Don’t wait until danger and destruction are imminent to ensure you have the provisions needed to keep you, your family and your property as safe and secure as possible.  Whether preparing for a natural or man-made disaster, it’s imperative Americans don’t simply cover the bare necessities like batteries and canned goods, or wait until a situation is at hand to seek out the necessary provisions.  Take the time to thoroughly plan and shop in advance so you are fully, not partially, prepared for an emergency.

While it’s of utmost importance to have the fundamentals in place relative to food, water, medication, communication and transportation, there are a number of other important factors to consider when safeguarding the homestead.  Every household has stacks of important papers that are difficult, in some cases virtually impossible, to replace, such as insurance policies, medical records, birth certificates, legal documents, passports, computer data, automobile and home ownership documents.  Jewelry, medications, and other valuable items also require waterproof, secure protection, and those who own such items would be well-served by ensuring they are safe and secure during a disaster, those natural and otherwise.

Consider this assortment of "next level" emergency preparedness tips, gadgets and gear:

Briggs and Stratton Storm Ready Kit: As a storm approaches, power outages are not uncommon. And, after a storm passes, electricity may not be available for hours, days, or even weeks. Living without electric power is challenging, but if you are prepared with a generator appropriate for home use, you don’t have to suffer through dark nights or food supplies without refrigeration. "Briggs and Stratton Storm Ready Kit" is one good option, as it includes a 25-foot panel extension cord that is rated at 30 amps, two quarts of SAE 30 engine oil to keep your generator purring, and two packets of fuel stabilizer. There is also a large storage cover made of nylon with a drawstring bottom to protect the generator when not in use.

Pelican SabreLite 2000: This medium duty flashlight has a lightweight body made of Lexan resin, and a laser spot Xenon lamp. This durable flashlight is completely submersible in water. Package includes belt spring clip, stainless steel split ring and black lanyard. Requires 2 C-cell batteries (not included).

Pelican Protector Case: To safeguard important documents, data, and valuables, seek watertight, dust proof, chemical resistant, and corrosion proof storage containers. Many sturdy cases are on the market, including the popular Pelican Protector Case that is made of Ultra High Impact structural copolymer, which makes it particularly strong and durable.

Cable-Safe Complete Cable Manager: With a hurricane comes water, which all too often seeps indoors creating a flood situation. In a flood, cables, power adapters, power strips, hubs, modems and other small devices are at great risk.  Readily lift these items off the floor and put safely out of harm’s way with cable management products such as the Cable-Safe Complete Cable Manager – an extremely effective and inexpensive way to loop, tie and hang cabling and wiring off the floor.

*** Surface Raceway Cord Covers: Of course, with any exposed wiring, power cords and cabling for use with generators and other devices come safety risks. Poised and ready to trip all who pass, exposed power cords, cables and wires are far more than an unsightly. Fortunately, cord cover systems are available to keep passersby from tripping on loose cables and wires running across a walkway. Cord protectors cover, hide, and protect cords and cables while keeping floors clear and safe. They also lie flat, and stay flat, and are decidedly easy to install.

Christina Hansen is a Product Specialist at CableOrganizer.com — a leading eTailer of cable, wire and equipment management solutions.  She may be reached through the company’s Web site located at http://CableOrganizer.com.

Kreative Power, a newcomer to the technology market, has launched a funny-looking new surge protector in the shape of a pyramid.

The “Powramid” is a six-outlet cone of a power strip that’s actually pretty smart. It lets you plug large power adapters into each socket and is extremely compact.

Kreative says several models of the product are coming, but right now, their website only shows one, the E-900H.

Now, there’s not much to say about a surge protector, but you have to give these guys some credit for doing something different in the relatively vanilla world of surge protectors.

The E-900H will retail somewhere between $17-25, said Bonnie Jiang, Kreative’s sales director, in an interview Wednesday. The product will come in a wide variety of body and indicator light colors as well.

They’re also offering free t-shirts to anyone who preorders.

Kreative plans to highlight their new toy at CES, January 7-10 in Las Vegas.

Technical specs:

Outlets: 6
Cord length: 8′
AC Plug style: Right-angle
Joules: 900
Clamping Voltage: 330V
Max spike current: H-N 15,000A, H-G 15,000A, N-G 15,000A
Electrical ratings: 125V, 15A, 60Hz, 1875w

I’m pleased to announce a new component to Blast Magazine. For a bonafide nerd, there’s nothing exciting than a bunch of circuits, wires, boards, lights and plugs — especially when you have no idea what they do.

That’s just what we’re going to celebrate. Our new feature “Shiny Things” looks at all things in the realm of complicated technology and showcases them in photo and in easy-to-read words.

That brings us to our first contraption; 10-Gigabit enterprise-level fiber optic networking devices from CXtec.

“These are products that fit in the Data Center environment. This environment usually houses a company’s storage area network, mainframe, or other mission critical applications and devices,” said Lisa Belodoff, Director of Strategic Marketing for CXtec.

These types of products, branded under the CABLExpress name are used by large financial institutions, phone/cable companies and others that have the need for this type of thing. “Even smaller and mid-sized organizations are finding a need for these products, traditionally found in the larger data centers,” Belodoff said. If you’re really interested in learning more about the finer points of fiber optic networking, peruse this article.

Besides being shiny, these products don’t run cheap. A full-scale system runs $12,000 and up, while smaller units can run you $2,000.

“The unique thing is that we also have an asset recovery program where customers can trade in their old Cisco, Nortel, 3Com and HP gear for credit towards this type of product or other products we sell (network equipment, cables, etc.),” Belodoff said. “Typically we look for networking – switches, routers, etc. Or voice products – phones, line cards, pbx components, etc.”

Mmm…more shiny things.