The One Hundred Items To Disappear Off The Shelves First

[anothershamus]

quisp wrote:

that's a lot of stuff to buy.

If you have several people in your community that each do a few things you are better off and can share the larger ticket items. If you are in a situation that you have to bug out, maybe someone has a shorter list for portability. (Maybe a little larger than Ammunition and matches)

[pepsified thinker]

I happened onto a site about slings (not wrist-rocket sling shots, but ancient-age-old-type David vs. Goliath sling shots.

Just something to keep in mind for when we get Mad Maxxed out of ammo.

I wonder how we'll transition from a world where our garbage is hauled away?

[pepsified thinker]

Um, what about condoms? Kinda nice to be able to have sex without necessarily having a kid. The whole death during child-birth thing is not something I want to think about, not to mention high rates of infant mortality.

Also--coffee/tea (for trade).

walkie talkies?

a good kit of needle and thread--lots of heavy guage thread and good strong needles.

ziplock bags?

A riding mower with a roto-tiller might come in kind of handy, but then again, you might trade the whole thing for a rooster and a hen.

A couple bags of cement set aside in some dry (off the ground!) corner of a basement or garage might be handy--and so far that stuff is cheap.

A couple bags of salt might be even handier--used to be the richest towns often had salt mines.

One thing--buy the things you know how to use, and buy the books/etc. that show how to use things you need but don't now know how to use.

Downloading a few 'how to' manuals, and spending a day or two printing 'em out if things get nasty--that could be worth the time.

(anyone ever read Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer? A guy sees that things could get bad and saves the 'how to shelves' of his local library--my kind of hero. The book's a bit reactionary, but a good read for laying out what might happen.)


I just read about how people 'policed' themselves in the days before there were 'modern' police forces. We need to think about that sort of thing.

I've been thinking 'plumbing fittings' but maybe those will be scavenged? But I'm thinking key items like solder or compression valves.

Also--copper tubing for not only plumbing, but also running a still.

All of which leaves me wondering: what will small scale, local industry look like? There'll probably be window of time, say a year or two after the shit hits the fan, when there's been a massive die-off (a grim thought, but...) and we've maybe seen the roughest of times--gotten ourselves sorted out into new patterns of living--no more office workers, living where food can be grown, etc--and this is the key: there are still a lot of people with know-how as far as key technologies, and the necessary raw materials may be at hand--not deteriorated, stacked/heaped for use just before 'the collapse', etc.

What basic industries could we try to re-found? What will we need/want? What equipment will such industries need? What will be the 'choke point' items/material for such operations?

Will we go to water power again--living by fast flowing rivers, or will there be enough solar panel out there to keep electricity going at some places, to power computers, etc.

I wish these questions were a bit more hyothetical.

I'm just mumbling and rambling so, good night all. I hope we wake up to a better day than this all has got me thinking about.

[Nordic]

For those who aren't already familiar with this site, it's Life After The Oil Crash. Tons of links to just the stuff we're talking about.

And a lot of articles that will make you realize that we might really need them!

(don't read this site right before you go to bed or you probably won't sleep).

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html

[Stephen Morgan]

I happened onto a site about slings (not wrist-rocket sling shots, but ancient-age-old-type David vs. Goliath sling shots.

Just something to keep in mind for when we get Mad Maxxed out of ammo.

What are you going to sling? Roman-era balearic slingers used lumps of moulded lead as ammunition. Could punch through helmets. Stones are unaerodynamic and not much good for hunting.

Um, what about condoms? Kinda nice to be able to have sex without necessarily having a kid. The whole death during child-birth thing is not something I want to think about, not to mention high rates of infant mortality.

Yeah, this end of civilisation stuff gets a bit problematic when you think about it. If only all women were like those American teenage girls who give birth in a cupboard then go back to the prom.

Anyway, there's always the rhythm method, oral sex, that sort of thing.

You probably want to get yourself a bike. Punture repair kit. Lots of chocolate digestives and Wendsleydale. A solar furnace. Make sure to keep lots of people nearby in the event of the collapse of western civilisation. Not only is there safety in numbers, they'll be easier to herd than chickens and apparently taste similar.

Also, when you flee for the hills take a good book, people have been known to wait up there for the end of the world for years.

[Avalon]

Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc

Children under 12 should never have aspirin.

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

Make that a good supply of cloth diapers and diaper covers.

[JackRiddler]

This thread should be a sticky so I can consult it the Day the Internet Turns Off.

[Luther Blissett]

I'm definitely bad at this kind of stuff. I have a lot of canned food on hand but I really just plan on getting out of dodge whenever the shit hits the fan. I don't have a car, but I have a bike and a tent and was pretty good back at the outdoorsy stuff when I was in the scouts.

[brekin]

Don't forget something to push all that stuff in.

[hanshan]

I happened onto a site about slings (not wrist-rocket sling shots, but ancient-age-old-type David vs. Goliath sling shots.

Just something to keep in mind for when we get Mad Maxxed out of ammo.

What are you going to sling? Roman-era balearic slingers used lumps of moulded lead as ammunition. Could punch through helmets. Stones are unaerodynamic and not much good for hunting.

Um, what about condoms? Kinda nice to be able to have sex without necessarily having a kid. The whole death during child-birth thing is not something I want to think about, not to mention high rates of infant mortality.

Yeah, this end of civilisation stuff gets a bit problematic when you think about it. If only all women were like those American teenage girls who give birth in a cupboard then go back to the prom.

Anyway, there's always the rhythm method, oral sex, that sort of thing.

You probably want to get yourself a bike. Punture repair kit. Lots of chocolate digestives and Wendsleydale. A solar furnace. Make sure to keep lots of people nearby in the event of the collapse of western civilisation. Not only is there safety in numbers, they'll be easier to herd than chickens and apparently taste similar.

Also, when you flee for the hills take a good book, people have been known to wait up there for the end of the world for years.

This thread should be a sticky so I can consult it the Day the Internet Turns Off.

this site is wholly dependable for the laugh out loud comments


...

[Avalon]

<i>Lots of chocolate digestives and Wendsleydale.</i>

What the fuck good is Wensleydale if you don't have a stash of Branston Pickle?

[Fixx]

<i>Lots of chocolate digestives and Wendsleydale.</i>

What the fuck good is Wensleydale if you don't have a stash of Branston Pickle?

"I'm sorry sir, I thought you were talking to me."