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We Are All Preppers Now
Damian McBride is the former head of communications at the British treasury and former special adviser to Gordon Brown, erstwhile Prime Minister of the U.K. Yesterday he tweeted some surprising advice in response to the plunge in global equities markets.;
Advice on the looming crash, No. 1: get hard cash in a safe place now; don't assume banks & cashpoints will be open, or bank cards will work.
Crash advice No. 2: do you have enough bottled water, tinned goods & other essentials at home to live a month indoors? If not, get shopping.
Crash advice No. 3: agree a rally point with your loved ones in case transport and communication gets cut off; somewhere you can all head to.
Evidently, McBride interprets the wipe-out of over $3 trillion in total global market cap during the three-day rout as a prelude to a much broader and deeper financial crash that will precipitate civil unrest.
Just like mid-October last year, the market howls; the Fed panics & puts the dummy back in; and we all pretend it's OK again. It's madness.
— Damian McBride (@DPMcBride) August 25, 2015
Every day the era of easy borrowing persists just means even more loans that won't be repaid when the real crash finally comes.
— Damian McBride (@DPMcBride) August 25, 2015
Today is just the stock market catching up with the terror over defaults that's been gripping the bond market for months.
— Damian McBride (@DPMcBride) August 24, 2015
According to McBride,
We were close enough in 2008 and what's coming is on 20 times that scale.
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Terrorist!!
Fear we are returning to a time in history where it is a common occurrence to fight for one's life?
Butt, butt GUN CONTROL... heh. Gun control is going to mean a steady hand.
Don't think it can happen where you live?
Read: Logavina Street: Life And Death In A Sarajevo Neighborhood.
It can happen anywhere and at any time. Don't go looking for trouble, but be ready if it comes looking for you....
This isnt the same brown who sold all that gold a decade ago? Did they sell it to themselves? Was he special advisor on that transaction?
The story has little to do with Gordon Brown.
To be prepared and to comfort children, get several of these solar-powered lights: http://luminaid.com/
We've been waiting for this big crash for years. I often feel like Linus in the pumpkin patch. I just don't think it will happen.
If this guy is telling you to prep, then it is time to sell your cans of beans.
He wants to be able to say: "Don't blame me. I warned you."
mrs_horseman and I are going on an hour-long trail run this morning. Afterwards, we will do some push-ups and pull-ups.
Ask yourself...
Questions to assist in creating a working inventory of mind, body, and equipment for living in dangerous or uncertain times
Maybe tweet that, more people need to know about your life
Lose some fucking weight and get in shape, fat ass.
It may just save your life.
If you are not physically prepared then you will be amongst the first victims. No great loss, right?
Is that MUNDANE enough for you. HH was just too damned nice.
Truman: "The only thing new is the history you were not told."
People on ZH are like Charlie, so sure he will finally kick that football(full market crash). The Fed is like Lucy always ready to pull it away. How did the "markets" end the week. Up you say? Amazing isn't it....
The "markets" ended lower than they did a year ago.
He was just the front man. It was sold in a way to guarantee a low price allowing one of the bankster outfits to acquire it cheaply to cover their losses.
Yeh the very same guy, He was also Tony Blairs chancellor before taking over the job as failed prime minister, and yes he gave away the gold at a bargain basement price. The guy is as reviled as Blair in the UK
those things may be true, but that just makes this statement that much more surprising. Statements like that usually come from what "polite society" refers to as the lunatic fringe, so for someone as entrenched in the status quo as this guy to say such things is interesting.
The man's job was a spindoctor. He is a professional liar. How can you give him any credit whatsoever? If he's saying something which strikes a chord with you then you better believe he has a good reason for doing so and it won't be for the obvious reason, I can assure you.
"you better believe he has a good reason for doing so and it won't be for the obvious reason, I can assure you"
I agree 100%. I actually put him in the same category as alan greenspan with some of the things he has been saying recently. He isn't saying it because he actually cares, nor because he is concerned about any of this. He is saying it, like greenspan, because he is finally starting to realize the disaster he has helped create and is trying to position himself, and any legacy he might have, as being one of the ones warning about said disaster rather than a creator of it
Let me say this up-front. "Prepping" is a lifestyle. You don't just "do a little bit when you can". You do it all the time. How do you know you're prepping?
1.) You have no known date when you are going to eat all that you bought at the grocery store.
2.) You vehicle's gas tank is seldom under 3/4 full.
3.) There is a safe in your house. Or maybe more.
4.) You can put a firearm in your hands in under 5 seconds, regardless of where you are in your house.
5.) If the grid goes down the lights will be on at your house that night.
6.) You're on really good terms with all of your neighbors.
7.) Your neighbors have the same habits for food hampers as you.
8.) Your neighborhood has a very effective "neighborhood watch" program, official or not.
I'm sure there are more, but you get the picture.
Be Calm and Stack On.
I don't agree with #5. I don't want to stand out and be a target. I'll have a candle burning in the back room, but that's it. The rest is right on, except not all my neighbors are on the same page. I found out w/o giving up my beliefs, though. Strategic enclosure is important.
Yeah No:5 is like here I am come and get me.
I would invest in blackout curtains.
racist !! ;>)
The point of #5 is that you have the capacity to make electricity when you need to. You'd be surprised how many folks can't or haven't mastered that. Your point is valid if you do not have total control of your immediate surroundings. We do here, but your point is well taken. Don't stand out.
#6, #7, and #8...... I have absolutely clueless neighbors and I would put the whole damn community at 2% or less of people who "understand".
We see it during hurricanes. The first night without power is complete darkness and silence. A generator running off in the distance.... maybe. It's a weird feeling, that's for sure. The "really" scary issue with any possible financial collapses "is" your neighbors. I saw things first hand with Hurricane Rita. The media scared everyone in Houston shitless. Everyone was bailing out of town. The freeways were jammed and people were running out of gas from idling for so long. People had to crap on the side of the highways. Groups of people walking up/down the length of vehicles looking to see what was in others trailers. Fights at gas stations. Stores cleared out.... But the worst was a change in mentality. You could see the animal coming out.
If people revert back to vicious animals when only a short "grid down" situation is going on, what are they going to do for a PERMANENT one? I've heard you're 9 meals from anarchy. That's exactly right.
I'm of the mindset for a complete loss of everything. Food and long term food storage, heritage seeds, water capture and purification, energy (gas, propane) alternate power (generator, inverter), etc... The wood stove has been ordered and I'm looking at chainsaws now.
My problem???? No place to go. A few friends with land in the country are clueless also. So we run out to their land..... what have I got? 30+ of "their" other family members and friends. Yea..... all that food I brought.....gone in two weeks. If I stay.... hundreds of neighbors noticing "we're not getting skinny". Then there's the fact ..... either in the country or at home..... GANGS!! And did I forget the DHS (gestapo).
This shit can get very real and most likely will. I can see a major die-off. Making sure you're not included in that is going to be tough.
One good idea...... http://www.tri-fuelgen.com/
~"I have absolutely clueless neighbors and I would put the whole damn community at 2% or less of people who "understand"."~
First off Ima, I completely sympathize with the clueless neighbor syndrome. Irregardless of what TSHTF looks like, be it hurricanes, earthquakes, EMP, economic collapse, whatever, the prepper mindset is to prepare for life after TEOTWAWKI. If you are not actively gardening food you will ultimately starve, just a little later than your unprepped neighbors. Not only that, but there is a great therapudic value to working with soil. But my point is this:
If your neighbors see you with a garden, (a most benign activity), and you tell them why you have a garden, it may remove some of that cluelessness. No guarantees, but if they a) see you proactively prepping and b) you have a friendly yet candid discussion about the sate of affairs and the need to be best prepared for as many eventualities and c) the therapudic value of gardening ;), they might just start doing something in their lives along prepping lines. Like I said, it's a lifestyle, and few folks jump into it with both feet all at once. Most start somewhere and slowly get in the groove. Also, let me dispell any misconceptions. Is my prep situation where I want it to be? No. But I'm 4 years into the process and I endeavor to move forward every month. There will always be something I can imporve, upgrade or add, (or delete?), to improve my chances. Life comes with no guarantees. Look at Miffed's posts here. I wish I had half of her courage. She my friend, is a warrior.
As far as "going to friends in the country", that sounds dicey at best, especially if a) they are not on the same page as you, b) the number and caliber of people who will "join" them there is unknown and c) you hold zero land interest, (meaning that even if things are friendly at first, you have no power to avoid eviction, (sans all the chattel you brought), later on.
Look, the lifestyle forces you to consider change by its very nature. It forces hard decisions. but my thoughts on that are "better now at leisure than later in haste". You can be fairly certain that "later on" all the choices left are bad ones if you fail to prepare. Good luck, God bless you.
My mind is 100% geared for "what-ifs". As stated above......... plan for complete loss of all resources. It could be nasty.
Your post is my mantra and it's nice to read but I must admit now I am facing a change of heart.
Twenty years ago we lived in a condo in town. I didn't like the lifestyle nor the assholes who enforced the CCRs like natzi brown shirts so I begged my husband to move us to the country where we would have land, independence and much more freedom. He begrudging complied and over the years we worked on a Prepper minded lifestyle. We got solar, 10k gallon tank on our well, developed a good garden and orchard, raised egg and meat chickens, stocked our basement with 3 months of food, purchased numerous firearms and cases of ammo, network dozens of people with similar outlook and heavily invested in PMs. My husband really wasn't on board with all of this so it was kinda of a hard sell. I think in reality he did it to please me.
Five years ago my husband developed a life threatening autoimmune disease. In the last year it has gotten worse and he has elected to undergo a risky operation to see if he can slow its progression. If it doesn't work I may be faced with caring for a disabled husband. He may soon be unable to drive and where I have moved us has really put him in a worry being able to keep working. This has caused me a nightmare of regret and grief for what I have done and I lay awake teary eyed at night wondering if we would have been better off staying in that condo. If I were to lose him, could I survive here on my own?
I say this not to engender pity but just to get people to understand that prepping is a good precaution to an uncertain future but there are just some things that are impossible to plan. Please remember to enjoy the moment. Savor all you have. Life is so fleeting. One minute someone is smiling and holding your hand and the next they are gone.
Miffed
I have always enjoyed your posts, and appreciated your views....This comes from the most sincere part of me, I hope and pray everything works out... I have dealt with loss, and I wouldnt wish this on my enemies...
same here Miffed...
I pray his operation goes well....
Sending thoughts, prayers, and good energy in your direction. Be strong.
I've already reached out to you, Miffed, because my group needs someone with your qualifications, to help us a little with teh direction of our testing of a new therapy device.
Nothing too involving, we just need some pointers adn I'ev been sent out to find a microbiologist. Natureally enough you sprang to mind! Please drop me an email at
bf1e2ddc@opayq.com
It might possibly be that we can help each other.
Yes, yes you can make it on your own. You don't know how tough you really are until it is necessary to be strong. Sometimes, stress will cast doubt over the reality of your true nature. If you've never lived in other parts of the less-pampered world, where people don't obssess about the future, then the idea may seem foreign to you. If you boldly take the reigns of a new reality, you will make it and discover the inner strength you never knew you had. I know this; I suspect I went through much tougher times and discovered this gem for myself.
Miffed,
ive always appreciated your posts, and hate to use the cliche but hindsight is 20/20. you did what was right and a terrible circumstance out of your control presented itself.
as for your husband, please look into the GAPS diet for autoimmune diseases. as im sure you realize modern medicine is very much a part of the beast and doctors are trained to prescribe and perform surgery, not to heal. if your husband is eating processed food or drinks, grains, anything gmo, or even really eating anything than one ingredient only foods, it is exacerbating his condition, if not the underlying cause of it. stop all grains, stop anything that comes in a bag, stop all processed sugar and oils, and let your husband's body heal itself.
i wish you the best
Yes, this. I developed irritable bowel syndrome/celiac disease which eventually manifested in allergies to almost any food I ate, acid reflux, and what I thought was throat cancer. My Kaiser physician gave me pills for the acid reflux and recommended surgery for the throat problem, but when I went to see a nutritionist and then a Chinese herbalist/acupuncturist, they got me off of ALL GMO's - and most of the problems went away. Turns out the biggest problem was CORN, in all its forms (syrup, maltodextrin, food starch, it's in SO many forms I can't remember them all).
I wish you and yours well. I remember you writing recently you were sick too...here's to quick healing.
"In fact, America is pretty laid back on a lot of food ingredients that other nations around the world have already banned over concerns that they are carcinogens, can disrupt the nervous system or contribute to any number of dangerous health side effects.
Here are seven of those ingredients, which you'll find listed on food labels throughout your friendly, local U.S. supermarket, but which are forbidden in many other countries.
1. Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and somatotropin (rBST)
What is it? Growth hormones that increase a cow's dairy production.
What it's in: Milk and other dairy products.
Where it's banned: The European Union, Australia, Canada and Japan.
2. Olestra (Olean)
What is it? A fat substitute.
What it's in: Fat-free potato chips.
Where it's banned: The UK and Canada.
3. Ractopamine
What is it? A growth booster for livestock.
What it's in: Cattle, pigs, turkey.
Where it's banned: Approximately 160 countries, including China, Russia and the European Union.
4. Diphenylamine (DPA)
What is it? A chemical used to preserve the skin coloring of apples.
What it's in: Apples.
Where it's banned: The European Union.
5. Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
What is it? An additive that accelerates flour bleaching and makes it rise faster.
What it's in: Bread and almost 500 commercially available baked goods and snacks. Also, yoga mats.
Where it's banned: Australia and Europe.
6. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
What is it? Additive that keeps flavor from separating in sports drinks and sodas.
What it's in: Citrus-flavored sports drinks and sodas. Also, flame retardants. Coca-Cola and Pepsi stopped using it this year.
Where it's banned: Europe and Japan.
7. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
What is it? Preservatives used to keep fats from turning rancid and maintain food color and odor.
What it's in: Cereal, gum, butter, frozen meals, beer, potato chips.
Where it's banned: Japan, England and several other European countries. California lists it as a possible carcinogen."
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/10/30/ingredients-banned-other-countri...
Implied Violins, I'd like to e-mail you about some of your earlier comments (few months back). I sent you a contact request.
I took HH's advice long ago when someone here asked him about shitgums and he recommended a Benelli. High priced but very well worth it; smooth and flawless.
Thanks for the suggestions, HH!
847328_3527
SHITGUMS?
Up close personal work
http://www.keltecweapons.com/news/preview-kel-tec-shotgun-ksg/
Have one with flashlight and laser (handy for rapid fire off the shoulder)
I like that Keltec because of the length, I may get me one. I have a mossberg 930 tactical but it's 39" long. However, it does have the pistol grip, carries a couple extra rounds than the keltec and most importantly is semi-automatic, no pumping.You can empty it in about 2 seconds if need be. For CQB type scenario I sure like the looks of that Keltec though.
It holds 14 2-3/4" shells and will also load the little 1-3/4" which gives you a magazine capacity over 20 and minimizes recoil. Great for up close interior work and LOTS of capacity. Definitely not a bird gun.
You have been registered here over 3 years. You should know what a shitgum is.
(It is Brandon Smith classic typo...Now look at your keyboard at the position of the letters "i" and "o", and the letters "m" and "n". That was one of the most humor filled threads that I have ever read. )
Yes.
Eliminate grains. Wheat is the worst, with corn being a close second - this includes all of their derivatives as well: flour, cakes, cookies, sweeteners (HFCS), food starch, etc. Absolute fucking garbage.
You can't look at life that way. If you do, you can always bias yourself to happiness or grief, and neither matters much. And it doesn't change much or improve your odds.
Our planet is billions of years old and in just a thousand years the human species will be relegated to the dustbin of evolutionary history. For fucks sake, we were drag racing plow mules about 100 years ago in hopes of surviving the winters and now everyone is fat, dumb, distracted, and "happy". In a thousand years all that energy bias will be gone and we will be right back to where we were when we lived off the land.
Take a deep breath and let it go. Go for a walk. Eat a home made pie. Watch a movie/tv show together. Watch the sun come up or go down (take at least an hour). Play a game. Listen to some music. Life is the simple things that we share, that aren't for sale, that make it all worth while.
If your husband passes, you have tons of options for pressing ahead. I live in a small town in Alaska that has one of the highest costs of medical care in the country. It won't last forever, but as medical in the US, you can write your own check if you are willing to move and are adventurous. I almost moved to New Zealand instead of Alaska, which I have no doubt would invite you with minimum cost and bull shit (they are very practical for qualified immigrants).
That said, and my apologies if I sounded brash, but I wish you all the best and hope for good times for the time you have with your love.
Regards,
Cooter
P.S. This too shall pass.
If you ever need a hand I am sure there are hands here to help. We have been prepping it seems for 40 years, it is like said before a life style.
Miffed - Thank you for sharing something so personal with the group. I am no.expert but I am good at research. Feel free to email me at jrines@ragingdebate.com.
Hedging isnt a lifestyle for me. It is set it and forget it. I am moving up north into the mountains because I hate SW Florida. I like cold, seasons, mountains and less crowds. But it will be 10 minutes to shops. I'll garden and chop wood for extra exercise and because they are good for my soul.
I hedged prudently on finance now mixing some fun into life. People notice when you look them in the eye and they see and feel a good vibe and smile.
I wish to thank everyone for your kind words. Believe me, you don't know what this has meant to me. I have been suffering for a long time with the burden of this and I realize Zh is not the proper place to air personal sadness. Testicular Cancer support groups can be found elsewhere. I am a fighter by nature and not inclined to self pity. He has been there for me in some of my darkest times and now it is my time to support him. Now is the time for courage.
This is his second autoimmune disease ( has Hashimotos) and I read more than one autoimmunity points strongly to gluten intolerance and leaky gut. I convinced an ardent bread lover to give up bread and his symptoms quieted. His neurologist convinced him I was wrong, there is no connection and he went out with the guys for pizza. We are now struggling to recover from that episode and now he is on steroids to become functional again. It is difficult to get off steroids once you are dependent on them. We have eliminated all things that are known to cause inflammation. Corn, wheat, soy and dairy.
The dynamic of all of this is a difficult one. When does a wife become too mothering and lose her role as a supportive partner? He is my husband not my house dog and I must respect the wishes of a great man who chose me. Women's greatest fear is aging and losing their value in attractiveness. The plastic surgery industry exploits this tendency with great profit. Men's greatest fear is showing weakness and vulnerability. Watch any men in a group and they always present a position of strength to maintain respect. I must never forget this.
Thanks for all the advice. I will explore it all. For those who gave their emails, thanks, I will get back with you. Anyone who has anything to add but doesn't want to publicly comment my email is Zhmiffed at gmail dot com.
In love, honor and appreciation to everyone. I am truly humbled.
Miffed
Ph 4:6
Miffed, sent you an e-mail.
