Fountainhead revisited

[anthony]

Has to be "Diane", like a certain tempestuous woman I know...

[Selene]

Has to be "Diane", like a certain tempestuous woman I know...

Hmmm...yes, the one I know is a stunning redhead...

[Backlighting]

Greg wrote:

Your experience brings back Army memories when just about everyone in the barracks except me smoked cigarettes. (cough cough)

end quote

My family has been devastated by tobacco. They die young and they die bad. I have discussed this before on OL. Genetically, my family is hooked on nicotine easily and quickly gets lung disease, then we usually die of emphysema though not from lung cancer. Two scientific studies one in Baltimore and one in Philadelphia tried to map this anomaly. I wrote a letter to my daughter who smoked, when my Uncle Pete died from smoking which I then sent to Rush Limbaugh about 8 years ago. He paraphrased and pooh poohed the letter on the air. I was trying to get him to stop smoking but he never has, except briefly and as a joke. “I am holding a document in my formally nicotine stained fingers . . .” he might say. Then he starts in, destroying himself with ceegars.

My own memories of Army barracks at Fort Bragg, NC, Fort Gordon, GA, Fort Dix, NJ, Japan, and South Korea don’t bring up any memories of smokiness, though the coal stove we had in Korea did generate a bit of coughing when it was first lit.

Interestingly the harmonizing brother, Phil, of the Everly Brothers just died of smoking related illness. He and his brother joined the Marines but both had to stop smoking to keep up with the other leathernecks. Unfortunately, Phil Everly kept smoking after that and if you look at a picture of them from when they were around 25, Phil (who just died) had cholesterol bags under his eyes that were four times bigger than his brother Don’s.

For years my favorite song was, “Cathy’s Clown.” Beautiful. Close harmony is superb but barber shop harmony is awful.

“Just don’t smoke,” as Yul Brenner said.

Hello Peter

Where in Japan were you stationed & what yrs? I was in Yokohama '68-69

-Joe

[moralist]

Greg wrote:

I first laid a raised cinderblock foundation . . .

end quote

Ah, I remember that phase of our own construction. We live on a hundred year flood plane near the Assawoman Bay and we deliberated whether to have a foundation four or five cinderblocks high. We chose four and so far, have not regretted that decision.

I thought back about our initial costs and I may have underestimated that. I now think the two bedroom factory built Nanticoke home was just under thirty grand and the garage was another five thousand dollars for a total of $35,000. After our two daughters were born, around 1985, we added on two more bedrooms for an additional fifteen thousand dollars.

In 2013 we had a new roof installed, and also “gutter helmet,” and now I no longer need to climb a ladder to clean my gutters out, which is wonderful. With my generator, I can now keep the power going for quite a while no matter what happens. The recent four inches of snow and 9 degree Fahrenheit low temperature had no affect on us. We are expected more low temps on Monday. Gosh, when is that promised Global Warming going to take affect? I am thinking about starting a winery.

It's good to be ready to do without the things everyone depends on to feel safe and secure and protected... even if you never have to. We worked out complete contingencies for things like: what if there's no electricity? or what if there's no water? That way it isn't an emotional trauma if disaster was to become a reality.

With this 100 year sunspot low at what is supposed to be the peak of the cycle... warming is highly unlikely. Check out the "Maunder Minimum". It's what happened the last time the Sun went inactive like it is now.

Greg

[Backlighting]

375' of space. I wonder if that includes the head?

Human or toilet?

I was thinking both. lol

[Backlighting]

I heard today on tv NYC's new mayor say "We're going to require developers to build more affordable homes"

Will any "Roarks" surface? Will anyone object?

NYC increasingly becoming another collectivist cesspool. How sad. I grew up there.

New York was a collectivist cesspool even before you lived there.

The politics in New York was foul even before Boss Tweed and the Irish arrived.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Yes, NYC has been a collectivist cesspool long before me. I just hate to see it accelerate as we speak. NYC is perhaps becoming the premiere collectivist cesspool, the Left's flagship so to speak, yet competing with the likes of Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, etc.

[Peter]

Joe wrote:

Where in Japan were you stationed & what yrs? I was in Yokohama '68-69.

end quote

I lumped in my time in Japan with my army posts and that was incorrect. When I was in the Army I briefly stopped over twice in Japan but when I lived there in 1966 and 1967, it was as a 17 to 18 year old Naval dependent when my Dad was stationed in Sasebo at the Naval Base. It was always exciting when the fleet came in!

