I found some of these on survivalist web sites and made up a few. If you have any you'd like to contribute there's a link at the bottom of this article.
A Prepper has a SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle)
A Survivalist has a BOV (Bug Out Vehicle)
A Prepper can peel a potato.
A Survivalist can skin a beaver.
A Prepper has a GPS
A Survivalist has a compass.
A Prepper keeps extra food in a spare room.
A Survivalist keeps a year's worth of food plus heirloom seeds in a bunker.
A Prepper has a weapon for each member of the household.
A Survivalist has an arsenal for each member of the household, plus spares.
A Prepper saves restaurant matchbooks and Bic lighters.
A Survivalist can make fire rubbing sticks together, with flint & steel, with a bow drill & board, magnesium & knife, bottom of an aluminum can, magnifying glass ...
A Prepper has a Swiss Army knife and a complete set of kitchen knives.
A Survivalist lists: a Bowie knife, a dagger, a skinning knife, three throwing knives, a Swiss Army knife, a boning knife, a Fillet Knife, a combat knife, a survival knife, a Machete, a Leatherman, a tomahawk, a meat cleaver, an ax, a hatchet, a samurai sword, a dozen folders with blades over six inches and asks: "Do ninja nail clippers count?
A Prepper has a pet named Fluffy.
A Survivalist has mobile reserve protein source named Rex.
A Prepper has a gas powered generator and five gallons of fuel for emergency power.
A Survivalist has two propane powered generators (one for backup) and a full 500 gallon propane tank in the backyard.
A Prepper has a solar oven.
A Survivalist has a wood burning stove.
A Prepper has matching luggage.
A Survivalist has matching (camo) BOBs (Bug Out Bags)
A Prepper has a mouse trap.
A Survivalist has 22 gauge wire for snares.
A Prepper has a rat trap.
A Survivalist has conibear traps.
A Prepper's idea of food with a long shelf life is a case of Twinkies.
A Survivalist's idea of food with a long shelf life is a case of MREs.
A Prepper has a wine cellar.
A Survivalist has beer in a bunker.
A Prepper has a sun porch.
A Survivalist has an armory.
If you have any you'd like to add; send them to
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
USD to CAD and paper to Au and Ag
The other day a friend emailed me an article with the following preliminary remarks:
I pretty much agree with this – not that it makes any difference. The day is coming when everyone will know that paper “money” is just that – paper. We have not had any backing for the US dollar except “the full faith and credit” of the United States of America since Nixon. It would appear that such faith is wearing thin – rightly so, particularly in light of the political situation and the rate at which the Fed is printing “money.”
Of course, the US dollar is up today (over 81 as this is written), and I expect it will get stronger for a bit – maybe up to 83.5 to 84. There is a big struggle going on in the “money” markets, but the struggle is trying to pick which of the depreciating currencies is going down the least. The Euro is tanking, as well as some others, but the Canadian and Aussie dollars are doing well. If you have gold in hand, however, let the other guys fight it out.
I still think that we are headed for a similar situation that occurred in Germany in the early 20’s. The German Weimar Republic began inflating the Mark in 1919, at which time an ounce of silver could be bought for four Marks. During that year the Reichsbank began monetizing the government’s debt. As a result, from 01/1921 until about 01/ 1921 inflation was about 60 percent. From 01/1922 until 10/1922 inflation rose to 5,300 percent. By 10/1923 inflation was at 16,579,999 percent. That’s right, sixteen million, five hundred seventy nine thousand, nine hundred ninety nine percent. From there it went to infinity. This situation is given credit for the rise to power of Adolph Hitler.
In my teen years, Dad gave me a German banknote from those times (I wish I still had it). It was printed only on one side, and as best I can remember, the note was for one hundred billion Marks. That note would NOT have bought the same ounce of silver that only four Marks would have purchased in 1919.
Enough pontificating
RDP
Previously he'd related to me a story his father had told him about a German postman or policeman (he forgets which) who'd developed a habit of throwing his pocket change into a bathtub at the end of each day. In those days German Pfennigs were made of silver. By the time of the inflation and later hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic he'd saved up a bathtub full of silver Pfennigs. (Let's hope he and his family had a second bathtub.) When the hyperinflation hit he and his family survived by selling the silver Pfennigs a few at a time.
But as my friend said "enough pontificating" here without further ado is my sermon on inflation in America today and hyperinflation which may well be in our future.
I'm laying out my reasoning for putting some of your American dollars into a Canadian, Swiss or Australian bank account denominated in the LOCAL currency. The American greenback is due to inflate at a rapid rate perhaps even into hyperinflation.
My reasoning is that the United States of America is Canada's largest trading partner so a slowdown in American commerce will also put the breaks on the Canadian economy. Thus, I hope, the Canuck buck will not inflate as quickly nor as much as the greenback. In any case they're much less likely to be dealing with hyperinflation.
Of course all first world currencies (including the Swiss Frank, CHF and the Australian dollar, AUD) will be hurt when the world's reserve currency proves to be as substantial as the emperor's new clothes. Then, I suspect, individuals, corporations and nations will flee to the currency of last resort: Au.
Canadian banks were much more responsible in their lending and missed the recent worldwide banking emergency. Australia and Switzerland pretty much dodged that bullet too. I believe that still is the case. That is to say the Canadian banks are stronger than US or European banks. And I believe the Swiss and Australian banks have a better chance of surviving hyperinflation (along with their currencies) too.
For now I'm just going to talk about Canadian banking because I've just jumped through the hoops involved in opening an account up there.
Of the big five Canadian banks two: Scotiabank, the Bank of Nova Scotia, (NYSE:BNS) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) are generally agreed to be the strongest and best run of the bunch. I chose Scotiabank for our Canadian dollar account because I've looked into (and invested in) it and believe it to be the stronger of the two.
If you choose to open an account at a Canadian bank you'll need everyone you want on the account physically present (they require a "wet signature") with two picture ID's (I used my driver's license and my American Passport) to get the account opened. You'll also need to have a few utility bills to show that you live at the address you're giving them. Also very important (due to 9/11 and drug cartel money laundering); you'll need the withdrawal slip showing you withdrew the money you're about to deposit from your USA bank account.
Once your account is set up you can make further deposits via wire transfer. If you opt for a checking account you'll be able to write checks etc.
For now, at least, Americans having funds in banks outside the USA is legal as long as you pay income tax on any interest earned. There is a guy on one of the boards I frequent who has put some of his money in both Swiss and Australian banks both as regular checking and saving accounts and in their versions of CDs. He pays taxes on the interest and, I believe, considers the accounts to be insurance policies against a US dollar crash.
This from one of his recent posts:
While not as high as they have been (I'm in at 8% for 5 years), a form of diversification which might be considered is a term account (like a US CD) at an Australian bank. There are three or four very strong ones.
An example of today's rates:
http://www.westpac.com.au/personal-banking/bank-accounts/tools-calculators-rates/term-deposit-rates/
While no one can predict the future (…), the AUD over the past year has outperformed most alternatives (including gold), while paying a reasonable interest return.
The accounts may be opened without a trip to Oz (but with one piece of snail mail involved with a medallion guaranteed signature - available for free at your local US bank).
There is 10% Aussie withholding tax which can generally be recouped when you file locally. The term accounts can be easily broken (with a reasonable penalty in the interest accrued), similar to a CD. I did this twice over the past year as rates increased, leaving my account at the high water mark, but the point is you can get the funds back quickly by bank wire if you need them here in an emergency.
