Becoming a Prepper

[Chuckanut]

One more thing. In case of a natural disaster there might not be any electricity to power all those electronic cash registers and credit/debit card processors. Have some cash in order to buy things.

 

[Gumby]

One more thing. In case of a natural disaster there might not be any electricity to power all those electronic cash registers and credit/debit card processors. Have some cash in order to buy things.

A lesson I learned during the Northeast blackout of 2003 . I was trapped in NYC for almost two days with no cash and no way to get any.

 

[brewer12345]

A lesson I learned during the Northeast blackout of 2003 . I was trapped in NYC for almost two days with no cash and no way to get any.

Ugh, that is one of the many reasons I do not want to be in the middle of a metro area any more. I was in Manhattan that day. When the power went out I was on a conference call with people in Boston. Their power went out at the same time ours did. Uh-oh. Fortunately, I was working with people who were in Manhattan on 9/11 and they all but dragged me to the ferry to Jersey as fast as we could get there. We were across the river within maybe an hour of the blackout's start. I was very lucky. Happily the blackout did not mean riots or a crime wave in NYC that time, but it was not fun if you were stuck there.

 

[ERD50]

This is a must-watch, if you are a "prepper"

Twilight Zone- The Shelter

If you have not see this, it's one of the best episodes.

Thanks for posting that. I had never seen it, and I agree it certainly is among the best. And it stands the test of time. Regardless the specific situation, that's how people are going to act if pushed.

-ERD50

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Thanks for posting that. I had never seen it, and I agree it certainly is among the best. And it stands the test of time. Regardless the specific situation, that's how people are going to act if pushed.

-ERD50

The Twilight Zone series was made back when some TV shows really made you think. I can't seem to find much of that caliber in today's shows. My all time favorite is "Time Enough at Last" . I find myself relating to Henry Bemis these days. Now that I am no longer w*orking, I also find myself saying "and the very best thing of all, there's time now!". And I still have my glasses! And there's infinitely more to read and watch and learn available, than in a bombed-out library. And my DW is a danged sight better than his.

 

[samclem]

The Twilight Zone series was made back when some TV shows really made you think. I can't seem to find much of that caliber in today's shows.

Indeed. Just 30 minutes long, no special effects, and acting that was hit and miss. The shows were entirely dependent on good scripts. I just enjoy watching them and their kind much more than what is made today.

 

[sengsational]

After working the IT angle on "supply chain optimization", I realize how a little bump in what is expected can manifest in something with significant impact. But given the flexibility and resoucefulness of people, it doesn't worry me. Yeah, it might not be smooth sailin' for a bit, but unless its an asteroid or something, it will work itself out. Although I only have a week's worth of food and water, I, and many of us here have an asset that can sometime be undervalued...the ability to get along with other people and to get things done that need doing; we can be valuable tribe members, and I think that will turn out to be valuable should we see things go "Tango Uniform"

 

[robnplunder]

I find Doomsday Prepper show beyond hilarious. 1st batch of episodes were understandable. Sure, why not prepare for disaster like tsunami, quake, ....? But when a man drinks his own urine (and make his wife drink, too) to practice for scenario of having no/very little water around .... and that's not all. The episodes are full of things that are so off the chart that it makes the show one of the most entertaining on TV. But I sure hope folks here are NOT practicing drinking their own urine.

No prepping for me unless I see clear sign that the world is coming to an end in my life time. And it has to be pretty clear.

 

[InParadise]

One more thing. In case of a natural disaster there might not be any electricity to power all those electronic cash registers and credit/debit card processors. Have some cash in order to buy things.

Learned this while living in the Caribbean and dealing with multiple hurricanes each season. No electricity means no atms or working credit card machines, no pumps working at the gas station, failed refrigeration at the grocery store, and empty shelves because how will more groceries get to the island? So you stock up on food, water, money, gas, batteries...enough for at least a week and more if you have the space. We were in corporate housing next to the plant, which almost never lost power or water since that was critical to the operation, but we would help our islander friends for weeks after a bad storm.

It always amazes me how little people prep here for a wind storm. With hurricane force winds being forecasted, I had to go ask neighbors to put their potted plants in the garage so they didn't sail through our windows. No storm shutters here.

 

[donheff]

LOL. So serious with the responses. Didn't anyone else read Imoldernu as posting with his tongue firmly in his cheek?

 

[Lsbcal]

LOL. So serious with the responses. Didn't anyone else read Imoldernu as posting with his tongue firmly in his cheek?

I took it that maybe he was temporarily looking at things from a glass-half-empty perspective. But then I never heard the term "prepper" before. Here is one description of a prepper: What is a "Prepper"?

