Frustrated and Overwhelmed
Posted on November 23rd, 2008 by webmaster
I most certainly don't have the funds, storage nor the family support required to prep for a multi-wave, multi-changing pandemic virus that has the potential to change everything around me.
I find it especially discouraging because I live in the suburbs of a large city (between the country and city). So now I have to worry about not only this crazy-freakin' deadly virus, but I also have to prepare myself to survive in a struggle with my fellow citizens (if anyone makes it out alive), after it's passed, only to have to prepare again for the next wave.
I find it impossible to comprehend the finality of the situation. I really feel it is beyond our control at this point. Everyone is free game for this virus, it has no rules of engagement nor does it have any sympathy. It seems to me if it doesn't destroy itself, then we're in a VERY serious situation.
-hawkeye
I most certainly don't have the funds, storage nor the family support required to prep for a multi-wave, multi-changing pandemic virus that has the potential to change everything around me.
Hawkeye, baby steps my friend. Each step you and others (ie- flutrackers family and friends AND lurkers) can do to educate, prepare, understand, and prevent a future pandemic is priceless in survival. This has to be the largest peer-reviewed "bird flu" site on the net.
We all get tired and frustrated at some point. Get some rest.... recharge your batteries and critical thinking.... See ya soon.
Yes.. you can prep for a future pandemic, even if it isn't H5N1 or a cousin.
;)
And, people, it is time to get out and enjoy life today. Take a hike through a forest. Go on a picnic. Play ball with your kids. Step away from the computer for a day. Do it for yourself and your family. You still have time to smell the roses.
Excellent advise chicken little. And don't forget to enjoy life, thats what it's for. Myself, I am going to go on the trampoline.
Great words of encouragement and excellent ideas, some of which I plan to execute on.
I think my frustration is really a matter of scale. How much should I be doing. 1 month, 3 months, 1 year, 3 years?
-hawkeye
If you think you can set aside $10 (or equivalent of your country) every week, do shopping for long term foods with that. It may seem like very little but if you manage a few pounds of rice, some pasta, some cans of veggies and proteins, you're way ahead of the crowd. Very important is water or means to purify water. The simplest form is filtering in a sock and adding bleach. That won't cost you the world to add a few bottles of bleach once a month to the shopping will it?
At the same time look with a different view at your surroundings. Being in a town can have advantages too. There are pharmacies, doctors, an infrastructure to assist during a pandemic etc. Unless you live completely in the neck of the woods and have all means to support yourself for three years, you might find benefit from being where you are. Where are the ponds, lakes, is there a watertower, are there warehouses with supplies? Make a map in your head or even on paper what you see around you. Are there items that would come to use if things go absolutely to the rats?
If you do shopping, bring the groceries in at night in the dark so no-one knows you've been shopping. That's for very large quantities like 5 cases of waterbottles, anything else just comes in with the rest and looks innocent enough. Just keep a low profile and if the worst comes to the worst, moan and complain like everybody else you're hungry. Only you and your family know there is food and water in the house.
We've made it a sport here to see how little we can make do with at the moment. I've been checking how much water we use, how much grain (big bags of grains are cheap and a handmill can be found for 50euro here), we keep rabbits in the garden, all the garden is veggiepatch... I already lived pretty much like that IN A TOWN for some years now! It means there is greens from as early as march on if we count edible weeds as food, small amounts of meat can be on the menu, jumble sale water canner meant I can can veggies, fruits and with a pressure canner even meats!
It saves me a lot of money already. Nothing ever goes to waste here, scraps are for the dog, the rabbits or the compostheap.
Cheap books on edible greens in the wild are allover the shops.
Next step was looking at ways to keep warm. Now we're lucky to have chimney and an old stove so we bought an extra cord of wood. Look at your house and see what you can do.
With my holiday money I bought medical supplies that arrived today. It's goggles, masks, overalls, shoeprotectors and various kits.
There's a fully packed backpack near the washingmachine with everything we'd need for three days. In case of real emergency we'd be out in two minutes and get away. But I'm betting on bugging in as I have no retreat in the country. If ever this would become full blown (and it's not even sure this will happen) we'll go into selfquarantine and happily stay here till it's safe to come out again. Yes, we have piles of books and games.
