6/8/11

Prepper Ponderings

Top It Off

We all know we ought not let our tanks get below 1/2 full.  But that's easier said than done. Even with my 26 gallon tank, driving 112 miles each day and only getting about 16 mpg means that I'd have to fill up every other day.  This afternoon, I left work with about a third of a tank, with the plan to fill up tomorrow afternoon once I was down to where the "low fuel" light came on.

There was a bad 18 wheeler wreck on the interstate early this afternoon that still had the westbound lanes completely blocked when it was time for me to go home.  I knew I'd have extra traffic to deal with, and figured on probably another 20 minutes added to my commute.  I drastically underestimated.  It took me nearly 2 and a half hours to get home.  Nearly all of that time was spend getting out of the city. Once I got on the interstate, there was actually less traffic than normal.  I wasn't concerned about my gas to get home, because I had to pass probably 12-15 stations before getting to the interstate. 

But, I got to thinking... what if, for some reason, the gas stations were shut down or empty, and traffic was backed up all the way home, not just inside the city.  I really ought to know better.  I stopped before getting on the interstate and filled up.  I'm going to commit to keeping at least a half tank from here on out.  If I lived a couple miles from work, I might not worry about it, but as far as I live, I'm pretty darn stupid to not be sure I have plenty of gas.


Another Preparedness Conference

These things are popping up all over the place.  I really salute the entrepreneurs who are going out on a limb and putting them on.  The latest one was sent to me by a reader who saw it mentioned on Rourke's blog.  Carolina Readiness Supply is putting it on next Saturday, June 18th, in a little town near Ashville, NC.  According to their announcement for the Sensible Mountain Preparedness Seminar, it looks like a full day of interesting speakers and demonstrations with the keynote speaker being William Forstchen, author of the fantastic post-EMP novel, One Second After.  I really wish we could go, but we have another commitment on the far opposite side of the state.  If you can make it, you ought to check it out.  It's only $5, a real bargain.


A Blog Suggestion

David Nash from The Shepherd School blog recently contacted me and introduced his blog.  I like what he does over there.  He is gradually putting up hundreds of firearms owners manuals for free downloads, and puts up plenty of videos and good commentary.  Today he put up a recipe and video on making mock Parmesan cheese out of dehydrated milk.  You don't see that on every preparedness blog.  Check it out and see if you agree that it is another good resource to your prep activities.  On top of all that, he is a fellow Marine as well.

3 comments:

  1. I agree with you on the gas thing. Now days it is important to make sure you have plenty of gas to get home because you just never know what might happen. Glad to here you won't be having that problem again.

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  2. Concerning I-64 crashes, there have now been three crashes in the past nine days (that I personally saw the effects of) that completely shut down all lanes in one direction for several hours. I'm getting pretty good at alternate routes now, which in some areas of the Peninsula are few in number and crowded. So I'm glad for you that you're getting serious about that "1/2 tank means empty" approach, because I don't expect the situation to improve very much during the summer months.

    And it wouldn't hurt to spend some "quality time" with Google Maps exploring the roads around and between each I-64 exit from Mercury Blvd up to the Lightfoot exit (at least). I've been doing this already looking for good motorcycle-friendly routes, but I've been using it lately for crash avoidance, too.

    Good luck!

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  3. Good advice, Mike. I've come home the real long way via Gloucester to West Point, and all the way on Rt. 60 through Williamsburg, but I do need to learn the cut throughs and side streets, especially inside the city. Some of the residential streets that I can snake through alongside Warwick.

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