On another thread, some of the folks are talking about meeting up in the spring if no Pandemic. Or a place where we can all migrate to if it is a civilization buster. My recommendations are Some where in the Mid West if no Pandemic (Central location for the Americans and decent air travel for our friends in other countries, Oak Ridge TN if a civilization buster.
Hope for the best plan for the worst.
Better to meet now and get to know one another. For Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland folks, I will hold a meeting in the Great Falls Library in the meeting room on October 21st at 12–4PM (although we don`t have to go on that long). This meeting is in the Washington DC metro area. I will provide refreshments and I sure hope someone will come! Here is the address: Great Falls Public Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, VA 22066. The website for the library is http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/gf/
Have driven through OR,purty, but there is a slight problem with those reactors. Think they`ll be OK ?
Need to be near an international airport in either case…..
It’s too bad there’s not more time to organize in preparation for a civilization buster. I’m thinking that the best odds for survival would go to small, organized and prepared groups who set up regional bug-out destinations in a cooperative effort.
People. We are going to get through this.
On May 15th,2007 I’ll see you in ……Jericho? :-)…….KC?……?
Anon 451-Why Oak Ridge? Just curious.
Anon_451 – at 22:07 Some where in the Mid West if no Pandemic
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 22:25 Need to be near an international airport
Denver, CO? It is on the other side of the Continental Divide from me, but it is somewhat centrally-located and has a decent international airport. Lincoln, NE and Topeka, KS are more centrally-located but I know less about their airports. Maybe even Jefferson City, MO would be in the running, depending on the airport.
InKy – at 22:28
It’s too bad there’s not more time to organize in preparation for a civilization buster. I’m thinking that the best odds for survival would go to small, organized and prepared groups who set up regional bug-out destinations in a cooperative effort.
Hmm, like rural volunteer fire departments.
We’re already organized to help each other.
:-)
Green Mom – at 23:02 Oak Ridge was were the first Nuke plant was built (shut down now I think) It was built there because of the TVA project which provided the area with lots of Hydro Electric power. The land is great for growing things and the growing season is the right length for just about everything. Also the area is gorgeous.
Dennis in Colorado – at 23:02 The airport in Denver is first rate but 20 miles out of town. Also Denver is a tad on the pricey side. Jefferson City MO is a small town no good Airport. St Joseph MO would be better as the KC airport is about 40 miles south and price wise would be easier on Hotel Rooms.
Part of the facilities at OAk Ridge have been dismantled, but it is still the site of a National Lab and they still do a lot of work there. Supposivily more Ph.Ds per square mile than any where else in USA (Thats the local ledgend anyway) I’m originally from that area and know it quite well. It is gorgous, and cheap, but consider that it is very close to Knoxville TN which was recently rated one of the top ten Worst Citites in US in terms of urban sprawl. I’d love to meet there though, be real handy for me! I’m not sure if Knoxville is an international airport though.
I vote for Boulder. I really like that old black lady with the guitar.
I’m thinking that everyone might be driving. Think about it. If we really go through viral hell, are you going to ever get on plane?
Green Mom – at 23:27 Knoxville (Tri Cities Airport) is not an international Airport. That was why I said St Joseph MO for just a meeting and Oak Ridge for Civilization rebuild. You are right about the egg heads in Oak Ridge another reason that I vote for that instead of Boulder. Boulder has nothing going for it other than the Rocky Mountains.
AVanarts -at 23:29
I agree.
The time to make “The Stand” is now.
We obviously all have something in common.
Although it might not be obvious what that something is.
(great, now I’m talking in riddles) 8-D
Bird Guano - at 23:09
Yeah, like rural volunteer fire departments - or indeed closeknit rural communities - but galvanized to meet a different threat - not just the pandemic itself, but also a rocky transition to self-sufficiency that is best accomplished by groups working together rather than individuals scraping by. There’s an awful lot of know-how to be recovered and then resourcefully adapted to a different world, one in which a deadly, every-changing virus is likely to be endemic.
Civilization Buster . . . 1918 did not decimate the population at a time there were no ventilators, no antibiotics. People got through by relying on each other. It doesn’t make sense to leave your community and move to an entirely new location.
If it was a civilisation buster, would it not make sense to put one’s energies into banding together with your families and communities in one’s own familiar area?
Ange D - at 01:41
H5N1 is not our great grandparents’ flu. A pandemic strain of H5N1 has a good chance of surpassing the 1918 flu in severity, and in many areas, people are less prepared because they do less for themselves and depend more on a JIT delivery system in an era of globalization. Let’s hope H5N1 isn’t a civilization buster, but it has to potential to be.
