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Category: prepping

Tues. Feb. 11, 2020 – so much to do

Warmish and wet. [not so much, front moved in, 50F and dripping this am]

Had overcast all day but didn’t get any rain until after 9pm, and it didn’t last long.

Spent the afternoon running around doing pickups and drop offs. So much stuff to do normally, and I’m also trying to step up my preps.

I’m going to try to fit in a Costco run today with all the other stuff going on.

I’ve been a bit casual checking my email lately. I’ve got my reader open to my sales addy, hoping to see orders coming in… so I was very pleasantly surprised to see a note from Barbara.

It was in regard to our discussion of Bob’s works in progress. She didn’t want to pursue the fiction book, and had this to say–

The best prepping insights from Bob are what he posted on the site.

…

All of his previous science and computer books are now pretty much out of date. Those that are still in print can be found on the O’Reilly site.

I want to thank you, Rick, and all of the readers on Daynotes for keeping his ideas and memories alive.

…

Barbara

I’m sure I speak for all of us saying “Thank You” to Barbara for supporting our continued efforts here. It’s a unique place on the web, due to Bob and the readers he attracted. It’s been a daily part of my life, and I’d miss it enormously.

Now, off to work. Go forth and prep, because it’s bad, and it will be getting worse.

nick

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Mon. Feb. 10, 2010 – and just like that, I’d forgotten to worry about a civil war…

Warmish and damp. [71F and wet]

Yesterday I got a couple of things done before the rain, and then again after it stopped.

I re-potted some trees. Did a little pruning. Picked up the yard.

Lime trees are budding out flowers. Apple trees are leafing or have the sap rising. Peach is getting leaf buds. Meyer lemon is past harvest time. I’ll have to get to that soon. Wife and kids were going to do it but well….

I rotated some small amount of food from the secondary to home, and took 40 pounds of rice and some canned chicken there for deep storage. I really need to get that organized and inventoried. The urgency increases with every new report out of China.

I moved a couple of things in the driveway, and started scrapping out a pallet. Global scrap prices will collapse, if they haven’t already, with Chinese industry on the rocks. If I’m going to do it, I need to do it now. I did enough yesterday to know if it is going to be worth it, considering all the other things I could be doing that all pay more money. I have to do a little prep before I can dump them as ‘shred’ for 4c/pound in any case. But, they’re mostly aluminum and stainless, which both pay about 35c/pound so it might be worth separating them. I’ve got to weigh up the parts and do the math today.

I was moving the pallet to get to my pallet of forced air breathing respirators. I need to dig them out and see what condition they’re in, and what they need to work. I have only 2 batteries and I’m not certain they are correct. It’s been a very low priority, but is moving up dramatically. If I can sell off the rest for good money that will help too.

I am seeing a nice increase in my ebay sales. I’ve got some nice stuff listed recently and it’s moving decently. I need it to continue and increase though. If the WuFlu continues, at some point nobody will be buying anything.

Speaking of WuFlu, Kung Flu, Sweet and sour sicken, or any of the other ‘whistling past the graveyard’ names… even ordinary people are starting to notice. No one believes the chinese numbers, and for all the reasons given here before. Have you ever known the chinese to play up a disaster? I’ve posted links to twitter feeds and ‘citizen journalists’ because I think that’s a great window into the situation on the ground. Yes, they are unknown and unvetted. Aesop in particular objects to one off videos from randos… they are filming the body bags SOMEWHERE. They are filming guys in tyvek welding doors shut SOMEWHERE. Ditto for grabbing people out of their homes and off the street. I’ve seen enough body bags to think that the dead count is off by one or two orders of magnitude. NO ONE ANYWHERE walks past someone who seizes and collapses on the ground, unless things are SERIOUSLY wrong. No one leaves dead people laying in the street like that. No city in China is ever that quiet and empty as the drone footage. Lastly, you aren’t thinking the people in the building will survive if you are LOCKING THEM INSIDE. That should terrify everyone who thinks about it.

We can’t trust their numbers, but we can judge them by their actions.

Also, I’m cynical enough to think that if China looks like they’re the only ones who will burn from this, they will try actively to infect the west, so they don’t burn alone.

Keep stacking.

nick

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Sat. Feb. 8, 2020 – got stuff to do

Cool-ish and damp.

