Hmmmmm, I have lived many places in the US and overseas (thank you Pop, for your AF service) and I have yet to find nirvana - the place where nothing bad or disasterous ever happens. One must prepare for the potential bad and even be perhaps the leader out of the desert of knowledge on preparedness. Where would we be today if we just ran around life in safe pockets of boredom? No exploration, no new freedoms (read that again "freedoms", not laws of fear) in a new country, no depth of enlightenment twixt the masses, science, art, entertainment - things that make us think and satisfy the holes in our brains and hearts.

I obviously think preparation is a great thing to do simply based on the merits; however, muffling ourselves in safety all of the time order to feel safe is plain ....... yuk. Just not my cup of postum. I did live in So. CA and endured the droughts (it IS a desert folks) and quakes. I left, happily. I like snow, ice and humidity in the summer, these are called seasons, something that place dosen't have except for fog and Santa Ana winds.