Preppers, what do you prep for?

[AlephZero]

we need to prep for the zomberg modpocalypse hehe 

Fixed.   

Yes, those Zombergs are such nasty business!


 

[Gerhard Gerber]

The city I live in, our capitol, as well as the centrally located towns are out of water.

We are in the middle of Winter, and realistically (if at all) we can't expect any rain before November.

I've been meaning to buy containers and stockpile water, but the containers are expensive, and to be honest it feels completely futile.

Also, space to store the water is lacking completely, same for any considerable amount of food.

I don't feel prepared, and it bothers me....

[dks]

recycle urine? 

[kkokkolis]

Recently a wild fire broke out 40 miles from my area.  Several thousand acres burned and mandatory evacuations were in place.  The evacuees were out of their homes for 6 days.   

The scenarios for which I am "prepping" for is not unlike those who experience natural disasters world wide.  Earthquake, fire, and even flooding can and do happen enough to have a plan in place.

     

+1

We live under wildfire threat most of the year and in 2016, we've have had more close calls with tornadoes/flooding than I can remember in my whole life. Bags/meds/gear/food/water are ready if we have to go and not get back for a while.

Lose everything just once, and you'll ignore the people that tell you you're paranoid.

That's the big difference with Europe. All these have been very rare here. A big fire in London centuries ago, a tsunami in Lisbon, a volcano explosion in Santorini at the dawn of civilisation and another in Italy, two thousand years ago and the Black Death. That was all. But we always had wars of any kind, imperialist wars, religious wars, genocides, world wars, civil wars, regional wars, you name it. In the English speaking countries war is also a norm but you always fight abroad in colonies and spheres of influence, not in your country. But you live in wilder places, with extreme natural phenomena and your houses are more flamable. You also fought natives and outlaws for years (with insane levels of criminality in the US in particular), so the self defense spirit is higher there. If my country gets envolved in a war, they will give me an assault rifle, or I'll get one from the dead.
This is a cultural thing, no one is paranoid. People in US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa who are survivalists and pro guns are European immigrants in fact. But they adapted to the local conditions.
Frankly, I even find squirels in Central Park dangerous in comparison with our standards. How they bite!

[Gerhard Gerber]

recycle urine?

We do, we have for years, this little African country and this city is one of the few that successfully do.....in the world.

Not enough anymore......

I don't know if this is possible, but if the heat plume emanating from Fukushima  has the same effect as El Nino and the Blob, then we are truly and utterly smurfed.....

[Alan K.]

Being ready for a likely emergency is one thing, but "preppers" worry about unlikely scenarios because they're paranoid lunatics.

• Likely emergency: temporary power outage, natural disasters are likely to happen in your given area, etc,
• Unlikely Scenarios: EMP pulse bringing down the power grid, virus outbreak, gub'mint takeover, zombies, terrorist hordes, World War 3, etc.

Think of prepping as a chore that someone needs to be motivated to get done.  If a person makes a game out of it and prepares for the most outrageous set of circumstances they can think of, at least they are still prepping.  If the preppers are laying in the necessary supplies to survive a zombie apocalypse then those supplies are in place even if the only thing that happens is a few days without power or groceries during a blizzard.  This is the logic the CDC came to a couple of years ago when they added a how to survive zombies section to their website.  http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm 

You might think it is silly but that doesn't mean that preppers are dangerous lunatics.
Preparing to help myself and my neighbors over what may be an extended period does not make me a paranoid lunatic regardless of what calamity I might be preparing for. There's plenty of other excuses for it, but being a prepper is neither cause nor effect of paranoia or lunacy.   

[Kampfer]

Being ready for a likely emergency is one thing, but "preppers" worry about unlikely scenarios because they're paranoid lunatics.

• Likely emergency: temporary power outage, natural disasters are likely to happen in your given area, etc,
• Unlikely Scenarios: EMP pulse bringing down the power grid, virus outbreak, gub'mint takeover, zombies, terrorist hordes, World War 3, etc.

How many people on this planet live their life perfectly fine without having a MT?
Doesn't make MTO members paranoid lunatics.

