Preppers?

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
chenda
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Re: Preppers?

Post by chenda »

@jennypenny yes a lot of his stuff is sort of ERE-themed.

Speaking of prepping, are any UK'ers stockpiling anything for Brexit ? The government has recommend companies start to stockpile pharmaceuticals , though has apparently put a man in charge of securing essential supplies, so I suppose I should be reassured :D

vexed87
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Re: Preppers?

Post by vexed87 »

As 'No Deal' is looking increasingly likely: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ssy-brexit

I have colleagues who are freaking out right now and can't understand why I voted leave, or why I am so relaxed about the whole situation. :roll:

Other's have complete faith that everything will work out ok. Lots of recency bias. Other's giving interesting takes on the situation: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -crisis-uk

Personally, I don't see no deal being very likely, I think the PM is using it as a carrot to beat rebellious MPs with to accept her deal. I think worst case scenario is that if the deal doesn't go through, the process will be postponed until another PM can be chosen and a new deal is planned. Hence my relaxed attitude. I am not fool though, and can still see the possibility of things going badly. I wouldn't put it past the PM to make a huge mess out of the situation.
Last edited by vexed87 on Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:17 am, edited 2 times in total.

prognastat
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Re: Preppers?

Post by prognastat »

Well, no deal would be better than being subject to EU law without having any control over the rules made.

Don't think you need to be any more prepared than you should be any way for something like natural disasters.

vexed87
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Re: Preppers?

Post by vexed87 »

prognastat wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:15 am
Don't think you need to be any more prepared than you should be any way for something like natural disasters.
Indeed, I think those freaking out are starting to see the fragility of civilisation for the first time. Interestingly, they are not yet making any preparations. The UK however doesn't experience natural disasters very often, and when they do occur (flooding mostly) they effect a minority. Most people are not prepared for a minor event, and would struggle being snowed in for a week.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Preppers?

Post by tonyedgecombe »

Out of the people I know the ones that lean towards the prepping end of the scale are also the ones that voted for Brexit, quite funny really.

The PM is playing a game of chicken however I can't see it working. MPs will call her bluff and then we will end up with a second referendum. This has its own problems but I can't see any other way forward.

chenda
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Re: Preppers?

Post by chenda »

Yes I think the key risk is that Teresa will see the treaty horse is dead after too long a flogging, and it will be too late to pull back from the brink, like the summer of 1914. We've already run out of time for a new referendum, especially a complex 3-way choice which would probably be necessary to give it some legitimacy. Delaying Brexit is now essential.

I'm building up a small surplus of supplies, especially imported goods, but realistically it would only last a few weeks in the event of major supply disruption. My parents are retired and have a holiday place in Portugal; I'm going to encourage them to book flights to go out there in early March as a precaution. Hopefully in the new year some common sense will return.

prognastat
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Re: Preppers?

Post by prognastat »

I actually see the chances of supply lines actually being interrupted and any kind of state of emergency as very remote.

Having a week's worth of food and water will cover any event I see as even remotely possible.

jacob
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Re: Preppers?

Post by jacob »

I don't think there's much to worry about wrt food and water. Prob. more so that a shipment of self-sealing stembolts would get stuck in customs while waiting for yet to be resolved treaties and paperwork to be completed. Then layoffs in the reverse-ratcheting router planing business as there are no national producer of these parts.

Hopefully smart people already built up inventory. When Trump announced the tariffs, there was a large boost in imports (resulting in an even bigger trade deficit) as companies stocked up in preparation of losing their supply lines. Seems that many decisionmakers are not quite clear on how interconnected it all is.

Would also note that 56% of UK's natgas consumption is imported mostly through Europe from Russia. I hope that one has been resolved already.

Add: I see Trump proposing to pull out of Syria now. That'll cede the situation to Russia which would then be able to block pipeline constructions from the ME in favor of their own exports.

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Seppia
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Re: Preppers?

Post by Seppia »

I finally resolved to get a sharpening stone for my knives, it will be my only Christmas present together with an overpriced but indestructible Tumi backpack to substitute for my decrepit 9 years old piquadro business bag.

I'm guessing the sharpening stone counts as prepping?

Jokes aside, the small apartment we bought is close to a bushy and mountainous area, next year my plan is to spend free weekends to slowly start acquiring some very basic "survival" skills such as
Be knowledgeable in which mushrooms are edible
Basic hunting
Basic tool making
How to find water
How to start a fire
Increase fitness
Etc

prognastat
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Re: Preppers?

Post by prognastat »

@Seppia

Well it does improve self sustainability if shit really hit the fan sharpening/replacing knives will become far more expensive(or near impossible in an apocalypse level event).

heyhey
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Re: Preppers?

