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I just caught a Documentary on Deep Earth Bunkers (A US company who make Steel Coffins for you and your family to cower in beneath the earth. So what is your Ideal Bunker?
For me it seems a staggering waste of funds to abandon your house when you could lower it into a forty foot deep hole and cap it with a five foot lid that used to be your raised back Garden.
My ideal bunker has seeds, rations, a bike hooked up to a battery, ham radio, 2 skinny chicks, books, narcotics, commode, laptop, water, precious metals, and a teddy bear. So long as it is out of sight and roomy, that's good enough.
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I'm a prepper, he's a prepper, she's a prepper
We're a prepper wouldn't you like to be a prepper too?
I'm a prepper, he's a prepper, she's a prepper
We're a prepper wouldn't you like to be a prepper too?
Dr. Prepper!
I just caught a Documentary on Deep Earth Bunkers (A US company who make Steel Coffins for you and your family to cower in beneath the earth. So what is your Ideal Bunker?
For me it seems a staggering waste of funds to abandon your house when you could lower it into a forty foot deep hole and cap it with a five foot lid that used to be your raised back Garden.
Of course, you just know you'll get the five-minute warning when you're six minutes away from the bunker.
More on-topic: the structural integrity of the complex built directly under the house is going to be far greater than the big hole with a house lowered into it. Unless you also have a method of collapsing some kind of content (earth will do) around the outside to fill in the gaps. For the best fallout protection, having liquid concrete poured in on top would be good too. Obviously with arrangements to ensure filtered air gets pumped down.
Obviously that's going to leave your house permanently underground, but if the apocalypse is coming most of us would probably find that an acceptable price.
At this point though, the arrangements you've made to mechanically lower the house and seal it in should probably be weighed up against the cost of just digging out a couple of rooms deep beneath it and lining them with lead and concrete.
A little pink umbrella I can hide under, wile coyote style.
Will do about as much good.
You watch your mouth. Those are fine Acme products. They've served me well over the years.
They used to sell decommissioned ICBM sites as homes. Sorry. missile not included.
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When the apocalypse comes I figure I'm likely to be one of the 99% who don't survive, despite any preparations I make.
Yeah, I've got enough canned goods, bottle water, hand-cranked battery charge w/radio, flashlights, first aid, tools, and other gear... but it's from being prepared for a FL hurricane/tropical storm and not anything to do with the government shutting down.
Yeah, I've got enough canned goods, bottle water, hand-cranked battery charge w/radio, flashlights, first aid, tools, and other gear... but it's from being prepared for a FL hurricane/tropical storm and not anything to do with the government shutting down.
My preparations are pretty similar and for similar reasons: storm caused power outages and the occasional hurricane/tropical storm.
I always have a pretty good variety of canned goods on hand. Soups, beans, vegetables, and some fruits (pineapple, peaches, etc.)
I also have a number of flashlights scattered throughout my apartment, some with rechargeable batteries and some with regular ones.
I also keep a box of stick matches and a grill lighter handy.
Battery powered alarm clock.
Fortunately I have a gas stove and heat, so I can still cook even if power is lost.
When hurricanes and tropical storms threaten I always fill my gas tank up when such situations arise.
In those cases I also break out two large coolers I have and stock up on ice and canned drinks (not to mention bottled water) in case I lose power.
When expecting a direct hit from a hurricane I also fill my bathtub up with water. Useful for making the commode flush if water supply is lost...
As far as weapons go, I'm not much for stockpiling but I will be picking up and bringing back home my M1 carbine I left back in Kentucky when I go there for Thanksgiving.
That's about it, here.
Edit Note: During hurrincane Isabel I was introduced to gas grilling of pizza rolls. Delicious.
Due to my medical requirements, the apocalypse kills me. Not much point in prepping.
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In my backpack/on my person:
Multitool
Folding knife
Swiss army knife
Duct tape
Flashlight with extra batteries
Matches
Lighter
Metal match
Extra clothes
Water bottle
Sunglasses (prescription)
Spare eyeglasses
During the winter, add in
Extra socks
Winter boots
Gloves
Hat
Mittens
All of which reminds me I need to pick up some para-cord in the near future
I've got me a generator, some grow lights, and a years-long collection of seeds.
Apocalypse comes, I expect there's gonna be lots of time to [bubble bubble bubble].
Due to my medical requirements, the apocalypse kills me. Not much point in prepping.
Yeah, me too. I'll just sit down with a copy of On The Beach.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
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Can I trade my bunker for a spaceship? If I'm going to live out the rest of my days in an over-sized metal coffin, I'd prefer it to be rocketing through the cosmos.
