Anyone else going?

The newspapers reported that many thousands of people had no means of transportation other than their own two feet (and some not even that) and the bus. These people were unable to make it to work, to appointments, etc. A few of my college-age friends were among them. Bad Times ensued.

Now the BBC is reporting that Eurostar train service between the UK and Brussels will be interrupted due to strikes. I’ve had the pleasure of riding on the Eurostar and have noted that it’s usually filled with all number of people, including many business-types. No doubt there will be many people affected by this disruption.

While it may be difficult to find practical alternatives for long-distance transportation like the Eurostar (though one can make it from the Guildford, UK to Monte Carlo by ferry and car before a train can get you there, according to Top Gear), there’s really no excuse to not have one’s own local transportation.

At the very least, get a bicycle. While it might take an hour and a half for an average person to walk five miles, walking across town is more of a hassle, as there’s lights, intersections, and the like. It’s likely to take much longer. A bicycle, however, is much faster than walking, isn’t limited to roads like a car, is less expensive to purchase (my Giant Cypress was about $150 on sale), involves no insurance or expenses other than a helmet, at least one U-lock, and maybe a replacement tube or two in case you run over glass. A bike can fit in even the smallest apartment.

A motor scooter or motorcycle, particularly a well-maintained used one, is also a wise choice. Inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to insure (state minimums in AZ are about $75/year with Progressive, though I prefer full coverage at about $300/year), and inexpensive to keep fueled up and maintained, they’re great choices for both short-and-medium ranged travel. One also needn’t work up a sweat when commuting to work. Every European city I’ve been in has been chock-full of scooters for these very reasons.

While there’s not much one can do about fuel availability (see the fuel strikes in France) — other than riding a bike, owning oil wells and a refinery, or having a solar/wind charger for an electric vehicle — being completely dependent on a third-party for basic, everyday transportation needs is a Really Bad Idea. If one takes the bus or subway to work every day, that’s fine, but one should have an alternative available if the need arises.

[Update June 16, 2011: Due to an oddly large amount of spammers targeting this post with spam for limo services and the like, comments are now closed.]

Spendy: Mechanic wants ~$70 for diagnosis and repairs.

Handy: Open carburetor access hatch. Inspect for obvious defects. Find cracked vacuum hose.

Cheap: Spend $1.39 for new vacuum hose. Replace hose. Scooter runs great.

While being specialized skills can be a definite perk, just having a base level of “handiness” can be…well…handy. Knowing how to troubleshoot, find, and fix problems with commonly-encountered things (e.g. computers, guns, vehicles, home electrical appliances, plumbing, etc.) can be rewarding, useful, and cost-effective.

Just don’t hurt yourself too badly while learning.

I like how they give you just as much bacon TVP¹ as they do chicken or beef TVP. Clearly, someone has their priorities in order.

1. Textured Vegetable Protein. Tastes like meat, but is actually vegetarian.

Specifically, it made me think about locations that, at first glance, may seem to be an excellent place to flee to in a disaster, but are actually a very bad idea.

One of the prime examples is a big-box store, like Wal-Mart, Costco, etc. Here’s my analysis:

Pros

1. Large, windowless building. Rolling metal shutters allow entrances to be secured. Doors only open outwards, and are made of steel.
2. Substantial reserves of food and water.
3. Large, flat roof makes it easy to observe (and by extension protect) the surrounding environs.
4. Large steel racks of goods can be used for various other purposes, including elevated sleeping platforms and barriers.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? However, if there’s a major disaster, there’s numerous cons as well:

Cons

1. Most people are poorly prepared for an emergency, and so will flock to such a store if a disaster is imminent¹. They’ll probably head in even greater numbers to such a store during a disaster (witness all the looting that took place in New Orleans after Katrina, for example).
2. These stores have huge amounts of perishable products (e.g. meats, milk, etc.) that will rapidly spoil if the power to their freezers is interrupted. One would need to quickly remove these products from the store and deposit them a suitable distance away before they spoil, particularly if one is going to remain there for more than a day or two. Spoiled food can attract predators and harbor diseases.
3. Sanitation is a problem. While one can flush a toilet by pouring water into it (useful if the water service is out), this wastes considerable amount of water. It also assumes that the sewer system is still operational, which may not necessarily be the case. Big-box stores tend to be surrounded by enormous parking lots, and digging a latrine through asphalt is quite challenging.