Not an investment recommendation, simply a way to mitigate some of the risk …
Jeff
- 0 – 0 – 0 –
As long as I'm sighting others I ought to throw this in. It was written recently by a guy named By Tom Dyson
The Royal Bank of Canada will open a non-resident account for you with two pieces of ID.
The Royal Bank of Canada operates a bank in America called RBC Bank. TD Canada Trust also operates banks in America.
Contact customer service at a Canada-based institution and ask them to send you an application for a new account. Then contact your closest branch in America and ask them to help you process the application without you having to fly to Canada.
It won't be easy. The American branch will tell you they are a totally different operating entity from the Canadian bank. You'll probably have to spend a few hours on the phone...
So now you have two ways to turn your US buck into a Canuck buck. Neither as quick and easy as going down to the local branch of your bank, but hey, if it was easy everybody would be doing it. And once everybody sees the hyperinflation handwriting on the Federal Reserve's wall I've a feeling everybody and his brother will be trying to do it. You don't want to be at the end of that line. Also, I've a feeling whoever is in charge when that happens will pass a few laws to stem the flow. Already having your money out of the country and in another currency should afford you some protection.
"But, Dave, what about gold (Au) and silver (Ag)?" Can any self respecting paranoid be satisfied with a mere foreign bank account denominated in a paper foreign currency?"
No, of course not! In my view gold and silver coins should be a part of your savings.
There's a guy named Fernando FerFAL down in Argentina who has documented the 2001 economic collapse of his country.
I reviewed his book on this blog on 10MAR10.
I recommend FerFAL's book to anyone contemplating the complexities of the next few years. FerFAL has been there and done that and he's got the T-shirt. Unlike some survivalist gurus here in the states, FerFAL just documents what has happened (in his book) and is happening now in his country on his blog.
Here's part of his answer to a reader's question on his blog on 11MAR10:
…
And the lucky ones that have a job, end up finding out that the money they make slowly loses its purchasing power.
“That’s right! Money is just poor tinder after SHTF! Lets quit our jobs and head to the retreat!”
Hold your horses my friend. You’ll get to your retreat and do exactly what? Watch DVDs and eat popcorn? Wait for the raiders to arrive?
Its not going to happen. No raiders, no zombies, no brave new world, just the same old crappy one that just keeps getting worse.
Guys, it’s a thing that goes on for YEARS.
As of right now, here in Argentina private companies estimate a 40% inflation rate per year. Official numbers don’t matter any more. Do you have any idea what this means?
These days, people in USA are noticing a bit of inflation. I sometimes get email from people telling me “You are right FerFAL, bottles, containers and packages in general are getting smaller but costing almost the same”.
I’m not right. I never said it would happen in USA. I just said it happened here, and told people to keep an eye opened if they saw the same pattern.
[Note he doesn't claim to be able to foretell the future in his country or ours.]
The pattern is unfortunately repeating itself, and even worse, its repeating itself politically as well: Redistribution of wealth, social plans, more taxes, more socialist brain washing, a media that just has to be forced to cooperate with the government, something we once called censorship.
…
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/
What FerFAL's saying he's experienced down in Argentina and what I'm expecting here in the USA is a continued worsening of economic conditions. In Argentina their debt ridden paper currency fell off an economic cliff in 2001, in England they went into an economic death spiral after WWII when they lost their empire. We could go either way. (In case you're wondering, America's "empire" is its increasingly ramshackle status as issuer of the world's reserve currency.) In either case a US pre-1965 silver dime will grow in value as the USD decreases in value.
Whether or not you believe you'll need to be packin' heat to go to the grocery store in a decade it makes sense to put some savings in precious metals in spend-able denominations (dimes, quarters, halves of pre-1965 US silver coins; one tenth, one quarter, one half ounce gold Krugerrands and/or gold Maple Leafs) just in case.
OK, so maybe a few full ounce Rands and Maples too. And some gold Pandas wouldn't hurt either after all China is in the ascendancy right now and (sad to say) we've only to look at England to see where we'll be (if we're lucky) in fifty years.
You'll want to store the coins either in a bank safe deposit box or somewhere other than your home so home invaders won't be able to torture you or your family into revealing the location and pilfer them.
If I could pry my wife out of our home here in the desert we'd buy a house half in southern Canada and half on the US side of the border so we wouldn't have to put up with those cold Canadian winters. But, like most of the American sheeple we'll remain in place and hope for the best. (But this sheeple has some food stored up.)
Desert (What's "paranoia" and why did Webster hide it so far back in his book?) Dave
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
I pretty much agree with this – not that it makes any difference. The day is coming when everyone will know that paper “money” is just that – paper. We have not had any backing for the US dollar except “the full faith and credit” of the United States of America since Nixon. It would appear that such faith is wearing thin – rightly so, particularly in light of the political situation and the rate at which the Fed is printing “money.”
Of course, the US dollar is up today (over 81 as this is written), and I expect it will get stronger for a bit – maybe up to 83.5 to 84. There is a big struggle going on in the “money” markets, but the struggle is trying to pick which of the depreciating currencies is going down the least. The Euro is tanking, as well as some others, but the Canadian and Aussie dollars are doing well. If you have gold in hand, however, let the other guys fight it out.
I still think that we are headed for a similar situation that occurred in Germany in the early 20’s. The German Weimar Republic began inflating the Mark in 1919, at which time an ounce of silver could be bought for four Marks. During that year the Reichsbank began monetizing the government’s debt. As a result, from 01/1921 until about 01/ 1921 inflation was about 60 percent. From 01/1922 until 10/1922 inflation rose to 5,300 percent. By 10/1923 inflation was at 16,579,999 percent. That’s right, sixteen million, five hundred seventy nine thousand, nine hundred ninety nine percent. From there it went to infinity. This situation is given credit for the rise to power of Adolph Hitler.
In my teen years, Dad gave me a German banknote from those times (I wish I still had it). It was printed only on one side, and as best I can remember, the note was for one hundred billion Marks. That note would NOT have bought the same ounce of silver that only four Marks would have purchased in 1919.
Enough pontificating
RDP
Previously he'd related to me a story his father had told him about a German postman or policeman (he forgets which) who'd developed a habit of throwing his pocket change into a bathtub at the end of each day. In those days German Pfennigs were made of silver. By the time of the inflation and later hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic he'd saved up a bathtub full of silver Pfennigs. (Let's hope he and his family had a second bathtub.) When the hyperinflation hit he and his family survived by selling the silver Pfennigs a few at a time.
But as my friend said "enough pontificating" here without further ado is my sermon on inflation in America today and hyperinflation which may well be in our future.
I'm laying out my reasoning for putting some of your American dollars into a Canadian, Swiss or Australian bank account denominated in the LOCAL currency. The American greenback is due to inflate at a rapid rate perhaps even into hyperinflation.
My reasoning is that the United States of America is Canada's largest trading partner so a slowdown in American commerce will also put the breaks on the Canadian economy. Thus, I hope, the Canuck buck will not inflate as quickly nor as much as the greenback. In any case they're much less likely to be dealing with hyperinflation.
Of course all first world currencies (including the Swiss Frank, CHF and the Australian dollar, AUD) will be hurt when the world's reserve currency proves to be as substantial as the emperor's new clothes. Then, I suspect, individuals, corporations and nations will flee to the currency of last resort: Au.