My Dad was in charge of munitions storage at Sasebo - something he had never done before - and perfectionist that he was, he was still not very good at it and relied on a CPO quite a lot. That was one of the few times he did not get a good job rating and he retired right after that just shy of 30 years in the service.

That recent scandal involving the 7th Fleet reminded me of my Dad, in his younger days. He was very lucky to not get in too much hot water when he oversaw shore leave for the brass and lower officers. As I have mentioned before, I still have his "lifetime" brass key to the Hong Kong Hilton.

I was homesick much of the time in Japan and got tired of the signs in old and new Japanese. I still remember the correct pronunciations of Sasebo, Yokasuka (Yo Koos Ka) and Hiroshima (here roh sha ma) though it was fun to deliberately mispronounce them.

[Peter]

Greg wrote:

With this 100 year sunspot low at what is supposed to be the peak of the cycle... warming is highly unlikely. Check out the "Maunder Minimum". It's what happened the last time the Sun went inactive like it is now.

end quote

I will. I vaguely remember the term, “Maunder Minimum” from a book I read exposing the “Global Warming” fraud. Essentially low sunspot frequency equals cooler temperatures for the entire solar system. When the solar system cools we cool. If man made global warming were occurring, we would be getting warmer, which we are not. If man made global COOLING was occurring (as the hucksters now shamelessly claim because of warming from green house gases) it would have no affect on the moon or any other planetary body but as every rational person knows, the solar system warms and cools simultaneously with the earth, though it was different when the planets were first created. Recently I have read of a correlation between sunspot activity and radiation from the other stars in the Milky Way Galaxy as a guide to when the earth will warm.

What I learned in Geology 40 years ago is still true. We are in a brief 10,000 year upswing in temperatures inside of a 100,000 year down turn. We are heading for another ice age. If we could truly warm the planet it would be wonderful. Humans always thrive when the planet warms, as during the Roman warming. Grapes grew much higher on the slopes of Italy then compared to now.

[Peter]

Greg wrote:

It's good to be ready to do without the things everyone depends on to feel safe and secure and protected... even if you never have to. We worked out complete contingencies for things like: what if there's no electricity? or what if there's no water? That way it isn't an emotional trauma if disaster was to become a reality.

end quote

I remember reading Cresson H. Kearny’s book “Nuclear War Survival Skills.” People could survive a blast just outside the “zone of total destruction” if they kept their wit’s about them. Simply diving for cover or into water at the first sign of a blast could save your life. Then move away from the blast area going up-wind. Staying indoors with minimal precautions can minimize the risk from radiation. I have some special potassium iodine salt pills to protect the thyroid from long term affects.

I have told my family that if they are aware of a blast drop to the ground. Don't look at it. The air and the earth’s curvature will help avoid the worst of the nearly instantly occurring radiation. Most populated areas could be at risk for an attack. We are close to DC and Norfolk and further from Philly and NY.

The book goes into detail on how to make your house nearly radiation proof and how to build survival shelters.

[Backlighting]

Joe wrote:

Where in Japan were you stationed & what yrs? I was in Yokohama '68-69.

end quote

I lumped in my time in Japan with my army posts and that was incorrect. When I was in the Army I briefly stopped over twice in Japan but when I lived there in 1966 and 1967, it was as a 17 to 18 year old Naval dependent when my Dad was stationed in Sasebo at the Naval Base. It was always exciting when the fleet came in!

My Dad was in charge of munitions storage at Sasebo - something he had never done before - and perfectionist that he was, he was still not very good at it and relied on a CPO quite a lot. That was one of the few times he did not get a good job rating and he retired right after that just shy of 30 years in the service.

That recent scandal involving the 7th Fleet reminded me of my Dad, in his younger days. He was very lucky to not get in too much hot water when he oversaw shore leave for the brass and lower officers. As I have mentioned before, I still have his "lifetime" brass key to the Hong Kong Hilton.

I was homesick much of the time in Japan and got tired of the signs in old and new Japanese. I still remember the correct pronunciations of Sasebo, Yokasuka (Yo Koos Ka) and Hiroshima (here roh sha ma) though it was fun to deliberately mispronounce them.

Nice story Peter.