I think the answer to your question depends on the severity of the pandemic, one’s current location, essential resources in the area, population density, and the community’s level of awareness and preparedness. I don’t think H5N1 can be counted on to give people a lot of time to make alternative plans and execute transitions. I’ll likely be scraping by where I am.
Civilization buster - I recommend resettling in an area with abundant hydro electric power resources. (Pacific Northwest, Hoover Dam, Niagra Falls, Tennessee).
Raison d’être: Even after the pandemic passes and is completely gone, the power system will be very limited. Coal, natural gas, and nuclear fueled power plants account for 90 some percent of US power production. These type plants rely on steam driven turbines that must be kept slowly rotating even while shut down. No power grid = inability to rotate shafts. If a turbine shaft is not kept rotaing, the shaft will sag rendering it inoperable.
I therefore predict that if civilization does re-establish, it will do so near hydro electric power facilities.
One bright side here - even though hydro resources account for less than 10% of power production, there will be less than 10% of the population left to use that power, so there should be enough to go around.
Did I mention that hydro power is reliant upon adequate rain fall…
Oak Ridge=Manhattan Project Oak Ridge Info
Anon_451 – at 22:07
What is the other thread named with discussion of pre panflu meeting place?
because this thread is named “Meeting Place”, for prepandemic, I would recommend Gatlinburg, TN. It is within a days drive of 2/3 of the US population. It is also the gateway to the Smoky Mountains, so folks traveling to meet with other fluwikians could combine that with a mini vacation.
I would very much like to meet other like minded fluwikian weirdos like myself, because you folks are the ONLY people I can converse with.
Good Morning all, How about North West Arkansas? It is a central location. Water, fields and best of all the home of Tyson! We could hold our meeting in their headquarters! Shouldn’t be much use to them in a couple of years! In the meantime, for those of you that want to get together, Walmart home office is here too! Collectively, we’ve been buying so much from them I would think they would want to sponser this event! We are also home to J B Hunt. So hitch a ride and come on down.
JJF—I LOVE Gatlinburg! So beautiful!
is that 1 yes for gatlinburg?
Just a thought; when handing out the pandemic awareness cards, besides the expected ammount of puzzled faces, I have been surprised to find there have been other people in town concerned (just that everyone seemed to be in the closet - maybe soon we can have some of our own meetings, since the local officals don’t seem to want to brainstorm with the public or tell them to prep against long-term disruptions)- perhaps you may find there are more people in your own area than you think.
Jumping Jack Flash – at 09:37 Make that 2 for Gatlinburg. I have been through the entire region and it is all good, except for the cities. By the way the other Thread was what is your PPF this level of discussion was causing a serious threat drift so started this one.
JWB – at 10:25 Sounds great but we would want the Mods to get first wack at one for all their hard work and the Indo group second. You know 10 may not be enough I may have to bring 5 just for TOM DVM and Montreme
JWB – at 10:25
how about filling them with little plastic bottles of crown royal and single barrel?
Anon_451
Good point.
Jumping Jack Flash
That sounds good! I’ll tell you what they WON”T have, Beans and Rice!
JWB – at 10:45 My DD has recommended that we make the Chickens blue. Really give us something to smack.
As Pinatas are easy to make, sounds like a Sipping craft to me. ;-)
You guys crack me up. Thank you.
Senegal1 at 22:15, you should talk about your meeting in the Virginia and Maryland threads so that more people might see it.
Anon_451 and cactus
Thanks for the ideas. They both of have put me on the path of post-panflu riches! This will be they next Elmo!
Commercial: “Celebrate the end of SIP with your very own Bluenza Chicken Pinata Party! And if you order in the next 20 minutes, we will through in, absolutely free, another pinata of Margaret Chan! Guess what she’s full off! Order before midnight tonight!”
JWB – at 21:49 ROFLMAO
JWB: Are you sure anyone would want to order in the next 20 minutes? Doesn’t sound like the Chan pinata would be a “big hit” unless you really still wanted TS to HTF even at a post-pandemic party!
anon mc – at 22:08
What? Hey, give me a break! This is a very preliminary business plan. How many business plans have YOU done right before a pandemic?
anon mc – at 22:08
post means after, (I think)
I wrote “post-panflu”
JWB: I did not mean in the ACTUAL next 20 mins. I was responding to the statement in the commercial, which, of course would be advertised in a post-pandemic world. Have some BB RWFK and Chill…
Just trying to point out that you may not want to stock the warehouse with filled Chan pinatas…unless you are trying to scare survivors away from your remaining supplies…
P.S. LOVE the commercial. Just don’t want to have to go through a pandemic to see it…think I’ll go get some RWFK now….
anon mc – at 22:43
It’s OK. Just messin with ya!
