Preparing for troubled times ahead - Advice on what is needed.....

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Woody girl

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On the plus side, a good chance to catch as much water as you can to refill the water butts
That will be a great plus point! I'm going to put every bucket possible out.
My veg garden needs water so bad,I just can't keep up with all the watering needed.
 

Scottieoutdoors

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.... :facepalm: all the above talk of peanut butter sowed a seed..

Had a milkshake about an hour ago.... heat has got worse and I'm reaching exhaustion limit too... why do you guys do this to me!?
 

Robson Valley

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Don't plan on drinking what you collect for rainwater in the butts. Made Reuters News. Analysis shows that there's no place on earth with clean rain water to drink.

This all makes me wonder about our village water which is essentially snow and glacier melt from the alpine across the valley from my house.
 
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Scottieoutdoors

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Don't plan on drinking what you collect for rainwater in the butts. Made Reuters News. Analysis shows that there's no place on earth with clean rain water to drink.

This all makes me wonder about our village water which is essentially snow and glacier melt from the alpine across the valley from my house.
Heard this today... not good.
 

Woody girl

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I heard that rain water now contains forever chemicals, which cannot be filtered out with present technology. Which means unless you are drinking water from aquifers that is over a hundred years old, we are actualy drinking them today, and have been for many years.
It's not a good thought as everything needs water, so even animals that we eat have the chemicals in their bodies as do veg. Nothing is safe. No avoiding it. What have we humans done to the world. :(
 

Robson Valley

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I continued to drink alpine snow melt water here for the past 20+ years, even in the face of a couple of Boil Water Advisories.
What I drink really has to be much the same as rainwater, just that it's winter and 20' deep. Maybe those "forever chemicals" add flavoring?

I have melted fresh snow from my front yard. Gawd but was it dirty! Let's hear it for water settlement and treatment processes. The best you could do is melt the snow, let it settle undisturbed then decant the top 3/4 of it and toss the rest. Now, in winter, that's a huge energy investment to melt snow (76 cal/g to be precise doing the solid/liquid phase change at 0C.). The fuel cost per liter of water at room temp has to be factored into any long term planning preparations.

Then you have to add electrolytes to what is essentially distilled water to keep your guts running normally.
 

Woody girl

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Our local fire station uses foam on practice nights. That station is situated only yards from a river. The stuff is washed down a drain and into the river.
Fire fighting foam has forever chemicals in it.
:banghead:

The op origionaly asked for lists of kit.
I have just finaly afforded a small jackery solar system, mainly because my surgery no longer treats asthma attacks, due to the possible spread of covid in the surgery, with the micro droplets breathed out by the nebuliser.
So at the beginning of covid, I bought my own nebuliser. The prospect of power cuts lasting many hours, made me think about the fact that a) around here, if the power goes, so does mobile reception and "walkabout phones" as there is no power for them, so I got an old fashioned plug into the wall "tethered"phone, which did work.
Calling for help which even on a 999 can be more time away that I was comfortable with.
b) Then I realised my nebuliser also would not work. So I spent lockdown saving for a jackery. It will also run a cpap machine, so if you or relatives rely on a medical device that needs power, something like this is a good, and vital investment.
 

Scottieoutdoors

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That's what makes me laugh about the fact that we recently were forced* to switch to a voip line (voice over Internet protocol) - basically phone through the Internet...

If the power goes out, Internet goes down, no phone line...

*forced in that our contract wouldn't be renewed unless we agreed to voip..
 

Wildgoose

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This happens quite a bit. We removed our landline from our contract as it wasn’t being used at all.
We still have the line on a pay as you use basis, would just need to plug an conventional phone in
 

Scottieoutdoors

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This happens quite a bit. We removed our landline from our contract as it wasn’t being used at all.
We still have the line on a pay as you use basis, would just need to plug an conventional phone in

We need a "landline" for work purposes and were more than happy with the set up that we had, but as we were with Virgin who are great for what we need, they were not renewing fixed land lines (this is due to the gov phasing them out in favour of digital systems), so we had the choice to do Internet only and go phone only with someone else, or the whole hog, obviously whole hog is cheaper, less hassle, but the draw back is if the router packs up, or becomes unplugged or power fails, phone is done for... in the day of mobiles now, its not a total drama, but for work sides of things it's a pain as our mobile at least number wise, are kept separate.... so no phone, no calls...
 

