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March is a Critical Month for preparation
page: 2share:
I agree, if you are not prepared for at least a couple weeks or more, you are going to be a beggar or a looter. I have been a prepper all my life and
will continue to be until I have no more life in me. Just makes good sense to be prepared.
reply to post by AlreadyGone
Try to invest a large portion of your income into company shares that manufacture a patented product and sell it themselves. I recommend Gold mining and Oil ventures in high profile areas with a backbone in a stable country. You want to have long term, and not short term, investments. Without easy internet access, you may not be able to trade penny stocks every day. You want to be as absolutely positive as possible that the business will always generate revenue.
Get paper copies of your shares.
10% of your savings should be in Physical gold or silver. I also hear Copper should rocket up too. I started saving old pennies that are made prior to 1997 (Canada, US is before 84 I believe, before they are zinc).
Good Art is not necessarily a bad investment, including music, so long as it is reflective of the times.
Avoid putting shares into online business, as the controlled internet will not be a massive source of income if SOPA passes. It will basically be a monopoly held by providers and search engines, and an open source counter part that will not generate revenue.
Pay off your debts that have nothing of value tied to it. Car loans especially. The value of a car is directly related to the gas price and it's use on the field.
Be wary of keeping your money in Government bonds. They could vanish if the US defaults at the end of the year.
Avoid short cuts in life. Do things the hard way. Get used to taking colder showers and saving power. Avoid mindless entertainment and spend your time learning. Get paper copies of any information that could be useful, such as the open source farm equipment website.
Come up with a Plan B. incase things don't go the way you expect.
Prepare for the worst, but assume the best. Don't spend your life preparing for an event that will never happen either. Enjoy yourself and enjoy what you do.
Try to invest a large portion of your income into company shares that manufacture a patented product and sell it themselves. I recommend Gold mining and Oil ventures in high profile areas with a backbone in a stable country. You want to have long term, and not short term, investments. Without easy internet access, you may not be able to trade penny stocks every day. You want to be as absolutely positive as possible that the business will always generate revenue.
Get paper copies of your shares.
10% of your savings should be in Physical gold or silver. I also hear Copper should rocket up too. I started saving old pennies that are made prior to 1997 (Canada, US is before 84 I believe, before they are zinc).
Good Art is not necessarily a bad investment, including music, so long as it is reflective of the times.
Avoid putting shares into online business, as the controlled internet will not be a massive source of income if SOPA passes. It will basically be a monopoly held by providers and search engines, and an open source counter part that will not generate revenue.
Pay off your debts that have nothing of value tied to it. Car loans especially. The value of a car is directly related to the gas price and it's use on the field.
Be wary of keeping your money in Government bonds. They could vanish if the US defaults at the end of the year.
Avoid short cuts in life. Do things the hard way. Get used to taking colder showers and saving power. Avoid mindless entertainment and spend your time learning. Get paper copies of any information that could be useful, such as the open source farm equipment website.
Come up with a Plan B. incase things don't go the way you expect.
Prepare for the worst, but assume the best. Don't spend your life preparing for an event that will never happen either. Enjoy yourself and enjoy what you do.
edit on 4-3-2012 by badconduct because: (no reason given)
What am I prepping for?
1. A house fire
2. One of the money-earners in our household to be laid off without warning.
3. Electrical outtages, as the Texas Utilities Commission jacks with the power as a way of blackmailing the public into paying higher rates. (It'll be coming later this summer, and to much of the coasts as well. Remember you read it on ATS first!)
4. Interruptions in the water supply, as Girardia or other "bugs" are found in the public water, and states of emergency are declared.
5. The biggest 4th of July Party you have ever seen.
1. A house fire
2. One of the money-earners in our household to be laid off without warning.
3. Electrical outtages, as the Texas Utilities Commission jacks with the power as a way of blackmailing the public into paying higher rates. (It'll be coming later this summer, and to much of the coasts as well. Remember you read it on ATS first!)
4. Interruptions in the water supply, as Girardia or other "bugs" are found in the public water, and states of emergency are declared.
5. The biggest 4th of July Party you have ever seen.
edit on 4-3-2012 by tovenar because: the truth must be redacted before the masses read it.
reply to post by tovenar
wow ..i thought i was paranoid
logically speaking ..if everything went up in smoke the chances of you keeping your stock piled resources would be a million to one...
think about it
wow ..i thought i was paranoid
logically speaking ..if everything went up in smoke the chances of you keeping your stock piled resources would be a million to one...
think about it
Originally posted by morder1
Any suggestions on coop size? I only plan on having 6 hens at tops...
