Get your preps done. Lay in a little or a lot of le cheapo booze too. In a survival situation it is important to relax and enjoy it - really stress and panic are the killers in a survival situation. So get ready and then relax, knowing you are prepared.

-- rambo (rambo@thewoods.com), August 30, 1999

Answers

Thanks Rambo,

Good advice.

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), August 30, 1999.

Yeah great advice. If your panic stricken and stressed the thing to do is sit down and throw back a few! Sheesh.... where did you go to school, the University of Backwoods Alabama?

Picture this... it's cold, your hungry, & your scared. In a last ditch effort to remain cool and collected you have some alcohol.

Alcohol lowers your body temperature, dehydrates you, and lowers your ability to think logically. Now your colder, your hungry and thirsty, and your not scared, but you should be because your in mortal danger. But that's okay, you go have a few more, and soon you won't feel anything and dying will actually sound like a nice idea. Nothing like a few good shots of bourbon to make a person totally apathetic and lethargic.

sheesh.

-- (rambo@is a fictional.character), August 30, 1999.

LOL, yeah great advice. Relax while your neighbor kills you and your family while you sit there in a drunken stupor. Why even bother preparing if you're going to do something so stupid?

-- (its@coming.soon), August 30, 1999.

Errr. No.

Since a survival situation may call for the use of firearms I'll have to decline. I never pack heat and partake at the same time. I also think that alcohol dulls your thinking after the initial "relaxation" has worn off. I can also think off a thousand other ways to hurt yourself impaired while preforming survival activites.

I do agree that relaxing IS important.

watch six and keep your...

-- eyes_open (best@wishes.net), August 30, 1999.

Booze will kill the pain between the time when you're shot & when you eventually bleed to death or die of infection. ;-)

-- cheerful (optimist@happy.talk), August 30, 1999.

If you are cold, hungry and scared - you did not prepare.

-- rambo (rambo@thewoods.com), August 30, 1999.

If you are cold, hungry and scared - you did not prepare.

If you are drunk, you will be killed.

-- (its@coming.soon), August 30, 1999.

Try having a twister roll through your town sometime, folks. Devastation is everywhere. Electricity and gas are gone. Shelter is on top of other poor souls. Food is hard to come by.

This very real scenario is borne out each year. I doubt drinking one's worries away will alleviate those concerns.

Yet I thank all of you for your collective visit to Fantasy Island. While it's apparent that Rambo has spent a little too much time hiting his Mom and Dad's booze cabinet this morning, it is just as apparent that Stephen King has some competition here in the form of the other doomsday visionaries, even if the writers themselves don't know it.

-- Bad Company (johnny@shootingstar.com), August 30, 1999.

Have any of you jerks ever been to war, ever machinegun folks, been shot at. Probably not. Been there done that. "Fuck You" Tennessee Williams.

-- rambo (rambo@thewoods.com), August 30, 1999.

Hey BadCo,

Counting your Chicken Littles before they hatch? Careful. Folks will remember YOUR little cheap shots too.

JJ

-- Jeremiah Jetson (laterthan@uthink.y2k), August 30, 1999.

Rambo

I have worked in the bush and as a rule booze is a bad idea.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 30, 1999.

I think Rambo has a very good point.

I certainly plan to have my liquor cabinet well-stocked for Y2K. In the worst case, whiskey is a disinfectant (though I keep a jug of everclear around for that) and an anaesthetic.

But beyond that, I intend to have a few cases of nice merlot and cabernet around - stuff that will age nicely for a few years at any rate. It's important not to neglect the finer things in life in a survival situation. And they make great barter items.

So, Rambo, I'm with you, buddy.

JZ

-- Jeff Zurschmeide (zursch@cyberhighway.net), August 30, 1999.

Quoting Riply from 'Aliens': Did IQ's drop sharply while I was away?

I didn't see Rambo say "go get rip-roarin drunk" he said "relax and enjoy it". Did everyone else here read the same thing I did?

eyes_open:
I also think that alcohol dulls your thinking after the initial "relaxation" has worn off. Actually I find the opposite to be true. I work LOOOooong hours programming and I find that if I have ONE DRINK a couple of hours before I sit down to a long night of programming I'm much sharper and much more alert than if I hadn't had that ONE drink. More than that one drink and I stay away from the computer (learned that in college!)

So Rambo might not be so far off the mark after all...

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), August 30, 1999.

Let's see. Peripheral vascular dialation, frontal sedation (no more Id), might get some cerebral dialation. Yeah TECH you MIGHT hit things a little better after JUST ONE. And the ETOH converts to sugar REAL fast so you get a trailing glucose rise, but boy does THAT drop off in a hurry. All in all, if thinga are specificly tight, I don't want to be.

cHUCK

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), August 30, 1999.

All of my preps long since being completed, this is the only item I have not yet address properly. Not being a drinker, Im finding it hard to choose my boose, I guess Vodka is economically viable. Besides being able to give you a little relax time, if your not on duty, it is perhaps still the best pain deadening substance for minor surgery, or tooth extraction, heaven forbid, or are we talking now about having somthing more powerful in the prep kit then booooooooose...---...

-- Les (yoyo@tolate.com), August 30, 1999.

Tech

As I read Rambo's comment he was worried about stress and panic. This is a far cry from sitting at a key board and punching in data. People panic because they are confronted with a situation that threatens stability and or immediate health. Experiance is the best last resort in cases like this. Of course maybe programmers have life threatening situations but I highly doubt it.

Stress on the other hand doesn't mean the same thing as panic. A shot or to of booze during the evening might not be to bad. Unfortunately if there is not a constant supply you are relying on false sense of security that will run out. Then you are stuck with the same problem and your solution will have run out with your empty bottle.

Experiance and mental composure are the best methods of dealing with panic and stress.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 30, 1999.

Thanks for the advice Rambo. For the rest, if you don't like the advice, don't follow it. No need to shoot the messanger. If you can't stop at one or two drinks without getting drunk, you shouldn't have any. One or two snorts to relax and relieve a little stress may be a good idea. Having some booze on hand for barter or medicinal purposes is a great idea. Don't think I'll be bartering mine.

If things go to a 5 or 10, depression may be a problem too. Stocking up on some St. John's Wort may be a good idea too.

-- Bill (tinfoil@deserthat.com), August 30, 1999.

Ahhh,

5-10 mg of diazepan will work a lot better.

-- Rickjohn (rickjohn1@yahoo.com), August 30, 1999.

Like duh, panic is bad. So's extreme stress. But a little stress is necessary to remain alert, y'know?

Is relaxation good? Well there's a fine line. Under survival situations where you are cold and/or malnourished, it IS extremely important to conserve energy and expend the lowest amount of calories per food- or fuel- gathering activity. That means trapping instead of hunting, trout lines instead of fishing poles, burning hardwood or charcoal instead of pine or brush.

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), August 30, 1999.

I didn't see Rambo say "go get rip-roarin drunk" he said "relax and enjoy it". Did everyone else here read the same thing I did?

That's what I read. So we should just "relax and enjoy" the world going to hell all around us. Riots in the streets - just "relax and enjoy", Violence everywhere - "relax and enjoy", someone's blowing your kid's head off, yeah, just "relax and enjoy". Have another drink, all your problems will vanish.

It's very simple. Alchohol dulls the senses and impedes reaction time. If you need to defend yourself and your family, your best bet is to be as alert and focused as possible. If you're not, you and your family will be dead. Go drink to that.

-- (its@coming.soon), August 30, 1999.

I believe he said 'prepared'. If you're cold, hungry and flitting around, you weren't prepared. At the end of a hard working, stressful day, one belt will do me good (and I don't mean daily). Hopefully we might find some reason to responsibly celebrate something as well. I'd like to be prepared for *that* too. Medicinal purposes also come to my mind. Some people shouldn't drink. I could put a couple down and blast the eye out of a turtle dove from across my yard. Some couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with an elephant gun.....don't partake, please! Being a tea-sipper won't improve one's odds of survival. Being stumbling drunk wasn't the suggestion offered.

Common sense WILL improve one's odds of survival. Nobody was suggesting otherwise.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), August 30, 1999.

Rambo gave good advice, he simply didn't expand on what he meant.

We're in "survival mode" right now. All of our senses are hightened, and we sure feel the effect of this anxiety producing state (doomers I mean). If you enter the crisis in that state, you're not going to be at your optimal health of mind and body. It is therefore crutial that you enjoy and relax right now. Preps, i.e. stocking up and mental rehearsals are a way to reduce anxiety. Prepared people don't panic. Alcohol can help to relax and enjoy good company if used moderately (a glass of personality once in a while is good for the soul and body.) When the crisis happen, you'll be in better shape than the rest of the herd, but it will still be important to find the time to relax at intervals when not in immediate danger, and regain perspective.

-- Chris (%$^&^@pond.com), August 30, 1999.

Brain,

No two ways about it, if my life is on the line you can bet the situation will get my full and undivided attention. But a human can remain in a 'full alert' state only so long. That's why people need some Rest & Relaxation (R&R), including soldiers engaged in the middle of a bloody war.

As I read Rambo's comment he was worried about stress and panic. This is a far cry from sitting at a key board and punching in data.

I can tell you've never worked on a system that would cause your company to lose tens of millions of dollars if you didn't get it working by 9AM the next morning. Punching in data is not stressful, programming under tight deadlines most certainly is. That's why you hear so much about 'programmer burnout' and how 30 is considered over-the-hill in this profession. It's also why so many Y2K programmers consider themselves to be on a 'death-march'. No matter what they do, no matter how hard they work, they know they won't be done on time. Meanwhile management keeps on pushing for more and more hours, and more and more output. Now THAT is stressful.

Unfortunately if there is not a constant supply you are relying on false sense of security that will run out. Then you are stuck with the same problem and your solution will have run out with your empty bottle.

Relying on something and taking advantage of it while it's around are two different things. I'm most definitely NOT a booze-hound. I buy a six-pack and it'll sit in the fridge for weeks. But when I think it'll help me be more productive, I crack open a can. If I don't have any around, so be it. I do without.

Experiance and mental composure are the best methods of dealing with panic and stress.