Post by heyhey »

jacob wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:06 pm
I don't think there's much to worry about wrt food and water.
The problem will be fresh vegetables and fruit, which we don't produce enough of. We will have enough calories, and water isn't an issue. It's just that we are used to having a huge variety of fresh food that doesn't grow in this country and won't be available so cheaply, and for a few weeks or months may not be available at all while the border issues are sorted out. This may lead to panic but hopefully there won't be anything like the shortages that were experienced in the 1940s, for example.

I've stocked up a little on cans because I'm sure there'll be panic buying. But the real danger is the long term effect on those who are made jobless and poor, and I don't suppose that will affect anybody who's prosperous enough to be considering ERE. So who cares, right? It's only the losers who will suffer :roll:
jacob wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:06 pm
Would also note that 56% of UK's natgas consumption is imported mostly through Europe from Russia. I hope that one has been resolved already.
Why would you think that has been resolved when nothing else has? But again who cares ... by March it will be getting warmer anyway. I doubt this is an issue for Brexit supporters. Fuel costs are nothing compared with whatever it is they think they will gain.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Preppers?

Post by tonyedgecombe »

jacob wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:06 pm
I don't think there's much to worry about wrt food and water.
There was some talk about problems with water, apparently one of the chemicals we use for making the water safe to drink is wholly imported from Europe. There have been so many of these stories though that I have become rather skeptical about all of them. For me all the problems about Brexit are over the longer term.

vexed87
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Re: Preppers?

Post by vexed87 »

@tonyedgecomb, fortunately a lot of drinking water falls out of the sky here. Admittedly, not quite as convenient as turning on a tap. I just got a world class soaking on my way to work.

George the original one
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Re: Preppers?

Post by George the original one »

A recent trip to the store to replace consumer consumables reminded me that when one is used to having certain items available, we take them for granted. In my case, "my" shampoo is no longer available in one of the two local stores. I got to thinking about how uncomfortable life would be without it, so I stocked up. The only way to get it on sale would be to go down the coupon-clipping rabbit-hole and even then the savings is miniscule, though I'll start watching for in-store savings from now on. Yes, I could switch brands of shampoo since there are a zillion brands, but gosh that's annoying.

Anyway, since I'm reasonably well-prepped otherwise, I pondered if there were any other non-perishable goods that I would be really unhappy to be without if supplies were cut off for a year or two(*). Shampoo is one which falls into that category for me, so I've now made it part of my prepper stock. Laundry soap is another item. Surprisingly, deodorant does not make the cut because bathing frequently is a substitute and with a river (glorified creek) in my backyard, I can manage to bathe.


(*) One or two years supply allows time to find/make an adequate substitute (or get used to the idea of doing without <shudder>). In the case of shampoo, I can reduce consumption by merely washing my hair every other day instead of daily.

daylen
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Re: Preppers?

Post by daylen »

What is the purpose of shampoo? I am curious, since I have never used it and my hair seems healthy. I do not have dandruff or anything. The answer to this question could be dependent on genetics.

Similarly, I use baking soda as an antiperspirant instead of deodorant, I do not use lotion or chapstick, and I use a toothbrush for the abrasive properties without toothpaste. I have asked people if I stink and they say no (strangers without an incentive to lie). My skin/lips never feel dry (even in western kansas). My teeth are mostly white, and I do not have bad breath.

It seems that most beauty products make the users dependent.

George the original one
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Re: Preppers?

Post by George the original one »

daylen wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:08 pm
What is the purpose of shampoo?
I sweat pretty heavily in my scalp. The hair becomes sticky, gets caked with grime, more susceptible to tangling so hair pulling ensues when combing/brushing, and my scalp feels "ugh". The ugh feeling somewhat goes away by just rinsing, but does nothing for the hair. Bar soap works very poorly for cleaning the grime from my hair.

Hmm... maintaining a bald scalp begins to sound feasible as an alternative to washing hair.

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Lillailler
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Re: Preppers?

Post by Lillailler »

vexed87 wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:10 am
I wouldn't put it past the PM to make a huge mess out of the situation.
Yes. She seems to have quite the talent that way.

And, as heyhey said later in this thread, "I'm sure there'll be panic buying"

Often, it's not the threat that is the threat, it is the government and public response to the threat that you need to worry about. We can depend upon the stupid(*) making everything unnecessarily bad for the rest of us.

I am a spectator to this, but I would make sure I had the necessities of life - water, canned food, a camping stove and fuel, prescription meds (if relevant), baby /child supplies (if relevant) - for a couple of weeks. Matches, candles, some printed books, a pack of cards and a few hundred pounds in small bills might also be useful (*). Also a good idea to keep the car's tank at least half full at all times. I would do this now, so as not to be obstructed by panic-buyers towards the end of March. If I was a bandit(**) I would lay in supplies to sell for profit when the panic strikes: cigarettes, whisky, long-life milk, instant coffee, AA batteries, etc.

* Recently, the government sent me a leaflet recommending keeping three days worth of necessities to hand.
** As in the intelligent / loser / stupid / bandit classification of humanity.

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