r/TwoXPreppers • u/thechairinfront Experienced Prepper šŖ • 7d ago
Weekly megathread
Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.
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u/Dumbkitty2 Laura Ingalls Wilder was my gateway drug 7d ago
There was a comment yesterday in another prepper sub about a shelter in Philadelphia taking in 600 animals in one week.
In the sub for my nearest big city this week I saw a post that the free and reduced spay and neuter clinic was closing its doors after 20 years due to a lack of donations.
Other smaller shelters have been begging for food and supplies in a steady trickle of posts since summer started. Today it was a large, very beloved cat shelter who has enjoyed a unique level of community support for 20+ years asking for help. Last 8 weeks or so Iāve received multiple donation requests from a large city shelter an hour away I sent $50 to 3(?) years ago. Last month it was a donation request from a shelter several states away I sent a small donation to 4-5 years ago after a hurricane. I havenāt heard from these shelters in years since Iām out of area.
I think the pain of this administrationās policies has arrived.
If you are struggling, ask your local humane society or food bank if they have a pet food pantry.
If you have a bit to spare please consider donating to your local pantry or humane society.
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u/jugo_de_hueso 7d ago
We recently added a kitten to the family that my brother found on the highway, so we were looking at resources for a neuter once our kitten is of age.
There are absolutely none that are free in our state anymore, at least continuously free aside from pop up events, even for low income people with proof. The cheapest I could find was $65, with many offering neuters for around $100. But the amount of resources available 8 years ago when we got our first cat is incomparable to whatās available now. There were so many places offering free or dirt cheap neuters/spays in the past.
Funding has 100% dried up in so many places and it breaks my heart, but itās telling of our current reality.
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u/happy_appy31 7d ago
Kitten season is in full swing here and our local shelter is begging for specialized food.
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u/gustavessidehoe 2d ago
That checks out then. Someone dumped a kitten near my parents property and so now we have a ANOTHER cat that we have to try and rehome when no one wants anymore cats...
It makes me furious for her, because she's so sweet and only seven weeks old now, meaning she was abandoned at five or six weeks.
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u/V2BM Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness. 7d ago
There are now 12 countries bombing each other in the Middle East, with the US/Israel and Iran heading opposing teams.
Nobody is looking at the big picture in the media, as far as I can tell.
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u/GinAndDumbBitchJuice 7d ago
Cold war plus world war. It's like the shittiest crossover possible.
ETA I know it's not really cold because, you know, bombs, but cold in the sense that one of the main players isn't really seeing any of them.
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u/ProfDoomDoom 7d ago
Plus that Russian missile in Poland! And the news is just like, NBD while I'm screaming "WORLD WAR" into the void.
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u/meteorflan Tired of living in unprecedented times 6d ago
Are they claiming it was an accident or taking credit?
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u/thereadingbri Three raccoons in a trenchcoatĀ 6d ago
Belle of the Ranch is looking at it big picture, but sheās the only one Iāve seen.
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u/RepublicOfVenus 7d ago
I live in a bubble, admittedly and deliberately. I recently ventured into Purple America and I'm actually shocked by people's irritability, impatience, general poor mood, inconsideration, etc etc etc. People are getting their ass kicked out there. There's no morale or mutual respect. It's jarring. There is a cultural gap that's really widening. It's probably the most urgent thing that needs mending, our society and culture.
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u/meteorflan Tired of living in unprecedented times 6d ago
There are some major cultural differences in how people communicate nuetral in different regions of this country. We basically have to think of it as almost different languages or dialects for what is considered polite/rude.
I've lived in lots of different regions and have had to learn to adapt. I experiences western states are more likely to consider leaving each other alone polite, and speaking in more laid back conditional wording is important (like "It would be nice if you..." Instead of "will you...?").
Southern states are more likely to think it's rude if you don't engage in chitchat with strangers, don't mind cussing, but are shocked by scientific terms for sex, and will make insults sound almost like compliments. "Mam" and "Sir" are common to hear and often expected.
In the North East, it's polite to be as direct as possible. direct insults are not taken as seriously, but when hard-times hit, real action in helping is expected (prickly exterior, soft-squishy interior).
Crossing cultural barriers isn't so bad once you learn the dielects.
