What could be worse than an asteroid impact?

MichaelB

MichaelB

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Asteroid impact is frequently mentioned when it comes to unlikely but life-changing events, but there is another risk we need to consider. Here, finally, a serious effort to model the evolution of a zombie outbreak, by Cornell University. Here's their article Zombie outbreak? Statistical mechanics reveal the ideal hideout | EurekAlert! Science News and here's a simulator to model the spread. Zombie-town USA

Among their conclusions - most of us will have time to act (at least a few days, many will have weeks), the northern Rockies look to be safest of all, but folks in Chicago and Florida also have time to prepare well.

An excellent resource is The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. The Zombie Survival Guide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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180px-Zombiesurvivalguide.jpg
 
I shudder with the thought of the sudden increase in Social Security fund outflows.
 
Or you can catch Nellie McKay on her current tour (including stops in the Midwest). Maybe she'll sing "Zombie". They still might come and get you, but at least you'll have a smile that they can eat off your face.
 
I'm at the point in the depths of my OMY where having to work one extra week sounds just about as bad as an ELE asteroid impact. One extra day would only be as bad as a zombie plague (which, come to think of it, actually somewhat resembles my work environment).
 
Eh we already have it, global warming. At least with a big enough asteroid impact the pain of extintion would be fast, as opposed to the current mantra of slow prolonged wiping out of the world.

I'll take the asteroid hit anytime, but if does not not happen in the next 10 to 20 years I'll miss it since i'll be but a dust speck.
 
At least an asteroid impact would be over quickly, instant for some. A direct hit from an asteroid a mile in diameter could "wipe out most of the life on the planet." At least we'll probably know it's coming so we can increase our withdrawl rates substantially. :D

What if an asteroid hit the Earth? - HowStuffWorks
 
Where's REWahoo when we need him?

These are the 12 things most likely to destroy the world - Vox

A new report claims to offer "the first science-based list of global risks with a potentially infinite impact where in extreme cases all human life could end."

1) Catastrophic climate change
2) Nuclear war
3) Global pandemic
4) Ecological catastrophe
6) Major asteroid impact
7) Supervolcano
8) Synthetic biology
9) Nanotechnology
10) Artificial Intelligence
11) Future bad governance
12) Unknown unknowns
Click to expand...
 
The other day, I saw a Costco item on-line for emergency food. It'd serve a family of 4 for a year. It should be a item listed in the said survival guide. Beats eating another flesh.

BTW, did anyone buy this food for pending doom or try it? Does it come in variety of flavors? The thought of eating this stuff for a year makes me want to NOT survive any end of the world disaster. I get bored eating same thing for more than 3 days.
 
I can see from number 11 that my concerns re: current bad governance were completely unfounded. Whew!
 
robnplunder said:
The thought of eating this stuff for a year makes me want to NOT survive any end of the world disaster. I get bored eating same thing for more than 3 days.
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Someone once said Eternity is two people and one ham.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
 
robnplunder said:
The other day, I saw a Costco item on-line for emergency food. It'd serve a family of 4 for a year. It should be a item listed in the said survival guide. Beats eating another flesh.

BTW, did anyone buy this food for pending doom or try it? Does it come in variety of flavors? The thought of eating this stuff for a year makes me want to NOT survive any end of the world disaster. I get bored eating same thing for more than 3 days.
Click to expand...

Due to the Cold War, my parents had an emergency supply of dried food in a metal trunk. After about 20 or so years and the Russians not nuking us. Mom decided to eat it "while it was still good"

So for a couple of weeks we got to eat some fairly weird food. Mostly it was edible and you could tell what it was supposed to be or look like (chili , stew , yellow eggs, etc).

My parents were pretty poor for a number of years, so that might have been the motivation for my Mom, as it meant we didn't have to get free chicken wings from the butcher for a while. That also meant there was nothing else to eat, so all my complaining did no good and we ate it all.
 
Midpack said:
At least an asteroid impact would be over quickly, instant for some. A direct hit from an asteroid a mile in diameter could "wipe out most of the life on the planet." At least we'll probably know it's coming so we can increase our withdrawl rates substantially. :D
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Are you saying: "This time it's different."

Remember that the market has a history of coming back, so increasing your withdrawal rate might not be prudent. Actually, it might be a good time to buy because there would be "blood in the streets."
 
robnplunder said:
The other day, I saw a Costco item on-line for emergency food. It'd serve a family of 4 for a year. It should be a item listed in the said survival guide. Beats eating another flesh.

BTW, did anyone buy this food for pending doom or try it? Does it come in variety of flavors? The thought of eating this stuff for a year makes me want to NOT survive any end of the world disaster. I get bored eating same thing for more than 3 days.
Click to expand...

I have a bucket of "food" from Costco, that will allegedly last for one month. More for the "usual" disruptions than for the ZA, but one never knows...
 
redduck said:
Are you saying: "This time it's different."

Remember that the market has a history of coming back, so increasing your withdrawal rate might not be prudent. Actually, it might be a good time to buy because there would be "blood in the streets."
Click to expand...
If we find ourselves facing a direct hit by a two mile wide asteroid, I'd be withdrawing in big chunks in the weeks/months just before...
 
