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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Prepping - a duty or an extravagance?
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Adeodatus
Shipmate
# 4992
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
Wine?
I felt a disturbance in the Force, as if someone had spoken a mighty Word of Power. I came as soon as I could.
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"What is broken, repair with gold."
Posts: 9779 | From: Manchester | Registered: Sep 2003
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Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
A couple of weeks ago I happened to attend a book launch held to promote a novel about prepping. Not normally my kind of thing, but the author and setting were both local to me, rather than being American, which seems to be far more common.
I haven't read the book yet, but the middle class English gentlemen in the narrative do appear to have guns and a willingness to use them....
Name and shame ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
OK, well the author was a very friendly chap, so I don't mind directing you to his book.
He was selling paperback copies at the event, but I think his online focus is on e-books.
Posts: 6668 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2012
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mark_in_manchester
not waving, but...
# 15978
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Posted
This is all good fun, but Pilgrim Vagrant is still thinking about prepping for shit that George Osborne might well do to him.
Well, WTF. PV, PM me if zombie George does one all over you.
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"We are punished by our sins, not for them" - Elbert Hubbard
(so good, I wanted to see it after my posts and not only after those of shipmate JBohn from whom I stole it)
Posts: 1596 | Registered: Oct 2010
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
Here's the thing: if you prep for *something unexpected* then you have to keep prepping for it ad infinitum. Batteries and foodstuffs need to be continually replaced. I can't keep up with life as it is now, let alone as it might be in an unforeseen crisis.
Therefore I am embracing the zombie within. I am happy to turn. One of you can blow my head off or run me over when I do. Problem solved.
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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Photo Geek
Shipmate
# 9757
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Posted
I practice prepping for comfort. After the 2012 derecho, I had a whole house standby natural gas generator installed. Now, when the power goes off, the generator comes on and everything but my TV and internet is back in action.
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"Liberal Christian" is not an oxymoron.
Posts: 242 | From: Southern Ohio, US | Registered: Jul 2005
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Banner Lady:
Here's the thing: if you prep for *something unexpected* then you have to keep prepping for it ad infinitum. Batteries and foodstuffs need to be continually replaced. I can't keep up with life as it is now, let alone as it might be in an unforeseen crisis.
For the most part all you need to do is be a couple of weeks ahead when stocking anything that is non-perishable. If you normally go thru 4 rolls of TP a week, you should have 12 rolls on hand, then replenish your normal 4 each week. Of course, as noted above, space limitations may make this challenging.
You need to add a few things that you don't normally use: bottled water (hopefully you're not using that regularly), maybe more canned meats or packaged foods than normal, batteries. So you pick a date each year when you have canned tuna casserole and bottled water for dinner and replace last year's stash.
Our kids are required to bring "earthquake kits" to keep at school, which are brought home on the last day of the school year. My kids always enjoyed eating up all those packaged snacks the first week of summer vacation.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
Well, I know it's selfish of me to not wish to survive an apocalyptic disaster.
I suppose I should really want to become one of the mole women of Mount Mugga, Minnesota or Madagascar; to learn how to live off algae and mushrooms; and accommodate myself to whacking other suffering life forms like I swat blow flies during the summer. But really, I'd rather be taken out early and be spared the prolonged suffering.
BL. Happy to be front and centre of a warzone as long as I am not expected to survive it and patch up everyone else using spittle and spider webs.
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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Graven Image
Shipmate
# 8755
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Posted
Having made it through a mud slide, earthquake, hurricane. and flood and now living in rural fire area I am a preppier par excellence, if I do say so myself.
Car is always packed with change of clothes, and water, meds and extra glasses.
Home has freeze dried food portable stove, first aid kid, meds, dog food and more.
I have learned handi wipes come in handy when water is short.
I can make it for 2 weeks on my own. I have learned it takes a number of days for help to get there.
Posts: 2641 | From: Third planet from the sun. USA | Registered: Nov 2004
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PilgrimVagrant
Shipmate
# 18442
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
Well, WTF. PV, PM me if zombie George does one all over you.
Roger wilco. Thanks for your concern. Generally, one shouldn't speak ill of the living dead, but where that ambiguous individual is a politician, I think we are entitled to criticise the unlives that inflict damage on good, real, people.
Cheers, PV.
