Just a quick Thursday post as I have a rather busy day today. On the subject of prepping I have never been a big fan. I also think that the Corona virus is more fear-mongering than anything else, specifically designed to crash the US economy in time for the November election.
However, I am also a dedicated student of risk and its inherent randomness in the real world sense, not in an academic capacity. So all things considered you might want to buy a few more groceries this week.
When paranoid, you can be wrong 1000 times & you will survive.
If non-paranoid; wrong once, and you, your genes, & the rest of your group are done.It's a yuuuge mystery that academics who deal w/risk, "rationality", subforecasting & superforecasting fail to get it.
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) February 24, 2020
I’ve noticed a massive difference in how much people who deal in risk care versus those who don’t on #Covid_19
My VC & Wall St trader friends are prepping like mad.
My friends who work for bureaucracies just sort of shrug, waiting for someone else to tell them what to do.
— Bruce Fenton (@brucefenton) February 24, 2020
In Japan, authorities advise all citizens to have at least a week’s worth of food and water in their house, together with other handy items like torches, toiletries and medicines. This is because they are so used to natural disasters, they will not bother to stop a meeting and evacuate if there’s an earthquake below about a level 4. Is debris falling from the ceiling? No? Very well, please continue with your PowerPoint presentation, Mr Tanaka. Just find something to hold on to. This is good advice for people everywhere. There might be a local quarantine. There might also be… Read more »
Get any chronic medications now, and store some basic food. Its better to be a little over prepared and be accused of being an idiot than being caught short of something you need.
I think part of the problem may be the media portrayal of “prepper” as someone who moves their family to Montana, builds a cabin, and buys enough guns to arm the New Hampshire militia. The couple then weaves their own clothes and teaches their own children, while building a wall around the property out of old shipping containers. This works great right up until the government decides they don’t like you (Google Randy Weaver), or you or your family gets tired of the hard life. I think of myself as a “prepper” because I have stocked up on the basics… Read more »
“I think part of the problem may be the media portrayal of “prepper” as someone who moves their family to Montana, builds a cabin, and buys enough guns to arm the New Hampshire militia”
Giving the media devil his due, there’s a lot of truth in that portrayal.
I’d be willing to bet that it is statistically 0% within the margins of error. Many more are like me.
I was thinking of buying some Ramen noodles and alcohol-based disinfectant wipes on the way home from work tonight.
Consider veg products sealed in jars and cans and long-shelf meat/protein items like tuna. Stick with things that you wouldn’t mind eating on a normal day. Instant noodles aren’t very nutritious and you’ll get sick of them quick.
Prepping is a natural response smart people have to perceived future risk. The media have done a great job of turning preppers into a ridiculous caricature. This keeps status-conscious sheeple from leaving the herd and prepping for their own future. It’s a sign of individualism and rejection of socialism. It’s people who want to survive with their traditional lives intact vs globohomo.
If you think prepping is silly it’s because you’ve fallen for the msm narrative.
“Why prep with my own money when The Govenmint gibs me Gibs Me Dats after a Cry-Sis for Nuffin?”
Says every r-selected chimp ever.
Come the Maunder Minimum and these people will be chimping out until they get their free space heaters from The Govenmint so they don’t freeze.
Me, I say that “The Fifth Element” was on to something: reclassify them as meat popsicles and save a few killer-watts. 🙂
I’m a fan of being prepared . . . for anything. Well, not exactly anything, since I still don’t like relatives dropping in unannounced. We went through Hurricane Ike, and two nights before the storm hit, I went to the store – it was as empty as Joe Biden’s head. Since we had food for several weeks, I was there just to take pictures. Oddly, there were still Weight Watcher cookies available. After the storm hit, we had steak. We slept in since there were no alarm clocks, because there was no power. We had (essentially) zero discomfort while the… Read more »