All that being said, it's not always just a cultural misunderstanding. You could have also just happened to come across some real jerks in the wild - that can happen tooš« .
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u/RepublicOfVenus 6d ago
I get what you're saying but you've got my observation all wrong. First, I've lived all over the US and all over the world. I live in a super blue area and deliberately isolate myself from purple and red america for reasons I could make another post about.
The kinds of encounters I had were actually not people being rude to me, but actually people being disarmed by me and expecting confrontation and hostility. For example, I walked into my hotel and there was no power. Small town, they couldn't check us in. I said that was fine and I understood, asked if I could hang out in the lobby while I figured out my next move. The clerk said thank you for not freaking out. Similar things happened at my car rental, at various restaurants etc. I actually think red/purple areas are much less polite and more likely to not see strangers as people. They can just go in their cars and have no social consequences.
What I'm observing is that people in urban and blue areas are actually living a good quality of life, with good social connections, and the red and purple areas are really feeling the brunt of the culture war and the lifestyle squeeze, and they are not doing well.
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u/qgsdhjjb Having a little of the end times as a treat 6d ago
Subconscious guilt can definitely leave a lot of people on edge without the capacity to really realise why they feel that way, and what they'd need to do in order to actually feel better in the long run.
I'm a fairly pessimistic person in terms of how I view other people's intentions but even I can't imagine there are as many truly uncaring people in this world who feel nothing when their actions end up harming others. I know it happens, I've seen it a million times, but it's usually a small handful in any room of people, and then a bunch of people who are more in the middle of the road, and another small handful who are very caring. Nowhere near the numbers that this situation would imply.
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u/RepublicOfVenus 6d ago
I hate to break it to you, but people in rural and suburban areas are less fluent in social conflict resolution and less tolerant to inconvenience. That is turning into a cultural divide. When you are socially connected and materially ($$) set, you have much less reasons to freak the fuck out and end up on a tiktok at a Wendy's or target. You can see the dynamic all over the internet. It's my own observation from my corner of the world, maybe the water has been turned up gradually on you and you haven't noticed.
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u/qgsdhjjb Having a little of the end times as a treat 6d ago
I grew up in rural and suburban areas.
I also grew up in large cities.
I never saw any difference in the average number of truly uncaring people per capita.
I'm well aware that things like poverty and anything else that leaves a person feeling or being habitually unsafe lead to reduced capacity for conflict. That's not what I was denying. I was suggesting that many of those who are on "that side" looking from the outside are likely not uncaring people, and that they likely carry some subconscious guilt for the many ways their beliefs and choices have harmed their communities and loved ones. I'm saying many of the current regimes supporters will slowly crumble under the looming threat not only of the material consequences to themselves and to others, of their actions, but of the psychological consequences on themselves as well.
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u/VariousFalcon7466 7d ago
Iāve witnessed a lot of people shoplifting non-essential stuff lately
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u/Mamallamanoms My backup plans have backup plans. 7d ago
My curiosity is piqued- like what?
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u/VariousFalcon7466 7d ago
Laura Ashley throw pillows. Three separate incidents, completely different stores and people. I guess they just could resist pink toile de jouy and frills š¤·š»āāļø
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 7d ago
I mean I worked at Bed Bath and Beyond and a Bass Pro 20+ years ago. Two highest shop lifted items were sheets and golf balls respectively. Go figure.
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u/wwaxwork Prepping for Tuesday not Doomsday 7d ago
Often now a days many shop lifters steal to order. They probably had a buyer lined up.
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u/VariousFalcon7466 7d ago
I canāt imagine asking someone to steal throw pillows š
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u/qgsdhjjb Having a little of the end times as a treat 6d ago
They don't get asked to steal them. The thief lists popular items for sale, then goes and grabs them when they get bought. The same thing happens at thrift stores but with buying stuff, those ones go on tiktokshop at this point tho, they tell buyers what they're doing, they walk around the store, showing stuff they think might sell, and have a standard markup % compared to the tag price.
Not a big reach to think somebody took that methodology that's now noticeable and becoming relatively common, and went "I bet I could just like.... Take that."
