Massive Solar Storm - Mayan's on to something?

[Farbin Kaiber]

If this bad stuff were to happen, there would be hundreds of people wandering the hills of ID/MT looking for two characters named Sleeve & Farbin, and trying to use the passcode "e30".

[mrsleeve]

If this bad stuff were to happen, there would be hundreds of people wandering the hills of ID/MT looking for two characters named Sleeve & Farbin, and trying to use the passcode "e30".

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I think the Mt loins and the bears would be really fat and happy too if thats what it comes down to :rofl:

[u3b3rg33k]

Y'all make me glad I live on a farm.

[CorvallisBMW]

Y'all make me glad I live on a farm.

Ya'll make me glad I'm not paranoid

[z31maniac]

What I'm saying is regardless of IF it's gonna happen, everyone should have a well thought out plan. If some people's plan is to hightail it to ID/MT, then so be it.

But, everyone showing up at my door better have a priceless skill, or a really nice stockpile of goodies to throw into the mix. Each extra mouth to feed per year is gonna take out at least 400 lbs. of stockpile. People need to keep in mind, if the government and dollar based commerce go out the window, How are you gonna be worth 400lbs of food?

I'll have a ZAV fully stocked with food/guns/ammo/water/fuel.

[mrsleeve]

call in ahead of time so we can tailor the order.

[Farbin Kaiber]

I'll have a ZAV fully stocked with food/guns/ammo/water/fuel.

But, keep in mind you are a "Technical Writer". I can let you slide, but in the mean time, go learn a priceless skill. There are lots of knowledge sets out there that people will desire and ask you to be a part of their "fold". The most useful item a person can bring to a retreat location is knowledge, one of us can't know it all, but 15 of us can know a little bit each, and be self sufficient. (Or be prepared to be utilized as a human backhoe...) :p

[Wiglaf]

The way I see it there's 2 approaches to prepare for something like this:

1: stockpile 6 months worth of canned food, fuel, and whatever defenses it takes to make you feel safe. That should be plenty of time for the basics to get back to functionality. This is a huge investment that would only give you a return if we fall into chaos.

2: be totally self-sufficient, able to feed yourself from your land. Solar power for the house, 100% off grid. Also a reasonable investment, but this one pays for itself even if the world doesn't fall apart. Why not just do this anyways?

My yard is about the size of a postage stamp and saturated with a variety of liquids that e30's leak during motor work. Chances of me getting a useful amount of food out of it are not good.. most city dwellers have even less to work with in this regard. About the only option would be to work damn hard at getting things back to normal ASAP.

[z31maniac]

2: be totally self-sufficient, able to feed yourself from your land. Solar power for the house, 100% off grid. Also a reasonable investment, but this one pays for itself even if the world doesn't fall apart. Why not just do this anyways?

Because at this point wind/solar power is still relatively expensive investment. Also been looking at solar water heaters as well.

IN the spring I'm looking at doing Thermal Windows throughout the house and adding more insulation in the roof, and putting some above the garage as well. Figure I need to make the house the most efficient it can be (for a house built in 1973) before I start worrying about doing my own energy stuff.

[Wiglaf]

Because at this point wind/solar power is still relatively expensive investment. Also been looking at solar water heaters as well.

IN the spring I'm looking at doing Thermal Windows throughout the house and adding more insulation in the roof, and putting some above the garage as well. Figure I need to make the house the most efficient it can be (for a house built in 1973) before I start worrying about doing my own energy stuff.

Yeah it sucks how expensive it is. I'm also doing a ton of insulating.. as far as collecting energy I'm restricted to just solar and _possibly_ geo but the yard is kinda small for it. Reducing consumption is only half the equation though, when a service fails you need backup. I've got some plans for a wood burning boiler that can supplement my current boiler in case the natural gas fails. The pump runs on less than 1kW and could be converted to DC, 1 or 2 panels would have that licked. I almost rewired the thing to run through a UPS after a power outage let the place drop to 40º.
So there's the heat. If I spend ~2k and set aside space for it and the wood, both being reasonably significant sacrifices to me.

What about running water? That's a tough one.. lots of solutions but they all involve some serious storage.. also would be a tall order to integrate into the house.. I don't see it going farther than a camping sink+shower setup. Burning man was great water management practice, 2 weeks out in the desert.