I’ve got my normal monthly non-prepping hobby meeting this morning, followed by sportsball with the kid, and all the normal Saturday stuff too.

I’m jumping like a one legged paper hanger in a room full of rocking chairs. Or something.

SERIOUSLY FOLKS, get some preps in order. You do not want to be going out into crowds, fighting over the last roll of toilet paper in a few weeks when the WuFlu is all around us. TP doesn’t really go bad, so you’ll use it if nothing happens. Get some food in too, even if you have to put it in buckets and stack the buckets on the patio. Some way to cook it would be prudent too, if things really go to 7734. And water. Soap. Bleach. Wipes. If you don’t have masks I’d be checking old school neighborhood hardware stores, auto paint suppliers, equipment rental houses, walmart’s paint department, and other less common places, maybe even beauty supply houses. If you have accounts with industrial suppliers, you might check there too. CDC wants people to be thrifty with masks now in case they’re needed later- meaning there won’t be increasing supply.

Lots of good info in the keyword links. We’ve got a couple weeks while the doubling is still very small numbers. By the time you get “confirmation” that it’s here, it will be too late, like it’s already too late to get cheap masks. Think of it as insurance. Spend the time, effort, and money.

Take a hard look at your finances too. As the truth of this thing starts to sink in, there is NO WAY the current bubble won’t pop. Don’t get caught in a rush for the exit. If I’m wrong, get back in in a month. Don’t get greedy and hang in for those last few gains. Do some profit taking fer pete’s sake.

And – Keep stacking,

nick

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Wed. Feb. 5, 2020 – same old, same old, plus WuFlu!

Cool and damp. [49F with a fine mist falling]

Yesterday stayed overcast but got up into the high 70s and 80s in some parts of town. I checked my local Ag extension planting guideline, and I should be getting my root crops in. I guess spring is coming.

School and activities continue. I’m taking the kids to sell GS cookies to my friend at the gun store. He’s a great supporter of the girls.

The political circus is starting to get into full swing. I’m going to avoid it as much as possible and concentrate on other things. I’m sure I won’t be able to avoid it completely. I would like it to be the only worry we have in six months, but I’m not sanguine about that.

The numbers out of china continue to rise. They may be false, but they are consistent. More video is making it out too. If you haven’t been following links to “man on the street” vids, you really should. The story that is implied by some of the vids really has to be seen to be appreciated. DailyMail is picking up some of the stories now too, if a couple of days late…

It’s an interesting question of how you get info during the apocalypse. For people in Wuhan, that word isn’t too strong. It’s their own societal and possibly personal SHTF. For some, it is literally TEOTWATKI. Lot more fistfight videos today than previously. I think the violence is about to break out as food is undoubtedly getting short. I’ve yet to see a story about brave truckers delivering food to the infected zone.

Keep in mind how fast this is all happening. For people in China, it must simultaneously feel like warp speed, and like an eternity.

Last week they were shopping and enjoying the holiday, today, they’re being barricaded into their homes.

Use the time we have to get your own shopping done. I have a feeling we won’t regret it this time. And Hey, in a month, if we’re not seeing any more cases outside of China, and our JIT economy based on selling each other cheap crap from China is still plugging along, you can mock me. I’ll be the one eating rice for every meal…. and wearing my face mask as a hat.

nick

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Tues. Feb. 4, 2020 – won’t have to move, yet

Cool and damp. [70F and 99%RH]

Yesterday stayed overcast most of the time but never rained. Today has some rain in the forecast, which I’d like to be wrong this time.

Daughter got into the middle school program she wanted, which we do not have to be zoned to (lottery, nothing I did). I’m glad I won’t have to be looking for a new house before fall semester starts. Maybe a bugout location (lake house) looks more doable now, since any local moves would be to a neighborhood where home prices start at more than double mine, for a tear down. It would have been a stretch to get into the zone we wanted, and would have involved a bunch of disruption.

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Speaking of disruption….

The number of infected continues to creep up. The curve is leveling out, but there’s no way to know if that is simply under reporting,. We know China lies. The other countries’ infected counts are in the slow starting phase. We’ll know soon if they will be taking off too. Given things like the Japanese cruise ship with an infected aboard, I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing cases that don’t have a link to Wuhan in a week, two tops.
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I saw someone else using “WuFlu” yesterday, go me. And someone asked on the CDC call why they haven’t named it yet. The Dr was flustered in her response. Take the time to listen to the call and hear for yourself, but I think the CDC is shell shocked by this. At least the Dr was headed toward there.

