preppers

saw "doomsday preppers," a tv show about people who prep for the end of the world...it is slowly entering mainstream media as more people are worrying about the gradual deterioration of this country, but the funny thing is that most of these people are probably teabaggers and their leader, george dubya, really messed things up...but that is another discussion...i want to do a review of the episode that i saw

the show interviewed three preppers, and they rated them afterwards on their preparedness...

1. the first was a couple living off the grid in some type of compound made with shipping containers that were welded together...their fear was that the poles would reverse...i'm not sure how that would affect us other than our compasses working backwards

these guys were on the extreme end of prepping...they had livestock, 50,000lbs of food in storage, tons of guns and ammo, an escape plan, alternative sources for electricity, and ran bug out drills...with their military background, they focused on arms and preparation in hostile situations...if there was a real loss of law and order, these are the people i would fear the most...well armed, aggressive, and suspicious of everyone else not in their clan...it's a sad commentary on america's society where people feel like they have to build a fortress and isolate themselves in case of a disaster...if there was a massive earthquake and tsunami along the los angeles coast, i bet the situation would be more like what happened after katrina than after the tsunami in japan

there were a few things that i did think was very useful...making makeshift wind turbines and using methane from animal waste and sewage for their gas stoves...also, catching their own food and knowing how to prepare an animal...some of the problems were that they stored all the food in just one container, which is risky if something happened to it...they changed this strategy and cached their food in different locations after the first taping...it also seemed like they lacked more basic things like extra clothes or maybe they didn't show it...they also could have used someone with a medical background and some medical equipment since they had several people in their group...from what was shown, they were just more military guys

2. the second was the instructor for a survival class that i went to

he's more of a survivalist...knows what to forage, make fire, make traps, etc...not "militaried" out...he carries a small back pack with knives, rope, and various other survival gear...his plan is to keep moving in case of a disaster instead of holing up somewhere and trying to defend it...it works for him since he doesn't seem to have a family...also the weather in the los angeles area is usually mild enough that you can stay outdoors most of the year...won't be able to do that if you were in a colder climate...out of the three, his reason for prepping seemed most reasonable - a major earthquake

3. the third was my favorite but not because of her knowledge or skills...

awesome!...nothing says preparedness like short shorts

she was prepping for civil unrest during an oil shortage...her plan was to go to mexico in an escape vehicle that didn't have enough fuel to get there without having to refuel...the irony of relying on a gas vehicle during an oil shortage...not only that, but she had to walk 12 miles through potentially dangerous areas just to get to her getaway car...also, mexico would probably be in a worse state...after the taping, she abandoned her prepping and joined the army...i don't like the rampant use of the internet meme, "epic fail," but it is appropriate here