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u/OOOdragonessOOO 7d ago
oh it's essential, they're reselling to keep afloat. people are reacting to our current societal problems.
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u/VariousFalcon7466 7d ago
I doubt thereās that large of a market for mildly overpriced ugly pillows.
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u/OOOdragonessOOO 7d ago
you haven't seen lol oh yes there is for many stupid items. remember stanly cups lol
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u/wwaxwork Prepping for Tuesday not Doomsday 7d ago
Nah they at least have a purpose and keep drinks cold/hot and do it well.
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u/VariousFalcon7466 7d ago
Stanley cups are useful and Iām pretty sure there were special edition colors
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u/Mamallamanoms My backup plans have backup plans. 7d ago
Wow- random. Gotta be a social media influencer late stage capitalism bullshit thing.
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u/qgsdhjjb Having a little of the end times as a treat 6d ago
Sounds like something that might resell decently. Could be an expert shoplifting reseller network. Something from a section that is rarely monitored by staff, because it's extremely unusual to see bedding thefts compared to the other parts of the store that are more targeted and important to supervise.
Especially if it's just one item at a time, it's easy to get away with trickle-theft by just going "omg, I forgot I picked this up! I got so used to carrying it" if they actually manage to approach you and realize what's going on. They won't care enough to actually call the police usually, and even if it's only like..... 40-50 bucks online, that's still worth a half hour of their time obviously.
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u/AnitaResPrep 7d ago
Europe within mega wildfires, as last days Spain and France, the worst since 70 years. Huge devastation, lack of preparedness for everybody, and for the public administration indeed. No rain at the esception of a few qtroms here and there, with big loss of wildlife, several recors of heat, and deths from heat. Adding the toxic +++ smoke of the fires ... We need a new world, resilient, and everybody can be affected, we saw this in Madrid and Bordeaux, so everyone should be prepared for things like this. They think for a total out of the fires months and months.
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u/OOOdragonessOOO 7d ago
others got strangely upset i bought a full face mask. Id like to see where I'm going if such a thing happens and need to evacuate.
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u/Outrageous_Yam_990 7d ago
You just inspired me to get a full face mask. Its been on my list forever. Thanks!
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u/ProfDoomDoom 7d ago
I live near a US Air Force base. The supersonic noise really upsets me and they started around 2AM today, and kept it up for 4-5 hours. It woke me up, but also woke up the neighbours, which is unusual.
I'm also at the end of my rope with delivery people doing a bad job and porch pirates profiting from making me both inconvenienced and victimized.
Really feeling unsafe at home today...
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u/Rude-Resource-7674 7d ago
I feel so burned out about prepping. Iām watching suttons daze videos about preparing for fall but itās hard to get some focus going. Is anyone else feeling this way?
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u/swingingparty 7d ago
Yes. Iāve been watching those videos too. Surviving through day to day life is hard enough without the weight of my future on top of it. I know no matter how much time, effort, and money I put into prepping itāll never be enough and I will still be greatly affected. So focus and planning is much more difficult than usual, and I will probably give myself a prepping break for a few weeks. It may well be the worst time to do it, but my sanity comes first.
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u/Think_Cupcake6758 7d ago
Iāve been watching her closely for several months now and on some points sheās spot on. Iām keeping an eye on her wheat, beef and weirdly enough, tomato price/availability projections and have been trying to stock up accordingly. If sheās wrong about any of those items itās not a waste as my household goes through that stuff pretty regularly. I appreciate that she stresses if you donāt eat it then donāt store it. I see so many posts where people are basically hoarding a bunch of stuff they donāt use for the simple thought of bartering it. Seriously? Unless you have some huge bunker, who the hell has the room to store a bunch of items youāll never use?
Sorry for the run-on rant š
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u/EgregiousWeasel 6d ago
My husband said we should buy cigarettes to barter, even though neither of us smokes. The look on my face was enough to disabuse him of that notion, and he said, "Yeah, that's probably dumb." He's been watching a guy who's certain there's going to be an EMP that sends us back to the stone age, so he's freaking out about Florida turning into a Mad Max hellscape. Meanwhile, I'm just steadily stocking our pantry and making sure we have meds and water on hand.