Woody girl

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Progress eh? Sometimes it just goes backwards. In fact, I'm noticing a lot of progress is actualy not that at all.
My grandpa had a shop I'm the 60s and early 70's and if we had a powercut, he'd just light a lamp or a couple of candle lanterns,if it was dark and carry on. The till wasn't electric and neither were the doors.
No card machines to stop working. No computers to go down and not be able to re order stock. It was just a phone call to the supplier, done.! Powercuts never stopped business like it does today. Progress........
 
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knowledge=gain

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Progress eh?
exactly pro-gress for who...

pro-gress means opposite for what has and is being portrayed to us folk

we really need to think in the alleged "climate change" no sustainable electricity non-sense that are being thrust in our faces and electric products are still being invented and mass produced on a daily basis that we can greatly reduce the need for electricity 100 fold and overnight [i start with selling my power tools and replace with as needed and not as a want hand tools]

yet that will not suit the oil-barrons tycoons and companies and the like that are a law to themselves with their extortion pricing and ways to force contracts on us folk

if the grid goes down alarms will run out of battery backup power electric doors and shutters etcetera will be left unlocked thereby making them non secure by any stretch of the imagination and nefarious types will gladly take advantage to steal and pillage what they can

we need to go back in time and reverse the damage the sudden need for electricity has become when they allege non sustainable electricity

am i the only one that can see thru their lies and deceit...??

simple is best

why change what has always worked for our forbears, because of corporate greed and the marketing shenanigans who rape and pillage the land for fiat-currency called money...??
 
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Woody girl

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exactly pro-gress for who...

pro-gress means opposite for what has and is being portrayed to us folk

we really need to think in the alleged "climate change" no sustainable electricity non-sense that are being thrust in our faces and electric products are still being invented and mass produced on a daily basis that we can greatly reduce the need for electricity 100 fold and overnight [i start with selling my power tools and replace with as needed and not as a want hand tools]

yet that will not suit the oil-barrons tycoons and companies and the like that are a law to themselves with their extortion pricing and ways to force contracts on us folk

if the grid goes down alarms will run out of battery backup power electric doors and shutters etcetera will be left unlocked thereby making them non secure by any stretch of the imagination and nefarious types will gladly take advantage to steal and pillage what they can

we need to go back in time and reverse the damage the sudden need for electricity has become when they allege non sustainable electricity

am i the only one that can see thru their lies and deceit...??

simple is best

why change what has always worked for our forbears, because of corporate greed and the marketing shenanigans who rape and pillage the land for fiat-currency called money...??

Absolutely! I'm de-teching as much and as fast as I can in almost every area possible. Hand tools...yes it's nice to do a job quickly with less effort, but the day will come when hand tools will be gold dust.
A push mower, a hand drill, a pair of shears and a scyth will be tools worth their weight and rare as hens teeth.
I can remember the times B T (before tech) and it was normal life.
Nothing wrong with the old ways, they worked well for many generations. High tech will eventualy fail. Unless there is a mass cull of the human race...(where is my tin hat...:) )
It's all about money...our hard earned cash that we are persuaded to part with for the latest gadget that makes life easy and gives you more leasure time to enjoy, anyone noticed the increase in leasure time yet? Watching tomorrow's world, we were promised so much, 4 day working weeks, robots to do the housework, and pictures of gents on the golf course, and ladies sipping pimms by a swimming pool.
We have been suckered into believing that it was possible, we just had to own this gadget or that one. Which meant we had to work harder and longer hours to afford it. Very clever!meanwhile, the hard earned cash goes into some rich persons pocket making them even richer, with the strapline...you too can have this lifestyle, as he drives around in his porche and flies abroad for his holidays in some sundrenched Isle in the med. All of which we as the minions have kindly paid for, ever it is, as we are too tired to figure it out on our rest days, and too busy using our gadgets and feeling smug.
Time to wake up and smell the roses .
That said, some tech is great, solar panels, and lights, for one, so we need the right progress, not just progress for the sake of it which can make us lazy and give opportunities to criminals, such as card fraud, and other scams enabled by the amazing time saving online banking, and amazon orders that give opportunities to porch pirates and selling crap. Non of this sort of crime even existed when I was young, but its a shrug of the shoulders and "its all part of life nowadays" we may get upset but why do we allow it to happen in the first place? ..because we are duped into the belief that its quick and easy. We'll, I'm not fooled one bit, and I've always said so. Call me a luddite, I don't care. I'm proud to be ahead of the game, and I won't be in panic or misery mode when there is another Carrington event, a massive computer hack or anything else that might happen to set everyone back 30 years or more.
We have been dragged into the dream of the corporate greed, believing it would be the answer to our hum drum lives, we need to wake up, as all it has given us is global warming, and disasters in farming and food production, water shortages, deforestation, and wildfires, and if the last few weeks have not convinced you, there is not much hope for humanity.
 