For me Yokohama & Tokyo were like NYC on steroids. Couldn't get around too much, very narrow streets & people densely packed everywhere. Everything written in Japanese, except the ocassional Coca-Cola or Sony signs & difficult to get around via train, since the conductor announced stations in Japanese. Of course I also missed home and family. I made the best of my situation and had some incredible experiences there. As a 21 yr old from America the Japanese girls were very happy to socialize with us servicemen-and us with them (if you know what I mean lol)

[moralist]

Greg wrote:

It's good to be ready to do without the things everyone depends on to feel safe and secure and protected... even if you never have to. We worked out complete contingencies for things like: what if there's no electricity? or what if there's no water? That way it isn't an emotional trauma if disaster was to become a reality.

end quote

I remember reading Cresson H. Kearny’s book “Nuclear War Survival Skills.” People could survive a blast just outside the “zone of total destruction” if they kept their wit’s about them. Simply diving for cover or into water at the first sign of a blast could save your life. Then move away from the blast area going up-wind. Staying indoors with minimal precautions can minimize the risk from radiation. I have some special potassium iodine salt pills to protect the thyroid from long term affects.

Here's a little information about iodine from CDC.gov, although I don't know how trustworthy they are :

Adults older than 40 years should not take KI (potassium iodide) unless public health or emergency management officials say that contamination with a very large dose of radioactive iodine is expected.

•Adults older than 40 years have the lowest chance of developing thyroid cancer or thyroid injury after contamination with radioactive iodine.

•Adults older than 40 are more likely to have allergic reactions to or adverse effects from KI.

I have told my family that if they are aware of a blast drop to the ground. Don't look at it. The air and the earth’s curvature will help avoid the worst of the nearly instantly occurring radiation. Most populated areas could be at risk for an attack. We are close to DC and Norfolk and further from Philly and NY.

That's really good to know about the curvature if it's a ground level blast.

The book goes into detail on how to make your house nearly radiation proof and how to build survival shelters.

I'm a big fan of prepper stuff.

Greg

[Peter]

Greg wrote about a nuclear blast:

That's really good to know about the curvature if it's a ground level blast.

end quote

Quite right. An air blast could negate the advantages of staying low. It would be better to get under or behind some heavy metal. I am keeping my dozen potassium iodine pills that I bought from CVS Pharmacy for my granddaughter, though I might prescribe one pill for the adults in my family circle. I know there is a government site to get them but I figured why bother? The CVS site promised delivery in a few days and I did get them when promised.

Prepping can get to be compulsive, expensive, and a waste of money, if the food and water are not rotated. That is why I would recommend that the entire family should go to a site like a “Mormon Closet” site. Simply reading the info is prepping.

Even if there is municipal water available I would still have on hand distilled water in jugs, which are dated. I keep six unopened gallons on hand, and a dozen empty plastic bottles on hand for tap filling if there is a warning of inclement weather or an international crises. I have a generator to supply power to my water pump. My Mom stored gallons of water in old milk jugs under our Californian house during the Cuban Missile Crisis back in 1962.

Here is a check list I always keep in two drawers in our living space, for living with a small 5000 watt gas generator. Some may find it interesting.

When the power goes out!

(revised 4/30/13) In the house and garage: Make sure the main circuit breaker is off. IF IT IS NOT a Delmarva Power lineman can be electrocuted when our generator is turned on! When the power goes out, also turn off all appliances at the box. Inside the house manually turn off TV’s, computers and sensitive electronics. Make sure the new 220 volt breakers are off at the box, per electrician. Take any vehicles out of the garage. Pull the generator near the back door, or if it is raining or snowing, put it just into the garage with one or two fans to blow the fumes out. Open the windows to the garage. Position the generator so the wind is not blowing the fumes back into the garage. Get the cats out of the garage before running the generator.

Make sure the power switch on the generator is off, but turn the other switch on (its called a rocker, just like the lawn mower’s key.) Turn the gas line as indicated in the diagram on the generator, to the left. Then the gas is flowing. Put the choke on. Pull the starter cord lightly about a foot, until you feel some tension. Then pull it hard. Repeat if necessary. Try it with the choke off if that doesn’t work. It could be flooded. Once it is running, let it run a few minutes, then put the plug into the generator and turn clockwise until it stops. Connect the other end to the new 220 circuit in the garage.

