Posted on 11/10/2012 2:13:09 PM PST by SquarePants
Superstorm Sandy's really turned a lot of people's lives upside down here on Long Island. The watchword for myself and my family is "thankful." We're thankful that we're safe. We're thankful that our home is largely undamaged. We're thankful that God protected our family and that we've had the resources to more or less rough out the conditions for the past week and a half without any ridiculous hardship.
It's been 11 days since my car got swamped by a storm surge. I haven't been able to get gas with any degree of regularity, and when I have there have been lines. Oh man, have there been lines. 2-3 hour waits are considered reasonable. They started rationing gasoline today, with odd/even tags being able to fill up on odd/even days. A couple of lines I noticed seemed like they may be a little shorter, but most of them, and for sure the ones in my neighborhood seemed just as long as ever. My car has an even tag, so I won't be able to get gas until tomorrow. I guess we'll see how that goes.
At any rate, we're the lucky ones. Long Beach is pretty much destroyed. We have friends in Wantagh we haven't heard from. Lindenhurst is beaten up. And of course our neighbors to the west in Queens and Staten Island literally can't buy food, get in or out of their neighborhoods, or protect their property from looters.
This whole mess has driven home the importance of being prepared. Prepared for what? The next storm for sure... Long Island gets hammered pretty regularly by Nor'easters and the occasional hurricane, but we're also an island, and not just any island. We're an island that requires you go through New York City in order to get off it. My guess is that a nuke in Midtown Manhattan could strand us for weeks before we could reasonably expect to get boated or flown off the island. So this has me thinking of how to be better prepared for the next Sandy... or whatever. Here's three things I thought of:
1. Get a generator. I had one delivered this week. It's only 4500 watts, but that should be enough to run our two refrigerators, a window unit A/C, a TV, and a computer.. and maybe a light or two. Whatever size you get, make sure you get a transfer box installed - that's the easiest and safest way to get your essentials online and running in a blackout. I'm not sure how much that cost, since I haven't gotten the bill yet from the electrician.
2. Store some gas. That's absolutely necessary. The generator is no good without fuel, and there's no guarantee that fuel will be available in an emergency. It sure as heck wasn't in this one. I'm open to ideas on the best way to do this. My plan as of now is to fill 5 or 6 five-gallon gas cans and, at the beginning of each month, use the gas in the cars and refill the cans. If someone has a better idea about gas storage, I'm pretty open to it.
3. Store some food. I was looking at MRE's, but they only have a shelf life of five years. I don't want to rely on expired MRE's in an emergency situation, or risk getting sick from one, and I sure don't want to spend a month or two every five years eating MRE's before they expire, so I found freeze-dried food. It looks like I can get 360 meals, or about two months food for my entire family, for around $550.00. The best part is that it lasts for 25 years, so that's the direction I'm going. Store 'em and forget about 'em. Till we need them.
4. Batteries, extension cords and lanterns. Make sure you always have several lanterns and enough batteries to run them. You still can't find D batteries on Long Island, and extension cords and lanterns have also been really hard to come by.
Anyway, I'm sure there's a lot of other excellent things that can be done to prepare for emergency situations, but these are all things I had overlooked. Above all, don't rely on the government or the Red Cross to take care of you. They might, or they might not. There's a lot of people in Staten Island and the Rockaways right now who are paying a huge price for their misplaced confidence that government would be there for them.
I've always been able to just go to the corner and get gas. Our electric went out a few times a year in storms, but it was always up in 3-12 hours. I've never had trouble buying things like gas cans and extension cords, but Sandy woke me up. And I'm thankful for that.
My approach for any such event is to have a list of items that can be packed into 1-2 vehicles in no more than an hour or so. If a major event like this takes place, I'm convinced you'd be better off simply driving 500+ miles and finding a place to wait out the aftermath for 1-2 weeks.
I told my boss after the storm that if I wasn't in such a responsible position in my company, I would have packed my camping gear into my truck and driven out to Ohio or Indiana for a couple of weeks to camp in a state park out there somewhere.