I vote for Gatlinburg!
RWFK ….. What’s that again, I forget.
Red Wine Flu Killer.
LOL. I`ve got some, and don`t even like wine.
How about 10/21/06 in Gatlinburg?
ok everyone just come to my house, we’ll get good and drunk and find some chickens! LOL
I’ll be working a trade show that weekend & can’t make it. I’ll keep tuning in, in case the date changes…
Perhaps we could set up meetings in different parts of the country where people could attend close to home. I’m about 90 miles west of Chicago and I know there are a lot of Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa fluwikians - Wisconsin and Michigan are also within decent driving distance. BTW, I really do have a hydro electric plant in my back yard - we live on a river and the spillway is about 25 yards upstream from my house and the hydro electric plant is just on the other side of the river. I think they sell all the electricity back to Commonwealth Edison.
How about, end May 2007 if we are still alive, in Geneva, Switzerland? We can demonstrate at the UN and WHO, and then come all over my place and get partying with my co-lodgers? Accordeon dancing, couscous, Savoy cheese fondue, duck orange sauce and good red wine, tasty dishes from the Middle-East and Slivovitz, … so that when the temperature gets better in May, we can all sleep in the garden under the stars, and visit the French Alps the next day. And if WHO and the like have managed to find a solution to BF, I’m willing to cook the crows if someone will shoot them for me!
tjclaw1 – at 18:10
Do you know anyone that works at the hydroplant?
FrenchieGirl – at 18:17
Keep talking like that and I’m booking a ticket for tommorrow! 8-D
FrenchieGirl – at 18:17 DW has been after me for a while to go back to Europe for a Vacation. Boy that does sound good. Also off season for the Alps so the hotels should not be too bad on cost,
FrenchieGirl,
Sounds good to me, but could we maybe make it in Spring or Summer? Us desert types are kinda allergic to that funny white stuff that tends to fall in the winter.
cactus – at 18:30 — D’you know, in late May in my place it’s warm enough to sleep outside with a good duvet, but we can still do the 80 km drive to the Alps to see the snow and the mountain peaks. For those adventurous and very good skiiers, you might want to try skiing on the Vallée blanche. For the others, if the weather forecast is good, we can picnic/barbecue by the lake with a splendid view on the UN and WHO (though the water will be too cold to swim - 14–15°C). Depending on the numbers, we either sleep in the garden, or we book a children’s holiday house… cheap! And, beyond cooking crows which shouldn’t be too difficult if you shoot them for me, I think I can still remember how to cook a proper English breakfast too!
And… I’m 4 hours train or 1 1/4 hour plane from Paris and London, 2 hours plane from Rome and Madrid. Geneva is one of the hubs of Europe (not quite as big as Zürich, Heathrow or Amsterdam though)
Late May sounds perfect. Lake Geneva is so lovely in pics, seeing it in person would be grand.
tjclaw1 – at 18:10
Sounds like a good idea, I’d love to got see FrenchieGirl, but not sure my budget will allow it.
KimT — at 18:57 - If there’s enough of you Americans, then you could book a group ticket of 20 or more, and it’s cheaper. I can cook good with almost nothing and sleeping in the garden is free :-)
Gatlinburg!
FrenchieGirl – at 18:17
I would love to come back (lived in Leysin for a year in the mid 80′s). Fantastic scenery, cross country skiing, chocolate, cheese, beef, wine . . . need I say more??
Consider a trip to the desert Southwest of the United States—it has a spectacular beauty of its own—plus mountain biking, Mexican food, tequila and the Grand Canyon. We would love to be your host
JWB – at 18:17 tjclaw1 – at 18:10
Do you know anyone that works at the hydroplant?
Unfortunately, no. Occasionally, I see a couple lights on, they blow a horn so boats move when they release water from the plant, and somebody puts boards up on the spillway in the summer, but I’ve been here 7 years and never actually seen anybody over there (I work during the day).
Oh, I’d love to see FrenchieGirl, and go skiing, but not sure I want to get on an airplane at this point.
Lots of great places to consider, but at this point with little kids, we don’t drive far.
I just went back online and can’t stop laughing, you guys crack me up!! It feels good to laugh when it seems like everybody else around me has no clue what’s going on in the chicken world.
I LOVE THOSE CUTE LITTLE CHICKEN; I would fill mine with left-over beans (I mean, who wants to eat beans post-pandemic?) and always remember all the wonderful people on fluwiki when cuddling the chicken during the cold CO nights…
I would be up for Colorado, Utah or New Mexico, it’s still considered biking distance in my world. :) I don’t think there will be any gasoline left to operate airplanes- just a thought.
Jefiner – at 20:55 , I’d go mountain biking with you.
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