My water has gone missing. My jug of nice clean, slightly toxic, but above all tasty wellwater vanished. I'm more pissed about the jug than the water, money is tight right now, and they started selling cheaper plastic caps on the dollar jugs of water, which means I'll need to buy a gallon of milk to replace it (which is still cheaper than empty jugs).
Anyway, it occurred to me, as I gave in and went to the sink, that the fact I can turn a nob, and cut cold drinkable water, and turn a different nob to get hot water. Compared to how most people lived throughout history, and still live in far too many places, this is beyond amazing. Forget computers, forget electric lights, forget airplanes, tap water is a damned miracle from the gods.
When civilization dies, and I have either joined Roger's cannibal tribe, or have enlisted with Enrico's Ostrich riding tranny calvary, tap water will be what I miss most.
And if you don't believe me, go without it for a week.
Hell yeah, I remember when our city had no water (had a leak somewhere, worried about contamination, or something) for one evening, night and morning. It's fucked up, you can't shower, brush your teeth, make tea or coffee, or indeed, just drink a glass of water (I don't drink that much soda or lemonade or fruitdrinks from bottles, so I didn't have much in my fridge either), friggin' zerg rush on the bottled water in the supermarkets next day, too.
I still need to buy a couple of big bottles of bottled water, so I won't be without in case it happens again.
I've made do with less camping and sailing, but it does make you focus on how groady stuff can get without the ability to twist a tap and sluice it off at will. (Less of a problem on the ocean, admitedly.) That seemingly inexhaustable tap does allot to keep us from being crusty, rude haired wild men.
I spent one summer without hot water and you can do OK without. It would have SUCKED in the winter though.
(A game of "who breaks and pays for heating oil first" with the roomies of the time. I won when one of them had a lady friend start staying over often.)
I have always said indoor plumbing is the last thing I would be able to give up. I appreciate running water, but I've used an indoor pump and it won't kill me. Running outside to an outhouse would!
I keep about 10 milk jugs full of water in my basement all the time and cycle them every six months. Between broken water lines or disasters... having a bit of water set back seems too easy and necessary to skip....
I do the same. I have 6 5-gallon water bottles I keep full all the time. It's from living in a hurricane zone for so many years.
It's a really good idea. I have one of those big blue 5-gallon containers.
The thing is, something like an earthquake could easily sever water lines, so you never know when you might need it. That actually reminds me, I need to assess our earthquake-readiness... I think we need more salt, liquor, and first-aid supplies. I was also planning to get a tripod and cauldron for cooking over a fire if need be... I don't have a wood stove or fireplace, which is another thing I'm going to have to remedy eventually.
If you live in an area with a lot of diverted streams, like Portland, it's a good idea to look on a map to find your nearest underground creek, and then go locate the manhole cover closet to you. If it comes down to that, you can use the stream as a water source: they are usually completely separated from the stormwater runoff drains.
Nigel: I like your big blue jug idea! That would solve the potential contamination issues of rebottling your own. I'll grab one the next time I see it cheap.
For outdoor cooking, if you're handy w/ hammer and torch, you can knock one out of rebar. Cast Iron dutch ovens are PERFECT for this too.
Quote from: Richter on January 21, 2009, 08:10:09 PM
Nigel: I like your big blue jug idea! That would solve the potential contamination issues of rebottling your own. I'll grab one the next time I see it cheap.
For outdoor cooking, if you're handy w/ hammer and torch, you can knock one out of rebar. Cast Iron dutch ovens are PERFECT for this too.
Ohhhh good idea about the rebar!
Is how I made mine. If you scrounge, you get it for free, and you get to play ghetto blacksmith! :D
I have also used the swingset frame.
I actually just found a tripod for $13, I'm just gonna buy that.
Also, a spit is an amazing tool for emergency cooking.
Yeah, a spit would be handy if I had some meat, but most of my emergency provisions are things like beans, rice, canned tomatoes, etc... so being able to make soup is really crucial!