“If you can’t protect it, you don’t own it.” Can you get a 12ga and 500 shells?
Water. If you’ve got freeze-dried foods, you’ll need water to reconstitute it.
Here’s my stores:
http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/carriage_hill/DCP_1285_zps796b9fd8.jpg
Firearms:
http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/carriage_hill/DCP_0907a_zps3aff334a.jpg
Canned food is far cheaper, more durable, doesn’t require water and lasts just as long if not longer than any other “packaged” food.
http://www.grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm
Our son was on Long Island during the storm; and it’s been rough, but improving. His car was also “swamped” as you say. If your car got salt water in the electronics, don’t let the insurance company talk you into anything hastily. Salt water eventually corrodes the electronics. Son’s insurance company hired him a rental car, and he’s sticking to his guns on the corrosion aspect of it.
Every grocery trip, buy a few extra canned goods of what you already eat. Store them and rotate so they don’t expire. You’ll eventually build up your food preps without a shock to the budget and you know your family won’t turn up their noses at strange new foods. Canned goods don’t need extra water to serve.
Packing your car & evacuating is a good idea. But you can’t leave your packed car in a motel parking lot for long before your stuff is stolen.
As a Conservative who believes that God put me on this earth naked and alone, this post shouldn’t really be necessary on this forum.
That said, we need to constantly remind ourselves that real men prepare themselves and their families, for any eventuality.
Forewarned is forearmed...
Right. That’s why my plan was to leave and just camp out somewhere. LOL.
You forgot one:
5. Compare what was NOT learned after Storm Irene, 14 months before Storm Sandy, to what WAS learned from Storm Sandy.
BTW, although incredible to consider, IMHO, it IS possible for the New Jersey and NYC emergency planners to actually learn by reviewing, (I will put this a tactfully as I can), ABSOLUTELY, HEAD-THE-SAND, IT-HAS-NEVER-HAPPENED-HERE-BEFORE, BONE-HEADED, MISTAKES-OF-JUDGEMENT! ( Well, I tried to keep it PC also.)
What will happen if another, even bigger storm, such as a Hurricane Andrew visits NYC? DUH!
Possible Prepper Ping
My solution would be - move out of the city. What if a bomb was dropped, would want to be several hundred miles away.
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We HAD four years to prepare, and it did no good.
Nothing will help until we stop voter fraud!
If we let the massive voter fraud, then we are no better than a banana republic.
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Barack Obama voter fraud 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012 - 22 Updates Posted Today and People You Can Contact! See FRIDAY UPDATES! *
Is this what Barack Obama calls a “ground game?” All things considered, on this page and elsewhere, Mitt Romney IS our President elect. Let’s do something about it!
I’ll be adding additional links on a regular basis and forwarding all of this information to Mitt’s campaign! Please send other links.
Evidence of massive Obama voter fraud in Colorado! Ten counties show 104% to 140% turnout!
http://www.redstate.com/2012/09/04/colorado-counties-have-more-voters-than-people/
Fraud: Some told they already voted, others brag about voting multiple times
Crooked Politics: Obama Lost in Every State With Photo ID Law
http://american3rdposition.com/?p=8416
Philly Polling Stations Where GOP Inspectors Were Kicked Out Had 90% Voter Turnout, 99% Voted For Obama…
[Sounds like those Black Panthers who kicked out the GOP observers and stood guard at the polling stations were not just trying to intimidate voters! They were hiding something!]
Voter Fraud Watch: Two Election Judges Replaced After Illegal Activity in Ohio - Fox News Insider
Why the Polls are Wrong: Electorate is R+6
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2012/11/05/Why-the-Polls-are-Wrong-Poll-Shows-Electorate-is-R-6
Vote fraud alert: One out of five registered Ohio voters is bogus
via @BeachCity55 on Twitter: Senior parents in Florida told not to put their ballots through their reader but in a box. Senior votes in FL not counted?
