I don't remember that discussion, but I'm quite sure THIS board didn't laugh at you. We're in to that sort of thing.
We laughed at her because she stated that the sun flares were more the cause of the weather changes than anything humans are doing. She has a bit of a selective memory, our lys.
Last time we had a power outage, it was only 3 hours before I realized just how "soft" I am when it comes to roughing it. .
We lost power for 36 hours this winter when the weather was in the single digits and I now get a mild panic attack whenever the lights flicker. I joke about having PTSD from the situation but I'm not actually sure that I wasn't psychologically scarred to a degree.
I love when this board goes into disaster planning mode.
In all seriousness, if I lived in NYC or surrounding area I would have a bug out bag in my car and/or place of work. It was scary for me, out in CO, watching everyone have to walk the hell out during the blackout.
My bug out bag is specifically for if something happens and I'm at work.
After the big NYC blackout a friend had to walk out of Manhattan over the GW bridge to get home. I live 15 miles from the city, but would need to walk at least 5 to get to our meet up area (a bike shop near the bridge).
My bag has 72 hours of food & water, first aid kit, crank radio & crank phone charger, emergency blanket & a small tarp. Oh and iodine pills in case of a dirty bomb.
72 hours of water is a TON of water; but I assume you are carrying a low consumption amount? Can I ask how much you have in your bag?
It's 12 water pouches that are 4.25 oz each. So pretty low consumption. I'd probably grab a few bottles from my office if something happened in the summer.
So having all the massive food stores is fine and dandy but you need to have a defense plan. If I've learned anything from walking dead, it's that sooner rather than later people are going to show up to steal all your shit.
So having all the massive food stores is fine and dandy but you need to have a defense plan. If I've learned anything from walking dead, it's that sooner rather than later people are going to show up to steal all your shit.
DH and I joke that when we finish our basement we will put some guns and ammo behind the drywall. If we ever really needed it, they would be there, but safe from small children and random house burglars.
In all seriousness, if I lived in NYC or surrounding area I would have a bug out bag in my car and/or place of work. It was scary for me, out in CO, watching everyone have to walk the hell out during the blackout.
I was a nervous wreck when I worked in NYC for a couple of years. I always wore comfy shoes and I kept a paper handy with transit into to get out of the city (trains, buses, ferries). One job had its office right across the street from the Empire State Building and I HATED that.
We had a ton of snowstorms this past winter. There was one day where MH's commute home from work (normally 30 minutes) took him eight hours. He came home complaining, understandably so, that he was hungry and tired. I bought him a couple of Cliff Bars on my next shopping trip to leave in his glove compartment, and he informed me about a day later that he'd eaten them, just because. Sigh.
So having all the massive food stores is fine and dandy but you need to have a defense plan. If I've learned anything from walking dead, it's that sooner rather than later people are going to show up to steal all your shit.
Yup, guns and our dogs are our initial defense plan.
Next up, barriers for the basement level access windows.
I love when this board goes into disaster planning mode.
In all seriousness, if I lived in NYC or surrounding area I would have a bug out bag in my car and/or place of work. It was scary for me, out in CO, watching everyone have to walk the hell out during the blackout.
That blackout was the damn devil!
It was hot as fuck AND we lived on the 36th floor, people! Thirty-fucking-six. It was close enough after 9-11 that i thought shit would get real so I was smart enough to buy water but had to walk it up to the 36th floor!!!! H and I were like, "Ain't no way we are going back down until there is power."
I think by day 2, there was no more water in the building and the toilets no longer flushed. We only the tiniest bit of battery in a radio because my H is a tech-type and didn't/doesn't believe in battery powered things. Were so hot and hungry and dirty and thirsty and started to HATE each other. I was so glad when the lights started coming back up. Everyone else had these stories of sexy times and sitting on the corners cooking steaks with the neighbors and I was like, ^o).
Our current house is waaaay too dependent on electricity and I hate it. I'm making up a survival kit for me and the girls because my H laughs when I bring it up. Guess who can't share when the sun flares come for us!
Well, no, that's not true. His parents have a farm so I need to be nice. We'll have to fight his sister and her family for it though. They have teenagers and those assholes eat a lot.