Canadian banks were much more responsible in their lending and missed the recent worldwide banking emergency. Australia and Switzerland pretty much dodged that bullet too. I believe that still is the case. That is to say the Canadian banks are stronger than US or European banks. And I believe the Swiss and Australian banks have a better chance of surviving hyperinflation (along with their currencies) too.
For now I'm just going to talk about Canadian banking because I've just jumped through the hoops involved in opening an account up there.
Of the big five Canadian banks two: Scotiabank, the Bank of Nova Scotia, (NYSE:BNS) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) are generally agreed to be the strongest and best run of the bunch. I chose Scotiabank for our Canadian dollar account because I've looked into (and invested in) it and believe it to be the stronger of the two.
If you choose to open an account at a Canadian bank you'll need everyone you want on the account physically present (they require a "wet signature") with two picture ID's (I used my driver's license and my American Passport) to get the account opened. You'll also need to have a few utility bills to show that you live at the address you're giving them. Also very important (due to 9/11 and drug cartel money laundering); you'll need the withdrawal slip showing you withdrew the money you're about to deposit from your USA bank account.
Once your account is set up you can make further deposits via wire transfer. If you opt for a checking account you'll be able to write checks etc.
For now, at least, Americans having funds in banks outside the USA is legal as long as you pay income tax on any interest earned. There is a guy on one of the boards I frequent who has put some of his money in both Swiss and Australian banks both as regular checking and saving accounts and in their versions of CDs. He pays taxes on the interest and, I believe, considers the accounts to be insurance policies against a US dollar crash.
This from one of his recent posts:
While not as high as they have been (I'm in at 8% for 5 years), a form of diversification which might be considered is a term account (like a US CD) at an Australian bank. There are three or four very strong ones.
An example of today's rates:
http://www.westpac.com.au/personal-banking/bank-accounts/tools-calculators-rates/term-deposit-rates/
While no one can predict the future (…), the AUD over the past year has outperformed most alternatives (including gold), while paying a reasonable interest return.
The accounts may be opened without a trip to Oz (but with one piece of snail mail involved with a medallion guaranteed signature - available for free at your local US bank).
There is 10% Aussie withholding tax which can generally be recouped when you file locally. The term accounts can be easily broken (with a reasonable penalty in the interest accrued), similar to a CD. I did this twice over the past year as rates increased, leaving my account at the high water mark, but the point is you can get the funds back quickly by bank wire if you need them here in an emergency.
Not an investment recommendation, simply a way to mitigate some of the risk …
Jeff
- 0 – 0 – 0 –
As long as I'm sighting others I ought to throw this in. It was written recently by a guy named By Tom Dyson
The Royal Bank of Canada will open a non-resident account for you with two pieces of ID.
The Royal Bank of Canada operates a bank in America called RBC Bank. TD Canada Trust also operates banks in America.
Contact customer service at a Canada-based institution and ask them to send you an application for a new account. Then contact your closest branch in America and ask them to help you process the application without you having to fly to Canada.
It won't be easy. The American branch will tell you they are a totally different operating entity from the Canadian bank. You'll probably have to spend a few hours on the phone...
So now you have two ways to turn your US buck into a Canuck buck. Neither as quick and easy as going down to the local branch of your bank, but hey, if it was easy everybody would be doing it. And once everybody sees the hyperinflation handwriting on the Federal Reserve's wall I've a feeling everybody and his brother will be trying to do it. You don't want to be at the end of that line. Also, I've a feeling whoever is in charge when that happens will pass a few laws to stem the flow. Already having your money out of the country and in another currency should afford you some protection.
"But, Dave, what about gold (Au) and silver (Ag)?" Can any self respecting paranoid be satisfied with a mere foreign bank account denominated in a paper foreign currency?"
No, of course not! In my view gold and silver coins should be a part of your savings.
There's a guy named Fernando FerFAL down in Argentina who has documented the 2001 economic collapse of his country.
I reviewed his book on this blog on 10MAR10.
I recommend FerFAL's book to anyone contemplating the complexities of the next few years. FerFAL has been there and done that and he's got the T-shirt. Unlike some survivalist gurus here in the states, FerFAL just documents what has happened (in his book) and is happening now in his country on his blog.
Here's part of his answer to a reader's question on his blog on 11MAR10:
…
And the lucky ones that have a job, end up finding out that the money they make slowly loses its purchasing power.
“That’s right! Money is just poor tinder after SHTF! Lets quit our jobs and head to the retreat!”
Hold your horses my friend. You’ll get to your retreat and do exactly what? Watch DVDs and eat popcorn? Wait for the raiders to arrive?
Its not going to happen. No raiders, no zombies, no brave new world, just the same old crappy one that just keeps getting worse.
Guys, it’s a thing that goes on for YEARS.
As of right now, here in Argentina private companies estimate a 40% inflation rate per year. Official numbers don’t matter any more. Do you have any idea what this means?
These days, people in USA are noticing a bit of inflation. I sometimes get email from people telling me “You are right FerFAL, bottles, containers and packages in general are getting smaller but costing almost the same”.
I’m not right. I never said it would happen in USA. I just said it happened here, and told people to keep an eye opened if they saw the same pattern.
[Note he doesn't claim to be able to foretell the future in his country or ours.]
The pattern is unfortunately repeating itself, and even worse, its repeating itself politically as well: Redistribution of wealth, social plans, more taxes, more socialist brain washing, a media that just has to be forced to cooperate with the government, something we once called censorship.
…
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/
What FerFAL's saying he's experienced down in Argentina and what I'm expecting here in the USA is a continued worsening of economic conditions. In Argentina their debt ridden paper currency fell off an economic cliff in 2001, in England they went into an economic death spiral after WWII when they lost their empire. We could go either way. (In case you're wondering, America's "empire" is its increasingly ramshackle status as issuer of the world's reserve currency.) In either case a US pre-1965 silver dime will grow in value as the USD decreases in value.
Whether or not you believe you'll need to be packin' heat to go to the grocery store in a decade it makes sense to put some savings in precious metals in spend-able denominations (dimes, quarters, halves of pre-1965 US silver coins; one tenth, one quarter, one half ounce gold Krugerrands and/or gold Maple Leafs) just in case.
OK, so maybe a few full ounce Rands and Maples too. And some gold Pandas wouldn't hurt either after all China is in the ascendancy right now and (sad to say) we've only to look at England to see where we'll be (if we're lucky) in fifty years.
You'll want to store the coins either in a bank safe deposit box or somewhere other than your home so home invaders won't be able to torture you or your family into revealing the location and pilfer them.
If I could pry my wife out of our home here in the desert we'd buy a house half in southern Canada and half on the US side of the border so we wouldn't have to put up with those cold Canadian winters. But, like most of the American sheeple we'll remain in place and hope for the best. (But this sheeple has some food stored up.)
Desert (What's "paranoia" and why did Webster hide it so far back in his book?) Dave
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Plan To Survive
I received this link in an email from a Canadian friend. It's some of the best advice on surviving everyday disasters (boat sinkings, aircraft crashes, fires) that I've ever seen.
I like the way the video automatically reloads itself as it goes through about eight segments. Also, pay particular attention to the last part (about the time they show the helicopter escape training) because (while you're unlikely to ever have to escape from a sinking helicopter)that's when they start telling you to have a plan and how to plan to have a plan. (You may have to scroll down a bit to click on the video.)