NOW turn the “power on” switch on the generator on. Turn on the bottom left three switches on fuse box. Power is now flowing to the house. Wait a few minutes and then start turning the water pump, air conditioners etc., back on. The recommended wattage in the manual is a bit low. We should be able to run more than they say, but portable heaters, when it is cold out, might draw quite a bit (1500 Watts each.) So just use 2 or 3 space heaters on the 500 watt setting. If too much Wattage is being drawn, the 220 circuit on the generator will trip, and we will need an electrician. The 120 Watt can be reset by us, but we would need a lot of power cords.

Appliance Wattages

TURN THESE ON: 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16.

1 Kitchen receptacles refrigerator 800 watts ON

2 Dining room receptacles, big air conditioner 1410 watts ON

9 nothing (says GFI on box) LEAVE ON, MAY BE GROUND

10 Living room receptacles under bow windows and near front door ON

11 Garage door 480 watts and receptacles freezer 245? (245 kw hours per year) ON, and/or plug in freezer directly from generator using extension cord

13 Lighting in kitchen, dining room, guest bathroom, hallway, utility room ON

14 Receptacles in computer room, master bedroom, Laura’s room, Sarah’s bedroom ON

16 Water pump 1000 watts ALWAYS ON

Freezer 2 4 5 kw per year Watts? New one from Lowe’s 9 cubic feet, shows 245 kw per year, so say 300 watts.

Refrigerator 8 0 0

Water Pump 1 0 0 0 ??? (new pump installed May 2012 but it doesn’t show wattage. It may be less than 1K)

Large Air Conditioner 1 4 1 0 (as of Sept 10, 2010 Kenmore model 253.70151 15000 btu)

Small Air Conditioner 8 0 0, approximately. (We have three small ones, but I am only using one to calculate our maximum.) 2 lamps 1 5 0

Just up to this much equals 4 4 6 0. If we unplug the Freezer we will still be using 4160, leaving 840. Our strategy will be to briefly turn off the air conditioners, space heaters, and freezer as we need to use additional items. We will need to unplug items we are not using that are plugged in now, or attached to the electrical wiring, and always on, like the computer. Using the generators at near capacity will only give us approximately eight hours of run time on one tank of gas. We will have the equivalent of six tanks of gas if we preload the generator with gas, and then refill the gas cans. The electrician recommended we use an additional 120 volt line running to the freezer, as well as one or two fans plugged into the 120 receptacles on the generator.

Additional items

Ceramic or hot oil heaters 1 5 0 0 Watts each

Water Heater - ours is 4 5 0 0 Watts (as of 6/23/12) If it is really needed, Turn everything off except water heater, and water pump, and take showers.

Washing machine 2 0 0 0

Clothes Dryer 1 3 0 0 minimum to 3 0 0 0 ! ! ! Use low or no heat

Dish washer 1 5 0 0

Microwave 1 0 0 0 to 1 1 0 0. Buy pizza or fast foods if they are open, freeze them, then reheat them in microwave.

Garage door opener 4 8 0

Toaster 7 0 0 (only use one side at a time)

Vacuum cleaner 7 5 0

Coffee maker 1 5 0 0 ! ! ! We could make coffee, then turn it off and use the microwave to reheat as needed.

TV 5 0 0 – 7 0 0 (approximately with the auxiliary boxes)

Computer 8 0 0

Range top, one burner 1 5 0 0 to 5 0 0 0 ! ! ! The electrician recommends leaving this off unless this is ALL that is on. Never run the oven on generator power. Never exceed the maximum wattage using the 220 volt connection. Instead, if really necessary, use a lone extension cord and run that 120 volt line to an appliance like the freezer, or a ceramic or hot oil heater.

1 Kitchen receptacles refrigerator 800 watts

2 Dining room receptacles big air conditioner 1410 watts

3 Hot water heater 4500 watts

4 Range 1500 to 5000 watts depending on number of burners

5 Clothes dryer 1300 to 3000 watts

6 Heat for dining room, kitchen, both baths

7 Heating for utility room

8 Heating for master bedroom, Laura’s bedroom

9 nothing (says GFI on box)

10 Living room receptacles under bow windows and near front door

11 Garage door 480 watts and receptacles freezer 245 watts

12 Washer 1500 watts.

13 Lighting in kitchen, dining room, guest bathroom, hallway, utility room

14 Receptacles in master bedroom, Laura’s room, Sarah’s bedroom

15 nothing may be outside receptacles

16 Water pump 1000 watts

17 nothing may be outside receptacles

18 Air conditioner receptacle, dining room (unused, always keep off)

Here is a potential scenario:

