Yeah its Burt from Tremors.

10/24/2007 5:20:44 PM

Quote :

"To answer the original question...I'd say I'm moderately prepared. I have decent protection. I buy 95% of my food from Sam's Club which means I usually have at least a few cases of non-perishable items that I could grab if necessary. I'm a hiker/camper so I have more than enough gear to stay warm and sheltered in any conditions that NC might throw at me (15 degree sleeping bag/pad combo, two nice tents, nice outdoor clothing, etc.) I'd say I could pack my junk and be out of the house in 20-30 minutes if necessary. Oh yeah, and I'm halfway intelligent which is more important than anything you can buy to get ready for a disaster."

That's my point.
It's not overkill, we just happen to have everything we would need to survive.
All it takes to be prepared is to be aware of what you have stocked and know what you'd grab if you didn't have much time.

10/24/2007 6:15:05 PM

i wanna get me one of those 15 in 1 tools, and i need an LED light and radio and lots of food
then i'll work on the bomb shelter

10/25/2007 7:46:51 PM

BUMP

8/24/2011 12:07:07 PM

thanks

this year has seen a number of natural disasters already, making me realize the importance of being prepared for a major disaster.

i've started stocking up on nonperishable food and water, and soon I will have a "go bag" with food/water, flashlight, basic first aid stuff, a dual band ham radio w/ extra batteries, and probably some cash in there too

how well prepared are other people?

[Edited on August 24, 2011 at 12:20 PM. Reason : .]

8/24/2011 12:19:32 PM

yeah...I need to get shit.

8/24/2011 12:20:40 PM

lol
was thinking the same thing

8/24/2011 12:21:38 PM

I am prepared for disasters.

8/24/2011 5:56:14 PM

While looking at backpacking gear review videos on youtube I kept seeing recommendations for videos on the "bug out bag" which then led me to discover this whole community of "preppers." Basically people preparing for a natural or economic disaster who like to make videos about long term food storage, weapons, excessive technical gear, and their stockpiles. While I find most of the preppers to be a bit extreme for me, it has made me more aware of making sure I do have some (if small) backup storage of food, water, first aid, and flashlights/batteries in case of an extended power outage/storm. I will admit that I did buy a book on disaster preparedness/wilderness first aid .

Also, if youtube is any indication,

Quote :

"I can loot whatever I need during emergency situations from the better prepared survivors. I also keep a couple gallons of water along with plenty of canned meats and vegetables in a pantry."

the serious preppers have an arsenal of guns & ammo and they are ready to defend their stockpiles.

[Edited on August 24, 2011 at 9:10 PM. Reason : quote]

[Edited on August 24, 2011 at 9:21 PM. Reason : sentence]

8/24/2011 9:03:50 PM

some pictures of my cousin's storage:

canned fruit/veggies:


more canned stuff, jars of stock and soup:


he does a lot of his own canning (meats, chili, stock, etc)


i probably won't ever be this well prepared. but he's got to think about himself, his wife and their 6 kids. plus they live in the middle of nowhere in rural Arizona.

8/25/2011 9:13:01 AM

^ That's a little extreme

8/25/2011 9:17:11 AM

^^Is your cousin mormon? I just learned mormons keep a 2 year supply of food.

Quote :

" how well prepared are other people?"

se7entythree and I are even more prepared than before because we've gotten into backpacking. Now we've got all the gear associated with backpacking, a bunch of dehydrated food, a water filter, more flashlights, more guns, more ammo, a bigger chainsaw (never know when zombies attack and you run out of ammo), and a bunch of other stuff.

[Edited on August 25, 2011 at 9:44 AM. Reason : I just hope the forest service doesn't send me out to manage hurricane response]

8/25/2011 9:43:26 AM

When you are preparing to have to feed 8 people in the middle of nowhere for any length of time at all, it will take A LOT of food. That doesn't seem extreme to me.

8/25/2011 9:44:36 AM

i have a full tank of gas, two bags of chex mix, random assortment of things that can be used in many ways(mcgyver style) and lots of friends all over NC

8/25/2011 9:47:43 AM

^^ I agree, and I think it's smart, especially if there's a chance of a loss of income. I would like to be more prepared, but there's not a lot of free space in my small apartment. I think gathering the backpacking supplies will help some. Watching those videos at least made me aware of how unprepared I was!