Plan to Survive
When disaster strikes who lives and who dies is not purely a matter of luck. In every disaster, from those people face once in a lifetime, to those they face every day, there are things that can be done to increase the chances of getting out alive. Horizon has gathered a team of leading experts to produce the ultimate guide to disaster survival. Through controversial Watch now...
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
I like the way the video automatically reloads itself as it goes through about eight segments. Also, pay particular attention to the last part (about the time they show the helicopter escape training) because (while you're unlikely to ever have to escape from a sinking helicopter)that's when they start telling you to have a plan and how to plan to have a plan. (You may have to scroll down a bit to click on the video.)
Plan to Survive
When disaster strikes who lives and who dies is not purely a matter of luck. In every disaster, from those people face once in a lifetime, to those they face every day, there are things that can be done to increase the chances of getting out alive. Horizon has gathered a team of leading experts to produce the ultimate guide to disaster survival. Through controversial Watch now...
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Double UP Double Down
If our future holds more of the same, only worse, the question becomes not how to fend off the hungry hordes attacking our bunker in the bush after TEOTWAWKI, but how to survive in our bungalow in the burbs on an average day.
In his book and on his blog FerFAL makes a convincing argument that increasing taxes and decreasing value of currency combined with crime and corruption will more likely result in a death spiral for our way of life than a dramatic revolution or civil war.
The more I study the problems that confront us, as a people and as a nation, the more convinced I become that FerFAL is right and those self proclaimed survival gurus predicting imminent internecine armed struggle are living in a fantasy world. Mutiny, it seems to me, just isn't in the cards.
So let's get real with our preparations. Buying a "ranch" in a "Survival Community"?
Eh, I'll pass!
Stocking up on food?
You bet!
A few gold coins and a lot of pre-1965 US silver dimes & quarters?
Of course!
Guns & Ammo?
You Betcha!
But what about the more mundane aspects of survival in devolving economy?
Got soap?
Nonperishable supplies can be stockpiled in large but reasonable amounts so that in times of chaos A) you don't have to endanger yourself going out to get them and B) you don't have to do without them. Also, not having to spend whatever money you have on hand at the moment on everyday essentials gives you other options for the deployment of that resource that could pay dividends as you adapt to the ever changing situation.
If you're a member of Costco, Sam's Club or one of the other big box stores that offer lower prices by selling in bulk you're already doubling up most of your purchases by virtue of the sizes available. Instead of the petite bottle of dishwashing liquid you're offered the jumbo size, often two of them taped together.
It makes sense to buy a 24 can case of the Campbell's soup you enjoy rather than a few cans at a time at the local supermarket. But if the grocery has a super sale don't hesitate to clear their shelves and load up yours.
TP or not TP that is the (30 roll) question, whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (with old magazine pages) or take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them with 180 or so rolls in the closet?
It may not seem like much of a survival strategy; a pantry full of food and dishwashing liquid, a laundry room with an extra extra-large box of laundry detergent and a hall closet bulging with TP and hand soap; but the time and money you save by not having to go out searching for such things is time and money you'll have available to deploy in other areas.
Before you pooh-pooh the savings to be had consider that after an economic collapse the reemerging reality will be full of constantly moving parts that won't always provide necessities at prices you can afford or maybe not at any price.
Little Things Mean a Lot
Don't discount medicine and health aids. An infected splinter can kill you just as dead as a bullet. It just takes longer and is more painful. A decayed tooth can kill you too.
Eye drops, aspirin, Mole Skin (to prevent/treat blisters), New Skin (for cuts & splinters), toothpaste and all those over the counter pills you routinely take for this that and the other ailment may not be available (or may be prohibitively expensive) so you have to ask yourself: "If I buy an extra bottle of pills and have to throw it away in a few years do I count it as a loss or insurance?"
Oh sure (if you're lucky) eventually you'll run out of these things, but hopefully by then the emergency will have stabilized. If not, you'll be no worse off then the guy ahead of you in line as you try to buy a Big Mac with one of the new $1,000,000 dollar bills.
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
In his book and on his blog FerFAL makes a convincing argument that increasing taxes and decreasing value of currency combined with crime and corruption will more likely result in a death spiral for our way of life than a dramatic revolution or civil war.
The more I study the problems that confront us, as a people and as a nation, the more convinced I become that FerFAL is right and those self proclaimed survival gurus predicting imminent internecine armed struggle are living in a fantasy world. Mutiny, it seems to me, just isn't in the cards.
So let's get real with our preparations. Buying a "ranch" in a "Survival Community"?
Eh, I'll pass!
Stocking up on food?
You bet!
A few gold coins and a lot of pre-1965 US silver dimes & quarters?
Of course!
Guns & Ammo?
You Betcha!
But what about the more mundane aspects of survival in devolving economy?
Got soap?
Nonperishable supplies can be stockpiled in large but reasonable amounts so that in times of chaos A) you don't have to endanger yourself going out to get them and B) you don't have to do without them. Also, not having to spend whatever money you have on hand at the moment on everyday essentials gives you other options for the deployment of that resource that could pay dividends as you adapt to the ever changing situation.
If you're a member of Costco, Sam's Club or one of the other big box stores that offer lower prices by selling in bulk you're already doubling up most of your purchases by virtue of the sizes available. Instead of the petite bottle of dishwashing liquid you're offered the jumbo size, often two of them taped together.
It makes sense to buy a 24 can case of the Campbell's soup you enjoy rather than a few cans at a time at the local supermarket. But if the grocery has a super sale don't hesitate to clear their shelves and load up yours.
TP or not TP that is the (30 roll) question, whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (with old magazine pages) or take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them with 180 or so rolls in the closet?
It may not seem like much of a survival strategy; a pantry full of food and dishwashing liquid, a laundry room with an extra extra-large box of laundry detergent and a hall closet bulging with TP and hand soap; but the time and money you save by not having to go out searching for such things is time and money you'll have available to deploy in other areas.
Before you pooh-pooh the savings to be had consider that after an economic collapse the reemerging reality will be full of constantly moving parts that won't always provide necessities at prices you can afford or maybe not at any price.
Little Things Mean a Lot
Don't discount medicine and health aids. An infected splinter can kill you just as dead as a bullet. It just takes longer and is more painful. A decayed tooth can kill you too.
Eye drops, aspirin, Mole Skin (to prevent/treat blisters), New Skin (for cuts & splinters), toothpaste and all those over the counter pills you routinely take for this that and the other ailment may not be available (or may be prohibitively expensive) so you have to ask yourself: "If I buy an extra bottle of pills and have to throw it away in a few years do I count it as a loss or insurance?"
Oh sure (if you're lucky) eventually you'll run out of these things, but hopefully by then the emergency will have stabilized. If not, you'll be no worse off then the guy ahead of you in line as you try to buy a Big Mac with one of the new $1,000,000 dollar bills.
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
What the Left Hand Didn't know
Suddenly the screen was filling up with little error message windows. In a flash I'd lost my connection to the World Wide Web. My computer was still functioning because of the uninterruptible power supply (backup battery) and I didn't notice that the room lights were out because they weren't on. It took a moment to realize this wasn't a computer problem or an Internet problem. It was a power problem.
That meant no cable TV and no radio unless I dug the hand crank radio out of the garage.
