Preparing for the worst...

[mawk]

Terrorism. Peak oil. Nuclear proliferation. What should you do to prepare for these scenarios? What would you stockpile? Where would you go?

Discuss!

[Alcar]

I'd pray, and then quickly relocate to the White House. I figure I might as well die sooner rather than later.

Alcar...

[Mojo]

I burrow in my SECRET HIDEOUT that is underneath the first pillar you see when you leave Amsterdam Central Station by train, when heading towards Rotterdam, then I play Xbox games all the time, while loading myself with beer, fries, burgers, and Ben&Jerry's, which I all got when I robbed the nearest McDonalds, Burger King, supermarket, and Ice-Cream Parlour.

[Hobo]

Duc-Tape everything to my back.

[Cyber-Slig]

I'd go up to heaven . You see in Scotland we have the BP . A huge power plant . If that blows up . So is Scotland

[Esus]

I'd do nothing and hope I, along with those around me (broadly speaking) are not affected.

[Fez]

Gah, its the zombies we should be scared of!

I'd barricade myself along with any survivors in the B-Block of our school, its very high, with good all round defence.

[Rincewynd]

I would duck and cover so I won't die and then raise and army of super human people to blast other people to smitherines : evil laugh #9 muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Rex Tirano]

Gah, its the zombies we should be scared of!

I'd barricade myself along with any survivors in the B-Block of our school, its very high, with good all round defence.

Is that before or after you come and get me? :P

I dunno. I'd probably just be with my friends and be happy and feel loved. Because I'd rather die happy and loved, that cold and lonely in a barron wasteland.

What ever will happen will happen. There's nothing you can do but follow your gut and do what you thought was right at the time.

[Abeguy]

I'd fly!
no...wait
I'd run!
To A Bomb Shelter!

[OANST]

I would buy all the cheese in the world. That would solve the problem.

[mawk]

Is that before or after you come and get me? :P

I dunno. I'd probably just be with my friends and be happy and feel loved. Because I'd rather die happy and loved, that cold and lonely in a barron wasteland.

What ever will happen will happen. There's nothing you can do but follow your gut and do what you thought was right at the time.

Probably the first serious post I agree with here. YEAH, adapt in the face of adversity. Be ready for anything.

But what would you need to prepare yourself for anything? In my opinion, you need to think of every single scenario in order to have provisions to survive adversity. An emergency supply of car fuel in case the oil runs out and you need to make an emergency journey somewhere. The provisions and knowhow to make your house safe from nuclear radiation. Hydroponics for growing your own food from seeds. If you live on a farm, then you should have a radiation-proofed barn, so that your animals (which are now your food stock) are exposed to as little radiation as possible. Guns, in case you run across looters. 2 way UHF or VHF radios, for obvious reasons. Enough lead cladding on your car so that you can avoid radiation without making the car weight too much. A wind generator, solar panel, waterwheel generator, whatever you can lay your hands on, so long as it's not a petrol generator. Lots of water, and knowledge of local underground water supplys and springs - underground water will not be contaminated. And of course, radiation-retardant suits, both makeshift and purpose made.

[Nate]

In case you're interested, The Straight Dope actually researched how long it would take for the Electricity Grid to fail after a zombie-style apocalypse. http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mzombiepower.html

Funny and informative, just the way I like it.

[mawk]

DAMNIT PEOPLE! This thread is not about zombies! Only immature children and christians would take that shit seriously.

[odd chick]

Is that before or after you come and get me? :P

I dunno. I'd probably just be with my friends and be happy and feel loved. Because I'd rather die happy and loved, that cold and lonely in a barron wasteland.

What ever will happen will happen. There's nothing you can do but follow your gut and do what you thought was right at the time.

Yeah, I'd probably do the same thing. I would rather feel comforted and loved by my family and friends than to have to die alone with no one around me. I can say, however, that I feel that there could have been something done about 9/11. Homeland security could have protected us from what happened. What surprises me is how the heck the terrorists could have gotten on the planes. Plenty of people who were considered dangerous have been stopped by the people at the airports before-why not them?

[TheRaisin]

Because they're too busy apprehending innocent people with the wrong ethnic background, or people wearing the wrong clothes?

Mawk, you are America's best friend-- paranoid and ready to consume like mad out of fear. If it ever gets to the point where one of our nations is to be bombed, you will have no control over whether you live or die. You can't survive an atom bomb.

I think the best way to prevent your death is to elect officials who will ensure that the job is done right so as to prevent tensions between countries from escalating, thereby causing a situation in which nukes might be used. As for preparing for the actual bombing. . . I don't think there's anything I would do besides get the hell out of the U.S. Other than that, I would really just want to be around people I feel comfortable with.

Duck and cover. . . as if.

[SeaRex]

DAMNIT PEOPLE! This thread is not about zombies! Only immature children and christians would take that shit seriously.

Yeah, but at least the zombie stuff is interesting.

Sometimes, at one of our massive Xbox/Halo party things, my friends and I will jokingly talk about what we would do if we were put into a situation where the world really did become overrun by zombies. We seemed to come to the general consensus that if (and it's a large if) you could get a team of survivors together and board up the doors/windows of a grocery store, you would be pretty well set. Of course, there's always the factor of time and materials. Plus you have to take into account if these are the demonic, undying zombies like in Evil Dead or the more human zombies that will starve over time like in 28 Days Later.

Hehehe...