Post by sweetpea508 on Jul 25, 2014 14:04:09 GMT -5
Reminds me of the book One Second After (awesome read, www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after). I think our biggest problem would be water for sure. I have done all this prepper research but havent bought anything yet. I have a basement which would be perfect for storage. Now I want to ask for prepper shit for my upcoming birthday lol
Post by downtoearth on Jul 25, 2014 14:19:01 GMT -5
All blackout/bug out/preppers talk aside, I think this article is amazing. I mean, our solar system is so interesting and our physicists so smart that they can figure out the intricacies of the connections between solar flares and planetary ruin... that is just great science.
Reminds me of the book One Second After (awesome read, www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after). I think our biggest problem would be water for sure. I have done all this prepper research but havent bought anything yet. I have a basement which would be perfect for storage. Now I want to ask for prepper shit for my upcoming birthday lol
We did a bookclub about this on the board. Half the people struggled because it was "poorly written" the other half didn't like it because it was something that couldn't happen.
My grandmother is a hardcore prepper, she is convinced that armageddon is coming (like tomorrow). It makes me sad when I think of how much money she has spent on MREs, water purification systems, etc. I'm all for being prepared, but she has literally spent tens of thousands of dollars. She's a very religious woman and a pacifist though, so basically if shit ever actually hit the fan, people would just come and steal all her stuff. She sends us gold and silver coins every Christmas that we are supposed to hide under our mattress because the banks aren't safe, and the dollar won't be worth anything. She would be appalled to know we keep them in a safe deposit box.
I found a letter from my great great grandfather written to his daughter (my great grandmother) and it was all religiously crazy about how the world was gonna end in 1929 and they had to make peace with God, blah blah. It made me determined that I wasn't gonna be that next generation of dooms dayers and just waste my life talking about an end that never came. Obviously, times can get hard and people's lives can go through upheavals, but preparing for them all and keeping that up at the price of being crazy in all your relationships and having no life isn't something I'm not going to be able to do.
The thing that's so scary about these solar flares is that there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. It's a scary reminder of just how vulnerable we are on this little rock floating through the void of the universe.
Post by downtoearth on Jul 25, 2014 14:45:21 GMT -5
And I'd like to add that b/c of all this, I have been watching prepper videos as a waste of my time and I am getting stabby... I can't articulate, but it bugs me a lot! There is something about planning for a natural disaster that seems normal - if you're without power/water for a week or so, but have help on the way and your community around you, it seems okay to prep for that scenario IMO. It's the preppers who are all "have to get out to a safe place and protect yourself" that seems so non-community based and makes me not like them, but I also feel very unprepared. I'm conflicted and I blame CEP!
And I'd like to add that b/c of all this, I have been watching prepper videos as a waste of my time and I am getting stabby... I can't articulate, but it bugs me a lot! There is something about planning for a natural disaster that seems normal - if you're without power/water for a week or so, but have help on the way and your community around you, it seems okay to prep for that scenario IMO. It's the preppers who are all "have to get out to a safe place and protect yourself" that seems so non-community based and makes me not like them, but I also feel very unprepared. I'm conflicted and I blame CEP!
And I'd like to add that b/c of all this, I have been watching prepper videos as a waste of my time and I am getting stabby... I can't articulate, but it bugs me a lot! There is something about planning for a natural disaster that seems normal - if you're without power/water for a week or so, but have help on the way and your community around you, it seems okay to prep for that scenario IMO. It's the preppers who are all "have to get out to a safe place and protect yourself" that seems so non-community based and makes me not like them, but I also feel very unprepared. I'm conflicted and I blame CEP!
I always feel sad for the teens on the show, who are so obviously embarrassed by their parents complete obsession with doomsday. A 14 or 15 year old is so self-conscious about their family even when they are mostly normal. I can't imagine having a tv show highlighting your family's craziness at that age.
We have enough shit going on right now, what with most of the world engaged in some sort of battle and jackasses trying to deport children fleeing situations so horrible their parents were like "here, creepy smuggler person, take my 4 year old to a strange land where I may never see her again," and the fact that Justin Bieber is still culturally relevant.
So, scientists, just keep this to YOURSELVES. I don't want to know. Just shut up right now. Wait a few months, okay?
I don't know, I kind of feel the opposite.
Of course it would be something astronomical that would take us out, and not our own petty fighting. We ain't shit, in the scheme of things. This kind of stuff should make people realize how small and fragile we are and how all we have is each other.