Since the Japan crisis....

[stabman]

The opening post makes fun of itself more effectively than I ever could.

 

[PeterPHWS]

The opening post makes fun of itself more effectively than I ever could.

So why bother to post ?

Being helpful is the way we try to be here ... taking the piss is'nt how things work ... what's the good of doing that ?

Very rarely in my life ... infact "never" have I met anyone who took the piss about anything ... and then discovered that they knew what they were talking about or could meaning fully add to the discussion ... life always seems to prove that "piss takers" are never experts ...

 

[on_the_edge]

So why bother to post ?

What is wrong with posting something that the poster believes to be truthful? Just because it may not be what the OP intended or desired does not make it any less valid. Opinions will vary widely on almost anything and everything. The ability to express one's opinion, for better or for worse, is one of many things that goes to the heart of what makes this a great country.

Being helpful is the way we try to be here ... taking the piss is'nt how things work ... what's the good of doing that ?

Some folks can be helpful on some things and some folks are never helpful on anything. BUT, being helpful is not a requirement to posting here or anywhere else on the forum. I have seen someone ask a question here before and get the same answer in the next 10 or 20 posts. After the first post, how is repeating the first response helpful to the person who asked the question? It's not, but IMO, folks still have a right to post away if that is what they so choose.

Very rarely in my life ... infact "never" have I met anyone who took the piss about anything ... and then discovered that they knew what they were talking about or could meaning fully add to the discussion ... life always seems to prove that "piss takers" are never experts ...

Again, nobody needs to be an expert to post. You also don't need to be an expert to contribute something positive. And you don't get to decide whether someone else had the intent of contributing, being positive, or something else altogether. If something makes you laugh, then laugh. Laughter is good for you. Even if you're the only one laughing, it is ok. Are we really that serious about everything that laughter directed at someone or something has become little more than the means to hurts someone else??? If the OP is so sensitive that he can't take a little ribbing, then maybe he should not post. I mean, nobody forced him to post, right? I don't want to speak for him, but my guess is the OP can take the ribbing, and I don't see anyone here being malicious. YMMV.

 

[stabman]

Very rarely in my life ... infact "never" have I met anyone who took the piss about anything ... and then discovered that they knew what they were talking about or could meaning fully add to the discussion ... life always seems to prove that "piss takers" are never experts ...

Wow, an expert on life! Awesome!
(and who "takes piss" anyway?)

 

[stabman]

If something makes you laugh, then laugh. Laughter is good for you. Even if you're the only one laughing, it is ok. Are we really that serious about everything that laughter directed at someone or something has become little more than the means to hurts someone else???

Amen.:thumbup:
Some people just cannot laugh at anything, which is sad.
Hell, if I couldn't laugh at myself, I'd be one mean jerk, and who wants that, right?

 

[von Trakehnen]

You need at least 4 or 500 rounds shotgun ammo to even out the load.

 

[PeterPHWS]

What is wrong with posting something that the poster believes to be truthful? Just because it may not be what the OP intended or desired does not make it any less valid. Opinions will vary widely on almost anything and everything. The ability to express one's opinion, for better or for worse, is one of many things that goes to the heart of what makes this a great country.



Some folks can be helpful on some things and some folks are never helpful on anything. BUT, being helpful is not a requirement to posting here or anywhere else on the forum. I have seen someone ask a question here before and get the same answer in the next 10 or 20 posts. After the first post, how is repeating the first response helpful to the person who asked the question? It's not, but IMO, folks still have a right to post away if that is what they so choose.



Again, nobody needs to be an expert to post. You also don't need to be an expert to contribute something positive. And you don't get to decide whether someone else had the intent of contributing, being positive, or something else altogether. If something makes you laugh, then laugh. Laughter is good for you. Even if you're the only one laughing, it is ok. Are we really that serious about everything that laughter directed at someone or something has become little more than the means to hurts someone else??? If the OP is so sensitive that he can't take a little ribbing, then maybe he should not post. I mean, nobody forced him to post, right? I don't want to speak for him, but my guess is the OP can take the ribbing, and I don't see anyone here being malicious. YMMV.

So "freedom of speech" is central to the issue ? Having to use "your legal rights" to defend laughing at someone instead of having a laugh with someone ... seems unusually contrived to me ... an unusual way of justifying arguing against those of us who ask for standards of politeness and positive behaviour within the forum which encourages people to post rather than have the atmosphere degenerate to where it discourages them ...

It is rather like Jerry's point about welcoming new guys who were offered the chance to be inducted online ... rather than bemoan the point that the "eliteism" was slipping ...

Welcoming someone is another aspect of politeness and standards ... all of which IMO makes this forum one of the better ones on here ... and if we don't value this ... it won't last ...

 

[AZTimT]

Still an interesting thread with plenty of advice but here is something to consider. This started out about a lot of cool and expensive gear purchased to get away from home and live through something bad enough to require such actions. So you do that, great, but then what? Seriously, what happens on day 2, 3, 4 and so forth? Resupply where, when, from who, how, with what and is there even anything left? :thumbdn:

There comes a point where if the survival of you and your family is important enough that you know you will have to "bug out" to just do it before anything happens and on top of the whole Japan thing, here is the logic.