Sure, it will never happen, but it makes a hella more interesting conversation than what to do in case of a bio/ballistic attack. We live near a "retired" nuclear weapons facility. We'd all be dead, but at least we wouldn't suffer. End of conversation.

[mawk]

Because they're too busy apprehending innocent people with the wrong ethnic background, or people wearing the wrong clothes?

Mawk, you are America's best friend-- paranoid and ready to consume like mad out of fear. If it ever gets to the point where one of our nations is to be bombed, you will have no control over whether you live or die. You can't survive an atom bomb.

I think the best way to prevent your death is to elect officials who will ensure that the job is done right so as to prevent tensions between countries from escalating, thereby causing a situation in which nukes might be used. As for preparing for the actual bombing. . . I don't think there's anything I would do besides get the hell out of the U.S. Other than that, I would really just want to be around people I feel comfortable with.

Duck and cover. . . as if.

In a survival situation, you DO have a choice over whether you live or die. Survival IS a choice.

I'm not Americas' best friend because I don't live in America. I'm not paranoid either. I am not poised to consume like mad out of fear. And the fact that you've somehow come to the conclusion that I'm paranoid just because I stated how I would go about surviving in an imaginary for instance scenario, tells me that you aren't very perceptive to the reality of this discussion.

I was actually talking about hypothetical methods for surviving long enough through nuclear fallout to be able to form an escape plan. Obviously if I was within a 20 mile radius of the actual site of impact/detonation while the reaction was occuring, then I would die. But I don't live in a place which stands any chance of being considered a good target for a nuke. Nukes are expensive and nigh on impossible to detonate in a western nation due to intelligence and the like, thus it is more likely that I will only be effected if I am downwind of a nuclear explosion.

At no point did I say that I'm waiting and ready to hop out of my seat and panic buy army surplus NBC suits, rations and gasmasks at the slightest sign of terrorism. Don't take things so literally.

[oddguy]

In the hypothetical situation that all order is lost, I would try to make a comfortable refuge with all possible means. Also making it in a location that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Then I'd loot some stores and such for supplies. Afterwards, I'd gather all the survivors I could to try and rebuild something close to normal.

-oddguy

[Dark Oddworld]

I would get the hell out of the U.S. but I wonder what it would be like to get nuked if it hurts or if it is painless.

[Nate]

If you're in the blast zone, you wouldn't even know what hit you. Further out you would get horrible burns and/or die of radiation sickness. Further out still, you'd die many years later of cancer.

That said, the 'blast zone' is remarkably unpredictable. In Hiroshima there were some patches of the city completely levelled and others virtually untouched.

[Facsimile]

Okay, I pose a question: Why are people still making atomic bombs, when they say they aren't going to use them?

And SeaRex, the problem with zombies is that you'll run out of ammo before you run out of zombies.

[Alcar]

Okay, I pose a question: Why are people still making atomic bombs, when they say they aren't going to use them?

Because they won't use atomic bombs. They'll use something twenty times as potent

Alcar...

[Mojo]

Hydrogen bombs! Neutron bombs! Those are even worse!

[mawk]

The rapid expansion of the hydrogen bombs' "mushroom cloud" explosion scares me. One minute it's just a bomb a few feet wide, and then within the space of about 2 seconds after impact there is this giant 10 mile wide mushroom. It baffles me how these weapons can be tested without blowing our planet to bits. Things are at a stage now where entire cities can be removed from the world map, regardless of size, with one missile.

Hopefully it will never come to that. Hopefully diplomacy and common sense will win the day. But the fact that there is even potential still makes this a scary world to live in if you consider the possibilities.

[Biggy Bro Slig]

On our Island there's a Power plant across in england, if that was struck, Aswell as blowing up the area around, it would also blow are island to Davy Jone's Locker...

[Fez]

Lets talk about zombies

Flying out to live on an Oil Rig would be best. Good safe protection to wait untill they all starve or are nuked. Providing one of the survivors can fly a helicopter, we'd be quite safe, only flying out for supplies or random zombies killing

[Mojo]

Not enough ammo for zombies? A zombie won't die from being shot! Just dismember them, by smacking them with a piece of wood will do!

[Nate]

Why are people still making atomic bombs, when they say they aren't going to use them?

The US is making bombs because Russia and China are making bombs. Russia is making bombs because the US and China are making bombs. China is making bombs because the US and Russia and making bombs. Does that make sense?

In any case, I thought they agreed not to make any new bombs, and just live off their old cache?

Flying out to live on an Oil Rig would be best. Good safe protection to wait untill they all starve or are nuked. Providing one of the survivors can fly a helicopter, we'd be quite safe, only flying out for supplies or random zombies killing

You should read Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut. Its about a bunch of humans who get trapped on the Galapagos islands whilst, without them realising it, a virus is wiping out the entire human race so they are the only survivors. The story then covers the next million years as they evolve into weird seal-like things.

[Wil]

Terrorism. Peak oil. Nuclear proliferation.

I doubt Norwich is at risk from terrorism. If it is, I'll just move to a rural community. Boo yeah.

I don't what you mean by peak oil, but as part of my ethical consumerism, I try to purchase as little oil-produced products as possible.

If by nuclear proliferation you mean lots of countries deciding a nuclear war would be a jolly good thing, then again I'd move to a rural community. Less chance of being targeted, though I imagine the effects would still reach me.

In case of zombie attack, I would run. Dang zombies can't run, foo's!

I don't know what I could actually do to save myself. Maybe I could just empower the human race by making sure stupid people get attacked more than me. I'm more worried about the environment. In case of Ice Age, I will move to Africa.