While a big-box store may appear to be an attractive place to go during a disaster, I submit that it’s a bad idea.

To me, it makes much more sense to be reasonably prepared at home — a week or two of food and water per person doesn’t take up that much space and isn’t that expensive. Get a few other basic supplies² , like  flashlights, batteries, a water filter, some means of starting a fire, a shovel/entrenching tool, toilet paper, some cash, a tent and some sleeping bags, and you’ll be set to ride out just about any plausible disaster until help arrives.

If an actual zombie attack occurs, we’ll be screwed anyway.

1. They always seem to buy bread, milk, and eggs. Why? When faced with a natural disaster, “french toast” is not the first food that comes to mind.
2. Firearms and ammo are assumed.

Short of very brief, tolerable outages (e.g. there was a several hour long power outage at my apartment complex the other day, due to equipment failure with Tucson Electric Power. They evidently repaired or replaced the equipment and had it back on within a few hours.), such utilities are normally extremely reliable and it’s only natural that we adapt to their presence and take them for granted.

However, if one is preparing for an abnormal situation — a natural disaster or zombie attack, for example — one needs to realize that such utilities will likely be interrupted and plan accordingly.

More posts on related topics soon.

Take, for example, my Garmin StreetPilot c330 GPS unit. It’s served me well over the last three years, though after enduring a blazing Arizona summer (or two), the internal lithium-ion battery was no longer able to hold a charge.

Garmin wanted $150 for an out-of-warranty replacement of the battery, which I thought was a bit hefty, so I did a bit of research online. It turns out that the battery was an “18650″ lithium-ion battery, which is available at a number of retailers, including the local BatteriesPlus store. Fortunately, the local shop also had a model (PDA-210LI) of the battery which included the necessary plug to fit the circuit board of the GPS unit. While it was a bit pricier than the bare battery, it made life quite a bit easier.

Installation was rather easy: I simply needed to de-solder where the wires from the original plug (which was permanently connected to the battery) connected to the internal speakers and solder the speaker wires from the new plug to those same points. After that, it was a trivial matter of plugging the battery in and closing everything up. The battery charged up as expected and runs the GPS just fine.

This particular problem was quite simple and required only the most basic knowledge of soldering, but it ended up saving me $120. Oftentimes problems found with electronic devices are fairly simple (blown fuses, dead batteries, worn-out wire, etc.) and can be repaired using inexpensive, off-the-shelf tools (e.g. a soldering iron) and basic knowledge.

In addition to saving money, knowledge of basic electronics (and their repair) can be quite fun.

But how often do you test the rest of your gear?

I keep a Grundig FR-200 emergency radio in my emergency kit. It’s a handy little thing that runs on 3 AA batteries, but also has a DC input and a hand-crank that charges a small internal battery back. Every month or two, I take it out of its pouch, inspect the various parts (antenna and battery contacts, in particular) to make sure they’re in good working order, clean it as necessary, test the batteries, crank it for a few minutes and make sure that it’ll run off the battery pack for a while.

I do something similar with my Garmin eTrex GPS unit to make sure it’s ready to go.

Canned food, as great as it is, won’t keep forever. I’ll go through my closet now and again to ensure that stuff is getting rotated out and replaced as need be.

Being prepared for an emergency is a good thing, but be sure that your gear hasn’t given out on you when you’ve not been paying attention. Regular testing and maintenance can keep your stuff in good working order when you need it most.

