Is prepping stupid?

[moonbogg]

One of the things I found interesting was a comment made by a water district worker. He explained:

That quote was epic. The wording was descriptive and formed imagery in my mind about the huge pipes carrying the water over a mountain just to get drinking water to us. The titanic power and complexity of these systems are taken for granted every day by millions. We live in socal in the numbers we do as a result of a technological miracle, and without them we wouldn't have a prayer of a chance.
It would be really amusing in a way if something like that happened, where large areas of socal residents were left to basically fend for themselves or die. All the political correctness, fake smiles and empty promises from politicians. All the people pretending to be your friend just to get in your wallet. All the liars who act like they care about your well being. It would all evaporate, right along with that last drop of water from your faucet. None of that crap would matter anymore, and perhaps it never did matter to begin with. A society that sets itself up for utter destruction was a fake society all along.

/lunchtime boredom rant

 

[Markbnj]

It's not stupid if you're preparing for something that has a statistical likelihood of happening at some point in time. Up here it is likely that we'll lose power for a full day once or twice a year. During Sandy we lost it for twelve days. I was not prepared for that. Now that it's over, I am not all that concerned about preparing for it again, because I think a repeat of that event in my lifetime is unlikely (and anyway, we got through the last one).

There are people out there who are "prepping" for the breakdown of civilization, the end of the world, and whatnot, and yes that's pretty stupid.

 

[TwiceOver]

We had a day without power a few weeks back. Made me realize that, as a family, we need to be better prepared. My grandpa was getting rid of a generator anyway, so that was cheap. Bought 2 cases of water, flashlights, and a battery powered radio. We have plenty of canned goods.

I think it's probably good to be prepared for a few days without power/water, but building a bunker and stocking it for years is probably not necessary.

 

[nanette1985]

After Sandy, I decided to get ready for the next one. I figure that the more prepared I am, the more likely it is that nothing will happen.

Still trying to figure out what I need to charge my phone. Then I'll be all set.

 

[lxskllr]

I haven't been to the grocery store in a month, and I still have food. I like canned food, and always have a lot on hand. Probably going shopping this weekend. I'm out of a bunch of stuff I want.

 

[shortylickens]

This is not prepping.

No its being prepared, which is a lot more sensible than Prepping.



FOR REFERENCE:
Having one gallon of water per person per day is recommended. Its for drinking, cooking, cleaning, or whatever. If you wanna keep a family of 4 safe for a whole month thats 120 gallons. If you stock up on those five-gallon containers then you're gonna need an assload of space to store them. Probably more than most people have available in their homes (since many Americans stock up lots of junk in their house).

At least one pound of food per person per day, and thats assuming its high energy stuff like potatos or beans or rice. Those packets of hard tack bricks are probably the best way. Keep plenty of spices and shit for flavoring. Ideally whatever you keep needs very little water and heat (fuel) to make edible.

Lots of long burning candles should be obvious. And a stash of low-light lanterns (LED probably) and a crapload of charged batteries.

Proper first aid kit with trauma stuff. Womens needs for a month for each post-pubescent female.

Baby needs for a month if thats needed.

Enough guns and ammo to deter looters. Remember they wont be zombies or religious zealots, they'll be desperate people who would rather not get filled with lead just to find a meal.


Dont rely on a generator unless you can keep it safe and secure AND have the ability to exhaust the crap it produces.

 

[olds]

If you're referring to those doomsday preppers on that television show, yeah, they're idiots. Being prepared isn't bad - taking it to extremes is what indicates they've gone off the deep end.

Well water, ability to get water with no power means I'm set there. At least a month's worth of food, if not two, and not counting the abundance of fresh food outside. Plus, a generator that used sparingly, I could get about a month out of on the current supply of fuel.

This.
Plus I could shoot about 6 thousand Chinese soldiers. As long as each only took 1 round.

 

[Thebobo]

If you're referring to those doomsday preppers on that television show, yeah, they're idiots. ..

I like the guy who was showing his sons how to handle guns and shot himself in the thumb and then passed out lol.

 

[Agent11]

Depends. Having a few weeks worth of food and supplies, some ammo and a gun in case things devolve into WROL territory = smart.

Spending a few million on a custom solid steel modern version of Noah's ark, not so much.

 

[Soundmanred]

No its being prepared, which is a lot more sensible than Prepping.

