Month: February 2020

Cool and damp, but clear.

Yesterday stayed clear and sunny all day. Got up to comfortable shirtsleeve temps by late afternoon.

Had my truck break down during my errands yesterday. Glad I have a backup. NOT an expense or uncertainty that I want at this time. But it is what it is.

One thing I noticed today, it’s much more fun to prep for a zombie apocalypse when one isn’t happening around you. The fact that I’ve spent more than $2000 in the last week also tells me I’ve not been keeping up with where I needed to be, or been aggressive enough getting back after the rat incidents. Of course my timeline and the threat are different than my main threat. Still, I’ve had to pay full price for items I should have been able to get for less.

Some of the items are only on my “it’s coming right for us” list and wouldn’t be part of my normal prepping. 20-40 pounds of potatoes springs to mind. We just don’t eat them normally, but my “last trip to the store” list has always had potatoes and onions on it because they are cheap and last a long time. They are easy to cook and versatile. But I wouldn’t stock them in bulk. I’ll buy more if the situation warrants a real “last trip”.

Lots to do today, and sportsball tournament with the little one on top of that. I better get started.

Please see the front page of DailyMail for about 7 relevant articles about presumed community spread in Oregon, and Cali, and other developments. People are waking up to the real risk. Flip the switch in your brain- we’re in a different world and you need to align your thinking with reality. Don’t do anything life altering yet, but get prepped. If you might need it, I’ve already proved to myself that you can’t wait even two days, and one day will have you skinning by… we’re far from the only people thinking the thoughts, and many of them are acting on them.

Keep stacking. There is time left for the most critical items, food, water, defense, comfort, medical support. It’s running out rapidly though.

nick

Cold, clear, windy.

I spent the afternoon driving around and decided to do some meatspace relationship building, so I ran out of time to get to Costco and my other errands. I KNEW I should get there yesterday. I’m betting there is a run on Lysol after the article showing it killing virus. Timing. Priorities. I wanted Lysol, bleach, pool shock, a basket full of OTC meds and 3 months of dog food. I didn’t get any of that and probably won’t today either.

My wife said last night that desire for masks has hit her facebook groups. I previously warned her not to publish anything about me getting masks, and she didn’t. She gets why now. I also hear that Trump doesn’t like price gouging. One thing I know for sure, price controls limit supply. If they insist I sell lower than I want, I’ll just keep them. And if they try to seize them, I’ll piss on them first, burn them, or give them to the homeless.

As the virus continues to spread, I am trying to pretend that my life is normal… so I’m on my way to Austin for a pickup. There is a definite dichotomy between getting prepped as if I expect the zombie apocalypse and going to pick up stuff to resell and use in a normal life. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I’m pretty sure the worst is coming. We’ve got a case in Cali with no known link to travel. That ain’t good.

So, I’m getting the kids and wife out the door, then on my way to Austin, and hopefully home in time to hit Costco before getting the kids.

Wish me luck.

n

Cool and damp. [48F and very windy/gusty]

It turned into a beautiful day yesterday. Clear blue sky, hot sun, nice windy breeze…. So I was working in the driveway trying to find some ebay stuff, and getting ready for my hamfest in a couple of weekends. Found some stuff I’d misplaced, found some stuff ruined by water and moisture.

There were lots of N95 masks in one of the local surplus auctions last night. They went for more than the same mask sells for on ebay. Cheap still compared to most N95s at the moment though.

The wuflu continues to spread. Now it is confirmed to be spreading out of secondary areas to third areas by person to person contact. It also may be in Brazil. CDC says it’s just a matter of ‘when’ it gets into communities here. Japan has shifted gears into a “save you what can” mode. They will be focused on treatment and controlling spread rather than preventing outbreaks. Japan and CDC both agree that most people who get it will be isolated at home and cared for at home. Are YOU prepared to do that? For a month? Without work or going out? Better think about it.

I’ve got stuff to do and shifting priorities. Number one now is top up preps. Number two is get a bunch of stuff sold while people are still buying. Number three is get stuff sold and out of the way via hamfest. Number four is get ready for the two trips my wife has us doing in the next couple of months. I’m already pretty sure I don’t want to be at Disney for spring break in March. But part of me feels like we need to do stuff while we still can, but there are risks. We’ll see how the risk picture evolves.

I don’t like pandemic prepping. Too much is determined completely by chance and the timeline is very opaque. Give me a clean hurricane any day.

It’s past time to take this seriously folks. The chances of it ending without major effects are gone. There will be major effects.

— in other news, a “german citizen” ran a vehicle into a crowd on purpose and injured a bunch of people including kids. NO FURTHER INFO about the perp. Just “german citizen”. It’s already out of the news cycle. Wonder how LONG he’s been a citizen?

Keep stacking folks. Stack it high.

nick

Cool and somewhat damp. [50F and 99%RH]

Yesterday started rainy but did dry out later in the morning. Man I was tired. I should not stay up late reading.

I hope by now, everyone is prepping for WuFlu related disruptions. I don’t think this is going anywhere but ‘worse’. I’m thinking it will pop up here someplace no one is looking, like Minneapolis in the Somali population. Then the race is on to see who can go full retard the fastest.

Economic disruption is headed here no matter what happens with the virus. It’s a gift to certain folks to be able to crash and have something external to blame. Why waste the chance? Even without anything like that, the problems with supply chain aren’t going anywhere, and that will start having real effects soon.

There are very worrisome rumors that it’s already in Florida and being kept under wraps. Not good as that is my next family trip destination. It’s my bi-annual mouse house pilgrimage, and I am not interested in being in spring break crowds with this nonsense going on. Nor am I interested in being quarantined afterwards.

I better get started on the things I can control.

Keep stacking.

n

Cold and damp, but should remain clear. [41F in my driveway]

Temps dropped even a bit further last night, and it was chilly all day. I’m kinda glad I didn’t get my seeds in the dirt.

I did manage to pick up a couple of things I needed for much less than retail, but it doesn’t help me with my immediate need to get rid of stuff.

As I write this we now have 35 cases of WuFlu in the US, almost all imported by our own .gov. The usual sources are full of new cases, and dramatic increases in numbers. That’s how it works though tiny, tiny, little, little, then suddenly big jumps. I haven’t had a chance to listen to CDC’s teleconference yet, but it promises to be “interesting’. Keep stacking, and revisit your planning. Like japan and italy, .gov could wake up one morning and cancel Christmas. Now your kids are home during the day, so you need to be too…

Busy day today, GScout activity for the females, then a basketball game, then meet with a roofer, then Cookie Booth, and I will do one last auction pickup. I’d like to get some of the outdoor stuff done, and get some more garage stuff done too. Lots of food to put away and organize…

Get busy, time may be very short.

n

Cooler, still damp.

We got a little bit of misty rain early yesterday, but then it was just a bright overcast for the rest of the day.

I did my volunteer science class in the morning, ham meetup in the afternoon, and went and picked up auction lots that were mostly PPEs and cleaners. Traffic was insanely bad getting back across town.

Today I have a pretty similar schedule without the nice lunch.

Corvid 19 continues to spread. China has brought in industrial cremation furnaces “for livestock.” That ain’t good, no matter how you look at it.

The cruise ship evacuees continue to get sick here, anyone want to make book on them getting sick wherever they’ve dispersed to now that over 500 have been release in Japan?

Keep stacking.

N