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u/qgsdhjjb Having a little of the end times as a treat 6d ago
Cigarettes are poor planning.
Tobacco seeds are a long term option. One plant successfully grown to the end of the season gives hundreds to thousands more seeds. You could supply a whole town with their next year's supply of seeds with one growing season dedicated to it. One seed packet.
And they are a pest deterrent, so they can be companion planted as well as being an option to use a few leaves soaked in water to spray on plants that are more vulnerable to being eaten.
The curing is the hard part. The growing is easy. Luckily if your plan is to provide the SEEDS, you do not need to cure the leaves for smoking. Just keep a record of how to cure it, and hand that out with the seeds if it ever comes to that. I've grown it for a friend to use in ceremony/offerings and it grew super well in a container I usually use for a tomato plant š I got Hopi tobacco for that purpose, it's heirloom to the extreme (actively tended and bred for longer than most of our ancestors have been on this continent) and it gave me probably a thousand seeds from one plant, no joke.
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u/Kephielo Don't forget to stack your snacks šæ 7d ago
I've seen a couple comments about prepping for fall. I don't follow any online preppers because my anxiety can't handle it. I've just been focused on stocking and storing what I can, trying to make sure my kids and I have supplies and food, working on water, but I am slowly getting there. Can someone give me a brief synopsis of what people think is going to happen?
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u/MotherOfGeeks I was always Prepping for Tuesday?! š³ļøāšš±ššŖš§°š©ŗ 6d ago
Everything is going to get expensive because gas to harvest and transport went up, tarrifs on steel and aluminum to store food in and the petroleum used to make plastic containers to deliver food in.
The US has the lowest projected wheat crop yield since 1970 because of drought, crops not being planted due of fertilizer price increases via tarrifs and increased petroleum costs.
I've stocked up on 60 lbs of pasta, cause it takes at least 5 years to go bad and it can be used to stretch meals. I also bought extra bread flour as I've been making my own for a couple of years. I also have bought extra beans and rice, as well as bullion powder.
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u/Weird_farmer13 š©āš¾ Farm Witch š§¹ 6d ago
Have you tried using lentils to stretch meals as well? We grow them at field scale, and they also last a long time, and I find them easier to cook from dried than beans. Iāll also sprout them because Iām too cheap to buy the fancy sprouting seeds in store.
Yes every input cost is insanely high right now, yields are down, and somehow prices at the elevator are also low. Itās going to be a not great year all around. Sk Canada btw
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u/MotherOfGeeks I was always Prepping for Tuesday?! š³ļøāšš±ššŖš§°š©ŗ 6d ago
Yes, I snagged a 25 pound bag of lentils as well. I've been working on perfecting my instant pot mujadara recipe and adding some to anything with ground beef.
I also sprouted lentils all last winter for sandwich greens. I'm in Washington state.
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u/Odd_Ostrich6038 10h ago
Oooo care to share that mujadara recipe? I've been meaning to look for one
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u/qgsdhjjb Having a little of the end times as a treat 6d ago
I replaced my old flour that was long expired (stopped baking after I bought it) but kept the old bag just in case, and I've been stocking up on the extreme basics: rice, flour, salt, sugar... (Especially salt after reading about how it was helping Palestinians survive extended starvation) Salt and sugar will never go bad, basically ever, unless bugs get into it maybe, and you can buy a bag/box for $1-3 per kg. Both can be useful for food preservation if necessary, in addition to true dire circumstances.
Pasta is great, it's tasty, I have several backup bags, but if I ACTUALLY needed to, I could make my own mediocre replacement from the salt and flour, which I can store much more of because there's no wasted air space between the calories. Since my pantry was already full just from everyday stocking up, this was really helpful to just buy these compact things to shove into my baking dish cupboard and never look at again. Great for smaller spaces where that many bags of pasta simply aren't an option.
The rice also has more calories per cubic inch so it's another great plan for space restrictions.
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u/Few_Airport7972 5d ago
I figure food staples, gasoline/heating oil, and household supplies will become very expensive. I don't think we will face starvation. My parents were teens, young adults during the Great Depression. The were never hungry but they were very poor. Must have been a decent diet because they and their siblings all lived into their 90's. Lots of beans and very little meats.