Prepping as defined by horseshit eaters, is a bunch of horseshit. Life, by nature is about being frugal, and not eating your goddamed seed corn. May as well eat your own fucking children.
Yes, it is called "austerity" and is now a dirty word.
Living within one's means is just a cross too heavy to bear, and our great social leaders would emphasize that the ONLY thing important is to live for is today, consume and party on, with your only responsibility to society being the expression of your inner most psychopathic sexual needs. Of course there is ONE major exception to this notion and that is to sacrifice to the collective as only its needs. Needs that none of us can directly attribute to our own interests beyond their theory of what tomorrow holds. Things that we as individuals find impossible to verify through our own anecdotal experiences.
Society's expression of desire to save us from our future ensures the doom that our future holds for us.
Prep on....
Yes. And as Trotsky stated:
"You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."
So be prepared.
So much for apathy inspired pacifism.
Where I live I will have to look out for the local Hatfields and McCoys. Punks coming up here from the flatlands are going to have a real bad day before I ever hear gun fire.
Mountain Man: What do you want to do now?
Toothless Man: [grinning] He got a real pretty mouth ain't he?
.
C'mon, let's get it right:
Snaggle-toothed Man (leering) : He got 'im a real perty moudth, ain't he?
Yeah, The Horde is the bigger threat for most people. The day EBT stops working, or Wal-Mart is "temporarily" closed? It'll be scary for the "let's not get carried away" folks. They'll be overrun even if they're reasonably well-armed.
Not for you or me, but for most.
On signage... What do you think of "HALT! LEAVE WHILE YOU CAN OR ROT WHERE YOU FALL"?
Too ambiguous?
The FSA will kill each other before they expand out to the burbs. They know that Whitey is armed to the teeth and that La'Quees'ha' is a much easier target.
Yes, and if Katrina is any example, the more severe it gets the more the surrounding communities will barricade the roads and turn back refugees.
Things could get medievel fairly quickly with mounted skins to warn off trespassers like in the Forbidden Zone, ala Chuck Heston and the old school versions of The Planet of the Apes. (obviously, that was a joke, I hope)
Actually, more often than not, deception is the best method of dealing with "displaced persons" trying to enter your neighborhood. Simply bottle up yours, be armed and tell those hoofing it that
"help is just a half a mile farther down"
at the...
school/church/hospital/park/police station/train stop/railhead/etc.
Just keep them moving from in front of your place.
I've thought of buying a few medical display-quality skeletons and disarticulating them, then spraying them with beef blood and organs and tossing them all over my front yard and in the street with a bunch of empty shell casings. Might buy me a few extra days.
hahaha
I have one that sez, If you can read this you are in range.
"Due to rising ammunition prices no warning shots will be fired".
A prepper should be able to pop off a few rounds, a few times a day in a residential zone to keep it real. Hear that?
We should probably walk this way instead.
Gold Bitchez....I also stock ammo, with pennies
"Private Property,
Tresspassers WILL BE Violated."
Yes indeed. I live along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and I'm fairly comfortable saying any trouble that hoofs it 60 miles out of New Orleans is going to be terribly surprised about the old geezers living along the coast. My neighbor's WIFE is better armed than I am, and I'm pretty well prepared. The stereotypical street thug gangs working their way through the apocalyptic suburbs would be met with a HAIL of gunfire from .223 through old WWII and cold war battle rifles. NOT gonna happen.
When the big one hits, EMPs will shut down the highways. Hell, Katrina shut down the highways. That means they gotta walk. If they gotta walk, they have to carry a finite amount of ammo, food, and water. I'm not worried about the violent ones, I'm worried about feeding and caring for the regular people who are trying to get home and don't have a prayer in 90 degree heat. They are the only horde Im worried about.
If you are going to prep, prep for the masses. Get a big cauldron from Bayou Classic and a tripod, drop a few cords of wood on the property. Stock away some big canned goods, bags of rice, and plenty of beans. Have a lot of travel sized soap, shop towels, bug spray deoderant and tooth care items. Collect hats and towels from thrift stores. Don't forget female hygene items and candles/matches. You can sleep in the car in the middle of the winter with a candle. Plastic and paracord is a good item to give away, you can sleep on it or set up a rain fly. Collect empty 2 liter bottles and fit them with a sling for a canteen. It would cost you less than $10 to run off 250 copies of the local maps. "Which way you going? North, ok let me see, here, this depicts the highway North and all the local roads. I've marked the fresh water sources."
The whole point of this is these people are going to be stuck along the highways, and if you don't equip them, they can't leave. Prepping is about using your imagination to predict a problem, and having the tools on hand to deal with it. It's irrational to say you are going to hold off the human horde from the cities with your guns. That part is easy. The problem is the horde is going to include single mothers with thirsty children who just wnt to get home. Prep for that and everybody wins.
Fuck them. They chose not to prepare. They can get the fuck out of my neighborhood or pay the penalty.
But then, I live in a quiet part of the world and probably won't have too much to do with everday people. YMMV.
Unfortunately, I even go out with inadequate provisions sometimes, and would hate to be caught 30 miles away from home with nothing but my feet. I'd like to think some people would help me, but I know I'd figure something out.
"They chose not to prepare"
Not exactly true. The young and the ignorant didn't. Even if they are not women and children, these are human beings, so most of them just accept the belief system around them and it never even occurred to them they had to prepare. I prefer to dispense hope, and do what I can. A bed roll with some toiletries, a simple canteen with clean water, a fly and some rope, an old steak knife and some matches, people don't need much to give them hope. Give them a good hot meal and a day's rations, some bullion cubes and vitamins, they'll make it or not, you did what you could.
"They can get the fuck out of my neighborhood or pay the penalty."
I'll be damned if I'll threaten someone for sitting on my curb with no place to go. Are you going to shoot the women and children too? Life isn't so black and white. That was the whole point of these ridiculous musings. No matter what we prep for, it always comes down to having enough of what people need to fend for themselves, because we are going to be too busy to do it for them.
I agree 100%, and its nice to see someone else on here that chooses to go something other than the macho "Ill shoot them all" route. I agree completely about the stranded people. When I go see my folks up in GA(driving from FL) with my wife and both small kids, Id be fucked if something happened halfway in between. I actually do travel with a couple MRE's in the truck and about a gallon of water in case we get stuck somewhere, I also always have 1K in cash when I make long trips(try getting stuck somewhere and needing a new tire, etc outside of business hours, everyone wants cash), and I am always armed, but if I was halfway in between and "it" happened, Id be in a world of hurt. Its nice to know there are people out there who would help out, especially someone like me, who actually is relatively well prepared, who got caught with their pants down on a road trip.