Minimum 24 sq. ft. (base area) for housing, 60 sq. ft. for run. Mine have a lot more than that. I find it useful to have a second bit of housing for eventualities, e.g. if one is ill, being bullied, bullying, broody, or if the main housing is having a good clean. If they are going to hatch chicks, useful to have a good-sized, again not to small separate area where the broody hen (that will be the one to hatch them) and chicks can be safe in the first few weeks (friends found out the hard way that, if the area is too small, some of the chicks don't survive). Many people have moveable housing so that they can have new patches of grass / earth beneath them. Most of all, needs to be safe from foxes, dogs etc. (my dog is safe with them, but many dogs aren't). If the run is open, sometimes predators can get access to them by burrowing underneath, so if the run is to be an open wire netting area, for example, useful to bury the bottom of the wire netting by a few inches. Small chicks can be vulnerable to predation from the air, so useful to have them in housing and/or covered runs - depends what predators you have about. We have buzzards, hawks and magpies - for all I know, where you are you might have eagles or some such that would go for larger birds. Other things about housing - obviously you need access yourself, and hens need somewhere comfortable to lay eggs and leave them there safely.
Originally posted by sitchin
reply to post by tovenar
wow ..i thought i was paranoid
logically speaking ..if everything went up in smoke the chances of you keeping your stock piled resources would be a million to one...
think about it
I'm not sure what you mean. I'd like to engage you; can you clarify?
I don't think "everything" is going up in smoke until judgement day. Even in a house-fire, something will be left. My goal is to have alternate caches with copies of financial and kids' academic documents to allow us to rebuild some kind of life after a fire.
Were you responding to my "4th of July party" comment? I meant it literally; I am planning on throwing a truly epic party this year, with cabrito and enough beer for the whole county, as well as an ad-hoc casino and inflatable bounce-houses for the kids. I'm installing outdoor lighting effects, with a standby generator....
reply to post by AlreadyGone
You seriously have some knowledge to share, I'm glad there's some folks like you here!
People may laugh, and people may call you paranoid. But I also think they forget how important it can be to remember how things got done before the invention of all this technology and instant, packaged lifestyle. Theories like EMPs, or solar flares taking out the infrastructure can have devastating consequences. There would be a very ugly chain reaction as all the things you relied on became UNrelaible. This is a very possible situation, just look at some of the recent solar activity we are seeing.
AG, I sense you had much of these wonderful, sensible habits instilled in you from family and your community, this is who you are and you are luckier than most my friend. My great grandparents were farmers from the midwest, and my grandad and my dad both worked on the farm at some point. But we all didn't mind learning to do things ourselves to this day. We are homebrewers, cooks, gardeners, artists, musicians, 4h members, seamstresses, sailors, campers, workers, creators, and sharers of useful information.
I'm not lucky with having land and amounts of resources, but I have my own urban survival plan. I am an avid hiker with extra gear, always packed with the basics to live for 3-4 days. I have portable solar power, water filtration, fishing and hunting gear, extreme weather gear, LOTS of heirloom seeds in many varieties, medical supplies, long range 2-way radio + shortwave/tv/mp3 player, silver and gold + small valuable/tradable items, diesel vehicle that can run on oil, any oil, tons of LED flashlights/headlamps plus backup rechargeable batteries. I also have 6-10 mo dried food and water, and fuel for the camp stoves (both alcohol and gas).
My biggest asset if it gets real bad is several friends within close range with off the grid setups, and one soon to be ready out of country. My uncle the machinist has literally a 300 acre farm in the midwest with a small scale bombshelter. Funny thing is he isn't paranoid, he just builds things to last forever!
This is a great thread, thank you and everybody for sharing your preparedness scenarios with me. You've all given me something to think about.
You seriously have some knowledge to share, I'm glad there's some folks like you here!
People may laugh, and people may call you paranoid. But I also think they forget how important it can be to remember how things got done before the invention of all this technology and instant, packaged lifestyle. Theories like EMPs, or solar flares taking out the infrastructure can have devastating consequences. There would be a very ugly chain reaction as all the things you relied on became UNrelaible. This is a very possible situation, just look at some of the recent solar activity we are seeing.