Data Points To A Powerful Romney Campaign – And Yet…He Lost?
http://goo.gl/GB723
“You have to vote for Dems” NYC poll worker tells GOP Senate candidate #IllegalElectioneering
http://goo.gl/nn5CN
At least 70,000 report voting problems, mostly in swing states
http://goo.gl/jjCSX
Plane crash destroys Afghanistan US military ballots, most of which are for Mitt Romney
http://goo.gl/kNLFz
Obama’s pattern of disenfranchisement of the military vote
http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=48
Another Stolen Election? Election data HIGHLY suspicious AND the George Soros’ “Secretary of State Project” http://goo.gl/y1ybR
Yes, this is the same George Soros who owns part of the company in Spain Obama outsourced parts of the election to and who has been banned from Hungary because he tampered with elections there.
We will continue to add updates! Please check back often!
THURSDAY UPDATES:
From my friend Lynn Victory on Facebook:
“Thanks for what you are doing. My son is friends with a guy in the Romney campaign who has actually been on since 2008. He is not high up, but said that the O campaign bought high tech equipment to target county by county where the votes were needed in battle-ground states, so that they could “bus in the needed votes”. The guy would not say fraud, but that is fraud.”
Also this referral from Lynn:
White House Insider on Obama Steal the Votes Strategy (Just Before the Election)
“But…these Obama boys…they took it to a whole other level. Votes, donations…deals…it’s a lot more Putin than it is Clinton. Pay to play…Big Labor…this country never seen it at this level.”
Voter fraud witnessed in Wisconsin by one of Mitt’s ORCA observers:
via Lori Patriot on Facebook:
52 Democrats arrested for VOTER FRAUD so far
http://www.newsnet14.com/?p=92957
VIDEO: Illegal Aliens Caught Voting and Stealing Elections In Florida In Vast Numbers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ILJDudUpct0
In 2008, John McCain Ignored Vote Fraud to Avoid Civil Unrest
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/46302
[See what that got us?]
Michael Savage: How Obama fixed 2012 election
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dmJtaOO2etc
Massive voter fraud discovered in April
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ILJDudUpct0
Is Voter Fraud Being Committed in Ohio? (Early Voting)
http://www.humanevents.com/2012/10/26/is-voter-fraud-being-committed-in-ohio/
FRIDAY UPDATES:
Pundit Press: What Luck! Obama Won Dozens of Cleveland Districts with 100% of the Vote
http://www.punditpress.com/2012/11/what-luck-obama-won-dozens-of-cleveland.html
Photo of Ethiopians brought to Ohio voting stations by busload, 95% of whom did not speak English, and told to vote for Obama, straight Dem ticket
https://www.facebook.com/lori.patriot/posts/404694619604138
“Did this Dirty Trick Get Obama Re-Elected?”
http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/did-this-dirty-trick-get-obama-elected/
Vote Fraud Expert: Romney Votes Not Counted in Key States
http://www.prisonplanet.com/vote-fraud-expert-romney-votes-not-counted-in-key-states.html
“Could we fix an election? Sure, they would never know it.”
http://theulstermanreport.com/2012/11/09/could-we-fix-an-election-sure-they-would-never-know-it/
Thousands of votes from our military troops uncounted or missing
http://www.examiner.com/article/cast-aside-thousands-of-votes-from-our-military-troops-uncounted-or-missing
Defense Department can’t put soldiers, ballots together
http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/defense-department-cant-put-soldiers-ballots-together/
Voter fraud in Pennsylvania - Black Panthers return, GOP inspectors thrown out
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/conscience-conservative/2012/nov/6/voter-fraud-pennsylvania-black-panthers-return-gop/
Ohio fraudulent voter registration cards
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Ohio-voter-registration-fraud/2012/11/03/id/462674
Ohio Residents Told They Already Voted When They Showed Up At the Polls Tuesday
http://godfatherpolitics.com/7942/ohio-residents-told-they-already-voted-when-they-showed-up-at-the-polls-tuesday/#.UJuBsqfTvHc.facebook
Poll Worker Puts Glendale Precinct’s Ballots on Car, Drives Away
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Ballots-Found-in-Glendale-Street-177720291.html
Referenced above, but with more information:
Two Ohio Election Judges Removed for Allowing Unregistered Voters to Cast Ballots
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/11/06/Report-Two-Election-Judges-Removed-By-Hamilton-County-Ohio-for-Allowing-Unregistered-Voters-to-Cast-Ballots
Democrat Admits He’s Voted FOUR Times Already
http://nation.foxnews.com/voter-fraud/2012/11/05/democrat-admits-hes-voted-four-times-already
Boston reports 129% voter turnout, 79% for Obama; 74% for Elizabeth Warren
http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/35319922188/voter-fraud-boston-reports-129-voter-turnout-79-for
This one could be just a calibration issue, but not necessarily based on the programer’s testimony in the next link:
Voting machine swaps Romney for Obama
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20121031/NEWS03/310310009
Programmer Testifies About Rigging Elections With Vote Counting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hbf3iaEbAuY
VIDEO: Possible voter fraud in Pennsylvania — or just voting machine malfunction?
