Ten Things Update: 2011

Remember the first rules from Zombieland. No, not "double tap." Cardio.

LOL. I'm prepping and meet the 10 points. At the same time, I will never be as prepared as I want to be.

My family has worked very hard to stay out of debt and save for old age. There is the big "poof" coming. I know it.

My Daughter (heading off to a safe college in engineering in August) was watching me practice with my ACP. She noticed I was angry. I did not. I just thought I was being focused. It could have been the couple hundred of dollars of brass at my feet. I guess I have much more to think about. I stopped practicing. She is right. I'm very angry. It is obvious what is going to happen.

"Cardio" is good. "Cardio" is primary for the next few years. I suppose a preppers anger is something that is unique. I hear the bravado, but I'm convinced no prepper is really dealing with the "scenario". I think this may require another thread. Maybe even a private thread. My Daughter was right.

A prepper has to continue to live. Right? I prepped to feed many and stop the "zombies". Next? I guess I'm just rambling. Something to think about. Prepping requires to think about what is next.

A bit spendy for us, at the moment. The Camco 3000 is around $200. I would like one of the larger ones for my shop area.

The Coleman BlackCat w/InstaStart 3000 BTU was $50 on eBay and (IIRC) $75 at Gander Mountain. I use them in the rooms furthest from the wood stove or in the cellar to prevent pipes freezing when it is -18 or below. So, I need multiple heaters.

My shop has very high ceilings with no ceramic chimney, meaning a long stove pipe that can draw to the point of being a fire hazard, so I don’t use wood out there on the top floor. The propane furnace is very efficient, but when/if it goes out I think I could heat up the 25’x50’ work area w/2-3000 BTU propane heaters, if necessary. Haven’t tried that yet, but I know the 1500 watt ceramics do not do the job.

For the price, Coleman makes a decent product. It is also small and easily moved around, if needed. Also, with the small 16oz propane cylinders, they take up very little room.

I was just very impressed that in 15 minutes it heated a 9’x18’ room with a high ceiling to a comfortable level, vs. an electric 1500 watt ceramic heater, which can take over an hour. With an adapter, it can fit a 20# cylinder, as well.

It is also affordable, in the short run,to stockpile the 16 oz cylinders at $5.50/ea. They last 4 hrs on high and 7 hours on low. Easier to move around than the filled larger tanks. I do have 4 of the larger tanks, but they now run about $48/each, with $18 for a refill. I use them in my business, but they are also good for cooking on a simple, relatively inexpensive corn boiler.They last about 25 hours for cooking. BTW, anyone thinking about this will want to put a metal plate over the flame of the boiler to protect their pots and spread out the heat.Keep oven gloves handy and be prepared to keep the entire cooker unit clean, as carbon soot will build up.

I think you are right: we are all angry.

There is also a lot of uncertainty. We could all be prepping for the wrong disaster, but darned if I know exactly what is most likely to happen.

I find that as we fill one area of possible need, we think of 2-3 others where we aren’t as prepared as we would like. Beck keeps emphasizing that we all need to be able to help others, too.

We just keep plugging away at food, heat, power, while trying to live our lives in this long, slow decline. Besides anger, I just experience fatigue and I know it has an emotional basis, more than a physical one.

Cardio is essential, and not just to run from the zombies or the thugs, but look around at the older folks and those being kept alive on medications and medical technology or the young children. Cardio is not going to help everyone.

Agree. There are many with many needs. The depression effects are here. In the last year we are now up to over 10 abandoned cats. The majority did not make it through the winter. We rescued and now have placed three. That was the sign that both bothered me and angered me the most.

There is a type of cowardice when people abandon there pets in the "country". This is also a sign of a deep rooted denial. Many Americans are going to behave very badly.

This was one area of preps that took me by surprise. We have prepared to feed others. We prepared for our family and relative's pets. We were not prepared for what happened this past winter.