I suppose there could come the time when I would be eating dogs and squirrels, but in terms of being prepared for living without utilities after a natural disaster, my main concerns are heat, fresh water, medical supplies, and being able to cook the food I have at hand.
Also, I have a large wood/charcoal BBQ/smoker in the back yard already. :) I could probably use it for making soup in a dutch oven, actually.
Fucking health inspector made me throw out my grill. :argh!: I need to get a smaller one i can hide from him.
Also... salt. It never occured to me until just now I'll need that if things go to hell. I'm usually trying to eat less of the stuff.
Quote from: Requiem on January 22, 2009, 08:12:23 AM
Fucking health inspector made me throw out my grill. :argh!: I need to get a smaller one i can hide from him.
That's a fucking shame. The gas grill DEFINITELY comes in handy during a hurricane. MREs :vom: and beer! They've come out with some surpisingly good ones though recently, but you couldnt find them in those shitty surplus ripoffs.
This turned into the Discordian Survivalism thread quick :lulz:
The Hivemind must be preserved!
Also, I think nearly all of us have a tiny amount of paranoia. Hurricanes, dystopias, it's all the same.
Quote from: Requiem on January 22, 2009, 08:12:23 AM
Fucking health inspector made me throw out my grill. :argh!: I need to get a smaller one i can hide from him.
Also... salt. It never occured to me until just now I'll need that if things go to hell. I'm usually trying to eat less of the stuff.
Why the hell is he able to walk in and make you throw out anything? I'm guessing apartment living or somesuch.
Anyways, this may help. Cheap / free, efficient, and EXPENDABLE!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hobo-Stove-from-Tin-Can---Traditional-High-Tech-Ca/
Quote from: Requiem on January 22, 2009, 08:12:23 AM
Fucking health inspector made me throw out my grill. :argh!: I need to get a smaller one i can hide from him.
Also... salt. It never occured to me until just now I'll need that if things go to hell. I'm usually trying to eat less of the stuff.
A health inspector at your house? Weird!
Yeah, some often-overlooked things that are good to stock up on are salt, sugar, aspirin, and hard liquor (I chose vodka because it's cheap and versatile, and not tempting enough for me to break into before I need it). A case of duct tape couldn't do you wrong, either. I store a lot of my garden produce via canning, but if you can't do that, a case of dried cranberries or cherries is a great idea. Dried meat too, preferably just salted and not seasoned or smoked, so you can use it for soups. Vegetables like corn, onions, carrots, and peas dry very well, store well, and rehydrate nicely into soup. I also usually have a 20-lb bag of pinto beans and one of rice on hand; I go through them gradually and buy new ones when I'm about halfway down so they don't go bad. I would like to keep a 50-lb sack of flour on hand but I have problems with moths and a 50-lb sack won't fit in the freezer. :(
Normally I keep a bunch of winter squash from the garden n the basement, but I kept procrastinating moving them to the basement and they all froze. :(
It's not hard to see the Mormon influence on my attitude toward food, is it? :lulz:
Oh, by the way, you can usually pick up 55-gallon steel drums for less than $30, and it's not a bad idea to have one on hand for smoking/drying meat if you should need to. Also, getting handy with stone-age hunting tools isn't a bad idea; ammo always runs out eventually.
The thing that I've been stressing about lately is that I REALLY need a wood stove in the house for heat.
Quote from: Nigel on January 22, 2009, 05:43:26 PM
The thing that I've been stressing about lately is that I REALLY need a wood stove in the house for heat.
Remember them 55 gal. drums? They don't make the most efficient wood burners, but they work.
Line it with firebrick / furnace cement, and make up a door, baffle, legs, etc. (They sell kits, for ~ $50.00.)
I've seen a few cast iron box stoves go DIRT CHEAP at yard sales if they're rusty. (Haunt foreclosed properties maybe?)
Quote from: Richter on January 22, 2009, 06:21:34 PM
Quote from: Nigel on January 22, 2009, 05:43:26 PM
The thing that I've been stressing about lately is that I REALLY need a wood stove in the house for heat.
Remember them 55 gal. drums? They don't make the most efficient wood burners, but they work.