And hey, if I get enough people on board, maybe we can do a generation ship thing, and my descendants can go find some new planet to ruin.
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Can I trade my bunker for a spaceship? If I'm going to live out the rest of my days in an over-sized metal coffin, I'd prefer it to be rocketing through the cosmos.
And hey, if I get enough people on board, maybe we can do a generation ship thing, and my descendants can go find some new planet to ruin.
See? That's where everyone's been getting it wrong! They just need to realize that a planet isn't a home, it's a consumable!
I keep a month or so of food and water in my basement.
I have a generator.
I have several emergency radios and flashlights.Anything more then that is better spent on therapy for your rampant paranoia and anxiety.
/disagree - one or more hawt chicks is a definite must!
I have a machete.
That's a good starting point from which i should be able to work everything else out.
I generally think that surviving the apocalypse would indicate a failure of proper preparation. I mean let's be honest, the world isn't going to be back up and running in a day or two. The best case would probably look like Somalia does today. Not worth it.
And having sat through two episodes of that terrible reality show, I'm fairly sure that what those people need is not stockpiles but some good mental health treatment. That's why I stopped watching. They might not all be paranoid exactly, and one woman seemed to be using prepping to manage her PTSD, but there's some kind of anxiety-related problem going on and they'd probably lead happier lives if they could get some help working through and adjusting rather than staying laser-focused on the worst possible outcomes.
My ideal bunker would be a social experiment cleverly designed to document how people react when their last water purification chip breaks down.
I don't think it is a question of handling anxiety, generally, rather it is a fantasy about the good things that might come if the system broke down (tm). There is a widespread feeling that something is deeply and seriously wrong, and if you the avoid thinking about the (obvious) bad parts of surviving the apocalypse, you can feel that things might be better that way. No job, no boss, no bad politicians, no laws, no prisons, no HOA, nobody telling you what you can't do. All that is required is surviving, and people pretend it will be as easy as bunkering down for a month.
The mountains of corpses, the diseases, continual starvation, not trusting others, brutal exploitation, drinking sewage, radiation poisoning.... Are things these people don't want in their fantasy.
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I keep a month or so of food and water in my basement.
I have a generator.
I have several emergency radios and flashlights.Anything more then that is better spent on therapy for your rampant paranoia and anxiety.
I watched the first episode of that, and it terrifies me that those people are allowed to purchase guns and raise children.
I have a similar setup but my water supply, if rationed, is only really gonna last around 2 weeks. I also keep my "zombie apocalypse survival bag" with some stuff for more of a fight for survival type of situation like people robbing,looting, etc..
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.....MittensAll of which reminds me I need to pick up some para-cord in the near future
BudK online has spools of Para-cord that is very inexpensive. You can also get some survival bracelets that are roughly 3-4 feet of paracord in a bracelet form from them really cheap. They also have a lot of stuff like gas masks, military bags, rations, survival stoves, tools, etc....
Oh and a ton of swords, knives, etc...all on the cheap. It's decent quality too just make sure to check the reviews for items.
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I categorize things different To me a prepper is a hoarder of possibly useful things. I consider myself a survivalist, one who tries to get a good mix of the right tools and know how of how to use them to survive in any situation. Then there are the bushcrafters, those that take pride in making due with minimum gear and use brains and toughness to get through time in the woods. That said next weekend I am going to a prepper expo for a mixture of shopping for real gear and to laugh at the straight up tinfoil hat folks.
To me the rule of survival is a damn good knife, a solid tool (and knowledge to go without it) to start fires and a good steel canteen can get you through damn near anything. Those three are about a death sentence without for more than a week.
They used to sell decommissioned ICBM sites as homes. Sorry. missile not included.
Oh, oh my...
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They used to sell decommissioned ICBM sites as homes. Sorry. missile not included.Oh, oh my...
Yeah, they are neat and the Construction Guy in me wanted one of the deep silo ones to retro fit into 7-8 floors of 2-3 bedroom condos with the command center acting as a fitness room and community center. I wasn't sure the extra costs of good air circulation and keeping inside dry would work out or how building codes would effect how you could keep such a place ready and self-contained during any actual issues.
I also thought it would be pretty interesting to have a floor or 2 of the place setup to grow things to supply the people living there. Keep some livestock up topside with a way to bring them under ground in case of an event and you would have good access to a decent food supply for a good amount of people with care and rationing.I really don't look good in a tin-foil derby so it just is a "that would be neat" idea.
I gotta say, a subterranean home out in the middle of nowhere away from cities would be exactly my cup of tea.