No doubt. I've always performed well in crisis situations. Once, as a dorm manager in college, a student split his skull open in the bathroom. You could actually see some of his brains. While everyone else around me was freaking out *I* was the one pointing to people saying "You, go call an ambulance. You, go call campus security. You, go to the front door and lead the paramedics here when they arrive".

It's the long-term, low-level stress that always screws me up. So yeah, I think a drink here and there will probably be a good thing for me if Y2K turns out to be an extended stress situation. I'm sure it'll help other people in a similar way.

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), August 30, 1999.

LOL--obviously Rambo DOESN'T intend to feel your pain.

-- CS Man (csm@smoke.com), August 30, 1999.

I may get to drinking and start feeling sorry for myself and others around me and go RAMBO, BALLISTIC, and who knows what I might do! No way, prior to December 31, I'm dumping out every bottle of booze, and use full beer cans and bottles for target practice.

-- on the wagon (onthewagon@onthewagonn.com), August 30, 1999.

Go for it Rambo!

I agree that having a supply of beverages on hand will come in handy for several purposes, medicinal,barter,as well as a psychological fix when confronted with extreme levels of stress.

We do not know what will be expected of us next year,so we all must look at our own preps accordingly. If a person in your family has a drinking problem, simply don't stash any or stash where they can't find it.

Personally, I'm laying in a good supply of Crown Royal,George Dickel,Jack Daniels, a couple gallons of 200 proof Golden Grain, and alot of wine. Also have my own copper still to produce some of the best apple brandy you've ever tasted.

Don't get me wrong folks, I very seldom partake of the spirits. An occassional glass of wine with a meal or a little tug while sitting on the porch watching the sunset. Always puts me in a mellower mood prior to bedtime.

As for being boozed up while handling firearms, a definite no-no in my book. There's a time and place for everything!

Take care All!

-- Ex-Marine (Digging In@Home.com), August 30, 1999.

We're in "survival mode" right now. All of our senses are hightened, and we sure feel the effect of this anxiety producing state (doomers I mean). If you enter the crisis in that state, you're not going to be at your optimal health of mind and body. It is therefore crutial that you enjoy and relax right now. Preps, i.e. stocking up and mental rehearsals are a way to reduce anxiety. Prepared people don't panic.

This is all very true. The best way to reduce anxiety and avoid panic is to continue with preparations. This not only has the obvious benefits of increasing your chances of survival, it also keeps your mind active and alert.

Alcohol can help to relax and enjoy good company if used moderately (a glass of personality once in a while is good for the soul and body.)

This was probably true in a situation where we don't have to be as concerned for survival, but it is far less true when you're in a situation where your facing a danger to yourself and your family. Don't forget that alchohol not only impairs coordination and alertness, it also impairs judgement. After Y2K, it will be difficult to know who is "good company" and a mistake in judgement about this will cost your and your family your lives.

There's a lot of denial here from people who clearly want to save some vestiges of their former lives and carry them into Y2K. We'd like to think that we can still find time to sit around the fire with friends and neighbors, a glass of wine in our hands, and toast the future. Unfortunately, this doesn't reflect the reality we are seeing everyday as we draw closer to January. When Y2K hits, we will need all our wits about us, and even some alchohol will inhibit us to some degree. Face it, that's why we drink it! If you think it's just "relaxing" you without inhibiting you in any way then you're simply in denial. Just as with DUI, you may get away with it, or it may end up killing you and the people you care about. You just have to decide if it's really worth the risk, just for some "relaxation".

-- (its@coming.soon), August 30, 1999.

Tech (and others)

At one time I was a fisherman in the arctic. More than a few times my life was in serious risk and a sharp mind, quick action, and drawing on experiance helped me. That is survival. My experiance in dealling with such situations showed me that booze and drugs and life and death are not a good mix. Even the alcoholics I have worked with would not drink even when back at camp (and there were times we needed a stiff one.)

When I see the word survival I look at the literal meaning. Been there, done that. Now I like a beer now and then but when your survival is on the line beers are for the home or the bar.

As far as stress goes, each to their own. Working with lots of responsibilities would contribute to stress but it is not a "survival" issue.

I think this thread would have had alot less comentary if Rambo had worded his statement a bit more carefully. Of course that makes for a better thread sometimes :o)

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 30, 1999.

I read an excellent artice on the internet, forgot where but it had some good suggestions and here they are.(1) Between now and Jan 1 decrease and wrap up preps.(2) Post-rollover (if it goes very badly) you will be in a state of semi-shock,this will leave you vunerable to illness,heart attack,stroke,etc.During this period just past the rollover you should be getting plenty of sleep,rest,eating foods you really like plus comfort foods like candy and cookies.(3) In a few weeks the shock will start to wear off and then you can start doing things like gardening,distilling and other necessary chores.

-- Stanley Lucas (StanleyLucas@WebTv.net), August 30, 1999.

Rambo:

It appears that Carry Nation still lives. But I suspect that you already new that.

Best,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), August 30, 1999.

Rambo:

It appears that Carry Nation still lives. But I suspect that you already knew that.

Best,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), August 30, 1999.