- Jul 29, 2014
- 50,089
"Going viral" got its meaning back...
Man, apologize in advance. I've got too much time on my hands tonight, and I can be stupid wordy.
Lessons learned, and questions unanswered:
Some things I did right:
- It is not a secure feeling living in a row home. I don't want my neighbours too close. I don't want them knowing all my business. My options become somewhat limited. Security is uncertain. I need land.
- It's time to man up. Actually, way past time. Just because the wife doesn't think it is necessary to stack things deep in times of plenty, and actually gets angry when I've purchased extra, it doesn't mean it isn't necessary. Fill that pantry!
- I should have bought more guns and ammo when the prices were cheap. Wife said no. I should have asked forgiveness rather than permission. It's probably better to have a fight about it now, then not have them when necessary.
- I always thought it would be a good idea to have a bug out/vacation property in WV or PA. But from the stories I'm hearing it looks like locals don't always appreciate the part timers in times of trouble. There is a real possibility that just having the out of state property isn't enough. Perhaps buying some property further afield in-state would be better, though I suspect the full-time locals wouldn't necessarily be that welcoming even then. Best would be to just live in the right place to begin with; but the good paying jobs seem to be in the wrong place. <sigh>
- I have a sailboat and always figured if worse came to worst I could just sail away. But, the state fairly quickly stopped "recreational" boating on the Chesapeake. I don't know if it is being enforced (yet); but as a bug out vehicle, that is a complication that I hadn't fully thought about. Where would I go? In the case of a pandemic I'm really not sure. I guess I could hang out in the Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ or doldrums) for a few months?
- I wonder if I should have enough plywood to board up the lower level windows of my row house. If this really stretches out (or, if not this one, the next big event), will there be a need to defend against mobs? If so, securing the first floor, and defending from the second floor seems advantageous.
- I recognized that the excrement was rapidly approaching the air moving device fairly early. I hit the stores early, and spent a lot stocking up. My wife thought I was over-reacting. I did it anyway. If things get bad, we can hole up for several months. We have enough food. We have enough toilet paper. And we even have enough hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies for awhile. Wife is happy now.
- While I don't have as big an armory as I'd like, I'm far from unarmed. Assuming this doesn't go all Mad Max on us I should have more than enough ammo to handle unpleasantness now, and to keep practising when things return more or less to normal even if ammo supplies remain scarce and expensive for awhile.
- I have no debt and a reasonable cash reserve.
The future:
- I hate to profit on the greater misfortune of others; but I am kind of expecting home prices to drop noticeably in the near future. I will hopefully be in a good position to buy some place a little less vulnerable than where I am now.
- I prepared OK for this event, assuming we get out of it in a reasonable amount of time; but I did it mostly at the last minute. Next time I will be ready before hand.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
- Someone mentioned above that they want more cash. I am a strong believer in keeping a healthy supply of cash at home. Not because I'm afraid of the banks folding or the FDIC going insolvent. Not because I think it is likely we will need it for this event. But because anything can happen in the future. This time it's a virus. Next time we could take a big infrastructure hit. If the internet goes down, credit cards and atm cards aren't too useful. I've been to plenty of stores where that went cash only when they were having technical problems. Imagine a whole city, or state, or country or world going cash only. Cash is king then! Well, at least until it's not. It also opens up the option of making some emergency person to person purchases. Or giving some flexibility if there is a reason to drop off the grid for awhile.
- I've heard mentioned several times something along the lines of "if this event turns into SHTF..." Well, while we haven't gone full Mad Max, given that the world is on freakin' lockdown, businesses are closed, people are dying, civil rights are being suspended, the economy is crashing and burning, and if things don't settle down soonish the future is looking to be pretty bleak for awhile, I'm willing to make the call. The shit has already hit the fan. The only questions are how much shit, and how far is it going to be blown.
- Friends and family may think you're a nut job; but it's better to be over prepared than under prepared. Actually, I'm guessing that those friends and family might be re-evaluating their opinions right about now.
You forgot CONFESSIONALSWhat have I learned from the Corona virus?
That apparently my 3 favorite places are:
1. bars
2. restaurants
3. non essential businesses.
You forgot CONFESSIONALS
USPS is headed to the scrap heap. No matter what, they just can’t seem to stay solvent.
Self sufficiency will see a comeback.
What business could stay solvent with its product pricing set by Congress but its costs set by the market? USPS is the most reliable delivery service in my neighborhood; it should be allowed to live or die by the choices of its customers, not Congress.
I'm not so sure about the self-sufficiency thing. Learned helplessness has become deeply ingrained in our culture, and not just as a result of government actions. Too many people are happy to be good little consumers, whereas people like me, and probably you, view the label "consumer" as an insult. My sense of self worth isn't derived from what I buy, but for a lot of people, that's what defines them and they'll never be self-sufficient, emotionally or materially.
I've encountered a few small businesses that only wanted me to pay with my card, no cash. I guess they were afraid of infected money?? I fear a cashless society. Private sales of anything will be very difficult. Every business transaction will have an audit trail. Big brother will be in your wallet. A run on the bank? Nope. The .gov and the banks will have an even more control over your life you when you have no control over your earnings.
True dat.Once society gets use to not using cash the Government then controls every transaction. What type of transaction can be either permitted or denied. Also what happens during a power outage. The card is useless. We need to be very careful about what we allow the government to control
This sounds ridiculous, but ive been spraying down any money I've received lately with a bleach mixture. Hold in one hand spray with the other. Place money in a drying bin. Wash hands thoroughly. Since wife is making masks, she's probably made over a 100 for our community. Guess who the errand boy is...luckily there's a church across the street i can walk to.Less handling of money means less chance to infect someone or become infected. Less/no cash handling also means they don't have to have an employee go to the bank to make deposits or have an armored car company come by to handle that. Less accounting needed on their part to ensure all of the cash stays accounted for and circle back on the deposit to the bank to make sure it is all accounted for.
This sounds ridiculous, but ive been spraying down any money I've received lately with a bleach mixture. Hold in one hand spray with the other. Place money in a drying bin. Wash hands thoroughly. Since wife is making masks, she's probably made over a 100 for our community. Guess who the errand boy is...luckily there's a church across the street i can walk to.
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Kinda like cookin the books but you get right to the root of all evil..I've been putting my mail in the oven, 180 degrees for 20 minutes. I've been told it kills the virus. It don't hurt the paper any. Might work on money?
Kinda like cookin the books but you get right to the root of all evil..
Well done.