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Woody girl

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Errrr.... I disagree with the overall anti-tech vibe and the anti climate change...and I'm out...
That's a shame, but proves exactly what I'm saying. By the way I'm not anti climate change. I know it's happening and so do those in power,they know the vast change needed, and cannot comprehend how they will do without their oil and gas revenues to fund their lifestyles....sorry the transport system and national health among others
A few years ago they were dissing Greta, but now they are all about doing what she was calling for, ....... strange that.
 

Scottieoutdoors

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Oct 22, 2020
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Right but technology for its faults also improves people's lives an efficiencies...

If I remember rightly someone in the thread was having issues with double glazing restrictions... that's modern tech. Payment system also free up a lot of time for people, they make it harder to hide cash and thus easier for taxes to be paid... taxes fund NHS, transport and the like.

At risk of this all going wrong, Greta has no solutions other than encouraging the death of the modern world, which in turn, will spell the end of the 3rd world populations...

I could continue with a whole host of tech positives which will equal the tech negatives, but frankly people need to do what suits them... if you want to lead a total tech free life for fear of global collapse then go right ahead, I won't... I'll keep an eye and ear open for not being totally reliant, but equally I refuse to live in fear of impending doom... we use modern tech in our daily outdoor lives...why? Convenience
 
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Woody girl

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Technology, if it is the right Technology is fine. Double glazing, insulation materials and many other things are great, and I would be struggling nowadays if I didn't have some of these things. I'm not totaly anti tech at all. Give me solar windfarms, tidal power, give me clean energy and I'll be more than pleased to use it, but its the things that have caused the warming of our world that are my problem. We were just talking about the cancer causing forever chemicals in rainwater,.. that can't be good. Every living thing on each needs water to survive, are you happy eating and drinking cancer causing substances? Feeding them to your granny or kids? No? Well, tough, you are doing so right now.!..that's if you have water coming out of your taps, which for some places in the UK don't right now. Your tech solution to that is..... ....what? More chemicals?
 

knowledge=gain

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it has been rightly mentioned a few times on these forum threads and other places we are far too often reliant and are addicted to modern technology and electric products which also increases [EMF's] which are harmful to humans

i for one [1] admit i am addicted to tech and electric products although i know the risks involved with the [EMF's] and-such

i am now slowly transitioning from using as much electricity to the least amount needed but for an addict of technology it is not an easy task for sure

while i do agree that whereby there be a genuine bona-fide need for tech for saving lives then that be a must,

that said the more tech and electric products the more the need for pushing tech on folk the more destruction to mother earth and more child-slave labour and-such not to mention the pollution to mother earth her [land air and water] our [tap water] and we all contribute to it in one [1] way or another by our purchases and yes that does include me with the rest of us

for the sake of convenience and creature comforts and-such are you happy knowing that folk are suffering long before and whilst the materials are mined harvested etcetera and during manufacturing and processing and various other stages for all of us...?? just so you can pay as little as possible for an item made in another country...?? while some pays upwards of £400 for a simple basic and over priced knife [that could be easily lost or stolen] made in the UK whereby cheaper knives do suffice

less is more in these cases and simplicity is best

are we all becoming machine hearts with machine minds...??

well it is non for i as i am simplifying my life with as little tech and electric products as i really need and not as i would otherwise want
 
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Scottieoutdoors

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Your tech solution to that is..... ....what? More chemicals?

Well what I read the long term effects of the forever chemicals aren't currently know, obviously I doubt they'll be beneficial, but "my tech solution" would be to hope that those with more modern tech, computers, brains and knowledge than I, are clever enough to use the modern tech they have to find alternatives or fixes for the problem...

I mean you're talking about scythes and push along mowers as if refusing some modern tech is going to keep you free from those chemicals... and if you're talking some modern world whereby the grid catastrophically fails, then you're going to be talking about a world where society likely breaks down...and in that world, the valuable tools you have, sounds like they'll be pretty attractive to the person with the bigger stick..

@knowledge=gain
Yes we are all too reliant on tech, but there are plenty ways to remain on the tech bandwagon whilst keeping your impact to a lower level than many others and this is what we should all be doing... I'd assume most of us arent the type to need the latest computer/tv/iphone/laptop every 6 months? I know I'm not, but equally I'm not turning back to an abacus and a ledger to do my accounts when i have a perfectly workable modern tech solution... and if the world fails enough to make that tech redundant, then I'd imagine HMRC aren't going to be chasing things up.... but until then, I can't get HMRC to accept "im anti tech" as an excuse..
 
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