Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, everything I read is that New Orleans is pretty much a cross between a movie set for “Blackhawk Down” and “Zulu”. I am extremely glad that I live far away from this insanity that I neednt worry about roving gangs wandering the streets, breaking into houses at will and causing all sorts of chaos. On the other hand, there are going to be some economic ripples from this that I wont be immune from. The biggest one Im concerned about is the gasoline situation. Apparently, and perhaps Im reading this wrong, theres a good chunk of refining capacity that is going to be down for a while (as well as about 20 offshore oil rigs that are just completely missing). Theres already panic buying which, naturally, is driving up costs and driving down supply. (Hey! Supply and demand…whoda thunk it?) The girlfriend, last week, pretty much demanded to know why we weren't buying gas cans and stocking gasoline. When she said that we saddled up and filled the truck and filled our newly purchased gas cans. BUT….we've a trip to Billings next weekend that could use prety much all of that. Hmmm. Cant cancel the trip to Billings. I may have to wander off to WallyWorld and get a couple more cans and gas 'em up.

I'm also hearing that at least one major coffee company gets all its imports through New Orleans and that can of Folgers you like so much may be going up in price and scarcity.

One of the LMI came by yesterday and we were discussing things. I told him that I was uneasy and unsettled these days because of all this disaster footage Ive been watching. He asked what it would take to make me feel better. I thought a moment and said:
1) Money. The universal survival supply.
2) A well-stocked place out in the boonies we could run off to

For now, I'll settle for another 20 gallons of stabilized gas safely tucked away. The stockpiled gas isnt really a hedge against a price increase, its a hedge against a shortage. As in NO-GAS-signs-on-the-pumps shortage. 'Fuel' is in the top five on any list of things to stockpile..right up there with food, water, ammo, and meds…

The girfriend and I live only 9 blocks from our workplaces. Bank, grocery and post office are only three blocks past that. We dont need to drive anywhere really except maybe to WW or Costco once or twice a month. But I absolutely want to have the option of being able to hop into a gasoline-powered vehicle and leave town if I have to. Right now, between gas in the truck and in storage we've approx. 525 miles of range…not quite enough to make it to Billings and back.

I'd been slacking on the gas storage because of the expense of new steel cans ($27~) and my lack of what I feel was wa safe place to store them. (I really have no desire to store them indoors). Im planning on building a little doghouse-type structure along my fenceline, hidden in the lilacs, to house the gas cans. Keeps 'em away from the house, but hidden and nearby.

Word For The Day:

Guantanadome – n. The domed sports arena where refugees are searched and then ‘detained’ for their own protection by armed guards and denied the freedom to leave.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Word For The Day:

Guantanadome – n. The domed sports arena where refugees are searched and then 'detained' for their own protection by armed guards and denied the freedom to leave.

Its gotten to the point where I simply cannot read any more about the refugees in the Superdome. Between .gov saying that citizens will not be released (like prisoners, I guess) and the citizens whining about the conditions, I want to get up and scream at them long and hard about being sheeple.

Seriously, everything goes red around the edges andm y shest hurts when I read this stuff.

For a refreshingly different take, interdictor is riding it out in a generator equipped data center. And he has net acces so he’s probably the closest thing to ‘our man in New Orleans’. And, he’s the LJ-er formally known as ikilled007 so he’s the last one to be caught standing in a .gov/FEMA food line. Good reading.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Its gotten to the point where I simply cannot read any more about the refugees in the Superdome. Between .gov saying that citizens will not be released (like prisoners, I guess) and the citizens whining about the conditions, I want to get up and scream at them long and hard about being sheeple.

Seriously, everything goes red around the edges andm y shest hurts when I read this stuff.

For a refreshingly different take, is riding it out in a generator equipped data center. And he has net acces so he's probably the closest thing to 'our man in New Orleans'. And, he's the LJ-er formally known as so he's the last one to be caught standing in a .gov/FEMA food line. Good reading.

The National Guard commander is taking his orders from the county managers and civil affairs folks. People won’t be released from here until power and flooding issues are resolved in their neighborhoods. Everyone who came here as a last resort signed an invisible contract, signing their safety over to the city.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

The National Guard commander is taking his orders from the county managers and civil affairs folks. People won't be released from here until power and flooding issues are resolved in their neighborhoods. Everyone who came here as a last resort signed an invisible contract, signing their safety over to the city.

Theres two thoughts about ‘survival’ that used to be dominant, although one has mostly fallen from favor.

One idea was that it was best to be highly mobile, not being tied down to any one location. Without a static supply depot you’d be less likely to die defending it. You could evade the hordes. Think ‘Mad Max’.
The contrary idea was hunker in your bunker. Heavily fortified and ready to repel looters at a moments notice. Think ‘Dawn of the Dead’.

The first lifestyle has generally given way to the idea of low-profile, well-stocked, heavily-fortified, savagely-defended homes/retreats. Im in that particular camp. ‘Never, ever become a refugee’ is the cry of several authoers in the field (Benson, Long, etc, etc.) To this, I agree… once you become a refugee you have dropped to the bottom of the totem pole. You are vulnerable, lost and at the mercy of all, good (the people giving you handouts) and the bad (those wanting to take them away). To wit:

These are not ‘victims’, these are not ‘innocents’, these are not ‘unfortunates’ – these are refugees. At the Superdome, if you want to enter the facility and try to weather the weather you are searched for weapons, drugs, etc. and you are told to bring your own food/water/bedding. Lets think about this….