We've always had some stuff around in case of an earthquake (red zoned area). Generally try to have $500 in cash at the start of each month. Kept the landline, batteries, small portable radio. Common sense stuff ... etc., etc.

 

[youbet]

I took it that maybe he was temporarily looking at things from a glass-half-empty perspective. But then I never heard the term "prepper" before. Here is one description of a prepper: What is a "Prepper"?

Thanks for the link. That description makes much more sense than the sensationalistic BS propagated by reality media.

 

[ggbutcher]

The the "40 gallons of beer and a garden" plan aside (great plan, btw), I think it's worth considering the sorts of things that can happen in your neighborhood and what you'd want on hand if one of them did happen. We watched friends in northern Alabama deal with that bad tornado not long ago; if not wiped out, most said the most useful things to have until the power came back were 1) a generator to keep the fridge and freezer going, and 2) a bbq grill with a stove burner upon which to cook.

Generally, I'd say the one thing we all can do is to look at our house and its goezintas (electric, water...) and figure out how to support the things that depend on them. Generator seems pretty universal, but I'm also considering an inverter that I could hook to the running car...

DW and I are doing that thinking now, but it's harder in a relatively benign environment (CO front range). I'm from Louisiana, most folk there know what to have/do in hurricane season, but I'm not so sure how to plan for the eventual eruption of the Yellowstone super caldera. Maybe I'll watch that Pompeii movie...

 

[brewer12345]

DW and I are doing that thinking now, but it's harder in a relatively benign environment (CO front range).

You don't have to sweat earthquakes or hurricanes, but prolonged utility outages due to a winter storm or high winds, floods and perhaps evacuation due to a wildfire come to mind. The other thing that dances around in the back of my head is the possibility of quarantine and disruptions due to a bad flu pandemic. A flu pandemic is probably a lot more likely to happen in my lifetime than an EMP, Yellowstone blowing up, etc., just a question of how lethal it could be and when.

 

[ggbutcher]

Yes, I wrote my previous post before first coffee, and totally forgot about the wildfire thing. From the house, we watched the Waldo Canyon fire roll over the ridge into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood. The lessons from that fire and Black Forest were that prudent mitigation makes a big difference. To that end, I have some trees I need to manage. After that, wildfires are more about evacuation, and what you need to bring. Funny, most folk we've talked to ranked family pictures as one of the top-three things to take, the most irreplaceable thing most of us have. Most everything else has a finite (maybe large) price tag, and therefore replaceable.

For the Waldo Canyon fire, we'd packed the car and were waiting to see if we would be told to evacuate. I was outside with the garden hose on ember watch, I observed DW coming out of the house with two bottles of wine and a bottle of Amaretto, headed for the car. You go, girl...

That would have brought new meaning to "it's fun to stay at the YMCA"...

 

[razztazz]

For you people you keep a few hundred in greenbacks around: How do you keep the money? A wad of $20.00s? Or small bills like $5.00s and $10.00s?

I keep a few hundred myself but it seems that all $20's could run you out fast or just subject yourself to getting bilked ie paying for stuff and not being able to get or make change.

Smaller bills seems more functional but then you end up with wads and stacks of money to carry around in the event of an actual need to physically reloacte and that seems dangerous or at least cumbersome

 

[Hermit]

The obvious answer is to stock up on Strawberry Pop-Tarts!
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/business/yourmoney/14wal.html

 

[brewer12345]

For you people you keep a few hundred in greenbacks around: How do you keep the money? A wad of $20.00s? Or small bills like $5.00s and $10.00s?

I keep a few hundred myself but it seems that all $20's could run you out fast or just subject yourself to getting bilked ie paying for stuff and not being able to get or make change.

Smaller bills seems more functional but then you end up with wads and stacks of money to carry around in the event of an actual need to physically reloacte and that seems dangerous or at least cumbersome

20s mostly, some 50s. If it comes to that I figure I will not be that concerned with making change.

 

[razztazz]

20s mostly, some 50s. If it comes to that I figure I will not be that concerned with making change.

Ha, yes. I am not really concerned with having to pay 20 bucks for a 5 buck thing but I am concerned about running out of $20's

 

[samclem]

The other thing that dances around in the back of my head is the possibility of quarantine and disruptions due to a bad flu pandemic. A flu pandemic is probably a lot more likely to happen in my lifetime than an EMP, Yellowstone blowing up, etc., just a question of how lethal it could be and when.