Let’s list some issues- China lies. CDC has been kept out of China. Only reason to do that is if you are hiding something. CDC admits they are desperate to see the data so they can do their own math on transmission and lethality. Currently THEY DON’T KNOW, but they are scared. They invoked quarantine for the first time in 50 years. But like the Chinese, they are still making carefully worded statements designed to keep the public from reacting.

CDC doesn’t know where to put anyone who does arrive here and needs a quarantine. They say that is the state and local .gov’s job, and they should have already made plans, which CDC doesn’t want to countermand. It sounds like no one really made those plans, or they were paper only and unworkable.

CDC is trying to get more labs to do testing, as they are a bottleneck. RED TAPE is holding that up. Further to that, the test isn’t meant to be used for INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATIONS or diagnosis, but for monitoring the spread of the disease. Thanks guys. People without symptoms might pass the test but still be infected. NO ONE is being retested at this time. Dr was freaked that 20 days ago we had 40 cases and now we have 20k+… frankly that freaks me out and we can be pretty sure that number is TOO LOW.
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Fellas, I don’t know where this is going, but it could be very bad. Zombie apocalypse bad. I bet it feels that way in Wuhan. Certainly people living there have said so. The things we do see look very bad. Crews so inured to the situation (or so tired) they’re just hurling body bags into the van. People in scrubs and PPEs walking down alleys with rifles. Men barricading people into their homes. Video of people dropping dead without warning, or having seizures and then dying.

If this comes here in any widespread form, you will want to stay inside and hide. Imagine being in Wuhan or any of a dozen other cities right now. Crippled internet. No idea what’s really going on. Soldiers and armed men roaming around. No access to medical care for routine issues or emergencies. No transportation. No shopping. At what point do the people leave their homes? Why aren’t they in the streets right now? Where are all the people?
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I was discussing with my wife how many masks to sell to profit[eer] from the situation. I told her I was getting reluctant to let them go. “How many do you have?” “I was planning to keep at least 800…” “???!!!?!!?!?” “Well, that’s 200 days for the four of us.” “200 DAYS! !!111111!1 eleventy!” “Yeah, or 50 days if we go out at all. And what if our friends and acquaintances ask us for masks??” “——”

So I think I’ll sell a few boxes and get my total investment back. Then maybe sell a few more if the price keeps going up. I think I’ll keep the ones I found in the ebola supplies to give away to anyone who asks (that I can’t refuse), as they wouldn’t bring more than a hundred bucks or so anyway (while N95 and 3m, they are single strap and well out of date).

That doesn’t touch the full face respirators with cartridges, the potential for the forced air respirators (missing batteries and filters), the tyvek or bunny suits, and any masks I’ve got in my woodworking supplies. I’m pretty sure I’ve got some other boxes tucked away here and there too. I better start looking for them. And I better get some of the other stuff out of deep storage and see what parts I need to buy while I still can. I’m getting close to spending money on things that only make sense if the worst case is coming. That breaks one of my rules- nothing I do for preps can be irrevocable- if it takes the money away from other needs. I’d sure like to sell some stuff while people are still buying stuff they don’t need…..

I better check on a couple friends too, and see if they’re taking it seriously, and if not, find out why.

Keep stacking.

nick

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Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 – where does the time go?

Cool and wet. [50F and 99%RH]

Yesterday stayed chilly. I was in long pants and a mid-weight jacket all day.

Some prepping got done this week but not enough.

People seem to be as polarized by the coronavirus as they are by politics. People I’ve been reading for years and generally like and respect are coming down on both sides like, hard. Which is nuts. It doesn’t MATTER if the normal flu kills 2000 or 20000 a year. We go to great lengths to avoid it, including poisoning ourselves and our kids with vaccine cocktails every year. Flu’s got nothing to do with WuFlu, it’s a false dichotomy. Flu is going to kill those folks, and the WuFlu is going to kill MORE folks. They’re BOTH killers and to be avoided.

