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Oldgringo wrote:

KC5AV wrote:

WildBill wrote:

Oldgringo wrote:Is it just me or is this thread breaching forum rules?

11. Off-topic posts/threads: Since they tend to cause the most problems for other boards, our "off-topic" sub-forum is not an "anything goes" area. Absolutely no discussions of religion, immigration/border security, abortion, race matters, or any other hot-button political issues. (Gun-related political issues can be discussed in other areas.)

I think they are discussing scripture, not religion.

A VERY significant distinction.

I reckon it is just me.

Thanks for the clarification/s.

Sigh... I wasn't discussing religion. I was giving an example, from my own life, of someone I knew whose motivations for preparation were based on a faith based apocalyptic expectation for the near future, and how his obsession prevented him from enjoying the moment. But it was just one example. I've met non-religious people who also have an apocalyptic for the future, and whose obsession prevents them from enjoying today. Either the faith based or the secular version is unhealthy.

I then went on to talk about my own motivations, which are also partly faith based. You, of course, are free to have other motivations, and it would not bother me in the least; nor would I feel it necessary to comment on it. I'm not proselytizing, nor am I disparaging some other religion. But I am a person with a deep and abiding faith, and it is the filter through which I view the world. I can no more pretend to be a secular person than I can teach a pig to fly. If I am not free, in your view, to calmly and without proselytizing explain my motivations without it being misunderstood as proselytizing and being called on it whenever I do, then I don't see any point to posting at all. This is not the first time you've criticized me for being honest about my faith, which is important to me, and frankly, it's off-putting. You could try relaxing just a little bit about it, and it wouldn't hurt you in the least.

I'm done here.

gregthehand wrote:To those who only feel the need to prep for a short duration be it a few weeks or a few months I'd say they'll probably be fine. More than likely if something happens that will be it. If I was a betting man I'd bet that a short amount of supplies is all I would need. However I just feel that nothing can go wrong with me prepping for the long run. The worst case scenario is that I wind up with some land, animals, old trucks, guns and ammo, and I'm self sufficient. I wanted that even before I learned about HEMPs, financial break downs, etc. When my food supplies get near their expiration I take them and donate them to my churches pantry. They in turn feed people who's deification has already hit the ventilation. I don't see a problem with that.

Just my .02 cents.

I agree with this sentiment. Like I said, there is great wisdom in being able to be self-sufficient if necessary; and I am somewhat envious that you seem to be further along the curve than I am. The issue for me is whether or not one's preparations are an obsession with a longing for everything to go to pot, or simply an ongoing activity with goals and milestones, as an investment just in case.

One of my goals, once I've purchased my piece of land, is to have the capability to live completely off the grid if necessary. Songwriter Jackson Brown actually lives that way. He's connected to the grid, but he doesn't live off it. He uses less energy than he makes, and he sells his extra energy production to the grid. He's also water self-sufficient. And, I think he makes his own biodiesel too. For me, it isn't driven so much by a need to be prepared for a doomsday scenario as it is a desire to be self-sufficient by choice, not by necessity. But either way, I'm dependent on God.

Abraham wrote:Am I in the minority who think this way?

I doubt it...

You're right about that. First off, I enjoy my comfort, and I worked hard for it. I would hate to lose it. Second, I have enough ongoing medical issues that I'm one of those who would likely die earlier rather than later. When the available supply of Verapamil, Levothyroxin, and Doxazosin runs out, I will decline and die. All things considered, I'd rather live longer.

I think it is wise to invest at least some time and effort to being prepared for a societal emergency or breakdown. I've lived through several major earthquakes, not to mention electrical blackouts (in NYC, of all places) where there was no power for almost 5 days and things got dicey. Being prepared for those kinds of things makes perfect sense.

I don't want to criticize those who have prepared for the longer term than that, or who are working on it now, because I have goals in that regard also. BUT... I think that there are some people who almost long for the kind of breakdown they are preparing for, and I think that is psychologically (and spiritually) unhealthy. We need to make sure that we dont get sucked into that kind of black hole when we consider our preparation decision-making.

Allow me to draw a parallel... As a Christian, I believe the Bible. The Bible prophesies a breakdown of society in the future. Read the book of Revelations. It is a significant enough thing in scripture that "End Times" eschatology is a whole area of biblical study. Now, I have a friend who is a good, God fearing Christian, and who has been a blessing to me in my life. He went off the deep end during the whole Y2K scare. He saw signs of the End Times in everything, and it drove his investment decisions, his purchasing decisions, his relationships, etc., etc. In his near obsession with impending doom, he forgot to live. He forgot to enjoy the moments and the days that God gave him. In other words, he forgot to Whom he owes his very existence. He forgot Who is his provider.

Being prepared is a wise thing. Living for the day when we'll need our preparations because we can't enjoy the life we already have is a waste of time. Worse yet if one is a Christian, it is a sin before God. So that has governed my approach to being prepared.

Hoi Polloi wrote:I know there is a nuclear reactor in Glen Rose and there apparently is another in Bay City near Houston according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dag nabbit! Glen Rose was my rural fallback until I can buy my own property. A very dear friend of mine who is like a mom to me owns 115 acres on the Brazos river outside of Glen Rose.

gregthehand wrote:

CaptWoodrow10 wrote:gregthehand, can you post a citation or link to that quote. I would like to read up on this a bit more. The last few lines have got me concerned, and I'd like to see what else is posted there. I'm nowhere near the tin foil hat stage yet, but I like stay on top of things like this. Common sense and all. TIA.

You can read about it on the Survival Blog which is the link toward the end. The place where he posted that was a military vehicle sight that I frequent. I bought a CUCV from the military in order to have a vehicle that EMP resistant. Below is a link to that post. My name on there in Niferous.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread ... hlight=emp

Greg, is it that these vehicles have been hardened to EMP, or is that they lack the digital engine management stuff that can get fried in an EMP?

Also, where do you find them?

gregthehand wrote:I forgot to add that "One Second After" is also a very good read and I have it as well. Currently I'm reading "Patriots" which is about a breakdown due to economic reasons. The results would take longer but be about the same.

Read 'em both, and they gave me the willies.

I don't know if you would call me a "prepper" or not. Maybe I'm just a dilettante at it, but I have not devoted as much time or money to it as some. It's not that I don't think it a worthy thing to do. It's that I have had to balance the cost of preparation against the cost of daily living.

Having moved here from California, we always had a degree of prepping because we lived with a certain amount of risk that an earthquake would knock our house down and interrupt services for some period of time. Our prepping was organized, but pretty light weight. We had about 2 weeks worth of food and water stored, plus mobile shelter, cooking gear, flashlights, batteries, emergency radio, weapons & ammo, sanitation supplies, first aid, and prescriptions. But all of that was geared more for a natural disaster scenario rather than a societal breakdown or zombie attack.

Since moving here to Texas, our preparations are similar - the difference being the nature of the disaster. An earthquake may bury your supplies under the wreckage of your house, but a tornado may uproot your supplies and drop them on peoples' heads the next county over. But I do have a plan. It will take years to execute it fully because it involves the acquisition of land which I don't yet own. Until then, I continue to operate on the principle that I'm not likely to need to survive in suburbia for more than a couple of weeks without normal services.