shelter 2

SHELTER IN PLACE 2

If you are so optimistic that you only read me to be entertained ( well, that could also be the case if you are so prepared that nothing I can ever say would do much more than just cause you to mildly tweak things ), if you were so happy and cheerful about Life, The Universe And Everything that when you were born you declared that you love the cold and brightness and boy howdy you can hardly wait to begin this challenging new adventure, you are a moron.  For Christ On A Crutch’s sake, show a little situational awareness-it ain’t all unicorn glitter and brotherly love.  I can almost understand how you would think that All Is Well, if you are that faithful to our Happy Time Growth Paradigm, and charge off on grand schemes of new employment or entrepreneurship.

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But to normal people, who are aware after a lifetime of adversity that it is in fact true that a crackhead would kill you for $20 if he thought there would be no repercussions, the millions of people NOT participating in the labor force isn’t a good thing and does NOT indicate blissful golf filled retirement but rather unemployment at above 1930’s Depression levels.  If you aren’t fearful of a pink slip, if you aren’t sucking the peanuts out of your bosses scat, if you aren’t aware that if you move you just might never find another job, you haven’t been paying attention.  High unemployment of a minimum of 25% and up to 33% means you cannot assume anything but the worst. 

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So, yes, your prepping plans might by necessity be Sheltering In Place.  This is far from ideal, and I don’t recommend it.  But I also recommend five years of food ( easy peasy lemon squeezey when you only stock wheat, vitamins and shortening.  Before container cost, only $500 ), and few of you think that is feasible.  So I can understand why you don’t have junk land.  Actually, I seriously understand.  A lot of that is a thousand miles away, and without a realistic way to get there, why even have it?  Before, I said that if you can’t live on junk land for whatever reason ( such as, like myself, your Old Lady refuses.  Although unlike you, my land is a two hour walk away ), just move to the smallest town close to that land where you can get a job. 

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But again, I KNOW this is advice much easier given than taken.  Will you find a job again if you move?  The brother in law was a supervisor at the gold mine and has practical skills up the wazoo such as welding.  And he can’t find a job outside this area.  Granted, he is almost 50 years old, a near certain death sentence when job hunting anymore.  But it is indicative of the job market to some degree.  And retail?  There is an industry practically guaranteeing you zero future.  So while staying in you AO is problematic, it isn’t the worst possible choice unless you are in some extra super sized craphole like LA or Chicago.  If I was in a major metro area, I think I would move regardless.  Because you are at ground zero.

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Most of you are probably already in areas that are safe-er.  How many survivalists live in Manhattan?  When economic times were better I imagine most of you already moved to the area that was the best trade-off between employment and lower population.  So, if you must shelter in place due to fear of unemployment ( and if you aren’t scared, with 33% unemployment, you are that aforementioned Way Too Optimistic Unicorn Fart Glitter Sniffer ), you need to do a couple of things.  I don’t necessarily subscribe to the historic Yuppie Super Fortress strategy.  All well and good, actually necessary while affordable, to bar every window and have good solid doors with extra long screws for a beefed up frame.  That just makes good sense.  But this whole thing with bullet proofing?  And steel shutters?  And all the rest of that nonsense? 

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For that kind of money I would invest in an RV in the wilderness, on land, with a small business AND funds to live on for years until it paid off.  But then, I’ll never have a suburban home I need to sink fifty grand in to make bullet proof.  For what some people pay for FLIR scopes I can have all of the above because I can prep and live cheap.  Anyway, I can’t see much sense in trying to make your home a castle able to withstand all but RPG fire or heavier.  Make it burglar proof, mob proof and fire proof.  Because those are the things that are the most likely to happen.  Just stucco siding alone, for fire-proofing, should deflect or stop the most common rounds a crowd is likely to use.

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This should get you through the increasing civil unrest.  After that, you need an escape route, a cache nearby for short stays if you had to flee short term, and then a buried food cache for when you return.  You’ll need a way to escape from besides the regular doors, and a way to sneak back in no one else knows about so you are not the one outside trying to figure out how to force your way inside.  As for the food cache, under a concrete slab is probably a pretty good bet, rather than anything fancy like hollow walls or a hidden room in the basement or whatever.  Remember, an IBC tote can hold near five years of wheat and are sold in most decent sized cities usually for under, sometimes way under, $200.

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The equivalent in five gallon buckets would cost $250 to $300 and not be as waterproof ( although easier to move ).  I don’t know what solid  iron bars over the window would cost, although I know Chinese bars are stupid cheap at $20 a window ( I can’t imagine they are super quality, but they would be BTN ).

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grisham-24-in-x-36-in-Spear-Point-Window-Bar-Guard-WB2436BK/202770058

And surely anyone can dig a hole and do a half assed slab over it with even the cheapest concrete.  None of this has to be expensive.  This is far from the best plan, as there is the issue of safety fleeing and returning, just for starters.  But we don’t always get what we want, do we?  We should.  At least me, if not you.  But that doesn’t make it so.  Just make lemonade out of lemons.  You don’t need a real pretty wife, even if you want one.  Get the one you can attract to learn cooking and the proper techniques for oral gratification ( both instructions online ), and she will do just fine.  The same with prepping.  You can make Less Than Ideal work for you, cheaply.

( .Y. )

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