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Reader Responses: What Are Your Top 5 Must-Have Items When Preparing? | Life and Style

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In light of the recent blackouts in Spain and Portugal, what are the five key items you would recommend storing? Johannesburg Arena Ahmad

Feel free to send me a new question at nq@theguardian.com.

Responses from Readers

Living in a wildfire zone, I was evacuated in 2020 when half the town burned. You can only prepare so much for emergencies. Loss of electricity isn’t catastrophic; within a day, you’ll need some form of light or battery backup, non-cooking options, or a small camping stove. Using your car to charge devices for updates is essential, as well as keeping some drinking water on hand.

If the outage lasts long, anticipate potential plumbing issues. The discomfort of no electricity for a week was challenging, but somehow we made it through. Kiramango

Consider UPS (uninterruptible power supply) and satellite phones to stay connected when local cell sites fail and 4G networks go down. Socialism

The most effective tools are tall, robust, and healthy ones, especially if you’re shorter. A lot of challenges can be solved with a little extra height.

Having a car with enough fuel to reach relatives’ homes is crucial. A working fire or gas cooker can be a lifesaver, though I don’t have either.

Don’t forget candles—and matches—unless either of you is a smoker. An Ace battery-operated lantern with a carry handle is also great for illuminating your surroundings. Spare batteries and canned food are a must; don’t overlook powdered milk. SPOILHEAPSURFER

During the outage in Spain, I found a solar-powered radio with a hand-crank very useful, along with a portable power station, cash, bottled water, a headlamp, and a gas barbecue. KPNUTS888

A camping stove with gas, candles and matches, flashlights, firewood, and bottled water are essentials. hugothecat

These blackouts reminded us to always have cash on hand. Rebchlobrown

In the spirit of the Zombie Apocalypse, I suggest cooking through a survival guide and recipes. Before I dig into an emergency stash, we must stay prepared. Cambridgels

Water, lentil cakes, nuts, and a Roberts sports radio (compact enough for a pocket) are essential. Aside from water, the food needs to be lightweight in case you have to travel far. Monono

As an ex-Red Cross emergency volunteer in London, I’ve faced many crises, including blackouts. My “go bag” contains:
Toilet paper
Soap
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Change of clothes, sturdy footwear, raincoat
Blanket
First aid kit with extras like blister plasters and water filtration tablets
Two large water bottles
Four days’ worth of non-perishable snacks (like cereal bars)
Battery and solar-powered radio
Battery and solar-powered flashlight
Maps and compass
A small address book with the contact details of my loved ones.

As a British botanist in the mountains studying Portuguese flora during the outage, I realized the importance of a portable solar charger. Much of our communication relies on mobile phones, and connection is often unreliable. Being able to plan and inform others of your safety is vital.

Have cash on hand, as cards and ATMs may not work, making it essential for purchasing food and bottled water.

Sturdy shoes or boots are critical, as you might need to walk a significant distance.

Light sources are crucial; darkness can lead to hazards and can also take a toll on your mental state.

Lastly, maintain a sense of humor and adventure. It’s grounding to reconnect with the realities faced by those who lived in more challenging times and to appreciate the simpler comforts of life.

After navigating out of the mountains, I was relieved to find my anxious partner waiting for me. Astrid Cardamine

I found myself in New York during the Great Northeast Blackout in 2003. My plan to fly back to the UK was interrupted as the last person through security just as the lights went out and facilities ceased to function. Passengers came together, sharing food, drinks, phone cards, and support.

My preparations include a good book, a good sense of humor, kindness, hope, and something to share. Wooraifid

In the face of potential chaos, I advocate for a mindset of calm amid panic, moderation over despair, and humor amid ennui. theteedeehoo

Don’t skimp on toilet paper. Stock up! dorkalicious

Consider flexible lamps with paperback-sized solar panels; a few hours of sunlight can provide an hour of light. These fit easily into a backpack. They might not be effective during a nuclear winter, but they are handy otherwise. Has anyone mentioned chocolate? Gardenerofearth

Dark chocolate (78%), sweet popcorn, and if we’re being comprehensive, Jaffa Cakes, Pringles, and Hula Hoops. My survival list is quite elaborate. Emmaston

As a Californian with a comprehensive earthquake kit, remember to always have cash! Annually, we check our prep supplies and replace any expired food, batteries, and medications. jgurrrl

Gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles are essential; an angle grinder might just help you out of a tight spot. wyrcommunity