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An old friend of mine had a saying. "Just because I'm paranoid, that doesn't mean their not out to get me."
He fits the prepper mentality, in fact he loves the show. Personally I could care less if society fell apart, just another day as far as I'm concerned.
Hmm, you must have a really exciting life.
My ideal bunker would be a social experiment cleverly designed to document how people react when their last water purification chip breaks down.You mean as opposed to the diverse other social experiments like three men, one woman , and a cougar.
One man, and a crate of puppets.
I don't think it is a question of handling anxiety, generally, rather it is a fantasy about the good things that might come if the system broke down (tm). There is a widespread feeling that something is deeply and seriously wrong, and if you the avoid thinking about the (obvious) bad parts of surviving the apocalypse, you can feel that things might be better that way. No job, no boss, no bad politicians, no laws, no prisons, no HOA, nobody telling you what you can't do. All that is required is surviving, and people pretend it will be as easy as bunkering down for a month.
The mountains of corpses, the diseases, continual starvation, not trusting others, brutal exploitation, drinking sewage, radiation poisoning.... Are things these people don't want in their fantasy.
This is pretty much how I feel. I think of it as the Cowboy Fantasy. You have people who just feel like if the world were nothing but cowboys and frontier justice, all their worries would be gone and they could just shoot whatever got in their way. (Or otherwise deal with it all in a simple and direct fashion.)
My foot is fubar so I'm not running very far or fast from the zombie apocolypse.
But I've got a claymore and am going to give the survivors something to tell their friends about!
Never stand firm against someone with nothing to lose. Bunkering down is a useless concept unless you have some truly impressive amounts of firepower to back it up. If people can die by being mowed down by you or die from starvation, more and more people will find you and find ways inside your fortress. Eventually you die.
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I think preppers get a bad rap.
I'm a former boy scout, farm kid, recreational hiker.
I like the woods.
I live in a place that,most years, gets at least one hurricane. We are far enough South that 8 inches of snow shuts down everything for at least 24 hours. Twice in the last 5 years I've gone without household electricity for 5+ days.
My two closest major population centers have major military installations.
I keep some basic "need that" stuff on hand. Including a serious Water filtration system. A .410 shotgun (for squirrels and raccoons in an emergency). Some more than First Aid medical supplies. I have a well as well as a city water hookup. Space blankets, MREs, portable fuel etc.
Also some seed stock that is NOT genetically modified, self replenishes and is designed for long term storage.
I'm not even remotely worried about Zombies, space invaders, Al Qaeda or the seemingly overnight collapse of the entire National, State, County and Municipal governments.
I am aware that our infrastructure is susceptible to Environmental and possibly Viral and Bacteriological events. There's not much wrong with a "just in case" plan. Much like training my kids how to get out of the house if it's on fire. I've planned how to feed my kids if groceries and water aren't moving.
Now the guys who are stockpiling weapons and dry goods in underground bunkers, well they have a hobby, an expensive hobby. Maybe they really think the fit will hit the Shan, maybe they just need an excuse for being grown men who still like to build "forts" and collect weapons. I like both of those myself, but my Paizo budget precludes an underground fortress.
Most preppers are just planning out for inconvenient situations, they don't make for good television though. Just like most Jr Beauty Pageant contestants aren't Honey BooBoo.
Also these guys are rookies. A serious Preper would acquire either a decommissioned military or modern Luxury yacht Diesel/Electric Submarine.
I was raised in a village, in the middle of the woods, but still 70 km away from Paris - 40 min away from theaters, movies and the Eiffel tower.
So, I'm no farm boy, but my wife was raised in a farm, of sorts (her parents were" back to simple life" people of the 70s).
She takes the time to teach our son (and me) how food - vegetables and meat - are produced in a countryside farm.
Man, that stuff is hard to master ! It requires theoretical knowledge, know-how... basically a fifth-of-a-lifetime of training.
Left to my own devices, without the trappings of civilization (i.e grocery stores et al), I'm not sure I would survive in a well stocked farm with seeds, cows and fowl.
So, in case of the apocalypse, my best bet is to stick with my wife , to grab my son, and head post-haste to the countryside, in the hope of finding a nice available farm... or better, a village to join.
Canned goods ? Water reserves for a few months ? It's just imho postponing death, until you run out of those niceties :-P.
Unless you're able to produce your own food from the land, years after years, and have a roof above your heads, your chances of surviving the Big Disaster are minimal.
To me, it's not guns or selfish ingenuity who preserve us from harm and allow us to live (or survive) in the long run - it's our fellow men and women, it's community !.
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I'm not a prepper, but after watching The Road, I'm motivated to become one.