Is prepping stupid?

[irishScott]

I've never seen an electric can opener in my life. Weird.

Me neither, but then again I don't typically associate with people who buy their cooking equipment off infomercials.

Seriously, unless you have some debilitating medical condition, what's the advantage of an electric can opener? Just a big waste of money that will inevitably break as opposed to a manual one that can last a lifetime.

 

[preCRT]

This is a terrific manual opener, easy even for folks with arthritis.

The Swing-A-Way Easy Crank

 

[DrPizza]

You should already have an ample supply of toilet paper.

There was a sale on Scott tissue about a month ago. Plus, if you spent a certain amount of money combined on half a dozen or so products, you got, I think it was $20 added to your rewards card. I have enough toilet paper to last at least 2 years. IIRC, it worked out to about 30 cents per roll.

 

[preCRT]

The larger the incoming storm, the wider the pre-storm panic.


Before Sandy hit Mass, folks wiped out some supplies, in large part because of the doom & gloom warnings in the press.

The bottled water aisle at Shaws in Cambridge

Stop & Shop:

more at Shaws:

 

[irishScott]

Lol, I remember the last time we got 8 inches of snow, two guys got into a fight over the last box of English muffins in the store.

 

[nephilim2k]

I live in the edges of an urban area, literally behind my house is miles of farmland, in front is a metropolitan city. I am good with a bow and arrow (can hit my a target at 100 yards or so), and with a rifle I can shoot a duck out of the air, and hit a deer at 700 yards or so).

Within 1 mile of my house, I have an abundance of the following which can be made into something edible with little/no prep

Nettles, Sorrel, Mushrooms, Apples, Blackberries, Strawberries, Plums, and Cherries

I also grow the following

Potatoes, Carrots, Tomatoes, Chillis, Squash (butternuts and pumpkins), Marrows, Courgettes (Zucchini), Aubergine (Eggplant), Peas, French Beans, Beetroot, Turnip, Lettuce, Cauliflour, Brocolli and in my house I grow a large variety of herbs.

Also within a 2 mile radius, there is a herd of deer (around 40-50 in the herd), of which I would kill 1 every other month. I also have 3 chickens, which give me 6 eggs a week (or thereabouts) and looking at getting a rooster, for the following reason. 1) fertilise the eggs to give me more chickens. When I have more chickens, I'll sell/keep the roosters separate for food. Also, the females will grant me more eggs, so egg production goes up.

I also have a small wind turbine which provides 1kwh of power per day, plus some solar panels which generate 5kwh of power per day. I am reasonably happy with how I am, I grow enough for my family and myself and we can last with the rolling blackouts or what have you (power in our area went out for a week, we were fine, still had TV, internet etc).

 

[Acanthus]

and with a rifle I can shoot a duck out of the air

The light gun in duck hunt doesn't count.

 

[nephilim2k]

I agree, but I can shoot ducks, pheasant, pigeon, partridge, and grouse...without issue (fine I may miss more shots than I hit, think I have a 1 in 4 hit ratio)...but still, better than nothing

 

[Meghan54]

I
I am good with a bow and arrow (can hit my a target at 100 yards or so)...

Hitting practice targets isn't hunting with a bow. Most experienced and reasonable bow hunters, and I try to not put myself into that category as I've only hunted with a bow for about 15 years, will tell you your practice distances you hit represents, at best, half the kill distance during a live hunt.

Putting 5 arrows into a 7"-8" group at 100 yds. is great shooting, no doubt. (7"-8" represents the kill zone on a deer.....gets smaller with a smaller "target".)

But, to think you can do this in the field with less than ideal conditions, hoping the animal doesn't move in the 1 sec. or more the arrow takes to fly that 100 yds., is just a dream.

Either that, or you are in the top 1% of world class archers and constantly Gold in the Olympics.

 

[nephilim2k]

Not at all...my targets are around 11-12inches in diametre, and I never shoot in still wind as it is not at all representative of skills. I have done bow hunting before in Germany and got some boars and deers around 40 yards away. Over 10 years with a bow, I've only ever gotten 5 kills, but with my rifle, I've gotten close to 300.

I do not profess to hit the bullseye target every time with a bow, I do miss, out of 10 shots, 7 would be in the target, but they'd be scattered. With a rifle however, that is a different ballgame, and I am much more accurate.

 

[3chordcharlie]

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.

Sometimes I think my favorite team lost because I forgot to watch the game.

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

 

[nageov3t]

Anyone who lives in an area either hit by hurricanes or nor'easters knows the basics:
when a storm is coming you must run out to stock up on certain perishables, namely:
milk, bread, eggs, beer & bananas.

You should already have an ample supply of toilet paper.


Never really understood the milk & eggs part because if you lose power, as frequently happens during either of those 2 types of storms, the milk can spoil & raw eggs aren't going to do you any good. Before Hurricane Irene hit, I did boil up a dozen eggs & ate those while the power was out.

the milk is probably for little kids, and eggs don't strictly need to be refrigerated (especially if you're stocking up for a blizzard or a late-fall hurricane).

at least here in the Northeast, gas stoves seem to be far more common than electric, and you can ignite a gas burner with a match/lighter even when the electric start is out. when we lost power after Sandy, I was pretty grateful that I could still boil water to make coffee with (and that first day without power, I emptied out the freezer and had a great dinner of shrimp, lobster tails, and swordfish steaks.