Now, my feeling is, china inc KNOWS that regular flu kills a bunch of people and no one gets quarantined. But China inc just quarantined 50 MILLION people, and doesn’t seem to think they’ll need food soon. Which is ominous. Bringing food in breaks the quarantine. A hundred cubic yards of mixed stone and dirt makes a difficult barricade to pass with your food and water trucks too, you know, like it’s WAY harder than moving a red and white striped 2×4…. So either no one’s thought this through, or they HAVE and they made a decision we won’t like.

No one would cancel LNY and all tourism without believing or knowing something that WE DON’T KNOW. To pretend that we know better than the chinese making those decisions is ludicrous. They are taking this CRAZY seriously. I think we should too.

I’m taking my standard precautions. I’m not doing anything irrevocable or irreversible but I am taking steps. I’ve got a good supply of masks. My gloves were aging out (they get fragile) so I picked some up. I’ve got lots of bleach but will be watching closely to see if I want more. I’ve got bleach rated sprayers, rubber boots, and tyvek. I’ve got eye pro.

I have been rebuilding food stocks run down by the rats and time, and added 80 pounds of rice today. Also various and sundry other food. My secondary has a great deal of bulk from the first ebola scare. Much might be stale, but it’s there as a back up. I’m not throwing out that rice unless it smells bad.

I’m watching for secondary effects. Our Just In Time and Lean management systems mean that any disruption in the flow of materials and parts from China will effect manufacturing and commerce worldwide. That’s gonna be hard on some companies. In turn it will be hard on workers, and also banks. China focused on internal issues will either have them looking for enemies/scapegoats/targets or will distract them from their empire building… who knows which? Keep your eyes open though. If they stop buying Tbills, the financial house of cards could collapse and that can trigger all sorts of unpleasantness too.

There’s basically a whole bunch of different prepper scenarios that can come out of this. No matter what happens outside China, there already are and will continue to be disastrous effects internally and globally from the disruptions already under way.

The BEST that can come from this if it ended tomorrow would be supply chain disruptions, and the knock on effects from that. The worst is this being the tip of the iceburg of trouble, all the way to mass death and collapse.

I expect to be somewhere in the middle, but to think it will be nothing at all is nuts.

nick

Keep stacking.

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Tues. Jan. 28, 2020 – and the hits just keep on coming

Cool and damp. [55F and raining]

Yesterday was overcast and a bit cool most of the day, finally clearing for afternoon and evening.

I managed to do a bit more yard work, and some clean up. Not enough, but it’s a start. Then I did an auction pickup, got some stuff into and out of storage (in- my masks, out- some propane heaters for a friend to sell). I also got some stuff to take to my local auction. I need to get more aggressive taking pallets there. I think I’ll be holding on to my full face 3M powered respirators though. Maybe even looking to source a couple more batteries. On the other hand, they should bring a premium ATM.

I’ve got two local sales coming up. First, my non-prepping hobby has a quarterly swapmeet sorta sale. Then in March, the local Hamfest happens. I haven’t been buying a bunch of radios or antennas this year, but I’ll find a truckload of stuff to take anyway. I’ve got a month and a half to source more if I can.

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The WuFlu ™ continues to spread. More and more people online are pointing out the disparity between what the chinese government SAYS about the flu, and what they are DOING about it. The stuff they’re doing makes me want to lose my fudge.*

One of the auction items I picked up yesterday was 12 food grade buckets. Less than 1/3 normal price, it leaves me some room to buy Gamma Seal lids. I intend to fill at least half those buckets right away. Kinda coincidentally (but fully in keeping with how my life works) I’ve scored two pairs of new in box heavy work boots, leather with steel toes. If I was superstitious, I’d be worried. Based on past experience, I’m going to be needing those boots soon, and that is worrisome.

It’s a bit disconcerting (due to chinese lies) that we don’t really have a good idea of the lethality or infectiousness of this freaking virus. If no one dies then its spread doesn’t matter. Anyone think it’s not killing people, lots of people, based on the chinese reaction? Yet we don’t know.

One thing we know, the numbers are starting to increase.

Stack it high.

nick

*bonus geek cred to anyone who identifies the source of that line….

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Sun. Jan. 26, 2020 – did I mention I had two extra 10yo girls last night?

