Triumphrat

BrewDudeBob · 11-13-2012, 08:30 PM

Tonight is the premiere of the second season of the National Geographic Channel's "Doomsday Preppers" It comes on right before SOA

I caught a couple of the shows when channel surfing a while back. There are a bunch of wacky folks out there stockpiling food, weapons, and first-aid kits, in case of anything from a Flu pandemic to Nuclear War, to the Zombie Apocalypse. I got a chuckle out of a few episodes of the show, watching folks run around their backyards in chemical suits and Geiger-counters. I found it somewhat absurd, but entertaining at the same time.

Then Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Seaboard and we all watched the people there as they struggled over the last few weeks trying to return to normal. Fist-fights at the gas stations, power-line workers being attacked in frustration & rage, long lines at the gas stations just to get a few gallons of gas. No heat, no power, people living at shelters, and many other frustrations faced by them. That got me thinking. What would I do if something interrupted MY food & fuel supplies for days, weeks, or even months? With our grocery stores operating on a just-in-time inventory system, the shelves would be bare in just a few short days of such an event. Gasoline would also be impossible to get.

How would I get by? Right now, I would be in the same boat as most folks. Not prepared at all. We only have the normal amount of food in the fridge & pantry. And no plan. Realistically, the worst I think would happen in North Georgia is ice storms. 2 Winters ago, we had a monster ice storm that made our roads almost impossible to navigate unless you had 4 wheel drive. My entire team at work all worked from home. In my subdivision, we had a whole string of cars that could not make it up the hill to get home, so they got left at the entrance until the city finally came by with a sand-truck on the third or fourth day.

So it just so happens that in the same strip-mall as my local Cycle Gear, a store called Tru-Prep has just opened up. I stopped by there the other day and bought a couple freeze-dried meals to see how edible they are, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The meals are sold individually, or you can buy a 5 gallon pail (29 servings)full of them. So I think for now, my prepping will consist of a bucket or two of freeze-dried meals and I will call it a day.

Anyone out there doing any prepping? Anyone have the guts to admit it here?

tazaroo · 11-13-2012, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrewDudeBob

Tonight is the premiere of the second season of the National Geographic Channel's "Doomsday Preppers" It comes on right before SOA

I caught a couple of the shows when channel surfing a while back. There are a bunch of wacky folks out there stockpiling food, weapons, and first-aid kits, in case of anything from a Flu pandemic to Nuclear War, to the Zombie Apocalypse. I got a chuckle out of a few episodes of the show, watching folks run around their backyards in chemical suits and Geiger-counters. I found it somewhat absurd, but entertaining at the same time.

Then Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Seaboard and we all watched the people there as they struggled over the last few weeks trying to return to normal. Fist-fights at the gas stations, power-line workers being attacked in frustration & rage, long lines at the gas stations just to get a few gallons of gas. No heat, no power, people living at shelters, and many other frustrations faced by them. That got me thinking. What would I do if something interrupted MY food & fuel supplies for days, weeks, or even months? With our grocery stores operating on a just-in-time inventory system, the shelves would be bare in just a few short days of such an event. Gasoline would also be impossible to get.

How would I get by? Right now, I would be in the same boat as most folks. Not prepared at all. We only have the normal amount of food in the fridge & pantry. And no plan. Realistically, the worst I think would happen in North Georgia is ice storms. 2 Winters ago, we had a monster ice storm that made our roads almost impossible to navigate unless you had 4 wheel drive. My entire team at work all worked from home. In my subdivision, we had a whole string of cars that could not make it up the hill to get home, so they got left at the entrance until the city finally came by with a sand-truck on the third or fourth day.

So it just so happens that in the same strip-mall as my local Cycle Gear, a store called Tru-Prep has just opened up. I stopped by there the other day and bought a couple freeze-dried meals to see how edible they are, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The meals are sold individually, or you can buy a 5 gallon pail (29 servings)full of them. So I think for now, my prepping will consist of a bucket or two of freeze-dried meals and I will call it a day.

Anyone out there doing any prepping? Anyone have the guts to admit it here?

One would think that someone with a Gonzo quote would be thinking a bit more out of the box. Anyone these days in America should realize that your on your own when the SHTF and having food, guns and ammo is a very smart idea. When it comes down to it, do you want to be a whore to the gov't or someone that can take care of yourself/family and not feel like a byatch. Natural disasters aside, the economic situation of the planet is dismal especially with the re-election of Barry.

zelatore · 11-13-2012, 08:43 PM

I've never lived through anything as bad as Sandy and I have to admit I'm not really prepared for something like that. Not much food on hand typically, other than a lot of cokes (when they go on a good sale I tend to buy 30-50 cases. yeah, I drink a lot of coke)

I do have a small generator and a chainsaw, and I generally have at least one gas can with fuel in it for the small engines like mowers, etc, but that wouldn't last me very long. No worry about heat though, as we have a wood burning stove that can heat the house plenty as it rarely gets down to freezing here.

Most likely I would just move onto my boat as it's fully self-contained. Several years ago we had some pretty good flooding in the delta. This was shortly after I had bought the current boat and I had it at a local yard where we had just launched it after some updates. The yard lost power and suffered from some fair flooding, but we just fired up the generator and kept on working on interior projects. Of course, the docks we were working on nearly floated off the top of their pilings, and I did bail out one of the yard's work boats that nearly sank, but otherwise it wasn't any big deal.

