Can I panic now?

First off - don't panic over this Swine flu business - I'll talk about that later.

When is it ok to panic? It's never a good idea to panic, though it can make you feel better from time to time. When is it ok to initiate the plan? It's all right to hunker down under two circumstances - 1) you have "actionable information" or 2) everyone else around you is freaking out.

In the second situation - if everyone around you is freaking out about such and such or flipping out because of a perceived threat, well - boom - auto-magically you have yourself a situation that you need to take care of immediately. If there isn't an actual problem occurring to spur on the mass hysteria, then just head home with the family and lock the doors. Sit tight - it'll come down soon.

The first case is really what is the problem. When is a situation enough to take action? When I do bar the windows, fill the tub with water, and clear out the local grocery store? There have been a few examples in recent memory that may have been or turned into times when you need to take measures.

In the 1990's, let's see what wikipedia has to say - August of 1998, President Clinton ordered a cruise missile strike on a pharmaceutical plant. At the time I was a college kid and really just opening my eyes up to international crisis. It was a moment for me that in my ignorance thought could have been the trigger for a much larger conflict. Fortunately nothing much came out of it except for a brief distraction from the Lewinsky business.
VERDICT: No action required.

The next item that sticks out in memory was Y2K. This was a media-hype, scramble for ratings, piece of crap, non-issue. Everyone was convinced, myself included, that something was going to happen. Imagine my surprise when nothing happened - wait - you probably had those feelings too so you needn't imagine my surprise.
VERDICT: Good example of public hysteria but also good opportunity to openly discuss survival plans without seeming like a kook.

September 11, 2001. The first days we didn't know what in fuck was going on. The first couple of hours, I was trying to figure out who could possibly be invading the US. Who at the logistics to secretly position an invasion force? No one - Red Dawn wasn't happening, that's for sure. People got really freaked - rightfully so. A whole new vein of possible disasters were opened up for consideration - dirty bombs, weaponized viruses, nukes, whatever. This was a wake-up call not just in the way that we interact with the international community but also what could realistically happen on US soil.
VERDICT: Opportunity to begin preparations and planning.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq certainly created a hostile international situation, but there was little immediate concern of an additional attack on the homeland.
VERDICT: No action required.

I guess next would be Katrina. Wow - under-respond much? If you lived in New Orleans or even within a couple of hundred miles - you damn straight had better enacted your plan! This is an example of when it's necessary to get the "Hell outta Dodge" and right quick! Part of any good survival plan includes a section on leaving your home and finding appropriate shelter elsewhere and what to bring along. Obviously not enough people in New Orleans had a good survival plan. This is a good wake-up call to not blindly rely on the government or authorities to bail your ass out. You're not a bank after all.
VERDICT: Relocate if you are in the effected area or use this as an opportunity to learn from this situation if you're not in the area.

Finally comes the Swine Flu. It's important to note that hundreds of thousands of people die every single year, IN THIS COUNTRY, from the regular-old-run-o'-mill influenza virus. The problem with the Swine Flu, to my limited understanding, is that it is very easily transmitted between humans and is very severe in its symptoms. This is an example where you should be prepared to stay in your own home either because you have contracted the virus or the likelihood of contracting the illness in public is very high. I believe in this particular instance the biggest threat you will face will be from the panicked and hysteric public. Stay away from large crowds, stock up on supplies now so you don't have to go out when there are shortages.
VERDICT: Start preparing for a one to two week stay in your home, otherwise treat as an extra flu-season.

Thanks for reading - more later.

What is iCHAoZ?

For years I've been a huge fan of zombie movies - and really anything apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic. When the whole Y2K thing came around everyone started talking about how to survive a real world catastrophic situation. I started thinking - this is the first time you jerks are thinking about this? Of course, planning for the worst is nothing new - ever since the Cold War people have been building bomb shelters and crouching under their desks in "duck n cover" drills. What was different about Y2K is that the mainstream populace finally realized that there are a lot more situations out there besides a nuclear war for which they'll need to plan and prepare.

My brother and I were sharing an apartment at the time and we began formalizing our plans. Admittedly I was a bit more involved with the general idea than he was, but I shouldn't minimize his contributions. We structured the plan based on what situations we would respond to. This was insufficient so we switched over to the concept of a stepped system. A through G if I recall correctly. The "A" level was relatively inane - stay in your house for a day or so type of thing. The "G" level was basically balls to the wall, might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

It's now years later - I'm married with a child and hopefully more to follow. My contingency plan requires a bit of a face lift. First and foremost it must be made much more practical - it literally has to save the lives of my son, my wife, myself, and our four cats. Secondly it needs to be reasonable and rational, I can't start putting bars up on the windows and digging a moat right now. Finally, it needs to be completely comprehensive - there is a wide-range of situations that need a direct and immediate response in order to be properly countered.

My wife and I came up with the concept of iCHAoZ - in Case of Hectic Anarchy or Zombies. Basically, the idea is to have plans in place to deal with just about any major catastrophe by level of response. The levels of response basically range from stay out of the major cities for a while to hunker down in the house with the aforementioned bars and moat. While "Zombies" are in the acronym, the plan really does focus on society and the rule of law either breaking down or disappearing all together. Of course we do have some plans for the more outlandish possibilities, you have to keep it fun after all.

Blogs to come will involve either one-off thoughts about some various aspects of survival or more likely various parts of the actual plan. Thanks for reading!