1 Kitchen receptacles refrigerator 800 watts ON

2 Dining room receptacles big air conditioner 1410 watts ON

3 Hot water heater 4500 watts OFF

4 Range 1500 to 5000 watts depending on number of burners OFF

5 Clothes dryer 1300 to 3000 watts OFF

6 Heat for dining room, kitchen, both baths OFF

7 Heating for utility room OFF

8 Heating for master bedroom, Laura’s bedroom OFF

9 nothing (says GFI on box) LEAVE ON, MAY BE GROUND

10 Living room receptacles under bow windows and near front door ON

11 Garage door480 watts and receptacles freezer 245 watts ON, and/or plug in freezer directly from generator using extension cord

12 Washer 1500 watts OFF. TURN ON AS NEEDED, BRIEFLY

13 Lighting in kitchen, dining room, guest bathroom, hallway, utility room ON

14 Receptacles in master bedroom, Laura’s room, Sarah’s bedroom ON

15 nothing may be outside receptacles OFF

16 Water pump 1000 watts ALWAYS ON

17 nothing may be outside receptacles OFF

18 Air conditioner receptacle, dining room (unused, always keep off) OFF

DO NOT EXCEED 5000 WATTS. We have 12 cans of gas and the generator should be filled up to give us 104 hours or more of run time. Rotate and refill gas cans as needed. Consider taking a shower while the water is still hot!

[Peter]

Greg wrote:

I'm a big fan of prepper stuff.

end quote

I can interpret the “wink” in two ways. “Wink could equal, no I don’t.” Or, many times the people who “perform” on that Doomsday Prepper show, give away their location. That is something you should not do, unless you are in a secure area and able to defend your location during a crisis.

Where I live, nearly every day or night around dusk I hear the boom of target or skeet practice or from deer and varmint hunters. These men and women are all potential militia members. And we are a fairly homogenous group here on “The Neck.” Lately (within the last two years or so) I have heard the booms from “Neckers” when it is pitch black outside all the way up to midnight and you know what that means if you have hunters about: night vision goggles, and (keep your shades drawn.)

I live on a peninsula which can be closed off at two bridges to the west (the Bay Bridge from Baltimore) and south (The Bay Bridge/Tunnel from Norfolk, and Virginia Beach) and from the north the main routes can be patrolled coming in from the Wilmington, Philadelphia area. I would truly dread it if I lived closer to a large, metro area.

As Hamlet said, “Objectivists, get thee to the suburbs or farmlands.” Well, actually Hamlet tells a pretty miss, “Get thee to a nunnery,” before he seduces her. That sounds good like good advice . . .

[Selene]

As Hamlet said, “Objectivists, get thee to the suburbs or farmlands.” Well, actually Hamlet tells a pretty miss, “Get thee to a nunnery,” before he seduces her. That sounds good like good advice . . .

I'll have nun of that seduction until she kicks the habit...

[anthony]

hehe! Good'un.

[moralist]

Hey Peter,

For some reason I've lost the quote function. So I'll paraphrase what you said and respond. The wink was just being friendly as we're both on the same page.

We don't have any TV connection, so I don't know anything about what programs are on.

I'm truly impressed by how well you have thought out your approach. If anything was to happen, the focus would immediately shift to local, so it's good to know your neighbors. There are good people everywhere who will help each other.

It sounds like you are in a place that has easily controlled access. With cooperation from your neighbors you can protect your immediate area. Same here. We live on a dead end road so there is only one way in or out. It would be readily defensible.

We took the low tech primitive approach and chose to live right on the border between civilization and open land so that we have unobstructed access to its resources without the need for any vehicles. Gasoline storage is not an issue because we're already where we want to be and there is nowhere we need to go. A wood stove is our only source of home heating so within walking distance we have an unlimited supply of firewood for heating cooking and most importantly boiling water for drinking. We have our own stand alone passive septic system. The propane tank with normal use only needs to be filled every 6 months. With rationing It can easily last a year. We're vegetarians who don't have a freezer for meat and the refrigerator is basically just for some produce so there's no need for a generator. We have kerosene stored for the lamps and have lots of candles. I also have a hand crank generator radio that also has solar cells on it to keep the batteries charged. We don't have cellphones, no texting, and no wifi. We don't need to run computers, and only have a copper land line phone that gets its power from the nearby switching station. So our phone works all the time because they have a large diesel backup generator that we can hear starting up whenever the electricity goes out. There's a year round source of water within walking distance, so we're pretty well set up to live without any public utility infrastructure as phones are not a necessity.