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Omnes Qui Errant Non Pereunt
Not all who wander are lost
Posts: 210 | From: In Contemplation | Registered: Jul 2015
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Heavenly Anarchist
Shipmate
# 13313
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Posted
I have friends who use the zombie apocalypse as a conversation opener at dinner parties. We were popular as my husband is an engineer who invents new technologies and I'm a nurse who can make beer, wine and cheese. But I did point out that any post-apolcalyptic empire would soon fall down as we all only have male children.
I don't think being a prepper would be helpful for my bipolar disorder, it already tends me towards ocd (as it is heavily controlled by lifestyle) and I could easily just become obsessed with prepping and consequently anxious about that. I can see why having medications available is sensible though. There are few risks beyond power cuts where I live and we generally have a few weeks food available (and the odd bottle of water for making wine as the local stuff is too hard for good wine) as well as torches, candles and matches.
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'I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.' Douglas Adams
Dog Activity Monitor
My shop
Posts: 2831 | From: Trumpington | Registered: Jan 2008
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
I'm with BL. If things get that bad* I would trade in my remaining decade or so of increasing infirmity for however long it takes me to go through the 150 or bottles in the drinks cupboard.
*in case the foregoing sounds a bit too much like suicidal ideation, I'm talking meteor strike, collapse of the global ecosystem, rabid zombies, Tories return for a third term, that sort of thing.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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PilgrimVagrant
Shipmate
# 18442
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Posted
Yes, I know people often say that, now. About not wanting to live through, and in the aftermath of, some disaster or other. But I remember hearing about a book about a man who had a modest fortune, and decided to live beyond his means until it was spent, and then commit suicide. Of course, the day finally came when the money was all gone. Did he kill himself? Well, no. Life, even without the luxuries he was accustomed to, was far more sweet than he had anticipated...
Cheers, PV.
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Omnes Qui Errant Non Pereunt
Not all who wander are lost
Posts: 210 | From: In Contemplation | Registered: Jul 2015
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Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505
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Posted
PV, just because I don't want to survive an apocalypse doesn't mean I don't have an emergency plan.
Should disaster descend and I wake up un-undead, I shall hie me to the country rellies who have survived fire, flood and drought because they know how to be completely self-sufficient under a large variety of circumstances..
If I cannot be a zombie, then I shall be a parasite. But if the good Lord is merciful, central Canberra where I live will have been taken out, and I shall simply be a puff of ash.
For me, the answer is blowing in the wind.
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Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.
Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
As an aged rellie remarked 'I've been poor and I've been rich and rich is better - but if I had go be poor again, I reckon I could do it'.
Impoverishment wouldn't bother me either, but the loss of everyone I knew or loved, or of any sustainable future for the planet would be a different matter.
But, as they say in Chaucer, 'stynt of that and talk of mirth'.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
I've never understood the survivalists - or the characters in apocalyptic movies - who want to be prepared to survive the end of the world. Why? It's not a world worth surviving for.
However, most disasters are just local, and there's a whole world beyond them worth trying to get to, or to help rebuild the devastated area, so it's almost a moot point I'm making.
In my current neighborhood, the biggest threat is probably arson, and I'm not quite sure how to prepare for that (except for arson and keeping essentials easy to grab). We could conceivably get a tornado, but we're not really in the zone they usually go through in Michigan.
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
My article on the Virgin of Vladimir
Posts: 7773 | From: Detroit | Registered: Feb 2004
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
In my current neighborhood, the biggest threat is probably arson, and I'm not quite sure how to prepare for that (except for arson and keeping essentials easy to grab).
Prep would presumably entail:
• clearly established escape route, putting collapsable ladders etc in place if needed
• fire drills
• smoke detectors
• fire extinguishers
• ideally, sprinkler system, although those are costly. Here in wildfire country we've found a cheaper alternative is to run a drip irrigation system over the roof that can be quickly turned on from the garden faucet as fleeing the home
as well as homeowners or renters insurance.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
After Hurricaine Katrina, pet owners learned to have not only a pet carrier, but enough pet carriers -- one for each cat or dog. You can't take your pet with you to a shelter or onto an evacuation vehicle unless it is in a carrier (and sometimes not even then, but a carrier is a prerequisite).
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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PilgrimVagrant
Shipmate
# 18442
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Posted
Well, I guess the theme that's emerging, is that even if you have no desire to survive Armageddon, and expect to be helicoptered to heaven come the rapture, it's still worth prepping for smaller, more random events that tend to upset plans and spoil people's days.
So, I'm still building my 3 months of food and consumables stores. I hope I'll never need them. But I feel contented just to know they are there, just in case. I think of this stock as my personal foodbank, my contribution to the nation's resilience, and my way of expressing an idea of prudence, which, last time I heard, was still considered a virtue.
And as for those zombies? I need not fear them, at least for 90 days after their unresurrection. That should give me enough time to figure out some solution to the situation, if no one else has, meanwhile.
Cheers, PV.
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Omnes Qui Errant Non Pereunt
Not all who wander are lost
Posts: 210 | From: In Contemplation | Registered: Jul 2015
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mark_in_manchester
not waving, but...
# 15978
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Posted
I've subsisted in a high-crime location on a small income with nothing in the bank, and I've done the same with a fairly fat something in the bank. I know which one doesn't scare the f*ck out of me, but it doesn't sit well with all that 'don't take an extra coat' stuff, nor indeed with 'considering the lilies' or indeed 'doing it for the least of these'.
I can see loving wealth - greed - as being a spirit-killer. What about blunt fear? If you can give away quite a lot of your income, is God bothered by the size of the cushion which is giving you the confidence to give?
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"We are punished by our sins, not for them" - Elbert Hubbard
(so good, I wanted to see it after my posts and not only after those of shipmate JBohn from whom I stole it)
Posts: 1596 | Registered: Oct 2010
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PilgrimVagrant
Shipmate
# 18442
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
I've never understood the survivalists - or the characters in apocalyptic movies - who want to be prepared to survive the end of the world. Why? It's not a world worth surviving for...
Yes, but it seems to me that all possible worlds are worth surviving for. There is not a possible world, from my point of view, where I would not like to be alive. I like life!
Some worlds are better than others. And it may be, as some have suggested, that this world is the best of all possible worlds. But to say death is preferable to other worlds is to give up on humanity, and humanity's capacity to improve upon itself, and improve upon the world, generation by generation. I had far rather be a small cog in the wheel of progress, that development, than go to my grave, hopeless and defeated.
Best wishes, PV.
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Omnes Qui Errant Non Pereunt
Not all who wander are lost
Posts: 210 | From: In Contemplation | Registered: Jul 2015
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
I've never understood the survivalists - or the characters in apocalyptic movies - who want to be prepared to survive the end of the world. Why? It's not a world worth surviving for.
The end of the world as we know it, not necessarily the end of the world as such....
Noah was willing to see his world disappear and start again in very difficult circumstances. There will always be people who see it as their duty to defy circumstances. Plus, not everyone has a great life to start with, so they have less to lose, and potentially something to gain: sudden population decline and the collapse of civil society will give some individuals the chance to assert themselves as leaders.
Posts: 6668 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2012
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I read, with some horror, a thread on a folk song website, would you believe, from a guy who wanted to share his advice on prepping - and he was over here somewhere. Where to get suitable bags for keeping the rice in, and how often to check the stuff for insect damage, how often to replace it. The thought of eating through a potato sack quantity of rice all at once was a bit off-putting. And that was only one of the tedious details he thinks about all the time.
But on the other hand, there's a bit of my brain that has the instincts of a prepper. I have, accidentally, got supplies for a while. Firstly, my store cupboard was built up to cope with an attack of flu or something, and not being able to get out to the shops. And to have supplies of things that I like that showed signs of not being stocked any more. And microwavable meals for when I went into school on supply - I don't have a microwave. and the school found me too expensive.
Then there was some alarmist talk about the effects of swine flu on the supply chain, so I added some basics - more UHT milk and things in tins I wouldn't need to add water to.
Then, while I was operating two dwellings while tarting up the first to sell (still living in it) and spending time at the other, there was the threat of snow leaving me at the second place. So I stocked that up with a few essentials.
Plus some stuff in Aldi and Lidl (discount stores) that came up occasionally and looked interesting.
Then I inherited my Dad's stores. And his quite large freezer, which I have filled with homemade soups and casseroles and stuff.
The trouble is that the prepping part of my brain then labels all the stuff "stores" and doesn't want to actually eat it. I have to force it to allow me to do so. I need to run down the stuff so I haven't got the kitchen cupboards, the drawers under the second fridge, the shelves by the door and the cupboards in the utility room full any more.
Nice beef casserole last night. I must not notch that up as a space in the freezer to be filled. Though I need to put the blackberries somewhere.
I reckon that, water supplies permitting (and I have a few empty gallon bottles and a camping water bag, and some steriliser tablets - for camping) I could last at least a month. Possibly longer if I go on to the 5:2 diet.
Not really sensible. And I think how much tidier the place would look with everything else in those spaces.
