[singpilot]

No, this is not a thread about getting a lap dance at a dollar bar......

Us California (and Missouri) Pelicans should be ready for the next Big Quake.

It's as simple as being prepared, right now, without stopping on the way home, to survive for 2 weeks at home. Food, drink, water, and fuel. And if you have all that, some way to defend against someone taking it away from you.

Don't forget to have portable (non-potable) water to make the toilet flush, or that the holding tank on the RV or Porta-Pottie (on sale at camping world right now) is ready to go.

Tape (duct) an old (but well oiled/WD-40'd) crescent wrench to the gas shutoff valve, and show everyone in the household how to use it. Be ready to deal with the tipped over water heater (and the broken gas line there). Strap it to the wall now. It's 40+ gallons of water you might want later.

Instruct the kids (or whoever is home) to fill the bathtub after a shake while the water may still be on.

Do you have a non-cellphone meeting plan? Assume NOTHING is working. Do you have a camp stove and fuel to power it for cooking?

My parents used to make us measure how much water we used personally each day when we were kids as a guide for what we'd need. It was a shock to us kids, just how much we did actually use.

Have a gen set at home and fuel to power it? Just for the fridge, freezer and the TV? Heat if you have no fireplace? Ever tried actually running those off of it with extension cords to see how much fuel would be required?

I look at the lessons of Katrina, and realize how unprepared we all are to be on our own. Can you imagine Los Angeles without power, gas, fuel and water? You'd better.

What worries me is the people who barely get by with supplies readily available, and what those people will do when they get cut off and desparate.

For the record, I unplugged the boat from all shoreside services, and I went three weeks (prepared). The 'hurts' were fresh foods and fresh water. That was with salt water for the toilets.

After you've done the basics for your house, how about your parents. Your kids. Your idiot sister.

It's coming. You ready?