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Let the prepping begin!

Behold, a small portion of our canned goods horde. The bit that won’t fit in the cabinets any more. We’ve always kept a generous amount of non-perishables on hand, being people of constitutional paranoia, but shit does seem quite considerably closer to the fan today and we’ve just received a large order of stuff.

Ordered 20 kilos of cat food a moment ago and I believe Uncle B is eyeing a bulk booze purchase.

No specific news in the UK, just a general louder ringing of alarm bells on news and social media.

Actually, no, strike that — social media has gone nucking futz about coronavirus. My little pea brain is so full of argumentation and rumor I don’t even know how to pass any of it along. As if passing any of that howling junk along was a good idea.

Temperature going up where you are?

Comments


Comment from Mitchell
Time: February 24, 2020, 9:41 pm

I’ve decided that I’m young and healthy and non-Asian enough to survive the Kung Flupocalypse (Flumageddon?). Other than that it’s a great, big Puddle of Unknown. Can’t trust anything out of China about all this and everybody else seems contradictory or just confused.


Comment from Mitchell
Time: February 24, 2020, 9:44 pm

My REAL biggest concern is that this thing winds up completely tanking the world’s economy and we wind up Feeling The Bern because that’s what you do when facing a world crisis – back the people farthest to the left as possible.


Comment from Gromulin
Time: February 24, 2020, 9:54 pm

Mixed selections in JELLY. I can hear the slorp of that congealed mess sliding out of the can into the cat tray.


Comment from Uncle Badger
Time: February 24, 2020, 9:58 pm

Oh, it’s worse than that, Gromulin! The damn stuff is in pouches and however careful you are it slides over your fingers on the way to the bowl. Gross doesn’t even begin to describe it.


Comment from Some Vegetable
Time: February 24, 2020, 10:33 pm

Somehow I was under the naive presumption that since you are living in a zillion year old farmhouse in the English countryside that there would be plenty of delicious native English mice (no doubt raised on English-Cheddar-cheese) available in amounts sufficient to sustain a couple of quite fat Moggies.

Instead I learn that you are feeding them processed glop from a pouch. Hmmm now I am totally suspicious. Are you sure you two don’t really reside in a Condo in Detroit or something?

I have to tell up my guard is UP! since I saw this article:

https://petapixel.com/2020/02/20/influencer-faked-a-glamorous-trip-to-bali-by-taking-photos-in-an-ikea/


Comment from QuasiModo
Time: February 24, 2020, 10:40 pm

The Canadian gov’t in Ottawa doesn’t want to be called racist, so they’re letting infected people run hither, thither and yon…only a matter of time.

Stocking up on canned goods, rice, flour, cat food, bird seed, etc etc etc. Those empty shelves at the stores in Italy make me worry.


Comment from p2
Time: February 24, 2020, 10:45 pm

Not sweating the whole virus thing an iota. And to answer your last question, no, it most decidedly is going down. Woke to a balmy -25 F this morning after a positively tropical +30 on Thursday last. I figure if that virus can handle these Alaskan winter temps then there’s probably not a lot I can do to stop it. There is fine single malt in the drinks cabinet to ease the transition.


Comment from DurnedYankee
Time: February 24, 2020, 11:13 pm

Hot? Well it burned the bottom out of the stock market today.

And Italy suddenly went from not to HOT HOT!!

Some idiots decided it would be okay to let possibly sick patients fly back to the US on a plane with us normies without anything special to protect anyone.
I seriously consider it deliberate so they can blame whatever President we currently have in office. OH! Wait!
That would be the one they really hate insanely enough to think it’ll be okay because only the ‘worst’ sort of people will get the Kung Flu, you see?

I’m debating ordering in some more supplies, of which we have, well, a fair bit. And stock up on moar canned goods. Perhaps another 25 lbs of rice.


Comment from Tim Carlson
Time: February 25, 2020, 2:41 am

Oh, yeah – we’ve been prepped for about 2 weeks now. We have non-perishable supplies for 2 weeks per person, plus a large cache of flu med / fever reducers, plus old man specific meds, plus litres and litres of bottled water, masks, gloves, batteries, solar rechargable power banks (for the cell phones / tabs), etc. etc. etc.

I guess 400 repatriated filipinos arrive today in Manila, evacuated from one of those plague ships. All 400 are supposedly infection-free but … yeah, we’ve all seen how well that has been going in other parts of the world. I figure about 10% are actually infected but asymptomatic and will shed viruses like mad after they are released from a FOURTEEN DAY quarantine (only 14 days? Are they MAD?). That should turn Metro Manila and it’s 12 million inhabitants into the coronavirus version of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Ugh.


Comment from Rich Rostrom
Time: February 25, 2020, 2:48 am

What Mitchell said.

Even if the CV doesn’t spread significantly beyond China, the current industrial disruption there may be enough to trigger a global recession. Way too many companies are dependent on Chinese-made parts and products, and the slack has been squeezed out of the supply chains.

This has not been a bad thing, overall. Comparative advantage, lowered costs, etc.

Until TSHTF.