I am not offended, just disagreed.

[raistlin65]

Being ready for a likely emergency is one thing, but "preppers" worry about unlikely scenarios because they're paranoid lunatics.

• Likely emergency: temporary power outage, natural disasters are likely to happen in your given area, etc,
• Unlikely Scenarios: EMP pulse bringing down the power grid, virus outbreak, gub'mint takeover, zombies, terrorist hordes, World War 3, etc.

Think of prepping as a chore that someone needs to be motivated to get done.  If a person makes a game out of it and prepares for the most outrageous set of circumstances they can think of, at least they are still prepping.  If the preppers are laying in the necessary supplies to survive a zombie apocalypse then those supplies are in place even if the only thing that happens is a few days without power or groceries during a blizzard.  This is the logic the CDC came to a couple of years ago when they added a how to survive zombies section to their website.  http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm 

You might think it is silly but that doesn't mean that preppers are dangerous lunatics.
Preparing to help myself and my neighbors over what may be an extended period does not make me a paranoid lunatic regardless of what calamity I might be preparing for. There's plenty of other excuses for it, but being a prepper is neither cause nor effect of paranoia or lunacy.

+1

This is the primary goal of Zombie Squad: to create awareness of basic disaster preparation using prepping for zombie apocalypse to get attention: https://www.zombiehunters.org/forum/. It's an interesting group if you haven't been to their forums. Most don't take the zombie stuff seriously.

[raistlin65]

I'm prepping for a world wide economic collapse in which MTs will be the new currency and working hard on my MT stockpiling! 

[Kampfer]

I'm prepping for a world wide economic collapse in which MTs will be the new currency and working hard on my MT stockpiling! 

I been using MT as currency on MTO since day one.

[raistlin65]

Being ready for a likely emergency is one thing, but "preppers" worry about unlikely scenarios because they're paranoid lunatics.

• Likely emergency: temporary power outage, natural disasters are likely to happen in your given area, etc,
• Unlikely Scenarios: EMP pulse bringing down the power grid, virus outbreak, gub'mint takeover, zombies, terrorist hordes, World War 3, etc.

How many people on this planet live their life perfectly fine without having a MT?
Doesn't make MTO members paranoid lunatics.

I am not offended, just disagreed.

I'm with you on the potential for global pandemic. It has happened in the past. It could easily happen again thanks to denser populations and the speed of travel. While I don't think it will happen in the next ten or twenty years, I have insurance against my house burning down in a fire. Don't think my house will burn down either, but global pandemic doesn't seem tremendously less likely than that. Figured it was time to "buy" some insurance for that with a little preparation.

[Kampfer]

Global pandemic is not something our current technology can predict nor prevent, nor eliminate quickly when it started, like you said the high speed transportation actually help the virus spread quickly throughout the world. 

Look up 1918 flu pandemic.

[powernoodle]

I'm preparing primarily for short term loss of municipal services like electricity, water, etc.  One two occasions, we have been without electricity for 7-10 days.  This is not TEOTWAWKI, but just trying to stay warm, etc.  That entails 2x generators, gas, 60 gallons of water,  etc.

I also have enough weaponry and ammo to supply the Bolivian army for 3x years.

I did spaz out a few years ago when the bird flu was all the rage, and bought about $500 of N95 masks.  Which are still sitting in my secret underground bunker.

So I'm somewhat prepared for short-term weather disasters, etc., and completely unprepared for society collapse.  Except for the arsenal.

[Kampfer]

I also have enough weaponry and ammo to supply the Bolivian army for 3x years.

[detron]

I do not "prep" for anything,
I just like having items that could become useful, in a variety of situations

having a MT and SAK is 95% percent of my "prepping"
a flash light and space pen in another 4%.

the last 1% is stuff that I use once in a while and it is worth having nearby just for those occasions. (bandages, duct tape, aluminum foil, etc.)

[Kampfer]

I do not "prep" for anything,
I just like having items that could become useful, in a variety of situations

having a MT and SAK is 95% percent of my "prepping"
a flash light and space pen in another 4%.

the last 1% is stuff that I use once in a while and it is worth having nearby just for those occasions. (bandages, duct tape, aluminum foil, etc.)

What about paint remover? Got any?

[Alan K.]

Viruses mutate. That is why there is a brief panic every few years when something pops up somewhere in the world and it takes a few months to come up with a vaccine or a cure. Could be bird flu, swine flu, Zika. Doesn't matter which, only matters that everyone keep up on their shots so they have the most current vaccine available each year.  Got gas masks or respirators?  Then you must check the dates on the filters because they can expire in a sealed package without ever being used.  Also make sure you have the right filter for keeping out whatever you think you're going to have to keep out.  Military gas masks won't protect you from airborne viruses.

[Gerhard Gerber]

At some point in the very near future antibiotic resistance will turn into a catastrophe.


And on a positive note, I bought 6 25L water cans yesterday, it's a start.

 

[Etherealicer]

Global pandemic is not something our current technology can predict nor prevent, nor eliminate quickly when it started, like you said the high speed transportation actually help the virus spread quickly throughout the world. 

Look up 1918 flu pandemic.

The death toll of the 1918 flu was more a result of WW1 and as a consequence poor health / nourishment of the population. We see a very similar pattern in the 2009 Mexican flu outbreak.

Here is why we don't need to fear a global pandemic that wipes out a good part of humanity:
- Fear of a pandemic is mostly media related. In the US the 2009 Mexican flu was no more serious than the seasonal flu, yet it was big in the media... (SOURCE)
- 2009 Mexican flu killed less than 15000 people world wide, considering that every two and a half hours over 15000 people die world-wide that is nothing.
- 2014 Ebola outbreak killed 11310 people world wide, considering that every two hours over 12000 people die world-wide that is nothing.
- As a result of 2009, many countries improved their quarantine stations, reducing risk of a dangerous pandemic.
- The 2009 pandemic also showed how easily the spread of a virus can be stopped by simple hand-washing protocols.

So, crossing a road is far more dangerous and most people don't work on that:
- Don't wear black, wear bright color that are well visible.
- have a light on your person to increase your visibility at night (like a running light)

[Etherealicer]

At some point in the very near future antibiotic resistance will turn into a catastrophe.

NO! Certainly not globally.

- Antibiotic resistance does hardly exist outside of hospitals because bacteriae loose the resistance in the absence of anti-biotics (kinda like humans don't wear a raincoat in hot sunny weather, except bacteriae can't easily retrieve the resistance once they lost it).
- Bacteriae have even less potential for pandemics than virii, simply because they are much easier killed.

[firiki]

At some point in the very near future antibiotic resistance will turn into a catastrophe.

NO! Certainly not globally.

- Antibiotic resistance does hardly exist outside of hospitals because bacteriae loose the resistance in the absence of anti-biotics (kinda like humans don't wear a raincoat in hot sunny weather, except bacteriae can't easily retrieve the resistance once they lost it).
- Bacteriae have even less potential for pandemics than virii, simply because they are much easier killed.

What about antibiotics being used without real necessity? I understand this is the main reason these micro-organisms grow tolerances.

[Etherealicer]

At some point in the very near future antibiotic resistance will turn into a catastrophe.

NO! Certainly not globally.

- Antibiotic resistance does hardly exist outside of hospitals because bacteriae loose the resistance in the absence of anti-biotics (kinda like humans don't wear a raincoat in hot sunny weather, except bacteriae can't easily retrieve the resistance once they lost it).
- Bacteriae have even less potential for pandemics than virii, simply because they are much easier killed.

What about antibiotics being used without real necessity? I understand this is the main reason these micro-organisms grow tolerances.

They gain resistance for the blink of a moment. The only problem with antibiotic resistance is in hospitals and primarily because it is not healthy people that get infected.

Resistance is no problem, because it is short lived and we have several antibiotics.
Resistance and multi-resistance slow the growth of bacteriae this weakens the threat of the bacteriae especially considering that healthy humans can fight off most infections without help.
Fighting bacteria is rather easy (soap water, boiling, etc.).

