SHTF Reminder

When New Wife first arrived here in Plano and I was giving her a tour of the new apartment, she looked a little taken aback at the extent of my SHTF supplies, as well as my grab ‘n go bags and tubs.  While she didn’t say much about it, I got the impression that she thought I was being a little too paranoid about it — after all, we live in Plano, where disaster seldom strikes.

After the flooding of a couple years back, and the recent cold winters, she appreciated those SHTF preps a lot more.

Then two nights back, we watched A Refuge Of Last Resort  on BezosTV, which was a personal video account of New Orleans during Katrina.  She wasn’t here during that little episode, so I suggested that she watch it with me.

She watched the whole thing in silence.  Then, after it finished, she said, “We need more emergency drinking water.”

I don’t have to tell you guys anything about SHTF scenarios, of course, as we’ve discussed this many times in the past.  Nevertheless, let this serve as a reminder to check your own SHTF stocks, and add / replace as necessary.

My own takeaway from this man’s story was a little different.

Firstly, FEMA is fucking incompetent — we all know that, of course, but it was the depth of the incompetence (coupled with outright lying) which gave me pause.  (Nor, speaking of government agencies, did the New Orleans police come out of this covered in roses.)

Secondly, it is even clearer to me that the more prepared you are, the less you’ll have the need to go to “evacuation centers” or any of that kind of thing.  If you are forced to leave your home (predicted flood, fire, hurricane etc.), you’ll be better off hunkering down with friends or family, or in a hotel room off the ground floor, along with all your supplies.

Thirdly, if you are going to hit the road, do it sooner rather than later.  Keep your gas tanks as close to full as possible at all times.

I certainly don’t have to remind anyone of the need to be well armed.

And finally:  if you do live in a Democrat-run shithole like New Orleans, get out now rather than later.

SMOD*

Apparently, the End Times are almost certainly due at the bus stop soon:

Soaring food, energy, and shelter inflation have led to what could be a new era of civil unrest worldwide. Pockets of unrest have been observed in Sri Lanka, Peru, Kenya, Ecuador, Iran, and Europe. New research forecasts a broader wave of discontent is just ahead.

“Only a significant reduction in global food and energy prices can arrest the negative global trend in civil unrest risk. Recession fears are mounting, and inflation is expected to be worse in 2023 than in 2022.”

Wow… I wonder if some giant, powerful nation could address both those issues simultaneously?

Naaahhhh they’re too busy rummaging in Melania Trump’s undies drawer.

And then there’s this little kettle coming to the boil:

Now, winter in Europe is rapidly approaching when homes particularly in northern Europe will need gas the most to keep their homes warm and one hopes the weather itself will be a mercifully temperate. As recession looms, the only thing overheating right now are prices. Unemployment will surely follow.

My fervent hope is that the popular response to this is to see politicians and bureaucrats dangling from lamp posts but sadly, that’s not gonna happen.  More likely is that they’ll flee to safe havens, clutching suitcases full of our (looted) cash.

I’d take that outcome, now that I think of it.

But if you think all that’s bad, try this.

Aux barricades, mes amis!!!


*Sweet Meteor Of Doom, e.g. this one.

Expensive Bag

Followed this link from Insty for a survival first-aid kit, but on scrutinizing the contents thereof, my conclusion is that I’d be paying $70 just for a bag — because I already have all the other stuff, and more so withal.

That said:  none of it is in one place, but scattered around the house;  so Job #1 is to round it all up and put it into a bag, and I’m sure I have a spare one of those lying around somewhere, too.

Logistics

I was going to talk at some length about the “supply-chain crisis” with respect to the grocery business, but Sundance did it for me.

And for what it’s worth, his diagnosis and analysis are absolutely 100% correct.  As long as there are no hiccups in any aspect of the supply chain, “just-in-time” supply is the Finance Department’s wet dream.  But note the term, “any aspect“.

A driver shortage, a spare parts shortage, a labor shortage, a packaging shortage or a fuel shortage, and the whole Jenga structure falls over.  If all of those happen at about the same time, the Jenga structure disappears completely and would take months if not years to be restored.

As we are going to see very soon.  Stock up now, folks, while you still can.  And for once, I’m not talking about ammo.

Snow Laughing Matter

My Readers being a sensible lot, I probably shouldn’t need to post a warning about a seasonal SHTF situation like this one:

I’m going to ignore the funny bits — e.g. the hapless Kamela Harris tweeting that “America is on the move again” — to focus on the important stuff.

When I lived in Chicago and was faced with a drive of any distance away from home, I made sure that I had the following:

  • full tank of gas, and a 5-gallon can in reserve
  • two blankets — a regular woolen type and one of those Mylar things
  • water (kept inside the car, not in the trunk where it could freeze)
  • emergency food (a large jar of peanut butter, crackers, chocolate and a package of jerky, as well as some hard candy for a quick sugar boost)
  • shovel (one of those military entrenching tools, see below)
  • 10-lb bag of cat litter
  • as well as the usual emergency things one should keep in the car anyway, e.g. flashlight, blaze orange vest, insulated work gloves, road flares and so on.

Nineteen hours, as above, is a long time to be stranded in freezing weather without any kind of sustenance, and it’s just pure luck that the above episode didn’t claim any lives.

Feel free to add anything you think I’ve missed.


 
(German mil-surp — I actually have two of them.  I prefer them to the U.S. all-steel version, because the wooden handle works better in cold weather.)