Cool and rainy. [63F and 99%RH]

Rain started late last night, around 11pm. It wasn’t bad during the day with mostly overcast skies and shirtsleeve temps.

Last night was sleepover night for two of my daughter’s school friends. They were up late, scaring themselves. There is a self reinforcing behavior spiral that they get started on. Not just convincing themselves that there is a monster outside, but for other things too, like guilt. Not fun to short circuit that.

And the Girl Scout cookies arrived by the van load during the day.

I was out, doing deals and stocking up. I’ve got a craigslist sale later today. Finally.

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I’ve said before, I’m treating this coronavirus as an incoming Cat5 hurricane. It FEELS a lot like the start of the zombie apocalypse in the John Ringo novels. My biggest concern is that the actions the chinese are taking do not match the numbers or the reported threat levels.

Aesop, who was a voice for MAX RESPONSE during the first Ebola epidemic is the voice of moderation in this one. He’s got training, experience, and is on the front line,so I’m not discounting his opinion. I’m considering that he’s basing it on info out of china, though, and if that info is bad, so can the conclusions be…

My personal red line for this will be the start of person to person transmission in the US. Right now, it seems that every foreign infection started in China. Once we have it in the wild in the US all bets are off.

So, touch up those preps people. And stay tuned.

nick

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Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 – another week gone bye bye bye

Cool and damp. [39F and 99%RH] Of course.

It stayed a bit coolish and dampish all day yesterday, although the rain mostly stayed away. I’m hoping for no rain today. Temps were 44F when I went to bed.

Busy week for me, and it didn’t leave much time for preps. I am feeling caught off guard by the sudden change in the china virus status. Fortunately the extreme case has the same preps as our old friend ebola, without the blood. Unfortunately, I think people won’t be as freaked out without the whole ‘sh!tting yourself to death while your eyes bleed’ aspects and won’t isolate themselves appropriately.

I don’t have anywhere near enough PPEs to interact with people in a mostly normal way if that is what’s needed. I intended to severely limit any contact at all, not don a mask and go shopping….

I guess we’ll see how things progress, but we should have at least a couple of days before any panic starts here. Think hard about stocking up on some stuff, like any masks, tyvek, bleach, wipes and hand sanitizer, and snivel gear for dealing with flu symptoms. I haven’t seen much about actually treatment/care for patients, but you can be sure that it won’t take long if there is an outbreak to saturate available care facilities. I don’t even know if we ever got restocked on IV fluids after the shortage. Puerto Rico has had their own issues and that’s where most of it came from.

I know our Habitat ReStore has shelves full of 3M surgical style face masks and they are cheap. I’ve already bought what I thought was a good amount, but now I want more. I don’t think there will be a run on them at the ReStore. (or anywhere in the US, yet). That said, I’m headed there today and I am going to stock up if they’re still on the shelf.

I’m going to treat this as if there was a hurricane headed straight toward us. I REALLY don’t like the way the numbers are quickly ratcheting up, or the revelations about the spread. I’m aiming for ‘better safe than sorry.’

I know, it’s always something, and the sky doesn’t usually fall, but this feels weirder than normal.

Lots of driving around today, so I’ll be out of the loop on news, and updates. Keep an eye on it….

n

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Fri. Jan. 10, 2020 – Finally Friday, oh who am I kidding?

Warmish, and very damp. [71F and windy, with bad weather forecast for later]

Yesterday was overcast and windy with extra dampness. I put away stuff that sat for 5 days and was still wet.

Spent a couple of hours in the driveway and yard and garage. Didn’t make much forward progress, mainly put things back after disrupting them for Christmas.

Did sell a couple of things on ebay this week. I’ve got high hopes that more sells soon.

Found a couple of good things this week too. Walked into the Goodwill outlet and picked up a QRP (low power) ham radio kit, a nice concealed holster, and some stuff for the truck. All for less than $10.

I’ve already mentioned getting a nice inverter, battery charger/maintainer/reconditioner, and some tactical toys… I was bidding on a case of MREs but they got too expensive without knowing the date.

I have moved a few things that my wife wanted moved, and cleaned up some stuff in the house.

Today I’ll be doing domestic goddess stuff, laundry, shopping, cleaning, etc. Later this evening Basketball starts up for the little one.

Starting the week with a day off sure made it pass quickly…

Anyone get any preps in this week?

n

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