Can you imagine what will happen if tens of thousands of city people can't get their meds? This fact alone highlights why its important to choose to live in a rural sparsely populated area off the beaten path.

Less people = less trouble.

Greg

[Peter]

Greg wrote:

The propane tank with normal use only needs to be filled every 6 months.

end quote

I may switch to propane in the near future, just to supply the generator with a month’s long, power source. To be safe I store three gallons of gas or less near my house. With propane I would still need a good supply of small engine motor oil and I would put the propane tank as far as possible from my residence.

My brother lived on Taylor’s Mountain in Ivy, Virginia near Charlottesville and he had a propane powered generator and used it whenever their power frequently went out. Charlottesville, as a historical site, has many of its power lines below ground which means fewer outages but the wind would howl on his mountain. You could see “Spencer’s Mountain” (I think it is called) where the fictional, TV Walton’s lived, just over the ridge from his house.

“Good night Greg. Good night Sue Ellen. Good night John Boy.” I really like a lot that I see on TV, Moralist. Selection is the key. One of my daughters lives without a TV or large computer but views things on a tablet and phone.

If I had a “replicator” I could live without slaughtered meat but I would never want to be a vegetarian, even one who is an ovo-lacto vegetarian. I won’t disgust you with a list of my favorite roasted meats.

You mentioned living next to a body of fresh water and that is a good thing. I have a ten foot ditch that contains run off much of the year but my water pump means I don’t need to process ditch water for drinking. Many people assume nuclear fallout would contaminate a lake or reservoir but gravity will settle most of it to the bottom and there are safe ways to extract lake water from the top, after the fall out and wave/agitation factors decrease.

Medicines and food would be a problem if the “supply lines” are severed. However, people who need medicines (as for high blood pressure or diabetes) might be “cured” if they had a lot less to eat. Now that is a mean thought.

[moralist]

Propane for generators has many advantages over gasoline. It never goes bad and stores indefinitely. The engine always starts easy.  Propane burns so clean, the engine lasts longer and requires less maintenance. We have an old 150 gallon tank that was made from a surplus World War II navel mine case that was.welded onto an old truck rim to make the base...

 

...and feel perfectly safe with it only ten feet from the house. I wouldn't feel safe with 150 gallons of gasoline that close to the house, because gas tanks need to be vented and are always giving off fumes, whereas propane is completely sealed. Vegetarian doesn't work for everyone. Some people don't do well without meat, while others do. It's worked out ok for me. The last time I had the flu was in 1979, and I've never taken any prescription medicine. Before I quit eating meat I came down with colds and flu annually like clockwork around every holiday season. Most disease has behavioral causes.Eating meat comes at a cost. One example is the epidemic of joint failure in older people from decades of eating meat which forms uric acid crystals in the joints that grind away the cartilage until there's bone rubbing on bone. That means expensive joint replacement operations that sometimes don't work out so well.On medicine, I was thinking more of what happens in the cities when the people who are on "mood control" drugs went off them. The recurring pattern for almost every recent mass murderer has been "off their meds". Our "body of fresh water" is just a very small spring. But it's close by and more than adequate to survive on in an emergency situation.We consider a Geiger counter as just another useful tool that informs us about the safety of our environment.Greg(Sorry about no paragraphs. The quoting and editing function does not work properly.)

[Brant Gaede]

Hey Peter,

For some reason I've lost the quote function. So I'll paraphrase what you said and respond. The wink was just being friendly as we're both on the same page.

We don't have any TV connection, so I don't know anything about what programs are on.

I'm truly impressed by how well you have thought out your approach. If anything was to happen, the focus would immediately shift to local, so it's good to know your neighbors. There are good people everywhere who will help each other.

It sounds like you are in a place that has easily controlled access. With cooperation from your neighbors you can protect your immediate area. Same here. We live on a dead end road so there is only one way in or out. It would be readily defensible.