BTW, stocking up on canned goods will be no help if you only have an electric can opener. Surprised at the number of folks who forget to keep a simple manual opener on hand.

it's not ideal, but you can always open a can with a good sharp knife.

I never understood the point of electric can openers, though. I've only ever seen them in homes where the owners stocked up their kitchen appliances in the 60's.

 

[OverVolt]

can flush the toilet or drink it

He means the water in the top tank. Everyone has 5-10 gallons stored in their home in the top toilet tank, so a couple of days worth of water to drink. It wouldn't kill you to drink the water out of the top.

 

[Soundmanred]

He means the water in the top tank. Everyone has 5-10 gallons stored in their home in the top toilet tank, so a couple of days worth of water to drink. It wouldn't kill you to drink the water out of the top.

But it's a horrible time to discover that upper decker.

 

[unokitty]

This is a terrific manual opener, easy even for folks with arthritis.

The Swing-A-Way Easy Crank

Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora

Uno

 

[madoka]

I never understood the point of electric can openers, though.

I grew up a latch key kid. Our electric can opener was great because I couldn't always open cans on my own. Back then we didn't have these ergonomic openers; only little crappy ones that required a strong grip. Our electric was fun to use and had a little magnet on top so that it would hold onto the lid when it was done opening the can so you didn't cut yourself fishing it out of the can. Electric can openers are also used by old people or those with arthritis who no longer have the strength to open cans on their own.

 

[lxskllr]

Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora

Uno

I have a P38 on my keychain, and I used to send one to school with my daughter so she could open cans. They work great, and will go through a tin as quick as any complex opener.

 

[edro]

with a rifle I can shoot a duck out of the air

No you can't.

 

[Broheim]

Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora

Uno

yeah the simple ones are by far the best, if you can actually use them that is.
it always brings me endless amusement watching my little brother using one, he has the dexterity of a cucumber.

 

[nephilim2k]

No you can't.

Yes. I can, with a rifle. Not an Assault Rifle or shotgun but a Browning A-Bolt II Composite Stalker. I can skeet/clay pigeon shoot with one with ease (swap out my Nikon Monarch III scope for a NCS IPSC Red Dot Sight). Will film next time I do it just for good measures for you.

 

[irishScott]

No you can't.

Why not? Granted it would be difficult but hardly impossible. Especially if you fire in bursts.

 

[JoeBleed]

Yes. I can, with a rifle. Not an Assault Rifle or shotgun but a Browning A-Bolt II Composite Stalker. I can skeet/clay pigeon shoot with one with ease (swap out my Nikon Monarch III scope for a NCS IPSC Red Dot Sight). Will film next time I do it just for good measures for you.

Please stop firring rifle rounds into the air, they will come down in a lethal manner/trajectory and you could kill, seriously injure someone, or damage property. In open places this is ok with a shot gun due to the projectiles they use. Rifle rounds will go much further. I've dug one out of my damn roof before.

 

[Doppel]

I live in the edges of an urban area, literally behind my house is miles of farmland, in front is a metropolitan city. I am good with a bow and arrow (can hit my a target at 100 yards or so), and with a rifle I can shoot a duck out of the air, and hit a deer at 700 yards or so).

Within 1 mile of my house, I have an abundance of the following which can be made into something edible with little/no prep

Nettles, Sorrel, Mushrooms, Apples, Blackberries, Strawberries, Plums, and Cherries

I also grow the following

Potatoes, Carrots, Tomatoes, Chillis, Squash (butternuts and pumpkins), Marrows, Courgettes (Zucchini), Aubergine (Eggplant), Peas, French Beans, Beetroot, Turnip, Lettuce, Cauliflour, Brocolli and in my house I grow a large variety of herbs.

Also within a 2 mile radius, there is a herd of deer (around 40-50 in the herd), of which I would kill 1 every other month. I also have 3 chickens, which give me 6 eggs a week (or thereabouts) and looking at getting a rooster, for the following reason. 1) fertilise the eggs to give me more chickens. When I have more chickens, I'll sell/keep the roosters separate for food. Also, the females will grant me more eggs, so egg production goes up.

I also have a small wind turbine which provides 1kwh of power per day, plus some solar panels which generate 5kwh of power per day. I am reasonably happy with how I am, I grow enough for my family and myself and we can last with the rolling blackouts or what have you (power in our area went out for a week, we were fine, still had TV, internet etc).

You sound in good shape, but deer are irrelevant. Any game of any size would be hunted to extinction in no time at all if there was an end of society

Re. firestarters I have one of the swedish fire steel type things. Doesn't have magnesium shavings in a pile, but rather just a spark caused by running a knife down it. It is cool and very indestructible, but then a bunch of strike-anywhere matches kept water proof are probably better. Will last forever, and work on more materials than sparks.

 

[sourceninja]

Having been snowed in a house with no power for a few days as a kid I keep food and water in the form of bottled water and MREs in my basement just in case. Also those little packets you can break open to provide warmth.

Also I'm a fan of ramen, so I have like 100 years worth of ramen to eat.

 

[madoka]

Also I'm a fan of ramen, so I have like 100 years worth of ramen to eat.

Most ramen goes bad after about five years or so. Ask me how I know. D: