[Schneider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Anonymous', 'L')earning as many ways to kill my neighbor as possible.
Enough said.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Hey Schnieder, you corrected my French, your English sucks! heh, heh!

[DomusAlbion]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'Y')es Domus, they fixed it. How are we going to fix this?

[PenultimateManStanding]

I know that, Domus. As I said, I fear for my kids and wish you well in your plan to protect yours. I just think that this is a situation where individual preparations won't work unlike the Y2K threat that never materialized. Your friends who were getting so much money to fix it got it done. Do you think they would have been paid so much if there hadn't been a problem? Of course there was a problem, hype or no hype. All these years later I still wonder about the embedded chips situation. Do you think that anyone who was concerned about Y2K was a deluded idiot? It is a relevant issue now that we try to get the word out. Of course there is the option of not bothering to get the word out. C'est la vie! (thanks schnieder)

[Ayoob_Reloaded]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob_Reloaded', 'I')'m going back to school for nursing.

[DomusAlbion]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'I') know that, Domus. As I said, I fear for my kids and wish you well in your plan to protect yours. ...
Do you think that anyone who was concerned about Y2K was a deluded idiot? ...

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob_Reloaded', ' ')
That's exactly my plan.

[Schneider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'H')ey Schnieder, you corrected my French, your English sucks! heh, heh!

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', '
')
No, I don't think they were and I didn't mean to imply that.

[mindfarkk]

in approximately this order:

first, immediately, i'm going to work on getting the basics of homesteading down. how to evaluate and buy land, how to set up a basic garden, raise chickens, maybe a cow, or some goats; dig a root cellar, and some basic things like getting water and setting up a compost toilet. i think having a good grasp of the basics of living without a power grid that i can teach others will be a good barterable skill as well as self-preservation. how to find potable water.

next, i want to learn how to MAKE solar/wind power. i want to know how to build a turbine and how to convert turbine-driven work into electrical power. i want to learn various ways to make use of solar power without necessarilly going out and buying solar panels, if possible. i think this will be an extremely useable and tradeable skill. the more "regular" items i can convert rather than buying special batteries and so forth, the better.

because of it's importance if unavailable (worst case): medicinal plants and how to make herbal medicine. field medical care.

basic carpentry, metalworking, for the homestead.

engine type repair skills. i know fuel will quickly become limited, but i'm assuming for a while at least fuel-efficient tranportation will be in high demand - i.e. motorcycles and such. so knowing how to keep them working, and how to keep MINE working, will be pretty useful.

i want to learn how to make alcohol fuel and how to make use of it.

making basic tools & farm implements.

gunsmithing.

soap making.

when i have those covered, i'l be looking at how to make butter, how to tan leather, how to weld, how to blacksmith (not sure i'm really strong enough), how to care for a horse (i have some knowledge but mostly enough to appreciate how little i know), maybe how to weave and spin (but i'm not sure i'll need that for some time to come), how to grind grain and make flour.

what i'll probably do is learn the very basics of everything i listed above, and get reference books that will help me get to the next level.

after that, anything that will allow me to elevate life to a more enjoyable experience should i be privileged to have time and energy for non-subsistence activities. i.e. - musical instruments, books, arts & crafts. i love to cook and make things that are beautiful and functional. i can knit. john can play guitar really well, and fix things. i could do tattoos, maybe, with my solar-powered tattoo gun. and, last but not least, if there is any way i can pull it off, as a last vestige of depravity, i'm going to bring our HDTV to the homestead and hook it up to the solar/wind power system at the house, along with our DVD player and the PS2. if it's the only appliance in the house that uses electricity, it will be worth the sacrifice.

[PenultimateManStanding]

holy smokes, it's a dream. Might as well dream it. Who knows, maybe it will come true! For myself, I don't think there's any going back, but it won't hurt to try.

[bentstrider]

I'm kind of mixed about whether to go into engineering or mortuary sciences.
I was thinking if I could get these two done within a reasonable time frame, I could be both.
Operate a Thermal Conversion Processing plant and masquerade it as a funeral home.
With the die-offs and famine everyone on these boards seemed to be worked up about, I could make a living and not be bored at the same time.
Most families will probably not accept using their deceased as fertilizer or gasoline. I'll play it out like I'm going to bury them first, then under the graveyard, the bodies will move along a conveyor belt to the TCP machine.
Then I'll sell the finished product to whoever needs it.
Meanwhile, I'll keep some palm and olive groves nearby to supplement my diesel-fueled Excursion.
While a quad-redundant energy system runs the TCP plant.
Wind, water, biodiesel, and solar.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bentstrider', 'I')'m kind of mixed about whether to go into engineering or mortuary sciences.