How long has it been since you last checked your radio, flashlight, or canned food?

Unfortunately, this is the neighbor who goes camping a lot, and so has a few 1lb cylinders of propane in his closet. The same closet that shares a wall with my closet, where I have my safe, ammo, primers, and powder (all safely stored in accordance with appropriate regulations and common sense). Not to mention the hazmat storage container hamper for dirty laundry. Whee.

Fortunately, the alarm was set off by his cooking, and not from his apartment being on fire. When I went outside to investigate, his wife was fanning the door to blow the smoke out. I helped them silence the alarm and offered my box fan to help clear out the smoke.

At least I know that the smoke detectors are audible through the walls, which should help if there’s ever an emergency.

Unfortunately, it’s also resulted in kooks, who generally were shunned by real-world society (though there are a few real-life kooks, including a few “END IS NIGH”-type crazies wandering around the university with their signs), coming out of the woodwork. Take, for example, the crazy sprinkler lady — a look at her profile and the other videos seems to indicate she’s a bit of kook. Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of science can easily see her various claims are utter bunk, yet she persists against all odds: clearly anyone trying to present an alternate opinion or use science is part of whatever conspiracy she wants to uncover.

In general, YouTube commenters are dumber than a bag of rocks and seriously make me weep for the future of humanity, but some just take the cake. For example, today I received a comment on one of my YouTube videos that (a) asked what aftermarket magazines I recommend for the Ruger 10/22 rifle, and (b) mentioned that the individual had found the “fastest” 10/22 full-auto conversion kit and to see the commenter’s profile for the video. Curious, I looked at the commenter’s profile, viewed the video, and was impressed by the cyclic rate of the rifle. Nothing terribly out of the ordinary, so I replied to the comment and recommended a brand or two of magazines. The user replied via private message and then offered to sell me 10/22 full-auto conversion kits, to which I replied that since the machine gun registry is closed and I’m not a Class II manufacturer, I have no desire or legal ability to make such guns.

The user then replied via private message on YouTube with a multi-page message (see below the cut) that said that AIDS is a real-life “zombie virus”, claims to have been given “military intelligence” on the topics, quotes scripture to me, and recommends a variety of different firearms for anti-zombie purposes. It was incoherent enough to suggest that the user believes it and is also a total kook, rather than someone posting it for humorous or satirical purposes. I replied, politely expressed my disinterest and asked that they not email me. They then started posting comments on my other videos calling me a kook. Go figure.

Some days, I wonder how people like this can actually figure out how to get dressed in the morning, let alone work at a productive job to afford various living expenses. The message was so rambling and incoherent, I seriously wonder how they can function in normal society. Even more frightening is the fact that they likely vote with more fervor and regularity than your average person.

I’ve posted the kook’s message below the cut, but have “encoded” it using rot13 to prevent search engines from picking up on it, associating me with such content, and driving more kooks here. Just go to the rot13 website and copy-paste the text below into the field to “decode” it.

UBJ GB XVYY be PHER MBZOVRF & NIBVQ ORPBZVAT BAR
V unir qbar zhpu erfrnepu naq unir orra tvira zvyvgnel vagryyvtrapr ba guvf znggre:
UBJ GB XVYY be PHER “MBZOVRF” & NIBVQ ORPBZVAT BAR
Gurer ner qvssrerag inevrgvrf bs “mbzovr” qvfrnfrf; fbzr znxr crbcyr yrgunetvp naq fbzr znxr crbcyr ntterffvir. Znal oynpx Nsevpna crbcyr unir orra xvyyrq ol gur NVQF “mbzovr” qvfrnfr. Gur 1960′f zbivr ‘AVTUG BS GUR YVIVAT QRNQ’ jnf n jneavat bs jung jnf tbvat gb unccra gb znal crbcyr va Nsevpn.

