Hi Everyone, My name is Shellie and I am very new to this message board and to Ed Yourdon. My husband who is a truck driver just told me of the potential problem with Y2K. Since I am the mother of two little girls who would not understand the fact that there is no food or water one day,I would really appreciate some help getting started. We live in the country by the lake in a small town in Texas. However, I have no idea how to garden anything. How do I save water? I just went to the store today and bought tons of candles,matches,rice,beans,and misc. It seems so scary to me but everytime I mention this problem, I get laughed at. I also work at a dialysis center doing kidney dialysis on patients with cronic renal failure, and even though I have asked tons of people about the machines being Y2k complient, I get the same response...Our machines do not care what the date is... Well Since I did not make the machines, I don't know. But I do know that my patients can not miss treatments or it is TEOTW for them. They honestly do not have a few days. I apologize for rambling on but I honestly don't know where to start and with my husband always on the road I have to prepare things myself. Does anyone know where I can find out how prepared we acually are and some sort of checklist of supplies needed? Thank you

-- shellie whitt (shellie01@hotmail.com), January 04, 1999

Answers

Here's one I stumbled onto recently: http://forums.cosmoaccess.net/forum/survival/prep/survival.htm

T here are also lotsa links and references within the FOOD category located the old messages section. Hope this helps :-)

-- Tim Pixley (pixmo@pixelquest.com), January 04, 1999.

Read the old threads on the Forum, Shellie.

Take a look at the American Red Cross suggestions for Y2K preparations for starters.

http:// www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/y2k.html

Follow the Y2K links on Ed Yourdons web-site.

http://www.yourdon.com/ index.htm

Good luck!

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), January 04, 1999.

Shellie, This site is probably one of the most comprehensive sites for people who are just becoming aware of the year 2000 problem. It explains the problem as well as solutions with follow up sites for further examination. http://www.computerpro.com/~phystad/csy2kfaq.html Good Luck, Mike

-- flierdude (mkessler0101@sprynet.com), January 04, 1999.

Shellie,

There is no place to look that can tell you how prepared we are. What there are, are many bits and pieces of information, all open to interpretation, and many opinions of all shades. So each one of us needs to decide how much preparation is needed in our own household.

I believe that we will have at least several more months to make our preparations before the grocery store shelves get emptied out shortly after the delivery truck leaves. So I would think that you have time to do some research on various ways to prepare. Some suggested links have already been posted, and there are many more available.

In your research, keep in mind that you will want to weigh various trade-offs, such as candles vs. kerosene lamps, vs flashlights. (Here I am thinking of safety factors, particulary with the children in mind.) Rice and beans store well, but so do cans of tuna fish, which have lots of protein, and which don't require cooking.

There are many choices to make, but I think there is time to read up and consider various choices.

As for how prepared each family should try to get, we will not know in some objective way, with anything close to certainty. I believe that subjectively, we can only prepare to the extent that is practical in our own circumstances, because I suspect that anyone who is convinced that they must prepare more than they are able to prepare, and who remains in that frame of mind from now until whatever is to happen, happens, will become a basket case, and will be of little or no help to themselves, or their family, or their neighbors.

Jerry P.S. If you can find the make and model name or number of the dialysis machines, perhaps we can find some info on the web about their Y2K compliance. Some medical device manufacturers have websites on which they post such info.

-- Jerry B (skeptic76@erols.com), January 04, 1999.

Look at some of the stuff on "this" Ed Yourdon's page.

He and Jennifer have done an excellent job of explaining the Y2K problem, AND have links to the Red Cross site, the Cassandra project, and other sites.

I recommend Ed's book.

Ed has a more "balanced" view of Y2K. I also like Yardeni's report, although it will take quite some time to read.

Bottom line:

Most people have been talking about Y2K on a scale of 1-10.

1 is that Y2K will be no problem, no disruptions in industry. 4 is that Y2K will be like the oil crisis in 1973. 7 is that Y2K will be like the Great Depression 10 is that Y2K will be like the Civil War (except that we have better guns in 2000 than we did in 1860, and nuclear facilities). Think Mad Max.

Many people on the page are a 9-10.

I'm about a 4, thinking about moving up to a 7.

Remember, different people are at different points on this scale, so you need to consider where people are coming from.

Some points.

If you live in the "nice" part of a large city, and Y2K is a 7 or worse, you need to be thinking about personal security or finding a more remote location. Large scale economic disruptions cause civil unrest. Remember the "Bonus March" of the Great Depression.

I like the camping trip analogy. Get things you think you would need on a camping trip. Food, Water, Shelter, Warm sleeping bags. You get the idea.

Glen Austin

-- Glen Austin (gdaustin@aol.com), January 04, 1999.

Shellie, Congratulations, you've "Gotten It." Now, as for what to do about it, you've already started. You've already gotten some great responses, and I'm sure you'll get many because of how helpful everyone is in general on this site. Here are some tips that I hope will be of help.

1. Check your local library for books on gardening and preserving food. Though canned goods that you purchase now may get you through the crisis time, we have no idea what will be available after the dust settles. For example, we're pretty positive not much will be shipped from South America for quite some time. This means no coffee, chocolate, petroleum products (including vaseline), and any number of items. I'm counting on not too much coming from abroad for awhile. What items we do have will be inflated heavily in price. So get started with some seedlings now, indoors, until the weather gets warmer and you can transplant outside. It sounds like you have a nice sized lot to work with; anything you can do now is to your benefit later.

2. Get copies of your important papers. For example, birth certificates, motor vehicle registrations and titles, school transcripts, certifications, and anything else that may be on a computer somewhere -- especially if on a government computer!

