Does it seem like everyone is still in shock?

[White Tiger]

I know this is a site for radio related issues - but we also cater to the prepper mentality - and it is to that aim that I address this post.

It's been over a week and everyone I encounter seems to say the same thing...they just can't believe what has happened - not that anything has happened - but the feeling that SO much changed that we weren't aware of...the rallying of common sense, didn't overcome the forces of chaos.

...or did it?

Either way, I am glad I started my preparations two years ago, because of this, Ive been able to acquire a new skill, and some necessary equipment. I am, however, very concerned for those who JUST woke up. This is not meant to be a political bash - more of a - I can't seem to put my finger on - a door has been opened, and not to a familiar place.

I think we would have had our problems even if the other party had gained power - but now we seem to be running headlong into oblivion with our fingers firmly plugging our ears to keep us from heeding sane advice to STOP!

I don't mind saying, while it fits my world view...I'm definitely in shock. The sense of foreboding has changed...into..something...else...?

How about you?

[Paul]

I think my 'shock' has turned into 'numbness' at this point.  The amazement about people being 'stupid' is still there though.
- Paul

[WA4STO]

For me, it's more of the same, and virtually NONE of it is within my power to change in even the tiniest amount.

40 years later, and I still shudder at the thought of Nixon having won the re-election.

Or dubbya miraculously (ugh!) "winning" Florida.

In my mind, very little of it has to do with the politicians themselves. The majority of it has to do with the spending of our sons and daughters' lives.  And, oh yah, our money.  Today, Israel has erupted, but we'll continue to send them billions of dollars while we shut down the NY/NJ warming (and feeding) centers. How exactly is it that our national priorities revolve around committing genocide rather than ensuring that a veteran doesn't have to wait YEARS to get a decision on his disability claims?

Tim's right; our thoughts -- and radios --  have turned to the prepping mode and our instincts run more toward self-preparedness.  Those are good things.

As for me, my daydreams are running more toward the wish to be part of a heavily-wooded prepping compound / commune somewhere in Idaho.  I have a few skills that  would be of value;  Wood stove,  fire-brick and refractory construction, firewood preparation, and communications with the outside world.

Nice dreams.  They keep my mind occupied against what a horrific world we've somehow found ourselves to exist within.

73 de Luck, WA4STO

[gil]

Good morning Luck,

I am thinking of Idaho too, but I hate being cold, so that's going to be a tough one...

Gil.

[RadioRay]

I've spent most of my life prepped and on the edge of one wilderness or other - unless I was working overseas, and even then, I had at least three plans in place.  Now that things are actually closing in, I'm no longer young & strong and am in fact injured. While I do live in a great location in my immediate county or two, I am far from where I used to live - in the mountains of Idaho.  My preps are probably at the worst point in thirty years, but slowly crawling forward again.  An advantage is the land that we live on is very good, and location - brilliant! surrounded by farm land and forest on a semi-isolated peninsula. The weather is generally mild with 40's considered to be cold and only rarely below freezing. Being 70 air miles from Washington D.C. is somewhat prejudicial . . .    :P

As for the almost 'humming' numbness - I do sense that here and on other boards.  I think that many are reconsidering their preps , the much more obvious need for them and wondering how little time we have before the talking heads on the TV begin to use phrases like 'dollar devaluation' , 'civil unrest in major cities',  (read: unrestricted rioting, raping and murder by the usual suspects) 'gun-collection' for food, and lock-down  of sub-urban & rural areas by law enforcement and military (foreign?) where 'right wing racists' are taking the law into their own hands (Translated: normal people are defending themselves.) .  I think that if anything, this latest propaganda exercise is making Prepper's transition from a theoretical 'some-day' exercise to an actual time-line, and beginning to wonder just how far we are behind the time-curve.

Who knows - maybe in ten years this will all prove to be nothing, but I think that many of us are now living on the edge of dread, understanding like we never have before and THEY are in control - not us.  Whether 'blue or red', I think that many people understand that this was a political farce.  An exercise in controlled opposition and that we're increasingly being pointed toward the slaughter house door with fewer options and at ever increasing speed. A few 'handy' 9/11 type events and we can be whipped into a full gallop, carried along by the herd into the chute to the slaughter house door.  We have the power to shut this down, but we do not have the direction to resist effectively - yet.  // Personally - I believe that direction is going to be from God. //


Now back to Yahoo! to see what those Khardasian sisters are wearing . . . and why that sweaty football player has his arms around those pretty college co-eds, Lindsay LowBrow in her new movie & other "IMPORTANT" stuff designed to distract and numb me . If only I owned a TV - then everything would be OK!   ::)



73 de RadioRay ..._ ._

[WA4STO]

Well I can fix the cold part for ya, Gil!  :)

A hot wood stove, plenty of seasoned wood and the Snake River are all we'd ever need.   That, and maybe 50 acres.  Yum!



Insert 100 foot tower(s) here ---^

[gil]

I wish.. With the economy the way it's going, I don't ever see saving enough money to buy land..

Insert 100 foot tower(s) here ---^

I'd never use a tower, too visible...

Gil.

[underhill]

Like going through the looking glass, darkly.  Everything is the same, but is no longer the place I once knew. 

I liked that phrase the almost 'humming' numbness that has set in.  Suddenly, the monsters under the bed just might really be real, are those preps stashed away really adequate,  care might really be necessary for what is said or typed.    It just might all be real.

Sort of feels like "the deep breath before the plunge", a phrase from the movie/novel LOTR, return of the king, which was loosly modeled on another time of building crisis, leading to ww2. (parallels?)

I'm not sure if it would have made a lot of difference which side had won, but the speed of the victory was certainly a shock/surprise.  Maybe that's all, the shock of just how it went just hasn't worn off yet.

I had missed my opportunity to sell this place just before things came apart a few years back, and have been in 'holding my breath' mode hoping I can find a break and let it go since, starting to run a bit short of air. so I'm becoming more careful now, re-evaluating my position, and continuing to plod thru the morse alphabet has stepped up as a priority for me.  Have to focus on little bits right now, keep moving forward despite it all, panic is not productive.

Allan

[RadioRay]

Now I'm hungry for . . . CAKE !      Mooooo-ha-ha-ha!

[KC9TNH]

Now I'm hungry for . . . CAKE !      Mooooo-ha-ha-ha!

Haha. You funny Peter-san. Ha.  ;D
DISCLAIMER:  I''m over it, and was over it 20 minutes after I found out the next morning.

Whether you are numb, in shock, ho-hum, or chowing down on the most decadent cake you can find (yeah!), just remember there are 2 best times to plant a tree. 20 years ago..... and RIGHT NOW!

Whatever is causing the shock was a long time comin' & not driven only by events on 6 November. Now you can say to more entitlement oriented folks (some of whom will desparage your efforts but surreptiously do an inventory in the periphery): "OK, YOU are now the establishment - you have the helm. And you will OWN what you do. Have a nice day." That just yields some (valid) visceral satisfaction though. Whatever it is, in whatever chunks you can do - in a whole-solution way - keep doing it.

Exhale and keep reaching out to like minded friends to validate the appropriateness of what you're doing. (I include myself in that task, I just detest the Imperial 'we' as a smoke screen in writing.)

Those things to do can be done in small chunks, you don't need to wait for the massive Mountain House truck sale to prep food needs, or a giant sale from some gel-cell distributor, or win the lottery to acquire your first method to purify water on the fly.  Buy what you can, when you can, appropriate to the next 25m target on your list. And learn how to use it all.

And don't forget to breathe and laugh and all that kinda stuff too...
Fortunately there are some here very adept at keeping things from getting downright morbid. He might be busy eating cake, though...

[White Tiger]

Wow, I have been out for most of the day - great responses - many of you have found words for what I was unable to articulate.

I especially like Ray's "humming numbness" a-LOT...on edge, but completely dazed...

KC9TNH/Underhillm- I think you both nailed it when you said we need to "take smaller bites" (my paraphrase) and focus on what we can control - but the thing about a humming numbness...it's hard to focus, period. It's a form of shock, I think...

Luck, you will be happy to learn that I have been able to focus (because I'm determined) on upgrading my license. I don't want any limitations as I learn to operate. I also don't want anyone telling me I shouldn't be on a particular band/frequency - and I don't want to end up there by accident...so to that end: I'm scoring high 80's on my Extra practice exams and looking for a location near me to get my Extra before the end of the year.

I'm also committing to O-P-E-R-A-T-I-N-G! Received my "free" operator manual from the good, kind, and wise folks down at the ARRL (only had to join)!p

What was it someone was saying about a sale on gel-cell batteries? I don't have any yet, but I could sure use some! Can I charge them like I would a lead-acid battery (swap it for the one in my car)?

Gil - sometimes you can find owners that will sell you some land for a down payment and a monthly payment. Especially popular when real return on investment takes a hit during economic downturns - gives the owner a wad lf cash and a stable cash flow. A family member just did a similar deal for 5 acres, a 2 bedroom 1 bath "retreat" on Michigan farmland. It has a stocked pond and a well with a septic tank. Deals can be made if you don't mind being flexible.

This creeping/humming numbness has caused me to bring my BOL daydream, closer to home, for now. I was discussing it with the Frau (that's XYL for the hard timer hams in the audience), and she has begun to feel the same way - and my son heard us talking and chimed in that he was "down"....(I think that meant he's "in"). He added that he felt this first stage of the Bug Out should be intermediate and within a distance gotten to on a half-tank of gas. This is attainable - and it allows me a level of comfort because I can begin to "set-up shop" in an area devoid of....zombies. Also allows me a way to test my idea (by way of WA4STO) of using SSTV as a security link.

And it allows me to continue pursuit of my ultimate BOL - the mountains of North Carolina - that have harbored many from tyranny over the past couple of hundred years.

It is a pleasant and necessary distraction - at least until we find out for sure, just what that humming sound is...


Again, thanks for the excellent posts - didnt know if anyone would respond - must have struck a chord! it does seem less lonesome when you're walking through the night with others who feel similarly!

[WA4STO]

Luck, you will be happy to learn that I have been able to focus (because I'm determined) on upgrading my license.

-----> No surprise there.  You've been the easiest Elmeree I've ever run across! 

I'm also committing to O-P-E-R-A-T-I-N-G! Received my "free" operator manual from the good, kind, and wise folks down at the ARRL (only had to join)!

---> Don't forget that you can get The ARRL Letter for free now that you're a member.  I wonder if the book you got was the ARRL Operating Manual.  I once wrote a chapter for that book; it would've been either on Emergency Communications or traffic handling and the ARRL National Traffic System.


allows me a level of comfort because I can begin to "set-up shop" in an area devoid of....zombies. Also allows me a way to test my idea (by way of WA4STO) of using SSTV as a security link.

Just yesterday, I was FINALLY successful at getting Winmor going and transferring messages.  No matter where you end up with your eventual BOLs, we'll now be able to get error-free files to and from your areas of concern. 

73 de Luck, WA4STO

[White Tiger]

Luck, you will be happy to learn that I have been able to focus (because I'm determined) on upgrading my license.

-----> No surprise there.  You've been the easiest Elmeree I've ever run across!

Probably has a lot to do with me finding the right Elmer...Elmer...! Reminds of something I heard Quy Cheng Cain say (Kung Fu) back in the 70's: "...when the student is ready, the Elmer appears..." (Ok, so I paraphrased)!

I'm also committing to O-P-E-R-A-T-I-N-G! Received my "free" operator manual from the good, kind, and wise folks down at the ARRL (only had to join)!

---> Don't forget that you can get The ARRL Letter for free now that you're a member.  I wonder if the book you got was the ARRL Operating Manual.  I once wrote a chapter for that book; it would've been either on Emergency Communications or traffic handling and the ARRL National Traffic System.

The very Same - how cool is THAT??!! It looks to have been updated by Rick Palm, K1CE

allows me a level of comfort because I can begin to "set-up shop" in an area devoid of....zombies. Also allows me a way to test my idea (by way of WA4STO) of using SSTV as a security link.

Just yesterday, I was FINALLY successful at getting Winmor going and transferring messages.  No matter where you end up with your eventual BOLs, we'll now be able to get error-free files to and from your areas of concern.

Oh - even more cool! Does it operate like an email program? Either way, that is going to be awesome - cant wait!

[RadioRay]

WINMOR can be used ham2-ham for error FREE transfer of anything that you can send over internet.  More useful is that it also allows you to send/receive 'normal' e-mail through about three dozen e-mail/radio servers located around the US and Canada.  This means that if you lose internet at your location or are on the move and have none at the present time, you CAN send/receive e-mail with those who still have it.  These e-mail/radio ground stations or ANY WINMOR ham station can also be used as an on-the-air mail box - very similar to the old dial-up BBSs during the pre-internet days to hand-off messages directly from one ham to the other when they log into that intermediary station.

In short - yes - e-mail over radio is and has been around for a couple of decades and it's esier , more effective and less expensive than it's ever been. When you are busy 'survivin' you might not be able to make your skeds that require same freq/same time, but e-mail over radio is as handy as 'normal' e-mail.



>de RadioRay ..._ ._

[WA4STO]

Oh - even more cool! Does it operate like an email program? Either way, that is going to be awesome - cant wait!

To my eye, it looks a LOT like email.  Here's a generic example that comes with RMS Express / Winmor



No need to "wait"; the system is already up and running, 365/24/7.  Did I mention it was all free?

I would guess that, with your location now, there'd be access to the system on 2 meters by way of your IC271.  As for the Ten-Tec OMni, that's still a work in progress but you're getting there as we speak/type.

73 de Luck, WA4STO