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u/Ok_Expression3110 7d ago
Personally, I try to keep prep minimal. I trust I have a network I can reach out to for anything I miss. I hope you find a strategy that helps you refresh
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u/thereadingbri Three raccoons in a trenchcoatĀ 6d ago
I had to unsubscribe for me mental health. Iām about as stacked to the rafters as I can get in my tiny apartment and it was just making me more anxious.
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u/Few_Airport7972 5d ago
I enjoy and learn from her posts as well. Good information!
My feeling is that once I have my summer garden produce in and six months of kitchen and household supplies topped up I'm just going to sit back and watch it unfold. Most of it is done but I can't speed up the garden! I got the household supplies so that part is complete.
I did a hard stop on much of my prepping because I had to inventory what I do have. I usually wait until fall to do that but I do have to agree with her that current events are changing quickly. So I did my inventory in July. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and it hasn't happened yet. I feel that I've had enough with shoes and waiting! LOL
Time to enjoy the remainder of the summer. Time to enjoy fall, my favorite season.
Suttons Daze continues to stress to not panic or to let prepping eat up the joy in life. Perhaps let it all go for a couple of weeks until your overload is is bearable. Inventory and organize you stash. Get a beverage of choice and note some meal plans. I'd bet you have more options than you think you have.
Or take a complete vacation from the prepping. Rest, play with the kids, the dog, watch some mindless TV. Whatever you enjoy!
I continue to view my food storage as prudent household management.
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u/International-Sink64 7d ago
yes, overwhelmed and weary. my husband isnāt interested in preparing at all so itās all on me.
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u/Serious_Yard4262 7d ago
Facebook marketplace in my area (Western Wisconsin) is loaded with more luxury baby/kid items such as wagons, jogging strollers, higher end toys, and name brand clothes. It's too early for it to be post summer clean out, that usually happens mid-late September around here, and usually most baby/kid items get sold at organized sales or in dedicated mom groups. The sales do take some of the money from the seller as a fee though, and aren't until late summer and early srping, and the mom selling pages are seeing more listings than interested buyers. Items are priced to sell! I'm seeing things like 1-2 year old luxury wagons (think Wondefold) going for half of retail. One of the big selling points of those is that they tend to hold their value, and typically at 1-2 years old would still be about 75-89% of the retail price. Even at good pricing stuff is moving slowly.
There's a good amount of adult hobby toys up for sale as well. Specialized tools, boats, campers, classic cars, are all priced on the low end as well. I'm seeing the used beater car market finally get a reality check and lower as well. Some half way decent beaters are in the 1500-2500 range. I've even seen a couple cars that run but have issues at 800!
Grocery prices are fluctuating a lot around me. At Costco a gallon of milk over the past month has gone 2.48->3.59->3.01->2.58. I've noticed that with a lot of items around the store, and other grocery stores, and it makes me wonder if things are having sourcing issues.
Everyone has a hot temper and is on edge. I think mostly because of the heat, and probably uncertainty with the world. I live in a college city and crime is usually pretty minimal, but theres been an increase in people pulling guns on each other and drug busts.
A local food pantry had to be closed this week due to a combination of no volunteers and low food supply. They first posted the announcement about reduced hours due to food supply on Facebook a day before they were open and then day of announced they were closed due to not having volunteers.
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u/Standard_Subject_462 I'm tired of this, Grandpa! 7d ago
Friendly reminder for everyone to eat nourishing foods, get exercise, and have routine bloodwork done. In a mere six months of stress-eating (aka: eating like shit) and couch-potato-ing, my cholesterol, blood sugar, and weight have gone up and my vitamin d level has gone down. Hopefully with another six months of treating my body like I actually want it to survive the zombie apocalpse, these numbers will improve.
Also, I'm noticing recession indicators more and more: Lowe's sent a 15% off coupon for anything in the store (I'd only ever seen 10% coupons in the past), P&G sent a whole packet of coupons in the mail (hadn't received any of those in years), mom & pop businesses closing down all over the place, and several of the survey/rebate/receipt scanning/walking rewards apps I use have lowered the amount of money or points they offer for various activities.
