then there's the small cities that have just over 3000.those cities might have 4 or 5 cops if that many..
If shtf tomorrow, what would you miss most?
- Thread starter Brent S
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In the short term we wouldn't notice the difference, fridges and all electronic stuff will continue to run as they have for the last 13 years or so. Security may not change much either as we are in the middle of nowhere.
Long term I would miss the internet, and when we run out of fuel we would have to give up some things like welding although I can MIG weld from batteries if needs be. We are slowly weaning ourselves off fossil fuels though, will get a wood stove soon, I'm looking at cross-cut saws to replace the chainsaw, buying old tools like a brace and some bits, etc etc. My hope is that in maybe one year I can say that very little will change at all, trouble is there will always be things you didn't think of that need a special oil or whatever.
I think it needs a really good analysis, originally I planned to analyse all the things I currently do and make sure they can continue but that's arse-about-face, I think I should try to determine all the things I would have to do and try to ensure they can be done with no fuel, note I did not say "no power" as with solar there's no reason I won't have reasonable power available for at least 10 years but probably 20 (subject to battery life and storage options).
Heating and cooling are not really needed where I live, water comes from the sky, cooking (and ok maybe some heating, it can get a little chilly) from wood, shelter is done, my main weakness is food as we can't produce any as yet, getting into grinding wheat is a fast way to mitigate this problem to some degree but we really need to address food. Then there is security, I have enough goodies to dissuade the average schmuck, but if an organised group or even a single trained person turns up with bad intentions I'm probably screwed.
Long term I would miss the internet, and when we run out of fuel we would have to give up some things like welding although I can MIG weld from batteries if needs be. We are slowly weaning ourselves off fossil fuels though, will get a wood stove soon, I'm looking at cross-cut saws to replace the chainsaw, buying old tools like a brace and some bits, etc etc. My hope is that in maybe one year I can say that very little will change at all, trouble is there will always be things you didn't think of that need a special oil or whatever.
I think it needs a really good analysis, originally I planned to analyse all the things I currently do and make sure they can continue but that's arse-about-face, I think I should try to determine all the things I would have to do and try to ensure they can be done with no fuel, note I did not say "no power" as with solar there's no reason I won't have reasonable power available for at least 10 years but probably 20 (subject to battery life and storage options).
Heating and cooling are not really needed where I live, water comes from the sky, cooking (and ok maybe some heating, it can get a little chilly) from wood, shelter is done, my main weakness is food as we can't produce any as yet, getting into grinding wheat is a fast way to mitigate this problem to some degree but we really need to address food. Then there is security, I have enough goodies to dissuade the average schmuck, but if an organised group or even a single trained person turns up with bad intentions I'm probably screwed.
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I started collecting some hand tools I as well. I replaced all the yard tools with new ones this spring too. As far as security, if you're remote then you've increased your chances greatly. You can only prep for so much, and it sounds like you've allready done really well. If you happen to be in the cross hairs of a roving group that's well armed, then yes, you're probably screwed. Just by being isolated is probably the best you can do for that kind of defense.
When I moved to Chile...the only thing I miss is being able to communicate with family and friends. A situation I fully intend to correct as soon as winter is over
Fine wine in Chile , dude .
Fine and cheap...like me
Love you , Bill.......and your cheapness ..... just like Boone's farm.................and I'm on board............. and wife is too !..........thinking Costa Rica ?
pizza.
let me know if you need a connection in southern Chile
Y'all are welcome
I am growing everything I'd ever want on a pizza and plan to can sauces from my tomatoes this year so now you've given me the idea to can a pizza sauce with chunks of green pepper and onion in it. And I found a recipe for mozzarella cheese from goat's milk that only takes a day to make. Now I'm determined to build that backyard grill so it can also be a stove.
Now all I need to figure out is squirrel pepperoni and I'm good!!! lol
I can make squirrel sausage but I haven't a clue how to make pepperoni.
I have a feeling that Farmer's Markets will come back quickly.my super market. i will totally miss my supermarket
i'll miss the aggravation of working on vehicle when something goes wrong
Boy do you need to get out more Jim!i'll miss the aggravation of working on vehicle when something goes wrong
I've spent a few days digesting this one...I have to agree with Air Conditioning, heat, hot water, refrigerator, freezer, access to energy, security that we take for granted and yes...god yes, Brent, the most taken for granted item...toilet paper (I lived without it a few times, and the stuff in the MRE's...well you've got to be able to wash your hands quite well with that experience (sorta of like doing a self examination down there, lol).
