No electricity for about 24 hours

[I D Shukhov]

A violent 10-min storm crippled the area where I live.  31 hours later 1/2 the traffic lights on major roads are still out with cops at the major intersections.

I like these little wakeup calls to let me know how enmeshed I am in the techno-gestalt of the world and how I really should be thinking about how to be more self-sufficient.  You need food, water, shelter, friends, healthcare and probably three firearms.  All else are means to these ends.

The three firearms you need, as I learned a few years ago thumbing through Guns and Ammo magazine at a convenience store are:  1) a shotgun in case somebody gets inside the home; 2) a pistol for mobile use and 3) a hunting rifle in case it's just you and the adversary out in the wild.

[The Gorn]

Been there: http://www.computerconsultantsforum.com/forum/coffee-talk/dealing-with-our-first-%27natural-disaster%27/

I found that the main thing that I needed in the short term but simply could not obtain locally was ice and refrigeration.

Retail stores really need to mobilize in a fair and constructive way during such problems and ration necessities like bags of ice to minimize profiteering. I am POSITIVE that freelance a-holes were buying up stuff like bags of ice and selling them off the backs of trucks for multiple times the price. Also things like the small LP gas grill tanks that Coleman stoves use.

For us the main logistical problem right after this storm was that all roads were absolutely clogged by wandering proles driving around apparently looking for 1) stores that were open for business and 2) any disaster sights like downed trees on houses and the like. Oh, yeah, the cops should have shut down ALL driving except for employment and necessities. And all intersections in a 20 mile radius had the traffic lights out. You basically couldn't go anywhere feasibly unless you wanted to sit in traffic for hours, burning what little gas you had left (most gas stations were out of fuel or out of power.)

It was hell for a few days. It also taught me that US suburban people are generally lazy, selfish bastards who hoard shit incessantly whether they need it or not. We (the US) have gone a really far way from caring, hearty pioneers who watched out for the community.

Today it's pigheaded white trash running the show, and heaven forbid that basic technology fails on us. 

Yeah, I think you're completely right about gun ownership.

[The Original Henry]

Simple power outages or no problem:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200375064_200375064

Of course if things drag on and turn more desperate, these will help:

http://preparednesspro.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/food-storage-shelves1.jpg

http://users.chartertn.net/dhrivnak/images/Active_Solar_water.JPG

And to make sure you maintain possession of all of the above:

http://consumermaven.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/ar-15.jpg

[The Gorn]

I wonder about Northern Tools' stuff. Some of it is so cheap. They have a small generator for $150.

I'd rather buy a generator from Costco or Sam's. Local in case there's a problem.

[Aussie]

The old farmer's wife who lived over our backyard fence until 2006 loaned my wife and I her cottage in a fishing town on northern New South Wales coast for our honeymoon (my wife caught the first 'brag' fish, I caught the second about twenty minutes later....teamwork  ).  A storm in the middle of our time away cut the power lines.....so we hauled out the old glass kerosene lamp for the evening.  Eminently practical and seriously romantic, too.  Thing is, people of our age grew up in a Sydney which not infrequently suffered blackouts in the late 1970's because Premier (think Governor) 'Nifty Neville' Wran just didn't get the idea of 'infrastructure'.  Though I must admit, I always found my Mum's firing up of the old petrol hurricane lanterns a little unnerving.

[I D Shukhov]

Been there: http://www.computerconsultantsforum.com/forum/coffee-talk/dealing-with-our-first-%27natural-disaster%27/

I found that the main thing that I needed in the short term but simply could not obtain locally was ice and refrigeration.

Yeah, I think you're completely right about gun ownership.

Right.  Food spoils quickly and you could end up throwing away $100 or more in food.  Also, the quality of life sucks -- e.g. reading by candlelight as soon as the sun goes down.

Still, a 48 hour outage might only happen every 10 years so I have a hard time justifying buying a portable generator. 

About the gun issue:  I think I should buy one to have around the house, but whenever I mention the idea my wife gets really frightened.  I guess I'll just have to find out what Maryland's gun laws are and do it secretly.

BTW, that thread from 2008 is well worth reading!

[DarkHumour]

I remember driving home from work in North Bend, Washington to Seattle after their killer wind storms in 2006.  Logs and branches riddled the streets and no stoplights were running in small towns. I had just checked into the second hostel in the area and no longer in the campground.   

A week later I checked this campground after I used up the maximum stay in that hostel. It had been closed but you could still drive around it.  I could imagine Adagio by Barber being played as I looked at the broken trees and branches.  Lucky I wasn't there anymore.  It may have made my Glendive, Montana thunderstorm camping experience seem as trivial as a lawn sprinkler.

I don't remember how long it took North Bend to get power back.  I was working at a factory that brought in generator trucks.  Production continued.

Hmm.  Maybe I should dust off the tent and other supplies in case of apocalypse.  See, I was preparing in advance. Yeah, that's why I moved to Seattle.  Practicing for the eventual collapse.

DarkHumour

[The Gorn]

A violent 10-min storm crippled the area where I live.  31 hours later 1/2 the traffic lights on major roads are still out with cops at the major intersections.

I checked out some of the coverage. This is quite similar to the event that hit the Ohio Valley in September, 2008. Our power was out for almost four total days. We lost a freezer of food and I estimated the loss at $2-300. That's why I want to get a generator.

[DarkHumour]

I checked out some of the coverage. This is quite similar to the event that hit the Ohio Valley in September, 2008. Our power was out for almost four total days. We lost a freezer of food and I estimated the loss at $2-300. That's why I want to get a generator.

What about a bigass[tm] windmill or solar cells with an army of batteries ?   I know that's probably adding 2 or 3 zeros to the price tag.

DarkHumour

[Aussie]

You can actually buy kero lamps new these days, rather than relying on the old ones your folks left you.

http://www.theoillampcompany.com/

[JavaMouse]

We (the US) have gone a really far way from caring, hearty pioneers who watched out for the community.

Human nature being what it is, I find it easier to believe that our early history was more like Deadwood.

[I D Shukhov]

We (the US) have gone a really far way from caring, hearty pioneers who watched out for the community.

Human nature being what it is, I find it easier to believe that our early history was more like Deadwood.

I think this says something about those who think that everything would be great if there was no government.  It's exactly because of human nature that we need governments, otherwise we have Deadwood.

With the war over, the federal government focused on improving the governance of the territories. It subdivided several territories, preparing them for statehood, following the precedents set by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.[84] It also standardized procedures and the supervision of territorial governments, taking away some local powers, and imposing much "red tape", growing the federal bureaucracy significantly.[85]

Federal involvement in the territories was considerable. In addition to direct subsidies, the federal government maintained military posts, provided safety from Indian attacks, bankrolled treaty obligations, conducted surveys and land sales, built roads, staffed land offices, made harbor improvements, and subsidized overland mail delivery. Territorial citizens came to both decry federal power and local corruption, and at the same time, lament that more federal dollars were not sent their way.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Old_West#Territorial_governance_after_the_Civil_War

[The Original Henry]

I'm reminded of the comparison of government to fire. Both are necessary, and both will burn your house down if you fail to contain it.

[unix]

Generator came real handy. Burned through a few cans of gas. 

Long-running LED flashlights also came in pretty handy. Main issue was the heat, couldn't plug AC into the generator.

Stop lights were out everywhere, took much longer to get anywhere.