Yup

 

[waggy]

D:

lol i read it latter and thought "hmm bad wording but hell that's kinda funny"



we been thinking of getting a whole house generator.

 

[tynopik]

That said, I did put my tankless water heater on a sine wave UPS, so I can have hot water during a power outage, but that would only last a couple of hours.

 

[schneiderguy]

This.
Plus I could shoot about 6 thousand Chinese soldiers. As long as each only took 1 round.

Pathetic. I have enough firearms and ammunition to single handedly repel the entire Chinese army from the shores of California.

 

[Doppel]

I like the guy who was showing his sons how to handle guns and shot himself in the thumb and then passed out lol.

Was great. That show is awesome. I'm surprised at the number of people who have no security at all, though most of them go way overboard. They focus heavily on guns and ammo as if they will be under siege from dozens of gunmen. All silly nonsense. But, I love the show nonetheless.

My guess is if civilization came to an end the people who would do best are those in moderately populated communities (not middle of nowhere, but not a city) and who can organize groups of dozens or hundreds and get farms going along with proper security. In fact, that sounds a lot like a town, doesn't it

The show's bread and butter are are the true nutters who spend 10-20+ hours/week for years on end "prepping" at the complete expense of everything else in their lives.

 

[madoka]

The show's bread and butter are are the true nutters who spend 10-20+ hours/week for years on end "prepping" at the complete expense of everything else in their lives.

I actually got a chance to meet 3-4 of the people who appeared on the show at a con, including the guy who blew off his thumb. They each independently said the same thing: the show's producers misrepresented them in some way to make them seem way more extreme and demanded that they take positions that they did not actually believe in. I think each of them did the show because they were trying to promote something, like a book, class, or product.

 

[Doppel]

I actually got a chance to meet 3-4 of the people who appeared on the show at a con, including the guy who blew off his thumb. They each independently said the same thing: the show's producers misrepresented them in some way to make them seem way more extreme and demanded that they take positions that they did not actually believe in. I think each of them did the show because they were trying to promote something, like a book, class, or product.

I think i read something similarly; saw something online perhaps about that really fat crazy guy who could barely move and some friends of his online said the show totally misrepresented. But that's "reality" TV for you.

 

[LTC8K6]

It can seem stupid until you find yourself on your 9th day without power in the winter...or in the stifling heat of summer...and you have to ask a neighbor to help you...

 

[madoka]

Still trying to figure out what I need to charge my phone. Then I'll be all set.

I like the Waka Waka solar charger. It won't fully charge your phone, but it'll be enough to make all the calls you'll likely need.

http://us.waka-waka.com/products

 

[skyking]

We are very lucky here. We are pretty tight with our neighbors. There are 4 of us who would work together. We work together now, building structures, projects, re-roofing houses. 3 of us are on a well I manage. I have a 220V generator that I run periodically, purchased just for the well. I have a couple other generators for camping, etc.
We do have outages. I'll go juice up the well if it goes past a day.

 

[inf1nity]

preparing for things like a nuclear winter or a nation wide EMP is stupid. (yeah i know it doesn't happen in my country, but i saw it on Nat Geo).

Other wise its fine.

 

[John Connor]

Wait till that super volcano goes up in Yellowstone. No preparation will save you.

 

[Chaotic42]

I live miles from where the eye of Katrina hit.

My answer is no.

 

[jumpncrash]

After Sandy, I decided to get ready for the next one. I figure that the more prepared I am, the more likely it is that nothing will happen.

Still trying to figure out what I need to charge my phone. Then I'll be all set.

uhhhh....one solar panel would be more than enough, add in some car batteries and a few more panel + maybe a homemade wind turbine and you're in buisness

 

[olds]

...
Still trying to figure out what I need to charge my phone. Then I'll be all set.

Don't recall the exact model but the wife and I have something like this in our BOBs.
Link

 

[Broheim]

it depends on were you live.

I live in a small rich nation with great infrastructure and literally no natural disasters of any real significance in recorded history, so I don't prep.

even if shit were to hit the fan I'd most likely be required to report to the nearest military base for reactivation as part of total defense, so i wouldn't have any use for whatever I had prepped any way.

funny story though, when my dad bought his first car he received a letter from the ministry of defense stating that his car had been "drafted" and in the event of war the car had to report to the nearest army base.