Many years ago, when I was a kid living in Indiana we had a series of tornadoes come through. It happens pretty much every year, but these were pretty bad. We lived in a rural area and ended up without power for a couple weeks as I remember. Again, it wasn't really that bad for us. Dad pulled the RV out of the barn and parked it in the drive so we would have propane for cooking. And we were on a fairly shallow well, so we pushed the cover off of it and just dipped water up with a rope and bucket. It was summer, so heat wasn't an issue, but we had wood heat in that house as well.

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We also have a number of firearms, but other than the .22s we don't have more than a few dozen rounds on hand so if things got really ugly we wouldn't hold out against a mob all that long I suppose. Then again, my paranoia factor is pretty low so I'm not feeling a lot of worry about this.

BrewDudeBob · 11-13-2012, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazaroo

One would think that someone with a Gonzo quote would be thinking a bit more out of the box.

Well, when society does collapse, I do have a valuable skill that may get me by. With brewing as a former career and current hobby, I will be a lot more popular and useful than some guy who collects stamps

leftarmlogan · 11-13-2012, 08:47 PM

Obviously someone hasn't seen The Postman with Kevin Costner.

Anyway, aside from some kitty litter and some beef jerky, I'm not really prepared for much. I'm banking on getting vaporized by the nuclear apocalypse. If that doesn't happen, I might be SOL.

Bloody Knuckles · 11-13-2012, 08:53 PM

Hurricane Rita-2005 and Ike-2008 each knocked out power for a week in my LZ.

My only disaster preparation is a large new roll of poly, KI pills (potassium iodide), and lots of 5.56mm and 12 gauge ammunition.

I seriously don't understand the fascination with zombies.

Heavyduty1 · 11-13-2012, 08:59 PM

50 cases of Ramen noodle and an artesian well. Food and water. I can live forever.

dwr302 · 11-13-2012, 09:14 PM

With hurricanes always a threat here we always keep plenty of fuel to run the portable generator a couple weeks on a limited basis, always top off our vehicles before the storms roll in, make sure the propane tanks are full so we can cook on the gas grill, and build up the pantry as the storm season starts. We have had several events with multiple day power losses over the years. We could prolly go a month or so without power.

As a hurricane arrives in the area the first thing that always happens is long gas lines. When the power goes out.....no gas. Everybody gets their underwear in a bunch then.

Of course if everything goes really bad long term, for what ever reason, all us urban dwellers will be SOL.

Silverado57 · 11-14-2012, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrewDudeBob

Tonight is the premiere of the second season of the National Geographic Channel's "Doomsday Preppers" It comes on right before SOA

...

Then Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Seaboard and we all watched the people there as they struggled over the last few weeks trying to return to normal. Fist-fights at the gas stations, power-line workers being attacked in frustration & rage, long lines at the gas stations just to get a few gallons of gas. No heat, no power, people living at shelters, and many other frustrations faced by them. That got me thinking. What would I do if something interrupted MY food & fuel supplies for days, weeks, or even months? With our grocery stores operating on a just-in-time inventory system, the shelves would be bare in just a few short days of such an event. Gasoline would also be impossible to get.

How would I get by?

Anyone out there doing any prepping? Anyone have the guts to admit it here?

We caught a bit of Preppers last night. Those folks seem a bit over the top. But let's face it, if the SHTF, they'll be the ones that have a better chance at survival.

I think there's a big difference between prepping and being prepared. Before Sandy, our vehicles were full of fuel, we have a generator and the fuel to run it, a wood stove with a couple of years worth of wood on hand, bottled water, and a good amount of non-perishable food.

And lots of ammo.

When the world went dark and cold in NJ after Sandy, we were sitting around eating steaks that we cooked on the charcoal grill. The house was warm and we had light provided by the generator. We sat around playing table games every night until utilities were restored.

Most people did not have generators, even though Sandy arrived on the one-year anniversary of a freak blizzard that knocked down trees and powerlines and left us in the dark for days. We had learned our lesson and invested in a generator not long after that.

Even though we were without power for 10 days we were pretty darn comfortable.

As evidenced by Preppers, if the SHTF for real, even those that have prepped may not be prepared for every eventuality, or indefinitely.

Be safe everyone.

hlmiskelly · 11-14-2012, 08:01 AM

We have tornadoes around here and, in fact, April before last, one touched down about 500 yards from my house destroying one home and uprooting at least 50 trees. So I keep an area in the basement stocked with a case of water, a radio, flashlights, blankets, energy bars and batteries. But it is only enough for a couple of days. I also bought a gas-powered generator and keep 15 gallons of gas available. It provides enough power to keep the refrigerator, microwave, and hot water heater going.

I watched on episode of the "Preppers" show and was intrigued by the obvious stuff some of these guys did not consider. The episode I watched was about a family in the northwest on the coast who built a shelter under their garage floor to wait out a general collapse of society and the rioting that would accompany it. But their shelter had only one entrance - up into the garage - and the protective door opened out. How in the hell would they get out if the house collapsed on them?

If you want to read a book that is tangentially related to this topic and will psychologically scar you for at least six months, read McCarthy's "The Road". After reading that book I am convinced no amount of prepping is going to help you for a disruption lasting more than a year.