I’ve been reading an alternate history of the British battle fleet in WW I. One of the different ships produced had a highish-tech lighter-weight hull frame (various tricks to get more strength from less steel). It worked great – the ship was faster and more seaworthy, used less fuel. But when she got hit hard in battle, the damage was more painful, because there was no redundancy in the structure.

That’s how I see a lot of modern life. We push the edge (because we can, and benefits). But if things break, they break hard.

Though now that I think of it, in some areas we have a lot more resilience. Modern structures resist earthquakes better, AFAICT.

But the economic system, I’m not so sure about. If there is bad crash, Trump could lose to anybody.


Comment from dissent
Time: February 25, 2020, 4:54 am

Sorry, just can’t see Lizzie Warren as the head mistress of ThunderDome.


Comment from dissent
Time: February 25, 2020, 4:56 am

” There is fine single malt in the drinks cabinet to ease the transition.” – p2

Dude. Just one??


Comment from Mitch
Time: February 25, 2020, 6:36 am

Dissent, Bernie will ride around on Warren’s big, beefy shoulders: she’ll be the Blaster to his gnomish Master. WHO RUN BARTERTOWN??


Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: February 25, 2020, 12:36 pm

Just bought a fifth of Indian (Amrut) Scotch because I was curious.
It’s not bad, but if I’m serving people who didn’t cache their own, that’s what they’re going to get.

And I’ve always said our ‘civilization’ is about as thick as the veneer on a cheap kitchen table and it ain’t oak underneath. The irony is the more advanced a place is, the worse the crack up is going to be.

But fear not, I have it on good authority that “farmin is easy”, and you probably have bags of microwave popcorn seed, cans of peanuts, and whole wheat macaroni you can use to plant a survival crop. As an aside, you folks up Maine way, my grandfather told me macaroni don’t grow up there.

Don’t forget the gluten free wheat, kale, soybeans and arugula, there might be some hungry vegans and people who won’t eat gluten or carbs.
Weasy, my last question is, if I want to grow chickens, do I plant em in the ground feet first or head first?


Comment from Deborah HH
Time: February 25, 2020, 4:53 pm

Stoaty? Do you have a good method for freezing eggs? A few years ago when we were expecting an egg shortage, I froze about five dozen eggs, but I was not happy with the results.

I freeze milk and butter all the time, but we go through a lot of eggs, and I’d hate to find myself without some. I can survive without poached eggs for breakfast, but we do love corn bread, waffles, and cake 🙂


Comment from OldFert
Time: February 25, 2020, 8:06 pm

If there’s a bad coronavirus (or dos equis virus, for that matter) breakout, Mrs Fert and I will do pretty well at least for a few weeks.

If the supermarket shelves are bare, I figger we can use Amazon. I don’t have to go anywhere.

As for weather, right now in coastal Georgia (about 25 mi from the actual ocean) it’s a balmy 71 degrees Fahrenheit, light rain (2:58 PM Eastern time). Rest of the week should be 70s then high 50s.

And for drinkie-poos, we still have some scotch (single malt, retirement present), gin (leftover from Fertson’s visit with his family), vodka, and Kahlua (white and black russians are nice). Don’t drink much any more and when I do I’d as soon have something with an umbrella garnish.

Haven’t heard from Fertette or her hubbie lately. She’s in the USAF somewhere near Tokyo, but things seem OK over there from what the internet and news says.

So, we’re set. Glad to see you are, too.


Comment from S. Weasel
Time: February 25, 2020, 8:28 pm

Plenty of mice, Some Veg. But the little one isn’t quite up to it.

There will be no shortage of eggs, Deborah HH. I have five hens. I have to eat three eggs a day just to break even, and take half a dozen in to work when they get ahead of me. Now, chicken food…


Comment from p2
Time: February 25, 2020, 10:12 pm

@dissent, Of course not! I’m a firm believer in “One is None.” There is fine single malt, in several iterations and ages, ’cause variety is indeed the spice…..


Comment from CantHarkMyCry
Time: February 25, 2020, 11:52 pm

Deborah HH: I’ve had reasonable luck freezing either whites or yolks separately–use ice cube trays, or those small lidded plastic cups restaurants give you salad dressing in. If you used ice cube trays, pop the results out and wrap in plastic for long term storage. Whole eggs can be beaten before storage, same freezing method. But none of them is going to make a good poached egg. . .


Comment from Drew458
Time: February 26, 2020, 6:23 pm

No, 14 days is not enough. 30 is probably best.

I hope you bought a 60 day supply of Lou Rawls … loo rolls … toilet paper. Figure 30 days isolation, and if you get sick you’ll probably go through it twice as fast. And lots of cat litter.

I’m about ready to go spend large at the store. I figure 100 cans of cat food should do it for our kittehs. We get the pate kind and mix in some water. Why pay for “gravy” when you can just add water? Oh, and some food for us. Extra aspirin and Pepto. Canned and frozen stuff. A couple cases of beer maybe?

Dangit, I do not want to be one of these paranoid prepper types, or join the tinfoil hat brigade, but I’ve been following this Wu Flu thing since before Christmas, and the sudden uptick in MSM attention and now exponential global outbreak is getting hard to ignore.

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