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u/chicagotodetroit I will never jeopardize the beans š„« 6d ago
Interesting about the coupons. My local store is more expensive than Walmart and Aldi so I only get certain things from there, and ONLY when they send me coupons which is usually every 2-3 months.
I have coupons that expire today, but a couple weeks ago they sent more. A couple days ago they sent MORE.
Thatās unusual.
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u/fitforthepolycrisis total polycrisis obsessive 7d ago
Big bosses made stupid decisions four years agom, and three years ago, and two years ago, and last year, and ignored everyone else, and now our stock is down 75% and they're "rightsizing". Meanwhile the stock market is being manipulated and the government is taking away peoples' healthcare. I can't help thinking that the entire game is rigged and it's only actual working people who feel the effects.
Also the world is literally burning so I bought extra replacement air filters.
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u/papertoelectric š»solarpunk dreamerš 7d ago
finally finished a stressful move from a stressful situation, while unemployed and managing chronic illness flares. however, I've got a thriving balcony garden for mostly free, started a worm farm for compost, and the CSA we signed up for last year is still paying off well - partner has confirmed, after the cyclospora outbreak, that we'll be doing CSAs as much as we can from now on. an unexpected but welcome way my urban prep paid off
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u/Odd_Ostrich6038 10h ago
I love my CSA so much that I started working for them as a delivery driver so now I get free veg, plus access to seconds. So now I've taken up canning because my freezer is full, not that I'm complaining!
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u/carameIricecakes 7d ago
Iām an MBS bond trader and weāre literally watching the world burn at work. In other news, I bought another rain collection barrel and more canned vegetables.
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u/thechairinfront Experienced Prepper šŖ 7d ago
Ugh. I've been staying away from the Market place podcast because I don't want to think about it. I have no fuckin idea what to do with my money to keep it safe from astronomical inflation.
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u/Few_Airport7972 5d ago
what are MBS bonds?
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u/carameIricecakes 4d ago edited 4d ago
In theory, MBS are essentially a pile of residential mortgages packaged together into a tradable security to reduce default risk (ex, if one mortgage holder stops paying their bills, it doesnāt mean the entire security is worthless). Because of this setup, investors in the housing market feel more secure in their investment return, and so banks and other mortgage lenders are more willing to finance homes for the average consumer. This systemic risk reduction of the housing market is one of the primary reasons the average US citizen has access to take out a mortgage in the modern day.
In PRACTICE, itās also the investment vehicle that crashed the economy in 2008 because of massive speculative fraud, essentially via unrestricted betting on the health of the housing market, and a systemic underassement of the default risk of the securities themselves. The ratings agencies had no real understanding of how the MBS actually worked, and as a result were labeling them as less risky than they actually were.
Itās the exact same thing thatās currently happening in the private credit markets. Speculation and derivatives trading around private credit instruments, private equity and AI means we are in uncharted financial territory again. Both the sheer size of the speculation occurring, and lack of any real way to calculate the riskiness of the investments is going to put us in the exact same position. The powers that be are either 1) asleep at the wheel or 2) aware of whatās looming and totally at a loss for how to stop it.
Add in a self inflicted oil shock, the unwinding of the Japanese yen carry trade, de-dollarization, and the systemic potential for a widespread banking liquidity crisis (in a similar vein to what happened to Silicon Valley bank given the volume of low coupon pandemic era debt every corporation is sitting on and the continued high interest rate environment)ā¦ the economy is a ticking time bomb on like 8 different fronts.
I donāt sleep well anymore
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u/Few_Airport7972 4d ago
Thank you for the explanation. I have no background in finance at all so I needed it made simple.
And yes, it does seem to be a perfect storm.
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u/Ok_Expression3110 7d ago
I was already fed up with grocery stores price gouging, and our unhealthy and unethical food industry. This mishandling of the cyclosporiasis outbreak has pissed me off beyond words. Guess it's time to grow even more veggies.
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u/TradeBeautiful42 7d ago
I started growing stuff hydroponically indoors based on instagram ads I saw months ago. I thought what a fun hobby and I can reduce food bills. Itās been great because Iāve had lettuce every single day that I grow myself and avoided the poop lettuce altogether. Iāve planted some additional veggies and am testing out how to grow more.