There is an easy two stage plan to fight pandemics.
During pandemics: Wash your hands often, especially when entering your home. Get a bit paranoid about your hygiene.
Off pandemics: Eat some food that you dropped on the floor. Don't use sanitizers...

[Etherealicer]

Viruses mutate. That is why there is a brief panic every few years when something pops up somewhere in the world and it takes a few months to come up with a vaccine or a cure. Could be bird flu, swine flu, Zika. Doesn't matter which, only matters that everyone keep up on their shots so they have the most current vaccine available each year.  Got gas masks or respirators?  Then you must check the dates on the filters because they can expire in a sealed package without ever being used.  Also make sure you have the right filter for keeping out whatever you think you're going to have to keep out.  Military gas masks won't protect you from airborne viruses.

The brief panic is due to the media! Just reposting what I wrote above:
In the US the 2009 Mexican flu was no more serious than the seasonal flu, yet it was big in the media... (SOURCE)

Gas mask filters operate on a chemical level and the assumption that toxic gases are more reactive than air. They expire because the active group reacts and disintegrates over time. This kind of filter is NOT REQUIRED for viral / bacterial defense. A simple medical mask/filter does the trick. As those filters are selecting what is passing through O2, N2 (anything tiny gaseous, really) or block (virii, bacteriae)  purely on size*. So like any filter/sieve it might clog up but it does not really expire (except if you put it under a lot of mechanical stress, e.g. carry your medical mask in your pants pocket).

* gases like O2 and N2 have a largest dimension of a few Angström (less than 4A for N2). Influenza Virus is 800 - 1200A so easily 100x larger. Bacterias are even larger.

[Etherealicer]

Found an easy illustration for gas masks

The Aerosol filter is what gets rid of bacterias / virii
The charcoal filter is the part that expires
Also, the gas mask is only one layer of your defense, your nose is designed to keep bacteriae out and whatever passes that barrier will be fought by your immune system.

[raistlin65]

Here is why we don't need to fear a global pandemic that wipes out a good part of humanity:

True. Many of just need to worry about a global pandemic with perhaps a 10% mortality rate that is highly contagious, assuming one lives in urban or surburban areas. It's the fear that will ensue that will cause the most problem. Here in the US, one can look at what started to happen with only a few ebola cases at the hospital in Texas. Even though the problem was contained, there were some school closings. Now imagine what happens when there is a virulent flu that causes a lot of deaths. Access to goods and services will break down for awhile. The US healthcare system can't handle a virulent flu epidemic where large numbers of people are dying. One needs to be prepared to be able to stay at home for awhile until the flu runs its course and government can restore things to normal. In fact, good guess that will be the government protocol should something like that happen.

- The 2009 pandemic also showed how easily the spread of a virus can be stopped by simple hand-washing protocols.

FYI: not all viruses are spread through human to human touch or body fluids. Some are airborne. Hand-washing may not be enough. Not going to help if you work in a busy office in close proximity to people, ride the subway, or catch the virus from someone coughing in a restaurant. Then, if the flu has a long incubation period, could be a significant portion of an urban population could become infected before containment protocols could isolate them, resulting in self-isolation in one's home as being the only safe option.

[Etherealicer]

Here is why we don't need to fear a global pandemic that wipes out a good part of humanity:

True. Many of just need to worry about a global pandemic with perhaps a 10% mortality rate that is highly contagious, assuming one lives in urban or surburban areas. It's the fear that will ensue that will cause the most problem. Here in the US, one can look at what started to happen with only a few ebola cases at the hospital in Texas. Even though the problem was contained, there were some school closings. Now imagine what happens when there is a virulent flu that causes a lot of deaths. Access to goods and services will break down for awhile. The US healthcare system can't handle a virulent flu epidemic where large numbers of people are dying. One needs to be prepared to be able to stay at home for awhile until the flu runs its course and government can restore things to normal. In fact, good guess that will be the government protocol should something like that happen.

So, best way to prepare for a pandemic is to educate people, so they don't get scared silly.

We also should get a way to make media responsable for chaos created by them (wishful thinking).

- The 2009 pandemic also showed how easily the spread of a virus can be stopped by simple hand-washing protocols.