Realizing the power was out in the whole house I immediately grabbed a flashlight and went to the windows to see if I'd just experienced the opening EMP salvo of WWIII or some drunk hitting a power pole. Seeing lights to the South, North and West convinced me we weren't under attack that plus the fact that the bars close at two AM and this power outage had occurred at 2:25 AM.
Since my neighbors were likely all asleep and hadn't noticed the power outage I couldn't count on them to call it in so I did it myself. Turns out that list of emergency phone numbers on the refrigerator doesn't include the electric company's trouble reporting line. Fortunately I've been compiling a list of emergency phone numbers for our neighborhood association. I'd been meaning to test the numbers to be sure they were all functional anyway so one of them got tested early.
Two things to note here:
One, I was able to call the electric company because I've ignored the fervent pleas of the cable company which wants me to use them for my phone service as well as cable TV and Internet. By keeping our home phone a land line to AT&T we kept the ability to phone when the power went down.
Sure if we'd had cell phones they may have worked if charged and nearby cell towers were still working.
Two, if the phone company or electric company's power had gone out that call wouldn't have been possible. Overstating the obvious or underlining our dependency on electricity?
Once the electric company's automated system had assured me they were going to get right on the problem I started thinking about other things that needed doing. The furnace wouldn't work without power to run the blowers so I put out two candles for light and a microscopic amount of heat. Of course I made sure they were well away from anything flammable and not directly under anything.
Cooking on our gas stove would have been possible on the top burners but without the spark starters would have required matches to ignite the gas. The oven wouldn't have worked because it turns itself on and off to maintain a set temperature and requires electricity to spark the gas flame somewhere down in the back.
Convinced everything that needed to be done had been done I went to bed. Sometime later the power came back on. When I got up the displays on my two Bose Wave clock radios (which had gone dark when the power went out but kept track of the time via their internal batteries) displayed the correct time once power was restored as did my computer. The three battery powered analog clocks still had the correct time but the stove and microwave oven clocks needed to be reset as did my alarm clock. No wonder hardly anybody wears watches anymore, we're awash in clocks.
But my Internet and cable TV were still down. Oh well, I'd take my morning walk and see if they'd finished fixing the problem by the time I got back. About three quarters of the way through the course I ran across two repairmen from the cable company opening up one of their roadside boxes. I went over to ask how long it would be until I could get back to my Internet addiction. When I mentioned last night's power outage a light bulb appeared over the guy's head. Mumbling something about backup generators that sometimes got stuck he promised service would soon be restored as he hopped in truck and literally roared off. Within the hour I had FOXNews and the Internet again.
Perhaps by now you're wondering why a puny little temporary power outage in a far off town has become fodder for a survival blog. Aside from pointing out the benefits of having flashlights, fresh batteries, candles and an old fashioned phone there is that paragraph above.
Hours after the one event was over another part of the infrastructure was still struggling to get back online with no knowledge of what had happened to the first system. Power outages are not uncommon occurrences and yet those workmen I talked to were completely in the dark as to what had happened. Once I gave them the clue they knew what to do.
Think about it. The infrastructure's left hand hadn't known what the right hand had done. Ramped up to a larger scale and more important utilities the situation could have been much worse.
Additionally people who'd succumbed to the cable company's siren call of low rates for phone, TV and Internet had gone for extra hours unable to call fire, ambulance or police.
Bottom Line
As much as possible try to have your own backup systems in place for emergencies be they major or minor.
jC adds:
"There is more to be considered than available power.
The connection you choose is also important,
A wired phone line has a priority. And a back-up.
An owner powered satellite connection is up to your resources.
DSL, Broadband is up to the carrier, not your power sources.
Cell phones are another subject, the cell carrier has to maintain the towers.
Choose wisely."
To Comment on this article E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
That meant no cable TV and no radio unless I dug the hand crank radio out of the garage.
Realizing the power was out in the whole house I immediately grabbed a flashlight and went to the windows to see if I'd just experienced the opening EMP salvo of WWIII or some drunk hitting a power pole. Seeing lights to the South, North and West convinced me we weren't under attack that plus the fact that the bars close at two AM and this power outage had occurred at 2:25 AM.
Since my neighbors were likely all asleep and hadn't noticed the power outage I couldn't count on them to call it in so I did it myself. Turns out that list of emergency phone numbers on the refrigerator doesn't include the electric company's trouble reporting line. Fortunately I've been compiling a list of emergency phone numbers for our neighborhood association. I'd been meaning to test the numbers to be sure they were all functional anyway so one of them got tested early.
Two things to note here:
One, I was able to call the electric company because I've ignored the fervent pleas of the cable company which wants me to use them for my phone service as well as cable TV and Internet. By keeping our home phone a land line to AT&T we kept the ability to phone when the power went down.
Sure if we'd had cell phones they may have worked if charged and nearby cell towers were still working.
Two, if the phone company or electric company's power had gone out that call wouldn't have been possible. Overstating the obvious or underlining our dependency on electricity?
Once the electric company's automated system had assured me they were going to get right on the problem I started thinking about other things that needed doing. The furnace wouldn't work without power to run the blowers so I put out two candles for light and a microscopic amount of heat. Of course I made sure they were well away from anything flammable and not directly under anything.
Cooking on our gas stove would have been possible on the top burners but without the spark starters would have required matches to ignite the gas. The oven wouldn't have worked because it turns itself on and off to maintain a set temperature and requires electricity to spark the gas flame somewhere down in the back.
Convinced everything that needed to be done had been done I went to bed. Sometime later the power came back on. When I got up the displays on my two Bose Wave clock radios (which had gone dark when the power went out but kept track of the time via their internal batteries) displayed the correct time once power was restored as did my computer. The three battery powered analog clocks still had the correct time but the stove and microwave oven clocks needed to be reset as did my alarm clock. No wonder hardly anybody wears watches anymore, we're awash in clocks.
But my Internet and cable TV were still down. Oh well, I'd take my morning walk and see if they'd finished fixing the problem by the time I got back. About three quarters of the way through the course I ran across two repairmen from the cable company opening up one of their roadside boxes. I went over to ask how long it would be until I could get back to my Internet addiction. When I mentioned last night's power outage a light bulb appeared over the guy's head. Mumbling something about backup generators that sometimes got stuck he promised service would soon be restored as he hopped in truck and literally roared off. Within the hour I had FOXNews and the Internet again.
Perhaps by now you're wondering why a puny little temporary power outage in a far off town has become fodder for a survival blog. Aside from pointing out the benefits of having flashlights, fresh batteries, candles and an old fashioned phone there is that paragraph above.
Hours after the one event was over another part of the infrastructure was still struggling to get back online with no knowledge of what had happened to the first system. Power outages are not uncommon occurrences and yet those workmen I talked to were completely in the dark as to what had happened. Once I gave them the clue they knew what to do.
Think about it. The infrastructure's left hand hadn't known what the right hand had done. Ramped up to a larger scale and more important utilities the situation could have been much worse.
Additionally people who'd succumbed to the cable company's siren call of low rates for phone, TV and Internet had gone for extra hours unable to call fire, ambulance or police.
Bottom Line
As much as possible try to have your own backup systems in place for emergencies be they major or minor.
jC adds:
"There is more to be considered than available power.
The connection you choose is also important,
A wired phone line has a priority. And a back-up.
An owner powered satellite connection is up to your resources.
DSL, Broadband is up to the carrier, not your power sources.