Lrf, vg vf n ernyvgl; gur NVQF ivehf vf n glcr bs aba-ivbyrag “mbzovr” qvfrnfr. Vg jnf perngrq ol gur H.F. Qrcnegzrag bs Qrsrafr va gur rneyl 1970′f jvgu gur crezvffvba bs n srj H.F.N. cbyvgvpny crbcyr. Gur angheny bppheevat Oynpx Cynthr (ohobavp cynthr) jnf n xvyyvat ernyvgl znal lrnef ntb; cyrnfr erfrnepu gur fubpxvat uvfgbel bs vg. Gur rivy tbireazragf bs guvf rnegu unir orra grfgvat naq perngvat arj xvaqf bs trezf. Gurl unir abg lrg eryrnfrq gur bgure “mbzovr” qvfrnfrf.
“Sbe angvba funyy evfr ntnvafg angvba, naq xvatqbz ntnvafg xvatqbz: naq gurer funyy or snzvarf, naq crfgvyraprf, naq rnegudhnxrf, va qviref cynprf. Nyy gurfr ner gur ortvaavat bs fbeebjf.” -Znggurj 24:7
crfgvyrapr: n qrfgehpgvir vasrpgvbhf fjvsgyl fcernqvat qvfrnfr

“MBZOVR” FVPXARFF VF ERNY! Gur H.F. Qrcnegzrag bs Qrsrafr perngrq NVQF ivehf sbe gur checbfr bs “cbchyngvba pbageby” zheqre. Nobegvba (xvyyvat onovrf) jnf oenvajnfurq vagb crbcyr nyfb sbe gur checbfr bs “cbchyngvba pbageby” zheqre.
GUR “MBZOVR” FVPXARFF VF ERNY! Vg’f pnyyrq gur NVQF ivehf. Vg jnf perngrq ol fbzr rivy crbcyr va gur H.F. QBQ va gur rneyl 1970′f nf n jnl bs zheqrevat oynpx crbcyr va Nsevpn. Gur H.F. QBQ unf abg eryrnfrq gur bgure “mbzovr” qvfrnfr lrg. Jngpu gur ivqrb ‘QRNGU VA GUR NVE’ sbe zber qrgnvyf. Lrc, lbh ner evtug n ybg bs frkhnyyl rivy creiregrq crbcyr nyfb unir gur mbzovr (NVQF) qvfrnfr. Gur “mbzovr” qvfrnfr jnf tvira nf n inppvar gb fbzr znyr frkhny creiregf va gur HFN naq nyfb tvira nf n inppvar gb znal oynpx crbcyr va Nsevpn.

Gur SA C90 vf n terng pubvpr sbe xvyyvat mbzovrf, nygubhtu gur gevttre chyy vf n yvggyr urnil. Zl svefg pubvpr jbhyq or n Pbyg be Ohfuznfgre NE-15 jvgu n 14 be 16 vapu oneery yratgu. NE-15 evsyrf pna or rnfvyl pbairegrq vagb fryrpg sver shyy-nhgb. Gur nzzb sbe gurfr gjb thaf vf yvtugre guna gur byq NX-47. V unir n ZJT 90 ebhaq qehz sbe zl NE-15. Vg vf gur orfg qehz ba gur znexrg sbe gur NE-15. Vg vf zber eryvnoyr guna gur ONGN-P 100 ebhaq qehz gung gur zvyvgnel vf hfvat. N fubgtha vf gbb zrffl, vg jbhyq fcynggre gb zhpu qvfrnfrq oybbq & thgf va gur nve. *ABGR: V bayl jnag gb qrsraq zlfrys ntnvafg mbzovrf gung jnag gb unez zr. V qb abg jnag gb xvyy gur mbzovrf gung ner abg nggnpxvat zr. Guvax nyfb nobhg gur znal crbcyr abj ba rnegu gung ner fcvevghny mbzovrf (ivbyrag & crnprshy) barf. Vs lbh ner abg n gehr sbyybjre bs Wrfhf Puevfg naq unir gur jebat oryvrs, ner nyfb cneg bs bar bs Fngnaf znal eryvtvbaf, gura guvf vf gehr qrngu bs obql naq fbhy! Gur angheny zna erprvirgu abg gur guvatf bs gur Fcvevg bs Tbq: sbe gurl ner sbbyvfuarff hagb uvz: arvgure pna ur xabj gurz, orpnhfr gurl ner fcvevghnyyl qvfprearq. -1 Pbevaguvnaf 2:14
Fghql gb furj gulfrys nccebirq hagb Tbq, n jbexzna gung arrqrgu abg gb or nfunzrq, evtugyl qvivqvat gur jbeq bs gehgu. Ohg fuha cebsnar naq inva onooyvatf: sbe gurl jvyy vapernfr hagb zber hatbqyvarff. -2 Gvzbgul 2:15, 16

