[Opinion] 5 Rules for PO Prep.

[Pops]

Thanks Pat, good ideas and I hope more new folks will chime in – we need fresh thoughts.

I think thuja is right on to a point - lIke they said in my day:

Life is like a sh!t sandwich: the more bread you have, the less sh!t you have to eat.

Of course that depends on where you get your wheat and how many sacks of beans are in your larder to get you through till the next job comes along…

[thuja]

Thanks Shannymara and sorry Pops- yes very good thread...no more hijacking here.

[Judgie]

I won't bother putting down my 5, since they've already been covered in here 20+ times.

I have one to add though:

Learn the lay of the land, water resources, orchards, back roads, the whole kit and caboodle in your local area, and up to and beyond a 70km radius of that area if necessary and possible. Get maps, LAMINATE THEM, and if you can take them with you, do so. If you need to bug out, it will help to know the routes that will allow you to get the hell out of dodge while avoiding populated areas, that is, the pissed off-starving masses who will take anything they can get.

[Pops]

I really thought there would be some different ideas than what has been posted on this Forum - to the Nth degree, by folks who post here a lot.

Maybe no one even looks at this forum that isn’t some type of Back-to-the-Land’er, Bunkerite, Energy Fairy Groupie or Transitionalist.

Better put up yer ideas before this thread goes down to the depths of Planning Hell - along with your good idea….

[Madpaddy]

Is this what you were looking for.

1. Remortgage your house up to 100% of the value and top it up with as many personal unsecured loans you can.

2. Spend 20% of your borrowed money snorting coke with hookers in Vegas.

3. Go to your place of work, photocopy your ass and send it to everyone in the office and an original signed copy to your boss. (take care not to rest your ass on the copy machine to avoid getting splinters in your rectum).

4. Write letters to every newspaper, journal and politician in your state telling them how you know that you are the one true god.

5. Go to Cuba or Venezuela with the 80% of money left over and buy a large land holding complete with servants and it's own oil well. Swear allegiance to the incumbent dictator.

[Pops]

Is this what you were looking for...

Well it was at least a different 5…

;^)

[Pops]

BTW, can I save that for prosperity as your 1,500th post?

[Hawkcreek]

--

[Madpaddy]

Pops,

Feel free to use any of my insightful and frequently witty posts. I hope that at least 10% of them have been useful but I admit that many have been base, discriminatory, rude, unhelpful and downright unfunny.

You win some, you lose some.

Actually, I would give my alternative 5 rules for PO preparation some thought.

[IslandCrow]

As with the pirates' code the following are more guidelines than rules, and reflect how I have tried to prepare for PO. Note my planning has been for a 'slow slide' not a major collapse happening quickly (say within a one to two month period).

1. Reduce direct oil use
1.1 Ignore anything ever written about Jevon's paradox

2. Build community

3. Reduce likelihood of future expenses
3.1 Food will become more expensive, so start growing your own
3.2 All energy will become expensive, so conserve as much as possible
3.3 Debt means giving money to others, so get out of debt
3.4 Buy long lasting tools and equipment, you may not be able to afford them in the future

4. Locate to where you have a reasonable chance for the basics of life considering:
4.1 Food, either grow your own, or an area with farms around, or where you are reasonably sure supplies will continue (ie. old market towns)
4.2 Water, near a stream or lake, or sink a well, or harvest rain water
4.3 Shelter and heat (if in a cold location) and the ability to cook food.
4.4 Waste disposal. (Remember in refugee camps this is one of the major problems contributing to spread of disease)

5. Work out plans to keep job/source of income as long as possible.

[Chuck]

OK, I will tiptoe in the water and expect to be ridiculed.... here it comes;

1. Do not pay of your debt (esp. if it is a relatively low interest fixed mortgage) and invest in a crash proof asset like silver. If we get into a hyper inflationary situation (very likely imo) your debt will evaporate and your silver will go sky high. Did you know that we are at peak silver, peak gold, peak almost everything (look at wheat prices)? And yes, silver is money. But of course most people prefer federal reserve notes/euro's or whatever. As long as it is paper backed by nothing.

[Pops]

OK, I will tiptoe in the water and expect to be ridiculed....

Thanks Chuck, the water is fine.

Ideas are what this thread is about. We have been accused of being somewhat inbred around here regarding our thinking.

Like an old Ozarkian told me: They are so close bred they have the same tooth missing.