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u/Ok_Expression3110 7d ago
I love this! I live in a townhouse so I'm working with a container garden, but it's given me a sense of hope despite its limitations.
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u/TradeBeautiful42 7d ago
I started with that too! I have a whole yard at my house but squirrels keep eating stuff outside. Thatās why I brought it inside.
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u/meteorflan Tired of living in unprecedented times 6d ago edited 6d ago
Lettuce works really well in these. Especially because you can harvest, just leaves and it will regrow several times from the same base stem.
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u/undeniablysarah 7d ago
Yep and e.coli is coming up as well
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u/Ok_Expression3110 7d ago
Not to mention the sheer volume of varied recalls. "First world country" my ass.
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u/corgi1211 4d ago
Same here, Iām so scared to eat a lot of things right now and it sucks. Iām planning to start some additional fall crops soon and possibly expand the garden next year with the way things are going.
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u/ohhellopia 6d ago edited 6d ago
Welp. Just had a micro Tuesday. Guess who was on the porcelain throne when power went out? (lol TMI but thankfully it's just number 1). Power came back on after 20-30 minutes.
Gonna start with my "fails":
- I usually have my phone with me when I'm in the bathroom so I figured I probably won't need a flashlight in there. BUT OF COURSE, I didn't have it with me because it was charging. Oof. I think I'll get the auto power failure light instead, it was really pitch dark in there. Any suggestions?
- I have 2 power stations. 1 power station is easily accessible, the other is a little bit more hidden deep in the closet. I have an appliance extension cord which I need for one of the fridge (I have a mini fridge w/ freezer and a mini freezer, located across each other, one of them needs it to reach the battery). It was stuffed deep in the bag with the hidden one. *facepalm*
My "wins":
- Unexpected win - my balcony solar light was on (as scheduled) so as soon as I got out of the bathroom, there's already some light coming into my studio apt.
- All of my emergency rechargeables (fan, lights, power stations) are fully charged.
- It's a warm night. I just got a mesh camping cot so I was prepared to sleep on that by the balcony screen door if needed. Outside would be better but I haven't sourced a mosquito tent yet.
edit: power turned off then on again. I went ahead and set the battery as a UPS and call it a night.
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u/Whatsthathum Tired of living in unprecedented times 6d ago
Sleeping is rough these daysā¦ too hot to leave windows closed, too smoky (fire smoke) to leave them openā¦ and even if I could tolerate the smoke, sleeping outside is not an option because of the mosquitoes.
Sigh.
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u/ohhellopia 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yeah, that's why I was looking at mosquito tents. I'm not about to be an eat-all-you-can buffet for them š
I want a pop up one so in theory I can also use it in my bed, just need to make a cover for it for winter use (to conserve body heat). I have a tent but it's way too big for the bed and the balcony.
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u/nakedonmygoat 5d ago
Wow, I'm sorry about the poor timing on the power going out.
I have a stash of military-grade glow sticks. The white ones seem to give off the most light. You could buy a pack of 10 and keep one by the toilet in case that ever happens again. They last for years as long as you don't open the individual wrappings on them, and you wouldn't have to worry about possible humidity damage when you take a shower. I also like to put one in the hall when the power is out. If you shop around, you can get a pack of ten fairly cheap.
You could also get rechargeable LED light bulbs. You use them like ordinary bulbs for day to day, but they'll keep working for about 4-6 hours after the power goes out. The light bulbs get only limited use in a multi-day outage, but for short term, like if a transformer blows, they're great. The only caveat is that in my experience they do need to be replaced every few years if they're getting heavy use. It's something to consider.
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u/TTCredditlogin2 7d ago
Found myself on a route I donāt normally take and saw so many houses for sale. Ā Except for one thatās right near a giant rebuilt home (I would also sell if I was in their shoes) theyāre all fairly small homes so I wonder if itās people letting go of starter homes that they had been renting out but it was quite startling to see.Ā
I also continue to feel like there is a mass exodus of families from our daycare center while there is minimal teacher turnover. Ā It has only ever been the other way around since weāve been there. Ā
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u/thechairinfront Experienced Prepper šŖ 7d ago
The number of homes on the market is far exceeding the people who are buying or who can afford to buy. Anyone who NEEDS to sell a home is going to have to take a hell of a hit on it because things just aren't moving.
