Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Wot no choklit?????

The_Thrilla

You may already be familiar with this. On YouTube, there is this German guy who makes all kinds of catapults from bits and pieces. I mean he's even made a Gatling catapult. He's currently made 261 videos. And it amazing what he has come up with - even 'lethalising paper planes'. They're all in English. Here is one to start you off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Go5JDVWEIY

It is amazing what human ingenuity can do.

Perplexed_Pineapple

The_Thrilla wrote: »

Knife fighting, eh? Chef knives are fine, but you would need to get one with a sturdy blade, or the blade might snap before it goes deep enough to do real damage, especially if it hits bone. If you already have a machete in the garden, that is good, too. In the wild country, you can also use it for the purpose for which it is intended. Owning knives is one thing. Using them is something else. Unless you are well trained in knife fighting, then it is best to use two knives. If you are right handed, you use the knife in your left hand to divert your opponent's attention. Once he has his gaze on the left knife, you deliver the fatal thrust (or cut with the machete) with the right. Not very nice, of course, but we are talking survival.

Heh, I think we were just talking about knives for general bushcrafting/survival purposes that wouldn't attract the attention of the plod. If it comes to knife fighting I shall be employing my favourite strategy of "running away very fast".
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Heh, I think we were just talking about knives for general bushcrafting/survival purposes that wouldn't attract the attention of the plod.

Correct.

The only reason we're even discussing the matter, is the likely presumption, by the Plod, that my Tanto would be carried for nefarious reasons, when nothing could be further from the truth.

maryb

I used to try and be as green as possible - but I find that washing on 30 degrees leaves clothes dirty and slightly smelly, eeew. And having just spent a whole day clearing drains (as in lifting manhole covers and using rods and a pressure sprayer) I have decided to run the dishwasher on a higher temperature wash at least twice a week. Calcified soap scum is not good for drains!!

I read that Christopher Booker article but because I read online I saw the correction. It was an suggested amendment by a Green MP and fortunately it didn't get through.

I say fortunately, because in my experience most Greens simply do not have a good enough grasp of maths and economics. A few years ago there was a lot of talk about individual carbon quotas. The trouble is, you need to have a better understanding of cost than the Greens proposing it clearly had. They were seriously suggesting that a pensioner taking a train ride off peak was responsible for many times the carbon emissions of a peak time motorist travelling the same distance.

Not knowing the difference between average cost, marginal cost, fixed cost, sunk cost, opportunity cost etc simply isn't funny or endearing when you are seriously suggesting policies which will have a major impact on ordinary people's everyday lives

daz378

i use 9kwhs a day just on electric , i do have a very old 14 year old fridge that must not be too energy efficient and i use my washer twice a week, laptop on most of the time, sometimes remember to put on hibernate when out... skyplus always on standby at least

babyshoes

pineapple wrote: »

I've mentioned this before but in Uganda we had something called 'load shedding' ie on alternate days you either had a power cut in the morning or a power cut in the evening. It was on a known shedule so it was quite do-able. Of course the better off had generators...

That still happens in other African countries. In somewhat organised ones like South Africa it runs to a known schedule - not that they publicise it very widely, but you can find out if you know who to ask. In Zimbabwe it is less scheduled and more 'luck of the draw', - plus if there is a storm, there will likely be lines down too leading to unscheduled cuts. Most people there have a generator and/or invertor as it can be out for days at a time, and frequently for more than 8 hours at a go. Many also have boreholes or large water tanks, as the water also goes off for days at a time. My folks frequently have to order a bowser of water to fill up their tank, at horrendous expense! Doesn't get you out of paying water rates though...

wondercollie

After reading the list of "home protection" items here, I thought I'd tell you what we have around the house:

one Mauser,

one Taser,

two pump action shotguns,

air pellet rifle,

zap straps,

one pair old school handcuffs,

and the Collie (face it, he's a lover not a fighter).