FYI: not all viruses are spread through human to human touch or body fluids. Some are airborne. Hand-washing may not be enough. Not going to help if you work in a busy office in close proximity to people, ride the subway, or catch the virus from someone coughing in a restaurant. Then, if the flu has a long incubation period, could be a significant portion of an urban population could become infected before containment protocols could isolate them, resulting in self-isolation in one's home as being the only safe option.

While technically true, influenza can be transmitted by, air but transmitting through physical contact (door handles and such) is much more significant.
It is all about the odds, reduce infection rate and you slow the spread.

Btw, I have a PhD in molecular Genetics and worked for the state lab (albeit as intern. Though still was at the national strategy meeting for the Mexican flu) during the 2009 Mexican flu scare.

[Kampfer]

Global pandemic is not something our current technology can predict nor prevent, nor eliminate quickly when it started, like you said the high speed transportation actually help the virus spread quickly throughout the world. 

Look up 1918 flu pandemic.

The death toll of the 1918 flu was more a result of WW1 and as a consequence poor health / nourishment of the population. We see a very similar pattern in the 2009 Mexican flu outbreak.

Here is why we don't need to fear a global pandemic that wipes out a good part of humanity:
- Fear of a pandemic is mostly media related. In the US the 2009 Mexican flu was no more serious than the seasonal flu, yet it was big in the media... (SOURCE)
- 2009 Mexican flu killed less than 15000 people world wide, considering that every two and a half hours over 15000 people die world-wide that is nothing.
- 2014 Ebola outbreak killed 11310 people world wide, considering that every two hours over 12000 people die world-wide that is nothing.
- As a result of 2009, many countries improved their quarantine stations, reducing risk of a dangerous pandemic.
- The 2009 pandemic also showed how easily the spread of a virus can be stopped by simple hand-washing protocols.

So, crossing a road is far more dangerous and most people don't work on that:
- Don't wear black, wear bright color that are well visible.
- have a light on your person to increase your visibility at night (like a running light)

Just those outbreaks didn't do a lot damage / stopped quickly doesn't mean that will be the case for ALL outbreaks.

Once the world kicked into full panic mode the result would far more devastating than the outbreak itself.

[raistlin65]

So, best way to prepare for a pandemic is to educate people, so they don't get scared silly.

When/if that ever happens, let me know

[detron]

I do not "prep" for anything,
I just like having items that could become useful, in a variety of situations

having a MT and SAK is 95% percent of my "prepping"
a flash light and space pen in another 4%.

the last 1% is stuff that I use once in a while and it is worth having nearby just for those occasions. (bandages, duct tape, aluminum foil, etc.)

What about paint remover? Got any?

    I used elbow grease,  good to go!

[AlephZero]

Global pandemic is not something our current technology can predict nor prevent, nor eliminate quickly when it started, like you said the high speed transportation actually help the virus spread quickly throughout the world. 

Look up 1918 flu pandemic.

The death toll of the 1918 flu was more a result of WW1 and as a consequence poor health / nourishment of the population. We see a very similar pattern in the 2009 Mexican flu outbreak.

Here is why we don't need to fear a global pandemic that wipes out a good part of humanity:
- Fear of a pandemic is mostly media related. In the US the 2009 Mexican flu was no more serious than the seasonal flu, yet it was big in the media... (SOURCE)
- 2009 Mexican flu killed less than 15000 people world wide, considering that every two and a half hours over 15000 people die world-wide that is nothing.
- 2014 Ebola outbreak killed 11310 people world wide, considering that every two hours over 12000 people die world-wide that is nothing.
- As a result of 2009, many countries improved their quarantine stations, reducing risk of a dangerous pandemic.
- The 2009 pandemic also showed how easily the spread of a virus can be stopped by simple hand-washing protocols.

So, crossing a road is far more dangerous and most people don't work on that:
- Don't wear black, wear bright color that are well visible.
- have a light on your person to increase your visibility at night (like a running light)

Makes you wonder whether it didn't kill as many people BECAUSE of the media?!? So that people actually took precautions...