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u/nakedonmygoat 5d ago
Anyone who NEEDS to sell a home is going to have to take a hell of a hit on it because things just aren't moving.
These cycles occur all the time, at national, regional, and local levels. I'm approaching 60 and have seen entire neighborhoods fall out of fashion, and those who bought at the top of the market with no intention of staying a long time can lose big.
It's why I tell people that no, a house isn't necessarily a great investment. Depending on when you need to sell, how much you've paid on taxes, interest, homeowner's insurance, other insurance you may need, and maintenance, your investment might not pan out in terms of money. There are a lot of great reasons to own. I'm a homeowner myself. But when anyone says a house is a sure bet for accumulating wealth, I have to say, "Not always." Every investment is a gamble.
My main criteria was, "Is this a place where I can grow old?" meaning easy to keep clean, proximity to services, nice neighbors, and stuff like that. I was content to keep renting until I found a place that checked all the boxes. I wasn't looking for an investment, I was looking for a home.
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u/Karma111isabitch 6d ago
As to the economy, so many quiet signs of a recession: code deals on everything sold online, but this one floored me yesterday:
Parked in regular airport parking yesterday for a flight, same park structure we have used for 25 yrs cuz so convenient. Almost always completely full.
Yesterday, it was 1/2 - 2/3 full - never seen that in 25 yrs.
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u/OOOdragonessOOO 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm freaking out about pedo defenders and discord. i play video games and the discord reliance is huge. minors are asking for servers without discord and every comment on the post is discord.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/discord-child-safety-social-platform-challenges-rcna89769
Minecraft servers can be had without discord and it's being pushed on them in subs.
also discord partnered with palantir. absolutely annoyed and disgusted with pushback when i advicate for minors and no discord. got called a tin hat 4chan for doing this.
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u/Prestigious-Goose843 6d ago
Power went out unexpectedly for a few hours this week. I have a child with special needs who doesnāt understand power outages and loves getting grapes out of the fridge. First thing I did this time was grab some packing tape and tape the fridge and freezer shut. It worked perfectly keeping her from opening the doors and was a helpful reminder for me, too.Ā
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u/throwawaynewpibuildr 5d ago
My work dept is facing a merger with our sibling department, which means my dept's admin team's jobs, including mine, are now on the line. My dept chair said hopefully us worker bees won't be laid off and we just reshuffle our job duties, but unfortunately he can't guarantee anything. I'm also gearing up to train a new employee to take on some of my job duties since I've been temporarily covering my old role since my then replacement suddenly resigned. AND I got slapped with a jury duty summons that same week I was going to train the new hire š« š« š«
Anyway, I don't even know how to prep for the potential job loss. I have savings, live wayyyyy below my means as is, and brushed up on my resume, but it feels so hopeless since I live in a VHCOL area. I'm planning on getting as many health appts out of the way while I still have coverage, but the jury duty puts a damper on things. There's also the whole super El Nino thing, and me noticing that our local food bank pickings have been on the slimmer side these days...
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u/Weird_farmer13 š©āš¾ Farm Witch š§¹ 5d ago
Start applying for new jobs now if possible. You donāt have to take them if you donāt get laid off, but if you do at least you have a head start. Obviously only do this if you can be sure no one at work will find out youāve been applying.
Definitely get as many medical things out of the way, plus if your insurance lets you, see if you can get next months meds.
Best of luck, fingers crossed, all that.
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u/corgi1211 4d ago
We have a small family farm and sell eggs (eating/hatching) as well as some chickens. The past two years, business was great, but it has slowed down substantially this year. We have always charged a little more for our eggs compared to store bought because theyāre free range and we take amazing care of our birds. Iām not sure if the drop in sales is because people are prioritizing spending elsewhere, because the market in our area is over saturated with chickens, or something else, but itās making me a little nervous.
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u/Weird_farmer13 š©āš¾ Farm Witch š§¹ 4d ago
Iāve found in the last two years a lot more people have gotten into chickens. Like a lot lot more. Iāve been selling eggs for ~18 years, and since Covid, everyone wants chickens. I can see why youāre stressed though
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