As a Canadian, I fill containers with water during storms and keep my supplies ready. We have a wood stove for warmth and snow melting, as well as camping gear for making coffee. Solar banks and lights, battery-operated options, and a gas generator—plus some beer—are all on hand. Marmarie

Do prepare, don’t panic; be ready for whatever might come next. bricklayersoption

Source: www.theguardian.com

Kosmik: A Visual Canvas Equipped with PDF Reader and Web Browser Functionality

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In recent years, tools like Figma, TLDraw, Apple’s Freeform, and the Easel feature in the Arc browser have tried to sell the idea of ​​using an “infinite canvas” to capture and share ideas.french startup cosmic builds on that general concept with knowledge acquisition tools that don’t require users to switch between different windows or apps to retrieve information.

Kosmik was founded in 2018 by Paul Rony and Christophe Van Deputte. Prior to that, Ronnie worked as a junior his director at a video production company, but instead of files and folders on which he could place videos, PDFs, websites, notes, and drawings, Ronnie used a single whiteboard as his type of canvas. was needed. And that’s when he started building his Kosmic, Ronnie told his TechCrunch. He draws on his background in the history and philosophy of computing.

“It took us almost three years to create a working product that included baseline features like data encryption, offline-first mode, and built a spatial canvas-based UI,” Rony explained. “We built all of this on top of his IPFS, so when the two of us collaborate, everything is peer-to-peer instead of relying on a server-based architecture.”

Image credits: cosmic

Kosmik offers an infinite canvas interface where you can insert text, images, videos, PDFs, and links, which can be opened and previewed in the side panel. It also has a built-in browser, so users no longer have to switch between windows to find relevant links on his website. Additionally, the platform also features a PDF reader that allows users to extract elements such as images and text.

This tool helps designers, architects, consultants, and students to build information boards for various projects. This tool is useful because it doesn’t require you to open numerous Chrome tabs and enter details in documents. Documents are a less visual medium for many different types of media. Some retail investors use apps to monitor stock prices, and consultants use apps for project boards.

Image credits: cosmic

Ronnie emphasized that bringing these different tools together in one place is a core selling point for Kosmik.

“I think it all revolves around the idea that we don’t have the best web browser or text editor or the best thing. It’s a PDF reader,” Ronnie said. “But being able to have them exist together in the same place, and being able to drag and drop items between them, makes this tool very powerful.”

Available via the web, Mac, and Windows, Kosmik comes with a basic free tier, which has a limit of 50 MB of files and 5 GB of storage with 500 canvas “elements.” For more storage and unlimited elements, the company offers a monthly subscription of $5.99, and eventually he offers a “one-time” subscription for those who only want to use the software on one device. We are planning to offer a “pay-as-you-go” model.

double down

Cosmic also announced today that it has raised funds. $3.7 million in seed round of funding led by Creandum. Alven, Kima Ventures, Betaworks, Replit and Quizlet founders participated.

Hanel Baveja, a principal at Creandum, told TechCrunch that the company decided to invest in Kosmik because Kosmik is a bit like Notion or Miro, and the potential to build something that completely changes an organization’s workflow. He said this is because there is. But Babeja said that like any consumer tool in this space, the startup needs to create immediate value for users.

“The time to value for any product must be immediate. Especially if it aims to become a commodity, you only have one chance to attract users,” Babeja said. “Finding a balance between a rich feature set and ease of deployment is certainly one of the challenges and is an area where the Kosmik team continues to strive.”

This cash injection is also timely given the product iterations in the pipeline.As expected of Cosmic is consolidating its codebases and Kosmik 2.0 will bring feature parity. The new app will be web-based and the desktop client will essentially be a wrapper app.

Additionally, the new version includes features such as multiplayer collaboration and AI-powered automatic tagging of items in images.

Ronnie said that in multiplayer mode, you can collaborate with someone on just a portion of the canvas using “cards,” which are like folders with objects dropped into them, rather than sharing the entire board. .

Kosmik opened to users in March and currently claims to have around 8,000 daily users, but the product can work completely offline, making it difficult to determine exactly how many people are actively using it. said it was difficult.

It’s worth noting that Kosmik isn’t the only startup active in the personal whiteboard space. Berlin-based Deta is building a new cloud OS for this problem and solution. sanity Building a social knowledge sharing platform. These companies must compete in some way to capture users’ attention and persuade them to try new paradigms for acquiring knowledge.

Source: techcrunch.com