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/uwelectioneye/2012/11/06/possible-voter-fraud-in-pennsylvania/
Voter Fraud Complaint Filed against Florida Democrats
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/voter-fraud-Florida-Democrats/2012/10/05/id/458894
“Ballot Re-writers” Update from Allen Westhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=299196730187117&set=a.198312883608836.34844.198021666971291&type=1&theater
“Half the Democratic ground game is voter turnout. The other half is voter fraud.”
Voter Fraud: Obama Won 108% of Registered Voters in Wood County, Ohio
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/voter-fraud-obama-won-%108-of-registered-voters-in-ohio-county/
Video: Diebold Whistleblower Speaks Out on Voter Fraud
BREAKING: St. Lucie County, Florida Had 141.1% Turnout; Obama Won County
http://www.ihatethemedia.com/breaking-st-lucie-county-florida-had-1411-turnout-obama-won-county
Between St. Lucie and Broward Counties, we have a pretty good idea what happened in Florida. Normal voting is what, 50% turnout? It doesn’t take many counties like this to affect an entire state by multiple percentage points.
All of these numbers between 99% (Pennsylvania) and 141.1% (Florida) turnout in dozens of counties in swing states makes me think Team Obama was panicking a lot just before the election, with Mitt up by 7% in certain early voting polls. They overcompensated so much the fraud is impossible to hide. I think they know it, which may be one reason Axelrod is stepping down. (Sound familiar Petraeus and Benghazi?)
As I told someone earlier today, this is who Obama is. This is who Chicago (the machine) is. Do we really want this to be who America is? Is this how we will define our elections from 2008 on? As Mitt says, “America can do better.” We must do better. We can’t let the message be out there that America will let this fraud go.
Want to do something about all of this? Tiffany Banks and Darin Southam forwarded me a list of people you can contact who are in the November 9, 2012 3:12 PM comment below.
Did you know voters can request a recount in certain states? (Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Wisconsin!) Take a look at the comment by @RightonMainSt dated November 9, 2012 11:45 PM below for instructions! Mitt will have to ask in Colorado himself. (Yes, you Mitt!)
It has also been suggested that we ask Republican Secretaries of State NOT to certify the election until all questions about voter fraud are abated. Some people think this may provoke a crisis, but it can’t be worse than the one we are looking at for the next four years and the impact on generations to come! America NEEDS Mitt, and Mitt won fair and square. This was not a ballot stuffing competition but an election. Let’s make sure it’s counted that way!
Thank you all. Over 7,500 people have visited this page in the first 24 hours and I hope millions will see it eventually. Please pass it on! We can do this! (Yes we can!)
http://www.ObamaVoterFraud.com/
So happened to mentioned that with the new Obama carbon tax he won't be able to heat OR cool his home. Guy goes nuts telling me global warming will kill our kids.
So I tell him, IF you really believe that, Stop using electricity generated by carbon based fuels. Stop driving a gasoline powered car(s); stop using propane in your Bar-B. Stop burning wood in your fireplace; don't use trains, planes, boats, taxis. If you're going to go believe this then at least walk the walk!