Cell phones are another subject, the cell carrier has to maintain the towers.
Choose wisely."
To Comment on this article E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
2010, the Road Trip
I'll be recounting a more detailed version of my road trip adventure on archival quality paper for the historians and archaeologists of future centuries, but for now here's a brief recap of my escape from the demons of doldrums.
Louis & Clark took the easy route across the continent: sideways. I climbed up from the bottom to the top of our country from the Mexican border to Vancouver, BC on a trip that lasted 12 days, covered 4931.7 miles, using 387.9 gallons of regular unleaded while averaging 12.7 MPG with an average speed of 57 MPH which may be the average counting all the time spent in city traffic but I was driving at 75 + MPH most of the time I was on the freeways.
Before hitting the road I checked the Weather Channel online and was informed at that time 70% of our nation was covered with snow so, like any normal American male, I geared up. I bought a bag of cat litter to help power my HUMMER out of snow banks, made sure the radiator and windshield wiper reservoirs were filled with fluids guaranteed to not freeze down to minus 20 degrees, packed my cold weather gear (OK, not much by northerner's standards), made sure my E-tool was in the vehicle's emergency gear box and went down to the local car parts place for snow chains and a windshield ice scrapper.
There wasn't an ice scraper in town. I hadn't expected to find snow chains, but you'd think self respecting auto parts stores would carry windshield ice scrappers in the wintertime. I stopped asking for an ice scraper somewhere in northern Colorado when, in response to my request, the woman at the truck stop counter replied: "Just turn on the windshield defogger."
For the record, I didn't see a single snow covered highway during my entire trip. I did however see lots of cars and pickups parked just inside the gates of roads leading to farms and ranches. Seems folks would rather wade a mile through waist deep snow from the bunkhouse to the gate then drive into town than shovel the entire mile long driveway.
When I mentioned my windshield ice scrapper deficiency to my sister she promptly gave me a two foot Godzilla scrapper with a snow brush on the other end. Now if we have another blizzard like the one we had in 1987 I'll be the only guy in town with an ice scrapper.
The trip up was uneventful but I did spot a herd of 25 deer feeding at the edge of the freeway one evening. Seems they'd figured out the hunting season was over. (On the way back I spotted another dozen or so grazing on a hillside so steep you & I would have had to hold onto the bushes to keep from sliding down.) I can also confirm that major chain (Taco Bell, McDonald's etc.) fast food restaurants still have the best/cleanest restrooms along our highways and byways. Speaking of fast food, my weight when I left was 206 and upon my return (after 12 days without my daily one mile walks) was 208 so take that CSPI!
I arrived at my sister's home with a bit of a sniffle. In an hour my nose was running like a hose. I don't know what kind of plague I brought into her house, but she was prepared (and forgiving). I think she doubled the daily dose of vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements for the kids and doctored me with Echinacea, vitamin C and garlic. Those, plus healthy home cooked meals pulled me back from the brink. I think there may be something to that Echinacea stuff, it worked for me! Thanks Sis!
Never having had kids of my own I was sort of at a loss when confronted with her platoon of children. I was just starting to connect names with faces when they showed me their Wii which gives each player an icon (that kind'a sort'a looks like the player) and a nickname. Wii is fun but I gave up trying to connect names to faces and icons to nicknames.
All those kids were a handful for me but my sister runs a well oiled machine. Like a philharmonic orchestra conductor she coordinates in the midst of chaos turning bedlam into dinner with dessert and getting the horses, donkeys, dog, cat and frogs fed all before bedtime.
If I seem in awe of my little sister it's because I am. I hadn't seen her in many years and while I wasn't looking she'd built a house, a home and a family that's the epitome of the American dream. If more families turned out kids like hers our nation would have a lot fewer problems.
The trouble with good examples is they're contagious. The next day I was ordering up the usual when a little voice in the back of my head piped up: "Where's the leafy green vegetables in a triple cheeseburger with fries?"
I replied to my self: "Hey, it's got lettuce and tomato."
Self: "Not enough vegetables!"
"And onion and mustard."
"Not enough vegetables!"
"Pickles are a vegetable."
"Not enough vegetables!"
Feeling guilty while you're eating takes all the fun out of fast food.
The next morning at the hotel's breakfast bar I asked the server: "Bacon's a vegetable, right?"
Turns out, if you tip enough, bacon is anything you want it to be.
On my way up to Canada I passed through Vancouver (not BC) Washington (not DC) and shortly thereafter visited my nephew who has bought a house while attending college and is renting parts of it out to others so his mortgage payments are made with a little to spare each month. I expect this kid to become a land baron in the Northwest in a few more years.
In view of the way our politicians are debasing the American dollar I wanted to open a bank account, in Canada, in Canadian dollars, as a hedge against hyper inflation of the US buck. (Yes, the Canuck buck (along with most other world currencies) will be dragged down too, but not so much.) So I headed up to the other Vancouver, eh.
Either I'm on a watch list or your beloved author looks very suspicious because both Canadian and American customs searched my HUMMER as I entered their respective countries. Maybe our guys had heard "I do declare it's good to be back in the USA again!" joke too many times?
The rest of the trip home was uneventful except for a van on its roof in the median (black ice) and, at 75 MPH, I passed one of those little roller-skate sized envirocars chugging up a 6% grade mountainside with its emergency flashers on and white smoke coming out the tailpipe. For the next fifty miles I was on the lookout for a state trooper 'cause it didn't look like Ed Begley Jr. was gunn'a make it to the next town.
The next day, and state, (while doing four MPH over the posted speed limit) I slowly came up behind a state trooper doing exactly the speed limit in the middle of nowhere. Naturally nobody passed him. After a few miles of follow the leader he pulled off onto a farm road. Everybody else sped up but I wanted to check my map so I followed him up the off ramp. (My policy is never to stop on the freeway unless I absolutely have to and then only if I can get the right two wheels off pavement. So map checks and cell phone (I bought one just for this trip) calls are done at the top of off ramps when I'm driving in the wilderness.) Seeing me behind him the trooper came around to check me out and, among other things, I learned there'd been a fatality on that very stretch of freeway the night before (more black ice) and that I was 45 miles from the next town with a McDonald's. Getting back on the freeway I found another state trooper radar-ing beside the road. I guess those guys that sped up got ticketed, pretty tricky of those two troopers. For the record, I stayed within ten (usually five) MPH of the posted speed limits for the entire trip.
If all these meanderings have put the wanderlust into your heart I heartily recommend Fairfield Inns and the Hyatt Place hotels (5% discount when you pay with American express) and filling up your gas tank at Costco stores (more discounts) wherever possible.
Having slain the demons of doldrums with my little adventure, I returned to my loving wife Sunday afternoon giving her hugs and kisses and two bags of dirty laundry.
Desert (turns out Twinkies are vegetables too) Dave
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Louis & Clark took the easy route across the continent: sideways. I climbed up from the bottom to the top of our country from the Mexican border to Vancouver, BC on a trip that lasted 12 days, covered 4931.7 miles, using 387.9 gallons of regular unleaded while averaging 12.7 MPG with an average speed of 57 MPH which may be the average counting all the time spent in city traffic but I was driving at 75 + MPH most of the time I was on the freeways.