Line it with firebrick / furnace cement, and make up a door, baffle, legs, etc. (They sell kits, for ~ $50.00.)
I've seen a few cast iron box stoves go DIRT CHEAP at yard sales if they're rusty. (Haunt foreclosed properties maybe?)
No space for one that big. You can pick up old wood stoves really cheap at salvage yards, or on Craigslist.
The main problem with older wood stoves, and almost all homemade ones, is that compared to modern stoves you get about half the heat from your fuel. Also, honestly, the bulk of your expense is going to be installation/firewall/baffle/hearth and putting in a safe chimney: you might as well spring for the extra couple of hundred to get an efficient new stove, especially since obtaining a steady wood supply in the city is going to be a little trickier. Also, working with limited space (my house is big but the rooms are small and crowded) means I would be better off with a smaller, more efficient stove.
I just figured out where I can put a wood stove that works.
Yay! Now I just have to save up.
Good points. I wouldn't want to try to improvise baffles either.
My parents run a woodstove in the city, and burn msotly scrap wood from job sites or old skids. (Junk mail burns well. Provoke enough and your kindling comes to you. :) )
Scrap wood is really good, if you have carpenter connections you can get an endless supply of free wood.
Quote from: Richter on January 22, 2009, 01:48:59 PM
Quote from: Requiem on January 22, 2009, 08:12:23 AM
Fucking health inspector made me throw out my grill. :argh!: I need to get a smaller one i can hide from him.
Also... salt. It never occured to me until just now I'll need that if things go to hell. I'm usually trying to eat less of the stuff.
Why the hell is he able to walk in and make you throw out anything? I'm guessing apartment living or somesuch.
Anyways, this may help. Cheap / free, efficient, and EXPENDABLE!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hobo-Stove-from-Tin-Can---Traditional-High-Tech-Ca/
Apartment yeah, my lease says the landlord gets to do inspections, and is allowed to have a 3rd party present. What caught me by surprise was that the landlord would use his to let the health inspectors in. I'd fight it, but it comes with an advantage that the inspector never checks bedrooms (at least not when we're here). So the landlord is still in the dark about things like the rats.
IMHO, that's sucky, but landlord vs. renter rights are always odd. I hope they never rifle through your bedroom.
If you think they might, booby traps would just cause trouble. Defend your rodents with psychology: leave a towel and a dildo over the obvious side of the rat cage.
Quote from: Richter on January 23, 2009, 08:35:59 PM
IMHO, that's sucky, but landlord vs. renter rights are always odd. I hope they never rifle through your bedroom.
If you think they might, booby traps would just cause trouble. Defend your rodents with psychology: leave a towel and a dildo over the obvious side of the rat cage.
We use a blanket and my roommate's anal kit actually.
My friend says that if she has any money left over after her bathroom remodel, she'll buy us both wood stoves. Cross your fingers for us, guys; we need to be ready when the zombies come.
Quote from: Nigel on January 23, 2009, 09:19:48 PM
My friend says that if she has any money left over after her bathroom remodel, she'll buy us both wood stoves. Cross your fingers for us, guys; we need to be ready when the zombies ECH's heavily-armed band of cannibal bandits come.
fixed that for you.
Quote from: Dirtytime on January 23, 2009, 09:44:16 PM
Quote from: Nigel on January 23, 2009, 09:19:48 PM
My friend says that if she has any money left over after her bathroom remodel, she'll buy us both wood stoves. Cross your fingers for us, guys; we need to be ready when the zombies ECH's heavily-armed band of cannibal bandits come.
fixed that for you.
:lulz:
Quote from: Requiem on January 23, 2009, 09:16:30 PM
Quote from: Richter on January 23, 2009, 08:35:59 PM
IMHO, that's sucky, but landlord vs. renter rights are always odd. I hope they never rifle through your bedroom.
If you think they might, booby traps would just cause trouble. Defend your rodents with psychology: leave a towel and a dildo over the obvious side of the rat cage.
We use a blanket and my roommate's anal kit actually.
You've got the idea then :lulz: