Icemageddon prep...

Weird thing yesterday.

Was really windy here. On the drive home after crossing the bridge and entering the freeway there was sort of a dust devel. Sort of an invisible cyclone. Leaves, plastic bags (which are technically banned in this state.) and dust. Sort of like an invisible cyclone.

After that it sounded like something was caught under the car. I pulled over and did not see anything. Got back on the freeway and as soon as I hit about 45 there was a horrible skidding noise. Made it home. Noise went away once I was on the surface streets.

I had gone to the quick lube place last week. So I thought perhaps they did not fasten something down. So on the way home from the dentist I thought I would have them check it out. Even though I all that tingling in the left side of my lip.

Sure enough something called a skid plate had come loose. They said something about I must have hit a rock. Hopefully they got it attached better this time. I think the person who did the service was a bit new. At least this time it was the old guy that had been there a while. Said he had two trees blow down in his yard.

Guess there must have been something heavier in that invisible cyclone than a bag. The wind along the levy road next to the river was intense. Fortunately the draw bridges were both down. Kept thinking about this thread and the comments about the risks here of power outages and the number of bridges in the area. Every now and then a car or truck gets blown off one.

It is really the unexpected things what are immutable.

My parents were kids during WWII. Mom's family second generation from the post gold rush time. My grandfather was raised in the gold country. GGF was a Methodist circuit rider. During the war, they would save the ration coupons and go camping in the mountains. This tradition continued even when I was little. Most older California have a second home or a plot of land in the mountains for weekend getaways.

The church group would also do hikes and camps. We got ourselves into some situations from time to time. Had to deal with rescues twice. Once in Yosemite and once in Death Valley. It really comes down to the unpredictability. Training only goes so far. What does seem to happen is people come together in groups to help each other out. These tend to be tribal.

The 'renaissance fairs' Civil war re-enactments etc. also are interesting places to do behavioral observation. Where thousands of people get together on the weekends for a bit of back to nature idealistic settings. What a lot of people do not realize is that without some sort of organization, After a few days there is going to be cholera if no one knows how to correctly plan and dig latrines. At the very least, a lot of the group will probably get some sort of dysentery. Granted the big shows are pretty well planned, but what happens when there is no power and the RO units fail.

Ironically on a church group trip to mexico to help work on a mission, the people who did not drink the water were the ones who got sick. That church had it's own water treatment plant. The local bottling plant did not.

None of this is pleasant to think about. I know someone who died after a civil war re-enactment. Sepsis from a scratch. That person was a bit of a hothead. And sometimes live rounds tend to be where the should not. I myself nearly set someone on fire, with overpackd wadding and they were 25 feet away and I was aiming down and to the side. Blank rounds still have a lot of force. It is easy to get caught up in the moment. And this was just for fun. I do not know if the ladies in the era were as armed as we were. But then I grew up with Cat Ballu which remains one of my favorite films.

Curiously I now work part time as licensed security. Mostly access control and crowd control. Somehow I figured out how crowds at large events behave. So I have been through active shooter training. Rule number one is 'Situational awareness.' which is a lot harder than it seems. Do you really know where the exits are?

Most of what people think they know is fantasy. The stories told in books and films to entertain. Most of the real stuff is too absurd to be believable, till after the fact. We do spend a lot of time thinking about our survival. So we create fantastical things that excite us. To get that adrenaline rush. Just thinking about such things can produce what ever it is that quickens out being and makes us feel alive. (or in a realistic dream as there is nothing better in life than an exiting dream to wake up from)

The reality is more like, when we have all this canned and dried food stored. Then when one actually checks it, such is so bland and boring will it ever get used. The real question is how much sugar does one have? We have always had a 'Victory garden.' But it takes 45 days for a simple thing to grow like a bean, when in season. All the citrus and fruit trees, grape vines. This really makes the 10,000$ tomato. Sure there is enough to can a few things and give them away as gifts to friends and neighbors. Does one really think about the processes of making them and the materials costs at above retail. It takes time and effort to prepare all this stuff. That sort of thing is boring for those who like to write stories and make TV and film programs.

I once was doing some access control at an air show. They were demonstrating MREs there was a little packet of tobacco sauce. The guys were wondering why that was included (product placement?) I said, that is so you can still eat the meat after it has gone rancid.

We are first and foremost carrion eaters. Why we like to dry and cook our food.

And when we do eat grains we want to dry and ferment them in an artificial stomach before we can eat them. But one can hear and smell a still from a mile away.

I am still trying to figure out how a couple rounds of lead shot made there way into a tray of clock and watch parts. But then my sport was archery.

And I know what a gin trap and snare is.

(I think the feeling is started to return to my metalmouth. I can now taste that new filling. blech.)

And to think that every one of them has the ability to understand quantum physics, Einstein and other intangible things. Not that any of them would find it interesting. There are probably other complex thoughts in the universe that would interest them too.

And I would surmise they are probably better at aritmatick and algebra than I am.

I think the novacain or what ever they use is wearing off. This is not as funny as it was 10 minutes ago. I had to look it up. Yup Don Rickels is Mr Potato head voice in Toy story. But then the producer of that film got culture canceled for less.

The real question here is are clowns creepy?

Just blame the dental anesthetic and all will be fine. Not sure I will understand it when I re- read it either.

Clue? I think that is some sort of board game.

Got a little snow ourselves. Probably won't need to eat the dog or use the outhouse.

Dog is hiding..