AG, I sense you had much of these wonderful, sensible habits instilled in you from family and your community, this is who you are and you are luckier than most my friend. My great grandparents were farmers from the midwest, and my grandad and my dad both worked on the farm at some point. But we all didn't mind learning to do things ourselves to this day. We are homebrewers, cooks, gardeners, artists, musicians, 4h members, seamstresses, sailors, campers, workers, creators, and sharers of useful information.
I'm not lucky with having land and amounts of resources, but I have my own urban survival plan. I am an avid hiker with extra gear, always packed with the basics to live for 3-4 days. I have portable solar power, water filtration, fishing and hunting gear, extreme weather gear, LOTS of heirloom seeds in many varieties, medical supplies, long range 2-way radio + shortwave/tv/mp3 player, silver and gold + small valuable/tradable items, diesel vehicle that can run on oil, any oil, tons of LED flashlights/headlamps plus backup rechargeable batteries. I also have 6-10 mo dried food and water, and fuel for the camp stoves (both alcohol and gas).
My biggest asset if it gets real bad is several friends within close range with off the grid setups, and one soon to be ready out of country. My uncle the machinist has literally a 300 acre farm in the midwest with a small scale bombshelter. Funny thing is he isn't paranoid, he just builds things to last forever!
This is a great thread, thank you and everybody for sharing your preparedness scenarios with me. You've all given me something to think about.
Originally posted by sitchin
reply to post by tovenar
wow ..i thought i was paranoid
logically speaking ..if everything went up in smoke the chances of you keeping your stock piled resources would be a million to one...
think about it
There's a book (fiction) that's a pretty good read (well researched too) on the topic of what could happen in the US if an EMP hit and took out the infrastructure (plus all non shielded electronics).
I'll give you a hint without spoiling the ending, it's not a comedy.
reply to post by Aliquandro
Yes, an EMP detonation over the midwest would have two effects that I believe would permanently cripple the US:
1) Collapse of SCADA pipeline networks
Wireless local internet has revolutionized the pipeline industry. Automated sensors and controls mean that entire pipelines are controlled remotely from corporate facilities in Houston and Chicago, but manage the vast oil and natural gas pipelines of the American plains and midwest. The corporate owners installed these systems so they could lay off most of the maintenance work-force.
In the event of an EMP, many pipeline sensors would give an unknown reading; some might reset to zero, others to infinity. So at every pumping station (usually at least one every 30 miles on the plains, for hundreds or thousands of miles), every sensor starts telling the system that there is not enough pressure in the line to force the petroleum uphill, and so it increases the pressure. Or some spots arbitrarily drain the pipes. The odds are that every major pipeline will have damages across the whole of its infrastructure and the company doesn't have 90% of the employees it once did. Or the trucks for the needed workers to drive, or fuel to put in the trucks, or parts....
This means that the northeastern Baltimore-Philadelphia-NYC corridor will not have ANY heating oil for years after an EMP.
This means that every single refinery would have to shut down within hours (maybe seconds) after an EMP, and would need months or years after fixing its own systems before it could receive another drop of oil from the interior of the continent. And the US produces about 60% of its own oil, and all of the off-shore crude moves through the same networks to refineries inland from the coast....
2) The failure of remote systems at every nuclear power plant in the EMP effected-area.
After their useable life is complete, the spent nuclear fuel rods are taken from a reactor and stored in a cooling pond, where cold lake or river water flows over the spent rods to keep them from "going nuclear" by exciting each other to critical mass. Periodically, when a pond is full, a DOE convoy comes and hauls away the spend rods for reprocessing.
The danger here is when the valves that keep the cooling-ponds full go haywire during an EMP; and the plant's back-up generators (not all US plants have them!) wont start or cannot get power through the local network to the valves.... This has happened 4 or 5 times in the US, after garden-variety power failures following storms or electrical service black-outs. See, most nuclear plants need power coming in, to run their systems, so they can make more electricity for the grid. "Cold starting" a nuclear power plant is complicated, and requires multiple systems to function properly (not the situation after an EMP). The plant also needs a place to "dump" the electricity generated in the first few miliseconds of operations---meaning, you can't simply start up a nuclear reactor with no power grid to send power away from the plant.
So, within seconds, or minutes or hours of an EMP, almost every single Nuclear Power plant in the US will have cooling ponds that are beginning to get warmer and warmer....more and more radioactive.....just like the fukashima reactors.
But instead of 5 nuclear generators in one important city, picture almost a thousand reactors, in every corner of the US, simultaneously heading for China... in the middle of a power and communications blackout.....while millions are without food, water, and medical care.
