Apocalypse Planning

I've always been a contingency planner. I like having at least a plan b and a rough plan c. . . and there are times that plans d through z aren't entirely out of line.

That said, I'm not expecting the apocalyse is going to happen. In fact, I rather hope it doesn't, since I'm neither well prepared or in favour of the odds of my surviving should such an unpleasant event occur. That said, every once and a while I give learning a skill bonus points for being useful in the event of a nasty global disaster. . . such as fixing a roof or raising chickens or having friends who know a bit about medicine or engineering.

The subject of the apocaplyse (and whether thinking about it is devient) came up over an empty threat to not own a television or have cable. I figure I've survived happily without for 10 years on acount of having more interesting things to do with my money (i.e. buy food) and time (i.e. plow through scads of homework). The advantage of not having a television is that the temptation to veg is removed and you are much more likely to do something more fulfilling and constructive (i.e. knit mittens - although much of my knitting occured while watching episodes of Due South, so this isn't a great example.).

So, honestly, I don't have any great plans for the apocalypse. Its hard to plan for when you not only don't have a clue if or when it'll happen, nevermind the circumstances surrounding it. I think the government must have some musty plans left over from the cold war years on how it would handle a nuclear catastrophe (or you could read one of the zillions of after the bomb science fiction books (Z is for zachariah being a children's book, Farnham's Freehold (Heinlein), The Chrysalids, The Stand(King)) Its a terribly popular science fiction theme, especially in the 60's and 70's.

So, here is some advice gleaned from an Australlian Survivalist Website "A good library full of practical information is a necessity for anyone who hopes to survive a worldwide cataclysmic event." Phew... I'm ready. . . hope that all those sci-fi and fantasy books are as useful than the engineering and biology text books. Ohh, the rest of this site is too wacky[TEOTWAWKI - being an acronym for "the end of the world as we know it"], not to find entertaining. . . it includes a poll of I'm-not-sure-who on what they think the most likely cause of the apocalypse will be. . . and the winner is . . . Natural Pandemic followed by natural disaster, economic collapse, world war III, weapons of mass destruction and finally asteroid crash.

Still, as much as the site makes me uncomfortable in the sort of way that makes you make fun of it - I still believe there is merit in making some plans for surviving disasters whether it be on a small personal scale, something the size of hurricane katrina or being world wide. The people who plan a little are more likely to be the ones still around after the dust has settled and the rest of us may not be around to call them paranoid, hippies or scientoligists as the case applies.

I figure I have some reasonable wilderness skills - walking long distances, purifying water, pitching shelters, first aid, plant identification and fire building. And perhaps a few useful engineering skills, although I'm lacking in practical carpentry, husbandry or serious medical skills. Prehaps I should get more involved with the SCA. :D They're great people learning useful skills.

Anywho,

I'm rambling and should get some sleep. I'm not making much sense. Good night.

Jennith