Quote: (10-01-2015 11:46 PM)Nolecbo Wrote:
I am in NYC. With Hurricane Joaquin on its way north I figured I would ask the thread contributors here about getting ready. Although it is likely to miss, anything could happen and it is easy to see the NYPD is going into prep mode (firing up generators and outside lights, fewer officers on the streets now so that hey can pull double shifts later).
Historical situation: The neighborhood I am in was flooded during Sandy. Not my apartment, but my building and entire block (and many blocks around) were flooded. Lost electricity for 5 days, heat/hot water for 30 days. Never lost gas or water.
This time I would be taking care of myself, my GF and a 100lb dog.
Current supplies/plan:
Water - 10 clean gallons, so 1 gallon per day for each of us for a little more than three days. In addition, time to fill up the bathtub with water to flush the toilet.
Food - good for 3-4 days (human). During Sandy, the mobile food kitchens were hard to find 48 hours later, easy to find 72 hours later and everywhere after that. None of the mobile kitchens brought dog food, however, so I am stocked up for 2 weeks.
Fuel - I have a grill, 1 bag of charcoal now and planning to buy another over the weekend.
Firearms and bodyarmor - none, planning to be inside at night (the lawlessness of downtown Manhattan after dark during Sandy is an untold story). Even if I am outside after sunset, a strong and health guy with a 100lb dog doesn't look like easy prey, I never had any problems.
Currency - $300 cash, mostly large bills, need to pick up $1's
Rx - none for me or dog, GF has birth control and refill for regular med she takes.
First aid - normal stuff an apartment has.
Batteries - set on AAA, AA and D.
Communication - plan to keep both cell phones at 100% if the hurricane is rolling in. During Sandy I made a mistake and didn't set up a communication chain, every time I turned on my phone I would waste battery power getting 20-30 text messages asking if I am OK. This time I plan to give info to a relative, let her update everyone.
I have a battery powered radio for mass communication.
If you cats see anything obvious I missed, I have all weekend to get ready.
Amazing how many useful solar panel sized chargers and devices now available at LL Bean and on Amazon...
I have a Sears die hard portable battery pack for emergency car battery boosting with a compressor and 2 usb and 2 Cig Lighter 12V outlets and 2 AC 120v inverter outlets that I keep charged - also getting a 12v battery solar panel that will charge it within 8 to 16 hours of direct sunlight, bought a Solar powered Cell phone reserve USB battery that does a nice job recharging each of my cell phones to fully charged, an LL Bean Model 97470R solar charged mini lantern with a Dynamo hand crank and I recently got an LL Bean (Local Nashua NH LL Bean outlet store) Eton SolarLink FR370 Solar Charging multiband radio with back up hand crank dynamo and an emergency flashlight - am fm weather band radio with Digital Alarm clock and weather alert alarms - was orignally $79 marked down to $25 at the outlet shop works great and can be charged off of the Die hard portable power pack USB and when fully charged has a smart phone/tablet Solar USB charging outlet. Also have an extra Solar Powered or hand crank flashlight I have around someplace...
I am looking at land in western Tax Free shall issue Gun Carry New Hampshire Country side to build a Log Lodge Cabin AirB&B for future Hurricane Sandy survivors that also doubles as an Ebay barn full of old junk (antiques) I buy for cash from locals and sell online to nostalgic folks who want real quality old stuff and willing to pay for it to the tune of a 3 or 4 times markup. NH Yankees an independent lot and not much into anything besides Uncle Henry's trading weekly. Sometimes best to find a likeable town and drive around looking for 4 sale signs 50+ acres etc.... even an old overgrown farm with lots of maple trees is a tappable cash flow-er.
Due to federal monkeying around with milk regs and subsidies most formerly profitable small family New England Dairy farmers have been put out of business and their old farms and lands can be bought for much cheaper than a city condo Boston or NYC... Imagine 100+ acres and an old farm house and barn for a quarter mill or so. And in NH they have done one smart thing - if you keep your land in commercial agricultural use - Tree farm, Maple Farm, Apple Farm, Berries and Nuts, Community Access Farm green houses etc etc you can put your land and building into "continued use" which locks in a low rate property tax versus high residential property taxes.
NH Chronicle TV magazine did a segment on a truly amazing business in West Tax Free NH in Antrim north of Keene where Keene State Marxist Socialist SJW "Teachers" college is and about 10 miles for the we will tax the crap out of you Vermont border - home to New Hampshire unknown $12 Billion Dollar man lives - yes richer than Trump owns the largest privately owned (One Shareholder) groceries distribution company in the entire USA is HQ'ed so you will eat in Keene - anyway the Antrim Business was an old Maple Syrup farm and now export Company that has grown into a major NH Exporter - the old Yankee that inherited the farm has basically tubed up every maple tree on the property even the ones on cliffs that were too dangerous to tap when he was a kid and all the taps come down to a holding tank - looks like a fire hose going into the tank measured in gallons per minute into - wait you won't believe it instead off gas or old wood fired boiler to slowly boil off the water - this innovative yankee has it pumped into a specialized Reverse Osmosis separator to separate the Purified Maple Water (Preppers unlimited supply of potable water) from the Pure maple Syrup which he bottles and boxes and ships by the crate load to Japan, China and Europe where they have developed a craving for New England maple Syrup...
Oh yeah - it is about a Three hour Drive north of Metro NYC so a couple dozen parking spots for an RV AirB&B with clean water tanks, Solar Electric and biodegradeable sewage digesters and grey water tank hookups/pumpouts pays your property taxes in about a month and allows you to be an Agro Tourismo destination where visitors come up in their RVs to help work on the farm for fun like the Tuscans do it in Italia. They also become a built in community in case TSHTF. I would of course have a supervised (by me) firing range for Archery, Cross Bows and varmint firearms for all sizes and types of varmints skunks, raccoons (rabies), woodchucks, coyotes, deer, moose, bear, marauders etc.
A wood miser etc portable saw mill would also be another source of "community" income:
http://forestry.about.com/od/portamills/..._mills.htm
Also one of the most successful funding campaigns on indiegogo are now ready for purchase - the Flow Hive honey mini factories of natural organic honey by the pound jars full...
Honey and Maple syrup are valuable sweet healthy organic cash crops you can barter for just about anything else you need - thinking in and out of the box - honey box that is...
http://www.honeyflow.com/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-...-beehive#/
Yes you read it right this Indiegogo campaign so far has raised $12,481,780 USD worldwide. So is honey in demand globally - you bet it is! And now a super economical way to produce it - click on the link and watch the short 5 minute youtube video - works both in Urban, Suburban and Rural areas.
My plan is to buy two full hives and then the flow panels and keys and tubes and make my own boxes as hard wood is nearly free in NH.
Like I said thinking in and out of the box - each flow panel is good for about three Kilos or more a month when bees really active!
With wild local disease resistant forest honey bees this is nearly pure profit after the initial capital investment.