Good luck, and keep thinking happy thoughts.
Yes, an EMP detonation over the midwest would have two effects that I believe would permanently cripple the US:
1) Collapse of SCADA pipeline networks
Wireless local internet has revolutionized the pipeline industry. Automated sensors and controls mean that entire pipelines are controlled remotely from corporate facilities in Houston and Chicago, but manage the vast oil and natural gas pipelines of the American plains and midwest. The corporate owners installed these systems so they could lay off most of the maintenance work-force.
In the event of an EMP, many pipeline sensors would give an unknown reading; some might reset to zero, others to infinity. So at every pumping station (usually at least one every 30 miles on the plains, for hundreds or thousands of miles), every sensor starts telling the system that there is not enough pressure in the line to force the petroleum uphill, and so it increases the pressure. Or some spots arbitrarily drain the pipes. The odds are that every major pipeline will have damages across the whole of its infrastructure and the company doesn't have 90% of the employees it once did. Or the trucks for the needed workers to drive, or fuel to put in the trucks, or parts....
This means that the northeastern Baltimore-Philadelphia-NYC corridor will not have ANY heating oil for years after an EMP.
This means that every single refinery would have to shut down within hours (maybe seconds) after an EMP, and would need months or years after fixing its own systems before it could receive another drop of oil from the interior of the continent. And the US produces about 60% of its own oil, and all of the off-shore crude moves through the same networks to refineries inland from the coast....
2) The failure of remote systems at every nuclear power plant in the EMP effected-area.
After their useable life is complete, the spent nuclear fuel rods are taken from a reactor and stored in a cooling pond, where cold lake or river water flows over the spent rods to keep them from "going nuclear" by exciting each other to critical mass. Periodically, when a pond is full, a DOE convoy comes and hauls away the spend rods for reprocessing.
The danger here is when the valves that keep the cooling-ponds full go haywire during an EMP; and the plant's back-up generators (not all US plants have them!) wont start or cannot get power through the local network to the valves.... This has happened 4 or 5 times in the US, after garden-variety power failures following storms or electrical service black-outs. See, most nuclear plants need power coming in, to run their systems, so they can make more electricity for the grid. "Cold starting" a nuclear power plant is complicated, and requires multiple systems to function properly (not the situation after an EMP). The plant also needs a place to "dump" the electricity generated in the first few miliseconds of operations---meaning, you can't simply start up a nuclear reactor with no power grid to send power away from the plant.
So, within seconds, or minutes or hours of an EMP, almost every single Nuclear Power plant in the US will have cooling ponds that are beginning to get warmer and warmer....more and more radioactive.....just like the fukashima reactors.
But instead of 5 nuclear generators in one important city, picture almost a thousand reactors, in every corner of the US, simultaneously heading for China... in the middle of a power and communications blackout.....while millions are without food, water, and medical care.
Good luck, and keep thinking happy thoughts.
reply to post by AlreadyGone
I think this was the first preparation post that I've actually liked on ATS. Mostly because you reminded me of how people used to live before the grid was invented, how humans were more independent, relied on their own resources instead of the governments and others' and lived often times difficult but very satisfying lives. I find myself wishing the same things nowadays. I wish we didn't rely on our government and companies to give us our food and water and basic necessities, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand economically, maybe corruption wouldn't be so widespread and people would not have lived so reliant on authority.
Thank you for giving me a fresh perspective on being 'prepared' and not just your average loony: "the world is going to end, hog all the foods!!" view
I think this was the first preparation post that I've actually liked on ATS. Mostly because you reminded me of how people used to live before the grid was invented, how humans were more independent, relied on their own resources instead of the governments and others' and lived often times difficult but very satisfying lives. I find myself wishing the same things nowadays. I wish we didn't rely on our government and companies to give us our food and water and basic necessities, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand economically, maybe corruption wouldn't be so widespread and people would not have lived so reliant on authority.