I think what I will miss most, access to vehicle travel and the public work activities. Travel even local travel will become a chore, it will require very good planning, so as not to strain already challenged resources...remember your going to burn calories for all the walking or if your lucky and have a horse, the feed that would go with it. Water and sewer will fail within days of an event. The challenges of distribution from a water sources will be high on our list. I can see the number of people running with a bucket to a nearby lake, but I've seen it in disasters. All I have to do is point out to several instances of natural disasters like Hurricane Andrew, Katrina and even Sandy to give you an idea of what we would face on a small scale, and they had government relief (albeit slow getting there first). I've got video evidence of what a toilet looks like after 2 weeks of not flushing and its not pretty. Give me an idea of a youtube video for our disaster site, lol. Eventually, after 5-7 years without maintenance, unless your out there doing weed control/asphalt work...the roads will be claimed back to the environment. Bridges may last a little longer, depending on how they were built, but even these will eventually begin to have structural integrity issues...mind you, their not in great shape right now (bridge collapse in Minneapolis is an example of it) and should California experience any plates shifts that cause a good amount of seismic activity, you would have to suspect that the structural integrity would be compromised on longer spans.
Transportation is the least topic I wanted to discuss after today, so will post this and be done with discussing this thread. One thing is for sure, after getting my butt chewed on by my wife for screwing with her car's air conditioning and then dealing with the 1800 rep...told this one to Jim and Alabaster...I don't think my wife will let me work on the 2014 Tuscon (Daughters) , 2013 Yukon II (Family travel) and 2011 Terrain. Which since her Camry is a 2007 and I thought I followed the website to the "T", I've been regulated to the old 2002 Santa Fe for tooling around on vehicles and might I say...never gonna live it down after today. I guess if the drought ever gets done here in Texas, I will be regulated to a 4 legged horse. No offense made to Danil54grl or LW, but I don't even think she would trust me around a goat. So now all I can do in the workshop is work on my med kits, guns or focus on something in preps. As she said today, their goes my down payment on a gun I wanted...after the mechanics are through with me. Hope you all will have a good laugh at the expense of me. Well I do have a bugout bag and a good pair of walking boots, so maybe their is hope after the SHTF. lol.
Just as long as those "good walking boots" have been tried and broke in Bob. . .
Lol, I aim to break in a new pair on my walk...I love blisters don't you know.
Attaboy....................
Cleanliness
I can't say I would miss much, I am pretty much outdoors most of the time anyhow, I don't like sleeping indoors, I always cook out side (summer/winter) I don't like the time I spend taking care of all the conveniences, I don't like store bought food, I don't like phones and televisions though the one thing I would miss, milk and my coffee, I can substitute my coffee for dandelion and pine tea if need be so no coffee not really an issue..
Maverick, if I get the BOL home built, I promise if you ever get their, I'll have a cup of "Joe" for you. Complete with canned milk.
Yes, you are a lot tougher than I am! I remember hiking and camping with what I could carry. That was in my twenties. Now I want to park close to the site to unload all my crap. I definitely overdo it, but the blow up mattress, pillow and comforter with sheets is really comfy after playing all day. The gas grill is pretty cool too, click and dinner is cooking. Not to mention the cooler packed with loads of good steaks and stuff. Yup, my roughing it days are about over. I've got to admit though, the sites when you hoof it a day or two, with no tourists, are a lot more beautiful! We may all have to rough it one day, but one of the reasons I prep is to make it as comfortable as I can. I guess it's good to know that no matter what you are going to be just fine.
I wouldn't say tougher just accustom to doing for so long, outside is my comfort zone and that really is all it is
I genuinely love the outdoors too, but coming home today from work it is so hot out there I'm hanging out in the ac for a while. I can't believe it's not even summer yet! I'll give it a couple hrs before I go unload the trailer and feed the animals. I'm dragging hoses around to water everything right now too. I noticed my grapes looking dried out on the way in. I'm a little jealous of the weather in Washington right now. Are you close to the Peugeot sound? I've heard that it's pretty mild there in both winter and summer.
No, just southeast of Mount St. Helen's, the weather is one of the reasons why I stayed out here, I'm originally from Galveston
Were you out there when it blew?
I'm 60 but still enjoy roughing it, my last walk was 5 days through Karijini (north west Oz, think hot canyon country), there's no doubt I prefer living in a proper shelter but I'm pretty comfortable under a rock as well and I plan to spend more time doing that when I get my BOL finished.
Yes I think it's largely a matter of what you are used to, I'm not very fit at all and far from being "tough" I reckon, I'm just fairly used to rolling out a swag in the bush so that part is not something I worry about. I do worry about how far I can carry a load, but that's a different issue.
Ice cubes for iced tea