Honestly the more I think about it the more it seems like I'd be converting the house into a stationary RV.
RV's rock but no room for a ton of canned goods.

Here's the real question: how will your preperations hold up to the event?? No sense having backup equipment if it all turns into junk.

that survival blog is pretty awesome btw, been reading it all evening.

[z31maniac]

What I'm saying is regardless of IF it's gonna happen, everyone should have a well thought out plan. If some people's plan is to hightail it to ID/MT, then so be it.

But, everyone showing up at my door better have a priceless skill, or a really nice stockpile of goodies to throw into the mix. Each extra mouth to feed per year is gonna take out at least 400 lbs. of stockpile. People need to keep in mind, if the government and dollar based commerce go out the window, How are you gonna be worth 400lbs of food?

I now know what my skill will be.

I'll be picking up the equipment to begin my ascension to brewmaster shortly.

Any particular style that is well regarded at Chateau de la Farbin?

[mrsleeve]

I now know what my skill will be.

I'll be picking up the equipment to begin my ascension to brewmaster shortly.

Any particular style that is well regarded at Chateau de la Farbin?

Taters dont make that good of beer, but they do make Killer Vodka just saying you know

[Farbin Kaiber]

z31,
Well, I no longer need to secure a brewmaster. The Chateau has a penchant for IPA's and Stouts.

http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/09/two_retreat_options_without_bu.html

Today's post's have some interesting relations to where this thread is going... I didn't even read that til after this thread.

Wiglaf,
And I'm glad to have turned someone on to his blog. As you read more, you will see where HE suggests to set up a retreat, based on a litany of requirements. Also, if you gain any knowledge, I suggest you look into his 10 Cent Challenge.

http://www.survivalblog.com/retreatareas.html

[ortholithiation]

Need a chemist? I can make drugs, explosives, purify water, and kind of half ass trained as a pharmacist as well.

A side note, all Canadians are skilled in survival. 5-6 we start clubbing seals, at 8 years old I took down a deer, at 10 shot and killed a polar bear. Nuclear winter, ha we get that every year.

But seriously about 3 days with no power there will be riots, after 3 weeks chaos.

[ck_taft325is]

Yeah it sucks how expensive it is. I'm also doing a ton of insulating.. as far as collecting energy I'm restricted to just solar and _possibly_ geo but the yard is kinda small for it. Reducing consumption is only half the equation though, when a service fails you need backup. I've got some plans for a wood burning boiler that can supplement my current boiler in case the natural gas fails. The pump runs on less than 1kW and could be converted to DC, 1 or 2 panels would have that licked. I almost rewired the thing to run through a UPS after a power outage let the place drop to 40º.
So there's the heat. If I spend ~2k and set aside space for it and the wood, both being reasonably significant sacrifices to me.

What about running water? That's a tough one.. lots of solutions but they all involve some serious storage.. also would be a tall order to integrate into the house.. I don't see it going farther than a camping sink+shower setup. Burning man was great water management practice, 2 weeks out in the desert.

Honestly the more I think about it the more it seems like I'd be converting the house into a stationary RV.
RV's rock but no room for a ton of canned goods.

Here's the real question: how will your preperations hold up to the event?? No sense having backup equipment if it all turns into junk.

that survival blog is pretty awesome btw, been reading it all evening.

Having been in home remodels ~9 or so years my first and foremost recommendation is windows. Then insulation. Look at your doors and seals. Roofing plays a bit of a role, but not as much as you'd think. Depending on the house, check under your floors (for a raised non-slab style foundation). If you've got a slab foundation, get yourself some drylock (with LOTS of ventilation) and paint all of your concrete floor surfaces before re-surfacing. Moisture comes through slabs like crazy and often times get's absorbed into the pad and carpets. Not to mention, really destroys heating in the winters.

Windows. Insulation. Floors. Pipes (dependant on age of the house and current plumbing).

There's HUGE room for improvement in most water heaters. You'll spend an extra ~$500 for a good system, but it'll pay massive dividends in efficiency within 5 years. Zone heating for your HVAC is also a good idea so you don't waste where the heat's going.