Im also the type of person that, assuming things returned somewhat to normal after a little while, would make a determined effort to repay you somehow, and Im sure Im not the only one who would.
I was kinda talking about the average sheeple. As soon as I saw your gear and heard you talk, you'd be in the family and reequipped. I've got plenty of extra gear for the few who deserve it. You'd leave my house looking like a frigging ranger.
I never go anywhere without a few days worth of food and water, precisley so that I won't have to rey on anyone to get home. I keep hiking boots in the truck too, for that same reason.
And You're right. I don't have it in me to shoot people who are just passing by. The minute they becomne belligerent though, all bets are off. And yes, I would shoot a woman who posed a threat to me, as well as teenagers. Small children is a different story, but it's highly unlikely they'd pose a threat anyway.
There's an important reason why I'll never give anything out is simple: once you do, they'll never leave. Like any animal, once they find resources they will stay and consume them. I think if you hand out something to desperate people, which will let them know you have more, and then say "that's it folks, begone" you're going to have a very ugly situation on your hands.
If you give anything out, assume that you will be taking care of that person for the duration of the disaster. If that someone is a surgeon, it's probably worth it. If that person has no useful skills, they're just another mouth to feed.
You are obviously free to do what you like, but if I were you I would seriously consider rethinking your plan.
I think if you hand out something to desperate people, which will let them know you have more, and then say "that's it folks, begone" you're going to have a very ugly situation on your hands.
You hand NOTHING out, ever, unless it is to the helpless. There is no dignity in that.
You have them trade PRODUCTIVE LABOR, or, something of VALUE, for what you have.
The worthless bums and assholes will try to steal it. The honest who will work will work FOR YOU at that point and can serve to protect you from the bums.
You will separate the wheat from the tares really quick in that sense. Furthermore yu strengthen your position as you have hands that will protect their source of sustanance.
Really. How many guns can you fire, accurately, at a single time? One? Maybe two?
You'd be overrun by a motivated and hungry gang.
Currently I treat the homeless in the same fashion. It actually works.
I wasn't exactly planning on placing a sign on the highway for the locusts to come to my house, but I was discussing how easy and cheap it is to plan ahead to equip people enough so they CAN go on their way. Hunger, dehydration, and despair have a way of planting them on your doorstep and they can't go any further. Obviously, that's not a solution that's going to work for me. I'm pretty sure they won't be as well armed as we are, and could always give them the finger in the ink trick to ensure they don't return for more.
I keep a folding bike in the trunk because I'm 53 and can't easly walk the 63 miles from work in New Orleans to my home in Mississippi.
Bay St. Louis?
hail State!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iiuu5tJHDo
janus
Your a true leader Smiddy, thanks for allowing me to have faith in mankind for at least 5 minutes today. Bottom line is that we are all going to die eventually but whether it is in old age, or God forbid social upheaval and war it should be a top priority to go with decency and dignity.
I had a conversation with a couple guys along similar lines and after listening to them for a while I asked the question "would you kill people and take their supplies in a starvation situation"... one responded "hell yeah if it meant surviving I would". Thanks for revealing that there is another perspective.
You Smiddy, you are a good person, thats why we aint fucked my friend.
Keep on doing whatever you do fella. You are worth millions of 'Them'.
Thumbs up
;-)
Seconded.
>> ... Give them a good hot meal and a day's rations, some bullion cubes and vitamins, they'll make it or not, you did what you could.
We can see you're on ZH when you mention bullion, only it was the fallen angels who ate it. Now you might not have to wait to long... 15 Sept, Putin's at NY for UN conference, if say the building was hit by a terrorist group touted in the MSM as houthi rebels one couldn't just blame uncle sam - could they?
Imagine the gangbanger at your door...in tears with his 4 year old who is hungry and scared.
The government will be very slow to fix anything and will likely mess things up with gun confiscation before they get around to resetting the food delivery system.
I'd have to dig way back to find the video, but I saw one that a guy who was in the army at the time at a briefing with his commander saying that DHS would be confiscating guns in an emergency. He got out of the army and went public with it. I don't know how valid it is, but if SHTF, be ready for DHS to start getting grabby.
Smiddy - Good man. Why complain about leadership if you don't prepare to step up? Doesn't mean one should be naive or Galactically stupid either.
Smiddy - Good man. Why complain about leadership if you don't prepare to step up? Doesn't mean one should be naive or Galactically stupid either.
Upvote here. I think of this often and try to put myself in the place of some ill-prepared, displaced person with their hungry and scared kids just trying to make it _somewhere_ relatively safe. Do I help that person out? Goddamned right I do...within reason and within the bounds of what I can manage to keep my own family secure, fed and safe.
There is a reason to know the back routes that don't show up on maps.
if you read a bit on the economy of the Yugoslavia couple of years before its break up, you will notice it was same players running the show as in Ukraine lately, IMF and CIA. for Nuland in destruction of Ukraine, Yugoslavia had Albright. Still hard to see this happen in USA, as Balkans have been killing ground for thousands of years, due to its location.
Speaking of former Yugoslavia:
http://www.naturalnews.com/040249_Bosnia_preppers_survival_strategies.html
And thats the other part of prepping. Yes, food and water and cash are all needed. But you need a way to defend it and protect yourself. That is guns and ammo. And yes, I'm talking about 'assault' weapons.
Don't let our politians and media infringe on our rights to protect ourselves. Yes, this includes Trump, Sanders and Clinton who want to take your guns!
Amen. And don't forget...do NOT help anyone who is anti-gun now and after it happens.
They will be the first to kill you in your sleep.
Don't be a twit. More'n likely there will The Other Side, and the unprepared/anti-gun folks won't be it. You'll need them to help you deal with The Other Side. Plus, it's your big chance to get the unprepped anti-gun folks to see the light. No, I'm not asking you to hand over the keys to your stash, but I am asking you to have a plan that does not consist of 'kill'.
No one is an island.
In this scenario everyone who is unprepared is a major threat. They will kill you and take your stuff. They may not want to but sure as shit they will. You will not be able to save them or reason with them.
Exactly,imagine being a father of young kids with no food or water I'm sure they would do anything to take care of them.
Like WORK FOR you?
Like protect you from maurauding bands?
It is good to prepare for one's self.
It is even better to prepare for one's family, so that they do not become burdensome.
But it is best to prepare for one's local community, where each have each other's back.
There is strength in numbers. The Criminal Gangs know this. The maurauders know this.
It is best that you learn it as well as they will overwhelm you and any defenses by the sheer numbers.
We III Percenters will stick together.
Anti gunners will see the light...bet on it.
My grandfather - during very very hard times - refused to feed a homeless man who came to his door. They found the homeless man dead the next morning in a ditch. Poor bastard died of starvation. My grandfather never forgave himself.
"do NOT help anyone who is anti-gun now and after it happens...They will be the first to kill you in your sleep."
That's an interesting observation of human nature. The self satisfied types that follow the crowd and frown at your guns are the most likely after a collapse to justify taking what you have prepared in terms of what's "fair" and "in the public interest." These people think with their emotions, and will always find an argument to rationalize what they emotionally want.
They are the mortal enemies of preppers, whose actions are dictated by reality and what could logically happen, not what others tell them could never happen.
Super post, thanks.
I live in a very big city :)
I have seen this behavior first hand.
When the power goes out and the food rots...all these high brows will become feral once the hunger starts.
Bookmarked, re-read and the list printed out.
It's been good advice for simple things like the emergency bag for the car.
Thank you.
BTW- those mil-tech bags are awesome and make good everyday bags in their own right.
Funny to see the "Billy Elliot" ad on the cab in the pic...
After all, the show must go on, I guess...
Fantasy world meets real world
So where are we? Capitalism? Organic innovation cooperating with capital in spontaneous creation, then distribution in the marketplace of unique goods and services, at competetive albeit PROFITABLE prices in a stable currency in a relatively STEADY STATE existence? Light touch, but careful government, hosted by altruistic men WATCHING as together with industrialists they mold a wise, clean, careful, kind society.
Are we Communist? Seizing the apparatik of industry (established well before by good but somewhat self-seeking men and institutions), then directing all production to the common good with all taking according to need, giving according to capacity (except for the SPECIAL which get privilege)?
No, we've run off the tracks with a weird psychodelic concoction of both economic strains and another Jekyll Island-Hyde additive to make it all truly messed-up! Borrowing on many levels, creation of tokens of exchange without a reference, wildly changeable international markets, abject criminality disguising itself as legitimate business and finance.
Those that read scripture might marvel at the hardness of say, a MOSES. Why stone everyone for seemingly minor or moderate crimes? Because like game theory (better renamed corruption of virtue into bleak, black grimness and horror of existence), predicts that intelligent beings without immediate punishment of justice administered, will learn to take where they can, kill where they can, ruin what they can in order to improve their lot in comparison to their fellow man. Were immediate punishment administered and men could not take pleasure in evil doing, it would, of course, cease to exist and all the temptations of Dajjal or Baal could not seduce. Lucky for this generation of mankind that NOAH's covenant, given him upon the extinction of a generation by flood who'd ripened in iniquity (See: the rainbow, look it up), wherein the Creator made an oath that he would not again destroy all mankind no matter how untoward they become, keeps this GAME or Matrix or Illusion going.
Where are we? Under heaven and subject to all the good and evil of a garden going feral. A deputy constant gardener has balked and decided only to mind a few favoured plants, allowing all others to do as they will. Not communism, not capitalism, but some sort of economic system that desires to capture individuals, degrade them, slowly strip them of their gifts, control and demand supplication from them. A system that tells them they are low order, short term, common and dispensible, and should never aspire to better. This system is a gulag worse than just common slavery and wants to use mankind as inputs until they are worn out to be rubbed out.
Whom is its author? And who assists in its administration? Arbeitslager and gulags and coercion/compulsion have ever existed. Time to take notice. Look them full in the face. Rebuke them. Hold them to task. Judgement allows for periods of time where evildoing takes rewards even pleasures, but inevitably what evil men do, and what evil systems they devise, must return upon them. Do injustice, receive injustice. However, and the warning is severe, there are positions where enhancements exist. Enhanced rewards for well-doing, enhanced punishments for making tribulation in every discrete participation. And the time and space will pass quickly between the doing of a thing and its consequence in judgement.
Were this well-known, adopted, practiced with those that contravene thrust from the camp of society, what might existence really become?
+ infinity
You nailed it very precisely, Alexandre!
Amen.
The London riots 2011 I remember them well. It was interesting that how quickly people came together for mutual protection. No guns in the UK so residents and neighbours armed themselves with whatever they could get their hands on. They guarded the ends of their streets and were ready to fight. The thugs thought twice and roamed to pick on easier targets, but one suspects eventually if things had carried on they would have been back. It would have got medieval really quickly.
Anyone not prepared almost deserves what is coming. It is obvious that something big is right around the corner. Everyone has heard the warning by now, but will they act on it?
I heard the warning in 2008, got out of stocks summer of 2013, went 50% phys, 50% cash. I cannot for the life of me get started with other preps though. Part of me thinks it will be bad, but not bad enough to where I have to source my own water. This past monday jolted me to action though. Signed up for a pistol permit course, and started to thinkg about what I'll need if SHTF. It is so overwhelming, I think that is part of why I have done nothing. I also think I didn't want to be viewed as a crazy prepper, but I guess I don't have to broadcast it. I should stop caring about what others think anyway. Maybe today I will go get some batteries, flashlights, beans and rice. How do you get started? Does anyone have a resource?
I had that oh shit moment on Monda where I realized I'm not ready. I'm just hoping now I have enough time to do everything else to be somewhat prepared. Oh and what kind of pistol should I get for basic home defense that is reliable and easy to maintain?
Thanks ZH!
AG
Glock. If you're in the northeast, Peapod delivers. Just get online, order 20 years of food and have it delivered. There are, probably, many other delivery services, as well. Do it now. You've waited too long.
20 years of food? What is he, a cactus? How and where does one store 20 years of food?
Basic home defense? You don't want a pistol. What you want is a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. You don't even need to fire it to be affective against intruders. The chambering of a round is the most feared sound for home invaders.
Pistols do have their place, however. That would be for traveling out and about. Its easier to cocneal a pistol. Glock 45 are great. Even Smith and Wesson 22s are good, becuase ammo is cheap which allow you to practice more. It doesn't matter what kind of pistol you have, if you dont hit the target.
Stop this nonsense.
Pumping a shotgun isn't going to stop 3-4 doped up and scared home invaders, but putting rounds of buckshot into their chests will.
You obviously have never heard that sound. Most people breaking into a house for a loaf of bread will run the other way when they hear that sound. And if they dont, the spread of a buckshot fired indoors is alot easier to hit the target than with any pistol ever made!
You obviously have never been in a gun battle.
It looks like we agree. Both of us say that buckshot is the way to go. If I'm not mistaken, shotguns, not pistols fire buckshot
No. I strongly disagree with your statement, "You don't even need to fire it to be affective against intruders." This is potentially life-ending misinformation.
if you feel like people invading your home with the intent to harm you and your family or take your stuff deserve a warning, by all means, rack your shotgun and seeif they leave. If you feel like by the act of entering your home uninvited and with malicious intent basically forfiets any such considerations, keep your shotgun loaded so you don't have to make a loud noise giving away your position
Most people probably will leave when faced with a shotgun, but if somebody has already made it in the house, I'm not going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Doing so is betting my life that they will leave, and "probably" isn't good enough for that.
"the spread of a buckshot fired indoors"
You've obviously never fired a shotgun. There is no "spread" at close range. The spread of shotgun shells (assuming you're not firing slugs) depends upon the distance to the target and must be at least 10 or 20 yards away for a spread of two or three feet diameter. It obviously depends on the length of the barrel of course.
It's the choke. You can have a tight pattern with a full choke even from a 16.5 barrel. I like a modified choke, must most of the use that my shotgun sees is shooting at dove.
As far as food and water. Just add to your pantry every tiem you go out. Grab a few gallons of water here and there. Buy canned goods. Buy packets of tuna and salmon. Really anything with a long shelf life. Buy stuff you actually like to eat. Guess what? IF (big if, here becuase I think the collapse is all but garunteed) the collapse doesn't happen you can still drink the water and eat the food.
I would also buy lighters, batteries, and water filters.
Hi you seem new around here....
No, not really. Been around for awhile. Just waited awhile to get a profile.
Leather. lots of it. chaps. And baby-head adornments for helmets. Spikes, chains, etc. Gotta fit in ya know.
you forgot the football shoulder pads...
And heaps of hair jell to keep the Mohawk erect.
joe biden, is that you?
Start with the basics, a simple way to get protein and carbs. Beans and rice and of course a water source. Make sure you have a way to defend youerself. Then once you get going look at what hedgeless_horseman wrote. A good article...
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-19-10/fear-we-are-returning-ti...
As for guns? Whatever you do choose, make sure you train with it and are very familiar with its workings. Don't want to be fumbling with it when it counts.
You can't shoot what you will never see. signed me an American Indian and Vet.
sometimes its not about being John Wayne but something as simple as a tube of triple antibiotic ointment
Cayenne Pepeper is great. Applied to a wound it clots the blood, is a pain killer and disinfects.
Basic medical kit should be in every house IMO. Can assembly oneself.
Heck, I travel with one in my car. Never know what might happen. Including stumbling onto someone else in need (first to some horrific accident or something).
Reminds me of when Iw as in college decades ago, and still carried the tiny emergency kit in my backpack (I taught the Emergency Preparedness badge working at a Boy Scout camp). Sure enough, on a group hike a girl fell and was unable to walk for an hour, and by the time she could, it was getting dark, and cold. If it wasn't for the flashlight and a couple other things in my pack, we could have been stuck out there that night.
More recently, we had a storm where I live, which knocked out power for two days. If you haven't experienced it, you realize how prepared you aren't when you are driving along and there is no light, anywhere, and the light switches + fridge don't work anymore when you want them too. I had some preps but also saw some gaps; try living without a few days and you'll see what I mean.
You just never know when a situation can suddenly become dangerous.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12-LED-WIND-UP-DYNAMO-CAMPING-LANTERN-LIGHT-T...
This model also accepts an external charger input (9v). On the lowest setting (4 LEDs on) 60 turns of the handle are good for 40 minutes light, bright enough to easily read with.
It is a very good idea to remove the base before use, and make certain the generator bearings and drive train are well lubricated. Not so much easier to wind, as will operate more smoothly (and possibly last longer) should the need arise.
Needless to say there are umeroous other models, some cheaper, some dearer. We have six of these and they have seen us through a number of power outages (natural and accidental).
If I'm going to some of the more remote areas of my state by myself, I generally bring camping gear among other things. I've done the whole 15 mile walk starting at midnight before due to getting stuck. It sucks. Having food, a tent, sleeping bag, water, etc... would be nice in that situation.
Two cows in the pasture; chickens in the yard; trout, salmon, mule deer and elk in the freezer; an apple orchard with a few pear and cherry trees; a very large vegetable garden; a two year supply of home canned food and dry goods; I aspire to be for the remainder of my years what my Mormon grandparents were for their entire lives.
I second the training part. If you give yourself a $1500 budget that means ~$600 on the pistol, ~$250 on training ammo and holster/mag pouch, and the rest on training. Get one of these too: http://www.amazon.com/Uniden-HomePatrol-2-Phase-2-Pre-Programmed-Databas...
Dont forget you need propane or firewood to cook them beans & rice. Generator is great if it survives a emp, but then you need to store fuel.
You need to know how to cook over a wood fire too. That's kind of scary, considering the people who are confounded by a box of macaroni and cheese these days.
An easy trick is to hold your hand above the coals 8 inches or so, and where it gets too hot at five seconds it should be 350F. That's the most common temperature used. Dutch oven definitely recommended.
Lodge makes a good 7 quart cast iron camp oven. It stands on 4 short legs so you can stand it over coals and it has a lip and a flat lid so you can put a few more coals on top. Its just right for baking biscuits, braising meat. My great grandmother baked her bread in a wood-burning cast iron stove and your trick is how she gauged her oven temperature.
General information with plenty of links-
www.survivalblog.com
www.itstactical.com
Great deals on guns, ammo, and tons more-
www.cheaperthandirt.com
MRE's and Freeze-dried meals for long term storage-
www.theepicenter.com
Armor-
www.infidelbodyarmor.com
www.bulletproofme.com
www.thetargetman.com
*Never forget to check ebay for a better price (except guns/ammo)*
www.gunbot.net surplus guns and ammo along with common calibers and firearms.
gunbroker.com
Shoulda stated in '08 friend. That said:
1. As long as the seal is intact, canned goods are safe to eat indefinitely. They may degrade in nutrition, but they are safe. Choose calorie rich foods like baked beans and spam. Vegetables will be great for extra nutrients but don't carry too many calories.