Lrf, nobegvba vf oenvajnfurq vagb znal crbcyr. Znetnerg Fnatre, gur sbhaqre bs Cynaarq Cneragubbq, nqibpngrq rhtravpf…. Ure cyna sbe nobegvba, ovegu pbageby naq fgrevyvmngvba nzbat gur “yrffre enprf” -Fur jnf nyfb na Nqbycu Uvgyre flzcnguvmre (Cyrnfr fghql guvf uvfgbevpny snpg).

Lbh znl abg jnag gb hfr n funec rqtrq jrncba gb xvyy ‘Qnja bs gur Qrnq’ mbzovrf (ivbyrag qvfrnfrq unys qrnq crbcyr). Gur ernfba vf orpnhfr lbh qba’g jnag gb trg gung pybfr gb gurfr qvfrnfr vasrpgrq mbzovrf. Qvfrnfrq oybbq fcynggre rgp. jbhyq trg va lbhe rlrf naq ba lbhe fxva, guhf vasrpgvat lbh. Gur orfg jrncba gb hfr jbhyq or n svernez jvgu n fvyrapre. N .22YE svernez vf n tbbq pubvpr. Gur nzzb vf irel varkcrafvir naq lbh pna pneel n ybg bs guvf irel yvtug nzzb va lbhe cbpxrgf. Nyfb lbh znl jnag gb ohl n ovb-fhvgr naq ovb-snpr znfx fb abg gb oerngu va gur mbzovr qvfrnfr jura trggvat gb pybfr gb gurz.

Urer ner fbzr gvcf ba ubj gb nibvq orpbzvat n ‘Qnja bs gur Qrnq’ mbzovr: 1) QB ABG TRG INPPVANGRQ. 2) QB ABG RNG NG NAL ERFGNHENAGF. 3) OHL N OVB-JNIR TRARENGBE & ZZF FHCCYRZRAG NF GURFR ZNL OR GUR BAYL PHERF VS LBH TRG VASRPGRQ. 4) JNGPU GUR QBPHZRAGNEL ‘ QRNGU VA GUR NVE.’ 5) JNGPU GUR QBPHZRAGNEL ‘ ORLBAQ GERNFBA ‘ (Gurfr qbphzragnevrf rkcynva snpgf ba ubj gur H.F. Qrcnegzrag bs Qrsrafr unf perngrq n glcr bs “mbzovr” fvpxarff va gurve ynobengbevrf). Gur ernfba gurl qvq guvf vf irel qvfgheovat.