We took the low tech primitive approach and chose to live right on the border between civilization and open land so that we have unobstructed access to its resources without the need for any vehicles. Gasoline storage is not an issue because we're already where we want to be and there is nowhere we need to go. A wood stove is our only source of home heating so within walking distance we have an unlimited supply of firewood for heating cooking and most importantly boiling water for drinking. We have our own stand alone passive septic system. The propane tank with normal use only needs to be filled every 6 months. With rationing It can easily last a year. We're vegetarians who don't have a freezer for meat and the refrigerator is basically just for some produce so there's no need for a generator. We have kerosene stored for the lamps and have lots of candles. I also have a hand crank generator radio that also has solar cells on it to keep the batteries charged. We don't have cellphones, no texting, and no wifi. We don't need to run computers, and only have a copper land line phone that gets its power from the nearby switching station. So our phone works all the time because they have a large diesel backup generator that we can hear starting up whenever the electricity goes out. There's a year round source of water within walking distance, so we're pretty well set up to live without any public utility infrastructure as phones are not a necessity.

Can you imagine what will happen if tens of thousands of city people can't get their meds? This fact alone highlights why its important to choose to live in a rural sparsely populated area off the beaten path.

Less people = less trouble.

Greg

Can I suggest a .22 rifle so you can shoot any wild carrots or other veggies that venture onto your property?

--Brant

meatatarian

[Selene]

Can I suggest a .22 rifle so you can shoot any wild carrots or other veggies that venture onto your property?

--Brant

meatatarian

Brant, folks who do not understand weapons would never understand your post...

Without developing an approach to your observation, let's just state that your, and my, property, are our individual responsibilities to defend.

[Brant Gaede]

Can I suggest a .22 rifle so you can shoot any wild carrots or other veggies that venture onto your property?

--Brant

meatatarian

Brant, folks who do not understand weapons would never understand your post...

Without developing an approach to your observation, let's just state that your, and my, property, are our individual responsibilities to defend.

If he had a Kudzu problem he'd need a flamethrower.

--Brant

but not a problem in California

[moralist]

Brant wrote:

Can I suggest a .22 rifle so you can shoot any wild carrots or other veggies that venture onto your property? --Brantmeatatarian

Bagged a squirrel today. First one for 2014. We don't keep a screen on our second story bedroom window so I can shoot freely from that vantage point with an unobstructed field of fire. I use a little Ruger .22 bullpup with subsonic ammunition so it's basically a high powered pellet gun.We keep a yearly running tally of everything that gets offed. The count for 2013 was:11 tree squirrels2 ground squirrels 1 raccoon...and I got lucky and took out a gopher by spearing it in the head with the pointed end of an iron digging bar. Being a vegetarian doesn't mean you don't get to have any fun. :wink:Greg

[Brant Gaede]

Aside from the gopher why are you murdering all those defenseless animals?

--Brant

animalitarian, cows and chickens excepted

[moralist]

You're likely a city person, Brant, and so this is something that you won't understand. Squirrels strip the fruit off of our trees. That's our food.

Raccoons kill and eat chickens... oddly not unlike people.

Greg

[Selene]

You're likely a city person, Brant, and so this is something that you won't understand. Squirrels strip the fruit off of our trees. That's our food.

Raccoons kill and eat chickens... oddly not unlike people.

Greg

Completely understood.

Raccoons are also petri dishes.

Raccoons are aggressive nasty creatures. We had problems with them in Pennsylvania...confronted two (2) of them on the front porch at 2 AM one morning, with their nasty, teeth barred approach.

Shot the one nearest and the second one still did not retreat, shot that one. Wound up, they both had rabies...

"city" folks have no clue...

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the great movies ever made.

One of the perfect memes in the novel/movie rivets the viewers/readers perceptions along the following lines:

Scout's dream finally comes true when she actually gets to see Boo Radley in the flesh for the first time. She had long come to understand that Boo was not the ghoul she and Jem had first assumed, but she certainly couldn't have imagined that he would eventually save her life. After she escorts Boo home and watches him close the door behind her, Scout takes a long look at her neighborhood from a different perspective--both literally (she had never been on the Radley porch before) and figuratively. Using Atticus' dictum that

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

Scout does just that. She pretends that she is Boo, keeping watch over the neighborhood and reliving events that he must have seen over the past seasons. She stands in his shoes and sees the neighborhood through his eyes, imagining what he must have been thinking when he peeked out through the shuttered windows or stood on the porch when everyone else was sound asleep. She comes to understand that Boo wasn't so different: He was a neighbor who viewed the nearby surroundings like any other man, albeit one who preferred the safety of his solitary house.