JI... in case you have not done so, you might read this

http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/p/map.html

This former cell phone addict, who hasn't had one in a year and a half, got a new phone today. It's a Samsung Galaxy s5 mini. I got it from a friend who upgraded and gave it to me. Free is good,right?! It's unlocked but I don't have a sim card yet, so have only 911 calls and wifi.

I'll probably bite the bullet and get an account somewhere in the near future. For now, being able to call 911 gives me peace of mind. There are so many places with free wifi these days that I think it'll be more useful than it seems at first. So far, I love it more than my laptop. My packs have all been reloaded with charging adapters, cables and an external charger already.

Tips?

The cell phone, which is actually a camera that can make telephone calls or text messages as well, has finally become part of my inner circle EDC - wallet, key ring, and cell phone. They have to be with me every time I step outside.

I still haven't realized the full potential of my Galaxy S7, but I am getting there.

What you really need from a phone during an emergency is to make a call or send a text. Most apps aren't that useful.

For my next phone I'm taking another shot at a dumb phone -- Nokia 3310. I had this phone in its first iteration and liked it; it will soon be back. 22 hours of talk time which isn't being drained by a bunch of useless apps. Hopefully they won't mess up the UI too much from the original. At least the real buttons are still there.

Is that the fire-starting device I've heard so much about?

I have a long affection for the old Nokias. Until last month, a 3310 and 2125 were in my vehicle glove boxes as 911-only phones; but the carrier killed the CDMA network.

As much as I loved the old candy bar phones, I think I would now miss the the utility of text (SMS) messaging and the on-board camera. The new phones don't bounce worth a darn, though.

Exactly. The old Nokia's were built like a tank. The exterior of mine was scarred from being dropped, but it worked just fine until the day Verizon convinced me to upgrade to a Moto flip phone. Not really much of an upgrade. The 3310 will do text, but using phone buttons rather than a keyboard is clumsy & slow at best. It's just a phone.

No,thank heavens. The igniter was the note 7, not the Galaxy 7. Although for the die hard survivalist, interested in devices with more than one application, what could be handier than a cell phone that also can be used as a fire starter?

Bacpacjac, Les Snyder, thanks for the link. The first thing I need to do differently is get a laptop. The Mac Mini, what I use, is the smallest desktop. It's still a desktop and being a desktop, it's not as portable.

When I took a class on Macs, I brought my Mac Mini. Apple had to provide the keyboard and monitor. Everyone else brought his or her laptop.

Mom likes to take short trips. I can use those to practice bugging out. Actually I already began to learn what works and what doesn't. So has Mom.

Currently I'm on the page where he talks about home.

http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/p/0036.html

A lot of what he's saying makes sense. Home is not just the house we live in. Home is where we are comfortable. That's why, when I lived in Dallas, I could so easily prepare for an unplanned overnighter because I was always someplace I felt comfortable. Now? I'm not even comfortable in this house in Florida though I've been here for three years. I'm already living in a tropical hell. If I had to bug out, would things be better or worse?

Jeanette Isabelle

"Home is where we are comfortable" - you are so correct!

To illustrate - Dallas, where you are comfortable, was to me a drab, dreary wasteland from which I was thankfully delivered as a teenager, finally finding comfort in the deserts and mountains of Arizona, and still later, California.

I take it you would probably not feel comfortable in environments which fit me like a glove, and vice versa.

It takes all kinds, and isn't that a wondrous thing?