Theres a hurricane bearing down on your position. For some unfathomable reason you ignored the three days or so of notice to get the hell out of dodge and then, at the 11th hour, decide ‘eh, I’ll go to the Dome’. Unless you feel youre capable of carry a 5-gallon jug of water, a sleeping bag, clothes, toiletries, food and entertainment for each person in your party on your back,  youre probably going to show up with nothing….and then the National Guardsmen are going to toss all your gear looking for drugs. Good luck convincing them that prescription heart medicine isnt ecstasy. Once inside the facility youre now at the mercy of any group larger than yours…much like prison. The toilets? They’ll be out of commission in a few days…toilet paper will be gone in a few hours. Potable water? Maybe…get in line at the drinking fountains intil the water pressure dies due to pump failures. Food? Im sure the Red Cross will be handing out cookies, juice boxes and the like. Sleep? If you can sleep in a chair with all your belongings that you brought safeguarded from your strange neighbors. Im curious to know if theyre letting people OUT of the Superdome. “Uhm, I’ll just be heading home thanks…make myself some dinner and chang clothes. Thanks for everything.” “Sir, we cant let you leave. For your own safety, we are not allowing anyone to leave the Superdome until [insert local government authority here] says we can. Please return to your seat.”

Ever been stuck on a runway in a plane that couldnt take off and had to sit on the tarmac for a few hours? Well, thats what this is going to be like.

These people had a choice….they had days of warning. They ignored it. Dont say ‘they couldnt leave because theyre poor/black/didnt have cars/were misinformed/etc’. Any person with a television, radio or a freakin’ newspaper could have learned that it was going to be a killer hurricane three days ago and either called Cousin Billy to come get them, paid $40 for a bus ticket, gotten on a freakin’ bicycle and gotten out of the impact areas.

My sympathies, such as they are, are going to be with those who stayed with their homes or left town and came back later… at least by doing one of those things they made a decision and did something.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Theres two thoughts about 'survival' that used to be dominant, although one has mostly fallen from favor.

One idea was that it was best to be highly mobile, not being tied down to any one location. Without a static supply depot you'd be less likely to die defending it. You could evade the hordes. Think 'Mad Max'.
The contrary idea was hunker in your bunker. Heavily fortified and ready to repel looters at a moments notice. Think 'Dawn of the Dead'.

The first lifestyle has generally given way to the idea of low-profile, well-stocked, heavily-fortified, savagely-defended homes/retreats. Im in that particular camp. 'Never, ever become a refugee' is the cry of several authoers in the field (Benson, Long, etc, etc.) To this, I agree… once you become a refugee you have dropped to the bottom of the totem pole. You are vulnerable, lost and at the mercy of all, good (the people giving you handouts) and the bad (those wanting to take them away). To wit:

These are not 'victims', these are not 'innocents', these are not 'unfortunates' – these are refugees. At the Superdome, if you want to enter the facility and try to weather the weather you are searched for weapons, drugs, etc. and you are told to bring your own food/water/bedding. Lets think about this….

Theres a hurricane bearing down on your position. For some unfathomable reason you ignored the three days or so of notice to get the hell out of dodge and then, at the 11th hour, decide 'eh, I'll go to the Dome'. Unless you feel youre capable of carry a 5-gallon jug of water, a sleeping bag, clothes, toiletries, food and entertainment for each person in your party on your back,  youre probably going to show up with nothing….and then the National Guardsmen are going to toss all your gear looking for drugs. Good luck convincing them that prescription heart medicine isnt ecstasy. Once inside the facility youre now at the mercy of any group larger than yours…much like prison. The toilets? They'll be out of commission in a few days…toilet paper will be gone in a few hours. Potable water? Maybe…get in line at the drinking fountains intil the water pressure dies due to pump failures. Food? Im sure the Red Cross will be handing out cookies, juice boxes and the like. Sleep? If you can sleep in a chair with all your belongings that you brought safeguarded from your strange neighbors. Im curious to know if theyre letting people OUT of the Superdome. “Uhm, I'll just be heading home thanks…make myself some dinner and chang clothes. Thanks for everything.” “Sir, we cant let you leave. For your own safety, we are not allowing anyone to leave the Superdome until [insert local government authority here] says we can. Please return to your seat.”

Ever been stuck on a runway in a plane that couldnt take off and had to sit on the tarmac for a few hours? Well, thats what this is going to be like.

These people had a choice….they had days of warning. They ignored it. Dont say 'they couldnt leave because theyre poor/black/didnt have cars/were misinformed/etc'. Any person with a television, radio or a freakin' newspaper could have learned that it was going to be a killer hurricane three days ago and either called Cousin Billy to come get them, paid $40 for a bus ticket, gotten on a freakin' bicycle and gotten out of the impact areas.

My sympathies, such as they are, are going to be with those who stayed with their homes or left town and came back later… at least by doing one of those things they made a decision and did something.

Well, if you live in New Orleans its time to get your Zero on. The TV has been flooded(!) with dire predictions about New Orleans washing out to sea. I’m going to ignore the horror of a culture without America’s national capital of boobflashing-for-palstic-beads…..for now. Should be interesting and quite the learning experience when this all blows over and we start getting reports from survivors of how things went. Im sure the various preparedness boards will be eating it up.
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The girlfriend pointed out that while US oil supplies on hand were good for a few weeks, our refining capacity has been curtailed and on this news oil prices, and gas prices, went up again. Its supposed to be worse in the next few days so we headed to WallyWorld and picked up 3 5-gallon gas cans and filled ’em at CostCo for $2.48 a gallon. And filled the truck. We have a long trip to Billings in about two weeks and this might save us a few bucks in the long run. And given the uncertainty in the energy world right now I am waaaaaaay cool with having a few 5 gallon cans of gas laid back.
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Picked up forty NIB military contract AR mags with green followers. Score. That and the .30 can of SS109 greentip in the bunker give a happy warm fuzzy feeling.

Longer (much longer) post later.. Im tired from  travelling.