2. Store as much water as you possbily can. Water is far more important than food.
3. Buy rice and beans in vast quantities. Make sure you have water and a fuel source to cook them.
4. Get some bleach so you can disinfect things.
5. Post SHTF, TP will literally be worth it's weight in gold.
6. You don't have time to buy a diverse set of food, so it will be boring. Get a shitload of hot sauce and salt to liven things up.
7. Any gun you have is better than no gun at all. Whatever you get, get twice as much ammunition as you think you need, then get twice as much again.
8. Buy or make a basic first aid kit. Make sure you can disinfact and seal a wound.
That's about all the advice I can give you right here. PM me and I'll send you my lists.
I've been doing this for a long time.
TP will certainly be a highly valuable resource. The fact that it's currently made in "factory quantities" does not meen home manufacture is impossible or even difficult. YouTube "How It's Made" channel has a very nice and pretty informative video; it doesn't take too much lateral thought to work out how a "DIY" system could be constructed, and you'd be pretty certain to be a major favourite with your small Community.
Open wounds super glue does wonders.
Guns: Unless you live out in the country where you are going to take long shots, you only need a 12 ga shotgun and a sidearm. Buckshot won't overpenetrate and kill someone in another room or a neighbor, and let's face it, a cloud of buck is more likely to hit something than a rifle round. I strongly argue against a pistol unless you are going to train with it because the magazine/chamber issue can cause you to have an accidental discharge. That being said, a pistol is better in a firefight. Keep your handguns away from your bedside, so as to ensure you are wide awake before you handle it. Many a spouse has gotten shot this way.
Water: Where to start on your preps depends on where you live. Can you get water from your environment? If so, you should focus on cleaning that water up, because natural water is rarely safe to drink. Get a high capacity filter. A few portables are useful too. You are going to need a bunch of storage vessels. I use 5 gal jerry cans (the blue ones) but stackables are available if space is a problem. This is your highest priority. Fill what you have tonight with the tap, and replace it as you get the upgrades.
Power: Your choices are gas, diesel, and propane. I have a portable propane generator. The reason is I have a 200 gallon propane tank in my front yard, but the real reason is it’s safe and stores indefinitely. Gas is unsafe and goes stale, requiring you to stabilize it. Diesel also needs to be treated. If you can safely store all three, I suggest you do so for your car or trade.
You need a second freezer. Buy a few turkeys and hens, and freeze them. What you have is basically a 15 pound ice cube. If the power goes out, place one turkey in the fridge and you are good to go for a few days, until the turkey thaws out, then you eat it.
Seeds: Go to a crazy prepper site and get some heirloom seeds. This will cost you $35 to get enough seeds to plant two acres. You’ll be dead from exhaustion by the time you finish acre three, so don’t sweat it. Dump a few yards of top soil on the property and cover it with a tarp. Make sure you have plenty of rooting hormone, potting soil, and small starter pots. You are going to need them to get these seeds to sprout.
Sand: Dump a ton or so of sand on the property. Go to Amazon and buy a few hundred sandbags for a pittance. If things go to shit, fill the sandbags, place them in a rectangular shape, and fill with top soil for instant raised beds. It would be nice to have a roto-tiller, but you have to watch your cash outlay and can always borrow a neighbors, so let that lay for a while. Use the extra sandbags to close off doors and create cover where necessary, like where people will come to the door.
OK, so we’re out a $1000 for the guns, maybe another $500 for the ammo, another $500 for the generator, and another $1000 for the filter, gas, and farming materials. That’s $3000. Now the food.
Don’t buy anything you won’t eat. Bags of rice are cheap. Bags of beans are cheap. Cans of beans are easier but are not cheap. Spend some money on a vast array of spices to jazz up your rice and beans, buy some old school cookbooks to invents different ways to cook them.
You are going to need canned veggies and meat for your rice and beans.
Think soup every day, at least once a day. So you need lots of stock and bullion cubes.
Snacks are a must, especially something like desert to look forward to so rice and beans don’t drive you crazy.
Cooking from scratch requires the obvious, cooking oils, huge bags of flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa, canned butter. You name it. Buy an array of cooking oils, especially olive oil, coconut oil, and peanut oil, which you can use to deep fry with or pan fry with.
By now you are at least $4000 into your preps.
You need tarps, rope, paracord, nails, plywood, and hand tools. If it breaks or leaks, you have to fix it.
Smokes, coffee, and booze are priorities, the people who are hooked on them will trade anything to get them.
Buy a lot of grain alcohol. You can disinfect with it, light the house with it, defend the house with it, or just drink it. I stock rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide too, but this works just as good.
Toiletries: Lots of toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant, floss, and emergency dental fillings. These babies work really well if a tooth breaks or a crown goes bad and they are cheap. Quality of life, you can’t have too much toilet paper and feminine hygene products. Asperin, expectorant cough syrup, fisherman’s friend cough drops.
First Aid: Think disinfect quickly, cover blisters, things like that. Bug spray. Saline to wash out your eyes. Non stick bandages for your crazy neighbor who set himself on fire filling the generator. Some big ass dressings and lots of tape for your other neighbor with the chain saw. (Make sure that wood is split now, before you need it) A thermometer, and a BP cuff wouldn’t hurt. Foot protection is a big deal. Foot powder and those Dr Scholes blister pads are a must. Buy some latex gloves for sanitary reasons.
Lights: When the sun goes down, go to sleep. Other wise, take all those solar lawn lights off your front yard and stick them in coffee cans full of sand, distributing them in places where accidents can happen, the kitchen, stairwell, bathrooms, etc.
Sanitation: Speaking of which, where are you going to go #1 and #2? If you don’t have city sewers, make sure you have the water to flush the toilets with a bucket. If you have the land, dig a hole now using a backhoe, get a cheap shed from home depot. Cut a hole in the floor, and rig yourself a seat. Do it now rather than digging by hand. Dig it deep and drop some sand, soil and lime to cover it or flies will spread disease. Keep it away from water sources.
+1 Excellent
During normal times, a pistol to me is either something to have fun with, challenge myself with, or carry as something that I really don't think that I will need, but if I do, the consequenses are very serious for not having it. To me, they are something that you rely on when you don't think that shit will hit the fan. Which means that I pretty much carry one everywhere.