Some of the things I keep around include a box of N-95 masks and a box of those handy blue nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight. This PDF publication written by a doctor discusses home care for those with the flu during a pandemic. Hydration, OTC anti-diarrheal meds, OTC anti-nausea meds, even little things like bendable straws. The stuff lasts a long time and doesn't cost much at all. Anyway, there's probably a very small chance of a flu pandemic, but it's one of those things that has happened before and for which a little cheap advanced preparation might go a long way.

 

[brewer12345]

Some of the things I keep around include a box of N-95 masks and a box of those handy blue nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight. This PDF publication written by a doctor discusses home care for those with the flu during a pandemic. Hydration, OTC anti-diarrheal meds, OTC anti-nausea meds, even little things like bendable straws. The stuff lasts a long time and doesn't cost much at all. Anyway, there's probably a very small chance of a flu pandemic, but it's one of those things that has happened before and for which a little cheap advanced preparation might go a long way.

I keep all that stuff around. The bigger problems would come with a prolonged quarantine, IMO.

 

[samclem]

The bigger problems would come with a prolonged quarantine, IMO.

Yes, and people just refusing risk infection by going to work. I know I depend on a lot of people for a lot of things.

 

[Jack_Pine]

Some of the things I keep around include a box of N-95 masks and a box of those handy blue nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight. This PDF publication written by a doctor discusses home care for those with the flu during a pandemic. Hydration, OTC anti-diarrheal meds, OTC anti-nausea meds, even little things like bendable straws. The stuff lasts a long time and doesn't cost much at all. Anyway, there's probably a very small chance of a flu pandemic, but it's one of those things that has happened before and for which a little cheap advanced preparation might go a long way.

Good post. We do that as well. We also have 30 days of food and water. Ammo is not an issue as we shoot a lot. So we have 100's of rounds per caliber...good to go.

Forgot to say, 3k cash in gun safe.

 

[Dreamer]

I had never heard of a prepper either and have never seen or heard of the TV series. I try to buy more of things that we use when they are on sale. Also, try to keep ahead on things that we eat frequently and things that we can't do without, such as toiletries and toilet paper. However, if we don't quit getting snow, I will be running out. Temps are supposed to be higher this week and rain, so I will probably go to the store.

 

[veremchuka]

It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out huh? Lot's of glib replies here, got it all figured out huh?

Well I'm not a prepper but as I see it there there are two kinds of prepping.

The 1st is when nature takes away electricity. You see how crazed people are when they predict a 6-8" snow storm, you'd think no one had any food in their house. You'd think that bread and milk were never going to be available again for months. You need some supplies to make it 2 or 4 maybe 7 days. Then your world returns to normal.

And then there's the other kind, the we're not in Kansas anymore Toto and that kind is no joke. You can have that nice farm and big garden, you can stock pile firewood and water you can have gold and silver. But when TSHTF, to be honest when the hordes come from the populated suburbs and especially the urban cities, you need people in addition to all that. You need people you can trust your life with and they can trust theirs with you and you'll need guns and lots of ammo.

People riot when their "team" wins whatever championship game they played. What do you think they'll do when they haven't eaten in 5 days, when their children are hungry and sick? People have zero clue how to feed themselves if the stores are out of food. Few if any have any real survival skills and they are coming to take what you have, by any and all means they possess - mark my words.

I laugh at the prepper shows because I can find holes in just about every one of their compounds and TEOTWAWKI plans. But just let a 1 or 2 kilometer wide meteor create a Tunguska event or the one that hit the Yucatan 65 M years ago or the side of an unstable mountain range on the coast of west African (sorry I forget the country) drop 25 cubic miles of dirt and rock into the ocean sending a 600 or 900' tidal wave screaming at the east coast traveling at the speed of a jet or a solar flare/EMP destroy the electrical grid or the super volcano under Yellowstone blow and you'll see things you only saw in your nightmares. And guess what - all these things will happen it's just a matter of when. It might be next year or it might be 200 years (in which case we are off the hook) but eventually these catastrophic events will happen, it is just a matter of time, a matter of when.

Other than Katrina, nothing I remember was on that scale or intensity of that, all the catastrophic events in this country have resolved themselves within days, a week or maybe two. Other than those whose homes were destroyed and loved ones died for the most part things were getting back to some semblance of normal but what if it takes months or years. It was readily apparent on the evening news each night just how society collapsed after Katrina, the law of the jungle was on display, he with the largest club or the firearms was going to get what they wanted. It won't be pretty and it won't matter what you have as much as how you'll protect it from those that have nothing and nothing to lose. If you think you can share, if you think you can reason, if you think because you're well educated and a civil and just person means anything in those scenarios, well pardner you have a huge wake up call coming.

Desperate people do desperate things.