Blame Mr. WC. He leaves his sidearm at work. Everything at home is in the gun safe, except the Sabre (totally forgot about that) it's above the fireplace.

Having said that the guns are all broken down and the firing bits and bullets stored in totally separate locations.

I don't like guns and don't even want them in the house. The less I know the better I feel.

But they are the tools of his and one of ours sons trade.

The_Thrilla

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Heh, I think we were just talking about knives for general bushcrafting/survival purposes that wouldn't attract the attention of the plod. If it comes to knife fighting I shall be employing my favourite strategy of "running away very fast".
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Depends how bad it's going to get. One has to be prepared for anything. We might be OK. We might be prepared for a breakdown in Society. But what about the "I-don'-wanna-hear-it" brigade? They will have no food in. The supermarkets, I am told, have only about 48 hours stock. People will be piling in, buying out the crisps and the chocolate biscuits first, before buying out all the real food. The shelves will be empty in no time. And, when they have run out of food, and there is nothing coming out of the taps, they will start to leave the towns and the cities. And things will begin to get very nasty.

If there are still any police about, they will be selling themselves to the highest bidder.

Plan A for me is to get the family onto a plane. If there is no plane, there are the Eurostar or the ferries. But Continental Europe might be in a worse state than this place. We might be stuck here.

You might not have access to your money. With electronic banking, your money can be sucked out of your account in the blink of an eye. True, you can have gold and silver. But you use a sovereign to buy a tank of gas or food in your locality, and the word is out that you have gold, and someone will be paying you a visit.

So you could very well be in a life and death situation. And you will need to know what to do.

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Thrilla, excellent post.

A lot of people are, not to put too fine a point on it, as daft as brushes. I blame several decades of a welfare state and urban living, and the UK is a predominantly urban population.

Did you see clips and photies of the the citizens of Noo Yawk in the hours running up to SuperStorm Sandy? Bearing in mind they had been told, with several days warning, that there would be a hurricane, and to expect power outages and all sorts of chaos?

I saw people buying emergency supplies which consisted of a single handful of deli foods. As in one day's worth of snacks which required refrigeration. According to the newspapers and backed by photos, by day 5 people were raiding Dumpsters for food and complaining they had no clean clothes.

Hel-lo, people, you had several days to organise yourself, and you did a very poor job of it. How bad would your life be if a crisis hit with no warning?

Compare and contrast the preps done by one blogger who was on the very edge of SSS's path but who made sensible preps.

1. On his usual shopping day (Friday) he bought more shelf-stable and no fridge-only food, and had eaten down his fresh foods in case the power was off.

2. He was up-to-date on his laundry and his housecleaning.

3. He went onto his balcony and removed items such as table, chairs, pots which would be likely to go flying.

4. He had cash and was charged on mobiles etc, with alternative methods of heating, lighting and cooking in place.

As it happened, the edge of Sandy just clipped his area and the only one of those actions which was necessary was the removal of balcony items (neighbours had theirs blown away or damaged) but he had peace of mind, and clean clothes and clean home are things he would have done anyway.

I know a lot of people, and not the poorest by a long chalk, who are tapped out 10 days before payday, who have absolutely zero savings, only and always pay by card, never carry cash beyond the odd twenty, cannot read a map to save themselves and don't own a pair of shoes you could walk in for 5 miles on a tarmacked road, never mind across country. They shiver every winter because they haven't the wit to buy a fleece or a jumper and get wet because they're way too cool to own a waterproof coat.

What the hell will become of them in a crisis when the government cannot or will not ride to their rescue? I wouldn't fancy their chances of surviving.

Anyway, this mad tinfoil prepper is about to have her brekkie. Have a good day, everybody. GQ xx

ETA Daz, I use my washer about twice a week, too, and run a fridge and a tabletop freezer. I have a very old desktop PC which I only have on when using it (it's mostly on from 4 -ish until mid/ late evening). The only thing which is on all the time is the router. I think your fridge must be the energy hog in your home.