I asked this question on my own web site now I am cerious what all the ATSers have to say.

What are the top three things you would miss the most in a total break down.

1: coffee
2: internet
3: hot showers

These seem like such simple things but they help me to feel human

I'd miss the internet and all the friends I have made here.

Second I would miss the solitude because I would actually have to go out and deal with the people who I really don't care that much for.

Third I suppose I would miss life because everyone will turn to God and praying for salvation and I'll be the one yelling that God didn't do this, we did. I'll be one of the first heretics burned at the stake.

Ah well, I'm almost used to it.

i think id miss

1. my job
2. communication
3. my car

all other things i could make happen or do with out. i dont own a tv and books are everywhere. so i dont think entertainment would be a problem

1: Secure Environments.
2: Innocence.
3: Videogames.

I would miss,
1. my family, (on the other side of the country)
2. computer/internet ( don't own or watch tv)
3. the convience of modern society (big mac, immediate care centers, what ever you want to buy is within 5 minutes of were I live)

And on the other hand,
1. I love camping and hiking (nothing like food cooked over a fire)
2. The serentiy and quietness of the woods. (unlike the traffic going by my window)
3. Being able to see all the stars again. (live in a big city)

1: hot showers
2: internet
3: Have the time to "it" tomorrow ( I do do it then, most of the time)

One of my biggest fears is that it will break down sooner then I have time to fully prepare for it.

1. Internet
2. Videogames
3. Televised Sport

But... i would love to have these forcibly removed by a catastrophic event. Camping out and fending for my life is somewhat of a fetish i always desire lol.

I'm pretty much already there. I go out less than once every two weeks and the net is no big deal. two solar showers already. Not much I suppose.

I'd miss the all-surrounding annoying-but-familiar background electrical hum of the modern urban world

I might miss the convenience of how easy it is to take a hot shower in this day and age.. but you would still be able to bath and take hot showers from time to time solar showers or by heating water over a fire..

I would miss electricity for a while till I got my generator up and running
wind, solar and hydro generated power wouldn't take to long to get up and running..

I would miss ATS but probably only until I realize I need to go cut wood forage for food and pillage the things left behind by others..


Respectfully
GEO

The feeling of safety that civilization brings with it. It's probably a false sense of security, but it helps one sleep at night.

I can only imagine what the World will be like without Law Enforcement and prisons to house the most dangerous of society's predators. I worry not so much for myself as I do for those I love.

Convenience, Safe water, Replacement parts, Childhood

1. law and order as the neighbors go on a rampage trying to steal what food you have left or steal you and family to eat for their food.

2.electricity to heat the house and cook with 3.food to eat--we have a river in the back yard the town filters for us to drink--i'd have to figure out how to do it myself?

How about

1. Food
2. Water
3. Life

You are too caught up in conviences! A total breakdown will eliminate food, water and shelter(and eventually life) from a large majority of civilized humans.
After just 1 day without food and water will put most people in serious risk!

Both as a civilization and a species, we are very fragile. One natural calamity and all civilization collapses. Look at Katrina or the Tsunami. If L.A. was hit by a 8.0 Earthquake, all of southern Cal would become a riot zone. Too many undesirables in a big area with no controls for long periods would bring about vigilante justice in short order.

I'd miss:

1. My family and friends, the ones i truly love
2. My life and all the things i did in my life
3. Meemorys i had with people

Also there are some other things, but those are the top 3 things i'd really miss.

You've all covered the "top 3" pretty well, I'm thinking of a few also rans, just things we SO take for granted that it could be an issue later . . .


-refrigerators
I know that we're all tough survivalists who can do without refrigeration. Still, after a few weeks of killing animals and having to butcher them yourselves, dry/smoke them yourselves, and constantly throw away what we'd otherwise call "leftovers" because we have no place to keep them safe, and even after we all lower our standards of edibility . . . you'll still wish for a cold place to keep food safe.

-soap that doesn't smell of animal fat.
animal soaps are cheap, and will be what other people use. So people will literally smell like pigs (or at least like lard) once the stores are empty. Enjoy.

-warehouse sized pharmacies
once they've all been looted (see the appropriate page on these forums) by your co-survivalists, there won't be easy access to anything. So when you get lice, there won't be any rid-ex handy. Or athletes foot powder, spray or anything else. Soon you'll be making bandaids from old underwear, like your great grandparents did.

-mass produced birth control
no more condoms or pills. Vatican roulette for the rest of your (sex) life. Don't even think about porn. Most of it will disappear, shortly after the real toilet paper is used up.

-toilet paper.
leaves, twigs, snow, sand(!). Now you know why people from developing nations are always so irritable!

-adequate artificial lighting.
after a month or two, you'll be using lighting that puts out more heat than light, and probably smells either of a burning wood or hydrocarbon. You'll start going to bed at sundown in order to "save daylight." which will be ok., because you won't be sleeping with the shades pulled down, anyhow. In the wildernerss, everyone's an early riser.

-a toothbrush you didn't make yourself.

-sugar
Most of us aren't planning to hide out on a cane plantation, and don't live in the tropics. You may laugh at my addiction to coffee, but if English is your home language, then you are probably as addicted to sugar as I am to coffee.

-dentists




Lovely chain of thought, isn't it?

1: Coffee ( though I will have a large stock of it if I know it is coming)
2: Electricity and everything that goes with it. ( Though I will have a small 12v system and convertor for 110v)
3: Company. (To have a better than average chance of survival, you will have to get away from the teeming masses of humanity and out into the boondocks for a few years)

The basics are easy enough if you have the knowlege---food, heat, transportation etc.

1. Electricity
2. Cars
3. Toilet Paper


The essentials.