So it took us a year to build up slowly, bit by bit. With any luck we'll never need the medical stuff but those supplies will sure come in handy. My son has learned to bake bread and made some with olives and sundried tomatoes this week. Survivalism doesn't have to be all stress and no fun, it can be one big learning curve too.
Come on, I ask you now to write me a list of what you see around you. What do you need, how would you get there and what (most important of all) are the skills you and your family have? Anyone been with the scouts, knowledge of animals, nature, how to make fire, how to make a shelter.
I challenge you about it and I bet you know a great deal more than you think. Make a list and post it here, we'll look at it if you want and see how quick you can reach some goals.
I got the warm & fuzzies tonite.
We are beginning to sound like the press releases certain unnamed sources are putting out to prevent "excess panic"
:cool: :eek:
"the beast" is still out there and it is hunting. It has a very bad bite.
Goju
:yinyang:
Well, if we go for a walk in the woods and know there are dangerous animals (BIG beasts) around, we carefully pack a bag, take knives, axes and shovels and learn how to work with them. Picking up gear is kinda easy, it's the working with them that takes some skill.
When I'm learning something new I like hearing from others how they did it and get an idea if I'm on the right track. Even if I don't have enough time to prefectly swing that axe and fell that bear in one mighty swoop, it's assuring to know I at least know which part is the handle and which the sharp end ;)
Even better if I know how to avoid forementioned bear and have a great time in the woods. Nothing fuzzy about ideas how to get prepped, not to be overwhelmed and stay calm cos panic never saved anyone.
We all agree this could be a real ugly one and most of us feel down about it when looking at the task before us. Don't worry, we don't underestimate it. Breaking a problem down in smaller pieces helps me to tackle it mostly.
Mingus, you should be able to tell me... or Henry?
H1N1 ? what is it doing and where?
Oh!
After three successives waves in 1918-1919, the population was sufficiently immunised and he loose his
pandemic caracteristics ( special death patern, ARDS capability, neurotropy, ...)
He mutate more slowly and simply become the annual flu we all know.
This H1N1 sub-type circulate until 1957
Don't know why but the H2N2 pandemic made the H1N1 strain to completely disapear.
( Most of the inside gene of H2N2 where from the H1N1 strain, only the surface gene H and N where replaced. H2N2 is a descendant of H1N1)
Then the H3N2 1968 pandemic made the H2N2 strain to completely disapear ( in fact the H3 and some other internal gene where replaced in the H2N2)
H2N2 and H3N2 are son and little-son of the morther H1N1.
H1N1 reemerge in the seventies but it was a lab mistake in sovier-union:mad: and was identical of a strain from the fifties.
genetic analysys proved that the clasical swine H1N1 has the Spanish flu as common ancestor with human H1N1 and had evolved to a mild strain in swine until now.
It look like that the "pandemic" caracteristics of a strain quickly disapear after one or to years (I think it is closely related to the population immunity)
The high viral dose and some other capacity like being able to cross sprecies and tissue tropism (more way to enter an host) are the trait that give a strain his pandemic capability.
The quick spread in a pandemic is cause by the lack of immunity in a population
As soon as immunity is high in a population, the trait that give a strain a evolutionnary advantage wil no more be thoses pandemic trait.
From that point (1 to two year) the evolutionnary advantage will be to cause a lower viral dose and a soft immune response to stay in the "quiet" asymptomatic phase a little bit longer to maintain a sustainable spread in a population that already have immunity. Slow mutation will do the rest.
why did a pandemic make some of the older strain to disapear?? should we cause a H9N2 pandemic to get rid of the H5N1 ??
Anyway, H5N1 too will evolve to a milder strain but it have time to kill and to kill a lot before it been force to mutate in that way...
It's question of equilibrium
some year there is more rabbits some other there is more wolves...
Ok what H1N1 is doing, it is a regular flu somewhere in the world right at this moment but no one care it is more mild than H3N2.
nothin's gonna help.
We need a vax.....
We need it in large quantities...
It ain't gonna happen...
Many will die....
the planet will be stripped bare quickly...
PERIOD!
That said, I keep adding to my preps covering as many bases as i can think of and I continue to try to get everyone around me preped... EVERYONE on the planet.
People don't pay attention and don't ACT until they get punched in the nose and see blood.
Lets do it verbally, not virally.