8/25/2011 10:52:51 AM

I'm with adam here. One problem society (especially in America) has is the sense of security that our social system isn't going to collapse. By this I mean that there is and will always be plenty of food in the stores, that people won't be breaking in and stealing other people's food and resources, and that if we are by chance caught without essential resources an aid group will soon be around to give us what we need. People need to take MORE responsibility for themselves. In this day and age, there are plenty of resources available to stock up and prepare yourself for that "rainy day." It's not like our society is scrambling for food on the shelves like villages in Africa. We have plenty available here and you don't have to break the bank to get a supply started. Get an extra 5 or 10 cans of food, rice, beans, or whatever when you go to the grocery store every week. Hell, a 24pk/case of 20oz purified water bottles are $3-$4 at Harris Teeters. Eventually, you'll have what you "need." The opportunity for you to prepare is available and it's now. Are you going to capitalize on this opportunity while resources are available and people aren't scrambling to grab as much as they can or would you rather gamble and hope that if something does happen, everything will be okay and if worst comes to worst that an aid organization will rescue you? There's nothing wrong with being prepared because when a disaster strikes, the people who were were all and will be and when they realize they are running out of food, water, and/or medical supplies and help isn't around the corner...

[Edited on August 25, 2011 at 4:13 PM. Reason : .]

8/25/2011 4:05:42 PM

It's risk assessment, pure and simple. Whatever money you're spending on preparing for the zombie apocalypse will be wasted if the zombie apocalypse never comes. You wouldn't be stupid for spending zero dollars on a zombie apocalypse that never comes.

Now a hurricane is slightly more likely so you may want to adjust your risk assessment and prepare how you see fit. Given our great stores and supplies of food, and given the availability of information regarding impending disaster, I don't think it's wise to hoard up a ton of supplies that has cost, brings extra logistics and maintenance (food goes bad, even canned food, pests can get into it, need to replace stuff) when you can just go get some stuff a few days before and ride out the storm.

Of course, when the zombie apocalypse comes I'll be kind of fucked, but I'm guessing it won't be that bad because I'm not a paranoid freak. I guess I'm just blinded by my sense of security.

8/25/2011 4:58:31 PM

I don't really have the space for supplies, and I'm not sure I can really afford them.

I'd like to learn more basic skills and survival skills. So, yeah, I can't keep a generator or a bunch of camping supplies and tools, and it would be stupid if we all had our own personal stocks of this stuff. But everybody should have something they bring to table...

There's a bunch of '70s survival manuals back home...I guess I'll give them a look and see if they're valuable.

Anybody knows of any good books worth keeping on hand in case of major disaster?

8/25/2011 5:56:57 PM

Quote :

"It's risk assessment, pure and simple. Whatever money you're spending on preparing for the zombie apocalypse will be wasted if the zombie apocalypse never comes. You wouldn't be stupid for spending zero dollars on a zombie apocalypse that never comes."

Not sure I agree with that, as long as you buy things you regularly consume or use.

Awhile ago, Harris Teeter had store-band canned veggies on sale, 3/$1. They also had canned fruit 2/$1, with beans at $0.57/can. I walked in the front door and they had a pallet of cases of canned foods.

I bought just over 100 cans of food that night, and it was probably the best(or at least the smartest) $40 I've ever spent on food. They had just come in from the cannery so the "best by" date was 2-3 years out depending on the food, and we all know they last much longer than that provided they're stored well.

$40 for a little bit of food security? What's the harm in that?


Buy a little extra food each time you go to the store and you'll be amazed how quickly you can build a nice food stash in your pantry or freezer.

[Edited on August 25, 2011 at 6:36 PM. Reason : ]

8/25/2011 6:36:09 PM

I'm just going to eat the looters after I shoot them.

They'll make good compost for growing veggies, too.

8/25/2011 6:40:56 PM

I recently found out that Mormons are supposed to keep a 1 year supply of food storage.

8/25/2011 7:42:42 PM

That's the old joke.

Survival kit: a shotgun and the address of a Mormon.

8/25/2011 8:11:05 PM

Quote :

"I'm just going to eat the looters after I shoot them."

Mmmmm....long pork.

8/25/2011 8:35:07 PM

we now have this in addition to our other camp foods, except we've eaten the ground beef. http://www.packitgourmet.com/Basic-Camp-Kitchen-Pack-p497.html

it includes
Dehydrated Carrots (3 oz)
Dehydrated Mixed Bell Peppers (2.5 oz)
Dehydrated Mixed Leeks (1 oz)
Dehydrated Tomatoes (2 oz)
Dehydrated Vegetable Blend with Tomatoes (3.0 oz)
Tomato Powder (2 oz)

Freeze-Dried Broccoli (0.8 oz)
Freeze-Dried Celery (0.5 oz)
Freeze-Dried Corn (2 oz)
Freeze-Dried Green Beans (1 oz)
Freeze-Dried Onions (1 oz)
Freeze-Dried Peas (2 oz)
Freeze-Dried Potatoes (2 oz)

Dehydrated Black Beans (4 oz)
Dehydrated Pinto Beans (4 oz)
Dehydrated Lentils (4 oz)

Freeze-Dried Chicken (2 oz)
Freeze-Dried Ground Beef (2 oz)

8/25/2011 9:18:43 PM

Hell yes we do. Like I said in the other thread, about 60-day supply of food, between canned, dry, #10 canned stuff, and MREs for 3 people, chickens and dogs. We've got a month's supply of water, ceramic water filter, tools, camping gear, fuel, flashlights, batteries, etc. My boy makes a hobby out of expanding and updating the stockpile, he regularly rotates the food, and keeps track of supplies on an Excel spreadsheet. So yeah, we're 'preppers'.

