioning

This book is by Allan Menezes, founder of the Pilates Institute of Australiasia. He was an active athlete in college, but in 1980 injured his back in a rugby game. It was so severe it had to lie in a hospital bed for ten days, fed only on liquids. He h... Read >

The Pilates B Line and the Core

One Pilates concept you don't hear too much about is called the B-Line. Everyone who knows anything about Pilates knows how important Pilates considers your abdomen and lower back -- the Core or Powerhouse. However, what's not so often explained is ... Read >

Food Storages Enemies -- Oxygen and Pests

Oxygen is a highly reactive substance. It wants to interact with everything in comes in contact with. That's why it turns iron into rust. That's why bitten apples turn brown inside. And it's why you must make sure stored food is safe from it, or your f... Read >

Organizing for Emergency Preparedness

Nobody enjoys thinking about what can go wrong, so too often we avoid it. It's only in a few contexts that we accept the necessity of planning for bad times. We use seat belts because we don't want to pay a fine for getting caught without them. We pref... Read >

Movement and Physiology in Pilates

Pilates is the name of a system of exercises developed by Joseph Humbertus Pilates years ago. It's based on his study of martial arts, exercise systems, gymnastics, Greek physical development, observing animals and yoga. When he opened his first s... Read >

Food Storage Lessons

You've decided the world is a still-dangerous and uncertain place. You hope nothing goes wrong with the political and economic and business systems now in place that bring to your local supermarket the greatest abundance of food ever available in hist... Read >

Preventing and Treating Heat-Related Disorders

As I write this article, both the Northeast of the United States and Moscow have been suffering from unusually extreme heat waves. The area where I'm staying (St Louis) is having days with temperatures in the 90s and even 100 Fahrenheit. Now, I'm f... Read >

Fire Safety Basics -- Be Very Careful

In the United States, around three thousand five hundred people die in house fires, and another two thousand are seriously injured. Yet they are preventable. Some people think home fires happen only to poor people and this is true on average, but fire ... Read >

Clean Water in an Emergency

Obtaining clean water could be the most difficult thing in an emergency. Heck, in the not so distant future it may become difficult even under normal circumstances. We Americans are spoiled by the luxury having clean water available at the turn of t... Read >

Disaster Preparedness -- Resources to Help You

Although it's the nature of disasters that you, or you and your family are alone in a threatening situation, you're not alone now. Disaster preparedness begins now, while you're safe, dry, comfortable, under a roof and with electricity. And there are o... Read >

A Trader\'s First Book on Commodities by Carley Garner

This book lives up to its title pretty well. If you've wondered about trading commodities and futures, this is a good introduction. Do not expect or plan to start trading after you read it. She doesn't pretend to tell you how to trade to make lots of m... Read >

Precious Metals Futures Contracts

The metallic commodities are attractive because of the romance attached to them, especially gold and silver, and platinum somewhat. Palladium, although not so well known, is also a precious metal. Copper is not a precious metal, but usually grouped wit... Read >