[PenultimateManStanding]

oops, didn't read the rest. Good idea anyway

[PenultimateManStanding]

After Y2K blew over, I settled back into regular living and thinking. Now its been 5 weeks or so since I stumbled into this mess. Its been a bumpy ride. There doesn't seem to be anything one can do to prepare. Or maybe since I've been through it once there just isn't any fight left in me. C'est la vie.

[Ayoob_Reloaded]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'A')fter Y2K blew over, I settled back into regular living and thinking. Now its been 5 weeks or so since I stumbled into this mess. Its been a bumpy ride. There doesn't seem to be anything one can do to prepare. Or maybe since I've been through it once there just isn't any fight left in me. C'est la vie.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Ayoob, you're a hedonist, I'm a hedonist, so that makes two of us. Actually I would say I'm more of a budget epicure. I thank you for your kind words.

[mindfarkk]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob_Reloaded', '
')Communities will form around this series of events. Choose your sides based on strength, not fear.

Not that I don't freak out every once in a while. I'm a hedonist, you know? Well, I will just have to learn to love other things.

[cmlek]

At the risk of being banned, I read this off a VERY dark humor site when I was a teen. My sense of humor is dark enough that I was amused by the site (and this subset of it), while the actual document itself is very informative.

Fighting/violence = lotsa dead people
Looting/stealing = food shortage
If you can see where this is leading and are still morbidly curious, try

http://www.bertisevil.tv/butch.htm

[Vortex]

[align=justify]I have been visiting this forum and others for some years as an anonymous guest, gathering valuable information and thoughts. Short presentation about me, my localization and my future plans are below.

Male, 28 years old. Living in middle of Sweden in a little city consisting of about 20 000 citizens, 10 000 in the main core and the other half in the surrounding area. I have been planning and working with Peak Oil in mind since many years. I do not own a car (but I have a driving license), I commute with a friend who has a car to work and we spend no more than 30 minutes per day commuting. I did some travelling a few years ago. Visited the surrounding Scandiavian countries (except for Iceland), Spain, France, Germany, Austria, the US (Florida), Estonia and Italy. It is interesting to meet different cultures and talk to people living there. Perhaps I will pay a visit to some South American countries, Australia, some Asian countries and Russia before it is to late.

I graduated in 2003, masters degree in business and economics. I am now working for a small Swedish company which is 100% localized. Everything we sell is manufactured and machined in Sweden. There are enough margins to avoid outsourcing, which is one of the primary goals also – the management wants to keep it 100% Swedish.

I currently live in a small apartment, about 42 square meters (452 square foot). I bought it for only $2180 and the monthly fee is $270 including heating but not electricity. I consume about 2500 kWh per year. I had to spend another $1000 in order to renovate and refinish the whole thing, new floor and new wallpapers and so on.

My plan is to hang on this cheap ass living in order to save up/invest for a house and garden designed to meet the new era of Peak Oil. I began investing in oil, gas and uranium stocks in 2004. I have now about 1 million SEK ($147 000) and my plan is to have at least 2.5 million SEK (about $367 000) before I reach the age of 32. This seems to be a small amount for American readers, but keep in mind that 1 million SEK can buy the housing and land where I live which would be much more expensive in the US.

Today, I spend time reading, training and preparing for the future. I have also built a network of food providers. They can sell me lamb for $3 per kg, cattle beef for $5.14 per kg and cheap eggs. These are about half the prices, if not less, than the nearby Supermarket wants. I expect my friends prices to be higher in the future though. Fruits (mostly red and black currants, apples and rhubarbs) can be had for free from neighbors, or in exchange for simple services as mowing the lawn when they are on vacation or similar. Berries (blueberry and lingonberry) and edible fungus can be found almost everywhere in the surrounding forests, I live about 200 meters from such a forest area.

If there are any questions, please ask![/align]