“Zbfg crbcyr, fbzrgvzr va gurve yvirf, fghzoyr npebff gehgu. Naq zbfg whzc hc, oehfu gurzfryirf bss, naq uheel ba nobhg gurve ohfvarff nf vs abguvat unq unccrarq.” -Fve Jvafgba Puhepuvyy

Shaqvat sbe Qrirybczrag bs gur mbzovr NVQF Ivehf

Gur qrirybczrag bs gur NVQF ivehf jnf shaqrq va 1969 (guerr lrnef orsber gur erdhrfg sbe qrirybczrag ol gur Jbeyq Urnygu Betnavmngvba) guebhtu shaqf bognvarq ol gur Havgrq Fgngrf Qrsrafr Qrcnegzrag. Gur Qrsrafr Qrcnegzrag erdhrfgrq naq erprvirq $10 zvyyvba ivn Ubhfr Ovyy 15090, juvpu jnf erivrjrq va Urnevatf orsber gur Fhopbzzvggrr ba Nccebcevngvbaf, Ubhfr bs Ercerfragngvirf qhevat gur Avargl-Svefg Pbaterff va erivrj bs gur Qrsrafr Nccebcevngvbaf sbe 1970.

Cneg Svir bs U.O. 15090 jnf ragvgyrq ERFRNEPU, QRIRYBCZRAG, GRFG NAQ RINYHNGVBA, fcbafberq ol Gur Qrcnegzrag bs gur Nezl, gur Nqinaprq Erfrnepu Cebwrpg Ntrapl (abj QNECN), naq Qrsrafr Erfrnepu naq Ratvarrevat.

Gur Srnfvovyvgl cebtenzf naq ynobengbevrf jrer gb unir orra pbzcyrgrq ol 1974-1975 naq gur ivehf orgjrra 1974 -1979. Gur JUB fgnegrq gb vawrpg NVQF-ynprq fznyycbk inppvar (Inppvar) vagb bire 100 zvyyvba Nsevpnaf va 1977. Bire 2000 lbhat juvgr znyr ubzbfrkhnyf (Bcrengvba Gebwna Ubefr) jrer vawrpgrq jvgu ynprq Urcngvgvf N inppvar va 1978 guebhtu gur Pragref sbe Qvfrnfr Pbageby naq gur Arj Lbex Oybbq Pragre. Gur qrirybczrag bs gur ivehf nccneragyl unq n qhny checbfr: (1) Nf n cbyvgvpny / rguavp jrncba gb or hfrq ntnvafg oynpx vaqvivqhnyf naq (2) bar bs gur cebtenzzrq rssbegf nf qr-cbchyngvba.

Gur zvffvba bs gur Fhopbzzvggrr gung gbbx cynpr ba Whyl 1, 1969, vaibyirq qvfphffvbaf nobhg Flagurgvp Ovbybtvpny Ntragf. Cneg bs gur Pbaterffvbany aneengvir (sebz U.O. 15090) vf qrgnvyrq orybj:

Gurer ner gjb guvatf nobhg gur ovbybtvpny ntrag svryq V jbhyq yvxr gb zragvba. Bar vf gur cbffvovyvgl bs grpuabybtvpny fhecevfr. Zbyrphyne ovbybtl vf n svryq gung vf nqinapvat irel encvqyl naq znal ovbybtvfgf oryvrir gung jvguva n crevbq bs 5 gb 10 lrnef vg jbhyq or cbffvoyr gb cebqhpr n flagurgvp ovbybtvpny ntrag, na ntrag gung qbrf abg anghenyyl rkvfg naq sbe juvpu ab angheny vzzhavgl pbhyq unir orra npdhverq.

Ze. Fvxrf: Ner jr qbvat nal jbex va gung svryq?

Qe. ZpNeguhe: Jr ner abg.

Ze. Fvxrf: Jul abg? Ynpx bs zbarl be ynpx bs vagrerfg?

Qe. ZpNeguhe: Pregnvayl abg n ynpx bs vagrerfg.

Ze. Fvxrf: Jbhyq lbh cebivqr sbe bhe erpbeqf vasbezngvba ba jung jbhyq or erdhverq, jung gur nqinagntrf bs fhpu n cebtenz jbhyq or, gur gvzr naq pbnfg vaibyirq?
( RAQ BS ANEENGVIR )

Vg’f abg qvssvphyg gb thrff jung’f pbzvat arkg