Apocalypse #4

     Let us today discuss what you might need to survive, should you so choose. The internet is brimming with suggestions for survival packs. What you must consider is where you are going to settle while going through an apocalyptic event. You may be away from home, hence the need for an emergency survival pack. This should be easily accessible as we have discussed in an earlier article. There are lots of online sites on the E&E packs, offering a good deal of info on all you'll need to get from point a to b. Only you can determine how long it will take to get where you are going and what your plan for survival is.
      Things haven't changed much in a very long time, so why should you worry? That is what most rationalists will say. When I look, I see more disasters than usual, both man  made, and natural, which seem to be getting worse. So if you believe that there is nothing to worry about, you probably won't be reading this article, but if your cynical friend is trying to convince you to avoid belief in the possibility of the apocalypse you must realize that only you can decide on the final judgement of these events. If the atheist cynic on t.v. tells you there is nothing out of the ordinary going on, and your house flies away in a freak tornado, only you might be left to care for your needs. The atheist will probably not feed or cloth you.
     You should have enough food to reach your safe house. You must be prepared to protect yourself from the aggression of less scrupulous people. We can all ask, what price freedom, how far should we go to protect ourselves? Each must decide his limits. I would attempt a sane approach. Avoid confrontation, this in itself is usually enough. If you are uncertain, keep moving. People will try to talk to you, to slow you down, put you in a state of lagged response by creating a sense of security. If you don't trust someone, you could be right.  Be paranoid but try to do no harm.
     Many of the survivalist sites are somewhat scary. The people speaking on them may not be from your region. Their accents may cause you to judge them. Spend a free afternoon perusing a variety of sites on survival, stored food (both storage techniques and readily sold prepackaged food, many companies offering 10 to 20 years shelf life.), water purifiers (both portable and for the home), temporary and permanent shelter, and whatever else impresses you as you go from site to site following links where ever they may take you. I prefer to think that nothing will happen, but I will be prepared just in case. I find lots of useful facts coming out of these speculations.
     For myself. living in the continental U.S., I am using a massive California earthquake as my alarm for making sure I am have my safe place prepared. Since no one can know the exact time of these events we can only piece them out through study and inspiration.
     From the prophetic perspective, it is wiser to live in the mountains than close to the sea. you must have enough food to last for two years, and that these events are survivable. It would not hurt to be capable of growing your own vegetables. You must have an environment which is not easy to break into or vandalize. If things get as bad as some of the prophets portray, you must be able to protect yourself. This does not mean arming to the teeth, or killing anyone who seems to be trying to steal what you have.
     It means creating an environment that is not easy to break into, a safe house. Thieves will often go on to the easier situation if yours presents too much difficulty. If you don't own property, then it is time to find others to band together with, preferably who are of a like mind. Starting a nature foundation on 100 acres of land, can create a safe haven for you and some friends, and a tax write off as well. Plan together what environment you would like to create. Weekends can be spent building an earth home, or a yurt, depending on how safe you feel where you are. Those with great concern are attempting to build something like an Italian keep, from the renaissance.
      If you can't afford to buy and build, then ally yourself to people who might have a safe situation for you to come into. People always need help, and others they can trust, so the possibility for sanctuary is not unattainable.
     The standard middle class dwelling is like living in a well insulated tent. They offer almost no protection. You have to consider this in your planning. Someone with a $100 cordless saw can cut through most walls making a door sized opening in around ten minutes. Glass of course doesn't stop much. Living in a city depends on gov't supplied water, which can easily stop flowing, and is already often tainted. See what happened in Japan. What did the government do to help preserve the rights of the property owners. They told them to leave their homes, after neglectfully allowing dangerous nuclear plants to continue operating .
     Where you are situated is very important. If you must work in a city, don't have your whole life there. Create a living environment that can be self sustaining.If things do break down, it is highly likely that society will function with at least Victorian era modernity, hopefully less will be lost. Consider your response to the water being shut off. If nothing else, a house in the country will be an interesting retreat allowing you to learn about nature, growing things, and relaxing.
     A consideration might be for wind or solar power, and especially energy from wood if its available,with a back up diesel generator. Diesel fuel does not go bad and can be stored indefinitely, and they say biodiesel is not hard to make. Converting a car and some tools to use biodiesel might come in handy. Having people with some construction skill is very useful. If you don't some one or all of you should learn. Much can be done with power tools, but having unpowered tools could end up very useful if power is not accessible.
     You might not want to let too many people know what you have either. Some people have the idea that if things go bad with society, all they need is a shotgun and side arm to get what ever they need. Being somewhere where the average person finds such behavior offensive is a good choice, but we never know what desperation can lead to.
     Now to return to prophecy itself to see what the prophets have to say on this. Nostradamus gives May 11 2014 as a possible day when the earth will quake greatly. The time could be off by a year (2015) but is probably 2014. ( to occur when the sun is in 20 degrees of Taurus on a Sunday, which is exact for the year of 2014, off by less than a degree for 2015. He mentions a great theater will be crowded and ruined when this occurs.
     The way he emphasizes the word Sun makes me think it is Sunday the twentieth of Taurus, which does not happen all too often. The reference to theater causes me to think this will be in Los Angeles, but as is the case with Nostradamus, none of his quatrains are that clear, which is why so many discredit him. He mentions the air, sky and earth obscured and troubled, so that it seems this will be a very great quake. It will be interesting to see if this comes to pass.
     I assume the worst might occur, but I live as though life will be comfortable and unchanging. It helps no one to become stressed over these matters. They, if they are anything at all, are a challange, and an opportunity to meet new people, learn new things and test our mettle. I'll see what else I can find in the way of prophecy for #5,  along with other interesting things. Until then.