Now I figure I might as well enjoy it while civilization is still around. LOL, how is that for doom and gloom!
-hawkeye
We will start selling pandemic shelter, time shares, somewhere exotic, at first we just start up a net site with some graphic and very informative text :eek: about the coming and offer hope to those in need and with the means, as soon as we get the down payments we hire someone to make some nice 3D images of our luxury bunkers on the beach, and start selling even more, at the point when we can afford to by a island we move there and start our great Preping adventure, stuff will be flown in daily and, when the pandemic starts we shall telephone those who’s week it is and send a chopper to pick them up. Afterwards AP as I say at about year 5 it will all be a bad memory and we own a beautiful resort island, and tons of preps for the next wave H16N45
:tank::party:
I truly believe this too. One thing that I heard about the 1918 pandemic, maybe from my grandma. When it was over.... it was gone.
So H1N1, where is it today? Swine fever? Parts of it here and there as polymorphisms within other subtypes?
Mingus, you should be able to tell me... or Henry?
I had a doc appt this morning. So I printed off a cover "Memo", printed off some of StMichael's posts and LMonte's and Shannon's and the article prepDeb(utante) :) posted about statins. Wandered among the offices handing the 12 page packet out to smart and knowledgeable doctor friends/acquaintances who had offices in the complex. It was satisfying.
I find I don't get frustrated, but I know how people might. I think I don't because it's not my "job" to convince anyone of anything. I must only be "responsible" to sharing what I feel compelled to share when the time feels right. I am good at being aware of teachable moments and using them as feels right to me.
Maybe it boils down to "controlling the things I can control" and "not trying to control the things I can't control" and "knowing the difference between the two."
H1N1 ? what is it doing and where?
400
It look like that the "pandemic" caracteristics of a strain quickly disapear after one or to years (I think it is closely related to the population immunity)
The high viral dose and some other capacity like being able to cross species and tissue tropism (more way to enter an host) are the trait that give a strain his pandemic capability.
The quick spread in a pandemic is cause by the lack of immunity in a population
As soon as immunity is high in a population, the trait that give a strain a evolutionnary advantage wil no more be thoses pandemic trait.
From that point (1 to two year) the evolutionnary advantage will be to cause a lower viral dose and a soft immune response to stay in the "quiet" asymptomatic phase a little bit longer to maintain a sustainable spread in a population that already have immunity. Slow mutation will do the rest.
why did a pandemic make some of the older strain to disapear?? should we cause a H9N2 pandemic to get rid of the H5N1 ??
What if herd immunity is only PART of the answer? What if its actually Recombination with co-circulating human flus that is causing the initial pandemic strain to mute virulence? Would that one to two year period of pandemic type spread of a high virulence bug fit time-wise with the behavior and rapidity of genetic change we are seeing now?
Can we apply Recombination theory to not only model what will physically happen to the virus on its march toward pandemia, and then to project what type of illness the strain will be prone to produce in humans (based on projected genetic changes- like acquiston of polymorphisms that are related with pantrophism, increased risk for ARDS, etc) inter-pandemic- and based on volume of circulating human flu- but also project HOW LONG the pandemic might last? Would probability theory apply?
I was voted "gloomyist person on the flu boards"
You are right. I do not think a pandemic has to be bad as of now with all the media attention its gotten to unravel things. Make it "the beast" and it's a nightmare all around.
As for prepping - I am in the same boat as you - between city & country. I have said it before and I'll say it again....
The only thing you can do is prep yourself, everyone around you and anyone who knows you and can drive to you. For how long? That's the million dollar question. And how deep do we need to go? no oil? no power? no police? no vax? for how long?
Unfortunately, no one i know is listening. "We are soooo screwed".
http://www.outerlimitspowerboats.com/images/boats/boats-pic.jpg
I got the warm & fuzzies tonite.
We are beginning to sound like the press releases certain unnamed sources are putting out to prevent "excess panic"
:cool: :eek:
"the beast" is still out there and it is hunting. It has a very bad bite.
Goju
:yinyang:
Yeah, I think we need a bit of perspective here, folks.
We are almost all descendents of people who survived the 1918 flu. Even if this one is five times more lethal, it ain't the end of the world. There will still be civilized life "on the other side" of a flu pandemic. This ain't a Hollywood movie.
-hawkeye
U R no fun!