Strange that Jesus didn't mention flour beetles among the corrupters of treasures on earth.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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PilgrimVagrant
Shipmate
# 18442
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Posted
Penny S, welcome to the club. You are definitely a casual prepper.
First rule of prepping is: store what you eat, and eat what you store. And that goes for all the other stuff, too, like paracetemol, washing up liquid, bin bags and petrol (gas). If you don't use it now, chances are you won't be using it come the next flood, or Armageddon, and you are wasting money and space keeping it to hand.
Cheers, PV.
[ 09. August 2015, 14:02: Message edited by: PilgrimVagrant ]
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Omnes Qui Errant Non Pereunt
Not all who wander are lost
Posts: 210 | From: In Contemplation | Registered: Jul 2015
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
There is also the point that the gas won't keep forever. Nor will the food items. Even canned goods you should rotate regularly.
What I dislike about this is that this seems to doom you to a diet of one-year-old foods.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
posted by Brenda Clough quote:
What I dislike about this is that this seems to doom you to a diet of one-year-old foods.
One year? Where do you get that idea from?
We've always been adventurous with odd 'stores' - frequently stuff that has appeared from the farthest recesses of boat lockers when either selling a vessel or undertaking major work.
The sons have fully taken on board the message that best before and such like are merely guidelines; I overheard one telling his girlfriend the other day "You only really must eat tinned stuff when the tins start to go rusty".
That's my boy ![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif) ![[Snigger]](graemlins/snigger.gif)
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Of course, the good thing is that today, having found a courgette on its way to marrowdom in the garden, I can go at once to the freezer and choose between beef mince or pork mince to stuff it, possibly mixed with pre-made bolognese sauce.
Lamb casserole today, with cauliflower and green beans, all from the freezer. Could have had the beans from the garden, but I hadn't been out there at that point. Took cream out of the freezer, where I had put it on going away, ready for the fresh raspberries.
Sorting things when I went away went Eat, Freeze, Take or Compost. Some very peculiar meals, and a box of bananas, cherries and Women's Institute cake smuggled into the cabin. The cake was nicer than the ship's version - would you go for something called Dry Cake? Homemade curd cheese from some milk which turned, plus reduced whey (I use it as liquid in soups) went into the freezer. I forgot to separate the eggs I couldn't eat and freeze them, but most of them are still edible.
The next few weeks are going to be mystery menus with the first thing that comes to hand from the freezer (or the ice compartments in the fridges).
[ 09. August 2015, 21:44: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Having made up my mind to de-prep myself, I am now presented with a difficulty. (Not the one where, having removed an ingredient from the freezer, I have to return a similar amount of the recipe I made with it and other stuff, nor the one where more space is required to safely keep a food item which only comes in quantity like cooked beetroot).
My local shop has now discontinued stocking the milk I use - 1% fat. It is available from another shop, which is also paying farmers properly, but only in much larger bottles. As it is on the offending shop's website, it may be available from a further off branch. The solution has to be to buy in larger quantities and store in the freezer to a) avoid wasting the larger quantity or b) avoid too frequent longer drives.
I shall have to shuffle things around to make room for bottles. And acquire some smaller containers to decant into. Back to casual prepping. And a passive aggressive letter.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Oh dear. Here am I running down the stores, and some ex-advisor to Gordon Brown is telling everyone to stock up on canned goods and bottled water in case a stock market collapse brings rioting.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
My hoardsome ways caught up with me last week: the fridge freezer died. We were able to get a new one delivered fairly promptly, but not before quite a lot of food had spent questionable amounts of time at uncertain temperature levels. Since, for medical reasons, food poisoning in our household would be an even worse idea than usual, I had to err on the side of caution.
The new f/f is slightly smaller, so now I am going to be a reformed character and only put in it stuff for which I have a consumption target in the next two weeks.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
I suppose I should get a few gallons of water. There is the possibility of a tropical storm coming sort of our way-ish. Maybe.
Oh, goodie! That's all the reason we need to stock up on Oreos, the traditional hurricane food!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Graven Image
Shipmate
# 8755
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Posted
Well the prep paid off again. We were on stand by to evacuate from forrest fire two weeks ago. Thankfully we did not have to leave but it was easy to grab a few things and have other things pre-packed to just pick up and go. We did have a laugh about leaving monthly bills behind. So the house burns down, let them cut off our power for non-payment of bill. We do tend to get a little silly and slap happy under stress it seems.
Posts: 2641 | From: Third planet from the sun. USA | Registered: Nov 2004
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