3. Get cash and store it somewhere. Take it out slowly; you have some time if you start now. Chances are the ATMs won't be working, and who knows if payroll from your hospital will be cutting checks. another certainty is a run on the banks.

4. Read up on the internet; check out the different sites listed on this bulletin board just in the past two days -- there's a wealth of information.

5. I have two small children, too, and I can really understand where you're coming from. When you consider the types of food you are storing, take a look at the "food pyramid" to see if you can realistically provide what's suggested.

I'd better stop here; this is alot for anyone getting started. Feel free to ask more questions, too!

Jeannie

-- jhollander (hollander@ij.net), January 04, 1999.

Sorry, previous post was for pattiesm, not you.

My wife's hospital is already going around marking stickers for Y2K compliance.

Equipment which is not Y2K is marked red (meaning it will not work after Y2K), equipment which IS Y2K is marked green. Equipment for which Y2K is pending (meaning that they're in the process of finding out from the vendor) is marked yellow. Any unmarked equipment is supposed to be marked by March.

I would suggest a similar strategy at your place of work. Someone in your company should contact your dialysis equipment vendors and get confirmation on Y2K yes or no. Then put stickers on the equipment.

If you're already on a lake, it sounds like you probably won't have much of a water problem. (Although, if your lake is the water source for a large city, like Austin, and everyone moves out of the city, you might have "too much" water.)

I would be focusing on items like:

Warm sleeping bags.

Gas grill with several propane bottles (full) for cooking.

Chlorine bleach or pool chlorine to purify the water you have.

Buy a few extra groceries each time to the store. Don't try to buy it all at once. We're purchasing a few cans, beans, peas, corn, tuna, whatever's on sale. Just buy 10 cans or so each time to the store for $4-5 extra dollars on your bill each week.

If you think Y2K is going to last a while, buy grain that can be milled for flower. The suggestions I've heard are sealed 5 gallon containers or putting put traps for mice and other pest control measures.

For a garden, the main things you'll needs are tools for cultivation, seeds, and water. Try to grow things which are natural for your part of the state. (Don't try to grow tropical fruit in the Panhandle, or wheat in the valley.) Most seeds sold today won't grow past one season. Many of the people believing Y2K is REALLY going to be bad are buying seeds that create plants that will produce seeds for multiple growing seasons.

Since I don't have a lot of land, I'm stocking the canned goods, hoping for a short term disruption and moving to a relative's farm, if the situation gets really bad. ( I already live on the edge of the city, so getting out of town won't be too difficult. )

Finally, a note. Y2K depends on you. If you co-operate and help neighbors and work with the people around you, Y2K won't be bad. If you're already somewhat isolated, that's probably an advantage.

If you load and pump your shotgun every time a stranger approaches, then, chances are you'll kill someone and end up in jail, or you'll be the next target.

Glen Austin

-- Glen Austin (gdaustin@aol.com), January 04, 1999.

First of all, I want to thank you all for your help. The responses have been most helpful. Yes, I do live on the lake,however,I guess I need to find out how to make the water useful. I worry so much about having guns and ammo in the house with small children around. But on the other hand it seems like I have no choice. I can't even imagine the thought of hungry people coming to my door and shooting them. Yet, it is impossible to take everyone in and we all starve to death. Seems I have alot of thinking to do. Thank you for helping me to get started. Does anyone know if Clinton has said anything about this matter to the public yet?

-- shellie (shellie01@hotmail.com), January 05, 1999.

Shellie, welcome to the forum, you will find it a valuable source of information. One of my favorite sites & one you might find interesting is www.y2kwomen.com This is Karen Anderson's site & there is alot of very helpful information to be found there. She has a wonderful list that goes thru every room of your house to see what you already may have & things that you might want to add. I have found it to be particularly helpful. Since I live in the great state of Texas too, e-mail me privately & we can chat, who knows we might be neighbors!!! Look forward to hearing from you!! Donna :o)

-- Donna in Texas (Dd0143@aol.com), January 05, 1999.

Shellie,

A good checklist of supplies needed that I've seen is this article from Backwoods Home Magazine:

http://backwoodshome.com/articles/clay55.html

Title: "With commonsense planning, you can survive the hard times"

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), January 05, 1999.

Shellie, I too live near a lake, but purified water was my problem. Katadyn is back ordered for months, but I found a wonderful water purifier in Pueblo, CO., Here's the phone #719/545-1800. It's an Arctic and can be delivered in two weeks. The email is http://www.arctic-1.com/filters.htm good luck, I personally recommend this one, but I am not connected with the company in any way.

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), January 05, 1999.

Shellie... I, too, live in Texas, very near a large lake, as a matter of fact. We've been preparing for almost a year now, and we feel like we're in pretty good shape. Like Donna, I invite you to e-mail me if I can be of any help at all. Best of luck.

-- Vic Parker (rdrunner@internetwork.net), January 05, 1999.

Shellie, you might also want to check out Michael Hyatt's site...www.michaelhyatt.com. He is publishing a book on preparation and is preposting his chapters on his site for feedback. He does list what you might want to buy and the cheapest places he has found it. As far as not wanting guns around, you might want to consider a dog.

-- Nathan L. (Nate208900@aol.com), January 05, 1999.

2 things helpful in organizing your info and your efforts:

A) draw circles: you. your family. your neighbors and local extended family. your extended family in other states. your larger community. Deal with the basic preparedness of the inner circle first, then move outward.

B)When listing things you need to buy or do or learn, prioritize. List what you absolutely have to accomplish, then what you want, then what would be nice if you could. Do the first things first.

Good luck to you and your family,

E.

-- E. Coli (nunayo@beeswax.com), January 05, 1999.