After spending many years living the "fast & light" lifestyle it got to a point where it wasn't enjoyable anymore. It didn't help that living/working in a highly populated areas like Phoenix/LA/Vegas started to feel like playing russian roulette all alone... just a matter of time before the game ends badly. That stress led to crunching the numbers for many years before deciding to relocate permanently to a place to just stay put. Now, home is in a place similar to where most people think they will "bug out" to and practicing survival is pretty much a weekly, if not daily event. It is great having the peace of mind knowing where all the options are for water, food, shelter, defense, sources of heat/fuel/power, supplies, etc to include options for temporarily retreating if necessary are at within walking distance. Of course being there already (think first) has major advantages too. The only disaster potential in this area is fire and maybe earthquakes, but not enough to be a threat to long term survival. No volcanoes or tsunamis or hurricanes or tornadoes or nuclear power plants or floods or mudslides or avalanches here, thank you, just lots of trees, water & wildlife. :thumbup:

The biggest concern really is the people "bugging out" from the city who didn't plan far enough ahead that are going to be wanting/needing help. The time and money one spends planning and prepping to run from the city just to survive could be best applied to improving where you plan to stay put and live the rest of your life whether things get bad or not. Yes, it is a huge life choice, but that choice is to live where the chaos, risk, and threats are not likely to be which automatically increases the chances of survival.

Just over 100 years ago, very few people lived in American cities, now a majority do. Technology/luxury is a double edged sword, convenient & fun on one side and dangerously addictive & mind numbing on the other. If it all goes away, life goes on for those who know how live without it. Once you are surrounded by more wildlife than people you really do feel more relaxed and at peace since you know what you can expect from the wildlife but not so much with people. Sure, life is a little harder, but it is well worth it and definitely one of the best choices I ever made.

 

[on_the_edge]

So "freedom of speech" is central to the issue ? Having to use "your legal rights" to defend laughing at someone instead of having a laugh with someone ... seems unusually contrived to me ... an unusual way of justifying arguing against those of us who ask for standards of politeness and positive behaviour within the forum which encourages people to post rather than have the atmosphere degenerate to where it discourages them ...

It is rather like Jerry's point about welcoming new guys who were offered the chance to be inducted online ... rather than bemoan the point that the "eliteism" was slipping ...

Welcoming someone is another aspect of politeness and standards ... all of which IMO makes this forum one of the better ones on here ... and if we don't value this ... it won't last ...

Peter, "freedom of speech" and "your legal rights" are your words, not mine. There is no contrivance here in this thread (at least on my part) and I am sure the OP was welcomed here when he joined up in May, 2009.

What it boils down to is this: different strokes for different folks. There is nothing wrong with that. You want a chopper for some task and I want a folder for the same job. That's cool, I can live with that. But if I chuckle, don't automatically infer malice or rudeness from the laughter. No malice or ill will is intended at all. Peace...

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress.

 

[ChrisIhao]

The biggest concern really is the people "bugging out" from the city who didn't plan far enough ahead that are going to be wanting/needing help. The time and money one spends planning and prepping to run from the city just to survive could be best applied to improving where you plan to stay put and live the rest of your life whether things get bad or not. Yes, it is a huge life choice, but that choice is to live where the chaos, risk, and threats are not likely to be which automatically increases the chances of survival.

Just over 100 years ago, very few people lived in American cities, now a majority do. Technology/luxury is a double edged sword, convenient & fun on one side and dangerously addictive & mind numbing on the other. If it all goes away, life goes on for those who know how live without it.

First of all, I have basically lived like you describe and its wonderful, at least for a few years. However, these ideas honestly are impossible in practice on a larger scale. If everyone were moving out of the towns and into the "wilderness" there would be no wilderness for one. There would be an uncontrolled amount of garbage, sewage, shacks, self made paths, huge areas of forests cut down and etc. Gangs would form to preserve whatever they got, while ever growing greedier and wanting more, spawning conflict in the process.

Back on the ground, the biggest problem with the "live with nature" idea is that the world is turning the opposite direction, more specifically that people need to move closer to centers to go to their jobs, to afford fuel (or rather use public transportation) and to generally begin stacking living space on top of each other. I know, its sad, but when one consider the lack of alternative fuel sources so far, contra the pace of technology advances in this field, we really cant expect to live the same way we do now in a few decades. To many of us need to share the plate so to speak.

Obviously if you got a job where you can live in a cabin on top of a mountain you are mostly set to go, but most of us need to go where stuff happens to get paid, more specifically somewhat near town centres.

We are immensely lucky to have been born just now, even if nostalgia sometimes whisper to me that I should have been born way back in "simpler times". However, I realize thats just my fantasy running off. Times were hard before, times are hard for many now and times will eventually get hard again. Honestly, considering we are on a forum where people buy dozens of knives for hundreds of dollars, times cant be THAT bad, can they? Just my 2 cents.

 

[PeterPHWS]

Fair enough Chris ( On the Edge ) :thumbup:

Getting back on topic ... my first thoughts after reading the OP's post were "why not try to relocate now" before a disaster happens?

It is a "Catch 22" though ... work and making a living seems to dictate so much in life ... however for a lot of my life I have lived in hostile areas or at least "challenging" areas and personally "loved it" ... now I am trying to ride two ponies ... have a house in the hills and find work which can afford it ... these "hills" being near Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds where work can be found so the property prices reflect the "idyllic lifestyle compromise". Since the recession it has proven a task which is gradually harder and harder ...

A few years ago I looked at property in the North West of Scotland ... no cities there but prices reflect this ... back then I could have bought something nice "outright" ... now I doubt my place would sell for anything close to what I would need ... and I have a mortgage to take off before doing anything.

I have to say though that the oppertunity to go somewhere like a "croft" where running water is perhaps a "bonus" still appeals to me ... and I have to say I am coming round to the idea that having too many consumer goods such as rifles, knives and other "kit" is not cool ... too much "clutter" ... so for me the liklihood of downsizing to a simpler way of life and owning "less" may well be a future course of action ... the only thing I find though is that the harshness of a country style life is not a problem ... but the "boredom" is ... there is "no buzz" like there was in the military ... and it is quite easy to get by out in the sticks once you have the right tools ... pretty and simple as life can be in the hills ... it does'nt compare to my earlier years ... so maybe I might go abroad :thumbup: