what is wrong with being pepared??

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for two weeks? doesn't that make sense to all? why all the bickering? it is just wise! blizzards, ice storms, etc. MHO!regards, eddy

-- eddy (xxx@xxx.com), July 11, 1999

Answers

Why only two weeks?

-- Yan (no@no.no), July 11, 1999.

What is wrong with being prepared? In one word, Eddy, NOTHING.

My feelings, however, are that you're questioning 3 days versus 2 weeks (or longer...as the other poster implied.) I think this question has been beat to death in other threads, Eddy.

-- Anita (spoonera@msn.com), July 11, 1999.


I don't think that three days is enough. Two weeks is better. If you can afford longer than that, great. If not, well, little bit in rations is better than nothing.

As for preparations designed to last longer than 3 months--whatever. I think that if things go Acute for more than 3 months we are all doomed anyway, no matter HOW many preps you do. Your staying alive would be more a result of luck (cunning?) than planning. Unless you are Paul Milne and are extremely well armed. Even then, being armed to the teeth makes enemies of the government, who will automatically assume that you are there to destroy things and kill people.

I say that if things go completely down the tubes (a "10"), it's best to keep a low profile, spend the time with people you trust, and know how to forage for roots, acorns, small game, etc. Most important, it will be essential to be FLEXIBLE and MOBILE not weighed down and fortified, laden with provisions that will be impossible to defend in the end.

Having said that, I increasingly believe that there is very little chance for a 10 scenario unless (1) the y2k "human" problem (eg., terroism, panic, hysteria) gets out of hand; (2) we get nuked; or (3) the computer problems gradually over months feed into each other and muck up global trade, resupply, etc. (3) Would take awhile to transpire, perhaps months or years of socioeconoimc decay, eliminating the worries about a 10 scenario happening in the dead of winter...

Believing y2k will be a 6.8, on average,

coprolith II

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), July 11, 1999.


3 days is a joke.such a small number is a backhanded way of telling the masses there's no need to prepair or pull money since you can make it 3 days now,right?so don't worry!!!party down!!!!watch tv!!!! go to sleep!!!!!LEAVE YOU MONEY IN THE BANK!!!! it's what deano would have us believe.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), July 11, 1999.

On being prepared: I purchased a one year supply of freeze dried food for one adult for $2,600. (Bro and his family got some too and it's safely stored away in my basement). In this day and age of Plutonium credit cards, there aren't too many people who couldn't manage it. If nothing happens, they can eat the food and use their weekly grocery allotment to pay down the bill next year while they eat their "emergency" supplies.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse for not being prepared.

-- Clyde (clydeblalock@hotmail.com), July 11, 1999.



I definitely vote for a MUCH longer supply than two weeks. With a wildcat strike in the port of Oakland last week, hurricane season, storms, Y2K, etc., it only makes sense. It also comes in handy for those periods of unemployment (speaking from serious personal experience) and helping those in need. No question.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), July 11, 1999.

I live in hurricane territory. I've lived in tornado alley and the Northeast as well. If a person is unwilling to be astute enough to prepare for basic common-to-the-area problems, that person demonstrates apallingly lack of common sense. It's just that simple.

Sorry "pollies," but there is zero excuse, NONE, NADA, ZILCH, for not being prepared for the types of problems that you might have where you live. Those preps could if nothing else help you out if Y2K proves to be serious. If Y2K does prove to be a bump, you're ready for those other problems that pop up from time to time. Some expected, some not.

For instance, since I live in Florida, we have uncommon but not THAT uncommon power dips and brownouts and so on, more often than not caused by thunderstorm activity. I have a few propane lanters and many bottles of gas for lighting, enough to light my home for about two months assuming we use all three at a time for 4 hours/day. (I know, some don't like propane but I do.) I've loaned out lanterns to friends and neighbors that had power failures due to wiring weirdness, helped people fix home exteriors at night with them, and on and on and on. AND I'm ready for the next 'cane to hose power for a couple weeks. (Every other year we lose power for 5 days or so at a stretch due to storms or 'canes.)

Think about it. A Coleman electric (Piezo based) ignition two-mantle lantern can be had for as little as $25, WITH the carrying case. Two packs of mantles and an extra globe is another ten bucks. Throw in four to six cylinders and you've invested what, fifty bucks over what, a month's time if you do the little-at-a-time-purchasing thing? And yet that little $ can prove to save your a$$ if an unexpected situation arises.

Of course I'm focusing strictly on lighting and the power it requires, but extrapolate that out according to your area and your own needs.

It's pretty simple. If you're not willing to be at least modestly prepared for at least modest hassles, you need to seriously look at how you will fare if an "at least modest hassle" drops itself neatly on your head. You will fare badly. Ask anyone that lived through Andrew, the big bad mutha of hurricanes. Or that last nasty storm in the Northeast. I'll sum it up for the simple-minded: IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO PREPARE FOR NORMAL CRISES, YOU WILL SUFFER TO AT LEAST SOME DEGREE, NO MATTER WHAT CRISIS COMES ALONG. YOU WILL "BELONG" TO THOSE THAT DID PREPARE OR ARE SUPPLYING RELIEF, IN THAT THEY WILL HAVE DIRECT CONTROL OVER YOUR IMMEDIATE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.

I cannot honest "wrap my brain around" what goes through someone's mind that prevents them from taking care of themselves for more than the next 12 hours... Guess I've been through too many hurricanes... (Yes, I've outlasted Opal and Andrew, and about fifty other direct hits over the last twenty or so years.)

The bewildered-at-others...

-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), July 11, 1999.


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