8/26/2011 12:13:23 AM

^ Do you have any "private" land? Make sure to have some vegetable seeds too if you can plant any. You never know when you might need to be a farmer. My father has a self sustained worm farm and that makes about 1.5-2 cups of worm castings a week, which is mixed in with the plane jane top soil in their garden. I swear the vegetables from their garden is 10x better than anything you'll find in the store or even the farmer's market and it's truely organic (well as organic as you can get while still being exposed to polluted rain water . )

8/26/2011 12:37:38 AM

I've been wrestling with this for a while. Do I go all extreme and build a bomb shelter with years worth of supplies? Do I organize all my camping gear and prepare to go all Eric Rudolf if civilization collapses? Or do I just stack some wood in the back yard keep a few days of non-perishable food around for ice storms/hurricanes?


I'm pretty much prepared to go without electricity for a few days if a bad storm hits.

8/26/2011 8:12:28 AM

^^ I actually rent from a landlord about my age whose in law school at Wake Forest. We don't bother her too much, and in return she keeps the rent the same, and we get to do whatever we feel like to the house. Paint it, drill and nail into walls, put in garden beds, a chicken coop, compost pile, bike racks, etc.

As far as veggie seeds, I've got about a 2 year supply right now on cool weather crops, and another season's worth of leftover summer stuff. I'd ideally move out to a more rural location if/when civilization collapses, and not forget the shotgun I plan on buying asap.

8/26/2011 3:59:43 PM

Rubber tubing
Gas
Saw
Gloves
Cuffs
Razor Wire
Hatchet
Gladys
And my Mitts.

8/26/2011 4:05:38 PM

I live in my grandmother's house in rural Pitt County. Since it use to be a working farm, we're pretty well prepared out here for just about anything. We have an entire packhouse full of tools and equipment necessary to make repairs and clear debris. We even have the means to start a garden or trap game for food. We have a walk in pantry that is decently stocked, but not as well as it was prior to cleaning it out last month. The only holes in our preparedness are no bottled water (we just fill up the tub in situations like a hurricane), no extra baby formula, and no more than a two weeks worth of my children's Rx medications.

8/26/2011 4:50:33 PM

[Edited on August 26, 2011 at 4:52 PM. Reason : double post]

8/26/2011 4:52:19 PM

I am not prepared for a disaster, but I am now stalking all the people in this thread who indicated they do have emergency supplies.

8/26/2011 5:31:50 PM

good luck with that

Quote :

"the serious preppers have an arsenal of guns & ammo and they are ready to defend their stockpiles"

8/26/2011 6:04:05 PM

I have an arsenal of guns as well and plan on looting more guns and ammo from the well prepared people.

8/26/2011 6:33:48 PM

AHA, I just had a memory of when we're all advised to stock up on duct tape so we could seal up our homes in plastic in case of a terrorist attack.

Duck tape comes in all sorts of patterns now...so, not only are we fully protected from biological and chemical warfare, but we can flaunt our first amendment right to self-expression in the face of those freedom-haters!

[Edited on August 26, 2011 at 7:57 PM. Reason : LEOPARD PRINT ALL IN YO FACE!!]

8/26/2011 7:54:34 PM

We were at Costco last night and the salespeople didn't even blink when we topped off our water and food supplies. Do that at a place like Kroger or Harris Teeter when there's not a hurricane coming in, and people get freaked out and think the End Times are near.

8/27/2011 9:54:42 AM

Why is "zombie" always associated with being prepared? Is that some kind of survival cliche?

8/27/2011 2:02:25 PM

I have a couple cases of MREs, cans of beans, big bag of rice, bottles of water, flashlights / batteries, etc. Not overkill, but enough to probably get through a week or so if we were stranded in the house. We have gas logs and a grill that runs off of natural gas, so even if the power is out, assuming the gas service isn't disrupted too, we could cook and somewhat heat. Otherwise, I have a camp stove and plenty of trees / wood out back to make a fire if needed.

Also in each car I keep a couple MREs, bottles of water, ponchos, first aid kits, flashlights, and knives. Enough to make it through a day or so if the car gets stranded in some remote area.

If it gets really bad, hopefully I would have time to drive to my dad's where he has tons of stuff stored plus a fairly large collection of firearms.

8/28/2011 2:56:35 PM

bump for the other thread like this

6/5/2012 1:55:33 PM