So I hope more (with different missing teeth) will post what they feel is a better strategy than what is usually preached here.

P.S.: In other words: No ridicule allowed…

[thuja]

Thanks Chuck- I have tried to steer folks down that road as well. Low-interest fixed rate debt is one of the best things to hold onto. Avoid paying it down at all costs. Think of it this way. Your hard earned extra cash is very very very valuable right now. You can do lots of things with it such as...buy a castiron wood stove, buy solar panels, create a rainwater catchment system, rewire your house, buy silver or gold, etc etc.

In the future the price of all goods made from non-renewable resources will skyrocket, making your dollar seem worthless. So use it now while you can. As long as it is not an unreasonable amount, you should pay off your fixed rate debt as slow as possible and invest extra cash into inflation beating avenues, or tools/useful things.

Anyways- lets not get into that subject as that is a hijack (sorry again Pops) but no flames from me here.

[Pops]

...(sorry again Pops) but no flames from me here.

Thanks thuja!

I'm guessing we are cut from the same cloth; just maybe in different directions.

But I digress...

[katkinkate]

Katkinkate's 5 rules:

1. Simplify your life

2. Learn to live healthy, keep up with doctor and dentist checkups and give attention to your social support system.

3. Learn skills for a low energy lifestyle

4. Work toward your independence from the current system (finance, food, water, power ...)

5. Get off your fat butt and just do it.

Personally I have problems with the last one.

[strider3700]

Since we’ve had a request for something different I won’t write something quick and simple pimping weapons, food and water, bunkers, choice of location, or training. Lets try something about ideas and thoughts instead.


1 - Come to terms with the idea that 1 in 6 can survive in the long run

I'm a firm believer that the carrying capacity of the earth without oil is about 1 billion. Long term that means after the oil is gone the worlds population is reduced by 5+ billion people. Look around you. Right now in my office 2 people can survive. That’s a lot of good people that just can't be supported.

2- Decide that you want to be that 1 in 6 and are willing to do anything to be it

If you really want to win in a last man standing type competition don't think it's going to be easy. Some people will be willing to just give up and die. They're a very low percentage of the population and I doubt they can be counted as 1 out of those other 5 you have to beat. Everyone else will be directly competing against you in the oldest competition on the planet. Go back to my office comparison our of the 12 here maybe 1 will off themselves 1 other gets to live and the other 9 are direct competition. What are you willing to do to make sure you outlast them? What do you think they are they willing to do to outlast you? This isn't a reality tv show. The prize in the end here is getting to live. Remember only 100 generations ago we where bashing each others heads in with rocks. Other then being a bit taller then my great grandfather I see no real difference between us. Do you think we've changed very much over the last few thousand years?

3 - Come to terms with the fact that if you are that 1 in 6 you'll have to witness the demise of the other 5

Watching 5+ billion people die is going to be hell on the survivors. Guilt among the survivors can be a serious problem. Are you going to be able to handle it if your friendly neighbors down the road starve to death in the end because you didn't tell them you have food simply because you didn't have enough? What if they knew and you didn’t give it to them anyways? Even if your entire neighborhood wins the lottery and everyone survives what about other neighborhoods nearby? Can you sit back and see those TV shows begging for money to feed the starving orphans of Africa and say fuck them I come first? What if they're the starving orphans of Los Angeles or New York? What about your relatives elsewhere? What about your relatives knocking on your door?

4 - Decide that you will never give up

I once read a prep on the cheap page somewhere where he pushed just have a few things, sleeping bag, way to make fire, weapon... as being the only thing worth purchasing. The rest of survival was all about attitude. In many ways I agree. While being smarter, stronger, better trained, richer, better looking... all may give you an advantage, it won't matter if you quit. This isn't a race where first across the line wins or everyone gets a participation badge. This is a marathon where no one knows if going fast or slow is the better choice but in the end all that matters is who's the last person still running. When I went to school and then university I eventually finished with my BSc while many others that where trying for it didn't. Not because I was smarter (and I know for certain that many drop outs where smarter then me) but because when they gave up I didn't. That’s the only difference. One or two set backs on the way where not enough to make me quit. I know that it's easy to say you won't quit now but in the end determination and luck are probably going to be the greatest influences on survival.

5 - Come to terms with the knowledge that NOTHING you do can guarantee you are that 1 in 6

Even with my years worth of food, thousands of rounds of ammo, multiple weapons, training, practice, health, choice of location, family for assistance, gold, cash stockpile, lack of debt, stable job, I can still die with the other billions quite easily. This is where luck comes into it and not everyone can be lucky all the time. The only reason I prep is to help shift some of that percentage that is luck into being prepared. It won't be by luck that I have a years worth of food and lots of ammo. On the other hand disease and injury are all pure luck of the draw. If you're out in the woods and trip breaking a leg you very well may die if you can't get assistance. If famine is rampant then lots of old diseases will be back picking at us. Even if you're well fed and warm, nothing stops the plague or flu from getting you if everyone around you has it. Even a well stocked and well guarded compound can still be taken. Maybe your group manages to hold the fort, some still die doing it and that could be you. Maybe one day you see a quick flash and then die in a giant ball of fire that no one had any warning about. It's important to understand this and prepare for this however you see fit. For some it could just be a religious issue. For others they could have family and loved ones that they want to see survive.

In the end none of us are immortal and none of us are going to walk through this without a scratch. We can't save everyone and we may not even be able to keep ourselves alive. I know I come across as a total doomer but really I'm ultra optimistic. It's just that my optimism is directed at my chances and my family’s chances of surviving and eventually building something new and better. I don't know if it is pessimism or realism that tells me that getting to that better place is going to be shear hell.

[Pops]

...something about ideas and thoughts instead...

1 in 6

There you go, Strider, Outside the Bun.

Sorta speak...

Really, we do a lot of echo chambering here. Chuck, Thuja, Kate, Paddy and Strider and more are getting the hang of what I was looking for here.

Put up your thoughts folks.

We need lots of ideas - 'cuz there are lots of us....

[truecougarblue]

Pops,

Feel free to delete this but...

It really is bugging me that your thread title has preparation spelled wrong.

Surely an all powerful moderator type like yourself can fix this.

Edit: Once again my faith in the great and wonderful moderators is confirmed!! All hail Pops, all hail Pops. (chanting continues....)

[megawatt]

1. Accumulate knowledge, skills, and information…This can be done through hands on classes, online, libraries, don’t limit yourself. This will allow you to make adjustments to the rest of your plans, mine have been modified many times over the years. This I believe is the most important rule, as you can change directions entirely with some personal base skills changes. This is where you learn everything from dirt farming, to medical skills.

2. Have a minimum of months supply of food, water, and emergency supplies… These are rotational, long term storage, boxed, and canned. I do not count my freezer supplies in this, my current garden status, or future game animals I have access to. Being prepared to hunker down long term doesn’t mean you cant bug out, if things change.

3. Means of protection you know how to use, and are willing to use….My second amendment is fully endowed, and fulfills my every hunting need, from .22 shorts, to 300 mag, with plenty of mil spec and shotgun in between. I have the means to reload, but should never have to.

4. Tools, and toys…. Keep them simple, built to last a lifetime, and multifunctional.

5. Have a bug out plan….Several locations that are remote, with water, and game. Driving with everything, hiking with a load, and running out the back door, are all a range of my current options.

[thuja]

I to annoy the survivalists like you Strider but I just have a little bone to pick. I am also a believer in Die-off- and I also agree that about 5 in 6 will eventually have to go. Carrying capacity of about a billion sounds right to me.

The problem I have is that folks who propound about die-off tend to talk about it universal terms- as something that will happen equilaterally around the globe. I tend to think in terms of bioregions and that some places may see severe die-off (thats happening right now) and that some may see very little die-off at all. There are so many factors to take into account to see how the rebalancing of the population equation will take place, such as a bioregion's

climate and arable land
Genreal carrying capacity of area without fossil fuels
Natural Resources endemic to region
Wealth of its citizens
Present day infrastructure
Vulnerability to ist attack
Mix of race/culture/religion, etc
Military might
Population numbers
etc etc.

So many factors- but the essetial point is that some bioregions and counties will experience the lion's share of die-off while others won't. So in your ofice, perhaps only 1 in 2 will die, while in Bangladesh, 19 of 20 will die. And perhaps the 1 in 2 who will die in your office will die of poor medical care and a rotten tooth abcess while those in Bangladesh will die of famine.

So I have a problem with the idea of 5 billion dying off in a universal sense. Yes severe problems will affect everyone but as we can already see, some nations and bioregions will get hit much much worse than others.

OK- sorry- again don't mean to steer the conversation away from the 5 preps.