Thank you for giving me a fresh perspective on being 'prepared' and not just your average loony: "the world is going to end, hog all the foods!!" view
I swear by the Farmers Almanac for planting and plowing the soil. Great post. By the way, I'm heading out to cut wood right now!
edit on 10-3-2012 by wrecksrme because: Was trying to make a quote but messed up (hey I'm a newbie)
reply to post by tovenar
my apologies ..i clearly misread the thread and took it as a dooms day type survival prediction
I'm not sure what you mean. I'd like to engage you; can you clarify?
my apologies ..i clearly misread the thread and took it as a dooms day type survival prediction
Originally posted by badconduct
reply to post by AlreadyGone
Avoid short cuts in life. Do things the hard way. Get used to taking colder showers and saving power. Avoid mindless entertainment and spend your time learning. Get paper copies of any information that could be useful, such as the open source farm equipment website.
editby]
Key point, though I would suggest, not necessarily all the time. I think doing things the way I would have to do them, if left without a lot of the resources we have now, is just necessary at the moment in order to try things out for practice. Also for making sure there isn't anything I've failed to think about, while it's still easy to go and get whatever it is I still need - including in that category, information that is at the moment easy to access on the Internet.
To go back to the beginning of the thread, for me and probably a lot of other people, an important aspect of preparation is the soil, because I live in a place with not very good soil - making arrangements to supplement it with some good stuff so that plants will actually grow...
reply to post by Destinyone
Hi Des et all. We raise chickens here too on the farm. We keep 20 to 30 Laying hens and 2 roosters who like their odds. I use chick start and grow then layena crumbles once they are three to four months. Scratch grain is also a daily feed for them when grown. I also keep a little hay in their diet and use straw bedding. I would consider adding a load of lime in their roaming area. They use the gravel in the lime to grind up the feed in their gizzards. Most breeds are very kind and easy to handle. My favorite laying hen is a buff orphington for its temperment. They will sit contentedly in your lap if you don't mind. Enjoy your brood. Love our chickens.
ETA chickens also use the lime to "dust" themselves which I find entertaining to watch. They get into all manner of contortions before finding a rail to sit on and enjoy the spring sun.
Hi Des et all. We raise chickens here too on the farm. We keep 20 to 30 Laying hens and 2 roosters who like their odds. I use chick start and grow then layena crumbles once they are three to four months. Scratch grain is also a daily feed for them when grown. I also keep a little hay in their diet and use straw bedding. I would consider adding a load of lime in their roaming area. They use the gravel in the lime to grind up the feed in their gizzards. Most breeds are very kind and easy to handle. My favorite laying hen is a buff orphington for its temperment. They will sit contentedly in your lap if you don't mind. Enjoy your brood. Love our chickens.
ETA chickens also use the lime to "dust" themselves which I find entertaining to watch. They get into all manner of contortions before finding a rail to sit on and enjoy the spring sun.
edit on 11-3-2012 by DancedWithWolves because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by DancedWithWolves
reply to post by Destinyone
Hi Des et all. We raise chickens here too on the farm. We keep 20 to 30 Laying hens and 2 roosters who like their odds. I use chick start and grow then layena crumbles once they are three to four months. Scratch grain is also a daily feed for them when grown. I also keep a little hay in their diet and use straw bedding. I would consider adding a load of lime in their roaming area. They use the gravel in the lime to grind up the feed in their gizzards. Most breeds are very kind and easy to handle. My favorite laying hen is a buff orphington for its temperment. They will sit contentedly in your lap if you don't mind. Enjoy your brood. Love our chickens.
ETA chickens also use the lime to "dust" themselves which I find entertaining to watch. They get into all manner of contortions before finding a rail to sit on and enjoy the spring sun.edit on 11-3-2012 by DancedWithWolves because: (no reason given)
Just FYI, be careful with lime. It needs to be Ag lime not Hydrated Lime. Hydrated will kill them. Check with your local extension or farm store for more info.
I just use a chick grit for winter, free range 3 seasons, dust bath in sand (which they also munch on).
Ok so everyone is preparing, and lets assume that nothing happens. Nothing happens even after 2014.
No doomsday prophecy came true.
What then?
What are you going to prepare for after that?
Will you still be gullible and believe doomsday prophecies?
Because there will be more! Many more prophecies !
No doomsday prophecy came true.
What then?
What are you going to prepare for after that?
Will you still be gullible and believe doomsday prophecies?
Because there will be more! Many more prophecies !
Originally posted by SpaceJunkie
Ok so everyone is preparing, and lets assume that nothing happens. Nothing happens even after 2014.
No doomsday prophecy came true.
What then?
What are you going to prepare for after that?
Will you still be gullible and believe doomsday prophecies?
Because there will be more! Many more prophecies !
Well, I will get up, feed the animals, tend to the farm and garden, stoke my fire, and know that I can take care of myself and my family. No big deal. I live on a farm anyway.
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