Monday 8 February 2010

FUTURE SHOCK! II

So you read future shock part one. Did it make you think? How well would you do in a crisis?

The funny thing is, there is no earthly reason why we should be wholly dependent on Huge Corporations for everything. It’s simply personal choice, or to be more realistic, what is left of personal choice.
We have been coerced into putting our faith in these entities. People have become slaves to them almost voluntarily.

 Television has played a big part in subduing our free will. After a lifetime of repetitive advertising, biased news reporting and to top all, Soap Operas! In short, television has been a Godsend for the Corporations and the powers that be because we just soak it up.

 It has been like a voluntary curfew for many. As soon as they get home from work or school, the TV goes on and that’s them for the night.

I was once such a person and it was as hard to give up as smoking. It becomes part of your life if you let it. I shudder when I walk into a Newsagents now and look at the sorry little comics on the news stand sporting airbrushed pictures of Eastenders stars grinning back at me with a concerned headline like, “Is Tracy expecting Robs baby?”

Our country is in a mess and people are sitting at home subdued by such puerile rubbish. Shame on Britain!

A couple of my followers mentioned that my blog had connotations of ‘The Matrix’ and I have to concede that it does. The question is do you want to go back to sleep, or are you going to do something about it now that you are awake?

As this blog continues I will add useful links in the margin. As I get hold of information that I think will be helpful I will share it with my readers. The same thing goes the other way. If you feel that you have anything to contribute please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Returning to the theme of surviving a crisis.

The first thing we need to do is take a look at our basic needs. They are not so complicated. We need clothing, shelter, warmth, food, water, light, sanitation and a bed.

Doesn’t sound bad does it but how many from that small list are going to be missing for you if there is a power cut? Add to that a fuel crisis and then how many disappear?

Have you even considered communication? Your laptop, broadband modem/router, your phone? Chances are that although the telephone line doesn’t need electricity to work, your hardware does.

Most people have a phone that requires a power supply and the same goes for laptop and the router. All you need to have if you want to stay connected in a power cut are a 12v battery and a car charger or adaptor kit for them all. Simple as that was, I bet few people have either.

If you are going to dash out and put that right, you might want to consider a leisure or deep cycle battery but if you can’t afford one then a car battery will suffice.

Personally I can cruise bye without power in the short to medium term without any hiccups but I would need to work on it a bit more for the longer term.

Putting a few things on one side is a great start. Surprisingly enough, few people make any preparations at all. They just have so much faith in our lovely ‘philanthropic’ providers.

 Taking into consideration that in a power cut scenario the freezer would be off and for that matter so would the fridge, you have to think what kind of food you might be able to store that will last.
Growing food yourself is a great help as mentioned elsewhere in the blog but so is storing some provisions.

Just salt a few bits away. Pasta and rice store well and they will deal with your carb’s. Beans, pulses, peas can all be kept in dried form for yonks. Dried fruit, nuts and various seeds are all good too.

Canned foods are obvious but choose wisely and renew/replace periodically. Tuna, corned beef, sardines, are all good for protein. Condensed milk, dried milk, long life milk, flour, dried yeast, oats.
Honey lasts indefinitely and is a good all round sweetener.

The list is by no means exhaustive but you get the picture. I am sure it will have you thinking.
 A good stock of the right food items is only useful in the short to medium term. To last any longer you need to make life changes.

Are you solely dependent on central heating? If you are able to do so, an alternative should be sought. I know that many homes now do not have a chimney at all. I personally would not live in one. The chances are that in a fuel crisis we would not just be short of one type of fuel.

In the cold snap of 2010 my own LPG provider said that within a fortnight the supply had ground to a stop due to the excessive demand on gas bottles and the difficulty in transportation also.

If there was a petrol shortage we would be in trouble within days. All you need to do is whisper the word shortage and the demand outstrips supply immediately. People just rush out to the forecourts and fill up their car and as many cans as they have.

The smart Homo Sapiens runs on a full tank instead of an empty one and stores a little fuel before a crisis but don’t tell anyone I said that.

I could prattle on forever on this little blog posting but sometimes a Master can some up in just a few words what would take an amateur like me all day.

I give you :- Aesop.

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content.  An Ant walked by, grunting as he carried a plump kernel of corn.
"Where are you off to with that heavy thing?" asked the Grasshopper.
Without stopping, the Ant replied, "To our ant hill.  This is the third kernel I've delivered today."
"Why not come and sing with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"

"I am helping to store food for the winter," said the Ant, "and think you should do the same." 
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have plenty of food right now." 
But the Ant went on its way and continued its work.

The weather soon turned cold.  All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. 

 Soon the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.

He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity. 

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