Midpack said:
If we find ourselves facing a direct hit by a two mile wide asteroid, I'd be withdrawing in big chunks in the weeks/months just before...
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OK, I'm with you so far. But, then you still have the problem of what to do with the withdrawals. Maybe an ultra-short term bond fund?:facepalm:
 
robnplunder said:
The other day, I saw a Costco item on-line for emergency food. It'd serve a family of 4 for a year. It should be a item listed in the said survival guide. Beats eating another flesh.

BTW, did anyone buy this food for pending doom or try it? Does it come in variety of flavors? The thought of eating this stuff for a year makes me want to NOT survive any end of the world disaster. I get bored eating same thing for more than 3 days.
Click to expand...

Cannot speak to that stuff. I do keep a case of vegetarian MREs around. They are mostly for the garden variety emergencies, camping trips where I am not sure we have enough food with us, and a couple in each car in case we get stuck somewhere. During the recently ended hunting season I had cause to break into a couple since I was in a remote place with no other food available. They are edible and taste OK. Very high calorie and loaded with fat, salt and sugar. OK in a pinch.
 
Sunset said:
Due to the Cold War, my parents had an emergency supply of dried food in a metal trunk. After about 20 or so years and the Russians not nuking us. Mom decided to eat it "while it was still good"

So for a couple of weeks we got to eat some fairly weird food. Mostly it was edible and you could tell what it was supposed to be or look like (chili , stew , yellow eggs, etc).

My parents were pretty poor for a number of years, so that might have been the motivation for my Mom, as it meant we didn't have to get free chicken wings from the butcher for a while. That also meant there was nothing else to eat, so all my complaining did no good and we ate it all.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's an amazing story, eating food bought twenty years ago. No one got sick eating that stuff?
 
redduck said:
OK, I'm with you so far. But, then you still have the problem of what to do with the withdrawals. Maybe an ultra-short term bond fund?:facepalm:
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I was joking to begin with, can't tell if you are or not. If the planet is going to be wiped out, I'm not going to have to worry about withdrawals after impact, withdrawals before impact will have been spent...
 
Midpack said:
I was joking to begin with, can't tell if you are or not. If the planet is going to be wiped out, I'm not going to have to worry about withdrawals after impact, withdrawals before impact will have been spent...
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I understood that you were just joking. I attempted to carry the joke a bit further. I guess I didn't do a very good job. Sorry for the confusion.

However, if you recall in the movie, Armageddon, it appears for certain the earth is going to be destroyed by an asteroid. But at the last moment Bruce Willis and a bunch of other famous people blow up the asteroid thereby saving Earth. YAY!!! And, the people who stayed the course (in the stock market) did very, very well. Those who sold, never did know when to get back in and did not elicit much sympathy from The Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community members. Those last few scenes about the stock market were actually deleted, but they can be found on the DVD in the section "extra features".
 
Ah, yes. Armageddon. The famous science documentary.

There are lot of low probability events out there. Planning specifically for any of them is fairly silly. Plan instead for general cases; "Something disrupts my access to cash, goods, and services for a month", "Something renders my home and immediate area uninhabitable".
 
redduck said:
I understood that you were just joking. I attempted to carry the joke a bit further. I guess I didn't do a very good job. Sorry for the confusion.

However, if you recall in the movie, Armageddon, it appears for certain the earth is going to be destroyed by an asteroid. But at the last moment Bruce Willis and a bunch of other famous people blow up the asteroid thereby saving Earth. YAY!!! And, the people who stayed the course (in the stock market) did very, very well. Those who sold, never did know when to get back in and did not elicit much sympathy from The Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community members. Those last few scenes about the stock market were actually deleted, but they can be found on the DVD in the section "extra features".
Click to expand...
Sorry, my mistake. Didn't see the movie either.
 
redduck said:
I understood that you were just joking. I attempted to carry the joke a bit further. I guess I didn't do a very good job. Sorry for the confusion.

However, if you recall in the movie, Armageddon, it appears for certain the earth is going to be destroyed by an asteroid. But at the last moment Bruce Willis and a bunch of other famous people blow up the asteroid thereby saving Earth. YAY!!! And, the people who stayed the course (in the stock market) did very, very well. Those who sold, never did know when to get back in and did not elicit much sympathy from The Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community members. Those last few scenes about the stock market were actually deleted, but they can be found on the DVD in the section "extra features".
Click to expand...


Yeah, when the world is thought to be ending and the stock market crashes accordingly, what do you got to lose by buying on the "mega" dip? Just in case there is a Bruce Willis to save the world. Just to cover all bases, stock up on emergency food, guns & ammos, fortress, ... ;)
 
Then there is this
"the expression “history repeats itself” holds any truth, then Earth is due for a pole reversal any day now, with a recent report suggesting it may occur in our lifetime. Pole reversals are natural and in reality a far cry from what’s depicted in natural disaster films. However, when the poles do change again it’ll be rather hard to miss. Here’s what to expect if you get to witness our next polar flip."
What happens to us when the magnetic field surrounding Earth changes direction?
 
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