I tell Bloomberg had 15 years to protect NYC. He did nothing. These leftists just want our money handed over to stop the global warming hoax. Don't like that idea. Needless to say, I'm now the nut! Strange world we live in.
” - - - My solution would be - - - - “
NYC is the center of the World to the people in NYC. ‘It can’t happen here’ was proven horribly wrong with the Snowstorm of 1888, resulting in NYC putting their overhead electrical lines underground, and building a World-Class Subway System, which exists to this day. Well, until it was partially flooded by Storm Sandy.
Back then they had Great Capitalists running NYC.
Today, they are a bunch of addled Obamanation Slaves.
Will they bother to visit The Netherlands and see what the experts have come up with since 1888?
I seriously doubt that the Mafia will allow the Unions to allow the politicians to do so. After all, New York City is the center of their World - - - .
Wherever you go, a car full of valuables is gonna be a problem, limiting your ability to leave it for any length of time. Someone is gonna need to guard the car all the time. Thieves are quick & everywhere. A big screen TV sitting in the back seat of a locked car says, "bust the window & steal me", in about 15 seconds.
Motel rooms are bad places to store your valuables. Motel staff cannot be trusted & everybody has a key to your room. While away from the room you are at risk.
You've got me to thinking. Maybe drive to another, safer town & rent a storage unit. Heck, you can sleep there if need be, & most have a light socket that can be used as a power plug with the right adapter. These places are far more secure than your home or car. Store your stuff there & stay at that cheap motel or camp.
I wonder how many NYers wish they had rented a storage unit somewhere high & dry, whether they evacuated or not? A $100/month unit & a day of moving stuff prior to the storm would have been priceless for anyone living in Breezy Point or the Rockaways.
All that said, evacuation sux, no matter how you do it.
It’s a personal choice. One thing it’s fine if you have a place to go so if you have planned and prepared a BOL then go for it.
But one rule it has been my observation that in most SHTF situation it’s the refugees that end up suffering the most. And once you leave your house you are essentially a refugee.
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20
But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8
Sandy’s lesson is right before your eyes just as it was with Katrina; You either prepare and stand on your own or you can depend on a bunch of self-serving politicos, third class bureaucratic and chance to provide your basic needs.
Me I don’t want to be beholden to anyone for providing what is needed for me and mine. I certainly don’t want to have to kiss some ‘gubberment’ third class bureaucratic to try and coax some help from them, I don’t want some ‘jack booted’ thug herding me in line and telling me where to stand, sit, eat or sleep. And last but not least I don’t want to be shut up in with a bunch of ‘zombies’ and have to worry about not only trying to get basic necessities but having to fight to keep what I manage to get.
Its your choice you can prep or you can stand around on a bridge waiting for FEMA to bring you a bottle of water, a MRE, a warm blanket and a kiss for your boo-boo. Maybe while you stand there you will get a chance to a prop in some politico’s photo op and even get your picture on the national news.
For those who are just starting or are old hands at prepping you may find my Preparedness Manual helpfull. You can download it at:
http://tomeaker.com/kart/Preparedness1j.pdf
NOTE! THIS IS A FREE DOWNLOAD. I DO NOT MAKE ONE CENT OFF MY PREPAREDNESS MANUAL!
For those of you who haven’t started already it’s time to prepare almost past time maybe. You needed to be stocking up on food guns, ammo, basic household supplies like soap, papergoods, cleaning supplies, good sturdy clothes including extra socks, underwear and extra shoes and boots, gas cans, cooking stove/fuel, tools, things you buy everyday start buying two and put one up.
As the LDS say “When the emergency is upon us the time for preparedness has past.”
Or as the bible says: A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
NIV Proverbs 22:3
I also like to recomend FReeper’s ChocoChipCookie Blog The Survival Mom (Please Blog Police let this one slide!) Where you can get lots of useful information like:
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2011/11/20/8-morale-boosters-for-any-worst-case-scenario/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/02/02/survival-priorities-the-rule-of-three/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/12/29/normalcy-bias/
And More
“There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger.
Underestimation can be fatal.”
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