Before hitting the road I checked the Weather Channel online and was informed at that time 70% of our nation was covered with snow so, like any normal American male, I geared up. I bought a bag of cat litter to help power my HUMMER out of snow banks, made sure the radiator and windshield wiper reservoirs were filled with fluids guaranteed to not freeze down to minus 20 degrees, packed my cold weather gear (OK, not much by northerner's standards), made sure my E-tool was in the vehicle's emergency gear box and went down to the local car parts place for snow chains and a windshield ice scrapper.
There wasn't an ice scraper in town. I hadn't expected to find snow chains, but you'd think self respecting auto parts stores would carry windshield ice scrappers in the wintertime. I stopped asking for an ice scraper somewhere in northern Colorado when, in response to my request, the woman at the truck stop counter replied: "Just turn on the windshield defogger."
For the record, I didn't see a single snow covered highway during my entire trip. I did however see lots of cars and pickups parked just inside the gates of roads leading to farms and ranches. Seems folks would rather wade a mile through waist deep snow from the bunkhouse to the gate then drive into town than shovel the entire mile long driveway.
When I mentioned my windshield ice scrapper deficiency to my sister she promptly gave me a two foot Godzilla scrapper with a snow brush on the other end. Now if we have another blizzard like the one we had in 1987 I'll be the only guy in town with an ice scrapper.
The trip up was uneventful but I did spot a herd of 25 deer feeding at the edge of the freeway one evening. Seems they'd figured out the hunting season was over. (On the way back I spotted another dozen or so grazing on a hillside so steep you & I would have had to hold onto the bushes to keep from sliding down.) I can also confirm that major chain (Taco Bell, McDonald's etc.) fast food restaurants still have the best/cleanest restrooms along our highways and byways. Speaking of fast food, my weight when I left was 206 and upon my return (after 12 days without my daily one mile walks) was 208 so take that CSPI!
I arrived at my sister's home with a bit of a sniffle. In an hour my nose was running like a hose. I don't know what kind of plague I brought into her house, but she was prepared (and forgiving). I think she doubled the daily dose of vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements for the kids and doctored me with Echinacea, vitamin C and garlic. Those, plus healthy home cooked meals pulled me back from the brink. I think there may be something to that Echinacea stuff, it worked for me! Thanks Sis!
Never having had kids of my own I was sort of at a loss when confronted with her platoon of children. I was just starting to connect names with faces when they showed me their Wii which gives each player an icon (that kind'a sort'a looks like the player) and a nickname. Wii is fun but I gave up trying to connect names to faces and icons to nicknames.
All those kids were a handful for me but my sister runs a well oiled machine. Like a philharmonic orchestra conductor she coordinates in the midst of chaos turning bedlam into dinner with dessert and getting the horses, donkeys, dog, cat and frogs fed all before bedtime.
If I seem in awe of my little sister it's because I am. I hadn't seen her in many years and while I wasn't looking she'd built a house, a home and a family that's the epitome of the American dream. If more families turned out kids like hers our nation would have a lot fewer problems.
The trouble with good examples is they're contagious. The next day I was ordering up the usual when a little voice in the back of my head piped up: "Where's the leafy green vegetables in a triple cheeseburger with fries?"
I replied to my self: "Hey, it's got lettuce and tomato."
Self: "Not enough vegetables!"
"And onion and mustard."
"Not enough vegetables!"
"Pickles are a vegetable."
"Not enough vegetables!"
Feeling guilty while you're eating takes all the fun out of fast food.
The next morning at the hotel's breakfast bar I asked the server: "Bacon's a vegetable, right?"
Turns out, if you tip enough, bacon is anything you want it to be.
On my way up to Canada I passed through Vancouver (not BC) Washington (not DC) and shortly thereafter visited my nephew who has bought a house while attending college and is renting parts of it out to others so his mortgage payments are made with a little to spare each month. I expect this kid to become a land baron in the Northwest in a few more years.
In view of the way our politicians are debasing the American dollar I wanted to open a bank account, in Canada, in Canadian dollars, as a hedge against hyper inflation of the US buck. (Yes, the Canuck buck (along with most other world currencies) will be dragged down too, but not so much.) So I headed up to the other Vancouver, eh.
Either I'm on a watch list or your beloved author looks very suspicious because both Canadian and American customs searched my HUMMER as I entered their respective countries. Maybe our guys had heard "I do declare it's good to be back in the USA again!" joke too many times?
The rest of the trip home was uneventful except for a van on its roof in the median (black ice) and, at 75 MPH, I passed one of those little roller-skate sized envirocars chugging up a 6% grade mountainside with its emergency flashers on and white smoke coming out the tailpipe. For the next fifty miles I was on the lookout for a state trooper 'cause it didn't look like Ed Begley Jr. was gunn'a make it to the next town.
The next day, and state, (while doing four MPH over the posted speed limit) I slowly came up behind a state trooper doing exactly the speed limit in the middle of nowhere. Naturally nobody passed him. After a few miles of follow the leader he pulled off onto a farm road. Everybody else sped up but I wanted to check my map so I followed him up the off ramp. (My policy is never to stop on the freeway unless I absolutely have to and then only if I can get the right two wheels off pavement. So map checks and cell phone (I bought one just for this trip) calls are done at the top of off ramps when I'm driving in the wilderness.) Seeing me behind him the trooper came around to check me out and, among other things, I learned there'd been a fatality on that very stretch of freeway the night before (more black ice) and that I was 45 miles from the next town with a McDonald's. Getting back on the freeway I found another state trooper radar-ing beside the road. I guess those guys that sped up got ticketed, pretty tricky of those two troopers. For the record, I stayed within ten (usually five) MPH of the posted speed limits for the entire trip.
If all these meanderings have put the wanderlust into your heart I heartily recommend Fairfield Inns and the Hyatt Place hotels (5% discount when you pay with American express) and filling up your gas tank at Costco stores (more discounts) wherever possible.
Having slain the demons of doldrums with my little adventure, I returned to my loving wife Sunday afternoon giving her hugs and kisses and two bags of dirty laundry.
Desert (turns out Twinkies are vegetables too) Dave
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Aftermath World Without Oil
On Thursday March 11th, 2010 the National Geographic channel premiered Aftermath World Without Oil a show which, unfortunately, you'll probably be seeing in reruns for years. I say unfortunately because it's filled with omissions (sometimes glaring omissions) and downright incorrect assertions.
I realize that even if the Earth is one huge balloon filled with petroleum eventually we're gunn'a suck it all out and turn it into asphalt, plastic and pollution. So it makes sense to take a look at what'll happen.
Over a period of decades petroleum will becomes harder to find and more expensive to pull from the ground. The phenomenon may have already started so I want some ideas from experts on what to expect. Hence my interest in what the show's producers had found during their research for the program. Unfortunately it appears their "research" was limited to confirming their preconceived notions.
Yes, I knew the "Peak Oil" process would take decades and the program planed to portray all underground oil disappearing overnight. OK, as someone pointed out, they needed dramatic effect to garner eyeballs for the ratings race. I was willing to grant them a "willing suspension of disbelief" on that one. And when they opened the show with animation of empty 'oil caves' I chalked it up to the difficulty of showing empty porous rock on television.
I began watching the show with an open mind hoping to gain useful information so it wasn't until about half way through it that I realized a show about mankind's supposed future desperate search for energy hadn't mentioned nuclear power plants, hydroelectric or natural gas as it portrayed America struggling through a freezing winter without heating oil.
Most places natural gas is the cheapest way to heat buildings. Some areas (particularly in the Northeast) use heating oil, but given no heating oil and a lack of infrastructure to deliver natural gas wouldn't nuclear power plants producing electricity for space heaters provide at least a partial answer? And what about hydroelectricity from them dams in Canada? True Canada would (in this scenario) be without oil too, but they might have a few Megawatts, or maybe even a Gigawatt or two to spare. Especially if the price was right.
And we all recall that Washington and Oregon State helped California through its electricity crisis in 2000 – 2001 with their hydroelectricity.
Also, Hoover Dam already provides electricity to Nevada, Arizona and 12 cites in California. Who knows how much more juice they could pump through the lines if the casinos turned off their outdoor lighting.
The resulting super high electricity prices caused by the oil shortage would ensure people used only what electricity they absolutely had to have.
Would hydroelectricity solve all the problems put forth by the producers of Aftermath World Without Oil? No, but it should have been mentioned as one of the alleviating factors.
Another alleviating factor is natural gas. Utilities use natural gas to produce electricity now and many are constructing more natural gas plants all over the country. "Forgetting them as a source of electricity is a major fumble.
However nuclear energy is also undocumented in this documentary and that turns it from "documentary" to propaganda. Entire cities are now powered by nuclear power. Even more cities would and could be powered by existing nuclear power plants if the use of electricity was rationed via high price (a natural economic consequence) so that more cities could muddle through until alternatives are ramped up. Sorry guys, your failure to highlight the huge role nuclear energy would play in a scenario such as yours destroys your credibility.
One point the show did make was that it takes a football sized plot of land to grow enough food for a person for one year. While few families would have enough front and back yards to put to the plow to produce that much produce every carrot would help.
While the voiceover talks about food shortages and starvation the screen shows a man on a bicycle, with a small sack of groceries, riding past plants that might be dandelions, Purslane, Burdock" or Miner's Lettuce. Would Polk salad and Lambsquarter solve the hunger problem after an oil shortage disrupted big agriculture (no fuel for farm machinery) and national transportation? No. But it would help. A factor not factored into the Aftermath World Without Oil's storyline.
While acknowledging the United States of America is built to use cars and trucks (true) it talks about cattle dying on farms for want of feed (they show pictures of a feedlot") ignoring or maybe ignorant of the fact that most cattle spend most of their lives on ranches and are only shipped to feedlots for final fattening, selling and eventual butchering. True those cattle trapped in feedlots at the time of this fictitious event could starve, but being close to cities and hungry people probably wouldn't last that long.
So how would cows on ranches get to hungry people in cities? Cattle drives!
Yes a sudden end to oil would lead to tremendous social and economic disruptions in first world countries, but it would also lead to new careers as things settled down.
Unfortunately the producers of Aftermath World Without Oil are intent on showing us a possible future that doesn’t include nuclear power or hydroelectric power and those omissions tip the scales from reliable information to questionable presentation for me.
The only useful to me information here was the line in an online promo for the show about recycled aluminum cans saving enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
And the claim that it takes a football sized plot of land to grow enough food for a person for one year.
But given the myopic tunnel vision of the shows producer's I'm not even sure of those factoids.
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I realize that even if the Earth is one huge balloon filled with petroleum eventually we're gunn'a suck it all out and turn it into asphalt, plastic and pollution. So it makes sense to take a look at what'll happen.
Over a period of decades petroleum will becomes harder to find and more expensive to pull from the ground. The phenomenon may have already started so I want some ideas from experts on what to expect. Hence my interest in what the show's producers had found during their research for the program. Unfortunately it appears their "research" was limited to confirming their preconceived notions.
Yes, I knew the "Peak Oil" process would take decades and the program planed to portray all underground oil disappearing overnight. OK, as someone pointed out, they needed dramatic effect to garner eyeballs for the ratings race. I was willing to grant them a "willing suspension of disbelief" on that one. And when they opened the show with animation of empty 'oil caves' I chalked it up to the difficulty of showing empty porous rock on television.
I began watching the show with an open mind hoping to gain useful information so it wasn't until about half way through it that I realized a show about mankind's supposed future desperate search for energy hadn't mentioned nuclear power plants, hydroelectric or natural gas as it portrayed America struggling through a freezing winter without heating oil.
Most places natural gas is the cheapest way to heat buildings. Some areas (particularly in the Northeast) use heating oil, but given no heating oil and a lack of infrastructure to deliver natural gas wouldn't nuclear power plants producing electricity for space heaters provide at least a partial answer? And what about hydroelectricity from them dams in Canada? True Canada would (in this scenario) be without oil too, but they might have a few Megawatts, or maybe even a Gigawatt or two to spare. Especially if the price was right.
And we all recall that Washington and Oregon State helped California through its electricity crisis in 2000 – 2001 with their hydroelectricity.
Also, Hoover Dam already provides electricity to Nevada, Arizona and 12 cites in California. Who knows how much more juice they could pump through the lines if the casinos turned off their outdoor lighting.
The resulting super high electricity prices caused by the oil shortage would ensure people used only what electricity they absolutely had to have.
Would hydroelectricity solve all the problems put forth by the producers of Aftermath World Without Oil? No, but it should have been mentioned as one of the alleviating factors.
Another alleviating factor is natural gas. Utilities use natural gas to produce electricity now and many are constructing more natural gas plants all over the country. "Forgetting them as a source of electricity is a major fumble.
However nuclear energy is also undocumented in this documentary and that turns it from "documentary" to propaganda. Entire cities are now powered by nuclear power. Even more cities would and could be powered by existing nuclear power plants if the use of electricity was rationed via high price (a natural economic consequence) so that more cities could muddle through until alternatives are ramped up. Sorry guys, your failure to highlight the huge role nuclear energy would play in a scenario such as yours destroys your credibility.
One point the show did make was that it takes a football sized plot of land to grow enough food for a person for one year. While few families would have enough front and back yards to put to the plow to produce that much produce every carrot would help.
While the voiceover talks about food shortages and starvation the screen shows a man on a bicycle, with a small sack of groceries, riding past plants that might be dandelions, Purslane, Burdock" or Miner's Lettuce. Would Polk salad and Lambsquarter solve the hunger problem after an oil shortage disrupted big agriculture (no fuel for farm machinery) and national transportation? No. But it would help. A factor not factored into the Aftermath World Without Oil's storyline.
While acknowledging the United States of America is built to use cars and trucks (true) it talks about cattle dying on farms for want of feed (they show pictures of a feedlot") ignoring or maybe ignorant of the fact that most cattle spend most of their lives on ranches and are only shipped to feedlots for final fattening, selling and eventual butchering. True those cattle trapped in feedlots at the time of this fictitious event could starve, but being close to cities and hungry people probably wouldn't last that long.
So how would cows on ranches get to hungry people in cities? Cattle drives!
Yes a sudden end to oil would lead to tremendous social and economic disruptions in first world countries, but it would also lead to new careers as things settled down.
Unfortunately the producers of Aftermath World Without Oil are intent on showing us a possible future that doesn’t include nuclear power or hydroelectric power and those omissions tip the scales from reliable information to questionable presentation for me.
The only useful to me information here was the line in an online promo for the show about recycled aluminum cans saving enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
And the claim that it takes a football sized plot of land to grow enough food for a person for one year.
But given the myopic tunnel vision of the shows producer's I'm not even sure of those factoids.
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
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