Our Vet warned us it was not just dogs and cats. Horses and cattle are also being abandoned. I think this is an important sign to watch out for.

There is a type of cowardice when people abandon there pets in the "country". This is also a sign of a deep rooted denial. Many Americans are going to behave very badly.

I agree. A dog is a dog, but also a member of the family. People are first, but I was raised to take care of our animals just after we take care of our people. If I have to bug out, the terrier goes with us.

But then we had a local woman burn her 3 year old in a BBQ pit because she was bored with her. So abandoning pets is not surprising.

"A bit spendy for us, at the moment."

That's understandable. We're using the Camco catalytics, because we'll be using them for several years, until we get the drainback solar radiant heating system built (high altitude and over 300 sun days). ...also using one in living quarters for another few months (safety), and it saves us a little propane over time (safer to hook up to a larger tank).

We have about 8 months of winter and some nights down to -35 F with wind gusts over 100 mph.

"Our Vet warned us it was not just dogs and cats. Horses and cattle are also being abandoned. I think this is an important sign to watch out for."

Wow. In my part of the country, no cattle are abandoned. Rustling is more of a problem. As for horses, there are too many of them--more than cattle, it appears. We joke about the unprepared economic cheerleaders feasting on them, if the economy really gets out of hand.

As for dogs, any of those without something like malamute in them would freeze to death pretty quickly up here. Don't see any strays from cities.

Well, I envy you the solar. We are in a valley at 43N, so it just is not practical, here.

We can get -30 at night and also can have 5 months of winter, but the bad stuff is normally 3 months. Bad years can see 3 straight weeks of below zero, though and we have years where it froze in November and didn’t thaw until nearly March. I don’t envy you the gusts, though.

I hear these sorts of stories, too.

Our beloved canine fur kid was a show up about 11 years ago. He was just a pup. 18 months ago we spent $2k on him after he tore a plantar tendon. There was no question, even though times are very tight for us. Actually, the surgeon and the vet both gave us massive discounts just because they know how important he is to us. He is the official greeter and escort here and is well-known throughout the area with many friends.

I have actually seen fewer abandoned cats the past few years, but that could be the work of the coyotes. We have owls and eagles, too and both predate on cats.

Still, everyone seems nervous, anxious and some are just plain scared. Preps don’t even make that much difference, IMO. I know that some days I am scared to the point where all I want to do is go to sleep. Of course, it passes and then I do some more preps.

Cats are so inexpensive to keep. Of all the domesticated pets, they are the easiest to care for. It seems so senseless to abandon them. Good for you for the rescue work.

We also get the dogs, but that is another issue. We may get one or two a year that come for help (they are very easy to adopt), the remainder tend to pack. Once that happens, out local animal control removes them quickly. All domestic pets suffer a death sentence when they are abandoned.

The recent one was the straw that broke the back. We didn't even know she was around until April of this year. I kept telling the family we had a phantom cat. Any noise and she would be off of the porch in a blur. Finally starvation overcame her shyness. She looked terrible. I was feeding her 3 cans of wet and two bowls of dry for two days. On the second day I reached down to pet her and she backed away. Seconds later she dove at my ankles and wrapped her paws around them while head butting. She won.

She was skin and bones at 8lbs. Had ticks all over her head, bitten and torn skin on her back, crumbling whiskers and someone had kicked in two teeth on one side of her mouth. She was a single coat russian blue torte mix and somehow had survived the winter. We got her to the vet, dewormed, ticks removed and did the inoculations all over again. She was up to ten pounds by then. She will be adopted next Friday while I am away. None of our other cats would accept her. That is a shame because she was a completely plug and play pet.

Today she looks great and is up to 22lbs. This is the biggest female cat any of us have seen and behaves like a typical russian blue, including affections. She has about another month to get back to full weight and coat. Here is one of the pictures we just sent to the adopter:

All of our cats but one are abandons. This one really bugged me for some reason. Thanks for letting me share.

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